“See, told you he wasn’t bad. It’s this town. Makes you wanna leave before society tells you it’s OK.”
Judy had a point.
Within minutes, Petra was flipping off the smock around Hannah’s shoulders and saying, “Your turn.”
“I really don’t need a haircut,” Karen protested.
Petra paused for a minute and tilted her head. “I’ve seen your pictures for months now. Everyone coming in pointing to pictures of Mike and his new wife. Every time your hair is up as it is now, or flat on your head.”
“I don’t like anything that requires work.”
Petra made a clicking noise with her tongue and pointed to the torture chair. “Trust me.”
Judy raised one brow. “Might as well give in. She’s relentless.”
“It’s only hair,” Hannah said. “It grows back.”
“I won’t do anything that requires more than five minutes to prepare. I bet you have a headache once a week at least.”
Karen felt her limbs untangling from the chair and walking in Petra’s direction. “I do actually. It’s stress.”
“Not stress. It’s the rubber band. All that stress on your scalp is tension, gives you a headache.”
Karen allowed Petra to wash her hair and watched as the hairdresser combed out the layers and ran her fingers through the ends with thought. “Shorter. With a few long layers around your face. Yes!”
Twenty minutes later Karen left Petra’s feeling five pounds lighter. Not that her hair had been terribly long, but with this shorter style and the addition of the right mousse and appropriate hairbrush, Petra had changed her appearance.
“I like it.” Hannah played with the ends of Karen’s hair and smiled.
“She’s good.”
A familiar-looking truck was parked on the opposite side of the street. Karen glanced up to see the words Hardware Store above the building. “Is that your dad’s store?”
“Yeah.” Hannah grabbed her hand and tugged her. “C’mon. Let’s show Zach your new style.”
That’s right, the truck was the one she’d seen Zach and Michael leave in that morning. Although the road was void of any cars driving by, it was strange for Karen to walk down the middle of it without feeling like a car would scream around the corner any second. Hannah’s endless energy was weighing on her as the day moved on.
They pushed through the store with a ringing of a bell at the top of the door.
Like the inside of a hair salon held familiar smells, so did hardware stores. Sawyer’s life’s work was laid out on aisles of shelves holding boxes of everything a household could need. The narrow rows of merchandise stood eight feet tall and ran the span of the room. At the front of the store, there was a register without anyone standing behind it.
“Dad?” Judy called out the minute the door closed behind them.
“He’s not here,” a voice called from the back.
Hannah rushed to the sound of the boy’s voice.
Judy set her purse on the counter and started toward the back room. “I have to use the bathroom.”
Abandoned at the counter, Karen looked around and noticed a few plaques behind the register. The local Boy Scouts thanked Sawyer Gardner for his donation to a kid’s eagle project, and another one was a framed newspaper clipping of news of the business expanding.
The bell behind her had Karen turning. “Can you get the top one, Nolan?”
Zach’s hands were full of boxes that kept him from seeing her standing there. Karen set her purse down and grabbed the surprisingly heavy box on the top of Zach’s pile.
“Got it,” she said as she relieved Zach of the extra weight.
His gaze caught hers. “Hey.” He blinked a few times, standing there holding boxes. “Wasn’t expecting you here.”
“We were at the hairdresser’s. Hannah ran me over here.” She shifted the box in her hand.
Zach’s eyes looked her hair over and his smile grew bigger. “I like it.”
Karen couldn’t help the blush in her cheeks. “Petra’s hard to say no to.”
“It suits you.”
“Thanks.”
With their hands full, they stood there staring at each other until Hannah stepped around them with a teenage boy at her side.
“Here, let me get that,” the boy said, taking the box from Karen’s hands.
Zach and the boy Karen assumed was Becky’s boyfriend, Nolan, walked to the back and out of sight.
“That’s Nolan. Cute, right?” Hannah asked.
Karen chuckled. “Little young for me.”
Hannah rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Not to mention you’re married. Becky’s lucky.”
Karen waved a finger in Hannah’s face. “It’s the boys that are lucky to find a nice girl.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I’d like to find my Nolan.”
Karen draped an arm around her. “You will. I think the boys are going to be terribly shy because you’re so beautiful.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.” Karen gave her a quick hug.
Judy ran down the aisle with her cell phone waving in the air. “Oh, my God, Hannah, we’re supposed to be over at the rec hall working on the float.”
“The float?” Karen questioned.
“More like a trailer that will be pulled by a truck, but it’s for Mike and we’re in charge of decorating it. I forgot all about it.” Judy grabbed her purse and pulled on Hannah’s hand.
“Wanna come?” Hannah asked before they made it to the door.
“I’m good. I know the way back to your parents’.”
“You sure? I feel like we’re abandoning you.”
She made shooing motions with her hands. “Go. You two are exhausting me,” she said with a wink.
Judy pulled her sister away. “C’mon, we’re thirty minutes late.”
Within a blink of an eye, the girls were running out and down the street.
