Page 75 of The Biker's Brother

Cami turned back toward the bar. “Good for you. Don’t take any crap.”

Rita narrowed her eyes at Cami. “You’re not used to drinkin’, are you, sugar?”

“How much has she had?” Brigid asked.

“Half a Manhattan.”

“I see.” She half pulled Cami off the stool. “Come on. After you have something to eat you can have some more cocktail if that’s what you want.”

“You can keep the cock,” Cami said. “I have no use for it.”

“Well, alright then,” Brigid said, “I will.”

Rita laughed, but headed to the kitchen ahead of them and started pulling out stuff to make sandwiches for lunch. Over the next few hours, hungry guys would be wandering in and out. They might sit down and converse with whoever was around while taking a lunch hour. Or they might just grab a sandwich and a bag full of chips and take it with them.

Since it was a club party day, several of them were already hanging around the spit outside that was giving an entire hog a slow rotisserie smoking. Cami had noticed it on the way in, but had averted her gaze because the scene looked a little barbaric for her liking. It was pretty clear that everybody was in a good mood.

After they sat down at the table that doubled as an island and a counter height table big enough to seat twenty for a meal, Brigid turned to Cami.

“You know what the party’s for?”

Cami looked blank. “What party?”

“Nobody told you? There’s a big party here tonight. All the members and their women will be here. Brandon is being patched in.”

Cami shook her head to indicate that she had no clue what that meant. “No idea.”

“It means full membership in the club. He’s going to get the SSMC colors you see the other guys wearing.”

“The snake in the, ah, temple?”

“Yes. It’s a very, very big deal for Brandon because his grandfather founded this club. His father is the president. And his brother,” she smiled, “the one who’smine, is the enforcer. He grew up without even knowing he had a father or a brother.”

“He told me that. How did that happen?”

“Their mother. She was like you.Islike you, I guess.”

“Like me how?”

“Lots of New York money. Lots of family expectation.”

Cami took a big breath and looked away. “Oh.”

“I guess it’s not that surprising that Brandon would fall for someone like you. I’ll bet the two of you have a lot in common.”

Cami thought back over all the times on the road when she’d felt inexplicably close to Brandon. She knew he couldn’t have a similar background or history, but even as she kept telling herself that, hefeltfamiliar.

“The way the story goes, she’d been a little wild and the behavior was becoming scandalous for the family. When she graduated from college, her dad brought her to Austin with him for the summer while he was overseeing development of the Yellow Rose.”

“Rita mentioned that. What is it?”

“It’s an exclusive golf resort designed to please even the most discriminating tastes.”

“I hate to interrupt, ‘cause this is a really good story and all, but I need to know what kind of sandwiches you two are having,” Rita said. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, put on an Astros ball cap, and began washing her hands.

“You got some of that turkey cranberry salad from H.E.B.?” Brigid asked.

“No. They’re out. I’ve got some Rita-made chicken salad.”