Her Scent

Her Scent

By Alice Sweet

Copyright 2011Alice Schneider

Smashwords Edition

Discover other titles by Alice Sweet at Smashwords.com or http://www.alicesweet.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

I would like to dedicate this book to my beautiful daughters, and wonderful husband for bringing light into my world, I love you all so much.

Hospital

The darkness shrank away as Adriana awoke in a blinding light, and time began again… it seemed, just for her. Instantly she became aware of an alarm beeping somewhere just above her head, its piercing sound, grating her nerves, forcing her to stay conscious. She blinked, as her eyes adjusted to the sterile light of this new environment for the first time in a very long time. She looked down at her hands, and gawked at the needles and tubes sticking out of them as a wave of panic flooded her senses. There were several bruises and scabs covering track marks where she had obviously been stuck repeatedly, something that she had no memory of ever occurring. Her eyes darted around the room, as she tried to gain her bearings. Her view was obscured by drawn white curtains, and several large machines, which connected her tubes to their blinking lights.

She slid a shaky hand over to the source of her distress, a flashing red button, pressing it weakly with her pale palm, thankfully ceasing the irritating sound. Allowing the other sounds in the room to finally filter in, air, inhale, and exhale, rhythmically swaying in the room, waving the curtains eerily with the forced breaths of the fluctuating machinery. Instantly she assumed that she was in a hospital of some kind, and began searching for a nurse’s button. When she was unable to find it, she tried calling out.

It was then that she found that her tongue no longer moved correctly, as an obstruction of some kind was blocking it. Distractedly she reached up, to touch her face, and found a half-inch tube in her mouth as well. She tried to pull it out ceasing once she felt a sharp pain in her throat, and began coughing uncontrollably. Then she tried to sit up and realized that she did not have the strength to move her body’s weight, and began to shake with the effort.

Stubbornly she continued to struggle until she was finally able to roll herself on her forearm and caught sight of a small slit in the curtains, eyeing two more bodies, in beds like her own, one after another in the room. Who were they? Moreover, where was she? Her heart began to race in her chest as she struggled to recall how she got here and drew a blank. Then on cue another beeping sound began ringing out next to her.

This time, a man, in an orderly’s uniform stopped at the end of her bed, checking the trash, as Adriana shook her head frantically at him trying to gain his attention. The man looked up after the alarm suddenly grew louder, and gripped his chest startled as he saw her open eyes, immediately he assured her, Wait a minute, I will get help. Then he rushed from the room and began calling out in distress. Adriana could hear his shoes squeaking on the linoleum floors as he hurried down the corridor sliding to a screeching halt at the nurse’s station.

She gurgled as she tried again, without success, to pull the tube from her throat as another pain shot down her esophagus for a second time. Meanwhile, the orderly rejoined her with a now disbelieving nurse in tow. However once she laid her eyes upon Adriana, she quickly called the doctor with the same urgency. She then began barking orders at others who came rushing in. All while taking readings from the beeping machines as she checked Adriana’s pulse.

A few minutes later a wide-eyed, bed headed doctor arrived to take charge. He began by checking her eye’s and her ability to follow a light with them. Before he rechecked the monitors and began discussing her file, which he pulled from the side of her bed, as she tried in vain to communicate with them.

Frustrated, and before the two of them could stop her, Adriana finally ripped the tube from her throat and began coughing violently nearly falling from her bed in the process. They both came to her aid quickly; helping her right herself while the doctor chastised the nurse for not watching her closely enough. She spoke barely loud enough to be heard, her first words, No, bad, and then she shook her finger at the doctor. He frowned and the nurse burst out laughing at him then and turned to walk away seconding Adriana’s comment. Adriana blinked and erupted into laughter herself, unable to control her own impulses and then began coughing fiercely again.

This time the coughing became torturous and unrelenting and Adriana soon found herself gasping for air in between the violent spasms. Quickly the doctor rummaged through the cart and administered a shot into Adriana’s arm, as the nurse pinned her down with an oxygen mask. Luckily, a few seconds later, the coughing subsided and Adriana was once again able to breathe freely.

The doctor took the nurse aside for a moment asking her a barrage of accusatory questions, before leaving her to the task of taking vitals and blood draws. He then swiftly strode from the room to make phone calls to his superiors.

Adriana finally asked, holding her injured throat cautiously, Where?

The nurse was startled for a moment and then asked clarifying, Where are you? Adriana nodded, as the nurse began explaining slowly her eyes filled with compassion and Adriana listened as the blood washed from her face.

