The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(79)

With a moan, she headed toward the door and to the bathroom. She didn’t turn on the light when she washed her hands because she didn’t want to see herself in the mirror above the sink. She made her way from there to the kitchen as quietly as possible and opened the refrigerator.

“You couldn’t sleep, either?” Piper said from the table.

Stella squealed, slammed the refrigerator door, and jumped six inches straight up off the floor. “You scared the shit out of me. What you doing sitting in the dark?”

“Trying to figure out a way to apologize to you and disappoint your mama,” Piper answered.

Stella turned on the light above the table, pulled out a chair, and sank down into it. “My heart is still racing. You scared me so bad that I saw the pearly gates in the distance. Thank God, I’d already been to the bathroom.”

“I probably would have seen the biggest bonfire Lucifer could get going instead of hearing angels singing and playing harps if you dropped dead,” Piper said.

“Enough of the lame jokes. What are you doing sitting in the dark and why are you saying that about disappointing Mama?”

Piper shrugged. “I didn’t think to ask you when Nancy made that offer. They’re your parents, not mine. And I’d be overstepping my boundaries to move out there. I can’t do that to our friendship. I love you too much, Stella.”

Stella pushed her red hair out of her face. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“I keep saying this but it’s the truth. You and Charlotte have helped me get through the tough times. Remember that old saying about how a good friend will double your joy and half your sorrows? That’s what y’all do. And you’ll wind up resenting me if I move that close to your folks. Your dad will get even closer to the boys than he is now and when you have children . . .” She let the sentence trail off.

Stella reached across the table and laid a hand on Piper’s. “I get so mad at my mama that I could strangle her, but believe me when I tell you she’s got a big heart and there’s plenty of room in it for all of us.” She paused to get the next words right. “And FYI, honey, it was my idea in the first place. I suggested that she offer you that trailer house and that she bring up the idea of renting your place to a teacher. Rosalee asked me last week if I knew of any rental property available. Her friend’s great-niece, or was it her neighbor’s son’s dog walker’s cousin’s boyfriend’s cousin by marriage—you know how it goes in Cadillac—is one of those new teachers that Mama mentioned.”

Piper giggled. “You can always make me laugh with that line.”

“It’s not a line. It’s the gospel truth according to Rosalee and is probably one of the lost books they talk about sometimes in church. If truth was known there’s a cousin’s camel walker who married a niece’s maid somewhere in there, but it got lost in the uncle’s tent as they crossed the Red Sea.”

“Hush or I’ll laugh so hard I’ll start snorting,” Piper said and then got serious. “Are you absolutely sure? I can turn this around in the morning and find another place. Hell, we could convert the top floor of the building we rented for the shop into an apartment. Darla Jean lives in the back of her church a few doors down. The boys and I could turn the back of the building into livable space.”

Stella shook her head hard enough that her hair was soon back in her eyes. “I won’t have Luke and Tanner living above a beauty shop and playing on the sidewalk. Kids need fresh air and sunshine. So yes, ma’am, I’m sure.”



Rosalee followed Stella into the shop, set a paper bag of tomatoes on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and eased down into the corner. “Y’all have to share them but I guess the whole bunch of you are livin’ together most of the time anyway. When do Piper’s boys come home?”

Stella smiled. “You are sitting in Agnes’s favorite spot.”

Rosalee waved a hand in a gesture that said Agnes wouldn’t care. “Arthritis is acting up or I’d help y’all pack tonight. Don’t look so surprised. Nancy and I had breakfast together at Clawdy’s this morning and she had to tell someone or she’d blow up. And I can keep a secret for at least two days. I did tell Agnes, but that don’t count.”

“I want to surprise the boys,” Piper said.

Rosalee put a finger over her lips and closed her eyes. With the heavy silence, the shop was as eerie as the music in a horror film. Finally her eyes popped open and her mouth turned up in a wide grin. “Agnes left the story about you moving out up to me and I just figured it all out.”

“What?” Stella asked.

Rosalee just smiled. “If you want a diversion to work, even in gossip, it’s got to have just enough truth in it to shock the shit out of everyone. Y’all just go right on about your business and don’t try to be all secretive about a damn thing. I’ll take care of the rest,” Rosalee said. “I’ll call Agnes after a while and we’ll hash it out to see if I’m on the right track. I’ve had more fun this summer than I’ve had in years.”

“You can tell us so we’ll be ready for whatever you two old gals cook up,” Charlotte said.

“Y’all just get on about your jobs tonight and trust me to do mine. Now, let’s talk about the barbecue ball. I’ve rented a limo to take us and Agnes and Nancy and whoever from Bless My Bloomers and Clawdy’s wants to go with us,” Rosalee said in the same tone that she’d told them they had to share the tomatoes.