After breakfast, Jimmy walked me to work. At the door, he gave me a quick kiss and said he'd be around later to take me to lunch. That just left me alone to stew in my thoughts for the rest of the morning. Mr. Buckley let me in and then stood in front of the counter while I got ready to open. I peeked up at him, curious. He noticed and cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you this morning," he said. "My wife and I are watching our grandchildren today, so I'm afraid I won't be back until it's time to close. Will you be okay by yourself?"

I nodded. "Of course. I pretty much know what I'm supposed to do and where everything is. If I need anything, I'll call you."

He gave me a relieved smile. "Okay, then. I'll be back at five to help you close. Thank you very much."

The moment he walked out the door I felt a mixture of terror and loneliness. This day wasn't going to be my very best day at work. I could just feel it.

I texted Jimmy about our change of plans and he seemed fine with bringing me something for lunch instead of taking me out somewhere. Just as I'd thought he would be. I reached into my bag and pulled out a ponytail holder and pulled my hair back as the first of what would end up being several customers walked into the store.

By the time lunch rolled around, I had no idea what time it was. It had been nonstop all day so far. The days I'd worked this week so far had been fairly sparse, so I wasn't prepared for this. It left me feeling completely overwhelmed with frayed nerves. How long he'd been standing there I don't know. I just know one minute it was just me and three different customers with three different demands in the store, and the next it was me, one customer left, and Jim.

At first, I jumped a little and he shook his head at me. I could feel his eyes on me and ended up nervously dropping the change I was trying to hand the customer. I apologized profusely but they assured me it was fine. Once they were gone, I slumped onto the stool I'd rested against every so often this morning and tried to run my fingers through my hair, only to find - yet again - it was pulled back. I didn't want to think about how messy it must look right about now. All I wanted to think about was how Jimmy was studying me like I was an exquisite work of art and the food inside the bag he was holding.

"You look frazzled," he said, setting the bag on the counter.

I smelled burgers and fries and my mouth began watering. I was hungrier than I thought I was. "I feel it. Did you remember no onion on mine?"

"They're all no onion, actually." He pulled out a burger and sat it on the counter in front of me before ripping the bag open and revealing a large fry. I grabbed three and stuffed them in my mouth.

He chuckled, grabbing one and munching it as he just looked at me. I was suddenly very self-conscious about how full my mouth was. My hand came up to try to cover it, but he lowered it. "You're fine," he said with a loving smile. He laced his fingers with mine and kissed my hand. "I was walking by the police station this morning and had a thought." He rubbed my hand gently with his thumb, a slow swiping gesture that I felt all the way up my arm. "Does Heather maybe watch Rob's kid? You mentioned they're related somehow, right?"

I nodded as I picked up some more fries. "Yeah. I already told Kev this, but she was watching Rob's kid while he was working. Like, she came on the bus with her oldest boy and stayed until her mom picked her up after getting off work."

Jim raised an eyebrow. "You told him?" I nodded, stuffing the fries in my mouth. "What did he say about it?" he asked once I was done chewing.

"Well, he was busy, so I'm not sure he really got what I was saying, but I was thinking of maybe stopping by tomorrow and getting her to go to the police with what she knows."

"Why tomorrow?"

"I'm working all day."

He glanced around and realized for the first time that I was alone behind the counter. "Wait. Where's Mr. Buckley?"

"Out. He and his wife are watching their grandkids today, so he left me in charge for the day. I'm completely alone." I drooped and heard my change in tone when I added, "And completely out of my depth. I don't know what I'm doing or how I'm able to handle three different people all at once. I've never done that before."

Jimmy kissed my hand again. "You seemed to handle it very well to me."

I smiled tiredly at him. "Thanks." I pulled my hand away and unwrapped my burger. "Thanks for the food, too. I'm starving."

"You're more than welcome." He propped his head up on a fist and watched me eat with a smile on his face. When I was almost done with the burger I gave him a questioning look. "You're just so cute when you're frazzled like that. Your hair all over the place. It's adorable."

I blushed. I couldn't help it - it was so sweet. After the day I'd had, those words almost made me want to cry. "I look like a mess," I said.

"You look beautiful."

My eyes jerked up to meet his as I felt the blush overtake me. I couldn't remember him ever saying that to me before, and it took my breath away. He must have seen it in my expression, because he chuckled softly and reached across the counter to gently tug my ponytail.

---

It was dark out when I left the music store. Mr. Buckley had come and checked my register and the state of the store and then gave me the okay to go home.

