Rugged Fire [Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 4] by Edith DuBois Page B

scrunched his nose and held his breath until Mrs. Bird quit spraying the stuff all over his mother’s head of stiff gray curls. Her appointment was only supposed to have lasted forty-five minutes, but of course, the ladies had chitchatted too much and were running behind. He plastered on a smile, though, and waited patiently while Mrs. Bird finished up his mother’s coif.
    His mother came to the salon every week to get her hair done, and he and Seb traded off picking her up.
    “I’m so sorry, dearest.” His mother met his eyes in the mirror.
    “We’ve just about finished,” Mrs. Bird said.
    “I saw you and Seb in the Savage Hunger parking lot this morning,” Rita Copely chirped from her chair on the far end of the shop. “I was about to say hello, but you looked like you were having a pretty serious conversation with Miss Lianne. I thought I’d better just mind my own business.”
    The other ladies made little noises of interest and shot questioning glances at Will. He wished Mrs. Copely had thought to mind her business at present as well.
    “As you know, we’ve recently signed a contract with Miss Seward and will be working closely with her in the near future. You will no doubt see us enmeshed in several serious conversations over the coming months.”
    “Oh, is that all it was?” Mrs. Copely asked with a smile. Then she turned her attention to Susan Pope, who was touching up her roots.
    “You know,” Mrs. Bird said, “Lianne is hosting a book club tomorrow evening, and both my nieces are attending. My recently engaged nieces, I might add.”
    “We remember, Agnes.” Mrs. Pope rolled her eyes.
    “You bring it up every five minutes, I swear.” Mrs. Copely handed a hand mirror to his mother, and Mrs. Bird twirled her in the chair.
    “I can’t help it if I’m proud.”
    “It’s funny how close proud and gloating are.”
    Agnes stuck her tongue out at Mrs. Copely but then laughed. “Anyways, they are both enamored with Lianne and her products and have been talking about this book club get-together all week.”
    Will watched his mother as the ladies were talking. Her mouth was pinched closed in a tight line. It was very strange. Normally she had the most to say on the subject of his love life, or on any subject, for that matter.
    Mrs. Pope said, “Well, it sounds like you two Carsons have made yet another sound investment.”
    “In more ways than one, perhaps?” Agnes teased. All the ladies looked at him, hoping he would drop a juicy tidbit that they could share later.
    “Thank you,” he said blandly, intentionally ignoring Mrs. Bird’s implications.
    Mrs. Bird’s gaze softened, and she turned to his mother. “They sure are making their daddies proud, aren’t they?”
    His mother bobbed her head sporadically up and down, seemingly knocked out of her tight-lipped daze. “Oh yes, quite so. Every day.”
    Later, after his mother had paid for her hairdo and they were on their way back to the house, he noticed her fidgeting in the passenger seat. She’d look out the window, squirm, fiddle with her seat belt, and then look out the window again.
    “What is it?” he finally asked.
    “Is true what they were saying in there? About Lianne Seward?”
    “Mother, we have gone over this several times. You cannot listen to everything you hear at the salon, and it’s precisely because of instances like this. I know they are your friends. I know they are respectable women, but they like to gossip. More than like, in fact. It’s borderline obsession, and it does no one any good to dwell—”
    “Yes,” she said, interrupting him, “but you never told me that you and Seb had invested in her business. I wish you would have.”
    He darted his eyes over to her face to gauge her expression.
    “Really? Why?” He wondered why she was interested now. Did she know something about her? Was it only curiosity? He didn’t think so. She seemed different, quieter and more subdued. Thoughtful, even. He really