The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (12 page)

Agnes started toward her mouth with a forkful of potato salad. “You’ll get over it.”

“I’m not so sure. That damned sign is still out there for the whole world to see. That cake looks good.” Stella headed to the back room under the pretense of getting a piece of it, but what she really wanted was a moment of peace and maybe to make a phone call.

She poured a cup of coffee and carried it to the small table that they used as a place to eat as well as a place to spread out their papers for business. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Piper and Agnes were arguing about Rhett in the other room. Charlotte, the peacemaker, was trying to change the subject, bless her heart.

There was no way Nancy would ever quit the Angels. She’d be one of those who stuck with it until the day she died. And then the members would all gather in Nancy’s kitchen to heat up casseroles and help Everett get through the tough time. Floy and Heather would boss everyone else who stopped by to comfort Stella and Everett.

She slowly shook her head. It wasn’t happening like that when her mother passed. No, sirree! She and her father would lock the doors and tell the whole bunch of them to go straight to hell. If it became an issue, they’d post Agnes Flynn on the front porch with her shotgun. She’d gladly take care of turning Violet away if Stella asked her.

After all, redheads stuck together.

A blast of hot air shot across the back room when the door into the alley opened. Only the girls, Agnes occasionally, and the delivery guys came in that way, so Stella didn’t even look up. But when Jed wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her on that soft part of her neck right under her ear, she jumped like she’d been caught making out on the back row of church during services.

“I’ve got a free haircut ticket in my pocket,” he whispered. “I came to collect.”

“Sign on the door says we don’t do men’s haircuts anymore.” She turned enough that she could tangle her fingers in his hair and bring his lips down to hers for a long, lingering kiss.

“Then I guess I’ll have to collect on it in private. Maybe tonight at the parsonage?” He picked her up and sat down in the chair with her in his lap. “Or maybe we’ll meet back here. Have you ever had sex on the sofa in the shop?”

“No,” she gasped.

“Then we’ll have to try it out.”

“Is someone back there?” Piper yelled. “If it’s the delivery guy from the beauty supply, I need six extra perms this next week.”

“It’s not him, but I’ll leave a note.”

“Who are you talkin’ to? I swear I heard you talkin’ to someone.” Piper’s voice was louder with each word.

Jed quickly set Stella off his lap and stood up. He met Piper halfway across the floor. “Why, hello, Piper. I hope it was all right that I used the back door. I had this ticket for a free haircut but Stella just told me that y’all aren’t cutting men’s hair anymore.” He brushed past her and went into the shop. “Hello, Miz Agnes.”

“What are you doin’ here?” she asked.

“Free haircut, and I was walkin’ down the alley so I used the back door. Looks like you’re havin’ a fine lunch there.” Jed flashed his brightest smile.

“I sure am and I’m right sorry to turn down the preacher, but these girls ain’t cuttin’ men’s hair no more. You’ll have to take the ticket back to Heather and tell her to shove it—”

“Agnes!” Charlotte exclaimed.

“Shove it where the sun don’t shine. There, does that make everyone happy? I didn’t use a single cussword.”

Jed patted Agnes on the shoulder. “You did real good, Miz Agnes. See y’all in church on Sunday. I’ll be goin’ since I can’t get a free haircut. You ladies have a wonderful day.”

Stella made it to the front of the shop in time to see the door close behind Jed’s cute butt, clad in tight-fitting jeans. Stepping out on the sidewalk, he stopped and winked at her and she quickly glanced at everyone else to see if anyone saw it. Thank God, they were all busy either with work or, in Agnes’s case, stuffing the end of a hot dog into her mouth.

She glanced at the sofa and high color filled her cheeks. Sex with Jed in all that buttery softness, then cuddled up with him afterward real close because the sofa wasn’t all that wide, brought visions to her mind that would shock the cussin’ out of Agnes.

“What are you blushin’ for?” Agnes asked.

“I had to turn down the preacher. Reckon that will be a scandal?” Stella answered.

“Honey, if it ain’t a scandal in the Yellow Rose, then it’ll be one at Clawdy’s or at Bless My Bloomers. Ain’t nothin’ Cadillac likes better than a nasty old scandal.”

“Ain’t it the truth.” Stella sighed.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHT

T
he aroma of lasagna and hot bread met Stella that evening when she opened the door to her house. Her last appointment was a permanent that had kept her in the shop until six thirty, so she was hot, sweaty, and hungry.

Jed leaned against the doorjamb in the kitchen, his barbed-wire tat shining beneath the tight muscle shirt. He looked like sex on a stick and she didn’t know whether she wanted a shower, sex, or lasagna first.

He made the decision for her. “Bread has ten more minutes. Go grab a quick shower and then we’ll eat.”

With a couple of long strides he crossed the room and kissed her on the tip of her nose. He smelled like Stetson, soap, and that scent that was all his own, and she had to fight with herself not to drag him down on the floor right there and forget food and a shower.

“This is a real treat,” she whispered. “I didn’t know if you’d be able to get away tonight. You know this whole town is watching me?” She dropped her denim shorts, T-shirt, and shoes in pile at the end of the sofa and padded to the bathroom barefoot in nothing but her underpants and bra.

