Penni startled her and, with her guard up, she cagily answered the questions Penni asked about her past. She’d given her enough brief answers hoping to satisfy Penni’s curiosity. But Shade was sharp, and Ginny knew not much got past him. The longer she was around his sister, she realized both brother and sister had inherited the same shrewd intelligence.
Realizing she had taken too long blow-drying her hair, she pulled it into a ponytail, then hurried downstairs and made sure the sleeping kitten had enough food and water. Ginny couldn’t help but pick up the little fur baby that lifted her head to be stroked under her chin.
“Gotta go to work, Smokey. Be good while I’m gone,” she crooned, giving her a brief snuggle before placing her back on the couch cushion.
Locking her front door behind her, she went to her car and gave her home a proud once-over before driving off. The papers had been signed, and the house was now hers. She had scrimped and saved for the last eight months and had to clean out her checking account to make the ten thousand dollars down payment, but it had been worth every dime and every hour of work to achieve.
She was the master of her own destiny, and it felt flipping great!
Her burst of euphoria lasted until she the red light came on the dashboard. She had forgotten to buy gas on her way home the day before. Making a detour to the gas station, she had just put the nozzle in her tank when Lisa parked on the other side of the same pump. Getting out of her car, Lisa just stood there and watched her pump the gas.
“You could move your car forward; the next pump is empty,” Ginny stated the obvious at Lisa’s condescending posture.
“I’m in no hurry. It shouldn’t take long for you to pump five dollars’ worth.”
The cutting remark flew by her. Living the short time with Bliss, then working with Willa had given her the boost of confidence she needed to face off with the woman she hated.
Instead of acting like a puppy with his head hanging down whenever Lisa was near, Ginny kept on pumping just to make her angry.
“I’m filling my tank.”
“Good for you. I wasn’t aware Willa paid you enough to splurge. Or, are The Last Riders better tippers than the customers at the diner?”
Lisa’s rein over her was going to end today.
“Go to hell.”
Lisa lifted her hand with the diamond ring the size of the rock of Gibraltar to tuck her expensive purse under her arm. “Trash.” Lisa scornfully raked her gaze over her. “The only thing that hasn’t surprised me about you is that you don’t have a couple of brats trailing after you.”
“Really?” Ginny cocked her head to the side, studying the stuck-up bitch. “The only thing that surprised me about you is that you let Carter Dawkins touch you. The principal didn’t shock me. You smelled like his cologne when you picked me from choir practice. You should let the other men take the picture; the ones that Dalt took doesn’t do you justice.”
“You bitch!” Lisa dropped her purse as she moved toward her.
“Be careful; there are security cameras everywhere. I’d hate to see your name dragged through the mud for assault and battery.”
“You were the one who gave Tate the picture.”
“Was I?” Ginny asked in mock innocence.
“How did you break into my house?”
“I didn’t break into your house,” Ginny denied with a smile at seeing Lisa was ready to explode.
“I know you broke into my house,” Lisa hissed when another car pulled up to her car.
Ginny clicked the gas nozzle off, hanging it back on the pump, then screwing the cap over the gas tank, and flipping the cover closed. “Prove it.”
* * *
“Ginny, if you have a second, I’d like a word with you.”
Straightening the chairs back under the tables in the dining room, Ginny glanced over at Viper, her heart sinking at the expression on his face. Had she done something wrong? Was God going to pay her back for being a witch to Lisa? Was it worth lowering her standards to see Lisa get back in her car and squeal out of the gas station? Pretty much. She hadn’t even minded spending the extra ten dollars on gas that she hadn’t planned into her budget for the week.
Her mind went around and around over what Viper wanted to talk about. The whole eight months she had worked at the club, he had said maybe twenty words to her.
The stark reality of losing her job when she just purchased her home and hadn’t had the time to replenish her savings had her trembling as she walked over to the table. Viper was sitting with Jackal, Train, Rider, and Hennessy as they ate their lunches.