Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
“By all means, help yourself to whatever you like,” she said.
He turned to her and she offered him a smile.
She watched as he looked in her fridge, which was fully stocked, as she had already taken care of that. Angela Evans had taught her a great deal. To have great hair care and skin, to always be polite, offer a smile, and never run out of food in the fridge. You could have a bad day, but it would get a lot worse if you can’t even make a decent meal at the end of the day. She missed her mother so much.
It was moments like these when her absence stung the most. When she was prepared to think of her mother, they were easier because she had opened that door and allowed the memories to swarm inside her head. Any other time, she struggled to get her shit together.
Road did surprise her by grabbing a chicken breast, along with a sweet potato. There was onion and garlic, and she smiled as he rummaged through her cupboards.
“Please tell me you have coconut milk?”
“I do.”
She was curious.
He looked at her and she pointed to where he needed to go.
With a snap of his fingers, he had the coconut milk, broth, and he went back to the fridge, to find her open jar of Thai red curry paste.
She was impressed.
Maybe, just maybe, Road had it in him to surprise her.
****
Before the scars, Road knew there were many ways to impress a woman. One of those ways was by cooking for her. He learned the culinary art long before he learned seduction, and he loved to do both.
With Faith at the clubhouse and takeout joints willing to deliver, he didn’t need to cook. He hadn’t cooked for a woman in a very long time. Since before he got the scars. For Dinah, he was breaking that fast, and it felt … odd.
This was not a big elaborate meal, but she looked so exhausted, and he didn’t like that, so a nice Thai chicken and sweet-potato soup was just what Road ordered. It also didn’t take too long to cook.
“So, with what you told me, I take it you followed in your mother’s footsteps to become a hairdresser,” he said, trying to make conversation as he chopped up cilantro and prepared the lime.
“I did,” she said, taking a sip of her water.
“Was it something you always wanted to do?” he asked.
“I … no, don’t get me wrong, I love hairdressing and I still love it now, I really do, but, uh, I actually wanted to become a makeup artist,” Dinah said.
“You did? I thought that was the path your mother was taking.”
“Oh, she was. Her passion was hairdressing, but she knew what I liked, and my mom was so supportive. She wanted to help me understand, so she had started her training when it all happened,” Dinah said.
“And then she stopped.”
“Someone told her that no one would want to see someone like her. It felt like a different time back then, but her clients stopped going to her, and before long, she had no one who wanted her to work on them. I saw how desolate she had become.”
Road watched her. “What about income?”
“Dad had already prepared for the event of bad news.” Dinah smiled. “That is what my dad always did. He always prepared for the worst, and in most instances, it didn’t happen, but he wanted us to be safe. He got his wish. I know Mom was … she was dying inside. Hairdressing was her life, even as a kid. My grandparents would often say if it had any kind of hair, even fake, my mother would style it.” Dinah laughed. “They had pictures of dolls and teddies, anything that had hair. My mom would do some elaborate style, and she loved it.”
“That’s why you did it?”
“I watched my mother become a shell of her former self. The day she came down, and her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail, I knew she was giving up. I couldn’t allow that to happen, so yeah, I grabbed her bag of tools and the heads she kept out in the garage, and I told her to teach me. That if no one wanted my mother’s gift, that was on them, but I was not going to allow her gift and talent to be wasted.”
He saw the tears in her eyes.
“Excuse me.”
Road knew he should have let her go, but he couldn’t. Before she had even left the kitchen, he grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her.
“Stop it,” she said.
“Just let it go.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I know, I know, but I’ve got you.”
She sobbed.
He couldn’t help but wonder who had been there for Dinah. Certainly not her friend Raine. The moment Raine had given him the address to get to Dinah, he knew she was useless as a friend, and probably only used Dinah. Now he knew for certain.