Authors: Jamie Begley
The congregation began lining up to speak to Lucky, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Willa give each parishioner a hesitant smile.
Drake Hall with his son Jace and Jace’s friend Cal were the first ones in line. Drake bent down, giving Willa a kiss on her cheek. “I heard the good news. Congratulations to you both.” Drake reached out, shaking Lucky’s hand. Then the two younger men followed his example. “Willa, why didn’t you tell me you two were seeing each other?”
“She wanted to make up her mind about continuing to see me. Willa was a hard woman to convince, but I finally managed to get her to admit I would make a good husband.” Lucky winked at Drake, giving the impression that Willa had kept him dangling like a fish on a hook.
“She’s worth the trouble; that’s for sure.” Drake’s hand tightened on Willa’s, pulling her closer for a hug.
Lucky’s mouth tightened into a grim line, his arm going around her waist and tugging her away from Drake to his side. “Yes, she is.”
Drake took the silent hint, moving away with Jace and Cal.
The women of the congregation moved in next, swarming Willa in a rush of hugs and well wishes.
“Have you set the date yet?” Winter’s voice could be heard over the rest.
“No—” Willa began.
“Yes. November sixteenth. We want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day as a family.”
The women stared at him in dismay at the close date.
“That doesn’t give us much time to do any planning.” Beth bit her lip then gave Willa a determined look. “We’ll get it all done. If we can arrange Lily’s wedding on forty-eight hours’ notice, we can make a wedding that you’ll always remember with two weeks to work on it.”
Lucky frowned. “We don’t want anything too fancy. We were thinking of going to the courthouse then having a reception at the church.”
The women stared at him as if he had grown two heads. He expected Willa to have the same expression; instead, she was nodding her head in agreement.
“Neither of us want a big church wedding,” Willa said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“Are you sure? You cried your eyes out during Lily’s wedding.” Beth’s reminder had the women rallying around her, trying to convince her to have a more formal wedding.
Finally, Willa raised her hand so the group would listen.
“I cried because Lily’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, not because I wanted one like it for myself. I would actually prefer a spring wedding, but Lucky and I want to spend the holidays together with the children.” It was the most Willa had spoken at one time and she had inserted a firmness in her voice so it would be more believable.
“I can understand her feelings. King and I didn’t have a big wedding, either.” Evie pushed herself to the front of the line. “We’re holding the whole line up. Since we’re having a wedding, we need to at least give her a bachelorette party.”
Willa shot that idea down. “My business is so busy right now. I wouldn’t be much fun.”
Evie went on as if Willa hadn’t spoken. “We can do it next Saturday at King’s restaurant. That way, all you have to do is show up. I’ll handle the food and the booze.”
“The children—”
“I’d be glad to spend the night at your house so you won’t have to worry what time you get home,” Mrs. Stevens, her neighbor from across the street, offered.
Unable to think of another excuse, Willa agreed.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it? Don’t worry, Willa; I won’t make it too wild,” Evie promised.
Willa had attended a couple of parties with the women that Lily and Beth had invited her to, and all of them had been fun, despite her feeling like the outsider.
“I’ll look forward to it,” Willa said and meant it.
When the women moved on, leaving the rest of the congregation to file past, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“That didn’t hurt, did it?”
“No.” Willa didn’t admit that his presence had kept her nerves steady.
“Ready, kids?” Now that church was over, Willa wanted to escape back to her home.
“Where are you going?” Lucky stopped her when she would have reached for Chrissy and Caroline.
“I’m going home to relax. It’s my day off.”
“You have to attend the fellowship meeting with me. Then we have to take care of getting a ring for you.”
“I don’t need a ring,” Willa protested.
“No one is going to believe we’re engaged if you don’t have a ring,” Lucky stated resolutely.
Willa followed Lucky into the fellowship hall. She had attended many times before, fading into the background. Today, they were the center of attention since everyone wanted to gather gossip for the rumor mill.
Willa was relieved when the room finally cleared.
