It was easy enough to pack up her hotel room. Violet didn’t have a lot of clothes in the first place, and most of them were still in her suitcase. Had the picnic only been a week ago? It seemed hard to believe. Seven days ago she was at the lake laughing with Kate, Penny, and Sybil, enjoying the water and then Nathan …

An involuntary shiver rushed through her body, and she took the feelings and memories and locked them away again. She would not think of Nathan. Not now. Not ever.

She stood outside Rosie’s Bakery and Café, holding a brightly colored gift box in her hand. A feeling of dread washed over her, and she wasn’t sure why. This was a happy day, right? She would be off to London and then connect on to Eritana. By Tuesday morning, she’d be on her way up the mountains to see the girls.

Scrounging up every bit of courage she had, Violet pushed through doors and walked inside. The smell of delicious pastry and butter and sugar tickled her nose.

“Are you here for Penny’s baby shower?” An older lady wearing a ‘50s-style blue dress asked her. Her name tag read “Rosie.”

“Yes,” she said.

Rosie nodded to the corner booth where a group of nearly a dozen women were gathered. “Head over there, honey. Everyone’s here.”

“Thank you," she said and made her way to the women.

The shower had taken up three booths, and there was a table laden with gifts. Penny was seated in the middle booth, her face bright as she laughed at something Kate said.

“Vi! You made it!” Kate dashed to her side. She took the gift from her hands and placed it on the table.

“Thank you for inviting me,” she said with a tight smile. “I can’t stay very long.”

“Of course you can,” Kate insisted, tugging her along. “Everyone this is Violet Robichaux. Vi, you know Penny, Sybil, Christina, and Catherine.” She nodded to the pretty blonde woman next to Penny. “That’s Amelia, she’s Ben’s sister. That’s Dutchy; she’s fabulous.” The petite redhead next to Christina laughed. “Oh, and you know Georgina, right?”

Violet looked to the brunette sitting next to Catherine with the small boy in her lap. Georgina looked up at her warmly, then got to her feet, placing the boy at her hip.

“It’s you!” she said in an excited voice. “We haven’t met formally. I’m Georgina Mills, and this is my son, Grayson. Thank you for saving us.” Her voice choked up as she embraced Violet.

“Uh, you’re welcome.” She hugged the woman back, then pulled away. “I’m glad you and your son are safe. Will you be going home to your husband soon?” She smiled at the little boy who was the spitting image of his mother except for the reddish blond hair. “I’m sure Grayson is missing his dad.”

Before she could answer, Grayson said, “My daddy’s in heaven. He went there while I was in mommy’s tummy.”

Georgina’s lips thinned into a tight smile. “Grayson …”

“They’re staying with us for a while,” Catherine explained quickly. “You like living in the castle, don’t you Grayson?”

The little boy’s face lit up. “Oh boy, yeah! I’ve got toys and books and Ms. Meg makes the best chocolate chip cookies. And the castle is cool! Ms. Catherine said she’d come exploring with me some time, and Mr. Jason’s gonna give me a ride on his back.”

“That sounds lovely.” If there was one thing Violet didn’t regret about coming to Blackstone was that Georgina and Grayson were safe. The little boy seemed happy despite of what happened to him.

Kate introduced her to the rest of the women, who were mostly Penny’s human co-workers from The Den. “Have some pie. It’s amazing,” Kate said, pulling Violet down to sit next to her.

“I’m not hungry, thank you.”

Ignoring her, Kate put a plate in front of Violet. “Now, you missed the first game, but don’t worry. We have plenty more.”

Sybil snorted. “We are not doing the one where we sniff what’s in the diaper. Knowing you we’d find more than just melted candy bars.”

Kate waved at her. “Pshaw, it’ll be fun.” She frowned at Violet. “Why are you wearing black? I said wear pink or blue, right?”

Violet looked down at her blouse. It was the last clean shirt she had. “I didn’t have anything in either color. And I told you, I wasn’t planning on staying too long.”

“Ugh, that brother of mine sucks! He can’t keep you to himself all the time, you know!” She took her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going call him now and give him a piece of my—”

“NO!” Violet smacked Kate’s hand, sending her phone skidding across the bright red Formica table.

The room went silent and several pairs of eyes turned to her.

Damn.

Violet slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder, then began to slide out of the booth. “I should—”

But Sybil was too fast, and she sat in the empty space beside her, blocking her way. “What’s going on, Violet?”

“Nothing,” she bit out. She turned to Penny. “Congratulations. I wish you and your cub well. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to be late for my flight.”

“Flight?” Penny chewed on her lower lip. “You’re leaving Blackstone?”

“Why?” Kate asked. “What about Nathan?”

“What about him?”

“He’s your mate,” Sybil stated.

“What did he do?” Kate pushed her imaginary sleeves to her elbows. “I swear to God I’ll kick his ass!”

“Are you sure—”

“But why—”

“You guys need to—”

“You can’t leave, Violet—” Sybil said.

Violet slammed her hands on the table. “Stop! Please!” Her heart sank when she looked at their stunned faces. “I can’t … I have to leave. I can’t stay here.” She swallowed the tears burning in her throat.

“Why?” Christina asked.

“It’s a matter of life and death.” She took a deep breath and gave them a quick explanation of what happened in Eritana and what had transpired between her and Nathan.

“Nathan’s such an asshole,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes. “Men. They think they can control us. Ugh.”

“So wait,” Kate said. “My brother asked you to move in with him, found out you wanted to leave to build a freakin’ orphanage, then broke up with you? He’s going to be so dead!”

“Uh, not exactly,” Violet said. “I didn’t tell him I was going back to Eritana. I just said I was leaving.”

“Violet,” Catherine began. “That information seems kind of vital.”

Violet blinked. “Why? Does it matter? He knew from the beginning I was leaving.”

“Yes, but maybe this is all a misunderstanding,” Sybil said. “You need to talk to him.”

“He was the one who walked away from me,” she said, her voice raising. “We could have easily sat down and talked about it like adults, but his damn ego wouldn’t let him.” She stood up. “Did I want to live with him? Of course I did! But he didn’t have to bulldoze his way into it; he could have asked me! Besides, what were we going to do when I had to leave? I had no choice, but he did. Was he going to fly halfway around the world, leave his family and his job, to live in the middle of nowhere? I couldn’t take his whole life away from him! I love—” She stopped, her hand going to her mouth. “I have to go.”

Sybil seemed too stunned to stop her and didn’t protest when Violet pushed her out of the booth so she could leave. She thought she heard the other women calling her, but the roaring blood in her ears drowned out them and everything else around her.

She bolted toward her parked car, opened the door, and put the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, but her hand froze on the gear shift.

What she almost said back there ... She was glad she stopped herself in time before she said it out loud. Because if she didn’t say it, it wasn’t true, right?

Placing the car in gear, she eased out of her spot. No, it was better this way. She had twenty-two girls counting on her, and she couldn’t let them down. In time, the stabbing pain in her gut and heart would go away. She’d put those feelings aside and bury them as deep as she could so she would never feel this way again.