There weren’t any customers in the store, and Zach and Nolan still hadn’t returned from what she assumed was the storage room. Karen picked up her purse and walked to the back of the store.
Before she saw them, she heard their conversation and paused.
“I can really use the hours, Zach. I keep telling your dad that he can work me full-time. It’s not like I’m in school anymore.”
“What does my dad say?”
“Says I should be in school. Not everyone is cut out for college,” Nolan told Zach. “Some of us don’t have the money to go to college anyway.”
Karen peeked around the corner and noticed the two of them talking over the boxes they had placed on the floor. Zach placed a hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “I’ll see what I can do.”
A look of relief swept over Nolan’s young face. “Thanks, Zach. I appreciate it. I really need the money.”
“Is everything OK?”
Nolan ran a hand through his too-long hair. “Yeah. My old man isn’t about to help with much is all. It’s time I figure out how to make it on my own.”
Zach folded his arms in front of his chest. “Have you ever considered working construction?”
Nolan’s face lit up. “Like building stuff?”
“Yeah. You know the store, but do you have any idea how any of the stuff in here works?”
Nolan nodded. “Yeah. A little anyway. But I can learn what I don’t know.”
“Let me talk to my dad. If he can’t work you in, maybe I can find something for you with me.”
Karen’s heart swelled. It was obvious that Nolan was struggling, and she had a pretty good idea as to why, and Zach had caught on to the intensity of his need as well and reacted with solutions. Nothing put a smile on her face faster than someone willing to help when they didn’t have to.
She cleared her throat and stepped into the room. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “The girls ran off and I was going to walk back to the house.”
Zach swung around. “I can take you. I was just dropping off a few things.”
<
br /> “It’s not far.”
“It’s all right. I’m going by that way.”
There was a protest on her lips, but she let it die. It was hot outside and she felt as if she’d walked the entire town five times since she woke that morning.
Nolan smiled at her and Karen extended a hand. “You must be Nolan Parker.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Nolan, this is Karen Jones,” Zach introduced her. For the first time since she’d arrived someone didn’t introduce her as an extension of Michael. She smiled.
“I met Becky an hour or so ago.”
Nolan’s face lit up with the mention of her name. Yeah, he has it bad.
“She stopped by after she had her hair cut.” He glanced at Zach. “She only stayed a few minutes.”
Zach grinned. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Nolan offered a cocky grin and reached for the boxes of inventory. “Nice meeting you.”
Karen followed Zach out of the store and waited as he opened the door of the truck for her.
He jumped in his side and turned over the engine.
“Nice kid,” Karen said.
“He is. Kind of surprised he didn’t leave town the day after graduation.” Zach switched the air conditioner on high.
“He’s not leaving town without his girl,” she said with confidence.
Zach was about to pull from the curb and glanced at Karen. “How can you be so sure?”
If there was one thing Karen hated it was outright gossip, but if her suspicions were anywhere near correct, Nolan was going to need a real job with real money coming in or Hilton was going to have two more runaways to add to the list.
“Do you know his girlfriend?”
“I’ve seen her a couple of times. Nice girl.” He moved onto Main Street after a car passed them.
“I think she’s pregnant.”
Zach swung his head to Karen, disbelief on his face. “You think?”
“I’d love it if I was wrong, but my gut says I’m not.”
“Oh, damn. Do my sisters know?”
Karen shook her head. “No. My guess is the only ones that know are Nolan and Becky.”
“How are you coming to this conclusion?”
“Side effect of what I’ve done most of my life. I work with teenage kids, and I’ve seen my share of knocked-up girls who are trying to hide it from the world. Do you know her parents?” Karen said.
“I’ve seen them, but can’t say as I’ve ever met them.”
“Unplanned teenage pregnancy isn’t easy for anyone. Even worse if the parents don’t approve of the boy responsible.”
“Nolan’s a good kid.”
“I keep hearing that. But apparently Becky is Mormon, and Nolan isn’t.”
Zach shrugged as they turned down his parents’ street. “Not sure why someone’s religion is supposed to dictate falling in love.”
“I didn’t either, until I talked to Judy and Hannah. They think it’s a huge factor for Becky and Nolan.”
Zach released a long sigh.
“I know. Anyway can you talk your dad into giving him more hours?”
“You heard that, too?”
“Didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“It’s all right. I’ll push my dad. And if he won’t add hours, I’ll see if Nolan has any ability with swinging a hammer.”
He pulled up to the Gardner family home. “There’s always the possibility that I’m wrong.”
Zach met her eyes. “He seemed desperate to have more money coming in. If it’s not because she’s pregnant, it might be something just as important.”
Karen wasn’t about the mention the marks on Becky’s body. That would require more investigation. Walking away from a hurting kid wasn’t in her.
“Please don’t say anything…”
He waved her off. “Of course. You don’t even have to say that.”
She reached for the door. “Are you coming in?”
“No. I’ll be over tomorrow.” His eyes once again took her in, and that crazy current that sat in silent moments buzzed between them.
“Till then.”
