Alex blushed darkly. "I rather doubt it would be that easy." he was trying to hide his smile though. "I'll have to keep working on it."

Cal chuckled at his brother's blush. "Now, Alex, make sure you aren't actually falling for the girl. This is a job, remember. We have to either ransom them or kill them eventually."

"I know." Alex let his blush fade and shifted a little. "Would it be so bad to be a little in love though?" he asked. "It's not like we'll ever get the chance to actually be in love."

Cal looked over at Alex. "Now, that's not necessarily true." He said, feeling a twinge of sadness for his brother. "I mean, it's true that I'll never find love, but you still have a chance. Alex..." His tone, for once, became serious. "You don't have to keep doing this. This job...it's just something I started to support us as kids. I ended up liking it. But you're old enough to support yourself now, in any way you choose. If you want to go on and live a normal life with a normal job, and find a woman and even have a family, that's what you should do."

"You could do that to you know." Alex frowned at him. "If you stop doing these jobs. If you say it would be easier for me I will hit you."

Cal shook his head. "I'm not going to say it would be easier for you." He said. "You don't get it, little brother. I like this life. I'm good at it. It's the only thing I've ever been good at. You say I could do the same thing, but the truth is, I can't. I don't want to." He smiled a little. "But you're not tied to me. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. If living a normal life makes you happy, then that's what I want for you."

"We'll see. It's not like I'm good at anything else." Al shrugged. "Maybe if I find something I enjoy like I enjoy this."

Cal smiled. "Alright, deal. Just don't hold back, okay? If you find something you like, go for it, and don't you dare hold back because of me."

Rosemary returned then with their lunch. "Here you go, gentlemen. Enjoy, and just hail me down if you need anything else!"

"Will do." Alex smiled and then dug in. "It's great." he handed her the money for it along with a tip.

Lori was working hard but getting use to the routine.

Rosemary thanked them and headed off to wait on other tables. She was smiling all the way, happy that she'd earned a tip.

Cal ate quickly, realizing he had to go soon. Once he finished, he left some money on the table for his portion. "I've got a job to get to. See you later, bro."

Alex nodded finished his food and headed back to the stables smiling when they horses greeted him.

Lori was out shopping again this time for a special cake a bride and groom had ordered. She finally found all the ingredients heading back.

Cal's next job was to repair a shed for an elderly woman. He had to buy the materials first, and was on his way back from the market when he ran into Lori. "Oh, hello again." He greeted with a friendly smile. "More ingredients for work?"

"Yes...you know if it wasn't such a small town I would say these meetings are weird." Lori gave him a piranha like smile. "Excuse me." she slipped around him.

Cal chuckled and stepped out of the way for her. "Of course, sorry for holding you up." He said, and continued on his way.

Lori watched him go then headed to the bakery a frown on her face. She started looking into the to men while she worked worried when no one seemed to know much about them.

Cal continued on, doing the jobs he was hired to do. Though he'd only been working this way for a day and a half, he was already building a reputation as a kind and responsible young man. Soon, everyone in that town would know him as if he'd been born there.

Lori headed for the inn after work. She pulled Gemini aside "We need to stay away from those boys that where checking us out. Somethings not right. I'm not sure what but I have a bad feeling about them."

Alex headed to the inn exhausted. He got there just in time to see the older sister pull the younger on into a dark corner and start whispering to her.

Rosemary had just finished her shift and was hanging up her apron when Lori pulled her aside. She blinked at her sister a few times before her words sank in. "Oh, you mean those two." She glanced at the entrance, where both men were walking in. "I agree. I mean...the younger one is almost genuine, but the older one gives me the creeps, and I can't trust that the younger one has any good intentions if the two of them hang out together so much."

Cal walked in very shortly after his brother, tired and dirty from working all day. He paused next to Alex and looked in the direction he was looking, catching sight of the two sisters whispering to each other. "This may be a problem. The older one isn't cracking, and if I can't get her to trust me the younger one won't trust you. We may have to rethink the plan a bit."

"I hate to say this but if they keep hanging around us we'll have to move out of town sooner then I wanted to." Lori sighed and ran a hand threw her hair frustrated.

"What did you have in mind?" Alex asked leading the way to a table. "You need a bath by the way."

Rosemary looked sad for a moment, but wiped the expression away before it could be noticed. She liked things where they were, and didn't want to leave. "We'll just have to be careful. And if we have to leave, then so be it." She said reasonably.

Cal rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know." He waited until they were both sitting down before speaking. "The older one is too suspicious, but the younger is more open to ideas. You've got to gain her trust, and convince her that I'm trustworthy, as well. The older one might trust us more if the younger decides to vouch for us. And if all else fails, we'll have to capture the younger one and use her to lure the older one in."

"I'm trying. I'll keep trying." Alex promised. "For now lets give the older one space before she kicks us."

Cal nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me." It might be hard to avoid her at times, with the jobs he had taken, but he would do his best and leave her be whenever they did happen to meet.

Alex dug in when there food appeared. "I'm going to sleep good tonight." he sighed leaning back to stare at the ceiling.

Cal chuckled as he ate his food. "Same here, brother. But I'll have to bathe first." He said.

"You really should." Alex smirked. I have to take one as well I smell like horse."