“Hi, Willa.”
Both Lily and Beth came from behind the counter to welcome her. Then Winter stood from the table, handing her a vase of flowers without meeting her eyes.
“Thank you.” Willa blushed, remembering the last time she had seen her.
“We all wanted you to know how much you’re welcomed and that we’re looking forward to having you live here,” Lily enthused.
“It’s going to be really nice when we add her name to the chore list,” Rider said then winced as Ember elbowed him in the ribs.
“What? It’s the truth. One less week I have to do the dishes. It’s not like we aren’t all thinking the same thing.”
“I’m not thinking that,” Lily protested.
Beth glared at Rider. “Me, either.”
“I am. I hate the fucking dishes.” Jewell picked up a chicken leg, biting into it.
“I hate clothes,” Raci admitted, “but I’m still glad you’re here.”
Willa laughed. “I don’t mind chores.”
Lucky came up from behind her, placing his arm around her shoulder. “Just make sure that you don’t do everyone else’s.”
“I’ll try.” Willa didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.
“Let’s eat before it gets cold.” Viper walked around them, taking a plate from the large stack.
Willa got in line with Lucky, filling her plate sparingly with only a chicken thigh and a scoop of potatoes.
Before she could move down the line, Lucky placed a chicken breast on her plate. “I know it’s your favorite.”
She was doomed to have a big ass until she died. She tried to remember how many carbs green beans had then didn’t think it mattered, considering the fried chicken. While Lucky lagged behind at the apple cobbler, Willa steered clear, going through to the dining room after seeing the kitchen table was full.
Searching for a place to sit, she saw Viper and Winter sitting at a large, round table where Bliss and Raci were also sitting. There were two empty chairs, so Willa set her plate at the table. She was pulling the chair out when Bliss rose, carrying her plate away without a word and sitting down at another table.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Winter cast Bliss an angry frown. “No, have a seat.”
Lucky came up next to her, taking the other empty chair.
“Something wrong?” Lucky asked when she didn’t sit down.
“No.” Willa would ask Bliss later if there was a problem. She had always been friendly with the woman and couldn’t understand why she had left the table.
Willa observed her laughing and joking with Train and Rider who shared her table.
“What do you think?” When he placed his hand on her arm, she realized her husband was talking to her.
“What about?”
“Viper and the brothers are going for a ride after dinner; want to go with them?”
Willa knew he was anxious to be back on his motorcycle.
“I want to get unpacked. You go ahead.” The memory of Bliss’s butt on the back of his bike would forever be ingrained in her memory, so there was no way she was getting on a bike with him. After all, she didn’t want the person who came up behind her on Lucky’s bike to have nightmares.
When she finished, she carried her dishes into the kitchen and washed them off, not wanting to interrupt the others talking at the table.
Raci placed her dishes in the sink on top of hers. “It’s Ember’s turn to do the dishes.”
“Oh … okay.” Willa dried her hands on the towel rack before self-consciously going to the door that led to the basement.
Once in the room that was going to be her new home for the time being, she set about getting comfortable before she started unpacking. She lifted her suitcase to the bed, opening it and taking out a pair of jeans and a loose top. Carrying them into the bathroom, she changed out of her dress. She zipped up the jeans, surprised to find they were loose. She then went back into the bedroom and searched through her clothes, finding her favorite pair of size eighteen jeans. Knowing her weight was like an escalator, she kept two different sizes of clothes. Next week, she would be back in her twenties.
Going back in the bathroom, she slid on the jeans then the cotton top and felt more comfortable as she moved around the room.
She had finished unpacking one suitcase and was about to unpack another when Lucky walked in the bedroom.
“You ready?”
Willa gaped at him. “I’m still unpacking.”
“I’ll help when we get back. Come on.” He took her hand, dragging her out of the bedroom.
She tried to tug against him. “I don’t want to go,” she protested shrilly.
Lucky stopped. “Why? And don’t tell me you want to unpack when we can easily do that after we come back.”
“I don’t want to go,” she mumbled, looking down at her shoes.
“Look at me and tell me the truth.”
Willa lifted her lashes. “I’m too heavy. I’ll make you wreck.”
“I don’t know which pisses me off more—you insulting yourself or me.”