“Something to do with a late night, too much Jack Daniel’s, and a really awkward morning after.” He sighed. “It’s complicated.”

I bet. “And Rosa?”

“She scares me.”

Lily laughed, but Jonathan didn’t. “You serious?” she asked.

“As a midget at a nudist colony,” he said.

Lily shook her head and spent a few minutes selecting a station and getting her stuff all set up. They shared a wash station, and everyone had to answer phones, since they didn’t have a receptionist. Definitely not five star, but then again this wasn’t SoCal. Needs here were different. Things were simpler.

For the last ten years, she’d thrown herself headlong into the San Diego culture and lifestyle. But the Rocky Mountain way of life came back to her in less than fifteen minutes. The lack of fake niceties, the laid-back atmosphere … all of it.

It took her about five more minutes to realize that the Mane Attraction needed some major modernizing: new supplies, brighter lighting, new equipment, and a better system all around.

Which became obvious two hours into her shift, when she blew a fuse after attempting to straighten a client’s hair while another client sat under a dryer. She found Jonathan in the back office grabbing a snack. Chips and dip, and her mouth watered.

“Damn,” he said. “It’s a sad moment when you lose a chip in the dip and you send in a recon chip but that breaks too.”

“Stop it, you’re making me hungry,” she said, and grabbed a chip. “What kind of dip?”

“Ranch.”

“Low fat?”

“Hell no,” he said. “Life’s too short for fake butter, dip, or people. Call the landlord about the blown fuse. The number’s programmed into the phone.”

Knowing full well who the landlord was, Lily balked. “I don’t think—”

“It won’t be him,” Jonathan said. “It’ll be Gray.”

So she made the call, and indeed got Gray, who was calm and efficient. She had no idea if that was because he could hear the panic in her voice that he might try to strike up a conversation or because he just didn’t care. In either case, he didn’t try to make the call personal. He simply promised to send someone within the hour.

The front door opened, and Jonathan’s next client walked in. Char Kincaid—Aidan’s mom. She gave Lily a big hello hug and seemed genuinely happy to see her.

“You look great,” Lily said.

Jonathan smiled at Char. “For a feeble old woman, she sure does.”

“Jonathan,” Lily gasped in horror.

Char laughed and spoke in the soft Southern accent she’d never lost, not even after living in Colorado for forty years. “No, he’s just making fun of my boys because that’s what they think.”