A Husband of Her Own. Brenda Novak

you.”

      “You’ve done a bang-up job, Dad. Is that all?”

      “Not quite.”

      Rebecca hesitated, fearing she hadn’t heard the worst of it yet. “What do you mean by that?”

      “As a gesture of good faith, he’s stopping by the salon tomorrow for a haircut.”

      Rebecca coughed as though she’d just swallowed a bug. When she could speak, she said, “But he always gets his hair cut at the barbershop.”

      “Not tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s coming to you. He’ll be there at ten. Good night.”

      “Wait,” she cried. “I can’t cut his hair.”

      “Why not?” her father asked, his voice now gruff. “You agreed to the truce, remember?”

      Collecting her cigarettes and lighter, Rebecca stood and began to pace across the small porch. “Of course I remember, but…but tomorrow’s Saturday. I’m booked solid.”

      “Not at ten in the morning you’re not.”

      “How do you know?”

      “Because I was your first appointment, and I just gave him my slot.”

      Her heart sank. “You sure you want to do that, Dad?”

      “Positive.”

      “But this is crazy. How does my cutting Josh’s hair cement this…little truce of yours?”

      “Consider it a trial run for the anniversary party. If you two can get through tomorrow without killing each other, we’ll all breathe a little easier.”

      Rebecca propped the phone on one shoulder and shoved a hand through her new Ashley Judd hairstyle, frantically trying to think of some way out. But her father didn’t give her a chance to argue further. He surprised her by saying, “You’re doing the right thing, Beck. And stay away from those damn cigarettes.” Then he hung up.

      Shocked, she blinked into the dark yard for several seconds, not knowing what to think.

      “Was that Buddy?” Delaney asked as soon as she switched back over.

      “It was my father.”

      “Everything okay?”

      “No. Absolutely not.”

      “Why?” Delaney asked. “What’s wrong?”

      “I’m supposed to cut Josh Hill’s hair tomorrow.”

      Silence met this statement, followed by, “You’re kidding, right? Josh is going to put himself at your mercy when you’ve got a pair of scissors in your hands?”

      Rebecca bit her lip and sighed as she headed back inside the house. “I guess we’ll see, huh?”

      CHAPTER THREE

      REBECCA GLANCED NERVOUSLY through Hair And Now’s large front window as the clock ticked inexorably toward ten. The weather was cool and clear with a slight breeze—another perfect autumn day. Not many people were out and about yet, but Saturdays typically started slow at this end of town. Three blocks away at the bakery, there’d be a crowd wanting coffee, donuts and muffins. Starbucks might be taking over the planet, but the citizens of Dundee still patronized Don and Tami’s Bakery.

      Maybe Josh wouldn’t show, Rebecca thought hopefully, noting the dearth of traffic. If he stood her up, she could shrug when she next saw her father and say, “I was perfectly willing to make peace, Dad, but he never arrived.” And then she’d look innocent for a change.

      Perfect. She smiled as she began readying her station with rods and tissues for the permanent wave she’d be giving at eleven, imagining the look of disappointment on her father’s face if for once Josh failed him. This whole truce thing could end up working in her favor. She could feign disappointment in his stubborn refusal to put the past behind them and—

      The bell rang over the door, causing Rebecca’s daydream to dissipate. She knew without turning that Josh had arrived. The murmur that ran from Katie, the other stylist, to Mona, the manicurist, to Nancy Shepherd, who was having her nails done, would have told Rebecca even if her sixth sense did not.

      But her sixth sense was working just fine. Somehow she could always tell when Josh was around. He made her feel clumsy, nervous, unattractive.

      No wonder she didn’t like him. Anyway, despite her wishful thinking, she’d known all along that he’d appear. He’d never been one to back down from a challenge.

      Rebecca cleaned her combs and scissors before looking up. She needed a moment to gather her nerve. Josh was so much easier to hate when he wasn’t within ten feet of her. Ever since she’d made the mistake of going home with him that one night, something had changed. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it made their relationship—or absence of a relationship—very complex. She supposed kissing a man the way she’d kissed him, as though she longed to climb inside his skin and live there for the rest of her life, tended to confuse the issues.

      “Hi, Josh, what brings you in today?” Mona asked. At least fifteen years his senior, Mona had a handful of children at home as well as a husband, but the pitch of her voice suggested she could still appreciate a handsome man when she saw one. And Josh was definitely handsome. He had thick blond hair that fell carelessly across his forehead, skin that tanned so easily he was golden-brown before anyone else even thought of bringing out their summer clothes, and intelligent green eyes that sparkled with more than enough mischief to keep a woman guessing.

      Fortunately Rebecca had long ago perfected her immunity to his rugged virility. She couldn’t really explain her brief lapse that fateful August 16th, but she was still Rebecca Wells. Josh Hill was never going to get the best of her.

      “I have an appointment this morning,” he told Mona.

      “You’re Katie’s first client?”

      “He’s not my ten o’clock,” Katie said. “Unless there’s been some mix-up, I’m doing a perm for Mrs. Vanderwall. And Erma’s not coming in today. She’s off visiting her sister in Boise.”

      From the corner of her eye, Rebecca saw Josh shove his hands in the pockets of his Wranglers. “Actually, I’m here to see Rebecca.”

      “You’re joking, right?” Mona was chuckling as she spoke, as though he had to be joking. Everyone in town knew that putting her and Josh together was like putting a match to gasoline.

      Rebecca cleared her throat and faced them fully. If she waited any longer to acknowledge Josh’s presence, he might realize she wasn’t quite up to her usual self.

      “Josh, good to see you,” she said, forcing a smile.

      He gave her that crooked grin of his, the one that showed his dimples, and immediately called her on the lie. “Are you sure?”

      Hell, no. “I’m trying to be positive,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her because she suddenly didn’t know where to put them.

      He settled his black felt cowboy hat further back on his head. “So this truce thing is for real.”

      “I guess,” she said with a shrug.

      “Because I gotta tell ya, that fiasco at your sister’s wedding was…” He shook his head and let his breath go all at once.

      “I can’t believe you’d even bring that up,” Rebecca responded, bridling. “You made me take out the punch fountain.”

      He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’re the one who tripped me in the first place.”

      “I didn’t even touch you!”

      “Wait a second,” Katie said. “That wedding was the most exciting thing this town has seen in the past three years. If you two call a truce, life’s going to get pretty boring around