Chapter 7
It was painfully obvious that Derek was still hung up on Leighton. Jayna wasn’t quite sure why it bothered her. It just did.
Because it was wrong, that was why!
Leighton was Tommy’s girl. His brother’s girl! Did the man have no loyalty? Or morals?
She heaved a heavy sigh. When had she developed a moral compass, or cared what others were doing? Was she becoming one of the small-town busybodies who always poked their nose into everyone else’s business?
Damn, she hoped not. But she was on the fast track to becoming a bitter old maid. Did people still call single, childless women old maids? Whatever the term was now, she felt like she was staring it straight in the eye.
The door chimes jangled loudly as she pushed open the heavy metal door of the hair salon.
“Hey, Nessa. I need more shampoo.” Jayna stepped behind the counter and helped herself to a bottle from the shelf. Vanessa was pulling a straightening iron through a blonde woman’s hair. “Hey, Piper. Wow, that’s quite the sexy cut.”
Piper glanced over her shoulder, eyes huge and panicked.
The phone rang and Jayna answered it. “Vanessa’s Scissory. You grow it, we mow it.”
“Jayna!” Vanessa moaned from behind her.
Flipping the pages of the scheduling book on the counter, she picked up a pencil. Jayna had spent enough time in this salon to be familiar with the procedure. “Next week for a cut and color. How about Tuesday around two? I need your name?”
Speaking of old maids, she recognized that nasally voice instantly. “Can you spell that, please? O-P-H-E-L-I-E.” She messed up the spelling on purpose.
Ophelia sounded annoyed as she corrected Jayna.
“What, E-A? Oh, I-A. And what’s your last name? Metter?” She messed that up, too. “Sorry, Mettler, with two T’s?”
Ophelia snapped back with the correct spelling of her last name.
“Got it, Meddler.” Oh, this was too easy.
She caught Vanessa’s shocked expression and tried not to laugh.
“So, you said you wanted a cut and color? Did you want blue highlights or green?”
Oh, that got quite the reaction, along with a gasp from Vanessa.
“Are you sure? So maybe purple instead?”
She held the phone receiver away from her ear as the piercing voice intensified. “No, just your regular color, which is bright orange?”
Jayna smirked and raised both eyebrows at Vanessa. “Really ma’am, that’s not nice. There is no need to yell.” She paused and listened. “No, I’m not new. I’ve worked here for years.”
Now Ophelia was demanding to know her name.
“Uh, Jamie.” She threw her friend under the bus. “Yes, I still own my store. I just moonlight here sometimes. And you should really consider the purple highlights. Hello? Hello?”
Jayna hung up the phone. “Well, I guess Jamie will get an earful next time she runs into Lady O.”
“Jayna.” Vanessa had both hands on her hips and wore an exasperated expression. “I’ll be the one getting the ear full.”
“What? It was only the Meddler.” Her hands went up in the air. “Do you know how many times that woman got me in shit when I was a teenager?”
“It was probably well deserved,” Vanessa shot back.
“I have that day off. Can I come in and help? I could mix the hair dye for you.” A vision filled her mind of Vanessa spinning the chair around so Ophelia could see the finished cut and color. A bright vibrant green that would contrast well with the red of Ophelia’s shocked face.
“That is very tempting,” Vanessa couldn’t contain the laughter any longer. “But no. I run a professional salon.”
Vanessa pulled the cape from around Piper’s shoulders. The shy woman had a brand-new look.
“Wow, Piper. Seriously, wow!” Jayna whistled.
Normally, Piper kept her hair tied in a neat, low bun. Vanessa had cut in bouncy layers with angled bangs and added caramel lowlights to the light natural blonde. The schoolteacher was smoking hot. Or she could be if her wardrobe wasn’t so conservative.
Piper moved to the counter, pulling her wallet out of her purse.
“Do you have anywhere you have to be right now?” Jayna asked her.
“No, why?” Piper’s newly shaped brows furrowed.
“Do you have much credit on your credit card?” Jayna tapped the card in Piper’s hand.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go, hot stuff. Or almost hot stuff.” Jayna grinned.
“Go where?” Piper’s voice held a hint of terror.
“You remind me of Ms. Brown, the second-grade teacher. Is she still teaching?”
“No, she retired last spring. I took over her class in the fall.”
“Did the position include her wardrobe?”
Piper glanced over her shoulder in confusion as she swiped her credit card. “No, why?”
“Because,” Jayna answered honestly. “You dress exactly like her.”
Piper frowned, looking down at the pink sweater set she wore. “I dress work appropriate,” she defended.
Jayna snorted. “Maybe it’s work appropriate, but it’s not age appropriate. And it certainly does not match that sexy new haircut.”
