by Jamie Begley
“Is your headache gone?”
“Yes.” Lily brushed her hair back from her pale face. She felt silly for passing out in front of Shade. She consistently seemed to have some incident or other in front of him, which made her appear to be a weakling.
“Maybe watching something on television will take your mind off it.” Shade picked up the controller, flipping the channels until he found a comedy.
Lily sat on the couch watching the screen until the show finally managed to draw her into the silly plot. She was still laughing an hour later when the program went off.
Lily stretched, yawning.
“Go to bed, Lily.” The friendly man who had sat and shared his travels with her was gone, and in his place was the same withdrawn man that she knew.
“I am tired. Thanks for dinner, Shade.” Lily expected him to get up and leave.
“Go on to bed, Lily. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
“There’s no need for you to stay,” Lily protested.
“You just fainted an hour ago. I’m not leaving unless you want me to call Beth and Razer. I’m sure she would come home.”
“I’m not a child you’re babysitting that isn’t feeling well so you need to call the parents to come home,” Lily snapped angrily. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“No, Lily, you’re not. People who are fine don’t almost do a face-plant onto a coffee table. If I wasn’t here, you could have hit your head again, and no one would have known until Beth came home in the morning and found you.”
Lily gritted her teeth. She had known he was waiting to throw that at her.
“Shade, I’m fine now,” Lily repeated her words, hoping this time he would believe her.
“Lily, go to bed, now. I’ll lock up. I’ll even be a gentleman and leave in the morning before Beth and Razer get home.”
Lily knew from his expression that he wasn’t leaving.
“Fine. If you want to sleep on a couch, go ahead.” Lily angrily left, going up the steps to his mocking laughter.
When she reached her bedroom, she slammed the door behind her then immediately felt guilty. She had never been one to throw temper tantrums and wasn’t about to let that stubborn man make her start now.
She lay down on her bed, leaving her bathroom light on as she curled into a ball, pulling the covers over her even though the bedroom was warm; however, she was too drowsy to get up and turn the air conditioner down lower. She had always burrowed beneath the covers to sleep since she had come to live with Beth and her adoptive parents.
As soon as the thought came to mind, Lily pictured an imaginary door blocking all thoughts of her life from before. It was a trick she had learned when she was a little girl, and she still used it to keep all the memories at bay.
She became angry when everyone treated her like a child, yet she used childish tricks to keep the negative tide of emotions away instead of facing them. She didn’t want to remember the memories that were locked away behind that door, though. She fought her fears and anxieties every day, terrified that what was behind that imaginary door would take what little sanity she had left.
* * *
The next morning she woke, sitting up, covered in sweat with her pajamas clinging to her. She took a shower, washing her hair and enjoying the cool water on her overheated flesh. When she dried off, she dressed in a cool, pink sundress that had little cap sleeves. Lily preferred wearing dresses to jeans, liking the loose feel of them on her body than the more constrictive clothes women of her age preferred.
Going to her bed, she pulled the sheets off then put fresh sheets on, making it carefully. She picked up the dirty ones, carrying them downstairs as she hoped Shade had kept his word and left.
Beth and Razer were sitting in the living room drinking coffee when she came down the steps.
“Good morning,” Lily said brightly.
“Good morning,” they both replied.
“Can I get you some breakfast?” Beth asked, starting to get up.
“No, thanks. I’ll pour me a cup of coffee in a minute.”
Going into the back laundry room off the kitchen, Lily started her sheets in the wash before pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Did you have a good time last night?” Lily asked, sitting in the chair, carefully balancing her cup of coffee.
“Yes,” Beth answered. Lily wondered at the blush on Beth’s face but didn’t make a remark.
“What did you do last night?” Beth asked.
“Read for a while, watched some television and then went to bed.” Lily watched Beth’s face to see if Shade had told them about her fainting then decided he hadn’t when her sister’s expression remained the same.
“Any plans for today?” Beth asked.
“No. I thought I would just clean the house.”
“I’ll help,” Beth offered.
Razer got to his feet. “I’m going to mow the lawn while you two clean. I’ll throw some hamburgers on the grill when I get finished.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Lily grinned, getting to her feet.
They managed to get most of the cleaning done before Razer had lunch ready. They spent the remainder of the day taking care of the household chores and relaxing. Lily enjoyed spending time with Beth and her husband, knowing the moment wasn’t far away when this time would be gone forever.
“What’s wrong?” Beth paused in loading the dishwasher.
“Nothing.” Lily smiled. “I was just thinking about how things are changing. I’m graduating in December and your house will be ready. I guess I’m already missing you guys.”
“Lily.”
Lily took her sister’s hand when her eyes filled with tears. “Beth, I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
“I don’t want you to leave Treepoint.”
“I haven’t made up my mind what I’m going to do. It all depends on where I get offered a job. At one time, you didn’t want me to settle for Treepoint.”
Both of them knew the likelihood of getting a job as a social worker in Treepoint was slim. It was a small county and state jobs didn’t open often.
