The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (24 page)

“No one has ever accepted me like you have, Stella,” he whispered. “I’ve been living in fear that you’d tell me you couldn’t stay with me since I have that much baggage.”

“And I lived in fear that you’d tell me to hit the road when I told you about the scandal in Cadillac, so we’re even. Now kiss me and let’s don’t waste any more of this night.”

“I can do that,” he said.

His lips closed over hers and she finally let go of the past and looked forward to the future.

C
HAPTER
N
INETEEN

I
t’s almost time for Stella’s birthday,” Charlotte commented as she checked her appointment book.

“I can’t believe that my boys will be home soon. Lorene has been wonderful to let them call every day, sometimes several times,” Piper said.

“I truly believe that Lorene loves those boys.” Butterflies fluttered around in Stella’s stomach. By her birthday, everyone would know that she was married. The thought of being a preacher’s wife would be scary even if she’d had a halo and wings, and Stella Baxter had neither. Marriage alone was a sobering venture and being a preacher’s wife . . . well, that added an extra dimension, then throw in the fact that she still hadn’t found a way to get her hands on a pregnancy test. Since she hadn’t had any more nausea since that day, she forgot about it sometimes for a whole hour, but then something like Charlotte’s knitting would remind her.

Piper grabbed the broom and dustpan. “Blasted crickets. Little demons are worse this year than they’ve ever been. And Stella, there never was a question about Luke and Tanner being all right with Gene’s folks. It was me that would have gone to pieces and turned into an alcoholic if you hadn’t let me move into your house while they are gone. Oh, and they’ve offered to keep them the night of the barbecue ball. They’re going to take them to the waterslide in Wichita Falls that day, spend the night in a hotel, and the next day they’re going to a movie. It’s their little vacation with the boys.”
Charlotte carried a basket of white towels to the front and they all started folding. “It wasn’t a matter of
letting
us move into her house. She couldn’t do a thing about it.”

“Hey, y’all know you are welcome anytime, just like I know if a sumbitch ghost of a preacher’s son that drinks too much beer invades my house, I can go pack my suitcase and be welcome at your homes,” Stella said.

The bell rang and a stranger looked around, taking stock of the
beauty shop. She was one of those delicate women with near-trans
parent skin, dishwater-blonde hair, and blue eyes, which now darted from one of the three friends to the others. “Hello, I have an appointment for a shampoo and comb-out with Piper. I wasn’t expecting three of you.”

“I’m Piper. This way to the shampoo chair. You are”—Piper ran a finger down the page in her book—“Katy, right? I don’t think you’ve been here before.”

“My first time.” She almost smiled. “Alma Grace Magee said that I should come see you.”

Piper whipped a cape around the woman and touched the foot pedal that leaned the chair back. “She is so sweet. I’ll have to thank her for the recommendation. You’ve got lovely thick hair.”

“Thank you. Sometimes I wish the powers that be would have given me less hair and more height, though. I go to the same church that Rick does and got to know Alma Grace when they started dating. We all love her,” Katy said.

“This is virgin hair, isn’t it?”

Katy smiled. “Yes, ma’am. No dyes for me. I’m much too busy to keep up with all that. I’ve got two little boys and a full-time job. You have children?”

“Two boys, twins. They keep me in line pretty good. They’re with their dad for his two weeks’ summer visit right now and though they get to call home often, I feel like my world isn’t right,” Piper said.

“I’m a single mom, too, but my husband hardly ever sees the boys. He said that he’d think about having them come visit when they were both fully potty trained.” Katy’s tone went from warm to icy. “At least your ex is a good man who loves his boys.”

“Yeah, right.” Charlotte stuffed towels into the cabinet above the shampoo sink.

“He has them for his summer visit, right?” Katy asked.

“Yes, he does,” Piper said.

“And his name is?” Katy asked.

Piper’s Spidey senses went into the red danger zone. Who was this woman and why was she fishing?

“Gene Stephens.”

“Small world. His mama goes to my church, too,” Katy said.

Piper rinsed Katy’s hair and then poured in the conditioner. “It’s a small world especially around this part of Texas. If you aren’t kin to someone, then one of your relatives knows someone who is, and if the gossip isn’t juicy enough when it gets started, believe me, it will be by the time it filters down to the last person to hear it.”

