“I’ll put it in the dressing room for you.”
“Thank you.” Willa began to follow her.
“Wait, she wants to try this dress on, too.” Lily had gone to the mannequin and was touching the filmy material.
“We have another out back. I’ll just grab it and put it in the dressing room also.”
“Don’t bother; it won’t fit.” Willa tried to stop the women from taking over, but it was useless.
“Don’t worry; we have it in a larger size.”
Willa couldn’t come up with another excuse, finding herself in the dressing room with the door closed and the two dresses hanging from the hook.
She tried on the short one first. It was exactly what she had been searching for. It wasn’t expensive, and she planned to give it to the church store after her engagement to Lucky ended.
When she walked outside, coming to a stop in front of Lily and Beth’s chairs, both women gave her encouraging smiles.
“It’s very pretty.”
Beth nodded at her sister’s comment. “It’s perfect for a courthouse wedding.”
“Yes, it is,” Lily agreed unhappily. “Will you at least try on the other dress?”
“I shouldn’t.” Willa hesitated, seeing the disappointment in their expressions. Sighing, Willa gave in to them. “I’ll try it on.”
Their faces became expectant as Willa went back into the dressing room.
“This is a really, really bad idea.”
“Did you say something?” the saleswoman asked from outside the door.
“I said I’ll be out in a moment.”
“Take your time. If you need any help, let me know.”
“Can you get me out of here?” Willa prayed silently, taking the dress off the hanger and carefully sliding it over her head.
It went on much easier than she expected. Willa turned to face the mirror, her breath catching in her throat.
“This isn’t fair.”
The dressing room door opened, and the saleswoman zipped her up.
“Let’s show your friends.” She gave Willa’s hand a tight squeeze, leading her into the other room.
Lily and Beth both blinked back emotional tears.
“That’s it!” Beth jumped up, hugging her.
Willa stared at herself in the mirror as a veil was placed on her head.
“How much is it?” Willa croaked.
“Fifteen hundred.”
“It’s too expensive. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”
Lily stood, stopping her from leaving. “It’s Beth’s and my gift to you. Willa, the dress was made for you.” Lily kissed her on the cheek, hugging her close.
“I can’t accept—”
“Oh, yes, you can,” Lily stopped her. “You’ve given us and the clubhouse enough cakes and candy to pay for the dress. Please, Willa, we both want you to have something special. You deserve a beautiful day.”
“It’s too much.” Willa shook her head.
“I have an idea. If you don’t feel comfortable wearing this one to the courthouse, you buy the other white dress to wear. Then wear this one to the reception at the church,” Lily reasoned.
“We’re not taking no for an answer. We’re buying the dress, and you can wear which one you want Saturday.” Beth motioned for the saleswoman who was exuberant at selling two dresses.
Willa stood as she was fitted then went back to the dressing room to put her clothes back on. She should go back outside and tell the women no then go home.
Willa returned to the front of the store with every intention of following through with her decision, but found Lily and Beth both waiting by the front door.
“We have to hurry, or you’re going to miss your appointment with Sex Piston.”
Beth and Lily both went outside.
Willa caught up with them at her van. “What appointment?”
“Don’t you remember? Sex Piston made a hair appointment for you at her shop during your bachelorette party.”
“I don’t remember that. I’ll call and cancel. I told Evie I would be gone an hour. I can’t leave her babysitting while I get my hair done.”
“She already knows.” Lily opened the van door, climbing into the back, and Beth sat down in the passenger seat.
“This is going to be bad,” Willa muttered, getting in behind the steering wheel.
“What did you say?” Beth’s curious eyes stared at her as she started the van.
“This is going to be fun.”
* * *
Lucky disconnected the call. If Train called him one more time, he was going to drive to Ohio and kick his ass. Shade had won the bet, and none of the other brothers wanted to leave town. He also hadn’t talked to Willa about the club, fulfilling his own side of the bet. He needed to tell her before Sissy did; leaving her without the information made Willa vulnerable.
He punched in Willa’s number, and it took several rings before she answered.
“Hello?”
“We need to have a talk. Are you doing anything tonight?”
“I’m busy tonight. How about tomorrow? We could meet at my house at one. Leanne and Charlie will be at school, and the girls will be taking a nap.”
“I’ll see you then.”
“All right.”
Lucky hung up, already dreading the meeting. Willa was too innocent to understand the sexual side of the club. Worse still, she was going to be disgusted and angry that Sissy had found out. It was a good thing their engagement wasn’t for real, because he had a feeling she was going to throw that cheap-ass ring at him.
When his cell phone rang again, he promised himself, if it was Train again, he was going to change his fucking number. Looking at the caller ID, however, he saw it was Knox.
“What’s up, brother?”
“I have some good news. One of the investigators found the kids’ relative, and he’s flying in from Texas. I’m going to meet his plane in Lexington in the morning. We’ll be in Treepoint by noon.”
“He’s willing to take the kids?”
“Yes, he owns a ranch and has a housekeeper. I checked him out, and the state will, too, before they give him custody of the children, but I don’t see a problem. He’s a bounty hunter who works his ranch until he’s called out on a job. He said he’ll take a couple of months off to get them settled before he goes back to work. He’s used to catching felons on the run and has staff working on his ranch, so he doesn’t think the kids are going to give him any trouble. Your ass is off the line.”
“Willa’s going to take it hard. She’s grown attached to them.”
“I agree. You want to tell her before I bring him by to meet them?”
“I’m meeting her tomorrow at one. Give me an hour to tell her.”
“Will do. What about you? You still going to
keep your bet with Shade?”
“Yes, I made the bet, and I’m going to keep it. Besides, I don’t trust Sissy. She’ll find a way to hurt Willa.”
“I’ll see you around two.”
Lucky set the cell phone down before he was tempted to break it like he had the last one. He sat down on his chair, expecting to feel relief that the engagement would be broken, and Willa’s conscience would be off the line for caring for the children. Instead, he was hurting so badly it was everything he could do not to find out where Willa was and go to her, check into the nearest motel, and show her exactly how he felt about her. He buried his head in his hands, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He couldn’t listen to his heart and take the chance Willa would be hurt. He would tell Willa tomorrow. He would also check out the relative himself. It should only take a couple of days, and then he could finally tell Train he could come home as soon as he found a new pastor to take over.
Everyone would be happier in the long run—everyone but him.
Chapter 17
“You’re early,” Willa stated, opening the door at Lucky’s knock. Her hand went to Ria’s head as the dog sat down next to her.
“I wanted to get it over with,” Lucky stated coldly.
Her smile slipped when she saw the grim look on his face, and she opened the door wider for him to come inside. He walked into the living room then waited for her to join him, but her footsteps lagged. She could tell whatever he was going to tell her was bad.
Yesterday had been one of the best days of her life, losing herself with Beth and Lily by pretending for a short time that Lucky would marry her, help her keep the children, and in time fall in love with her. Miracles happen every day, so it could happen, she had told herself while Sex Piston had worked on her hair.
“Bitch, who’s been working on your hair?”
“I’ve gone to a couple of different beauty shops, and I experimented with color myself a few times,” Willa apologized, brushing her hair away from her face.
Sex Piston ran her hands through her long hair, surveying it critically.
“Can you fix it?”
“I can try. I’m good, but some of it’s going to have to be cut. It’s all different lengths from you going short too long.”