Authors: Jamie Begley
“This one you give me?” Willa said out loud, thinking of the thousands of things she had prayed for since she was a little girl.
She gently washed her face with a soft washcloth, feeling as if it were a Brillo pad. Then she stared at her reflection. Her eyes were so bloodshot she looked like a vampire, and her blouse had been buttoned wrong. She fixed her appearance as best she could before she went back into the bedroom, nearly tripping over her tennis shoes and barely managing to keep herself from falling onto the bed.
Carefully picking up her shoes, she sat down on the bed to put them on. When she finished, she went to the bedroom door.
“Please, please let me get out of here without Lucky seeing me.” She was beginning to feel like she was on a roll when she managed to slip out of the unfamiliar home.
It was still early enough that hardly any traffic was around except a few early risers going into the diner for breakfast. She didn’t look in their direction, walking toward her house. It was only a couple of blocks away.
Willa had no choice other than to knock on her front door. She couldn’t remember where her purse was. It was a sad day when she hoped a thief had it instead of having to face Lucky to get it back.
After Mrs. Stevens opened the door, letting her inside, Willa thanked her then explained she had to get ready for church. Mrs. Stevens departed, leaving Willa feeling guilty for rushing her off. Then the clock on her wall had her running upstairs to get the kids up for the service.
As Leanne and Charlie both grumbled, wanting to sleep in, she sympathized, wanting to climb into her own bed and pull the covers over her head. She darn sure didn’t want to have to face Lucky. However, no catastrophe made attending church impossible, so Willa ushered the children to her van and into the front pew with a few seconds to spare. She had barely leaned back when the side door opened and Lucky entered.
Willa determinedly stared down at the Bible in her hands. Listening to his sermon without lifting her head, she wished there was some way to get out of standing with him at the end of the service.
The service ended much too soon. Hearing Lucky step down from the podium, she began to stand with Caroline in her arms. Lucky stopped next to her, taking the girl from her, then held out his free hand. Willa took it, her fingers trembling within his grip as they walked down the aisle to the doorway.
The line of parishioners seemed never-ending, and Willa simply wanted to escape and go home.
“Willa, Lucky.” Curt Dawkins stopped in front of them.
Lucky was slow to take the hand held out to him, shaking it briefly before placing his arm around Willa.
“I heard you were engaged. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Lucky started to greet the parishioner behind Curt, but he didn’t take the hint, not moving forward.
“I saw you sneaking out of the back of the church this morning, Willa. Guess you and the pastor decided not to wait for a wedding night, but then, not many do anymore. Isn’t that right, Pastor? I was having breakfast with Jenna before she leaves town. I’m thinking of buying her house. We could be neighbors soon, Willa.” Willa didn’t miss the subtle threat that Curt gave her nor the insulting tone in his voice when he talked to Lucky.
“Jenna found her employment opportunities in Treepoint dried up. It would be a shame if the funding for the new football field dried up, too. The school board wouldn’t be happy if they found out the football coach insulted one of the donors.”
Curt paled, leaving without another word.
“What was that about?”
“The Last Riders make regular donations to the school and community, and since I’m the vice president, Viper lets me make the decisions on who to donate the money to. That football field is going to cost thousands of dollars. If they don’t get a new field, they’re going to have to lay out a season until it can be repaired.”
“Oh.”
Treepoint was fanatical over its football. Curt making one of the donors angry would not only get him fired, but probably lynched by the townspeople. Not even his popularity as a high school football star would save him.
Lily was farther down the line, holding her small son whom Willa managed to snag away from her for a few moments.
“I see you made it to church,” Lily teased.
Willa nuzzled the baby’s sweet smelling neck, hiding her face.
“None of the other women answered the door when I tried to wake them. I called Stud to check on Sex Piston and the rest of her crew, and they were at the hospital. Killyama was getting her stomach pumped.”
“Is she all right?” Willa had come to like the abrasive woman.
“She’s fine, but the hospital had to call Penni to find out what she put in the lemonade.”
“What was it?” Willa was afraid to hear her answer.
