“Why didn’t you now?” Moose asked, genuinely curious.
“We both know I don’t have the right. We’re at the same level.”
His gut twisted. “Don’t ever let me hear that shit come out of your mouth again, Jo-Jo. You’re no fucking whore.” He gripped the bar and his knuckles turned white.
“Did I say I was? I’m going with protocol,”
Joey said.
“Fuck that,” he said. He slammed his hand down on the counter and Joey flinched.
“Here’s your beer,” Red said with a wink. She slid him the bottle with a shit-eating grin he wanted to smack off her face. That bitch did nothing but get fucked and ruin shit for everyone else. The door opened, so he turned as Shooter and Juliette walked in, all smiles and sunshine. Fuck me. He took a long drag of his beer and nodded to Shooter, who tilted his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. Moose shrugged and shifted his gaze to Joey.
Shooter gave a nod to acknowledge he understood and guided Juliette to the bar. “You guys ready to go check out the space?” Shooter asked.
“Soon as I finish this beer,” Moose said as Joey and Juliette hugged their greeting, whispering about girly shit. He drained the bottle and set the empty brown glass on the counter. “I’m good.”
“So if this space doesn’t work, we have one more backup we’ll look at today. Is that okay?” Juliette asked.
Moose liked the soft-spoken woman. She’d been good for his boy and knew how to keep her mouth shut. “Yeah, Librarian. It’s all good. We’re here to back you guys up,” Moose said.
“Thanks.” Juliette smiled.
“Let’s hit it then,” Shooter said.
Calmed by the rhythm of wheels on the pavement and wind on his face, Moose had a clear head once more when they toured the wooded property owned by the Lords.
“How many people are you expecting?” Joey asked. Arms hooked, the girls resembled high schoolers with their fresh faces and the giggly vibe rolling off them.
Moose shook his head wondering how the hell they had ended up here. Shooter had been a lifelong bachelor. Then he met a girl in a club and went down for the count.
“We were thinking maybe sixty for the ceremony. The reception is a whole other story,” Juliette said.
“You going to close it down, brother?” Moose said.
“Hell yeah. I figure we have cabins here and we can set up tents. No way will anyone be driving out here,” Shooter said with a grin.
“Are we bringing in the other chapters?” Moose asked, stepping over a thick tree root as they walked away from the cabins down to the open space in front of the river.
“I figure we’ll send out the invite. Don’t want anyone feeling snubbed. I swear sometimes these motherfuckers are more sensitive than little girls,” Shooter said.
Moose snickered.
Shooter came to a stop and looked over his shoulder. “This is the tree I was telling you about, babe.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Juliette said craning her neck to peer up at the ancient oak tree. “We could set up an arch or canopy of some sort.”
“And all the chairs could fit here,” Joey said, gesturing with her hands.
“Yeah, it’s a contender. The fact that we can use it for free makes it look even better to me. But I don’t want you to settle. Whatever you want, we’ll have.”
“Shooter, it’s one day. We’re not going to go into debt over it,” Juliette scoffed.
Shooter laughed, and Moose joined him.
“What’s so funny about that?” Joey placed her hands on her hips, ready to defend her friend.
Sexy lioness. Moose felt caught in a trance for a few seconds.