She and the kids were hustled into Lucky’s SUV. Thankfully, the reception welcoming Lucky back to church and then sitting through the sermon had made the younger children sleepy. As a result, they fell asleep in the backseat as Lucky drove out of town.
Willa turned in her seat. “Where are we going?”
“I thought we would drive to Jamestown to look. The jewelry store is open there on Sunday.”
“Oh.” At least the children wouldn’t be grumpy from being tired.
Charlie turned on the DVD player in the backseat, and both he and Leanne began watching a movie.
“I didn’t know you had another vehicle.”
“It’s two days old,” Lucky quipped.
Willa lowered her voice so the kids couldn’t hear her in the backseat. “You bought it after you told Flora we were engaged?”
“Yes.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Fortunately, Willa, money isn’t something I need to worry about. When our engagement is over, I’ll sell it or keep it for the club to use.”
Willa stared out the window at the passing scenery. How did he not have to worry about money on a pastor’s salary? Then again, she didn’t feel it was any of her business since their engagement was a pretense for the children’s benefit, not an opportunity to stick her nose into his private affairs.
“Were you able to finish the cakes you were working on last night?”
“Yes.” Willa yawned. “I was able to finish decorating them this morning before the girls woke. I don’t get much accomplished when they’re in the kitchen. They like playing with the frosting.”
“I do, too,” Lucky muttered.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I was saying your cakes are very good. You’ve worked hard on your business. Have you found a place to open a store yet?”
“No. You’re right; the building next to the diner is going to need too much work, but the other property I was looking at is too expensive. I’ll keep looking. The right one will come along,” she said. “I may not need more space, anyway. If the children’s relative is found, I won’t need the additional room”
Lucky gave her a brief glance before looking back to the road. “Willa, we may need to be realistic. He may not be found in time.”
Willa’s stomach sank as her greatest fear was realized.
“I’ve already thought of that. I really don’t want the girls to go to the Wests. I know they attend your church, but…” Willa shrugged, unable to say just what her objections were and not wanting to come off as silly.
“I agree. I don’t think the Wests would be the best placement for them, nor do I want Leanne to be forced into a group home,” Lucky said grimly.
“I don’t, either. I’ve asked a few couples in town whom I think would make excellent foster homes, but the idea of taking in five children is too much for them to handle.”
“It wasn’t for you.”
“Believe me, it’s been hard. I’ve almost thrown in the towel several times.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“Because I know how hard it is to live in a home you’re unhappy in, and I can’t do that to a child when I can make a difference. I’ll do what I have to in order to make them happy.”
“Enough to marry me?”
Shocked, Willa stared speechlessly.
“Because it may come down to it despite Knox’s efforts, and the investigators searching for their next of kin may not find them in time.”
“Maybe we can say we decided to have a longer engagement…”
“Child Services only agreed to let you keep the children because our marriage is soon. If we try to delay it, they could possibly place the children until we are.”
“What am I going to do?” She began trying to think of other ways to circumvent the children being taken; however, she was coming up blank.
“We could get married then get an annulment after we find them a suitable home.”
Lucky’s suggestion was the last one she had expected.
“Why would you do that?”
“You’re not the only one who wants to help. Several people in the community would have helped the last few months if you had let them, but you don’t have a choice now. Either you accept my help or lose the kids.”
Willa stared down at her hands. “I’m used to relying on myself, but I was wrong. If I had taken help, I might not be in this position now. It doesn’t come easy to me, accepting help.”
Lucky’s hand left the steering wheel. “How about you lean on me for a while? If I can handle a church full of parishioners, I think I can deal what comes your way.”
His confidence irritated Willa, so she decided to see how well the cocky biker would cope with the pressure she was under. Asking God if all men were jerks or just the ones she came in contact with was another question to add to her ever-expanding list.
“Jerk.”
“What did you say?”
“I said, fine.”
*
*
*
“How about that one?” Willa pointed at a ring with a small diamond that was in the clearance section of the jewelry case.
Lucky stared at the ring. “It’s not very big.”
“I don’t want a big stone. It will make it harder to sell.”
