“Shelby, honey, let me fix your hair for once. Dolly tells me you’ve got a big lunch date and your hair looks like it was styled by the Power Company.”
“It just goes like that. I can’t do a thing about it.”
“You’ve never tried. Sit your butt down in this chair. I’ll be with you as soon as I get your aunt set up.”
She got to her feet reluctantly. So now she was going to get her hair done. What was next? It struck her as ironic that she, who usually analyzed the angles of every story, had not a clue of what was going to happen next in the one she’d invented for herself.
“So who’s the new man?”
Shelby started. How much did Dolly tell Darlene? If she mentioned Sawyer, this whole thing could be over before it began. Darlene would have it spread all over the town before closing time. The Beauty Box was the hub for all gossip. Dolly was sitting about four feet away, a plastic bag over her sparse hair waiting for the color to set. Between the noise of the hairdryers and the ambient music coupled with Dolly’s poor hearing, Shelby was safe. “His name is Roger. He’s from Syracuse.”
“Roger, Roger, Roger ... isn’t that the guy you were seeing last fall? I thought you two broke up.” Darlene answered Shelby’s peeved look with an embarrassed shrug. “Dolly told me about it last winter. You know what a terrible gossip she is.”
“Indeed.” Shelby eyed her, drily. “Well, we did break up but we’re back together temporarily. I asked Roger to lunch to make Dolly happy. She’d like to see me married.”
“And Roger isn’t a candidate?”
Shelby shook her head firmly. “He’s doing me a favor, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Darlene sounded disappointed. “From the way Dolly was talking I thought we could expect a wedding announcement any day now.”
“No, no, but it would kill Dolly if she knew the truth. She’s been worrying herself sick over my unmarried state. I sort of led her to believe there was an engagement ring forthcoming.” Shelby smiled conspiratorially at Darlene in the mirror. “I’ll tell her the truth when her health improves. Until then, do you mind going along?”
Darlene winked and shot a look over her shoulder at Dolly who was being led to the sink by Paula for her rinse. The beautician lowered her voice. “My grandmother is the same way. Always fussing over one thing and another until finally Hank and I agreed not to tell her anything anymore. Don’t worry about me. As far as I’m concerned, you’re engaged.”
“Thanks.” Shelby let out a low relieved breath. You’re not out the woods yet. Dolly is going to tell them Sawyer is coming for lunch and then what? How will you explain that? A simple trip to the beauty salon and her nerves were shot.
“Must be something in the water,” Darlene was saying, “with all the weddings going around. There was Scout and Ryder’s just last month. It was a shotgun wedding, but it still counts.”
“How far along is she?”
“Four months. The dress still fit though. The other wedding was supposed to be Sheriff McIntyre’s but that fell apart before they made it to the altar. I couldn’t believe it. I was supposed to do that wedding. I’d cleared the day to do everyone’s hair. And then Cindy Graham stops in to get her nails done and tells me that Janice had left town. The wedding was off.”
Shelby heard Paula encouraging Dolly out of the rinse chair. In a few minutes she’d be sitting beside Shelby expecting a comb out and a good gossip and when it came to gossip there was no stopping Darlene.
“Janice asked me months ago if I had time and I didn’t. Between Scout’s wedding—well, the second one actually—I did the hair for the first one too—and my regulars, I was slammed. But for Sawyer’s sake I made the time. The juggling I had to do—and for what? Not even a phone call before she left for New York City.”
“Who are we talking about?” Dolly asked eagerly and hoisted her wiry frame into the chair beside Shelby.
“Darlene was just saying how busy she was last month with weddings,” Shelby said hastily.
“Speaking of weddings,” Dolly chirped. “Shelby will probably be requiring your services very soon if I’m not mistaken.”
Shelby groaned. When Dolly wanted something she was unbelievably tenacious. She rolled her eyes for Darlene’s benefit.
Darlene caught the hint and winked. “Is that so, Miss Porter? Who’s the new guy? Anyone I know?”
“Everyone knows him. Sawyer is very well respected in Mandrake Falls.”
Shelby cut Dolly off before she could say another word. “Darlene is teasing you, Dolly. She knows who the guy is. Boy, that color is something, Paula. Isn’t it time for her to get under the hairdryer?” Paula was fussing with the rollers in Dolly’s hair. Say yes, say yes, say yes.
