Page 3 of RiffRaff's Reward

“After church, sweet girl,” I reply.

“Church!” Brick bellows.

“Shut the fuck up, we got shit to discuss,” Brick commands.

It’s just the Roanoke chapter today since everything’s been quiet on the Fundamentalist fuckers. As everyone settles, I hear a meow and look down to see Sassy, Rory’s cat, climbing up Banshee’s leg to curl onto his lap.

Snickers reverberate when she starts purring because she’s loud as fuck. Brick just shakes his head in humor and then lifts his chin toward Rainman, our treasurer.

“Well, y’all, we’ve got a bump in our pay heading your way,” Rainman says, glancing at his laptop. “Us taking over the laundromat from the Brewer family is paying off in leaps and bounds.”

We all cheer and fists pound on the table. We have a few other legit businesses, and they pull in steady money, but the laundromat was a new venture that was drowning in debt beforewe took over. I raise my hand and ask, “And that’s including the free Saturdays we do monthly for the homeless?”

“Yeah, they don’t pay to wash and dry their clothes, but the other businesses have been donating money to run the machines,” Rainman replies. “So, we don’t lose anything at all income-wise on those days.”

One of the girls had seen on social media that a small town somewhere in Georgia does that as a ministry of sorts. While we’re not church-going folks as a rule, we are all about helping our own community through various charities, so we jumped at the chance to buy the laundromat when the family decided they wanted out.

Rainman then continues and says, “Adding customization to helmets is helping the body shop’s numbers as well.”

We found someone with some serious artistic talent who does custom paint jobs on the bikes we build, and they had mentioned doing helmets as well. Rainman did a cost analysis and found we could keep our overhead low and still charge a whack to those weekenders who want ‘everything to match’ when they’re riding. We’re still cheaper than several other shops within a hundred-mile radius who offer the same thing, but as long as we’re making bank, I really don’t care.

Hell, even though I was ‘retired’, I still got paid every month. I tried to get Brick to take it back and he growled at me, so I gave up and have invested a good chunk since I plan to live a very long time now.

The meeting continues as each of the brothers who handles a business brings up any concerns they have and before I know it, I hear Brick say, “Adjourned!”

I pick up my phone from the box the prospect’s holding and head to the common room for a beer, snickering again because now Sassy is riding on Banshee’s shoulder as he walks ahead of me.

“Sassy! There you are, you naughty girl,” Rory exclaims. “You know that women aren’t allowed in church.”

Raucous laughter at her statement floats around me as I reach the bar. Before I can say anything, Jadyn has the top popped off a longneck and is sliding it toward me. “Thanks,” I say as I tip it back and take a long swallow.

“You don’t miss having the gavel?” Kracken asks as he takes the stool next to me, Moira tucked under his arm. She waves but doesn’t say anything. Of course, she still doesn’t talk all that much after surviving her ordeal.

“Fuck no,” I retort. “It’s like herding a bunch of scalded cats. Brick’s more than capable of dealing with y’all.”

Jadyn gives me another beer and I tap the bar top before heading over to the couches so I can see my granddaughter. After setting my beer on the end table, I scoop her from Ryleigh’s arms then blow raspberries against her neck, which has her giggling.

“How’s my girl?” I ask as she gives me a somewhat sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“Gampa!” she exclaims, clapping her toddler hands against both of my cheeks before she tugs my goatee.

“Aubree,” I reply, rocking her from side to side. “When are you gonna have a little brother or sister?”

“Your son wants to wait,” Ryleigh says.

“My son? Not your husband?” I question.

“He’s your son when he’s on my shit list, my husband when he’s not,” she teases. “Right now, he’s on the list.”

I snicker, because there could be any number of reasons why he’s found himself in the doghouse, from not helping with Aubree to forgetting to get one of the prospects to pick something up that she asked him to get.

“Guess you’ll be waiting a little while longer,” I whisper to Aubree. Still, I’m loud enough that Ryleigh hears me, which makes her giggle.

With a sly grin on her face, she informs me, “Oh, we may be waiting even though I don’t want to, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still practice.”

“Lalala, I can’t hear you,” I say, just as Rory walks up and plops down next to Ryleigh.

“Practice what?’ Rory asks.

---