Apparently, she had been asleep for quiet some time and her four-deep bedroom was the small coma ward at the local hospital. Adriana tried desperately to remember how she came to be there and could not. She laid there weak and immobilized, trying to digest the information, just as she would, nearly every night for the next few months. This was where she would also spend a great deal of time thinking, and trying to remember, anything important from her past, with the same utter fruitlessness. It was frustrating to say the least, it seemed, as much as she wanted to, the more that it seemed to slip away.

On a higher note, in spite of her apparent amnesia, miraculously, within weeks, she was speaking in full sentences and within a month, she was speaking nearly as fast as she thought. She found that the use of her hands and body on the other hand were a bit more frustrating, as it took her nearly nine months to take her first step. Although apparently a feat in and of itself as well, given the length of her comma, of nearly ten years.

Officially discharged at month five, and placed on full disability, which thankfully a social worker set up for her, along with securing her all of the necessary paperwork under a new last name. This because, she could only remember her first name, and of course, no one ever came to claim her at the hospital. Therefore, her worker supplied her with the last name of Wells, before helping her find an apartment in town, so that she could take the bus to the hospital for her physical therapy and various specialists’ visits.

Luckily, she gained a small amount of notoriety with a local paper since awaking from the coma after such a long stent in darkness. The paper gave her the opportunity to write about how much the world had changed since she went under and it did well. Eventually she was able to expand her subject matter, fan base, and with her editor’s approval, secure a full time column within his small paper a year later.

However, she also discovered, during her research for various pieces that the world was even more unlike the one that she remembered. It was little changes at first. Words to songs, movies, books and stories had different endings, characters had different names, and even rhythms had shifted. It was as if her minds’ catalog was shaken up, while she slept. Then when she awoke she had to piece together the jumbled files again. This was normal according to her doctors, a minor side effect of being under for so long, a medical miracle as far as they were concerned.

The greatest and most disturbing difference for her though, was the colors. Everything was just slightly off, as if the world that had once been full of variety was now suddenly all the same dull shades of barely varying tones. No more canary yellows, or fire engine red, no neon greens or pitch blacks, they had all been replaced by a sickly soothing pallet.

It was depressing and alarming, and she began to question why that change in particular affected her so completely. The specialists again tried to explain it away; a combination of the lengthy neural depressed state and the deterioration of her blood vessels in her eyes from lack of use had caused damage to her receptors. Nevertheless, somewhere deep down she began to wonder if the changes were just the opposite of what others had offered. Was she now in the coma, and her mind was filling that void that they spoke of so often?

According to them, her brain ought to be mush after so much inactivity, not to mention her mobility. She should be struggling to move her fingers and toes, not up walking in months.

Adriana stood in front of her reflection each night, examining her features. Her face was the same, big green eyes, heart shaped lips, and face, paired with the same long brown hair that she remembered, but even in her familiar reflection something was off.

She was different, a new spark kindled inside her, and she swore that this was something that was not there before, a piece of something, new and strong, which made the impossible, now possible. She thought perhaps, after a period of adjustment, that the feeling would pass, and she would see the world more clearly again. When unexpectedly, the strangest feeling sprung up, ruining her progress towards denial…it was a pull, a tangible need that began one night, drawing her…east.

It was an unconscious inkling, at first, until she began facing east in almost any room, followed later even in sleep. Progressing even further, eventually, leading her to place her bed in the easterly corner of her apartment, because she had begun rolling out of her bed each night, as it seemed that her body began trying to will itself forward, in that direction even as she slept.

There were no explainable medical reasons for this abnormality. One specialist suspected it had something to do with an unseen dead space in her brain, or one of many false connections that her brain had made during her decade in darkness. She however could not shake it; she needed to satisfy this urge, and locate its source. Once she was on her feet again, she planned to do just that. Secretly she hoped that it was some kind of lingering memory from her forgotten life, some internal computer still idling, its beacon flashing incessantly, Adriana…Adriana…Adriana.

***

Months later, she ran her fingers along the edge of a map, old and worn as it was, and her fingers stopped in the same spot again. It was a small area, a place with no markings save a few bumps in the topography signifying elevation changes in the ground. It was a large forested area by the looks of it, devoid of any natural or man made features, completely unremarkable.

