“Rachel, calm down.” Cash’s voice tried to soothe her temper, which she wasn’t in the mood for, but he took her arm, leading her to the chair in front of Knox’s desk.
“Knox isn’t saying he won’t do anything, but he has to talk to Willa first. Give us a couple of days. I’ll keep an eye on Willa, and if I see Lewis doing anything to make Willa uncomfortable, we’ll get a restraining order and put a watch on her. If you go off and set your brothers on him, you could be escalating an already bad situation.”
Rachel took a deep, steadying breath. “Willa was a senior when I was a freshman. Even then, I saw Georgia tormenting her.” Rachel looked down at her work-roughened hands. “Georgia tried to pick on me a couple of times, but she wasn’t really brave enough to do anything with Dustin always watching out for me. Georgia didn’t get any nicer as she got older, though. Everyone, including Willa, learned the best way to deal with her was to stay away from her.
“You know the funny thing about it? Lily was the only one who ever had enough guts to actually confront Georgia.” Rachel ran her sweaty hands down the sides of her dress. “I stood by then, but I’m not going to ignore it anymore. I know he’s going to hurt her.” Every time she was near Willa, she felt the fear and terror the woman was dealing with on her own.
“I’ll make sure we all keep an eye on her,” Knox promised.
Rachel nodded. Getting to her feet, she went to the door. This time, Cash opened it for her and then followed her outside.
“Have you had breakfast yet?” Cash asked as she walked to her car.
“No, why?” Rachel answered absently, her mind still on Willa.
“Let’s get some, and you can tell me more about Willa.”
She couldn’t refuse if he was going to help with Willa; therefore, she gave in, crossing the street with him.
Inside, the diner was busy with the church members; however, The Last Riders had their usual large table. When she saw Lily, Beth, and Winter, she smiled, relaxing as she followed him toward the table.
She sat down at an empty chair beside Beth, whose twin boys were both sitting in highchairs, nibbling on finger foods Beth had placed in front of them.
They were beautiful, chubby baby boys.
“They’re gorgeous, Beth.” They had inherited their father’s dark hair and complexion.
“Thank you.” Beth smiled, handing one of the boys a toy he had dropped.
The waitress came and took their order. Rachel enjoyed playing with the babies while she and Lily argued over which one was the cutest.
“They’re identical,” Cash’s voice interrupted their good-natured argument. “Only a few people seem to be able to tell them apart.”
“I don’t know why.” Rachel wasn’t aware the large table had quieted as everyone listened. “Noah is larger than Chance.” There was only a slight difference in the weight, Rachel thought, but Noah’s cheeks were fuller as well as his chubby little thighs. “Chance’s hair is slightly darker, and he looks a little bit more like Razer.” Chance wasn’t as loud or playful as Noah, either. His beautiful eyes stared back at her solemnly as he sucked on the teething giraffe he had nabbed from his brother. “Besides that, Beth brushes their hair in opposite directions,” Rachel finished.
“I do?” Beth studied her children. “I didn’t even realize it. Noah’s hair is thicker and lies better that way.”
The waitress brought their food.
“I’ve been trying to figure out which was which for the last month. They look more and more alike every day. You’re very observant,” Cash stated.
“Yes, I am,” Rachel said. “That’s why I’m so concerned for Willa.”
Cash nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
“You better, or I will,” she promised.
“I get the message,” Cash said ruefully, studying her stubborn expression.
She was determined to take up for a friend, and she had noticed something about Razer’s kids he hadn’t. His parents would never have stuck up for another person, nor would they have paid attention to someone else’s children enough to notice the smallest detail of where their mother parted their hair. His little vixen had a heart. She might be a prude, but she didn’t place herself on a moral shelf that no one could reach.
The door to the restaurant opened, and two teenage boys and an older man came into the restaurant. Rachel observed them coming in, trying to decide if she wanted to make her presence known to her cousin. The decision was taken out of her hands when he was about to sit down and noticed her at the table with The Last Riders. He said something to the two boys.
