No one at the inn could believe what had happened at the show yesterday. Since all the guests had come to Fate Valley for the bake-off, it was all they could talk about.

“What are we supposed to do now?” asked Meg, the yuppie.

“Do they expect us to just wait until they find a new judge?” said Tanner, her husband.

“I paid good money for this vacation. I can't afford to spend another week waiting around,” said Martha.

“I'm sure the TV station will just hire people to be in the audience if everyone leaves,” said Emmanuel.

“I can't believe he's dead,” Darcy said. “He was my favorite judge.”

“He was a horrible person and deserved to die,” countered her friend Pamila.

“How could you say that? No one deserves to die for being a judge on a reality TV show,” said Emmanuel.

“He made people cry all the time. He destroyed their lives. Did you see what happened to that woman last season? People wouldn't stop talking about her on social media. She was absolutely humiliated. I don't know what I would do if that happened to me,” argued Tiffany.

“Still, it's not a reason to kill someone,” said Emmanuel.

“Well, maybe it's not a justifiable reason to you. But it might be to someone else,” said Darcy.

“Everyone has different standards,” said Meg.

“Some people have more ethics than others,” said Emmanuel.

“That's for sure,” said Pamila.

The guests continued debating, arguing, and gossiping around the breakfast table. But all Donika could think about was how that bullet must have been intended for her. She didn't know why or how, but she was becoming convinced that Mr. Shyster had sent men after her. She kept seeing a black SUV full of men in dark suits with dark sunglasses. She had a sinking sense they were following her.

She wished more than anything that she could remember what had happened in New York. But her memory was still a black hole. She'd left the lawsuit papers in her bedroom and still hadn't read them. She knew it was going to be terrible and needed to prepare herself emotionally and mentally for the inevitability.

As the guests finished their breakfast, she helped her mother and sister clear the table and bring all the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

“Can you help with the dishes?” Adele asked. “Since you did offer to help us around the inn.”

“Sure, I don't see why not.”

“Great,” Adele said, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

Kamala had baby Nina in a sling and smiled as she walked out the back door toward her own house. Donika looked around the kitchen at the stacks of dirty dishes and pots and pans from breakfast preparation. She let out a deep sigh and her shoulders slumped. It reminded her exactly how screwed up her life was right now. She was lucky to have somewhere to go. The least she could do was help around the inn like she’d promised.

Donika looked around, not exactly sure how to tackle the massive mess in the kitchen. But she found dish soap and a sponge and knew how to run a dishwasher. So, she set about scraping off the plates, putting away the leftovers in the refrigerator, and rinsing the dishes. By the time she was finished loading the dishwasher, and had scrubbed down all the counters, she was feeling pretty good about herself. Nothing wrong with an honest day's labor. But a moment later, her mother walked into the kitchen.

“While Grandma Pearl and I are making lunch, why don't you go clean out the guest bathrooms?” Adele suggested.

Donika's hair fell in stringy tendrils around her face, and she was a sweaty from the exertion. She didn't realize her mother was going to give her another task so soon.

“Sure,” Donika said. “But I'm having a coffee break first.”

She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table while her mother and grandmother started preparing lunch for the guests.

“This really is a great big scandal,” Pearl said.

“What do you think, Donika?” Adele asked, turning to her.

“I'm beginning to think someone is after me,” Donika said.

Her mother and grandmother laughed as if she was joking. She wasn't joking. She sipped her coffee and watched the two older women prepare sandwiches and stir a pot of corn chowder for lunch. When she was done with her coffee, she left the kitchen and grabbed the cleaning supplies from the hall closet.

She trudged upstairs, walked into the men's bathroom, and was hit by a wave of stench. She drew back and closed the door, scrunching up her nose in disgust. What the hell? She preceded to the women's bathroom and noticed there was makeup dust and paper towels all over the counter.

At least it didn't stink to high hell. There was the faint smell of perfume lingering in the air. She walked into the shower stalls and began to scrub them down with the cleaning spray and scrubber sponge. After she washed the three shower stalls, she cleaned the toilets. Thank God for rubber gloves, was all she could think.

She wiped down the counters and mopped the floor. By the time she was done with the first bathroom, she was disgusted, sweaty, and exhausted. But she still had the men's bathroom to clean. She pushed her cleaning supplies into the men's bathroom and thankfully the stench had dissipated.

When she was finally done, she could hear the guests downstairs being served lunch. She pulled off her rubber gloves, washed her hands, and went downstairs to join everyone in the dining room.

“Donika,” her grandmother said. “You look terrible.”

“Thanks Granny. Did you at least save me some lunch?”

“Oh, you wanted lunch?” Adele said. “We’re almost done here.”

“No, that's fine,” Donika said, leaving the dining room.

She knew there was corn chowder left over in the pot in the kitchen, but she had lost her appetite. She walked back to her bedroom and slumped down on her bed. The yellow manila envelope that contained the lawsuit was still sitting there staring at her. She growled at herself and pulled it out of the envelope, gritting her teeth as her eyes scanned the documents.

With each page that she flipped, her heart sank just a little bit further into her stomach. Mr. Shyster was suing her for a million dollars. A million dollars! Even with her assets unfrozen, even if she cashed out her 401(k)and sold her car, there was no way that she could afford a million dollars.

She would be in debt to them forever. She couldn't get a job anywhere and her current position was working for room and board as a grunt laborer. Donika was so frustrated and angry, she saw red. Her phone rang, and she looked at the number. Her screen read Grayson Baxter. Letting out a relieved sigh, Donika answered the phone.