“I guess that’ll hold you for a week or so, Miss P. if you’re in a hurry.”
“What’s the rush, Shelby? I want to catch up on the local news. I’ve been cooped up for the last couple of months, doctor’s orders,” Dolly explained to the beautician, “and Shelby doesn’t know the first thing about gossip. For a reporter, she isn’t very nosy.”
Darlene wrinkled her nose, absently combing out Shelby’s hair. “Well, let me think. What can I bring you up to date on?”
“Janice Feron broke off her engagement to Sawyer,” Paula supplied helpfully.
“Thank you, Paula, for that up-to-the-minute report,” Darlene drawled. “Shelby and I have already gone over that ground.”
“Well, I haven’t!” Dolly declared. “Go over it again.”
“We were all so shocked when it happened,” Paula said. “Who in their right mind would dump Sawyer McIntyre? Guys like that don’t just drop from the trees, especially in Mandrake Falls. The only available bachelor left is Hudson Grace and ... well ... you know.”
“Simon.”
Paula and Darlene shuddered.
“I like kids but that kid is a terrorist. I hope Hudson doesn’t mind being a bachelor because he won’t keep a woman with that kid around.”
“In Hudson’s case, I think that’s the whole idea. But Sawyer’s a cat of a different stripe. He wants to get married. He hides it but I can see he’s still hurting, can’t you, Darlene? It was obvious to me from the get-go that Janice was not comfortable here. For all her talk about loving the peace and tranquility of a small town, Janice Feron was a big city girl.”
Dolly patted Shelby’s hand and whispered loudly. “It sounds like Sawyer had a lucky escape. I’m going to tell him so at lunch.”
Shelby yelped. “Ow!” All three women stared at her in surprise. She shrugged sheepishly. “Sensitive scalp. I hate to rush you, Dolly, but I’ve still got to buy a dress for the Harvest Dance on Saturday and I wanted you to go with me.”
“A dress?” Dolly looked at her niece with mixed astonishment and delight. “A real dress? Not just a black turtleneck sweater and a skirt like you usually wear. A real dress, mind—I’m not leaving the Beauty Box if it’s not a real dress we’re shopping for.”
“Yes, Dolly. A real dress.” The usual dig at her fashion sense didn’t aggravate her at all this time. All that mattered was getting Dolly off the subject of Sawyer and it worked. Dress shopping was the one card Shelby held that had the power to sway Dolly. She rarely played it.
“Get me under that dryer, Paula before she changes her mind.”
Shelby didn’t relax until Dolly was settled with the bonnet over her head and out of hearing. As expected, Darlene picked up the conversation where they had left off just as if there had been no interruption. “Paula, you have it wrong. The decision to pull the plug was Sawyer’s. And in my opinion, he made the right choice, not that he asked. Janice only left because she was sure he’d come after her. She told Cindy Graham she had a plan to keep him in New York with an offer from a high-powered private security company. They really wanted him too. Lots of money and prestige. It’s not like we could afford to replace him if he left. Hank told me Sawyer’s got an excellent reputation in the law enforcement world. He’s always invite
d to give talks on what he does and why it works.”
This was news to Shelby. She had to admit she’d never probed very deep into his record. She assumed Sheriff McIntyre was as prone to abusing his power as every other authority figure she’d ever known. That wasn’t blind prejudice. Was it?
“I know you don’t like him, Shelby; you give him a hard time in the Gazette. Generally, I agree with most of what you write but not when you attack Sheriff McIntyre. He’s as honest as they come. It’s not always a feel-good honesty but a citizen knows where they are with him. He’s a lot like you in that way—straight up, no bullshit, what you see is what you get. Integrity. You both have it.”
Shelby reddened.
“Who are we talking about?” Dolly barked querulously. She’d lifted the bonnet up to eavesdrop.
“Sawyer McIntyre,” Paula replied before Shelby could answer.
Dolly grinned broadly. “I might have known. Our Shelby’s certainly a dark horse. You’d never guess a thing from those editorials of hers, but apparently Sawyer says she’s just doing her job. It doesn’t surprise me that he’d take that attitude. He’s always had a generous heart. He gets that from his mother. We were very close, you know. Very close indeed. I miss her.”
