Chapter 4

Nick was in the locker room getting dressed for his shift when Goldman strolled in like the cat that ate the canary. He plopped down on a bench with a goofy smile on his face.

“Ah, Dalton, you should take lessons from me when attending to women on the side of the road,” Goldman said with a big grin.

Nick turned around. “You’re referring to my story about Jackie Garvey,” he said as he buttoned his deputy shirt.

Goldman shook his head. “Yep. If you were as charming as me, it would have gone a lot differently for you.”

“Let me guess. You met a good looking woman on the side of the road.”

“Yep. A pretty young thing traveling through.”

“Where was she headin’?”

“Don’t know, but I do know she made a pit stop,” Goldman said and pulled a sky blue piece of cloth out of his front pocket.

Nick wasn’t sure what it was until Goldman spread it out between his hands. Nick’s jaw dropped at the sight of the thong. “Are you crazy? You fucked a chick while you were on duty? What if the sheriff finds out?”

“Oh loosen up, he won’t,” Goldman said. “Even if he does, he’d understand. My point is that you would have a souvenir of your own if you loosen up a little bit. Learn some charm and grace.” Goldman rubbed the thong under his nose.

“Ew! I don’t want to watch you smell some chick’s drawls!” Nick exclaimed. “And you know the sheriff has a way of popping up when we least expect it.”

Goldman laughed as he stuffed them back in his pocket.

                                                                          -------

Jackie and Jodi Garvey were at the front desk of the hotel checking reservations for the weekend. They had ninety-seven percent of the rooms reserved.

“We should make a killing this weekend with our annual wet nightie contest,” Jodi said. “How many contestants do we have again?”

“Eight, if they don’t back out,” Jackie replied as she typed notes into the computer.

“Ha, they’re not going to back out with a grand prize on the line,” Jodi said.

“Surprise!” a female yelled.

The identical twins looked up to see their cousin. Both their eyes went wide with shock.

“Gabriella?” Jackie forced out.

“Jackie!” Gabriella exclaimed and ran to the back of the front desk to hug her. She wore a red flowing skirt that was above her knee with a matching top that showed her midriff.

Gabriella hugged Jodi.

“Sweetheart, what are you doing here?” Jackie asked.

“I came to see you. I haven’t seen you guys since Poppy died and I haven’t heard from you for over a year. I’ve tried calling, but your employees said you two were out – like all the time,” Gabriella explained.

“How’s Aunt Juanita?” Jodi asked.

“Oh, yeah. Her,” Gabriella sneered and rolled her eyes. “She’s part of the reason why I’m here.”

Jackie and Jodi looked at each other.

“I can tell this is going to be a doozy,” Jodi stated.

“Let’s go in the office. Barb should be down in a minute to take over,” Jackie said.

They went to the office. Jackie sat behind the desk and Jodi and Gabriella sat in the two chairs in front of the desk.

“Okay, kid, spill it,” Jodi said.

“Well, you know me and Mommy hadn’t gotten along since Poppy died,” Gabriella started.

Jackie nodded her head. Jodi and Jackie’s father, Jack, had a twin brother named Joel. He married a Mexican woman and moved to Georgia. Joel had died of cancer when Gabriella was sixteen. After Gabriella had graduated high school, her mother moved them to Mexico.

“She dates these losers with nothing going for them but a beer gut and sweat. The one she has now, Earl, we don’t get along so good,” Gabriella said.

“Okay, go on,” Jackie said.

“Long story short, everything blew up. I told Mommy it was either him or me,” Gabriella said.

“What did she say?” Jodi asked.

“Mommy said I was an adult, so I could go or stay. But, she knew I’d be back because I would get homesick and I hated being alone,” she spat out. “So, I packed up my things, put them in the Civic, and headed for the border of the good old US of A.”

“I see and you were hoping you could stay here with us for a while, right?” Jackie asked as she twirled a pen with her fingers.

