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“I’m sure you will, but Trip won’t like it, either,” Stella informed her.
“Well, then good thing Trip is my brother and not my father,” Tessa replied with a touch of snark. “I’m also an adult, something he seems to forget.”
“He doesn’t forget. You know how protective he gets.”
“Well, he can quit it, the Shirleys are gone.”
Stella’s spine snapped straight. “It’s not just about the Shirleys.”
Shay wondered who the hell the Shirleys were and why the club would be worried about them.
“There will be four of us.” She turned toward Reilly. “Five, if Lee comes along.”
Reilly didn’t seem to be expecting that invitation. “Umm…” She glanced over her shoulder toward The Barn, then turned back to the president’s ol’ lady. “I could go with them if you want me to, Stel.”
“You’re asking the wrong person,” Stella told Reilly with a raised eyebrow.
Before Shay could hear an explanation on what that meant, they were interrupted by one of the men. Shay realized he was the first person of color she’d seen as a club member. She glanced at his name patch and saw it said, “Castle.” The front rectangular embroidered patch under his name identified him as a prospect.
“Was told to come over here and check on you ladies. Make sure you don’t need nothin’.”
The man was huge and had to be well over six feet tall with a deep voice to boot. He was light-skinned, had beautiful dark eyes and had a neatly trimmed goatee. And, no surprise, tattoos covered his arms.
“We need you,” Stella began, “to go ask Trip if you can accompany the girls tonight.”
“What?” Saylor shouted as Tessa groaned.
Stella gave the younger women a look that spoke volumes. “I said what I said.”
Shay rolled her lips under at both Saylor and Tessa’s horrified expressions.
Stella ignored their outrage and said to Castle, “They want to go to the mall, dinner and then to Crazy Pete’s. I don’t want them going alone.”
“We won’t be al—”
“So, go ask Trip, please,” Stella finished, cutting off Saylor.
Castle stared at her, struggling to keep a straight face. He was probably as horrified about accompanying women who were in their early twenties to the mall and the bar as much as they were.
But from what Ozzy told Shay, a prospect couldn’t say no. They were to do whatever a patched member or ol’ lady told them.
Stella started to get up. “Or do I need to go find him myself?”
Castle jerked into action. “Gonna go ask,” he muttered, spun on his boot heel and used those endlessly long legs to take him across the courtyard to The Barn. He was probably cursing to himself, wishing he hadn’t been sent over to check on the sisterhood.
“All hail the queen,” Reese said under her breath with a chuckle.
“We’re not going to go now,” Saylor stated with a huff.
“Yes, you will,” Stella said. “You won’t even notice him with you.”
“How can we not? He’s like six-foot-four! And he’ll be wearing his cut and… and…” Saylor let out a frustrated scream.
“Then, fine, don’t go,” Stella said with a shrug.
“I’d feel better if Castle went with you girls,” Chelle added, clearly trying to be helpful. “I’m sure Trip won’t mind if he doesn’t wear his cut so he doesn’t draw attention to you ladies.”
“Umm. He’s six-four,” Saylor reminded her. “Built like a brick house and, if you haven’t noticed, he’s Black. And he’ll be hanging with four single white girls at least ten years younger. I think that alone will draw some attention. Especially around here,” she finished on a hiss.
Shay guessed northern PA hadn’t progressed as much as it should’ve since the time she moved away.
“Just think of yourself as a celebrity with a bodyguard,” Jet added, fighting her smile. “But, truthfully, I also think it’s a good idea Castle go with you ladies. I’m sure he’ll be loads of fun to take along.” She took a long, dramatic sip of her wine that had been served in red Solo cups with one pinky out as if she was drinking tea.
Shay covered her mouth to smother her laugh. She didn’t think that would help with the drama.
A resigned Tessa shook her head and then turned to Reilly. “Are you coming?”
“I would love to,” she said, extracting herself from the bench of the picnic table she was sitting at.
“Make sure you check with Rev first,” came the warning from her older sister, Reese.
Reilly’s green eyes went wide. “Do you check with Deacon whenever you go do anything?”
“I let him know where I am, yes. You know why.”
Shay was dying to know why. What subject were they skirting around?
Before the curiosity got the best of her and she could ask, Stella got a text. Everyone went dead silent and stared at her while she read it. “Trip said Castle’s going with you. He won’t wear his cut. He’ll sit in the parking lot at the mall, he’ll stay out of your way during dinner and sit at the bar while you ladies are at Pete’s. But,” she lifted both her head and a dark eyebrow, “he is going.”
