Page 4 of Sultry Nights

Frank nodded and scratched his forehead. "That's good then. I'm glad you have people watching over you." He nodded to Tisha, and she stood a bit taller at his praise.

Frank grabbed the handle of the dolly and nodded. "Okay then, you have a great rest of your day."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you, Frank. I appreciate all your help."

His cheeks tinted slightly, but he moved toward the store without another word.

Hanna turned to Tisha. "I can't thank you enough, Tisha. I'm so grateful to you."

"Well, as I said, I'm remodeling my home. My ex agreed to help me by letting my son use his tools and supplies from the shop. Not much help, but my son is handy, and found some things to help me. And to be honest, I'm doing this to piss off that asshole I was married to. It grinds his nerves to know our son is working at my place with his tools and supplies. So, I'm getting the last laugh."

Hanna listened to Tisha speak. Her demeanor was cold, entitled, and haughty. Hanna glanced at the truck. "If you don't mind me asking, is that your truck?"

Tisha scoffed. "Oh, heavens no. Why on earth would you think that?"

"Well, you drove it here."

Tisha took a deep breath. "Right. Well. No, it's my son's truck. He loaded the vanity on the trailer and asked me to bring it here because he was busy. You know, working on my bathroom. So, I figured if I helped him with this, he'd have more time to finish."

Hanna nodded. " Excellent logic." She stepped back. "I better get this vanity home so I can get it inside and work a bit tonight."

Tisha nodded, then held out her hand. "It was nice meeting you, Hanna. I hope you're able to put that vanity to good use."

"Thank you so much. Maybe when I get it all finished, I can invite you over to see what I managed."

Tisha smiled. She hesitated a moment, then said, "I'd really like that." She opened her purse, which hung off her arm, much like the Queen of England carried her purse. It had a brand name on it and Hanna thought once again, this woman was way out of her league. Pulling her phone from a pocket on the inside, Tisha swiped once. "Okay. Give me your number."

Hanna blinked rapidly. Say what now? Just like that? "Oh, ah..." Hanna gave Tisha her number, thinking nothing could go wrong with that. Tisha then tapped away and Hanna felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

Tisha beamed. "Now you have my number, too."

Hanna nodded. "Thank you."

Tisha turned toward her truck and opened the driver's door. "I'll see you soon."

She slid into the driver's seat gracefully and pulled straight through the parking spot and out of the lot. Hanna chuckled and climbed into her dad’s truck. Today had a few surprises for her, but the first thing she needed to do was to make sure her ex didn't have access to her bank account, and if he did, figure out how. Then she'd work on her bathroom for a while.

She pulled into her driveway and her neighbor, Thomas, was sitting on his front porch. He was a friend of her father's; they had gone to school together. Thomas and his wife looked after her as if she were their own. His gray hair was always neatly trimmed, his gray beard too. He was easily six feet tall and stayed in shape by biking around town and on the many trails in Florida. He nodded and waved, and she waved back. After she parked her vehicle, she grabbed her crossbody bag from the passenger seat and slipped it over her head.

As she opened her car door, Thomas stood at the ready. "I see you found a vanity."

"I did. It's a good one I think." She held her breath as he examined her purchase.

He nodded and grinned. "That looks like a beauty for sure."

She let her breath out and smiled. "I thought it looked very nice, and the price was right, so no complaints there."

"Gotta love a deal."

"I'll run and get the two-wheeled cart."

She hustled to her house and unlocked the door. She had the two-wheeled cart in the living room just for this purpose. Wheeling it out the door and down the sidewalk, she stopped at the back of the truck as Thomas finished untying the rope Frank had secured her vanity with.

They worked together to unload the vanity, and Thomas wheeled it to her front door. She held the door open as he muscled it through the door, then followed him inside and to the bathroom.

"Do you want it in the bathroom?"

"How about leaving it right here in the hall? I'm finishing up the flooring in the bathroom tonight, then I'll bring this in."

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