Zephyr shrugged. “Same shit, different day. Got some things going on, but nothing worth talking about, Doc.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you should talk about them,” I suggested. Anything to stop Zephyr from talking about what a great dad Walter was.
He pointed his finger at me and clicked his tongue. “You’re not gonna ‘shrink me,’ Lynn. Nice try.”
I rolled my eyes. “Asking how you are doing is not shrinking you,” I grumbled. I was totally trying to “shrink” him. It was my job, after all.
He sat back in his chair and kicked his legs out in front of him. “You got plans tonight?”
“Yeah.”
He smirked. “Do you, or are you lying?”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to pick up a prescription for my dad and then drop it off.”
“That’ll take you twenty minutes, darlin’.”
I wrinkled my nose. “And then I’m having dinner with my dad. My sister might make an appearance, but hell didn’t freeze over today, so she won’t be there.”
“There’s a whole other story behind what you just said.”
I glanced to the side. I had said too much. I shouldn’t have even mentioned Steph. “Just stupid sister stuff. Nothing exciting.”
“How about you meet me at your house after work, we go get your dad’s pills, and then we go to his house?” he suggested.
Say what? “Uh, I don’t know…What?”
Why in the heck would Zephyr even suggest that? Was hanging out in awkward situations a sort of kink for him? I wasn’t one to judge how someone got their rocks off, but if Zephyr was into that, boy, did I have buckets of family bullshit.
“You’re telling me things are great with you and your dad, but you sure don’t sound like it. And then you mentioned your sister coming over but only if hell froze over.” He shrugged. “Sounds like maybe you could use some backup tonight.”
“Backup?” I parroted. “I’m going to my dad’s, not robbing a bank.”
“How about I’m more of a buffer? Things are rocky with you and your dad, so if I’m there, he’ll be more focused on me, and you won’t have to stress over whatever it is that stresses you out.”
I tipped my head back. “Uh.”
Yeah, I didn’t know what to say to that offer. It made sense, but how did he know that I needed that? Sure, I had dropped subtle hints that things weren’t all puppies and rainbows with Dad, but Zephyr was a guy. Guys didn’t pay attention to details like that.
Zephyr stood. “What time are you done?”
“Done?” I whispered. I was still trying to wrap my head around what Zephyr had said. Was he going to be a buffer between Dad and me?
“With work, darlin’? I can pick you up from here or meet you at your house if you want.”
I tipped my head back, and my eyes connected with his. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now, Zephyr. Why are you even offering to do this? You don’t even know me.”
He shrugged. “I know enough about you, Lynn.”
A few random meetings and one night of hot sex. Zephyr knew more about the shape of my body than he did anything else about me. “You’re crazy.”
That was all I could think. What kind of man offered to go to someone’s dad’s house so he could basically be a wall? A crazy one. Case in point—Zephyr.
“You wouldn’t be the first one to tell me that,” he chuckled. “What time do you get off work, Lynn?” he repeated.
“Uh, I don’t know.” I didn’t, not really. It all depended on how long my appointments took. I pushed a stack of papers to the side and looked at my calendar. “My last appointment is at four forty-five.” I bit my lip and looked up at Zephyr. “Possibly five-thirty? It all depends on how much my patient needs from me.”
Zephyr nodded. “Got it, darlin’.” He moved to the door. “I’ll see ya later.”
“Uh, okay?” My head spun. What was going on? “I really don’t know what time I’ll be done, Zephyr.”
A smile spread across his lips. “Don’t stress about it, Lynn. I’ll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes.” He opened the door and slipped out of my office.
The door clicked closed behind him, and I blinked.
What in the fucking hell had just happened?
He’d wait for me no matter how long it took?
I sat back in my chair and sighed.
Well, blow me over with a feather. I had just seen a side of Zephyr I would never have thought existed.
Jeanie’s voice echoed through my phone. “Lynn, Robert is here.”
I grabbed the receiver and put it to my ear. “Send him back,” I chirped.
Right now, I couldn’t think about Zephyr and what he was up to.
I had Robert and three more people I needed to help figure out their lives. Maybe when I got off work, I could try to figure out just the hell was going on with mine.
It was headed in an unexpected direction, and I was confused as hell about how I had managed to find a sexy biker who wanted to be a buffer between my family and me.
Man, life sure could throw you a curveball.
A handsome, gorgeous biker curveball…
*
Chapter Six
You waited…
Zephyr
It was half-past six, and Lynn hadn’t surfaced from work.
I was parked right in front of the front door to catch her, and I had even gone in when I had gotten here at five to let Jeanie know I was here for Lynn.
Nothing.
I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and tucked it in the corner of my mouth. The front door opened, and a guy in ripped jeans and a white shirt jogged down the steps. I eyed him closely as he looked from side to side. This was probably the guy who had been holding up Lynn. Though I’m sure Lynn wasn’t the only shrink in the place.
The guy made eye contact with me and tipped his head. “Can I bum one from you?”
I nodded and pulled a cigarette from my pack. “You need a light?” I handed him the cigarette.
He grabbed the cigarette. “Yeah. If you don’t mind.”
He had bummed a cigarette from me, so I figured if he didn’t have his own cigarette, he wouldn’t have a light. I handed him my lighter.
“You waiting for someone?” he asked.
I inclined my head toward the building. “Waiting for my girl.”
The words were out of my mouth before I could even think about them. My girl? It must be my subconscious knowing something that I didn’t want to admit.
The guy handed me back my lighter and tipped his chin to me. “Thanks, bruh. I’ll see you around.” He ambled down the street toward the bar.
Five minutes later, Lynn popped her head out the front door. “Wow, you really are here,” she laughed. She held open the door, and Jeanie walked out.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jeanie called to Lynn.
Lynn pulled the door shut behind her and stuck her key in the lock. “Bye, Jeanie!”
Jeanie gave me a sheepish smile and headed in the opposite direction the guy had walked.
“You really didn’t have to wait for me,” Lynn argued. She jogged down the steps and stopped in front of me.