Wicked Ever After (Wicked & Devoted 2)

“That is not true.” Mrs. Wood stamped her foot. “You take that back right now.”

“I will not.” Rayleigh crossed her arms over her chest. “I know full well you’ve been sinning with that man for the past two years. I saw you two coming out of that motel myself.”

Holy cow. Since she was single, Mrs. Wood might be entitled to have sex with whomever she wanted, but that didn’t make it okay for her to help a married man commit adultery. Brea wouldn’t tell Mrs. Wood how to live; Lord knew she had sins of her own. But that didn’t mean she had to continue dealing with the woman.

“Liar!”

Rayleigh was a lot of things, including a gossip. One thing she’d never been? A liar.

Brea calmly dried her hands on a nearby towel. “I’m afraid I’ll no longer be fixing your hair. I suggest you find another stylist.”

“In fact, why don’t you find another salon? You’re no longer welcome here, Theresa,” Rayleigh said. “Buh-bye.”

The rest of the salon erupted in applause. Not surprising, Brea supposed. No one liked the woman anyway, but when Mrs. Wood huffed her way outside, Brea was astonished that the small crowd remaining—hairdressers and clients alike—rushed over to her with hugs and smiles, all congratulating her for standing up to that horrible woman. She blinked at Rayleigh in confusion.

Her boss laughed. “You’ve been too nice to her for too long. We all have for your sake, but now that you’ve grown a spine and cut her loose…”

Was that how they’d all seen her? Spineless?

Brea winced. She supposed it might appear as if she had been. She’d meant to be polite, give others the benefit of the doubt, turn the other cheek as a good Christian should. But some people simply stopped deserving chances. Telling them so felt wonderfully liberating.

Yet another way Pierce had rubbed off on her. And honestly, that made her happy.

“Thanks, y’all. I’ll try not to take on any more disagreeable clients.”

“We’d appreciate that,” said Li Na, a gorgeous Chinese stylist with purple streaks and swagger, as she winked.

Impulsively, Brea hugged her. “My pleasure.”

When she turned, Rayleigh waited, arms outstretched.

Brea embraced her boss. “I’m sorry about my attitude earlier.”

“For suspecting me of telling the world your secret? It’s all right. In your shoes, I probably would have suspected me, too. But I’m on your side.”

“I appreciate that more than you know.”

As the others returned to their clients and blow dryers started whining again, Rayleigh pulled her aside. “You looked so sad when you came in. I didn’t have Joy schedule you a six o’clock. I had her call Cutter. I thought you could use a friend.”

Thank goodness he was back in town, though she hadn’t seen him. “I really could. Thank you.”

“It’s all right. Let me know if you need anything else.” Then she dropped her voice. “But I still think that hot mysterious man will come back for you.”

If he can, he will. But Brea just smiled. “I owe you.”

The woman waved her away. “You don’t owe me anything. Just know I’m here for you.”

Brea disappeared into the back room with her phone for a bit to call Daddy and check on him. Thankfully, the church had been mostly quiet today. As she hung up and muted her phone again, the door opened.

“Bre-bee.”

She shoved her phone on the nearby table and leapt to her feet to run to her best friend, who looked tired and sad as heck. “Cutter.”

He scooped her up on his arms and held her close. “You okay?”

“I’m all right. How are you?”

“I’m sorry about everything.” He pulled free to study her with solemn eyes. “I never imagined my choices would impact your life so horribly. One minute I was guarding Shealyn’s body, and the next the feelings neither of us expected were front-page news. I knew she was a public figure…but I didn’t think anyone would care about me, much less the people in my life.”

“I would have assumed the same thing. Don’t worry about me. It really is all right.”

“How did your father take the news?”

“About the baby? Better than expected. It was good to finally be honest with him, and I realize I should have found the courage to do it a long time ago.” She sent him a little smile. “You told me once that I had a habit of burying my head in the sand. I didn’t like hearing it, but you were telling me the truth. I was afraid to pull my head out, but I finally did.”

“And he didn’t disown you, did he?”

Brea shook her head. “No, that was my irrational fear about disappointing him talking. He knows the baby isn’t yours.”

“I figured. He’s always suspected our relationship isn’t like that.” Cutter pulled at his neck. “Walker picked me up at the airport yesterday afternoon so we could talk.”