Page 31 of Falling for Keeps

“No.” She cringes, but I’m guessing she’s feeling like the tightness is worth it. She wants this braid to last a few days, after all.

He shakes his head in mild wonder. “I can’t hold all that hair and make the sections so clean at the same time. I don’t have the dexterity.”

I glance at him briefly before looking back at her blonde hair. “You’re a dentist.”

“Barely.”

“What?” I glance at him. “Should I avoid switching over to your practice?”

“Give me a few weeks. The place is a disaster. I don’t think Vance even owned a computer that didn’t rely on dial-up.”

“Dad has lots of painting to do, and he’s going to put in a new kids’ area, and the new chairs are late.” Penny’s sitting with her knees up to her chest and she plays with her toes. “It looks really ugly right now. I think he should paint butterflies on the wall, but he hated that idea.”

“Didn’t hate it,” he counters. “Just need to have a solid color.”

“When are you painting?”

“This week. Probably starting tomorrow.”

I finish off the braid, moving deftly and tying it off before switching to the other side of her hair. “Let me know if you need help.”

“I think we’ve used our neighbor assistance quota of the year on Penny’s room. And her Band-Aids. And her hair.”

“I don’t mind.” I give her shoulder a light squeeze before getting back to work. “You have Rapunzel hair, girly.”

Penny’s smile is so wide I can see it from my angle.

Once her hair is finished, she runs off to the bathroom to get a good look at it. Her squeals practically ring through the house as Carson walks me to the door. “Thanks for spending half of your weekend taking care of my little girl.”

“The wedding took my whole Saturday. Being here was a nice endcap.”

Carson watches me for a moment, looking like he wants to say something. I’m not trying to infiltrate his life or anything. I genuinely like Penny, and his mom has been a great neighbor since I bought my house a few years ago. Giving back is something my parents always taught me: you take care of the people around you, and they’ll take care of you. My mom was a bubbly woman, a friend to most, and an excellent neighbor. She’s been gone for a decade, but the lessons she taught me will stick forever. Maybe in some ways Sharon reminds me of my mom, but that’s not why I care about her. I care because she’s wonderful, and she cares about me.

None of this leaves my mouth while I wait for Carson to speak. He seems to be wrestling with himself.

Then he finally opens his mouth. “Good night, Emma.”

My body practically hums as I walk away.

Carson

Emma pushes open the front door of my dental office and surveys the painty mess Penny and I have become. She reaches for the necklace at her throat and slides it back and forth on the golden chain, biting her lip to refrain from laughing.

I can’t blame her. Penny came with me to the office this morning to work on painting the walls, and we ended up in a bit of a miniature paint war.

A mustache war?

Either way, we have facial hair the color of the sky on a sunny day, and Penny went so far as to fill in my eyebrows too. I’m an inverted Smurf.

“You’ve been busy,” Emma says, closing the door behind her.

“Do you like my face?” Penny asks, bouncing on her feet.

“I didn’t think a blue mustache would look cute, but you pull it off.”

She grins. “What about my dad?”

Emma looks up at me, her eyes crinkling in amusement. The paint drying on my mustache hair and scruff in the style of Shakespeare is starting to feel tight. My smile makes it tug worse. I share a look of understanding with her that makes me want to pull her in for a hug, which is a weird reaction.