of the above. I thought I’d just go as your date.”
His face sobered. “Okay. I think that would be okay. Amber probably wouldn’t mind if it was just you.”
As he skipped into the hangar, Carny knew she couldn’t do better than Jason as her date. He, after all, was the man of her dreams.
ten
T hursday, Logan swung around in his chair at the Clippety Doo Dah, where he spent as much of his spare time as he could, buttering up the ladies. He grinned at the proprietor. “Tell me, Lahoma,” he said, “do you consider yourself single-handedly responsible for the abundance of beauty in this town?”
Her laughter had a sweet, infectious ring to it. Eliza Martin, whose hair she was working on, hooted right along with her, and the ladies under the dryers chuckled as well, even though he doubted they’d heard his question.
“You’re such a talker,” Lahoma said in her deep southern drawl. “By the way, have you heard about the dance tomorrow night? Down at the bingo hall?”
“I sure have,” he said, “and I intend to be there.” “And have you got a date?” Lahoma asked with a wink. He grinned. “You got somebody in mind?” She blushed, then recovered. “Well, if I was fifteen years younger, I’d snap you up myself. Might anyway, now that I think about it.”
The other ladies guffawed, and Lahoma preened in the mirror, proud of herself. “No, Logan, I had someone more your age in mind. My daughter, Mary Beth, doesn’t have a date yet. Or there’s Jean Miller, who works at the drugstore.Or Bonnie … you know, the little waitress in the diner? Take your pick. There’s plenty of gals in Serenity who wouldn’t mind going on your arm.”
Grinning, he swung around in his chair again. “Well, you see, that’s just the problem. There’s so many I’d love to go with. It’s hard to decide. I think I might just go stag so I can dance and flirt with all of them.”
The women laughed again, as if that suited them just fine. Logan pulled up out of the seat and sighed. “Well, ladies, I’ve sure enjoyed shooting the breeze with you. And like I said, if any of you want an appointment with me, you know where you can find me. Time’s running out, though. I have to have all my investors registered pretty soon, or we’ll have to move on to another town. My employers don’t like to be kept waiting. And the idea, of course, is to get the park started by the end of the year, so we’re really under the gun here.”
“My husband’s gonna call you today, Logan,” one of the ladies under the dryer said. “His name’s Jess. When you hear from Jess, you’ll know who he is. My husband.”
Logan leaned down and took her hand. Kissing it, he said, “I sure will, ma’am. And if he’s half as delightful as you, it’ll be a pleasure going into partnership with him.” He went to the next lady under the dryer, kissed her hand, then reached for the third. They all tittered like birds.
Then he grabbed Lahoma, pulled her into a waltz, and spun her. “Tomorrow night, you save a dance for me,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“I will,” she said, almost swooning. “‘Bye, Logan.”
On the sidewalk, Logan checked his watch. He’d talked Carny into giving him a private lesson today, and he had just enough time before it to stop by the barbershop and shoot the breeze. It was these intimate little gab sessions, unscheduledand relaxed, that inspired the kind of trust he needed to make the people of Serenity part with their money.
He stood by the red-and-white barber pole outside and looked in the window. Slade was cutting the mayor’s hair, and Cecil was cutting that of a man Logan didn’t know yet. There was one other man waiting, and they were all laughing.
Friendship. Camaraderie. It was something he’d missed terribly since Montague died. But he couldn’t break Montague’s rule of getting too close now, just because it felt good. A lot of things felt good, but they could also land him back in jail.
His face sobered. “Okay. I think that would be okay. Amber probably wouldn’t mind if it was just you.”
As he skipped into the hangar, Carny knew she couldn’t do better than Jason as her date. He, after all, was the man of her dreams.
ten
T hursday, Logan swung around in his chair at the Clippety Doo Dah, where he spent as much of his spare time as he could, buttering up the ladies. He grinned at the proprietor. “Tell me, Lahoma,” he said, “do you consider yourself single-handedly responsible for the abundance of beauty in this town?”
Her laughter had a sweet, infectious ring to it. Eliza Martin, whose hair she was working on, hooted right along with her, and the ladies under the dryers chuckled as well, even though he doubted they’d heard his question.
“You’re such a talker,” Lahoma said in her deep southern drawl. “By the way, have you heard about the dance tomorrow night? Down at the bingo hall?”
“I sure have,” he said, “and I intend to be there.” “And have you got a date?” Lahoma asked with a wink. He grinned. “You got somebody in mind?” She blushed, then recovered. “Well, if I was fifteen years younger, I’d snap you up myself. Might anyway, now that I think about it.”
The other ladies guffawed, and Lahoma preened in the mirror, proud of herself. “No, Logan, I had someone more your age in mind. My daughter, Mary Beth, doesn’t have a date yet. Or there’s Jean Miller, who works at the drugstore.Or Bonnie … you know, the little waitress in the diner? Take your pick. There’s plenty of gals in Serenity who wouldn’t mind going on your arm.”
Grinning, he swung around in his chair again. “Well, you see, that’s just the problem. There’s so many I’d love to go with. It’s hard to decide. I think I might just go stag so I can dance and flirt with all of them.”
The women laughed again, as if that suited them just fine. Logan pulled up out of the seat and sighed. “Well, ladies, I’ve sure enjoyed shooting the breeze with you. And like I said, if any of you want an appointment with me, you know where you can find me. Time’s running out, though. I have to have all my investors registered pretty soon, or we’ll have to move on to another town. My employers don’t like to be kept waiting. And the idea, of course, is to get the park started by the end of the year, so we’re really under the gun here.”
“My husband’s gonna call you today, Logan,” one of the ladies under the dryer said. “His name’s Jess. When you hear from Jess, you’ll know who he is. My husband.”
Logan leaned down and took her hand. Kissing it, he said, “I sure will, ma’am. And if he’s half as delightful as you, it’ll be a pleasure going into partnership with him.” He went to the next lady under the dryer, kissed her hand, then reached for the third. They all tittered like birds.
Then he grabbed Lahoma, pulled her into a waltz, and spun her. “Tomorrow night, you save a dance for me,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“I will,” she said, almost swooning. “‘Bye, Logan.”
On the sidewalk, Logan checked his watch. He’d talked Carny into giving him a private lesson today, and he had just enough time before it to stop by the barbershop and shoot the breeze. It was these intimate little gab sessions, unscheduledand relaxed, that inspired the kind of trust he needed to make the people of Serenity part with their money.
He stood by the red-and-white barber pole outside and looked in the window. Slade was cutting the mayor’s hair, and Cecil was cutting that of a man Logan didn’t know yet. There was one other man waiting, and they were all laughing.
Friendship. Camaraderie. It was something he’d missed terribly since Montague died. But he couldn’t break Montague’s rule of getting too close now, just because it felt good. A lot of things felt good, but they could also land him back in jail.
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