“Maybe because when I spoke up as a kid, it was always worse,” Violet said.
“Okay, we can work with that. Now let’s finish, then we’re going to do the pop-ups, and you guys are going to love them,” Beth said, grinning.
Violet hoped she loved them, but she and Beth had different ideas on what was fun.
Violet lay on the floor beside Emerson, Harry, Faith, and Sprite. They’d completed the course, but Violet’s stomach was aching from laughing so much as she ran through it.
Because Beth wanted Violet to learn to stand up for herself, the pop-ups had people’s faces who hadn’t been nice to Violet. Beth had a basket by each pop-up with different items for Violet and the other women to throw at the pop-up, along with something to say.
The last one had been her previous employer, who always rubbed against her when he came to her desk. Beth had Violet yelling at him and throwing squishy stress balls at him.
Faith leaned up. “Did you know that Beth and Winnie visited two of my tormentors from school and threatened them?” Faith asked.
Violet sat up. “What? Like from high school?” she asked.
Faith shook her head. “No. A couple of the other teachers were bullying me. Everything they said just reiterated how my last boyfriend had treated me. I went into the bathroom at work and cried because no matter how old I get, it hurts when someone demeans me. I couldn’t make myself stand up to them. Now I have confidence, but it took the Franks sisters and Slice to help me see I could do it.”
“Maybe we need to see which hottie would be available to help Violet gain some confidence. I’m going to veto Stone because he’s too grumpy,” Emerson said.
Violet smiled at Emerson’s characterization of her brother because he was kind of grumpy. Violet had dropped off something at the tattoo studio, and he’d snarled at one of the customers who wanted a butterfly on her ankle, saying he didn’t do butterflies. He’d spent time in prison, and she could see how that would make him grumpy.
“Oh, not Finn or Ben, but what about Speedy? He’s older, works in the garage, and always has a smile for people,” Sprite suggested.
“Oh, he’d be good. He’s kind too because he uprooted his whole life to move to Bluff Creek to be near his ailing parents. Not all sons would do that,” Harry said.
Violet tried to keep all emotion from her face because Speedy was her secret crush. It was a secret because Violet was too scared to show any interest. He was former military and now the Road Captain. He’d transferred from Bluff Creek’s Texas Chapter to be closer to his ailing parents, like Harry had said, but they’d passed a month ago. She wondered if he’d still stay in Bluff Creek. She hoped so because then she could still dream that maybe someday he could be hers.
Violet had baked some muffins and dropped them along with a card at the clubhouse for him. She’d been too shy to drop them by in person at the garage. Sometimes she freaking hated being an introvert. He’d thanked her the next time he saw her at Sunday lunch but hadn’t said anything else.
“Oh, I think Speedy would be a good pick. I’m good at reading people and Violet is trying her hardest to not show anything,” Beth teased. Of course, her friend would notice. Beth did surveillance for the bail bonds and was trained to notice everything.
“He seems really nice, but he’s not interested in me,” Violet said.
“Well, we’ll see about that. Let me think on this a little,” Beth replied with a twinkle in her eyes. Violet worried what plan Beth might come up with. The Franks sisters were so nice but also a little crazy. And they had zero problem pulling people in on whatever plan they’d come up with. Hopefully, they wouldn’t embarrass her too much.
Chapter Two
Deke “Speedy” Kimble grabbed his cash and headed out of his room to the main area of the clubhouse. Most of the married members were with their families. They’d all celebrated Thanksgiving together in the clubhouse yesterday. Today it was quieter, with only the unmarried guys hanging out.
“Hey, who all wants a beer?” Gunner called from the refrigerator.
“Me,” Speedy answered, along with Dex and Brody.
“We’ve all got early tattoo appointments. I’m sticking to lemonade,” Stone said.
Speedy had enjoyed getting to know Stone, along with his younger twin brothers, Finn and Ben.
“Me too. I drank way too much tequila last night,” Finn said. At least Speedy thought it was Finn. Finn was the more talkative one, but being identical made it hard to tell sometimes.
Speedy stopped by the food table and filled a plate. One thing Speedy enjoyed was that this chapter of Bluff Creek had so manycooks. He’d loved being in the Cider Creek Chapter, but now this one felt like home.
After losing his parents last month and dealing with all the estate items, Speedy was looking forward to a relaxing weekend. He had a couple of project cars he was working on for people. They weren’t due anytime soon, but it never hurt to get ahead.
Speedy settled into his seat and dug into the food. He hadn’t had a lot of appetite the first couple weeks after losing his parents, but he was getting better. Learning how to live with not being able to pick up the phone and chat with his dad was a process that seemed to happen in waves.
He finished his food, gave Dex his money, and received his chips in exchange.
“Texas Hold’em, boys. I need some gambling money for my Vegas trip, so y’all feel free to bet high and let me win,” Dex said, grinning.
