JOEL BROOKS

“There is my heart, and then there is you, and I’m not sure there is a difference.”

"Too many times but I can't help it, maybe I should call you Chef Brooks instead," they teased. The age gap between them wasn't entirely massive but for most of their life he had just seemed like such an established adult. But they supposed he had to be when it came to raising a kid and siblings so young. Kind of like her older sister, which was part of what made Ella endeared towards him. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sure she has her sights set on food and drinks, company optional," she added with a laugh, her adoration for the woman clear in the way she spoke about her. "Oh thank you thank you, you know I have to look hot at here. May meet my future rich wife," they teased with a wink before hugging him back. "I'm sure you will, at least you know more people will be a fan of the grill by the end of this. I got here and also started eating so I'm good, real good," they confirmed with a nod as they looked around. "Think I'll get up to a little mischief but nothing too concerning."

"Anything but Mr or Sir, I'll even answer to dickhead if it's spoken with love." Chuckling, he can't imagine Ella would ever do that but he knew his sister would if the offer was extended. "Oh yeah, a lack of company has never stopped D from pouching her cheeks." Joel smiles fondly, having always admired Diana for her independence. "Oh, a future rich wife. Well, I think the upper class is lingering over by the mini golf and cocktail bar. I'm sure there's at least one sugar mamma over there who's looking for a little excitement." And if anyone would provide it, he knew Ella would. "Food first is always a good priority to have. That way if your mischief lands you in the back of a police van you've at least got a full stomach."

"Mr. Brooks, you and your crew have outdone yourselves. I've had like...four burgers, dude. I haven't had that much beef in ages." Ella pat their stomach, in a particularly chatty mood tonight, just generally glad to be having a good time. Nostalgia usually made Ella depressed as fuck but today, with the help of good food and some solid edibles, Ella was embracing all of it. And both of her sisters were in town so it was good vibes all around. "You seen your sister anywhere? I didn't come looking this good for her to not see me. You having fun?" @joel-brooks

"Ella," he raises an amused brow. "How many times have I told you, just call me Joel, Mr. Brooks makes me sound like a stiff." Laughing, he sets his apron aside and walks around, cup of beer in his grasp. "Thanks." Giving her a nod, he was never great at taking compliments, but he appreciated it nonetheless. "No, actually. I saw her from a distance earlier but she must have had her eye on something because she didn't even look over. Maybe she was betraying me in favor of the taco stall." Joel shrugs, looking Ella up and down. "Gorgeous as always," he says kindly, leaning in to give her a half hug. "Yeah, so far. Just hoping to get through today without a hitch. You?"

“Gotta catch me first, old man,” Cole quipped back, though he was only teasing. There were only a select few people that Cole never wanted to tangle with and Joel had always been one. Finishing off his whiskey, he set the empty glass aside and nodded, knowing that Joel was right. Now that Cole had gotten a taste of an old lady’s support, though he’d hardly argue that Cassie knew what the word supportive actually meant, he caught himself mulling over the idea of what that connection could feel like and inwardly longing for it. “Nah, it ain’t,” he agreed, shrugging a shoulder, “Just hope the next one cares about more than just herself.” It was harsh, he knew that, but if Joel wanted him to talk about it, why the fuck should he hold back the truth? Who was he hoping to spare? “I told her about Jeff, right?” He began, recalling how Joel hadn’t been a fan of Cole going to his ex that night— and he’d been right. “Just left her place feelin’ even more twisted up,” which he figured Joel had likely picked up on later that night. Cole had only been looking for a shred of empathy from her, something to help lessen the weight of what he was carrying. But that hadn’t come his way until a week later when he’d told Taliah and her response had made Cole feel like he could breathe for the first time since that night.

"And when I do, the first smack would be for that old man comment." Raising an amused brow, he settles into a soft chuckle. Joel called himself an old man more often than not these days. Having a nearly 22-year-old daughter sure knew how to make you feel your age, even if he didn't always act like it. "Strong statement..." To say that Cassie didn't care, making him tip his head up in a 'explain?' gesture. He knew better than to think Cole would ever just be talking shit, no matter how hurt he was. "Right," Nodding, he certainly remembered not thinking it was a good idea then, never mind now. Though, that was an opinion he couldn't press beyond the typical are you sure question. That night, Cole needed someone, he needed support, he needed an old lady. "I remember. You looked like chewed up shit when you came back." Brushing a hand over his face, he sighs. "I'm sorry, man. Look, I know it ain't the same, but you can talk to us." Us being him, Nate, the club. "Even give ya a hug and let you cop a feel if it helps." Joel smirks, injecting just a little humor into what was otherwise an emotionally devastating confession.

