Page 45 of Mountain Man Officer

LINDSEY

Itried to focus on the mane of golden hair I was shaping. My customer was a high school cheerleader who was having her hair styled and trimmed for the next game. I looked over at Ava, hard at work behind the head of the town librarian. I was itching to talk to her. I had feelings about my upcoming double date, and I needed a good friend to help me sort them out. It was agony to wait until our customers were done and then to work on two more heads of hair before getting a break.

As soon as the salon was clear, I pounced. “Do you want to get lunch?”

Ava looked up from sweeping the floor. “Sure. Where?”

“I don’t care,” I said. “You pick.”

She picked the Lucky Lady as if the options were so vast. In addition to providing a hangout spot for locals at night, they also had delicious pub food so I didn’t complain. We got in my car and drove over, found a booth, and placed our orders. I didn’t want to make it seem like I had an agenda, so we chatted about hairstyling and the librarian’s cat for a moment.

“I can tell you’re dying to tell me something,” Ava interrupted me.

“God yes,” I sighed. “Jason and I are going on a date.”

She clapped her hands, drawing confused stares from the other bar patrons.

“A double date with Macy and her husband,” I continued.

“Oh, that should be fun,” Ava said.

“I hope so.” I sighed again. “I just can’t believe it. I thought we were just friends or just roommates. Maybe I shouldn’t go. Maybe I should cancel. He is my landlord.”

Ava let air out through her teeth. “Girl, he’s hot, and he’s only your landlord until you can find another living situation.”

I paused, remembering my plan to get out of the shared cabin as soon as possible. I wasn’t so sure anymore. I kind of liked sharing the household chores, coming home to a cooked dinner or having someone else to cook for. My talks with Jason late at night were nice and having another person sleeping in the next room certainly made me feel less isolated. It really wasn’t all that bad, but I couldn’t keep making out with him, though, could I?

“I kind of like living with him,” I admitted.

“You like living with him, and you’re going on a date with him,” she recapped.

“I know. It’s a bad decision, but I can’t seem to help myself.”

“It’s not a bad decision.” She smiled. “It’s a good decision. Stop second-guessing yourself and tell me what you’re going to wear.”

I gasped. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Wear that little black dress you were wearing at the bar,” Ava suggested.

Our food arrived, and we began to dig in.

“I just didn’t think he liked me that way,” I said, skewering a tomato and a hunk of cucumber. “I mean sex is one thing, but dating is another.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Of course he likes you. Guys aren’t that complicated. I saw how he was looking at you in that black dress that night. Trust me, he likes you.”

I laughed. “I’m excited to go out with Macy and Dillon too. I’d love to get to know them. I think they have a great relationship, from what little I’ve seen.”

“I think he kidnapped her,” she leaned across the table to whisper. “She was missing for like a month.”

“Well, I don’t know Dillon that well, but I’m sure he didn’t kidnap her. Besides, she seems perfectly happy to be with him.”

Ava and I finished up our lunch, running over on our time but not too concerned about it as we had no appointments on schedule for another hour and walk-ins this time of day were rare. We strolled out into the parking lot, driving back to park in front of the salon. When we walked in, Lena was working on a customer.

“Where have you been?” she bit out.

“We were having lunch,” Ava said.

“Someone has to be here in case a customer walks in.”

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