With that, Zach was left on his own to deal with his brother—which was the way he wanted it.
Gargo wanted it, of course, and was unanimously voted onto the crew, of course. And made acting SAA.
Then Eight looked to Maverick. Zach noticed the look, thought it was peculiarly weighty.
Mav sat forward and looked around the table. “We talked about this in the officers’ meeting. We want an officer on this crew. All the officers are married with kids, and none of us wants to be away from family that long, but we need someone with mother-charter authority in Laughlin. Caleb volunteered.”
Maverick looked to Caleb, who nodded. “Yeah, I’m in. I’m gonna need to buy my old lady a fucking Corvette or something to make it up to her, but she gets it. Enough to not kill me, anyway. James is old enough to stand in where a man’s needed while I’m away. Audra’s taking the idea hard, though.”
“Maybe you should buy Audra a car, too.” Gunner said, chuckling.
“She’s thirteen. I got time before I have to stress about that shit.”
“Okay,” Eight cut in. “Let’s do this right and tie it off. Show of hands for Caleb on the crew.”
“Are you taking an officer role in Laughlin?” Gargo asked Caleb, ignoring the boss.
Caleb shook his head. “I’m there as the steady link to Tulsa. I’ll act as Veep, I guess, but I’m for sure not taking a seat at that table or giving up a seat here. The rest of you can decide later to stay or come home. I’m coming home for sure.”
“That brings up a good question,” Zach said. “Are we keeping our Oklahoma rockers?”
“Yes,” Dex answered. He was always quiet, but he’d been almost entirely silent today. He looked like he hadn’t gotten much sleep, either. A newborn in the house was probably not exactly conducive to good sleep. “Officer roles are all acting for now. Give somebody your proxy for this table before you roll. Rockers come when the charter is codified, and you can decide then if you want to give Oklahoma up.”
Give Oklahoma up. Those three words punched Zach in the chest.
Oklahoma was his home. The only one he’d ever had.
Could he give his home up?
––––––––
~oOo~
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After church, the Laughlincrew sat with the officers and hammered out the details. As was usually the case with the Bulls, once they made a decision where all the factors were in their control, they didn’t fuck around about it. It was time for the next gun run, and they meant to fold in the last handoff to the Dragons with their move to Laughlin. They were heading out in two days.
Zach left that meeting feeling dazed. They’d been talking about the new charter for months, and he’d thrown his name in immediately, but there was something in the shift from the potential to the reality had him back on his heels. This was a huge change in his life. Fuck, he still lived at home, and for his first move out of the nest he was going more than a thousand miles?
At the same time, though, he felt exhilarated. This washuge. In Laughlin, he wouldn’t be Rad’s kid or Jay’s brother. He’d be just himself, without that baggage. And Lyra! No more FaceTime pseudo-fucking. In less than a week, he’d have her in his arms. In fact, considering the men riding to Laughlin, they’d probably do at least five hundred miles a day and be there in two. Sunday night.
He pulled his phone out and texted her.
So, got plans for Sunday night?
She replied in a minute or so.
Um no? What’s up?
Me. I will be extremely UP when I got
my arms around you for real
No fucking way. Really??
I’m coming baby. Better get ready
Hahaha I was thinking more