SHOCK HOLDS ME IN PLACE as I’m being circled by Sway—the short, but fit, owner of the salon that Dani works at. He’s probably a good three inches or so shorter than my five-foot-nine, however the five inch heels that he’s rocking make him taller than I am. Not to mention, the man makes skinny jeans look better than I ever could. Of course, he doesn’t have my hips. I’ve heard, but never seen, that he also rocks his long blond wig better than most women can.
Yeah, Sway is a force that you will only understand if you know him. He’s flamboyant and over-dramatic, loves glitter to the degree that it is probably unhealthy, and isn’t afraid to tell you exactly how it is.
He’s also Stella’s dad.
But even though I love Stella and even though Dani seems to think this is a brilliant idea, having Sway circle me while muttering, is freaking me way out.
“Those hips, child! God, only the lucky ones have hips like that. I’ve tried, trust me. I had hips when I was a sexy plump man, but they never looked as good as yours. I bet that gorgeous man just grabs hold and goes to town!”
My cheeks heat and I hear Stella, who also works at the salon, yell at her dad to stop embarrassing me.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’ve told you before, child, I don’t bat for the kitties but I still think like a man. Well, sometimes. And those hips. Yes, honey . . . oh yes! Now come sit in Sway’s chair and tell me all about that hunk Liam Beckett.”
Then my hand is in his and I’m being pulled past Dani and into Sway’s chair.
“You do realize she is my client, right?” she huffs.
“No. She was. Now she’s mine.”
I watch through the mirror as Dani puts her hands on her slim hips and snaps, “You can’t just steal my appointment. She’s my friend, you weird old man. I swear, if I didn’t love you I would quit.”
He laughs, throwing his head back and his arms in the air. “You,” he points to her and then reaches out to unbutton the top button on her black blouse, “Will never learn to let those babies free. Can you believe her?” he asks, looking at me through the mirror. “She has those great girls now that she’s turned into a human milker. Never shows them off. I tell her, time and time again, now that she has the man doesn’t mean she should put them away. And you,” he snaps, turning back to Dani. “Leave me to this sweet child. She needs Sway. You need to go tug up the girls and go give your man a nooner before he calls here, again, and yells at me for keeping you away from the house.”
“He did not yell at you,” she yells. “He just asked if I could take a longer lunch and then got a little upset when I had to leave before we finished.”
“Oh yeah, and what didn’t you finish? Huh? You think he was happy with me because you have too many clients? No, not Cohen Cage. Just like his daddy. Wants to lock you up in the bedroom and never let you go. I bet you have another little Cage in that belly before too long.”
Her face reddens. “I was talking about lunch, you perv! We didn’t finish lunch!”
“Hmmm,” he mumbles and starts running his hands through my hair. “And what, honey child, was he eating?”
My jaw drops when hers snaps shut and I watch, fascinated, when she turns her eyes to me and with a shrug says, “Sorry. Looks like you’re his now.” Then stomps off to the back room.
“Uh,” I start.
“You need to ignore her, sweetheart. I figured out she was pregnant two weeks ago, mind you she has not a clue, but she will. She always gets snappy in the beginning. So, while I love that I get to get my hands on all this hair, I also get her off her feet while she’s back in the breakroom having a snit. So I win, but she wins bigger,” he whispers close to my ear and then pulls back.
“Pregnant? Again?”
“I swear it must be a Cage thing. Runs in the family. Super swimmers, both of them.”
“Uh,” I mumble.
“She’ll find out soon enough. If her losing her breakfast this morning was any help, if not, she will when she stops focusing on her best friend’s love life long enough to remember she hasn’t had her lady time yet.”
“Oh my God,” I say, still low and soft. Shocked.
“You, sweet girl, are ready for the new you?”
I nod, still thinking about how Sway could know that Dani is pregnant before she does.
“Then sit back and relax, time for me to work my magic.”
I nod again, because really what can you do when a man who does heels, skinny jeans and a loose blouse better than you ever could, starts waving his hands around with scissors attached? You sit back and shut the hell up. That’s what you do.
“You’ve had a hard life, honey,” he tells me some time later, while painting some high or low or whatever he called them lights. I have no idea; he just said it was time to make my blonde hair come to life.
He looks up from my head and gives me soft, kind eyes. “It takes an old wounded soul to recognize another.”
“You?” I don’t finish because his eyes get even softer and he nods.
