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feels
safer,” Grace retorted.
    She sashayed off, leaving Lynn alone with the discouragingly
paltry list of classified ads. Contemplating Mitch’s sexy butt in a pair of
jeans was a whole lot more fascinating than the few menial jobs available in
Serenity.
    But, she told herself staunchly as she forced her gaze back to
the paper, ogling a man wouldn’t put food on the table. And that was what she
needed today, not the fleeting and dangerous satisfaction of feeling her pulse
race for the first time in a very long time.
    * * *
    Lynn was down to her last possibility, a cashier’s job
at a mini-mart in a dicey section of town. Even in a tranquil community like
Serenity, there were places to be avoided. Unfortunately, she was too desperate
to take that into consideration.
    To her chagrin, she was being interviewed by a girl half her
age. She’d probably barely met the twenty-one-year-old age requirement specified
in the ad.
    “You willing to work nights?” Karena asked, snapping gum as she
spoke, her expression bored.
    “What are the hours exactly?” Lynn asked, inwardly cringing at
the thought of leaving the kids at home alone in the evening.
    “Eleven at night to seven in the morning,” Karena replied.
    Dismayed, Lynn shook her head at once. That was out of the
question. “Sorry. I have kids at home. I can’t do that.”
    “Well, that’s all we have.” Karena stood up, ending the
interview.
    “Thanks, anyway,” Lynn managed to say. “Sorry to have wasted
your time, but the ad didn’t mention that it was a night job.”
    When she got back to her car, she rested her head against the
steering wheel and fought the tears that were never far away these days. She
tried hard not to give in to them, but sometimes she simply couldn’t hold back
all the pain and frustration. A few minutes later, a tap on her window had her
sitting upright, her heart racing.
    “Mitch!” she exclaimed. “You scared me half to death.”
    He gestured for her to roll down the window. When she’d
complied, he regarded her with what looked like real distress. “Please tell me
you were not even thinking about applying for a job here,” he said, heat in his
voice.
    She frowned at his tone. “I did apply, but the only thing
available is overnight. Obviously, I can’t do that.”
    “You shouldn’t be working here at any hour. It’s
dangerous.”
    “If the clientele’s so rough, what are you doing here?”
    “I was on my way to my plumbing supplier’s and saw the HELP
WANTED sign in the window and your car in the parking lot. After our
conversation earlier, I stopped to check it out, make sure you weren’t about to
do anything crazy.”
    “There’s nothing crazy about needing a job.”
    “Of course not, but not here, Lynn,” he said flatly.
    Annoyed by his attitude, she retorted, “I already told you I
couldn’t take it because of the hours. What business is this of yours,
anyway?”
    “Just one friend looking out for another,” he said, clearly not
fazed by her attitude. “Do you know the reason they need a new night clerk? The
last one was shot a week ago during a robbery.”
    Lynn started trembling uncontrollably. “Good God,” she
murmured. “I had no idea.”
    “It was in the paper, the same one you were reading this
morning.”
    “I just checked out the ads.”
    “Well, I imagine if I hadn’t come along to tell you, Carter
would have stepped in. He has more problems around this area than anywhere else
in town.” He hesitated, clearly waging some sort of internal debate with
himself. “If you’re this desperate for a job, work for me,” he said with
unmistakable reluctance.
    She almost laughed, but the expression on his face said he was
serious. Not happy, but definitely serious. “You? Doing what? The last
do-it-yourself job I tried to tackle at the house was such a disaster, it had to
be redone by a professional.”
    He had the audacity to smile at that. “I wasn’t suggesting
putting you on one of my