Roxie (Triple X #3)

Chapter One

The Ruckus was living up to its name tonight.

Roxie looked around the bar. The place was all gussied up. The room was packed, and things were hopping. Confetti littered the floor, and streamers tumbled from the ceiling. A sign at one end of the room said Happy Retirement, Charlie, while another over the jukebox proclaimed Grand Reopening.

Spirits were high, so—darn it—why wasn’t she feeling it?

All around her, people were smiling, and a party atmosphere filled the air. It was a strange vibe for a biker bar. Balloons had been vetoed big-time, but even the burly, tattooed guys were having fun with the noisemakers.

It was a celebration for Charlie.

And for her.

She took a deep breath.

The Ruckus was hers. Hers and hers alone.

Well, except that Charlie was still a silent partner.

She’d scrimped and saved her entire life, but she hadn’t had enough to cover the cost of taking over the bar when the opportunity had presented itself.

Still, she’d gone for it and had been lucky when her old boss had agreed to a compromise.

He’d continue sharing in the profits until she could pay him off, but she relished the idea of having something that was truly hers.

The Ruckus was something solid, something tangible. She could touch it and know it wasn’t going away.

Stability was something new in her life, but the more of it she found, the more she craved.

She was building rock-steady relationships with sisters she’d only recently been reunited with.

Now, she was a business owner. She might not have a fancy education like Lexie or a trade like Maxie, but she knew how to run a bar. She could do this.

So why was she feeling so mopey?

She let out a sigh.

“The place looks great,” Lexie said as she balanced a basket of peanuts and a Diet Coke. She and her boyfriend, Cam, had found a table near the jukebox—the spot of their infamous first make-out session—but getting back there without spilling everything would be a trick. The crowd was thick.

“Thanks,” Roxie replied. “It cleans up pretty well, doesn’t it?”

Her sister was being kind. They both knew that underneath all the party decorations, the tables were scarred and the floors were scuffed.

The place wasn’t fancy. It was a dive, and everyone knew it.

Tomorrow it would go back to having peanut shells wedged in seat cushions and unidentified sticky substances on the bathroom floors. But it was hers.

She passed a bag of limes to the bartender and took the cold glass of water he handed her.

“Can you believe it?” Lexie said, grinning from ear to ear. She lifted her Diet Coke. “Here’s to being entrepreneurs!”

Their glasses tinkled as they touched. “Cheers,” Roxie murmured.

Entrepreneurs of two very different businesses. Lexie and Cam had recently started a hand-me-down toy company for kids. This bar was definitely for adults.

And not the kind who went to church on Sundays.

Spotting a spill on the countertop, Roxie grabbed a towel from behind the bar and mopped it up.

She was tired. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind.

Charlie wasn’t a planner. Once he’d made the decision to retire, the wheels had started turning and she’d had to run to keep up.

Tonight was the first opportunity she’d had in a while to unwind.

She just needed to let go and enjoy the night.

Everyone else was.

She glanced to the back room. Through the open doorway she could see Maxie learning how to play pool—much to the interest of the onlookers.

Zac didn’t look comfortable having a group of bikers watching his girlfriend as she bent over the pool table and handled a stick, but he was as surprised as everyone else when two balls went into the pockets on the break.

Roxie grinned. That was her sister, always a surprise.

Then again, they’d all been a surprise. To each other and to everyone they knew.

The fact that she even had sisters had been a shock.

Roxie couldn’t believe how much her life had changed over the past few months.

By chance, she’d stumbled across two identical sisters she hadn’t known she had.

She would’ve been stunned to find one sibling, but she’d been flabbergasted to learn that she was part of a set of identical triplets.

There were three of them. Three walking, talking copies of each other.

Go figure. For someone who’d grown up in foster care, that was a trip.

She still pinched herself to make sure it was true.

Her arms were black and blue, but her sisters were real.

She had a family now, and she was fiercely protective of it.

It had taken decades for her to get her sisters back.

How they’d ever been separated in the first place, nobody knew, but she wasn’t going to let them disappear again.

Even though she knew how easily love could slip out of her fingertips…

Maxie appeared at her side, along with Zac. Reaching over Roxie’s shoulder, she grabbed the glass and stole a quick sip of water. “This place is fun,” she declared.

