grandfather put too many morality conditions on it. Best decision I ever made. It was a long time ago, though. You sure that’s the road you want to take?”
I felt liberated a little while ago. Now my uncle’s question lingered in the air, I felt anxiety pressing down on my chest.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I need ... Uncle George, I’m going to need to earn an income. I know when I came out here I agreed to work for you for free if you gave me a place to stay.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “We had a deal, Sydney. I said I don’t regret getting out from under the Bailey family bullshit. I didn’t say I was willing to stir more up by pissing off my brother.”
I folded my hands in my lap.
A twinkle came into my uncle’s eye. Dammit, he was teasing me.
“You’re smart, Sydney,” he said. “And so far, you’ve done everything I asked of you, and well. I told you the other day I wanted you to start learning about the GWMC’s businesses. I mean it. I need help there. Whether you decide the law is for you down the road is up to you. But I can’t keep all of this in my brain alone forever.”
“I can do it,” I said. “Whatever you need. Just give me a chance.”
“The Den,” he said. “The best way to get to know the members of that club and their business is to work in the trenches. As it happens, I was going to talk to you about this anyway. You ever waitressed, Sydney?”
My mouth fell open. “No.” I sat up straighter. “But I’m not opposed to it. I want to learn.”
“Good,” he said. “I’ve always said everyone on the planet should spend some time working in either food service or retail at least once in their lives. Colt, the club president, is willing to try you out. Just know that it’s not entirely up to him. You’ll have to prove yourself. He’s got a head waitress who will train you. If you can’t keep up, they’ll bounce you.”
“I’ll keep up,” I said.
“Who knows,” he said. “You might even like it. Those girls make a mint.”
The club. The Wolf Den. Had I just agreed to work there? Would I be around Torch and the others every night?
“Here’s what we’ll do,” my uncle said. “Colt said he could use you two or three nights a week. You’ll be busy. Because I still need you here during the day. You think you can handle that?”
“I do,” I said.
“Good. Head over to the Den tomorrow at three o’clock. Ask for Shannon. She’ll get you set up.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Don’t thank me yet. That job isn’t easy. And it’s hard to get. Everyone in the tri-state area knows about the Wolf Den. Don’t be surprised if you being there pisses a few girls off who think they were more deserving of a shot.”
“I understand.”
“Good. So you’ll get to know the clientele. You’ll learn what works. What doesn’t. And you’ll get to know the members of that club. That’s important. They need to trust you. You’re no good to me down the road if they don’t.”
I started to rise. “I can do this.”
“I know you can,” he said. “Even if your mother doesn’t.”
It was the closest Uncle George had ever come to badmouthing his brother’s wife. I respected him for that, even if my mom had given him plenty of cause over the years. She’d certainly done her share of trying to tear Uncle George down in my and my father’s eyes.
Uncle George had swiveled his chair and was already back to his depositions. My heart swelled in my chest. I just prayed I could live up to Uncle George’s high opinion of me ... and that I could earn the same from the men of the Great Wolves M.C.
Chapter Six
Torch
Mondays, we kept the Den closed to the public. It gave us a chance to restock and let the cleaning crew a chance to do their thing. We also held club meetings at noon. Today’s was nothing but good news. Receipts were up at the bar. We’d made a small fortune hosting a pay-per-view party for an MMA championship match last weekend. The best news of all came from Colt. He couldn’t contain his smile across the table.
“We’ve already sold out of the Great Wolves’ brew in Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit.”
Hoots and whistles went around the table. Joker sat