Page 39 of Iron Hearts

“You’re fired,” Rob said, and for a split second, I thought he was talking to me, so I hopped off the bar stool.

“Notyou, Peanut. This asshole.” He pointed at Charlie, who sputtered. “You can come get your last check tomorrow,” Rob said.

“As for the rest of you – if you stay, you’re getting a dollar-an-hour raises, we’re sticking to thegoddamned rules, and if you know anyone looking for security work – we’re hiring temps until we get back to normal.”

It was a start, but like with most things anymore, I’d listen to my dad, who’d always told medon’t listen to what a man says, watch what he does.

Seemed like solid advice, especially in a case like this.

“We’re closed for the foreseeable future. Our liquor license is suspended for the next thirty days, so we need to get the booze off the shelves, and the place cleaned up and maintained. We’ll reopen sans liquor- which we can do – so we need to book some entertainment.” He ticked off on his finger. “Get the smokers going and the barbecue up and running.” He ticked off another. “And get everyone back to serving and whatnot before those thirty days are up. I’d honestly like to be down for only a few days at the worst. Do you think we can handle that?” he asked.

I thought so. Heads nodded around the bar.

“Alright, if you wanna bounce, do it. If you plan on staying, let’s make a plan, and if your ass just got fired,get the fuck outta my bar!”He barked the last at Charlie, who jumped and left forthwith.

I stood there, and Rob looked over at me and said, “I appreciate you calling me out on my bullshit.”

I nodded. “It’s what my dad would have done,” I said.

“You’re right, it is, kiddo.” He looked over my face, disappointment on his own, as he shook his head and said, “I’m real sorry this all went down like it did, and you got hurt.”

“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “Let’s just not let it happen again.”

He nodded, and I went around the bar and hugged him.

“I’m going up to bar two to pull the liquor and beer,” I said.

“Appreciate it, kiddo,” he said, and off we all went, scurrying like ants to pull the booze and finish cleaning up.

It was getting on toward evening when I walked out the side gate to head for my Jeep. I got in and, sighed tiredly, racking my neck back and forth.

I didn’t know how effective a bar would run without alcohol sales, but I had to hand it to Rob. He was trying. I mean, I knew he’d been through this kind of thing before, but it’d honestly beenyearssince a dust-up ofthismagnitude. We’re talking more than a decade since trouble this bad. The last time the Iron Horse had its liquor license pulled was in the early 2000s around the time I’d beenborn.

Eugh…I thought to myself.I really was just a baby. I probably sounded obnoxious as fuck back there and should be grateful that Rob hadlistenedand hadn’t just fired me on the spot.

Fuck me.

I leaned my head back onto the headrest of my seat and sighed out, closing my eyes and just trying to take a minute for myself before heading home to three poorly little boys who had been an epic fucking yak-fest the night before all the way into the wee hours of this morning.

Whump! Whump!

“Ahgh!” I screamed and whipped my head around to my driver’s side window, where the two knocks had come from.

“Jesus,” I muttered and rolled down my window.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Gemma said. I sighed, waiting for my heart to drop back down into my chest from my throat and nodded.

“All good,” I said. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to say thanks. What you did in there was ballsy. You just made life a whole lot better for the rest of us, and because of it, I’ve decided to stay.”

“Yeah?” I asked, and she nodded.

“That scared the shit out of me, but I actually feel like it won’t happen again. Like, I’m hopeful. If Charlie had stayed on, I would have beengone.”

“Not gonna lie, I have mixed feelings about what you’re saying right now,” I said with a tenuous laugh.

“Why?” she asked.

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