Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski
ChapterNine
When the door opened revealing Celia and Deanna, both looking much as they had when they’d closed the door a few minutes earlier. A band loosened around Bubba’s chest. Why he was so anxious about Celia he didn’t know, and he wasn’t ready to look too closely at it just now.
Deanna stepped out of the way, letting Bubba carry in the bedding and clothes, he dropped the bedding in a chair and handed the clothes to Celia.
“Here’s the clean clothes. There’s no underwear, but it’s too soon to be wearing a bra anyway. We’ll get you something just for you tomorrow. There’s a bathroom and shower through there.” He motioned to the door on the other side of the room. “You can hop in the shower. Take as long as you want. I’m gonna talk to these two a minute then I’ll make up the bed and you can sleep as late as you like.”
A smile spread across Celia’s face like he hadn’t seen since he walked into that motel room fifteen hundred miles away.
“A long hot shower sounds like heaven. The only thing that sounds better would be a soak in a hot bubble bath.”
“I’ll make sure you get to do that soon. There’s this huge tub in the master bedroom of my house that I’ve never used.” That wasn’t quite true. He’d used it once, to soak his sore muscles after a particularly rough match against Ghost, but he wasn’t going to tell her that, not now.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Go shower, enjoy it. Unless you’re really fast, I should have the bed ready before you get done.
She took the clothes and disappeared through the bathroom door, closing it behind her. Bubba turned and looked at Deanna. Ruger stepped into the room and closed the door.
“Tell me what you found.” Bubba kept his voice low so Celia wouldn’t overhear.
“She’s bruised. Looks like she was beat all to hell. Probably has a couple cracked ribs, but she looks like she’s healing. As long as she takes it easy, nothing rough, and there’s no more violence, she should heal fine.”
The shower turned on in the next room. Bubba wished he still had the kind of relationship with Celia he’d had before he had let her father run him off so long ago. If he had, he wouldn’t have let her go in that bathroom alone. He would have gone with her and kissed every wound, gently washed her, and done everything he could to make her feel better. Hopefully, he’d get back there, but he wasn’t going to push. She was fragile now and the last thing he needed to do was go to fast.
“Was she raped?” Ruger asked what Bubba had wanted to but had held back.
Deanna stepped back so she could see both men. “She says no. And I believe her, but I don’t think it was from lack of intent. She says he’d hit her several times, the bruises confirm that, and was dragging her down the hall to the bedroom, when she started fighting again. He hit her upside the head again. I’m not sure if it was pain, that he’d hit her in the stomach, or the blows to the head and a concussion, but she threw up and passed out. Woke the next morning where he'd left her laying in the pile of emesis.” Deanna shook her head. “She’s lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“That son of a bitch is lucky I was more worried about getting her here and away from him and her daddy than making him pay,” Bubba said through clenched teeth.
“Her father knew about this?” Ruger asked, one brow lifted.
“I don’t know. He hooked her up with the guy who did this. Did he know about this incident? Probably not. But I’ve got a grudge against him that goes way back. I hate him, and not without reason.” Bubba looked toward the door to the bathroom, then back to Ruger. “She and I have a history. Her father and I have a history. I’ll not go into it now, but I will say I walked away once because I thought it was better for her.” He looked back toward the door that separated him from her. “I have no intention of walking away again.”
“What if she decides she doesn’t want you?”
“That’s up to her and I won’t force her to stay. That would make me no worse than the ass wipe that did this to her. But I’m not going to think I know what’s best again.” Bubba quirked one side of his mouth and shot a pointed glance at Deanna before meeting Ruger’s gaze. “Looks like there have been some changes around here while I was gone.”
“More than you realize. But now’s not the time to talk about it. You take care of your woman and when you’ve got time, we’ll fill you in on club business.” Ruger looked at Deanna and tilted his head toward the door. She moved to the door and stopped with her hand on the knob before turning back and looking at Bubba.
“If she needs anything, or even someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to call. If I’m working, Chris will come, but we’ll make time to see her if she needs it.”
“Thanks. I’ll get your number from Gizmo later.”
Deanna nodded, opened the door, and stepped out.
“If you need anything, call out. There’s someone here all the time and they know how to reach me or Sadist at all times.”
“What about Tuck?” Bubba asked with a frown.
“He’s still president but unavailable for a while. We’ll fill you in tomorrow. There’s a lot. Get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Before Bubba could say anything more, Ruger followed Deanna out the door and pulled it closed behind him. Bubba stared at the closed door for a few seconds wondering how so much had changed while he was gone, then a thump in the shower drew him back to Celia. She’d be out of the shower soon. He wanted to have the bed ready for her.
She’d offered to sleep in the chair and let him have the bed, but that wouldn’t be happening. He’d sleep in the truck first.