Mad Delights by Beth D. Carter Page B

Band-Aid,” she said, smiling. “It doesn’t look like much, but it’s very good at healing all boo-boos. Would you like it?”
    The little girl nodded.
    “Stay here and let me go grab my bag.”
    Chloe rose and hurried around several people to the back seat of her car, glad that she had her black medical bag. When she turned back to the little girl, she saw that her mother had joined her on the ground. The woman’s bleach-blonde hair had been haphazardly thrown into a ponytail and she wore a Harley-Davidson T-shirt that stretched tightly over her big breasts.
    “Hi, I’m Chloe,” she said. “I was just grabbing my magic Band-Aid.”
    “I’m Trix and this is my daughter, Marisol,” the woman said, smiling. “I’m Burrito’s old lady. Are you a doctor?”
    “No, not a doctor, but I’ve studied medicine.” She knelt down and opened her bag. She grabbed a bottle of water and a Band-Aid. “This is just some water so we can wash away the icky germs, okay?”
    Marisol gave a thumbs-up.
    Chloe smiled at her and cleaned up the little scrape. “What a brave girl you are. There, see? No pain. And here’s your magical Band-Aid. Leave that on for a day or two, okay?”
    “Okay,” the girl agreed.
    “Thank you,” Trix said. She stood then picked up her daughter. “Are you coming into the clubhouse?”
    “I suppose, although I have to work in the morning. I just brought Romeo back from the Whiskey Lick Her.”
    “I can’t believe what happened,” Trix murmured as she shook her head. “This is going to hurt the club bad.”
    “In what way?”
    “Financially.” She shrugged. “Morally. Come on into the clubhouse. You’ll have to talk to Romeo about letting you leave. Lockdowns usually mean we stay here until whatever is happening is over.”
    “Yeah, he explained that, but I work in the hospital.”
    The club pussy that she’d seen the last time she was here weren’t anywhere around. The bachelor man-cave had been transformed into a huge play place for kids to run around as the wives settled in. Some cleaned, some swept, but most stood around socializing. The dire circumstances that had brought them all together didn’t seem so dire with all the women and children milling about, and Chloe felt a little out of place.
    “Hey, everyone,” Trix called out. “This is Chloe, she’s a doctor.”
    A round of hellos greeted her. There were probably about ten women altogether, most dressed like Trix. Each had a certain tiredness in her face or eyes that talked of a hard life, but all smiled their greeting.
    “Hi,” she said. “I’m actually a surgical technician.”
    “Which man is yours?” one woman asked.
    “Uh. Romeo. Maybe Dax.”
    Eyebrows went up, but instead of any snide comments the women chuckled. “Well, brother like brother, I suppose,” another said with a laugh. “I’m Petunia.”
    “Like brother?” Chloe asked, confused.
    Petunia nodded. “Romeo’s brother, Branch, is in a ménage relationship. He, Charlie and their woman, Lily, just had a baby girl a few months ago. I think there’s a picture of Ailey somewhere. She’s just the prettiest little girl, but her name is certainly a mouthful. Ailey O’Day-Barrigan-Earenflight. Poor thing. She’s never gonna to learn how to spell it.”
    “Here,” someone said.
    A picture was thrust into Chloe’s hand. She stared at a little baby who had light mocha-colored skin, silky dark hair and blue eyes. Petunia was correct. Ailey was beautiful.
    “Where are the men?” Chloe asked as she handed back the picture.
    “Church,” Trix said. “We lost another member tonight.”
    The women nodded somberly.
    “Whatever is happening around here is scary,” Petunia said. “I’ve thought about taking the kids and visiting my mother in Arizona, but Wrench doesn’t like that idea. He says he’d miss us too much.”
    “We need to find whoever is hurting the club,” Chloe replied.
    A murmur of agreement went through the women.
    “Come on,