A WAY OUT

chapter four

The morning was bright and sunny and

the sky was pleasant. Scarlet thought to

go down to the mechanic shop to

check on her car. She knew that Blue

must have missed her already.

She walked down the walkway, slowly

taking in the people and the scenery as

she passed. She was polite to people

and greet them as they passed one

another but she really didn't want to

mingle with anyone. That wasn't a good

thing to do when one was on the run.

That kind of relationship wouldn't make

it easy to just up and leave at any given

time.

She preferred to face her business and

go about them as privately as she can.

An old lady, Mrs Stuart was walking

down the street from the other side of

the road. She was looking at something,

not concentrating on the road in front

of her.

Scarlet saw that if she didn't look

forward in the next one minute, she was

going to trip over the trash can and fall

flat on her butt. She ran across the

street just as Mrs. Stuart tripped over

the can. Scarlet wrapped her hand

under Mrs. Stuart's armpit to cushion

her fall.

"Oh, my!" She said when she recovered

from the shock. Scarlet pushed her

slowly to her feet, supporting her with

her weight.

Mrs. Stuart smiled a toothless smile."

Thank you, scarlet. I wasn't looking at

the road." She said.

"You also didn't use your fake teeth"

Scarlet was tempted to say. She looked

funny without it.

She got to the mechanic shop three

minutes later. Peterson, the owner of

the shop was working on a car when

she arrived. Scarlet cleared her throat

to get his attention.

He stood up and faced her. "Hey Scar. I

still need to work on your car for a few

more days to get it back in shape.

Scarlet shrugged. "I know, I just came to

see how Blue is doing. I've missed it,

and I know it misses me as well.

Peterson grinned. "Yes, it sure has. It

should be good as new in a few days,

then the two of you can reunite." He said

.He took a rag from the toolbox and

wiped the sweat that was gathered on

his face.

She hoped she could get it back soon.

She wasn't a fan of walking around so

much under the sun during summer.

She would need the air conditioner in

her car to cool her off as she ride

across town to run an errand.

She checked her wristwatch to see the

time and saw that she should be on her

way to the kennel soon. She needed to

go see the dogs and choose one to

adopt. She knew choosing from a

bunch of them could be a hard thing to

do, but she needed a strong, reliable

dog that will also look adorable.

"I'Il see you again, Peterson." She said.

"You don't have to bother checking on

the car anymore. I'll have someone

bring it over to Linda's once it's done. Or

,I can have it brought over to the

Garrison Murray's house if you're there

already" Peterson said.

"It's fine. That will be nice." She took her

12:54 P

phone from her bag to check out the

address on the kennel website. It was

right around the corner. Good for her.

I'll be on my way now. Thanks again."

She waved him goodbye and went on

her way.

It was amazing how easy she had

started to blend in with the locals. She

felt welcomed by them and it helped to

make her transition to their town easier.

She bounced with her head bubbling

around her shoulder as she went down

the street. She soon got to Sue Ann's

shop, and she decided to get some

coffee and a couple of sour cream

coffee cakes with the cinnamon-walnut

swirl.

As she opened the door to the shop, the

bell jingled as it usually does but it still

made Scarlet, jump as she was not yet

used to it. She stopped a few feet from

the counter and smiled her usual smile

at Sue Ann. "Hi, Sue Ann. Good morning.

"She said with a wide grin.

Sue Ann smiled right back with all her

teeth on display. "Good morning, Scarlet

!What would you like to get?" She

asked.

Scarlet thought for a moment then she

said. "A hot cup of coffee to go and a

bag of sour cream coffee cake with the

cinnamon-walnut swirl" She said.

Sue Ann's brows were raised high when

she said. "That was your order the first

day too." She said with a chuckle. "Is

that to be a usual thing? Or you would

like to order something different every

day?" She asked.

Scarlet thought for a moment again

then she shrugged her shoulder and

nodded her head. "That could be a

usual thing for me. I sure can get used

to eating sour cream coffee cake with

the cinnamon-walnut swirl every day.

But I will let you know when I want a

change of snack." She said, still smiling.

Sue Ann nodded and said. "That's noted

, love. I'll see to it that you get it daily

when you can't come around to get it."

Scarlet panicked but she didn't allow

the fear to show in her eyes. She didn't

want anyone coming to her house to

deliver her baked goods every morning

That was a risky thing to allow. She

shouldn't trust people that easily or that

much. It was true that Pleasant Hill

Springs was a small peaceful town but

still, anything could happen. It was why

she didn't want to form any kind of

bond with a town, but being that this

was a very small town; it was

unavoidable. It was not something she

could control.

Quickly, Scarlet said. "You don't have to

do that. I'll come in every day to pick

them up myself. When I can't do that, it

simply means I don't want to have it

that day" She said, offering her a small

nervous smile.

