Free Ask Anyone by Sherryl Woods

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    â€œYes,” Darcy said stubbornly.
    â€œGood.” Jenna made a quick decision, one she hoped might impart a stronger lesson than the usual punishment she doled out, apparently rather ineffectively since the misbehavior kept recurring. “Run on upstairs and pack your clothes.”
    Darcy’s eyes widened. Her lower lip quivered. “You’re sending me away?”
    â€œNo, I’m taking you away,” Jenna corrected, her expression as cheerful as if nothing at all were amiss. “We’re going on vacation first thing tomorrow.”
    Her daughter blinked at that. “You’re letting me go like this?”
    â€œIt is the unique look you wanted, isn’t it?” Jenna asked innocently.
    â€œBut…”
    â€œBut what?”
    â€œYou usually take me straight over to Rene’s and make her fix it.”
    Jenna smiled. “Not this time. Besides, you’ve already cut your hair pretty short. I’m not sure what a hairdresser could do to correct it.”
    A horrified expression crossed Darcy’s face. “You’re making me keep it like this?”
    â€œYep,” Jenna said as Mrs. Jamison turned away to hide a smile.
    Tears pooled in Darcy’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I hate you,” she shouted, and ran from the kitchen.
    Jenna sighed.
    â€œYou’re doing the right thing,” Mrs. Jamison reassured her. “It’s a good lesson in living with the consequences of her actions.”
    â€œI know, but you haven’t been to Trinity Harbor,” Jenna said, voicing her one regret about the plan. “Darcy is going to stand out like a sore thumb.”
    â€œThen she won’t be so quick to do something impulsive like this again,” the housekeeper said.
    Jenna looked at the woman who’d raised her brothers and done her best to be a mother to Jenna on her rare visits home. “Why does she do things like this? She’s only nine. What on earth will she be doing when she hits her teens?”
    â€œMaybe she’ll have it all out of her system by then,” Mrs. Jamison suggested soothingly.
    â€œOr maybe she’ll be in a juvenile detention facility,” Jenna said wearily.
    â€œYou weren’t, were you?”
    â€œI never did anything like this,” Jenna insisted.
    â€œDidn’t you? Maybe you never touched your hair, but then it was your pride and joy because it was red like your mama’s. I do seem to recall that you came close to giving your daddy a heart attack when you came home from school sporting a snake tattoo one year, and that was some years before tattoos were all the rage among respectable people.”
    â€œIt was temporary,” Jenna reminded her.
    â€œYour father didn’t know that.” The housekeeper grinned and patted Jenna’s hand. “Darcy’s hair is temporary, too. It will grow and the color will wash out eventually.”
    â€œI was really hoping she’d have a good time in Trinity Harbor. How can she if everyone keeps their kids away from her because she looks like a pint-sized member of a grunge band?”
    â€œIs this really about Darcy being accepted, or about you?” Mrs. Jamison asked with her usual insight.
    Jenna heaved a resigned sigh. The wise woman had nailed it on the head again. “A little of both,” she admitted.
    After all, what kind of an impression would Darcy make on uptight Bobby Spencer? He was likely to take one look at Jenna’s child and conclude that a woman who had no better control over her daughter couldn’t possibly be entrusted with a million-dollar development plan.
    â€œWhat kind of people make judgments based on appearances?” Mrs. Jamison asked.
    Jenna considered the validity of this point and nodded. Bobby hadn’t exactly held her disheveled appearance against her on the morning of their meeting, had he? Maybe he’d be generous where Darcy was concerned as