Rhythm of the Road (Lost Kings MC 16)

“Champagne…oh, I get it.”

“There’s a gym and another laundry room down that way.” Heidi waves at a hallway to our right.

She stops at a wide set of swinging doors and pushes inside. “Our dining room.”

Two long, rectangular tables are set up in the middle of the room with a bunch of circular tables scattered to the side. Almost looks like the kind of cafeteria you’d expect in a fancy-pants private high school. Not that I’d know anything about such places.

“We eat family-style on Thursday nights and weekend mornings,” Heidi explains, gesturing to the tables.

To our right, there’s a larger bar than the one out in the living room. A huge Lost Kings MC mural covers the wall behind it. “Impressive.”

She shrugs as she navigates through the dining room. “Kitchen’s back here.”

Our whole house could fit inside the industrial kitchen. There’s lots of counter space, and double ovens, sinks, and a massive silver refrigerator. “Wow.”

“Bikers eat. A lot.” Heidi laughs.

“She’s not wrong,” Trinity says. “Morning, Shelby.”

Busy gawking at the dream-house kitchen, I didn’t even notice the other people in here. “Morning. Heidi just gave me the grand tour.”

“Good. Hope that means we’ll see you up here more often with Rooster.”

“I keep forgetting this isn’t his clubhouse, right? He seems so at home here.”

“Well.” Heidi and Trinity share a look before Trinity continues, “Every brother should feel at home at every charter. But upstate and downstate have gotten especially close recently.”

It’s a vague answer and I know better to ask follow-up questions.

The girl who’d served me the Coke last night waves from the refrigerator.

“Shelby, this is Swan,” Trinity introduces. “I don’t know if you met last night?”

“We did, sort of.” I guess I’d been a little rude not saying hi to her last night. “Mornin’.”

“Welcome,” Swan says.

“You’re the yoga guru too? Heidi told me you teach classes?”

Pink spreads over her cheeks and she drops her gaze. “Yup. I help out around here too.”

Trinity wraps her arm around Swan’s shoulders. “Helps out is a massive understatement.”

A taller, slender dark-haired girl pushes open the kitchen door, nervously glancing at our little group before joining us. “What do you need me to do?”

“Lala,” Trinity says, “This is Rooster’s girl, Shelby. Shelby, Lala’s a friend of the club.”

“Oh!” Lala blinks rapidly. “Hey. You’re the singer, right?”

“She’s the best country singer right now,” Heidi gushes.

“It’s true,” Trinity insists. She taps her finger against her jaw for a second. “I’d say you’re like a like a twenty-something mash-up of Dolly Parton, Etta James, and Taylor Swift.”

My heart’s ready to burst from the compliment. “I might love you forever for comparing me to three of my favorite artists.”

Lala blinks at us. “I don’t know those first two, but you sure do have a Taylor Swift thing going on.” She drops her gaze to my feet. “Minus the gazelle legs.”

Sacrilege! Who doesn’t know who Dolly Parton is? I smile to hide my surprise. Wait a second, did she just call me short?

“Anyway, what do you need me to do?” Lala asks Trinity.

Swan takes her aside, helping her with cartons of orange juice and other drinks for the tables.

Trinity watches them for a few seconds before leaning on the counter. She glances at my shirt. “Cute.” She narrows her eyes and gives me a playful smile. “You have a thing for flamingos, Shelby?” She touches her chest. “You were wearing flamingos last night, weren’t you?”

“Sure was.” Rooster hadn’t made fun of my idea and the girls have been nothing but nice so far. Maybe it’s safe to share my kooky idea with them. “I don’t know if you saw those god-awful shirts they sell at my merch booth last night?”

Trinity’s lips twitch. “I noticed them.” Clearly, she doesn’t want to insult me.

“They’re cute,” Heidi insists.

“Well, no one consulted me about them. The whole me-sitting-in-a-patch-of-wildflowers concept is so not my style. Plus, I’m not all that fond of pink.”

“Amen.” Trinity raises her hands.

Heidi snickers. “I tried giving Alexa all gender-neutral stuff from the day she was born. So of course, now all she likes is pink.”

“Well, choosing it is different than having it forced on you,” I point out.

“True. And boy did she choose it.” Trinity laughs and gently shoves Heidi.

Mild jealously bubbles up inside me at how close they seem to be. Singing and working didn’t leave me a lot of time for making friends growing up.

Don’t get too attached. Who knows when I’ll be back to visit?

“You okay, Shelby?” Trinity asks, concern darkening her amber eyes.

“I’m peachy.” I force a sunny smile.

“Your shirts?” Heidi prompts.

“Oh. Right.” I flap my hands in the air, losing my nerve. “It’s a dumb idea.”

“There are no dumb ideas,” Heidi says.

Trinity side-eyes her. “There are plenty of dumb ideas in the world.” She winks at me. “I doubt yours is one of them. Spill.”

“I want to have shirts made up with a flamingo in cowgirl boots,” I blurt out.