“I see,” Becca said as the man sat down in the other salon chair next to Libby’s, his big legs sprawling out in front of him. “Four is a great age. That means you’re a big girl.” She reached for the ponytail holder to pull it out of the girl’s topknot, only to realize the gum was twisted into it as well. Oh dear. Normally, she’d pick through the loose hair to check for lice—because you never knew with kids—but this was going to be . . . interesting. She touched a few strands, trying to determine how it had happened. Gum really was everywhere. Long strings of it seemed to be melted into the delicate curls, and all of it was mixed in with the hair tie. The entire thing seemed to be glued together with a light brown substance she couldn’t figure out. After a moment, she sniffed. “Is this . . . peanut butter?”

She looked over at the big man, but his jaw clenched and he remained silent. After a long moment, he shrugged.

“Daddy tried to help,” Libby said brightly. “But I didn’t tell him about the gum for two days and he said that was bad.”

Two days? Well, that explained the rancid knot atop Libby’s little head. “I see.”

“Late night,” the man said in a gruff voice. “Sick cattle.”

“I wasn’t judging,” Becca replied gently. She moved to the counter and grabbed a large bottle of hair oil. “Sometimes it’s hard to get away from work. Trust me, I know.” She crooked a smile at him, trying to put him at ease. “Emergencies come up, even at a hair salon.” And she gestured at his little daughter.

He just stared at her.

Right. Okay, so that was awkward. She turned back to Libby. “Daddy was off to a good start with the peanut butter,” she told the little girl. “We’re going to put more oil in your hair and see if we can’t work some more of this gum out, all right?”

“Okay,” Libby said brightly.

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself,” Becca continued, dousing the girl’s head with oil and trying not to worry about how the heck she was going to salvage this little one’s hair without shaving it down to the scalp. “You’re a big girl of four. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I have two uncles! They’re big and hairy like Daddy.”

“Two uncles,” Becca repeated, grinning. This was definitely one of Doc Parson’s nephews. From the rumors around town, all three had come down from Alaska. “What about your mommy?”

“I don’t have a mommy,” Libby said, kicking her legs some more. “It’s just Daddy and Uncle Caleb and Uncle Jack and Grampa Ennis.”