“Nothing is happening. I—I mean, it’s a long story.”
“Oh, I am so here for long stories, but long stories are not what the Pleasants are paying me for. How about this: On Monday we get you all checked out, and if the doctor says you are cleared for sexual activity, we will load you down with condoms and you will not hear another word from me about it. Sound good?”
“Yes, I can live with that.”
“Great. Now. I’m just gonna say this. Woman to woman, ’cause I’ve seen your show before and I know you like looking like a ten-and-a-half on a bad day. Let’s talk about your hair.”
Two minutes later Evie was back out in the kitchen surrounded by Corie, Lilah, Vega, and Miss Leona. They needed to have a hair conference and Evie was happy to attend, but at some point during Tilde’s dramatic exit they also managed to swap one Pleasant brother out for another. Jesse was gone and Zach was standing in the middle of the living room flipping through the program guide on the television.
She smiled when she saw him and he smiled back, but Operation Fix Evie’s Fucked-Up Do was underway before they could greet each other properly.
They sat Evie down at one of the island chairs.
“I mean, they just cut right into her sew-in,” Corie said. “I know those bundles weren’t cheap.”
“How are you feeling about your hair?” Miss Leona asked, pity dripping off her every word.
“Not great.”
“Here’s what I was thinking,” Lilah chimed in with her sweet, low voice. She pressed her phone screen a few times, then handed it to Evie. “Considering where your bandage is, this would look super cute with the shape of your face and with your glasses.” Evie looked at the pixie-cut style with the model’s thick natural curls piled on top of her head, swooping forward. It would be a drastic change, but she liked it a lot. Zach came around the counter and looked at the photo over Evie’s shoulder. Her body instantly warmed as his hand brushed hers.
“I like it.”
Corie sucked her teeth. “Ain’t no one care what you think.”
“My bad. Let me just go sit down over here.” Zach sat down on the couch and made a dramatic show of opening up the newspaper.
“I have to ask my agent, Nicole, first. If I end up going back to work, I don’t want to get in trouble for changing my look.”
“Go ahead and ask her, baby. I say do it. If they don’t like it, I’ll send you a whole line of wigs,” Miss Leona said. “But if it’ll bring you peace of mind, run it by your agent first.”
“Here.” Evie’s phone chimed as Lilah sent the picture over. Evie immediately sent it to Nicole in a text. Thinking of this haircut. Will this get me in trouble with the producers at The Dish?
“Let’s see what she says.” Evie settled in to wait for Nicole’s response, but before she could lock her phone, Nicole replied. First off, I freaking love it. Second, the producers will be fine with it. And if they aren’t I’ll tell them they can spin it as part of your recovery story. Win, win for everyone.
“She said yes.”
“Great,” Vega said with smile.
“Zachariah, call your barber and tell him you’ll pay him extra for a house call,” Miss Leona called across the room.
“Yes, ma’am,” Zach said. Evie could see his thumbs-up sticking up over the edge of the counter. It was nice to see him again, but with the full house—Vega was great so far, but they’d hadn’t reduced their number of live-in nurses—she was starting to wonder if she’d ever be alone with Zach again.
Chapter 10
Zach moved the porch swing with the toe of his boot, then put his foot back on the patio. He knew Miss Leona’s rules applied to no feet on the outdoor furniture too. Zach should have known better than to think he was going to get a minute alone with Evie when he returned to Miss Leona’s that night. He walked right into another girls’ gab session, and before they could kick him out his uncle Gerald called. All things considered, he knew it was best to take the call outside. Poppy joined him, picking her way around the yard in the moonlight.
“I know expansion is possible, but I worried about the acreage—”
“And then the insurance,” Zach said. Zach knew his cousins were struggling with their decision to walk away from their father’s vineyard. He didn’t envy them at all.
“Mm-hmm. I’m trying to give Thomas and Micah more time to get their business off the ground, on their own terms, but sometimes I wish they’d just take the damn check.”
“Listen, Jesse and I took the damn check. Took the whole damn ranch. Doesn’t make it any easier.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been in my boys’ shoes. I took Mom’s investment but I did things my way. Senior had Big Rock handed to him and it had always been his plan to hand it off to you boys.”
“And don’t think we’re not doing things our way. When we took over—you remember Ned?” The former GM of the ranch thought he was going to convince Miss Leona to sell Big Rock to him while Jesse and Zach were finishing up graduate school, but things didn’t go Ned’s way.