Second Hand: A Tucker Springs Novel 2 by Marie Sexton Page B

to look at it. “Probably,” he
said. “I’ve never taken one of these before, so you might have
to give me a few minutes to do some research. You want to
hock it or sell it?”
“Uh . . .” I felt myself blushing. I wished he didn’t always
make me feel so clueless. “What’s the difference?” “Well, are you looking for a loan, hoping to buy it back
later?”
“I don’t ever need it back.”
“In that case, I can buy it from you outright.”
“I have more, too.”
“More cappuccino machines?”
“No, but more kitchen stuff. Mixers and bread makers
and grills. Should I go get them?”
“Are they in your car?”
“No. They’re at home.”
He stared at me, as if debating something. A slow smile
spread across his face. “I can only take one item a day,” he said,
shrugging. “It’s some kind of law.”
That was unfortunate. It would have been better to have
the money in one chunk rather than spread out over a couple
of weeks, but it seemed it couldn’t be helped.
“So you’ll take this today, and I can bring the rest of the
stuff, as long as it’s only one thing per day?”
His smile grew. “Exactly.”

    The amount he was able to give me for the cappuccino maker was depressingly small, but it was better than nothing, and if he paid me the same amount for the rest of the junk in my pantry, I’d be doing well. I took in the panini press the next day, and the waffle maker the day after that. I took the money to the nursery and bought more flowers, and spent the weekend working on my yard.
Unfortunately, my neighbor Bill had the same idea.
    His rose bushes were in full bloom, and next to them, my string of lilies and bargain bin hostas seemed pathetic. He stood in his front lawn, a sheen of sweat on his bald head, wielding a pair of red-handled clippers. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was trimming. I bent my head back to my own work, trying to dig dandelions out of the dirt at the base of Stacey’s chicken statue.
    “It’s looking great.” The voice came from behind me, and I turned to find Velma. She had a sun visor on today, and a tennis skirt that revealed tan, shapely legs. “The flowers really add a lot of color, don’t they?”
“Yeah, they were a good idea. Thanks for suggesting it.”
    She smiled at me. She had freckles on her nose. I wondered if she had a dog at home named Scooby. “You should think about some morning glories for over there.” She pointed to the corner of the house. “Put a little trellis there for them to climb. Or maybe some clematis.”
    That corner of the yard did look bare. I’d already spent my money from El, but there were still appliances in my pantry. “Are those expensive?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it would be a nice touch, though. It might make the place more inviting.”
Inviting?
Was she one of the judges? I wanted to ask, but she probably wouldn’t have told me anyway. I glanced over at Bill. He was at the nearest edge of his lawn, allegedly trimming something from one of his rosebushes, but I was positive he was listening in.
I turned my back on him, stepping closer to her and lowering my voice. “Which ones would be more colorful?”
She lowered her voice too. “The clematis. There are some lovely purples that grow well here.”
I nodded, already debating which of Stacey’s abandoned appliances would net me the most money at El’s shop. “Thanks for the advice.”
She waved and went on her way.
I tried to ignore the weight of Bill’s angry glare between my shoulder blades.

chapter 10

“Y
    ou still have a spring in your step,” Denver observed the next time he and El did laundry. “I take it this means Strawberry is still in the picture?”
    El took great pains to focus on matching up his socks on the folding table. “You know, you don’t have to limit yourself to giving me an imaginary love life. You can make one up for yourself just as easily.”
    “Nah. Isn’t half as fun.” Denver grinned as he leaned back