3. Celeste #3
Calista pointed at me. “She had coffee and two peppermint candies.”
“Betrayal.”
“Accountability,” Cassia corrected, kissing my cheek.
Leilani spotted Josiah near the panel. Her face changed so fast I almost groaned. Leilani breathed. “Oh.”
I pointed at her. “No.”
Leilani’s brows lifted with false innocence. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You said oh.”
“That’s a vowel, Celeste. You fear vowels now?”
Juice bent over the tool bag, shoulders shaking.
Onyx took the waters from Leilani and kissed her temple. “Behave.”
Leilani replied, “I’m pregnant and concerned. Pick one.”
“I know better than to pick anything with you, love.”
Josiah stepped from the hallway, wiping his hands on a rag. “Mrs. Leilani.”
She smiled. “Josiah. Thank you for coming.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Leilani looked at me with the slow turn of a woman who’d just been handed ammunition.
“Ma’am,” she repeated.
“Do not,” I whispered.
Leilani counted on her fingers. “Professional. Respectful. Tall. Handsome.”
Calista nodded. “Very safety-forward.”
Cassia murmured, “Y’all are terrible.”
I felt heat climbing my neck. “Can we focus on the electrical problem?”
Juice straightened. “We been focused. Some of us are focused on multiple safety hazards.” Josiah gave him a look. Juice lifted his hands. “I’m talking about the wiring, preacher.”
Josiah replied, “I’m not a preacher.”
Juice grinned. “Could’ve fooled me with all that restraint.”
Onyx laughed under his breath.
Josiah ignored him and turned to me. “The back row has too much load on it, and one neutral connection is loose enough to cause heat buildup. The outlet near the shampoo bowls needs replacing, and the dryer circuits need to be separated correctly. Whoever added equipment over the years made it work instead of making it safe.”
“So it’s not just a bad outlet.”
Josiah answered, “No. It’s bigger than that.”
I looked toward the back wall and saw Big J standing there with a drill in his hand, installing shelves for my products. That wall had held the memory for me. Now it smelled like heat.
Josiah read something in my face and looked away, giving pain somewhere private to stand.
“I’ll put everything in writing,” he said. “What has to happen immediately, what’s required, and what can wait. I can start tomorrow morning and keep you operating where it’s safe.”
For one reckless second, I wanted to ask God why He’d taken the man who made everything feel survivable.
Instead, I breathed. “Okay.”
Josiah studied my face. “You sure?”
The question nearly undid me, because he wasn’t asking whether I understood the repair. He was asking whether I could hold the news.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I’ll send the estimate tonight.”
Leilani pressed a water bottle into my hand. “Drink.”
“I’m not a toddler.”
“Then stop needing supervision.”
Calista leaned against the counter. “We’re taking her to Brick & Ember after this.”
I turned. “Who is we?”
“Everybody tired of watching you go from work to kids to church to home like you’re on a grief treadmill.”
Cassia nodded. “You need food.”
“I have food at home.”
Leilani opened my water bottle and placed it in my hand. “You have leftovers and responsibility at home. We said food.”
Onyx glanced at Josiah. “You see what I deal with?”
Josiah’s eyes glanced between my sisters and Leilani before looking at me. “Looks like love with instructions.”
The room went still for half a breath.
I looked at him, gratitude rising higher than it had permission to.
His gaze softened.
Leilani noticed because Leilani noticed everything.
Juice noticed too because, apparently, God had given that man foolishness and discernment in equal measure.
Juice leaned toward Onyx and whispered loudly, “Siah stuck.”
Josiah didn’t look at him. “I can hear you.”
“I know. That was for the record.”
Calista’s eyes lit up. “Stuck?”
“Stop,” I said too quickly.
Leilani sipped her water. “Nobody asked you.”
Onyx kissed her temple. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I’m allowed joy.”
Josiah’s mouth twitched.
I pointed toward the panel before I combusted in front of my family and a contractor. “So, tomorrow morning?”
Josiah nodded. “Eight, if that works.”
“It works.”
“I’ll bring a crew. Juice will be with me.”
Juice saluted. “Comic relief with credentials.”
Josiah gathered his tools after checking the back row once more. He labeled breakers and set written instructions on the counter.
“These are the stations you can use. No dryers on the back row, and don’t touch the outlet near shampoo. If you smell heat again, shut everything down, and call me.” He paused. “Directly,” he added. The word settled between us.
“Okay.”
His eyes held mine. “I mean it.”
“I hear you.”
“I believe you. I just want you safe.”
My breath caught.
I looked down at the instructions. “Thank you, Josiah.”
His name felt new in my mouth, but not wrong.
“You’re welcome, Celeste.”
He left with Juice and Onyx.
Through the window, I watched them cross the parking lot. Before opening his truck door, Josiah looked back at the salon. At me.
I should’ve looked away.
I didn’t.
He gave me a small nod, climbed inside, and pulled away behind Onyx’s motorcycle.