A WAY OUT

chapter five

There was some kind of charge in the

air when Scarlet just opened her eyes

from the quick sleep she had taken

after she got back from the grocery

store and finished baking. She looked

around the room as she got up from the

bed. She heard something fall and

shatter in the next room and she

jumped. She uttered profanity under her

breath and breathed out a sigh of relief

She glanced at the wall clock to see the

time. It was a minute past six-thirty in

the evening. She stood up went strode

into the bathroom to have a quick

shower. She was done two minutes

later and she came out back into the

room with a towel around her body. She

carried her bag and lifted it onto the

bed, then she opened it.

There was a red dress at the top of the

pile, but she shook her head and

pushed it gently aside. She brought out

a pair of high-waisted, black jeans with

a ripped knee that always molded to

her body like a second skin and placed

it carefully on the bed so that it would

not crease.

She didn't want to dress too much

which was why she was not going for a

dress but she also didn't want to look

anyhow, so she went with the jeans and

a blouse. That was better. She chosen

satin wrap top in maroon color, a Gucci

leather belt she had bought for three

hundred dollars and a black Levi's

Women's Faux Leather Motorcross

Racer Jacket.

She got dressed quickly and went to the

small kitchen attached to the room.

She had put the three trays of the

cookies she baked earlier on the island

for them to cool off. She had bought

some cookie boxes on her way to the

counter earlier to pay for her groceries

so that she could present them well to

those she wanted to give the cookies to

She put two thick layers of tissue paper

into each of the boxes and then she

began to put in the cookies. She was

dropping one off at the station for the

sheriff, the second one to the mayor's

office, and the third one, she would be

taking with her to the O'Brien's. When

she was done packing them up, she

closed the lid on the boxes and carried

them.

Shit!

She needed Blue more than ever now. It

would have been easier to pack them

up and put them into the passenger

side of her car, but now she had to walk

all the way to each place with the boxes

in front of her face.

Struggling, she stepped out of her room

and placed it down, then she closed the

door and turned the key to lock it up.

She carried the boxes again and went

downstairs to the front room where

Linda was always sitting down at. She

dropped the boxes on the counter and

smiled at Linda.

"Good evening, Linda." She said simply.

Linda smiled at her as well. The older

woman was always having a thing or

two to smile about anyway. "Scar. You

are looking nice this evening." She said.

"Thank you, Linda. You're not looking

bad yourself." She said. She raised her

hand to give her the ziplock bag she

was holding. She had put five cookies in

it for her. "This is for you. I just baked

them.' She said.

Linda collected them and thanked her.

She opened the bag and took out one of

the cookies. She bit into it and closed

her eyes. She chewed, and then she

said. "You should consider opening a

cookie shop or something. We don't

have it in town, you know. I'l be your

first customer" She said, smiling.

Scarlet laughed. She shook her head

and picked up the boxes, then she went

out into the street. Her first stop was

the sheriff's office.

As she climbed the step to the building,

she missed a step and almost fell, but

as she fall backward, she suddenly felt

a strong arm wrapped around her waist,

and the other hand carried the boxes

from her and placed them steadily on

the rail beside them.

Scarlet had her eyes closed when she

thought she was going to fall down off

the steps, but she opened her eyes

slowly as she took note that someone

was holding her.

She peered up to look into the man's

eyes from under her lashes. Scarlet

gasped. The first thing she saw was his

beautiful grey eyes, and that was all it

took for her to name him. Grey!

She raised up slowly, holding Grey's

hand tightly. When she was balanced

properly, she released his hand and

stepped back from him but still staring

intently at him. She didn't know she had

her mouth slightly opened until Grey

smirked and said. "You don't have to

have an open-mouthed reaction to my

beauty, redhead. I know you like what

she see."

Scarlet closed her mouth with a frown,

then she scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't like anything about you, ass. I

didn't even look anywhere below your

face." She said.

Grey chuckled and nodded. "Yes!I

suppose my beauty couldn't allow you

to look anywhere else. But he raised

his index finger up to interrupt her as

she wanted to speak. "But, I promise

you, the rest of my body does not bite

unless you want them to, that it. So, feel

free to check me out." He said.

Scarlet scoffed and rolled her eyes, but

her eyes betrayed her and she looked

down the rest of his body. He was tall,

with broader shoulders than the sheriff

or Dr. Owen. He had a lean waist and

one could see his tight abs reflecting

under his round neck shirt. His body

was firm, from the look and touch of it,

and his thighs looked strong from under

his whitewashed jeans.

When Scarlet look back up to his eyes, a

wide grin was waiting for her on his

face. "Like what you see?" He asked.

Damn, did he have a good set of teeth!

His pink lips begged to be licked, and

Scarlet bite her tongue from running it

against her bottom lip. He had long

lashes that woman would kill to have

and his eyes. God, she could drown in

the grey orbs for as long as she wanted

and not get tired.

