Текст книги "Truly Madly Yours "

Автор книги: Рэйчел Гибсон

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

He moved to a corner of the deck, away from the light spilling onto the wooden planks, and was quickly enveloped in darkness. Reverend Tippet had hardly uttered the word “amen before Gail, wearing that filmy little dress with the tiny straps, had propositioned Nick.

“My body is better at thirty-three than it was at sixteen, shed whispered in his ear. Nick couldnt remember clearly what shed looked like at sixteen, but he did remember shed liked sex. Shed been one of those girls who loved to get laid but wanted to act like a virgin afterward. She used to sneak out of her house and scratch on the back door of the Lomax Grocery where hed worked after hours sweeping the floor. If hed been in the mood, hed let her in and bang her on a box of freight or on the checkout counter. Afterward shed behave as if she were doing him a favor. Theyd both known different.

The cool night air tossed his hair about his shoulders and brushed across his bare skin. He hardly noticed the chill. Delaney was back. When hed heard about Henry, hed figured shed come home for his funeral. Still, seeing her on the other side of the old mans casket, with her hair dyed about five shades of red, had been a shock. After ten years she still reminded him of a porcelain doll, smooth as silk and delicate. Seeing her brought it all back, and he remembered the first time hed laid eyes on her. Her hair had been blond then, and shed been seven years old.

On that day over two decades ago, hed been standing in line at the Tasty Freeze when hed first heard about Henry Shaws new wife. He couldnt believe the news. Henry had married again, and since everything Henry did interested Nick, he and his older brother Louie had hopped on their old stingrays and peddled around the lake to Henrys huge Victorian house. With the spinning of his bicycle tires, Nicks head spun, too. He knew Henry would never marry his mother. Theyd hated each other for as long as Nick could remember. They didnt even speak. Mostly Henry just ignored Nick, but maybe that would change now. Maybe Henrys new wife would like kids. Maybe shed like him.

Nick and Louie hid their bikes behind pine trees and crawled on their bellies beneath the thick buck-brush edging the terraced lawn. It was a spot they knew well. Louie was twelve, older than Nick by two years, but Nick was better at waiting than his brother. Maybe it was because he was used to waiting, or because his interest in Henry Shaw was more personal than his brothers. The two boys made themselves comfortable and prepared to wait.

“He aint comin out, Louie complained after an hour of surveillance. “Weve been here for a long time, and he aint comin out.

“He will sooner or later. Nick looked at his brother, then returned his attention to the front of the big gray house. “Has too.

“Lets go catch some fish in Mr. Benders pond.

Every summer Clark Bender stocked the pond in his backyard with brown trout. And every summer the Allegrezza boys relieved him of several twelve-inch beauties. “Mom will get mad, Nick reminded his brother, last weeks experience with the wooden spoon across his palms still fresh in his mind. Usually Benita Allegrezza defended her boys with blind ferocity. But even she couldnt deny Mr. Benders accusation when the two had been escorted home stinking of fish guts, several choice trout dangling from their stringer.

“She wont find out cause Benders out of town.

Nick looked at Louie again, and thinking of all those hungry trout made his hands itch for his fishing rod. “You sure?

“Yep.

He thought of the pond and all those fish just waiting for a Pautzkes and a sharp hook. Then he whipped his head back and forth and clenched his jaws. If Henry got married again, then Nick was going to stick around to see his wife.

“Youre crazy, Louie said with disgust and scooted backward, out of the buckbrush.

“Are you goin fishing?

“No, Im goin home, but first I gotta drain the lizard.

Nick smiled. He liked it when his older brother said cool stuff like that. “Dont tell Mom where I am.

Louie unzipped his pants and sighed as he relieved himself on a Ponderosa. “Just dont be gone so long she figures it out.

“I wont. When Louie jumped on his bike and peddled away, Nick returned his gaze to the front of the house. He propped his chin in his hand and watched the front door. While he waited, he thought about Louie and about how lucky he was to have a brother who was going into the seventh grade. He could talk to him about anything and Louie never laughed. Louie had already seen the puberty film in school, and so Nick could ask him important questions, like when he was likely to get hair on his balls, stuff a guy just couldnt come right out and ask his Catholic mother.

