Horace? Murray looked across the room at the man in question.
Horace looked just as surprised. “No, my secret pal is, um, well, he didn’t open his gift yet, so I can’t say.”
Tonya’s face reddened once more. “Sorry, I was just guessing, but evidently I guessed wrong.” She looked around the room. “Anyone?”
Trying to hide his grin, Murray wished he could make her squirm a few more minutes, but he spoke up. “It’s from me, Tonya.”
“You?” Tonya’s mouth dropped open. Then she clamped it shut and looked at her brother. “Derek! How come I was Murray’s secret pal and he was mine? Did you do that on purpose?”
Derek raised his hands as if trying to fend her off. “Hey, don’t blame me! The identity of everyone’s secret pal is a surprise to me, too. Mom put all the secret pals together, and she was the only one who knew who they were.”
“Mom, huh? Okay.”
Tonya looked back at Murray, and he could almost read her mind. He wouldn’t put it past Mrs. Brandt to play the matchmaker role either.
Tonya sighed. “Well, thanks for the piano book, Murray.” She smiled, and her entire demeanor changed. “This looks like a great book. I can’t wait to play these songs.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.”
As someone else took a turn unwrapping a gift, Murray kept his eyes on Tonya. She opened the piano book and studied the table of contents, then spoke to Cheyenne in low tones.
Murray thought about the letters they had e-mailed each other, about their own matchmaking efforts for Aggie and Bruce, about working with her on her computer, and the instant messaging they had done that week.
A strange realization hit him. I really care for her. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but his feelings for her were definitely changing.
On Monday morning, Tonya wielded her shears on seven-year-old Kylie Ewing’s long blond hair. She smiled, thinking how cute Kylie would look once her hair was cut to frame her heart-shaped face.
Aggie stood at the other chair, working on Kylie’s mom’s hair. The bell above the door jingled, and both Tonya and Aggie looked up as Murray entered. He was dressed in his uniform, so Tonya knew he hadn’t come in for a haircut.
“Hey, Murray,” Aggie called. “What can we do for you?”
He hesitated. “I see you’re both busy. I’ll come back.”
“Just a minute.” Leaving her station, Tonya joined Murray, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Is this about Aggie and Bruce?”
He grinned, lowering his voice as well. “He agreed to take her out.”
“Really?” She bit back a smile.
“I’ll call you later about the details.” Murray backed toward the door, now speaking in a normal voice. “Say, a half hour?”
Tonya nodded. “That would be fine.”
He left, and she went back to Kylie’s hair. Aggie kept glancing at her but didn’t ask any questions. Tonya just smiled.
By the time the Ewing ladies left, Aggie had another customer. As Tonya swept the floor, the phone rang.
“I’ll get it, Aggie.” Walking behind the cash register, she picked up the receiver. “The Beauty Spot, this is Tonya.”
“Hey, Tonya, it’s Murray.”
With a wistful sigh, she sank on the stool behind the counter. His voice was amazing. Every time they spoke on the phone, she thought again of how much she loved that baritone. Too bad he didn’t have an ultra-handsome face to go with it. “What’s the news?”
“If Aggie tones down the makeup and changes her hairstyle, Bruce agreed to take her to Phoebe’s.”
“Phoebe’s? In Lusk?” Tonya’s shoulders slumped. “But that’s a diner—with a counter and stools. I wanted him to take her to some sophisticated restaurant in Cheyenne with linen tablecloths and good silverware.”
“It’s a start, okay? You wouldn’t believe how much I had to talk him into this. And we settled on Tuesday night, mainly so he couldn’t change his mind.”
“Tuesday? You mean tomorrow night?”
“Exactly. Do you think she can be ready by then?”
Tonya glanced at Aggie’s green teased-up hair, her green eyelids decorated with silver sparkles, her wrinkled rouged cheeks and orange lips. Dropping her voice, Tonya spoke into the phone. “She’ll be ready. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Good. Uh, Tonya—Bruce has a stipulation for this date. He wants you and me to go along.”
Tonya frowned. “Why? Do they need chaperones?”
