Kiss And Dwell (41 page)

“
Yeah. And then, more than likely, they
’
ll give me the next hurdle for us to
climb. But at least we
’
ll be one step closer.
”

“
And
Roussel
will be one step further away.
”
Dax
smirked.

“
Exactly.
”
Nan nodded for emphasis as she dropped the phone back in her purse
and prepared, once again, to leave.
“
You guys have a great day. I
’
ll call and
let you know what happens with the roof.
”
She left the kitchen, and Monique
stood to follow.

“
And I hope your day goes well, too,
”
Monique said, giving
Dax
a soft kiss on
the cheek on her way out.

She heard his reply through the sound of the back door slamming against the
frame.

“
You, too, sis. I hope your day is great.
”

Within minutes, she had her Mustang cruising at a nice pace along the familiar
curves of River Road, levee on her right and an eclectic mix of houses on her
left. Modern homes mingled with antebellum plantations, with trailers and shacks
interspersed throughout. Some were in prime condition, others were barely
standing. Life and time had affected each one, some adversely, some favorably;
it all depended on the circumstances behind the family and the home.

Life and time had affected her, too, and Ryan. His life, taken from him so
quickly, and her time, the time she still had to endure before she saw him
again.

She neared one of the largest plantation homes on the stretch of asphalt between
Montz
and Ormond. It was in the barely standing category, in about the same
condition as the
Vicknair
plantation, minus the new roof. Would it ever be the
same again?

And would Monique ever be the same again?

She turned off River Road to head toward her shop and wasn
’
t surprised to see
Inez
’
s old green Plymouth Fury parked outside, the voodoo charms capturing the
sunlight as they dangled from the mirror. At least Inez would be more
comfortable at the shop this week, with no more ghostly visits from Ryan.

Monique parked next to Inez
’
s clunker, turned off the ignition, then sat for a
moment to think about last week and this weekend. Thank goodness it wasn
’
t
raining. She needed a little time before she felt raindrops on her skin and
remembered Ryan
’
s interpretation of the other side of a raindrop. Maybe the
powers that be could hold the rain at bay for a while, at least the rain around
her small portion of Louisiana.

Deciding she might as well officially start her day, she climbed from the car
and entered the shop to find Inez leaning over the shampoo bowl dousing her
black mane and a large portion of the floor around the sink.

Monique hurriedly dropped her purse at her station.
“
I
’
m only five minutes
late,
”
she said.
“
Couldn
’
t you wait before you tried to flood the shop?
”

Inez cackled, then lifted the sprayer to Monique, only she forgot to turn the
thing off and ended up drenching the front of Monique
’
s dress.

“
It
’
s a good thing you
’
re the best nail sculptor around, lady,
”
Monique said,
turning the powerful spray back toward Inez
’
s head.
“
Or you
’
d be fired.
”

“
Phft
,
”
Inez said, swiveling around so her head faced the ceiling and her hair
flopped into the sink.
“
You all talk,
chère
—
”
She put a wet finger on Monique
’
s
lower lip.
“
—and your
bahbin
is still hanging.
”

“
Well, forgive me if I
’
m not going to apologize for pouting. I
’
m having a rough
day.
”
Monique squirted a glob of conditioner in her hands and ran it through
Inez
’
s hair.

Inez
tsked
loudly, then opened her big black eyes wide.
“
No ghosts today,
”
she
said matter-of-factly.

“
You
’
re right. None today,
”
Monique said, inhaling the apple fragrance while
rinsing Inez
’
s hair. She turned off the faucet and squeezed the excess moisture
away, then grabbed a white towel from the stack behind the counter.

“
It
’
ll be okay,
”
Inez said, patting Monique
’
s hand as she secured the towel
around her head.

“
I know,
”
Monique admitted, and forced a smile.
“
But it
’
s going to take a little
time.
”
She guided Inez to her station then located Inez
’
s color, jet-black.

Evidently realizing Monique wasn
’
t in the mood for talking, Inez sat silent
while Monique concentrated on coloring her hair and didn
’
t say a word until
Monique prepared to section off Inez
’
s trademark platinum streak to keep its
color.

“
Go on an
’
change it, too,
”
Inez said.
“
All black.
”

Surprised, Monique looked in the mirror.
“
You sure? You
’
ve had your racing
stripe for as long as I
’
ve known you. It
’
ll change your look.
”

“
I
’
m sure,
chère
. Tired of same ol
’
ting.
”

“
Okay,
”
Monique said, blending the platinum section into the bulk of her hair
and distributing the black color over the pale strands.
“
I sure hope you don
’
t
change your mind.
”

“
No.
”
Inez closed her eyes while Monique finished the color treatment.