Irritated, she slammed the book shut and moved to another atlas, this one, an even newer version, bursting with pop up pictures and color photos, hoping to entice it’s readers into choosing it. She repeated the same motion as the last, flicking to a map of the United States and closed her eyes as her fingers slid to the right eventually stopping at the same barren location. She tossed that one in frustration and a head poked around the stacks to investigate the sudden disturbance in the old library. Adriana gave an apologetic look and lied, Sorry, It just slipped right out of my hands.

The elderly woman nodded and Adriana gave her a sweet smile one that she had become accustomed to practicing, whenever her underdeveloped temper flared. The past year she spent recovering had shown her that the honey method worked best for diffusing stressful situations, especially since she managed to place herself repeatedly in them. It also proved to her that the map method was best for locating the answers to all of her unexplained inklings.

This internal compass thing had already lead her to two murder sites since she awoke, a gruesome and frightening reality that she had stumbled upon, one night following vivid dreams about the victims deaths. This, during her progression towards full recovery, had been the most shocking for her, and the most puzzling to the police following the disclosure of the second body. Their looks of surprise was understandable, she was a nut job predicting unrelated deaths of strangers.

Had she been more able bodied, or had the times of deaths not been hours earlier while she was still at the station trying to get them to believe her stories, then she might have been a suspect herself. She decided, after the second death though, that she would no longer wait for the police to believe her in the future. If the dreams or any strange feelings sprung up again she would go straight to the scene, and just call for backup, to hell with them and their skepticism.

The grey haired woman with the neatly tucked bun returned Adriana’s smile and then headed back towards the front desk. She waited until the librarian had gone, and frowned, before reaching over to pick up the book that she had tossed. When in mid bend, she caught a glimpse of an older atlas that was wedged between the shelves and the wall, hidden from view.

She pulled it out, dusting it off and opened it up on the large wooden table behind her. She began flicking though the pages absently, just as she had done a hundred times before, until she found the upper East coast again. There she ran her finger along the map as usual and let out a gasp, there it was the faded words barely visible… Saint Pearl. It was not familiar to her but then nothing seemed to ring true in her mind now, especially geography. She grabbed the book tighter, staring at the words for a long while as she memorized its lines and exact location on the drawing; afraid it would disappear somehow if she stopped concentrating.

Then the strangest feeling of happiness crept upon her, a sense of purpose and longing filled her with those two words, Saint Pearl. She was not going crazy; there was something to it, after all. Now she just needed to find out why this old town was so important. A tingling sensation began in her toes as she thought about setting foot upon that spot, and it was a bit unsettling. Secretly she hoped, that perhaps this time, it would have something to do with her old life, and not a mass grave or something even worse waiting there for her.

She closed the book, and snuck it into her oversized bag giving it a pat as she headed to her car. Then like clockwork as soon as she stepped out, the rain suddenly came down in sheets, soaking her and her prize as she hurried off.

By the time she made it back to her apartment, she frowned seeing the state of the book, and set it next to the space heater to dry out, before she headed to her computer. She began her search for the town on the internet hoping to find some shred of information on her newest discovery, especially since her earlier searches using coordinates had produced a big goose egg. Now hopefully, with a town’s name, perhaps some historic sites would uncover something instead.

A few days later, after tirelessly searching in vain, the town, for all intensive purposes, simply did not exist. There were no other maps, no articles, no search engines, not even satellite images of the area online, nothing. Moreover, the freak rainstorm had even smeared the name into obscurity, ruining the old atlas that she found, the only proof that she had ever found, on the illusive sight.

She did however finally locate a realtor in the area who had several listings without a town listed. She crossed her fingers, and shot her an e-mail asking her for more information on those homes feeling the tingling sensation in her stomach again as new hope rose. The next day, following her last physical therapy session, she made plans to meet with a realtor to see the properties. Although, strangely enough, the woman could not remember the name of the town that the homes were in either, fogging over, until Adriana suggested the name she found in the old atlas. The older woman blamed her advanced years, for the hiccup in her memory, but her voice suggested something else, something that Adriana could not quite put her finger on, yet.

***

The ride was longer than she had anticipated since the fancy navigational device in her new vehicle was of no use. It continued to direct her to drive down a dirt road that dead-ended. She huffed and pulled out the map from under the chair next to her and located her position and then the spot where this town should be which was east of her current position.

She pulled out a compass from her survival bag, in her glove box. It had been a gag gift from her editor before she could even walk and she smiled triumphantly as she felt the weight of in her hand. She sat it on the dash and watched as the needle spun wildly unable even to find the magnetic north in this unfamiliar place. She cursed at it and then chucked it on the seat next to her checking the time again, and huffed in frustration.

