Page 64 of When Love Takes Root

“You like it?”

“Girl, I look like I got peace and a tax refund.”

The front of the shop cracked up.

Celeste laughed too, and for a second, I forgot what I’d come over to say. Hearing it gave me a glimpse of the woman grief kept trying to interrupt.

Pretty Red.

I kept the name to myself.

When the client left, Celeste approached me with the edge of that laugh still on her face. “Sorry. You needed me?”

“Yes. We confirmed the loose neutral and heat damage. We can make the front safe today. Tomorrow, we’ll start separating the dryer circuit. The back row stays down until the new run is complete.”

“How many days?”

“If inspection cooperates, five working days. Seven if it doesn’t.”

Disappointment crossed her face before she made room for the next step. “Okay.”

“You can be disappointed.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “You don’t have to protect my feelings. It’s your shop.”

She gave me a small laugh. “I appreciate that.” Her gaze traveled across the salon. “It’s just a lot.”

“I know.” Not all of it. I wouldn’t pretend that. But I knew enough. “We’ll clean behind ourselves and warn you before the noise starts. If anything changes, you’ll hear it from me before you hear it from the wall.”

Her smile flickered. “Before I hear it from the wall?”

“Walls talk. Most people just don’t know the language.”

Something curious crossed her face.

Then she nodded. “I believe you.”

Trust from Celeste didn’t feel casual. It felt loaned.

I handed her the updated work order. Our fingers touched again, and neither of us moved right away.

Her eyes lifted to mine.

A client laughed near the shampoo bowls, breaking the moment before it became something neither of us had named.

Behind me, Juice dropped a tool.

“Wasn’t me.”

Starr called back, “Who else would it be?”

“Spiritual warfare.”

The client beneath Starr’s cape laughed so hard the fabric shook.

Celeste’s smile returned. I watched it for half a second too long before turning toward the open wall.

My job was the wiring. My job was the panel. My job was making sure the next woman who sat beneath a dryer in Celestial Crowns never had to wonder what was happening behind the wall.

Anything beyond that had to stay in its proper place.