“Shade would be furious if he saw you doing that.”
“Then it’s a good thing he’s not here, isn’t it? You’re not a tattletale, are you?” Lily wrinkled her nose at her.
“Let me catch you moving any more of this heavy furniture, and I’ll call him,” Rachel threatened.
“Okay, okay, you win. I just feel silly asking you to do things that I’m perfectly capable of doing myself.”
“I don’t mind.” Rachel slid the rest of the furniture closer to the wall.
“Lily?” They both jumped when they heard Brooke’s voice behind them.
“Hi, Brooke. What can I help you with?” Lily asked politely.
Rachel walked to the side, moving a headboard casually while listening to their conversation as she worked.
“I’m doing a church Bible group tomorrow, and Willa has several of the texts that we use. Would it be possible for you to pick them up on your way home? The pastor and I are having a dinner tonight with several of the deacons. If you can’t, I suppose…”
“No problem. I don’t mind at all. I’ll enjoy visiting Willa.” Lily smiled.
Willa will be relieved, Rachel thought. The woman would be a nervous wreck waiting for Brooke to arrive.
“Fine, then. That’s a relief. I was nervous about leaving my roast in the oven when I ran out.” Brooke gave them both a practiced smile. “I’m afraid cooking is not where my talents lie.”
“I’m sure you’re an excellent cook,” Lily complimented.
Rachel turned her back so Brooke couldn’t read her expression.
“Thank you, Lily. I better get back to my dinner. I’m making a cobbler for dessert. I’ve never made one before, but it’s Merrick’s favorite, so I thought I would give it a try.”
“I’m sure it will be delicious. I’ll drop the texts off in Pastor Merrick’s office in the morning.”
“Thanks, again. Goodnight, Lily, Rachel.”
The girls both told her goodbye, watching her leave in her expensive dress and high heels.
“You just saved Willa’s ass,” Rachel told her, coming to stand next to her.
“I know. I knew Willa would prefer me picking the books up. I’m supposed to meet Beth after work to go shopping, though. I’ll have to call her and tell her I’ll be late.”
“I could do it for you. I’m not doing anything. You could even leave early if you want,” Rachel offered.
“I may take you up on that. Beth will be waiting with the twins.”
“It all works out perfect, then.”
*
Three hours later, Rachel closed the church store. Her car was steaming hot, so she took off the lightweight jacket she had put over her dress. The church and the store always remained uncomfortably cool since Merrick had taken over. The mornings were the worst when she opened the store, the frigid air hitting her as she entered. She had mentioned it hesitatingly to the pastor, and he had told her he kept the air on the same setting as always, but he’d agreed it was cold also. He had promised to get Brooke to call the repairman, but that had been over a week ago. Rachel promised herself, if it wasn’t repaired soon, she would call the repairman on her own.
She made a left onto Willa’s street and saw Lewis’s car. When she had called earlier to tell her she was stopping by, she hadn’t mentioned Lewis would be there. Looking at her watch, she realized he must have just gotten off work.
Rachel parked her car next to his vehicle, careful not to block him in. Willa would probably thank her for stopping by and getting rid of the overbearing man.
As she drew closer to the door, she heard a scream from inside. Not bothering to knock, she flung the door open. Rachel let out a scream of her own when she saw Lewis had his belt off and was whipping Willa with it. Fury soared through her.
She ran toward him as he lifted the belt to strike Willa again, and without thinking, she pushed him away from Willa.
“Don’t you dare touch her again!” she screamed at him.
Lewis stared angrily at Rachel. “Get the fuck out!” He came toward her with the belt raised and Rachel froze. She wasn’t going to let him scare her.
“Willa, get up and go call Knox now.”
When Lewis swung back toward Willa, Rachel’s words stopped him cold. “If you lay another hand on her or me, my brothers will kill you. I’m going to be real fair to you, Lewis, and tell you that you have three days to get out of town before I tell my brothers what happened here.”
“I’m not afraid of your fucked-up brothers,” Lewis snarled.
“Then it’s your life to kiss goodbye. Because I’m telling you, when Greer hears what you were doing in here, he’s going to kill you for thinking you could raise a belt to me and get away with it.”
Willa tried to shuffle to the side, but Lewis bent down and jerked her to her feet by her blond hair.
“You stupid cunt. Go sit down on the couch until I’m ready to deal with you.”