Page 10 of Her Magic Light

“Oh yeah?” Kate raised an eyebrow in a face that looked a lot like challenge. “Hey, Bess.” She raised her voice and Bess hustled over. “How would you like Meira’s talent to put your Sweetwater salon really on the map?”

Bess’s face became a wide grin. But when she glanced at me, she hesitated. “I think maybe it’s Meira’s choice?” she ventured. “I probably haven’t got a whole lot longer left at the helm, anyway. I have places to go and things to do.”

Kate’s eyebrow rose even higher. “You’d turn down free publicity? Extra income? More customers?”

“What would our regulars say if we were suddenly overrun by people wanting their hair colored?” I murmured as I carefully wrapped foils around each strand of hair. I kept my voice light, but what Kate described was the last thing I wanted. All that attention could shove itself where the sun didn’t shine. Folding another long opal, rainbow-lite strand into foil, I wrapped a band around Kate’s head to hold the foil in place while the color stain worked its magic.

I’d never sought out any kind of fame. I was happier on my own. And being in Sweetwater was the happiest I’d ever been. Upsetting the balance of my life here wasn’t an option. The weather suited me, the pace of life, the light. My soul hummed happily.

“No, it’s up to Meira, I think.” Despite the wistful longing in Bess’s eyes, she shrugged. “I’m pleased with her work and her presence as it is. She doesn’t need to do more.”

“Oh. Well.” Kate shrugged but the movement she made no longer mattered. The application was completed. “I still think you could be big, though.” She studied me. “You should really think about it.”

I nodded as Bess strolled away to answer the ringing phone. “I’m not sure I need to think about it a whole lot. Sweetwater doesn’t seem like the kind of place where someone would grow a big business—not without ruining the town for everyone else who lives here anyway. Who wants to do that?”

“You plan to stay?” She sounded incredulous now as her eyes widened. “Here?” She shook her head. “You could make so much more money in a bigger city.”

“Sure.” I nodded and straightened my ponytail. “Sweetwater is pretty much perfect. I have a good job, a comfortable home, and there’s a sunny beach. What more could I need?”

“A man?” She winked.

I shrugged. “The town is full of those today, as we’ve all noticed.”

“So you think you might want to put down some roots?”

I fussed a little with one of the foils as I considered her question. This felt dangerously like an interview, and I didn’t want to be a story. But the answer really took no consideration at all. “Yeah, I think this might be the right time and the right place.”

“And you’ll keep working in Bess’s salon?”

I nodded. “Sure, for as long as she’ll have me.”

“I heard that.” Bess’s voice rang across the space. “I’m thinking of handcuffing you to your chair so you can’t ever leave.”

I laughed and fussed with more foils. I didn’t have big plans here in Sweetwater but knowing my job was safe was a relief, anyway. I’d never felt so nurtured and appreciated.

“If I can’t get my friend to write a feature about you, can I at least recommend you?” Kate asked. “We could get jewel tone hair trending in the local area.”

“Sure.” A steady stream of customers wasn’t a bad thing. And personal recommendations was definitely the way to go on those. “I appreciate the word of mouth.”

Reporter Kate leaned toward me. “What are yourfuturefuture plans, though? Surely you don’t intend to see out your days in this tiny town?”

I could forever fiddle with my creation, but it wouldn’t improve the finished result, only adjust it. Waiting was the only way we’d see the finished work.

“Oh, I don’t know. Mrs. K. won’t always be able to head up the Sweetwater Spotters, so I think there’ll be an opening I can slot into. It would be interesting work.” I finished rearranging the foils and stepped back.

Kate’s gaze narrowed, but she didn’t ask anything else.

The Spotters thing was a joke. What I really wanted was for Bess to announce her retirement. If I became successful enough, maybe I could buy her out. Then I’d have a home and a business, and I could be happy for a lot longer. I wanted a future filled with Sweetwater light.

five

Afew hours later, after Kate had drunk her body weight in coffee and read through five of our magazines, the door to the salon opened again and the atmosphere inside shifted.

I glanced at the counter, where Bess was greeting a sensible looking woman in a pantsuit and an open necked blouse. Staring might be impolite, but the woman was yetanotherstranger in town. Her style didn’t scream Sweetwater. Neither did her posture. The skin on the back of my neck prickled. Something about her…

The woman murmured something too quiet for me to hear, and Bess glanced over her shoulder at me before replying. The woman nodded and Bess stepped away from the counter before approaching me.

“A new customer would like a consult with you, and she’s not booked anything,” she spoke quietly. “I’ve explained you’re too busy.” She paused but fidgeted like something had excited her. “But she’s come from out of town because she heard about you.”

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