“We need to talk,” Sam interrupted, gripping her arm when she tried to break away.
“I thought I’d be around for a while. Give my boy some lessons in tapping into his feelings, finding his passion and all that.” Joe gave Sam a hearty thump on the back. “After that little display, I think he may have wised up on his own. You’re good for him, Julia. Real good.”
Sam’s hold on her loosened. He studied his father. “You mean one kiss convinced you I can do without a dose of your emotional mumbo jumbo?”
Julia swatted his arm. “That’s your father. Show some respect.”
Sam shot her a withering look. “I’ll remember that the next time your mom’s around.”
Joe laughed and wrapped them in another hug. “Not just any kiss. It’s different when you kiss the one. Trust me, I know. I bet they could see the sparks flying between the two of you clear down to the coast.”
Looking into Joe’s trusting face, she couldn’t let Sam’s father pin his hopes on her. She had to tell him the truth.
“Mr. Callahan, I don’t—”
“You’re right, Dad,” Sam agreed. “It’s different with Julia. I’m different, and I don’t want you to worry about me anymore.” He pinched the tip of Julia’s nose, a little harder than necessary if you asked her.
“Ouch.”
“Such a delicate flower.” He laughed and dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. “What would I do without you?”
“Troll for women over in Charlotte?” she offered.
“See why I need her by my side?”
Joe nodded. “I do.”
Sam turned to Julia and rubbed his warm hands down her arms. “Where are you parked?”
Julia pointed to the blue Jetta a few spaces down from where they stood, her mind still reeling.
“Perfect. I’m going to walk Dad back to the hotel and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
She didn’t like the look in his eye. “I’m kind of busy at the salon tomorrow.”
“Never too busy for your one true love.”
Julia stifled the urge to gag. “I guess not.”
“Get going, then, sugar.” He pinched her bottom, making her yelp. She rounded on him but, at the calculating gleam in his eye, turned back toward her car. Sam and his dad watched until she’d pulled out.
Despite this peculiar evening, his announcement had served its purpose. Lexi Preston had said having Sam in the picture might change things. That could be the understatement of the year, but if it kept Charlie safe, Julia would make it work.
No matter what.
* * *
Sam took a fortifying drink of coffee and watched as another woman walked through the door of The Best Little Hairhouse. He knew Julia had worked at the salon since her return to Brevia two years ago, but that wasn’t why he avoided this place like the plague. It was too girlie for him. The bottles of hair product and little rows of nail polish on the shelves gave him the heebie-jeebies.
The one time he’d ventured into the Hairhouse, after the owner had reported a man lurking in the back alley, he’d felt like a prize steer come up for auction.
He adjusted the brim of his hat, buttoned his jacket against the late-morning rain and started across the street. He’d put the visit off until almost lunchtime, irritated with himself at how much he wanted to see Julia again. Part of him wanted to blame her for making him crazy, but another piece, the part he tried to ignore, wanted to get close enough to her to smell the scent of sunshine on her hair.
He scrubbed a hand across his face. Sunshine on her hair? What the hell was that about? Women didn’t smell like sunshine. She worked at a salon and probably had a ton of gunk in her hair at any given moment. Although the way the strands had felt soft on his fingers when he’d bent to kiss her last night told another story.
One he wasn’t interested in reading. Or so he told himself.
Sam opened the front door and heard a blood-curdling scream from behind the wall at the reception desk. He jerked to attention. He might not spend a lot of time in beauty salons but could guarantee that sound wasn’t typical.
“I’m going to choke the life out of her,” a woman yelled, “as soon as my nails dry.”
Nope. Something wasn’t right.
He glanced at the empty reception desk then stepped through the oversized doorway that led to the main room.
A pack of women huddled around one of the chairs, Julia in the center of the mix.
“Is there a problem here, ladies?”
Seven pairs of eyes, ranging from angry to horrified, turned to him.
“Sam, thank the Lord you’re here.”
“You would not believe what happened.”
“Congrats on your engagement, Chief.”
The last comment produced silence from the group. He met Julia’s exasperated gaze. “Not a good time,” she mouthed and turned back to the center of the cluster, only to be pushed aside by a woman with a black smock draped around her considerable girth. Sam tried not to gape at her head, where the neat curls framing her face glowed an iridescent pink.
“There will be time for celebrating later. I want that woman arrested,” Ida Garvey announced. Sam was used to Ida issuing dictatorial commands. She was the wealthiest woman in town, thanks to a generous inheritance from her late husband. Other than the clown hair, she looked like a picture-perfect grandma, albeit one with a sharp tongue and a belief that she ruled the world.
For an instant, he thought she was pointing at Julia. Then he noticed the young woman hunched in the corner, furiously wiping tears from her cheeks.
“Ida, don’t be a drama queen.” Julia shook her head. “No one is being arrested. Accidents happen. We’ll fix it, but—”
“She turned my hair pink!” With a screech, Ida vaulted from the chair and grabbed a curling iron from a stand. “I’m going to kill her!” Ida lunged toward the cowering woman, but Julia stepped into her path. The curling iron dropped, the barrel landing on Julia’s arm before clattering to the floor.
