Monster Slayers MC Book 3

Doc’s POV

As I walked down the hall after talking to Boxer and Tiana, I had to agree that they were right. I had been dreading and procrastinating about calling Millie all day to tell her we were in lock down and I would not be able to go with her. We had talked about driving up there and back but that would eat up two whole days of our time and frankly I was worried about possibly getting snowed in, which on a romantic level would have been great except that we were going to be staying with her daughter. Plus I couldn’t be gone that long and neither could Millie.

Besides, the flights weren’t that expensive and it would only take us a little over two hours to fly to Denver if we flew out of Dallas. I walked into the bar and right up to the executive table and asked Rooster, “Rooster, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure Doc! Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” Rooster asked.

“A sprite, maybe. I’m trying to cut down on the caffeine at night. It keeps me awake.” I said.

“Squeaker, bring the Doc a sprite and a glass of ice.” Rooster called out. “So what’s on your mind, Doc?”

“Well, you already know that I was planning on taking Millie to see her daughter tomorrow for Christmas . Is it still okay with you if I go? She’s going to introduce me to her family.” I told him.

“Of course Doc. What time do you leave tomorrow?” Rooster replied, almost seeming surprised that I was asking.

“Our flight leaves at 1 pm so we need to leave for Dallas around 9:30 or 10 am if we are going to get checked in on time.” I told him.

“Do you need a ride down?” Rooster asked.

“No. We’re going to take Millie’s car and just park it in the extended parking. We’ll be back in four days. That’s all the time she could get off from work.” I told him.

“Is she going to quit the hospital when you guys get married?” He asked.

“We talked about it and I think she wants to but at the same time, she’s not the type of person to sit still for very long. She is already qualified to retire from there due to her length of service but has just been working to keep busy, besides she likes being a nurse.” I told him.

“Well, I was going to wait and talk to you both together but do you think she would consider being your nurse here? I mean, it just makes sense, at least from our point of view. If you don’t mind working with your lady love and living with her too. Some couples can’t do it but I think you and Millie could.” Rooster said.

“Would she get paid?” I asked.

“Of course. I don’t expect anyone to work for free. Now I may not be able to meet what she gets at the hospital as a head nurse but at least she can still earn an income but not have to work the crazy schedules she does there. And from what I understand, our health plan is better than what the hospital offers its employees.” Rooster said. “Where do you guys want to live after you get married? Is she going to come here and share your apartment or are you planning on moving in with her?” He asked.

“I’m not really sure yet. I’d rather stay here but I want her to be comfortable too. She’s lived in that house most of her adult life and I think it’s going to be hard for her to leave there but at the same time, I feel like I’m moving into her late husband’s space. Besides that house is really more than we need. She said that since her kids moved out, they’ve only each come home once and that’s been a long time ago.” I told him.

“Well, if she’s not happy with your apartment, we could always build you a place here on property but to be honest with you, I’d rather you be closer to us in case of emergencies. What is her place like?” Rooster asked.

“Very minimalist, contemporary, neat, clean but has a large open floor plan. I think it’s four bedrooms and at least two bathrooms. Two car garage and a nice sized yard and Millie likes to garden although she has to pay someone to come cut the grass in the spring and summer because it’s more than she can deal with on her crazy work schedule. Her schedule at work makes it very hard for us to see each other sometimes and I kind of wish she would quit.” I told him, more talking outloud to myself than really talking to him.

“How much do you think she would ask for it, if she decides to sell it?” Rooster asked but I was totally confused.

“I have no idea. Why? Are you going to start buying up houses now?” I asked, jokingly.

“No, probably not but both Cruise and Charlie and Boxer and Tiana are wanting to buy a place. Every place they’ve looked at close by has been either too much land, not a big enough house, the wrong style or is seriously overpriced and the only thing they could find they might be able to afford was just too far away.” Rooster said.

“Is that what all the yelling between Boxer and Tiana was about this morning?” I asked.

“Part of it. They were having slight communication problems about Boxer taking on a cage match without talking to her about it first. He originally wanted to do it because he would have made a very large paycheck from it and then they could buy a place Tiana really wants but Boxer can’t afford it without that income. Boxer has the money but doesn’t want to empty his bank account to do it.” Rooster said.

“Well, I’ll have to talk to Millie and see what she wants to do first but I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we have decided.” I told him.

“Have you guys set a date for the wedding yet?” Rooster asked.

“No. That’s one of the things that Millie wants to discuss with her children. She wants them to be here for the wedding but they both work so they have to find out if they can get time off of work so I’m hoping for sometime in the spring but we may have to wait until the summer months.” I told him.

