"Yes, there is." His eyes went to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

She burst out laughing, unable to help her reaction to his sense of humor.

"If I had a brother, he would be just like you," Willa complimented, guessing from the thunderstruck expression on his face that it was the first time he had been placed in that category.

Rider stood up, brushing down his jeans before straightening. "I'm going to go mend my broken heart with those two women about to go into the haunted house."

"You do that. I'm sure they'll appreciate your help through the maze. Winter told me it goes through eight cla.s.srooms."

"You're not jealous at all?"

"Nope." Willa couldn't miss the amused twinkle in Rider's own eyes.

"It's a sad day when a woman refers to me as brotherly."

"I'm sure you'll recover," Willa mocked.

"I might be heartbroken ... You just don't know." Rider's mouth twisted mischievously. Before she could react, he brushed his mouth over hers in a brief kiss. Raising his head, he stared down intently at her. "Nothing?"

"Sorry, but no."

"Woman, you're heartless," Rider groaned. "I guess it's the haunted house after all."

"Don't get lost," Willa teased to his retreating back, not missing the one finger salute he turned and flipped her.

"Ready?" Willa took Chrissy's hand, helping her down the bleachers before going in search of the other two children.

She found Charlie coming out of the haunted house and Caroline helping Winter at the fish pond.

"Leaving?" Winter asked.

"Yes, I need to go home and get started on tomorrow's orders."

"I would tell you to take a vacation, but I think the town would lynch me."

Willa always felt a spurt of pride about her baking skills. It was the one thing she did well.

"I see you went to the duck pond."

Willa's hand went to the blue beaded necklace around her throat. "Yes, and the photo booth."

"I'm glad you had fun. Where are the pictures?"

"Pictures?" Willa stared at her blankly.

"That is what the photo booth is for. I should check and make sure it's working if you didn't get photos." Winter frowned. "No one has complained..."

"I forgot to look. I'm sure it's fine. I'll go check, and if anything's wrong with the booth, I'll text you."

"I would appreciate it. I can't leave the table right now."

"I'm happy to help."

Willa hustled the children away, dismayed she had left the pictures for anyone to see. She would die of embarra.s.sment if anyone saw her and Lucky kissing, and she didn't imagine he would be any happier.

When Willa found the slot where the pictures came out empty, she even looked around the floor to make sure they hadn't fallen out.

"Can we take a picture?" Charlie asked.

"All right." Willa lifted the curtain, hoping against hope that it wouldn't work.

She smiled as the camera flashed, the children all making silly faces.

When it was over, Charlie jumped up. "Let's get the pictures."

Willa lifted Caroline and Chrissy off her lap, praying the slot would be empty. The children eagerly waited for the thin strip of pictures to emerge, and she swallowed hard when it did. Charlie picked them up, showing them to his sister.

"I guess it's working fine. Let's go home."

As they left, Willa felt as if everyone's eyes were on them yet knew it was a figment of her imagination. Her last hope was that someone had seen the pictures were left behind and thrown them away. She was tempted to search the trash can closest to the photo booth, but she knew it would look ridiculous.

"G.o.d, could you please, please destroy those pictures? Maybe make sure that one strip didn't develop? Or a tiny, little fire?" she mumbled.

"What did you say, Willa?"

"Nothing, Charlie. I was praying to find something I lost." That tiny strip of photos in someone's hand would be humiliating if they surfaced.

"I'll pray, too." Charlie climbed into the backseat when Willa opened the car door.

"Me, too," both girls chimed in as she buckled them into their car seats.

Willa shut the sliding van door before getting in behind the steering wheel.

"How about we all pray?" Willa said fervently.

She was so upset over the pictures that the actual kiss didn't register until she was about to go to bed. Could it be that Lucky was as attracted to her as she was to him? A spark of hope was lit deep inside.

Willa sat down on the side of her bed, stunned at the thought. Maybe her life was going to make a change for the better.

"It certainly couldn't get any worse." Willa wanted to take the sentence back as soon as she uttered it. She had learned long ago never to tempt fate. Even the Devil would laugh at her believing Lucky was attracted to her.

"Miracles happen." Willa fell back against her bed, staring up at the ceiling as a fragile hope began to grow. Maybe, just maybe ... all her prayers were about to be answered.

Chapter 9.

Lucky found Viper in the kitchen, sharing a bottle of whiskey with Shade.

"I need to talk to you."

Viper used his foot to push a chair away from the table. "Take a seat."

Lucky sat down at the table.

"You need me to leave?" Shade asked, lifting the bottle as he began to stand.

