Chapter 18

Itried to focus on the mane of golden hair I was shaping. My customer was a high school cheerleader who was having her hair styled and trimmed for the next game. I looked over at Ava, hard at work behind the head of the town librarian. I was itching to talk to her. I had feelings about my upcoming double date, and I needed a good friend to help me sort them out. It was agony to wait until our customers were done and then to work on two more heads of hair before getting a break.

As soon as the salon was clear, I pounced. "Do you want to get lunch?"

Ava looked up from sweeping the floor. "Sure. Where?"

"I don't care," I said. "You pick."

She picked the Lucky Lady as if the options were so vast. In addition to providing a hangout spot for locals at night, they also had delicious pub food so I didn't complain. We got in my car and drove over, found a booth, and placed our orders. I didn't want to make it seem like I had an agenda, so we chatted about hairstyling and the librarian's cat for a moment.

"I can tell you're dying to tell me something," Ava interrupted me.

"God yes," I sighed. "Jason and I are going on a date."

She clapped her hands, drawing confused stares from the other bar patrons.

"A double date with Macy and her husband," I continued.

"Oh, that should be fun," Ava said.

"I hope so." I sighed again. "I just can't believe it. I thought we were just friends or just roommates. Maybe I shouldn't go. Maybe I should cancel. He is my landlord."

Ava let air out through her teeth. "Girl, he's hot, and he's only your landlord until you can find another living situation."

I paused, remembering my plan to get out of the shared cabin as soon as possible. I wasn't so sure anymore. I kind of liked sharing the household chores, coming home to a cooked dinner or having someone else to cook for. My talks with Jason late at night were nice and having another person sleeping in the next room certainly made me feel less isolated. It really wasn't all that bad, but I couldn't keep making out with him, though, could I?

"I kind of like living with him," I admitted.

"You like living with him, and you're going on a date with him," she recapped.

"I know. It's a bad decision, but I can't seem to help myself."

"It's not a bad decision." She smiled. "It's a good decision. Stop second-guessing yourself and tell me what you're going to wear."

I gasped. "I didn't think about that."

"Wear that little black dress you were wearing at the bar," Ava suggested.

Our food arrived, and we began to dig in.

"I just didn't think he liked me that way," I said, skewering a tomato and a hunk of cucumber. "I mean sex is one thing, but dating is another."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Of course he likes you. Guys aren't that complicated. I saw how he was looking at you in that black dress that night. Trust me, he likes you."

I laughed. "I'm excited to go out with Macy and Dillon too. I'd love to get to know them. I think they have a great relationship, from what little I've seen."

"I think he kidnapped her," she leaned across the table to whisper. "She was missing for like a month."

"Well, I don't know Dillon that well, but I'm sure he didn't kidnap her. Besides, she seems perfectly happy to be with him."

Ava and I finished up our lunch, running over on our time but not too concerned about it as we had no appointments on schedule for another hour and walk-ins this time of day were rare. We strolled out into the parking lot, driving back to park in front of the salon. When we walked in, Lena was working on a customer.

"Where have you been?" she bit out.

"We were having lunch," Ava said.

"Someone has to be here in case a customer walks in."

"Except on lunch break," Ava reminded her.

"No exceptions!" Lena barked. "I don't pay you to go to lunch."

Ava and I looked at each other in disbelief.

"Excuse me," the customer said. "I don't like the way you're talking to your employees."

"Nobody asked you," Lena growled, chopping at the lady's hair like it was a hedge she was trimming.

"Stop!" the lady gasped. Ava rushed to her side, helping her out of the chair. The customer threw off her plastic bib, her eyes sparkling with rage. "I am never coming back here!"

Lena held her scissors awkwardly, stunned at the woman's response.

"I am going to give this place a negative Yelp review," the customer exclaimed.

"We're not on Yelp," Lena retorted.

I grabbed the customer by the hand and hurried her to the door, grabbing a business card on the way before Lena could make a bigger scene. "Here." I handed over the card, pushing the door open. "She usually doesn't work weekends, but you can call before you come. I am so sorry about this. Your next trim will be on the house."

The woman took my hand in her own and whispered, "I'll pray for you."

I smiled tightly before pulling the door shut and going back to my station.

Lena stalked back to the office, slamming the door behind her.

I looked at Ava, who shook her head. It wasn't safe to talk.

"What the fuck?" Ava mouthed.

I shrugged. "Let's just keep all the customers away from her," I whispered.

Ava nodded in agreement.

An hour later, I was working on an older gentleman, trying to trim what was left of his hair, when Lena's husband arrived. I had seen him several times during my six years at the salon. He was tall and broad-shouldered, not bad looking if you didn't include his face. His nose was just a little too large, and his chin stuck out, making him look like a cartoon. I nodded and waved before continuing my work.

"Lena's in the back," Ava said helpfully.

The man strode through the salon to the office door and, without knocking, opened it and burst in. Immediately, we began to hear voices. The walls were thin, and the door was made of particleboard. The couple on the inside thought they had privacy, but the three of us in the salon could hear everything.

"What are you doing here?" Lena snapped.

"Calm down," came her husband's voice.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Lena screamed. "The shipment is late."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, set it down on the styling desk, and hit Record.

"Take it easy," her husband said.

"It's never late!" Lena cried. "Something must have happened. Did you hear anything?"

"I haven't talked to them."

"Well, get them on the phone!"

"And say what? That we messed up?"

