“Shoulda, coulda, woulda.” Holly gave him a light punch on the arm. “You came through when I really needed you, and that’s all that counts.”
Samuel still pulled a face, but this time he didn’t immediately deny his actions.
Holly turned to Aidan and tugged at his arm. She was lying in a surgery center bed, confident that the doctor and nurse were sick of the sight of her at this stage. Her face would have earned her a tube of arnica and a quick discharge. The injury to her lower back was the thing that held her fast in bed. “Samuel’s searching for a place to stay.”
Aidan nodded and smiled vacantly at her. Holly rolled her eyes impatiently. “Remember that house you’re leaving empty when you move into your cousin’s place? It could do with a sitter during your absence, don’t you think?”
“Oh!” Aidan turned to Samuel with a grin and a nod. “Yeah, it certainly could. Would you be happy to move in there and look after it for me?”
Samuel shifted in his chair. “I can’t afford rent at the moment, although I’ve got a lead on a job.”
“And I can’t afford to pay a house sitter. If you’ll watch the place, then no money changing hands suits me just fine.”
The expression of stunned agreement on Samuel’s face made Holly feel like giggling. Well, that or the tube of pain relief that the nurse had recently injected into her IV.
“I must say, I’m not sure I appreciate having my turn as recovering patient usurped so quickly,” Crystal grumbled. Then her face brightened. “Although, with Zach’s help, I’ve managed to perfect my cupcake at last.”
“We need to buy a new hardback book and start recording all the new recipes.” Holly tried to turn to her sister, a flare of pain in her spine convincing her not to. “We can start a new legacy.”
“One not based on dodgy ownership,” Crystal agreed. She’d been shocked when Holly repeated what Esmerelda had told her about the recipes, but they’d both agreed that she must be telling the truth. There was no other explanation for her single-minded pursuit of the ledger.
“You know,” Elvira spoke up from the foot of the bed, “those recipes are now my family legacy. If you were to agree to my continued employment, Granny might be happy to let you continue using them.”
“Spoken like a true negotiator,” Aidan said, spoiling the moment a little when he reached out to ruffle Elvira’s hair.
“Speaking of negotiations,” Crystal said, the awkward segue causing a few winces around the bedside, “Zach has a new contract sorted out for the restaurant.”
“Susan had a change of heart?” Holly was surprised by the news. Someone who could withstand months of pleading from a man as dogged as Zach didn’t seem likely to just alter her mind on a whim.
Crystal shook her head. “It might have had something to do with a cash injection into the complex via a certain man trying to practice philanthropy.”
At that, Holly nodded. A wealthy businessman, Brian Masters, had spent some months trying to negotiate goodwill in return for cash investments. His new zeal for spending had helped a lot of people in the small community.
She reached out for Aidan’s hand, loving the warmth of his fingers as they clasped hold of hers. No matter what rough times might be ahead, for the moment, Holly felt loved and safe.
Chapter One
When Holly Waterston walked into her friend Meggie’s hair salon on a Saturday afternoon, she was surprised to find it packed. At least a dozen women sat with their hair in various states of ‘doneness,’ while a few others perched on the sidelines, waiting for their companions to be done.
“Do you want me to come back later?” Holly had lowered her voice to a whisper, but the quick tilt of a blue-haired woman nearest her told her it wasn’t quiet enough.
“Don’t be silly. Come on in—I’ve saved you a seat at the end. I’ll just grab you a cup of tea to keep you going.” Meggie rolled her eyes. “I’m running a bit behind.”
Holly looked at the other women in the salon with interest. She’d thought that at this time of day, she might be the only one.
“Are you here for the family reunion?” the woman in the seat next to hers asked.
Holly shook her head. “No. I live here in town.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” the woman replied, putting a hand quickly on Holly’s forearm. “I don’t recognize you at all, so that could have been really awkward.”