This subject was one that we had discussed in length. I know she doesn’t want to go in front of the justice of the peace but she doesn’t want anything big and fancy like Annalisa and Nessa had done either. We had agreed that we wanted to get married in her church and I had even attended services at her church one time. I met her minister and he seemed like a very nice man.

Millie had told me that Dixie had asked to host our reception and I told her “Whatever you want, I’ll be happy with.” I don’t really care. I just want her to be my wife, for us to have at least a week-long honeymoon, two if I could get it and for us to settle in and live the rest of our lives together.

“Doc? When do you think you will retire?” Rooster asked me and it caught me off guard.

“Well, I’m just 52 now and I don’t qualify for social security until I hit 65 so I think it will be a few more years since there is no way I could afford medical coverage for us with the rates what they are nowadays.” I told him.

“I hear that! Insurance is our number one biggest expense especially with the women and children coming along!” Rooster said.

“Well, I’m going to go call Millie and make sure she’s going to be ready to go in the morning, then I’ve got to pack my bag and I’m going to go hit the hay. Night all.” I said, standing up from the table.

“Night Doc! If I don’t see you before you leave in the morning, have a good trip. We’ll see you when you get back.” Rooster said.

“OH, by the way, I left presents for the kids under the tree in the living room. I do hope they enjoy them.” I said before I walked away.

I walked back to my apartment which meant I had to go through the clinic. Rooster had asked me if I wanted my room before or after the clinic and I had chosen to be as far away from the noise as possible so he had built a small apartment on the side of the clinic as far from the bar as possible.

Sometimes I would like to go and have a beer with the boys but I was afraid of sinking back into the bottom of the bottle that had taken me months of drying out and therapy to get out of and I never wanted to go back, especially now that Millie was going to be a part of my life.

I had always thought she was a very attractive woman and if I hadn’t had Amy and she hadn’t had Harvey, we might have hooked up back when I worked at the hospital. But that is all past history now. Now we are together and that’s all that matters.

The next morning was Christmas Eve and I was so excited to get on the road to Dallas. Last night, I had packed my suitcase and just had to add my tooth brush and razor after my shower and I was ready to go. I knew it might be a bit early for her but I called Millie to ask her if she was ready to go. I was going to offer to take her out to breakfast at the diner before we left for the airport. I called her cell and she sounded near tears when she picked up.

“Hello?” sniff, sniff.

“Millie? What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I asked, immediately concerned.

“Have you looked outside yet?” She asked and it sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

“No, not yet.” I said as I walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain. “Oh no! Where the hell did that come from?”

“My car will never make it to Dallas in that. It sits too low. I’m afraid we are going to have to cancel our trip.” Millie said, trying to fight back the tears. She has been so looking forward to seeing her children and grandchildren.

“Maybe not, sweetheart. We’ve got several SUVs that could easily make it there. Just give me a few minutes to find out which one is available. I’ll call you back in a few.” I told her and then hung up.

I hurried down the hall hoping to find Rooster up but of course it was too early for them. The only person that was up was Hunter, carrying his daughter, Faith. Apparently Faith had woken them up wanting a bottle and he was waiting for it to warm as he walked back and forth, bouncing her to keep her calm.

“Morning Doc.” He said.

“Morning, Hunter. You do realize that bouncing her like that is going to give her gas, don’t you. Hold her on your chest so she can hear your heart and sway with her instead. She’ll more than likely be calm till you get her bottle ready. Hunter, do you think Rooster will have any problem with me taking one of the vehicles to Dallas with me? Millie’s car sits too low to make it in the snow we got last night.” I told him.

“We got snow?” Hunter said still half asleep as he walked over to the window and looked outside. “Alright! A white Christmas for once. The women are going to be over the moon about this. Oh lord, I hope this doesn’t mean the caterer won’t be able to make it. In fact, I thought they would be here already. Damn!” He said as he took Faith’s bottle out of the warmer and tested it on his wrist.

When he turned and saw me, he blushed and then grinned. “Sorry, Doc. I’m not used to being up this early and I’m still half asleep. No, I don’t think Rooster will have a problem with it. Go have fun. Make sure you take one with 4 wheel drive. I’ll clear it with him when he gets up.”

“Thanks, Hunter. See you when we get back and Merry Christmas.” I said as I hurried back down the hall to call Millie.

“Honey, get your bags ready to go. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I want to take you to breakfast at the diner if it’s open.” I told her and felt my heart swell in my chest when she replied.

