“I hear your friends arriving at the diner. It’s nice to always have them save a table for you before church lets out,” Willa teased.

Lily laughed. “They usually beat us and get the biggest table. Would you like to join us? We could give you a ride home afterward.” The line moved forward and Willa reached out to shake Pastor Dean’s hand.

“Like her fat ass would fit on the back of a bike,” Georgia snidely commented.

When Willa’s face turned bright red, Lily had to give the embarrassed woman credit for not losing her composure. Pastor Dean started to speak to her, but with a quick word, Willa moved away, not letting him finish.

Lily bypassed her Pastor, quickly going after the humiliated woman. “Willa.”

She stopped, turning back to Lily. “I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to ignore your invitation, but I have an order to get out. See you later.”

“That’s all right. Stop by the store next weekend if you get time.”

“I will.” With that, the woman rushed down the sidewalk toward her home.

Lily spun around, furious. Beth and Razer were waiting for her, but Lily walked back toward Georgia and her friends from work, who were just then leaving the church. She could tell that Pastor Dean had already said something from the expression on both of their faces. She had known he would. She admired and respected Pastor Dean for just that reason; he didn’t let acts of unkindness go by unnoticed.

“That was terrible.” Lily stepped in front of Georgia, blocking her path.

“What business is it of yours?”

“We were in God’s church, Georgia. Why do you go if not to be a better person?”

“I wouldn’t talk about people being in church who shouldn’t be there. Hell, half of the congregation is headed for God’s judgment and your sister is one of them.”

As soon as the words were out of Georgia’s mouth, Lily could see she realized she had gone too far. It was one thing to insult an acquaintance, but not the hand that pays the bills and puts food on the table. Razer was one of the owners of the factory who gave her a paycheck every week, and she had just insulted his wife.

“I’m sorry, Beth. I let my mouth run away with me,” Georgia said as Beth came up to stand next to Lily.

Beth nodded her head but refused to respond. On the other hand, Lily was happy to see Razer had no problem voicing his own displeasure.

“Georgia, no one cares about your bullshit apology. I would fire you here and now, but despite your ignorant belief that we’re all going to Hell, I’ll give you one more chance. If I hear your ugly-assed comments again, you’ll be on the unemployment line.” Razer’s harsh expression left no doubt he was delivering her a promise.

As Razer took Beth and Lily’s arms, leading them across the street, Lily was still simmering with anger at the woman. Willa hadn’t deserved her ugly comments. Georgia had wanted to humiliate her and she had succeeded; it had been completely uncalled for.

Lily took a seat next to Beth, avoiding Shade’s sharp gaze as the others talked about Lily confronting Georgia. His expression remained passive as he let Razer grumble about firing her.

Thankfully, the waitress taking their order succeeded in changing the topic of conversation, yet Lily had a hard time getting her temper back under control. She couldn’t understand why her temper was flaring lately when she had always been so calm and never let anyone bother her before. Usually, she was an extreme pacifist; however, it had hurt something deep inside of her to see that wounded look on Willa’s face. She hadn’t been able to stand back and let Georgia get away with hurting the kind-hearted woman.

She took a sip of her iced tea, her fingertips rubbing her temple after she placed the glass back down, and caught sight of the rubber band on her wrist. She was becoming less and less dependent on it since she had begun staying with The Last Riders. Lily was happy she needed it less frequently, but wondered if it was because she was becoming more confident in herself or because of the sense of safety The Last Riders provided.

The food arrived hot, yet Lily just picked at her salad. Shade and Razer had both gotten burgers and fries while Bliss and Raci had both ordered breakfasts, though they were complaining that the men’s food looked better. As Bliss reached onto Shade’s plate, taking a French fry, Lily took a bite of food, ignoring Bliss.

“How much longer before the church store will be able to open?” Beth questioned.

“A few weeks. Not only are Rachel and I sorting through everyone’s recent donations but also years of clutter. We’ve boxed things up for Pastor Dean to decide whether to throw them away or store them.”

“Dad was a closet hoarder—he saved everything—and I’m sure Pastor Dean didn’t want to throw things away immediately,” Beth said.

“Dad saved every sermon he ever wrote. I expected to find all the video tapes he recorded, but I haven’t come across them yet. I was looking forward to destroying them,” Lily commented.

“I’m sure you’ll come across them before you’re finished.” Beth’s lips tightened as Bliss took another French fry from Razer’s plate. She then turned her attention back to Lily. “If you find them, let me know. I want to help you burn them.”

Lily smiled ruefully. “I’m sure there will be enough for both of us. How’s Mrs. Langley?”

“She’s having a harder time recuperating than I had hoped. I’m going to stay with her for the rest of the week. Razer and I are staying in her guest room. Logan and Holly have both moved in with his father so that she can get plenty of rest.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to sit with her during the day or night to give you a break?” Lily offered.

“No, I have it covered. I don’t want to have to worry about your safety and I know at the clubhouse you’re protected. Have you managed to get any school work done?”

“I’m going to make a start on it tonight.”

“Let me know if you need anything. We should be getting back. Holly sat with her so we could go to church.” They stood up from the table as everyone finished. Lily hugged her sister and brother-in-law goodbye.

As they also headed out of the diner, she started to go back to Evie’s car, but Shade caught her hand as she passed his bike. Not feeling like arguing, she climbed on the back, tucking her dress around her so it wouldn’t blow up as they rode.

It didn’t take long for them to get back to the clubhouse. Once there, Shade let her use his computer as he worked out so that she could get caught up on her schoolwork, which took her a couple of hours to complete.

She hadn’t been paying attention when Shade had come into the room and gone into the shower, but she found her attention wandering as he reentered the room shirtless.

“Hungry?”

“A little, but I want to finish this.”

“Go ahead and finish. I’ll bring you a plate.”

“Sounds good, thanks,” Lily said absently.

Shade left the room and Lily continued working. She was almost done when he returned, setting the plate down in front of her. When he did, she smelled the faint scent of perfume on him as he leaned close to her. Lily’s concentration was broken, and she had to force herself to finish the work.