Just then, she snapped her fingers as the idea struck her. She knew where she was, which direction east was, as it continued to pull at her chest even in this foreign place. Therefore, concentrating on the feeling, she slowly made her way down several small dirt roads, until the asphalt seemed to magically appear in front of her again, leading her down several winding roads. The last of which made her smile, overhead was a large white washed sign, greeting visitors with, Saint Pearl.

That smile carried her to the edge of the small town whose streets were brimming with meticulously maintained historical buildings. As she continued, much to her delight, she saw that those were just the beginning. There were hundreds of other buildings, all in varying size and complexity, yet still just as pristine. Homes, appearing freshly painted, paired with perfectly manicured yards, white picket fences and all.

It was a remarkable sight, so much perfect order, and restored beauty. She slowed as she reached the main drag, and took in the continued wonderment, of nostalgic displays that seemed all much too good to be true. Along the main thoroughfare, there were loads of small shops with innately decorated window displays, reminiscent of the nineteen fifties, demonstrating the goods and wears in each. Not to mention, all of the handmade signs announcing their small town pride in each window, which she believed whole-heartedly, by the state of this place.

As she passed town hall, a robust building with a steeple, she noticed it donned a standing sign out front announcing a town meeting the following Friday. There was even an old time soda shop, and candy store, where schoolchildren were peering inside as their mothers chatted, pushing strollers, with bright-eyed infants in tow. The preservation of the town, and attention to detail was phenomenal.

Then the excitement began to build in Adriana’s chest as she drove even further, realizing that this small town was actually larger than she had anticipated. The main street forked out to several smaller streets, which seemed to spur into numerous side roads with no apparent end. All of which had the same aim at perfection that supplied the town with a charm that seemed impossible.

As she parked her car and stepped out, patting her breast where her loan approval papers sat, glad that she had in fact settled the practical side for her visit, as this town was turning out to be a phenomenal find. When she set out down the sidewalk, she noticed several sets of eyes watching her from windows on the main street. Not to mention the large number who simply stopped mid-conversation to gawk at her as she passed them. It was a little unnerving to have so many people staring at her and self-consciously she checked her reflection in a shops window as she passed. However seeing that nothing was amiss, she shrugged it off assuming that their reaction was because she was a newcomer to the sprawling small town.

Soon after that, Adriana located the eyesore diner, called the Blue Elk, where Sue her realtor had promised to meet her. It was an older gutted diner, redone by the owner in dark woods and elk racks to give it a rustic hunting lodge feel. Adriana thought it was completely out of place in the New England town, filled to the rim with beautiful historical buildings. However as she stepped inside, she was astonished to find that the place was packed with men in camouflage and work boots, as hunting was apparently popular in the area.

Adriana narrowed in on her realtor quickly recognizing her from her picture on her website. Sue was a rosy cheeked, pleasantly plump woman, with a naturally sunny disposition, and the woman greeted her heartily as soon as she spotted her.

Their exchange was affable, but Adriana soon gained the impression that Sue, the only realtor in the area, was not taking her inquires into the homes in the area seriously. This was quickly confirmed, as Adriana laid her eyes upon the third of the four homes available, in town.

It was a small three-bed room cape cod, in an isolated area of town, which backed up to a nature preserve. Just far enough away from the others and virtually surrounded by nature, sheer perfection as far as she was concerned. Grinning from ear to ear she announced, I’ll take it, and Sue’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

Adriana pulled out the letter from her bank with the pre-approved amount for the home’s asking price, which her editor had cosigned for since she was sadly without a sufficient credit history. Sue, pleasantly surprised upon reading the form, explained her initial apprehension, Dear I have not sold a home to an outsider in years. No one seems to want to live in small towns anymore. None of the girls at the office are going to believe this one.

Adriana nodded absentmindedly as she walked up the front steps letting her hand rest upon on of the large pillars on the front porch, feeling the sun warm her back, welcoming her inside. This place felt safe, somehow familiar to her, even though she knew that she had never set foot here before, perhaps this was the reason, for her pull to this town. Sue rattled on about the home’s obvious charms, as she opened the front door. Smiling to herself and half-listening from that moment on, Adriana’s eyes took in what would be her new home.