“I love you! I’ll be waiting.” Millie said before she hung up.

I made sure I had everything then zipped my bag closed and grabbed my down coat. I hurried to collect the key to one of the SUVs and then left the club house. This was going to be the first Christmas I was going to spend away from here since I started working here and as much as I usually enjoyed the parties and food that Dixie made for us, I wasn’t going to miss them one bit because I was going to be spending it with my new love and my new family.

As I started the engine of the SUV I had selected, it finally hit me that I was going to become not only a husband soon but a father and a grandfather and it was like someone had knocked the wind right out of me for a minute. Then a big smile broke across my face and stayed there as I drove down the driveway and all the way to Millie’s house. I thought about it and timed the drive and it was less than 10 minutes to Millie’s house from the compound, which would be ideal for either Charlie and Cruise or Boxer and Tiana, if Millie would be interested in selling and they decided they liked her house.

The first step would be to talk to Millie about our living arrangements and if she said she will stay with me at the compound, then I will let her know that I might know someone who might be interested in buying her house. She might just hang on to it and just rent it out, which would give us some extra income but could also bring up more issues. Being a landlord is not an easy job and can be full of headaches. But it’s her house and she can do with it whatever she wants, I would support her no matter what her decision.

I backed the vehicle down her drive so that it would be easy to load her luggage. I noticed her peeking out the window and as soon as I stopped she opened her front door. She pulled her suitcase through the door, closed and locked it behind herself. I hurried up to her and we exchanged “Good mornings” and after a quick kiss, I grabbed the handle of her bag and then her hand to help her to the car so that she didn’t slip and fall.

I quickly lifted her bag into the back of the SUV and then helped her around the car to get in the passenger side. The inside was nice and toasty warm now. I hurried around the front and jumped back in behind the wheel.

“Oh, I’m so glad we don’t have to cancel. I did most of my Christmas shopping online and had the gifts shipped directly to my daughters address but I have some small things in my luggage.” Millie said.

“I didn’t know what to buy for them so I just got them gift cards for each family. I hope they will understand that it’s very hard to buy for people that you have never met before but I didn’t want to go empty handed.” I told her.

“I’m sure they don’t expect you to bring them gifts but it’s nice of you to give them something. I know they will appreciate it. Denver is not exactly a cheap place to live and even though they all have good paying jobs and won’t admit anything to me, I know they have got to be struggling to stay up there. I just hope we can get to them.

My son lives in town but my daughter’s house is just on the outskirts of Denver. If we got this much snow here, I can only guess what they got there. Maybe I should call Sally and find out before we drive all the way to Dallas.” Millie said,trying to be as prepared as possible for every situation. I knew she was going to be terribly disappointed if it turned out that they had several feet of undriveable snow or that the airport in Denver was closed.

Millie called her daughter who told her that they did get some snow but so long as the rental company put chains on the vehicle and we rented something tall, like an SUV, we should not have any problems getting to their house. “The snow plows have already made it down our street. The only place you might have an issue is turning off the road into our driveway but hopefully Doug will be able to get that cleared before you get here. He’s outside now trying to start the snow blower which has chosen today to act up, of course.

The kids are so excited and we all can’t wait to see you and to meet your man. I can’t believe that you finally have found someone, Mom!” Her daughter told her, sounding happy at the prospect. Sally knew how hard it had been for her mother to lose their father and had always hoped that her mother would not fall into a depressed state and make herself sick with mourning her husband.

“Thank you, baby. I am so very happy and I do think you are going to like him. Well, we’re going to have breakfast and then head out to the airport. I’ll call you when we land. Love you.” Millie told her daughter before she hung up. She relayed what Sally had told her to me and I smiled at her. “See, I told you it will be alright. We’re going to have a wonderful Christmas, I just know it.”

We entered the diner and were not surprised that there was hardly anyone in here. Dana came over and said “You showed up just in time. I was about to give up and shut the door. You are the only customers, besides the regulars that come every morning no matter what the weather, except for one hungover trucker this morning. All he did was sit at the counter, drink coffee and moan about how bad his head hurt. What can I get for you folks?” She asked as she filled our coffee cups then pulled out her order pad.

“Since it’s going to be several hours before we get a chance to eat again, I’m going to have bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, coffee and a glass of water please.” Millie told her.

“I’ll have the same except I want pancakes instead of hash browns please.” I said.

“Coming right up.” Dana said and ripped the page out of her book as she turned and headed towards the kitchen.

