The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(38)

Stella quickly dialed Jed’s number. It rang four times before he picked up.

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” she said.

His laughter bounced out of the phone into the bedroom. “Now, that’s a story for our old age, darlin’. You’d just gotten in the shower and Piper yelled something from the living room. When she realized that you were in the shower she went straight to the kitchen. I chose my moment and slipped out the door, around the house, across a couple of yards, and came out on the next street over and jogged back to my place. Folks know I run and a couple of cars slowed down and asked if I needed a ride.”

Stella’s heart settled to a steady beat instead of a gallop.

Even his chuckle had a deep Texas drawl that flat-out set her hormones to humming. She might never forgive those two hussies for interfering with her strip tease and the hot sex afterward. Dammit! They should start sneaking into the beauty shop and using the sofa!

“It’s okay, darlin’. A long run and a cold shower will take care of things,” Jed said.

“I hate this. I’m almost ready to say to hell with it and tell the world.”

“I’m ready to do just that anytime you are.”

“We’ve come this far and it’s not much longer.” She sighed. “I can endure it until you sign the contract. Besides, they think Mama made supper as atonement for her sins. I’m going to lay the blame off on Agnes because she’s been eating everything in sight at the shop. And next week I’m changing the locks on all my doors and nailing my windows shut.”

“That’d just cause a bigger problem.” He laughed again. “If they leave early enough, call and I’ll come back over.”

“I’ll kick them out in the yard at nine if they aren’t gone. It’ll be good dark by then,” she said.

“Darlin’, we don’t have to do things this way. I mean it from the depths of my heart when I say that they can take us both or we can both leave Cadillac,” he said.

“They didn’t ask me before they put their praying panties on, so I’m not giving them any satisfaction until after that damn ball. The hiring committee meets next week. If we get caught after that, it’s okay, but it would be nice to put our names in the already-taken bowl at the barbecue ball,” Stella said.

What if it comes down to a choice? Leave with your husband or stay with your friends? her conscience asked.

I’ll leave in a heartbeat. I love Jed, but please let Jed’s next church be close enough I can commute, she answered silently.

“Stella, I’m so ready for you to live in the parsonage with me. I want to be married openly, not secretly,” he said seriously.

Her heart flipped twice and her pulse raced. “Me, too, but I know that it will be better for you, for the church, and for Cadillac if we wait until you are hired permanently. I was thinking of announcing it at the ball. What do you think? Are you ready to say that you are married to the town’s worst sinner?”

“I will stand up in the middle of Violet’s barn and use the microphone so everyone can hear it.” He chuckled. “See you later. Love you.”

She shoved the phone back into her purse and headed for the kitchen. Piper and Charlotte had the food arranged on the bar, paper plates set at the end, and ice in red plastic disposable cups.

“So was I right? Did Nancy do this for you?”

Stella picked up a plate and cut into the lasagna with a metal server. “No, ma’am, she did not. That’s not her recipe. She always uses two kinds of cheese on the top and that’s only got one kind. I’m betting that Agnes did it as payback for all the food she’s been eating at the shop. I’ll thank her the next time she comes in, which will probably be tomorrow morning.”

“Tea?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes,” Piper and Stella said in unison.

Charlotte filled three cups and said, “How’d she get in your house? We’re the only ones with keys.”

Piper sipped tea and held up a finger on the other hand until she could swallow. “Hey, that woman can do anything. She’s Agnes-by-damn-Flynn. I wouldn’t put it past her to have bugs stuck all over town and that’s what she calls her snitch.” She took another long sip. “I was spittin’ dust. Now, back to Agnes. A locked door wouldn’t slow her down a bit, and believe me, she will find out who your boyfriend is before that blasted ball. This sure tastes like Nancy’s recipe. I wonder if Agnes talked her into making it without telling her it was for us, or maybe she told her to change it slightly.”

“Boone has a late meeting with a new client, but he should be home by eight thirty or we’d watch Pretty Woman and have a real girls’ night in,” Charlotte said.

Piper carried her tea and plate of food to the table. “I’d rather watch Dirty Dancing, but my boys will be home by nine, so we don’t have time for movies. Besides, I’d rather talk. Rhett called me.” She blurted out the last sentence.

“And?” Stella raised both eyebrows.

“He asked me out to dinner, with or without the boys, my choice.”

“And?” Charlotte’s fork stopped in midair and the lasagna fell back to her plate with a loud plopping noise.

“He’d heard that I thought he was interested in you and just coming around to get to know your friends better. He wanted to clear that up,” Piper said.