Murray chuckled. “Not as chaperones, Tonya—as a double date. You know—Aggie and Bruce, you and me.” He paused. “Would you be willing to be my date tomorrow night?”
Tonya’s lips parted. A date with Murray Twichell?
“It was Bruce’s idea,” he continued. “I think he’s nervous about dating Aggie—or Agatha, as he calls her. He probably wants us to be there in case he runs out of things to say.”
Listening to Murray’s smooth baritone voice in her ear, Tonya’s defenses weakened. Why shouldn’t she go on a date with him? They were good friends now. “Sure, Murray, I’ll be your date.”
“Thanks.” He sounded relieved. “Bruce and I already talked about the car situation. At first he wanted to drive his Buick so he’d have something to do while we traveled, but I talked him out of it. Now I’m going to drive my SUV, and Bruce will sit in the back with Aggie.”
“That’s good.” Tonya couldn’t imagine sitting with Murray in the backseat for a half hour with nothing to do.
“Here’s another stipulation Bruce wants—I’m to pick you up first, then we’ll drive to his house to pick him up, and then go to Aggie’s house. So we’ll pick her up last and drop her off first.”
Tonya puffed out a laugh. “Boy, he must be nervous.” But if Bruce had stipulations, why couldn’t she? “Um, Murray, if you want me to go with you, I don’t want to go to Phoebe’s. Let’s go to the Four Seasons in Cheyenne.”
“Are you crazy? That’s the most expensive restaurant in the city.”
“Which is exactly why we should go there.” She took a deep breath. “Bruce needs to show Aggie that she’s worth spending money on.” And so am I.
“I don’t know if Bruce will agree to that.”
Tonya raised her eyebrows. “We’ll surprise him. After all, Murray, you’re the driver.”
“A surprise, huh?” She heard the smile in his voice. “All right, Tonya. We’ll do it. Could I pick you up at five?”
“How about five thirty? I have to work until five, although I have a feeling I’ll spend most of the day working on Aggie’s hair and makeup.”
“Five thirty, then, at your house. Be sure to tell Aggie.”
“I’ll give her the message. Uh, Murray, now I have a question for you.”
“What’s up?”
“It’s about the secret pal thing. You sent me a card last week with very wavery handwriting.” She gave a little laugh. “I thought it was from Horace Frankenberg, but it must have been from you.”
“So that’s why you thought Horace was your secret pal.”
“Did you write that card, Murray?”
“No, I was visiting my mom in the nursing home, and I asked her to sign it.”
“Oh.” No wonder it looked like it was written by an eighty-year-old person. Mrs. Twichell must not be eighty yet, but she had Parkinson’s, which made her hands shake.
A strong desire came over Tonya to see Mrs. Twichell again. Perhaps she could talk Derek into letting the Single Servings visit the nursing home in Douglas one of these days. “That was nice of your mom to write the card. Thank her for me.”
“I’ll do that.” He paused. “Well, I’ll pick you up at five thirty tomorrow, and you don’t have to change a thing for me. I mean—don’t whip your hair up into a honeycomb.”
She laughed. “It’s a beehive, but don’t worry. I would never tease up my hair like that.”
He chuckled. “Until tomorrow then.”
Bidding him good-bye, Tonya hung up a
nd glanced at Aggie. She already knew how she would change Aggie’s hairstyle and makeup. This date with Bruce was so important. It might even be a turning point for them.
Tonya was glad she would be along. Now she could witness Bruce’s reaction to the new and improved Aggie firsthand. And she and Murray hadn’t argued for weeks.
It would be an interesting evening.
Chapter 13
That evening Tonya stood to stretch in front of her computer as she waited for Poe’s next comment to pop up. They had been IMing for an hour already.
Poe: Let’s share a secret or two that we want to keep private. OK?
Tonya took her seat. A secret? Well, why not? She began to type.
Tonya: OK, you go first.
Poe: My mom taught me to crochet when I was a kid, and to be honest, I really like it. Sometimes I’ll grab a ball of yarn and a crochet hook while I’m watching an old movie, just to have something to do with my hands.
Tonya: You’re kidding!
