Page 16 of A Taste of Whiskey
“Your little dude hasgame,” Dare said.
And good taste in women.
“You could learn a thing or two from him,” Billie added. “Sasha’s a catch.”
“Thank you, Billie,” Sasha said sassily.
“Are you trying to get him in trouble?” Doc asked, his gaze moving between Billie and Ezra.
Billie looked nonplussed. “What? Sheisa catch.”
“Relax, Doc,” Ezra said. “She’s not telling me anything I don’t already know, and neither are you.”
“Good morning! The bachelorette party planner is here!” Birdie announced as she breezed into the dining room, drawing everyone’s attention. She was wearing heart-shaped sunglasses and waving something white in one hand and a sparkling crown in the other. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head and held in place with a bright yellow clip. Her lips were painted hot pink, which matched her belly-baring, off-the-shoulder ruffled top. Her cutoffs had aTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlepatch on one side and a stick-figure person flipping the bird on the other, and her strappy sandals had long pink ribbons that wound up her calves and were tied in bows below her knees.
“Hi, honey!” Wynnie called out. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”
“No time to eat, Mom.” Birdie strode across the room toward Billie. “I have a bachelorette party to plan, and I have to be at the chocolate shop in an hour.” She put the crown on Billie’s head.
“Whatdid I tell you?” Billie yanked it off her long dark hair. She wasn’t a jeweled-crown type of girl. She’d been a daredevil and a professional motocross racer before her and Dare’s best friend, Eddie, one of the threeDaredevils for Life, as they’d called themselves, had been killed in a dare gone wrong. She’d given up the sport and just about everything else that had brought her joy, until last year when she and Dare had gotten together and he’d somehow brought those parts of her back to life. Now, in addition to bartending at the Roadhouse, she taught kids how to ride motocross bikes. Dare had recently finished having a new racetrack and clubhouse put in for her on the far side of the property.
Birdie took off her sunglasses and planted a hand on her hip. “You said you wanted to play paintball and have a bonfire instead of having a party, but that’s ridiculous. Every bride needs a last hurrah, and it’s up to the maid of honor and bridesmaids to put it together. Bobbie, Sasha, and I have a great plan. Sasha, back me up here.”
“I think paintball is a great idea!” Sasha exclaimed.
Cowboy threw his arms up, shouting, “Paintball,” and high-fived Sasha across the table, causing cheers and commotion. They were the queen and king of paintball. They’d spent weeks expanding the paintball field, and when they were on it, they were as competitive as Olympians.
Birdie rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Sasha? What about our plan?”
“Sorry,” Sasha said. “I didn’t know paintball was an option.”
“Cowboy and I are Dare’s men of honor, and I’m with Cowboy on this one,” Doc said.
“Ugh!Of course you are,” Birdie complained.
“Can I play paintball with you guys?” Gus asked around a mouthful of Danish.
The Whiskeys had always used paintball as a way to bring people together. It allowed the staff and their resident clients to work off steam, and they had always included Gus in their paintball games. Some of Ezra’s fondest memories were of Gus toddling around on the paintball field at three years old, protected by the adults as he hid with them and called out the people he saw. He even had his own neon-yellow paintball suit with reflectors, so everyone could see him.
“Of course you can,” Billie said. “Everyone can play. We were thinking of doing it the weekend before the wedding.”
“But I bought you a sash and a crown!” Birdie complained.
“I’ll wear the crown,” Simone, a feisty auburn-haired woman, chimed in from the other table. “It’s probably the only crown I’ll ever get.” She’d come to the ranch two and a half years ago from Maryland, when, after she completed rehab, her ex-boyfriend/drug dealer had come after her and it had become unsafe for her to stay in the area. She’d been working at the ranch ever since and was taking classes to become a counselor.
“No, it isn’t,” Sully said supportively. “You’ll find your Prince Charming just like I did.”
“I can charm your panties off, Simone, and you can wear a crown if you’d like,” Hyde hollered, causing laughter to ring out.
“Hey, now,” Ezra said. “Little ears are listening.”
“I was kidding, Gus,” Hyde said.
“Wait, does this mean Dare’s not getting a bachelor party?” Rebel asked from across the room.
“No strippers?” Taz asked.
“The only one stripping will be Dare when he dances forme,” Billie announced.
