Page 137 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“I can’t say I’d be happy about it, either. You’ve got great hair, son. Just like your old man.”

“Yes, sir. My girlfriend likes it,” he said, earning chuckles from the guys.

“My old lady likes my hair, too,” Tiny said. “What bothers you most about losing your hair?”

Lucas shrugged and looked down at his feet. “I don’t want to be bald, and look different from everyone else.”

Tiny gave a nearly imperceptible nod to Doc.

“Want to know what pisses me off about it?” Doc asked.

Lucas met Doc’s gaze. “I didn’t know you were pissed off about it.”

“Everything about this disease pisses me off,” Doc admitted. “You’re my son. I would burn down the world for you. I’d give my own life for you, and I can’t get my hands on this fucking disease to tear it to shreds. And now it’s taking one more thing from you that I can’t stop, and it’s making you want to hide away, uncomfortable in your own skin. So yeah, I’m pissed.”

Lucas’s chin trembled, but he set his jaw, once again showing how unbelievably strong he was.

“We would all burn down the world for you, Rodeo,” Tiny added. “Your uncles.” He glanced at Cowboy and Dare, who nodded in confirmation. “And every brother in this room.”

Collective “That’s rights” and “Hell yeahs” rang out from the other men.

Lucas swallowed hard.

“You see, Rodeo,” Tiny said. “In this family, we have a saying. Nobody rides alone.”

Tiny pulled off his bandanna and tossed it on the table as Dare and Cowboy grabbed two chairs from behind the table and placed them in front of Doc and Tiny. Tiny pulled a pair of scissors and an electric clipper from his back pocket and handed them to Lucas.

“What are these for?” Lucas asked.

“If you’re losing your hair, we’re losing ours,” Tiny said, and he and Doc sat down.

Lucas stared at the clipper. “You want me to shave your heads? You don’t have to do this,” he said urgently. “Do Wynnie and my mom know you’re doing this?”

“We don’t need their permission,” Tiny said.

“They’ll be pissed,” Lucas said.

“I guess we’ll find out if your mom loves me for more than my hair,” Doc teased, and more chuckles rang out.

“Wynnie can still run her fingers through my beard,” Tiny said, inciting more laughter. “Now get to it, Rodeo.”

“Doc,” Lucas pleaded.

“You’re not going to change our minds, bud. This is called solidarity.”

Lucas groaned. “What if I mess up?”

“You won’t,” Dare said as he and Cowboy stepped beside Lucas. “I set the clipper to leave stubble. Just start at the front, and run the clipper over the top of their heads and down the back.”

As Lucas stepped behind Doc, Cowboy said, “When you’re in the clubhouse, you start with the president of the club out of respect.”

“Sorry.” Lucas moved behind Tiny.

Ezra got up and started videoing, as Doc had asked him to earlier that morning.

“I don’t know about this, Tiny. When’s the last time you cut your hair?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t remember,” Tiny said. “It’s been long ever since I was a kid. I just trim the ends.”