“Promise me that you won’t rush out and make a decision if you get offered a job somewhere else?”
“Of course. I prefer to stay in Treepoint.” Deciding to lighten the atmosphere, Lily said, “But I have to go find my cowboy first and convince him to come back with me. Penni is loving Texas. I’m thinking of going to visit her after Christmas. The band she’s managing, their tour doesn’t leave until February.”
“That sounds like fun,” Beth said, finishing loading the dishwasher.
“I thought so. Maybe I need to change my mind and go after a rocker instead of a cowboy.”
* * *
The next morning, they walked to church, enjoying the pretty summer morning. Lily and Beth walked arm-in-arm with Razer following behind. In church, they sat together with Beth in the middle. Many of The Last Riders had begun going to the church. Viper joined Winter in the front with Evie, Jewell and Bliss sitting along the same pew. Lily wondered how many motorcycle club members attended church regularly, not that it really mattered. She was perfectly happy to have this club at her church.
Shade never attended, though. Lily shook away any further reflection on him. She found her thoughts wandering to him more now that she worked with Shade and shared lunch with him every day. Her eyes went to The Last Rider women, wondering at his relationship with them and which one he was involved with. Lily never asked Beth any questions about The Last Riders. Every time she had previously broached the subject, when Beth had first started getting serious with Razer, Beth had avoided discussing the individual members and their relationships. Lily had shrugged it off, not one to invade others’ privacy when she didn’t want anyone questioning hers.
After the service, they stopped and talked to Pastor Dean who was standing in the front of the church. Lily smiled at him brightly. He was an excellent pastor who had taken over after her father’s death a few years before.
“Just fine, Pastor Dean. I enjoyed your sermon.”
“Thank you. I have a favor to ask of you. Several parishioners have made donations which I put in the basement. Since it has a separate entrance, I thought that, if I could get a couple of volunteers to clean out the basement and then organize the donations, I could open it to the public who need our help.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea. I would be glad to help,” Lily offered.
“I would appreciate it. Rachel has volunteered to help next Saturday. Does that work for you?” Pastor Dean asked.
“Yes,” Lily said eagerly.
“I could help,” Beth joined in the conversation.
“I think Rachel and Lily will be enough for now, but thanks for offering. If it becomes too much for them, I’ll give you a call.”
“Oh, okay.”
Pastor Dean gave Beth a warm smile. “Beth, you have plenty to keep you busy with our food outreach program. I think that’s enough of a contribution of your time.”
Beth laughed. “I do stay pretty busy. I’ve promised Razer I wouldn’t take on anything else until we get in our new house.”
“I have every confidence that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, Beth.” Lily watched as Beth gave Pastor Dean a bright smile at his response. Her sister was so pretty standing in the sun with her flaxen hair shining and her light-colored, paisley dress. She looked like an angel. Lily turned away, her eyes darkening with torment. Not like me with my demons constantly chasing through my mind.
Attempting to shake herself from the feeling, Lily walked to the sidewalk and waited for Beth and Razer. Her eyes drifted across the street to the diner, seeing the motorcycles outside the restaurant.
“Ready?” Beth asked, coming to stand by her side.
“I’m not going to join you today. I thought I would go on home. I’m not very hungry.” She wasn’t in the mood to go to lunch and watch everyone monitoring their words around her.
“That’s fine. I’ll go with you and fix us something later,” Beth said.
“Don’t be silly. Go have lunch. I can manage an hour on my own, Beth.”
Beth hesitated. “All right. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Lily smiled, brushing a kiss on her sister’s concerned face. “You worry too much.”
Lily waved at the others as she left, walking down the sidewalk back to their home. It really was a lovely morning and Lily enjoyed the walk on the tree-lined road. They always walked to church and then would have lunch at the diner. The Last Rider members that didn’t make it to church would meet them at the diner afterward for lunch.
She had seen Shade’s bike outside and knew he would be waiting inside with Train and Rider. Those three needed to go to church more than anyone else. From the way her friends acted, they kept the women population busy.
Several of her girlfriends from high school, who still lived in Treepoint, were constantly talking about how good looking the men were. They had even tried to use Lily to gain an introduction to them. When they saw that Lily wasn’t going to perform the introductions, though, they had devised other means. A couple had even succeeded, unable to hide their glee at showing off in front of the others, yet when the others would ask what they were like, a secretive look would appear, and the girls would change the subject.
Lily wasn’t a fool. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the club had a policy about keeping quiet about what took place at the clubhouse. Again, Lily had to smother her hurt feelings. She felt as if each day she and Beth were drawing further apart.
Pushing away yet another bothersome thought, she turned the corner onto her street. It never failed to give her a sense of homecoming when she saw her house.
As she walked, Lily began to feel as if someone was watching her, though. She looked around, not seeing anyone, yet she unconsciously began to walk faster, not sure why. She felt chills crawl down her back and goose bumps rise on her arms.
