"I am so ok with that," I decided. "I can be her bitch too."
"We're all her bitch," Ash assured me. "It's why this whole thing works."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The guys spent all day on Thursday fixing up the cottage. When they came back to the house that evening, there were a few too many smiles and knowing looks. I wasn't shocked to find out that they'd somehow turned construction and cleanup into a sex fest, but I was pretty sure I loved them more for it.
Then on Friday, we all stepped up to make this happen. Faith said that Zeke was already packing his room up. Emily had given her notice at her cleaning job, only to be told that they wouldn't need her for two weeks. That made her decide to quit the waitressing position just as quickly. When she'd told me that, I said she should spend Friday boxing everything up, and we could start moving her in on Saturday.
The woman was excited to become a part of our project, and I was thrilled with the idea of a woman coming to live here who wouldn't run off to California when all of this was done. When even Cessily headed down to the cottage to help with the sweeping, painting, and other finishing touches, I knew I'd made the right choice. Everyone liked Emily. She worked with us. The woman didn't feel like she was just an employee, but rather a part of what Southwind really meant.
Then, early Saturday morning, Faith made the rounds to bang on every door, waking us up. "Moving day!" she yelled through the wood. Then I heard her at the next door down. "Blaze! Moving day!" After that, her feet thundered down the stairs where she repeated the process on the guest room door. "Moving day!"
Beside me, Luke chuckled, proving he was awake. "I keep reminding myself that at least Zeke won't try to get in her pants."
"Cy," I countered.
"Didn't try until you were old enough for it to be ok," he pointed out. "I have a feeling that boy will also be the kind of guy who chases off the boys who don't have Faith's best interests at heart."
I sat up and scrubbed the sleep from my eyes. "Yeah, and she'll do the same to his boys. Just be prepared for her to want to spend the night down by the cabins a lot. More when the students show up." I looked over at him and smiled. "Because some of them will be 'so cute!'"
"So not ready for her to grow up," he grumbled as he got out of bed and started looking for his jeans. "And it's moving day, Violet. Functional clothes."
An hour later, we had an entire caravan ready to do this. Luke drove his black truck. Cy was driving his older blue one. Darnell and Cessily had the SUV. Faith was directing things, texting with Zeke to make sure they were ready. That left me and Blaze to ride over in my car with the impressive trunk space, since his was basically useless.
Luke led and I was at the back of the line, watching as we headed to the far side of town. The mobile home park we turned into wasn't impressive. Poverty was everywhere, weeds grew out of control, and I saw at least two loose dogs before we reached the place where Zeke and Emily had been living. Beside me, Blaze let out a deep sigh.
"You know, this is what we were supposed to have ended up with." He looked over at me. "Before Gran found us, this was the future we'd been slated for. Broken-down porches and minimum-wage jobs - if we could get that with our records."
I reached over to catch his arm. "What's your impression of this woman, Billy? Honestly?"
He looked down at my hand, then smiled. "I think someone needs to take care of her. I think that maybe Southwind's rainbow isn't just for the kids anymore. Gran did what she could, but you know what? We can do more. If you lead, the rest of us will always follow."
I nodded. "Even you?"
His eyes moved up to mine, and then he smiled. "As much as I ever do, right?" Then he opened the door and the moment was over.
We got out just as Luke and Faith reached the door. Emily was nodding and pointing. That led to Luke waving for Cy to back his truck up to the steps. Just like we had when cleaning out his place, the men angled the bed of the truck to the door of the mobile, and then we all climbed around it to get inside.
Emily's place wasn't much bigger than where Luke had been staying. The difference was the boxes. They were everywhere, and labeled. Groups of them were placed against each wall, and when I looked, I realized that it was separated by rooms. Kitchen, living room, and so on. This was going to be easier than I expected.
"Ok," Luke said, taking charge. "Let's get the big furniture first. That will probably take both trucks. We can drive that back while they continue to load the SUV and car."
"Sounds good," Cy said as he moved to the side of the sofa. "Living room in my truck."
"Yours?" Darnell asked. "Boy, I don't see a ring on your finger."
"Yet," Cy teased. "I'm claiming the hat too. Hand-me-downs from my cowboy."
But when Darnell grabbed the other end of the sofa, we all moved out of the way. Billy moved to one of the armchairs, then gestured for Zeke to grab the other side. The boy looked like he puffed up a bit, and when he lifted, he put his all into it. That left Cy and Ash to handle the loveseat, so I gestured for Emily to head into the kitchen.
"Let's put all of this into the SUV," I said. "If there's room left, we'll get the bathrooms next, and leave the bedrooms for last."
"What am I doing?" Faith asked.
So Emily passed her a box. "Not getting stepped on by the guys."
"And make sure the back seats are all laid down so we can fit more," I called after her as the girl headed to the door.