Julia bit out an oath and Ida screamed again. “Look what you made me do,” she bellowed at the now-sobbing stylist. “I burned her.”
Sam strode forward with a new appreciation for the simplicity of breaking up a drunken bar brawl. Ida looked into his face then staggered back, one hand fluttering to her chest. “Are you gonna arrest me, Chief?”
“Sit down, Mrs. Garvey.” He waved at the group of women. “All of you, back off. Now.”
Ida plopped back into the chair as the group fell silent again.
Julia winced as he took her arm in his hands. A crimson mark slashed across her wrist, the skin already raised and angry. “Where’s a faucet?”
“I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Happens all the time.”
“I sure as hell hope not.”
“Not exactly like this. I can use the sink in back.” She tugged her arm but he didn’t let go.
“Don’t anyone move,” he ordered the women. “That means you, Ida.”
“I don’t need your help,” Julia ground out as he followed her to the back of the salon.
“You aren’t leaving me alone with that crowd.”
“Not so brave now.” Julia fumbled with the tap.
He nudged her out of the way. “I’ll do it. Nice ring. I have good taste.”
“I had it from... Well, it doesn’t matter.” Her cheeks flamed as she glanced at the diamond sparkling on her left hand. “I thought I should wear something until we had a chance to figure things out. Fewer questions that way. You know how nosy people are, especially in the salon.”
They needed to talk, but Sam couldn’t get beyond Julia being hurt, even by a curling iron. “Tell me what happened.”
“Crystal, the one in the corner, is our newest stylist. Ida
came in without an appointment and she was the only one available. When she went to mix the color, Ida started barking orders. Crystal got so nervous, she mixed it wrong. Instead of a fluffy white cotton ball, Mrs. Garvey’s head is now glowing neon pink.”
Sam hid a smile as he drew her arm under the faucet and adjusted the temperature. She closed her eyes and sighed as cold water washed over the burn. He drew small circles on her palm, amazed at the softness of her skin under the pad of his thumb.
After a moment he asked, “Do you want to press charges?”
Her eyes flew open, and then she smiled at his expression. “Assault with a deadly styling tool? No, thanks.”
Her smile softened the angles of her face, made her beauty less ethereal and more earthy. God help him, he loved earthy.
She must have read something in his eyes because she yanked her hand away and flipped off the water. “I need to get out there before Ida goes after Crystal again.”
“Did you hire Crystal?”
“About three weeks ago. She came over from Memphis right out of school to stay with her aunt and needs a break...” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “You think I’m an idiot for hiring a girl with so little experience.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Everyone thinks Val’s a fool to leave me in charge. They’re waiting for me to mess up.” She wrapped her arms around her waist then flinched when the burn touched her sweater. “And here I am.”
Sam knew Val Dupree, the Hairhouse’s longtime owner, was planning to retire, and Julia was working to secure a loan to buy the business. She was acting as the salon’s manager while Val spent the winter in Florida. “No one expects you to mess up.”
“You’ve been in town long enough to know what people think of me.”
The words held no malice, but she said them with a quiet conviction. Sam wanted to take her in his arms to soothe her worry and at the same time shake some sense into her. “Was it a mistake to hire Crystal?”
“No.” She looked at him as though she expected an argument. When he offered none she continued, “She’s good. Or she will be. I know it.”
“Then we’d better make sure Ida Garvey doesn’t attack your future star again.”
“Right.” She led him back into the main salon, where Ida still pinned Crystal to the wall with her angry stare. Everyone else’s attention was fixed on Julia and Sam.
Julia glanced over her shoulder. “It’s been twenty questions about our relationship all morning.”
He nodded. “Let’s take on one disaster at a time.”
She squared her shoulders and approached Mrs. Garvey, no trace of self-doubt evident. “Ida, I’m sorry.” She bent in front of the chair and took the older woman’s hands in hers. “I’m going to clear my schedule for the afternoon and make your hair better than before. You’ll get three months’ worth of free services for your trouble.”
Mrs. Garvey patted her pink hair. “That would help.”
“Lizzy?” Julia called. A young woman peeked around the doorway from the front of the salon. “Would you reschedule the rest of my clients? Everyone else, back to work.”
“I’m sorry,” Crystal said from the corner, taking a step toward Julia.
Ida shifted in the chair. “Don’t you come near me.”
Sam moved forward but Julia simply patted Ida’s fleshy arm. “Take the rest of the day off, Crystal. I’ll see you back here in the morning.”
“Day off?” Ida screeched. “You’re going to fire her, aren’t you? Val would have fired her on the spot!”
Color rose in Julia’s cheeks but she held her ground. “No, Mrs. Garvey. Crystal made a mistake.”
“She’s a menace. I knew she was doing it wrong from the start.”
“She made a mistake,” Julia repeated. “In part because you didn’t let her do her job.” She looked at Crystal. “Go on, hon. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“I have half a mind to call Val Dupree this minute and tell her how you’re going to run her business into the ground.”