As she stepped inside on to the Cherry floors, and received her first glimpse of the crown moldings and a beautiful handcrafted wooden staircase that greeted visitors as they entered, and she was awe struck. She even stopped, taking it all in, amazed at her apparent luck. The kitchen, dining room and living room were on the main floor, as was the third bedroom. Sue pointed out the first of two fireplaces in the home, tucked away in the corner of the living room.

Next, they headed up the beautifully crafted staircase. At its top, the landing split so that the two rooms on either side of the house joined in the middle, by a large master bath. The room on the left was the master bedroom, which had two oversized windows facing the woods behind the house, adding a nice airy feel to the space.

While the room on the opposite side was, a bit smaller than the first, and it had the other fireplace in it. This room also had three windows, which had spectacular views of the woods that surrounded the back of the house as well, making it feel larger than it actually was.

Once the tour was completed, Sue stepped out for a moment to take a call, leaving her alone. Therefore Adriana took the opportunity to open the windows in the second room and let the smells from the woods outside drift up to her, perching upon one of the large windowsills. She was at peace here, in this quaint town, unlike any she had ever known, and happily announced to the empty room, Finally I’m home.

First Meetings

It took nearly two months, making it January now, to settle since the previous owner wanted several referendums added. Adriana could not make any changes to the home’s structure without first gaining permission from the town’s historical society, not that she ever would. Nevertheless, he too, like so many others in the town, did not seem to trust outsiders.

On the first of the February, she finally returned to settle for good, this time finding the town easily, even though her GPS still insisted she should, Turn around whenever possible. Once there, she met with Sue again, at a teahouse in town this time, which unlike the Blue Elk, fit with the town’s perfection exactly, powder blue table cloths, porcelain teacups and all. After sharing a second surprisingly satisfying cup of tea, and crumpets, she made a mental note, to her ever-growing list of likes in Saint Pearl.

Then as she grabbed her keys from the table twirling them in her hands preparing to say her goodbyes, the door jingled and in came two men. Adriana froze instantly mesmerized by the two forms. She tightened on the keys in her hand, sliding them into her lap, involuntarily, moving into a cautious reserved mode.

They were magnificent, two of the most handsome men that she had ever seen before. Matching light hair and light eyes, with perfectly sculpted jaw lines and broad shoulders, giving them both a statuesque appearance. They were unlike anything she had ever seen before, almost mystical in her mind, cropped Vikings walking among us, unbelievable.

They moved in unison, better, well-oiled machines, which rose and fell with the grace and power of great beasts, dangerous in fact, and inherently she knew it. Her imagination suddenly ran wild as she watched these towering predators make their way to the counter, and flushed involuntarily wondering if they lived in town.

They stopped at the counter waiting patiently, and suddenly standing a bit too still to be real; she blinked, almost expecting them to disappear, while her eyes continued to argue with her synapses over their validity. Then her gaze jetted around the room to verify her rising suspicions, that they were in fact a figment of her imagination, and frowned realizing that no one else seemed to notice them at all. Just then, her realtor, Sue, finally looked up to see whom Adriana was gaping at and smiled at the pair resting at the counter, and began whispering loudly, reassuring Adriana of her sanity, Yes, they are a pair of lookers aren’t they.

Adriana nodded blushing as she looked down feeling suddenly self-conscious and asking quietly, They live here in town?

Yes, Professor Severn, and his brother Edik, the county coroner, Sue replied smiling knowingly pointing each of them out.

She frowned looking up again at the smaller of the two’s muscular build, the Professor, What does he teach?

He teaches science classes for the college, works as a department head of something or another there, Sue smiled.

She repeated absentmindedly, Classes… When suddenly the shorter of the two stepped out of the way reaching down to grab a fork that a man at the counter had dropped, allowing Adriana to get a better look at other slightly taller brother.

It was then that she felt her heart flutter again; he was gorgeous, strong, formidable, and completely delicious. Her stomach lurched simultaneously as she thought, impressive. Realizing that he was by far the more attractive male and blurted out matter-of-factly, They are not brothers. The two men turned to look at her sharply, from across the room, as if the had heard her comment, obviously displeased with her prying eyes. She shifted them back down to her cup immediately, embarrassed, contemplating the unlikelihood that they could hear her at that distance.

Sue on the other hand, gave them a polite wave, saying in a stage whisper to her, Nope, they are brothers. Adriana nodded, though she knew that it was a lie as she blushed deeply, and played with the remnants of her snack, waiting for the two to turn their attention elsewhere again. After she felt the weight lift off her shoulders, she snuck another peek and saw that they had finally turned back to the man at the counter.