“Now, Jackie, I know I didn’t call first, but that was because I didn’t know where I was going. I just wanted to get the hell outta there. I hit the Arizona border and I thought, hey, I can visit my twin cousins.”

“Uh huh,” Jackie said as she twirled the pen in her slim fingers.

“I looked up the directions to Garvey’s since I hadn’t been here in years and . . . here I am,” Gabriella said as she spread her arms out wide.

The twins remained quiet.

“I’m not a freeloader. I've worked in restaurants in Mexico. I can wait tables and I can sing,” Gabriella stated.

The twins looked at each other.

“Look if you guys don’t want me here -”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jackie said quickly. “You’re always welcomed here announced or unannounced. You’re a Garvey. It’s just, well, Garvey’s isn’t just a hotel and bar anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Gabriella asked.

“About two and half years ago we were in bad financial trouble because of the 2008 crash,” Jackie stated.

“Yeah, I remember you had said the hotel was struggling a couple months after it happened,” Gabriella said.

“What I didn't tell you was how bad it was. We almost lost Garvey’s to the bank and Jodi and I was about to file for bankruptcy.”

“What!” Gabriella said with shock. “How could you two not tell me that? This place has been in our family for three generations.”

“I didn’t want to stress you, honey,” Jackie said.

“And besides, you couldn’t do anything about it. It’s not like you had the money we needed at the time,” Jodi added.

“How did you two come out of it?” Gabriella asked.

“One night in the bar - let’s say Jodi let a freak occurrence happen. From that occurrence, she birthed an idea,” Jackie said.

“Oh hell, Jackie, she’s not a baby, anymore,” Jodi said and cocked her leg over the arm of the chair. “An orgy broke out in the bar that night. A few days later, I came up with an idea. We host weekend orgies and we charge for admission. The orgies start at midnight and we up the cost of drinks. So, if you stay here, that’s what you got to deal with.”

Gabriella’s lips parted. She looked at Jodi, and then she looked at Jackie. “Really, guys, if you don’t want me to stay here just say so.”

“We want you to stay here, honey,” Jackie insisted. “And Jodi is telling the truth. We’re orgy hostesses. We even let the employees participate. Hell, sometimes we participate.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jodi stated. “I don’t participate in them anymore.”

Gabriella was quiet for a moment, and then she burst out laughing. “Okay, I can see Jodi doing this, but you?” she said as she looked at Jackie. “I can’t see you going along with this. You walk the straight and narrow path. Participating in orgies? No.”

Jodi chuckled. “Not as much as she used, too. Our Jackie has grown. It’s been a pleasure to watch.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Jackie said smartly. “Let’s just say, I know a good thing when I see it . . . and experience it.”

Gabriella’s brown eyes widened. “Wow. Well, let the good times roll. I’m in.”

“Are you sure, honey? It’s not for everybody,” Jackie said.

“Judging by that cum stain on her skirt, I’d say she can handle it,” Jodi said with a smirk and nodded her head down.

Gabriella looked down at the two drops of semen on the end of her skirt. “Oops,” she said and put the tip of her finger between her lips. “I thought I hiked my skirt up high enough.”

Jodi laughed and Jackie snickered.

                                                                            ------

Jodi and Jackie had gotten Gabriella settled in a room on the same floor as them. She had a long trip. She had fallen asleep at 8 p.m. and slept till 9 a.m. the next day.

The next afternoon, Trina, Barbara, Daniel, Gabriella, Becky, Sandy, Jackie, and Jodi were prepping the bar for the annual wet nightie contest that night.

“Okay, you guys have shown me the ins and outs of the bar now I want the real juice,” Gabriella said as she filled a seltzer bottle with water. “I was so tired yesterday I didn’t get a chance to ask if you girls have met some hunks since there’s fucking here every weekend.”

“Uh huh, all kinds of hunks come through here. Matter of fact, Jodi caught one and she is going to marry him,” Becky said with a smile as she wiped the bar stool.

