"Watch where you're going!"

Willa came to a sudden stop at Jenna's harsh command.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you." She tugged Caroline closer to her to give Jenna and Curt Dawkins enough room to pa.s.s.

Curt held the door open for Jenna as she walked past her, deliberately knocking Willa back a step.

Willa gasped as Caroline fell down.

Jenna didn't pause, throwing a gloating look over her shoulder, and a flash of fury struck Willa.

"Leanne, take Caroline and Charlie to the car."

Before the girl could say anything, Willa went through the door after Jenna and Curt.

Lucky was turning away from the cash register, giving her a questioning look as Willa moved in front of Jenna, blocking her.

"If you don't like me, that's fine, but don't you dare touch one of those children again."

Jenna cast a wary glance toward Lucky. "It was an accident."

"Usually, when you have an accident, you apologize."

No apology was forthcoming from her, and Willa could tell she wasn't about to get one.

"If you have a problem with me, take it out on me, but don't ever think I'll stand by and watch you hurt someone I care about to get back at me."

"I don't have a problem with you, Willa. You're not that important to me," Jenna said cuttingly.

"The feeling's mutual." Willa brushed rudely past her, for once happy that her weight came in handy. She knocked Jenna against an empty table, and Jenna would have fallen if Curt hadn't grabbed her arm. Willa waited for Jenna's reaction, stubbornly refusing to leave before Jenna could.

The woman regained her footing, giving her a hateful glance.

"Let's go eat, Curt." With that, the pair moved away.

"You want to go after her and beat the s.h.i.t out of her, don't you?"

Willa took a shuddering breath at Lucky's amused question.

"Don't cuss in front of Chrissy," she reprimanded.

"Yes, ma'am."

She gave him a frustrated glance before going out the door. It was his fault the woman hated her guts. Jenna had been a cordial, if not friendly, neighbor before the day his motorcycle had been spray-painted. Willa believed Jenna blamed one of the children for the damage. For all she knew, Jenna might think she had done it.

"What did she do to make you so mad?"

"She knocked Caroline down," Willa answered, her concern for the little girl alleviated when she saw her standing next to Leanne.

"Why would she want to hurt Caroline?"

"She didn't. She wanted to hurt me." Willa picked up Caroline, brushing her hair away from her damp cheeks. "You okay, sweetie?"

Caroline nodded, placing her thumb into her mouth. "I want my blankie."

"As soon as we get home," she promised.

Lucky buckled the girls in while Willa climbed into the front seat. When Lucky settled into his seat, he paused before starting the SUV.

"I'll talk to Jenna and make sure she doesn't bother you anymore. You don't have to put up with her much longer. She's decided to move away."

"Don't bother. It will just make the situation worse. She already thinks I'm the neighbor from h.e.l.l. That's probably why she decided to move."

"I doubt that's the reason, but if she tries to touch you again, she'll find out exactly what h.e.l.l is." Lucky's vehemence brought a fleeting moment of concern for Jenna until she realized she was being ridiculous.

Lucky may have been hanging around The Last Riders lately, but the pastor constantly preached about violence during his sermons. She seriously doubted he could harm a fly. She tried to ignore the voice at the back of her mind that reminded her he had also preached against promiscuity.

Chapter 12.

Lucky walked to the front of the crowded church. With every pew filled, he felt conscience-stricken at the welcome the parishioners were giving him.

He stopped behind the pulpit and turned to face the expectant crowd, each waiting to hear his sermon. His hands gripped the sides of the wooden pulpit, sliding against the smooth wood that had been rubbed every Sunday by him during his tenure as their pastor. Then his eyes roved over the ones seated in the audience: Winter, Beth, Evie, Lily who was holding her child in her arms. Lucky swallowed hard at her bright smile. He felt his weakest whenever he looked into her violet eyes.

He would never be the man she thought he was, and he felt like a failure each and every time. Not only because of her, but everyone there who wanted him to provide them with the guidance and ministering they needed. How could he help them find their way when he was more lost than them?

His eyes came to rest on Willa who had Caroline and Chrissy on each side of her in the front row where he had asked her to sit. Charlie and Leanne completed the picture of a family, one he would never allow himself to have.

Lucky bowed his head and heard the parishioners mimicking his action. He repeated the same prayer he opened each of his services with then raised his head.

"I had planned a sermon for today, thanking you for allowing me back into the church. I planned to explain my actions of the past months and ask forgiveness from the Lord and you." His knuckles whitened from the grip he had on the pulpit.

"I love being a pastor. I always have. It's something that I feel driven to do, but at the same time, I'm at war with myself. I want to stay your pastor, but for me to do this, I do not want to be judged by how you believe I should live as a servant of the Lord. Our belief in G.o.d is what has brought us here today. If you want to judge me, then do so on my work as your pastor in the past and in the future. If you're not happy with that, I am useless to this church as the leader it needs."

Lucky opened his Bible and began reciting it as he gazed at Willa. She gave him the same timid smile she always gave him then glanced away, as though afraid he would read too much.

He had spent the night before at her house, playing with the children then getting them ready for bed while she had baked. The smell had filled the house as the children had laughed. It had brought back memories of his own childhood, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to regret stepping forward so he could keep them safe.

The Wests sat in the middle of the church, piousness practically oozing out of them, while inside, the ugliness of their souls made him want to have them expelled from the church. He had made a promise never to divulge their secrets, and he wouldn't, but he had every faith that G.o.d's justice would be waiting for them, just as it was for him.

