Runaway Bride (7 page)

"What's this?" he asked as though she'd
gone loco.

"Aren't you gonna put the handcuffs
back on?" she asked her eyes pleading with him for
understanding.

"I don't think that'll be necessary.
You aren't that dangerous. If need be, I think I could take you.
However, this does create a problem. You are going to have to stay
here till I get some kind of id on you." He said not missing a bite
of his chicken. He stopped for a minute and added, "And you can't
be driving that car until you get a replacement license, that'll
take a day or two."

"Then you don't believe me?" She stared
at him with the rounded green eyes.

"Oh sure, but I can't go on what I
believe. Everyone has to have identification. It won't take long,
and you'll be fine, unless you'd rather me lock you up in a cell,
till I verify who you are."

"A cell!" her eyes were so big and
beautiful he could drown in them, but he shook off this crazy
attraction once more and nodded with a slight smile.

"Uh...no, Sheriff, if you don't mind,
I'll stay...here."

"I thought maybe you would." Ben
chuckled.

"This isn't a bit funny," she
protested.

"Depends on which side of the fence
you're sitting on, I guess." Ben smiled.

Savannah slumped in her chair. "So how
long is all of this going to take?"

"Oh a couple of days at most." Ben
replied pretending great interest in his food all of a
sudden.

"But can't I stay at my
Aunt's?"

"You could, if I knew you were Savannah
Kingsley. And as soon as I find out. Until I do though, I'm afraid
not. This is the best place for you, right now. Don't worry; it's
for your own good." He reassured her. "Unless....you'd rather go to
jail?"

"No thanks," she murmured.

After she was quiet for a long time he
asked, "So what were you planning on doing?"

"I-I don't know. I mean, I thought my
aunt might have a few ideas. She's a crafty lady after
all."

"Yes, that's the word for Lucy
alright."

"See, that should prove I know her.
So…do you know her well?"

"Sure, everyone in Junction knows Lucy.
She's a character too." He chuckled.

"Meaning I am a character, I suppose."
she frowned at him.

"Well, you have got to admit, it's not
every day a runaway bride comes to town."

"There's really an explanation for all
this..." she began only to be cut off.

He raised his hand, "Save it for
another time. Right now we have to do dishes."

"Dishes?" she shrieked.

"Yeah," his eyes narrowed again,
"dishes!"

"But, I don't do dishes!" she gasp. "I
mean...I've never..."

"No," he looked comically at her.
"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything, isn't there."
Again his glance slid over her only this time differently, as
though he were seeing her as a woman. "So what happened to the
groom? The one you obviously left at the altar, what about him?
Won't you even reconsider your rash judgment?"

"No. No, I could never marry
Chad....now!" she explained, tearing into the chicken as though she
were starved.

* * *

He didn't buy all her story. She was
leaving entirely too much out.

After a few minutes, she reached for
another piece of chicken. "This is great, did you cook
it?"

He almost laughed aloud. "Not hardly, I
can't boil water. No, Mrs. Johnson my housekeeper leaves me
something to gnaw on for Sundays, if I don't wander over to the
church. They put on a regular Sunday spread. Or I can make a mean
peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

She laughed.

God, he wasn't prepared to see that
smile of hers. It lit up her face and turned her into nothing short
of beautiful. Those grey-green eyes sparkled with life. Who was she
trying to kid, she belonged in
front
of a camera. Ben tried to ignore the fact that he liked this
woman. Her refreshing honesty stirred his interest. And he knew he
shouldn't be interested at all. She was in protective custody, and
he had to remember that she was little more than a vagrant. She was
obviously running away, but from what he couldn't be sure. And
until he verified her story, she wasn't going anywhere, which left
him uneasy. Because sleeping under the same roof with a little gal
like her might be more than most gentlemen could
tolerate.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I
hadn't seen and heard it with my own eyes and ears. I've stumbled
into Mayberry RFD, haven't I?" she chuckled.

The way she seemed to relax had him on
guard. "It's a pretty calm little town. Pretty laidback people live
here. We don't get in a hurry to do things."

"I can see that and I wasn't mocking
it. I'm delighted to have found it." When he wouldn't stop staring
she looked away purposely. "This is a pretty big place for just
you, isn't it?"

