Page 48 of Beneath Pearly Irish Skies
“Oh, stop, you’ll break my ancient heart,” Fergal said, clutching his chest. Turning back to Megan, he said, “I hear you’ve been helping Kade Donovan at his pony farm. A good boy, that one. You’re lucky to be working with him. You must be special as well as pretty.”
Again, she almost rocked back on her barstool. Oh, how she wanted to wrap that compliment up and take it with her everywhere. She caught sight of her hair in the mirror. Her long brown hair certainly didn’tlookspecial. It was straight and plain and unassuming. She was fairly certain her freshman yearbook picture would show the same hairstyle. She touched the ends, her fingers catching in them. The Irish wind made brushing out her hair painful and time consuming. These days she dreaded doing anything with it.
Maybe it was time for a new look. Something that made her feel more special and pretty. She didn’t know Lisa Ann well, but she felt more comfortable with her now. Perhaps the time had come to visit the shop with the blue door.
“Gavin,” she called. “Do you know if Lisa Ann’s shop is open around lunchtime?”
The man appeared with the whiskey bottle and a sparkle in his eyes. He studied her, his silver brows furrowing. “You thinking about a change? Shorter, I think. Maybe a bob to set off that fine chin of yours.”
“How did you guess that?” she asked in shock.
“Bartenders in Ireland know everything,” he said with a smile. “Come on, Megan.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Gavin lifted the flapper top of the bar and slid out, towering over her. “Lisa Ann is my cousin, and we’ll see to it that she puts you in her chair straightaway. She’s the best hairdresser in town.”
“Maybe I should tell Eoghan—”
“Does that old rascal look like he needs help?”
She looked over her shoulder to see him gesticulating widely, making the men laugh. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine Eoghan ever being caught flat-footed.
Gavin handed her purse to her and helped her off the barstool. “He’ll press a few more holdouts for a donation as he tells his tales. Fergal, keep watch while I’m gone. I’ll be checking the kegs and the bottles when I return.”
Megan startled. “If you’re worried about leaving the bar—”
“No, girl, that’s just a bit of craic,” he said, pausing at the bar’s green front door. “Fergal, I’m grabbing your hat since there’s a bit of rain and my own is full of cash.”
Slapping the blue and cream hat on his head without waiting for an answer, the giant gangly man led her onto the street and then down the sidewalk. The gentle shower wet her hair quickly, and she wrinkled her nose as the rain touched her face. She’d given up using an umbrella. No one used one, and she’d looked conspicuous.
Gavin waved into the stores they passed and said hello to a few people standing in a shop’s open doorway, smoking, but he didn’t stop, keeping a gentle hand to her back.
“Here we are,” he said, pointing across the street and waiting for a few cars to pass before crossing.
When Gavin opened the door for her, Lisa Ann paused in sweeping dark hair from the white tiled floor. The salon was empty but not quiet. Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” was playing loudly, which the woman turned down immediately. “Hi, Megan!”
“Hi, Lisa Ann,” she responded, noting how Gavin pointed to himself as if he were waiting for the woman’s acknowledgment.
“And what are you doing coming to my place, Gavin McGrath, with my very own ceramics teacher?”
“She’s in need of a new look and something on the short side,” Gavin said, “and I told her you were the best hairdresser in town. Don’t be making a liar of me. I’ll be rushing back to my bar before all those rascals pour themselves a free one when I’m not around. Good luck.”
He was already opening the door.
Megan started, “Tell Eoghan I’ll—”
“He’ll still be at the pub with all the rest of them,” Gavin said, rolling his eyes dramatically. “I run a retirement center, didn’t you know?”
That made Lisa Ann laugh out loud. “And you love it.”
“I do! Come back and show us your new look when you’re done, Megan. We’ll toast it with another whiskey.”
Another whiskey would have her falling on her face, she thought as he closed the door. Lisa Ann walked over to her, sizing up her features the same way she’d sized up her clay in class. She walked around her even, as if taking in her whole person. Somehow the assessment heartened her.
“The angels were with you, girl,” Lisa Ann said. “Today was a little slow, and now here you are. We’re going to have a right fun time. You’re ready for a change then?”
“Yes.” In so many ways.
