23. Nova
23
nova
In the six years I had lived in Sterling Ridge, I never imagined that I’d get to do hair like I did in Denver. After a year, I had resigned myself to doing perms, roller sets and root touch-ups.
Now, I was doing highlights, balayage and root smudges. I loved doing hair and it gave me so much joy. Doing what I had been doing for the past month made me feel a little bit like my old self from Denver. I didn’t realize how much I had missed her until I was given a glimpse of my old self.
I had just been invited to collaborate on a color class being held in Denver for stylists who were coming from all over the United States. One of my old coworkers, Lauryn, was now doing education, and apparently stumbled upon one of my Instagram photos. She would pay me to work beside her, along with taking care of my hotel and flight if I needed it.
It was an opportunity I had always wanted when I lived in Denver, and it was finally happening. It was the middle of March, and I really couldn’t say no. It was a few days and if Sol had to come with me, then so be it.
“You look different,” Blanche said, as I brought her back from the shampoo bowl. “I hear you're using your big city hair knowledge.”
I laughed, “It feels good to use that knowledge, and while I like doing roller sets and haircuts, it’s nice to mix it up every now and then.”
“Hmmm.” She pursed her lips.
“That sounded like a judgy hmmm,” I grinned.
“I’ve always wondered why you stayed here,” she said. “You have to make better money in the city than here.”
I had asked myself the same thing hundreds of times and it always came back to one thing.
“Sol's father lives in Denver and he never wanted her,” I said, pulling out my blow dryer. “She doesn’t need him in her life or my parents; t’s easier to stay here. I like the life I’ve built here for her and it’s not like I would get any help if I were back home.”
“Shame. Well, I am glad you came here, and it does take a village to raise a child,” she said, cocking her eyebrow. “Asking for help doesn’t make you weak.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but she shook her head.
“It’s ok to say you need help, no one is going to think badly of you,” she said, looking at me with understanding. “Especially those ranch men.”
I narrowed my eyes towards her.
“This sounds like you are fishing for information, not giving me a pep talk,” I said, brushing her hair.
“I have a knack for doing both, but I’m just saying you’re too young to live with this burden on your shoulders.” She turned around to look at me and grabbed my hands. “It’s ok to let them in. Sol already adores them, and you can tell they adore both of you.”
“Blanche, have you been day drinking?” I joked, trying to ease my uncomfortableness.
“Joke all you want, but just take my advice.” She turned around and sat back.
“They could hurt us,” I whispered.
“You could die tomorrow,” she retorted.
I rolled my eyes.
“I’m just saying, don’t let your fears stop you from something amazing,” she said, waving at Gladis who walked onto the salon floor. “So, the word is that Gladis and Buff were caught canoodling at the senior center in the nurses’ supply closet!”
Blanche talked about the scandal and how it wasn’t the first time it had happened. Her incessant talking kept me occupied from the thoughts plaguing me. The last few weeks with the guys had been amazing and they had tried to help me whenever they could, but I was scared. I knew it took a village to take care of a kid, but my village had abandoned me.
It felt like it was only a matter of time before they did too.
I was trying to be positive, but the more the guys came into our lives, the more worried I became. Nothing lasted in my world, and a part of me held back because they seemed to be too good to be true.
As I finished up with Blanche, a familiar face walked in, and all negative thoughts went out the window. Atlas gave me a blinding smile, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Blanche.
“Don’t start, woman.” I rolled my eyes at her.
“How is it having three men in your bed?” she whispered as I walked her to the front desk.
“A lady never kisses and tells,” I smirked.
“I don’t see a lady here,” she chuckled.
“Blanche,” I scolded as she cackled.
“Hello, Atlas,” she said, walking up to him. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
“Hello, ma’am,” Atlas said with an amused tone.
“You treat my girl right.” She leaned in. “I know some people that know this wilderness so well that they won’t find your body for years.”
“Blanche!” I whisper yelled.
Atlas chuckled. “She’s got nothing to worry about from me. I adore her and Sol.”
“You better.” Blanche patted his face. “I like you, so I'd hate for something to happen to you.”
Atlas laughed as she walked away.
“Should I be nervous?” He looked back at Blanche.
“Honestly, her and Gladis scare me sometimes,” I chuckled.
Atlas didn’t laugh with me but smiled instead.
“I like you like this,” he said. “You look happy and carefree.”
My cheeks felt hot.
“I stopped by to see if I could pick up Sol,” he said, as we had to move out of the way to let a client in. “The guys and I want to take her riding, giving you some time to take a bath or maybe a nap or do whatever you need to do. Jude and Iris are coming over tonight for dinner and Theo made his pot roast.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, fighting the urge to tell him that I could pick her up.
“That was hard, wasn’t it?” he smirked.
“Oh, shut up.” I pushed him playfully.
He grabbed my hand, squeezed it and I expected a kiss.
“Take your time getting home, but we will leave the door open for you if you want another bubble bath,” he said, pecking my cheek before he left.
