“More! More!”
Ginny heard the DJ announcing the next person’s name to perform, but the audience wasn’t listening.
“More!”
Grabbing Zoey’s arm, she steadied her when several people shoved at her, trying to get to Ginny. Seeing an opening, she tried to push Zoey through so that she wouldn’t get hurt, but Zoey wouldn’t move. She continued to hold on to her arm, thankful when the club’s security managed to shoulder their way into the crowd to escort them back to their table.
“How much do you hate me?” Penni whispered to her as she sat back down.
Ginny’s fury had abated while she sang, but she wasn’t about to tell Penni that, not ready to let Penni off the hook.
“I’ll take my purse. Thank you, Lily.”
“It was my pleasure.” Lily smiled, giving her purse back.
Shade caught her eyes, seeing the tension between her and Penni.
“I took the liberty of ordering you a strawberry daiquiri. I thought it would cool down the two fireballs.” A waitress leaned over her shoulder to set the drink in front of her.
Ginny sighed. Penni would always be Penni.
“Good choice.” Her good mood restored, she sipped on the drink. Then her mood lightened even further seeing the couple who entered. Casey and Max, accompanied by Casey’s brother Cole.
You couldn’t look at Cole and be in a bad mood. His sweet nature was that of a child trapped in a man’s body. Ginny had also met them at Penni’s baby shower, and after Ginny had lost her job with Mouth2Mouth, Casey would call occasionally and ask if she was available to help out with housecleaning or babysitting. Ginny had been glad for the extra money, but the more she went to work, the guiltier she felt taking the money because of Cole. Casey had told her that he had been brutalized by their stepfather and, as a result, was brain damaged. She had enjoyed watching him. There was something so special about him that he made you feel good being in the same room with him.
Ginny greeted them, as Penni stood to go around the table to hug Casey and Cole. When they moved away from the table, it didn’t click with her that she wasn’t the only life Penni trifled with. She saw Greer take off like a scalded cat when Penni tried to introduce him to Cole.
Sensitive, Cole started crying at the rejection. Casey then tried to reassure her brother as Zoey took off after Greer.
Ginny started to get up, but Shade placed a hand on her arm. “Stay.”
Ginny had no intention of obeying Shade’s order until she saw that Greer and Zoey were coming back to Cole. She was too far away to hear what Greer was saying to him, and their backs were to them so she couldn’t see what was going on.
When everyone suddenly bowed their heads, Ginny got the impression that Greer was praying for Cole. Then, as each person at the table stood and linked their hands together, she felt warmth shoot into her palm as The Last Riders and Predators surrounded the table, joined together to send their strength and support toward Cole.
Her hand tightened in Shade’s at the immense warmth coming from his hand to hers, and then it traveled from her to pour into Lily. It was as if the heat were a fuse, trying to imbue enough energy to ignite a power within Greer to make Cole shine bright enough to catch God’s attention.
When Shade tore his hand away from hers, she realized others were starting to sit back down while Shade moved toward Greer. Lily and she both sat back down, neither of them discussing what had just happened as they all reached for their drinks. Even Kaden and Sawyer seemed shaken by what had occurred.
“Well, that was different,” Sawyer was saying when Zoey came up behind Lily as she was placing her glass of water down to tell her that Shade was taking Greer back to their hotel room. Ginny missed the rest of Zoey and Lily’s conversation as Kaden slid a cocktail napkin across the table toward her.
Picking the napkin up, Ginny raised her eyes to Kaden’s.
“That’s my private number; call me. I have some free time in the next few weeks. I’d like to work with you.”
Penni slid into the seat that Lily had vacated, for once staying silent and not trying to interfere.
“I just sing for fun. I don’t take it seriously. Thank you, but—”
“You can deny how much singing means to anyone but me, and you may get away with them believing you. I’ve been where you are and know how much you try to fight against giving in to singing the more it wants to get out. I stopped singing after my family died in a crash. Even living on a mountain with no one around, I still sang. You don’t have to use what I can teach you, but at least you may enjoy listening to yourself better.”