“Your grandmother?”
“She was a full-blooded Cherokee, and she taught me everything, from herbal medicine to how to lay my hands. She was an inspiration to me.”
Lily smiled sadly. “It must be wonderful to have that kind of heritage.”
“It is.” Rachel closed her lunch bag. “Do you ever wonder…? Never mind, I shouldn’t ask. It’s none of my business.”
“If I ever am curious about my past?” Lily asked, her hand going to her forehead. “I don’t have to wonder; I know. About my mother at least.” Lily’s hand began to shake.
“Lily, are you all right?” Lily heard the concern in Rachel’s voice.
“Yes. I was adopted when I was eight,” Lily said. “My adopted parents said my mother was killed and my father didn’t want me, so there’s no need to look, is there?”
“I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I know you didn’t.” Lily smiled tremulously, getting to her feet. Rachel reached out to steady her and Lily felt the warmth of her hand against her arm. She managed to get herself back under control with that comforting gesture.
When they went back to work, Lily was quiet at first but couldn’t remain so for long in Rachel’s cheerful presence. Rachel told her how one man had flown in from England so that she could perform her healing on his penis when he could no longer get an erection.
“I thought I would die, I was so embarrassed,” Rachel said, describing the incident. “My brothers refused to leave the room.”
Lily was laughing so hard she almost dropped a box she was carrying. “Did it work?”
“He’s had two children since then. Of course, I got a text from his wife who asked if I could turn it off again.”
Lily’s laughter bubbled over, enjoying spending the day with Rachel.
As they finished up for the day, Lily got a text from Beth, telling her to meet her at the fair when she was done. They had worked most of the day and only had a fourth of the store completed.
“See you next Saturday?” Rachel asked as they grabbed their purses.
“Absolutely.”
They left each other in the parking lot, each heading their own way.
Lily went home and showered, changing into a pale blue sundress then a matching sweater in case the night turned cool.
She drove to the outskirts of town to the fairgrounds, where there was already a huge crowd. She managed to find a parking spot at the end and began the trek toward the fair when Lily heard several motorcycles pull in.
She glanced back, expecting to see some of The Last Riders or even a Destructor, but she didn’t recognize the jackets of the riders pulling in. Lily wondered how Treepoint was going to deal with yet another motorcycle club.
Chapter 5
Lily got in line to purchase her entrance tickets, texting Beth that she was at the fairgrounds. After purchasing her ticket, she wandered through the various booths before Beth texted back that they were on their way to meet her. Lily smiled when she read Beth’s text that said Razer had decided to hit the hot dog stand when they’d arrived, thinking it was more likely Beth had joined him in getting one.
Lily stopped at one of the booths, looking over the delicate glass figurines. There was one of a delicate flower with a tiny crystal raindrop dangling from one of the petals. It was beautiful.
“How much?” Lily was in awe of the skill it must have taken to make the beautiful art.
“Twenty,” the vendor quoted. Lily reached into the pocket of her sundress for her money, pulling out a twenty, unable to resist the buy.
“Thank you,” Lily said, taking the piece, which had been wrapped in tissue paper. Afraid it would become damaged if she packed it around for the rest of the evening, Lily decided to take it back to her car.
Texting Beth that she would be right back, Lily walked back to the parking lot. It was just beginning to get dark, yet there was still plenty of light. She was halfway back to her car when she had the feeling she was being watched. Lily looked around casually. There were several people still coming and going to the fair, so she didn’t worry about her safety; however, she began to feel uncomfortable and didn’t understand why.
She was almost to her car when a truck door slammed shut. Lily swallowed hard when she recognized who had gotten out of the truck. He was already striding angrily toward her.
“You fucking bitch!” Gaige stopped in front of her, looking down at her angrily. He had a busted-up lip and a black eye that was half-closed.
“Gaige,” Lily greeted him, despite his hateful words.
“I hope you’re happy. I lost my job because of you. How am I supposed to feed my kids with no job?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be fired,” Lily said, taking a step back at his aggressive stance.
“I was only joking around.”
“It didn’t feel very funny when you put your hand on my butt,” Lily snapped.
“Then you sent Train to beat the hell out of my face.”