Instinctively I turned around to see no one paying attention to us except Blanche and Gladis. Fuck my life, the gossip brigade never missed anything.
You’d think being a stylist, getting your hair cut would be easy, but something always happened. Your schedules didn’t line up and boom, it had been six months since you had gotten your hair done, but today was a fucking miracle. Stacie, one of our younger stylists, had a cancellation and all it took was bringing her a coffee to get her to stay for me.
I was driving to the ranch, wishing I could put the windows down to let the wind in my hair, but the late October air was too chilly. There were two extra cars by the house when I got there, one of them looked like Iris’ car.
Leaving the warmth of the car, I locked it, rounded the corner of the house to see Iris laughing. I followed her line of sight to see Sol riding around barrels with Theo. She laughed as he took tight turns.
“Go, Sol!” Iris yelled, clapping.
Colt stood off to the side with an enormous smile and Atlas was right next to him. My eyes widened at the sight of Atlas in jeans, a jacket and baseball hat, paired with dark brown boots. Damn, he looked good when he dressed like Colt and Theo.
Another man stood on the other side of Colt and the uncanny resemblance to Theo was insane. If I didn’t know better, they could have passed as fraternal twins, even though he was smaller than Theo. He also whooped and hollered at Sol who was soaking up the attention.
I walked back as my throat closed with emotion as I leaned against the house. All I ever wanted was for Sol to have a place to feel safe, to be a kid, and to have people in her corner no matter what she did. The emotion was too much to tamper down and a few tears escaped.
It felt like I might never be able to provide that for her and now that it was here, why was I so scared? They clearly cared for her, and I was the only one getting in the way of something amazing. Maybe I needed to tell her about them sooner rather than later. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths before I turned the corner.
Iris noticed me first, coming to give me a hug. “Hey girl, how ya doin? Oh my god, I love the hair!”
“I was finally able to sneak in a haircut,” I said, hugging her back. As we pulled away, I felt their gaze.
“Damn, you look amazing.” Atlas came over to me and lifted me up.
“You look great, Atlas.” I muttered.
“Rent-a-cowboy at your service,” he said in his husky voice.
He set me down and he looked at my lips before stepping away.
“Jesus, woman, you look great,” Colt growled, hugging me. “I've missed you.”
He nuzzled against me.
“I've missed you too,” I sighed, realizing how true that was.
We hadn’t seen each other last weekend and much of last week because they had to go out of town for an auction. They hauled a lot of cattle, and it was a tiresome process, so Sol and I stayed out of their way. Even Atlas and Theo’s brother went with them.
“Momma!” Sol yelled from the horse. “Look at me!”
“You look like a real cowgirl,” I said, noticing a pair of pink boots and a jacket that had fur on the neckline.
Her cheeks were rosy from the cool air, and she looked so carefree and relaxed.
“Look what they got me at the auctions!” She grinned.
“You look adorable,” I said, as she threw herself at me.
“Momma, I love your hair,” she said, running her little hands through it. “Doesn’t my momma look beautiful, Teddy Bear?”
I narrowed my eyes at her when Theo said, “Your momma always looks beautiful.”
His deep rumble made butterflies dance in my stomach.
Sol seemed ecstatic from his answer, making me even more suspicious of her.
“Momma, I think I’m going to become a barrel racer,” Sol said excitedly, as I carried her away to the small sitting area where they had a fire going.
“A barrel racer?” I tensed, wondering what the hell that was. “What the hell are you getting my child into?”
I looked at the guys.
“She’s a natural.” Theo shrugged his shoulders. “Jude, this is Nova, Sol’s mom.”
“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Jude said, with a hint of a southern drawl like Theo.
“Nice to meet you too.” I nodded, grabbing a chair by the fire.
“She’s so cute and she’s a natural at riding.” Iris sat by me as Sol talked our ears off about barrel racing.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling that rush of love I got whenever I looked at Sol.
Ok, maybe not every time, but most of the time. It was hard being a mom and while I had days where I absolutely adored Sol, there were days where I wondered if I had made the right choice in becoming a mother.
“I’ve always wanted a sister-in-law who lived closer.” Iris grinned.
“What makes you think?—”
“Don’t be obtuse. With the way those old ladies talk and the way my brother and his men look at you, it's not hard to deduce. And the way they fawn over Sol, it's absolutely adorable.”
My cheeks heated as I looked at her brother and his men talking to my daughter as they devised a plan on how to get her into barrel racing. Jude even chimed in a few times.
“It’s still new and we haven’t told Sol,” I said back. “If she thinks they can be her family, I’m afraid that she will be heartbroken if this doesn’t work out.”
“She already looks plenty attached to them,” Iris said, stating what I had been ignoring.
“Yeah, but she knows they don’t have the possibility of being her fathers,” I said, ignoring her ‘get the fuck out of here’ look.
“She will be loved by them and us,” she said, looking over at Sol.
That’s all I ever wanted, for Sol to have a family and be loved.