Hill Country Home by Hawthorne Kit

Author:Hawthorne, Kit
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

JENNA TOOK AN anxious look in the mirror and cautiously admitted to herself that she was more than usually satisfied with her reflection. Her hair was gathered into an asymmetrical French braid that started at the left, slanted across the back and ended in a thick braid trailing over her right shoulder. Different shades of blonde wove in and out of the braid, from deep gold to streaks of an almost flaxen color. The style was a definite step up from her usual hair clip twist. She’d even put on some makeup—not just her usual quick coat of mascara, but a touch of lip color as well. In keeping with the Fourth of July, she was wearing a red top, blue cutoffs and white Keds. Casual, but pretty. That was the look she was going for. It wasn’t as if this was an actual date, after all.

Halley stood behind her, shaping some loose wisps into open curls that framed Jenna’s face. Jenna could see her intent expression in the mirror.

“You look great,” Halley said. “Tito will be blown away.”

Jenna opened her mouth to retort that she wasn’t trying to blow Tito away, then shut it, because she wasn’t sure it was the truth.

“Thanks,” she said instead. “You’re a genius with hair.”

“I know it,” Halley said complacently. “I got in a lot of practice. My mom used to French braid my hair, and she showed me how on that Barbie hairstyling head toy that I used to have when I was little. I learned to do all sorts of hairstyles on that thing.”

“I remember,” said Jenna.

It was unusual for Halley to voluntarily talk about her mother, or anything from further back than a year and a half in the past. When she did, it was from a certain emotional distance, like a much older person reminiscing about a long-ago childhood. But Halley was a child still. It hadn’t been that many years since she’d played with the Barbie hairstyling head, or her sparkly plastic ponies, or her treasured stuffed animals.

Jenna waited to see if Halley would go on reminiscing, but she didn’t, and Jenna knew better than to push her.

She picked up a bottle of rose-scented lotion and squirted some into her palm. “There is one thing I wanted to mention before we go,” she said. “All our usual rules about identity security still apply. So don’t be talking about where we came from or what our names used to be.”

She could feel Halley staring at her in the dressing table mirror but kept her own gaze fixed on her hands as she rubbed the lotion into them.

“Of course I won’t talk about that,” said Halley. “When have I ever?”

“No, I know. But it is a party. There’ll be a lot of friendly, curious people there. I just don’t want you to get too relaxed and let your guard down.”

Long pause. “Why would you even say that? Have you let your guard down?”

Jenna squirmed. She was not prepared to tell

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