She laughed uproariously to show just how awkward that might be, and Holly smelled wine on her breath. When she glanced at the other patrons, she noticed that a few of them were smiling contentedly. Hilda Maxim in town did a lovely brunch, complete with orange juice and bubbles. Holly supposed that it might have been the women’s first stop.
“Are there many of you in town for the gathering?” Holly asked. Meggie was taking a bit longer than usual to organize the tea, and Holly wondered if she’d used the opportunity for a quick break. Even with the women whispering to each other, the combined noise in the room was thunderous.
“There’s about two dozen of us in the campers and a few more la-de-da’s who’ve taken rooms in town. We’re down in the camping grounds by the park—do you know it?”
Holly nodded. “It’s a lovely spot down there. Are you stopping in town long?”
“For the week, most of us. The ones who couldn’t get time off will be heading back at the crack of dawn on Monday morning.”
Meggie bustled back into the salon with a cup of tea and a biscuit. Holly took them from her gratefully, taking a quick sip and half closing her eyes as it slid down her throat. “That’s just the thing.”
Meggie winked at her and walked over to the driers to check on two women having their curlers set. “You doing okay in there?” she shouted out.” The two women cupped their hands behind their ears, and as Meggie shouted even louder, Holly giggled.
A young woman was on the footpath outside, tying her dog to the nearest lamppost. The animal was a golden retriever, its long hairs catching the afternoon sun at a lovely angle so that it glowed.
When she pushed open the door to the salon, her face froze—much the same as Holly imagined her own had done a few minutes before. “S-sorry,” she stammered as Meggie walked up to her. “I didn’t realize you’d be full.”
“Have my seat, Lucy,” one of the women under the driers said, lifting it up and out of the way so she could stand. “I’m done here. The tips of my ears are starting to feel all burned.”
Lucy blushed and looked longingly out the door to the street, but the older woman wasn’t dissuaded. “Come along now. Are you getting all dolled up for a fancy-man tonight?”
At that, half the women in store chuckled, and Lucy turned an even deeper shade of red. With her short blonde hair, it made her look like an overheated pixie.
Once Meggie had her settled, she came back to Holly, quickly washing her hair. As fingers massaged her scalp, Holly closed her eyes and luxuriated in the feel. This was always the best part of getting her hair done. It almost made up for having tiny pieces of hair down her back for the rest of the day.
“You wanted some foils done?” Meggie checked. Holly felt a stab of guilt. Her friend was obviously run off her feet. She should have offered to help out, rather than add to the workload. Oh, well, too late now.
“That’s right. Just the tips. I’ve got a date tomorrow with Aidan, and I wanted to jazz it up a bit.”
Meggie laughed and rolled her eyes again. “It’ll be so jazzy, he won’t believe it!” She quickly set to work and soon had the foils covering the ends of Holly’s hair.
“We’ll give that fifteen minutes, and I’ll be back to wash it off.”
Meggie finished up with a few of the women, who chose to stay and wait to depart in a group, so the salon remained just as full. After the older women in the room settled themselves again, they recommenced teasing young Lucy.
“Are you going on a date tonight, is that it?” one asked, while the others tittered. “It’s okay to tell us. Your mom’s not here
to tell your secrets to.”
“There’re no secrets,” Lucy replied in a voice that clearly indicated she was keeping at least a few. Holly didn’t blame her for keeping her mouth shut—from the atmosphere in the room anything disclosed would soon be common knowledge in the camping ground.
“I’m going along to the movie tonight, is all.”
Meggie smiled at that and turned to Holly. “You should get Aidan to take you along to that. They’re re-screening the original Star Adventures, and a whole lot of folks are going along in costume. It’ll be like a mini comic-con.”
“Very mini,” Holly replied, laughing. “Aidan’s tied up with Tilly tonight, but I might ask Ben. He loves that franchise, and I’m sure he’d get a kick out of seeing the original.”
Ben Hendrickson worked in the tavern next door to Holly’s cupcake bakery. Sometimes, when they were running short-staffed, he could be counted on to keep the shop open while she or her sister Crystal dashed out.
