“I want her arrested for assault. She physically touched me and threw me out.”
“I had to hold my nose to touch you. I bet you go to airports and ask to be patted down, because no one would feel you up otherwise.”
“Everyone, shut up!” Katy flapped her hands and glared at Ginger and the putrid blast from the past. “Ginger, go into the store and stay there. Let me work this out.”
The ferret-eyed Franken-female gave Ginger a superior smirk as Ginger was forced to scurry back into the store like a puppy who’d peed on the rug.
Several minutes later, Katy entered the store, locked the door and turned off the “Open” sign.
“What happened?” Ginger asked.
“I’m sorry,” Katy wrung her hands. “In exchange for her not suing us and having you arrested, I had to promise her I’d fire you. I’ll give you great recommendations and two weeks pay.”
“But Katy, I’ve been working for you since I got out of hairstyling school.” Ginger’s heart shrank behind her ribcage. “I thought we were friends.”
“The woman’s a professional plaintiff. She goes around causing trouble and shaking down businesses. I’m lucky she agreed to you getting fired and free haircuts for a year.”
“You sold me out!” Ginger blurted before she had the sense to take her foot out of her mouth. “I can’t believe you’d take her word over mine.”
“It isn’t a matter of taking her word.” Katy puffed up to her full height, leaving her still a head shorter than Ginger. “I’m a small business person. I’m at the mercy of customers. My reputation as an inclusive place where people of all walks of life are accepted was at stake. The videos are sure to go viral, and I can’t have anyone accusing my employees of being sexist, racist, and all the rest.”
“But, what am I supposed to do?” Ginger took off her salon apron and folded it across the chair.
“Be glad I’m giving you two weeks pay.” Katy looked her up and down. “You’re young. You can bounce back. Me? This salon is all I’m ever going to have. Now, clean up your workstation.”
Her boss walked to the cash register and filled up an envelope with bills.
Blinking back tears, Ginger collected her few personal belongings: a picture of her and her three sisters at a wedding, a plaque for an award from her styling school, and a pink envelope that was left on the chair where the man had been seated.
She opened the envelope and withdrew two tickets to a Valentine’s Day Extravaganza put on by New York City’s most famous billionaire brothers.
Her first impulse was to toss it in the bin. That man didn’t even come to her rescue. He hadn’t wanted to get involved. Washed his hands. Slunk away like a weasel.
She wasn’t going to hunt him down and give him back these tickets. He had walked out and stiffed her. She should consider it a tip. Even if she didn’t use them, she could scalp them for a pretty penny.
The billionaire brothers’ parties were so exclusive, they made the Queen’s birthday parties seem like a squat-party at a riverfront warehouse.
“Here you go.” Katy handed Ginger an envelope full of money. “Enough to tide you over until you find another situation.”
“Not your fault, of course. It’s just business.” Ginger tugged her coat over her shoulders. “Just life in the big, cold-hearted city.”
“You’ve been complaining about the cold-hearted city ever since you came back from that farm trip you took.” Katy gave her the gimlet eye. “If you hate it so much, why don’t you go visit your sisters and hook up with one of those hunky farm boys you keep talking about?”
Ginger’s face flushed hot at the thought of the two groomsmen she and Amber had hung out with. One was quiet and taciturn, a real Marlboro man type while the other was talkative and loquacious, a charmer.
“You know what? I think I will. They still open doors for women. They take off their hats and they say ‘ma’am’ and ‘miss’ and gosh, they blush all cute when they see a pretty girl. Not at all like that beta male who left me dangling in the wind. He saw the whole thing. I was sticking up for him.”
“You should have kept your mouth shut and texted me. I would have been back and all this could have been avoided.” Katy opened the door, dismissing her. “Send me a postcard sometime.”
Chapter Three
“Ginger! You won’t believe who invited you to dinner,” Ginger’s elder sister, Honey, squealed as her husband, Max, dragged her suitcase into their home in Sapphire Falls.
