Page 8 of Raven
He looked worriedly at me as he answered, “Tell her Caleb Asher is here.”
The lady behind the desk nodded and picked up a phone. She spoke to someone, letting them know who was here, then hung up the phone before saying, “Have a seat, please.”
Caleb guided me to some chairs a few feet away and helped me sit before taking the seat next to me. He turned to face me, and I blurted out, “Who’s Dr. Marcie?”
He offered a kind smile as he replied, “Someone I trust to take care of my woman.”
My eyes grew wide, and my heart rate increased at his declaration of me being his, when a woman’s voice broke through my shock. “I didn’t know you’d finally claimed someone.”
We both turned to see a woman approaching, wearing blue scrubs and a white lab coat. The smile on her face as she saw our connected hands was huge, but a cough broke out and her smile dropped as she got closer.
“You were right to bring her in, Caleb. Let’s get her fixed up so you can take her home to rest.”
I wanted to say I don’t live with him, but all I could do was try to catch my breath and clear the scratch in my throat. Caleb helped me stand as he released my hand, placed his arm around my waist, and helped me walk as we followed Dr. Marcie.
There were a few other medical people moving around as we walked into an open room and the doctor closed the door behind us. Caleb helped me up onto a table as Dr. Marcie pulled out a stethoscope and put the pieces in her ears. She pressed it against my chest and asked me to inhale deeply.
Caleb stood directly next to the bed, keeping one hand of mine in his as Dr. Marcie listened to my chest, my back, took my blood pressure and temperature, and looked into my ears, nose, throat, and eyes. Stepping back, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a notepad.
“I believe you have a sinus infection. You don’t have a fever, but your throat is a little red from sinus drainage, which is causing your cough. But if you take this,” she tore off a piece of paper and handed it to me, “you should feel better in a day or two.”
She turned to Caleb and continued. “Warm fluids, soup, bedrest. I stress the word ‘rest’, and if she gets worse, call me and I’ll come by your house to check her out.”
“Thanks. I owe you for seeing us so quickly.”
Dr. Marcie turned to look at me and said, “It’s nice to meet you, and I hope to see you again when you’re feeling better.” She went to step away as she said, “And since he sucks at introductions, I’m his older sister, Darla.”
“Sydney,” I replied, and she offered a big smile.
“It’s nice to meet you. I hope you feel better.” She looked at him and said, “Bring her to Sunday lunch so the family can meet her.”
“Nope,” Caleb replied, and I looked up at him. “When she meets Mom and Dad, it’ll be at our place.”
“That works too,” Darla said and winked at me as she opened the door and walked out, leaving me confused and a little worried.
How did we get here? I wasn’t his woman—at least I didn’t think I was—and here he was talking about meeting his parents. Everything was moving fast, and as I tried to stand from the table, I grew dizzy. Caleb caught me and held me against him as I regained my balance.
When the room stopped spinning, I pushed back from him and said, “Caleb, I’m not your woman.”
He leaned over and brought his face close to mine as he whispered, “Of course, you are. You just have to get over the independent streak you’ve got and trust me.”
Without giving me a chance to reply, or argue, he took my hand, grabbed a box of tissue from the counter and handed them to me, then guided me out the door. We walked through the small emergency room and out into the lobby. The woman behind the counter sat up straighter as she saw him, and a jealous streak I didn’t know I possessed shot across my chest.
Pulling myself closer to Caleb, I didn’t bother to look back at her as we walked out of the building. He walked us to the truck and opened the door before helping me inside and hooking my seatbelt. Feeling his warmth across me as he made sure I was safe was reassuring, and something I missed.
I watched as he closed my door and jogged around the front of the truck before getting inside and closing the door. He smiled over at me as he cranked the engine.
“Let’s get your prescription filled and get you home so you can rest,” he said as he backed out of the parking space.
When he pulled into the parking lot of a national chain box store, telling me he was going to run inside and fill my scripts, I nodded without replying. What could I say? The last two hours felt like a whirlwind of emotion that made me question if I had been dreaming.
Resting against the headrest, I closed my eyes and wiped under my nose as I waited for him to come back. I was going to have to tell him that his fictional claim on me to get me treated faster was sweet but not something I would hold him to.
He had to be like the rest of the men in MCs that I’d known over the years. They would say whatever they needed to achieve what they wanted. Raven had to be like them, right?
My head was stuffy as sleep began to take me under, and as I fell into a peaceful slumber in the front seat of his truck, for a brief moment, I wished his words were true.
Just once in my life, I wanted someone to choose me for me and not for what I could do for them.