“So remind me of everyone’s names please? I remember you said your daughter’s name is Sally but what is her husband’s name again?” I asked her as we sat and sipped our coffee and waited for our food.

“Doug. Their last name is Thomas. Her daughter is Karen and she’s 2 and their son is Derek and he’s 4 and a real handful. My son’s name is Jeremy and his wife’s name is Sharon. They just have one little girl named Jessica. She’s 5 and a precious child but it looks like she’s the only one I’ll get from my son. Sharon had a really hard time all the way through her pregnancy and she nearly died during childbirth. She’s a sweet person and wants more children but the doctors warned her that next time could be fatal for her.

She’s got a leaky valve in her heart that is inoperable and her blood pressure keeps fluctuating.” Millie told me again.

“That’s too bad. Have they considered adopting? There are so many kids out there who need good homes. The rescue farm is always looking for people to adopt the kids they take in.” I told her.

Just then Dana brought our food and she said she would be right back with more coffee. A glance at my watch told me we were going to have to eat up because if we hit any delays on the road, we might miss our flight. It was an hour drive on a clear, snow & traffic free day. We know we had almost a foot of snow up here and there was no telling what we were going to run into on the open road. But I wasn’t going to push Millie to hurry through her meal just yet.

We ate and paid Dana for our meal and hurried back out to the car. I started it up and looked up through the windshield to see

Dana turn the neon “Open” sign off and pulled the shade over the door. She had hung a sign on the window saying “Closed for the holiday. Merry Christmas.”

We left town and thankfully the more south we went, the more the road cleared up. We made good time to Dallas and were checked in early enough that we had time to find a cafe and more coffee.

We chatted about things at the hospital and I asked her some of the things that Rooster had asked me last night.

“Millie, have you thought anymore about where you want to live after we get married?” I asked and crossed my fingers under the table.

“Well, my house is becoming more than I can take care of anymore. Seems like I spend all of my free time just trying to keep the rooms I use clean. I really don’t think I want to be a landlord but I have to be real honest with you, Dave, even though I think your apartment at the club house is very nice for a single person, I feel like we would be tripping over each other if I move in there. I know you need to be close to the compound but I wish we could find an alternative that would give us our own space that’s easy for you to be there when they need you but not so close that we have to be around them all the time.

I want to be able to cook for you but if I’m going to use their kitchen, I know I’m going to feel like I have to cook for everyone and while I might not mind doing it sometimes, I don’t want to have to do it every time I cook for us. Your apartment just has a coffee pot and a microwave and that tiny little fridge!” She told me what had been on her mind and I appreciate her honesty.

I looked at her and smiled. “That Rooster is amazing. He must know you very well. He has offered to build us our own place on the property. It would be a detached house that is close enough that I can walk to work and for them to help me protect you when there is an issue.” I smiled at her as I watched her eyes get bigger and bigger.

“Really? That would be great! Do we get to pick the build site?” She asked and I nodded. “That’s awesome. Then I would definitely sell my place! I may even sell it fully furnished just so I can buy all new furniture! Oh I would love to have a new bed!”

“Oh, I don’t know, your bed worked just fine for us the other night!” I grinned at her and wiggled my eyebrows at her.

“Oh Dave, you naughty man.” She playfully slapped my hand as her face turned pink but she grinned right back at me.

I told her about what had happened with Boxer and Tiana yesterday and that I thought her house might be a serious contender that they might consider. “I can’t say they will be interested in your furniture but your house is not “farmy” or ultra modern. They are looking for a contemporary house that they can decorate however they want. They want a decent size yard and a two car garage, at least 3 bedrooms and two baths. I think they would definitely be interested in your place, if you both can agree on a price. From what I’ve heard they’ve looked at almost everything within a 15 minute radius of the club house and everything they’ve looked at was either not what they want or way outside of their price range.”

“How much do you think I should ask for it?” She asked me.

“Now that I have no clue. I would recommend you talk to someone at the bank or a realtor.” I told her honestly. I wanted her to get the best price for her but at the same time I hoped she would keep it reasonable enough for Boxer and Tiana to be able to afford it.

“How long do you think you are going to continue working?” I asked.

“Now that is something I have been thinking a lot about lately, even before I got together with you. I’ve already been there long enough to retire with all of my benefits. Come the end of December, I will have been with the hospital for 30 years. I like being able to take care of people but I’m sick and tired of the hospital politics and having to deal with nurses who don’t have the dedication that it takes to be truly committed to the job.

