Walker Spirit
Page 20
He parked his truck, and climbed out. The lights in the salon were still on, and he figured that was a good sign. His mother would probably kill him if he showed up to the wedding tomorrow looking like he did.
Just as he opened the front door, a small remote-controlled car jumped over the toe of his boot.
"Whoa! Did you see that?" The young voice came from a boy who darted from the back room and ran for the car. He picked it up, and looked up at Ben. "Who are you?"
"Ben. Who are you?"
The boy stood straight, as if she'd been trained to do so when meeting someone. "Zane. Did you come to get your hair cut?" he asked as he looked up at the mess atop Ben's head.
"Yeah."
Zane stood there studying him for another moment before he yelled, "Mom, there's a man out here who needs a haircut!"
Ben stood there, the door still open behind him, while he waited for the anonymous Mom to appear.
The moment that Nicole, Audrey's first employee, came from the back room, Ben's heart did a little flip in his chest. On her hip, she carried a little girl with hair color that matched her own dark brown hair.
"Hey, Ben. How are you? We were just packing up," she said as she let the little girl down to run off after Zane.
Ben shut the door behind him. "I didn't realize it was this late. I came to see if somebody could sneak me in for a haircut. The wedding is tomorrow and…"
A smile formed on her beautiful lips, and she pushed up her designer pink and black framed glasses. "The wedding is tomorrow and you forgot to get your hair cut?"
"Yeah, it's not looking too good."
Nicole laughed, and it made his heart flip yet again. "Let me settle these guys down, and then I’ll get you in. We don't want someone to accidentally get a picture of you and putting in a magazine as a guest at the wedding of Audrey and Gregory Bishop if you don't look your very best," she teased.
The very thought that there would be photographers there to put the pictures into tabloids made Ben a bit uneasy. His cousin Bethany had been a movie star, of course he didn't see her that way anymore. He supposed, had she been around more often when she was a famous movie star, the entire family would have been exposed to such things as tabloids and reporters. She hadn't come back home until she had given up her movie career. It was her sister, Audrey, who was marrying Gregory Bishop, one of the leading stars in Hollywood. He thought it was interesting how a family who owned a ranch in Macon, Georgia had this many connections.
The noise around him drew him out of his own thoughts. Nicole gathered toys and set children in waiting room chairs. It was then he noticed there was one more boy, Zane's twin obviously, who must have just come out of hiding.
The three of them settled down with an iPad between them and the unmistakable sound of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Nicole let out a breath. "Okay. Are you ready?"
"Are these your kids?"
She gave all three a look. "Nah, I get lonely so I rent them."
The other little boy, whom he had yet to be introduced to, looked up at her. "Mom, why do you tell people that?"
She gave him a weak laugh. "Because my sense of humor is horrible and I think it's funny."
The little boy shook his head and looked back down at the iPad.
Nicole gave him a nod toward the shampoo bowl. "Yeah, they are mine. They're my whole world."
Ben sat down in the chair and reclined back, his head resting in the divot in the bowl. "I didn’t know you had three kids. I've seen the pictures on your station, but I didn't know if those were nieces and nephews," he said as she turned on the water.
"I don't usually have them here. But tonight I was working late. You are not the only Walker man who was not prepared for this wedding tomorrow."
"Who else?"
She laughed again and it sent a tingle up his spine. "Sworn to secrecy."
He sat there quietly while the warm water ran over his head, and then she massaged shampoo into his hair. He was pretty sure he could fall asleep under the touch of her fingers.
Once she was done, she dried off his hair with the towel and led him to her station. Ben looked back at the kids quietly watching their iPad.
"They're pretty good," he said as he sat down in her chair.
Nicole draped the cape around him and fastened it in the back. "They are good kids. They had to do a lot of sitting around the last year waiting for me to get done working. I try to make it up to them."
