He had been watching the doorway for her and hadn’t expected a tearful reunion, but neither had he been expecting the void of emotion that had been present. He had hoped she would show some emotions when she saw him, yet there had been complete indifference as she’d walked in, just like there had been the last four months of his recovery. It seemed as if she hadn’t cared if he lived or died in that accident.
Cash stared down into the inky darkness of his coffee. “Yeah, she is, but Rachel isn’t the first and certainly won’t the last.” His friends cast him commiserating looks at his grandmother’s barb.
“You were lucky to seduce that girl once; she’s not going to be stupid enough to give you a chance to do it twice.” Mag smiled at him pitilessly. “That girl is done with you. I’ve seen that look too many times on women’s faces when they finally decided they’re done having their hearts stomped on.”
Cash straightened in his chair, wincing at the abrupt movement. “I didn’t stomp on her heart. I embarrassed her and hurt her feelings.”
“You’re sitting in my house, lying, Cash. You’re lying to yourself if you think that girl would have slept with you and not cared about you. You’ve been born and raised in these hills, went to the same church as her. She might not have been expecting a ring from you, but she sure as hell didn’t expect what she got.”
“I lost my temper.”
“That ain’t no excuse. Her brothers have been pushing your buttons for years.”
He had never been able to win in a battle of words with his grandmother. “I’ll try to talk to her.”
“Good. You want another piece of bacon?”
*
Rachel tiredly got into her car after closing the church store. Her cell phone ringing had her searching through her purse until she found it. Her quick glance told her it was Lily calling.
“Hello?”
“Rachel, hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping to ask a favor.”
“What’s up?”
“I can’t find my set of keys to open the store in the morning. I’ve searched everywhere. I was hoping if I offered you dinner you would run your set out. I could get another set made in the morning before I went into work.”
“No problem. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Thanks.” Lily disconnected the call.
Rachel wasn’t anxious to go to Lily’s house, but at least it was behind the clubhouse and she could avoid Cash as she had the last month. Whenever he had stopped by to see Mag, she’d made an excuse to leave or went to her room.
Several times, he had attempted to talk to her, but she would cut him short, ignoring all his attempts to put the past behind them. She didn’t want to forget; remembering what an ass he was kept her from falling for him again.
Ten minutes later, she parked her car in The Last Riders’ parking lot.
Going up the sidewalk that led behind the clubhouse, she managed to avoid the members on the trek to Lily’s house.
Lily opened the door before she could knock.
“I appreciate you going out of your way.”
“I didn’t mind. It was no trouble.” Lily opened the door wider for Rachel.
From inside the house, she admired what Shade had built for Lily.
“Hungry?” Lily asked, heading toward her kitchen.
“I’m always ready to eat,” Rachel joked.
“Good, I have plenty. Shade’s working late at the factory. They have a big order to get out. A few of them managed to get finished early and are rubbing it in the others’ faces.”
The loud music coming from the clubhouse could be heard inside Lily’s house.
“Doesn’t that noise bother you?” Rachel asked, taking a seat at the table.
“No, I like listening to it.” Lily smiled as she placed the chili and cornbread on the table.
Rachel didn’t say anything else, feeling Lily’s defense of The Last Riders.
They were sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of tea, when Shade came in looking exhausted. His grim face lightened into a smile when Lily got up to give him a kiss that had Rachel catching her breath.
She rose to her feet. “I’d better go. It’s almost Mag’s bedtime, and I don’t want her to lock me out.”
“Would she really?” Lily asked in shock.
“No,” Rachel laughed. “But she would make me wish she had by the time she quit fussing at me for making her get out of bed.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys. “Here you go, I’ll stop by the store tomorrow to pick them up.”
“All right. Thanks again, Rachel.”
“Dinner more than made up for it,” Rachel replied, giving her a hug. “Bye, Shade.”
He nodded to her while he was making his own bowl of food.
Rachel smiled, closing the door and going down Lily’s steps. It had gotten dark since she had arrived.
As she was passing the backyard of the clubhouse, she heard a woman’s moan. Thinking someone had fallen or hurt themselves, she scanned the backyard until she saw a movement in the gazebo. The lights from inside the clubhouse illuminated the couple within, and Rachel easily recognized Cash’s tall frame. He had regained most of the weight and muscle tone he had lost since his accident. He seemed to easily hold the woman he had pinned to the side of the gazebo. The woman gave another moan. It was only when her voice impatiently said Cash’s name that Rachel recognized her as Bliss.