Page 69 of Falling for Keeps

“Good morning, Sloan,” I say, hiking my canvas bags higher on my shoulder.

She glances up. “Morning. You must have a busy week ahead of you.”

“The usual stuff. Is the salon going to be pretty slow?”

“My books are light this week. There’s enough school events to make up for it, though. I won’t know the difference.”

She doubles as the high school cheer coach, so I imagine her week will be busier no matter what with all the homecoming events.

“What can I do for you?” she asks, glancing at my shoulder-length waves. My next trim is already scheduled, so she’s probably confused. “I’m not touching that color, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

My smile grows. Sloan has always had a way of making me love my red hair. “No, it’s kind of a weird request. My friend’s daughter wants her hair braided all the time, but my friend struggles with anything that’s not a three-strand braid. French, Dutch, that sort of thing.”

She arches a flawless eyebrow. “What can I do?”

My smile widens. “Actually, it’s more like what I can borrow…”

Carson

The Fall Festival is here in all its crowds and glory. Luckily, putting up a sign like my sister suggested for free initial exams and discounted services is bringing plenty of people to the table I popped up outside my door. We’re booking consultations and cleanings left and right.

Main Street is blocked off for the week and the schools are on Fall Break, so there have been plenty of kids dragging their parents over for a free toothbrush and some axolotl stickers Barb found on Amazon.

Why axolotls? I don’t know. Kids like them. Maven suggested capybaras as a backup. That set of stickers is arriving Thursday.

They’re definitely more popular than the free toothbrushes, weirdly enough.

Barb and I are wearing blue T-shirts with my dental logo on it and manning the table together now that the breakfast is over. “Have you made any decisions about the old patient files?” she asks.

“For now, we can continue pulling them out only when applicable.”

“You sure? You don’t want store them forever.”

“No, I don’t.” I scrub a hand over my neck. What I don’t say is that if this place fails, I’ll need to pass the boxes and boxes of patient files on to the next sucker who takes a stab at running a dental practice in this town.

Barb squeezes my forearm and looks at me in that distinctly motherly way. “Don’t give up yet, Dr. Price.”

“Carson,” I remind her for the umpteenth time.

“You’ve only just begun.”

“I’ll give it more time.” My phone rings, so I pull it from my pocket and hesitate when I see Jen is the one calling. I haven’t spoken to her since she sent Penny the phone, and there are things that need to be communicated. At the same time, when I turn my back to the road, I can see Penny playing in the treehouse through the windows of my practice. I’m petty. I’ll be the first to admit that my gut reaction is to ignore the call. Make her wait the way she makes me wait every time I want to speak to her about our daughter.

It’s a courtesy, anyway. I owe her nothing, according to our custody agreement and the state of Tennessee. Everything I include Jen in is entirely me being a good person.

My finger and my brain aren’t on the same wavelength, because one of them is screaming that Jen doesn’t deserve for me to jump at her beck and call, and the other is answering the call anyway. “Hi, Jen.”

“You aren’t going to believe who I met last night.”

I inhale, taking another step away from the table while Barb chats with a young family and offers their toddler a sticker. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Ella Langley,” she says, like she didn’t hear me. “You should hear this woman sing.”

“I have.” On the radio, at least. You can’t live in the south and not hear her.

“Amazing. So incredible. There I was in Nashville, eating dinner and minding my own business, and she walks right on by. But my date—Stephen, you don’t know him—stops her! He actually did. Turns out, they knew each other way back. She took a picture with us and everything.”

Flabbergasted isn’t the first word I’d use to describe my feelings presently, but it’s the nicest one. “Can we talk about Penny now, please?”