A wood ant crawled up Nicks arm, and he was just about to smash it between his fingers when the front door opened and he froze. Henry walked out of the house and paused on the veranda to look over his shoulder. He motioned with his hand, and a little girl stepped through the doorway. A mass of blond curls framed her face and cascaded down her back. She placed her hand in Henrys and the two of them walked across the porch and down the front steps. She wore a frilly white dress with lacy socks like girls wore to their First Communion, but it wasnt even Sunday. Henry pointed in Nicks general direction, and Nick held his breath, fearing hed been detected.

“Right back there, Henry said to the little girl as they moved across the lawn toward Nicks hiding place. “Theres a great big tree that Ive thought could use a treehouse in it.

The little girl looked up at the towering man by her side and nodded. Her golden curls bounced like springs. The girls skin was a lot paler than Nicks, and her big eyes were brown. Nick thought she looked like those little dolls his Tia Narcisa kept locked in a glass cabinet, away from clumsy boys with dirty hands. Nick had never been allowed to touch the pretty little dolls, but hed never really wanted to anyway.

“Like Winnie the Pooh? she asked.

“Would you like that?

“Yes, Henry.

Henry lowered to one knee and looked into the girls eyes. “Im your father now. You can call me Daddy.

Nicks chest caved in and his heart pounded so hard he couldnt breathe. Hed waited his whole life to hear those words, but Henry had said them to a pale-faced stupid girl who liked Winnie the Pooh. He must have made a sound because Henry and the girl looked right at his hiding spot.

“Whos in there? Henry demanded as he stood.

Slowly, with fear gripping his stomach, Nick rose to his feet and faced the man his mother had always said was his father. He stood straight with his shoulders back and stared into Henrys light gray eyes. He wanted to run, but he didnt move.

“What are you doing in there? Henry demanded again.

Nick shoved his chin in the air but he didnt answer.

“Who is he, Henry? the girl asked.

“Nobody, he answered and turned to Nick. “You go on home. Now get, and dont come around here anymore.

Standing in buckbrush up to his chest, with his knees shaking and his stomach hurting, Nick Allegrezza felt his hopes die. He hated Henry Shaw. “Youre a lizard-sucking son of a bitch, he said, then lowered his gaze to the golden-haired girl. He hated her, too. With his eyes burning hatred and stinging with anger, he turned and walked from his hiding place. He never returned. He was finished waiting in the shadows. Waiting for things he would never have.

Footsteps pulled Nick from thoughts of his past, but he didnt turn around.

“What do you think? Gail moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. The thin material of her dress was the only thing separating her bare breasts from his back.

“About what?

“About the new and improved me.

He turned then and looked at her. She was bathed in darkness and he couldnt see her very well. “You look fine, he answered.

“Fine? I spent thousands on a boob job, and thats the best you can do? You look fine?

“What do you want me to say, that you would have been smarter to invest your money in real estate rather than saltwater?

“I thought men liked big breasts, she said with a pout in her voice.

Big or small didnt matter as much as what a woman did with her body. He liked a woman who knew how to use what she had, who lost control in bed. A woman who could let go and get down and dirty with him. Gail was too worried about how she looked.

“I thought all men fantasize about big breasts, she continued.

“Not all men. Nick hadnt fantasized about a woman in a very long time. In fact, he hadnt fantasized since hed been a kid, and all those fantasies had been the same.

Gail wrapped her arms around his neck and rose onto the balls of her feet. “You didnt seem to mind a while ago.

“I didnt say I minded.

She slid her hand down his chest to his stomach. “Then make love to me again.

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “I dont make love.

“Then what did we just do half an hour ago?

He thought about giving her a one-word answer, but he knew she wouldnt appreciate his candor. He thought about taking her home, but she slid her hand to the front of his jeans, and he thought maybe hed wait a while to see what she had on her mind. “That was sex, he said. “One has nothing to do with the other.

“You sound bitter.

“Why, because I dont confuse sex and love? Nick didnt consider himself bitter, just uninterested. As far as he was concerned, there was no payoff in love. Just a lot of wasted time and emotion.

“Maybe youve never been in love. She pressed her hand into his fly. “Maybe youll fall in love with me.

Nick chuckled deep within his chest. “Dont count on it.

Chapter Two

The morning after the funeral, Delaney slept late and narrowly escaped a meeting of the Charitable Society of Truly, the small towns equivalent of the Junior League. Shed hoped to lie around the house all afternoon and spend some time with her mother before leaving that evening to meet her best friend from high school, Lisa Collins. The two had plans to meet at Morts Bar for a night of margaritas and gossip.