He followed her, laid out a towel, handed her a washcloth, and adjusted the water while she finished undressing. “I was careful. I heard that you might be interested in Rhett Monroe. Should I be jealous?”

She rolled up on her toes and kissed him hard. “I’m a married woman who is only interested in one damn fine sexy preacher.”

“Good.” He grinned.

When she finished her shower, she wrapped a towel around her wet hair and loosely belted a kimono-style terry-cloth robe around her waist. She was almost to the kitchen, where she planned to do a little strip tease with the towel and hopefully wind up having dinner sitting on his lap totally naked.

Piper poked her head out around the kitchen door and said, “Nancy’s trying to make up for putting you on the prayer list. I told you that she was sorry.”

“Why would you say that?” Stella’s heart felt like it was fighting its way out of her chest. Any minute it would throw her left breast out on the floor and land on top of it in a quivering mess. Where in the hell was Jed? Was he hiding in her bedroom?

“
Duh
, girl!” Piper said. “Lasagna is on the bar and I just took hot rolls out of the oven.”

“I thought you made all that and had run to the store for salad.” Stella was amazed that her voice was not high and squeaky.

Piper shook her head. “I just popped in to see if you wanted to go to the Rib Joint for supper. Lorene called to ask if they could keep the boys overnight so they could take them to a youth rally at their church tonight. But it looks like the magic fairy left supper for us.”

Stella’s heart settled from a full-out run to a gallop. Where was Jed? She had to get him out of the house, but first she had to find him.

“Well, the magic fairy can come around anytime he, she, or it wants to,” she said.

Piper opened the refrigerator. “Nancy is real sorry. You need to forgive her, Stella. There’s a beautiful salad all cut up pretty and sliced strawberries for shortcakes.”

A rush of hot air blew Charlotte into the house. “What’s that I smell? I came by to see if you wanted to go eat somewhere, but I’m staying here if that’s Nancy’s lasagna. I’d rather eat and then curl up on your sofa with my knitting. I finished the little hat and now I’m working on the booties. When I finish, do you want me to start another one in green or yellow?”

Stella headed toward her bedroom. “Bite your tongue if you are talking to me. But Piper has always wanted a daughter, so you could talk to her. Y’all put supper on the table while I find some clothes.”

She shut the door, looked in the closet, under the bed, and behind the drapes. She threw off the robe; jerked on underwear, a clean bright-blue tank top, and a pair of khaki shorts; and swore when she realized she’d left her purse on the sofa.

“Dammit!” She stuck her head out the door and yelled, “Charlotte, will you hand me my purse?”

Charlotte put it in her outstretched hand and said, “Tell her that we forgive her and we love her and if she wants to put us on the prayer list to go right ahead if that means she’ll cook for us.”

Piper yelled from the kitchen, “I knew you’d made up with Nancy when I smelled the lasagna.”

Stella quickly dialed Jed’s number. It rang four times before he picked up.

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” she said.

His laughter bounced out of the phone into the bedroom. “Now, that’s a story for our old age, darlin’. You’d just gotten in the shower and Piper yelled something from the living room. When she realized that you were in the shower she went straight to the kitchen. I chose my moment and slipped out the door, around the house, across a couple of yards, and came out on the next street over and jogged back to my place. Folks know I run and a couple of cars slowed down and asked if I needed a ride.”

Stella’s heart settled to a steady beat instead of a gallop.

Even his chuckle had a deep Texas drawl that flat-out set her hormones to humming. She might never forgive those two hussies for interfering with her strip tease and the hot sex afterward. Dammit! They should start sneaking into the beauty shop and using the sofa!

“It’s okay, darlin’. A long run and a cold shower will take care of things,” Jed said.

“I hate this. I’m almost ready to say to hell with it and tell the world.”

“I’m ready to do just that anytime you are.”

“We’ve come this far and it’s not much longer.” She sighed. “I can endure it until you sign the contract. Besides, they think Mama made supper as atonement for her sins. I’m going to lay the blame off on Agnes because she’s been eating everything in sight at the shop. And next week I’m changing the locks on all my doors and nailing my windows shut.”

“That’d just cause a bigger problem.” He laughed again. “If they leave early enough, call and I’ll come back over.”

“I’ll kick them out in the yard at nine if they aren’t gone. It’ll be good dark by then,” she said.

“Darlin’, we don’t have to do things this way. I mean it from the depths of my heart when I say that they can take us both or we can both leave Cadillac,” he said.

“They didn’t ask me before they put their praying panties on, so I’m not giving them any satisfaction until after that damn ball. The hiring committee meets next week. If we get caught after that, it’s okay, but it would be nice to put our names in the already-taken bowl at the barbecue ball,” Stella said.

What if it comes down to a choice? Leave with your husband or stay with your friends?
her conscience asked.

I’ll leave in a heartbeat. I love Jed, but please let Jed’s next church be close enough I can commute
, she answered silently.

“Stella, I’m so ready for you to live in the parsonage with me. I want to be married openly, not secretly,” he said seriously.