In less than an hour, Monique moved Inez to the shampoo bowl for a rinse. She
sprayed a small amount of water into her hair then lathered the color before
rinsing it away.

Monique had worked with hair long enough to know something was wrong, and she
feared she knew exactly what it was.
“
Oh no,
”
she whispered.

“
Hmm?
”
Inez said, as Monique quickly wrapped her head in a towel.

“
Inez, you
’
ve never mentioned having any trouble with your hair taking color
before. You would
’
ve told me if there was a problem, right? I mean, well, are
you taking any strong medications or anything that could have made the chemicals
react—adversely?
”
She was horrified at what had happened to Inez
’
s beautiful
hair. Sure, Monique
’
s color treatments were always a little off when she had a
spirit coming, but never like this. Oh, how Monique hoped she wasn
’
t responsible
for this. The thought of taking care of another ghost now made her feel sick.

Inez jumped up from the chair and hurried to the nearest mirror, unwrapped the
towel and let it fall to the floor.

“
Mais
,
jamais
d
’
la
vie!
”
she exclaimed, eyeing the hair that, even wet, was
undeniably red. And Monique knew, if it was that red when wet, it would only be
more vivid when dry.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
Monique said, chewing on her lower lip and wondering if there
would be any way to fix the flamboyance of Inez
’
s head now.

Inez lifted her hair to make sure the entire bounty was the same gaudy hue, then
she looked at Monique, and her round face split into a grin.
“
S
’
okay,
chère
. I
wanted change, and gar
ici
, change I got. And
dis
my fault, too. Not jus you. I
only mess up my hair one time, when I got me a color right after I did a big
chant. An
’
I did a chant
dis
morning.
”

“
A chant?
”
Monique shook her head while Inez plopped in the chair at her
station. Trying not to panic at the hideous mess on her employee
’
s head, she
grabbed a brush and gently worked it through Inez
’
s flaming hair.
“
What do you
mean, Inez?
”

“
Voodoo. I did a chant
dis
morning, one
Mamere
taught me, to help keep bad tings
from you today. I know you were some
kinda
sad, but I forgot about
da
color.
”

“
I burn when a ghost is coming, and you mess with your body
’
s natural chemicals
when you play around with voodoo,
”
Monique said, thinking that they were more
alike than she had ever realized before.

“
Ahh
,
”
Inez said, though Monique didn
’
t know if she was really paying attention
.

She seemed very intent on examining, and apparently admiring, her hair.

“
You
’
re really okay with this?
”
Monique asked, amazed.

“
Yes.
”
Inez smiled again.

“
Really?
”
The jingling bell on the salon door announced that someone had
entered.
“
Oh dear, I forgot to lock it. I
’
ll be right back.
”

“
I like it,
”
Inez muttered, as Monique left her station to see what their
visitor wanted. She hated turning a customer away, but she really hadn
’
t planned
to do anyone
’
s hair after finishing with Inez. She wanted to stay in the shop
and mope. Maybe this customer would be willing to come back another day. She
started toward the front of the shop, but halted when her phone began to ring.

“
Wan
’
me to get it?
”
Inez asked.

“
No, I
’
ll get it,
”
Monique said, then called out toward the waiting customer,
“
Just a minute. I
’
ll be right there.
”
She picked up the ringing phone.
“
Hello?
”

“
We did it!
”
Nan yelled.
“
We passed!
”

Monique smiled—she
’
d so needed some good news today.
“
That
’
s wonderful, Nan. I
can
’
t believe it. We did it, didn
’
t we? All of us together.
”
And Ryan.

“
We sure did. Gage was here when I got the news. He came over because he thinks
he is going to get an assignment tonight; he said he
’
s heard ghosts all day
.

Well, one ghost, and he said it
’
s a woman, and it
’
s a stronger pull than usual
.

Guess this place is going to stay busy.
”

“
A stronger pull?
”
Monique asked, remembering how strong a pull Ryan had when he
came. Was Gage getting a ghost that would affect him like Ryan affected her?

“
Yeah. I
’
m sure he
’
ll tell us more after she comes. But anyway, you
’
re the first
one I called, so I need to keep spreading the word. Isn
’
t this amazing,
Monique?
”

“
Very amazing,
”
Monique agreed, then remembered what Nan had said this morning
.

If they passed the roof inspection, the society would probably give them another
chore to verify they were working toward restoration.
“
Nan?
”