haven’t actually been around much until the last few weeks. Judy and I worked up the plans for what we wanted to do while she was visiting me in Denver, and she got it started. I’ve been in and out of Thunder Canyon to deal with a few things on the shop and to find a place to live, but I had a house that had to be sold and a whole life to wrap up in Colorado before I could make the move.”
Dax Traub nodded as if that accounted for why he hadn’t known she existed before. He also suddenly seemed to be making up for lost time by studying her, and Shandie became very self-conscious under the scrutiny. She couldn’t help taking mental stock of her unimpressive jeans and the equally unimpressive tennis shoes she’d worn today for comfort. And the black smock all the stylists used to protect their clothing totally hid the fact that she had on a T-shirt she considered one of her better ones because it was formfitting and gave the illusion that she was a C-cup rather than barely a B.
At least she knew her shoulder-length blond hair was in good shape because she’d had one of the other girls highlight it just that morning. She’d also done her blush, mascara and lipstick right before leaving the shop to pick up Kayla from preschool, so while she might be wearing something tantamount to a choir robe, her high cheekbones, blue eyes and not-too-full, not-too-thin lips were taken care of, enough to leave her presentable.
Still, she felt at a disadvantage, and just as she was about to end this encounter to escape, it registered that her purse was on the floor near where Kayla had been standing.
“You took my purse?” she asked her daughter, retrieving it to sling over her shoulder.
“She was going to pay for the bike with what’s inside,” Dax Traub said, again seeming to find some humor in the situation.
“Kayla! You know better than that!”
“You don’t gots ’nough money. But we could use the bad charge ’cuz this is a ’mergency.”
Embarrassed by that, Shandie grimaced and felt obliged to explain again. “That sounds worse than it is. The bad charge is bad because it’s the account I have a balance on and am trying to pay off. I only use it in emergencies.” Then, to her daughter, she said, “And you getting a motorcycle isn’t an emergency.”
“I need a big bike,” Kayla said in a tone that Shandie knew could elevate into a tantrum.
She had no idea if Dax Traub was aware of that, too, but before Kayla could take it that far he changed the subject. “So how do you both like old Thunder Canyon?” he asked.
Her earlier thought of ending this encounter drifted away with the opportunity to go on talking to him and Shandie said, “I like it a lot. Or what I’ve seen of it. I haven’t really been able to pay attention to more than the necessities yet, and even though a fair share of people come through the shop, I haven’t made any friends or anything, but I’m sure that will come.”
He nodded a head that was so smolderingly handsome it could have graced one of the posters for men’s hairstyles that came to the shop on a monthly basis. And he had hair great enough to qualify as a poster boy, too. Thick, shiny deep mink-colored hair, cut short on the sides and in the back, and left longer on top in finger-combed waves, that had a charm—and a sexiness—all its own.
He also had eyes that were so dark brown they were the color of espresso beans, bordered by lashes so thick they should have been outlawed. His nose was slightly hawkish above those supple lips, and his facial structure included pronounced cheekbones and a jawline that could have been carved from granite. Plus, he was tall, lean and muscular, and couldn’t have been better suited to the low-slung jeans he was wearing with a gray sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, under a denim jacket, with the sweatshirt’s hood pulled above the jacket’s collar in back.
“I’d better get going,” Shandie said when she realized silence had fallen between them and she was the one doing the staring now and really should end this whole thing. “I have a haircut due in any minute.”
“I still need a big bike,” Kayla reminded her.
“She’s three,” Shandie said. “I think there’s a handbook somewhere that says she gets points for persistence.”
Dax Traub smiled again and aimed his dark eyes at Kayla. “You tell Jack S. that you know where there are a lot of bikes bigger than his and if he doesn’t leave you alone I’ll bring one over to show him what a baby he is.”
Shandie flinched. “Oh, don’t say that. She’ll make you stick to it.”
“That’s okay. We have to keep these hotshots in line,” he said.
“I’ll tell ’im,” Kayla assured, clearly feeling victorious.
“Anyway, again, I’m sorry for bothering you,” Shandie said before any more promises could be made.
Dax Traub’s smile this time was pure devilish charisma, and he flashed it at mother and daughter. “No bother. I’m glad I got to meet you. Both.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Shandie said, not sounding anywhere near as smooth as he did. “Do you mind if I go out the way I came in?” she added with a nod toward the garage.
“I can’t think of a reason I would.”
“Okay, thanks. And thanks for not letting Kayla get any farther away than your showroom.”
“Sure.”
“Bye, Dax-like-Max-the-dog,” Kayla said, being silly and swiveling on her mother’s hip so she could look over Shandie’s shoulder at the shop owner as Shandie turned to go.
“Bye, Kayla Jane Solomon,” he countered as if they were sharing a private joke.
Which they must have been because her daughter giggled.
“Feel free to come and see me again,” he added.
Shandie wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or to Kayla or to them both and as she reached the doorway to the garage she glanced over her own shoulder to see if she could tell.
But all she saw was Dax Traub smiling again, crookedly, and with enough mischief to leave more questions than answers.
And to confirm what she’d garnered from the things she’d heard said about him even before she’d met him—that Dax Traub was trouble.
Fun trouble.
But definitely trouble.
Which was the last thing Shandie Solomon was looking for.
Chapter Two
Tuesday was unbelievably busy for Shandie. The days before any holiday were usually booked solid with people wanting to look their best for upcoming celebrations, and even without an established client list she had back-to-back appointments scheduled. She also ended up dealing with a disgruntled plumber, construction havoc, an electrician who wanted to cut off all the power rather than only a section of the shop at a time, and two trips to the bakery to replenish the goodies she was using as incentive to keep customers coming in during the remodeling.
Along with getting Kayla to and from preschool and making sure her daughter was taken care of once Kayla was at the shop afterward,
