“I agree. You want to tell her before I bring him by to meet them?”
“I’m meeting her tomorrow at one. Give me an hour to tell her.”
“Will do. What about you? You still going to keep your bet with Shade?”
“Yes, I made the bet, and I’m going to keep it. Besides, I don’t trust Sissy. She’ll find a way to hurt Willa.”
“I’ll see you around two.”
Lucky set the cell phone down before he was tempted to break it like he had the last one. He sat down on his chair, expecting to feel relief that the engagement would be broken, and Willa’s conscience would be off the line for caring for the children. Instead, he was hurting so badly it was everything he could do not to find out where Willa was and go to her, check into the nearest motel, and show her exactly how he felt about her. He buried his head in his hands, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He couldn’t listen to his heart and take the chance Willa would be hurt. He would tell Willa tomorrow. He would also check out the relative himself. It should only take a couple of days, and then he could finally tell Train he could come home as soon as he found a new pastor to take over.
Everyone would be happier in the long run—everyone but him.
Chapter 17
“You’re early,” Willa stated, opening the door at Lucky’s knock. Her hand went to Ria’s head as the dog sat down next to her.
“I wanted to get it over with,” Lucky stated coldly.
Her smile slipped when she saw the grim look on his face, and she opened the door wider for him to come inside. He walked into the living room then waited for her to join him, but her footsteps lagged. She could tell whatever he was going to tell her was bad.
Yesterday had been one of the best days of her life, losing herself with Beth and Lily by pretending for a short time that Lucky would marry her, help her keep the children, and in time fall in love with her. Miracles happen every day, so it could happen, she had told herself while Sex Piston had worked on her hair.
“Bitch, who’s been working on your hair?”
“I’ve gone to a couple of different beauty shops, and I experimented with color myself a few times,” Willa apologized, brushing her hair away from her face.
Sex Piston ran her hands through her long hair, surveying it critically.
“Can you fix it?”
“I can try. I’m good, but some of it’s going to have to be cut. It’s all different lengths from you going short too long.”
“Cutting it is fine,” Willa said miserably, knowing she kept it in a bun most of the time, anyway.
“We’ll see what I can do. What color were you trying for?”
“I wanted blonde, but it washed me out and was hard to keep up. My brown is boring.”
“I’m going to give you a mix of the two. It’ll look hot when I’m done.”
Willa had been skeptical, but Sex Piston had come as close to hot as she was going to get. Her newfound confidence was sinking fast under Lucky’s gaze, though.
“You cut your hair?”
“Some. Sex Piston evened it and layered it for me.” She didn’t constantly have to brush it back from her face.
Lucky didn’t remark that he liked it like a normal fiancé would. Of course, there wasn’t anything between them, so why should he be considerate of her feelings?
“What did you want to talk about?” Willa prompted him, beginning to think he disliked her hair.#p#分页标题#e#
Lucky cleared his throat before taking a seat on her couch. Willa felt tactless for not asking him to sit immediately. Her mother would criticize her lack of manners, like she criticized most things she did.
“Would you like something to drink? A cup of coffee?”
“Coffee would be good.”
Willa went into the kitchen with Ria following behind her. She poured Lucky his coffee then went back into the living room, setting it down on the coffee table in front of him. Then she sank down on the couch with Ria sitting on her haunches next to her knees, and Willa absently rubbed the tense dog’s back.
“Knox told me you found a dog.”
“The kids have fallen in love with her. Leanne hasn’t been feeling well. I think she may be allergic. It’s going to be hard if we have to give her up.”
“We?”
“I’ve grown attached to her. It’s hard not to since she follows me everywhere. I’ve even started to let her go in the van when I make deliveries. She sits in the front seat. I never thought about owning a dog—”
“Knox found the children’s uncle. His name is Travis Russell, his mother’s second husband adopted him and gave Clay his name.”