Chapter 33
Tonight was the Bookalicious Besties Book Club night and Paisley was excited for it.
They were having it at the library because it was convenient.
Central location and a kitchen for the potluck they’d decided to make a part of their routine, plus they could all walk to the Dawg afterward and meet up with the guys.
The library closed at seven and the Besties met at six-thirty, but that was okay because Paisley had the key.
Violet was with Aunt Hettie tonight because Ethan was at the range for a ladies shooting class.
Paisley had teased him this morning about the reviews that were sure to come and warned him not to flirt too much.
He’d kissed her until she was boneless and told her there was no other woman in the world he’d want but her. Then he’d shown up at lunch today and demonstrated why she didn’t need to spare a thought for him flirting with anyone else.
Not that she’d believed she did, but it was fun to tease him about the effect of his hotness on other women.
Especially when he used all that hotness on her.
She was never going to look at her desk the same way again.
Megan had come in earlier to tell her about preparations for the fall festival with the Angels Cove library.
Paisley had spent the whole time blushing to her roots because Megan was sitting in the chair Ethan had shoved aside so he could drop to his knees and lick her senseless.
Mercy.
Emma and Rory were the first to arrive, bearing casserole dishes and book bags filled with reading journals—something Callie had gotten them all started on—books, pens, sticky tabs, and things like lotion and chapstick.
“I told Chance not to wear that shirt,” Rory said when she walked in. “But he clearly didn’t listen.”
Paisley laughed. “It’s fine. It was a good test for Fern and she passed with flying colors.”
“You mean she didn’t throw a hissy fit and storm out of the library?” Emma said.
“Nope. Oh, she turned red and glowered, but not a word from her lips. And Chance promised not to do it again.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Rory said. “The devil on his shoulder will get the better of him every time. The man is a walking, talking button pusher. Ask me how I know.”
They all laughed. “He’s fun, though,” Paisley said.
“He is,” Rory sighed. “Adorable idiot. Did I tell y’all that he wants to name this kid Albert if it’s a boy and Alice if it’s a girl?”
“No way. Why?” Emma had her head tilted like a puppy that’d heard a strange noise.
“Big Al,” Rory said in explanation. “And his companion Big Alice.”
Paisley snickered. “Oh he really doesn’t, does he?”
Rory shrugged. “Who the heck knows? He said since I love Alabama football so much, we should name the kid after the mascot. His other choice is Bear.”
For Bear Bryant, of course.
“He’s ribbing you, Ror,” Emma said. “But that’s funny. I seriously didn’t see the Big Al connection, and I should have.”
“That’s Chance. A laugh a minute,” Rory said, but she was grinning.
Daphne breezed in with Callie following a minute later. They set their dishes on the counter, chattering the whole time.
“Where’s Nikki?” Emma said.
Callie waved. “Last minute trip with her trainer to look at horses. Not for her, I might add. But when Lisa goes on a horse buying trip, she takes the girls with her if they can go. Callie hated to miss, but between horses and book discussions, she’s going to choose horses every time.”
“Oh dear,” Paisley said. “I’m afraid this is Violet’s future trajectory if she doesn’t stop talking about Merrylegs.”
“That’s how it starts. But sometimes little girls just like ponies. They don’t necessarily want to ride horses all the time. Or compete, which is a whole new level of expenses.”
“I should be mad at Ethan for putting the idea in her head, but I can’t be,” she sighed. “He wants her to be happy.”
“Like any good dad should,” Daphne said, sounding like she was sad and angry at the same time.
Paisley didn’t know the full story but she knew Daphne had come from something that wasn’t good.
She’d found her home and her love in Sutton’s Creek, and she wasn’t looking back.
She waved a hand. “Sorry. It’s a compliment for Ethan because he’s a sweetie, but also an indictment of my own father, who was a dick. I didn’t mean to make it about me.”
Everyone reached over to pat her or squeeze a hand or an arm. Daphne nodded and patted back, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “You aren’t making it about you,” Paisley said. “We’re friends and we talk, right?”
“That’s right,” Emma said. “The Besties discuss books, men, life, and people we’d like to see get hit by the karma bus.”
Daphne laughed. “I believe my dad has been run over by that one. Then it backed up and ran him over again. Prison’s gonna be hard for a man like him. Now are we talking about this book or what?”
“Yes, let’s talk,” Callie said. “I want to hear what you thought.”
“I like the Fae aspect, and it was a lot hotter than I expected,” Rory replied.
Callie groaned. “I know. So embarrassing to read with your baby sister. But she’s almost seventeen and she’s going to read that stuff. If I suggested a clean”—she finger quoted the word—“romance novel, she’d tell me to stick it up my behind.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Daphne said. “I’ve read sexier books.”
“It doesn’t hurt her to read about sex,” Emma said. “Especially when the male main character makes the female main character’s pleasure a priority. She needs to know that she has a right to expect that from a man.”
“I want to stuff my fingers in my ears and block out thoughts of baby Nikki having sex,” Callie said. “But she’s not a baby and she’ll be in college next year.”
“You know, I don’t like that word clean to describe books,” Rory said suddenly. “What are they saying? That sex is dirty? That anything with sex is somehow tainted? I hate that word in relationship to romance. It’s ridiculous. How do these people think they got here anyway? Through sex!”