"No, I don't. I'l rather date an old man

than a man like you." She said. She

moved to the rail where he had placed

the boxes and carried them, inching

them a little down so that she could see

the steps and she moved slowly her

way up

It was Grey's laughter that followed her

up the rest of the way.

A few moments later, she walked to the

front desk and she placed the three

boxes down on the table. She smiled at

Sally; the service clerk. "Is the sheriff in

?" She asked after they had exchanged

greetings

Sally nodded and said. "He's out back in

his office, but would soon be heading

out." She pointed to the door on the left

of the corridor that led to the sheriff's

office.

Scarlet smiled and carried one of the

boxes. "I brought the sheriff some

cookies. I'l leave these here she

pointed to the two other boxes. "And

come back for them when I get out."

She said.

Sally puckered up her nose and asked. "

We don't get to taste these ones, eh! It's

all good. The one you brought before

tasted so good. You should have a shop

for this. I'm a loyal customer" She said,

winking at her.

That had been the exact thing Linda had

suggested to her. She smiled and

nodded her head. "I will think about that.

"She said.

She walked down the corridor and

knocked on the last door on the left that

had the "Sheriff sign on it.

When she heard a deep voice muttered

come in, she pushed the door open,

bending the doorknob. She entered into

the office and she smelled the flowers

before she saw them. It was a Lilium

philadelphicum, popularly known as a

wood lily.

Lyle was working on some paperwork

when he heard the knock, and he

thought it was one of his deputies. He

would be leaving soon to go get ready

for the dinner he was going to at the

O'Brien's house. He didn't expect it to be

a woman, because Sally never knocked

on his door before entering. The only

notice she gave when coming in was

her voice calling out his name.

When the door opened, it was the

strawberry scent that assaulted his

nostril that made him know that it was a

woman that came in, and who it was

exactly.

Scarlet! He had met her earlier at the

store.

Lyle raised up his head and offered her

a seat, then he watched her as she sit

down. "To what do I owe this visit?" He

asked.

Scarlet smiled and pointed to the box

she dropped on his table. "I brought you

some cookies." She said.

Lyle stood up from behind his desk, to

come to where she sat down at, and he

carried the box. He opened it and took

out a cookie, and bit into it. The bust of

different ingredients he couldn't name

exploded in his mouth and he moaned.

"f**k! This tastes like heaven." He said.

Lyle stared at the woman with redhead

hair and plumb berry lips. She was a

very beautiful woman and should be

every man's dream but it was not his.

He preferred his woman, skinny. But

every other thing was in place. She

could bake and probably knows how to

cook as well. She was pretty and have a

nice smile. Easy on the eyes, and also a

strong person.

She didn't incite what a woman his

speck would. What he felt about this

woman was only a big brother need to

protect her. She was strong and at the

same time, she looked fragile.

"Thank you, Sheriff Lyle, I'll take that as

a compliment" She said, smiling.

Lyle sighed and dropped the box. He

dusted off his hands against his

uniform and replaced the smile on his

face with a serious look. "Scar, please

call me Lyle. Calling me Sheriff Lyle

makes me feel old." He said.

"Ain't you old?" Sally asked as she

opened the door.

"You're the one that is old," Lyle said to

Sally as she dropped a file on his table.

"You need to work on that before you

leave, Sheriff Lyle, and you know you're

leaving soon." She said, teasing him

with his title. "It needs your urgent

attention.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said, knowing

fully well that she hated to be called

that.

Sally raised her middle fingers and

showed it to Lyle, then she turned on

her heels and went out of his office.

Scarlet laughed and shook her head at

the banter between them.

When Sally was out of earshot, Lyle said

. "If you ever need anything, Scar, or

anyone to talk to about anything

whatsoever, you can always come to

me. See me as the big brother you

never had" He said.

"And how would you know I don't have

one?" She asked.

"Because you mentioned your father, I

assume if you had one, he'll be a cop of

some sort too, and you would have

mentioned him" He said.

With a small smile, she nodded and

stood up quickly and she said. "I'll see

you around, Lyle." And then she left.

Dropping off the second box was easy,

with no probing talks. She met the

mayor officially and she gave her a job

to come decorate the whole mayor's

office. She didn't bother to ask how the

mayor knew. Must be Lyle, she thought.

She left there ten minutes later and

headed to the 0'Brien's house. She

sighed as she walked there. This was

her last stop for the evening.

She finally got to the house. It was a big

house that was sounded by a white

picket fence. The house was painted

dark blue and it was sandwiched

between two trees. She walked to the

door and knocked on it.

As she waited for the door to be

opened, she thought back to her

encounter with the grey-eyed man she

had met at the front of the sheriff's

department.

She had never seen him anywhere

around in town but it was not as if she

had met everyone in town. She sighed

and focused on the present.