Fatal Intent - Jamie Jeffries Page 0,51

her choices, she didn’t know if she could be with him.

Because it was Sunday, most of the places she needed to help her create her disguise were closed. But a couple advertised seven days a week, so her choice was made for her. At the wig shop, the sales clerk told her she didn’t have to cut her hair. Braiding it and wrapping it evenly around her head would be sufficient. She left the shop as a blonde with a silky A-line cut that hit her just below the chin in front and curled under, disguising the shape of her face.

A visit to the nearest dollar store netted a pair of glasses with clear lenses that didn’t distort her vision too much. For the final transformation, she found a salon with a makeup artist on duty and explained what she needed.

An hour with the artist learning what to do to create contours where she had none and deeply shaded eyes, and she wouldn’t have known herself in the mirror if she hadn’t reached her hand out to see it was really her. She didn’t even need the glasses, which the artist told her wouldn’t have worked anyway. “Obviously plastic, hon.”

For good measure, Alex went to a discount store and bought a supply of shorts and halter-tops. She’d always worn sundresses, believing them to be cooler, and in fact they were, but they didn’t fit with the image she needed to fit in with the Patriots. Her redhead’s skin didn’t go with the blonde hair, and she didn’t tan, she freckled, so she opted to spend an hour in a tanning salon to get a spray-on tan.

By the time she was done, she was down several hundred dollars and worried about what she’d live on, but she was very confident no one in the Patriots organization would recognize her as the pesky blogger, especially not now that her photo was no longer posted.

~~~

When Dylan found Alex gone, her things cleared out of the room, he was angry at first. He hid his reaction from the boys and took them down for breakfast. He spoke to the desk clerk, asking if he’d seen a redhead. The shift had changed since Alex’s departure, though, so the clerk couldn’t tell him anything. He looked in on the boys, told them to behave themselves or else, and went to the parking lot.

Alex’s car was gone. He should have expected it. After what he’d said to her, he couldn’t blame her. When would he learn to respect what she felt she needed to do? Discouraged, but determined to wait her out, he went back into the hotel and joined the boys.

Since Alex had said it didn’t matter, Dylan settled on the first house the agent had to show him that morning. Located midway between the campus and his new office, the three-and-two ranch with a xeriscaped yard requiring little maintenance was perfect.

The agent assured him the schools were good, and offered information about a Catholic school as well. The Catholic school could be a good option if they had scholarships, he agreed. There would be time to inquire after they moved in, on the first of August. He had a week to finish packing and make all the arrangements to move their stuff. The agent kindly offered to have the utilities turned on and to meet them with a key on the following Saturday. They were all set, except he hadn’t heard from Alex.

Feeling as if he was missing something, Dylan took the boys back to Dodge. It was past dinnertime when they got there, so he dropped by Jen’s to see if she’d do some burgers and fries for them, to go. While he waited for his order, Dylan spotted Paul and went over to talk with him.

“Have you heard from Alex today?” he asked.

Paul shot him a mournful look. “I haven’t heard from her since she tore out of my house mad,” he said. “I don’t dare call her. If she ever forgives me, she’ll make the first move.”

Dylan thought Paul was making the same mistake he’d made with his wife, but he kept his opinion to himself. “Well, my transfer came through and I spent today renting a house. I’ll be moving to Tempe next Saturday.” He gave Paul the address. “You’re welcome any time you’d like to visit. I assume Alex is still planning to live there with me when school starts, but we had a tiff and she took off.” At