Page 7 of Raven
I didn’t wait for a response before I got behind the wheel and cranked the truck. Glancing over at her, I saw she was looking off into the distance, and when I said her name, she seemed to snap out of whatever haze she was in.
“Sydney, are you ready?”
She nodded, and I put the truck in gear and pulled into the driveway across from hers before I backed out and drove up the road. A prospect pulled down the road, and she looked at him over her shoulder as he pulled up to her trailer. Not seeming to have any fight left in her, she sat straight and wiped under her nose with a tissue as I got to the main road.
I didn’t know if this was a good development or a bad one, but I would take it. For close to three months, I’d avoided what I felt for her the moment she walked into the shop. And if I had to win her heart by taking care of her while she was sick, =I would do just that.
I just hoped when she was well that she’d stay around.
Chapter 4
Sydney
Ishouldn’t have agreed to let Raven take me to the doctor for multiple reasons. One, I really couldn’t afford it. With more than twenty thousand left owing on the debt, I had to make every penny count. Second, I wasn’t sure I could trust Raven, not that he’d ever done anything to make me think he wasn’t a man of his word. It was my inability to trust anyone’s word that made me hesitate when I was around him.
Third, and most importantly, I knew if I let myself, I could fall in love with him. And I wouldn’t survive losing someone else I loved. As much as I hated my mother for how she abandoned me, I still missed her every day. And I was sure a therapist would have a field day with that.
A coughing fit overtook me, and I covered my mouth as I fought to get it under control. I felt a hand reach over and touch my arm, and I turned as the scratch in my throat subsided. Raven was giving me a worried look as I sat back and wiped under my nose.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he slowed down at a stop light.
I nodded, clearing my throat and wiping my runny nose again. “I think it’s just a cold. You really can take me back home. I’ll be fine in a day or two.”
I hoped he would take me back home, but when he shook his head and accelerated through the light as it turned green, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. His hand was still resting against my forearm, and I looked down and then slowly lifted my eyes to him. Usually, I didn’t want to be touched, but for months, Ihad to catch myself from staring as I fantasized about what his strong hands could do to me.
I tried to resist the attraction I had to him from the minute I saw him, so I used some perceived shame of where I lived to ignore him. I hoped I wouldn’t reveal how much I wanted him, but being so close, I knew deep down that I was going to cave in. Feeling his strong, warm hand holding onto me made the ice around my heart crack.
Raven didn’t look back at me as he maneuvered through the morning traffic. “I don’t want you to get sicker than you already are. I wish you had called me so I could’ve taken you to the doctor when you first started feeling bad.”
I was going to respond that the cost of a doctor’s appointment and medication was going to set me back at least a week on my debt, but I didn’t want to bring him, or his club, into my problems. So, instead of saying something that could cause trouble, I remained silent.
Raven sighed as he slowed down at another light. Finally, he released his hold on my arm and turned to look at me. I lifted my eyes to him, expecting him to be mad. The kindness in his eyes was unexpected, and when he lifted his hand to my face, softly stroking my cheek, I knew I was a goner.
“You have to let me take care of you, Sydney.”
“Why?” I asked, not understanding his softness or his desire to help. “You hardly know me.”
He lifted one cheek in a half-smile as he turned to face the road and replied, “I know enough.”
The last few blocks to the hospital were traveled in silence, and as he turned into the parking lot, I cleared my throat, needing to shove the heavy stuff back into the closet where it needed to stay. “I’ll pay you back whatever it costs. You can take it out of my paychecks, or I can work overtime until it’s paid.”
Raven pulled into one of the spaces along the building and put the truck into park before he shifted in his seat. “I don’t want you to pay me back. I want you to let me in.”
“Raven . . .” I started to say, and he shook his head.
“Call me Caleb,” he stated.
“Caleb, I—” I couldn’t finish the words as another coughing fit overtook me. I covered my mouth and turned away from him.
I didn’t even know he had gotten out of the truck until he was opening the passenger door and reaching in to unhook my seatbelt. He took my free hand as the cough stopped again and helped me from the truck. I tried to take my hand back as he closed the door, but he intertwined our fingers.
I looked up at his handsome face, and he smiled down at me as he gently tugged my hand, urging me to walk with him. The emergency room doors were just down the short sidewalk, and he remained connected to me as we approached. The automatic doors opened and we stepped inside the sterile looking room. I glanced around and didn’t see anyone in the waiting room as we walked to the desk.
A lady smiled up at him and sat straighter as she asked, “Can I help you?”
Caleb looked down at me as he responded, “Is Dr. Marcie working this morning?”
The lady nodded and asked, “She is. Can I get your name?”
