The Curl Up and Dye (17 page)

“What about Lachlan?” Eddie asked. “Please tell me he is in jail.”

“Ummm, not yet. He’s actually in critical condition here in the hospital, but he’s handcuffed to the bed and under guard.”

“Good. Mike must have really clobbered him. What did he do?” Grace asked.

“Lachlan had a knife when Mike took him down. I called 911 as they were fighting, and then I grabbed Grandma’s lead crystal vase and swung it like a bat at T. J.’s head.”

“Ooh shit,” Eddie said, and then chuckled. “So he’s got a concussion. Way to go, honey.”

Grace knew her daughter better than Eddie. She could tell LilyAnn was skirting around the whole truth.

“Just spit it out, girl. What else?” Grace asked.

“I bit off a piece of his ear, dug tracks down the front of his face with my fingernails deep enough to plant corn, sent his testicles into orbit, and then fractured his skull with Grandma’s vase.”

Eddie gasped.

Grace groaned and then chuckled.

“Sweet Jesus, daughter. You’ve got more of Delia Bronte in you than any of us knew.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lily said. “And I have to say, it felt good. The sorry bastard.”

“LilyAnn!”

“Mama. Seriously! He tried to kill me, and he is a bastard.”

“I’m sure he is, but that is so not ladylike.”

Lily laughed. “Neither was what I did to him, Mama. For God’s sake! Cut me some slack here.”

Eddie chuckled. “It’s easier for your mama to scold you for cursing than it is to admit her baby nearly died tonight. You call the asshole anything you want and say it’s from me. I’m proud of you, girl.”

Lily could remember when she thought she didn’t like Eddie. Now, she was beginning to wonder if it was herself she really hadn’t liked, and she’d just blamed it on him.

“Eddie’s right, LilyAnn. What you just told us is a parent’s worst nightmare, and I thank God and Michael that you are still with us.”

“I know, Mama.”

“I can be there by tomorrow.”

“No, Mama. There’s no need. Really.”

“You don’t need us?”

“Not at all. We’ll both be released tomorrow, and I’ll be back at work the day after. Mike will take care of me, and I’ll take care of him.”

Grace sighed. “That’s how it’s supposed to be, baby. Has Mike called Don and Carol?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m going to. She’d be angry with me if I didn’t.”

“Just make sure she knows Mike is fine. I’m sure he’ll call.”

“I will, and just so you know it, God was with you tonight.”

“I know that, Mama. And it’s all good. Merry Christmas.”

The connection ended, and LilyAnn leaned against her pillows and closed her eyes. It might be a little late to ask, but all she wanted for Christmas was her life back.

Down the hall, Mike was in a similar mode.

He’d called home, only to learn his mom was at his sister’s house, and wound up talking to his dad, which was just as well.

Don Dalton wasn’t the kind to panic. Once he found out Mike and LilyAnn were fine and the intruder was under arrest, in his mind, the situation was resolved.

And then Mike told him what LilyAnn had done, and Don whistled softly beneath his breath.

“Damn, son. I have a question. Are you two still at odds?”

“No, we’re good,” Mike said.

“Then I have one piece of advice. Whatever you do, don’t make her mad.”

Mike grinned. “Oh, I already knew that a long time ago. When we were in the fourth grade, she laid Bobby Gene Pettit out cold because he said she wasn’t a lady.”

Don laughed. “Yeah, yeah, she did do that. I’d forgotten. So, at least you’re not flying blind in this.”

Mike sighed. “No, Dad. I’ve known where I was going with her for what seems like forever.”

“Then Godspeed,” Don said.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Mike hung up, satisfied and exhausted. He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, and when he woke up, it was morning.

***

Ruby Dye opened up The Curl Up and Dye bright and early Wednesday morning. Christmas might be over, but their holiday business was still in full swing. Office parties and family get-togethers were still happening all the way through New Year’s Eve, which meant the need for fancy hairdos and manicures was still in force. She appreciated the vanity of women because it kept her shop in the black.

The town was still reeling over the news about what had happened to LilyAnn, and the stories about what she’d done to Bissell’s nephew continued to grow.

Some versions had her biting the nose off his face, while others claimed she’d taken away his knife and castrated him with his pants still on. Ruby knew it was bullshit, but that’s how gossip went in small Southern towns.

