Her heart ached as reality unfolded: maybe she would be doing everyone a favor by ending things now.
“Good night, sweetheart,” Kate whispered in Chloe’s ear.
“Good night. I’m so happy you’re my mommy. I love you.”
The words uttered by that sweet, sleepy little voice knocked all the wind out of Kate, but still she heard herself saying, “I love you, too.”
She turned around before the tears started falling and turned off the light and shut her door.
Aidan’s face drained of color when he saw the state that Kate was in.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” His voice was accusatory.
“She said she’s happy I’m her mommy, and she loves me.”
She could tell by the look on his face he was as shocked and moved as she was. Though she had never heard Aidan tell Chloe that he loved her, he had always acted warm and caring toward her. What spoke volumes was how happy and well adjusted Chloe was—even before Kate had come into her life. This little girl whose mother had abandoned her at birth still had a pure, unblemished heart.
Granted, she had never known what it was like to miss her mother because Aidan had protected her from the fact that her mother didn’t want her. Kate didn’t want to be the mother who affected Chloe the way Kate’s own father had damaged her.
“I can’t stay tonight,” Kate said. “Will you please tell Chloe that I had to leave earlier than I thought? Don’t worry, she didn’t ask when I was coming back.”
After spending a restless night in her house, Kate got to the salon earlier than she had expected. She had had an all-call text from Kerrigan Karol, summoning everyone to come in for a staff meeting before the staff opened. He did this every once in a while. Not often, but when he called meetings, there was usually some point of contention that needed to be aired—someone was stealing the Keurig cups or the toilet paper or dipping into another stylist’s supplies, the ultimate taboo. Staff meeting–worthy infractions were never a crisis. Usually, a terse “Somebody has been doing x, please stop it” righted the ship without further discussion.
Kate figured she might as well go in and endure the group scolding and then use the time to organize her station. She knew she hadn’t borrowed anyone’s flat iron without returning it or taken something that didn’t belong to her—unless you counted taking Aidan and Chloe away from Dori and a chance for them to be a loving family—
No! Stop. I’m not thinking about that now.
She had this meeting and a full day of clients. If she thought about it now, she would cry and then everyone would ask her what was wrong. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to think about it—even though the heartache of choosing was a physical ache that tightened her throat and made her feel like she had a hole in her chest where her heart should be. Tonight, after her last client, she would get take-out Japanese food and go home and face her issues.
Although she hadn’t found comfort there last night, in her own house—her own space. The bed had been cold and too big. The walls felt strange, like she didn’t belong there anymore. She had felt nearly as fenced in there as she had at the inn last evening, when Zelda had unveiled her plan to manipulate Kate into taking on the spa.
She wasn’t going to the inn for a while. She was still too irritated with her mother for ambushing her. Zelda had called three times already—twice last night and once this morning. Kate hadn’t able to listen to the messages. If there had been an emergency, her sisters would have called. She and her mom would talk eventually, once Kate had a chance to cool off, but right now, she needed to sort out her head.
Kate joined her colleagues in the small kitchen at the back of the salon. Since the front of the salon featured a large plate glass window, where they were on full display to passersby, the kitchen was the one place where they could gather without a client knocking on the door and asking to be let in.
“Good morning, lovelies.” Kerrigan was ten minutes late. But at least he was carrying boxes from the Tearoom at The Forsyth. There would be loads of comfort in her sister’s fresh-made pastries. Kate fully intended to eat her feelings. “Gather round, children, get a yummy and settle down. I have big news.”
Big news? Does that mean no one’s in trouble?
Her coworkers must’ve been wondering the same thing because they were fast to settle in.
Kerrigan was a small man in his midforties. His hair was dyed blue-black, his bangs a stark contrast with his ivory skin. He was clad in all black—skinny jeans and a silk shirt that clung like a second skin to his toned body. He had accessorized with black cowboy boots and a studded black leather belt.
“Y’all are a talented bunch and I have been honored to have you in my salon—some longer than others.” He nodded to Kate. “Some of you have been with me since I opened my doors eleven years ago, right, Katie girl?”
God, has it been that long? It has been that long. What is he saying?
“A few months ago, I learned that the landlord of this building wants to raise my rent to an obscene amount. At first, I was devastated. Then I got mad and thought about moving the salon. But the greedy bastards that own the buildings in downtown wanted crazy rent, too. I didn’t want to move out to the suburbs. That’s just not who I am. So, after a lot of soul-searching and talks with my financial planner, I decided it is time for me to retire. I am moving to Costa Rica, babies.
