Easy Nights (Boudreaux #6)

And beat the fuck out of him before making him turn himself in to the police.

“He doesn’t even matter,” I reply softly.

“No. He doesn’t.” He sighs and reaches over to touch my hand. “I’m proud of you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

His blue eyes hold mine. “Yes, you did. You didn’t just survive, Van. You thrived. You’re the strongest person I know, and I’m damn proud of you.”

I will not cry today.

I smile brilliantly at this incredibly handsome man who also happens to be the sweetest I’ve ever known.

“Thank you. That’s the second time I’ve heard that today.”

“You’re welcome. It’s fucking true.” He stands, throws some cash on the table, and holds his hand out for mine. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“I just want to walk with you for a little while.”

“Okay.”

We don’t say much as he leads me through the Quarter and past Café du Monde, then over to the river. It’s still early enough in the season that there aren’t swarms of people everywhere.

It’s actually relatively quiet today.

“Are you okay?” I ask and slip my hand into his, enjoying the zing of electricity as it makes its way down my spine. “You’re quiet.”

He glances down at me, then out to the water, taking a deep breath.

“I’m great. I just like being here, with you.”

“Me too.” I lean my cheek against his hard bicep and watch the birds fly over the river. “Me too.”

***

“You’ve been coming to me for seven years,” Mandy, my hairdresser, says several hours later. I’m sitting in her chair, the ugly black cape buttoned around my neck. “You’ve never wanted anything more than a trim on the ends.”

“I know, and I hate it.”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“Because it wasn’t your fault,” I reply immediately, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “You’ve always done a great job. It’s the style I hated, but he wanted my hair that way.”

“It’s been two years, sugar. Why are we just doing this now?”

“I guess I just didn’t feel healed enough until now,” I reply honestly. “It’s time.”

“Okay.” She blinks back tears.

“We are not crying today,” I inform her sternly.

“Right.” She clears her throat. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to do whatever you want.” I smile, excitement spreading through my chest. “Let’s do some color, and a totally different cut.”

“I’m so excited,” Mandy says, clapping her hands. “I know just the thing. Are you sure you trust me with this?”

“Absolutely.” I take a happy deep breath and close my eyes. “Let’s do this.”

For the next few hours, we chat about our families and our jobs. She paints stuff on my hair, then folds it into aluminum foil. I look like I could receive satellite signals.

“Okay, we’re going to wash this out, and then I’ll cut.”

“Great.”

The washing part is always my favorite. Mandy gives a kick ass scalp massage. When we return to the chair, she turns me away from the mirror.

“You don’t get to see it now until I’m done.”

“Okay.” I hold my fist out to bump hers, so excited to see what she comes up with. The blow dryer is loud, so we can’t chat while she blows my hair dry, and I let my eyes drift closed, happily dozing in her chair. Finally, she snips her scissors through my hair, instantly making it so much lighter.

She puts the finishing touches on it and turns me to the mirror, and all I can do is sit and stare in awe.

“Wow.”

“Oh no,” Mandy says with horror. “Do you hate it?”

“No.” I turn my head to each side, enamored with the sleek, straight black hair with subtle highlights. The ends of my hair barely reach my shoulders now and it frames my face beautifully. “Oh, Mandy, it’s so pretty.”

And now, despite telling myself over and over again that I wouldn’t cry today, I let the tears come.

Because this is the last big step to getting me back.

“I am so happy for you,” she whispers and catches my gaze in hers in the mirror. Tears fill her pretty brown eyes. “I don’t think you’ll ever really know how happy I am that you’re okay.”

“Thank you.” I clear my throat and blink the tears away. “I love the way it feels. It’s so much lighter, and so soft.”

“You have beautiful hair,” she replies, running her fingers through it again. “And this length is perfect on you.”

She takes the cape off, and I stand, immediately hugging her close. “Thank you so much.”

“Thank you for letting me play. That was a lot of fun.”

I pay Mandy, including one hell of a tip, and practically bounce all the way to my car. I turn the music up loud as I drive home, completely content and happy.

I smile as I pull into my driveway less than thirty minutes later. Declan is here, probably putting the finishing touches on the crown molding in my home office.

“Hello?” I call out as I walk into the house. It’s a smaller place, especially compared to most of the others in this exclusive neighborhood. But it’s just me, and I don’t need a ton of space.

“In the office!” Callie calls out. “We came to finish the molding.”

“Good, it’s about time.”

Declan slowly smiles and looks me up and down. “Nice hair.”

“Oh, I love it,” Callie agrees.

“Me too.” I touch the ends of it, still not used to it being so short. “It was time.”

“Damn right,” Declan says. “So you had a good day?”

“A great day.”

He nods, but I can read his mind. I know my twin brother inside and out.

Are you really okay?

I nod. I’m so okay.

He sighs. I still want to kill him.

He’s not worth it.

“Okay,” Callie says, interrupting us. “Stop it with the voodoo twin speak.”

Declan laughs and pulls his wife in for a long, disgusting kiss.

“That’s about enough of the gross married speak, too,” I say, making gagging noises.

“You love me,” Dec says.

“Some days more than others. Like today, when you come to finish my office.”

“I can’t believe the house is already done,” Callie says, propping her hands on her hips and surveying the space.

“It’s been a year and a half,” I reply, looking at her like she’s nuts.

“And we’ve done the work ourselves,” she reminds me. Callie and Declan both love to flip houses, so they’ve been invaluable.

“I wanted to do it myself,” I reply. “While I was healing this house, it was healing me too.”

I glance around.

“I needed this.”

“I know,” Callie says and gives me a big hug. “And I’m so glad for it.”

“Me too.”

“Are you two going to keep chatting, or are we working?” Declan asks.

“Such a man,” I say to Callie, rolling my eyes. “He’s not great with feelings.”

“He has his moments,” Callie replies with a smile for my brother.

“I’m sensitive,” Declan says with a frown. “But we have a shit ton to do here, and I want to finish today.”

“Well, then I guess we’d better get to it.” I rub my hands together. “Where should I start?”

“You’ll want to change,” Callie says. “This might get messy.”