Shrugging, Rosemary smacked Alex lightly on the back of the head. "Never doubt her baking skills again." She said as she took a bite.

''I'm not going too." Alex sighed noticing how pleased Lori looked. "Can i have some to go?"

"Of course." Lori packed him a couple pieces and waved as he left. "He does seem nice." she admitted begrudgingly.

Alex found his brother. "You have to try this." he handed him a piece.

Rosemary smiled. "He is nice." She said proudly. "I know it's early in the relationship, but I really think we'll be great together."

Cal was laying face-first on his bed in their room at the inn. He grumbled and sat up to address his brother. It looked like he'd been crying, but of course he would never admit that. "What is it?" He asked.

"Dead rabbit." Alex joked. "What does it look like? It's pie. Lori made and I haven't died yet so I'm assuming it's not poisoned." he handed him the piece. "She really did a number on you."

Lori smiled at her. "I'm so happy for you little Rose. You deserve to have some one to love you." she started cleaning up staring at the unfinished store. "Like I deserve to be able to cook."

Cal rolled his eyes and took the pie. "She just shoved me on my ass and hit me with a bag of flour. Didn't even hurt, just surprised the hell outta me." He said. He paused as he took a bite. "Oh my God, this is amazing! Ughhh...why did you give this to me? As if I needed another reason to love her..."

"We both deserve to be happy in the way we choose, and it's about time things started looking up for us." Rosemary said. "I'm so proud of you, sis. Starting your own business is amazing, especially for a woman. You're an inspiration for girls everywhere." She added proudly.

"Sorry." Alex held up his hands. "At least she has her first to customers when she opens up for real."

Lori turned bright pink. "You really think so?" she shuffled her feet.

Cal nodded, not even bothering to deny that he'd be going back to see her again. "True enough. In the meantime, I started on..." He looked away, blushing slightly. "I started my first picture. It's just a sketch right now, but maybe in a few days..."

Rosemary nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was true." She said. "Do you even realize how many young girls want to own a business, but they never even try because they're told it's impossible? But now you've done it, so they can see that it is possible."

"Is it of Lori?" Alex guess smirking slightly. "If it is she'll either be flattered or creeped out...probably both but only show freaked out."

Lori grinned. "And no man can ever stop them." she nodded.

Cal shook his head. "Hell no. I'd rather not have her killing me in my sleep, thank you. Besides, that would just be too...creepy." He sighed. "No, it's just a landscape. It sucks, but I'm hoping someone will have a lot of money and no taste."

"Exactly." Rosemary agreed. "Now, let's get this place looking pretty so that when you open officially, everyone will want to come see."

"You have to start some where." Alex pointed out. "From landscapes you can do whatever you please." he yawned softly. "I'm beat."

Lori nodded and grinned. "We need to paint and get rugs. Beds and counters. We need everything." she chuckled.

Cal nodded, stretching. "True enough." He said. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"It'll take a bit of doing, but we'll make it shine." Rosemary said confidently.

Lori nodded. "Because we can do anything together."

((want to do a time skip to maybe a couple weeks later?))

((Uh, sure okay.))

Lori rushed around the bakery making apple tarts humming as she worked. It has been almost a month since they had gotten to the town. She was very busy with all her orders and had even hired a assistant to help.

Alex was working on getting there barn and house ready. He had gotten three horses and a calf. The pasture was fenced in, the house half built and the barn had everything but the stalls. He was putting in the stalls making sure each had a food and water bowl, brush and blankets. He was sweating so he had taken his shirt off as he worked.

Rosemary had helped with as much manual labor as she could, finding herself getting slightly stronger as she worked. She handled a lot of the money aspects of the business as well, and cared for the animals, all while keeping her job at the inn. She was looking forward to finally quitting there to work full time with Alex. Having a rare day off at the inn, Rosemary had decided to bring some water out to Alex while he worked. Seeing him shirtless had her blushing. "U-um..." She cleared her throat.

Cal had continued to work odd jobs for money, keeping up his painting in between. He hadn't managed to sell anything yet, but he had discovered that he actually really enjoyed painting. He also helped Alex with building, and dropped by to visit Lori every so often. He hadn't really spoken to her, deciding to give her space, but he couldn't stay away. He was in the bakery now, working up the courage to order something but mostly getting distracted by watching Lori work.

Alex glanced up and blushed. "Oh hey. Day off?" he quickly threw his shirt on though it didn't help since the shirt stuck to him like glue.

Lori's assistant danced over to him. "Can I get yah something?" she asked with a smile. "Abigail remember it's may I take your order." Lori chided gentle not looking over as she pulled a tin of muffins out of the oven.

Rosemary blushed darker, but managed a smile. "Yeah. Thought I'd pitch in a bit around here as long as I'm not at work." She said. "I brought you some water."

Cal quickly hid his disappointment when the assistant came to serve him instead of Lori. It was better this way, he told himself. "I would love a basket of muffins, please." He said, polite and charming as always.

"What flavor would you like sir? We have choco..." The girl frowned a little. "Chocolate." Lori sounded it out for her. "Chocolate, Bran, Corn, chocolate chip or raspberry." the girl blinked. "Razzberry." this time she pronounced it right instead of pronouncing it rasp berry.

Cal smiled a little. "Chocolate chip, please." He said. "And how much do I owe for those?"

The girl frowned. "I forget Miss Lori do I make him pay double or triple." Lori quickly came over. "The normal rate of course." she stared at a point over his shoulder. She had flour in her hair along with dough. "Ten dollars then sir." the girl shrugged a little then looked at them. "OH'" she grinned ''i get it." she giggled.

Cal raised an eyebrow. Had he been paying double- or even triple- this whole time? He wouldn't put it past Lori to do something so petty to him. And what was this assistant girl giggling about? He handed over the money. "If I can just get those muffins, please?" He prompted.

Lori handed over the muffins and took the paper from the news girl. "Thanks." she mumbled looking away. She scanned the news and froze. "hold down the store." she raced off running all the way to her sister

"Thanks." Alex drowned the water with a sigh. "Incoming." he warned when he spotted her sister.

"ROSE!" Lori grabbed her arm. "Talk now!" she dragged her away.

Worried by Lori's sudden departure, Cal gathered his muffin basket and hurried out after her. He picked up a paper on the way out, paying the kid who was handing them out before taking a look.

Rosemary yelped and followed her sister, worried. If something had Lori this worked up- enough to come find her in the middle of a work day- something must have been bad. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Lori held out the paper. "Mom had a miscarriage! There not sure she's going to make it!" she was shaking like a leaf. "We almost had another sibling. They say the stress of us missing may have caused her to lose it." tears appeared in her eyes.

Rosemary felt all the blood drain from her face. "No...no, that can't be right. We didn't..." She was shaking, looking horrified. "We didn't know. It's not our fault. It's not...oh God..." She started crying. "A baby...our sibling...and mom is..." True, she had no love for their parents, but that didn't mean she wished death on them. "Lori, Lori you have to go back. I'm only the second born, I never mattered in the first place, but you...you're important. They need you. They never loved me, but they love you. You can still get away with it. Tell them you were kidnapped, that they used me against you. Say that you escaped and came back home. They'll accept you back."