Page 26 of Sizzling
I grinned and took another pull from the cigarette. He was right. Thatcher and his demons wouldn’t get anywhere near her. She’d try to pray for his soul or some shit. The idea was funny though.
• Eleven •
“I see it’s real nice and friendly down here in Miami.”
Briar
This was my first night playing at my new job. We’d made it to Miami two weeks ago, and I’d decided, for now, we needed to stay here, where hiding was easy. Dovie was tucked safely in our new apartment; although it didn’t have a security guard, it was in a nice area. There was a burger place right across the street in a little shopping complex that also had a bookstore. Dovie loved going to eat there, and then we’d go to the bookstore, where she would spend hours.
The stack of bills that Bash had given me came to three thousand two hundred dollars. Way more than he’d owed me, and I would pay him back. It had given me time to get settled in with Dovie and make sure staying here was the right move. I could already tell that the beach bar I had gotten a job at got a lot of bikers. The place was nice. Clean and classy even. The fact that it was full of mostly bikers was odd, but this was Miami, and life was different down here.
Paradise Brew also didn’t sound like a place where men and women in leather and tattoos wanted to hang out. Pepper Abe was the owner, and although she was young and attractive, she was feisty. I’d seen her talk to some of these rough-looking men like they were children. I liked her. She had their respect, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t envious of her. No one treated her like she was just a piece of ass they wanted to own or control. They treated her as if she were an equal.
I wondered how she did that. She was a beautiful woman, and men had to see that. I wished I knew her trick. She owned and ran a bar on the beach. Yep, in my next life, I wanted to be Pepper Abe. Someone who didn’t get by on their looks.
“It’ll be a packed house tonight. Saturdays are always big. The Judgment comes in and fills the place up. Your tips should be great. The boys are good about tipping,” Pepper said, walking backstage with a bottle of water in her hand that she held out to me.
“What’s The Judgment?” I asked, confused.
She waved a hand. “Sorry. I forget you’re new to town. The Judgment MC. They’re a biker club. The biggest one in Florida.”
My eyes widened. “Like a real biker club?” I asked.
She grinned. “Yeah, but you’ll be fine. There isn’t a one of them that would cause any trouble here. Sure, they’re gonna make a few catcalls and stupid shit like that because, well, you’re stunning, but Micah, my older brother, is their VP, and he’d have their head on a stick if they even tried. When he and his wife, Dolly, get back from their trip to Europe, you’ll meet them. Now, if you need anything, just let me know. Give me a wave, whatever.”
I felt better about this biker thing now that I knew they weren’t about to stand up and start shooting at each other. Her brother was their VP. That explained her clientele.
She gave me a thumbs-up and turned to leave. I picked up my guitar. Pepper had said she didn’t mind if I used my own, and I was looking forward to playing onstage with it again. Opening the water, I took a long drink as I listened to Pepper announce tonight’s entertainment.
There were some cheers and a few shouts about how it’d better not be Swift-type shit from some deep, rough-sounding voices, but Pepper simply told them to shut up and stop being dicks or she’d remind them where the exit was.
I was nothing like Swift, but that didn’t mean I was against her music. She was incredibly talented. I’d just grown up listening to Loretta Lynn, June Carter, Tanya Tucker, Tammy Wynette, and of course Dolly Parton. I was country to my roots, but not the way most country singers were today. There was a twang in my voice that I didn’t try to change.
Taking a deep, steady breath, I slid the strap of my Fender over my shoulder and made my way out the door and up onto the stage. At first, the place went silent, and I knew this was my cue to take control of the room.
“Hey, y’all,” I said, smiling out at the mix of bikers, some business-looking people, and possibly some vacationers.
It was definitely heavy on the folks with leather vests on though. Several shouted out different greetings. There was one marriage proposal by a biker, and someone else yelled out their number.
“I see it’s real nice and friendly down here in Miami,” I said, using my flirting skills as I ran my fingers over the strings. “I grew up in the deep South, if my accent didn’t already give that away, and my favorites are the classics. But I’m also open to requests, so feel free to come right on up with one at any time. But to get us started, I’ll pull one out that I think can get any crowd warmed up.”
More shouts and whistles. I blocked it easily enough as I strummed the first chord of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” By the time I was on the second line of the song, three couples had made their way out to the dance floor. Smiling, I lifted my eyes to look back at Pepper, who stood at the bar with her arms crossed over her chest, grinning. She gave me a nod and held up the glass of beer in her hand.
I was gonna be okay here.
When I had walked in a week ago and asked to speak to the manager and Pepper walked out, I’d been worried. I wasn’t used to working with women. Men I could get to do things easily. But women were another thing. Pepper didn’t hire me immediately, like most men did. She walked to the back and brought a guitar out, then handed it to me.
“Show me what you got,” she’d said and stood back, waiting on me to do just that.
I’d been so surprised at first, but it only took me a moment to gather myself. When I started singing, her eyes lit up. I felt a real sense of accomplishment. When she’d hired me, it had been because of my voice, not my looks. There was a power in that. One I wasn’t used to.
I moved on to “Before He Cheats,” “Jolene,” “My Church,” “Strawberry Wine,” “Suds in the Bucket,” and then finished the first set with “Mama Tried.” When I stepped back, the bar erupted in clapping and shouting.
“I’ll be back shortly. It’s time for a drink,” I said over the noise and turned to head down the stairs.
Pepper came walking through the crowd, looking thrilled.
I hadn’t let her down, and it felt really good.
