I love "love triangles." Also I really like Karen and Muffy, so writing them this way was quite difficult. But I hope you enjoy

Mary had never been so nervous in her life. Typically she will didn't even notice men. But there was something about Jack that had stirred her interest. Mary for the most part, was a loner. Then Gray had started coming to the library. Mary always felt it was out of some sort of pity. Claire had been the one person that it started coming because she wanted to. It wasn't that Mary was disliked by anyone in town, it was more that Mary was more aloof than others. People didn't understand her at times. Upon entering the inn, she saw Jack sitting at a table. He waved over to her, making her heart flutter. Claire and Gray were behind her, they were just the support she needed. Before Claire, Gray had been the only person Mary had ever considered to be a real friend. She and Claire had grown closer,and she felt that Claire was definitely becoming her friend as well.

They sat down at the table, Mary chose the chair that was closest to Jack.

"Nice to see you all here," Jack replied. Mary smiled. Even though she probably had no chance with a man who was as handsome as Jack, she would enjoy this evening. At that moment, Mary saw the one person in Mineral Town that she disliked. Karen, glared at Mary for a moment, before sauntering over to their table.

"Why didn't you invite me to your little party Mary?" Karen asked. Mary bristled. Karen never wanted to be around Mary. Growing up, Karen had often ridiculed Mary, calling her a boring nerd. Mary had accepted who she was, and understood that she was different from Karen. She had not allowed Karen to break her down. And here Karen was, presumably trying to get Jack's attention. That is how Karen was. Since Karen was considered the beauty of the town, She assumed that any new man was hers for the taking. And a man as handsome as Jack would certainly gain her attention.

"Why would Mary ever invite you anywhere?" Gray asked shortly. Mary could have hugged Gray in that moment.

"Really?" Karen asked looking at Jack. "This group of people is not the group of people you want to get yourself involved with here in Mineral town."

"I think I'll be the judge of that," Jack replied. Karen jaw dropped. This was the second time that Jack had rebuffed her advances. sSe flipped her hair over her shoulder and walk away. When she was out of earshot, Mary started giggling.

"Thank you Gray, and Jack," Mary replied.

"No problem," Gray stated. "I wasn't going to let her use you to try to get to Jack."

"She's not my type anyway," Jack informed. "Girls like her are a dime a dozen in the city. They use their bodies and sex to get what they want."

"That about sums Karin up," Gray mused. He looked up to see the waitress, Ann coming over to the table.

"Well now, y'all going to tell me what you did Karen to make her so angry?" Ann asked. There was a wide smile on her face. It was no secret that Karen had tried to seduce Cliff, her fiancé, when she had found out that he had proposed to her. Karen and Ann at one point had been best friends, but after that betrayal, Ann no longer considered Karen a friend at all.

"Just called her out," Gray replied. "She comes over here like she owns this town, and Jack. Yells at Mary for not being invited to this get together, like she would ever hang out with Mary under normal circumstances." Ann chuckled.

"Well then, your next round is on me!" Ann giggled. She waved over to Karen, who glared daggers back at the redhead.

OOOOO

Jill headed for the Blue Bar. Claire and her new friend, Mary, were off to Mineral Town's bar. It was a classier place than the bar in Forget-Me-Not, but Jill enjoyed Blue Bar. There was a rustic feel to it, that you couldn't get anywhere else. Upon walking in, Celia waved her over. Sweet Little Celia, she was such a kindhearted and soft girl.

"Evening," Jill replied. She sat down next to Celia. Marlin nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Well hello," Muffy greeted a bit stiffly. Muffy's dress today was a bright blue, possibly even more revealing than the one before.

"Hi," Jill answered cheerily. She would not play the game. She knew it would be far worse to kill her with kindness. "Glass of wine, please." Muffy nodded and quickly got her drink.

"Marlin darling," Muffy cooed. "You've barely touched your drink!"

"Lot on my mind," Marlin mumbled.

"I do hope it's me," Muffy giggled. Jill rolled her eyes. Muffy certainly wasn't subtle. The way Muffy was leaning over the counter, gave Marlin a view if her chest that left little to the imagination. Marlin was not looking that way. He was more focused ok the drink I his hand that he'd barely touched.

"No, lot of other stuff," Marlin mumbled.

"Is there anything I can do?" Muffy purred. Her voice became silky smooth. Jill rolled her eyes.

"No thanks," Marlin grumbled. He took a large swig of his drink. Celia touched Marlin's arm.

"Is it your-"

"No!" Marlin cut Celia off. "I mean I'm fine." His voice was much softer the second time around. Jill couldn't help but wonder what Celia was going to say, but she let it drop. It was clear that he didn't want whatever was bothering him known. Muffy scowled at the interaction between the two. It was clear that Muffy did not understand why Marlin was so affectionate with Celia.

"Why didn't you come to the cooking festival?" Celia asked Jill.

"I forgot about it," Jill admitted. She and Claire had been so preoccupied with training, that she hadn't thought if much else.

"We missed you!" Celia exclaimed. "Didn't we Marlin?" The man grumbled something Jill could barely make out. Jill smirked. She was getting quite used to his gruffness. It was almost endearing at moments. She sighed and settled into her glass of wine. Life was do different than it was only a few weeks ago. She would not go back to the stage for all the money in the world. This was the type of life Jill was meant to lead.

OOOOO

"You told that detective?" Maya screamed. She was fuming angry at her husband for telling Detective Cranston about the note she had received. "If she gets killed it's your fault!"

"Maya honey," Chase pleaded.

"No! Don't say a word!" Maya screamed. "I...I...I hate you!" Maya slammed the door as she stormed out of their small house. She'd received another note from Hamilton. It had advised her to go into town hall archives and find out what she could about Angela Butler as possible. Maya didn't know who this Angela person was, but she was determined to find out. She didn't tell Chase about this letter. She understood what she needed to do to get her daughter back.

Chase stood in his living room. He had always loved Maya's feisty spirit, but today she had broken him. When Detective Cranston had finally taken the case seriously, Maya had been thrilled until she found out Chase had told him about the note. Chase was starting to wonder himself if that had been the right move. He sighed. He wanted his daughter back.

OOOOO

Hamilton was starting to lose patience. He no longer cared about fame or fortune, he wanted to get Cleo and Josette for other reasons. Revenge one, and Cleo the other. He wanted her to be his. He had given her everything, and they have nothing in return. He was also growing bored with his captive, but could do very little with her until her mother delivered what he needed. He walked into her room to check on her. She was still bound to the bed. She had bruises on her face, from when she'd gotten out of line.

"Come to hit me some more?" Dakota spat out. Hamilton chuckled. He couldn't help but be amused by her fake bravado. The young girl had no idea what his plans were for her, it was probably better that she didn't. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.

"No my dear girl," Hamilton replied. You are going to be recording a little video for me."

"Like hell!" Dakota shouted. Hamilton pulled her hair even harder until tears dropped out of Dakota's eyes.

"Yes you are," Hamilton growled. He pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Or else things are going to become more rough for you." Dakota started shivering, as Hamilton moved the blade closer to her cheek. "Now let me tell you what I want you to say.