But Gwen had different plans for Delaney. “Id like you to stay for the meeting, Gwen said as soon as she walked into the kitchen, looking like a catalog model dressed in powder blue silk. A slight wrinkle furrowed her brow as she glanced at Delaneys shoes. “Were hoping to buy new playground equipment for Larkspur Park, and I think you could help us come up with creative ways to raise money.

Delaney would rather chew on tinfoil than get sucked into attending one of her mothers boring meetings. “I have plans, she lied, and spread strawberry preserves onto a toasted bagel. She was twenty-nine but still couldnt bring herself to purposely disappoint her mother.

“What plans?

“Im meeting a friend for lunch. She leaned her behind against the cherrywood island and bit into her bagel.

Tiny creases settled in the corners of Gwens blue eyes. “Youre going into town looking like that?

Delaney glanced down at her white sleeveless sweater, her black jean shorts, and the thin patent leather straps of her Hercules sandals with the rubber wedgie soles. Shed dressed conservatively, but maybe her shoes were slightly different by small-town standards. She didnt care; she loved them. “I like what Im wearing, she said, feeling like a nine-year-old again. She didnt like the feeling, but it reminded her of the biggest reason why she planned to leave Truly quickly the following afternoon after Henrys will was read.

“Ill take you shopping next week. Well drive down to Boise and spend the day at the mall. Gwen smiled with genuine pleasure. “Now that youre home again, we can go at least once a month.

There it was. Gwens assumption that Delaney would be moving back to Truly now that Henry was dead. But Henry Shaw hadnt been the only reason Delaney kept at least an entire state between herself and Idaho.

“I dont need anything, Mother, she said and polished off her breakfast. If she stayed more than a few days, there wasnt a doubt in her mind that Gwen would have her in Liz Claiborne and turn her into a respectable member of the Charitable Society. Shed grown up wearing clothes she didnt like and pretending to be someone she wasnt just to please her parents. Shed killed herself to make honor roll in school, and shed never so much as received a fine on a library book. Shed grown up the mayors daughter. That meant shed had to be perfect.

“Arent those shoes uncomfortable?

Delaney shook her head. “Tell me about the fire, she said, purposely changing the subject. Since shed arrived in Truly, shed learned very little of what had actually happened the night of Henrys death. Her mother was reluctant to talk about it, but now that the funeral was over, Delaney pressed for information.

Gwen sighed and reached for the butter knife Delaney had used to spread preserves. The heels of her blue pumps clicked on the red brick tiles as she moved toward the kitchen sink. “I dont know anything more now than I did when I called you last Monday. She set down the knife then gazed out the big window above the sink. “Henry was in his tack shed and it caught on fire. Sheriff Crow told me they think it started in a pile of linseed rags hed left by an old space heater. Gwens voice wavered as she spoke.

Delaney moved toward her mother and put her arm around Gwens shoulders. She looked out at the backyard, at the boat dock swaying on gentle waves, and asked the question shed been afraid to voice, “Do you know if he suffered very much?

“I dont think so, but I dont want to know if he did. I dont know how long he lived or if God was merciful and he died before the flames got to him. I didnt ask. Everything that has happened this past week has been hard enough. She paused to clear her throat. “Ive had so much to do, and I dont like to think about it.

Delaney turned her gaze to her mother, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt a connection to the woman whod given her life. They were so different, but in this, they were the same. Despite his faults, they had both loved Henry Shaw.

“Im sure your friends would understand if you canceled your meeting today. If youd like, Ill call them for you.

Gwen turned her attention to Delaney and shook her head. “I have responsibilities, Laney. I cant put my life on hold forever.

Forever ? Henry had been dead less than a week, buried less than twenty-four hours. She dropped her hand from her mothers shoulders, feeling the connection snap. “Im going outside for a bit, she said, and walked out the back door before she could give in to the disappointment. A late morning breeze rustled the quaking aspen, filling the pine-scented air with the whisper of leaves. She took a deep breath and moved across the back patio.

Disappointment seemed the best word to describe her family. Theyd lived a facade, and as a result, theyd been doomed to disappoint one another. A long time ago shed come to terms with the fact that her mother was superficial, far more concerned with appearance than substance. And Delaney had accepted that Henry was an over-the-top control freak. When shed behaved as Henry expected, hed been a wonderful father. Hed given her his time and attention, taken her and her friends boating or camping in the Sawtooths, but the Shaws had lived a life of reprimand and reward, and shed always felt disappointed that everything, even love, had been conditional.

