Free Until the End of Time by Melanie Schuster Page B

to Haiti in a few days for my annual stint with Medic International. I don’t want to have to think about grooming matters at all. I’ll probably come back with a beard, too,” he said carelessly.
    Renee was surprised at his words. She knew that Andrew went overseas for every vacation to do medical missionary work, but she had not realized that it was that time of year already and she said as much.
    “ Well, you know Dad’s big retirement celebration is in August and I wanted to go and come back well before then so I can help Bennie get it arranged. So this was the best time,” he explained.
    Renee quickly and expertly cut his hair close to his scalp as requested. As she was giving him a precision finish to the cut she asked when he was leaving and was stunned at the feeling of disquiet she got when told that he was leaving on Sunday.
    “ Sunday? But this is Thursday,” she said reproachfully. “Why would you wait until now to tell me you’re leaving?” A hot blush surged up her neck as she realized what she was saying. Luckily, Andrew was so entranced with the feel of her hands on his body that he didn’t notice the urgency in her voice.
    “ I’m sorry. I guess I forgot to mention it,” he said ruefully.
    To cover her embarrassment, Renee asked him if he would like a shampoo, something to which he agreed immediately. Renee expertly removed the cutting cape and replaced it with a shampoo cape, brushing all the tiny hairs away as she did so. She led him to the shampoo bowls and proceeded to give him the most heavenly scalp massage he had ever received. The feel of her fingers coupled with the smell of the fragrant shampoo was wonderful. When he opened his eyes and saw Renee’s luscious bosom suspended over his face while she reached for some conditioner it was almost his undoing. He was holding on to his self-control with the grip of death; one more delightful surprise like that and he couldn’t be responsible for what might happen next. Finally she finished the treatment and the torture was over.
    He was sitting in the styling chair with his hair freshly cut, shampooed and toweled dry, finished with a nimble stroking of Renee’s fingers with a light touch of some kind of silk infusion that smelled amazing and felt even better. She had brushed him off, dusted his neck lightly with imported talcum powder and rearranged his shirt collar. She even retied his tie for him.
    “ There. You’re all done and you look very handsome if I do say so myself,” Renee said approvingly.
    “ I don’t know about the handsome part, but I do like my haircut,” he said. “How much is my tab?” To his surprise, Renee refused any payment.
    “ It’s my treat,” she said. Andrew took the opportunity to turn the tables on her. “Well then, please allow me to take you to dinner. It’s the least I can do for such professional work,” he said.
    Renee agreed at once. Somehow an impromptu dinner with Andrew sounded like just the thing to her. “You’ll have to take me home first, though. I walked here.”
    Andrew looked concerned. “Is your car in the shop?” he asked.
    It wasn’t anything dire like that, Renee simply liked walking the three miles from Indian Village to the salon on Jefferson to get exercise. She did it all spring and summer and most of the fall. Light dawned for Andrew.
    “ So that’s why…” he stopped, aware that he was about to reveal the fact that he thought she wasn’t there when he arrived. At Renee’s look of puzzlement he finished with a partial lie, a very tiny one. “That’s why you have such great legs.”
    Renee raised her eyebrow as if to say, “I know you’re bluffing, but I’m going to let you slide” but remained silent. Bidding her still astounded staff good evening, she and Andrew left to have their very first dinner together.
    ***
    After a brief stop at the house in Indian Village so that Renee could freshen up and change clothes, Andrew had taken her to a nice restaurant