Picture Perfect (Butler Island) (6 page)

Seconds after placing the boxes on
the oversized dining table, the feeding frenzy began. Olivia was suddenly
surrounded by a half dozen hungry firemen. “Am I in the right place? I didn’t
accidently drive to the police station, did I?” she stated as she glanced
around the room.

Ty put his arm around his little
sister and kissed the top of her head. “Cops aren’t the only ones who like
doughnuts, you know. Especially when they’re doughnuts from Anderson’s Bakery.”

Randall Burns opened the box, wearing
an unmistakable expression of bliss. “Mmm, they’re still warm… Thanks DD!” he
shouted as he stuffed the Swiss chocolate-drizzled doughnut in his mouth.

Grant had just returned to the
kitchen when he’d overheard Randall babbling.
DD?
He’d clearly been
speaking to Olivia, but those weren’t her initials. “Okay, what does ‘DD’ stand
for?” he finally asked.

Jimmy Phillips tore his mouth away
from his doughnut long enough to give him a very brief explanation.
“Daredevil.”

Grant turned his attention to Olivia
and raised his brows. “Daredevil, huh?”

She met his astonished gaze and
smiled as Ty placed his arm around his sister’s shoulders. “Grant, you are in
the presence of a living legend. It’s a funny story—
although it wasn’t so
funny at the time…
This girl right here stole Mr. Baker’s jet ski when she
was fifteen and took it on a three hour joyride!”

Grant couldn’t believe what he was
hearing! He’d heard about the free-spirited teenage girl that’d hijacked a jet
ski, but no one had ever uttered her name. He’d always thought it was an urban
legend, unable to comprehend something so outrageous happening on the
slow-paced island. “That was
YOU?”
he asked in disbelief
.

“Well, first of all I didn’t steal
it—stealin’ implies I had no intention of returnin’ it—I
borrowed it.
And Mr. Baker should’ve known better than to leave that Jet Ski with the key in
the ignition and a full tank of gas. And finally, I can’t be held entirely
responsible—it was all Randall’s fault.”

“
Randall?
How was it Randall’s
fault?” he asked incredulously.

“Because I
dared
her to do
it…” Randall explained as he licked the chocolate from his fingertips.

“Alright, alright—what’s all the
commotion about”, Chief Handler interjected as he emerged from his office. He
was a large, intimidating man with a deep growling voice, but Olivia knew that
outward appearances were often misleading; Chief Handler was nothing more than
an oversized teddy bear.

“Good mornin’, Chief”, she said as
she stepped away from Ty.

“Olivia…?” His roughened expression
suddenly turned softer as he opened his arms, encouraging her to experience one
of his infamous bear hugs.

She rushed toward him, but was unable
to wrap her arms around him completely. He’d always been a large man and in the
nine years she’d been away, he’d obviously managed to expand his waist
circumference by more than a few inches.

“I heard you were back in town and I
was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to stop by and see me!” Chief
placed his hands on her shoulders and took a step back. “Look at you—all grown up!
Hell, it seems like just yesterday you were sitting in the fire truck
pretending to drive!”

“Yeah, it does…
I hope you’re hungry; I
brought three dozen doughnuts from Anderson’s Bakery.”

Chief smiled and then grabbed his
belly, giving his blubber a slight jiggle. “Are you kidding me?—I’m always
hungry!” Cupping his hand over his mouth, he continued in a hushed tone, “And
if by chance you happen to run into my wife, please be sure to exclude what I’m
about to do, okay?”

Olivia watched as he picked up a
paper plate and eagerly piled four doughnuts on top before licking his
fingertips. No wonder he didn’t want Mrs. Handler to
find out. He wasn’t eating the
“breakfast of
champions”
;
he was moments away from consuming a heart attack on a plate. “Don’t worry,
Chief, you’re secret is safe with me…”

Chief Handler devoured his first
doughnut in roughly three bites and then turned to face Ty. “Everitt, I need to
speak with you in my office about the state fire marshal’s latest report.”

“Alright Chief, I’ll be right there.”
Ty glanced toward Olivia and gave her a smirk. “If I’m not back in thirty
minutes—pull the fire alarm”, he whispered wryly before he turned and walked
away.

“Should we save a few doughnuts for
Jarrod?” Tommy Carson asked.

“C’mon, man. You
honestly think he’s gonna
eat one?” Jimmy questioned.

“Good point.”

Olivia looked at the men surrounding
the doughnuts. “Okay—who’s Jarrod and why wouldn’t he want any doughnuts?”

“Because, those things will kill ya…”

 Olivia turned around just as a tall,
lean, shirtless man emerged from the hallway. He’d obviously just completed a
workout: his wet, blonde hair falling across his forehead, his chest glistening
with sweat. His eyes were dark and mysterious. And they were currently gliding
across her body.

“I don’t believe we’ve met yet. I’m
Olivia, Ty’s sister”, she said as she offered her hand.

He replaced the lid to his water
bottle and gave it a firm twist before wiping his free hand on his shorts. He
then took a step toward her and shook her hand as he spoke. “Jarrod James. It’s
a pleasure…”

Olivia removed her hand from his grip
and smiled. “How come I haven’t seen you before?”

“Well, probably because I missed the
latest poker game and I was out of town last weekend for the Halloween party.”

“Oh. Well, are you sure you don’t
want just
one
doughnut? Surely one won’t kill you!”

