Free You Belong With Me by Shannon Guymon

that guy and knew what he was immediately. And he knew it too. I think you scared him off Layla,” she said hugging her sister hard. “Come on Jane, let’s go finish cleaning up,” she said and walked out of the room.
                  Jane paused by her sister before following. “Kit’s right, Layla. You might not like men very much, but that’s because you’re so good at spotting the bad ones. You just have to admit that there are a few good ones too,” she said with a squeeze on her arm.
                  Layla sighed and walked to the window, peeking out again. Alex’s car was gone, but she had a feeling that Kit was wrong. She hadn’t scared off Alex. She’d just made the game more exciting for him. A man like that enjoyed a good challenge and putting up a few barriers wouldn’t put him off. But what Alex didn’t know, was that Layla had been one of the toughest social workers Seattle had ever seen. She’d burned out fast and hard, but when it came to protecting and defending, she’d go down fighting every time. She let the blinds fall close and walked over to grab Bubba’s leash. He’d worn himself out and was sleeping with his head on his paws now. She looked over her shoulder one more time before heading upstairs. Alex Foster had no idea who he was messing with.
                 

Chapter 7 – Tears
     
                  The next week passed by quickly as Max worked them hard every day starting at 5 in the morning. Kit and Jane both complained of the hours, but as soon as they put their aprons on, they were all business. Layla smiled and joked around with her sisters and gave it her all, but underneath all the smiles and laughter, she was worried. The more they learned about running a bakery, the more she realized how completely out of their element they were.
                  Layla sent Kit and Jane to the store for groceries while she stayed in the kitchen with Max. She watched Max pull a batch of croissants out of the oven, as she frowned worriedly.
                  Max pulled off her oven mitts and threw them on the counter before grabbing her water bottle. “Spit it out.”
                  Layla shook her head and grinned at the belligerent, in your face, rough baker and had to admit that Max was growing on her.
                  “ Fine , here it is. Please don’t leave. Don’t retire yet. We’re just not ready. Kit and Jane think we are, but you and I both know we’re not. There’s just so much we still don’t know. We need at least a year of experience before we should be left on our own.”
                  Max took a sip and grinned at Layla, leaning against the counter tiredly. “You got that right. I told Belinda she was crazy thinking three girls could take over not knowing a blasted thing about baking, but she was a stubborn old witch. I promised her one month Layla. That’s it. As much fun as it’s been watching you three blunder through every recipe I have, it doesn’t hold a candle to taking my grandkids to the zoo or the swimming pool. My time here is over little girl. Learn fast or sell it to that weasel Alex.”
                  Layla stared broodingly at the older woman and sighed as she looked at her feet. “I’d die first before I sell it to him. He’s an evil little snake,” she said wearily.
                  Max paused and put her water bottle down, looking at her considering. “Now, how did you know that? What, you’ve met him, once ?”
                  Layla looked at Max and shrugged. “It’s my special little gift in life. I can spot them and then I used to do whatever I could to bring them down. I was given the hardest cases because I never backed down. I was never afraid,” she said frankly.
                  Max nodded, frowning. “And now you’re here. What happened?”
                  Layla