Lucky's Choice(43)
This time, Willa wasn’t able to keep her jaw from dropping at Flora’s about-face.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead—” Willa began.
“It’s going to be a private ceremony, but we’d be very happy if you attended the reception we’ll be having at the church,” Lucky cut her off. Standing up, he gave Flora one of his handsome smiles that had Flora blushing as she gained her feet. “I’ll make sure you receive an invitation.”
“Now I have two things to look forward to: you returning to the church and a wedding.”
Willa went to the door, practically wanting to beg the woman to stay. She didn’t want to be left alone with Lucky. She knew they needed to discuss how to get out of this mess, but she could offer to meet him at the diner or King’s where other people were around to buffer his affect on her.
Willa stood, staring at the closed door, listening to Lucky walk back into the living room.
“I believe she’s gone.”
Lucky’s amused voice gave Willa the courage to turn around.
“How are we going to get out of this? We’re both going to go to jail for fraud.”
“We’re not going to jail,” Lucky reassured her.
“People go to jail for committing fraud.”
Lucky shook his head. “What fraud? Couples get engaged all the time.”
“But we’re not really engaged. When we don’t get married, they’ll know we’re lying. I need to hire a private detective to find the children’s uncle. Maybe I can find him in time, and no one will find out the truth. We can tell everyone you changed your mind.”
“Calm down. I already have several people searching for their relative.” He cocked his head to the side. “Why not tell them you broke up with me?”
Willa rolled her eyes. “No one will believe that.”
“I’m getting tired of you putting yourself down. Don’t do it again.”
Willa felt the chill of his displeasure and unconsciously shivered. Desperate, she changed the subject.
“Thank you for helping me keep the children and finding a place for Sissy. I know she regrets her actions.”
“No, she doesn’t. I didn’t do this for the children and for damn sure not Sissy. I did it for you.”
“Why?” She was confused. Why would Lucky help her?
“You’ve worked hard to keep that family together. They owe you a debt, not the other way around. Lewis attacked you. No one blames you for killing him.”
“I blame myself. I should have hit him with the gun, tried to knock him out.” She had bought the gun to protect herself. Lewis had been more and more demanding, frightening her into the rash purchase, a decision she would regret to her dying day.
“What if you hadn’t? What if he took it away and killed you?”
“I wish I had never bought that gun.”
“Why? It served its purpose. It protected you and Rachel. What if you didn’t have it that day?”
Rachel would be dead, and she would be, too. There had been a mad glaze in Lewis’s eyes that day. Willa saw it every night in her nightmares.#p#分页标题#e#
“You can’t bring the bullet back, Willa. Unfortunately, there aren’t any do-overs where a life is concerned.”
“No, there aren’t,” Willa agreed.
“Since you’re dressed, I suggest we wake the children and go out to dinner. We need to let people see us around town together. Go wake the girls. I’ll get Charlie.”
“But I have orders I need to get done for tomorrow.”
“I’ll help you when we get back.”
“You’ll help?”
“I can keep the kids occupied and put them to bed. It will get them used to me.”
“Why do they need to get used to you? We’ll have to pretend to break up before the two weeks are up.” Willa tried to think about how hard it was going to be to get out of the lies they had told.
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, our priority is to make Child Services believe us.”
Willa nodded. The threat of the Wests taking the girls was the only incentive she needed to keep the pretense of being engaged.
She woke the still-sleeping girls.
“We’re really going out to dinner with Lucky?” Leanne asked, rising up in her bed when Willa told her where they were going.
“Yes,” she answered, dressing Chrissy and Caroline in warm clothes.
“Why does he want to take us out to dinner?” Leanne asked, jumping out of her bed.
“He wants to get to know all of you better.”
“Sissy got us into a lot of trouble, didn’t she?”