Lori listened and watched with a slightly raised brow as Joel explained the tattoo, confusion settling onto her features for a moment as she wondered why Lily would want her to ask about it. Until “and you”, causing her eyes to widen and a smile she couldn’t fight back curved onto her lips. “Me? All of you have that tattoo with a little symbol that represents me?” She couldn’t pinpoint exactly how she was feeling right now, but overwhelmed seemed like a good place to start. After everything she had done, the heartache she had caused, they still stuck themselves with a permanent reminder of her. If that wasn’t the definition of family, nothing was. “I don’t — I don’t really know what to say to that. I mean other than now I feel left out because I don’t have one.” she joked in an attempt to cover up the mixed emotions and tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. Lori laughed at his comment about the restaurant, shaking her head. “I mean, I do still make the most incredible nachos known to man, so maybe I could give it a shot. I’m sure she won’t hold back on immediately telling me if I’m awful.” That she didn’t doubt for a second, and she definitely didn’t want to ruin Aria’s Mexican restaurant with her white ass. “No hexes, I swear. Unless you piss me off.”

"... Yeah. Well, it's- yeah." Pausing, he can't help the nervous rub at the back of his neck, nor the boyish smile. He felt a little embarrassed, but not in a bad way. He just hadn't expected his daughter to put him in a position where he had to admit he'd got a tattoo that counted Lori as a member of the family, seventeen years after she left. "We made something, you know? Wasn't just me you left an impression on." Joel nodded, smiling, though his eyes stayed down, focused on the label he was picking at. Him and Lori had made a family for themselves that extended to Adam and Diana, long before Lily was even conceived. Time wouldn't change that, and by the tattoos, it was obvious it hadn't. "You can get it if you want it." The tattoo, that was.

"Seems like it, yeah, or at least the only one who's fully awake," he joked. But Will had wanted to get a head start at cleaning up the mess that was left for him so he could actually get settled into his new role. "But thanks, I'm starving. How was the grill?" Will stacked the books he had been looking at on top of each other along with the folders he had so they wouldn't get dirty. He had been at it so long he had forgotten to eat so it was clear in the way he started eating that he had indeed worked up an appetite. "You know, not too bad until I started looking through some files and couldn't read any handwriting," he joked but it was definitely taking some patience. "Yeah no shit, I think my asshole was tight the entire time we were in there," he admitted, not one to be overly confident in himself. "Thanks man, I appreciate it. I mean I appreciate how much faith everyone has in me. It feels good though, think I got some stuff that'll help us out too. Digital without really having to have people sniffing around our shit and not being stuck in the dark ages with all of..this shit," he commented and pointed at the receipts and notebooks he had been looking at. "Yeah either taking a nap somewhere or not here, pretty much. You know all of us are only getting older unfortunately," he joked but he wasn't too upset about it. "We could blast some music though, give 'em a stir just for fun."

"Oh?" Lifting a brow, Joel takes an active look around and spots at least three members still knocked out in various spots. "Oh." He says again, this time with a chuckle. "Yeah, same old. Had to slap my apprentice chef again for zoning out in a weed-fueled daydream when he was in the middle of cooking a steak. To be fuckin' honest, I'd be pissed about it if he wasn't such a clown. The guy cracks me up and believe it or not, does cook better when he's high." Joel smirks, giving a soft shake of his head. "Shit, that bad huh? Rather you than me." Pulling a mocking face, it was only because he had faith Will would figure it out, he wouldn't have been given the patch if he couldn't. "Whatever makes your job easier, if it works better another way just pitch the idea." He nods, sure that the club would back him completely if it made sense. "I got a daughter who's turning 22 soon, you ain't gotta talk to me about gettin older." Scoffing lightly, the mischief stirs in his features at the idea. "Let's eat first, then stick a speaker in their eardrums. You have checked they're all still breathin', right?"

