"Or buy her a different one," I admitted. "Yeah. You said she has two kids, Emily. Two. She needs her job, which means she needs a car that runs. Those kids deserve something safe. I mean, the idea of them being stuck on the side of the road? Besides, it can't cost that much, can it?" I looked back to Mike for the answer to that.
"Whose car?" he asked.
"Helen Yates," Emily told him. "She's got that old Toyota Corolla."
"Blue, with the paint peeling all over," Mike said, proving he knew what he was talking about. "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure the transmission is shot, and the thing leaks oil bad. Pretty sure the entire engine's shot. Prolly cost ya more to fix it than to buy another."
"So can you source a used car for me?" I asked him. "Do a check of it, fix anything that isn't working right, and deliver it for me? I don't know, tell her that it was donated by a benefactor or something?"
"A community organization," Emily corrected. "That sounds better and basically will point right back at Southwind without saying it. And Violet, she's going to cry. People don't do nice things like that."
"But how nice would it be to get a lucky break like that?" I asked her.
Emily scoffed. "Yeah, like a job at Southwind? Pretty nice."
"Ok," Mike said, pulling out a pad of paper. "So, I need to buy a car. Four-door, I'm guessing? Good gas mileage. What's my price point, Violet?"
"Can you do the whole thing for, say, twenty thousand?" I asked.
He ducked his head and just started laughing. "Ten, babe. I can buy a damned car, fix it up, and fucking repaint it for ten."
I pulled out my wallet - which also happened to hold my tablet. "So, will you take a check from me this time, Mike?"
"Fuck yeah, I will," he assured me. "I'll also make sure that this is all done anonymous-like. I think I like playing your big-city games, woman. I really like how you're shaking up Cats Peak."
"Me too," I decided. "Here's hoping a few others will agree."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Violet was proud of herself for her idea about buying a car. I loved it, thinking we had one more way to influence people in this town, but then she told me about what had happened at the feed store. Inside the gates of Southwind, everything seemed pretty good, and yet there was more hate out there than we'd realized. Just the thought of Luke having to face homophobia like that pissed me off. I'd hoped he'd never have to deal with it, but I should've known better.
So, when the two of us got ready to go to Bev's house for this lingerie party we'd been planning, I was braced for the worst. What I didn't expect was to have a little backup. Luke was sitting on the couch in the living room, swirling his keys around his index finger. Beside him was Cessily, looking like the cute little California girl she was. Then there was Emily, dressed up to make a statement. When Violet came down the stairs in designer jeans, an off-the-shoulder shirt, and heels with more crystals in them than most chandeliers, I decided that this was going to be fun. I'd make sure of it.
"So, I just loaded three boxes of panties into the bed of my truck," Luke said, spinning the keys again. "Big boxes. Now, since I know you're scared of anything this big and Cessily is allergic to anything that isn't a hybrid, electric, green, or whatever..." He grinned, making it clear he didn't believe any of the bullshit falling from his mouth. "Well, the real question is who gets to drive. Violet or Emily?"
Violet walked right over and snagged the keys from his finger. "I will have you know that I can definitely handle something big and black." Then she turned for the door. "Ok, off to have some fun. Be good while I'm out, Luke."
"No, wait..." he said, turning to watch her go. "That wasn't supposed to work like that!"
"You all but dared her," I told him, leaning in to steal a kiss. "Make sure Sissy doesn't get into her closet? She ate a sandal the last time Violet left her door open."
"I'll go double-check the door," Luke promised. "Enjoy being the only man in a room full of women."
I gestured for Cessily and Emily to go before me. "And they will all assume I'm gay," I reminded him.
Not surprisingly, Violet had no trouble driving the behemoth Luke called a truck. She also knew where she was going. Cessily was excited to meet a few more people from town, and Emily spent the trip letting me know who she thought would be there. But when we pulled up in front of Bev's place, the driveway wasn't packed. There was a spot waiting for Violet, and there were a few cars parked in front of the house, but not as many as I had hoped.
"Violet!" Bev called from the front door. "You brought a few of those catalogues, right?"
"Tons," I told Bev, answering before Violet could.
She waved us all in, directing us to the living room. There, nine women waited. Most of them had a glass of wine in their hands and were grouped up like they'd been talking. I had been hoping for a lot more, but nine wasn't bad. It could definitely have been worse. Then I saw Jodi leaned back in one of the armchairs at the side of the room.
"Why am I not surprised to see you here, Ash?" she asked.
"Because we wanted to try out an experimental program for Risqué, and I own the company?" I asked. "I also designed most of these lingerie pieces, so I'm excited to hear feedback about them. Usually, the complaints get stopped long before they reach my desk."
"Oh, you have a desk?" Jodi asked. "And let me guess, you have some little gay receptionist too? Maybe with tight pants and a lisp?" She sneered at me like she'd just scored a point for herself.
