“What did you do?”
“I told her to sit. Ria’s a protection dog. I bought her so you would be protected when we became engaged. Willa, I have enemies. I’m a—”
“How much did she cost? I’ll pay you back for her.” Willa skirted around him, going to the entry table to take out her checkbook.
“I don’t want your fucking money. I bought her so you would be protected—”
“I don’t need your protection; I can take care of myself. How much?” Willa practically screamed at him.
“Twenty thousand.”
A sob had her clutching her checkbook. “You paid twenty thousand dollars for a dog?”
“Ria is highly trained. Colt gave me a discount because we served together.”
“I’m surprised he’s not a member of The Last Riders. Maybe you should have let him in so he would give you a better discount.” Willa stared down blankly at her checkbook.
“I don’t want the money, and the dog is yours. I want to explain why—”
Willa set the checkbook down on the table. “Lucky, I’ve had more explanations than I can take in one day. I can’t give you the dog immediately; the children will want to say good-bye—”
“I’m not going to take the fucking dog.” He started toward her, but a knock sounded on the door, startling them both.
“That will be Knox and Mr. Russell. I would appreciate it if you left. I don’t need your help.”
“I’ll go. I know you’re upset, and I don’t want to make it worse by staying.”
Willa moved to answer the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when Lucky stopped her.
“I won’t take Ria back.”
“It’s not your decision to make. This time, it’s my choice that matters.” Willa had grown attached to the dog, but did she really want the constant reminder that Lucky had given her Ria every time she looked at her? Whichever choice she made, Willa worried it was going to be painful. After all, it was going to be difficult enough seeing Lucky around town.
Who would pay twenty thousand dollars for a dog? Obviously a man who wouldn’t know a good deal when it bit him on the butt.
Willa looked at the dog hopefully. “Would you bite him on the butt if I asked you to?”
Chapter 18
Travis Russell was a rugged man and nothing like his half-sister and brother. He was always polite and respectful and handled the children sternly yet fairly. Over the last month and a half, the younger girls had already fallen in love with him, and even Leanne and Charlie, though slower to accept him, were growing more comfortable in his presence. Charlie was especially excited when he found out his uncle was an adept video game player. They spent thirty minutes a day playing before Travis would grab the football he had bought Charlie and take him and the rest of the kids to the park. She would remain behind, giving them their alone time.
Each day, she felt them growing farther away from her as they began looking for their uncle when they woke up. Willa had, after the second day he had visited, invited him to stay at her house. He learned their schedules, and the last two mornings, she had awoken to find breakfast cooked and Caroline and Chrissy eating their oatmeal and toast.
Since he was at her house, Flora had gained permission for Sissy to return until their departure in two weeks. The girl wasn’t happy about it, but her attitude was checked by Travis, who would tell her to go to her room and then deny her the use of her electronics. The first time, she had smarted off to him, and he had given her a warning, telling her ladies her age should know how to behave. The second time, Sissy had smarted off to Willa, and he had picked her phone up, which had been sitting next to her at the kitchen table, and tossed it into the garbage disposal. Sissy’s mouth had fallen open, but she had been polite since, at least in front of Travis.
* * *
Willa pushed the buggy down the grocery aisle, looking sideways at the lean cowboy walking next to her, pushing the grocery cart that resembled a fire truck. The girls were buckled in, taking turns tugging on the rope to ring the plastic bell. Leanne and Charlie had remained at home after returning from having lunch with their uncle.
With Travis’s help with the children, it didn’t take long before they were checked out and rolling the carts filled with groceries to her van.
Willa turned her head when she recognized a truck that had pulled in and parked a few spaces from her.
Shade, Lucky, and Lily got out. There was no way to avoid them. It wouldn’t have bothered her not speaking to Lucky, but she couldn’t bring herself to be rude to Lily and Shade.
“Hi, Lily, Shade.”
“Hi, Willa,” Lily responded while Shade gave her a nod.
“Willa.”
“Lucky,” she returned his greeting without looking at him.
The three didn’t move on, and Willa was forced to introduce Travis.
Lily’s eyes didn’t budge from the tall Texan, who was wearing faded jeans, scuffed boots, a T-shirt, and a cowboy hat.
“Where are you from?”
“Tyler, Texas, ma’am.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“He owns a ranch where the children will be moving with him in a couple of weeks. He’s staying with me and the children until they leave,” Willa explained.
“In your house?”
Lucky’s sharp question had Travis raising a brow in his direction.
“Yes. That way, he can get to know the kids better, and it won’t be as traumatic when they leave.” Willa was angry at herself for caring that he might get the wrong impression of Travis staying with her.
“Do you have horses?” Lily asked, breaking the tense silence.
“Wouldn’t be called a ranch if I didn’t.”
“We need to hurry, Lily. We don’t want to leave John alone for long with Raci babysitting.”
“It was nice—” Lily was tugged away before she could finish her sentence.
Willa started to push the buggy forward, but was blocked by Lucky.
“If you need any help packing their things, I could come by.”
“No, thanks. Travis and I have it under control.” Willa shoved the buggy forward, leaving Lucky to decide whether to get run over or move. Wisely, he moved out of the way, walking into the store.
Travis helped her buckle the girls into their car seats then load the groceries into the van before opening the passenger door for her then getting in on the driver’s side. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Willa saw Lucky staring out the window of the grocery store.
>
“He an old boyfriend?”
“No,” Willa choked out.
“Want me to go back and punch him for you?”
Willa had to think about it for a minute then decided the good, Christian girl couldn’t see Lucky get hurt.
“You think it would be that easy?” she teased.
“Ma’am, I chase criminals for a living, so he would be a piece of cake. No pun intended.”
Willa laughed, thankful he was sticking around for a while. He was good company, and while she still missed Lucky, at least Travis had kept her from moping around all day. By the time Travis left, she probably wouldn’t miss Lucky anymore. Unconsciously, she crossed her fingers in her lap.
* * *
Willa placed the cake carefully into the cake box just as the doorbell rang. Closing the box, she hurried to her door.
“Hi, Douglas. Come on in.”
“The cake’s ready? I can come back later if it isn’t.”
“I just finished.” Willa shut the door, motioning him toward the kitchen. “How are Angus and Myrtle doing this afternoon?”
“They’re so excited. I told Myrtle to take an extra blood pressure pill and gave Angus a beer. Their daughter is visiting and bringing her kids, and it has them excited. Myrtle said thanks for fitting her in on short notice.”
“They’ve been keeping you busy?”
“Myrtle always finds something to keep me busy.” Douglas was the older couple’s handyman, and he kept an eye on them since their children all lived out of town.
Willa pointed at the pink box on the counter. “Would you like a cup of coffee before you go?”
She didn’t give him time to answer, going behind the counter to pour him a cup.
“I really don’t have the time.”
Willa turned to glance over her shoulder as Douglas started to reach into his back pocket.
“No charge. It’s my present to them.”
“They gave me the money…” Again, he reached for his back pocket.
“Then you can give it back.” She gave him an unconsciously sad smile. “Are you sure you can’t stay for coffee? I could use the company.”
Douglas opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a scratching at the back door.