An hour later, Terri and Natasha arrived. Before the greetings were complete, Dana rang the bell. Serenity greeted her with a sisterly hug. “Hey, girl. Come on in. You look tired.”

The women followed her to the kitchen, and Dana said, “I am. It seemed like every person in town brought their cars in. Then I had two piano lessons this afternoon. I’m thinking about making the lessons strictly for children and teens.”

Serenity laughed as she poured a little oil in a pan for the sautéed spinach. “It couldn’t be that bad.”

“Trust me, it was. The first woman was fifteen minutes late and got mad because her lesson was cut short by the same amount of time. Not only that, but she kept trying to tell me what to do.” She folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “Couldn’t read a C from an A but acted like I was the one taking lessons. The guy who came in next paid more attention to my hands than what he was supposed to be playing on the piano. ‘Your hands are so soft. I love how your fingers move on the keys. I see your left ring finger is empty. Does that mean you’re single?’” she mimicked. “Ugh! I told him it would be better for him to find someone else to provide his lessons.”

Natasha shook her head. “Girl, I don’t know what’s wrong with men these days. You’d think they would’ve come up with a better way to flirt by now.”

Serenity laughed so hard, she almost burned the spinach. “Oh my goodness. What was he thinking?”

“I don’t know what he was thinking,” Terri chimed in, “but I do know what he was thinking with.”

The women howled with laughter.

Dana waved a hand. “Whatever. Where’s the wine?” She moved in the direction Serenity pointed and poured glasses for all of them.

After helping Serenity bring the spinach, mashed potatoes, and mesquite-marinated salmon to the table, they continued the conversation. As they sat around the table, she realized how much she’d come to value their friendship.

“You’re not the only one who has men trying to come onto you on the job,” Natasha said. “Mmm, this salmon is so good.”

“It is,” Terri echoed.

Dana lifted her glass in mock salute. “Just like everything she cooks. But getting back to the conversation, that wasn’t the only time. A couple of weeks ago, I went out with a guy who’d brought his niece in for her lesson. When he found out I worked as a mechanic for my day job, his jaw dropped. And he had the nerve to tell me he didn’t think that was something a lady should do and suggested I do something more in line with music since I was so good at it.”