Eureka

4

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

If my agency buddies could see me now. Standing on the side of the road by my crapped out car while I'm internally dancing with joy at the sight of a cop coming to save the day, I'm also dying on the inside for the same exact reason.

Oh, well. I blame Kermit. The traitorous hussy.

A tall man gets out of the cruiser. He is in plain clothes, so he is probably off duty. I watch as he leans back in and messes his dash radio for a moment. He straightens back up and walks my way. I smile nervously at him and give him a small wave. Cops always make me nervous. Guns for hire and cops don't normally mesh very well, so this should be interesting.

Just act cool, Scarlett. Be cool, you're the coolest, there has never been someone as cool as you. I give myself a small internal pep talk as he approaches me.

"Is everything okay, ma'am?" His deep voice calls out as he approaches me. He has his dark hair cropped short on the sides of his head but longer on top so it can still be styled. He is young, maybe mid to late twenties. His sunglasses block his eyes from being seen, but I can make out a dimple on his cheek and the slight stubble that has grown on this jaw line.

"Oh, I'm great. My car, not so much," I say gesturing back towards my sad little green Ford with one hand as I run the other through my long blonde hair.

"Where're you headed?" He asks with a southern twang as he makes his way around to take a look at the engine. I've lived in Texas for a while, so you'd think I'd be used to it, but southern accents just butter my biscuit. His accent is different from a Texas drawl, but it's still distinctly southern.

If everyone here sounds like him, I'm staying here forever.

"Not really sure to be honest. At the moment, it would seem that I'm headed to the next town over." He fiddles with stuff under the hood for a little while as I watch anxiously. "Wherever that is," I mumble to myself as I squint against the sun and watch him work.

"Well, I'll give you a lift if you'd like. Eureka is about 15 miles down the way. You can get some food and a place to stay. I'll get my uncle to tow your car out to his shop to get it fixed up." He walks around the car towards me while he brushes off his hands and extends one to me. "I'm Landon. Landon Wolf."

I smile at him and respond, "I'm Scarlett Davis. Since you've saved the day, you can call me Letty," I take his hand in mine and give it a firm shake. "I'd love a ride if it's really not too much trouble. Or at the very least a pinky promise that you'll send someone to come and collect me," I say with a small laugh at the end. 

He smirks and walks over to my car hovering near the trunk, I assume to help me with any items I need to carry. I give him a relieved smile before turning to grab my messenger bag style purse and duffel bag from the front of the car. After I pop the truck, Landon takes my suitcases and puts them in the cruiser. I kept my work duffel with my gear gripping it tight to let him know I was keeping it on me. If he thought my action was weird, he doesn't show it or say anything. We both get into the cruiser and he pulls off the shoulder of the highway leaving poor Kermit on the side of the road.

"So are you out here on vacation?" Landon asks as we begin our drive to his town.

"It would seem that way, but who knows. If I like it here I may just decide to stay," I reply as I look over at him.

"So you'd just move to a town you didn't know just because? That's random. What about work? What do you do?" He asks, glancing over at me while he drives through the lazy curvy roads with ease. Internally I'm grumbling about how he should mind his own business. But he has a point. It does seem rather impulsive for a normal person to do.

I nod, more to myself than to him. After ten hours in the car with just myself and my thoughts, I have definitely already scolded myself for not thinking ahead with a contingency plan in case I wanted or needed to leave. And for not reaching out to The Family for assistance before taking off. It's been less than a day, though, since I drove all night. 

As long as I check in soon and give Victor, my friend and handler, an update, they won't care. They usually don't until you stop working the job boards altogether.

"I just needed a fresh start," I say softly and look out the passenger window. I can feel his eyes on me. I lean my head against the window and watch the trees fly by.

It just had to be a cop that stopped and helped. I roll my eyes internally. The last thing I need is for him to get curious and look into my business. I doubt he will. Good thing I've got a solid background set up in case he decides to check. It's a good cover story, but cops are nosy by nature and it makes me nervous either way. 

I know my Victor is good at his job, so I shouldn't worry too much. It's a generic background, not much special about it. Cops usually gloss over it to make sure there is nothing bad on it and then that's that.

I finally look back over at him to find him frowning, apparently deep in thought. Alright Scarlett, activate damsel in distress mode. 

"Thank you for stopping for me." I add a little waiver to my voice and look at my hands that are resting in my lap. He looks over and smiles. He removes his sunglasses and hooks them into the collar of his tee shirt. I can finally see his bright blue eyes.

"I wouldn't be very good at my job if I left people stranded like that," He says with a lazy wink. I hum in response with a small smile and look out the window again so I can roll my eyes without him noticing.

A/N: Please vote and comment to let me know what you think!