"Yeah, like actual ghosts. Don't tell me you don't believe in them." Who was Theo to say the dead weren't around and watching them. It did make him wonder what kind of clothes they were wearing. Like, did they wear the clothes they died in? What if they died naked? He had a lot of questions about the afterlife, but he wasn't quite sure that Joel was the person to ask about. Maybe he'd save his questions for Riley. "I got a lot of questions about the dead. I think though, they're probably trying to think of ways to fuck with us. That's what i'd do if I were dead. You'd never be able to find your keys again." He was a prankster in life and he'd be one in death. Theo raised a brow at Joel's comment. "Law enforcement, what you mean like the cops? You think they're tryna send a message?" He wasn't quite sure what kind of message shooting one of their own would send, but he could see the possibility. "Tryna run us off?"

"Oh I do. I saw a ghost once when I was a kid. Big ass man in a black suit, briefcase and tophat. So I was about 13, yeah? He was in the hallway and I thought two things. One, it's a mass fuckin' murderer, or two, it's a social worker who let themselves in. Either way, I'm thinking I was so screwed. I said who the fuck are you, and when he turned around, he was like a fuckin' corpse, dude. No eyes, just black sockets, wrinkly skin, creepy ass smile. And then I woke up with Diana slapping me in the face. I was passed out on the floor. Don't know what happened but to this day, it gives me the heebie-jeebies." Shuddering at the memory, it certainly wasn't one he liked to dwell on. "Well, I ain't the one to ask about that, try the witch down the road." Joel chuckled, taking a few seconds to dig into his burger as he nods. "Cops, yeah, or maybe even higher. These attacks don't feel like the work of amateurs." It was just his opinion though. "We are the bad guys, right?" Smirking, he says it with a little amusement because it wasn't something he actually believed. Criminals, yes, but bad guys in general? No, absolutely not.

Diana nodded some as she took in Joel's dilemma. She could understand it, after all. Feelings didn't just disappear because someone hurt you, and if anything, it made it harder to accept that they did hurt you at all. It was how she'd ended up staying in a relationship she should have gotten out of much sooner. "I think the thing about forgiveness that a lot of people don't talk about is..." she began, weighing her words before finishing her thought, "you don't have to forget what happened to be able to forgive them for it. You know why she did what she did, but an explanation for the behavior doesn't always need to be seen as a reason to excuse it." She looked over at Joel and offered him a sympathetic smile. "I don't envy the position you're in at all. All I can really offer you is that... you won't know if that's the case until you try. You're going to have to open yourself up to the possibility of getting hurt again to make that happen, and nobody wants to do that, but if it could mean a chance at that happily ever after you were promised when you got married? I think it'd be worth it."

Resting his head back on the cushion, he turns to look at her as she speaks. A small, proud smile weaves its way onto his features and he even chuckles softly. "Sometimes I forget you can be wise and not just a wise ass." Teasing, he's quick to fall into a nod and add, "I hear what you're saying, 'Ana. You're right, I won't say you're not..." The idea of getting hurt, of being the one to hurt Lori, all of it, it was something that held him back. "See the thing is though, even if I said fuck it, put all those runaway doubts and worries aside... Say I do that, and it ends up going up in flames, what's that gonna do to Lil? I know she's an adult now but I just don't want my decisions to get in the way of her getting to know Lori... Because I want that for her. I want that for both of them." Shrugging a shoulder, he can't help the weight that feels like it's resting right on his shoulders. "I'm just trying not to be selfish. What I want might not be what's best for those around me." He was sure Diana would understand where he was coming from, even if when you chalked it all up it was just pointless excuses not to take a chance at happiness.

