WHITE WITCH OF THE COLOR ROOM
CHAPTER 1

Fort Lauderdale

     Dylan’s breath caught in her throat as the slender, young woman armed with an outdated suitcase stepped from the taxi. Shanley Thomas looked and moved just like her mother did at the same age, only Shanley had inherited her father's dark coloring. The resemblance shook Dylan like an earthquake.
     Dylan swiped the instant tears blurring her vision and leaned against the window for support. How would she possibly carry off this charade expected of her?
     She had no choice. This meeting hinged on a promise she made a long time ago. Angelina Tomasso lived twenty long years without her daughter. A lifetime. Dylan promised to reunite this unknown, young woman with her mother, way back when it all began. You didn't work day in and day out, listening to the stories without living the pain, especially, if you happen to be empathic.
     Now, Dylan's challenge was to win Shanley Thomas’s confidence when she itched to shake the stubborn streak right out of the girl until she understood. Angelina didn't dump Shanley as a newborn at the orphanage. Angelina had reasons for leaving her behind.
     A sigh escaped Dylan's lips. She wanted to handle this matter her way. But, no. Sister Peg refused to send Shanley to the Color Room unless Dylan followed the directions specifically laid out by Shanley’s psychologist. Shanley had suffered enough trauma of her own to warrant caution.
     
     Okay. She’d play. Anything to reunite Angelina with her daughter, but it didn't mean she had to like the plan.
     Watching Shanley as Angelina would, Dylan devoured every movement the girl made as she frowned, leaned into the taxi to pay the driver then slammed the car door.
     Dylan chuckled. “Oh, my. A temper like her Momma,” she whispered. “You sure will test my southern hospitality, now, sugar. Won't you?”
     As if she heard Dylan's words, Shanley turned her back to the Color Room, lit a cigarette and surveyed the street. In between drags, she tugged on her white blouse and jeans skirt as if not used to her clothing. Guess she needed to pull herself together, too. The next few hours would make or break any future for Shanley and her mother. Dylan had to tread carefully.
     Shanley snubbed out her cigarette with the toe of a Chuck Taylor sneaker. She exhaled smoke, then turned, intercepting Dylan's gaze. The heat of her velvet brown eyes before she slipped on a pair of sunglasses practically melted Dylan. Shanley had Nicky’s eyes. Hooh, boy. Trouble. Dylan grinned and waved the girl in.
     She called over her shoulder to the other stylists. “Okay, kids, it's show time. This one’s for Angelina.”

***

     Tiny hairs raised on Shanley's neck. The woman watching from the window looked more like a siren than the celebrity in the People magazine Shanley had just tossed on the taxi seat. No one had ever regarded her with such a soul-searing stare. She resisted rubbing her arms to dispel the tingle from her skin.
     Heck no. She wasn't going to be intimidated so easily. Instead, she offered her blandest stare before sliding on her Ray Bans while her legs just about crumbled beneath her. She’d prefer lunch with cannibals to keeping this appointment, but she had no choice.
     This Dylan, this White Witch of the Color Room, held one million dollars in Shanley's name. One million freaking dollars! All Shanley had to do was meet this woman to learn why her mother, Angelina Tomasso—whose name Shanley just learned, had abandoned her at birth. Cushy deal, yeah, but Shanley had vowed never to waste another thought on the unknown mother she hated.
     If Shanley didn’t love Sister Peg so much, if she didn’t love the kids at the orphanage so much, if she didn’t have Aiken’s Board of Health threatening to shut down the precious cafeteria in her charge for two years, she never would have considered Dylan’s offer. That's how much she despised Angelina Tomasso. But, she agreed to do this for Sister Peg. One million dollars just could not be ignored.
     She sucked in a breath. Her sneakers itched to bolt when Dylan grinned through the window and waved her in. God help her. No turning back now. Damn this White Witch and her bribe.
     She reached for the stainless bar of the heavy, glass door. The metal cooled silky-soft against her perspiring palm. The swish of the opening door filled her ears like the rush of a time warp. A wind chime pealed fairy’s laughter. The air-conditioning swirled the incoming humidity raising goose-bumps on her flesh. Shanley stepped into the salon inhaling air misted with jasmine, sultry music and laughter. The door closed on the world behind leaving her face to face with Dylan, the White Witch of the Color Room.
     Shanley pressed a fist against the tattooing in her chest. She needed to get a grip. Fast. Only seconds ticked off in her head, and already she clenched her jaw to keep it from dropping open in awe.
     Dylan’s photo in the magazine did nothing to prepare her for this woman's beauty. A heart-shaped face. Gorgeous green eyes. A perfect nose. Her softly glossed lips creased with a warm, laughing smile as if they shared a secret. Spirals of wild, platinum blond hair cascaded onto her shoulders. If not dressed like a rock star in white, Dylan could pass for one of the angels in the chapel bible at the orphanage. She wasn't much taller than Shanley, but her energy gave the impression of an Amazon, and those eyes refused to release her gaze. A tingle ran Shanley's spine.
     Dylan’s melodic, alto voice underscored the wind chime, charming her even more. “What did the driver do to upset you?”
     Dylan’s question snapped her resolve back into place. Shanley pulled off her sunglasses.
     “I stiffed him his tip. The sign on his roof uses big boobs and hot pants to sell chicken wings. I have a particular disgust for exploiting women.”
     The blond nodded approval. “Good for you.”
     Stating the obvious, Shanley added, “You’re the White Witch of the Color Room, of course.”
     “Dylan,” she said, and held out her hand. “I’ll explain the rest of my name over a drink later, maybe. And, you are Shanley Thomas.”

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