“No thanks.” Jarrod turned away
toward the refrigerator and reached for a cup that resembled the size of a
bucket. He cracked five eggs into the cup, discarded the shells, and then added
several dashes of hot sauce before raising it to his lips. He threw back his
head and in one swift motion, swallowed the raw egg mixture. And as if his
choice of breakfast was the most natural thing in the world, he simply rinsed
his cup, turned around and headed back to the weight room.

The room fell silent for several
moments before anyone spoke.

“Sweet baby
Jesus”, she whispered. “That
brings a whole new meaning to sunny-side up,
doesn’t it?” The remaining men in the room suddenly broke out in laughter.
She’d never seen anyone turn down one of Mr. Anderson’s doughnuts before—and
she’d certainly never witnessed consumption of a raw egg cocktail either. “Is
the stove broke or something?”

And that’s when
she noticed. The entire
kitchen looked different—newer. She’d been so caught up with visiting and then
meeting Jarrod, she hadn’t recognized there’d been a change. The avocado-green
countertops had been replaced with black-speckled Formica; the outdated
linoleum floor now covered with gray porcelain tile and the walls were painted
a lighter shade of gray. The cabinets appeared to be the same, however they’d
been painted white, brightening the once dull room.

She inquired about the renovations
and was told that it’d taken place four years earlier. And the kitchen wasn’t
the only place to receive a facelift: the entire station had undergone one as
well.

“If you’d like a tour, I can show you
around”, Grant offered.

“Thank you. That’d be great!”

They wound their way around the entire
station: The bunk room where they slept, the “corral” that housed a row of
black leather recliners and a wall-mounted T.V. for evening relaxation, the
small weight room, and finally the bay where they’d stumbled upon one another
earlier.

“So… Have you given any thought to my
dinner invitation?”

Olivia bit her bottom lip and crossed
her arms. “You are a persistent thing, aren’t you?”

He studied her. She was clearly
debating with herself.

Face it, Womack, she’s not
interested!
“C’mon, you mean to tell me that the
‘daredevil’
is afraid to have
dinner with me?”

That sounded like a challenge…
“Alright,
what time?” she questioned.

“How about I pick you up at seven?”

“How about I meet you at your place
at seven?” She countered.

Grant couldn’t contain his smile. As
usual, she needed to have the upper hand.

 “Deal.”

CHAPTER 5

Hmmm… a pair of jeans or a slinky
dress?

 
It’d been over a year since
her last date. Being a freelance photographer wasn’t like other jobs. Natural
and man-made disasters were never planned in advance. She couldn’t glance at
her schedule and predict when or where her next adventure would take her. Her
frequent travels over the past year kept her far too busy for a relationship
and after the horrific experience from her last date, she hadn’t been overly
eager to get back into the dating game.

Why are you obsessing over your
wardrobe? This isn’t a real date, remember? Grant is just a friend.

 A friend who happens to kiss as
though his life depended on it…

Olivia searched through her closet
and finally decided on a long, navy maxi-dress, a fitted denim jacket, and a
pair of silver sandals. The final ensemble was dressier than her normal
everyday attire, yet still casual. She wanted to look nice, but she also didn’t
want to give Grant the impression that she’d put a lot of thought into tonight.

You have put a lot of thought into
it—in fact, that’s all you’ve been thinking about since you left the fire
station yesterday!

Okay, so maybe she was a little
excited. Was that so terrible?

 Clearly they were attracted to one
another
and they had a good time whenever
they were
together. Their feelings for one another weren’t serious—they
were just having fun. It wasn’t like she was going to sleep with him or
anything—
 

“Where are you going tonight?” Ty
asked as she approached the front door.

“Um, just having dinner with a
friend.”

 She wasn’t exactly sure why she’d
said that. She wasn’t sixteen; she was twenty-seven—an adult. He couldn’t
“forbid” her to have dinner with Grant. And besides, her and Grant were
“friends.” A man and a woman could have dinner together without labeling it a
“date”, couldn’t they?

Raising the
bottle to his lips, Grant took
another large pull from his beer and then placed
it on the
counter. He hadn’t planned on
drinking before his
date with Olivia, but as the minutes ticked by it be
came clear that he needed something to calm his
nerves.

Quit acting like a fucking wuss! It’s
not even a real date—you practically dared her to have dinner with you…

Yeah, not one of his finest moments.

The doorbell rang, and after chugging
the remainder of his beer, he hurried to open the door.

“Hey there, you
ready?” she asked as she smiled
.

“Wow. You look”
—
good enough to eat— “
pretty.”

Damn it, Womack, get your mind out of
the gutter.

“Thank you. You clean up pretty nice
yourself.”

He couldn’t help but stare. Her
entire body was covered, the hem of her dress settled around her ankles; the
denim jacket covered her arms. But he knew what existed beneath the material: a
firm, yet feminine body. Visions of that mouthwatering figure, dressed in a
skimpy referee costume, had haunted him for days. “Um… let me just grab my keys
and we can—”

“—Oh, there’s no need; I’m driving”,
she assured him confidently.

Scratching the
stubble along his jaw, he
studied her. “But you don’t know where we’re going.”

“Not yet. But as soon as you tell me,
I will”, she countered playfully.

After closing the door behind him he
took a step forward and reached for her hand. “Okay, I’m not going to argue
with you. Let’s get out of here.”

Most of the small restaurants on the
island were rather casual and inexpensive. The kind of places you’d expect to
find a plastic checkered tablecloth, oversized booths, and a waitress that
didn’t hand you a menu because she already knew what you were going to order.
But Grant didn’t want to take Olivia to a place like that. He wanted to impress
her.

They’d parked in the public lot and
started down the boardwalk. “So now will you tell me where we’re eatin’?” she
asked impatiently.