Runaway Bride (12 page)

"Junction was a real nice little town
till you came here. I haven't used handcuffs in over a year. But
you come to town and all hell breaks loose. Leroy nearly broke the
bartender’s jaw. Want to know why?"

"Yes." Savannah's mouth popped
open.

"Because Many said it wasn't your
fault. Said I should have arrested Leroy instead."

"And you blame me for that?"

"Among other things, yes. I have put
you into protective custody for now.”

She opened her mouth to protest and he
pointed his finger at her, “Don’t press it Savannah, You are still
in possession of your parents car, and they weren’t sure if they
wanted to press charges or not, so don’t tempt me. You came to town
with no id, and dressed well…dressed in that get up. I could throw
the book at you if I wanted to. Now, your bail is $150, or a night
in jail, take your pick.”

“You’d do this just because I flirted
with a couple of…”

“Not for flirting, no. Those men were
not playing for money, would you rather I put down a different
charge?”

“But I didn’t intend….”

“Maybe you didn’t, but they did. Now
which is it going to be, a night in jail or $150?”

“But why are you taking it out on
me?”

“Because you started it.” He stared at
her with such a frown. Where could she go, he certainly hadn’t
offered her a room in his home again? She only had a little over
two hundred dollars altogether. She had no choice. He intended to
keep her in jail overnight.

“I guess I’ll stay then…”

As though he were trying to reason it
all out in his own head, he shook his head and glanced at her
again, “You are a walking piece of trouble. How I could ever
thought you so sweet, is beyond me."

Tears streamed down her face, yet his
words gave her a ray of hope. She had finally gotten rid of her
"sweet image". One accomplishment, only what had it cost her? "I'm
sorry. But I really didn't do anything wrong."

"You obviously don't have to," his eyes
narrowed on her. "Sleep on it. I'll see you in the
morning."

* * *

The next morning Ben walked into the
office an hour early. He hadn't slept a wink and by the looks of
her, Savannah hadn't either. Something deep within him wanted to
comfort her, but he kept telling himself just how much trouble she
was and that he had been right from the start about her. The sooner
she got out of town the better!

He'd been a fool once before over a
woman, he wouldn't be repeating that experience.

Instead he greeted her with a smile and
a "Good morning."

He wasn't feeling good about this whole
mess. What was wrong with him, locking her up like some common
criminal? But at least he knew exactly what he had to do
now.

He went about his business till Henry
popped in for his daily dose of gossip and men talk. Of all days,
this wasn't the day to gossip.

"Still got her here, do ya?" Henry
glanced over Ben's shoulder at her.

"Yes, Henry, I do." Ben eyed
Henry.

"Gonna let her go, today?" He asked,
scratching his chin.

"Maybe."

He saw her move toward the door
eagerly, "Later."

"Probably best. We don't need her kind
here, do we, Sheriff?" Henry winked at her.

"You can say that again!"

"Gotta admit though, she brought some
excitement to town." Henry scratched his chin and
smiled.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, I'll be going home now. Ma'am."
Henry tipped his hat to her.

Savannah nodded.

Ben tried to look busy when Henry
left.

She sighed. "Are you going to keep me
or let me go? You can’t keep me over 24 hours without charging me
with something."

Now he approached her cell, with the
keys in his hand. He turned the key and opened the door, but he
stood in her way of freedom.

Savannah stared into his cold brown
eyes, wishing there was something she could do to make him smile
again, to make herself smile again.

"You want to tell me what you were
trying to pull over there?"

His voice sounded cold and
unresponsive.

She shook her head.

He nodded.

"Your “parents” car's out front. Get in
it, and go home, understand?" He said hotly.

"Yes," she managed in a weak
voice.

"Your personal things are on my desk.
Pick them up and get."

"Thanks, Sheriff."

And then she was gone, and the whole
room went cold and silent and Ben Hogg didn't know what had hit
him.

CHAPTER
SIX

The dude ranch was only twenty miles
out of Junction. A welcome sight to Savannah. She'd had all of one
little town she cared to. All of a certain Sheriff she cared to.
And yet, the further away she went, the more miserable she became.
She'd experience a slice of life back there.

Renting a car, she left instructions to
have the BMW returned to the Sheriff.

She knew her parents would be livid,
and probably already had a private detective following her. They
probably already knew she'd been arrested.

Later that same morning, she registered
at the front desk of a quaint style ranch house, and they gave her
a room at the top of the stairs. She told them she was expecting a
friend to join her.

Aunt Lucy was in Europe and wouldn't be
back for another week according to her house-sitter.
Trust Aunt Lucy to be enjoying
herself
. She couldn't remember much about Aunt Lucy,
except that she had been kind to her as a child. Wasn't sure of the
kind of reception she would get from her, either. Still, they were
kin.

Activities didn't begin till the
evening hours when they would have their first camp-out. Savannah
couldn't wait. She had practically been guaranteed some great shots
of the West Texas wildlife tomorrow

Two hours later, Janet, her best friend
arrived and showered her with hugs so intense it boggled Savannah's
thinking. Over coffee, she explained her plight to her friend.
Janet burst out laughing.

"Now this isn't like you at all. Me
thinks something is amiss here. Come clean, just what gives with
you and the Sheriff, deary?"

"Why nothing..."

