The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(56)

Her phone rang and she picked it up with one hand and kept brushing on blush with the other. “Hello, Piper. Are you already at the shop? I don’t have an appointment for another hour so I didn’t get in a hurry. Want me to pick up food for the week on my way?”

Nothing but sobs came through the line.

Charlotte held it out from her ear and there was Piper’s picture.

“Piper, what’s wrong?”

“Brussels sprouts.” The words were barely audible through the tears.

“I’m on my way,” Charlotte said. She dropped the brush, grabbed her work shoes and purse, and ran barefoot to her car.

She couldn’t remember when any one of them had used the code words they’d invented when they were seven years old. It was the one thing they all hated worse than spiders and mice, and the only time it was to leave their lips was if they were in big trouble. Then the other two were to drop everything, even if it got them grounded or sent to prison forever and ever, and go to help the friend in need.

“Please, God, don’t let one of those boys be hurt or dead,” Charlotte prayed out loud as she ran the red light in town and ignored three stop signs.



Stella missed seeing Agnes out on her porch as she jogged past her house. She’d had a glorious weekend at the lake with Jed and they’d talked about what they were going to change when they remodeled the parsonage. She didn’t have a problem with any of his ideas as long as they didn’t give Charlotte and Piper keys. She checked her watch as she slowed to a jog a block from her house. She’d have to rush to get a quick shower and her makeup on if she was going to beat her friends to the shop. If she was late, they’d ask a million questions and it was getting harder and harder to keep quiet about Jed.

Her phone rang as she hit the first step on her porch. She fished it out of the hip pocket of her jean shorts and breathlessly said, “Hello, Piper. Are you already at the shop?”

“Brussels sprouts,” a sobbing voice said.

Stella’s blood ran cold. They’d teased about that code word for years but things had to be really bad for Piper to use it.

“I’m on my way. Do I need to bring a gun or dynamite?” she said as she sorted through her key ring for the right one to start her car.

“No, just you,” Piper said between sobs.

The light was green but if it had been red, Stella would have shot through it like a cannonball. She slid through two stop signs and used up a hundred miles of rubber on her tires getting stopped at the curb in front of Piper’s house. Charlotte pulled in right behind her and they had a footrace to the porch.

“You know anything?” Stella panted as she opened the door.

“Just that it’s an emergency,” Charlotte answered.

“What in the hell are you two doing here?” Gene stood in the middle of the living room floor. “Did she call you?”

Stella glared at him. “We might ask you the same thing.”

Dammit! She should have brought both dynamite and guns or at least a fish fillet knife.

“I’m here to get my boys for their summer visit. I asked you if she called you.” Gene’s tone dripped with ice.

Tanner ran out from the kitchen with Luke on his heels. “Guess what? Daddy woke us up this morning and we’re going to Grandma’s for two whole weeks and guess what else? We had pancakes for breakfast.”

“And Mama is packing our baseball gloves because we forgot so she’s in our room,” Luke said.

Charlotte bent down and kissed each boy on the forehead. “Y’all have a wonderful time at your grandparents’ ranch. But don’t forget to call your mama. She’s going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss her, too.” Luke’s eyes went all teary.

“Now look what you’ve done,” Gene said.

Tanner hit Luke playfully on the arm. “Grandma will let us call every night. She says that we don’t have to ask, that if we want to talk to Mama just go in there and hit the number one key on her kitchen phone. And I bet she’ll come get us for ice cream any time we get to wishin’ for her.”

“These two weeks you will need to ask me before you make calls to your mother. This is my two weeks and I’m the boss and she’s not going to see you at all during my time,” Gene said.

Stella shot him a look that was meant to turn him into a big fat lazy slug, but he just smiled sarcastically. She stooped down and kissed Luke on the forehead. “You ask Grandma while your daddy is at work if you can call your mama. Now I’m going to help her find all the stuff that you will need. We sure don’t want you to forget your favorite pillow, do we?”

Luke did another head-popping gesture. “Forgot that, too. Daddy, you aren’t much good at packin’, are you?”

Stella left Gene to explain that to Luke and headed back down the hallway. She peeked into Piper’s room but it was empty, so she knocked gently on the twins’ door, cracked it open, and peeked inside. Piper was holding a stuffed bunny in one hand and a stuffed giraffe in the other.

Charlotte pushed past her, pulled Stella into the room, and closed the door. She led Piper to the bed and gave her a gentle push and then she and Stella flanked her in a three-way hug.

“It’s all right. Lorene has them all day anyway and they’re used to the place and two weeks will go fast. The only way I can see out of it is to shoot the bastard, and then you’d end up in jail and never get to see the boys,” Charlotte said.