Page 17 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

Mrs. Andrews drew herself up and snapped, “I will not be a part of this! It’s shameful what kind of derelicts we’re allowing to pollute our town.”

And with that, Katie unleashed the fury. “That’s enough! If you don’t want to help out, then leave. You’re being rude and insufferable and I’m done with it!”

Katie almost slapped her hand over her mouth as she took in Mrs. Andrews’s outrage, Steph’s drop-jawed expression, and Becca’s wide smile. It was the smile that gave her courage to walk past the other women to where Becca stood several feet away. “I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. We’ll put your booth between Chloe’s Book Nook and Jagged Rock Tattoo Parlor.”

Becca handed her the check. “Thanks. You know, you’re a lot cooler than I thought you would be.”

“Well thanks. I think,” Katie said, smiling.

Holding out a small white card, Becca said, “Come by my shop. It’s not all dildos and thongs. I’ve got this belt and a pair of jeans that would look awesome on you. You’ve got a great ass. It deserves to be shown off.”

Katie blinked at her and Becca winked, leaving Katie standing there, bewildered, with a two-hundred-dollar check in her hand.

KATIE HEADED BACKto the salon, feeling freer than she ever had. Even after apologizing to Mrs. Andrews for her outburst, she had been proud of herself for finally telling the cranky woman how she felt, and that she needed to stop being rude to people just because she didn’t approve of their lifestyle. If they paid, they got a booth. Mrs. Andrews continued to grumble, but that was the worst of it.

Steph had given her a big hug and told her how awesome it was to watch someone tell “Battle-ax Andrews where to stuff it”—out of Mrs. Andrews’s earshot, of course. Katie had to admit it had felt pretty incredible to speak her mind for once.

She walked in the door of the salon and Kitty looked up from theRock Canyon Press, frowning. “Didn’t you get my message?”

Katie reached into her purse and searched around for her cell. “No, why?”

“Your three o’clock canceled,” she said.

“I didn’t get it. What are you reading the paper for? I thought you only liked reading celebrity gossip magazines,” Katie said, dropping her purse on the counter to continue the search. Chase was right; she really did have too much stuff inside.

Kitty flipped the paper over. “It’s a new gossip column calledSmall-Town Scandals. The author calls herself Miss Know It All and she is pretty dead on. It’s way better than celebrity gossip because these people, I actually know.” Pointing to a picture, she said, “Did you know that Kirsten Winters went home from Buck’s last night with Doug Dooly? I mean, I know she’s a little dim, but she could do way better than that dork.”

Katie looked at the paper and shook her head. “Just what this town needs, more gossip. Only this time it is in print, so it’s got to be gospel.”

She finally found her phone in the small pocket, next to a white napkin. Pulling out the crinkled paper, she read through her list for the first time since Chase had stolen it at the bar. Curiously, she saw that there was another task added to the end, and it wasn’t in her handwriting.

Eleven. Call Chase.

Katie tried to fight a smile, but it couldn’t be stopped; the guy was a charmer. So, he had added his own little item and just waited for her to demand it back? The whole thing was actually kind of ... sweet.

An idea popped into her head. “Kitty, when’s my next appointment?”

Kitty looked up from the paper distractedly. “Actually, Michelle was supposed to be a cut and highlight, so you had blocked out three hours for her.”

“Hey, Holly!” Katie called as she came around the desk.

The short, round stylist with a cute A-line cut called, “Yeah?”

“After you finish Charlie’s cut, wanna do something crazy?” Katie asked with a grin.

Holly gave her an are-you-serious look and said, “Girl, you know I’m always down for crazy! What did you have in mind?”

KATIE CALLEDSTEPHfrom her cell phone as she walked down the street. The call went to her voice mail and after the beep, she giggled. “Dude, call me! You are never going to believe what I did.”

She hung up and caught a glimpse of herself in a shop window, her champagne-blond hair streaked with bright purple strands. Holly had twisted some of the hair away from her face and curled it down her back in tight ringlets. Katie hadn’t felt this good in a while and, with a flip of her new hair, she walked down the street with attitude.

Digging into her purse for her keys, she got a hold of that list again. Maybe she would go by Chase’s shop, see what he thought. Turning around and heading in the other direction, she felt bold. Punching in Chase’s number, she texted,What are you doing?

She walked past Becca’s store and heard her phone chirp, but before she could read his reply, a voice said from right behind her, “Hey! You were just going to walk by and not come in?”

Dropping her phone with a cry of surprise, Katie bent over to pick it up quickly, checking it for cracks. She turned to glare at a grinning Becca, standing in the doorway of her shop. “Hasn’t anyone told you it’s not nice to jump out at people?”

“Hey, if it gets you into my store, then my job is done,” Becca said.

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