Lucky's Choice(71)

She had begun to believe he was going to The Last Riders’ clubhouse to see the women there, but he hadn’t. She knew this because Lily and Beth, whom she saw at the church store when she stopped in, had told her that he had left the club. When she had mentioned it to him, he had told her that he still saw the men in town and frequently hung out at the diner with them.

She had asked him, “Why did you stop being a Last Rider?”

And he had answered, “If I were to hang out at the clubhouse, would you believe I wasn’t with any of the women?”

Willa couldn’t answer without lying, so she had remained quiet.

“That’s why I didn’t want that in your head.” He had taken her hand. “The clubhouse isn’t about the sex, Willa. It’s about the brothers having your back when you need them. That’s why people in the military have such a hard time adjusting when they get out. They’re used to that camaraderie, being up each other’s ass all the time. We’re loners, and we respect each other’s privacy when we need it, but it’s nice to be able to walk into a room and be surrounded by friends just sitting around, shooting the shit, drinking a beer.”

“I don’t want you to give that up because of me,” Willa had protested.

“I didn’t give it up just for you. I gave it up for the church, too. Do you see the parishioners letting me be pastor while belonging to The Last Riders?”

“But they all know you lived there when you gave the church up.”

“That was different. They love to forgive a reformed sinner as long as the sinner doesn’t go back for their fix.”

Willa had wondered if Lucky knew how telling his statement had been by comparing The Last Riders to an addiction.

Like an addict, Lucky was trying to stay away from the worst part of his addiction—the clubhouse. It was what drew them together and made them whole. It gave them their bonds that would be hard to break. Then again, Lucky seemed to be happy with his choice, and Willa didn’t want to keep dwelling on his decision if it was truly what he wanted.

He still spent time with them, and when she saw them around town, they were all friendly, asking how she was doing since the children had left. During the holidays, they had even had a big party at King’s restaurant to celebrate, saying it was much easier to cook and fit everyone in there. However, Willa thought it was because they didn’t want to leave Lucky out.

Willa blinked back tears, turning her head to look out the window at the passing scenery, trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

“What are you thinking?”

Willa gathered her composure before turning back to him. “I was just thinking it’s a beautiful day.”

Lucky parked his SUV on the private land near the lake. Getting out, he took out the picnic basket she had placed in the backseat before opening her door.

“Are you going to sit there all day?”

His good mood was beginning to get on her nerves.

“I’m thinking about it.” She was too embarrassed to tell him she didn’t want him to see her in her swimsuit.

“While you’re thinking about it, I’m going swimming.”

Lucky set the basket down on the picnic table before taking off his T-shirt, already wearing his swim trunks. He walked into the cool water until it was deep enough to dive underneath. When he came up, he shook his hair out of his face.

“What kind of freaking pastor has tattoos?” she said to herself as she slid out of the SUV, tempted to start it with the keys he had left in the ignition and leave his butt in the lake. She almost giggled to herself, imagining his expression if she did.#p#分页标题#e#

She sat down at the picnic table, taking a bottled water out of the basket. She began to get hot sitting in the sun, wishing the table was in the shade. It was only April, but a hot spell had fallen over Kentucky, and the temperature was reaching the nineties.

Looking at the water, she saw Lucky floating lazily with his face turned up to the sky.

“I hope his nose gets burned.” She had plastered a whole bottle of sun block on herself before he had picked her up.

She saw the tats on his shoulder and back as he began swimming. Darn it, was she ever going to be able to see them closely? It was always a flash here or there. He would catch her looking at them and lift a brow, and she would look away quickly, but the jerk knew she had been staring.

“I’m melting.” Willa brushed the dampness off her forehead. Glancing back at the water, she was determined to tell Lucky she’d had enough, only to see his body gone. Willa stood up, her eyes searching the lake. When she didn’t see him, she yelled out.