When the Conklin twins came in to work, they were carrying a plate of decorated sugar cookies and both talking at once.

“Sister, can you believe what—”

“Oooh, did you hear that T. J. Lachlan even—”

“Vera said… and to think we—”

Vesta rolled her eyes. “When he was in here, I knew—”

Vera fired back. “Vesta even flirted—”

“And Vera cut his hair.” Then they both giggled as Vesta ended the conversation.

“She should have cut off his balls instead and saved LilyAnn the trouble.”

Ruby frowned. “It just proves a pretty face means nothing.”

“Well, Lachlan won’t have to worry about that misunderstanding ever happening again. I hear his face looks like a wildcat got hold of him, so that face isn’t so pretty anymore.”

“No more than he deserves,” Ruby muttered.

Mabel Jean came in the back door with a Tupperware bowl of leftover fudge.

“Happy day after Christmas!” she said.

“Oh Lord, not more sweets,” Vesta groaned.

Vera giggled. “Vesta busted a zipper in her good blue pants this morning.”

Vesta frowned. “Well, thanks for blabbing my shame all over the place.”

“Time to get to work,” Ruby said. “Let’s just hope there’s no more excitement in Blessings for a while.”

Mike and LilyAnn held hands in the taxi all the way home from the hospital. Despite what they felt for each other, the gesture was purely moral support. The silence between them was telling. But for timing and the grace of God, LilyAnn would be dead.

She was wearing hospital scrubs, and Mike had turned his sweatshirt wrong side out to hide the blood. Out of deference for their lack of winter clothing, the cabbie, Melvin Wells, had turned the heater up for their comfort.

He spent most of his day driving people around Blessings while conversing with them from the rearview mirror, and these two were no exception.

“Are you warm enough, ma’am?” Melvin asked, eyeing the pretty blond with the black eye.

Lily smiled. “Yes, thank you.”

He nodded. Everyone knew about what she’d done and that Mike Dalton had saved her life.

“So, Mike, after your recent surgery, I hope you didn’t hurt yourself fighting that scumbag.”

“Nothing injured, Melvin. I’m just a little sore. We’re both fine, and thank you for asking,” Mike said, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.

Melvin nodded. He was satisfied with the conversation. Now he had firsthand info from the victims.

“Here we are,” he said, as he pulled in the driveway at LilyAnn’s house.

Mike handed him a ten-dollar bill to cover the five-dollar ride, but Melvin waved it off.

“No, no charge. I’m happy you two are okay. Merry Christmas.”

Mike smiled. “Thanks, Melvin, we appreciate it.”

“Yes, thank you very much, Melvin.”

They got out of the cab and then, despite the cold, stopped in the front yard of her house.

“I don’t know if I can face this,” LilyAnn said.

Mike frowned. “Face what?”

“Blood everywhere, the hole in the wall, all the broken stuff.”

She shuddered.

Mike frowned. “It’s your home, damn it. What you’re talking about is superficial. Looks don’t matter, LilyAnn. It is always what’s beneath that matters, and you’re not facing it alone.”

LilyAnn sighed. The fact that he’d just said that explained why he had loved her when she hadn’t loved herself.

She nodded. “You’re right. So let’s get this over with.”

They were starting toward the house when their neighbor, Thomas Thane, called out to them from his porch.

“Hey, wait a minute. I have your house key,” he said, and came running. He was breathless and patting his belly when he reached them. “Too much turkey yesterday. I’m supposed to tell you that Officer Pittman locked up and here’s your key.”

“Thank you,” LilyAnn said.

Thomas grinned sheepishly. “I hope you aren’t mad, but the Ladies Aide from your church contacted the police last night, who put them in touch with me. I think they went in and cleaned up for you. They were there until almost dawn.”

LilyAnn was stunned. “Oh my. That’s wonderful. I was dreading going back to face all that mess.”

“I think you’ll be surprised,” he said. “Really good to see the both of you upright and smiling. Now get in out of the cold.”

He ran back across the street as they headed for the porch. When they opened the door, they were met by the smell of pine-scented cleanser, lemon oil, and fresh paint.

