Page 36 of Odin
Willow
When Tarynn texted me last week that she’d blocked off the afternoon for me, I didn’t understand that she’d made sure we were the only ones in the shop. She gave the two other stylists who work with her the day off with pay.
The first thing she told me when I walked into the empty, quiet salon half an hour ago, was that if I was moving back here, I’d have a hell of a lot of stuff to debrief her on, and I probably wasn’t going to feel comfortable sharing in front of a bunch of strangers, if I felt comfortable sharing at all. In which case, she was certain she could talk it out of me because as a stylist, she has a sixth sense style gift for that. Aren’t all stylists secretly therapists?
I caved within ten minutes, mostly because, after sitting down in her chair and getting the black cape thing draped over me, I burst into tears that were half happy, half sad, a little scared, and a whole lot just plain tired from a long drive and the weeks of chaos that I’d been churned into and spat out of.
I spilled on everything. Finding out I was pregnant. Coming back to Hart and talking to Odin because I wanted him to be a part of his child’s life. His proposal of basically a marriage of convenience so that I’d have insurance, and the baby would as well. I made sure that I stressed that he wasn’t pressuring me into anything. He only offered out of his desire to protect me.
Tarynn, bless her, listened intently, then immediately opened all the salon’s windows, and promised me that she’d pick the dye with the least amount of chemicals she could. My roots are showing big time, and she told me that’s a great thing. She’ll do her best to keep the dye away from my scalp.
She just mixed everything and applied dye to the first section of hair.
We’ve both fallen silent, but it’s not a weird silence that I feel like I have to rush to fill before awkwardness sets in.
It’s nice to just watch what she’s doing in the brightly lit mirror.
“I went blonde when I was in high school, just because the other servers were blondes and they swore they got better tips. I think it was true. I did, even though I didn’t change the level of service I offered. It wasn’t because of anything anyone wanted me to do. I didn’t mind it, even the upkeep, although after I was dating Preston and he wanted to pay for it, it was a way bigger deal than just doing it myself. It went from blonde to blonder. With highlights, lowlights, and eight hours of sitting in a chair each time I went in.”
Tarynn works the dye in, strand by strand, as careful as anyone I’ve ever seen, that it doesn’t get on my face or my ears, or past the roots. “Does it feel like you’re reclaiming yourself a little? Maybe that’s the wrong word.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek to stop the major swell of emotions. I’m not used to feelingsomuch. I never felt like I shut down, even after my dad died. I was just busy. Too busy. All the time. I’ve been busy these past few weeks—a crazy type of busy that I almost drowned in, but pregnancy hormonesarereal. It’s like I’m constantly pressing on all the sore spots and I’m tender all over, inside and out, but not always in a bad way. You can feel those same soft spots when someone does something unbelievably kind for you.
“No, that’s the right word. I’m glad to be going back to being a brunette. I’ve missed it. It was another thing that I’d thought about doing, but never did. I didn’t realize just how much of that I had going on.”
She hums as she rubs dye into another section. “Babe, we all do that. Trust me. I lived for years saying yes to everything that my parents wanted for me, even though it was the furthest thing from my own dreams. I was big into pleasing until I just couldn’t take it anymore. I don’t think I snapped or anything. I just outgrew it. You just reach a point where you’reready, and nothing is going to stop you after that.”
“God, that’s so true.” Tarynn doesn’t have any music playing, so that she can fully concentrate on what I’m saying. I realize that I walked in and just dumped all my news on her the second she hugged me hard and sat me down, and that I didn’t say a word about her salon. “I love all the pink accents in here. You’ve made this place so pretty.”
Outside, there are plenty of pink touches, from the gingerbread style scallops hanging from the roof, to the window shutters with little hearts. The door is rounded at the top, and is a lighter pink. I know for a fact that it’s the cutest shop in Hart, even though I haven’t seen much of the city.
Inside, the place is all cheerful pink from the white and pink checked floor tiles to the pink brocade wallpaper, wainscoting and crown molding painted pink. Pink chandeliers drenched in pink crystals hang from the ceiling. The chairs areall a soft pink, and most of the tools and even Tarynn’s gloves are pink. The stations are white, and the sinks too, but they provide a nice balance.
Tarynn’s pastel pink hair makes a lot of sense now.
She tracks my thinking, clearly not worried that I’m trying to be evasive by changing the subject. “Thank you! It was a lot of work, and I owe it all to Crow and R—err, the rest of the club. They all helped out so much.”
“Odin told me about a building he’s been thinking of buying. For a body shop. He said that it could be renovated to have a living space above. I don’t want to commit to it, because then I think he’ll buy it and ask everyone to spend all this time making it up, just for me, even if it’s not right, or it’s too expensive. He’ll pull out all the stops. That’s fine for his shop. I want him to have everything he’s been dreaming of, but I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Trust me, you’re not a bother.”
“Or an imposition.”
“You wouldn’t be that either. The club has thrown all their weight behind anyone who needs it.” She inhales deeply like she’s digging in for quite a story. “When Atlas and Willa wanted to open their antique store, they made that a reality. They helped renovate a few farmhouses, they’ve helped guys and their families find housing here, and with all the shops that have opened—Crow’s included—they’ve always put all their time and might behind it. The club makes their own money now. It’s not a commune or anything. No one is required to put their earnings into it. The club is set up as the business owner for some things, and others not. For their businesses, the men are paid a salary, and any profit after that goes to the club. Raiden is VP, andhe’s an incredible accountant. Anyway. Sorry. You don’t need a lecture on the club’s inner workings. I just wanted to let you know that if anyone needs it, they’re there to help, and when they’re there to help, they’re trulythere.”
“I- I-yeah. Okay. It’s something to think about.”
“Odin won’t rest until you have the best place possible. That doesn’t mean a palace, but somewhere safe, warm, cheery, and practical for you to grow in, even if you don’t want to insurance fraud marry him.”
Something about that dry humor helps so much more than I ever would have imagined. “I seriously hope there aren’t any cameras in here. I shouldn’t even put that out there. I know you won’t tell anyone.”
“In the world of the club, mostly past, but sometimes still in the present, a little insurance fraud is the least illegal thing that anyone has done.”
“That makes me feel oddly better and oddly disturbed.”
She laughs, but sobers. “He missed you, you know.”
“How do you know?”
