Read Good Guys Love Dogs for Free Online Page A

me,
if I'd known you were
    going to bring me to this no-action
town, I'd have asked that
    judge for jail time instead. There
wouldn't have been much
    difference, anyway. He disappeared
inside the house, the
    screen door slapping closed behind
him.
    50
    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    â€œLuke! Ian cal
ed, starting after him, then deciding
    against it. He dropped down on the
top step of the porch.
    He'd known that nothing about this
would be easy. So far,
    he'd been right. His relationship
with Luke didn't fal apart
    overnight and it would certainly
take longer than that to fix
    it.
    51
    7
    t five minutes past five that
afternoon, Colby
    Astepped through the front door of
the Dippety-
    Do Salon for her monthly trim. Her
basic, shoulder-length
    cut required little more effort than
a nip off the ends.
    A bel dinged, announcing her
arrival. A waiting area
    held several chairs and a couple of
couches. Magazines
    littered the coffee table, GQ and International Male among
    them. Louise Mason, the owner of the
salon, theorized
    that her customers didn't come here
to read about the latest
    tuna casserole recipe or how to
paint their kitchen in less than
    five hours. Here, women were free to
gossip, ogle men's
    magazines and general y let their
hair down, so to speak.
    Judging from the fact that the place
rarely had an empty
    chair, Louise apparently had the
right idea.
    â€œHey, Colby.
You're on time as usual, Louise said,
    approaching the desk. At five feet
ten inches tall, Louise
    often joked that the only thing that
kept her from being a
    professional model was her looks.
    â€œHi, Louise. You
keeping busy?
    52
    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    The woman threw a glance at the shop
behind her,
    where hair dryers buzzed and the
smel of permanent
    solution hung in the air. “If
it weren't for vanity, I'd be in
    the poorhouse.
    Colby smiled and followed the
heavyset woman to the
    back. Louise shampooed her hair and
applied an apple-
    scented conditioner. When she
finished, she wrapped a
    towel around Colby's head and led
her to her station up
    front.
    â€œSo what are we
gonna do today, honey? Louise asked
    after Colby settled in the chair.
    Colby met her hopeful gaze in the
mirror. “Just the
    usual.
    â€œHow'd I know you
were gonna say that?
    Louise had been trying to talk her
into going the way of
    big hair for years. “Men
like a lotta hair, she'd said more
    times than Colby could count. “You
walk into a nightclub,
    and you gotta compete with all those
Dol y Parton types.
    You can't just let yourself blend
into the woodwork.
    Like Phoebe, Louise ranked Colby's
lack of interest in
    the dating scene right up there with
self-administered
    haircuts and chipped nail polish. It
simply didn't do.
    Smiling, Colby said, “I
have to give you credit for
    trying, Louise.
    â€œNow, Colby, you
know I think you're one of the
    prettiest gals around. I'd just like
to pizzazz you up a bit,
    that's all.
    Pizzazz, as Louise defined it, meant
frosting and a perm.
    â€œThank you,
Louise, but—
    53
    INGLATH COOPER
    â€œI know. I know.
You like it how it is. I just thought with
    that new man in town, you might have
changed your mind.
    Let's see, what's his name? McKlel
an, Mc— Louise
    snapped her fingers, searching for
the name.
    â€œMcKinley, El en
Ann Edwards offered up from the
    next station. “Ian
McKinley.
    That name again.
    â€œI shoulda known
you'd have it down pat, Louise said
    to the other woman with a chuckle.
    â€œWel , why not?
It's not as if someone like that moves
    to Keeling Creek every day of the
week, Ellen Ann
    declared.
    â€œYou're right
about that, Louise agreed. “I saw him at
    the DMV when I was gettin' my county
sticker, and he was in
    front of me. Didn't even mind
spendin' my lunch hour
    standing in line. That is one
fine-looking man.
    Ellen Ann's nod of agreement carried
with it a look of
    wistfulness. She added another
permanent rod to her
    customer's hair. “I
saw