“Hi sweetheart,” he said. “I'm working down at the café today. Would you like to join me for lunch?”

“I would love that. You called just in time.”

“Are you okay? You don't sound so good.”

“Oh, it's nothing. I'm just being sued for million dollars, that's all.”

“Ouch. Why don't you come down to the café and we’ll talk about it?”

“All right,” she said, feeling disgusted.

She wasn't really in the mood to go to the café. But she was in the mood to see Grayson, no matter how terrible she felt.

“I'll be there in a few minutes.”

She glanced at herself in the mirror, saw how tired she looked, and dabbed on a bit of makeup. She put her hair back in a ponytail, taming it enough to be presentable. She changed out of her sweaty T-shirt and put on a blouse before slipping into her coat and grabbing her purse.

On the way down the hall, Pearl called her from the kitchen.

“We need you to clean the kitchen after lunch.”

“No time. I need to meet Grayson down at the café. He promised to send a cake home with me.”

“A cake?” Pearl said.

“Yup,” Donika said, slipping out the front door.

She rolled her eyes as she made her way out to her car. She pulled out of the driveway, feeling like an escapee from a mental institution as she made her way into town. A few moments later, she pulled up in front of Fate Valley Café and Bakery. She was greeted at the door by her handsome new beau.

He smiled at her and it lit up his eyes. He was so striking with his dark hair and blue eyes. The tattoos on his hands didn’t hurt either. He grabbed her and kissed her. Somehow, it melted away all of her stress.

“I made you a turkey sandwich on French bread,” he said, taking her hands as he led her inside.

“You're a lifesaver,” she said.

They sat in the corner by the window with sandwiches, soup, and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate warmed her frozen belly. Being with Grayson always made her feel less tense and made her appetite stronger.

“Have you heard anything from the show?” she asked. “Everyone at the inn is gossiping about it nonstop.”

“I got an email this morning, telling me that the show would be postponed for about a week,” he said. “They're looking for a new judge and there's a police investigation blocking them from using the event center.”

“I see. The guests back at the inn are restless.”

“I'm sure that the production company will inform the audience soon,” Grayson said.

“It can't be soon enough. They won't stop blabbering about it. And now my mother and grandmother have me on grunt labor. I spent all morning washing dishes and cleaning toilets.”

“That sucks.”

“Talk about moving down in the world,” she said, taking a bite of tomato bisque soup.

“I'm sure it won't be for very long,” he said, patting her hand. “You're going to start your own firm soon.”

“Yeah, right. I’ve got nothing. And I'm being sued for million dollars.”

“How can they possibly sue you for million dollars?”

“Something about breach of contract and bodily industry. A whole bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo. I didn’t even read the whole thing. I'm sure they'll win. It's just me against the most powerful law firm in the country. I wouldn't be surprised if they had me disbarred on top of everything else.”

“You can't let yourself get too down about it. If you lose hope, then where will you be?”

“Couldn't be any worse off than I am now,” she said, taking another bite of Grayson’s delicious turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich.

“I'm here for you sweetheart. Anything that you need.”

“You have an extra million dollars lying around?”

“I don't right now. But if I win the competition, I will.”

“I wouldn’t let you use your winnings to pay off my lawsuit,” she said. “What about your dream? It would be a total waste.”

“Protecting you is not, and never will be, a total waste.”

“You're sweet, Grayson, but you aren’t responsible for me.”

“You can say that all you want, but it doesn't change anything.”

“Let's just forget about it for now. We'll deal with it when the time comes. I have to appear in court in a few weeks and then the first judgment will be made. I’m going to fight it. As much as I can, anyway.”

“That's the spirit. You gotta keep fighting no matter what.”

“Yeah. If they don't kill me first, then I'll go fight them in court.”

“I don’t doubt you. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to kill you.”

“I wish to God that I knew.”

“My friend Harrison told me that the husband of the hairdresser was picked up a few days ago. He was raving about killing his ex-wife. And Heathcliff York had a lot of enemies. There’s a poll on the internet right now of which previous show contestant is the killer.”

“For some reason, that doesn't make me feel any better.”

“Well, I'm just saying that it could all be a coincidence. Maybe your illness is making you paranoid.”

She was feeling a bit crazy. Not being able to remember whole chunks of time was bad enough. But the paranoia and anger that had been working up inside her was much worse.

“You're probably right, Grayson. I'm probably just being paranoid. I mean, they're already suing me for a million dollars. Why would they want to kill me on top of that?”

“I'll do everything I can to protect you. If that means pulling together all the shifters in the Shifter Association to help you with the lawsuit, then that's what we'll do. There are some powerful people in our community, and we are not going to let one of our own be dragged under the bus like this.”

“I really appreciate it, Grayson. But I'm a woman who takes care of herself.”

“Sometimes, Donika, you need to let other people take care of you once in a while. You're the strongest person I've ever met. But maybe now is the time to let somebody else do something for you. I'm just suggesting it. You don't have to decide anything.”

“I do appreciate it, Grayson. I really do. I guess sometimes, I need to swallow my pride. I’ve practiced that quite a bit today.”

“I have a fun idea planned for tomorrow if you’re up for it. I have the whole day off since the show is postponed. Would you like to go horseback riding with me?”

“That actually sounds really nice,” she said, looking at the handsome, burly baker across the table from her.

She tried to push all the other worries out of her mind and just focus on him. He had a whole date planned for them tomorrow. She had to count her blessings, no matter how dark things looked right now.