“How old are your boys?” Stella asked.

“There’s only a year between them, so it’s a lot like raising twins when they’re two and three. They sure grow up fast, don’t they? Alma Grace said that y’all have been friends since you were little girls. I bet you know all the gossip,” Katy said.

“We’ve been best friends since we were in kindergarten, but if you want the down and dirty gossip, you’d have to go to the old gals like Agnes, Rosalee, and Beulah,” Stella told her.

Piper wrung the water from Katy’s hair and wrapped her head in a towel. “And Violet Prescott. They’re the ones who know the history and the stories.”

“Hey, y’all would be about the same age as Trixie Matthews, then? She’s part owner of Clawdy’s with Marty and Cathy Andrews,” Katy said.

Stella nodded. “We were all in high school together. The Clawdy’s crew and the Bless My Bloomers bunch. Where did you go to high school?”

Katy hopped up into Piper’s chair and crossed her legs at the ankles. “In Harlan County, Kentucky. I came out here and went to work in the nursing home that my uncle owns when my husband left me. That’s where I met Trixie. Her mother is in the nursing home. I’m the activities director.”

“So how do you like Texas?” Stella asked.

“It’s not so different from Kentucky, but the only people I really know are my uncle and aunt and the folks at the church. I would’ve stayed in Kentucky, but I needed a fresh start.”

Piper combed through Katy’s long hair and wished that she’d had the nerve to pick up and go east or west or, hell, even north or south for that matter. If it hadn’t been so convenient for Gene to just waltz into her house, then he wouldn’t have the boys right now. And if she didn’t live in Cadillac, he wouldn’t know that she’d been talking to Rhett.

Her phone rang and she pulled it from the pocket of her khaki shorts, checked the ID, and said, “Excuse me, Katy. It’s my kids.”

“Hello, what’s going on today?” Piper said and then giggled. “Is that right? I can’t wait until you get home to see it. And you’re going back today? What fun. Guess what? I found out that Bible school is at our church next week, so you guys might want to tell Grandma that you’ll be staying with the sitter so you can go.”

“But Grandma already knows that, Mama,” Tanner said. “She wants us to tell you that she’s going to be a teacher at Preacher Jed’s church, so she’s goin’ with us, too. And guess what, we’re helpin’ Grandpa in the garden and he said we could bring home a whole sack full of vegetables.”

“And you’re going to eat them?” She laughed again.

“We’ll eat the potatoes and the corn. We told Grandpa not to put them old nasty squashes in the sack,” Luke yelled.

“You don’t have to holler. She can hear us,” Tanner told him.

“Are you guys on speakerphone?” Piper laid her phone down on the countertop and pushed a button so Stella and Charlotte could hear.

“Yes, we can both talk that way,” Luke said.

“Tell me again what you made in Bible school,” she said.

“Well, we stirred some water into a white powder and made a glob of it on this waxy paper. Then we took a pencil and wrote a Bible verse in it. When it got hard, we chipped off the knots and painted it,” Tanner explained.

“And then we glued a thing on the back so you can hang it on your wall,” Luke said.

“What’s your verse?” Charlotte asked.

“Well, I wanted to write ‘God is good, beer is great, and people are crazy,’ but my teacher said that’s a song, not a verse, so I just wrote ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’ and Luke wrote . . .” Tanner said, and there was a long pause.

“I took it off speakerphone on this end and I’m here,” Gene said. “Have you come to your senses? Are we going to be a family again?”

“I never lost my senses, Gene, and no, we are not.” Piper reached to pick up the phone.

Charlotte slapped at her hand and shook her head.

“You’ve got five days to make up your mind,” he said.

“My mind is made up. I’ve moved on and you have, too, Gene. This is your second move. You left me for Rita and you’ve left her for Ramona. I hope you find happiness, but it’s not going to be with me. Good-bye,” Piper said.

“Don’t hang up! Ramona is just a bed partner until we are back together, just like Rhett is to you. You boys go make your beds or you won’t be doing a bit of fishing this afternoon. You’re not talking to your mother again today. They won’t be talking to you the rest of the week except at bedtime. I’ve been too damned lenient on them.”

The phone went dead.

“I’m not sleeping with Rhett.” Piper’s voice cracked.

