Fresh Ice by Rachelle Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page B

suddenly dry throat. “Sorry. Abigail said I could have a muffin.”
    Peach opened a drawer and took out a plastic baggie. “Here, sugar. Take a few of ‘em.”
    Sarah put her hand up to stop her. “Oh, no, I couldn’t.”
    “ You’d be doin’ me a favor,” Peach said, cramming three muffins into the bag.
    Sarah did the math in her head. Three muffins plus the one in her purse gave her four to di vvy up over the next few days. Her food situation was scarce but she had to save her money for rent. Sarah could survive on the bare minimum of food--Lord knew she had for her entire life--but she couldn’t end up homeless out on the street. “Okay,” she relented.
    “ Good. This way I don’t have to hear her bitchin’ in the morning about how nobody likes her baking and nobody took a darn muffin.” Peach’s head bobbled as she spoke. She was really jamming those muffins into that bag. Apparently Abigail’s baking really was as bad as everyone made it out to be.
    Peach handed her the bag and Sarah took it. “Thank you so much, Peach.”
    “Don’t thank me ‘till after you’ve tasted one. Whoo-ee, some of her stuff is so bad even Bean turns his nose up at it.”
     
    That evening in her motel room, Sarah reflected on her first day at Peach’s.
    Peach was, well, as she would say, a peach to work for. Her boisterous personality and silly jokes made Sarah feel comfortable in the salon. Except for Kim, who was a little standoffish, the girls seemed nice and friendly.
    Throughout the day, had they talked about other women, TV shows, movies and men. Most of the time, Sarah had a hard time following their conversations about current TV shows because Troy had controlled the TV back in L.A. and his favorite entertainment consisted of tractor pulls and catfishing shows until he passed out from too many beers. Sarah hid her lack of input by telling the ladies she was more of a book lover than a couch potato, which was the truth.
    She kept telling herself she was just as good as these women. Her past might not be the most glamorous or heartwarming and probably belonged on a police report or an episode of COPS , but she deserved to work among them.
    And Maeve had loved her sassy new haircut! Pride blossomed through Sarah’s body when Maeve had smiled at her own reflection in the mirror. Oh, it was such a wonderful feeling! Sarah hugged her arms around herself and grinned. That grin turned into a giggle and she laughed herself silly.
    And it didn’t end with Maeve. The clients Sarah had the rest of the day left her chair happy, too. Best of all, Sarah was pleasantly surprised at how generously her clients tipped. Ideally, she needed to save up to buy a car because it would serve two purposes. Transportation and she could always live in if absolutely necessary.
    For dinner , Sarah sat cross-legged on the double bed and ate her muffin from Abigail. It was as dry as sawdust, but Sarah had eaten worse. Survive d on worse.
    She looked around at the dingy motel room and smiled. She had a lock on the door and a roof over her head and a job to go to the next morning.
    It was the best muffin she ever had.

Chapter Seven
    Peach Blossom
     
    Nathan parked his truck in front of Peach’s Salon. The space next door was empty and obviously under construction. Tony’s truck was backed up to the building and full of lumber as usual. Plastic hung in the window and the door was propped open with a can of paint.
    So, Peach was finally expanding the salon. As long as Nathan had known TJ, it was all she could talk about.
    Nathan got out of his truck and went into the new space. He’d go over to the salon and say hello to Peach later.
    Inside, t he room was a mess. Sheets of plastic lay on the floor and there were pieces of drywall scattered everywhere.
    TJ looked up from the paint can he was opening with a screw driver and grinned when he saw Nathan. “The Con Man is here!” he announced.
    Tony chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.