WM6 - Second Chance Cowboy by B.J. Daniels

Author:B.J. Daniels
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: ISBN 978-1-4268-1700-7
Publisher: Harlequin

Chapter Eight

The next morning Arlene Evans did something completely out of character. She got up, showered, dressed and drove into Whitehorse without making her bed, without making her son breakfast, without cleaning up her house or starting a load or two of clothes in the washer.

Twenty minutes later she was sitting in the Cut and Curl, so nervous she could barely contain herself.

“You’re sure?” Linsey asked, looking more worried than Arlene felt. Clearly all the women in the shop had been shocked to see Arlene walk in – and nervous. “I could just trim a little–”

“No. Cut it off.” Arlene closed her eyes at the sound of the scissors. She felt the slight tug at the end of her long, thick hair. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, feeling as if she was losing more than hair. There was a literal attachment to her hair, a familiarity, a constant that she wasn’t sure she could part with.

Too late.

She felt the brush of fingers next to her ear, the cool feel of her wet hair, the whisper of the comb, then the snap of the scissors again and again.

She kept her eyes closed, let her thoughts run. The anger she’d felt at Hank seemed to leave her like the long strands of her hair. She felt herself changing and realized it had been gradual for some time now.

Ever since he’d walked into her life. It was as if he’d started something that couldn’t be stopped. He’d been the catalyst. But even with him gone from her life, she couldn’t stop what was happening to her.

What’s more, she didn’t hear her mother’s voice in her head, berating her, anymore.

And was it just her imagination or did her head feel almost weightless?

She heard Linsey sweeping up the hair around the chair, then finally a timid question, “Want to take a look, Mrs. Evans?”

“Arlene,” she said. “Please call me Arlene.” Slowly she opened her eyes. Her hair was still damp, chin-length but layered so it fell in soft curls around her face.

She stared at herself in the mirror. A stranger. No, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. She knew this woman. This was the woman she could have been. Should have been. This woman had something the old Arlene never had – a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“You hate it,” Linsey said, taking a step back.

“No,” Arlene said quickly. “I love it.” She smiled, surprised how the cut seemed to soften her face, even her voice. “I love it.”

Linsey breathed a relieved sigh and smiled. “It looks good on you. You look so… different.”

The other women in the shop added their approval, as well.

Arlene nodded. She felt different. “Thank you.”

Linsey beamed. Clearly she’d been worried.

Arlene paid her, giving her a nice tip, and stepped out of the shop, lighter, freer somehow. Amazing what a haircut could do. If she’d known this, she would have gotten one a lot sooner.

She smiled at the thought because it was so unlikely. That old Arlene Evans would have hated this haircut.

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