Chapter Six
So far so good. Sandra Lynn pushed the broom around the empty stylist’s chair. There was enough hair on the floor to make not one but several wigs. Not that they were saving the hair, but still.
“Here you go.” Mrs. Brady smiled at her and shoved a bill into Sandra’s hand. “It’s nice to have you back.”
“Thank you.” She waved at the woman and waited until no one was looking to peek at the tip. The bills tucked in her palm made her smile. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. She’d shampooed four different women’s hair this morning and Mrs. Brady was the biggest tipper yet. At this rate, it would take a long while before she could afford to rent a place of their own for her and David, but she could be patient when she had to.
“Morning, Emily.” Polly smiled at the woman coming through the front door. “I’ll be ready for you in just a bit. Have a seat at the shampoo station and Sandra Lynn will get you ready.”
The squeal Emily let out could have been heard clear to Oklahoma City. “I heard you were back! Why didn’t you let anyone know you were coming home?”
Any lingering embarrassment that she felt from slinking home after a failed attempt at Prince Charming and happily ever after slid away at Emily Taub’s excited greeting. “It all came together rather quickly. There was no time.” Truth was, she saw her chance to get out of Dodge and took it. Her ex had spent the better part of the last two years drunk more than sober. When he refused to agree to regular drug testing, the judge had denied joint custody and given her permission to return to her hometown. If Ed wanted to see David, he would have to make the eight-hour drive. Not the end of the world.
“Has Grace told you about our Friday Girls’ Night?” Emily sank into the seat and leaned her head back in the basin as Sandra turned on the water and squirted her hands with shampoo. “Nothing special. Just us girls, maybe a movie or dinner. Sometimes we’ll go over to the Boot ’N’ Scoots in Butler Springs. With everyone so busy with kids and things we try to do Girls’ Night at least once a month.”
Giving her friend a brief massage, Sandra found herself smiling. Really smiling. It just struck her how nice it’s going to be to have friends again. “Sounds like fun.”
“Oh, good.” Emily grinned. “I think our first night together should be a pajama party.”
Sandra rinsed the shampoo out and wrapped a towel around Emily’s head. “Do y’all do pajama parties?”
“Not usually.” Emily sat up. “But once in a while to celebrate, yeah. And they’re so much fun. And your returning home is definitely worth celebrating.” Before Sandra could say a word, Emily threw her arms around her and squeezed. “Welcome home.”
How had she been so blind to let Ed talk her into leaving everything she loved so dearly? “Just let me know which Friday and I’ll make sure Mom can take care of David for me.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Emily sprang back. “You’re a mom now.”
Her cheeks tugged hard at the corners of her mouth. “My pride and joy.”
The bell over the door rang and Mary Sue Carter, the afternoon shampoo girl, came into the salon. “Hey, Polly, Sandra. Sorry I’m a few minutes late.”
“No, problem.” Sandra glanced at the clock over the wall. Fifteen minutes wasn’t going to make or break anything. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hang up my apron and get ready to head home. My son is probably wondering where I am.”
Emily frowned. “He’s not in school?”
“Not yet.” Sandra shook her head. “I had to straighten up some paperwork, but he should be starting on Monday.”
“Your turn, Emily. Have a seat.” Polly waved her customer over to her chair.
A few more rounds of glad you’re back and see you soon floated back and forth before Sandra was able to grab her purse and head home. Thank heaven’s Tuckers Bluff was small enough that if you had time, a person could walk anywhere. It was only about twenty minutes to her mom’s house. A nice walk in good weather. And today, the walk flew by as her mind ran over all the wonderful blessings falling into place, one by one, since returning home. Soon, she’d save enough money to rent a little house for her and David and she could start giving him the life she’d always wanted for him.
At the curb of her mom’s place, she was surprised to see a big truck. Wasn’t that Paxton’s? Making her way up the front steps to the porch, she came inside and expecting the loud sounds of a rambunctious little boy, she was surprised by the library-like silence. “Anyone home?”
“Hey, sweetie.” Her mother called from the laundry room. “Washing sheets. David and Paxton are in the yard.”
David and Paxton. In the yard? Crossing the kitchen to the back door, she drew to a stop at the sight in front of her. It took a moment, and then she realized her son was holding a hammer. What the heck? Another minute of silent observation and she could hear Paxton.
“That’s right. Let the weight of the hammer bang on the nail. Want to try it again?”
Her heart tripped and her mouth fell open. Was Paxton actually teaching her son how to use a hammer? His voice was so smooth and gentle urging David on. Another swing, and from the way David spun around and smiled at Paxton, the sheer joy in his expression, she was willing to guess that her son hit the nail. Swallowing hard, she blinked back tears. She should never have left Tuckers Bluff.
