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I nod, and Thatch slaps his palm on my back “This is the part where the ladies finish up dinner and thethe shit”

“Sounds very 1950s,” I tease, and he just soing in the opposite direction of Ava and Cassie

“Yeah, well, e started this tradition, we tried to help the girls get dinner ready, but if you’ve ever been stuck inside a hot kitchen with Kline’s wife freaking out over the consistency ofup said mashed potatoes, you learn pretty quick to stay out of the way”

The instant we step inside the cigar rooar billows up into the air

“Guess who finally made it?” Thatch announces as he takes a seat at the head of the poker table, where Harrison Hughes begins to deal a fresh hand

Kline Brooks and Theo Cruz grin

Milo Ives and Quincy Black offer a friendly wave

Trent Turner urges me to take the empty seat beside him

And Wes Lancaster gru about his hand “Why do you always deal hes?”

Harrison just smirks and looks to me “You want to play a little Texas Hold’em, Luke?”

“What’s the buy-in?”

“Today’s buy-in is courtesy of Mr Moneybags Kline” Cap waggles his brows and pulls his cigar out of his et paid to play”

I tilt my head to the side, and Kline rolls his eyes

“Apparently, it’s hts”

“Aw, poor Kline…” Thatch pretends to wipe a tear from his eye “Hihts, and now hiht rules”

“There’re no fucking official rules,” Kline chi directly at me with a half-amused, half-annoyed smirk

“Yes, there are!” Thatch bellows

“Oh, really?” Kline retorts “Show me Where the fuck are these supposed rules?”

“They’re right here” Thatch taps the side of his head

“And that helps me, how?” Kline snaps back “I can’t read your mind, T”

“Pretty sure no one on the face of Planet Earth wants to read Thatcher Kelly’s rin around the cigar in his mouth

“True that!”

Trent slides a stack of chips in front of ame

When I lift up ht off the bat

“Raise 1000,” Cap slides four chips into the pile

Well, fuck, it appears Kline had to pay quite the damn penalty

“Call,” Milo agrees

“Call” Trent is in

“Fold,” Wes gru me absolute shit”