Free Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid

helps
a baby through teething pain is bourbon on the gums.” She then
closed her eyes and was asleep again within seconds.
    I stared at her for a long
moment, replaying the words of wisdom in my head, and came to the
conclusion that she must’ve been half-dreaming.
    “ Hi, I’m
Marissa.”
    Still a little bewildered,
I turned and blinked at the very pretty, twenty-something woman
holding her hand out to me. She was in scrubs and comfy shoes, and
was obviously a nurse. She wore her dark brown hair in long, small
braids down her back, and her dark brown eyes were warm and
compassionate.
    I took her hand. “Hi. I’m
Ashley, the daughter.”
    “ Nice to meet you, Ashley.
I’ll be your mother’s day nurse Monday through Thursday. I’ll stop
in during the day. George comes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Tina and Joe will split the night shift.”
    I nodded. “Okay. Just so
you know, I’m a nurse in Chicago—pediatric intensive
care.”
    Her eyebrows lifted in
surprised delight. “I’m from Chicago! I grew up on the south side.
I just moved to Knoxville two months ago.”
    Roscoe cleared his throat
from the place at my side where he’d suddenly appeared, drawing our
attention to him.
    “ Hi. I’m Roscoe Winston.
Pleasure to meet you, Marissa.”
    I lifted an eyebrow at the way he said her
name and the way he held her eyes and the way he leaned forward
with just a little too much swagger and southern charm.
    She smiled at him like he
was a cute puppy and accepted his hand for a shake. “Nice to meet
you, Roscoe.” She turned her attention back to me. “I’m going to
get your mother settled and check her vitals.”
    “ Sure. They should have
taken her to the den. It’s at the end of the hall.”
    Marissa gave me a warm
smile then left to find the room where Momma would be
staying.
    Roscoe turned his head and
watched her walk away. More precisely, he watched her bottom—in
baggy scrubs no less—as she walked away.
    “ She’s new in town. I
wonder if I could show her around.”
    I elbowed him in the side and gave him my
best disapproving scowl.
    “ Ow! What did I
do?”
    My voice was a harsh
whisper. “You’re flirting? With Momma’s nurse?”
    He didn’t look at all
repentant. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”
    “ Why not?” I couldn’t
believe him. “Why not?! Aren’t you upset about Momma?”
    Roscoe flinched and
appeared to be a little hurt by my words, but he held his ground.
“Of course I’m upset. Don’t be stupid. But that right there is an
exceptionally fine looking woman, and Momma being sick doesn’t mean
that I’m blind.”
    “ Ugh! Men!” I shook my
head and turned to leave.
    Roscoe caught me by the
arm and pulled me into the kitchen. “Now, hold your horses. Just
you listen for a sec.”
    I pulled my elbow from his grip and crossed
my arms over my chest, glaring at him.
    He didn’t appear to be
affected by my disapproving glower. “Who is it going to hurt, me
flirting with a pretty girl? Is Momma going to die faster?” I
flinched, but he pressed on. “Is it going to increase her pain?
Don’t give me that look, Ashley Austen Winston. You would have us
all dress in black and ring bells every fifteen minutes. I’m not
going to feel bad for admiring someone pretty. You were always too
serious for your own good.”
    What he really meant was
that I was always too sensitive for my own good, and he was right.
But I’d toughened up over the last eight years. I’d fallen in love
twice, bludgeoned into it with all the bad sense of a girl with a
user for a father, and come out the other side determined to learn
from my mistakes.
    I couldn’t flirt and have
it mean nothing, not like Roscoe could do. It was a defect in my
personality.
    My neck became hot and
scratchy, and I felt tears gather behind my eyes.
    He seemed to see or sense
that I was close to crying because he pulled me forward and wrapped
me in a hug. “Don’t cry. I always hated it when you
cried.”
    I sniffled and