Hanging out with kids was not the norm for Paxton, but this kid was just a bundle of energy and excitement that could make anyone smile, no matter how hard their day. “That’s perfect. Now you’ve got the hang of it. Remember be careful with your thumb. I don’t want your mother mad it me for letting you work with my tools.”
David bobbed his head, and nibbling on his lower lip, held the nail and let the hammer swing down on it. Of course, even with momentum, a young boy like David needed to repeat the move multiple times, but what mattered is he did it on his own and he knew it. Until now, Paxton hadn’t really given any thought to having a family, but these few minutes gave him a view of how sweet having a son of his own could be.
“Hello there.” Sandra came walking out of the house toward them. The sunlight shined from behind her like a halo. Dang she had been a cute kid, but now, she was one heck of a beautiful woman.
“Hi.” He turned to David. “That’ll be it for today’s lesson. I need to talk to your mom for a bit.”
David frowned and Paxton wished he could keep at it a little longer, then the boy handed him the hammer. “Are you going to come back?”
“I said I would.”
“And you’re really going to help me build my fort?”
Paxton flashed a smile, hoping it would help ease the concerned frown on the little boy’s face. “Absolutely.”
“Really?” His frown was still in place.
A sudden pang of distaste pinched in his chest. What had this young child learned from adults that he didn’t believe Paxton. “Really.” With his pointer finger, he drew an x across his chest. “Cross my heart or hope to die.”
That brought a huge grin to the boy’s face. “Mommy.” David spun around and ran up to his mom. “Paxton is going to help me build a fort.”
“Is he?” She glanced over her son’s head at Paxton.
“He promised.” David’s smile was infectious.
“Then I guess he’s going to help you build a fort.” Again, she looked over her son’s head and leveled her gaze with his.
Paxton had no idea what was running through her head, but he quickly concluded that mom needed as much reassurance as her son had. With an easy smile, he nodded at her and just the way he’d done for David, drew an x over his heart.
“I smelled something delicious when I came home. Why don’t you go see what Grandma has baking?”
“Sweet.” Throwing a fist in the air, David did a little boy jig and sprinted into the house, the screen door slamming shut behind him.
“No pun intended,” Paxton chuckled, stepping closer to Sandra.
“Not sure what happened here, but thank you.”
“Honestly,” he shrugged a shoulder, “I’m not sure what happened either, but I came by to talk to you about something, and David peppered me with questions about what I did and did I use tools and do I know how to use a hammer and does my mommy let me use a saw.”
Sandra lifted her hand to her mouth and bit back a laugh. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. They were safer there. “I grabbed my tool belt and showed him a thing or two. It was fun.”
“He’s told me before that he wants a tree fort when we get a house. I didn’t realize he hadn’t let go of the idea.”
“Building club houses, and forts, and tree houses in our backyard is how my brothers and I got started in construction. We had a great time. Even if the first few efforts fell apart too easily.”
Sandra’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know that. None of you fell out of a tree, did you?”
“No bones were broken in our learning experience.”
“I can’t help but worry about falling from a tree house. I wish we could build a ground-level fort instead.”
“We can build whatever you want.” Which reminded him why he was actually here. “Speaking of build, you mentioned you liked the house that we’re building for charity.”
She sat on the back stoop. “Who wouldn’t? The place is going to be perfect.”
“I don’t mean to get personal. Your mom told me you’re only working part time at the Cut n’ Curl?”
“That’s right. I was a manicurist in Chicago, but it’s taking longer than I wanted to get my license in Texas.”
Just what he and his brothers had thought. From what he’d seen Sandra Lynn fretting about paying for a minor car repair and what his aunt had shared over dinner, he suspected she and David could probably fit the charity’s criteria. “We all had a chat after you left about the problems with bringing outsiders into a small town. First thing this morning, we had a long meeting with the network and then the charity. We insisted one condition to the network funding this project is that we have a local family move in. Both the network and the charity loved the idea of a single mom.”
Her head tipped to one side as he spoke, but her face showed no sign of understanding what he was saying.
“There’s some paperwork that would need to be filled out and filed, but that’s mostly a technicality as our recommendation was accepted.”
“Recommendation?”
He blew out a low sigh and said a fast prayer that she’d be as happy about this as he was. “We’d like the house to be for you and David.”
“I’m sorry. What?” She did that cute head tilt thing again.
He was beginning to worry she wasn’t going to like the idea of charity. “The network, the charity, and we Farradays all think the house should be yours.”
Her eyes widened and before he could brace himself, she sprang up from the stoop, threw her arms around him and screeched in his ear. It took her a few moments of squeezing him before she backed up. “Sorry. I just can’t believe it. You’re my hero!”
If it meant another hug like that one, he might see about getting her two houses.