Alex smiled at her brother as she turned off the car.  “Okay, I will be right next door, and if for any reason you feel scared or uncomfortable, just come through the door and get me. You are the most important person in my life, Haine.”

“Sissy, I’m not little anymore.  I can take care of myself.  I won’t let you down,” Haine said acting confident.

She loved this boy.  “I know you are.  You are growing up so fast, and soon enough, you will be bigger than me.  I’m just a worry wart.  But for your sissy, please come check on me from time to time. Unless you are having fun.”  Alex watched her brother grab his backpack filled with everything he owned and opened the door. 

Haine was right, he was getting to be a big boy, but she was still scared the Malton crime family was searching for her.  It would only take one mistake to get Haine and her caught and she knew exactly what he would do to her.  Especially after he stared at her chest. But no matter what, they were not going to get Haine. She would kill the man before she let him hurt her little brother. 

“Remember, you will be staying with Simone and she said you could be her cookie tester.  I wish I had your job,” Alex said, smiling.  The aroma of fresh sweets permeated the air.  The bakery was already open and bustling with people inside.  She wanted to be early for work and get Haine settled before she started.  She took in a deep breath and opened the door.  The scent was divine.  

“Do you smell that?”  Haine whispered.  They both stood at the door and watched Simone put cinnamon buns inside a glass case.  

“Hey, you two.”  Simone rushed over. Bending down, she hugged Haine.  Little brother seemed to love the attention.  She felt bad because he missed his mother, and if she was honest with herself, she missed her, too.  But it felt good to be hugged.  Simone hugged like her mother used to and it almost felt like home.  

“Are you ready, my helper?”  

“Yes, ma’am,” Haine said pulling his book bag off his shoulder.  

“Great.  Now, let’s get you two something sweet to eat, and then by that time, Quinn will be here and you can go with her, and my buddy, here, can stay and help me.  I pay my helpers, too.  What do you think of that?”

“Really?  I get paid cash, too?”  Haine asked excited.  “Under the table like my sister?”

Simone snorted at Haines comment.  “Of course.  I always pay my help.  Now, what will it be?  I have just about anything you could want.”  Simone pointed toward the glass cabinets and on the back wall were pies, cakes, sausage balls, and other desserts sat.  

“I want a cinnamon bun,” Haine’s eyes widened as he pointed at the glass case.  “I want that one at the top on the left.”  

Simone and Alex both laughed.  “And what about you?”

“I’ll have the same with black coffee.  But, Simone, I can help you get it.  You don’t have to do that for us.”  

“Hey, now, this is my store and I will give you what I want.  Plus, I’ve got a new helper for today and new friends,” Simone said, getting up.  “Come pick out your bun, helper.”  Alex watched as her brother ran to the glass case.  She had to turn away before anyone saw the tear fall from her face.  Quickly, she wiped it away and took in a deep breath. 

She really liked Simone and Quinn.  They were easy to talk to.  Not once did they pry into her business and ask a lot of questions.  They seemed generally concerned about them both.  She prayed she was making the right choice in staying here.  God, please, don’t let this be the wrong decision.  She needed a little intervention from the man upstairs and talking to the Almighty was necessary. Her mother always made sure of that. God was number one in their lives growing up, and she knew her parents were with the Lord.

Gooey Goodness Bakery was exactly that. Everything smelled good and wonderful and by how busy the place was already for a small town it was making great money. It even had a taffy maker off to the side right in front of a giant window so people could watch. The walls were lined with wood with old bakery signs. It was magical inside. She could see why people stopped by here.

This bakery was nothing like the city ones. It was so much better. You could actually come in and pick your sweet out and then sit down and watch the taffy machine. By the smells coming out of this place, it was a huge hit for this small town.

“Look, sissy, I got you a big one, too,” Haine said, placing the cinnamon bun down in front of her.  

“You sure did.  Thanks, bro.  It smells wonderful, Simone.”

“Take a bite, then. Tell me what you think?”  Alex nodded then took a bite.  Her taste buds flew to sugar heaven.  The icing melted on her tongue as she closed her eyes and chewed.  

“Oh my, Simone. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything this good before.  That’s wonderful.”  The bell over the door went off as they both looked over.  It was the man who chased her and Haine down from the restaurant.  

She froze, making eye contact with the Adonis, then slowly--not to bring attention to herself--put the cinnamon bun down.  At the moment, he was in front of the door staring at her.  He blocked her way to get out.  She looked behind her and saw the door to Southern Treasures and the entrance into the kitchen.  If she could get Haine, they could run out the back door.  

