Page 82 of Kyle

“What?” he barks.

“Shirtless,” Cole decrees. “That’s an order.”

“Goddamn it. So, I’m just a piece of meat?”

“Yes!” they all roar in unison.

Green laughs and points. “I’m gonna film the whole thing, pretty boy. You better brush off your dance moves.”

“Dance moves?”

“You don’t think you can just stand out there, do ya?” Green snaps. “You gotta dance around like them pizza boys do. I’ll get you a sign you can spin.”

Cole shakes with laughter. “You were saying, Kyle?”

“I especially want to thank you, Prez. If you hadn’t worked your magic and got the landlord down on the price, I never could have afforded this place.”

He grins. “It wasn’t so much magic as arm-twisting, kid.”

“I stand corrected.” I lift my glass. “Thank you.”

He clinks his glass to mine. “To Kyle. You worked your butt off, and we’re all proud of you.”

At that, my father stands. “I’d like to make a toast, if I could, son.”

I nod. “Sure, Dad.”

“Floor’s yours, Wolf,” Cole says, taking a seat.

“First off, you and Rafe had some rough spots lately, but you worked through them, and now you’re both back to the way you were before. I couldn’t be prouder of the two of you. And Kyle, you had a dream, and you worked hard to make it happen. A man can’t do more than that in this life. You found something you love, and you get to do it. When you enjoy your work, it’s not work, it’s fun. So, here’s hoping you have a lot of fun running this place.”

“Here, here,” the crowd says, downing their shots.

Wolf walks over and hugs me, slapping my back.

“Thanks, Dad.”

There’s a tap on the front glass door.

Crystal jumps to her feet. “That’ll be the bakery. I ordered a cake.”

“A cake?” I protest, but she’s already up to answer it.

I pick up the bottle of whiskey. “Who wants another?”

“You gotta ask?” Red Dog replies.

“Everyone, kid,” Crash barks. “Hop to it.”

“How about some bowls of that chicken chili?” Green asks. “You’re feeding us, right?”

I laugh and glance up to see my mother walking toward me with a funny look on her face. Then she steps aside, and Sutton is standing behind her, a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

The room suddenly gets silent.

“Sutton?” I whisper.

She doesn’t look anywhere but at me, and it’s like we’re the only two people in the room.

---