Page 46 of Sultry Nights

He grinned. "I don't know what you're so nervous about. I've met your parents, though it was brief, and apparently your mom thinks I'm dreamy, so there should be no problems tonight unless your dad is going to take offense to that."

Hanna laughed. He watched her face transform into one of happiness and enjoyment. He couldn't look away. "He's not going to take offense to that. You're funny."

"Well, you shouldn't be nervous. I can be a perfect gentleman. I won't embarrass you, I promise."

"Oh my gosh, Quinn. I am not worried about you embarrassing me. I'm worried about them embarrassing you. I don't know what to think about all of this. They're so excited that I'm no longer with Isaac, and I'm just not sure how hard they're going to push it." She stepped back to let him inside. "Oh, and also, since we've spoken, my best friend, Jalyn, is going to be joining us, too. So, I'm sorry you're going to be grilled tonight. Hopefully, not as much as the steaks."

He laughed. Then he examined her living room and the piles of tools, paint cans, flooring, drywall, and other things she had lying around. "You really haven't had much time to get anything done here. Why don't you let me send a couple guys over? I won't charge you anything. They can get this floor banged out in a couple of days, get your trim work back up, and even help you paint. Then you don't have to live in a construction zone."

"I don't want to do that. You're busy with the barracks right now. Don't you have that to get done? And I don't want you to hold your schedule up in getting those rented to help me out."

"Well, I do have extra guys. And some of them don't always have a lot of work. I've got a couple guys I can put on this job. It'll keep them busy, and I don't have to worry about them going out and looking for other jobs because they're not working."

She looked around the room at all the stuff and quietly responded. "Quinn, I don't know. It seems like it's an awful lot to ask of you."

"As I recall, you didn't ask. I offered, and just so you know, when Sid and Grace got together, I sent Jared and another fellow over to help Grace put her flooring in and to put some new windows in. I did it all pro bono. And she was able to get her place up and running in no time. She rents it out now, that one and another over by the water. I'll show you the next time we go over to the Sandbar."

"Um, okay." He saw her cheeks tint a pretty pink and felt bad that she seemed embarrassed, but he really did want to help her. "Well, it's not that I don't trust your work because I certainly do. But let me think about it. I just don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"Oh," he leaned in, and kissed her lips softly, a few times. Then he whispered, "Take advantage of me all you want, sweetheart." He wanted her to take advantage of him. He looked forward to it, actually.

They got into his truck and headed toward her parents' house.

Hanna glanced out the side window and a couple of times she turned to look behind them.

"Honey, are you still feeling like someone's following you?"

"I'm sorry. I know it seems like I'm being overly paranoid, but it's the weirdest thing. I do feel like someone's just kind of watching. But I never see anybody when I look around."

He was quiet for a moment, worried that maybe all the stress from Isaac was finally getting to her. He didn't want to say that out loud because that sounded quite bold and insensitive. And yet she was genuinely worried.

"Well, my offer still stands. If you need me to stay close, I'm happy to do that. I mean, really happy to do that, if you know what I mean."

She laughed, and he enjoyed the sound. It felt good to make her laugh. He felt powerful in the sense that he could alter her mood in a positive way.

"So tell me what I'm going to need to know about your best friend or your parents so that I don't put my foot in my mouth tonight."

She grinned. "You won't put your foot in your mouth. Really, there's nothing to know. My dad was an accountant in his pre-retirement life, and he did the books for the bakery for my grandmother, my mother, and now me. He's happily retired. He's a golfer, and he likes to be out on their pontoon boat. Mom doesn't mind being on the pontoon boat, but she likes it less than Dad. Mom ran the bakery for many, many years. She inherited it from her mother, and that's kind of my parents."

"My best friend, Jalyn, she's another story. She's been my best friend all through school, and when we both went off to college, we went together. She was married and divorced, and she is the first female firefighter in Blossom Springs. Her father was a firefighter as well. She's quite impressive. Tall. Thin. She has green eyes and long dark hair, and she really -- if it's on her mind, she says it, so don't be shocked."

He laughed. "Well, that is impressive." His brows furrowed, "The first female firefighter, wow. Is that what she always wanted to do?"

"No, but I'll let her tell you the story. And hopefully she won't get a fire call tonight because it seems like she's always on call. You know, there aren't a lot of firefighters in Blossom Springs, being a small town and all. So anyway, I'll let you be the judge."

He chuckled. "Okay, it's funny. I haven't heard of that first female firefighter in Blossom Springs, and I guess I should be grateful that I don't have to know that. I haven't needed to call the fire department, so that's good."

"That's real good." She added.

They pulled up to her parents' house. He ran around, opened the door for her, then reached into the backseat and pulled out a bottle of wine in a gift bag, and a bouquet of red, white, and blue carnations.

Hanna smiled brightly. "She's going to love those."

"That's good. And I think I'm the new favorite at the flower shop today."

Hanna laughed. "Well, I do want to say thank you again. They sure did brighten my day."

"That was the point," he said.

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