“How is Raymond doing with the new wife? They’ve been gone a long time, haven’t they? Roaming the country in a Winnebago is not for me. A house on wheels? Hank says he’d get claustrophobic. We were taking bets on whether or not they’d make it back in time for the wedding.”
Dolly pitched forward in her chair, her light frame in a veritable fever of excitement. “I just knew there was going to be a wedding! I have a sixth sense about these things. Shelby, you should have told me first. I shouldn’t be hearing it from Darlene.”
“Not that wedding, Dolly,” Shelby said uneasily. “Darlene is talking about Sawyer’s wedding to Janice. They wondered if his dad and stepmom would make it back in time.”
“Oh, I see,” Dolly nodded and winked. “No, Raymond was still on the road for that one. But don’t you worry—they’ll be back in time for yours.”
Shelby darted a glance at Darlene. No names. No names. Mention no names.
“Ah, that’ll be nice, won’t it Shelby? The whole McIntyre clan. Dolly, from what I hear, those two are only a couple of steps away from the altar. You’d better get Raymond back if you want him to walk your niece down the aisle.”
“I knew it!” Dolly barked. “Shelby, shame on you for teasing me this way! You should have said something.”
“Like what?” she howled. “Between you and Darlene, there’s nothing left to say. Dolly, can we please finish up here? We still have a lot to do.”
“Oh, my, yes. Just look at the time! I’ll take a little spray, Paula dear, and then Shelby and I had better scoot. She hasn’t let me help her pick out a dress since high school graduation. I’m a little rusty.”
A few minutes later, rattled to her core, Shelby helped Dolly into her wheelchair. That was close, so close. She felt like she’d just steered an out-of-control truck through a kindergarten. But now she was safe. They would go to the dress shop Dolly preferred and then home. Somehow she would keep it together until lunch was over and then she would never, ever lie to Dolly again. She had no idea how she was going to explain it when the wedding announcement didn’t materialize. One lie at a time, Porter.
Dolly fussed her coat over her knees. “I wish you hadn’t told Darlene. You know what a blabber mouth she is. She’s going to spread it all over town and I want people to hear about it from me first.”
Shelby’s blood chilled. This was a nightmare that just wouldn’t end. “Nothing is confirmed, Dolly. I only asked her what her availability was like at the end of the month; she usually takes a vacation before Thanksgiving. Darlene jumped to the conclusion there was going to be a wedding. I should have corrected her but I didn’t want to get into a big discussion about Sawyer without his say-so. We’re trying to be discreet, on account of Janice and Roger.” (Good grief, how many times was she going to have to say that?)
“You are not getting married?” Dolly’s voice sank.
Damn it.
“Well. Yes. And no.” (Certainly, they’ll marry someday. Just not each other.)
“Either you’re getting married or you’re not, Shelby!”
“Or maybe we don’t want to talk about it so soon after his engagement to Janice! We’re trying to be sensitive to her feelings.” She negotiated the wheel chair around a knot of camera-toting sightseers who’d paused to check out the bakery. Even for a Friday, the sidewalks were unusually full. The town was busy with tourists at this time of year, the fall color drawing them from miles around. Tourism was very important to the economy. Everyone was expected to do their part, a sentiment Shelby rejected. “The sidewalk is for walking, people,” she barked. “Move along! Hey Dolly, I read that Michael Shannon is in contract dispute with her producers. You watch Tomorrow Never Comes, don’t you? Who does she play again?”
Dolly twisted to peer at Shelby. “She plays Vicki Webber and she’s in a coma and you’re avoiding my question. Shelby, don’t worry about her. She’s a talented young woman but she’s better off where she is.”
“Who—Michael Shannon?”
“Good heavens, I don’t know Michael Shannon from a hole in the wall! We were talking about Janice, Sawyer’s fiancée. The one whose feelings you and Sawyer are tippy-toeing around. Janice Feron is a very talented young woman with a great deal of ambition but their engagement was a mistake. The whole town could see that. No one will hold it against you that Sawyer wants to marry you sooner rather than later. Don’t let the grass grow, life is short. I want you to promise me you won’t wait another day to settle this. Shelby!”
“Fine! No trouble at all! We’ll pick out the rings tomorrow!” Exasperation made her say it. “Now don’t ask me anymore about Sawyer. I’ve said too much already.” Much too much.