Stella took the brush from Piper’s hand. “You won’t mind if I take over, will you, Katy? I’m really good with long, thick hair. We all work with Alma Grace and your hair reminds me so much of hers.”

“That’s fine. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job,” Katy whispered.

Piper ducked her head and headed for the back room, where she melted into a chair and laid her forehead on her arms on the table. She cried until her ribs ached and her lungs burned, but it wouldn’t stop.

“It’s not fair for him to take out his anger toward me on the boys.” The words came out a couple at a time between sobs.

Charlotte sat down beside her and patted her shoulder. “Shhh. He’ll go to work pretty soon and Lorene will take care of them. He won’t be around except in the evenings. They’ll be home in five days.”

“It breaks my heart,” Piper said. “I wish he’d marry that Ramona and get on with his life.”

“If she’s smart, she’ll run the other way,” Charlotte said.

“Who’ll run which way and who’s smart?” Nancy came through the back entrance and set a pan of brownies on the table. “Are you talking about Gene and his new woman?”

Charlotte told the story while Piper dried her eyes and fixed her makeup using a small hand mirror.

Piper’s chin quivered but she took a deep breath and said, “I wish he’d not only get married but that he’d move right on out of this state.” She pushed the chair back and returned to the front part of the shop. “Is there room in Kentucky for another worthless ex-husband, Katy?”

“There could be. Round ’em all up and put them in one place so they can’t sweet-talk their way into breaking another woman’s heart.”

Charlotte cut two brownies from the pan, put them on a plate, and whispered, “Maybe brownies will help everyone. Thanks for bringing them, Nancy.”

“Hi, Mama.” Stella smiled. “Any rain on the horizon?”

“Hell, no, there ain’t no rain in sight all week. Gardens would wither up and die if folks didn’t water. Cadillac has always produced a patch of hot jalapeños up by Clawdy’s and Cathy will see to it that there is a good crop this year, but it’s takin’ lots of water. I hear she’s making candied ones from an old recipe she found in her mama’s things to enter in the fair. Who is this you are fixin’ up? I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Nancy, Stella’s mama.”

“Right pleased to meet you, ma’am. I’m Katy. Alma Grace recommended this shop and I have to agree with her; these ladies do a fine job. My hair is so thick that most hairdressers just want to thin it out and cut it off,” Katy said.

“Brownies? Nancy brought them.” Charlotte slid the plate close enough that Katy could reach it.

Katy reached for one. “That is so sweet.”

Nancy sat down in Stella’s swivel chair and stared at Katy. “Fresh out of the oven just before I left.”

“So what brings you into town this mornin’, Mama?” Stella asked.

“I’ve got to make a run up to Sherman for sugar. Peaches are coming off the two trees in the orchard so fast that I can’t keep up with them,” she said.

“Puttin’ them in the freezer or makin’ peach pie filling?” Stella asked.

“Freezer today,” Nancy answered.

“Delicious brownie. I didn’t take time for breakfast, so it’s really hitting the spot. I miss my granny’s peach cobbler. She uses a little bit of cinnamon and for special times like weddin’s or birthdays she makes homemade ice cream to go on top,” Katy said. “Thank you so much, Stella. I’ve got just enough time to get to work. Piper, it might be awkward for me to come back here, but I did enjoy meeting all of you.”

Piper slid into the chair next to Nancy. “I want to apologize for not finishing my job. I hope you don’t hold that against us. I don’t usually get emotional, but ex-husbands can be trying.” Piper frowned and asked, “Why would it be awkward for you to come back?”

Katy waved her hand in dismissal. “Alma Grace did me the biggest favor of my life in sending me here. It’s not that I don’t want to come back but that I shouldn’t. I wasn’t totally honest with you. My grandmother called me Katy since my middle name is Catherine, but when I came out here from Kentucky I decided to make a clean change and I’ve gone by my first name, Ramona, ever since.” She took a deep breath and her chin quivered slightly. “Y’all and that phone call sure opened my eyes, so thank you, and Piper, believe me when I tell you that you don’t want Gene back in your life. I thought you were a witch from hell who’d cheated on him since the month after you got married and kicked him out when he wouldn’t let you go on a singles cruise with your two friends here. I’ll thank Alma Grace on my way out of town.” Ramona/Katy put a bill on the counter and swept out of the shop without looking back.