Delaney walked past a towering Ponderosa to the large dog run on the edge of the back lawn. Two brass name plates tacked above the door of the kennel declared the Weimaraners inside were Duke and Dolores.

“Arent you pretty babies? she cooed, touching their smooth noses through the chain link and talking to them as if they were lap dogs. Delaney loved dogs, having been raised with Dolores and Dukes predecessors, Clark and Clara. But these days, she moved too often to have a goldfish, let alone a real pet. “Poor pretty babies all penned up. The Weimaraners licked her fingers, and she lowered to one knee. The dogs were well-groomed, and since theyd belonged to Henry, no doubt well-trained. Their long brown faces and sad blue eyes silently begged her to set them free. “I know how you feel, she said. “I used to be trapped here, too. Duke let loose with a pitiful whine that tugged at Delaneys sympathetic heart. “Okay, but dont go out of the yard, she said as she stood.

The kennel door swung open and Duke and Dolores threw themselves forward, shooting past Delaney like two streaks of lightening. “Damn it, get back here! she yelled, turning just in time to see their stubby tails disappear into the forest. She thought about letting them go with the hope theyd return on their own. Then she thought of the highway less than a mile from the house.

She grabbed two leather leashes from inside the kennel and took off after them. She didnt feel any attachment toward the dogs, but she didnt want them to end up as roadkill either. “Duke! Dolores! she called, running as fast as she could, carefully balancing her weight over a pair of wedgie sandals. “Dinnertime. Steak. Kibbles and Bits. She chased them into the forest and on old trails shed roamed as a child. Towering pines enclosed her in shadows and shrubbery slapped at her shins and ankles. She caught up with the dogs at the old treehouse Henry had built for her as a child, but they took off just as she made a grab for their collars. “Milk-Bones, she called out as she pursued them past Elephant Rock and through Huckleberry Creek. She might have given up if the two animals hadnt stayed within spitting distance, teasing her, taunting her with their closeness. She chased them under low-hanging aspen branches and scraped her hand as she hoisted herself over a fallen pine.

“Damn it! she cursed as she inspected her scratches. Duke and Dolores sat on their haunches, wagging their stubby tails and waiting for her to finish. “Come! she commanded. They lowered their heads in submission, but as soon as she took a step, they jumped up and took off. “Get back here! She considered letting them go, but then she remembered the Truly Charitable Society meeting at her mothers house. Chasing stupid dogs through the forest suddenly sounded like a good time.

She followed them up a small hill and paused beneath a pine tree to catch her breath. Her brows lowered as she gazed at the meadow in front of her, subdivided and cleared of trees. A bulldozer and a front-end loader sat idle next to a huge dump truck. Neon orange paint marked the ground in several spots beside big sewer trenches, and Nick Allegrezza stood in the midst of the chaos next to a black Jeep Wrangler, Duke and Dolores at his feet.

Delaneys heart jumped to her throat. Nick was the one person shed hoped to avoid during her short visit. He was the source of the single most humiliating experience of her life. She fought to suppress the urge to turn and go back the way shed come. Nick had seen her and there was no way she was going to run. She had to force herself to walk calmly down the incline toward him.

He was dressed the same as he had been yesterday at Henrys funeral. White T-shirt, worn Levis, gold earring, but hed shaved today and his hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked like he belonged on a billboard wearing nothing but his Calvins.

“Hello, she called out. He didnt say anything, just stood there, one of his big hands leisurely scratching the top of Dukes head as his gray eyes watched her. She fought the apprehension weighing the pit of her stomach as she came to stand several feet before him. “Im walking Henrys dogs, she said, and was again treated with silence and his steady, unfathomable gaze. He was taller than she remembered. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder. His chest was broader. His muscles bigger. The last time shed stood this close, hed turned her life inside out and changed it forever. Shed thought he was a knight in shining armor, driving a slightly battered Mustang. But shed been wrong.

Hed been forbidden to her all her life, and shed been drawn to him like an insect to a bug light. Shed been a good girl longing to be set free, and all hed had to do was crook his finger at her and utter four words. Four provocative words from his bad-boy lips. “Come here, wild thing, hed said, and her soul had responded with a resounding yes . It had been as if hed looked deep inside her, past the facade, to the real Delaney. Shed been eighteen and horribly naive. Shed never been allowed to spread her wings, to breathe on her own, and Nick had been like pure oxygen that went straight to her head. But shed paid for it.

“Theyre not as well behaved as Clark and Clara were, she continued, refusing to feel intimidated by his silence.

