Ruby sat by the deputy's desk in the police building as Sheriff Graham walked in and stopped.
"Well you're not Emma." he stated
Ruby jumped a bit "no, I'm not. I'm waiting for her though. Have you seen her?"
Graham watched her slightly sad face and answered "nope. She's probably out with that August fellow."
Now it was Ruby's turn to observe his down mood as she bounced a pen on her knee. "Bad day?"
"The worst." Graham admitted as he walked over by the jail cell
"Ditto," Ruby mumbled, leaning back in her chair
"So why are you waiting for Emma?" Graham asked casually
"Nothing important... Girl stuff." Ruby shrugged
"Guess I can't help then." Graham smiled a bit
Ruby smiled a bit more "No, probably not."
"Well I'm not in the best mood either. Found out about Emma and August last night... I haven't been doing too well since.
"I suppose we'll have to do something about that." Ruby stood up suddenly and smiled wide
"Oh we will?" Graham raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the young woman's energy
"Well yeah. I figure if we're both in a lousy mood, we should both try to help each other out." Ruby shrugged as though it were the most obvious thing in the world
Graham narrowed his eyes and cocked his head "Got any ideas?"
"Actually, yes," Ruby nodded
"Care to elaborate?" Graham asked
"Nope; it's a surprise!" Ruby was all smiles now
Graham was amused and decided to go along with it "Alright, surprise me."
"How much do you trust me?" she asked, moving around the desk quickly
Graham drew his head back suspiciously "Depends..."
"Trust me enough to let me blindfold you and get in my car without knowing where we're going?" Ruby asked hurriedly then bit her lower lip
Graham felt his jaw drop "excuse me?"
"C'mon, please? You're the sheriff so I can't try anything funny and even if I did it's not like you're not protected." Ruby rambled and motioned to his holstered gun
"Good point." Graham considered the excited woman in front of him and the possibility of fun, then sighed "I can't believe I'm saying this but... Okay, Ruby, I trust you."
Ruby squealed slightly "Okay, let me use your tie."
The rational part of Graham's mind screamed "What the hell are you doing?", but the emotional part cried "More! More! More! This is fun!"
For the first time in his life, Graham listened to his emotional side and handed his tie over to the tall waitress. Her hands moved quickly as she covered his eyes. "Okay I'll help you walk through here and out to my car but I'm not telling you a thing after that."
Graham could hear the smile in her voice and wished he could see it "then you'll drive me to a remote location, have your way with me, and then kill me, right?"
Ruby snorted "You wish,"
Graham felt the conflict between the voices in his head pick up again. While logic said "No, you don't wish; you want Emma, remember?" emotions argued "yeah, but she's taken. Ruby however is very single and I would love to change that."
Ruby's voice brought Graham back to reality "okay watch your step."
"Where are we?" Graham tried to keep the tinge of panic in his mind out of his voice
"The parking lot. Haven't you been listening? Or have my narrations been going to waste this whole time?" Ruby sounded as though she were scolding him slightly but instead of apologizing and making things awkward, she decided to stay in her happy mood and brush it off
"Okay duck to about elbow height now" Ruby instructed, helping Graham into her car
"Tiny car," he chuckled at her height estimate as he made himself comfortable in the passenger seat
"You can't see it, but I stuck my tongue out at you." she informed him with narrowed eyes
"what? How old are you? Nine?" he laughed
Ruby sneered at him playfully and slammed the door. Graham was still laughing as she got in. He fumbled with his seatbelt as she started the car. "Put your seatbelt on."
She looked at him disbelievingly "Seriously?"
"Click it or ticket," he retorted, flashing his badge at her
"Ugh fine," she gave in as she put her seatbelt on "happy now?"
"Overcome," he replied smiling sarcastically as she pulled out of the lot "so where are we going exactly?"
"Nice try, sheriff, but my lips are sealed." Ruby elbowed his arm, causing him to jump at the unexpected movement
"And such nice lips they are," he blurted
Ruby whirled her head around to face him, her red- streaked hair whipping her face "Excuse me?"
"Did I mention I had some scotch this morning?" Graham asked, trying to cover his embarrassment
"No, you didn't and for the record when I was tying your blindfold, I did not smell scotch." Ruby almost busted out laughing at Graham's blushing face
"Cologne?" Graham continued trying to cover his tracks as the car came to a stop
"Strike two." Ruby quipped
"I meant it," Graham admitted
"Ooh! Home run and out of the park!" Ruby laughed as she leaned over and kissed the blindfolded sheriff
"Whoa," Graham mumbled after she pulled away
Ruby couldn't help but smile. Unfortunately the moment was ruined by a driver waiting behind Ruby's vehicle. She quickly slammed the gas pedal and sped up a gravely road.
"Okay either I really am drunk or we're driving uphill now." Graham commented, gripping his arm rest
"Nope, you're sober." Ruby chuckled as she parked the car
"Are we here?" Graham inquired eagerly
"Yup," Ruby answered as she ran around the front of her car and opened his door
"Good- I was starting to get car sick." Graham muttered, getting out and standing by the car
Ruby stared wide eyed at him "Were you planning on telling me this before or after you puked in my car?"
"Well hopefully I wouldn't have to tell you afterwards." Graham laughed
"Shut up, Smart Ass." Ruby snapped lightly
"Okay so where are we exactly?" Graham wondered aloud
"You'll see, but you're gonna have to trust me again." Ruby answered moving behind Graham and putting her hand on his shoulders
"Who says I stopped?" Graham asked
Ruby was too busy blushing to respond. She mentally shook herself and began lightly pushing him forward "okay two more steps... Put your hands on this guard rail... Okay, ready?"
"I think so," Graham replied timidly, his heart beating wildly
"okay. Blindfold off in 3... 2... 1..." as Ruby counted down, she untied and yanked the tie from Graham's face in one swift motion
He felt himself gasp at the beautiful sight before him. The view of the town from here was incredible. He could see over the tree tops and the buildings. He watched a breeze go through the trees surrounding the town then felt its' cold crisp power blow past him. He knew the residents of the tiny town would be bustling about their mediocre lives and that usually he'd be one of them, but in this moment, he felt absolutely amazing. All thanks to the absolutely amazing woman beside him.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ruby asked him
"Understatement of the century. The view from here is... How did you find this place?" Graham asked, trying to catch his breath.
"I don't know," Ruby shrugged "I think I came here once with my dad. I just remembered it existed the other day, actually."
"Thank you," Graham smiled
"anytime," Ruby grinned
_