She and Lucky each held one of the young girls, while Leanne and Charlie were staring in fascination into the glass cases.
“I like that one.” Chrissy took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to point at a large, garish ruby ring.
“That’s not an engagement ring, but I like the red, too.” Willa hugged the little girl closer.
She felt Lucky’s gaze on her as she walked up and down the aisles, looking into the various cases. The middle-aged saleswoman focused her attention on Lucky. If Willa was really engaged to Lucky, she would be jealous as heck at the attention he was getting from her. Instead, Willa skirted the section they were at, going to the end. It was obviously full of the more expensive items in the store. Willa was about to turn away when her eyes were caught by a ring that had her unintentionally gasping.
It was rose gold with a pink diamond in the center, surrounded by smaller diamonds. It wasn’t like the other engagement rings. It was more frivolous and feminine looking and completely unlike anything she owned, but she fell in love with it immediately.
“You like that one?” Lucky asked.
Willa jumped. “I was just shocked at the price.”
The saleswoman reached in the case, pulling the ring out. “It’s one of the most expensive rings we have in the store.” Her condescending attitude struck Willa like a slap in the face. When they had arrived at the store, the woman hadn’t tried to hide her reaction when Lucky had introduced her as his fiancée.
Then she quoted a price that had Willa taking a hasty step back.
“I like the other ring much better. It won’t get in my way when I’m cooking. I don’t wear much jewelry.”
The cheaper pieces always broke or tarnished, and the more expensive pieces she would have treated herself to occasionally were invariably budgeted out when her bills came.
“We’ll take the other one, then.”
The saleswoman placed the ring back in the case, walking back to the clearance section to pull out the smaller ring, and Lucky pulled out his wallet.
“Which one are you getting?” Leanne asked, coming to her side.
She looked at the counter, seeing the ring that was sitting waiting to be bagged.
“It’s very pretty.”
Leanne’s reaction didn’t bother Willa. She was determined to give Lucky the money back for the ring, and it cost exactly the amount in her savings account. The down payment on her store would simply have to wait until she could sell the ring after their fake engagement ended.
Willa hadn’t expected to be able to wear it out of the store, but the ring fit surprisingly well and didn’t need to be sized. It felt strange on her finger after she slid it on.
The children were becoming restless. Willa was grateful Lucky was driving since she was able to deal with Caroline’s temper tantrum by digging out her blanket from her large purse. Content, the little girl quieted.
Lucky gave her a lighthearted grin. “You okay?”
“The screaming doesn’t bother you? Most men would be freaking out.”
“Doesn’t bother me. Rider throws worse tantrums when he has to work overtime,” Lucky joked.
“I can’t imagine Rider throwing a tantrum. He seems very laid-back.”
Lucky snorted. “Wait until you see him pissed off.”
“I’ll pass, even though I still think you’re exaggerating.”
Lucky helped her inside with the children when they arrived back at her house.
“I need to get back to the church to get ready for tonight’s service. I’m sorry, but because we’re engaged, everyone will expect you to be there.”
“I don’t mind,” Willa assured him.
Lucky gave her a brief nod as he passed by her to leave.
She hesitantly reached out to stop him. “Thank you for all of your help.”
Lucky’s expression hardened. “Don’t thank me, Willa. I don’t want to see you get hurt…”
Her hand dropped to her side. “Don’t worry, Lucky. I won’t forget you’re pretending to be engaged to me. I won’t make the mistake of believing you care about me for a second.” With that, Willa opened the front door.
“Good, I’m glad we understand each other.”
*
*
*
Lucky wanted to slam his fist against the door that was shut at his back. As an alternative, he walked to the new SUV, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. He hadn’t meant his words the way Willa had taken them. He had started to tell her what he had meant then realized it was better to leave it alone. After all, they had no future together.
He sure as fuck didn’t want to be her friend, and she would run from a sexual relationship with him. He could imagine the shock and disgust on her face if she found out he liked to use his knives on women. The timid woman would be horrified if he ever pulled out his leather case containing the lethal blades of various sizes and shapes that he used during sex.