Her mom looked awake enough for a conversation so, after rinsing the last mug and pulling the plug, Katie dried her hands and leaned against the counter. “Josh and I talked this morning and we both agree you’re pretty much back on your feet, so I’m going to move back home Tuesday night. I want to open the barbershop on its regular schedule post-New Year’s Day. Get the year off on the right foot.”
Rosie’s lips tightened, and Katie could see the wheels turning in her mother’s head. “And Josh thinks that’s a good idea?”
She recognized the roundabout way of finding out if Josh had asked her to stay. “Of course he does. He runs a business, so he recognizes that I have a business to run, too. You know he’d never expect me to let mine suffer just to help him out.”
“The barbershop isn’t that far from here. You’ve been driving back and forth since I came home from the hospital.”
“On part-time hours,” Katie reminded her. “Mom, I’m not staying here.”
Rose sighed. “I’d been hoping that maybe plans had changed.”
“Nobody’s plans have changed, Mom. Especially his.” It was best to be upfront about that. Well, as upfront as she could be without specifically referencing the fact that she and Josh were having sex. Luckily, she knew she didn’t need to, just as her mother didn’t. They both knew what was going on, so there didn’t need to be a potentially embarrassing conversation.. “Now, I have to run or I’ll find a pissed-off, half-frozen old buck standing on the sidewalk waiting for a haircut.”
“Have a good day, honey.”
Katie fired up her Jeep with a sigh of relief. She’d made it out before her mother was forced into the awkward position of either explaining why she was heating two mugs of water or leaving poor Andy upstairs with no caffeine.
Josh stepped out of the barn to wave goodbye and she waved back before heading down the driveway. It was such a comfortable, domestic moment, she couldn’t hold back the smile as she drove into town.
Maybe Katie’s moving home wouldn’t be as bad for her relationship as her mom feared. Josh could sneak over to her place while Andy “kept an eye” on Rosie. The town could be a problem, though. The Northern Star was far enough off the beaten track to offer a little privacy. If Josh’s truck was in the overnight lot between the barbershop and the consignment store for children’s stuff for an entire night, all of Whitford would be planning their wedding by dawn.
She didn’t really care what people said. But, as she turned onto the paved road and hit the gas, she wondered if Josh would. Every subtle hint about marriage would strike him as a not-so-subtle reminder he was expected to spend the rest of his life doing what he was doing now instead of normal small-town gossip.
As Katie parked her Jeep in the lot beside the barbershop, she decided there was nothing she could about other people’s reactions. They couldn’t camouflage Josh’s truck, so she’d just hope the people of Whitford dug deep and discovered the concept of discretion.
Laughing out loud, she unlocked the barbershop and prepared to start her day.
*
Josh usually loved guests who were up and checked out at the butt crack of dawn on Sunday. For them, it was a matter of getting a head start on a long ride home. For him, it meant stripping the beds, spraying down the bathrooms, emptying the trash cans and still making it to Max’s for a football game. The more thorough cleaning wouldn’t get done until Monday.
This Sunday was a little different, though, because Monday was New Year’s Eve. All their guests would be taking advantage of the long weekend and not leaving until Tuesday morning. The Patriots would play at one o’clock, which meant the guests would all be out on the trails, racking up the miles, but he wouldn’t be able to stay at Max’s for the late game. Once evening came, he liked to know who had or hadn’t gotten back safely yet.
It sucked that Katie wasn’t going to be here today. When he mentioned the one-o’clock game, she had sworn she’d thought the Patriots’ game was the later one and had made plans with Hailey. On the flipside, he still had a bet to win and her not being around might be an advantage for him.
Max was in the kitchen alone when Josh walked through his door, and it struck him as the perfect opportunity to get a leg up in the quest for Katie’s car-washing services. “Hey, Max. How’s it going?”
“Good. Just looking for some mustard. Mike brought pretzels and I like mustard on them, but I can’t find the bottle I know I just bought.”
“You know, you and I should get together for lunch sometime. Grab a burger at the diner or something.” Max stopped rummaging through the cupboard to look at him. “I enjoy hanging out with you, but we’re always here and there’s a game on. It’d be cool to talk about something other than sports, know what I mean?”
“Not really. I’m not very good at small talk.”
Okay, so Crawford was a tough nut to crack. “Just a thought. I’m usually busy on the weekends, and I guess you probably have to work on the weekdays anyway, huh?”
“Yeah. How come Katie’s not here yet?”
And, right on schedule, the subject change. The guy was definitely doing it on purpose. “She’s not coming today. Something else going on, I guess.”