“Moonshine she bought from the Porter brothers.”
“Sweet Jesus.” Willa used her elbow to poke Lucky in the stomach. “It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is.” Lucky wiped his tears of mirth away.
“She had drunk half a pitcher. She had alcohol poisoning.”
“How much did you have?” Lucky asked, moving away from her elbow.
“Two glasses. I think.” Willa found everything after the first glass hazy.
“Penni was going to visit her at the hospital when I was leaving for church.”
“She wasn’t sick like the rest of us?”
“No, Penni has a cast-iron stomach. I found that out in college. She used to drink men three times her size under the table.” Lily took John back into her arms. “I’ll see you at tonight’s service. I’m going to go home to make Killyama some soup. The hospital is going to release her this afternoon.”
“Tell her I hope she feels better soon.”
“I will.”
“I’ll have to make sure I save some time today to prepare,” Lucky stated.
“What for?” Willa smiled as Angus approached, his eyebrows looking like two caterpillars attacking each other.
“Penni’s eulogy. If she gets anywhere near Killyama, she’s gonna die.”
Willa laughed so hard her head spun, and she had to lean against Lucky for support. Maybe she should stop by her doctor’s office tomorrow to make sure she didn’t have any ill effects from Penni’s lemonade concoction.
Angus grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. After placing her back down, he slapped Lucky on the back.
“Makes me feel good to see a young couple in love as much as Myrtle and I are. Hope you have as many years together as we’ve had. Our fifty-third anniversary is next Thursday.”
Angus’s wife rolled her eyes at her husband. “He’s tactfully trying to remind you about our cake.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Willa said, noticing Lucky had become remote, standing silently until the older couple left.
“I need to leave. I’m having lunch at the diner. The Last Riders are waiting for me.”
Willa took Caroline from him. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He had placed an invisible barrier between them, telling her without words the only relationship they shared was an act to deceive others. The Last Riders were the ones he wanted to spend his time with.
Lucky nodded, locking the church door then leaving her and the children to walk to the parking lot alone. She put the children in the van and drove home, refusing to acknowledge the hurt she was feeling throughout the entire drive.
He had left her last night without making love to her, which told her he wasn’t attracted enough to her to actually have sex with her. Today, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t building any misconceptions about his feelings toward her.
*
*
*
Willa stood at the sink, washing the dishes after lunch.
“Why aren’t you using the dishwasher?” Leanne asked, placing a glass into the sudsy water.
Willa shrugged. “Sometimes I like to do them by hand.”
“Why are you crying?”
Willa sniffed. “I’m not crying.”
“I can do the dishes.” Leanne took the plate out of her hand, moving in front of the sink. It was the first real overture the teenager had made toward her.
“I’ll take the kids out to play.” Willa dried her hands on a dishtowel.
All she had to do was open the backdoor and the little girls ran outside. Willa followed them, yelling at Charlie to come out and play with the girls. The sisters loved their brother to chase them around the yard.
Willa came to a stop when she stepped outside and saw what the girls were doing. A solid black German Shepherd was sitting on his haunches while the girls wrapped their arms around his neck. Terror filled Willa at the sight.
“Caroline, Chrissy, come here. Right now. Move slowly toward me,” Willa urged, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
“We don’t want to. Isn’t she pretty?”
Her eyes traveled down the body of the large dog. “Yes, she is.”
“Can we keep her?” Caroline lisped.
“No!” Willa lowered her shrill voice. “She must have gotten away from her owner. I’ll call Animal Control.” As soon as the words out of her mouth, she realized it was Sunday, and the town didn’t have the funds to employ someone to pick up strays on the weekend. Thinking quickly, she took out her cell phone and called the sheriff’s office, and the dispatcher promised to send someone immediately.
Willa carefully walked closer to the children and dog until she was within touching distance. Then she took each girl’s hand, tugging them away from the dangerous-looking dog. The dog whined when she stepped back, placing the girls behind her back.
She was at her back door when Charlie and Leanne came outside. The little boy stopped then ran forward before she could stop him. Leanne went slower, not wanting to appear as excited.