Sue Ann smiled and nodded in

understanding. "That's all right, love. I

hear you. I'll get your order for you, so

that you can be on your way. I hear

you're on your way to the kennel. I'm

sure you'l get a good nice puppy-eyed

dog" She said.

Scarlet frown in surprise, but then she

eased it off her face. She was after all,

in a small town where word traveled

fast.

Sue Ann handed her a cup of hot

steaming to-go coffee and a bag of two

sour cream coffee cakes with the

cinnamon-walnut swirl. Scarlet removed

a note from her wallet to pay, but Sue

Ann shook her head in disapproval.

"Your coffee and snack are always on

the house.' She said. Around here, they

give most of their wares and groceries

and stuff to one another, so much that

Scarlet had noticed it and wondered

how they earn or even gain their profits.

She wondered why Sue Ann decided it

was time she earned that courtesy too.

With a nod of approval, Sue Ann patted

Scarlet on her shoulder and said. "I'lI

drop by later at Linda's to see the

picture of the dog you want to choose."

She said smiling, then as if she had

read the horror look on Scarlet's face,

she quickly added. "If that's okay with

you" She said, smiling nervously.

Sue Ann wanted to be this beautiful

woman's friend so quick and so bad,

but she didn't want to be too forward or

step on her nerves, so she was also

being careful. She knew, even without

anyone telling her that she had been

running from something, or someone

and was ready to run again at the first

sign of trouble, but she knew that

kindness she was willing to show her

could help give her some kind of

stability.

She had to know that right here in this

town, under all the gossip, and word

spreading fast, they always had one

another's back, and that was all that

mattered when it came to living in

places like this. They had to put up a

united front.

Scarlet smiled nervously and then she

said. "It's all right. I would love to show

you the picture of my dog." She told her.

Sue Ann grinned and then she glanced

down on her wristwatch, and then she

teased. "You should go now before

waste any more of your time and allow

all the good dogs to be taken." She said,

smiling. "Not that any dog around here

isn't a good dog" She added.

Scarlet laughed and she nodded. "I

should really take up your word and go

now' She said, chuckling. "I would see

you later at Linda's?" She asked,

checking if Sue Ann was still

considering coming over like she had

said she would.

Oh, yes! You would. See you then." She

said and with another naturally ruby lip

smile, she turned on her heel and went

back to the kitchen.

Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief and

then she went out of Sue Ann's place to

go around the corner to the kennel.

When she got there, she met a friendly

teenager in a white scrubs at the front

desk. Although, the white was not as

white as it used to be, considering it

was used for dogs. She had shiny black

hair that was pulled back in a bun at

the back of her head, and she was tall.

Scarlet wasn't too sure, but she doubted

that she was wearing heels to work,

and she was not sitting down

considering the way she was upright.

"Hi, there... Uhm.." Scarlet stammered

as she glanced down to her chest

where a finely small written name was

displayed. She squinted her eyes to see

the name of it. "Hi there, Evelyn. My

name is Scarlet and I would like to

check out your dogs. I'm looking to

"She said and listened for a moment. "

Yes, we sure do." She said, rolling her

eyes at whatever the Harper had said

and when she was done, she slammed

back the receiver into the cradle and

smiled back up at Scarlet.

"It's Harper's duty to take you around

the kennel. She would be out soon. She

took a break to eat lunch at eleven in

the morning' She said, still smiling.

Scarlet smiled but said nothing, and she

waited for the Harper to show up.

Harper showed up a few moments later.

She was a big-sized girl with a sweaty

face, with glasses perched low on her

nose likea college professor. Anyone

could see that she was a teenage girl

just as Evelyn was if Evelyn was not

even older.

She walked towards the counter and

adopt one of them." She said, smiling

nervously.

Evelyn smiled at Scarlet and the shiny

braces in her mouth smiled back at her.

"You must be the new girl." The girl said.

"I mean, the new woman in town.' She

corrected as she looked Scarlet from

head to toe.

Scarlet nodded. "Yes. Sure, I'm the new

woman or girl in town, she said smiling

"Now can I see the dogs?" As she

asked the question, she heard the

sound of barking come from the room

at the back and her smile widened. "I

can see that the dogs want to meet me

too." She said.

Evelyn smiled then she picked up the

phone from its cradle and dialed a

number. She waited for whoever she

was calling to pick up the phone and

then she said. "Harper, get out here now.

worry, Sheriff. I'll make sure to save you

some." She said.

Lyle nodded. "Thank you. I would love

that. I won't be at the station this

evening. A friend of mine is coming

back home tonight and I and his family

are having dinner. But, I'll be there

tomorrow. Nothing is going to stop me

from eating those cookies." He told her.

With one last smile in each other's

direction and without another word

from either of them, they departed and

went off in a different direction.