The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(4)

“I’ve never seen you cry like this,” Charlotte said.

“Not since that rotten boy ruined your reputation our sophomore year,” Piper said.

“I’d almost forgotten about that son of a bitch,” Charlotte said.

“You’ve got every right to be pissed.” Trixie laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll come back later for a cut and highlights. I understand how you feel, but don’t worry about the shop. If we’ve proven anything up at Clawdy’s, it’s that gossip is damn good for business.”

“I’ll do your hair, Trixie,” Piper said. “I don’t have an appointment for another hour, so I can do it with no problem. Just take a seat in my chair and I’ll be right there. Stella, pull yourself together. This isn’t the end of the world.”

Charlotte whispered, “What happens if God answers their prayers? We’re right in the middle of planning my wedding. I don’t mean to be selfish, but we’ve barely got started and those Angels are pretty powerful. My aunt is on the team and she’s a true believer.”

“She can’t get married at all and neither should any of you,” Piper said. “It’s all real good until about that seventh year and then he’ll decide he wants to be a bachelor again and he’s not ready for those two kids you had. No, he doesn’t want to share custody. Every other weekend and two weeks in the summer is fine with him because he and the bitch he’s sleeping with are too busy to take care of kids any more than that. Then you’ll be totally responsible for six-year-old twin boys and all the bills.”

Stella heard them talking. She understood that they had her best interests at heart even if they did disagree. Charlotte wanted her to be as happy as she was with Boone, and Piper wasn’t over the pain of a divorce. Stella was happier than she’d ever been in her whole life, but she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about her new love . . . not yet.

Keeping a great big secret from them both was hard enough, but keeping it from her mother had been tougher. Mixed emotions shot through Stella. She was pissed—God almighty, but she was pissed—but a tiny little part of her heart understood that her mama only had her best interests at heart. Too bad that little 10 percent couldn’t do anything about the pissed-off 90 percent.

Her phone rang and she answered it, “Have you seen that sign?”

“Yes, sweetheart, I saw it. Are you okay? What do you want to do?” the familiar deep voice asked. “You want me to cancel the meeting this morning and come to the shop? You sound like you’ve been crying. I can’t stand to think of you upset like this.”

“I’ll be okay, and no, a thousand times no, don’t come to the shop. We’ve got to keep this under wraps for a few weeks, and if you walked in the door right now, I’d melt into your arms in a weeping mess.”

“I love you, Stella,” he said.

“I love you right back. I’ll be fine and I’ll see you later tonight.”

Her forehead made a pop when it hit the table again. Her gut twisted up tighter than a hangman’s noose, and she forgot to inhale until her lungs started to burn.

She sat up and said loudly as she headed back into the shop, “I should go down to the church and set that damn sign on fire.”

“The more you stir in shit, the worse it smells. Laugh it off when anyone asks you about it. Tell them you’re having triplets and Nancy is going to have to babysit them so you can make a living since you don’t have a husband. Spread it around that Nancy will be sorry she ever wanted a grandchild since they’re all going be red-haired demons,” Trixie said.

“I’m only twenty-six. I’m not an old maid,” Stella said.

“No wonder everyone in town is so happy to see so many weddings going on. We are known for our hot peppers. We sure wouldn’t want that to change to being known for having too many old maids in town,” Trixie teased.

Stella slumped down on the other end of the sofa from Charlotte, leaned her head back, and pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers. It didn’t erase the headache but at least she’d stopped seeing red dots in front of her eyes. “I can’t go to church on Sunday with that sign out there, and besides, Jed always reads the prayer list.”

“Oh, yes, you can and you will,” Trixie said. “If you don’t go, the gossip will just get worse. They’ll say that you are home with morning sickness. Besides, you’ll be at the piano, so nobody will turn around and stare at you when he says your name.”

Piper finished the haircut and motioned for Trixie to follow her to the shampoo sink. “I agree with Trixie. Pretend it’s all a big joke. Sit right there on the piano bench and smile. It will take him three minutes to read the whole list and then he’ll start preaching. Everyone will forget the names by the time he gets finished.”

Trixie nodded in agreement. “It’ll be good for both of our businesses. Folks will flock to the café to gossip and then they’ll come by here to make an appointment and take a look at Stella. The minute they walk out the door, they’ll call everyone they know to report that you don’t have a baby bump yet. You have just become Cadillac’s brand-new celebrity.”

Stella’s hand went from nose to eyes. “What if everyone in town starts trying to find a husband for me? Mama has already embarrassed the hell out of me on more than one Sunday, inviting men over to dinner and expecting me to be nice to them.”