“It isn’t easy growing up in the south as a gay man that loves women’s clothing. I wouldn’t say I’m a cross dresser, but I love what I love and that happens to be heels and tight clothes. It wasn’t popular then and it still isn’t now. I’m a lucky man though. I have a wonderful husband and a daughter that is my whole entire world. But, all my life until I moved to Hope Town, I felt the pain of my life choices. People think I’m crazy and that’s okay with me. I can laugh about it now, but I surround myself with things that make me happy and far as I can see, you’re starting to do the same.”
“The glitter,” I laugh, looking around his station at everything that shines in the lights around the salon.
“Oh yes. Started at church camp. My parents sent me there in hope that I could be saved from the devil that lives inside of me. That, well that backfired when I found art inside that camp. Sitting there during arts and crafts time while the glitter fell through my fingers, I was able to find a little happiness that, as you can see, I keep with me at all times.”
I chuckle to myself. He isn’t kidding. He really does keep it with him at all times.
“My light in the darkness. We all have that light, honey. Some people, it’s an object like glitter. Other people, it’s a person that takes their hand and takes the lead.”
I look into his eyes. “Is there anything you don’t see?” I ask.
“Not often. Plus, I cut Lee’s hair the last four times that fine man came in because pregnant patty was too busy taking ‘lunch breaks’ with her husband.”
My laughter comes quick and when Sway starts to freak out because I won’t stop moving my head, my laughter climbs. Soon enough, he’s joined in and we don’t stop joking and laughing until he flips off his blow dryer and turns my chair.
“He isn’t going to know what hit him, honey child!” Sway says as my eyes take in the ‘new’ Megan.
My blonde hair is still blonde, but now there are strips of dark and light blonde, all looks so natural that you would never guess I just spent the last two hours in Sway’s hands. I never would have thought that my natural light blonde was a bad look, but now seeing this, I feel like I’ve been brought to life. My eyes look brighter and my skin looks darker against the softer color.
“You deserve to keep the happiness close to you,” he tells me.
“I’m trying,” I reply. “Still scares me to pieces.”
Which is true. Giving myself to someone, giving them the power over not just my heart, but my daughter’s as well and all of it being so new, is scary. It isn’t that I don’t trust Lee, but when you have had a lot of nothing, then a lot of loss, believing that you can have something beautiful takes time.
“I imagine it does. I’ll admit, knowing what you’ve lost and honey I am sorry for your loss, but knowing that you lost your husband overseas, I was a little shocked you ended up with another man with a dangerous job. You’re going to be just—what? What did I say?”
“What’s wrong with Megan?” Stella asks and I turn my shocked eyes from Sway to hers and then I look at myself.
Pale skin, wide eyes, and a look of fear.
“What the hell?” My eyes snap to Dani.
“I never even thought about his job,” I mumble, my fear taking hold and the roots digging in. “Never once crossed my mind that he . . . good God, he wears a gun . . . and a vest! How could I never even realize how dangerous his job is? Oh my God!”
“Oh, shit,” Stella mumbles.
“Oh, no,” Sway sighs.
“You, come with me,” Dani says softly and pulls me from the chair. “You stay,” she tells Sway. “Let’s go.” Her hand grabs mine and she starts to walk me toward the room she stomped toward earlier.
I don’t resist, too shocked and too busy thinking about all the things that could happen to Lee while on duty to even process anything else.
Dani pushes me down to the couch when we walk into the break room and kneels down in front of me. My panicked eyes not focusing on a thing until she taps me on the cheek. Lightly, but with enough force that the shock of it has my eyes focusing on hers.
“I didn’t like that. You made me slap you and that’s not something I like. But I really don’t like watching you fall back to where you were a year ago. Let me tell you something, honey. Sure, Lee has a job that deals with dangerous situations, but he’s a smart man and he’s trained. He carries a gun and wears a vest because there may come a time when that’s needed, but you cannot let that ruin what you two are starting.”
I don’t speak.
“Megan. You can’t give up on him because his job is a little dangerous. It is nothing like Jack. Nothing. Jack was in a war-torn country and you know without me having to detail it that the types of danger over there are nothing that Lee will have to face.”
“I could lose him,” I tell her.
“You won’t,” she states strongly. “You need to talk to him about this.”
I nod my head, but know I most likely will not.
“Promise?”
I nod, but don’t give her the words. If I don’t give her the words then I can keep this to myself until I figure out what to do with it.