“And that’s why you’ve never had another style but the long one. I like your grandma, but she can be overbearing.” Lia takes a bite of her cake pop.
“So let me get this straight. You’re both cousins, but Andi’s grandma isn’t yours, correct?” Lennox asks Lia.
“Yeah. Our moms were sisters,” I answer for her. “My mom was the oops baby, so there was a huge age gap between them. Lia’s mom passed years ago. Mine married her high school sweetheart and lived on his ranch with his family. He died when I was ten.” I give her the condensed version.
“Sorry for your losses.”
“Both of them were murdered,” Amelia adds. “My mom was dying, but my father’s mistress couldn’t wait and killed her. And Andi’s dad was killed by a woman who wanted the ranch.”
“Dang. Drama follows you all. Remind me not to drink that water.” Lennox chuckles.
I know it bothers my friend, though. She’s from somewhere out west and was raised by adoptive parents who recently passed away. She doesn’t have any other family.
After we finish our sweets, we gather our things and head for the door.
“Hey, Keighley, take care. If you ever want to talk to someone who was a single mom for a long time, give me a call.” Lia hands her card to Keighley.
“How did you know?”
“I know.” That’s all Lia says, and we walk out.
The salon is bustling when we enter. The mix of scents overwhelms me for a moment, but I’m excited for the new experience. A woman in heels walks over to greet us. She’s curvy, with full breasts and cute dimples in her cheeks when she smiles. Her hair is dyed black, blond, and bright pink. Her eyebrows are perfectly sculpted, though a scar runs through one, and her makeup is on point. She has a nose piercing, and both ears are pierced multiple times.
“I’m Joely. You must be Andi.” She reaches out her hand, and I shake it. She’s beautiful, with her tattoos and edgy look.
“Yeah.” I reach up, pull the messy bun from my hair, and let it cascade down to my waist.
“That’s a lot of thick hair.”
“It gives me headaches, and I’m tired of it. I want something shorter.”
“Come with me. You ladies can come too.” She turns to Lia and Lennox. “How is Mama doing today?” Joely asks Lia.
“I’m tired. I swear these boys are going to eat me from the inside out. Maybe they’re parasites.” She jokes.
“Parasite. Parasite. Take it back,” Joely says, and Lennox laughs.
I don’t get it. They all look at me when I don’t respond.
“Oh, it’s a line out ofVenom. That’s a good movie with a sexy guy. You should see it,” Joely says.
“I will.” I chuckle.
Joely leads me to her chair and instructs me to sit and look at her in the mirror. She adjusts the seat to the height she needs before brushing out my hair.
“It looks wavy a bit, but not too much. No curls either. Have you ever noticed them?”
“No. Just long, thick, and straight. It’s only wavy because I braided it last night after my shower, and it’s been mostly up all day too.” My mind briefly flickers to Callum freeing my bun to kiss me.
“Ah, okay. How short are you thinking of going?”
I point out where I want it, and she puts it in a ponytail before cutting it off. She assures me she’ll shape it up, then spends the next hour pampering me as we visit and get to know each other. She tells Lennox and me that we should come hang out with her in town and check out the clubs that allow underage people.
CHAPTER 4
ANDI
Yesterday at the salon,Joely helped teach me how to apply some makeup and even helped me pick out products for doing my makeup and for cleaning my skin, beyond the basic bar of gentle soap I’d been using. My mother is a girly girl, but I never asked her about makeup because we were always so focused on riding and racing. I didn’t even think she’d want to discuss it with me. I learned about makeup from other girls on the circuit, and it wasn’t always very good. So today, I did myself up, and I’m even wearing a dress.
