Free Saving Dallas Forever by Kim Jones Page A

turned around to see Luke smirking, as I assumed, and asked him the unspoken question with my eyes.
    “They work for me, babe. At Carmical Construction and The Country Tavern,” he said, proceeding to soap the front of my body as I stood there , wondering what to say to that.
    “Isn’t that a little weird? I mean, doesn’t that cause conflict?”
    “The club has part ownership in the bar and the construction business is booming right now, so it pays pretty well.”
    “But what if they wanted to do something else? Like, what if they wanted to work in the oilfield , or be a doctor or something? Is it mandatory that they quit their jobs when they become members?” I had never heard of a club working for their president’s business or running a business themselves. But, then again, I didn’t know anything about clubs until I met Luke.
    “It’s a free country, babe. They can do whatever they want, but why would they when they can do something they love in a business that benefits the club and allows them more freedom, more time to ride , and more time with their families? They don’t all work for me, but the majority of them do.” Well, when you say it like that, I guess it makes sense. But I wanted to know more.
    “Explain, please,” I said, focusing on Luke’s face , as his skilled hands ran the length of my arms and down my sides.
    “Regg is good with people. He helps with getting new contracts for the construction company. Worm used to drive a delivery truck , and is good with inventories. He handles all the beer and liquor orders for the bar. Tiny is our security guy, not only for the club, but the bar as well. He is over the bouncers, including their hiring and firing. Coon is good with money. So, he is the treasurer of the club and handles all the finances, which is pretty much a full-time job in itself. Marty, Boss Hogg, Scratch, and Bear are mechanics and keep our shit running. Trust me, there is always a bike that needs to be worked on, or an ol’ lady’s car, or a piece of construction equipment. Kev was the manager of a grocery store for years. He keeps the books on the bar, making sure we keep a good profit margin going. Octane is in the military. He has already been deployed four times, but works down at Camp Shelby full-time. He is a drill instructor and loves it. That’s one of the reasons he isn’t going, but if I needed him to, I know he would do whatever he could to make it happen.”
    “What is the other reason?” I asked, cutting him off.
    “He has four kids,” he said, simply. I didn’t know if I should take that as meaning that something could happen and he didn’t want to leave four kids fatherless, or that Juggs, Octane’s wife, needed him at home.
    “What about Crash and Buck?” I pushed the thoughts of Juggs being a single mother to four to the back of my mind , and concentrated on finishing our conversation. I didn’t want to visit the dark place that housed all the “what ifs” in my mind. At least, not right now, anyway. Luke laughed a humorless laugh, and shook his head. Crash and Buck were young. Crash couldn’t be much older than twenty-one or twenty-two, and Buck was twenty-five at the oldest.
    “Well, let’s see. Buck is a firefighter. He works forty-eight hours on, then seventy-two off, but has a pretty flexible schedule. Crash is a firefighter too, but he works a day shift of eight to five for a petroleum tank farm.” I was missing the joke that was obviously there. There wasn’t anything funny about being a firefighter. Hell, I thought it was a very admirable profession.
    “How is that funny?” I asked, smiling , when Luke shook his head and smiled too.
    “I lost a bet, so not only are they firefighters, they are also in charge of hiring the wait ing staff at the bar.” Luke laughed to himself as he turned the water off, and ushered us out of the shower. I remembered the bartender at The County Tavern that had waited on me was a man, but there had been