AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Dani," Mrs. Allenton says. "About ten people asked after your cupcakes at the shower. Do you have a business card I can give them?"
Business cards. There's an idea. One I can't afford. "I have a cell number." Mrs. Allenton just paid for the ingredients and thirty dollars for my time. If I get more customers, I'll have to consider what I want to charge.
"That'll work. Let me just get my cellular phone and…" She digs around in her over-sized purse and triumphantly pulls out a thin, pink phone. "Found it!" She hands it to me. "Would you mind putting your number in here, dear? I haven't figured out how these things work."
I put in my number and hand it back. She hugs both me and Grant before disappearing between the bookshelves again.
Turning in the direction she's gone, I figure I'll explore the store until Lazarus is ready to talk to me.
"You're a baker?" Grant asks, his voice deep.
I turn, expecting him to be ready with a barb, but his hands are in his pockets, his expression unreadable. "I am."
He nods and leans back on his heels.
"What's the story with the suits taking over the town?"
His jaw works for a moment. "A corporation is building a ski resort on the north face of the biggest mountain near town."
"And you hate it."
His gaze sharpens on me, his mouth pressing into a hard, tight line. "It'll be good for the town. It'll bring jobs and tourists."
"But they'll be cutting down trees in your forest and bringing in more entitled tourists who lay their dirty bodies on the ground at night without paying."
"Why are you begging for a job from my brother when there's a bakery, two coffee shops, and six restaurants in this town?"
I narrow my eyes. "Why are you answering a question with a question?"
He crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes. "My brother's a good person. He's got a big heart. I don't want to see him taken advantage of."
The air around us crackles as I take a step toward him. "I'm not a thief or a cheater. I'm a hard worker and a good person. And I'm not going to make any cherry thingies for you, whatever they are."
He steps closer to me. "If I'm a paying customer, you can't refuse a sale to me."
"Sure I can." I get a bit lost in his eyes. Are those flecks actually golden? "I can refuse service to anyone who is rude to me."
"Refuse service to my brother any time you like," Lazarus says as he rejoins us. "Are you ready to discuss your employment here?"
"Seriously, Lazy?" Grant asks. "She's been here four days, and she's already befriended the mayor's wife. Can't you see--"
"What? That she's friendly?" Lazarus throws his head back and laughs. "You've been hanging out with trees too long, brother."
"This is about my father, isn't it?" I feel sick. "You think because he was a con artist, I must be one, too?"
Grant and Lazarus both freeze.
"What?" Grant says. "I—"
"Why else would you accuse me of being up to something nefarious? It's the kind of game my father would play, getting in good with the folks in power, but it's not my game. I'm a good person who just happened to be at the diner and overheard Mrs. Allenton talking to their chef about needing a huge order of cupcakes. I made the cupcakes and enough money to fill my car with gas. I didn't ask for or take anything else."
"Wait," Lazarus says. "Your father is…"
"Earl Weston," Grant says. "I'd forgotten about that guy."
"Oh, yeah." Lazarus nods, gaze distant, like he's remembering. "He tried to convince Mom and Dad to go in on some scheme with him."
"A rental property business. They didn't fall for it."
