Then there were the ones who just stared with pity, dismay, or fear. He hated that. It was one of the reasons he never ventured into town anymore. Jack did his best to ignore them as he progressed toward his destination, Belinda Curby’s Skin Deep Beauty Salon.
The bell above the salon’s front door played a jaunty tune, drawing unwelcome attention to his arrival. What was he doing here?
“Hey, Jack.” Belinda greeted him as though it had been days rather than a year since she’d last seen him. She stood at her station, halfway across the room, tending to her patron. The young woman with pink-and-purple-tinted hair gaped at him.
“Belinda.” He forced himself farther into the salon.
The large, rectangular interior was bright and even more colorful than Belinda’s client’s hair. Green tile climbed away from the silver flooring and halfway up the walls. The top half of the wall was a medley of reds, oranges, and white. Silver stylist chairs ringed the perimeter. Customized black porcelain sinks huddled in the center of the room.
Three other stylists—two women and a man—were in various stages of caring for their customers while trying to appear as though they weren’t staring at him.
“It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you.” Belinda spoke over her shoulder.
“Just about.” It would have been even longer if he’d been able to forget the beard burns he’d left on Audra’s skin. Was coming here the right thing to do?
“What brings you in today?” Belinda’s gentle question confused him even more.
Jack hesitated, silenced by his growing unease.
“Isn’t it obvious, Belinda?” Novella Dishy, the older stylist, asked the rhetorical question. Jack recognized her from his days of picking up his ex-wife after her salon appointments. “He’s here for a damn haircut. And that beard has got to go. Jack, who told you that that was a good look for you?”
The thin young stylist whose station was behind Novella’s giggled. Jack didn’t re
cognize her but the male stylist was Glenn Narcus.
“Novella.” Belinda shot her employee a quelling look.
Jack fingered his beard. He preferred Novella’s candor to Belinda’s protectiveness. But why would Novella think his beard was a fashion statement?
“I wasn’t going for a look.”
Novella made a disapproving face before adding more creamy white stuff to Nessa Linden’s hair. Nessa had been a Trinity Falls Town Council member for years.
“What made you start to care again, Jack?”
The sugary sweetness of Nessa’s question set Jack’s nerves on edge.
“Not sure I do.”
The bell above the front door chimed a welcome interruption. Jack turned as Darius entered the salon.
The newspaper reporter grinned at him. “Thought I recognized your truck in the parking lot. Come to get your nails done?”
Irritation knitted Jack’s brows. “Is that why you’re here?”
“I’m here for the view.” Darius shared his cover model smile with the room. “Evening, ladies and Glenn.”
A chorus of replies and giggles poured past Jack. Why am I here? Jack started toward the exit.
Darius caught his arm. “No manicure? My mistake.” He folded himself onto a bright orange plastic chair in the waiting area and drew Jack down beside him. There was laughter in his dark eyes.
Jack scowled as he sat. “There’s a reason you’re still single.”
“Hey, Darius.”
Darius leaned forward to see into the styling area. “Well, hey, yourself, Michelle. How could I have missed you sitting over there?”
The young woman with the rainbow hair giggled with pleasure. “Ms. Belinda’s going to make my hair all one color.”