Page 13 of Unlikely to Stay
“It’s the diabetes socks worn with sandals, isn’t it?”Griff asked.“They’re always a turn off.”
“Yep.That’s totally it.”
“Let’s go inside and see what the girls are doing, shall we?”Wyatt said.“Every time Annie’s friends come over she makes something.I’m hoping she made those brownies Sadie taught her how to make from scratch.”
Brant followed Griff and Wyatt inside and through the kitchen to the living room at the front of the house.When he arrived at the house, it had just been Breckin and Annie.But now Colleen Chandler, the hairstylist in town, was sitting in a recliner facing the television above the mantel on the fireplace.She glanced up when the men walked in the room, all the color draining from her face.
Brant had seen her around town and knew she was the woman whose hairstyle changed as quickly as the weather in the state.Last week, Brant had seen her in Sadie’s Café and her hair was platinum blonde with pink tips.Today, it was bright red that reminded Brant of a maraschino cherry, which happened to be his favorite part of an ice cream sundae.
He didn’t know what he had ever done to the adorable woman, but every time he saw her in town she acted like he had stolen her last Reese’s peanut butter cup.Or an even worse atrocity, the specialty ones they sold during the holidays like the Christmas trees and Valentine hearts with no crinkled edges.Every time, he wracked his brain to think of something he might have done to offend her.Each time, his mind was a blank.He didn’t think he had even spoken five words to her.Which is why anytime he needed a haircut, he made the trek to Lakeview to get his hair cut at Super Cuts instead of going to the much more convenient CC’s Curls and More.
“Hey ladies, whatcha watching?”Wyatt asked, leaning over the couch and planting a kiss on his wife’s forehead.
“Fat Amy and the Barden Bellas, of course,” Annie replied.“Nothing better.”
Wyatt groaned.“Again?Can’t we watch something likeDie Hard?Lethal Weapon?Happy Gilmore?”
“I’ll give youDeadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy,orSuicide Squad.But you have to let us finish our movie first.Happy?”
Wyatt rubbed his hands together.“I’ll take it.”
“I actually think I’m going to head out,” Brant said.“It’s been fun.Thanks for inviting me.”
“I think I’m going to leave, too,” Colleen said.Brant loved the sound of her voice.It was deep with a distinctive rasp that reminded him of Scarlett Johansson.“I’ve had a long night.”
“I’m really sorry about tonight, Cees,” Annie said.
“What happened tonight?”Wyatt asked.
Colleen groaned.“Don’t ask.”
Annie ignored her friend completely.“It turns out Conner isgay.”
Her husband snorted.“I could’ve told you that.He’s probably with that guy that’s in all of his pictures on social media, isn’t he?”
Colleen rolled her eyes.“Yes.I don’t know how she was so oblivious.”
Annie shrugged.“Simple mistake.”
“Nota simple mistake.”
“Look at it this way,” Breckin said.“At least you’ll have a shopping partner now who’ll be honest when a skirt makes your hips look big.”
Colleen’s eyes widened and Brant hid a smile behind his hand.Indignant was a good look on her.
“Which skirt makes me look like I have big hips?”
“The yellow one with the white and gray flowers.”
Brant took what he hoped was a subtle peek at Colleen’s backside.He didn’t see how anything that shapely could ever look unflattering in a skirt.Colleen Chandler was curvy inallthe right places.
“You were with me when I bought it!”
“I know,” Breckin said sheepishly.“I just didn’t know how to tell you I didn’t like it.But I’m working on being more assertive.”
Colleen rolled her eyes.“I’m leaving.”
Brant followed her toward the front door, leaving a few feet of space between them.He didn’t want to spook her.His phone buzzed so he took it out of his pocket to check it.He bet his mom had sent him a message reminding him he was going to visit her soon.