Page 79 of The Scars We Heal

“All right, Whitley. Are you ready?”

She nodded.

“Are you ready, Caitlin?”

I drew a large breath then exhaled before nodding.

“Okay, I’m going to cut a little longer than where you originally said, and then we’ll trim it to the perfect length.” Emily walked us—namely me—through what she was going to do, and then she got to work.

With the first snip, a quiet sob left my mouth, but I clamped my hand over it. My little girl was growing up, and I had no way of stopping it.

“Are you doing okay, Mama?” Emily checked.

“I’m doing great.” My vision was a little blurry, but after taking a look at Whitley’s new haircut, pride burst in my chest. My little girl knew what she wanted, and she went for it.

When Whitley’s haircut was done, Emily blow-dried it and put it in a cute half-up style with pigtails.

“Ta-da!” She presented the haircut to Whitley in the mirror. “Do you love it?”

She nodded, and the giant smile on her face made it all worth it.

“You look beautiful, bug.” I kissed her forehead and helped her out of the chair and into the one I was sitting in.

“I’m going to sweep this and then we can get started with yours, okay?”

I nodded, taking a seat and fidgeting with my hands.

Emily put a cape on me, and we made eye contact in the mirror. “All right. What do you think? Are we going with a trim or something more dramatic?”

“I think I want to cut my hair,” I murmured as Adam ran his fingers through the long strands. “It gets in the way this long.”

He wrinkled his nose a bit. “Don’t. It won’t suit you.”

A giant pit formed in my stomach. “What do you…”

Adam let out a long, exasperated sigh. “I’m just saying, Caity, long hair looks better on you. Short hair will draw too much attention to…” He gestured at my body, focusing on the curves of my hips. “I just think your hair is pretty the way it is. You’re tall, too, so it looks better long.”

“Oh, well…” I stumbled over my words, unsure of how to respond to the backhanded compliment whiplash he had just given me. “I guess I could just get a trim again.”

I stared at my reflection in the long mirror, teeth skimming over my bottom lip.

Bucket list item number six: Make a change in appearance that you’ve always wanted.

Fuck it. If Whitley can be brave, then so can I.

“Let’s chop it.”

Emily squealed, bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands. “I was hoping you’d say that! You’re going to look gorgeous with short hair.”

I flashed a toothy grin at her in the mirror. “I think so, too.”

“Ooh, and while we’re at it, what do you think about highlights?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

jake

Idefinitely wasn’t waiting for Caitlin to get back home from her hair appointment. And I definitely didn’t drool like a goddamn dog when she stepped out of her car with shoulder-length hair that shone golden in the sunlight.