“Very funny,” Adrian said. “Kiss your girl so we can get back to the station.”
“With pleasure,” Elijah said. He reached for my hand and pulled me down the hallway toward the library in the back of the first floor. “I wish I had time to show you just how much I appreciated brunch,” he said once we were behind the closed door. “I love you, Freckles.” He pressed a lingering kiss against my lips, making me sigh with need and want when we broke apart.
“I love you too. I’m looking forward to you nabbing the chicken snatcher today and kicking ass on the ball diamond tonight.”
“I do have a game tonight, don’t I? I can’t believe I forgot.”
“Me too. You never forget.”
“I guess there’s a lot on my mind.”
I reached up and ran my fingers over the furrowed V of his brow. I knew he was worried about his dad and had called home every day since we returned from our visit. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You’re already doing it. I’d be a fucking mess right now if not for you.”
“Elijah, I haven’t done anything special.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but a firm knock sounded at the door. “Elijah, Memphis just got an alert on his computer.”
Elijah dropped a quick kiss on my forehead. “I’ll give you an update as soon as I can.” He opened the library door and revealed a frazzled Adrian standing there. “Are they in the woods right now?”
“The alert is for my house. Sally Ann took the kids for their routine checkup which means they were watching our house. The alarm we rigged to the coop scared them off before they could nab Elvis, Patsy, Aretha, and Gaga.”
“Let’s get going, partner,” Elijah said as seriously as if Adrian had said someone had tried to abduct his kids. His family was clearly attached to the rooster and chickens.
“Thanks again, Maegan,” Adrian yelled over his shoulder as they disappeared down the hallway.
Everyone else left soon after so we could all get on with our day. My hair schedule might’ve gotten out of whack, but I still had my standing bi-monthly appointment for a manicure and pedicure. My mom often joined me, but she had made plans with friends to have lunch and see a rom-com movie my dad didn’t want to see, so I settled into the pedicure chair with the next book for our book club. I’d have plenty of time to catch up with Dee during the manicure. I quickly got lost in the world of Kevin Kwan’sCrazy Rich Asians. The film was scheduled to release soon, so I thought it would be fun if we read the book as part of our book club then went to see the movie in the theater to compare differences. The girls all seemed to be on board after I texted them in a group chat while I made brunch, so I decided there was no better time to start the new book than on my day off.
I chose a dark, sparkly purple nail polish for my toes and a pale lavender color for my fingernails. Who said your toenails and fingernails had to match? I planned to head back home after Dee finished, but her sister, Josi, stopped by and said she had a cancellation and asked if I was willing to try a new facial peel she’d recently purchased. She assured me my bravery would get me a full facial as part of the deal.
How the hell could I pass that up? Of course, I madeFun with Dick and Janereferences which cracked Josi up while she went through her routine.
“I assure you this isn’t a product testing session like the one in the movie. This peel has already gone through a rigorous testing process. I just need to get a feel for how it works on other skin types besides my own. It says it’s made for all skin types, but I always look at a product sideways when it says that. I’m oily as hell, so how could any product that works for me work on someone with dry skin, or even combination skin like yours.”
“What’s the verdict?” I asked, looking up at her as she examined the texture and feel of my skin once she finished.
“I admit I’m very impressed. How does it feel to you?”
“Tingly, but in an invigorating way and not a scary, my-face-is-about-to-swell way.” I raised my hand and touched my skin. “My face has never felt this smooth before, Josi. I’m so glad I agreed to be your guinea pig.”
“The product information recommends you keep your face free of makeup for twenty-four hours. I probably should’ve stated that part up front.”
“Not a problem,” I replied. “I don’t always wear it, and no events are occurring in the next day which require me to go full-on glam. Do you plan on selling this facial peel at the salon, or can we only get it by booking an appointment?”
“That’s for Josh to decide, and I’ll discuss it with him when he gets back. This product recommends monthly use only. There’s a risk someone would buy it from our salon, damage their skin after not following directions, and sue us. For that reason alone, I don’t see Josh selling it like we do other products. I’d think he’d want this service monitored to make sure we’re doing it to the manufacturer’s specifications.”
“Makes sense, and I will gladly shell out the money to have a face that feels like this,” I said then hugged her goodbye.
I left Curl Up and Dye feeling like a brand-new person with fresh nails and a vibrant, glowing face. I’d hoped to hear Elijah and Adrian had nabbed the chicken snatchers, but I didn’t hear a peep from him as the late morning turned into mid-afternoon. I made a light lunch and took it out on the covered back porch to enjoy while doing more reading. I didn’t worry about Lulu running off as long as there was a single piece of grilled chicken left on my salad.
My cell phone rang midway through lunch, and I debated whether I wanted to answer it when I saw unknown caller displayed on the screen. It reminded me of how Elijah ignored the calls on his phone then later worried he could’ve missed out on reconnecting with his dad.
“Hello,” I said into the phone.
“Hello,” a rich, baritone voice said. “Is this Maegan Miracle?”
“Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?”
