Jo was walking down Main Street toward the church store when she saw the flyer taped on the light pole. Blanching, she tore it down, crumbled it into a ball, and then shoved it into her pocket with the other two she had torn down.

If she saw one more of those flyers with her name listed to be auctioned off, she was going to kill Lily, who was the one who had come up with the idea to plaster the advertisements around town. She would wait until after the baby was born before getting her payback. She didn’t forget about Willa, Winter, and Rachel, who had agreed, despite her objections.

Though the four women had bulldozed her into agreeing, the sight of her name on the list had her seriously debating pulling out of the auction.

She had planned to go to the thrift store to find a dress to wear for that night, but she had been unable to face whichever woman was volunteering that day. Instead, she had turned toward the department store.

As she viciously swung the door open, her bravado lasted about five seconds when she was confronted with numerous racks of women’s clothes, having no idea where to start.

“May I help you?”

Jo dragged her eyes away from the price tag of a mustard and cream sweater to a petite brunette who had her wishing she was back in her tow truck.

“No, thank you. I’m just browsing.” She dropped the cardboard price tag as if her fingers had been burned. Taking a step to the side, she was about to slink out the door when the saleswoman gave her a reassuring smile.

“Then I’ll leave you alone. I’ve been marking down several items, in case you’re interested.” The saleswoman pointed at a section on the wall toward the back.

Taking a hesitant step, Jo moved toward the section the woman had indicated, relieved when she didn’t follow.

She had no hope of finding something affordable in the store, yet she looked through the expensive clothes, planning to leave as soon as the clerk was out of sight.

Sliding the hangers around, she wasn’t really paying attention to the clothes until one caught her attention. The cocktail dress was two-toned and was midlength. The ice-pink strapless top held her captivated with its little jacket and the black bottom. It was elegant and refined and would probably cost more than she would make in a year.

Biting her lip, she reached for the price tag, then frowned when she couldn’t find it. Pulling the dress down from the wall, she reached inside to search.

“That’s my favorite, too. If it came in my size, that would be going home with me,” the clerk joked, sleekly taking the dress from her. “I’ll put it in the fitting room for you.”

Before Jo could protest, she found herself meekly following her into the fitting room.

“I’m Aly. Just call out if you need any help.”

“I’m Jo.”

The clerk smiled. “I know who you are. I realized you didn’t recognize me when you didn’t say anything. We went to high school together. I was sorry to hear about your father. He used to fuss at me to buy a new car when I had to keep calling him for tows.”

Jo looked closer at the woman, trying to place her.

Aly’s smile widened. “Picture me with a mouth full of braces and add about eighty pounds.”

Jo’s jaw dropped. “Allison Warren?”

Allison was one of the few girls in school who had tried to make friends with her. Unlike her, Allison had been popular. Jo had never tried to return the friendly overtures, too embarrassed that she lived in a junkyard and her father was the town drunk. Plus, she hadn’t been able to return the invitations that Allison had extended to her.

“I’m sorry about your parents. They were fine people.”

Aly’s eyes watered. “I still don’t believe it.”

“I went to the funeral home to pay my respects. I didn’t see you.”

“I was in Colorado, snowed in. I saw your name on the register. You sent flowers also. I was going to send a thank-you card, but I haven’t been able to actually make myself write them yet.”

“I understand.” She impulsively reached out to hug the woman, finding herself enfolded in a warm hug of shared grief.

Jo hadn’t been able to bring herself to send out cards after her father’s death for a couple of months after he had died. The cards had brought the grief to the forefront as the final step of something she could do on her father’s behalf.

“Are you going to stay in Treepoint?”

“No, I’ll be leaving after I settle my parents’ estate and sell their house. I graduated from vet school and have a mobile practice in Colorado. I haven’t decided where to go next, but I won’t stay in Treepoint for the same reason I didn’t come home after I graduated. Treepoint can’t support two vets, and Sy’s been in business for years. I’m working here through the holidays. Then I’m thinking of Alaska. Lily promised to lend me some of her books to help me make up my mind.” She smiled widely again, shaking off her grief. “Enough about me. Go try on your dress, and let me see when you’re ready.”

