Lucy smiled and said, “Well, all right. My ribs hurt anyway, and my hand,” she said, shaking it out. “And my head.”
Beck lifted her hand and saw the purple bruise forming over the top of it. “Son of a bitch takes pleasure from hurting women. He’s going to get his when he gets to prison.”
Lucy turned to Hank. “Please tell me that asshat will go to prison, Hank?”
Hank seemed pretty confident when he nodded. “He’s facing two charges of kidnapping, three of forcible confinement, and two of threatening death. That’s besides another possible charge of murder, if we find the evidence we’re looking for on his property. It’s likely he’ll be looking at the inside of a prison cell for a long damn time.”
Lucy crossed her arms under her breasts in a way that made Beck tingle as she nodded in satisfaction. “Good. He deserves to suffer for what he did to Chloe and her sister. I hope he has a sadistic roommate who’s itching for a new butt buddy.”
Hank laughed out loud. “Very eloquent, Lucy. You know, you’ve given me food for thought with your actions today.”
“I have? Is that good?”
Hank nodded. “I’ve been considering holding self-defense classes for women at the activity center downtown. I worry about the women in our community who don’t know how to defend themselves. I started thinking about it after Gwen Henderson defended herself against that jackass at the Pony a few months back, and now here you went and practically did our jobs for us.”
Lucy glanced up and must’ve seen Beck’s opinion in his eyes and held up a hand. “I had help with that, Hank. Chloe and Emily Anne were just as involved.”
Hank grinned and Beck swore his expression had evil glee in it. “I’ll leave you to work your way out of the mess of trouble you’re in with your men, then. See you all over at the Pony later.”
“Shit,” Lucy muttered. “He had to go and remind the alpha males.”
“Right?” Chloe asked with a giggle. Her men put an arm around her and she said, “We’ll see you over there.”
After Grant and Andrew directed Chloe over to the EMTs, Lucy turned to him and then to Patrick. “You aren’t really going to go all alpha on me now, are you? I have a business to run. I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl you know?”
Beck exchanged a look with Patrick before tilting her chin up. “Yeah, we know you’re a big girl. We have no plans to fence you in, sweetness. Matter of fact, we plan to make sure that you think our occasional pushiness is worth it. You sure you’re up to a stop at the Dancing Pony?”
“Yes. I’m even a little hungry. But I’d like to stop in town for something before we go over there.”
“Sure,” he replied and then pointed at one of the EMTs who was headed her way. “Right after you get checked out.”
* * * *
Lucy smiled as Chloe received the gift box from her, her cheeks blushing. Lucy had stopped in town and put together a wedding gift for her and her men.
“It’s so heavy,” Chloe remarked as she slid the box onto their table at the Dancing Pony.
Over the last several months, the corner nearest the bar and closest to Ethan’s office had become their group’s official hangout spot and that was where their group now sat.
Lucy nodded and said, “I hope you like it. Open it.”
Chloe looked up at Grant and Andrew who towered over her and then slid the silver lid off of the box and lifted the tissue that was padding the top. She looked at what was inside, did a double take, and gasped. She bit her lip as she reached into the box and removed the first item. Chloe looked at her and Lucy could see the tears pooling in her eyes before she turned her gaze to Beck.
“‘Bee’s Knees.’” She sniffled as she read the label on the container. “Orange Blossom Beeswax Body Balm.” She reached in and lifted out another smaller tin. She removed the lid and smiled as she sniffed the contents. “The hand salve.”
Beck nodded and Lucy noted the slight flush to his cheeks and the way he looked to her as he squeezed her hand before looking back at Chloe. “It’s your recipe, the one you found for me.”
Chloe sniffled and put the lid back on the salve, her smile glowing in her eyes before she lifted the lavender and rosemary scented beeswax candle from the box and then looked up at her men. “There’s a small fortune in beeswax products in here.”
Lucy said, “Beck’s Bees Honey and the Bee’s Knees Body Products have really taken off. You should come see the operation someday, and your flowerbeds, too.”