sapphires reminded me of her eyes,â Jamie said. âI believe you. Kitty is mad because Lenny isnât getting his way and sheâs out to destroy what she can. Iâll talk to Mama.â âAnd until she comes to her senses, Iâll worship at the CNC church with you. Iâm not sitting in the same church with her and Kitty,â Jamie said. Alma Grace pushed the half-eaten bowl of cereal aside. Dammit! She didnât even bow her head and ask for forgiveness for thinking bad words. Instead she yelled it in her mind⦠dammit, dammit, dammit! There went any flirting with Jack Landry or sharing a hymn book or eating cookies with him. Sheâd have to sit beside her father and heâd insist upon sitting as close to the front as possible. âGot to get to work. You have a good day and Iâll see you at noon at Clawdyâs,â Jamie said. âShould I bring Mama?â Alma Grace asked. âOnly if sheâs repented of accusing me of something I did not do and is ready to apologize to me,â Jamie said. Double dammit! Sugar Magee had never admitted a sin in her life. Her wings didnât have the first sign of a smudge of dirt on them and her halo was so shiny and straight that even the angels envied her. There would be a foot of snow in Cadillac right in the middle of July before Sugar apologized to Jamie. It was going to be a long spring at Bless My Bloomers. She fumed all the way to work that morning but when she arrived and the aroma of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls hit her, she smiled. Her mama had brought her cook so things were looking up. âMaria?â Alma Grace looked around the kitchen. âSheâs on vacation, remember? Sit down and have some cinnamon rolls. I got them over at Clawdyâs this morning. How are you holding up, darlinâ? Did your daddy send me any messages?â Sugar asked. Her blond hair was tucked back behind her ears but the curls were fighting their way out of confinement. Her blue eyes searched Alma Graceâs face for good news. âDaddy said that you need to apologize for not trusting him. He says that the woman kissed him and he backed off from her so he didnât do anything and that he bought you the ring because the sapphires reminded him of your pretty blue eyes.â âIâm not apologizing for a problem I didnât create.â Alma Grace cut a warm cinnamon roll right out of the middle of the pan and poured a tall glass of milk. âMama, you donât cook. Carlene only makes what she can heat up from the frozen section of the grocery store. You hate takeout food. How long do you think you can hold out like this?â âCinnamon rolls arenât bad, are they?â Sugar said. Alma Grace took a deep breath and pulled out the big guns. âKitty finds out that you are making daddy fast in the bedroom, I bet what sheâll be taking to the house wonât be roast and potatoes.â âShe wouldnât!â Sugar gasped. âI think that sheâs proven that she would in a heartbeat,â Alma Grace said. *** The aroma of hot cinnamon slipped up the stairs, through the crack under Carleneâs door, and made its way through the feather pillow sheâd crammed over her head to keep out the noise of Aunt Sugarâs snores. A week ago sheâd packaged up a cute little bright red outfit and rang up the sale to Bridget who was going to Vegas with her sugar daddy. That little red pair of panties didnât have a tenth of a yard of fabric in them. Hell, they didnât have enough material in them to sag a clothesline and yet theyâd turned her world, her family, and the whole town of Cadillac upside down. She carefully removed the pillow from her head and got an even stronger dose of the cinnamon rolls. What would the scent of cooking do for sales? Would it make the customers hungry and theyâd leave without buying anything? She rolled out