Poe: Don’t tell anyone! It will ruin my macho image.
With a laugh, she shook her head.
Tonya: How can I tell anyone? No one knows who you are.
Poe: I do have that advantage. What’s your secret?
Tonya: Warts! When I was a little girl, someone threw a toad down my shirt, and that toad gave me warts on my fingers.
Poe: Warts, huh? Was this “someone” a little boy who wanted the attention of a pretty little girl?
Tonya frowned. That’s exactly what Aggie had said in Murray’s defense.
Tonya: How did you know?
Poe: It’s a common pastime of young boys—tormenting little girls they like. Ten years later, they change their tactics and give flowers.
Tonya: LOL. Now I want you to share another secret. What do you look like? Describe your face to me.
Smiling, she sat back. It would be interesting to see him get out of this one.
Poe: I am seven shades of ugly.
Tonya: No you’re not. Who do you look like?
Poe: Reed Dickens.
Tonya’s eyes widened. Was Poe actually Reed Dickens in disguise? That would be horrible! I don’t even like Reed!
Tonya: Tell me the truth—R U Reed?
Poe: You asked me who I looked like.
Tonya: Do you really look like him?
Poe: Hey, I’m seven shades of ugly, remember? But Reed can’t help it if he’s handsome. He’s a great guy, too. Don’t you think?
Tonya: No! I invited him to our house once, and he totally ignored me.
Poe: How could he ignore a beautiful woman like you?
Tonya: All he talked about was his ex-girlfriend. Then he claimed to be the great-grandson of Charles Dickens, and I believed him!
Poe: Haha! You should have beat the dickens out of him.
Tonya: Very funny.
Poe: Did I tell you I’m the great-grandson of Edgar Allan Poe?
Tonya: Very big LOL! I don’t believe you for a second.
Poe: Smart gal.
Five minutes later Poe signed off. Tonya was sorry to see him go, but she had to get to bed. Tomorrow was a big day. Aggie needed to look perfect for Bruce, and Tonya couldn’t wait to visit the Four Seasons restaurant. A buzz of excitement ran through her. Tomorrow night would be not only interesting, but also fun.
Murray picked up the crochet hook from the end table. Why had he told Tonya he liked to crochet? No one knew about that hidden talent. But it didn’t matter. She’d never find out he was her secret admirer.
He turned off the lamp beside the sofa. He couldn’t believe Tonya still held that toad incident against him. They were just kids!
With a shake of his head, he trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. Work started at seven in the morning with road patrol. And then he had a hot date tomorrow night.
The next morning Tonya pushed the accelerator as she raced along Antelope Road. Why didn’t she get up the minute her alarm clock rang? Instead she hit the SNOOZE button—only it wasn’t the SNOOZE button. She shut the thing off. If Mom hadn’t woken her, she’d probably still be sleeping.
She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Already ten minutes after nine and she needed to fix Aggie’s hair and makeup today besides taking care of any customers who might wander into the Beauty Spot.
Good thing it wasn’t snowing.
Pressing her lips together, Tonya tightened her grip on the steering wheel and pushed her right foot closer to the floorboard. As she sped past Road 334, the dirt road that led to the Carltons’ ranch, she noticed a car in her peripheral vision.
A Wyoming highway patrol car.
A sinking feeling hit her stomach, and she glanced in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, red and blue lights began flashing as the car pulled onto Antelope Road.
Not again!
Slowing down, she pulled off to the side. The patrol car stopped behind her, the lights still flashing. Through the rearview mirror, she watched the patrolman exit his car, and her jaw dropped. She would recognize that auburn hair anywhere—hair she had cut!
Clamping her lips together, she hit the window button. She would give Murray a piece of her mind. How dare he give her a ticket when they were going out tonight!
But as he approached, she reconsidered. Truthfully, she had been going way too fast, and Murray was just doing his job, as he told her before. With a humble attitude, perhaps she could talk him out of a ticket.
Tonya leaned out the window. “Murray, I’m sorry! Please don’t ticket me. I accidentally overslept this morning, and I need to get to the Beauty Spot to work on Aggie’s hair for tonight. So please, please let me go. Have mercy on me!”
