Free Las Vegas Sidewinders: Dominic by Kat Mizera

a
new beginning in more ways than one. She was sort of glad to get out of
Toronto, where everyone knew about all things hockey, and as the wife of a
player that’s all she’d ever heard about. It was unfortunate that a good number
of players wound up married to puck bunnies who cared about nothing but money
and status. Those women all thought it was so ‘cute’ that she and Cody had been
together since college. The status of being an NHL wife had never even crossed
her mind when she and Brian had talked about their future; she hadn’t thought
about it when she and Cody got married either. At that point, all she cared
about was making sure her baby had a father.
    Pulling into a strip mall,
she said to Molly, “I have a little surprise for you.”
    “What? What are we doing?”
    “You’re getting your hair
done,” Suze said with a grin. “All girls want to have great hair, and this
place will make you feel like a princess.”
    “Suze, I’m wearing Dom’s old
sweats and an oversized t-shirt. I can’t go into a salon.”
    “You’ll be fine. This isn’t
a fancy place—I found it by accident, and my stylist is quirky but absolutely
amazing!” Suze pulled into a parking spot and jumped out of the car. “Come on!”
She slammed the door and Molly was forced to follow.
    They checked in, and before
she knew what was happening Molly was wearing a smock and had pieces of foil
all over her head. Suze and her stylist Mags, a tall, skinny woman with bright
pink hair and black lipstick, chatted casually. Mags wore all black, and her
fingers were swift and sure as her eyes looked Molly over carefully. She didn’t
say anything about her bruises, only complimented her thick, wavy hair.
    “These auburn highlights are
natural,” Mags said with admiration. “So I’m just going to add some lighter
ones to give depth, plus some lowlights to cover the hint of gray here and
there. I’ll cut some layers in to give you volume and natural bounce. With a
round brush, you can…” Her voice was soothing and Molly closed her eyes to
enjoy having someone pamper her. She’d never had her hair done professionally
before; she’d always trimmed it herself. She didn’t even own a blow dryer and
had no idea what to do with a round brush.
    “Do you have a round brush?”
Mags was asking her.
    “Oh. No. I don’t.”
    “We’ll take one like mine,”
said Suze. “And we’ll need one of those curling things you sold me last time I
was here—it’s awesome! I can get my hair to do anything with it!”
    Mags laughed. “Darling, with
a face like yours, you don’t need to do anything with your hair.”
    “Oh, stop.”
    “How do you usually fix your
hair?” Mags asked Molly.
    “I just wash it and let it
dry by itself. It’s almost always in a ponytail anyway.”
    Mags blinked at her. “Well,
that isn’t right! You have to show off a glorious head of hair like this!”
    “Well, we never really had
the money…” Molly’s voice trailed off.
    “Bad divorce,” Suze
interjected. “She’s staying with Cody and me until she gets back on her feet,
so we need to get her the basics… a good hair dryer, that round brush, the
shampoo and conditioner that I use, and that curling iron thing.”
    “Suze…” Molly started to
protest but Suze cut her off.
    “This is my treat, not
Dom’s. Even though we come from different backgrounds, I know what it’s like to
hit rock bottom, and luckily I married a guy with enough money to make it a lot
easier to crawl out. I like helping someone else, so you should be gracious and
let me.”
    “Okay.” Molly bowed her
head. “Thank you.”
    “It’s all good.”
    When her hair was finished,
Molly acknowledged that Suze was right—Molly did feel like a princess. Her hair
draped in soft waves around her face and curled just below her shoulders. Her
natural auburn color was highlighted, and the gray at her temples was gone.
Despite the bruises on her face and Dom’s ill-fitting clothes, she