Page 19 of Goose

ZANE AND I WORKED FORabout four hours when we stopped to rest. All the kegs are brought into the clubhouse, crates of liquor bottles are stacked behind the bar, we stacked boxes of food in the kitchen and put them away, and all the spare bedrooms are clean and ready for occupancy.

We are just sitting down at the bar when Joker comes strolling down the stairs. He walks over and kisses me on the top of the head.

“Morning,Princesa. Rooster. What are you two trouble makers up to this early in the morning?”

I turn my head and look at him. “Rooster?”

Joker nods. “Yeah. Zane here. My little nickname for him. He’s always up early, like aGallo.”

He walks around the clubhouse like a rooster, clucking while Zane and I just laugh. Joker is always the jokester of the group.

“Alright, alright, you weirdo. Zane, why don’t you get out of here. Thank you for all your help this morning.”

Zane gets up and pulls me into him. “Anything for you, Bambi.” Sweetly kissing me on the head, he nods toward Joker. “See you around, Brother.”

As Zane leaves, my phone chirps in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see that I have a text message from Ellie Jo.

Ellie Jo:Hey! I heard there is a party tonight at the Clubhouse. I need a girl’s night out, I cannot wait!

I frown.How did she hear about the party tonight?Nobody from our group talks to her anymore. I bring up the group chat with Lilah and Willow and shoot them a text.

Bambi:Yo bitches. Ellie Jo heard about the party tonight. She thinks we’re having a girl’s night? What the fuck. Is she coming?

Joker nudges me with his shoulder. “Everything okay,mi reina?”

Sighing, I show him Ellie Joe’s text. “I just don’t understand how she found out. Nobody talks to her anymore.”

My phone dings and Joker hands it back to me. It dings again before I can answer it. Looking down, I see that Willow and Lilah have texted me.

Willow:What the fuck? No way. Why would I want to hang out with that psycho bitch?

Lilah:Ew. She’s not welcomed at the Clubhouse. I’ll make sure Striker tells the prospects.

I put my phone down and sigh,” Goose and I fought pretty bad last week. Normally he jumps right back to being his normal self, but this time I haven’t heard from or seen him for a week now. Did I really lose him this time?”

Joker brushes my hair back from my face and places a kiss on my forehead. “Oh,mi Hija.”

“I should be excited. But I’m sitting here sulking like a big baby. Ever since that cunt, Ellie Jo, stepped foot back into this town, things have just gone downhill with Goose.”

A few of the Brothers come in and I nod as they sit down. I get up and pour them their drinks since none of the Prospects are here yet.

They all make small talk and thank me as I place bottles of beer in front of them. One of the new Brothers, Thor, grabs my hand before I can walk away.

“Everything okay, Bambi?”

I smile at the young kid. He isn’t over twenty-three but earned his spot a year ago when he saved Maverick’s wife, Willow.

“Stressed to the max, but just another day in the life of Bambi.”

The men laugh, but Thor scrunches his face up. “Do you need help? Is somebody bothering you?”

I pat him on the arm. “Just Goose and you can’t do anything about him. But don’t you worry, this will pass. We have a long history together.”

Thor nods. “Heard you were down a bartender at Studio Forty-Eight. My sister is coming to live with me soon. She can bartend until you get one of the other girl’s trained or find a new hire. She can even help train some girls, so you always have a backup bartender. No offense, but she’s my baby sister, I don’t want her in a strip club.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “No offense taken. I’ll take good care of her, don't you worry. Shoot me a text when you get closer to her moving date and we’ll talk more. Great idea on the backups.”

Turning back to Joker, I lean over the bar. “Well, one problem down. Back to that cunt. I just don’t understand what happened. She was always so quiet and sweet in school.”

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