Doing something in return would be nice. Any money that the sisters offered Ben, his mother insisted he decline.
The dog tied up outside started to bark. Lucy had her head inside one of the driers and her eyes closed, so Holly stood up to touch the back of her hand. “Is that your dog barking?”
The women’s hearing was a lot better than the previous occupants had been. She raised the machine and hurried over to the window. “Petey,” she called out, tapping the glass.
The dog turned to look at his owner, tongue hanging loosely out of his mouth. His liquid eyes were a play of innocence.
“It was that Clarence disturbed him.” The comment came from the row of completed hairstyles. “I think he fed him something.”
“Probably laced with alcohol. It’s after midday, so I suppose that man is already drinking.”
Holly looked out the window again, but Clarence had passed out of sight. Lucy went back to her chair and stuck her head back into the drier.
“I heard that young Clarence got his girlfriend pregnant,” one of the woman at the front of the salon ‘whispered’ to her neighbor. The words carried clearly to everyone seated inside, even Lucy frowned.
“Don’t be spreading gossip,” her neighbor chided. A second later, without any irony at all, she said, “Did you hear that Jessica’s father is up on another DUI this month? I bet we won’t see him driving to another family barbecue.”
Her neighbor gave a sniff and pursed her lips. “I don’t trust anyone in that family.”
That statement made another woman cackle. She leaned over and patted the speaker on the knee. “That’s your family, love. It’s all our family.”
Holly turned away from the soap opera in the window to push a finger up behind her ear. The foil was starting to heat up to the point of discomfort. As she tried to maneuver the hair into a better position, Meggie’s face drained of color.
“Oh, no! I forgot to set the alarm.”
While Holly looked up, not realizing the words were aimed at her, Meggie suddenly spun her chair around and shoved her over to the sink. The whole room went silent as Holly’s head was dunked under running water while the foils were pulled out.
When Meggie stepped back, Holly put a tentative hand up to the towel now wrapped around her head. “What?”
The expression of worry on her friend’s face told her that the news wasn’t good. The old women started to hustle out of the salon, leaving it empty apart from Lucy who was trapped under the driers.
Holly wheeled herself to the mirror and slowly unwrapped the towel. Large pieces of her hair came away—burned clean off where the bleach had been left too long.
“I’m so sorry,” Meggie said. She stood with her back pressed against the far wall, a hand up to her throat. “I can cut the rest of it short, and I’m sure it will look just fine.”
After a moment, Holly nodded, starting to grin despite herself. Then she gave a soft snort and giggled. “I guess Aidan’s going to have a real surprise tomorrow,” she said. “If he doesn’t notice that I had my hair done this time, I’m giving up on the man.”
Chapter Two
After leaving the salon, Holly’s hand kept creeping up to pat the back of her hair. Meggie had been good to her word, cutting away the destroyed hair and fashioning the rest into some semblance of a style. The cut was so short that Holly felt her head might soon drift away into the clouds with nothing anchoring it to her neck.
Torn between hurrying home so no one could see her and going for a walk to display the new cut, so she didn’t have a drawn out unveiling for the townsfolk, Holly remembered the movie. She crossed the road and walked down to the theater, brightening as she imagined how excited Ben would be. The boy was eighteen but often acted a lot younger.
The door to the movie theater was gilded to the nines. As Holly opened it, she had to put her shoulder into it—the thing was remarkably heavy. A leftover from a golden age when going out to the movies was a huge deal.
Of course, given the options on hand, it still was in Hanmer Springs.
“Knock, knock,” Holly called out as she walked across to the concession stand. If Nina, the manager, was going to be anywhere on site, this was the spot she’d be.
Sure enough, Nina’s ginger curls came into view. The woman held one finger up to Holly and continued to count the stock of Jaffa packets on the shelves.
“How can I help you?” she said when finished. “Are you and Aidan planning a night out?”
Small towns. Sometimes Holly wanted to roll her eyes at everyone knowing everything about her. Still, the tradeoff was that she got the same information on everyone else in return. It made the town feel even smaller than it was sometimes.
