Page 45 of Chubs

“I know I should, but for some stupid reason, I still feel loyalty to Chubs. He didn’t want them to know, so I’ve not said a word. I should have earned some kind of award for surviving Gunner’s talks. The man is intimidating as hell. Then I got cornered by Trigger and realized Gunner went easy on me. For now, I’m not going to tell the club anything, though.”

“Okay, I get that. I won’t say anything unless you do something stupid and go to Chicago. Then I’m telling Dad, Gunner, Trigger, hell, even Craig,” Lisa declares.

“Fair enough. Now get out of my room so I can get some sleep,” I answer while giving her shoulder a shove.

Walking into the clubhouse, I take a seat at the bar next to Pooh. I look for Toes, but he’s not behind the bar. Instead, I see James. He’s fallen for Mac’s favorite game, and that’s arguing. Mac’s standing in front of James on the bar, and it only takes a second to realize what the argument is about.

“Yes, firemen run into danger but not as often as cops, Mac,” James explains patiently.

“Do too,” Mac insists while ruffling his feathers.

“No, they don’t. They get a call here or there, but cops go from one complaint to another. Plus, people don’t generally shoot at firemen,” James states.

“Peeps like fireman!” Mac screeches.

“People don’t like to follow the laws, but they like us when they need us,” James continues.

“Fireman rule,” the feathered menace states like it’s a fact known to everyone.

“Are you trying to piss me off, Mac?” James asks suspiciously.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m bored,” Mac answers before strolling away from James and coming to a stop in front of me and Pooh.

“What’s shaking, Lucy?” Mac asks.

“Why are you picking fights with James?” I ask instead of answering.

“Assman’s not here,” Mac explains.

James sets my drink in front of me, replaces Pooh’s beer with a full one, then turns to me.

“Cockatoos are so much nicer than Macaws. Prettier too. Cockatoos rule. They’re better dancers too,” James says with a wicked grin.

“Suck it, Copper!” Mac shrieks, then flings a peanut at James.

James walks off chuckling, while Mac mutters a string of swear words.

“Hey, Pooh, Lucy. Can I talk with you for a minute? Before dinner’s served,” Bella asks quietly as she comes to a stop next to us.

When we both say yes, she points to the door then proceeds to walk outside. We follow and find her taking a seat in a lawn chair, so we do the same. Looking at her face, I can tell she’s nervous.

“Something wrong?” Pooh asks with concern.

“No, everything’s fine. You’ve both told me before that if I ever needed something, I could come to you.” When we both nod our heads, she continues. “I need your help. You know how I’ve been working to save money? There’s a reason I wanted to earn the money and not just have it given to me.”

“What can we help you with, Bella?” I ask, curious as to where this is going.

“I need someone like you to back me up, to support my decision, Lucy, and I need Pooh to teach me to ride a Harley,” she states.

Pooh stares at her for a few beats before asking, “Of course, I’ll teach you, but why didn’t you ask Petey?”

“Because I’m not sure how Mom will take this, and Pops might be busy keeping her calm,” Bella answers with a cheeky grin.

“I’ll support you however I can, Bella, but I don’t think Trudy will be upset that you want to learn to ride,” I say.

---