“I’d watch what you say right now, Mrs. Garvey.” Sam pointed to her hair. “Julia may leave you pink if you’re not careful.”
“She wouldn’t dare.” But Ida shut her mouth, chewing furiously on her bottom lip.
“Get comfortable,” Julia told her. “We’ll be here for a while.”
She turned to Sam. “I think your work here is done, Chief.”
He leveled a steely look at her. “We’re not finished.”
“Unless you want to pull up a chair next to Ida we are. The longer that color sits on her hair, the harder time I’ll have getting it out.”
“You don’t play fair.”
Her eyes glinted. “I never have.”
Chapter Three
Julia rubbed her nose against Charlie’s dimpled neck and was rewarded by a soft belly laugh. “Who’s my best boy?” she asked and kissed the top of his head.
“Charlie,” he answered in his sweet toddler voice.
“Thanks for keeping him today, Lainey.” Julia’s younger sister and their mother, Vera, took turns watching Charlie on the days when his normal babysitter was unavailable. “Things were crazy today at work.”
She couldn’t imagine balancing everything without her family’s help. Two years ago, Julia’s relationship with Lainey had been almost nonexistent. Thanks in large part to Charlie, she now felt a sisterly bond she hadn’t realized was missing from her life.
“Crazy, how?” Lainey asked from where she stirred a pot of soup at the stove.
“Ida Garvey ended up with hair so pink it looked like cotton candy.”
Lainey’s mouth dropped open.
“She freaked out, as you can imagine.” Charlie scrambled off her lap to play with a toy fire truck on the kitchen floor. “It took the whole afternoon to make it better.”
“I thought you meant crazy like telling people about your secret boyfriend and his public proposal.” Lainey turned and pointed a wooden spoon at Julia as if it were a weapon. “I can’t believe I didn’t even know you two were dating.”
Julia groaned at the accusation in her sister’s tone and the hurt that shadowed her green eyes. When she’d gone along with Sam’s fake proposal last night, Julia hadn’t thought about the repercussions of people believing them. Thinking things through wasn’t her strong suit.
She didn’t talk about her years away from Brevia with Lainey or their mother. They had some inkling of her penchant for dating losers and changing cities at the end of each bad relationship. When the going got tough, it had always seemed easier to move on than stick it out.
From the outside, Julia knew she appeared to have it together. She was quick with a sarcastic retort that made people believe life’s little setbacks didn’t affect her. She’d painted herself as the free spirit who wouldn’t be tied to anyone or any place.
But her devil-may-care mask hid a deeply rooted insecurity that, if someone really got to know her, she wouldn’t measure up. Because of her learning disabilities and in so many other ways.
Her struggles to read and process numbers at the most basic level had defined who she was for years. The shame she felt, as a result, was part of the very fiber of her being. She’d been labeled stupid and lazy, and despite what anyone told her to the contrary, she couldn’t shake the belief that it was true.
Maybe that was why she picked men who were obviously bad bets. Maybe that was why she’d been a mean girl in high school—to keep people at arm’s length so she wouldn’t have a chance of being rejected.
She wondered for a moment how it would feel to confide the entire complicated situation to Lainey. For one person to truly understand her problem. She ached to lean in for support as fear weighed on her heart. But as much as they’d worked to repair their fractured relationship, J
ulia still couldn’t tell her sister how scared she was of failing at what meant the most to her in life: being a mother to Charlie.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for half the town to find out at Carl’s.” No one in her family even knew about Jeff’s interest in a new custody arrangement.
She stood, trying to come up with a plausible reason she wouldn’t have shared big boyfriend news. “My track record with guys is common knowledge, and I didn’t want Sam to have people beating down his door to warn him away from me.”
Lainey’s gaze turned sympathetic. “Oh, Jules. When Ethan and I first got back together I didn’t want anyone to know, either. I felt like the town would hold my past mistakes against me and you were back and... Never mind now. I’m going to forgive you because it’s so wonderful.” She threw her arms around Julia. “Everyone loves Sam, so...” Lainey’s voice trailed off.
Julia’s stomach turned with frustration. “So, what? By default people are suddenly going to open their arms to me?”
Lainey shrugged. “It can’t hurt. Do you have a date?”
“For what?”
Lainey pushed away. “The wedding, silly. You’ll get married in Brevia, right?”
Julia blinked. “I suppose so. We’re taking the planning slowly. I want a long engagement. It’ll be better for Charlie.”
“Sure.” Lainey frowned but went back to the stove.
“Just enjoying each other and all that,” Julia added quickly, guilt building with every lie she told. “So in love. You know.”
“I want to be involved in the planning.”
“Of course. We can have a girls’ day out to look for dresses and stuff.” With each detail, the difficulty of deceiving her family became more apparent.
She reminded herself that it was only for a short time, and she was protecting everyone from the stress of the custody fight. “I should go. Thanks to the commotion today, I’m late on the product order I should have sent. If Charlie goes down early enough, I’ll be able to get it in tomorrow morning. A night full of numbers, lucky me.”
“Do you want some help?”
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