“I picked this up for you.” Beth raised the other garment bag and began unzipping it.

“I’m not going to the party,” Lily protested.

“We all talked about it and decided you’re not going to miss out on all the fun. The downstairs will have a smaller party with just a few of us and we all promised to behave. Then, later, we can go upstairs. Come on, Lily.”

Beth opened the garment bag, showing a gypsy outfit in bright purples and blues. It was very pretty. The top had long sleeves and the skirt would flow to her ankles.

Beth had managed to allay all her protests, so she saw no reason not to participate. “As long as you promise that, when you get bored, you’ll go back upstairs.”

“No problem.” Winter and Beth both laughed.

“Cool.” The women banded together, taking several snacks downstairs to set around the couch area.

“After I get showered and changed, I’ll bring the drinks down. You can tell Shade to put some music on the sound system while we get ready,” Beth told her.

“Okay.”

Winter and Beth went upstairs to get changed. The music had already been turned on upstairs, and from the amount of voices filtering down, the party had already begun. Shade and Rider were both still at the factory loading a truck.

Lily showered and dressed with the beginning of excitement curling in her stomach at the party and how they were willing to share some of their fun so she could participate.

She was brushing her hair out in the bedroom when Shade walked in.

She twirled her skirt around her legs, showing off her outfit. Her black hair was long and loose, and Beth had included several chunky necklaces for her to put on.

“You look great. What are you supposed to be?”

“A gypsy.”

“How is it any different than what you usually wear? You should have at least been adventuresome enough to raise the hemline above your ankles,” he said, taking a change of clothes out of a drawer.

Lily looked down at herself.

Shade walked to her, cupping her cheek. “You look gorgeous. Who got it for you?”

“Beth,” Lily said, twirling away.

Shade looked at her dress closely. “Remind me to thank her.”

“Why?”

Shade just shook his head, going into the bathroom. “Never mind. I won’t be long.”

Lily shrugged his words off, going into the other room. Winter, Beth and Evie were already there, sitting around and munching on snacks while Viper and Razer were talking and drinking beers. Lily didn’t let the beer bother her anymore. She had learned they could handle it, and the sight of the bottles no longer made her frightened.

Beth choked on a pretzel when she saw her before Winter and her both shared a glance.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked.

“Nothing. You look great,” Beth assured her, jerking her wrist until she sat down next to her on the couch.

Viper went to the sound system, turning on the music. Someone had taken up the mats, leaving the area clear for dancing. Viper took Winter’s hand, moving her toward the dance floor.

“Knox and Diamond wanted to come tonight, but he has to be on duty,” Beth explained before Razer sat down next to her, pulling her on his lap.

Shade came in, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.

“How was Georgia this week?” Beth asked, putting her arm around Razer’s shoulder.

“Fine.” Lily didn’t mention what had happened Monday. Shade had talked to the woman that afternoon, and since then, she had given Lily a wide berth. Lily still felt guilty over Georgia’s brother, however at least she knew she wasn’t responsible for his not having a job at the factory.

“Lily, would you mind getting me a beer?” Shade requested.

Lily happily got up from the couch to go to the table the beer had been set up at and got him a beer. He never asked her to do anything for him, so she didn’t mind doing so now.

When she handed it to him, and would have gone back to her side of the couch, Shade reached up and pulled her down on his lap. Lily tried to wiggle off, embarrassed. She had never sat on his lap before—unless she had been upset—and Beth was just a few inches away, staring at her in amusement.

“Sit still,” Shade ordered. Lily quit wiggling, sitting stiffly on his lap. Shade ignored her stiff posture, resuming his conversation with Razer about the production of one of the tools that was selling well.

“The only way to increase production is to go with another manufacturer,” Razer said.

“How is the store coming along?” Beth asked, growing tired of the guys’ shop talk.

“Good. Now that Rachel and I are working on it an extra day, we’re hoping to open it in a couple of weeks. We talked to Pastor Dean; he’s going to start searching for someone to manage it for the church.”

“It’s going to be hard to find someone who will give it the commitment it needs without pay,” Beth remarked.

“I don’t know why. Think of how much good it’s going to do. The items are going to be free. I suggested he do it based on income to those in need to keep out those that would take advantage of the generosity of the church.”

“I agree, so it needs to be someone familiar with the community. That way, they won’t be too embarrassed to ask for what they need. A lot of the people who will need the store won’t even use it because their pride will stand in the way.”

Lily nodded in agreement. “They’ll have to be completely trustworthy, also. You wouldn’t believe some of the items donated. Rachel found a diamond ring and I found cash in several pockets. We always check if we know where the items come from to make sure that it wasn’t a mistake. Mrs. Graver’s ring had fallen off when she had bagged the clothes.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“We were glad we found it for her.” Lily unconsciously relaxed back against Shade as they talked, enjoying the warmth of him at her back.

It wasn’t long before Train and Jewell came downstairs and started dancing alongside Viper and Winter. Train wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he had on a bandana over his hair and a patch over one eye. Jewell was wearing a pirate wench outfit, which left most of her breasts bare, and the short skirt showed the long length of her shapely legs.

As the song changed, Razer got to his feet. “Let’s dance.” With that, Beth and Razer joined the couples dancing.

Halfway through the song, Evie came downstairs dressed as a French maid with Cash dressed as himself.

Lily laughed, looking into Shade’s eyes. “Train is the only one who dressed up?”

Shade shook his head. “Rider dressed as Tarzan, but I threatened to kick his ass if he came down here.”

Lily’s giggles were cut off as Shade got up, setting Lily on her feet before taking her to the dance floor. She tried to get away, but he snagged her around the waist, pulling her close.

“Dance with me, Lily.”

“I don’t know how,” she protested.

“That’s okay. They don’t either.” Shade pointed his hand at Evie and Cash.

Lily watched the others. They were all just having a good time. They had come down here to make her feel more comfortable while, even over the music, she could hear the sounds of the others partying upstairs.