by Jamie Begley
Laughing sardonically to himself, he went to find Nickel. Helping him unjam the popcorn machine wasn’t as much fun as provoking Jo, but it was a hell of a lot safer.
5
“So, are you coming to dinner or not?”
Jo rubbed her temples. She had been refusing Rachel’s dinner invitation for the last fifteen minutes and was beginning to get a headache at Rachel’s determination that she come.
“I’ve already told you no ten times. I’m eating at home and, God willing, I can get a few hours’ sleep before getting called out. What’s the big deal if I come tonight?”
She was going to stop by the grocery and buy herself a TV dinner, then watch one episode of The Walking Dead before going to bed. Her red-headed friend’s temperament was showing through, though, refusing to accept her refusal.
“I didn’t know Cash has to work late tonight, and I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings. Mag, Ema, and I can’t eat it all. All that food is going to go to waste if you don’t come. Please, I’ll make you some deviled eggs.”
Her stomach growled at the tempting bribe.
“What time will everything be ready?” She gave in to the inevitable two pounds that she would be walking away with from Rachel’s home cooking.
“Six. Don’t be late!” Rachel gave her a grin before going to talk to Beth and Lily about the church store charity auction at the counter.
There was no denying Rachel when she made up her mind. Jo had had no intention of joining the committee until her friend had badgered her into agreeing.
Looking over the rack of clothes, she saw Shade sitting outside in the parking lot, waiting for Lily to finish.
Carrying two plain shirts and a thick sweater, she carried the items to the counter to pay for them and finish the meeting that had been interrupted when Beth had to wait on a customer.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea!” Beth was saying to her sister when she reached the counter. Willa, the pastor’s wife, seemed just as pleased.
“I think so, too!” Rachel’s beaming smile showed how happy she was with whatever idea Beth and Lily had come up with while she and Rachel had been talking.
“What idea?” Jo asked, reaching for her wallet.
Lily started ringing up the clothes Jo had set down. “I read about a charity auction for bachelors to raise money. I told Beth about it, and we think that would be an inexpensive way to raise money for the church. The auction we had last year only raised five hundred dollars, and we wouldn’t have raised that if King hadn’t given that steak dinner for four.”
“Who do you think you’ll be auctioning off? There aren’t many bachelors in the congregation.” Jo didn’t want to dull their enthusiasm, but she couldn’t think of any of the bachelors in church who she would pay fifty cents to go on a date with.
Lily’s face fell, as did Rachel’s. Meanwhile, Willa and Beth stared at each other. Jo could practically see the wheels turning. Then Beth’s face brightened.
“There’s no reason the men have to be from the congregation. I’m sure I could talk Rider and Moon into volunteering.”
“They’ll probably be auctioned off quickly with all the women in attendance.” Lily laughed.
Jo was the only one not laughing as the other women agreed.
“Why does it have to be the men in town we auction off? Why can’t some of the women?” Rachel waved at two customers coming into the store.
Jo didn’t like the way the conversation was turning, nor the four pairs of eyes trained on her.
“No. And before you start pestering me, there aren’t enough deviled eggs in the world to make me volunteer.” Jo dumped the change Lily had given her from her purchase into the donation jar that sat next to the cash register.
“Jo, don’t be like that! It’s for a good cause. It’s for the toy drive for some of the children on the list. It’s the only present they’ll get for Christmas,” Lily pleaded. Her violet eyes had Jo looking away.
“No.” It wasn’t as strong as her first refusal, but she held on to her determination not to make a fool of herself when none of the men in town bought a date with her.
“We don’t want to force you into doing something you don’t want to do.”
Lily was making her feel terrible. Even the other three were looking at her like she had just squashed a butterfly.
“No one would bid on me.” With the defense, she revealed her fear.
“Yes, they would,” Lily assured her. “And if none of the men bid on you, I will, and you can go out to dinner with me and Shade.”
Jo rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he would enjoy that.”
Sweet woman she was, Lily missed the sarcasm in her voice.
Jo gritted her teeth when Beth, Willa, and Rachel offered to bid on her, too.
Feeling like she was about to give in, she clutched at straws, trying to make the women see reason. “How about I pinch in volunteering to set up the dinner? I could buy a couple of presents, too.”
“It won’t be as much as I can talk Shade into letting me bid.”
Lily’s downcast expression had words slipping out of her mouth Jo had no intention of uttering.
“I’ll do it.”
Lily clapped her hands, squealing in glee. She came from around the counter and pulled Jo into a tight hug. “Thank you! I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll make you a special dinner when I win you,” Lily promised light-heartedly.
“Quit jumping around. That can’t be good for the baby.”
Lily’s smile widened as she pulled back to pat her belly.
“Now that we have that settled, let’s figure out who we’re going to ask if we can auction them off.” Rachel reached underneath the counter, taking out a yellow pad, and then taking a pen out of the cup beside the register.
“Rider and Moon for sure. If we’re lucky, we’ll make enough money to buy all the presents for the children on the list and have enough left over to put together a box of groceries for a Christmas dinner to give to each family.” Willa stared down at the long list of families who had applied for aid from the church.