The house was sparkling. Every piece of furniture was in place, the hole in the wall had been patched and painted, the broken glass all swept up. When she went into her bedroom, there was no sign whatsoever that T. J. Lachlan had ever been inside. The only thing missing from before was the lead-crystal vase.

LilyAnn’s vision blurred. The Christmas spirit had been alive and well last night.

“I love this town.”

Mike took a deep breath. This was it.

He slipped his arms around her, tilting her chin until she had to meet his gaze.

“And I love you, whether you like it or not… whether you return the feelings or not. All I could think about last night was how close I’d come to losing you, and how pissed I would have been at myself for never telling you what was in my heart.”

Her fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt, a subconscious urge to hold on to this feeling. Her voice was shaking, but she’d never been more certain of how she felt.

“Oh Michael, I love you, too. I didn’t realize how much until I thought I had lost you. It was all I could do Thanksgiving Day not to scratch out Honey Andrews’s eyes.”

“God bless The Curl Up and Dye,” Mike muttered.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Just a reference to a piece of advice someone gave me.”

LilyAnn’s heart was hammering so hard she could barely breathe. Finally, the universe was through punishing her for taking too much for granted.

“Mike, I know you’re very sore…”

His eyes narrowed as his pulse began to race.

“Not that sore.”

Lily touched the puffy side of her mouth, then traced the shades of bruising around her eye.

“And I don’t know what you think about making love to a woman with a face like this.”

“Purple is my new favorite color,” he said softly.

“Did you lock the front door?”

He exhaled softly, as his life suddenly made perfect sense.

“Yes.”

“Am I going to have to beg?” she whispered.

“Only when you want me to stop,” Mike said, as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.

LilyAnn gasped at the sight of the bruises on his torso.

“Oh my God! I don’t think—”

He put a finger over her lips. “And I
can’t
think, so that makes two of us. Take off your clothes, LilyAnn, or your first experience with me will be in hospital scrubs.”

LilyAnn was shaking when she started to undress, then paused, suddenly reminded of body image and the possibility of rejection. But when she saw the love in Mike’s eyes and the tremble in his hands, she knew it was going to be all right.

“Oh Jesus,” Mike whispered, as the last stitch of clothing fell to the floor at Lily’s feet. “You are even more beautiful than I ever imagined.”

LilyAnn started to cry. “I’m sorry I went and died on you, Mike.”

“No, honey, you didn’t die. You just got stuck in time. Come to bed with me, LilyAnn.”

She threw back the covers and stretched her long, leggy length upon the sheets.

Mike slid in beside her, raised himself up on one elbow, and very, very gently, kissed her mouth. Not like he wanted to, but enough to get the message past her puffy lower lip that she was never going to be lonely again.

“Your skin is like satin,” he whispered, as he cupped the heavy fall of her breasts, then mapped the contours of her body.

“Woman,” he said softly, and kissed the side of her cheek. “Beautiful,
sexy
woman.”

LilyAnn’s heart was pounding. It felt like she’d been waiting for this moment all her life.

She looked up at the light fixture above the bed. The last cognizant thought she had was of a spiderweb strung from one globe to another and that the spider was gonna fry. After that, time lost all meaning.

When all was finally said and done, Mike came apart in her arms. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t speak. His strength was spent. He thought his love for LilyAnn had been perfect, but he’d been wrong. Nothing had prepared him for all this. He buried her face against the curve of his neck and held her close, his muscles trembling, his heart full of an emotion without the words to express it.

And then Lily’s telephone rang.

Mike rose up. “Do you want to answer?”

“Lord, no. I couldn’t make sense if I tried.”

Mike grinned. “So, I was that good?”

LilyAnn sighed. “You were that good.”

His eyes narrowed. “Would you say that right now, I pretty much have you under my spell?”

Her mouth tilted upward at one corner. “Pretty much. Why?”

“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

She frowned, watching as he rolled out of bed and began pulling on his clothes.

“What on earth?”

He pointed. “No questions. Remember, you’re under my spell.”

She fell backward on the bed, grinning as he ran out of the room. She could hear his footsteps as he went down the hallway, then through her living room. When she heard the front door open and shut, she swung her legs off the bed and made a quick trip to the bathroom.

