Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold #1)(72)

“I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all this,” she said.

“It’ll pass. Things will get back to normal.” He paused by her office. “I just want her to catch the bastard who’s doing this.”

“So does the chief.”

“I think she’s happiest when she’s arresting someone.”

“Everyone needs a moment of joy in his or her life.”

Robert shuffled his feet. “Are you… How are things going with Josh?”

Not a question she wanted to answer, she thought, wishing this were easier. “Good.”

“You really like him, don’t you?”

As she was sure being in love fell very close to “really liking” she had no problem nodding.

“Too bad.” He turned and walked away.

Another downside of small-town life, she thought. There was no way to escape seeing Robert. Working with him didn’t make matters easier. She could only hope he would find someone who could appreciate his niceness, along with his little quirks.

WEDNESDAY AFTER WORK, Charity headed out on an errand she’d been rescheduling for some time. She liked her new and improved wardrobe, which was great, but now she had to deal with her hair.

She’d been wearing it exactly the same way since she graduated from high school. Blown dry, so no hint of her natural waves showed, parted in the middle, hanging just below her shoulders. Some days she pulled it back in a French braid. Other days she wore it up. Occasionally it was loose. But there wasn’t anything stylish about it and the color was a boring medium brown. It was time for a change.

She’d asked around for recommendations and had been given two names. Sisters who were in competition with each other. Pia had warned her she would have to alternate between the two unless she wanted people to think she was taking sides. When Charity had asked what the fight was about, Pia couldn’t say for sure, which was part of the problem. No one really knew, which made staying out of trouble that much harder.

But they were the best hairstylists in town, so Charity had randomly chosen Julia’s salon—Chez Julia—not to be confused with her sister’s establishment, the House of Bella.

“You’re the one who wanted to live in a small town,” Charity reminded herself as she walked toward the bright blue building. There were posters of hair models in the window, a lush garden out front and a porch with a rocking chair.

She stepped into the surprisingly large salon. There were about ten stations lined up along two walls. The windows provided a lot of natural light. The main colors were a deep brown, from the wood at the stations, and turquoise. The walls were a rich blue-green up to the chair rail, then cream to the ceiling. The tile floor was done in a dozen shades of turquoise. Soft music played in the background, the place was spotless and had an air of relaxed elegance. Under any other circumstances, Charity would have been pleased with her find.

Instead she found herself feeling trapped as everyone in the salon turned to look at her, then didn’t look away. It was as if they knew who she was—which they probably did.

An attractive woman in her forties hurried toward her. “Charity,” she said. “You’re my four-thirty. I’m Julia. So nice to meet you.”

“Hi.”

Julia glanced behind and made a shooing motion, then returned her attention to Charity. “Ignore them. I do.”

Charity managed a smile. “Just like being the new girl in school.”

“I know. But it will get better, I promise.” Julia smiled. “Now, I have you down for highlights and a cut. Come have a seat and tell me what you were thinking of doing.”

Charity followed her to a station in the back. She sat in the padded chair and faced herself in the mirror. Julia stood behind her, waiting.

“I want something different,” Charity told her. “I’ve been wearing my hair at the same length, in relatively the same style, for years. The color needs help, too.”

Julia ran her hands through Charity’s hair. “Very thick,” she murmured. “Do you have a wave?”

“Sort of. I control it with blow drying.”

“About how much time are you willing to spend in the morning?”

“Not more than fifteen minutes. I don’t have the patience for it.”

“Good to know.” Julia tilted her head. “We’ll do subtle highlights? Nothing too obvious. Just enough to give you a little depth.”

“That sounds great.”

“And for the cut, I’m thinking a blunt longish bob, with bangs.”

Charity blinked. “Bangs?”

Julia dropped her hands to Charity’s shoulders and squeezed. “Trust me.”

By now conversation had resumed around them. Charity decided to simply go with the flow. Hair grew. If she didn’t like the new style, eventually she could go back to what she’d been doing before.

Julia left her with a couple of magazines and went off to mix color. A few minutes later, Charity was covered in a plastic cape while Julia expertly applied color to a few strands of hair, then carefully wrapped them in foil.

“How are you settling in to living here?” Julia asked. “It’s been a few months.”

“I really like it. I’ve never lived in a small town before. The adjustment has been fun.”