“Oh Shelby.” Dolly gasped. “Oh my goodness. I think I’m going to cry.”
Shelby grunted as she tried to weave through the crowd without banging anyone in the ankles. She’d had enough of fake engagements, weddings, Dolly and Sawyer too. At this point, as far as Shelby was concerned, the whole lot could go to hell. She didn’t see him until Dolly called out. Until it was too late.
“Yoohoo, Sawyer! Sheriff McIntyre, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” Dolly sang out gaily. “Were your ears burning? Shelby—Shelby, push me over to him. Hurry! We were just talking about you, Sawyer!”
Shelby lifted her head. Dread knotted in her stomach. Sawyer was walking straight toward them.
Chapter Seven: The Trouble with Shelby
THE SMILE on Shelby’s face looked fixed, as if she’d plastered it on at the last minute. Sawyer spotted the women too late to make his escape. Judging by the panic in Porter’s face, he had the feeling escape was what they both wanted.
Dolly was beaming at him, her hair a peculiar shade of red never before seen on a woman of her age. Shelby’s hair looked different too and it threw him for a moment. He didn’t like it when women changed their hair without warning. Sawyer glanced up and down the street hoping to spot a law being broken that would delay this encounter a few more hours. No luck. There was no escaping that crinkled bubbly face and outstretched hand. “Hello godmother. It’s good to see you up and around again.”
“Thank you, my darling, darling boy. I’m feeling much better, especially since I heard the good news. You’ve both made me very happy.”
“Dolly,” Shelby interrupted with a warning in her voice, “there isn’t any good news. At least not yet, remember?”
Sawyer suddenly understood the reason for Shelby’s petrified smile. Something was going on. Something more than a lunch date.
“Yes of course, dear. I will say no more about it. Except that you should’ve come to me first Sawyer to ask for my blessing. I suppose that’s considered out-of-date, which is a terrible shame. Small considerations like that make life worth living.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if it happened at lunch? I’d keep it to myself, mind. I agree more time is needed after Sawyer’s last engagement to let the dust settle.”
Sawyer met Shelby’s stricken eyes. “If what happened at lunch?”
“Please, Dolly, I’m begging you. Shut up.” Shelby looked like she was going to be sick.
The older woman blinked at Sawyer with her bright black eyes. “I’m shutting up now. We’re going shopping for a dress. Would you care to come along?”
Sawyer resisted glancing at his watch and framing an excuse. At this point he didn’t know what Shelby wanted him to do. She was looking at him with pleading eyes but pleading for him to do what? Go away or go along? He had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it wrong.
“All right, I’ve got a bit of time.”
She glared at him. Shit. Wrong answer. She wanted him to go. Sawyer glared back at Shelby, silently arguing with her with his eyes. He didn’t have time to stand around playing Guess What I’m Thinking. He took hold of the wheelchair. “Allow me.”
At the door of the dress shop Sawyer helped Dolly out of the chair and guided her into the store. He could see what Shelby meant; his godmother was still sharp in her wits, but she was physically weak. Her limbs trembled as they entered the shop, the short walk already tiring her.
Sawyer caught Shelby watching out of the corner of his eye. She was biting her lip, observing her aunt’s progress carefully. It baffled him how this defiant young woman dressed in regulation black could have formed such a profound attachment to his fussy, often silly godmother. Deep down, Sawyer knew his prejudice against Shelby stemmed from being replaced in Dolly’s life. He was only thirteen when his mother died and losing Dolly three years later was like losing his mother all over again. He was old enough now to understand that Shelby wasn’t responsible. Understanding didn’t make her any easier to accept. On the bright side, the adoption gave him and his father something to agree on in those days. As far as Raymond McIntyre was concerned, Dolly was letting herself in for trouble by taking in an angry rebellious street kid. Meanwhile, Sawyer had a rebellion of his own going on. He didn’t want to farm, thereby ending a century-old tradition in the McIntyre family. He could’ve used Dolly’s help back then to talk to his father, but she had her hands full with the street brat. In the end, his dad sold the land to a neighboring farm and the house to Sawyer. Free for the first time in his life, Raymond McIntyre bought a Winnebago last year and had been traveling the country with his second wife ever since.
Lie For Me: Autumn (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 2) Page 7