Page 20 of Kipp

‘Nah, he hung on in there,’ Kipp said, smiling. ‘I have to hand it to him, he’s tough. He’s got potential too. I can see it. I think he just needs to work out what he wants from life. And I hope that it involves him staying in Eagle Ridge. But I’m not going to pressure him. No fucking way. That’s a recipe for disaster.’

Trey nodded his approval.

‘Okay, let’s hit the showers and then get over to your place,’ Kipp said. ‘And when I say I’m expecting something special from thisGerman beer, I’m not kidding. You can’t hype a new ale if it’s not going to live up to expectation.’

‘Have faith, brother,’ Trey laughed. ‘Have faith.’

With that, the two big, gruff and very naked Daddies made their way into the showers. They would soon be at The Tap House, but what Kipp hadn’t banked on was that he might just bump into a familiar face – and it wouldn’t be one of his other Daddy friends either…

The Tap House was just beginning to get busy. It was the early evening and there was a mix of bikers, truckers, locals, and even a table of college students from the nearby campus there.

Trey prided himself on creating the kind of place where anyone and everyone would feel comfortable spending time and he had truly achieved his goal with The Tap House. Sure, there would be the occasional drunken ruckus, but that was to be expected. Even with the best intentions in the world, there would be the odd brawl where copious amounts of booze had been consumed.

Generally though, The Tap House was all about fun times and friendship.

Trey even dreamed of opening other Tap Houses across the state. Trey was an ambitious guy, someone who loved nothing more than to set himself a goal and then work to reach it. But as much as he could see Taps across the state, Trey always knew that the Eagle Ridge original would be the one that meant the most to him.

As Kipp and Trey entered, Kipp felt like he needed a beer. It had been a long day up to that point, and the workout with Trey had only added to his fatigue.

‘Here you go. Enjoy,’ Trey said, taking his position behind the bar and handing Kipp a bottle of his much-hyped new German tipple. ‘Straight from Munich to Eagle Ridge. And the first one is on the house!’

‘Cheers,’ Kipp said, touching bottles with Trey and taking a big glug. ‘Damn. Oh damn. This is one seriously refreshing beer. You’ve outdone yourself, Trey.’

‘I told you!’ Trey laughed.

The two Daddies then began to talk sports, ranch construction, and even set in place some plans for them both to break the mythical four hundred pound barrier in the bench press.

However when Trey had to attend to some business in the basement, and cast his eyes around the bar and saw none other than Dale and Marshall sitting in the corner booth. By the looks of it, they were having quite the fun time. With conspiratorial looks on their faces, they giggled and gossiped away like they were having the time of their lives.

Kipp had no intention of interrupting their fun, but when he caught Marshall’s eye, he knew he had no choice but to at least walk over and say hello. After all, Kipp was their temporary boss, and it wouldn’t look good if he snubbed them.

‘Hey, I hope you’re having a good time,’ Kipp said, smiling.

‘Yeah, we’re having a fun time,’ Marshall replied, his eyes darting back and forth from Kipp to Dale and back again. ‘You wanna join us?’

‘I… um… no, I’m good,’ Kipp replied. ‘But thanks for the offer.’

‘Suit yourself, stink butt,’ Dale piped up, rocking his head back and laughing. ‘Sorry. Only fooling around.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Kipp replied, not exactly impressed. ‘Anyway. Have a good night and remember, no more tardiness. I’m looking at you there, Dale.’

Kipp was about to turn and walk away when he heard Dale whisper something under his breath…

‘Excuse me?’ Kipp enquired, not quite sure what he had just heard but knowing that he needed it confirmed. ‘What did you just say?’

‘I said…’ Dale giggled, clearly trying to show off in front of Marshall. ‘I said… I’ll show up when I’m good and ready. And you can go sit on a cactus if you don’t like it!’

Kipp felt the anger rise up inside him.

Kipp could take a joke, but he didn’t appreciate being so flagrantly sasses by a Little. And a Little who was working for him too. This would require a direct response. And it would need to happen right now.

Keep it cool.

Don’t let him see that he’s got to you.

But lay down the law…

‘You’ve got one chance,’ Kipp said. ‘Apologize. Or face the consequences.’

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