Roxie snorted. Maxie had been a timid thing when they’d first met, but the girl was coming out of her shell.

“Yeah, well, everyone is on their best behavior tonight.”

“Charlie looks so happy,” Lexie noted.

He did. His eyes were all crinkly around the edges, and his smile was bright against his mahogany-colored skin.

Roxie tilted her head to the side as she considered him.

That grizzled old man had known her longer than practically anyone in her life, and she’d considered him ancient when she’d first met him.

Then again, teenagers don’t have the best perspective.

Still, he’d always been an old and generous soul.

Tonight, he was surrounded by everyone he loved and who loved him in return.

His family had come for the event, and all the regulars were toasting him.

The bouncer, Skeeter, had already led two rounds of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.

” She watched as her boss’s ever-patient wife gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The tenderness made Roxie clear her throat. Charlie had Lola, Lexie had Cam, and Maxie had Zac. Funny how things never changed. When she’d been in foster care surrounded by all those other kids, she’d still felt like the odd one out. Except for once.

Well, now she had The Ruckus. It had just officially become her significant other.

Lexie rubbed her shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m spectacular,” Roxie said. She intercepted a beer that the bartender was passing to a patron and gave the guy a saucy wink. She took a long pull on the cold amber liquid and felt it go down nice and smooth.

“Woo hoo,” Skeeter cheered.

Damn straight to that.

Rounding the bar, Roxie climbed the footstool up onto the shining surface. That got people’s attention fast. Heads turned her way and a catcall rang out.

“Think all three of them can fit up there?” someone in the back called.

Lexie turned an interesting shade of pink.

“No dirty dancing tonight, fellas.” Roxie waved off the grumbles. “Well, maybe later. We’ll see how much we can get Lexie to drink.”

She had no doubt she could get Maxie up here if they could get Ms. Prim and Proper to cave first. But that was for later.

She lifted her mug. “To Charlie!”

Her mentor rubbed his close-cropped hair in embarrassment at the attention.

She decided to play with him just a little. “To celebrate, I say we give away free…”

His eyes widened so dramatically, she almost started laughing.

The bar was packed. He was probably having heart palpitations, but she wasn’t about to give away free rounds.

At least, not free rounds of liquor. The scavengers were already rushing the bar, but she gestured to the kitchen as one of the barmaids came out with a tray. “… free teeny weenies for everyone!”

“Aw, Roxie,” one of the regulars complained.

“What, Whitey? Already have a teeny weenie?”

Hearty laughter filled the room.

Out of the corner of her eye, Roxie saw Zac frown.

With one step, he positioned himself better to protect her.

He was such a cop. Whitey sputtered and guffawed.

One of his buddies finally slapped him on the back, and the bruiser got back into the game.

Wrapping his meaty hands around his belt, he thrust his hips forward provocatively.

“Now, Roxie girl, if you’re interested in my weenie, I’d be more than happy to show you just how big it is. ”

Roxie took another gulp of her beer. “Like I said, pork chop, we’ll see after I’ve had more to drink.”

She didn’t add that she’d have to be well above the legal limit to even consider the proposition.

Not wanting to take the attention away from Charlie, she climbed down from her perch, but didn’t get off the bar entirely.

Instead she sat on it with her legs swinging back and forth over the edge.

The barmaid brought the tray of appetizers over to her, and she snagged some teeny weenies for herself.

With the beer to chase them down, they were pretty tasty.

Sitting back, she began to people-watch. These were her peeps, her clientele. She knew them better than anyone, but they always managed to surprise her.

People were funny that way.

Someone cranked up the jukebox and “Back in Black” made the walls start to thump.

She nodded along in time with the driving rock ’n’ roll, but her eyes narrowed when she saw Cam cozying up with Lexie against the jukebox.

Glowering, she focused elsewhere, but spotted Zac trying to show Maxie how to handle the pool cue without inciting a riot.

Roxie’s heel knocked against the bar with a thunk.

It seemed like everyone had somebody to keep them warm on a chilly autumn night.

Everyone but her, the girl who was always left behind.

She lifted her beer. Well, The Ruckus would keep her warm. It would pay her bills and put a roof over her head.

“God, this sucks.”