Page 12 of No One But You

It was a while later, and the salon was surprisingly quiet, when I finally finished. I walked out of the back room. The only ones there were Diane and Kaye.

“Hey. So, how’d everything go?” Diane asked.

“Everything went just fine, ma’am. I don’t think it will be hard at all to do what you need done.”

“Handy and mannerly. No wonder Tonya was at her best today.” Kaye faced me. “Excuse our friend. She’s never had a filter, and her mouth tends to run as quickly as a river after a hard rain.”

These ladies were a lot of fun. I’d enjoy working near them. Their banter between each other was sure to keep me entertained. “Not a problem.” I laid my notes on the counter. “I have here a list of materials I’ll need, and a quote I put together. I will send you my references, and as soon as you okay things, I can get started.”

Diane swiped away his words. “We don’t need any of that. Just give us the quote and let us know how you want us to pay. We don’t need your references.”

They sure were trustworthy. I really needed the job and the extra money it would bring in to get things at the new property going quicker. “Great. Then once I get the wall down and everything pulled out, I’ll be able to start the build. If I can get in here tomorrow, it really shouldn’t take too long.”

The bell over the door announced a customer. I turned automatically. A man entered with a young child. Kaye walked around the counter and scooped up the little boy just as he propelled himself at her. She planted many kisses all over his face and made him squeal like a pig. “Kai, this adorable little one is James, Tonya’s grandson. James, say hi to our new friend Kai.”

James narrowed his eyes. I was more uncomfortable because of this little boy and his gaze than from all the adults who gave me the same scrutinizing stare all day long.

“Please excuse him. He’s not great with strangers. I’m Bryson, James’s father.” Bryson poked James in the stomach, making him wiggle free from Kaye’s hold.

He walked over to the bucket with suckers and opened and closed his hand. “Pweese?” His brown eyes were large and wide as he pushed out his lips and placed his hands in a praying gesture at Kaye. I may not have been into kids, but he sure was a cute one and already knew how to play the women.

“Of course, handsome,” Kaye answered as she plucked a sucker from the bucket and handed it to James.

Bryson chuckled and glanced at the plans on the counter. “I guess you’re the one they hired to do the upgrades?”

I leaned on the counter and started to explain to Bryson the plans, then led him into the back room. “It really shouldn’t be difficult or take long. The hardest part will be adding the plumbing. I’ll be looking for someone local and dependable to help me out. I’ll have to do that after hours, or on a Sunday, so the women don’t lose business.”

“It looks good. You seem to know what you’re doing, and I’ll get you Blake’s number. He’s the best plumber in Orlinda Valley.” Bryson’s eyes bored into me.

“Yeah, I’ve done my share of remodels over the years.” Why did it seem like Bryson was giving me the third degree before I took his little sister to prom instead of doing work which was like second nature? “Is there a problem?” I held Bryson’s gaze.

I watched as he sucked in his cheek and shook his head. “Nope. I think everything’s good. Sorry if I seemed a little rude, but you know, you just came into town and are doing work for my mother’s friends who are like family. Just making sure everything’s on the up and up.”

“Is Ms. Kaye your mother?” I asked.

Bryson chuckled. “No. My mom’s Tonya. Their loud-mouthed friend. She was here today. She’s always here, so you probably met her.”

I couldn’t forget Tonya. “Yeah, I met your mom. She’s a hoot.”

“That’s one way to describe her.” Bryson’s gaze was frozen on mine.

I knew he was just looking out for the women. I totally understood. If I had a mother I was close to, and some strange man showed up from out of town to do work for her or her friends, I’d be suspicious of him as well. “I promise I’m on the up and up. I’m a certified electrician for the state and currently work for Warren Construction. If you want to check on my background, feel free to call them.” I turned to gather my supplies. “I’ll be back tomorrow to start demoing the room.” I reached my hand toward Bryson. “It was nice meeting you.”

“You too, man.” Bryson returned the handshake, then turned to leave but stopped. “You know, there’s a group of us going over to Jerry’s, the pub just down a bit. It has great food and beer, and the first round of a cornhole competition is tonight. If you don’t have any plans, you should join us.”

Yeah, I didn’t have any plans, and I needed to eat. Hanging with people I didn’t know, though, was not quite my thing. Just at that time, my stomach let out a deep rumble. Well, again, I needed to eat, and eating at Jerry’s two times in a day didn’t seem like a bad thing. “Sure, why not. I’ll run back to the motel to clean up a bit and meet you there in about what, forty-five minutes?”

“Sounds good. What motel are you staying at?”

“According to Diane and Tonya, the nasty one on the edge of town. Shouldn’t surprise me any. It’s a shithole.”

“Ugh. I can’t believe that place still rents out rooms.” The face Bryson made gave me another reason to possibly accept Diane’s offer to stay here for a little while.

“Yeah, well . . .” I shrugged. “It’s cheap. Diane did offer me the small backroom here.”

“You should take it. It might be small, but it’s clean. Just lock the door. My mother can be a little creepy at times, and you never know what she’ll do.”

I laughed. I could see that. I turned to Diane. “Ms. Diane. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll take you up on your offer of the room. As long as it doesn’t put a burden on you or anything.”

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