I’m tired of dealing with the board of directors who are only out to make the almighty dollar instead of spending money where it’s needed on equipment and quality supplies. Instead we are having to deal with cheap substandard stuff that half the time doesn’t last beyond one or two uses before it breaks down.

They don’t do proper background checks on people they hire and as you know after the problems we had while Kaylee was in the hospital, I had two nurses that I had to let go. One was because she was more interested in hooking up with a rich doctor or finding a good looking man to take care of her than she was in doing her work and the other one was a thief. Now the thief one I can understand her reasons for doing it but that’s still no excuse for shorting other patients out of their pain medications. If it hadn’t been for Kaylee speaking up, we might never have caught on to her for a long time.

I also found out that from some of the head nurses on other floors that they had been having similar issues as well. The nurses that are truly dedicated to the job are being overworked and we are constantly short handed. Frankly, I’m just tired and feel myself burning out. I’m not as young as I once was and I want to leave before I hurt myself lifting someone who is twice my size and end up spending the rest of my life with back pain. I think when we get back, I’m going to turn in my 30 day notice.” She told me.

“Well, Rooster told me last night that if you are interested in working with me, he’ll hire you to work in the clinic with me and it’s not just because we are getting married. I’ve been bugging him for a while about hiring a nurse or even an EMT to help me but whoever gets hired has to understand that what happens with the club and in the club house, stays there. It’s never to be discussed with anyone. Women are not told a lot about plans and things that go on for their own safety. They can’t repeat what they don’t know. That’s kind of a standard rule with all biker clubs, good and bad.”

“But there won’t be secrets between us will there?” Millie asked uncertainly.

“They don’t involve me in much of the club business so no, I won’t keep things from you. Have you ever worked in the ER?” I asked her.

“Yes, I did when I was young and could run faster than I can now. It was exciting but at the same time could be very depressing and often sickening.” Millie said.

“Well, at the club house, we do go through the standard cold and flu seasons. With the club having so many businesses in town we have all kinds of injuries from busted fingers from guys getting too enthusiastic with the hammer on the construction site to burns from guys not being careful with gas and welding instruments at the garage. When there is a war going on, we also have bullet and knife wounds that I have to deal with. So long as it hasn’t hit a major organ, I usually just stitch them up and keep an eye on their wounds.

A few years ago, I had a guy set himself on fire when he spilled gas on his pants and then was stupid enough to light a cigarette. He dropped the match and it hit his pant leg and he went up like a

Roman candle. There was nothing I could do for him but give him pain medication and I’m sorry to say he didn’t survive the life flight to Dallas to their burn unit.” I told her.

“I think I remember that. I was working in maternity then. Wasn’t King still in charge of the MC then?” Millie asked.

“Yeah, it was just after his old lady took off and King dove into the bottle. You know it’s amazing but he was the one that saved me when Amy was killed. I was swimming in tequila most days. I had already lost my job at the hospital and he pulled me out of the bottle and made me dry out. He got me the help I needed and then gave me a job.

When his old lady took off, he dove into the bottle. He drank heavily for years and wouldn’t listen to me when I told him that it was killing his liver. Then when Rooster was barely 18 years old, Dixie had just finished high school and he and Dixie were planning their wedding, King came down with pneumonia and then a couple of months after their wedding he died.

The club was about to go belly up. Members were leaving right and left like rats deserting a sinking ship and we almost lost the status of being the mother chapter. King had always been a heavy drinker and his liver was already shot and he basically drank himself to death. Nothing any of us tried to do for him was enough.

Then Rooster took over and has really changed things around. It’s taken him 10 years but the club has not only managed to pay off all of the debt King had run up, mostly trying to find out where his old lady had run away to but just in bills.

He would start contracts and then not finish them and therefore people refused to pay for unfinished work. Members weren’t getting paid so they started deserting and left the MC. Stuff was breaking down right and left.

Please don’t ever say anything to anyone but thankfully King had a large life insurance policy and he left it all to Rooster. Rooster took it and paid off a lot of the debt but started buying up land to use as collateral and has made huge changes in not only the club itself but with the way the community looks at the MSMC.”

“I remember. I’ve known Rooster, Boomer, Hunter and Ox for all of their lives. Boomer’s mom was a good friend of mine. I would never say this to anyone else but I never cared for Rooster’s mom. Joyce was a bitch.” Millie said.

Just then they called for our flight so we gathered our coats and headed for the gate. Thankfully the flight only lasted for about two and a half hours and was without incident. We landed on time and made our way to the baggage claim.