Gabriella laughed. “Bullshit. I know when someone’s pulling my leg and I know Jodi. She isn’t going to settle down with anybody.”

Jodi walked up to her cousin and showed her the diamond engagement ring on her left hand. She had a proud smile on her face.

Gabriella’s mouth dropped. She grabbed Jodi’s hand to get a closer look. She took a deep breath. “I feel like I have to get to know you guys all over again. I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Jodi beamed.

Gabriella let go of Jodi’s hand.

“She got the best of the lot to,” Sandy, the red-haired waitress, stated.

“Hell, he’d have to be to get Jodi to marry him. First of all, he has to have at least a seven-inch dick just to turn her head. Tell me about this guy,” Gabriella said and sat down.

“I’m going in the kitchen. You ladies know my rules. I don’t participate in dick talk,” Daniel said and fled to the kitchen.

“Don’t mind him. He doesn’t need to be around for girl talk, anyway,” Trina, the bar manager with the auburn afro, said to Gabriella.

The ladies sat down at a large table.

“Okay, Jodi, tell me about him,” Gabriella insisted.

“He’s tall, wonderful, and sweet,” Jodi said.

“Oh my god, are you gushing?” Gabriella asked.

“Matt is wonderful,” Jodi said, grinning from ear to ear.

“You said that. Can I get more information?” Gabriella asked.

“He’s sexy as hell in a Stetson,” Jodi stated with a smirk.

“And?” Gabriella urged.

“He has brown eyes and thick, brown hair. And he always knows the right thing to say and do. Oh, and he’s brave,” Jodi bragged.

“What does he do for a living? Is he a bar owner, too?” Gabriella asked.

“No, he’s the sheriff,” Jodi said.

Gabriella’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding? You’re marrying a cop?”

“Yes.”

“Sheriff Matthew Kirby. I have to admit, he is quite the gentleman,” Sandy said.

“You are not Jodi Garvey,” Gabriella stated. “The Jodi Garvey I knew passed me my first joint and said, have a ball. The Jodi I knew got drunk and hung out of car windows with her tits out. The Jodi I knew -”

“We get the picture, Gabriella,” Jackie said with a smile.

“I don’t think y’all do. The Jodi Garvey I knew did not get dicmatized.”

“Now wait a minute, I love Matt, that’s true and I am not ashamed of it. However, I am not dicmatized,” Jodi stated.

“Bullshit, you have that far off dreamy look when you talk about him. I bet you do every little thing he says. You’re straight up whooped,” Gabriella said.

“I am not,” Jodi said defensively. “We have an equal partnership.”

“I bet when he thinks you’re wearing something too short or low cut you run and change,” Gabriella teased.

“He doesn’t do that. And I am not whooped or dicmatized or anything like that,” Jodi repeated defensively.

“Prove it. Enter the wet nightie contest,” Gabriella challenged.

“If employees can’t enter, neither can the owners,” Trina said quickly.

“Okay, we’ll make her part of the opening act. I’ll be singing before the contest. Jodi can come out as part of the act and get soaked,” Gabriella suggested.

Jodi had a determined look in her eye.

“Jodi, don’t let her goad you. Matt will have a fit if he finds out you were prancing around in wet lingerie in the bar,” Jackie said seriously.

“It’ll be fine,” Jodi said.

“So, we got a dare?” Gabriella asked.

“You got it,” Jodi said.

Jackie groaned.

“Oh Jackie, I’ll be a married woman soon. This could be my last big hoorah,” Jodi said.

“I guess my invitation got lost in the mail,” Gabriella said with a pout.

“We haven’t sent invitations to anyone, yet,” Jackie stated. “It’s way too early for that.”

“Ah, of course. It’s nice to see some things haven’t changed,” Gabriella said.

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.

“You’re still the organizer of events and people,” Gabriella said with a smile.