“Gillian. You are constantly pushing that wild mass of hair from your face.” Grandma Dee eyed her as she drew a wayward strand away from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “A headband will help keep the hair out of your face when you brush down the horses. Some hair ties will bind it when you go riding.”
Gillian had thought the same thing, but figured a plain rubber band would do the trick. She’d never thought to buy something so frivolous. She’d never had the money to do so.
Her grandmother held up a set of three light brown bands. One plain, another with gold beads, and the last with blue crystals.
“These will look pretty and match your hair. You could tie it back in a ponytail and use the headbands for a bit of flare.”
Gillian had to admit, she liked them, and they would look pretty. She took the bands and held them in her hand, tracing the pretty blue crystals.
“I really like them.” She noted the price. Not bad at only three ninety-nine.
“Do you like more subtle colors, or would you like something brighter?”
“These are fine.”
“Yes, for a start, but let’s look at the others. What do you think? Something like this?” Her grandmother held up an ornate band decorated with a huge white flower, a fake gem the size of a quarter in the center of the bloom.
“That’s a bit much. Maybe smaller. Subtle, but pretty.”
“Okay.” Her grandmother smiled and looked over the selection again. She helped Gillian try out several different ones. They laughed at some of the more ornate pieces and the ones that simply made her look ridiculous. In the end, they settled on the original brown headbands, a second set in navy blue with silver and light blue crystals, a pack of multicolored hair ties, a gold headband with white crystals in a swirling pattern for something dressier, and a pair of pretty copper butterfly clips with light green crystals. The copper color made the red in her hair stand out.
“You are going to look so pretty.”
“Thank you, Grandma. I love all of them. I had such a good time picking them out.”
“Me, too. I like having someone to shop with. We should do this again soon.”
Gillian smiled. “I’d like that.”
They stood at the counter together. Her grandmother dug her wallet out of her purse. Gillian checked out the display case. Her eyes fell on a pair of hair clips. Taken back to her time in San Francisco, she traced her finger over the glass and stared at the pair of silver birds with the tiny crystal blue eyes. They reminded her of the gulls soaring over the ocean.
The shopkeeper pulled them out and set them on the counter, ringing them up with their other purchases.
“No. We didn’t choose those,” Gillian pointed out.
“Yes, you did. You liked the others we chose,” her grandmother said. “Those, you want. They’re very pretty.”
“They remind me of the birds flying over the ocean.”
“I know you miss home.”
“I like it here. It’s different, and that’s good. But sometimes I miss the water, the quiet solitude I found there. I have it here when I’m outside with the horses, but it’s different. Not bad different.”
“Just not the same,” her grandmother said, understanding what Gillian couldn’t put into words.
“Yes.”
Her grandmother unlatched the clips from their holder and clipped one, and then the other, into Gillian’s hair. “Very pretty.”
Gillian reached up with an unsteady hand and touched her hair. “Really?”
“Oh yes.”
“Thank you.”
“You are very welcome, dear.” Her grandmother took the receipt. “Come now. Let’s get back before the ice cream is soup.”
“Won’t matter. Justin will still eat it.”
“Blake, too,” her grandmother added.
Gillian laughed and walked beside her grandmother back across the street to the grocery store lot. She wondered what Blake would think of her new hair accessories. Lost in thoughts of Blake and the wonderful outing she’d had with her grandmother, she stared off down a side street and caught a glimpse of movement at the auto repair place down the way. The man stood with his hands at his sides, his eyes narrowed on her. Too far away to read his expression or see him clearly, she didn’t need an up-close look. She’d recognize her father anywhere.
Her heart slammed into her ribs and stopped. Her breath caught in her throat, along with the scream pushing to escape. Everything inside her went cold. She turned from the threat and rushed to the truck, sliding in and slamming the door the moment her grandmother unlocked it. She turned back to see if her father was coming after her but found no threat at all.