"Stay." Lucky reached for an empty gla.s.s, raising it for Shade to fill, and the enforcer lifted a brow as he filled it.

"What's up?" Viper asked, motioning for Shade to refill his gla.s.s, too.

"I want to go to Ohio for a while."

"Why?"

"With Moon here, there really isn't anyone to keep the brothers in Ohio in check. I can stay there until Moon comes back. Besides, I'm ready to leave Treepoint, been here too long as it is."

"You're needed here. It's been nice to have all the club business off my shoulders."

"Moon is just as good. If any trouble comes down, I'm only a few hours' ride away."

"You've made your mind up?"

"Yeah."

"Then I won't stop you. I was going to send Train, but he doesn't want to leave."

"This solves both of our problems, then."

"What problem of yours does it solve?" Shade b.u.t.ted in.

Shade wasn't going to trick him into revealing more than he intended, though.

"Me wanting to dust off Treepoint."

"Lily's going to miss you." Shade lifted his half-filled gla.s.s, drinking it in one swallow before placing it back on the table.

"I'm not Lily's pastor anymore. She needs to find someone else to get spiritual guidance from. I'm certainly not the one to give it to her anymore. I never was." Lucky stood, the chair sc.r.a.ping against the floor.

Stori and Bliss came into the kitchen.

"Going to Ohio in the morning," he told them. "You girls want to be the ones to give me a send-off?"

"h.e.l.l yes." Stori eagerly twined her arms around his neck.

"You're leaving?" Bliss's quiet sentence had Lucky putting an arm around her, drawing her close to his side.

"For a few months."

Bliss shrugged his arm off. "Train's waiting for me in the other room. I'll ask Raci if she wants to join your party."

Surprised, Lucky watched as Bliss went back into the other room.

"What has her so p.i.s.sed?" Lucky asked the others in the room. "Since when has she ever cared about anyone but Shade?"

"Don't know, but I'll ask her later. We still partying?" Stori's hand went playfully to his belt buckle.

"What do you think?" Lucky started toward the bas.e.m.e.nt door with Stori still attached to his side.

"Send Raci downstairs," Lucky told Viper and Shade.

"Will do." Viper lifted his gla.s.s toward him. "Have fun."

A knife went through his heart at hearing the same words he had given Willa earlier in the night, and Shade's perceptive gaze didn't miss the flinch.

"I always do." His hand lowered to Stori's a.s.s. "Always, brother."

Lucky stood up, covered in a fine sheen of sweat as he stared down at the bed where Stori was naked, still tied to the headboard. Gripping his knife, he cut the ropes binding her wrists. She lowered her arms, curling onto her side, too exhausted to move. Raci was already asleep, having pa.s.sed out before he was finished with Stori.

Ember rolled over, pulling the sheet from the bottom of the bed to cover her trembling body before going back to sleep. All the women were too tired to be made to leave his bed so he could grab a few hours' sleep before he left town, but he wouldn't allow himself to sleep deeply if they were in the bed next to him.

He raked his long hair back from his face. He hadn't cut it since he had stepped off the podium for the last time.

He tugged on the jeans lying on the floor then quietly left the bedroom, going through the bas.e.m.e.nt and upstairs to the kitchen. Then his bare feet carried him outside into the backyard. He paused long enough to fill his lungs with fresh air, driving out the scent of s.e.x that clung to his damp skin before he walked forward until he came to the view that Lily often stared at.

The majestic mountains of Kentucky were one of three things he was going to miss about Treepoint. The club was another. His mind shied away from the third, however, not wanting to sully her image after his night of s.e.xual gluttony.

Lucky raised his head, staring at the moon as it began to sink behind the mountains. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He was unable to bring himself to pray. He had gone against the very essence of everything he believed in, committing untold sins then repeatedly asking forgiveness. It was a vicious cycle that had held him prisoner until the only hope he had left was to cut the tie to Treepoint as he had the church. The door was now closed to that source of solace, and he was on the outside where he wanted to be.

That was what he had been telling himself over and over, trying to make himself believe he was ready to move on to a different way of life. He had to give himself time to adjust, and leaving would give him that, another lie he repeatedly told himself.

Sinking to his knees, he shivered, not from the chilly morning air, but from having his soul ripped apart.

He jerked when a hand gently touched his shoulder.

"Dean, are you okay?"

Lucky dropped his hands but he didn't turn to face Rachel, unable to look at the woman who had sat in his church since high school.

"I'm fine." Lucky cleared his throat. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing."

"I don't know. I woke up, and something told me to come outside. Then I saw you..." Her voice trailed off into silence.