As she was checking out, a couple of patrons lined up behind her, so Hailey couldn’t say anything more embarrassing than have a nice day.
The three hardcovers made her tote a little heavier than usual, so Paige stopped to rest in the cute little park with the benches, lilacs and wild roses. And rather than think about whether or not Hailey’s comments about sexual tension were exaggerated but grounded in truth, she pulled a paperback out of the bag and settled in to read for a few minutes.
*
Mitch wedged the pickup into a parking space on Main Street and went around to help Josh out. His brother didn’t like having to accept a shoulder to lean on, but it was a long way to the ground for a guy with a bum leg.
Once Josh had his crutches tucked into his armpits, they walked thirty or so feet down the sidewalk and Mitch held open the door to the Whitford Barber Shop.
It wasn’t a fancy name, but it wasn’t a fancy place. There were a few salons in Whitford now—places you could get a haircut and your nails buffed and your body tanned if you so desired. Maybe get a little dermabrasion, which sounded to Mitch like taking a sandblaster to your skin. He avoided salons, as a rule.
This was a barbershop. A shave and a haircut and, if she was in the mood, you could talk to Katie Davis about almost anything under the sun. But she wasn’t touching anybody’s naked feet and if you asked her about tanning, she’d tell you to go lay out on the sidewalk and roll over every fifteen minutes.
“You really look like crap,” she said in greeting, and Mitch was glad she was talking to Josh.
“Can’t wash my hair in the bathtub. I wash it in the kitchen sink, but it’s awkward because I’m tall and can only put my weight on the one leg.” He took his hat off as he spoke, revealing the mess that had inspired Mitch to talk him into a trip into town.
“In the wash chair,” she said, snapping open a clean cape. After Josh settled into the chair, she handed Mitch the crutches, draped the cape over Josh and turned on the water. “Lean back.”
Mitch grabbed a tattered snowmobiling magazine from 2008 out of one of the chairs and sat down, but he glanced over at the wash chair as Katie worked up a thick lather of shampoo in his brother’s hair. Josh made a low moaning sound in his throat, and Mitch watched as heat in the form of a rosy blush crept up Katie’s neck. Interesting.
And not his business. He’d always thought of Katie as an almost-sister. Rose had started working at the Northern Star the year Katie was born because his mom didn’t mind if she brought the baby along in a sling. She’d practically grown up at the lodge with them.
But it didn’t look as though she thought of Josh as an almost-brother, that was for sure. And he didn’t want to know any more about it, so he stood and tossed the magazine back on the chair. “Looks like you’re going to be a while.”
Katie snorted. “I’m going to wash his hair twice, then give him a good trim. I’ll give him a nice hot towel shave, too, and maybe he’ll look human again.”
“I’m going to take a walk, then. If I’m not back when you’re done, text me.”
She nodded and Josh ignored him, so he stepped out into the sunshine and debated on a destination. He could walk down to the Whitford General Store & Service Station to say hi to Fran and Butch Benoit. Or he could walk to the bank and transfer some funds into the Northern Star Lodge’s account. Maybe take some of the weight off Josh’s shoulders.
He hadn’t built a successful business, though, by throwing good money after bad. If the lodge was really in trouble and it wasn’t going to be able to support itself in the long run, a monetary transfusion was a temporary fix. They needed a plan, and then they could work out how to pay for it.
Aimlessly walking down the sidewalk to avoid standing in one spot like an idiot, Mitch let his mind wander to the Northern Star. And to Josh. He’d changed since the last time Mitch had seen him, and not in a good way. And, while a broken leg wasn’t exactly fun, the change in his mood and general outlook on life went deeper than that. More important than helping out while Josh healed and figuring out the lodge’s finances was figuring out why his brother was turning bitter.
When he got to the town park—the small one tucked in next to the hardware store, not the big one with the playground equipment and bandstand—he spotted Paige Sullivan sitting on a bench, and he pushed Josh to the back of his mind temporarily.
She was sitting sideways, with her feet tucked under her and one arm hooked over the back of the bench. In the other hand was a paperback, and she didn’t look up until he sat down next to her. “Mind if I join you?”