Pursing his lips, he shot Joel a flat look, not entirely in the mood for his logic right now, even if there was a fair bit of truth to it. Cole was looking for distractions at every twist and turn. It was what he did. Rather than get bogged down inside his own head and dwell on questions he knew he’d likely never get answers to, Cole liked to focus his energy elsewhere and hopefully find some way to turn whatever he was feeling into something he could use. He knew he didn’t need to explain that to Joel– the Enforcer was one of the few who could read him like an open book. Reaching for the gavel, he turned it over in his hands as Joel continued, his thumb idly tracing over the pockmarks left in the wood throughout the years. In hindsight, it was easy for him to see that he’d fallen for a vision in his head. He’d held onto that teenage dream only for it to play out the exact opposite of what he’d hoped for. “Guess not,” he answered in regard to there being no real harm in hoping for a better outcome than the one he’d gotten, “Was pretty naive though.” He could admit that. Cassie had the reputation of running at the first sign of trouble– had he really expected that to change? Huffing a soft chuckle, he tipped his head to the side and shrugged, “Nah man, even Nate didn’t think so.” Cole supposed it spoke volumes that Cassie’s own brother hadn’t seen it lasting. “Ya ain’t wrong,” he muttered, head shaking, “I’m doin’ what I know to do to work through it, but I guess I’m just havin’ a hard time shakin’ the guilt.” Guilt over what exactly? Cole had trouble putting it into words, but he couldn’t help but feel as if he’d let Cassie down somehow or failed to recognize the signs that she was slipping. In the end, he’d have to come to terms with the fact that that wasn’t on him, but he was having a hard time getting to that place. Sipping at his whiskey, he glanced at Joel, a soft smile forming at the corner of his mouth, “I dunno, you seem to be makin’ progress,” he pointed out in response to Joel’s can’t live with them comment. He figured that if Lori was still in town, then they must have been sorting some things out. At least, Cole hoped that was the case– he wanted to see Joel happy and content, he deserved that. Lifting a brow, Cole snorted a laugh and waved off his talk about finding the one. He didn’t really see that happening and he was fine with that, but there was something in Joel’s secretive little smirk that piqued his interest, “Feels like there’s somethin’ ya ain’t sayin’,” he pressed, wondering if the other man would elaborate or leave it there. “Oh yeah, I ain’t worried about it– Nate’s sweet ass is more than enough for me,” Cole joked, shaking his head as a warm grin stretched across his features.

"Don't shoot that glare at me, boy. My patch gives me the right to beat it into ya instead if I have to," Joel smirks, amusement washing over his features. At this point in their friendship, Joel was well-versed in every one of Cole's expressions and what he was silently saying. Years in a box cell with someone, you did tend to pick up on those little details. He didn't want to keep pushing, so the joke was essentially to break out of that dark cloud and return a little comfort to the room. Joel would push as much as he thought was respectful, and maybe his view of where that line was, was not the same as Cole's, but in the end, his intentions were only for the good. "Nah, you can label it however you wanna, Monroe, but you only have to remember that wanting a lady by your side ain't a crime." He shrugged, even sighed quietly. The type of life they lived, having the influence of a strong woman was helpful in so many ways. The old ladies knew how to give them perspective when they couldn't see beyond their own stubbornness. Joel wanted that influence for Cole on a personal level, he wanted to see him happy, with someone who deserved him.

"That'd be some fuckin' shit." If the girl had been a criminal mastermind. Though, with the way most of the town had been taking her death - he didn't think that was possible. "Dude," Theo said, his eyes widening at the mention of ghosts. "You think they are... Ghosts? Like the haunting kind? Cause it's kind of fuckin' creepy to think the dead are just lurkin' around and watching us." He paused for a moment, before looking back at Joel. "It's weird, right?" He never had been a fan of ghosts. The thought of them gave him the heebie-jeebies.

"What, like actual ghosts?" Joel raised a brow. Would there ever be a time in which Theo said something that didn't surprise him? "I'd say no, the dead have better shit to do but in that same breath, some of them probably have a big axe to grind with us." He chuckled. "Maybe we should call in a priest, see if black smoke starts flying out the floorboards." Smirking, he soon gives a nod. "It's weird. But it's real, they - whoever they are - are as real as their actions. Public murder, bombs, whoever this is ain't scared. Not of us, the law... Fuck, maybe they are the law, I wouldn't even be surprised by that at this point." His tone takes a more miserable tone, he can only sigh out the angst building in his bones.

“We could have been happy. I know that, and it is perhaps the hardest thing to know.”

