“You? I can’t believe that. You’re perfect. You’re sweet, kind, and you try to help everyone. I wish I could be more like you.”
Willa felt humbled by the compliments. “Go get us some lunch at the diner while I finish the order. I’ll take a chicken sandwich and a salad.” Willa handed her a twenty. “Buy yourself lunch, too. I noticed you didn’t eat any yesterday.” Willa gave her a wink. “You can give notice while you’re there.”
Ginny grinned back. “I’ll wait until I get our food then tell them.”
Willa turned her back to the door as she left to count the boxes that had been finished, deciding she would call Carl after lunch.
When her cell phone rang, making her lose count, she frowned at the number she didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Willa! I need your help!” Sissy’s frantic voice on the other end of the line had Willa’s hand tightening on the phone.
“What’s wrong?” Willa could barely understand her for her crying. “Slow down so I can understand you.”
“Can you come and pick me up at the lookout? I was dropped off here, and I don’t have a way back to the place I’ve been staying. Can I stay with you?” The girl began crying harder.
“Yes, give me ten minutes to get there. I’m on my way.” Willa grabbed her purse as she walked to the door.
“Hurry, please!” The phone went dead.
Willa started running out of the church to her van. Her fingers were trembling so badly she barely managed to put the key into the ignition. Finally starting the van, she peeled out of the church parking lot, driving toward Lookout Mountain. Thank God it wasn’t far away.
It was actually the mountain that sat above Rosey’s bar, and it was where the local teenagers hung out. Willa had never been there herself to party, but she had been there as a volunteer to clean the area when the church had become concerned it was being filled with trash and becoming overgrown. It was one of the few visitor sites the town had, giving a spectacular view of the other mountains and the valley below.
Willa made the turn onto the side road that led up the steep mountain, going slow as she looked for Sissy. She was almost to the top when she pulled over as close to the edge of the road as she dared so she could call Sissy back to find out where she was waiting.
When she couldn’t make a connection, she looked at her phone to find there were no bars. Her cell phone couldn’t get a signal through the heavy trees and mountains.#p#分页标题#e#
“Darn it.” She was going to have to turn around. Sissy couldn’t have called her from this high up; she wouldn’t have a signal. The only place to turn around was at the top, though.
As she got to the top and turned her van around, she saw Sissy sitting on a picnic table by the chained-off cliff.
Willa slammed on her brakes, throwing the gear shift into park. Getting out of the car, she ran toward Sissy then slowed down when she saw the triumphant look on her face.
“Sissy, is everything okay?”
Sissy ignored her question. “See? I told you she would be stupid enough to come, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
Willa saw a man she didn’t recognize step out from behind a tree, pointing a gun at her, and she paled. She didn’t have to guess who he was.
“Hello, Bridge. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“What in the hell happened in here?” Dustin was standing in the doorway with his briefcase.
Lucky set down his end of the new table that Train had helped him carry into the clubhouse. “Who let you in?”
“I did.” Shade came in the door behind him, carrying a chair in each hand.
“Move,” Viper ordered Dustin, packing in two more.
Lucky had been dodging Dustin. He had liked life better before he had found out about Willa’s money. It was becoming a pain in his ass since Dustin had become his accountant, and Willa had decided that he needed to save more money.
She never approached him directly, sending Dustin to do her dirty work. When he had told Dustin to pay for a load of lumber so a delivery date could be set up, Willa had Dustin try to talk him into waiting until she could do a price comparison. It was only when he had threatened to go with a more expensive wood that she had backed off.
Rider came in, packing a box containing the new crockpot.
“I thought you were helping Razer.”
“Nope, he had it.” Rider set the box down like it weighed fifty fucking pounds while Razer came in, struggling under the weight of the middle section of the new table.
Lucky sprang forward, helping him before he dropped it.