Page 45 of A Cowboy's Bride
Determined eyes met her gaze. “Please. It’s itchy,” Jinx confessed. “But it’s bad. I don’t know if we can fix it. And I’m not a fan of the shaved head look.”
“Bald looks good on some people, but yeah. It’s not my style either.” She tipped her head toward the house and smiled. “Let’s see what Julia suggests before breaking out the razor.”
Petra knocked on the door and pushed it open at Julia’s welcoming call. “Hey, Jules, we’re ready for some pampering. I brought Jinx to meet you.”
Her sister-in-law stepped forward. Julia’s reddish tinged hair hung in gorgeous curls past the edge of her shoulders. She wore faded old jeans with holes in a raggedy hemline and an oversized long-sleeved shirt in pale lavender with the arms pushed up to her elbows. “Hey P. Hello, Jinx. Welcome to my salon.” She lifted her gaze to Petra’s. “Your brother is out doing important things somewhere near the borderline of the ranch. Cody, that’s our foreman, insisted Zach was an important part of planning something way the hell out there. Which means we have the place to ourselves for hours and hours.”
Petra took an appreciative sniff. “Did you make cinnamon buns?”
Amusement danced over Julia’s face. “Yes, if picking up the phone and calling Tansy and begging for a home delivery counts as making them.”
Jinx snickered. She accepted the bag Petra handed her, glancing inside to discover the pair of house shoes. The relief in her eyes was huge as she sat to switch them over. “Thank you.”
“No problem, kiddo. Remember, one step at a time, and sometimes that’s easier when you got shoes on.” Petra put on her own slippers—a regular pair this time in case things got wildly messy. She didn’t want to ruin her birthday present dragons. “Julia. What can I do to help and where do you want us?”
Behind her, Jinx was exchanging one pair of shoes for the other. Julia’s gaze danced over then back up to Petra. She nodded in approval. “I guess we need to take a look first to see how bad it is.”
She’d put two chairs side by side at the kitchen table and arranged a freestanding mirror that was big enough to see all of one person directly or two if they squished.
Petra sat next to Jinx.
Julia leaned her hip on the table. “First off, I’m sure Petra and Aiden told you that my husband and I are also your safe people. We don’t know everything, but we know enough that we’ll do whatever we need to help keep you safe. Okay?”
She waited until Jinx nodded.
“Now comes the part that could be easy for you, or really tough, and neither one is wrong.” Julia folded her arms over her chest and leaned back, making a face. “This isn’t common knowledge, but I had a stalker once. When things were at their worst, I got trapped in a tough situation where I didn’t have much control over taking care of myself. Not telling you this so you feel bad for me, but so you know one result of that was my hair got messed up.”
“You’ve kind of been where I’m at?” Jinx asked.
“Only in so far that I know that I can’t help you unless I touch your hair. Plus, working out the knots will cause a fair bunch of tugging and pulling. It will be uncomfortable, but if you’re okay with it, we can get started.”
Petra wiggled her shoulder where it pressed against Jinx’s. “If you need a breather, just say that.”
Jinx stared at her reflection. “I don’t want to look like this anymore.”
Thank God for brave young women. “Then let’s get to work.”
They soaked the mess down and got to work using straight combs and picks and the gentlest touch possible. Julia was amazing through it all, which made sense considering she’d worked in the emergency services area for years. She seemed to have a knack at helping Jinx to relax.
When they came up with a combination of conditioner and coconut oil that loosened the knots, Petra’s hopes rose. They wouldn’t have to cut it all off.
Hours later, after a few breaks to enjoy the cinnamon buns and some hot tea, and to get lunch, they were done.
Looking a little like a wet dog, long strands of untangled deep brown hair hung around Jinx’s face. But this time it was not because she was hiding, but because she was trying to keep the dripping strands from getting in her eyes. “I hope you have a shower,” she said.
“Absolutely,” Julia said. “Plus, like we talked about, I have some more clothes that might fit you. But I think a trip to the store with my niece might be a good idea in the next couple of days.”
Jinx froze with the towel in her hand held to her chest. “Your niece?”
“Sasha,” Julia informed her. “She’s nearly your age, so chances are you’ll end up in the same class at school.”
Part of Petra wanted to protect Jinx and protest that it was too soon. But part of moving forward meant keeping the momentum going.
“If you don’t want to, we won’t. But I can vouch for Sasha,” Petra said. “Other than being a lot more horse-obsessed than you, she’s a great girl with a little sister and brother she mothers like crazy. She’s someone I’d want on my side.”
Jinx nodded, but she still looked unhappy. “That makes sense. Can we meet her before we go shopping? You think?”
Everything was possible. Petra considered. “What about at Buns and Roses?” she suggested to Julia. “Tomorrow is a school day, but I don’t think Sasha would be upset about getting taken to lunch.”