“You really think you’ll make that much money?” Jo asked skeptically, looking down at the names, sick at the thought they might not raise enough.
“If I were single, I would buy Rider for five hundred,” Willa blurted out, then blushed, ignoring Jo’s skeptical question as she took the pad away from Rachel.
Jo looked at the woman in surprise. She personally didn’t think he was worth over a buck-fifty, but to each her own. At least she would have a front row seat to see the women in town making fools of themselves. At least I won’t be alone, she consoled herself, already regretting auctioning herself off. The only reason she didn’t back out were the names on the list. Every child deserved to have their wishes come true on Christmas morning.
“I can ask Mick,” Jo suggested. “A couple of the older women have been chasing him since I was a little girl.”
Willa wrote Mick’s name down on the pad. “Anyone else?”
“I can ask Dustin.” Rachel offered up her youngest brother.
“I can ask Bliss to ask Jessie Hayes if we can auction her or one of her brothers,” Beth said.
“Just ask Jessie. I don’t want Dustin getting in a fight during the auction.” Willa just wrote down Jessie’s name.
“You sure? Men would buy more tickets to the auction if they thought they could get a front seat for a fight,” Rachel disagreed, not worried her brother would be on the losing end of any fight.
Willa gave Rachel a quelling glance. “Anyone else?”
“I can’t think of any.” Jo picked up her bag to leave before she was suckered into volunteering to sell another book of tickets to the auction.
“If we get everyone on the list, that’ll be enough.” Willa picked up both lists. “If any of you think of anyone else, let me know. I better get back upstairs. I left Lucky watching the baby.”
“I’ll see you tonight, Rach. Bye, Willa.” Giving
Lily and Beth a steely-eyed glance, she reminded them of their promise. “And you two better not leave me hanging.”
Lily raised her hand. “I swear.”
“Me, too.” Beth sighed. “But I think you’re worrying about nothing. One man is going to snap you up when I get done with you.”
Jo stopped dead in her tracks. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to help you get dressed that night. I don’t trust you not to show up in those coveralls, or one of those shirts you just bought.” Beth’s eyes narrowed on her oil-stained coveralls.
Jo frowned. She hadn’t planned to wear her coveralls, but she had planned on wearing the red shirt she had just purchased. “What’s wrong with the red top I just bought? I thought it would be perfect to wear during Christmas.”
“Other than it used to be pink? I donated that top last week when Razer washed it with one of his red T-shirts.”
“It’s red now,” Jo argued.
“If you can call that color red, you’re color blind.”
“What color would you call it?” Jo opened the bag, taking another look at the top that Beth was making fun of.
“Ugly.”
Jo closed the bag. “You could have told me that before I bought it.”
Beth moved behind Lily, using her as a shield. “I thought you were just buying it to be charitable.”
“I’ll remember that the next time you get your car stuck in the snow,” Jo threatened her. “I’m wearing it.”
“Lily, you better bring Shade’s checkbook to the auction, then.” Beth sidled farther behind Lily.
Her antics had Jo laughing and not paying attention to what she was doing as she went out the door and barreled into a hard body.
When she rocked back on her heels, hard hands steadied her. Instead of releasing her, though, the arms pulled her closer.
“Baby, if you wanted me, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to throw yourself at me.”
The plastic bag in her hand connected with the smug face inches from hers.
Rider’s jaw dropped at the hit. Jo saw the women in the shop were just as shocked at her unexpected reaction.
Jo felt every finger on the hands that gripped her arms to steady her. For a split second, she saw a flicker behind his eyes that swelled her heart with fear, but then she shook the fear off when his face relaxed in a disarming grin.
Releasing her, he placed a hand over his heart. “Shot down again! I’m going to need two cupcakes to get over my disappointment, Willa.”
As Rider moved around her, Jo jerked her head around to see that Willa had returned from upstairs, carrying one of her bakery boxes.
“What’s so important that you promised me one of your cupcakes to get me here? You trying to get me in trouble with Lucky? He says I’m not allowed to come here asking for freebies.”
Jo dumbly stood as Rider opened the bright pink box and took out a cupcake that had a mound of frosting that was so high she knew Willa had put extra on it to convince Rider to be auctioned off.
She had wasted a perfectly good cupcake on him. Hell, Rider would have paid to be in the auction. A group of women fighting over him would make that egocentric asshole’s year.
When Willa rubbed some of the frosting off his cheek after he took a bite, Jo let the door shut.
What did women see in him? She wasn’t blind. Rider was handsome and had a body most women would lust after, but he was seriously spoiled by the feminine interest showered on him. He treated women like they were a smorgasbord, and he wanted to taste everything being offered.
“The meeting over?” Shade rolled down his window when Jo walked past his car to get to her truck.
“Yes, Lily should be out in a minute,” she said, stopping to talk to him. Pride had her hating to ask for the favor she was going to have to ask for. “I haven’t received a check from the city for the tows they owe me. Can I pay you next week?”