“Me and Ben, actually. I wondered if there were still seats available for tonight’s show.”
Holly had her purse out, ready to count out the money, when Nina shook her head. “No.”
It took Holly aback for a second. Nothing was ever sold out—at least not in her experience. Nina must have clocked her wide eyes because she burst out laughing and clapped her hands.
“I know. Isn’t it great? I’ve only got the movie here for one night, and then I’ve got to send it over to Kaikoura, but I’ve already booked it for when it comes back down the country. I should have it screening again in a month’s time.”
“I didn’t realize it was that popular.”
Nina nodded, smoothing down the front of her skirt. “I sold the last ticket yesterday—and I’ve already got a wait list of twenty. I’m half-hoping a whole lot don’t show up so I can sell their tickets again!”
Holly laughed, half in puzzlement, then shrugged. “How about I go down on a wait list for when it comes back? Can you give me a call to let me know when the date’s confirmed?”
“I sure can.” Nina made a note on a pad next to the register, then frowned. “You and Ben aren’t a thing, are you?”
Holly was so shocked that she burst out laughing. “I’m more than twice his age, thank you. No, I just thought it might be nice as a thank you. He loves this movie.”
“So does everyone else in town, by the looks of it.” Nina started to fidget, twiddling a ginger curl between her fingers. “Was there anything else?”
“No.” Holly pushed away from the counter and waved goodbye. “See you later.”
She’d already sent a text to Ben to check if he was free so paused in the lobby to compose another saying the night was canceled. Just as she was about to press send, Nina popped up from her stock take behind the counter again. “How old did you say Ben was?”
Holly walked back a few steps. “He’s eighteen now, why?”
Nina folded her arms on the counter and leaned forward. “Do you think he’d be interested in a few hours work? Only my usual usher can’t make it in tonight, and it’s one of the few times that we can’t make do without him. Three hours, maybe four. It’s only minimum wage, but if he’s interested . . . ?” Nina shrugged.
Holly amended her text and sent a new inquiry. Thum
bs up came back so fast that she smiled. “Looks like he’s keen.” She passed Ben’s number on to Nina, then waved goodbye.
The next morning, Holly sat in front of her bedroom mirror, playing with the only headscarf that she owned. Although she’d put a brave face on it yesterday, this morning her confidence had been assailed by doubt.
It was just so short!
Lucky she hadn’t been getting her roots done, or Holly would have needed even a bigger kick of courage to get through the day.
She tied the periwinkle blue silk around her face and under her chin, then poked her tongue out at the mirror. That made her look like a refuge from the fifties. Holly tried another way and decided her second style leaned toward having undergone bouts of chemotherapy.
After a sigh of frustration, Holly pulled out her phone to research scarf-tying. There was a text from Aidan, and her heart skipped—he’d dropped a lot of appointments lately, so she wouldn’t be surprised to find she had the day free. Instead, when she clicked it open, Holly saw it was just a confirmation of the time they were meeting.
She texted back a reply, frowning. As though it mattered what time Aidan came around, for goodness’ sake. Sometimes his formality made her feel stifled.
Crystal and Alec burst into laughter, giggling for so loud and so long, that Holly got up from her pose at the mirror to investigate. The two of them were fighting over a controller, each apparently determined to kill their avatar’s stone dead.
For a moment, their happiness annoyed her, so she came close to snapping at them, but then Holly scolded herself and swallowed the reprimand back down. If you don’t watch yourself, you’ll turn into a grumpy old woman!
“What do you think?” Holly said, giving a twirl. “With the headscarf or without.”
“Go without,” Crystal said immediately. “I like your new haircut—it’s nice and bold.”
“Let me see it off,” Alec said with a smile. Holly unpeeled the scarf and ran her fingers through her hair to fluff it up. “I think, either way, you look pretty.”
The Sweet Baked Mystery Series - Books 1-6 Page 57
