Page 76 of Rooster

“Isn’t it?” Ryan sounded like she was on cloud nine. “I bet we went to twenty different stores before we stumbled across it. Of course, it was two sizes too big, but they special ordered one in my size and it should be here by the end of the week.”

“That’s so exciting!”

“Yes! It makes this whole wedding thing seem so real.”

“It really does. So, what’s next?”

“She’s gotta make a decision about the reception,” Keeley answered. “Do they use tents or no tents?”

Our conversation was cut short when Keeley's client came in, and mine followed quickly after. We chatted between colors and cuts, but there was no final decision made on the tents. We were too busy to really get into it, especially me. It seemed I was booked for every hour on the hour, and I barely had time to look up.

When it came time to close, I was still finishing up a client, so I told Keeley, “You guys go ahead. I’ll lock up.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.”

They both slipped out, and I got back to work on my client’s hair. It was just a cut and touch-up, so thankfully, it didn’t take too long. Once I finished, she quickly paid and left me alone to close up for the night. I was busy sweeping when the front door opened. I turned, and I was surprised to find Chad standing at the front counter.

“Chad.” My heart started to race with panic. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

“Not like this, we don’t. You call first and let me know that you’re stopping by. You don’t just come in here unannounced.”

“I tried calling, but you didn’t answer.” His cheeks were growing red with anger, and his brows were doing that crinkly thing they did when he was about to go off. I was tired and not in the mood for an argument, so I softened my tone as I told him, “I’m sorry. We’ve been really busy today, and I haven’t had a chance to check my messages.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so busy if you didn’t spend so much time with your new boyfriend.”

“What?”

“I know that’s where you were this weekend.”

“Yeah, and what of it?” I snapped. “Nathan told you we wouldn’t be home.”

The vein in the side of his neck started to pulse as he roared, “You kept my kid from me so you could go shack up with your new biker boyfriend!”

“I didn’t keep him from you. Nathan made the choice not to go.” I’d never worried about Chad physically hurting me, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t nervous about being there alone with him. “Chad, you need to go. This isn’t the time or the place for this.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem if you ever answered your damn phone.”

“I already told you. I was busy with work.”

“Nothing ever changes! You’ve always got some damn excuse!” He took a charging step towards me and pointed his finger in my face as he snarled, “If you think I’m gonna let you whore around in front of our kids, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“Dating is not whoring around.”

“You’re the one dating. Not the kids!”

“You mean like you’ve done for the past year and a half?” I scoffed. “You’ve got some nerve to say anything to me after all the things you’ve done.”

“Don’t bring Crissy into this,” he warned. “What happened between us is nothing like this!”

“You are right! It is completely different. I’m not cheating on you,” I shouted. “We were divorced for months before I ever even thought about dating. So, take your stupid judgements and get the hell out of my salon.”

“This conversation isn’t over.”

“You’ve got two seconds to get out of here, or I’m calling the cops,” I warned. “Better yet,I’m calling him.”

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