Except, I didn't go home. I didn't want to, if I was being honest. I didn't have one. Especially since I'd gotten a call from the real estate agent halfway through the afternoon and got the news that someone had made an offer on my father's house. Turns out I'll probably have a bit of money when I leave, so that was good. All that was left was to sign some papers and the house would be gone.

I rode past the house I still had keys to and sighed as I watched it pass. That wasn't where I wanted to go. Where I was going wasn't exactly where I wanted to be, either, but I felt more welcome there these days than anywhere else - except when I was with Jimmy. Somehow, everywhere I went with Jimmy was where I wanted to be because he was there. It was a feeling that was new and strange as well as old and familiar somehow.

Heather's house glowed in the darkness as I turned into her driveway. To my surprise, she had someone over.

I slowed to a stop, picked up my board, and walked the last few steps to the door. Before I could lift my hand, the door was thrown open. Some woman I'd never met before glared at me. I fought the urge to take a step back, instead choosing to stand my ground. "Who are you?" she asked, though she seemed to recognize me somehow.

"Um, Brenda," I said, a slight wobble in my voice. I cleared my throat.

"Brenda what?"

"Brenda Anderson." My voice was almost normal, but it still sounded strained. I frowned.

The woman glared at me for a long moment. "What makes you think you're welcome here?"

My mouth opened slightly in shock. This wasn't the welcome I'd expected. I snapped my mouth shut and drew myself up to my full height, which was the same as hers. "I know Heather Martin. I was coming here to see her. Who are you?"

She looked a little taken aback. From somewhere behind her I heard Heather call, "Who is it, Kat?"

'Kat' turned a little bit. "No one," she answered. She turned back to me and lowered her voice to a near-whisper. "It's best for you to get lost. No one here wants you around. I know what you've been trying to do, and I'll have none of it. Rob's innocent - it's that brother of yours that's the problem." She closed the door and flipped the lock.

My heart fell through my stomach as I turned away and began heading to Lilly's house. That was what everyone thought, wasn't it? I was only as good as my father and, now, my brother. It was because of them I was pretty much ruined in this town. No one saw us as separate people and what just happened was proof of that. I sighed heavily and noticed for the first time that I was being followed.

The sound of a board behind me was keeping pace. The 'whoosh' of their wheels against the sidewalk struck me as I abruptly turned down a street that I knew would take me by Jimmy's house eventually.

As the sound drew closer and closer, I sped up, determined to not let them close to me. It was really risky, considering there was ice on the sidewalk in places, as well as some snow that had blown back onto it during the day.

Right as I thought whoever it was was about to catch up to me, I turned into Jimmy's driveway and suddenly stopped, resulting in me running into the back of his car with a loud thunk because I misjudged distance and speed. Someone looked out the window while I was trying to catch my breath and I heard the other boarder ride on by. I didn't even look - I didn't need to. I was in a safe place, especially since Jimmy was nearly running out of the front door now.

"Brenda," he said as he reached me. "You okay?"

I was still sucking in gasping breaths as the impact had just about knocked all the wind out of me. "I'm good," I rasped, leaning into him the moment he was close enough.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, concern saturating his question.

"I went to see Heather, but someone was there," I said between breaths. He held me until I could speak, waiting patiently. "Someone was visiting her," I said once I felt like I could breathe again. "She basically told me to go away, and then someone was following me."

He furrowed his brow. "Ben? He rode by not long after I saw you."

My eyes widened. "Ben? That was my brother?" I shook my head. "He was chasing me. So I just came here since I knew you'd be home."

Jimmy frowned. "Thank you for that confidence in me, but are you sure you're okay? You hit my car really hard."

I took stock of myself, and realized I'd end up with a few bruises probably but nothing worse. "I'll be okay. I think the worst it did was knock the wind out of me."

He nodded and pulled me into a hug. After a moment he pulled away and gave me a cautious look. "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I really think you should turn him into the police for the stuff he's done. You know, the sabotage on our trip and now with the following you."

I shook my head. "Following me isn't a crime, really, but I told Kev about the sabotage on my board when I found out for sure it was Ben."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "He didn't do anything?"

I shook my head. "No. Not yet, anyway." I leaned a little harder into Jimmy, burying my face in his shoulder. I never thought it would be easy for me to turn in my brother, and I was right, but I never thought about how awful I'd feel about it.

Jimmy rubbed a hand up and down my back. "We'll go visit him in the morning if you're up for it." I stiffened. "Or not," he quickly added.

"No, I need to. I know I do." I lifted my head and looked at Jimmy. "I know you just want me to be safe, and I love you for it." I placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him. "I need to get home. I'll see you in the morning. Come to mine?"

He nodded with a small smile. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning." He kissed me and slowly let me go.