Her heart flipped twice and her pulse raced. “Me, too, but I
know that it will be better for you, for the church, and for Cadil
lac if we wait until you are hired permanently. I was thinking of announcing it at the ball. What do you think? Are you ready to say that you are married to the town’s worst sinner?”

“I will stand up in the middle of Violet’s barn and use the microphone so everyone can hear it.” He chuckled. “See you later. Love you.”

She shoved the phone back into her purse and headed for the kitchen. Piper and Charlotte had the food arranged on the bar, paper plates set at the end, and ice in red plastic disposable cups.

“So was I right? Did Nancy do this for you?”

Stella picked up a plate and cut into the lasagna with a metal server. “No, ma’am, she did not. That’s not her recipe. She always uses two kinds of cheese on the top and that’s only got one kind. I’m betting that Agnes did it as payback for all the food she’s been eating at the shop. I’ll thank her the next time she comes in, which will probably be tomorrow morning.”

“Tea?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes,” Piper and Stella said in unison.

Charlotte filled three cups and said, “How’d she get in your house? We’re the only ones with keys.”

Piper sipped tea and held up a finger on the other hand until she could swallow. “Hey, that woman can do anything. She’s Agnes-by-damn-Flynn. I wouldn’t put it past her to have bugs stuck all over town and that’s what she calls her snitch.” She took another long sip. “I was spittin’ dust. Now, back to Agnes. A locked door wouldn’t slow her down a bit, and believe me, she will find out who your boyfriend is before that blasted ball. This sure tastes like Nancy’s recipe. I wonder if Agnes talked her into making it without telling her it was for us, or maybe she told her to change it slightly.”

“Boone has a late meeting with a new client, but he should be home by eight thirty or we’d watch
Pretty Woman
and have a real girls’ night in,” Charlotte said.

Piper carried her tea and plate of food to the table. “I’d rather watch
Dirty Dancing
, but my boys will be home by nine, so we don’t have time for movies. Besides, I’d rather talk. Rhett called me.” She blurted out the last sentence.

“And?” Stella raised both eyebrows.

“He asked me out to dinner, with or without the boys, my choice.”

“And?” Charlotte’s fork stopped in midair and the lasagna fell back to her plate with a loud plopping noise.

“He’d heard that I thought he was interested in you and just coming around to get to know your friends better. He wanted to clear that up,” Piper said.

“Don’t pause or stop. Keep talking,” Stella said.

“He said that . . .” Piper blushed.

“What? Spit it out,” Charlotte said impatiently.

“That he likes tall women with some sass and he admired me for not letting Gene get away with cheating on me. Crazy thing is that I don’t know if he did cheat on me—that part could be gossip.” Tears flooded her face and dripped off her jaw onto her shirt, leaving wet polka dots on the cotton fabric. “Not knowing is as bad as knowing.”

“Cheating on you? Of course he did. He was just sneaky enough that we don’t know for sure, but think about it. All those late nights at work and those weekends he went fishing but didn’t bring a thing home, not even a sunburn and chigger bites.” Stella’s voice got higher with each word.

“Honey, we know, but he was careful. If we’d had names and dates, we would have taken his sorry ass out on Everett’s boat and made fish bait out of it,” Charlotte said.

Stella scooted her chair closer and threw an arm around Piper. “I agree with Charlotte. Besides, what does it matter now, anyway? It’s in the past and it’s time for you to move on with your life.”

Piper took a deep breath, downed half the tea in her glass, and said, “You’ve convinced me. If you can live with this husband shit plastered on the church sign, I can get my life in order. No more tears and no more worry. It’s my life and I’m not going to live it in bitterness and anger.”

Charlotte reached across the table and laid a hand over Piper’s. “Don’t just say it; do it. As long as you are upset about Gene, then he has control, and you are too good to let him control your life.”

“Charlotte is right,” Stella said.

“You might do well to listen to your own advice,” Piper said.

“I’m not mad . . . oh, you mean Mama.” Stella did an eye roll and then looked Piper in the eye. “Let it go. We’ll make up. I’m less mad today than I was yesterday but you ain’t pushin’ me into nothing. I’m not in a forgiving mood right now.”

“Okay, I’ve been through denial and anger, what’s next?” Piper said.

“Bingeing out on lasagna and strawberry shortcake tonight and talking about this barbecue ball shit. We’ve got to get dresses. I’m tempted to get one cut down to my waist in the front and up to my crack in the back,” Stella said.

“I’ll pay for it if you will buy it in bright red. Heather will stroke plumb out,” Charlotte told her. “What did you tell Rhett about dinner, Piper?”

“That I’d think about it,” Piper answered.

Stella ignored the ringtone the first time her phone rang but when it started again within a minute of stopping, she shrugged and hurried to her bedroom to answer it.

“Hello,” she said breathlessly.

“Change of plans. The ambulance just came and took my elderly neighbor to the hospital. They think he’s having a heart attack and he’s scared. No family left, so I’m headed to the hospital to be with him. See you later.”

“I understand,” she said. “The girls are leaving by nine, or so they say. Keep me posted. You might still have time to drop by and have some of this fabulous lasagna that Agnes made.”

“I’m sure that it’s delicious. Don’t wait up for me. Love you,” he said and the phone went dead.