He had pretended to be unaffected by Willa, leaving her with a brief goodbye. However, all the while, he had wanted to take her with him to the clubhouse and barricade them in his bedroom until he had found out everything he wanted to know about her.

How soft were her b.r.e.a.s.t.s? Did her mouth really taste as good as he remembered? Would her p.u.s.s.y open to him in need or be tight with trepidation at the pounding he wanted to give her?

Lucky dragged his mind away from the l.u.s.t-filled images trying to overtake the holier images that he was trying to convey to the parishioners. He was willing to bet the bike he loved he would gain a more rapt audience if he were to describe the impure desires for Willa he constantly had to fight. Then he concluded the service, motioning for the organ to begin playing. Leaving the podium, he went to Willa, reaching out to take her hand. She shook her head yet rose from her seat.

"Come stand with me. Leanne, you bring Chrissy, and Charlie, you hold onto Caroline." The small group went to the doorway and stopped.

"I can't do this," Willa murmured under her breath.

"Yes, you can. Just smile and I'll do the rest," he rea.s.sured her.

The congregation began lining up to speak to Lucky, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Willa give each parishioner a hesitant smile.

Drake Hall with his son Jace and Jace's friend Cal were the first ones in line. Drake bent down, giving Willa a kiss on her cheek. "I heard the good news. Congratulations to you both." Drake reached out, shaking Lucky's hand. Then the two younger men followed his example. "Willa, why didn't you tell me you two were seeing each other?"

"She wanted to make up her mind about continuing to see me. Willa was a hard woman to convince, but I finally managed to get her to admit I would make a good husband." Lucky winked at Drake, giving the impression that Willa had kept him dangling like a fish on a hook.

"She's worth the trouble; that's for sure." Drake's hand tightened on Willa's, pulling her closer for a hug.

Lucky's mouth tightened into a grim line, his arm going around her waist and tugging her away from Drake to his side. "Yes, she is."

Drake took the silent hint, moving away with Jace and Cal.

The women of the congregation moved in next, swarming Willa in a rush of hugs and well wishes.

"Have you set the date yet?" Winter's voice could be heard over the rest.

"No-" Willa began.

"Yes. November sixteenth. We want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day as a family."

The women stared at him in dismay at the close date.

"That doesn't give us much time to do any planning." Beth bit her lip then gave Willa a determined look. "We'll get it all done. If we can arrange Lily's wedding on forty-eight hours' notice, we can make a wedding that you'll always remember with two weeks to work on it."

Lucky frowned. "We don't want anything too fancy. We were thinking of going to the courthouse then having a reception at the church."

The women stared at him as if he had grown two heads. He expected Willa to have the same expression; instead, she was nodding her head in agreement.

"Neither of us want a big church wedding," Willa said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Are you sure? You cried your eyes out during Lily's wedding." Beth's reminder had the women rallying around her, trying to convince her to have a more formal wedding.

Finally, Willa raised her hand so the group would listen.

"I cried because Lily's wedding was absolutely beautiful, not because I wanted one like it for myself. I would actually prefer a spring wedding, but Lucky and I want to spend the holidays together with the children." It was the most Willa had spoken at one time and she had inserted a firmness in her voice so it would be more believable.

"I can understand her feelings. King and I didn't have a big wedding, either." Evie pushed herself to the front of the line. "We're holding the whole line up. Since we're having a wedding, we need to at least give her a bachelorette party."

Willa shot that idea down. "My business is so busy right now. I wouldn't be much fun."

Evie went on as if Willa hadn't spoken. "We can do it next Sat.u.r.day at King's restaurant. That way, all you have to do is show up. I'll handle the food and the booze."

"The children-"

"I'd be glad to spend the night at your house so you won't have to worry what time you get home," Mrs. Stevens, her neighbor from across the street, offered.

Unable to think of another excuse, Willa agreed.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? Don't worry, Willa; I won't make it too wild," Evie promised.

Willa had attended a couple of parties with the women that Lily and Beth had invited her to, and all of them had been fun, despite her feeling like the outsider.

"I'll look forward to it," Willa said and meant it.

When the women moved on, leaving the rest of the congregation to file past, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"That didn't hurt, did it?"

"No." Willa didn't admit that his presence had kept her nerves steady.

"Ready, kids?" Now that church was over, Willa wanted to escape back to her home.

"Where are you going?" Lucky stopped her when she would have reached for Chrissy and Caroline.

"I'm going home to relax. It's my day off."

"You have to attend the fellowship meeting with me. Then we have to take care of getting a ring for you."

"I don't need a ring," Willa protested.

"No one is going to believe we're engaged if you don't have a ring," Lucky stated resolutely.

Willa followed Lucky into the fellowship hall. She had attended many times before, fading into the background. Today, they were the center of attention since everyone wanted to gather gossip for the rumor mill.

Willa was relieved when the room finally cleared.

She and the kids were hustled into Lucky's SUV. Thankfully, the reception welcoming Lucky back to church and then sitting through the sermon had made the younger children sleepy. As a result, they fell asleep in the backseat as Lucky drove out of town.

Willa turned in her seat. "Where are we going?"

"I thought we would drive to Jamestown to look. The jewelry store is open there on Sunday."

"Oh." At least the children wouldn't be grumpy from being tired.

Charlie turned on the DVD player in the backseat, and both he and Leanne began watching a movie.

"I didn't know you had another vehicle."

"It's two days old," Lucky quipped.

Willa lowered her voice so the kids couldn't hear her in the backseat. "You bought it after you told Flora we were engaged?"