Honey and Max had moved back from San Francisco last Halloween when they’d visited his hometown for a second honeymoon which then led to a Christmas second wedding.
Ginger pulled out her camera phone to snap a picture of the charming, snow-covered Midwestern house with three dormer windows on the second floor and a full porch.
“What was that?” She shook the snow off her boots on the porch before stepping into the mudroom. “Someone hot and hunky invited me to dinner?”
“Ginger!!!” Another sister, Candi, emerged from within the house, arms stretched out for a hug. “Did you really get mugged? Are you all right?”
Duh. Of course she was all right. Otherwise, how did she get on the airplane? But then, what a relief to be safely in Sapphire Falls where the crime rate was below zero—like the temperature.
And really? This was the first question her ditzy sister could ask?
Candi was the eldest sister, but didn’t act like it, letting Honey be the most responsible. She taught ballroom dancing and had also moved to Sapphire Falls recently.
“It’s good to see you again.” Ginger wrapped her arms around Candi and hugged her tightly. “They mugged me, but those idiots didn’t get any of my money.”
After Ginger collected her severance pay, she’d immediately packed her bags and was on her way to the airport when she was attacked outside her building.
“That must have been horrifying,” Honey said, while her four-year-old son, Mattie, and almost two-year-old daughter, Sara, milled around her legs.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Ginger said, not telling them what had brought on the attack. The last thing she wanted to do was to draw attention to her weakness. “I had a decoy purse, and I stuffed the cash in my panties.”
“Good thinking,” Candi said, patting her back. “You’re always the most street smart. Me? I would have panicked and lost control of all my bodily functions.”
Which was actually what happened, but that would have been too much information, especially in front of her nephew and niece who regarded her as a superhero.
“Auntie Ginger, did you shoot the bad guy?” Mattie asked, his eyes round with excitement. He made shooting motions with his finger.
Meanwhile, Sara took notice of her badass aunt and held up her chubby arms. “Auntie, Auntie. I want candy.”
Ginger took two chocolate kisses from her coat pocket and gave each child a hug before unpeeling the chocolate for them. “You two grew so much since Christmas.”
“What really happened?” Candi handed her slippers and took her coat. “And what’s all this about the billionaire’s Valentine’s party? Are you going to be back in time for it?”
“I have the tickets here.” Ginger dug the tickets from her jeans pocket and wiggled her hips. “Are you and Troy interested?”
Troy was a local guy from Sapphire Falls who’d nabbed Candi’s heart over the Christmas holidays and the reason she’d made the move from big city life to small-town country living.
Who knew? Maybe this Valentine’s vacation was her time to get lucky. There seemed to be a trend going on here.
“Who invited us to dinner?” Ginger went back to Honey. This was how their conversations always went, jumping here and there and everywhere, and sometimes getting lost.
“I still want to know how you got mugged,” Candi reminded her. “Did they stalk you? How did they get the jump on you? You’re usually so aware.”
“I wanna know if you shot the bad guy,” Mattie chimed in w
ith a dribble of chocolate running down his chin.
“My superpower isn’t shooting,” Ginger explained to her nephew. “It’s being smart and aware of my surroundings. I put a mousetrap in my decoy purse, and snap! The mugger’s fingers are probably broken.”
“You should have shot him.” The little boy declared, looking disappointed that his aunt actually had feet of clay.
Ginger handed him and Sara another piece of candy and turned to Honey. “Who invited me to dinner?”
“My mother-in-law!” Honey beamed as if Ginger’s entire visit to Sapphire Falls was to get to know her in-laws.
But then again, those in-laws included two gorgeous brothers, Marsh and Mike, who were the groomsmen who’d escorted her and Amber, their youngest sister, as bridesmaids at Honey’s Christmas wedding.
“Will their entire family be at dinner?” Ginger smoothed her red, shoulder-length hair and glanced at herself in the hallway mirror.
“Usually, but Max’s younger brothers might have dates,” Honey said. “His sisters will be there, and they’d like you to cut their hair. Do you also wax and do nails?”
