She released a sigh and opened her eyes again. It was hard to envision a romance when she didn’t even have a boyfriend. At the rate she was going, she would never get to plan a wedding of her own. But that didn’t stop her from wishing for it. Only now was not the time.
With another sigh, she set aside the latest issue of Brides magazine that had come in the mail, grabbed the keys to her truck, and left the house.
First stop on her agenda was the Clippity Do-Da Hair Salon. It was time for a trim. Her mother, Midge—the owner of the salon—would plead with Skye, as usual, to let her try something different. And Skye would, as usual, refuse her. Long and straight was her style. She liked it and wasn’t about to change it.
Next up she had an appointment to meet the vet at the pasture where she kept her two horses, Snickers and Milky Way. Snickers had started limping a few days ago and didn’t seem to be improving, even with rest and the use of liniment. Skye hoped it wasn’t serious. The gelding was the best barrel-racing horse she’d ever owned—there’d been five over the years. He’d made her the queen of more than one rodeo by the time she turned twenty. Snickers had more heart than stamina these days, but that didn’t matter to Skye. She loved him to pieces.
It took only minutes to drive to the east edge of town. On a Wednesday afternoon Skye was able to park on the street right in front of the salon. As she got out of the pickup, high-pitched voices called her name. She looked toward the corner and saw two teenage girls, books in their arms, apparently headed for the library. She knew them, of course, just as she knew almost everyone else in Kings Meadow. Krista and Sharon Malone, daughters of the high school principal.
“Hey!” she called back with a wave of her hand.
The girls moved on out of sight, and Skye pushed open the door to the salon, a tiny bell ringing above her head. The main room—smelling of perm solution and fruity shampoo—was completely empty. No stylists. No customers.
Her mom looked out from the stockroom. “Skye! Is it that time already? Gracious. I thought I would have my inventory done before you got here.”
“Where is everybody?”
“Slow day. Lori doesn’t work most Wednesdays, and Becca finished with her last client an hour ago, so she went home. When I’m done with you, I’m doing the same thing.” She took a cape from a drawer and snapped it in the air, draping it around Skye as soon as she was in the chair. “What are we doing today?”
“Just trim the ends and shape my bangs.”
“How much off?” Her mom lifted a segment of hair.
Skye swallowed a smile, knowing what was about to come. “An inch. No more.”
“Are you sure?” Her mom placed her fingers, like a pair of scissors, up a good six inches from the ends. “Because I think if we—”
“I don’t want short hair, Mom, and you aren’t going to change my mind.”
Her mom met her gaze in the mirror. “Don’t you get tired of it always looking the same? You’ve had the same look since you were twelve, when you wouldn’t let me braid it anymore.”
“I haven’t always had bangs.”
Her mom groaned in frustration. “I give up.”
Skye laughed. “I wish I believed that.”
“Can I at least wash it for you?”
“I’m kinda in a hurry. I’ve got to meet Dr. Parry at the pasture. He’s taking a look at Snickers’s leg, and then I have to get home to shower and change and have a bite to eat before it’s time for my adult class. I’m teaching them the two-step tonight.”
“How many couples have you got coming?” Her mom picked up the scissors and began trimming away the split ends.
“Four couples. They’ve been a great group. I’m having a lot of fun with them.” She drew in a deep breath. “And next week I begin giving private lessons to the Anderson-Malone wedding-party members.”
“Already?” Her mom’s eyes widened as she met Skye’s gaze in the mirror again.
“It’s less than two months until the wedding. That’s hardly any time at all.”
“Seems like yesterday when you wondered if Buck Malone might be interested in you.”
Skye almost shook her head, but remembered in time to stay still. “That was last summer. Almost a year. Besides, he’d already fallen hard for Charity, so I was way wrong.”
“You never minded, did you?”
“Not even a little. And when you see Charity and Buck together, you know they were meant for each other.”
Her mom gave her a smile of encouragement. “You’ll meet somebody too. You’re still young, honey. You’ve got lots of time.”