Chapter 21
21
H anna smiled as she bagged up the buns for the Sandbar, eager to drop them off. She was making money with the bakery and her account with the Sandbar helped immensely. She was happy with the direction her life was going. She really liked Quinn. He was, well, he was everything she'd always hoped for in a relationship. He was a gentleman. He was honest. He ran a good business, which meant he was gainfully employed. Something that Isaac never was. Well, unless you call scamming people gainful employment. She didn't.
Carrying the racks out to her SUV, she stacked them up inside, made sure the front door to the bakery was locked, grabbed her purse off the hook in the kitchen, and set out to deliver her buns. Her phone rang as she drove to the Sandbar, and she tapped the button on her steering wheel. "This is Hanna Valentine."
"Well, Hanna Valentine, I am so happy to speak with you. You owe me money, and I understand you've spoken to a couple of my friends this week, and you owe them money as well. And I just wanted you to know that we are working very hard to get an attorney to force you to pay us the money you owe us."
Hanna's heart beat quickly, and her stomach rolled. Another one. Another one. "My attorney's name is Grant Park. His phone number is 800-555-2121. Feel free to give him a call. That is all I need to tell you. Thank you."
She tapped the end call button. Her finger shook slightly, and she swallowed several times to dispel the icky feeling in her throat. How many more would there be? "Isaac, you truly are a piece of shit," she said out loud. She turned her SUV into the Sandbar parking lot and parked as close to the kitchen door as she could. She opened up the back of her SUV and began carrying the buns into the kitchen.
She was greeted with many hellos, including Jace. "Hey, Hanna. Good morning."
"Morning, Jace. How are you?"
"I'm good. Today's the day. The big fishing tournament starts. So glad to see you with fresh buns."
She chuckled. "Thanks, Jace. I hope you guys knock it out of the park with sales today."
"You and me both, lady. You and me both."
She set the buns on the stainless-steel table in the kitchen and went back for more. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and a sour taste filled her mouth. Not another one, or maybe the same one. She wasn't quite sure, but she didn't want to talk to any of them.
She carried a couple more racks of buns into the kitchen. Jace followed her out to help her. "So you've made my friend quite the happy man. Every time I see him now, he whistles. "
Hanna chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Better than the opposite, right?"
Jace laughed. "That's right. You have no idea what that poor man went through with that awful ex-wife of his. I'm so glad he's happy."
"Well, it appears we have a lot in common. We've both been through some unsavory things, we both own a business, and we’re close to the same age, so I guess we understand each other.”
"True that," Jace said.
She waved goodbye to Jace and got into her SUV to leave. Sucking in a deep breath, she decided to be brave and check her phone and see who it was that had called. Her tummy rolled when she saw the name on the readout, but this time it was actually more like butterflies. It was Quinn.
She tapped her text messages and read. "Hey, you won't believe what's going on here. We're already demoing the barracks and the architect thinks that we can easily make this into condos. Happy day."
She smiled as she read, sent him the little kiss emoji, and headed back toward the bakery. She had a weird feeling someone was watching her, but as she looked around, she didn't see anything, so she just chalked it up to being paranoid. All these women coming out of the woodwork seemed to just irritate her. It was making her feel weird, although she had no reason to feel weird. Just as she was walking into the bakery, her phone rang again. "My god, today is call Hanna day with my phone," she mumbled. She hung her purse on the hook near the kitchen and checked her phone.
Tisha. She answered quickly, "Hi, Tisha. How are you?"
"I'm doing well. Just calling to check and make sure that you received the flooring that my son dropped off, and to see if it's going to work out in your house."
Hanna's cheeks burned. She had barely noticed the flooring this morning when she had gotten home. "I'll be honest with you. I didn't have much of a chance to look at it. I had a date last night and ended up coming back here to work and spent the night here, so when I went home this morning to shower, I really only stepped over the flooring that was stacked on the floor. I didn't get the chance to look at it, but I'll make sure to look at it tonight."
"Not a problem. I just wanted to make sure it had gotten there, and that you were happy with it. So, who was your date with?"
Hanna's cheeks burned again, only this time for a different reason. "Can I just say I'm not ready to say yet?"
Tisha chuckled. "Yes, you can say that. That's fine. I just thought I'd check, and please let me know if you have any problems with the table and the flooring."
"Will do, Tisha. Thank you for understanding."
"I do. I also just wanted to chat with you. I haven't seen you in a few days and..." She trailed off and Hanna leaned against the stainless-steel counter in her kitchen.
"Is everything alright, Tisha?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I shouldn't bother you. We don't really know each other that well."
Hanna felt bad. This woman didn't have any friends. "I'm not bothered by you calling and if you need to talk, I'm happy to talk to you."
"It's just that I feel like I'm being followed lately. Does that seem overly paranoid?"
Hanna's heart sped up. She'd been feeling the same way. That was an awfully weird coincidence. "No, that isn't paranoid at all. Have you noticed anyone following you? "
"No, that's what makes it seem foolish."
"Tisha. It isn't foolish. If you have that feeling, it's valid. Please be very aware of your surroundings and if you feel at all threatened, you need to get some security."
"I will. Thank you for not making me feel foolish."
Hanna shook her head. "You are not foolish. I'm glad you told me. Are you alright now?"
"Yes. I won't keep you. Please let me know when you see the table in your place and take a look at the flooring in your house. Sometimes things look different in other lighting."
"I promise you I will let you know as soon as I get home."