“I do everything, but I’m jet lagged. Can it wait another day?” Ginger would rather cut, curl, and style one of the two brothers, instead.
The older one, Marsh, was broody and quiet, but what a face and body he had. Too bad, it was the younger one, Mike, who had been the major flirt, going between her and her younger sister, Amber.
Nope, it would be slim pickings at the Wolff household with both boys out on dates.
“I’m actually bushed.” She made an effort to yawn. “Would your in-laws be really upset if I missed? I can probably scrounge up some leftovers from the fridge.”
“I thought this trip was about you experiencing country living,” Honey said. “What more authentic place than the Wolff farmhouse? They have a full-functioning barn, a woodpile, pens of livestock, and windmills for electricity.”
“I came to experience the farm boys.” Ginger, being an outspoken New Yorker, had no problem talking straight. “Candi, do you have that lineup I asked you for?”
“You mean the to-do list?” Candi bounced up and down excitedly. “Let’s go to your room and strategize.”
Ginger tottered after Candi to the guest room. The cash in her panties was bunched up and had her panties in a twist.
“Don’t take too long,” Honey hollered from the hallway. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes. It’s game night at the Wolff’s, and who knows which single men might partner up with you at Hand and Foot?”
“Hand and Foot?” Ginger stuck her head out, suddenly interested. “Is this the game where you’re blindfolded and have to touch your partner’s foot? Or using your foot, you try and touch his hand?”
“As you wish.” Honey wiggled her eyebrows. “Be a sport. Come and see.”
* * *
Hand and Foot turned out to be a card game, and Ginger was paired up with Carl Wolff, Max’s ancient father. He was nice enough, and explained all of the rules, including the scoring. Clean books, dirty books, and wild books. Too bad they were only groups of cards, and not the steamy reads Ginger had on her ereader.
The single men turned out to be old guys from their parents’ church, and even though they were nice, polite, and friendly, Ginger’s ovaries shriveled up and went into hibernation.
Whatever had made her think she’d be as lucky as her sisters to come to Sapphire Falls and fall into the lap of a country boy with abs to die for?
“I get to go to my foot!” Carl said, putting down the last card of his hand. “Yee haw!”
“Oh, stop gloating, you,” Carl’s wife, Anne, said. Her partner was Candi, and they were losing.
“It’s so funny,” Carl said. “That the hand you gave me was full of wild cards.”
Ginger’s eyes crossed with boredom, and she suppressed a yawn. Was this considered an exciting night in Sapphire Falls?
The dinner was delicious, and the Wolffs were gracious hosts. Millie and Megan, the two younger sisters, were alternately curious about the big city and giggly, full of stereotypes. Like do all city girls wear red-soled heels, or do all city guys have tattoos and nose rings? And is it true that New Yorkers bite your head off if you ask directions? And did they talk fast and walk fast and have sex fast?
Grrr … It was enough to make Ginger’s redhead explode into a crimson splat—the kind watermelons made when dropped from a skyscraper.
“Ginger? Do you have anything to add to my books?” Carl asked when she took too long with the cards.
“Uh, did you want to keep them clean or can I make them dirty?”
“By all means, the dirtier the better.” Carl wiggled his eyebrows, earning a glare from his wife.
“In that case, I get to move to my foot, too.” Ginger set her cards down in their proper places and picked up her foot. “Wooo, these are some great cards.”
“We sure make a great team, don’t we?” Carl rubbed his hands. “Can’t wait to tally up all the points.”
Both Candi and Anne narrowed their eyes. Meanwhile, at another table, Honey, Max, Megan, and Millie were having a spat while playing Sorry, of all games. It all had to do with Honey expecting Max to not hit her and go after his two sisters, but Max, of course, argued that he was going after his own self interest.
Another table consisted of the four elderly men who were friends of Carl playing bridge.
Yawn.
