Cowboy Protector by Lori Wilde & Kristin Eckhardt

Author:Lori Wilde & Kristin Eckhardt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: L&K

That afternoon, Rachel sat in the green room on the set of Pine City People, her hands clenched around each arm of the chair. A charcuterie board of various cheeses and smoked meats sat on a table, along with some fresh cut fruit, but Rachel couldn’t eat a bite.

She could not go out there.

It wasn’t nerves. Pine City People was simply a late-afternoon talk show that featured local citizens, a cooking segment, and an informational piece by the Jolly Greengrocer on the fruit of the month. She’d presented at enough mental health seminars and conferences to be confident in her speaking abilities.

It wasn’t doubts about the interview either. She had a file full of information and studies about holiday depression and ways to alleviate it. Techniques that could really help people. She’d also written a short speech outlining why some people, including members of her Lonely Hearts group, might want to boycott Valentine’s Day.

There was only one reason she couldn’t go on live television. And that reason was her hair.

Her really big hair.

Justine, the show’s hairdresser, had moussed and back-combed and spritzed her thick red hair until it took on a life of its own. At five nine, she’d always been aware of her height, preferring to wear flats so she didn’t tower over other people. But her shoes hardly mattered with four inches of hair sticking up on her head. She looked like an Amazon prom queen.

No one would take her seriously with this hair.

A harried assistant stuck his head in the door. “Five minutes to air, Dr. Grant.”

“Wait,” she cried before he could disappear among all the cameras and cables and chaos. “What’s your name?”

“Devon,” he said, scanning his clipboard. He was head shorter than Rachel with a wiry build and dark stringy hair. And his head never stopped moving as he evaluated everything around him.

“I can’t go out there, Devon.”

The young man looked up, his eyes wide behind his thick glasses. “That is not an option, Dr. Grant. You have to go on.” He checked his watch. “In four minutes and twenty-five seconds.”

“I can’t go on looking like this,” she said, standing up so he could see the full effect. She’d have to duck under doorways with this hair.

His myopic gaze flicked over her from head to toe. Then he shrugged. “The dress is a little dated, but I’ve seen worse.”

“It’s not my dress,” she cried, feeling more self-conscious than ever as she smoothed down the skirt. “It’s my hair. Look at it!”

He walked into the room, circling her as he stared at her hair. “Wow,” he said with a grimace. “That’s some head of hair. Justine must be on her mousse kick again. We had to take away her stash last year.”

She breathed a sigh of relief that he finally understood her dilemma. “Well, I obviously can’t go on looking like this. Can you reschedule me for tomorrow or sometime next week?”

Devon shook his head. “No way. You have to go on today, Dr. Grant. You’re on the schedule and the schedule is sacred around here.

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