When he finally did speak, it wasnt what she expected. “What did you do to your hair? he asked.

She touched her fingers to the soft red curls. “I like it.

“You look better as a blond.

Delaneys hand fell to her side, and she lowered her gaze to the dogs at Nicks feet. “I didnt ask for your opinion.

“You should sue.

She really did like her hair, but even if she didnt, she couldnt very well sue herself. “What are you doing up here? she asked as she leaned forward and snapped the leash on Dukes collar. “Looting?

“No. He rocked back on his heels. “I never plunder on the Lords day. Youre safe.

She looked into his dark face. “But funerals are fair game, right?

A frown creased his forehead. “What are you talking about?

“That blond yesterday. You treated Henrys funeral like a pick-up bar. That was disrespectful and gauche, Nick. Even for you.

The frown disappeared, chased away by a licentious smile. “Jealous?

“Dont flatter yourself.

“Want the details?

She rolled her eyes. “Spare me.

“You sure? Its pretty juicy stuff?

“I think Ill live. She pushed one side of her hair behind her ear, then reached for Dolores.

Before she touched the dog, Nick reached out and grabbed her wrist. “What happened here? he asked and cupped the back of her hand. His palm was big and warm and callused, and he lightly brushed his thumb across the scratch on her own palm. A surprising little tingle tickled her fingertips, then swept up her arm.

“Its nothing. She pulled away. “I scraped it climbing over a blowdown.

He looked into her face. “You climbed over a blowdown in those shoes?

For the second time in less than an hour, her favorite shoes were being maligned. “Theres nothing wrong with them.

“Not if youre a dominatrix. His gaze slid down her body, then slowly climbed back up. “Are you?

“Dream on. She reached for Dolores again, and this time successfully clipped the leash on the dogs collar. “Whips and chains arent my idea of a good time.

“Thats a shame. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned his butt against the tire well of the Jeep. “The closest thing Truly has to an experienced dominatrix is Wendy Weston, 1990 state champion calf roper and barrel racer.

“Can you afford two women spanking your bum?

“You could steal me away, he said through a grin. “Youre better looking than Wendy, and you have the right shoes.

“Gee thanks. Too bad Im leaving tomorrow afternoon.

He looked a little surprised by her answer. “Short trip.

Delaney shrugged and pulled the dogs toward her. “I never intended to stay long. She would probably never see him again, and she let her gaze roam the sensual line of his dark face. He was too handsome for his own good, but maybe he wasnt as bad as she remembered. He would never pass for a nice guy, but at least he hadnt reminded her of the night shed sat on the hood of his Mustang. It had been ten years; maybe hed mellowed. “Good-bye, Nick, she said and took a step backward.

He touched two fingers to his brow in a mock salute, and she turned and headed back the way shed come, dragging the dogs along with her.

At the top of the small hill, she glanced over her shoulder one last time. Nick stood just as shed left him beside his Jeep, arms folded across his chest, watching her. As she stepped into the shifting forest shadows, she remembered the blond hed picked up at Henrys funeral. Maybe hed mellowed, but shed bet pure testosterone, not blood, ran through his veins.

Duke and Dolores tugged at their leashes and Delaney tightened her grasp. She thought about Henry and about Nick and wondered once again if Henry had included his son in his will. She wondered if theyd ever tried to reconcile, and she wondered what Henry had bequeathed her. For a few brief moments, she let herself imagine a gift of money. She let herself imagine what she could do with a chunk of cash. First, shed pay off her car, then shed buy a pair of shoes from some place like Bergdorf Goodman. Shed never owned an eight-hundred-dollar pair of shoes, but she wanted to.

And if Henry had left her a huge chunk a cash?

Shed open her own salon. Without a doubt. A modern salon with lots of mirrors, and marble, and stainless steel. Shed dreamed of her own business for quite a while now, but two things stood in her way. One, she hadnt found a city where she wanted live for more than a couple of years. And two, she didnt have the capital or the collateral to get the capital.

Delaney stopped in front of the fallen tree shed climbed over earlier. When Duke and Dolores began to crawl beneath, she pulled on their leashes and took the long way around. Her wedgies teetered on rocks, and her toes were covered with dirt. As she trudged through a crop of buckbrush, she thought of bug bites and blood-sucking ticks. A shiver ran up her spine, and she pushed aside the thought of contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever and replaced it with designing the perfect upscale salon in her head. Shed start out with five chairs, and stylists would lease space from her for a change. Since she didnt like to give manicures and hated pedicures, shed hire someone else to do it. Shed stick to what she loved: cutting hair, schmoozing, and serving her customers lattes. Shed start out charging her customers seventy-five dollars for a cut and blow-dry. A bargain for her services, and once she had a steady client base, shed raise her prices on them gradually.