"I know you better than this; you just
don't act this way. Running out on Chad the way you did. You had to
have had a reason. You're much too sensible. So what gives, girl?
I'm your best friend, if you can't tell me, who can you
tell?"

Savannah sighed, knowing she was about
to make up another lie and hating herself for it. But she couldn't
blurt out that Chad was gay, not yet at least.

"I met Ben, the Sheriff some time ago,
remember three summers ago when I took a sabbatical?"

"Yeah, I do...you met him then?" Janet
rolled her eyes heavenward, and then broke into a sly
smile.

"Yes, at a gas station, I had car
trouble and he offered to help me."

"Go on," Janet seemed all ears for her
story.

Savannah drew a deep breath and plunged
herself further into the void of lies. What was happening to her?
She was so out of characters she didn't recognize
herself.

"We had a summer romance. He'd kissed
me, and for the life of me, I couldn't get over him. I tried.
Honestly, I tried. So I came out here, hoping."

"Wait a minute, he kissed you one time,
and you drop a perfectly good guy like Chad for a fling you had one
summer? Am I missing something here? Get out of here Savannah. One
kiss?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'd never
been kissed like that before."

"Like what?"

"I don't know...like I saw stars, and
hearts and happily ever afters."

"Oh my," Janet shook her head. "You've
got it bad, don't you? But honestly, Savannah, no one would believe
it of you back home. You're so...."

"Please don't say sweet."

"So what happened when you got here?"
Janet changed the direction of her questions.

"Nothing..."

Janet was having none of
that.

"Nothing?"

"Well, I went to his house, I spent the
night...he kissed me again, and the same thing
happened..."

"You spent the night....?"

"No...not like that. I had car trouble;
he was merely helping me out."

She neglected the handcuff story that
might ruin it all.

"You had car trouble again? And he
didn’t catch on to that little trick? So he kissed you again, and
you saw stars. So then what?"

"Nothing..."

"What do you mean nothing?” It was
obvious Janet was braced for a real story.

"Oh, you'll think I've lost my mind
entirely if I tell you," she cried.

"Try me, what happened?"

"He arrested me...."

"For what?" Janet nearly shouted, as
heads turned in their direction.

Savannah pulled Janet up the stairs,
"His attitude toward marriage enraged me, so I flirted with some
guys in a pool hall. I mean...I really flirted. I flaunted myself.
For the first time in my life...I played. Only…I wasn't very good
at it."

"You did what? Why....Savannah, this
doesn't sound like you at all. I just don't understand."

"I guess I was trying to get his
attention. I did..."

"Well despite what you told me about
him not wanting marriage, it sounds like he was a little interested
himself." Janet said watching her every move. "So come on tell me.
What happened between you and the Sheriff?"

"Happened?"

Her friend smiled, and pushed her long
golden hair from her blue eyes.

"Nothing...I told you. He's a
red-necked male chauvinist. He just didn't want me stirring up
trouble in his little town."

"He didn't arrest you, sweetie," Janet
corrected her.

"What do you mean? He put handcuffs on
me. I spent the night in jail."

"Under protective custody, more than
likely." Her friend chimed.

“No he put me in jail.”

“Did he fingerprint you? Did he charge
you bail money?”

“Well, yes, he said I owed $150 for
disturbing the peace.”

“So why didn’t you pay it and
leave?”

“I only had two-hundred dollars on me.
I was afraid to spend it all on something like that. He didn’t
really have a case against me, so I figured he’d have to let me go
the next day. They can’t hold you over twenty-four hours without
charging you with something. Jared told me that once.”

"And you purposely came to this little
town in nowhere for what? Now...I'm beginning to see. You left Chad
for the Sheriff, didn't you? Why, you little minx."

Savannah sighed, not digesting the lie
very well, she swallowed hard and continued.

"Yes, but Sheriff Ben Hogg is
not
interested in me. Or marriage."
she cried, sure she had put a stop to Janet's wayward curiosity.
But she stopped short of making her see the light. After all, if
Janet and her family thought the Sheriff was interested, maybe they
would soon forget about Chad. And what could it hurt, the Sheriff
would never know. She was sure she'd never see Ben Hogg again, even
though a tiny voice in her head said she wanted to.

"You know Chad was really sweet. He
calmly stood up and told the entire congregation that the two of
you had changed your minds and apologized for the expense. And your
parents were livid. I was a little shocked myself. I never thought
you'd just run out...that takes a lot of guts. So what's your
plans?"

"Plans? I don't have
any–now!"

"Well of course. You can't just let
this slide. You need to take action. Go for that hunk of a Sheriff,
honey."

"Go for him? I'm not the least bit
interested, and neither is he! Look Janet, I just ran from one man,
do you honestly think I'm going to run into the arms of another?
Besides, Ben Hogg made it very clear, he's not interested in
marriage…and frankly, that's all I want."

"Oh come on, girlie, that's exactly
what you did. And...unless you want some other lady to have him,
yes. And look, we all know that you and Chad cared for each other,
but no one, I mean no one ever believed you were in love with
him."

Savannah's mouth opened but nothing
came out. How could everyone know, when she hadn't? Up until a few
days ago she had planned to spend the rest of her life making Chad
a good wife.

"How could you
know
that about me? I didn't!"

"Honey, you were in love with getting
married. Anyone that knew you could see that. You just didn't know
that you have to shop around before you find the right fellow for
the job. Of course something must have kicked in, because you
followed your own heart...here."