Ginger took a deep, frustrated breath. Her sisters had lied to her about how stimulating life was in the country. Why, if she were in New York right now, she could be at a bar either watching pay-per-view boxing, or dancing at a swanky club. From Broadway shows to blues clubs to comedy clubs and karaoke, there was always something to do.
“We’re about to go out,” Carl said, exulting with glee.
“I give up.” Anne slapped her cards down. “You gave me the worst cards. I couldn’t get any combinations together.”
“Hey, Ginger brought luck all the way from New York City.” Carl matched his card to the existing books and closed them out.
The front door swung open, bringing a gust of wind which blew the cards across the table.
“Wait, wait!” Carl threw himself over the open and closed books. “We haven’t tallied up the scores yet.”
“Sorry, Dad,” a deep, sexy male voice said.
Ginger’s heart took a flying leap. Yes!
She let her eyes feast off the slab of manly beefcake who presented himself, watching closely as he took off his coat to expose a broad set of shoulders, tapering to a slim and fit waist.
Mouthwatering Marshall Pierre Wolff.
In the flesh.
Oh, yeah!
Marsh turned around to hang up his coat, and Ginger let her gaze linger at the wonderful sight of a man who knew how to wear a pair of jeans—not sagging to his knees like a old woman’s mammary glands, but firm and compact.
Yum.
His hair was medium brown and too shaggy for her taste, but oh la la, did he have potential, what with his strong jaw and the heroic cleft in his chin, those deep brown eyes and the scruff of a day’s growth of beard.
And the hands? Ginger almost swooned as she swallowed her drool. Large, strong, sturdy farmer’s hands hinted at other large, strong, and sturdy body parts.
“Did you find the gate hardware?” his father asked, gathering up the cards and breaking Ginger’s spell.
“Got all the lumber too, and some barbed wire to keep the pigs from getting out.” Marsh strode toward the card table.
He spotted Ginger and gave her a nod, then turned to his mother. “Sorry, I missed dinner. There was a jack-knifed tractor trailer blocking the highway.”
“Leftovers are in the fridge,” Anne said. “You didn’t miss anything but your dad admiring his foot.”
Marsh sauntered toward the kitchen doors taking Ginger’s hungry eyes with him.
As soon as Anne and Carl left the card table, Candi scooted around to Ginger�
�s side. “He’s top of the to-do list. I swear.”
“But you’re engaged to Troy, you shouldn’t even be thinking,” Ginger protested, suddenly feeling very possessive of the big, beautiful farm boy who’d walked through the door. “He was out getting supplies, not on a date like Honey said.”
“Yep, and even better, I heard he’s taking a trip to New York City.”
“What? He’s leaving?” Ginger felt like the rug had been pulled from under her. “When?”
“This weekend. He wants to spend Valentine’s Day in the city. You know what that means?” Candi whispered in her ear. “He’ll need someone to spiff him up. I mean, look at that bowl haircut and those clothes.”
“Oh, yeah, that boy definitely needs my help.” Ginger licked her lips and strode toward the kitchen. “Let me go offer my services.”
“And maybe if you get lucky, you can be his date at the billionaire brothers’ party.”
Ginger swallowed but didn’t answer. The tickets burned a hole in her purse, but she’d come to Sapphire Falls to be a country girl and have a country Valentine’s Day, not rush back to the hellhole where innocent women were mugged and worse on a daily basis.
Nope, if she got her wish, it would be haylofts and barns, and country boys and jeans, fresh air and true love—the kind only decent, hardworking men were capable of.
Those with big, strong, working hands.
Big hearts, and big …
Chapter Four
Marsh tugged at his collar and swallowed hard as he escaped into an even warmer kitchen. When his mother said Honey’s sister would be over, he hoped it to be the redhead from New York City, but he wasn’t banking on it, since Candi was the usual visitor.
He’d acted cool and gave her a passing nod, but there was no forgetting the fiery redhead and her smart mouth that could go from sweet and smiley to snarky and pouty in a New York minute.
Sapphire Falls: Going Hearts Over Heels (Kindle Worlds Novella) (My Country Heart Book 3) Page 2
