Page 37 of Property of Doc

As I prepare her skin to draw the blood, I tell her, “You find a way to make me laugh every single day, did you know that?”

“I had no clue,” she admits, wincing slightly as the needle enters the vein. It doesn’t take long to fill two tubes which I’ve already labeled. I’ll put them in the temperature-controlled box along with the tests I want to run as they’ll pick it up first thing in the morning.

“Should have the results back in a few days. For now, let’s head back to the clubhouse. We need to share this good news with our family,” I say.

“Great, I’ll be wrapped in cotton wool and bubble wrap before the night is over,” she grumbles, which makes me laugh again.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

Gretchen

“This is going to be so exciting!” Livy exclaims when she finds me sitting at a table.

I’m a little overwhelmed right now since we still have the members from two other chapters roaming around. While I’ve enjoyed the company of the other ol’ ladies, I’m still in the ‘getting to know you’ phase with the women who are here in West Texas. Still, I won’t disrespect Doc by being a bitch, so I put a smile on my face and nod.

“I’m not surprised at all, just a tiny bit stunned,” I admit. “But sex without protection usually causes pregnancy, so there’s that to keep in mind.”

She snickers then says, “I honestly think these men have super swimmers or something. I half expect every month that I’ll be saying the same thing.”

“Well, if you end up in this same position, at least they’d be close in age,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.

“We do need more babies around here,” Issy states, plopping down in one of the empty chairs. “Gotta raise up the next generation of Kings, after all.”

“Gonna wait a little bit longer,” Shelly quietly says. “I’m not sure… I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready again.”

I reach over and take her hand in mine. She shared her past with me while she was doing my tattoo and my heart shattered for what she endured. “You take whatever time you need, Shelly,” I whisper. “And if y’all decide you want to have pets instead, well, that’s okay too.”

“No, I want Abyss to have a little princess,” she admits.

Deciding to change the subject, I look at Gwynee and ask, “Did he tell y’all when you were heading home yet? If you’re still here on Saturday, you should definitely come to the farmer’s market. It’s not just fresh, locally grown produce, there are tables with craft breads, jams and jellies, even homemade quilts.”

I see Gwynee’s eyes light up and she starts nodding. “I’ll be asking Big Daddy if we can wait until Sunday. I mean, I know he’s going to stop at Buc-ee’s again so I can get a few more things I saw, so I don’t wanna push the issue.”

“Somehow, I think with you, he’ll give in,” Issy states. “That’s how most of these guys seem to operate.”

“You’re speaking the truth,” Van, Riptide’s ol’ lady replies. “Although in my case, it’sIcerwho spoils the kids.”

Letti laughs and it’s so infectious, we all join in. “If you knew how many times I’ve stopped him from getting ‘just one more thing’, you’d probably have a stroke,” she says to Van. “At therate he finds clothes for both Elodie and little G, you’re almost set until they’re several years older.”

Van shrugs and says, “He loves them, plain and simple. I won’t deny anyone who loves them with a pure heart.”

“I get it,” I reply. Turning to Gwynee, I ask, “How is the weather here different compared to California?”

“The heat is definitely different, more dry, that’s for sure,” she exclaims. “My poor hair may never recover from the change in climate.”

Issy shrugs and says, “That’s why God invented hair clips and headbands. Oh, and hats! Because the humidity in Texas is absurd. For someone who is relatively a no-fuss kind of girl, I use a ton of product in my hair to keep it somewhat tamed.”

“My mom used to braid mine when I ran cross country and track,” I admit. “It helps, that’s for sure, but itisfrustrating when you spend all that time in front of the mirror and the minute you step outside, it starts going wild.”

“I feel like an alpaca who got shocked,” Gwynee adds, giggling. “But outside of the humidity, it’s pretty here.”

“It is and it’s one of the reasons we tend to wait until later in the day to do much of anything,” I reply. “Plus, to make sure we’re always cool, I think Rio recently replaced the generator on the clubhouse in case we lose power.”

“So, what are our plans today? I think the men are planning to go for another ride or something,” Gwynee asks.

“I thought I’d show y’all around the barns so you can see what we do here at the Triple R,” Issy replies. “Oh, and also where wehold the rodeos. And if you want, I’ll let Starlight run the barrels. She’s retired now, but she still enjoys showing off.”