When she emerged, she started toward the closet for something to wear and then stopped, remembering what had happened the last time.

“But he’s not here and I am,” LilyAnn muttered.

Her hand was shaking as she opened the door. It was still dark inside, but she knew where her sweatpants were hanging. She grabbed a pair and a shirt to go with them and backed out.

She had the pants on and was pulling the sweatshirt over her head when she heard the front door slam again. She turned toward the doorway as Mike raced into the room, his eyes flashing and a wide smile on his face. He’d obviously changed into clean clothes and brushed his hair, but when he approached her, he stopped short of an embrace and then took a deep breath.

“Some might say this is rushing the issue, but not for me. I’ve waited most of my life for this moment.”

He took a small black box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee to open it. The diamond inside was a solitaire, and it was huge.

Once again, Mike had left her speechless. All she could manage was a shaky, “Oh my, oh Mike, how long have you had this?”

“Nine years.”

Tears were streaming down her face.

Mike had imagined how this moment would be for so long that the reality almost felt like a dream.

“I have loved you for as long as I can remember, and I will love you for as long as I live. Will you marry me, LilyAnn? Will you live with me… love me… will you be my wife?”

Now she was laughing through tears.

“Yes, yes, a million times, yes.”

Mike stood as he slid the ring on her finger.

“It fits!” she cried. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. First on the lips, then on both cheeks, then back on his lips again, while laughing through tears.

“I feel like I’m flying. Oh Mike, I didn’t think I would ever be happy again.”

“I had a couple of days like that myself,” Mike said. He eyed her sad, puffy lip, wanting to kiss her so bad, but settling for a hug. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

Lily was almost bouncing as she hugged him, then held out her hand to eye the ring, then hugged him again.

“Merry Christmas, Mike! This is the best Christmas ever!”

“We should celebrate,” he said.

“On New Year’s Eve. We’ll celebrate on New Year’s Eve,” Lily said.

“Yeah, great idea! One of my clients gave me two invitations to the New Year’s Eve ball out at the country club. I wasn’t going to go, but maybe now… would you like to go?”

“Oh yes! I’ve never been! Oh no! I don’t have anything to wear!”

He rolled his eyes. “And why didn’t I see that coming?”

She thought of Kitty Carlton’s Unique Boutique on East Main and the racks of gowns she always carried this time of year. They couldn’t all be gone.

“Don’t worry. This I can handle,” she said.

Mike smiled. “Honey, of that I have no doubt. It is my blessing that you are one of those women who can handle pretty much whatever life dishes out.”

She hugged him, being careful not to squeeze where the bruises all were, then tilted her head just enough to see her own reflection in his eyes.

“Mike?”

“What, honey?”

“Uh… are you sore?”

He grinned. “Not that sore.”

“If my face is too ugly to look at, you can always close your eyes.”

He kissed the side of her cheek, then the tip of her nose.

“Hell no, I’m not closing my eyes,” he growled. “I like raccoons, and besides, purple is my new favorite color, remember?”

She shivered.

Mike ran his finger down the side of her face as she stood there smiling… waiting.

“My beautiful, sweet, sexy woman, how many times are we going to do this before you remember you need to take off your clothes?”

Lily blinked. “Oh. Right.” She peeled the sweatshirt over her head and dropped the sweatpants where she stood, then frowned at him.

“Well, this is a little awkward. What are
you
waiting for?”

“For my brain to quit misfiring.”

She turned toward the bed as she heard his shoes hit the floor.

***

Ruby was covering up Sue Beamon’s gray roots with a brown rinse when George, from the Pots and Posies flower shop, came into the salon with an enormous bouquet of fresh flowers.

“These are for you, Sister. Where would you like me to set them?” he asked.

“Anywhere you can find a spot. I’ll move them later if I need to, and thanks!” Ruby said.

George waved as he exited the shop. At the same time, Vera was curious as to who they were from.

“Hey, Sister, want me to bring you the card?” Vera asked.

Ruby grinned. She knew Vera wasn’t into being helpful so much as nosy, but what the heck.

“Yes, sure, that would be great,” Ruby said, and then squeezed the last of the color onto Sue’s hair, worked it into the roots, and put a little plastic cap on her head while the color was setting.