Going inside the dressing room, Jo numbly stared at the dress. It would be a waste of time to try on a dress she couldn’t afford, much less probably couldn’t fit into.

“I’m waiting,” Aly reminded her from outside the dressing room.

Seeing no way out of the uncomfortable situation, Jo unzipped her coveralls. Undressing, she then slid the dress over her head, feeling the material glide over her lovingly. She waited until she had put on the small, waist-length jacket before turning to see herself in the mirror.

The dress looked as if it had been made for her, emphasizing her breasts and hips while skimming over the small pouch of her stomach that she was self-conscious about.

“Jo?” Allison called out as Jo stared in amazement at her reflection.

“I’m coming.” Opening the door, she stepped out.

Aly eyed her approvingly. “I wished I had your height. You look stunning, Jo. It will be perfect for tonight.”

“You know about the auction?” Jo rubbed the luxurious material of the dress.

“Lily talked me into buying tickets and gave me a flyer to hang up in the employees’ lounge when she and Rachel came in to buy their dresses.”

“I’m going to kill her,” Jo muttered. “After the baby is born,” she qualified.

“You couldn’t hurt a fly, much less Lily.”

“Wanna bet?” Jo turned in the dress, wanting to see the back. Damn, it looked just as pretty from the back.

“Yes.” Aly turned her around to face forward again. “You have to buy this dress. You’ll be the prettiest woman at the auction.”

“I already have a dress to wear tonight,” Jo lied, wishing she could buy it, but knowing she couldn’t afford to. “I better get changed. I’m sorry I’ve wasted your time.”

“You’re not going to get it?” Aly asked in dismay. “Whatever dress you have can’t compare to the way you look in this one.”

Jo’s hand lingered over the collar of the jacket instead of removing it, as she had been about to do. “I can’t afford it.” She dropped the pretense that she had another dress, telling the truth to the woman she hadn’t seen in years.

Aly gave her the same smile she had given her every time she had asked if she could sit next to Jo in the school cafeteria. “The dress is 70 percent off, and I’ll give you my discount.” Aly pushed her toward the dressing room. “Get changed.”

Jo changed, coming out with the dress draped over her arm.

“What size shoes do you wear? There’s a pair of black heels I just marked down on clearance that will match the dress perfectly.”

Beginning to feel like she was sinking into the tidal wave of Aly’s exuberance, Jo told Aly her shoe size, then waited by the counter for her to retrieve them.

Jo had no idea how she was going to pay for the dress, much less the shoes that Aly was intent on selling her. She was about to make a break for it when Aly returned, proudly showing her the shoes.

“Those are Gucci.” Jo might not know much about dresses, but she knew shoes. The high heels were black, but they had a pink heel that matched the color of the ice pink of the dress. “Aly, there’s no way I can afford—”

“Yes, you can; trust me. These are last season’s and have been discounted three times. It’s a final markdown. I’m giving you my discount for them, too.” Aly scanned the shoe box, then removed the jacket from the dress, pulling out the price tag from the sleeve. “That’ll be twenty-eight dollars.” Aly reached for a garment bag and began maneuvering the dress inside.

The total was so low it took several seconds to believe she was hearing Aly correctly. There was no way the items totaled to that low of a sum.

“Aly … I can’t let you. You’ll get fired.” Jo looked up at the closed-circuit camera over the register.

“Jo, I won’t get fired for letting you use my discount.”

“Even with your discount, there is no way these cost twenty-eight dollars.”

“Well, they are … It’s not like there is a big call for cocktail dresses in Treepoint. You’re actually saving the store money on shipping it back to the warehouse. Will that be cash or charge?” Aly asked determinedly.

Reaching into her coveralls pocket, intending to pull out her money, she instead grabbed the three flyers. Blushing, she threw them into the trash can sitting beside the counter, mortified that Aly had recognized them from her hastily concealed expression.

“You want me to take down the one I put in the lounge?”

“Please.” Jo managed to find her money, giving it to her. “And if you see any others that Lily put up, I would appreciate it.”

“I go for a walk during my lunch hour. If I come across any of them, I’ll take them down.”

