Lucky went into Knox’s office, motioning for Sissy to go back out front then shutting the door behind her. He expected a bigger challenge at regaining his job as pastor, but none of the deacons gave him any trouble, relieved they wouldn’t have to listen to another on-call pastor. Only one broached the subject of The Last Riders.
“Your association with them may make regaining your position difficult,” Angus Berry brought forth the fears of the other deacons.
“I understand and will be moving back into the church. My future wife and I are looking forward to serving the community.”
“You’re getting married?” Lucky could imagine Angus’s furry grey brows lifted in surprise.
“Willa and I plan to be married in two weeks.”
“You’re marrying Willa?” Angus didn’t give him time to answer. “She’s a sweet girl. She made my seventy-fifth birthday cake and didn’t even charge my wife. You couldn’t have made a better choice. Damn … Excuse me, Pastor. I’ll finally be able to look forward to a service again. The pastors who have been visiting and Merrick have been giving me a sour stomach. My ass couldn’t take another long-winded sermon.”
Lucky laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind when I’m writing mine out.”
“Do that and I’ll put an extra five in the collection plate.”
Lucky disconnected the call with a smile on his face. It didn’t take long for his smile to disappear as he punched in the next number.
The voice answering the phone was brisk and short. “What do you want?”
“Colt, I need a favor.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Why is it that you and the rest of The Last Riders only call when you want something?”
“Because we can’t stand you,” Lucky said truthfully.
Dead silence was on the other end.
“I can’t stand you fuckers, either. What do you want?”
“I’m getting married.”
“Bridge know?”
“Not yet.”
Lucky knew he had won when he heard a deep sigh.
“What do you want?”
Chapter 11
Willa fed the kids then laid the younger girls down for a nap. Both Leanne and Charlie looked exhausted and took her advice to rest for a while, seeking their own beds. She was just as tired, but instead of lying down, she rushed around her home, picking up the clutter.
Pushing back her hair from her face, she straightened and froze in place when the doorbell rang. Maybe, if she didn’t answer, they would go away. She didn’t want to see Lucky or Flora. She wanted to go to bed and pull the covers over her head.
“Open the door, Willa,” Lucky’s voice demanded.
Willa stiffened her spine, telling herself she could do this.
Her mouth almost dropped open when she opened the door. Lucky was standing in the doorway in a suit she recognized from when he was a pastor. She was familiar with all his expensive suits since she had stared at him enough on Sundays that every detail of his appearance had become ingrained in her memory.
She took a step back to let him enter, making sure there was enough room between them to avoid having him brush against her.
“Where are the kids?”
“They’re taking a nap.” She closed the door behind him as he walked into the living room.
“Let’s pray they don’t wake up until Flora leaves.”
Willa frowned. “That wasn’t nice.”
“The less Flora sees them, the better.” Lucky took a seat on her couch, making the flowery furniture seem silly against his muscular body. “Are you ready for her?”
“As much as possible.”
When Lucky stared at her doubtfully, Willa smoothed her blouse down over her jeans.
“We have a few minutes, so why don’t you take a shower and get changed into that blue dress with the black belt?”
“I haven’t worn it for a while. It’s a little tight,” Willa was ashamed to admit. She had worn the dress to church only one time.
“Perfect. Usually, your clothes are so loose you can’t tell that you have breasts.”
Willa’s face flamed at his comment. Her mouth opened and closed while his mouth twitched at her reaction.
He was right; her clothes had been so loose it had made her appear even heavier. She had bought the dress when she had been at her smallest weight since high school. Lucky had been dating Beth Cornett at the time, and they had seemed serious about each other.
The last time she had tried it on, it had been tight through the breasts. Her dieting had gone through a snag when Lucky had stepped down from being a pastor. The diet had gone out the window entirely and the ice cream had come out of the freezer when she had noticed his visits to Jenna’s home.