Page 44 of Weather the Storm
Magnolia: On a Tuesday? You’re cruel.
Simon: Gotta keep ’em on their toes, Goldilocks.
Magnolia: You’re something else entirely. See you tonight.
Simon: Looking forward to it.
I tuck my phone back into my apron pocket right as my timer buzzes. After silencing the alarm, I check Mary Katherine’s hair. “S-so close. I think ten more minutes and we’ll be g-good.”
Mary Katherine doesn’t bother to reply, too consumed with texting someone. Without consciously meaning to, I glance down at her phone screen.
I try to pull my eyes away—truly, I do—but right there, on her screen, clear as day, is a thread with Grant’s number at the top, though the name on it is Eddie.
My heart hammers in my chest. My vision blurs. Cool sweat slips down from my hairline, skating over my temple. My hands shake and my breath whooshes out of my lungs. The room is spinning.
Stumbling, I flee back to the dispensary. I don’t know what to make of this.Why is she here? Why is she doing this? Does she know who I am? Is she going to hurt me?Questions race through my mind at warp speed. Panicked, I do the only thing I can think of and call Simon.
It rings and rings, as I knew it would. Finally, his voicemail picks up, and after the beep, I spill my guts, telling him what’s happening.
I lay my head on my arms, propping them on the table. Practicing deep breathing, I don’t hear anyone entering the room. “You okay?” my cousin asks, and I damn near jump ten feet off the seat.
“No,” I whisper.
Seraphine lays her hand on top of mine. “What’s going on, honey?”
I relay to her the same story I did to Simon’s voicemail, and she’s instantly ready to go to war. “What the fuck? Do we need to call the police?”
“I…I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Maybe?”
“How about I’ll keep a close eye, and the second she acts weird, I’ll call?” Seraphine suggests.
“Y-yeah, I guess that’ll work.” I pull my timer from my pocket and realize I forgot to reset it. “Crap! It’s been longer than ten minutes!”
Regardless of who she is and who she’s dating, I have no desire to damage her hair, so I fly to my station where she’s still seated and texting away. “Let’s h-head to the shampoo b-bowl!” I exclaim, pivoting her chair to face the washroom.
Mary Katherine beams up at me and tucks her phone into her purse before following behind me. I go through the motions of rinsing the lightener from her hair, relieved and pleased with the tone. I lather her up with some shampoo and do a deep conditioning mask, which sits for five minutes.
After rinsing her hair with cool water, I wrap her head in a towel and lead her back to my chair. “Are we c-cutting today?”
“Oh, no. No, thank you. Eddie likes my hair long.” I have to hold back my snort, because she’s right; Grant never allowed me to have my hair shorter than my waist. So, naturally, the first thing I did after I fled was cut it up to dust the top of my chest—a small rebellion in hindsight, but a start, all the same.
“Got it.” I towel-dry her hair before spritzing it with a bit of blow-dry spray. I section her hair again and blow it out, styling it into long, sleek waves. I turn her to face the mirror and she leaps from the chair, tilting her head and inspecting the results from every angle before she throws her arms around my neck.
“Oh, Magnolia! This is even better than I hoped for! Eddie brought me down here with him on a business trip and didn’t want me to be bored, so he booked me an appointment here! I just know he is gonna love this!” Mary Katherine looks down, biting her lip. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but he hated my hair the last time I had it done, and he didn’t speak to me until I went and had it redone. I had to save up for two months!”
I just about choke on my tongue. “O-oh, um…w-well, hopefully he’ll like this.”
“I know he will,” she assures me, hugging me again.
“Gr-great. Seraphine will check you out up front,” I say, urging her to go, because my God, I feel like I’m going insane right now.
I trail behind Mary Katherine, lingering just behind the partition that separates the reception area from the main salon. She and Seraphine exchange a few pleasantries before Mary Katherine heads out the door.
I watch on in shock as a black Audi A4 pulls to a stop out front. “Seraphine! Call the cops! That’s Grant!” The words have barely passed my lips before Seraphine has the phone in her hand.
She relays the pertinent information to the dispatcher, and now we just have to hope they’re able to catch and serve him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
