now I don’t want her awakened because she’ll start crying again. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. I just wonder why you’re working sohard to be a tough guy when you’ve got a soft heart.”
Frisco snorted. “No one says I’ve got a soft heart.”
“I do.”
She gave him that don’t-argue-with-me look, and Frisco rolled his eyes.
“Would you hire me for the job?” Annabelle asked.
“No. Well, not for my house. If I was hiring, maybe for Fannin’s crew.”
“Why?”
“If you needed a job, why not?”
“You said you weren’t hiring.”
“That’s when I was annoyed.”
“I think you’re annoyed now, and yet you’d still hire me for Fannin’s house.”
“I didn’t say that. I said if. And that’s a big if.”
“You’re letting me sleep in your room.”
“You made yourself at home!”
“I think you’re more softhearted than you care for anyone to know.”
“Well, I’m not an evil weasel. I wouldn’t abandon a woman—” He stopped, catching himself. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
She drew a deep breath. “You couldn’t mean it in a bad way, Frisco, because there’s no way you could guess the truth. Tom left me for a Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurl.”
“A what?”
“A rival beauty salon employee. Across the street from our shop, Delilah’s own sister set up shop, determined, I guess, to put her out of business. There’s some feud between them that I don’t know everything about, but it’s pretty all-consuming. For the last three years, everything Delilah has done Marvella somehow manages to do one better.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re painting an awful picture. Two bossy beauty queen sisters at each other’s throats.”
She gazed at him steadfastly. “It’s really hurt Delilah, both emotionally and financially. She’s devastated. And then when Tom walked out on me for Dina, I think it was all Delilah could bear. She treats me like a daughter, and to Delilah, Tom was the one thing Marvella should have kept her mitts off.”
“Tom left you for Dina. How did Marvella have anything to do with that?”
“Oh. The Never Lonely girls are pretty good at stealing our customers. We get all the ladies who won’t suffer to step foot in a place where they suspect their men are getting more than a close shave. And we get the old men whose wives don’t want them getting their bald heads shined by a—”
“Whoa. Stop. Back up.” Frisco shook his head. “You’re scaring me.”
“Don’t like haircuts?”
While his hair did hover pretty much along theback of his neck, straggling inside and outside of his shirt collar depending on the wind and working conditions, Frisco couldn’t say he was scared of a pair of scissors. “I’m a little surprised that a man who was having a pretty baby like Emmie would do business elsewhere, if you’ll excuse the bad choice of words.” He eyed Annabelle and decided for the tenth time that she was lacking just about nothing to make a man happy—at least outwardly. “And you’re not exactly hard on the eyes,” he said gruffly.
She lowered her gaze. “Thank you. We’ve never been quite certain what they’re doing over there to steal our clientele, but my ex-fiancé must have liked whatever it was enough to…”
“Desert. Like a petty coward.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to be too rough on Tom, because I did fall in love with him. But fatherhood must have spooked him, and I guess he needed a trim and instead of facing me, he went to the Never Lonely—”
“Have you talked to him since Emmie was born?” he asked, his heart hammering roughly in his chest. What a loser, what a pathetic sidewinder she’d picked to fall in love with! Poor Emmie. Frisco settled into the chair more comfortably, reclining as if he were relaxed, determined to conceal his disgust.
“No. I left a message on his answering machinethat we’d had a daughter. Six pounds, seven ounces, blue eyes, heart-shaped lips, perfect
“Nothing. I just wonder why you’re working sohard to be a tough guy when you’ve got a soft heart.”
Frisco snorted. “No one says I’ve got a soft heart.”
“I do.”
She gave him that don’t-argue-with-me look, and Frisco rolled his eyes.
“Would you hire me for the job?” Annabelle asked.
“No. Well, not for my house. If I was hiring, maybe for Fannin’s crew.”
“Why?”
“If you needed a job, why not?”
“You said you weren’t hiring.”
“That’s when I was annoyed.”
“I think you’re annoyed now, and yet you’d still hire me for Fannin’s house.”
“I didn’t say that. I said if. And that’s a big if.”
“You’re letting me sleep in your room.”
“You made yourself at home!”
“I think you’re more softhearted than you care for anyone to know.”
“Well, I’m not an evil weasel. I wouldn’t abandon a woman—” He stopped, catching himself. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
She drew a deep breath. “You couldn’t mean it in a bad way, Frisco, because there’s no way you could guess the truth. Tom left me for a Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurl.”
“A what?”
“A rival beauty salon employee. Across the street from our shop, Delilah’s own sister set up shop, determined, I guess, to put her out of business. There’s some feud between them that I don’t know everything about, but it’s pretty all-consuming. For the last three years, everything Delilah has done Marvella somehow manages to do one better.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re painting an awful picture. Two bossy beauty queen sisters at each other’s throats.”
She gazed at him steadfastly. “It’s really hurt Delilah, both emotionally and financially. She’s devastated. And then when Tom walked out on me for Dina, I think it was all Delilah could bear. She treats me like a daughter, and to Delilah, Tom was the one thing Marvella should have kept her mitts off.”
“Tom left you for Dina. How did Marvella have anything to do with that?”
“Oh. The Never Lonely girls are pretty good at stealing our customers. We get all the ladies who won’t suffer to step foot in a place where they suspect their men are getting more than a close shave. And we get the old men whose wives don’t want them getting their bald heads shined by a—”
“Whoa. Stop. Back up.” Frisco shook his head. “You’re scaring me.”
“Don’t like haircuts?”
While his hair did hover pretty much along theback of his neck, straggling inside and outside of his shirt collar depending on the wind and working conditions, Frisco couldn’t say he was scared of a pair of scissors. “I’m a little surprised that a man who was having a pretty baby like Emmie would do business elsewhere, if you’ll excuse the bad choice of words.” He eyed Annabelle and decided for the tenth time that she was lacking just about nothing to make a man happy—at least outwardly. “And you’re not exactly hard on the eyes,” he said gruffly.
She lowered her gaze. “Thank you. We’ve never been quite certain what they’re doing over there to steal our clientele, but my ex-fiancé must have liked whatever it was enough to…”
“Desert. Like a petty coward.”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to be too rough on Tom, because I did fall in love with him. But fatherhood must have spooked him, and I guess he needed a trim and instead of facing me, he went to the Never Lonely—”
“Have you talked to him since Emmie was born?” he asked, his heart hammering roughly in his chest. What a loser, what a pathetic sidewinder she’d picked to fall in love with! Poor Emmie. Frisco settled into the chair more comfortably, reclining as if he were relaxed, determined to conceal his disgust.
“No. I left a message on his answering machinethat we’d had a daughter. Six pounds, seven ounces, blue eyes, heart-shaped lips, perfect
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