"Well, if you ever need any help…"
Nicole laughed loudly as she ran a comb through his wet hair. "I'm sorry. I should never laugh when a man offers his help with children. Are you good with children?"
Then let his shoulders drop. "Honestly, I don't know. My brother's stepson is five now, I think. I get along with him. I also have two new nieces."
"I know. I've been around them, remember?"
That was right. How had he possibly forgotten? Probably the same way he'd forgotten he'd seen her with her children at weddings and parties over the last six months. That was his own fault. He seemed to get nervous and tongue-tied whenever she was around. Most of the time, he found himself hiding in the kitchen or outside with the stragglers at wedding receptions.
He watched her in the mirror as she began to cut his hair his hair. He figured they weren't too far apart in age, though she might have a few years on him. It was funny to think this beautiful woman had three well-behaved children. He knew she had moved to town six months ago, and she’d moved from Colorado. That was a big adventure as far as he was concerned. He, on the other hand, had only moved out of his parents’ home. No wonder he didn't have a woman who would want to go to the wedding with him. When he thought of it, he sounded like a loser.
Nicole kept the conversation going as she cut his hair, and Ben wondered if he'd ever learn to loosen up around her.
"So who are you taking to the wedding?" she asked as she pulled her small set of clippers from a drawer.
"I'm going by myself."
"That surprises me. You're a good-looking guy."
Ben clasped his hands in his lap underneath the cape. "How about you? Who are you going with?"
Nicole turned around and looked at three children sitting with their heads pressed together. "Those are my gorgeous dates. But maybe you'll save me a dance?"
Ben wasn't sure he answered, as she took the cape and brushed the hair from his neck.
"You look perfect," she said giving him a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
Then pulled his wallet from his back pocket. "How much do I owe you?"
She rested her hand atop his. "Just save me that dance."
While he stood there, more than likely with his mouth open, she folded up the cape, cleaned up her station, and began to gather up her children.
Ben slid his wallet back into his pocket. "Thanks. I'll make sure to save that dance, maybe a couple extras too," he said, without really thinking it through first.
He let himself out of the salon, and looked back inside as he closed the door. Nicole looked up at him, smiled, and gave him a wave as she tucked items into a bag while kids tugged at her to get her attention.
Ben wondered if his heart rate would slow down before he saw her tomorrow. He seemed to be a bit infatuated with her. What was he thinking? She was a beautiful woman, one with three kids and a missing husband. Chances were, all he'd ever get was a promised dance.
As he climbed into his truck and drove away, he realized that's all he had in him anyway. It all went back to the reason he didn't have a date for the wedding. He wasn't very good with women.
About the Author
Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then she has authored and published over thirty books. The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.
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Obsessed with writing since the age of 12, Bernadette Marie officially started her journey as an author in 2007 when she finalized a manuscript she'd been writing for 22 years, shelved it, and wrote 12 more books that year. In 2009 she was contracted with a small publisher in a deal that would eventually go bad. From that experience, she knew she could take control of her career and that's what she did.
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A chronic entrepreneur since opening her first salon at the age of twenty, Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house in 2011, 5 Prince Publishing, so that she could publish the books she liked to write and help make the dreams of other aspiring authors come true too. Believing there is a place for the fresh author's voice, she not only publishes but coaches others who wish to publish their work independently. Bernadette Marie is also the CEO of Illumination Author Events and Services offering smaller intimate author/reader events as well as author services.
For more information
www.bernadettemarie.com
info@bernadettemarie.com
Other Titles from 5 Prince Publishing
www.5princebooks.com
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The Remains in the Pond Ann Swann
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The MacBrides: Logan and RJ J.L. Petersen
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Blissful Disaster Amy L. Gale
Victory Bernadette Marie
Chasing Her Heart J. L. Petersen
Hope in the Rain Sandy Sinnett
The Deja Vu House Doug Simpson
We Are From Atlantis Doug Simpson
Walker Revenge Bernadette Marie