“We can’t let them into the salon, hon, but they can go into the back room. Take them around to the back door.”
Sandi trudged around the building again. Her aunt met her at the back door. She secured the three dogs in the back storeroom, then walked into the salon. She didn’t spot Jake in his corner home. “I don’t see Jake.”
“My honey’s home today, so he and Jake are having a boys’ day. Vic’s teaching him about patriotism.”
“He’s okay then. He’s still healthy and—”
“Oh, hell, hon, he’s already gotten acquainted with the vet. We know the vet and his wife, Paige, personally. When she spotted him, she had a fit and dragged Spur all way out of his office to come and see that Jake do his thing. The whole town is talking about him. We could sell tickets.”
“It’ll be interesting to hear what the state inspector says when he comes around the next time,” Debbie Sue said.
Sandi frowned. “Oh, my gosh, I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I didn’t realize he’d be living in the salon.”
“Well, we aren’t worrying about it yet,” Aunt Ed said. “Salt Lick is so far off the beaten path those Austin folks might not know this town’s got a beauty shop. Hell, they might not even know we’re anything but a ghost town.” A thoughtful frown creased her brow. “I wonder if they’d notice if we stopped sending them sales tax.”
“You wouldn’t believe how our business has picked up since he’s been here,” Debbie Sue said. “We’ve got customers who want to come in just to talk to him. But since his cage is near the manicure and pedicure corner, we don’t let them unless they get manicures or pedicures. That way, they’re happy and we’re making money. And a crowd doesn’t gather. Also, the smell of the nail products masks the odor coming from Jake’s cage.”
Sandi gave Debbie Sue a look. “You’re making money off of Jake?”
“That bird is a real ham. He craves attention. Some of the customers ask him to pick a color for their nails. He’s learned colors and he’s learned to say red and pink and even blue. If they choose a color he doesn’t like, he’ll make noises and say ‘not that one, not that one.’ And some ask his advice on other things, which, by the way, he gives freely.”
“Oh, I know he has opinions on everything.” She turned to her aunt. “You haven’t had any trouble with his diet then?”
“Oh, hell no. My honey’s on top of it. I suspect Jake eats even fancier than he did at your house. Vic drives all the way up to Odessa to buy him stuff. I passed around the recipe for parrot muffins so that the customers can bake them for him.”
“Oh, my gosh. Sounds like Jake has never had it so good. I hope their homemade muffins don’t have sugar. He gets enough sugar in the raw fruits and vegetables he likes.”
“Listen, I told them, ‘If it ain’t in the recipe, don’t put it in there. And that includes sugar.’”
But Sandi was skeptical. Well-meaning cooks might think a cup of sugar would make the muffins better.
Stop it, Sandi, she told herself. Jake was no longer her responsibility. Only after she got over parting with him had she realized just how much of her time and attention he had consumed. Not having to take care of his daily needs or cope with his personality or clean up after him was almost like being on vacation.
***
Four o’clock. After cooling his heels for six hours waiting for Miz Sandi Walker to appear, Nick’s temper stewed at a simmer. He had about a million chores he could have been doing down at the Flying C instead of waiting for her up here in Midland. He had called her shop several times, but her employees said she wasn’t there and refused to give him her cell number. He had found her name in the phone book and called her house several times, left messages each time.
Now he had run out of time. He had to get on the road back to Salt Lick. One day was all he was willing to take off work to try to reason with Sandi and rescue Buster.
An hour and a half later, he drove into the Salt Lick city limits. He had to follow the highway through the middle of town and pass by the Styling Station on his way out to the Flying C. Parked in front of it was a silver SUV that looked way too familiar.
Dammit, that’s her!
She had lied to him again. She’d had no intention of following him out to his house and looking it over. Instead, she had run down here to her aunt’s place where she thought she could escape him. Except for his ex-wife, he couldn’t think of a woman he had known who had wanted to escape him.
Of all the human frailties Nick hated, the one he hated the most was lying. He hit the brake, slowed and circled the block, deciding how to handle the situation, his anger so close to the surface his skin burned. Finally, he decided to confront her.
He pulled into a parking slot beside the SUV. A CLOSED sign hung on the front door, but he knew she was in there. He stepped out of his truck and stalked to the door, gave a heavy rap-rap-rap with his knuckles on one of the glass panes in the upper part of the door. When no one responded, he knocked again.
“We’re closed,” a voice sang out.
“I need to speak to Sandi Walker.”
Silence. He knocked on the wood frame with his fist and rattled the door knob.
The door opened a three-inch crack. The older skinny hairdresser’s face and her lime green glasses showed through. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
Dammit, she had known it was him before she opened the door. Another log added to the fire of his anger. “It’s