“Alex, what’s wrong?”  Simone asked, putting her hand on her shoulder in concern.  But Alex could only think about getting Haine to safety.  She slowly reached down and grabbed her purse.  Even now, the Adonis was still staring at her.

Then the strangest thing happened, the man smiled at her.  “Have you met Finn, yet?  You will absolutely love him.  He’s in charge of security for Quinn and me.  He’s the sweetest person, and let’s be honest, he’s a dream boat.  If I wasn’t married, girl…”  Simone continued to stand beside her, blocking her from getting out of the chair.  Sure, she could push Simone and knock her down, but she didn’t want to make a scene.  Plus, she left all their clothes at the B&B and that was all they had.

Alex frowned and watched as the man walked over to their table.  “Hello.”  

It didn’t matter how sweet he was being right now, he chased her and Haine out of the restaurant and there sure as hell wasn’t a smile on his face then.

“Sissy, isn’t that the guy who chased…Ouch,” Haine cried out as Alex kicked him underneath the table.  She sure didn’t want the man to get angry again.  She was trapped.

“Finn chased you?”  Simone asked concerned staring at her.

“About yesterday, I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize to you both for…well, I guess it looked like I was mad, but I assure you, I wasn’t.  You got up to leave and I wanted to talk to you, and I know this sounds kinda shady, but I’m not a bad guy.  You can ask Simone and anyone around here. I’m a good guy, not like a serial killer, but I guess I did look like one yesterday.” Finn was flustered, but he had yet to say why he was chasing her.

“What did you want, then—” Haine pulled a big hunk off the cinnamon bun and chewed, “with us.”

Yeah, she wanted to know that, too.  They all looked at Finn and waited for him to answer, and boy, did he look like the cat who ate the canary.  “Well, um…”  Finn rubbed the back of his neck.  “Have you ever seen someone the first time and just knew you needed to get to know them?”

Whoa.  Alex didn’t know what to say about that.  She drew a complete blank on what to say back to him.  “Look, I don’t know you and we’re not here for long so you can find someone else to…” Alex threw her hand up in the air, “you know, talk to.”   

The smile that popped up on Finn’s face worried her.  He saw her as a challenge and she didn’t like it one bit.  No matter how good-looking the man was.  Damn those two dimples he had.  He was prefect, except he was probably a psycho.  No.  She couldn’t let people in too close.  She had to stay on the down low or someone would get suspicious.   

“I can vouch for him, honey.  I wouldn’t do that for many people, but for Finn, I will.  Trust me when I say he doesn’t do this.  He’s a real sweet guy,” Simone said.

“I can’t, Simone.  Maybe we should just go.”

“No!”  Simone, Finn, and even Haine said in unison.   

“Haine, we don’t know these people and…”

“Alex, that’s your name, right?”  Alex nodded.  “I won’t bother you, I promise.  It was a gut feeling yesterday, but if you think I’m bothering you, just tell me to stop and I will.  Promise.  Now, I’ve got to open the store and do my checks.  I hope to see you around, Alex.”  He said her name slowly like he could taste it on his tongue.  It made her tingly in the places she didn’t need to feel anything.

Damn, she could even smell his cologne, and he smelled so good.  But they had a lot to lose, and she didn’t need a boyfriend who would ask a thousand questions.  Stop thinking too much into this, stupid girl.  Just do your job and mind your own business.  

She watched as Finn waved at her little brother then walked over to Southern Treasures and unlocked the door then disappeared.  “Wow, you polished that off. Are you ready, my little helper?  I have an apron just for you.  I want to introduce you to the staff.  Alex, just finish your meal and don’t worry about Haine.  I promise I will treat him just like my own.  He’s safe here.” 

Alex could feel the truth in her promise as Haine took Simone’s hand and walked to the back of the store.  She watched as Simone put a kid apron around him.  The smile on her brother’s face was priceless as he stared down at the caption.  For some reason, the short moment put her at ease for a few minutes.  His safety was all that mattered. 

“Hey, you.”  Quinn startled her from her seat.  She was deep in her thoughts.  “Sorry, I thought you saw me come in.  You looked deep in thought.”

Alex shook her head then smiled at her new boss.  “Hey.  Just getting my sugar rush for the day.”

“Good, because you’re going to need it.  Every time Jade puts out something new, we are flooded with people from the city.  It will be a busy week.  If you’re done, just bring your coffee with you and I’ll go over what I need you to do.”  

Following Quinn, Alex dumped her trash and took one last look at her brother in the kitchen.  He was standing on a foot stool, stirring something in a bowl, but he still had the smile on his face.  She hesitantly left the bakery and followed Quinn inside her store.  

Thankfully, Finn was nowhere to be seen as she searched the store.  “I love your store.”

