Delaney took a table near the end of the bar and was on her first beer when Lisa arrived. She took one look at her friend and raised a finger from her glass and pointed at Lisas ponytail. “You should let me cut your hair.

“No way. Lisa ordered a Miller Lite, then turned her attention back to Delaney. “Remember what you did to Brigit?

“Brigit who?

“The doll my Great-grandmother Stolfus gave me. You cut off her long gold ringlets and made her look like Cyndi Lauper. Ive been traumatized ever since.

“I promise you wont look like Cyndi Lauper. Ill even do it for free.

“Ill think about it. Lisas beer arrived and she paid the waitress. “I ordered the bridesmaid dresses today. When they get here youll have to come to my house for a final fitting.

“Am I going to look like a tour guide on a Southern plantation?

“No. The dresses are a wine-colored stretch velvet. Just a real simple A line so you dont draw attention away from the bride.

Delaney took a sip of beer and smiled. “I couldnt do that anyway, but you really should think about letting me do your hair for the big day. Itll be fun.

“Maybe Ill let you do a braid or something. Lisa took a drink. “I booked the caterer for the wedding dinner.

When the subject of Lisas wedding was exhausted, conversation turned to Delaneys business.

“How is your salon doing these days?

“Crappy. I had one customer, Mrs. Stokesberry. She dropped off her wig, and I shampooed it like it was a roadkill poodle.

“Cool job.

“Tell me about it.

Lisa took a drink then said, “I dont want to make you feel worse, but I drove by Helens Hair Hut today. She looked fairly busy.

Delaney frowned into her beer. “Ive got to do something to steal her business.

“Do a giveaway. People love to get something for nothing.

Shed tried that already with the fingernail polish. “I need to advertise, she said, silently contemplating her options.

“Maybe you should do a little show or something at Sophies school. Cut some hair, get some of those girls looking good. Then all the other girls will want you to cut their hair, too.

“And their mothers will have to keep bringing them back. Delaney sipped her beer, and thought about the possibilities.

“Dont look now, but Wes and Scooter Finley just walked in. Lisa raised her hand to the side of her face as a shield. “Dont make eye contact or theyll come over.

Delaney shielded her face also, but looked through her fingers. “Theyre just as ugly as I remember.

“Just as stupid, too.

Delaney had graduated with the Finley brothers. They werent twins, just repeat offenders. Wes and Scooter were two shades darker than albino with spooky pale eyes. “Do they still think theyre chick magnets?

Lisa nodded. “Go figure. When the Finley threat had passed, Lisa lowered her hand and pointed toward two men standing at the bar. “What do you think, boxers or briefs?

Delaney took one look at their shirts with the big red Chevron logo, their Achy Breaky hair, and said, “Briefs. White. Fruit of the Loom.

“What about the guy third from the end?

The man was tall, rail thin, with perfectly layered hair. The yellow sweater tied around his neck told Delaney he was either new in town or a man of great courage. Only a very brave man would walk the streets of Truly with a sweater of any color, let alone yellow, tied around his neck. “Thong, I think. Hes very daring. Delaney took a drink of her beer and turned her attention to the door.

“Cotton or silk?

“Silk. Now its your turn.

The two women turned and stared at the door, waiting for their next victim to walk through. He entered less than a minute later, looking as good as Delaney remembered. Tommy Markhams brown hair still curled about his ears and neck. He was still lean rather than beefy, and when his gaze landed on Delaney, his smile was still as charming as a wayward boys. The kind of smile that could make a woman forgive him almost anything.

“Youre driving my wife crazy. You know that dont you? he said as he approached their table.

Delaney looked up into Tommys blue eyes and placed an innocent hand on her chest. “Me? There had been a time when the sight of his long lashes had made her heart flutter. She couldnt help the smile curving her mouth, but her heart was just fine. “What have I done?

“You moved back.

Good, she thought. Helen had spent their whole childhood needling Delaney, driving her crazy.

Turnabout was certainly fair play. “So, where is the old ball and chain anyway?

He laughed and sat in the chair next to her. “She and the kids went to a wedding in Challis. Theyll be back tomorrow sometime.

“Why didnt you go? Lisa asked him.

“I have to work in the morning.

Delaney looked across the table at her friend, who was doing the “hes married signal with her eyes. Delaney grinned. Lisa had nothing to worry about. She didnt sleep with married men—ever. But Helen wouldnt know that. Let her worry.

Nick hung up the telephone and rolled his chair backward. The fluorescent lighting hummed overhead, and a smiled played across his lips as he looked out the plate glass window. The sun had set and his own reflection stared back at him. Everything was coming together. He had three contractors jumping to invest venture capital with him, and he was in the process of talking to several lenders.

He tossed his pencil onto the desk in front of him, then ran his fingers through the side of his hair. Half the town of Truly was going to shit bricks when they learned of his plans for Silver Creek. The other half was going to love it.

When he and Louie had decided to move the company to Truly, theyd known the older residents of the town would resist development and growth of any kind. But like Henry, those people were dying off and being replaced by a whole influx of yuppies. Depending on whom you listened to, the Allegrezza boys were either businessmen or land rapers. They were loved or hated. But then, they always had been.

He stood and stretched his arms over his head. The specifications for a nine-hole golf course and the blueprints for fifty-four two-thousand-square-foot condominiums lay before him. Even with a conservative projected budget, Allegrezza Construction stood to make a fortune. And that was just the first stage of development. The second stage was bound to make even more money, with million-dollar houses built within spitting distance of the green. Now all Nick needed was clear deed to the forty acres Henry had bequeathed him. In June hed have it.

Nick smiled into the empty office. Hed made his first million building everything from starter houses to lavish homes in Boise, but a guy could always use spare cash.

He grabbed his bombers jacket off the coat tree and headed out the back. After he finished with his plans for Silver Creek, he would think about what he wanted to build at Angel Beach. Or maybe he wouldnt build on it at all. He paused long enough to switch off the lights before locking the door behind him. His Harley Fat Boy sat in the space next to Delaneys Miata. He glanced up at her apartment, and the green door illuminated by a weak light. What a hole.

He could understand why shed want to move from her mothers house. He couldnt be around Gwen for three seconds without wanting to choke her. But what he didnt understand was why Delaney had chosen to move into such a dump. He knew Henrys will provided her with a monthly income, and he knew she could afford a better place. It wouldnt take much for a man to kick the damn door off the hinges.

When he got the time, he still planned to replace the locks on her shop. But Delaney herself wasnt his problem. Where she lived or what she chose to wear didnt concern him. If she wanted to live in a little hole and wear a strip of vinyl that barely covered her ass, that was her problem. He didnt give a damn. He was sure he wouldnt give her more than a passing thought if she werent living practically on top of him.