“Fair enough,” Cole murmured, glad that at least the potential buyers were careful enough to calculate risk before just blindly agreeing– even if Cole thought the deal was the best they’d get even if they searched every corner of the earth. Still, he’d give them space to run the scenario front to back, though he wouldn’t deny that he was itching to put together a run that would get him out of Tonopah for a few days. He needed that, and he knew he wasn’t the only one. The open road would help him unravel his thoughts one by one and begin to make sense of them, but as Joel drew attention to one of those messy webs now, he knew he couldn’t wait until the run. “I dunno what ya want me to say here, man,” he replied, shrugging a shoulder. Cole knew he wasn’t dealing with Cassie’s departure as well as he could have, but he was shoving it down partly in an effort not to draw attention to it and distract from what really mattered.  He shook his head although logically, Cole had now come to realize that it wasn’t his fault. But he still couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of his mind that repeatedly pointed out the way Cassie had pushed blame onto him in her letter, and while that voice was a liar, it was still loud enough to instill doubts within the man. “You can ask me whatever ya want,” he assured Joel, offering up a fleeting smile. His question didn’t come as a surprise. It was one he’d already chewed over and tried to make peace with. “Yeah, I know what you’re tryin’ to say. If I’m bein’ honest, I’ve asked m’self that same question til it made me blue in the face,” he nodded, pausing only to sip at his whiskey. “The idea, I think,” Cole answered with a shrug, “When she came back, it felt like we might finally get our shot, y’know? And I chased after it so hard, I didn’t stop long enough to recognize that she ain’t the same girl that left twenty years ago, and I damn sure ain’t the same guy.” And that was on him. He should have paused, really looked at the situation with a clear head, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d been selfish with it, and in the end, he figured he’d gotten what he deserved for it. “Funny– ya ain’t the first person who’s said that to me,” he mused aloud, lifting a brow at Joel. Even Nate, the woman’s own brother, had told him he’d never thought Cassie was the one for him. “She wasn’t the one twenty years ago either, man. Guess I just needed her to leave twice ‘fore I finally got that through my head.”

Raising a brow, Joel sighs inwardly and shrugs towards him. What did he want him to say, in all honesty? Words weren't going to fix anything and he could certainly appreciate Cole not wanting to talk. But that was exactly why, in Joel's opinion, he needed to. "You realize that by trying not to talk about it so you don't get distracted is kinda a distraction in itself, right?" Smirking softly, it was safe to say if Cole festered long enough to explode, someone was copping that rage full throttle and it wasn't going to be pretty. "And what did you decide?" Joel prompts, following it with a silent nod when Cole says it was probably the idea. To learn that he'd already put those questions to himself on his own spoke a lot of volumes. The doubt had to have been there rattling somewhere around his subconscious, coming to the surface now because it had nowhere else to hide.

“She did mention a tattoo before she left. Showed me hers and said I should ask you about it.” Lori raised an eyebrow at him curiously, intrigued to know what exactly it meant if Lily thought she should know about it. It was clear that Joel had increased his collection of them over the years, but her eye was automatically drawn to the one that matched hers. One that neither of them had decided to cover up. “Nah, it’s fine. I expected a little interrogation from people when I decided to show my face. You’ve got a good thing going here, so it’s only right that they would want to make sure I’m not here to cause some kind of trouble.” She almost couldn’t help the quiet laugh that came with her words at the thought of her causing trouble. That was something that had been conditioned out of her a long time ago — her parents had made sure of that. “Annoyingly I now know what all of them are for, and I hate that I know that.” She could vividly remember herself and Joel laughing and making fun of the way the table was set at a Carrington dinner party, mocking the crystal glasses and the tiny forks and the napkins folded into ridiculous shapes. “Yeah, I guess so. My dad set me up with some funds, but it would be good to get back to what I know. Although working with Aria has been pretty cool, getting to learn more about crystals and shit. My dresser looks like I’ve robbed an entire window display at this point.”

"Oh?" Raising a brow, the realization hit with another "oh" when he understood which tattoo Lily had been talking about. "It's... Yeah, okay, um..." Joel stumbled a little over his words and he couldn't help but think it was the exact reason Lily had even mentioned it. Turning his arm, he shows Lori the small design. "It's to represent family, a symbol for each of us. Lily, 'Ana, Adam, me and, uh... you." Pointing to them as he spoke, he can't help that feeling like somehow it was a confession. After all, daughter or not why would he agree to the tattoo only a year ago if he had forgotten all about Lori? It made it clear he hadn't, none of them had. "We've all got one," a tattoo that was. Clearing his throat, he lifts his eyes up to look at her, curiosity taking over as he wondered what she thought about it, not that he dared ask. "Cause trouble, you? I'd never believe it." Joel smirked, eager to settle into literally any other conversation that wasn't so exposing. "Yeah that's fair. I think she's opening up a restaurant ain't she? If your white ass wants to take on a Mexican menu," he teased, taking a sip from his beer. "Alright, well if she starts tryna teach you how to cast a hex just warn me. I got enough to worry about without wondering if I'm gonna trip and lose an eyeball or whatever," he chuckles.