“Yes, ma’am. And I’ll be happy to help Boone with the pageant nativity.”
Miss Gertie snorted. “I thought you’d given up on God, Cal Daily. Your mama’s probably rolling in her grave that you’re not attending church. Or at least making more of an effort to get her only granddaughter there.”
She was right. His mama had always been a spiritual person who read the bible daily and expected her son to attend church and have a strong faith in God. But after all he had been through in the last few years, Cal’s faith had been shaken, and he’d stayed away from God’s house. He couldn’t force Cheyenne to attend church when he didn’t.
But Miss Gertie changed his mind.
“Cheyenne should come to the first pageant rehearsal tonight. She’d make a beautiful Mary.”
Cal perked up. “Tonight? The first rehearsal is tonight? What time?”
“Six to nine. But it usually runs over a little the first night because it’s hard to corral that many kids. Although I don’t think Maisy Dawson will have a problem.”
Cal had heard that Maisy Dawson was home for the holidays with her husband Sawyer. Maisy was a rodeo bronc rider. Sawyer had also been a bronc rider, but was now following his wife on the rodeo circuit while he studied to be a veterinarian. They were both good folks and Cal was happy they were home. But he was even happier that he’d found a way to keep Cheyenne busy. The pageant rehearsal would give him and Jolene plenty of nights to meet all the way to Christmas Eve. By that time, he was sure his craving for Miss Applegate would be appeased.
“You’re right, Miss Gertie,” he said. “My mamawouldbe upset at me for not giving Cheyenne a chance to go to church. I’m sure Cheyenne would love to be in the pageant.” He wasn’t sure at all. He could only hope that his stubborn daughter wouldn’t flat refuse.
Surprisingly, Miss Gertie had no trouble talking Cheyenne into it. Probably because Cheyenne knew he’d been avoiding church and just agreed to spite him. But whatever the reason, when he left the hardware store, he couldn’t help whistling. He should feel guilty about using a Christmas pageant to have an affair. But he didn’t.
Ever since Clarissa had left, the holidays had been a time of extra stress. He’d felt unbelievable pressure to make everything twice as special for his daughter because she didn’t have her mother there. Never once in the last four years had he thought about making Christmas special for himself.
But this year, he was going to give himself a present.
And it was pretty darn special.
Chapter Seven
After leavingthe Simple Pharmacy soda fountain, Jolene was nothing but a jumble of nerves. At the bank, she tried to concentrate on work, but her mind kept wandering.
What did one wear for a sexual encounter? Something sexy. But she didn’t own anything sexy. Most of her clothes were conservative and drab. The closest she had to sexy was the maid of honor dress she’d worn to Emma’s wedding, and she would look ridiculous showing up in a formal that matched the house.
She had just decided to leave work early—even if her father thought it set a bad example for their employees—and drive into Abilene to look for a dress when Cal texted with their meeting time. There was no way she could get to Abilene, shop, drive back, and get ready by six. So she stayed until closing, which was three o’clock on Saturdays, then she locked up her office and stopped by her father’s office to tell him she would be going over to Emma’s tonight.
She planned to head straight home to get ready. But she had a change of plans when she drovepast the Simple Hair Salon and saw they were running a holiday special on haircuts.
Jolene stopped for a trim and a blow out. But while she was waiting for her turn, she picked up a magazine and got intrigued by a perfume ad. The model was dressed in a sexy backless dress and extremely high heels and was dragging a fur coat behind her up a long staircase. She had red hair a shade lighter than Jolene’s, but the same length. It fell in a smooth, silky curtain halfway down her back and draped across one eye as she looked over her shoulder. When it was Jolene’s turn, she carried the magazine with her.
Once she got home and could examine the new highlights and hairstyle in the mirror, she wondered if she had made a big mistake. She didn’t look like the model. Nor did she look like herself. But it was a little too late to do anything about it now.
So as not to ruin the new style, she carefully placed her hair in a shower cap and took a bath instead of a shower. Still, she worried the entire time she bathed and shaved. But when she got out of the tub and took the shower cap off, her hair fell right back into place. She carefully applied makeup, using a heavier hand than she had that morning, before she moved to her closet. As she’d thought, she couldn’t find anything sexy. She was about to settle for a black pair of pants and her gray tunic and cardigan when she remembered that Charlotte kept some of her clothes here for the rare times she visited.
Jolene didn’t find any sexy dresses, but she didfind a pair of skinny jeans and a white sweater that crisscrossed in front and tied at the side. Since her sister wore a larger shoe size, Jolene couldn’t wear her shoes. So after getting dressed, she slipped on her pink maid-of-honor heels before moving to the full-length mirror. She might not look sexy, but at least she didn’t look conservative and drab. And Hanna seemed to like it when Jolene walked into the kitchen a few moments later.
“Well, my goodness, don’t you look snazzy.”
Jolene touched her hair self-consciously. “I got a new haircut. Does it look awful?”
Hanna smiled. “It looks beautiful. I’d say it was about time that you got a new hairstyle and started dressing a little more your age. Where are you off too?”
“I’m going over to Emma’s.” She wasn’t exactly lying. Emma did still own the pink house.
“Well, you have fun. You want to eat something before you go? The salmon’s almost ready.”
“No, thank you.” There was no way Jolene could eat anything. Her stomach was too jittery.
It grew even worse as she drove to the pink house. When she parked her car the next block over, her logical brain finally kicked in.
What was she doing? She had convinced herself that no one in town would believe she and Cal would have an affair, but what if she was wrong? If anyone found out she was meeting the town mechanic for sex, it could ruin Jolene’s reputation. Not just personally, but professionally. People in a small town could be very judgmental. If they found out she was sneaking around, theymight not trust her to do their banking. Which wouldn’t just affect her. It would affect her family. As much as she wanted this for herself, she couldn’t hurt her family. The bank wasn’t just her inheritance. It was Charlotte’s too. While her sister didn’t want to be a banker, maybe her children would. The bank had to be preserved for other Applegate generations.