“I’ve told you to make payments when you can.” His expression didn’t betray what he was thinking, but she always felt like a loser when she had to ask for a favor from him.
“I don’t like owing money to my creditors, especially when I work for my money and it should have been here. The city used to pay me monthly. Now they’ve managed to hold the paperwork until I’m lucky if I get it in three.” The unnecessary explanation wouldn’t matter to Shade, yet it made her feel better. She didn’t want him thinking she couldn’t manage her money better.
“I’m not a creditor; I’m a friend. I’ll get my money when I get it. I’m not going to worry about it, and you shouldn’t either.”
“Thanks, Shade. I appreciate your help. How did Train like the car?”
“He’s debating giving it to Killyama. Rider offered to buy it from him.”
“Train’s not going to sell the car he bought for his wife as a gift.”
“No, but he’s enjoying letting Rider think he will.”
A joking Shade wasn’t one she was used to dealing with. He never talked about the other men in his club, and never about how they interacted with each other.
“I’ll tell Carl that Train likes it. I’ll see you next week.”
Excusing herself, she was glad to escape his presence. There was something about Shade that made her feel as if he could look inside her soul and know what she was thinking. It made her nervous and on edge. She was amazed Lily was married to him. The meek and mild woman didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Shade, on the other hand, seemed like he would have no problem crushing her spirit.
Lily had clearly felt comfortable enough to spend whatever amount needed to keep Jo from being embarrassed. Even Beth had joked about Shade’s checkbook. Maybe she had misjudged him. Maybe he wasn’t the hardass she had assumed he was.
Doubting herself, she wondered if she could have misjudged Rider, too. Her misgivings rose as she climbed into her truck, tossing the bag onto the passenger seat before starting the engine.
Since she had returned to Treepoint, she had been planning on taking her revenge for the night that had irrevocably changed her and her family’s life forever. That it would take even longer if she changed her plans had her wanting to ignore the conscience that was screaming to be heard.
She was about to hit the gas when Rider came out of the church store. His confident swagger had her teeth clenching as he waved at Shade before taking off for the diner. Her eyes followed him as he jogged across the street. Instead of going into the diner, though, as she had expected, he tapped on the side window. Was Carly waiting for him?
A minute later, her question was answered when Curt and Justin came outside. She couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she was sitting, but she could understand the bro pat on Rider’s back as they went to the side of the diner, all three men piling into the truck. That they were good friends was obvious.
Jo couldn’t bear to watch any longer, turning her head forward again, not wanting them to see her watching.
She might have misjudged Shade, but she had hit a bull’s-eye with Rider. She didn’t know why she was feeling guilty anyway. All his lawyer would have to do was make sure there was one woman on the jury, and he would get off.
As she turned the wheel to refuel her truck, she caught a faint scent wafting from the heavy material of her coveralls. It took a second to realize it must have been pressed to Rider’s body. His cologne was spicy and musky, making her think of dark nights and sex.
Dammit! She hit the steering wheel, accidentally hitting her horn. She mouthed “Sorry” at the car that was passing in the oncoming lane.
She hadn’t felt desire since she was fifteen, and the thought of Rider being the one to send tingles to her nipples was unbearable. It was like betraying everything she believed about herself. She wasn’t the same naïve girl she had been. She was a grown woman. She had grown past childish dreams of happily ever after and wanting a Disney movie named after her.
Composing herself, she pulled into the gas station and re
fueled her truck. Back inside, she drove home to take a shower and change her coveralls.
After loading the washer with the coveralls that smelled like Rider, she pushed the start button, wishing she could wash away the feeling of desire he had risen as easily.
“I promised that you would get the justice you deserve,” she said out loud, reaffirming the pledge she had made to the lonely fifteen-year-old girl she had been. “You’ve waited long enough.”
Law found in a courthouse wasn’t the only way to right a wrong. She had tried to find justice there and hadn’t. It was time to give mountain justice a turn.
6
“You trying to catch trespassers?” Jo asked as she walked across Rachel’s front porch.
The old woman sat in her wheelchair, staring off into the woods that led to the lake.
“I wish,” Mag scoffed. “It would give me someone to talk to.”
Jo bent down to kiss her wrinkled cheek, placing a comforting hand on her back. “I’m here. Go ahead and talk my ear off.”
Cash’s grandmother was one of the oldest residents in Treepoint. She had raised her children by bootlegging and made no excuses for how she had made ends meet. Despite her tough attitude toward life, they had grown closer when Jo had returned to town.
When she was younger and her father would take her with him to go buy alcohol from Mag, she had been terrified of the woman. Then, when Rachel asked after church one day if she would stay with Mag for the weekend for her and Cash’s anniversary, she had hesitated but agreed. The older woman had become one of her closest friends, and it broke her heart every time she talked about dying.
“And you get plenty of company. They just don’t want to hear you telling God you’re ready for Him.”
She snorted. “Like it’s doing me any good—I’m still sitting here.”
“Rachel, Cash, and I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”
Another snort had her grinning and hugging her, despite her trying to shrug her off. Jo then sat down on the rocking chair next to her wheelchair.