Free Twisted Innocence (Moonlighters Series Book 3) by Terri Blackstock Page A

“It’s so good to have people I really know here.”
    Her friend Spree spoke a little too loudly. “Girl, we wouldn’t miss it. We had to see you acting all mommy-like. Cracks us up.”
    Georgia took Holly by the shoulders and studied her face. “What happened to you?”
    “Long, sad story,” Holly said. “I got mugged.”
    “I hope you got in a coupla licks,” Mattie said.
    Holly smiled. “I tried.”
    “So let’s see the little beauty,” Spree said.
    Holly took them into the living room and showed them her baby. Spree wanted to hold her. Holly didn’t like passing Lily around like a vegetable dish, but she allowed it anyway. Spree, who didn’t have a good filter for what was appropriate, bounced her so hard and talked so loudly that Lily began to scream. Holly quickly took her back and held her close to comfort her.
    When it seemed that everyone had arrived, Juliet seatedthem around in chairs in a circle and played a few games that broke the ice and made everyone laugh. Holly noticed her friends whispering in the corner. They’d have a lot to say about this later, she was sure.
    When it was time to open gifts, Cathy sat next to her, writing down the names of people to thank. There was a mountain of gifts, things she’d never thought she would get, but they were all things she needed. Lily would have enough onesies to get her through the first year, and there was no shortage of hoodie towels and receiving blankets and diapers.
    By the time Holly had opened all her gifts, she was moved to tears at the generosity of these people. If they reflected God’s love, maybe Juliet was right. Maybe he wasn’t disgusted by her.
    As Juliet’s friends began to leave, Holly looked for her friends and found them smoking on the patio.
    She went out and sat down next to them. “Well, that turned out better than I expected. They all seemed nice.”
    “If you take all that loot back to the store, you’ll wind up with a fortune,” Spree said too loudly.
    “I like all of it. I’m keeping it.”
    “She has more clothes now than the Kardashian baby,” Mattie said. “She’s a one-month-old fashion diva. Want a smoke?”
    Holly shook her head. “No, I quit when I was pregnant and haven’t started back.”
    “So did you dye away the pink just for this shower?”
    “No, I was just tired of the pink. Guess I outgrew it.”
    “Don’t you start acting all churchy now,” Spree said.
    Holly breathed a laugh. “I used to think that was a bad thing. But you gotta admit, these people were nice. They weren’t like I expected. Who knows? Maybe I could go to church and not feel like an outcast.”
    “Wanna lay bets that the whole act will disappear as you get to know them?”
    Holly sighed. “Don’t be such a cynic. Maybe they were authentic.”
    “Sounds to me like Holly needs a night out to get her head straight,” Mattie said. “Let’s have a girls’ night tonight. It’s ladies’ night at Club Onyx.”
    Holly shook her head. “Can’t. I have too much going on. I can’t party like I used to.”
    “There she goes,” Spree told the other two. “They’ve turned her.”
    “I haven’t turned,” Holly said. “I have two jobs and a baby.”
    “So come for a little while and turn in early. Surely you have enough babysitters.”
    Juliet opened the sliding glass door and leaned out, holding Lily, who was crying. “Holly, Lily needs you.”
    Holly took her baby, quieting her.
    “So what do you say?” Georgia asked. “Get big sis to babysit and come out with us tonight?”
    Holly shot Juliet an uncomfortable look. “Not tonight, you guys. Maybe later.”
    Juliet seemed stiffer as she went back in.
    Disheartened, Holly walked her friends to the door and let them out, still fending off their protests. Even if she wanted a night of partying—which she didn’t—she still had Creed to worry about.
    As she went back into the kitchen where the last of Juliet’s friends were cleaning up, Holly wondered what