Vanessa shot an apologetic look Piper’s way, followed by another exasperated frown in Jayna’s direction.
Jayna shrugged. She wasn’t being mean to Piper. Not on purpose. She was trying to be helpful, but tact was not her strong suit. She softened her tone, grabbing Piper’s arm.
“Come on. Let’s finish this makeover.”
Jayna steered Piper through the door and toward her vehicle. She’d driven her red jeep today and hoped there was enough trunk space for the bags. Piper’s wardrobe was in serious need of an intervention.
“Buckle up, buttercup. We’re going to do some damage to that credit card.” And when Piper’s card was maxed out, Jayna would pull out her platinum card. This was a worthy charity.
They spent the afternoon at the nearby mall, visiting store after store. Standing in front of the changing room mirror in jeans and a zip-up magenta jersey knit shirt, Piper was gorgeous. Who knew underneath the loose-fitting clothes that the meek teacher was hiding curves and cleavage?
“Jessica sent a text. Everyone is at Patty’s. Let’s pay and head over there.”
“Everyone? Who is everyone?” Piper looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Everyone who counts,” Jayna chuckled. Nick Taylor was going to lose his mind when he caught a glimpse of his new, improved fiancée.
“Okay, I just need to change first.”
“Nope, not a chance. Those old clothes are getting burned.” Jayna steered Piper toward the checkout, ripping off the price tag from the back of the shirt.
Half-price wings and a hockey game always filled up Patty’s Pub. Jayna was happy to see that it also brought in Nick. He sat at a table with his cop friend, Burke Winston, and Derek. She held in a groan. Life was never perfect. The good always came with some bad. Tonight, that bad came in the form of Derek Brennan. The ape was everywhere.
Piper stiffened beside her. The woman looked so nervous and unsure. Jayna’s heart broke for her. Piper’s childhood had been so difficult. As a young girl, she’d been taken from the neglectful care of a drug-addicted mother and placed with a grandmother she’d never met. When she first moved to Blythe Landing, the kids at school had not been kind to her.
Jayna strung her arm through Piper’s. “You are going to knock his socks off. I mean, seriously, who could resist this? Piper, you look stunning. Nick won’t know what hit him,” she whispered as they walked towards the table. “Hey men, and Derek.”
Nick turned and his jaw dropped as his eyes landed on Piper. Mission accomplished. The man was in need of a wake-up call. Piper had mentioned that he seemed distant lately and non-committal about resetting the wedding date.
“Wow, Piper,” Nick blinked rapidly. “You look so good.”
“You do look fantastic, Piper.” Derek raised and lowered both eyebrows. “If you get tired of waiting for this guy, I’m available.”
“She’ll never get that tired.” Jayna snorted and took the only vacant chair beside the Neanderthal. She motioned to Jessica who was sitting at the bar. “Burke, can you grab another chair for Jessica?”
Derek was outright ogling Piper. Damn, men were so predictable. Her eyes moved to Piper. The transformation was incredible, but she was still the same woman underneath the new clothes and hairstyle.
As the night wore on, Piper looked increasingly uncomfortable, and Jayna began to feel guilty. She knew she could be pushy, often disregarding boundaries and pushing people out of their comfort zones. Had she done that with Piper today?
While Piper and Jessica went to the bathroom, Jayna shifted her focus to Nick. He was staring at the bathroom door. How did he feel about the new and improved Piper?
She snagged a few French fries off his plate.
“Here, take them all.” Nick shoved the plate toward her.
“I’m not hungry,” she said around the French fries in her mouth.
“That’s because you’ve been grazing off everyone else’s plates,” Derek grumbled.
Sticking her tongue out at him, she then turned her attention back to Nick. “So, what do you think?”
Nick’s brow furrowed. “Think?”
“About Piper 2.0? Doesn’t she look fantastic?”
“I like Piper 1.0. Although the new hair does look good. It’s just the rest. The clothes aren’t her.”
Jayna narrowed her eyes. “I think the question should be, is she for you?”
He shifted, visibly uncomfortable by her question. “Of course. Why would you even ask?”
“Well, Nick Taylor, even she doesn’t know. How much longer are you going to keep leading her on?”
Nick glared at her. His eyes moved back to the bathroom door, his expression changing to concern. She turned as well. Piper stood, staring down at her phone, a shattered expression on her face.
Nick shoved back his chair and stood. “What’s wrong?”
“That was the nursing home.” Piper lifted shocked eyes. “My grandmother had a bad fall. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance.”
Jayna watched Piper leave with Nick and bit her lip. She honestly had been trying to help. However, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had just made their relationship worse.