“Where did she come from?” Charlie asked in awe.
“I don’t know. Come back here.”
Charlie reached out to pat the dog, ruffling his fur.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Willa warned.
“Why not? He’s friendly.”
Willa was about to push the girls inside when Knox opened her side gate.
“Thank God you’re here,” Willa said in relief. She hadn’t known who to protect first.
“What’s up?”
Willa waved her hand at the massive dog. “I don’t know how he got in my backyard, and Animal Control is closed today.”
Knox went to the dog, sticking out his hand to be sniffed, and the dog licked his hand after a few moments.
“How is Sissy adjusting?” Willa took advantage of the opportunity to ask about her former foster child as he petted the dog. She had an appointment with Diamond later this week, and she was going to use the opportunity to ask for information since Flora refused to give her any news on the girl, citing privacy guidelines. However, this gave her a chance to keep her appointment strictly business.
“Good. She’s spending time with Sex Piston and her crew.”
“That must be fun for her.”
“I don’t know about that,” Knox said. “She thought making fun of Diamond’s doomsday prepping was hilarious until Sex Piston heard her. Now she’s trying to survive working in Sex Piston’s beauty shop part-time.”
Willa could imagine the biker women making toast of Sissy if she showed them her teenage angst.
“She seems pretty friendly.” Knox said, drawing her attention back to the dog. His hand went to the collar Willa hadn’t noticed. “Her name is Ria.”
“Does it say who to call?”
“No, but if she belongs to someone, they usually call the dog shelter. It will be tomorrow before we can find her owner if she belongs to someone.”
“Of course she belongs to someone, or she wouldn’t have a collar,” Willa reasoned.
“Not if the owner couldn’t take care of her anymore. Sometimes, they let them loose, hoping they’ll find a new home. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to get rid of her.”
“I don’t have any place to keep her. I guess I could chain her up at the dog shelter. They’ll find her when they open in the morning.”
“Let her stay tonight,” Charlie begged.
Willa didn’t even think twice. “She may be dangerous. I can’t take the chance with the children.”
“I can test her and see if you want. I’ve had several dogs, and we have a K-9 on the force.”
Willa didn’t want to keep the dog, regardless, but the children made it hard to say no.
They stood around as Knox gave the dog a series of commands that she followed. Even Willa could see the dog was well trained.
“I’ll be right back,” Knox said before disappearing to the front of her house then coming back with a bag of dog food.
“I keep an extra bag in my car for Bane when his handler works double shifts.”
Willa watched as Knox fed the dog out of his hand.
“You have a bowl?”
Leanne ran inside the house, returning with one of her fine china bowls that had been from when her mother was married. Willa didn’t chastise her, watching closely as Knox filled the bowl with dog food then sat it down in front of the dog. He took the bowl away after the dog ate a few bites, and the dog sat down on it haunches, wagging its tail.
“I’m no expert, but I think she’ll be fine around the kids.” Knox’s hand smoothed over the dog’s head. “You can drop her off at the shelter in the morning,” Knox reminded her.
“Please, can we keep Ria tonight?” Charlie moved closer to the dog as if Willa would snatch her away.
“I suppose one day won’t make a difference,” Willa relented.
“Yay!” the children all yelled.
“We are not keeping her, though,” Willa said firmly.
“I’d say she’s housebroken. She won’t be too much trouble. The shelter’s pretty full right now. I had to call them Friday on a hoarder. She’ll have to be put down if they don’t find her a home.” Knox wasn’t helping.
Willa shot him a glance as the children began crying, begging her to let the dog stay. Charlie and Leanne glared at her like she was a monster.
“She can stay for a few days until I can find her a new home.” Willa caved in to the children’s cries.
“I’m glad that’s settled. Anything else I can do for you, Willa?”
“No, I think you’ve done enough,” Willa said reproachfully.
Knox gave her a grin, and Willa thought she caught sight of a tongue ring before he caught her staring. He gave her a wink before leaving. Willa blushed when she remembered Diamond’s words from the night before.