God bless America and a free market system where everyone had the right to charge whatever she wanted. That thought brought her full circle to Henry and his will. As much as she liked to dream about her own salon, she seriously doubted hed left her money. Probably her gift was something he would know she didnt want.

As Delaney carefully picked her way across Huckleberry Creek, the two dogs jumped in and splashed her with icy water. Henry had probably left her a gag gift. Something to torture her for a long time. Something like two unruly Weimaraners.

Downtown Truly boasted two grocery stores, three restaurants, four bars, and one recently installed traffic light. The Valley View Drive-In had been closed for five years due to lack of business, and one of only two beauty salons, Glorias: A Cut Above, had closed the month before due to Glorias unexpected demise. The three-hundred-pound woman had suffered a massive heart attack while giving Mrs. Hillard a shampoo and set. Poor Mrs. Hillard still had nightmares.

The old courthouse was located next to the police station and forestry service building. Three churches competed for souls, Mormon, Catholic, and born-again Christian. The new hospital had been built next to the combination elementary and middle school, but the most celebrated establishment in town, Morts Bar, was in the older section of Truly, on Main between Value Hardware and the Panda Restaurant.

Morts was more than a place to get tanked. It was an institution, famous for its cold Coors and array of antlers. Deer, elk, antelope, and moose decorated the wall above the bar, their magnificent racks adorned with bright panties. Bikinis. Briefs. Thongs. All colors, all signed and dated by the donor drunk. A few years back, the owner had nailed a jack-o-lope head next to the moose, but no respectable woman, drunk or sober, wanted her panties hanging from something as goofy-looking as a jack-o-lope. The head had been quickly moved to the back room to hang above the pinball machine.

Delaney had never been in Morts. Shed been too young ten years ago. Now as she sipped margaritas in a booth toward the back, she wondered at the attraction. Except for the wall above the bar, Morts was like a hundred other bars in a hundred other small towns. The lights were dim, the jukebox was constant, and the smell of tobacco and beer permeated everything. The dress was casual, and Delaney felt perfectly at home in a pair of jeans and a Mossimo T-shirt.

“Did you ever donate your undies? she asked Lisa, who sat across the blue vinyl booth. Within minutes of meeting her old friend, the two had fallen into easy conversation, as if theyd never been apart.

“Not that I recall, she answered, her green eyes alight with humor. Lisas easy smile and laughter had been what had drawn the two together in the fourth grade. Lisa had been carefree, her brunette hair always in a scraggly ponytail. Delaney had been uptight, her blond hair perfectly curled. Lisa had been a free spirit. Delaney had been a spirit longing to be free. Theyd loved the same music and movies, and theyd loved to argue like sisters for hours. The two had balanced each other out.

After Lisa had graduated from high school, shed received her degree in interior design. Shed lived in Boise for eight years, employed at a design firm where shed done all the work and received none of the credit. Two years ago shed quit and moved back to Truly. Now, thanks to computers and modems, she operated a busy design business from her home.

Delaneys gaze took in her friends pretty face and disheveled ponytail. Lisa was smart and attractive, but Delaney still had the better hair. If she were staying in town longer, shed grab her friend and cut her hair to accent her eyes, then maybe brush a few light streaks around her face.

“Your mother tells me youre a makeup artist down in Scottsdale. She said you have celebrity clients.

Delaney wasnt surprised by her mothers embellishment and took a sip of her margarita. Gwen hated Delaneys career, perhaps because it reminded her mother of their life before Henry—the life Delaney had never been allowed to talk about, when Gwen had styled hair for dancers on the Vegas strip. But Delaney was nothing like her mother. She loved working in a salon. It had taken years to finally discover her niche. She loved the tactile sensations, the smell of Paul Mitchell, and the gratification of a pleased client. And it didnt hurt that she was extremely good. “Im a hairstylist in a salon in Scottsdale, but I live in Phoenix, she said and licked the salt from her top lip. “I love it, but my mother is embarrassed by what I do for a living. Youd think I was a hooker or something. She shrugged. “I dont do makeup because of the hours, but I did trim Ed McMahons hair once.