“Thank you.  I’m proud of it, and I do love finding merchandise to put in it.  You can lock your pocketbook in my office.  I have a free locker with a lock on it.  You keep the key until you leave for the day.”

Quinn opened her office and turned on the light.  She pointed at the locker then turned her computer on.  When Alex turned, Quinn was frowning at the screen.

“Is anything wrong?”

“This program I just purchased is supposed to be so easy, but I’m not a computer person and I have no clue what I did wrong.”  Alex walked around the desk and peered down at the screen.  

“You have the ACX800?”  Alex asked.  

“You know about it?”

“Yeah, my parents used it, as well as companies I helped as a part time worker.  It’s not that hard once you use it a few times.”

“See that red light at the top.  I can’t get it to turn off.  I don’t even know what it means,” Quinn said.

“That means you haven’t put in all the information.  Do you mind?”  

“No, go ahead.”  Quinn said, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her.  

“Okay, let’s go back and see what you didn’t put in,” Alex said, moving the mouse across the page.  She loved this program.  It was simple for her, and her mind loved how this program put everything in the right space.  But only if you put all the information in.  “See right here, you left out some numbers.  This particular program will add up and deduct every bill for you.  On the fifth, you wrote a check but you didn’t put the amount in here.  Do you know how much that check was for?”  Alex watched as Quinn pulled the checkbook out of her desk drawer and searched for the receipt.  

“It was twelve hundred dollars.  I bought candles.  And they are divine.  I can’t wait for you to smell the flavors.”  

“What was the check number?”  Alex said, placing the price and check information into the computer.  “Now, press enter and watch.”  The computer added the check and showed Quinn what she made for the week on products.  “If you put your employees in here and what you pay them, then this program will let you know how much money you made for the month taking away everything you paid out.  This program is great, Quinn.  It does all the work for you.  But you have to put the information in.”  

“You’re a genius, Alex.”

“If you must.”  They both laughed as the printer printed out the paperwork.  “Now, you can keep a paper copy for your taxes.  We can set it up where it will print out monthly sheets for you.  Whoever does your taxes will love you for it.”  

“What was your major in college?”  Quinn asked still smiling.

Alex frowned looking down at her hands.  She wanted to tell Quinn about her life, she really did, but she couldn’t.  

Putting her hand on her shoulder, Quinn said, “Oh, Alex, I’m sorry.  I told you I wouldn’t ask personal questions.  You just said you used it when you were in college and I thought maybe you took accounting or computers.  But I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay.  There are things about my life I’m not ready to share.  I understand if you don’t want someone around you know nothing about.  Because you have to trust the people who work for you.  But I can’t and I’m sorry to say that because you seem to be a super nice person.  Someone I could be friends with one day, but—”

“No, Alex, please, don’t be sorry for this.  I hope one day when you get to know me you will come to trust me.  I can wait because friends are worth the wait, but I still want you to do this crazy program for me.  I hate this kind of work.  I want to run my store.  I have a whole stack of receipts that need to be entered.  If you want to do this for a while then come into the store and help out that would be great.”  

“You’re going to trust me to do this for you?”  Alex couldn’t believe this.  They just met each other last night and now Quinn trusted her enough to see all kinds of financial information.  

“Well, I have a good feeling about you, Alex, and I always go with my gut feeling.”

She didn’t even know her true name and no questions were asked of her. This place was beyond strange, but she needed the job and she was going with it. Maybe this place was special. “Plus, I want to see the both of you settled and not on the run.”

“How…Who said we we’re on the run?”  Alex asked.  She felt as if this town was trying to open her soul.

“You didn’t, and I don’t know what is going on, but I meant what I said about Haine and you needing help.  Just take it, Alex,” Quinn said, getting up from the chair and going to the filing cabinet and pulling a box out.  “I’m sorry how disorganized I am, but here are the receipts for at least nine months.  You okay doing this job?”

“Yes, ma’am, but—”

“No, buts, my friend. If for any reason you feel I’m not on the up and up with you, then leave. But I’m a good person and Simone is a good person. I’m asking you to trust us and find out for yourself. So, here’s the box, but are you sure you want to do this? That’s a lot of receipts.”

Her gut said go with it and trust Quinn. Closing her eyes, she was going for it. “Actually, I prefer it.  I love numbers and this is right up my alley.”

“Well, I will leave it to you.”  Before Quinn could go out the door, Alex had to let her know how much she appreciates this.  

“Quinn.”  

“Yeah,” Quinn said, stopping at the door.

“Thank you for helping us.”  

Smiling, Quinn said, “Actually, you are helping me, but that’s what friends do around here.  We help each other.  Once you get to know us, you will see that.”