Page 10 of No One But You

“Hello, girls. It’s so good to see you.”

Mrs. Ledbetter had been our first-grade teacher. She had to be about seventy by now, but she still looked good. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Ledbetter,” I answered.

“Yes, ma’am. it is,” Darlene agreed.

I turned to Summer. It had been a while since we had all been out together. Summer always bailed at the last minute, giving some lame excuse. I knew it was because she wasn’t a fan of Bryson and tried her best to avoid him. “We’ll save you a seat, Summer. You can’t back out this time.” I pointed at her.

“I won’t,” Summer answered as she placed a cape around Mrs. Ledbetter.

“Friendship swear?” I asked.

“You’re serious?” Summer stood with her hands on her hips and looked more than irritated, as I knew she would be. She was downright pissed.

“I’m always serious.” I held out my arm.

Summer rolled her eyes but linked elbows. We crossed our arms, kissed our palms, then tapped each other’s cheek.

Summer hated this friendship swear the three of us made up in elementary school. Well, Darlene and I made it up, and Summer just had to follow. “Perfect. See you tonight.”

Summer turned to Mrs. Ledbetter, our cue to leave.

We said goodbye and gave Tonya and Kaye quick hugs.

Shopping, then margaritas at the pub. No better way to spend a Saturday night.

Chapter 4

Kai

I pulled Matilda into the parking lot of Shear Perfection just before one and sat inspecting the building. It was an older, updated house and was next to a small strip of stores on one side and an old drugstore, Orlinda Valley Drugs, on the other.

I walked through the door and was greeted by the heavy ammonia smell of hair products mixed with fresh-brewed coffee. It’s a smell only women would see as relaxing and comforting as it burned my nose. The sounds, though, were relaxing. A low murmur of conversation along with the buzz of hair dryers.

“Hi there, hon. Can I help you?” I was greeted by a woman, maybe late twenties or early thirties, with black hair which had dark blue tips.

I caught her eyes as they floated down, then back up. I had to hide a smirk. I was always amused when I caught a woman staring. “I talked with Trevor, from Jerry’s Pub. I’m supposed to be meeting Diane and Kaye.” I put on my best poker face and acted like I was clueless and didn’t catch her gazing at me, but standing there in the salon, I felt like a fish out of water. This was nothing like anywhere I’d ever been. Give me the chaos and dirt of a garage, or the loud cacophony of a construction site any day. But a hair salon?

“Diane, this is . . .” The woman with the black and blue hair shot her brows up in a questioning look.

“Kai,” I finished for her.

Her eyes bulged, pushing her brows up a bit higher.

I ticked up my brow up to match hers and held her gaze. The look she was giving me was intense, like she expected me to break out in dance or something. What was that was about?

I didn’t get a chance to ask because three ladies, one with pieces of her hair wrapped in foil, walked toward us.

A middle-aged woman with dark hair put out her hand. “Hi there, Kai.” I shook her hand. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I’m Diane, and this is Kaye.” She gestured to the woman to her right with shoulder-length blonde hair. “We own the salon.”

“And I’m Tonya,” the one with foil in her hair stated. “Their nosy friend.” She held out her hand, and I shook it as Tonya’s gaze flicked down quickly, then back up, just like the first woman. Then she nodded.

Talk about feeling scrutinized and judged. For a small town that had been so welcoming, the women in this salon had a way of making me feel like a piece of meat.

“Ignore her,” Kaye said, pushing Tonya out of the way. I chuckled at the look Tonya threw at Kaye. “Follow me. I’ll show you what’s going on.”

We walked into a back room that turned out to be a small kitchen, likely the break room. Kaye, Tonya, Diane, and the one with colorful hair followed. Do they all really need to be a part of this?

“Would you like a cup of coffee? It’s fresh,” Diane asked.

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