Murray leaned one arm on the top of her car and gazed down at her. “I seem to recall this exact scene happening last December over on Main Street, but I don’t think you learned your lesson, Tonya. Just now you were going eighty-one in a sixty-five zone.” He raised his eyebrows. “In other words, you were breaking the law.”
Folding her arms, all repentance fled. “I’m sorry, okay?”
“You don’t sound sorry.”
“Come on, Murray! Can’t you let me off today? Please? I’ve already donated to the state of Wyoming.”
“That was last year. As I said before, you’ve deserved a ticket many times when I’ve let you go.” He held out his palm. “Now hand over your driver’s license and registration.”
“And then, after he gave me that stupid ticket, he had the audacity to say, ‘I’ll pick you up at five thirty. I’m looking forward to our date tonight.” “ Tonya squirted dark-blond hair dye on Aggie’s wet hair. “Can you believe that? As if I’m looking forward to dating him after he tickets me. And now I have to pay another eighty-five dollars to the state of Wyoming.”
Sitting in the beautician chair, Aggie looked at Tonya in the mirror. “You just forget about that ticket, sugar. We’ll all have a good time tonight.”
“Easy for you to say.” Tonya huffed out a breath. “You’d better keep an eye on me, Aggie. I might pull a butter knife on Murray and end up behind bars.”
Aggie cackled out a laugh. “Oh, sugar, you’ll have fun. Just like me. I’m praying for a wonderful time—in fact, a life-changing time with my Bruce.”
“Your Bruce, is it?” In spite of her bad mood, Tonya smiled. “Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a bit?”
“Not at all.” Aggie’s pale lips, devoid of lipstick, pulled into a frown. “I’ve been praying about Bruce and me for years. Waiting on the Lord—and on Bruce, too. And see how God has answered?” She laughed again. “We’ll have so much fun, Bruce will be shocked. He’ll see what he’s been missing all these years. And it will be the same for you and your Murray.”
“He’s not my Murray.” Tonya set the bottle of hair solution down, thankful she didn’t have to breathe those ammonia fumes anymore.
Aggie gave her a knowing look. “Maybe someday.”
“No way. This will be my one and only date with Murray Twichell. After tonigh
t you and Bruce are on your own.” She lifted the timer and set it. “Forty minutes, Aggie. While we’re waiting, I’ll do your nails.”
Picking up a nail file, Tonya pushed Murray from her mind. At least she didn’t have to deal with him until five thirty.
Chapter 14
Sitting behind the steering wheel of his SUV, Murray glanced sideways at his date. Tonya had not smiled once since he arrived at her house. Now they were driving to Bruce’s ranch, which was four miles southwest of town, and she sat on the passenger side with her arms folded, holding a grudge.
The silence was awkward.
“Uh, Tonya, I know I’ll see Aggie in a little while, but how did you fix her hair and makeup? Do you think Bruce will like it?”
Tonya’s own makeup was flawless, as usual, and her dark hair looked perfect. She wore a blue dress that shimmered when she moved, along with the sapphire necklace he had given her. Murray certainly enjoyed the view of his date, although the conversation was less than stellar.
“Bruce will love her style.” Tonya kept her eyes on the windshield, but the hint of a smile graced her rosebud lips. “You won’t believe she’s the same person when you see her. I permed her hair and teased it a few inches—instead of a foot, like she does.” She turned toward him. “But it’s the makeup that really improves her looks. I chose a foundation that matched her skin tone exactly, with deeper rouge for her cheeks and a dark-plum lipstick. Then I worked on her eyes—much more subtle than the way she paints them. No sparkles or loud colors. Instead I chose a tan for her lids with a light mauve under her brows to highlight and a dark-brown mascara.”
Murray had no idea what she was talking about, and furthermore, he didn’t care. He was just thankful she was talking. “That’s great, Tonya. You must be good at that sort of thing.”
“ ‘That sort of thing’ is very important, Murray. A woman’s makeup can make a real difference in her looks.”
He grinned. “I bet you’re just as beautiful without any makeup at all.”
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