“Does Brandon want a good-boy fruit snack?

“No! screeched the product of her old egg.

“Done, Delaney said when she finished and threw her hands upward like a champion calf roper. She charged the lady fifteen dollars with the hope Brandon would plague Helen next time. She swept up the childs white-blond curls, then flipped the Out to Lunch sign and walked to the corner deli for her usual, turkey on whole wheat. For several months shed eaten her lunch at the deli and had gotten to know the owner, Bernard Dalton, on a first-name basis. Bernard was in his late thirties and a bachelor. He was short, balding, and looked like a man who enjoyed his own cooking. His face was always slightly pink, as if he were a little out of breath, and the shape of his dark mustache made him appear as if he always wore a smile.

The lunch rush was slowing as Delaney stepped into the restaurant. The shop smelled of ham, pasta, and chocolate chip cookies. Bernard looked up from the dessert case, but his gaze quickly slid away. His face turned several shades pinker than usual.

Hed heard. Hed heard the rumor and he obviously believed it.

She cast a glance about the deli, at the other customers staring at her, and she wondered how many had listened to the gossip. She suddenly felt naked and forced herself to walk to the front counter. “Hello, Bernard, she said, keeping her voice even. “Ill have a turkey on whole wheat like I usually have.

“Diet Pepsi? he asked, moving toward the meat case.

“Yes, please. She kept her gaze pinned to the little “Extra Pennies cup by the cash register. She wondered if the whole town believed shed had sex with Nick in her front window. She heard hushed voices behind her and was afraid to turn around. She wondered if they were talking about her, or if she was just being paranoid.

Usually she took her sandwich to a small table by the window, but today she paid for her lunch and hurried back to her salon. Her stomach was in knots and she had to force herself to eat a portion of her meal.

Nick. This mess was his fault. Whenever she let her guard down around him, she always paid for it. Whenever he decided to charm her, she always lost her dignity, if not her clothes.

At a little after two, she had a client who needed her straight black hair trimmed, and at three-thirty Steve, the backhoe driver shed met at Louie and Lisas Fourth of July party, walked into the salon bringing in a wisp of cool autumn with him. He wore a jean jacket with sheared sheep lining. His cheeks were pink and his eyes bright, and his smile told her he was glad to see her. Delaney was glad to see a friendly face. “I need a haircut, he confessed.

With one quick glance, she took in the shaggy condition of his hair. “You sure do, she said and motioned toward her booth. “Hang up your coat and come on back.

“I want it short. He followed her and pointed to a spot above his right ear. “This short. I wear a lot of ski hats in the winter.

Delaney had something in mind that would look awesome on him, and shed get to use her clippers, too. Something shed been dying to do again for months now. His hair would have to be dry so she sat him in the salon chair. “I havent seen you around much, she said as she combed out his golden tangles.

“Weve been working a lot to get done before the first snow, but now things have slowed down.

“What do you do in the winter for a job? she asked, and fired up the clippers.

“Collect unemployment and ski, he spoke over the steady buzz.

Unemployment and skiing would have appealed to her when shed been twenty-two, also. “Sounds like fun, she said, cutting up and away in an arching motion and leaving the hair longer at his crown.

“It is. We should ski together.

She would have loved to, but the closest resort was outside Truly city limits. “I dont ski, she lied.

“Then what if I come and pick you up tonight? We could grab a bite to eat then drive down to Cascade for a movie.

She couldnt go to Cascade, either. “I cant.

“Tomorrow night?

Delaney held the clipper aloft and looked in the mirror at him. His chin was on his chest and he looked up at her through eyes so big and blue she could drive a boat through them. Maybe he wasnt too young. Maybe she should give him another chance. Then maybe she wouldnt be so lonely and vulnerable to the pied piper of pheromones. “Dinner, she said and resumed her cutting. “No movie. And we can only be friends.

His smile was a combination of innocence and guile. “You might change your mind.

“I wont.

“What if I tried to change it for you?

She laughed. “Only if you dont get too obnoxious about it.

“Deal. Well go slow.

Before Steve left, she gave him her home telephone number. By four-thirty, shed had four clients total and an appointment to do a foil weave for the next afternoon. The day hadnt been all bad.

She was tired and looked forward to a long soak in the bathtub. With half an hour remaining before she could close, she kicked back in a salon chair with some of her hair braiding books for brides. Lisas wedding was less than a month away, and Delaney was looking forward to styling her friends hair.

The bell above the front door rang, and she looked up as Louie walked in. Deep red mottled his cheeks like hed been outside all day, and his hands were stuck in the pockets of his blue canvas coat. A deep wrinkle furrowed his brow, and he didnt look like hed come to get his hair cut.

“What can I do for you, Louie? She stood and walked behind the counter.

He quickly looked about the salon, then settled his dark gaze on her. “I wanted to talk to you before you closed for the day.

“Okay. She set down her braiding book and opened the cash register. She shoved money into a black Naugahyde bag, and when he didnt speak right away, she looked up at him. “Shoot.

“I want you to stay away from my brother.

Delaney blinked twice and slowly zipped the money bag closed. “Oh, was all she managed.

“In less than a year youll be gone, but Nick will still live here. Hell have to run his business here, and hell have to live with all the gossip you two create.

“I didnt mean to create anything.

“But you did.

Delaney felt her cheeks grow hot. “Nick assured me he doesnt care what people say about him.

“Yeah, thats Nick. He says a lot of things. Some of them he actually means, too. Louie paused and scratched his nose. “Look, like I said, youre leaving in under a year, but Nick will have to listen to the gossip about you after youre gone. Hell have to live it down—again.

“Again?

“The last time you left, there was some crazy stuff said about you and Nick. Stuff that hurt my mother, and I think Nick a little, too. Although he said he didnt care except for the grief it caused my mother.

“Do you mean the gossip about me having Nicks baby?

“Yes, but the part about the abortion was worse.

Delaney blinked. “Abortion?

“Dont tell me you didnt know.

“No. She looked down at her hands clutching the money bag. The old gossip hurt and she didnt know why. It wasnt as if she cared what people thought of her.

“Well, someone must have seen you somewhere and noticed you werent pregnant. People said you had an abortion because the baby was Nicks. Others thought maybe Henry had you get rid of it.

Her gaze shot to his and an odd little ache settled next to her heart. She hadnt been pregnant so she didnt know why she cared at all. “I hadnt heard that part.

“Didnt your mother ever tell you? I always assumed that was probably why you never came back.

“No one ever mentioned it. But she wasnt surprised. Delaney was silent for a moment before she asked, “Did anyone actually believe it?

“Some.

To imply shed terminated a pregnancy because of Nick, or that Henry had forced an abortion was beyond insulting. Delaney believed in a womans right to choose, but she didnt believe she could ever have an abortion herself. Certainly not because she no longer liked the father, and especially not because of anything Henry would have had to say about it. “What did Nick think?