"That wasn't me."

"They're not going to care."

"Get on the phone with them and find out why the shipment is late!" Lena burst out of the office, pushing her husband toward the door.

At the same time, they both glanced over to see me, Ava, and my customer staring at them. Lena growled, whirling to storm back into her office. Her husband straightened his shirt, nodded somewhat politely at us, and turned in the opposite direction. As soon as the door swung shut behind him, Ava looked at me with raised eyebrows. What the hell was going on?

I stopped the recording on my phone and slipped it back into my pocket. What were they talking about? What shipment? The conversation had seemed way too dramatic to be centered around hair care products.

"What was that all about?" the customer asked.

I shook my head. "She's been off all day."

"Maybe we should talk to Katrina?" Ava suggested. "She's gonna want to know that Lena is chasing customers away."

"Let's hold off on that right now," I said. For some reason, I didn't trust Katrina either. If the manager was chest-deep in the drug trade, then how could the owner be innocent? What if we tipped off Katrina and that interfered with Jason's case? Worse, what if they decided we knew too much and sent their ex-convict driver to settle the score. Suddenly, I was happy to be living with Singer's Ridge's newest police detective. At least I would be guaranteed safety within my own home.

Ava and I were cleaning our stations when Lena erupted from the back office again. She was carrying her purse and didn't even acknowledge us as she tore through the salon and out into the afternoon. Ava and I were left blissfully alone, no customers, no irate boss.

"What the hell?" Ava gaped as soon as the coast was clear.

I shook my head, too stunned to process it.

"Have you ever seen her acting like that before?"

I shook my head again. Lena had always been short-tempered, but I had never seen her go off the deep end like that. "Something must be really wrong."

"What were they talking about?" Ava puzzled. "A shipment? A shipment of what?"

I thought about the four sacks of money that I had helped transfer to an unmarked van. Four sacks every week added up to hundreds of sacks each year. How much money was in each one of those bags? Where had the money come from, and where was it going? How did the drugs fit in?

"Don't say anything to Katrina," I cautioned my friend. "I'm going to talk to Jason tonight. He'll tell us what to do."

Ava nodded. "I almost thought she was going to stab her customer with the scissors."

I exhaled a shocked breath. "Me too."

At home that night, I waited eagerly to hear Jason's truck in the driveway. I made a chicken pot pie. There was a lot of work that went into it—simmering the chicken, chopping vegetables, cutting butter into flour to make the crust. But I couldn't sit still. I couldn't focus on my book either; besides, the only TV in the cabin was in Jason's bedroom. I needed something to keep myself occupied. By the time I got the pie in the oven, it was seven-thirty, and there was nothing left for me to do but sit down and wait.

Jason got home at nine. I nearly pounced on him as he dropped his keys, ringing my arms around his neck. We kissed lightly, just like a wife welcoming her husband home. His eyes softened to half-moons, and his mouth curled into a smile.

"Well, hello," he said.

"Hello." I dropped the hug and stepped back, suddenly awkward. "I've been waiting for you."

"Something smells good." He looked over my shoulder to find the pie cooling on the kitchen island.

"Help yourself," I said, circling the couch to give him room.

He went to the kitchen, found a plate, and helped himself to a slice. "What's up?"

I inhaled, prepared to begin my sordid story. "Lena was in a big mood today. Lena's the manager. The one with me in the pictures you took."

He nsodded, his mouth full.

"She was so freaking angry, she even got into a fight with a customer and almost threatened her." I watched as his eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing. "Later, her husband came into the salon, and they had an argument about a shipment." I pulled out my phone. "I recorded it."

He set the plate down on the counter, coming around to sit next to me. I set the phone on the armrest and hit Play.

"Well, get them on the phone!"

"And say what? That we messed up?"

"That wasn't me."

"They're not going to care."

We listened to the entire minute-long recording twice before Jason responded. "This is big," he said. "Can you send me the file?"

I nodded, scooping up my phone and sending the recording to him via text.

"This was really brave of you." He kissed me on the cheek.

"Ava thinks we should talk to Katrina, the owner," I said.

Jason shook his head. "Please don't. I'm not sure who is involved and to what extent. At this point, your safest bet is to come to me or Ryan with any concerns."

I threaded my fingers together nervously. "That's what I thought."

"Do you feel safe there?" he asked.

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "I do, but I don't know for how much longer."

He studied my face, eyes soft and protective. "It will all be over soon, I hope. Are you ready for our date tomorrow?"

I laughed spontaneously. "I have to admit that I'm a little nervous. The, um… I like you." I had wanted to say the sex was great, but I lost my nerve. I wanted to explain all the concerns I had about dating my landlord, but that didn't feel right either. When all other words failed, I fell back on the truth. I did like him. I wanted desperately to communicate that, but I was terrified of saying the wrong thing.

He nodded. "I'm nervous too. This whole landlord and tenant thing…"

"Right," I agreed.

We shared a laugh. It was a good laugh, shedding our mutual discomfort. In just a few words, we had managed to find a viable solution to the problem that had been plaguing us since we had met. We would take a step back from our passionate lovemaking and establish a relationship first. I liked him, he liked me, and we would mutually decide to ignore the landlord/tenant issue. It was a win-win. I couldn't wait for Friday. I could put aside all my concerns about the hair salon and just enjoy a night out with my new guy. I decided to call it a night and stole one more kiss before heading to bed.