Jo gave her a grateful glance when Aly handed her the purchases. “Are you coming tonight?”

“Are you kidding? Lily wouldn’t leave until I promised to go. For someone so sweet, she can be very determined when she sets her mind on something.”

“Tell me about it,” Jo concurred in exasperation. “Rachel, Winter, and Willa are just as bad.”

“Maybe we should marry a handsome biker and join the club,” Aly teased, walking with her to the front door.

“I prefer men who drive cars,” Jo said primly, not about to admit to Aly or herself that she found any of The Last Riders attractive.

“I usually agree, but I’ve seen a few of the bikers in town since I moved back. I wouldn’t mind getting acquainted with a couple of them. I had several friends in Colorado who rode motorcycles. You should broaden your horizon.”

“No thanks. My horizon is broad enough without adding a Last Rider to the mix. I’ll see you tonight.” Jo had never been able to joke and tease like most women, even before she had made the mistake of trusting Curt. Looking back, she could see that her naïveté had painted a target on her back to unscrupulous boys who took it as willing.

She had been withdrawn as a child, too affected by her parents’ constant fights to make friends easily. Then, as she had grown older and heard the hurtful remarks made by her classmates, she had drawn further away. Her first foray into drawing someone into her solitary existence had ended in disaster, not only for her, but her parents hadn’t been able to survive the fallout.

She made a quick stop at her house before going on a call of a stalled car that was blocking traffic on Main Street.

Her gloom drew darker as she approached the car, her gut clenching when she recognized it.

The emergency lights of the car were blinking, and Knox was in his uniform, directing traffic to go around it.

Driving past the car when Knox motioned her forward, she rolled her window down. “Find another to tow him.”

Knox walked to her window. “He’s blocking traffic.”

“Then help him push it to the side, or call Greg. Curt won’t get a tow from me.” She resolutely stared back at the aggravated sheriff as the cars behind her started honking.

Expecting him to blast her with curses, she was surprised when he nodded, then pushed a button on his radio attached to his jacket. “Greer, call Fuller Towing in Jamestown; tell him I need a tow. Then come here and help me move this car.” Once he released the button, he returned to directing traffic.

As she drove past Curt’s car, she looked down and saw the malicious way he watched her. Raising her hand high enough for him to see, she flipped him off, uncaring of the Christian values that Lucky tried to instill in his parishioners every Sunday.

She would starve and lose everything she owned before she would ever give Curt a tow.

Listening to the weather report, she decided to fill up her gas tank. The entire state of Kentucky was under a snow advisory. If she was lucky, the snow would hit before it was her turn to be auctioned off.

After refueling, she checked her tires and the extra snow chains she kept as spares. Some of the roads at higher elevations were treacherous and could be snow covered, leaving unwary drivers stranded. She had learned to be prepared.

Many of the mountain inhabitants didn’t have the money for a tow, and she would lend them the chains until they could return them when the weather was better. It was bad for business, as were the free tows she would give to any hard luck story that too many of her customers had told her. Her father had told her numerous times not to listen to them, but it was hard to do when she had volunteered in the church store and knew how desperate many of them were.

When she was finally satisfied that her truck was as equipped for the snowstorm as she could make it, Jo got back inside her truck and turned the heat up higher. Seeing the digital clock, she muttered to herself. If she didn’t hurry, Lily or Rachel would be calling, wanting to know where she was.

Curt’s car was gone, and traffic was back to normal when she drove back down Main Street. It only took five minutes to get home.

As soon as she made the turn onto her property, she felt a sense of unease. Feeling ridiculous, she drove past rows of dilapidated cars that had been crushed and stacked on top of each other, making it impossible to see her house until she rounded a small curve. Jo’s foot hit the brake when she did.

The front of her house had been egged. One of Curt’s friends, or a family member, had beat her home.

Edging her truck closer, she parked in front of the ramshackle home. She knew the fucking cowards were gone and weren’t waiting for her inside. The security alarm she had installed herself would have gone off if any of her windows or doors had been opened.