Rachel set down her orange juice glass as she saw him approach, preparing herself for his disdain at sitting with the group. Although, Drake was much more laid back than her brothers. He didn’t share the same enmity for Cash since he was older and had never, to her knowledge, come into conflict with him over women. She was closer to Drake than he was to her brothers because of their refusal to get a regular job. Drake had tried to convince them, to no avail, to quit dealing their weed.
“Rachel, I’m glad to see you’re back in town.”
“Thank you. It’s good to see you, too. How are you and Jace doing?”
“Fine, other than I had to bail him and his sidekick out of jail just now for joyriding in one of Lyle’s vehicles.”
Rachel looked at Cash in surprise that he hadn’t mentioned it was her cousin he had tracked down.
“Jace’s taking after my side of the family?” Rachel couldn’t help the small dig at her wealthy cousin. He owned a large chunk of the properties in and around Treepoint. He was the one who had sold the property of The Last Riders to Viper’s brother Gavin. When it came out that Phillip Langley was behind his murder, Rachel had worried Drake had been involved. However, the subsequent investigation had cleared him of any wrongdoing. He had sold the property to the investment group, and that had been the end of his part.
“Seems so.” Rachel noticed he kept looking toward Bliss, who was ignoring the conversation and talking to Train. “I’ve been letting Jace go hunting with your brothers so much I think they’re starting to rub off on him. He looks up to them, so when he hears about their exploits, it puts ideas in his head.”
Rachel blushed, remembering Dustin’s own joy rides he had gotten in trouble for.
“I’ll talk to them,” Rachel offered.
“Me and you both,” he said grimly, turning his gaze to Cash.
“Hello, Cash.” Drake reached out to shake hands. “I appreciate you driving the boys into town instead of calling Knox. Knox told me you talked Lyle into not pressing charges. I owe you one.”
“I hope my getting them off won’t lead to them trying it again.”
“It won’t. I plan to sell his favorite rifle to pay for the damages to Lyle’s truck.”
Rachel winced. To a country boy, guns were prized possessions. Given a choice, Jace would have probably picked jail time versus having his gun sold.
Cash’s lips twitched. “A fate worse than death.”
“He’ll survive,” Drake said without remorse.
“Would you like to join us?”
Rachel saw his eyes go to Bliss again before answering Cash’s question. “No, thanks. It would make those boys’ day to sit here.
They were admiring all the motorcycles when we came in. It will hurt like hell when I tell them you invited us to sit with you.”
“You don’t let him drive your bike?” Rachel teased.
“No. He lost that privilege when he got thrown out of high school and started going to the alternative school. I was going to buy him one when he graduated, but that’s not looking so good.”
Winter sent him a hopeful look. “He’s doing much better.”
Drake gave her a wry smile. “Not good enough to get that bike he’s wanting, especially not with this latest stunt. I better get back to the table. Again, it’s good to see you back, Rachel. Call me next time those asses give you a hard time.” His glance at Cash indicated that he grouped Cash in among the asses that had given her a hard time.
Cash’s lips tightened at the silent message, showing it had been received.
“I will, Drake.” Rachel smiled.
Cash wasn’t going to be winning any of her family’s hearts anytime soon.
She sent him a victorious look. He wouldn’t be cashing in on that bet she had made him. If Drake was warning him about her, then he stood a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting her brothers to agree to her going on a date with him.
Chapter 20
“What are we doing here?” Cash questioned why Shade had them sitting outside the movie theater.
“Trying to pay you back.”
Before he could say anything else, the movie let out and the moviegoers came through the doors. Cash observed the people leaving, wondering which one Shade was looking for. His question was soon answered.
“You sneaky son of a bitch.” Cash’s admiration of Shade’s skill grew. He wanted to kick his own ass for not thinking of it first. He could have held on to the favor Shade had owed him. He was going to have to find another way to get his vote for Rachel, and he hated owing Shade favors; he could be a bastard when he wanted his repayment.
The two boys drew closer to the bikers, sitting on their bikes. Their gazes were all for the bikes. Cash had to hide his grin, remembering when all he could think about was wanting a bike.