Page 107 of Captivating Anika

Evans chuckles as he starts walking away. Anika doesn’t think it’s funny though, and uses her good arm to elbow me in the ribs.

“Hog,” she admonishes me under her breath.

“Three days ago you were shot, almost drowned, and ended up in the hospital with serious hypothermia. You only got home yesterday, and yet you’ve been on your feet since ten this morning.”

I’ve no sooner pointed that out, when Evans is back with a chair. He places it behind Anika and urges her to sit. Then I bend down to eye level.

“I have not interfered, because it was important for you to do this for Kim, and you’ve done it, but I’m not about to let you kill yourself, so I’m stepping in.”

A high-pitched electronic noise suddenly assaults my ears, followed by a few dull thuds. I scan the room and find Landon standing on a chair near the dessert table, waving a microphone around.

“Hello, beautiful people!” he starts, a big smile on his face.

The volume is twice as loud as would be comfortable to the ear, but that doesn’t appear to bother Landon.

Anika yanks at my sleeve and I bend down to hear her speak.

“Just so you know, I blame you. One-hundred-percent.”

Anika

It feels like a lifetime has passed since the last time I was here.

It’s only been days, but in that time my little world has shifted on its axis. Assess, adapt, and move forward. Again.

Maybe that’s simply the way life is; a constant adjusting to keep your balance. It has certainly kept me on my toes in my resolve to carve my own path.

But what makes this infinitely more manageable is knowing I have a solid presence at my back.

That’s what Hog has become in a short period of time, an unwavering force helping to keep me grounded.

Today, that’s in the form of a steadying hand in the small of my back as I walk into the salon. My eyes are immediately drawn to Monique’s station which, to my surprise, has already been cleared of her personal items. I suspect that may have been Landon’s doing.

Yesterday was Kim’s funeral, today I’ve asked Molly, Landon, and Fergie to meet me here. The salon is their future too, and if we’re to overcome this last hit, we’ll need everyone on board.

“I’ll be right back,” Hog says behind me, ducking out the back door.

I sit down in one of the chairs by the sinks at the back. From here I can see the entire salon, and I’m trying to take it in with an objective eye. When you work in a space every day, you stop seeing little details. Like the framed posters on the wall we haven’t updated in years, or the chipped and scuffed paint here and there on the walls. The chairs are still in good condition, but there are a few burned out pot lights in the ceiling, and the small waiting area by the front desk could use a little lift.

“Morning!”

I glance over my shoulder to see Landon walking in, carrying the tray of coffees Hog and I picked up at the Durango Coffee Company across the street. Hog follows right behind Landon with the box of pastries from the same place.

When Molly and Fergie arrive a few moments later, Hog leans in for a sweet kiss.

“I’m gonna leave you to it,” he announces, surprising me. “I’m gonna run a few errands while you guys talk. I shouldn’t be too long, otherwise, give me a call.”

A call on the new cell phones he picked up for us on the weekend.

I watch him walk out the back, before I turn back to the others, catching all three of them gawking and wearing grins.

“Wouldn’t mind me some of that,” Landon shares.

“Ditto,” Molly mumbles, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

“Where do I sign up?” Fergie wants to know.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warn them before launching into the reason I asked everyone to come.

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