“It’s a way of letting people who don’t like sexy books know they can safely read a book because it’s chaste,” Paisley said.
It wasn’t her favorite either, but as a librarian she tried to understand what kind of terms people used when searching for the books they wanted to read.
Not everyone wanted to read descriptions of people getting naked and free flowing bodily fluids happening all over the place.
Rory huffed. “Then call it chaste. Clean implies dirty, and sex isn’t dirty.
Unless it is, and that’s a whole other thing entirely.
It’s also how I ended up pregnant. I read too many damned reverse harem books.
When Chance hit on me, I was primed to say yes.
” She laughed. “Best damn decision of my life, I might add.”
The discussion moved on to the characters and plot of the current book while they filled their plates with appetizers, enchilada casserole, and desserts. There was no wine because two of the women were pregnant, though they’d both insisted they didn’t mind if the others drank.
Daphne waved them off. “I can get wine at the Dawg or at home.”
“Same,” Callie said.
“I’m technically in charge of the library, so I’m on duty,” Paisley added.
Daphne snorted. “That is not a thing. Is that a thing?”
Paisley laughed. “Just made it up. Sounded good, right?”
“I believed you,” Callie said, swiping a chip through ranch dip. “Did y’all paste the book cover in your journals yet? I brought my mini printer if you need me to print.”
“I printed mine,” Paisley said. She’d started a notebook after the last meeting.
She printed all the covers they’d picked for the year onto one sheet and cut them out, using a glue stick to paste the first two in.
She also started pasting in the other books she read.
Not that she’d read much lately. She was too busy taking care of Violet and then spending her nights making love with Ethan to read.
“Yep, got it,” Rory said. Callie and Emma did also.
“Sorry,” Daphne said. “I’ve been a bit distracted at home. But I’ll get it done.”
Callie waved a hand. “I got it. Don’t worry about it.”
She took out her mini printer and turned it on.
Paisley ate a stuffed mushroom. She wondered if Fern would bitch about the leftovers this time or if she’d enjoy some for herself.
Hard to say, really. And she also didn’t care.
Fern Carter was a footnote to her new life.
Under control, tamed, in her place. If she decided to step up and be a good person, Paisley wouldn’t hold a grudge.
But she’d never trust her, that’s for sure.
She reached for another mushroom but the lights went out before she got there.
“Well, shit,” Rory said. “Did somebody forget to pay the light bill?”
“It’s probably a rolling blackout,” Paisley said. “It’s been so hot, and the drain on the grid has been immense. We got notice of rolling blackouts if necessary.”
The emergency lights were on in the hallway, illuminating the exits. If the lights didn’t come on soon, they could exit the library and lock up.
“Yeah, saw that,” Callie said, turning on a tiny flashlight that she pulled from her book bag. “Seth rigged up a generator at the house so we don’t have to worry about it.”
“No generator here, I’m afraid,” Paisley said. “Where did you get that light?”
“Seth bought it. It’s a clip on and it’s so lightweight you don’t even notice it. It’s so dark at our place that he got them for me and Nikki for when we check on Charlie in the evenings. It’s better than a phone light, and you plug it in to charge.”
“Oh, I want one,” Rory said. “Can you send a link?”
“Me too,” Paisley replied.
“I’ll send it to the group. I don’t think it was expensive.”
There was a pop and a metallic scraping noise in the distance.
“What was that?” Emma said.
“I don’t…” Daphne seemed to be listening. “I think it was a door. Like somebody wrenched it open.”
Sudden dread flooded Paisley’s heart. Had someone broken into the library?
A sound like fabric rustling came from the hallway. And then a man materialized in the door, dressed in an assault suit with night vision goggles, a vest, and a pistol he held casually in one hand.
“Good evening, ladies. Am I interrupting?”
Paisley’s blood froze. “Trey? What are you doing here? I have a restraining order.”
Of all the stupid things she could have said. He laughed, the sound chilling her. Then he strolled over and backhanded her.
“Yeah, about that,” he said. “I don’t fucking care.”
The other women hadn’t moved. It took her a moment to realize why. Three other men had entered the room behind Trey. And they were leveling pistols at her friends.
Trey grabbed her by the front of her dress and dragged her up to kiss her hard. “Hey, sweetie. Missed you. Did you miss me?”
“W-what do you want?” she managed, her lips cold, her heart dead. Violet, her mind screamed. Where was Violet? Was she safe?
“To teach you and Snow a lesson, of course. Come on, boys. Let’s get these bitches out of here. We’ve got an appointment to keep.”
“No,” Paisley said, launching herself at him. He knocked her to the floor and aimed a kick at her ribs while the other women erupted with screams and shouts. They went silent almost immediately and she knew the men must have moved to restrain them.
“Shouldn’t have left, Paisley. Shouldn’t have humiliated me like that. Told the judge I was abusive? That Violet was next? My own little flesh and blood? Fuckin’ bitch.”
Paisley whimpered as Trey dragged her up and shoved her toward the door. The other women were on their feet, being marched through the library behind her like prisoners.
“Let them go,” she said. “It’s me you want.”
“Nah, need all of you for what I have in mind.”
“Violet,” she added. Begged, really. Amazing what you could say with one word.
“Got plans for her, too,” Trey said, jabbing his pistol in her ribs. “Plans for all of you. Just wait.”