The professor was speaking to the owner now and she asked unable to stop herself, in an almost whisper as her voice broke unexpectedly, They are… both married then?

Sue frowned again and then leaned in closer for gossip mode again, No, the taller one Edik, a cold fish if you ask me, is single. I do not think he said more than two words when he bought his place on Aloe drive a couple of years back. It is on the large parcel adjoining his brothers. Their family has lived in this town for a long time, although Edik just returned…I think. Anyways, I do quite a bit of business for them and their extended family. Then Sue added absentmindedly as she pulled her napkin off her lap and began folding it up, Honestly, I would not have even bothered showing in this area at all if it were not for them. I have not sold a property in this town to any outsiders in nearly, gosh how long has it been, twenty years.

Their extended family? Adriana asked trying to sound disinterested, as her heart fluttered in her chest with this unexpected pleasant news.

Sue continued whispering ineffectually again, Yes the Severn family has been living here in Saint Pearl since heck, even before my folks moved to the area. A lot of old money and the lines are quite extensive. All of them are very welcoming folks, aside from him. Then Sue made a face to stress her point as she gestured at Edik.

Adriana frowned and snuck a peek again mumbling, Not a people person then?

Sue frowned not understanding her sudden change in mood and mistook it for agreement so she ventured with, No, I guess not, although I suppose he does not need to be with his job. Then she gave a low nervous giggle realizing that Adriana did not share her humor and stopped abruptly straightening uncomfortably.

Adriana did not notice, as she picked up her folk and began chasing an uneaten raisin around her plate distractedly commenting, They are hunters too. Sue frowned at her estranged companion, as Adriana continued chasing her scraps finally stabbing it before offering Sue a weak smile, They have that look in their eyes. It’s hard to explain, I just know.

Sue looked at her curiously now and Adriana shrugged feebly, shooting her eyes back down at her plate again, adding, Sort of like the guy who just walked in, dangerous. Sue turned to look at the man who entered and made his way to the counter, as he looked dead at Adriana with his icy pale eyes as well.

Adriana continued to stare at her plate as Sue smiled suddenly discomforted by her companion and she replied hesitantly, Yes, you got that one right too. Gabriel goes hunting and camping all the time as well, and he is a distant relation to the Severn’s, I think.

Adriana shrugged, and a chill went down her spine, all three men had their eyes on them now, not bothering to hide their dismay. She quickly backtracked a feeling of unseen danger rising in the room around them suddenly, It’s not hard to figure out, muscular builds and a small town. Half of the men in this town probably hunt, by the looks of this place.

Sue agreed, chiming in as she brightened by the change in subject to something that she was more comfortable with, Yes, my Henry used to love to hunt… Sue rattled on telling stories about her husband’s many successful hunting expeditions; meanwhile Adriana’s eyes flew to the door some twenty feet from her table. A feeling of panic had struck her hard, along with an overwhelming urge to run from the building for no reason, other than to evade the men’s gazes, which nearly had her shaking with the effort to stay calm.

However, seeing Sue’s lack of reaction to their current predicament, she suddenly doubted herself and wondered if she was having some sort of panic attack or psychotic break. She placed her clammy hand to her chest once more, attempting to control her breathing as her heart continued to race. Just then, luckily, a police officer walked in distracting the men at the bar and Sue zoned in on him with a familiarity that made Adriana suddenly feel much better.

Sue rose and began making her way towards the door greeting the smiling man warmly, as Adriana followed suit attempting not to look as flustered as she felt, and waited patiently as Sue introduced the two of them. Officer Mark Hansen shook her hand eyeing her as well, and smiling a goofy, smitten grin, making Adriana now uncomfortable for a completely different reason.

Sue noticed his reaction as well, offering, Adriana here is new to Saint Pearl, she just bought Dorel’s old place on Perch Creek. You know, that blue Cape Cod with the white shutters, that’s been on the market for a while.

He nodded, a look of complete surprise then, Nice, though he seemed to be referring to her, rather than her home continuing with, It has been a long time since we have had any new blood in this town.

Adriana smiled politely her feelings of panic all but dissipated as she realized the reason the men at the bar were probably staring at her and she felt foolish, relieved, but foolish. She was new here, and a female, far be it, not the most attractive female in the world as far as she was concerned, but men tended to gravitate towards the new and unusual, and she