“So what do you think of Karen?” Judy asked Hannah while the two of them hot glued bits of colored paper to Mike’s float.
“I think she’s great!”
Judy did, too…almost too good to be true. “Don’t you think it’s odd that she and Mike didn’t visit sooner? I mean, she seems perfect yet Mike doesn’t want to show her off.”
Hannah leaned over the edge of the bench Mike would sit on while riding down the parade route. “You know our brother better than I do. I was just a kid the last time he lived in the house. I remember him being kinda shy about girls.”
“I thought so, too. Not like Zach. He always seemed to bring his dates around.”
“Maybe we notice that because Zach lives in Hilton now. Kinda sucks that we don’t know Mike as well as we should.”
The memory of Karen’s conversation while they jogged brought a smile to Judy’s face. “I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of our brother now that he’s happily married.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Sunday dinner with the Gardners was a lot like a family reunion with the Brady bunch after the kids had all grown up and given birth to their own. Janice and Sawyer’s home couldn’t contain the clan that showed up to celebrate Michael’s visit. They set up shade tents in the park and commandeered several grills to barbeque a smorgasbord of meat.
Zach hadn’t seen Karen since he dropped her off the day before. That didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about her. In fact, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her, and it was really starting to piss him off.
Tracey was going to meet him at the park later in the day. He’d skipped out on their normal Saturday night date, which usually didn’t end until Sunday morning, and he couldn’t give himself a good reason as to why.
It was a lie, but he had no problem lying to himself. He was an ass for wanting to know what it felt like to press his body up against his brother’s wife, but he wasn’t so far gone as to sleep with Tracey and picture Karen in her place. He wondered if Tracey noticed that they’d not slept together since he returned from California.
She was starting to look at him in that strange way women did when they had a thousand words on their tongues but only sighed or shook their heads instead of expressing them. It just wasn’t working with her anymore. Even if his eye hadn’t wandered to Karen, the fact that it did told him he couldn’t lead Tracey on much longer. He asked himself why he was waiting to break it off, but he knew that answer, too. Having a girlfriend kept him on a strange leash, adding to the walls that kept his gaze from lingering on Karen more than was appropriate.
Zach found a parking spot and went around to the back of his truck to grab the volleyball net and ball for the family game. He wondered how much his brother had slacked since being Mr. Hollywood.
Several faces lifted and hands waved as he walked through his family crowd. He greeted everyone by name and noticed more than just family at this gathering. Some of Mike’s old friends and their families joined in the fun.
Unable to help himself, Zach peered over the heads of everyone, searching for a certain blonde who stood out like a white swan in a pond full of ducks.
She stood over a picnic table with his niece, little Susie, on her hip. She was laughing at something, and the sound traveled above everyone there and met his ears.
Larry, one of Mike’s high school buddies, met him as he walked across the grass and grabbed the ball from his hand. “Hey, Zach. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere. Is Kim here?” Kim and Larry had married a few years before. There was already a little Larry toddling about somewhere.
“Of course. Probably talking to your brother. She about shit herself when I told her he was in town.”
“Another starstruck female to add to the pile. Mike’s ego will be impossible to live with.”
Larry nodded toward the pack
of females surrounding his brother. “They’ll get used to him before he leaves.”
“I doubt that.”
Zach dropped the bag with the net away from where the food was being served. “Wanna grab a couple of kids to set this up?”
Larry tossed the ball in the air and walked away as he called a few of the teenage kids over to do the busy work.
Zach stepped over to the buffet table and snagged a handful of chips. He kissed his mother on the cheek and tickled Susie under her chin. “Hey everyone.”
He tried to act unaffected when Karen smiled at him, but his insides went to mush.
“There you are. We were beginning to wonder if you forgot.” Rena was opening up large plastic containers and setting them on the table with the others.
“I couldn’t find the volleyball net.”
“Likely excuse. You just didn’t want to get stuck on the grill.”
Zach glanced over and noticed his father over the flame. Joe stood by him and Uncle Clyde beyond them both. “Looks like that’s all taken care of.”
Susie made grabbing motions with her fingers and reached to jump into his arms.
“Done with me already?” Karen said as she handed the baby over.
“She loves her Uncle Zach,” Rena said with pride.
“Picking the good-looking boys over the girls is just smart,” Karen said with a grin.
Zach caught Karen’s smile and handed his niece a cheesy chip. “I think it has more to do with what I let her eat, and less to do with my looks,” he said with a wink.
Karen blushed.
Rena grabbed the chip out of her daughter’s hand. “She’ll be wearing that all day if you give it to her.”
Susie’s little lip puffed out.
“Spoilsport.”
He grabbed another one when Rena turned away and moved to the grills to greet the men. Susie smacked her lips against the messy chip when he gave it to her.
“Nice of you to join us,” Joe said. “Show up late and hold the baby so no one will put you to work.” He waved a spatula in Zach’s direction. “I have your number, buddy.”
“Why don’t you drag Mike over here?”
“Naw, we’ll make him do the dishes.”
The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday Page 10