Looking at the rapidly darkening sky and the yard that offered many hiding places for anyone who could be waiting for her, she flipped her glove department open, taking out the small snub-nosed pistol that had belonged to her father. She slid it into her pocket before getting out.

When she climbed her front steps, eggshells cracked under her boots. It was going to be a mess to clean. The goo was already freezing to the porch and the siding of the house.

Keying in her security code, Jo opened the front door, then shut it behind her, determinedly putting thoughts of the waiting mess behind her. She didn’t have the time to deal with it now and be at King’s on time.

After resetting her alarm, Jo took a quick shower, wishing she had spent the extra money to install a camera on the outside. She should have anticipated Curt’s reaction and have come back home immediately. It was the only spot where she was vulnerable, and he had taken advantage when her back had been turned.

Drying off, she went into her bedroom, searching through her drawers for a strapless bra and seamless panties she could wear under her dress. She found what she needed in the back of her lingerie drawer. She had purchased them when her college roommate had gotten married, and she had been a bridesmaid. Luckily, they still fit.

Padding barefoot across the cold, wooden floorboards, she shut her bedroom door, then turned the old radiator on high, shivering in the cold air. Once she was dressed, the room was warm enough that she could concentrate on her makeup and hair.

When she was finished, she stared into the cracked mirror she’d owned since she was a young girl. Jo reached out, touching her reflection in the mirror, then her cheek. It was slightly unreal that the image in the mirror was actually her.

Going to her closet, she went to the tips of her toes in her new heels, reaching for an old shoe box. Grasping it, she tugged it down until it was within her reach. Opening the box, she took out the small black velvet clutch purse she had bought at the thrift store. When she had seen it on the wall, Jo had thought the vintage purse was beautiful and had bought it on an impulse. Lily hadn’t known who had donated it, but whoever it was had taken care of it, wrapping it in tissue paper and a cloth bag.

Jo wasn’t used to carrying a purse, usually shoving the items she needed in her pockets. Sliding the small amount of cash she had on hand, her license, and the pistol, she had to force the snap to close.

Grabbing a clean pair of coveralls, a change of clothes, and her boots before turning off the heater, she then gingerly made her way outside to her truck.

She nearly fell into the seat after clambering up her truck in her heels. Smoothing out her dress, she shut the door with a sigh of relief. She would be lucky if she didn’t fall on her face when she got out.

It had grown colder in just the short time she had gone inside her house. Relieving her fears that Curt or one of his minions would be waiting for her to leave, she told herself that the bastards would be safely tucked away somewhere warm.

Evil always preferred warmer temperatures. The place she was determined to send Curt was going to make him feel right at home.

* * *

It was almost closing time when Shade walked into the department store.

Aly excused herself from a browsing shopper to meet him at her cash register. Opening the drawer, she took out the receipt she had hidden under the drawer.

“Eight hundred, forty-three dollars, and sixty-two cents.”

Shade handed her his credit card without balking at the amount.

Motioning for him to sign the electronic receipt, she pushed a button on her register to spit out his paper receipt when he was done. Giving to him, she watched as he folded it neatly and placed both the receipt and the card back in his wallet.

“Thanks, Aly. Don’t forget, this is just between us.” His threat wasn’t obvious, but the chill he gave out had her hastily reassuring him of her silence.

“I won’t forget. I won’t mention it to anyone in town or any of the others in the club.”

“I appreciate it. I wouldn’t be happy if Moon or any of the other brothers asked me why I bought Jo a dress.”

She hadn’t asked any questions when he had come into the store that morning as Lily was putting up the flyers outside, and she didn’t ask for any now. She enjoyed the few times she had been allowed entry into the Friday night parties at The Last Riders’ clubhouse to ever jeopardize being able to go back.

“Mum’s the word.”

“Exactly.”

As Aly watched Shade stride away, she nervously licked her lips. Damn, Lily was a lucky woman. Maybe she would get lucky herself, and Jo would make good on her threats. She would have no problem giving Shade a shoulder to cry on if something happened to Lily.

Aly rolled her eyes at herself. Nothing was going to happen to Lily. God was probably just as afraid of Shade as everyone in town was. Still, she had no intention of pulling those posters down. A slim chance was better than none at all.