Thankfully, she came to her house, rushing up the two steps to the door, and quickly slid the key into the keyhole. Once inside, she locked the door behind her, taking a step back to stare at the closed door.
It took several minutes for the quiet sound of the house to steady her nerves, feeling silly that she had overreacted.
Sitting her purse on the table by the door, she resolved to herself that maybe letting Shade teach her a few moves on defending herself might not be a bad idea after all.
Chapter 3
Lily pulled into the parking lot of The Last Riders. As she parked her car, she saw Train talking to Kaley. She was the sister of a friend of hers from high school, Miranda. Miranda had been worried about her sister since her divorce from her high school sweetheart. Kaley had caught her husband cheating, and ever since then, she had been trying to even the score.
Lily felt terrible for Kaley. She didn’t know her that well, but she still remembered the agony that Beth had gone through when she had caught Razer cheating.
Lily parked her car and stepped out. She had to walk by the two as she went to the door of the factory.
“Good morning, Kaley, Train.”
“Hi, Lily.” Kaley stared back at her with a frown.
“Morning, Lily.” Train nodded his head. Of all The Last Riders, Lily knew Train the least. She had been around him as much as the others; he was just the quietest of the group.
Lily continued on to the factory, hesitating briefly when she saw Shade standing in the doorway and holding the door open for her.
“Good morning, Shade.” Lily smiled.
“Lily.” His eyes went to Lily before moving over her shoulder to Kaley and Train.
Lily brushed by him without stopping, going inside to get busy. Orders were already waiting on the board. She took a minute to look over the orders waiting to be filled and then picked two of the larger ones.
“Going to save one for me?” Hardin asked from behind her back.
Lily laughed, stepping to the side. “I might if you weren’t so slow,” she joked back at the young man she had met since coming to work for The Last Riders.
Hardin took one of the orders off the board. “Why don’t you take one of the work stations next to mine and I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Lily’s reply was cut off by Shade’s irritated voice. “Lily’s work station is the one I put her at; yours is going to be at the unemployment office if you don’t get busy.”
Lily started to get angry at Shade’s rude remark, but she quickly smothered any comment she would have made when his gaze fell on her. She wouldn’t use her connection to Beth to say what she wanted to Shade. In reality, he was her boss and she should watch her words. That didn’t prevent her reproachful eyes from meeting his when Hardin hurried to his work station.
“Don’t look at me like that, Lily. He deserved it. Get to work.”
Lunchtime came much quicker than she wanted. Today, it was Bliss who delivered their lunch. Lily kept working, hoping that she wouldn’t hear her name. Bliss stayed inside his office several minutes before they both came out. The attractive girl with the short blonde hair was smiling seductively back at him and then waved at Lily as she left.
Lily waved back at her. Bliss was another member who Lily could never figure out which Last Rider she was involved with. At one time, Lily had suspected it was her who Razer had cheated with on Beth, but Beth had never confirmed or denied it. Lily guessed Beth didn’t want her to hold it against whichever woman it had been. Lily was glad she didn’t know, too. She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have held a grudge after witnessing firsthand how badly her sister had been hurt.
“Lily.”
Lily set down the box she was working on, going to Shade’s office. Her hands clenched at her side, she was determined that today was the day she would put a stop to eating lunch in his office with him.
She didn’t miss the speculative look that Hardin an
d several of the other workers cast her way as she entered his office.
She took the seat next to his desk as he closed the door and resumed his seat, handing her one of the trays with a grilled chicken salad. Lily ate her lunch quickly, wanting to get it over with so she could get out of the office.
“What’s the rush?” Shade asked.
Lily finished chewing the bite in her mouth, perturbed. He never let anything slide by his notice.
She decided to quit beating around the bush, which hadn’t been working anyway. “I think it’s better if I eat lunch with everyone else,” Lily delicately began.
“No.” Shade took a bite of his own food while Lily sat stunned. She had just told him she didn’t want to eat with him. She was caught unaware by his blunt refusal, not knowing how to be blunter, other than becoming mean, and she didn’t want to take that route with him.
“But—”
“Did you bring a change of clothes?” he asked, looking at her pink dress.
Lily felt herself flush as his eyes lingered on the tiny buttons at the front of her dress. “Yes.”
Shade kept eating while Lily continued to eat more slowly, brainstorming a way out of this ridiculous situation.
“Why didn’t you eat lunch at the diner yesterday?”
“I wasn’t hungry,” Lily snapped.
Shade’s stern mouth twitched in amusement.
“If you didn’t eat lunch in here, what would you do for lunch, Lily?”
“I would eat lunch outside with the other workers,” Lily said honestly.
“You don’t need to eat lunch with them. You would become too friendly with them and they will start to take advantage.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? They all are aware that your sister is married to one of the owners of the factory.”
Lily finished eating her salad in silence, coming to the conclusion she wasn’t going to win this argument with Shade.
“I would never use my connection to Razer.”
“I think it’s better to not put you in that position. Is it so hard to keep me company for lunch?”