"Never thought of it that way. It's
comfortable here. My family can come visit and I've got plenty of
bedrooms for them."

The word bedrooms brought her attention
front and forward.

***

Savannah found herself warming to this
man, and she wasn't at all sure that was wise. Not good, she
cautioned. Hadn't she just run away from a marriage with a man she
had adored? Hadn't that same man lied to her forever? No, she
couldn't start trusting a complete stranger, even if he was the
Sheriff.

Now that he put the badge away, he
didn't seem much of a threat to her. Unless she counted the way his
smiles affected her heartbeat. Never had any man influenced her
heartbeats. Not even Chad. But that was crazy. He was just a big
friendly Sheriff that was taking care of her and making sure she
did no mischief to his quiet little town. She wouldn't be
forgetting those handcuffs either.

His sister's clothes felt soft and
comfortable on her, even though they were miles too long for her.
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of person she might
be.

His home was so old fashioned and clean
too. The man was a complete surprise, from handcuffs to flowers, he
puzzled her. She didn't want to be puzzled, or
interested.

The hound dog at his feet moved with
him almost simultaneously. She sensed a loyalty there that she
envied.

"He's a nice looking hound," she
commented, watching as he occasionally extended his hand to the top
of the dog's head, and scratched him behind the ears. The dog
whined and settled down beside him.

"You like dogs?" The dog was licking
his fingers and both man and dog were completely tuned in to one
another.

"I don't know, I've never had one," she
said eyeing the dog's complete affection for his owner.

"Never had a dog, you've led a
sheltered life, haven't you? You've never done dishes, never had a
dog?" he teased.

The easy bantering went on till they
finished dinner. He started stacking the dishes and she looked
totally lost. She'd never done dishes either. Not that she was too
good, but she just hadn't been in a position to have to do them.
She'd had a maid all her life, and couldn't imagine doing such
mundane chores before today. The thought was novel, and her
interest peaked in this man of many talents.

"So what do I do?" she asked timidly as
he filled one of the sinks with soap and water.

"There's a cup towel in that drawer by
you. Get it, and dry the dishes as I wash."

She took the cup towel out of the
drawer and waited for the first dish. She had to ask where each
dish went, but he didn't seem to mind telling her.

Her mother would be horrified seeing
her daughter doing such a menial chore. They had often discussed
getting a maid for her once she and Chad were married.

But with that done, she was at a loss
for what to do next. She watched him let the water out of the sink
and turned about to face him.

"Why don't you take me to my car now
and I won't bother you any further," she insisted.

He smiled, taking the dishrag from her
and shook his head. "Wouldn't do any good. You can't fix your car,
and although I could fix the flat, I couldn't supply a water hose
or radiator. And...you don't have a license. So you might as well
face it, you are stuck here for the night. Don't worry about your
car though; I've already radioed the highway patrol. So relax. It'd
help if I knew the make and model."

"Oh, it's a BMW, 2009."

"That ought to get some attention
around here. We don't have many of those break down."

But she wasn't thinking about her car,
she was worried about staying the night with the handsome
Sheriff.

Those words rang in her head like some
gong. Stuck with Mr. Handsome for a whole night, alone, in his
house, and the highway patrol might ring his doorbell any moment
telling him to put the cuffs back on.

"But I hate to impose ..."

His gaze encompassed her like some
snare and the mutual attraction seemed to shoot off the walls at
them, making them both aware of the situation. Heat rose inside her
so quickly she felt her face flush.

"You can have the bedroom behind the
kitchen. It's the one Mrs. Johnson uses occasionally when it's bad
weather or she doesn't feel like driving back to town. Don't worry
I'm not in the habit of molesting women who stay here."

"Do many women stay here?" she asked in
an almost whisper.

"No," his voice sounded soft, almost
like a whisper too.

"I didn't think so," she muttered
miserably to herself, unable to define her own misery.

"What's that supposed to
mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, Sheriff. Can
you show me to my room so I can rest, I'm exhausted," she said
without glancing at him again.

"Sure, follow me." he took her elbow
again and this time the electrical current running through her arm
nearly made her faint with shock. Never had a man's touch so
inflamed her senses. Good grief, she was reacting like one of those
silly heroines from a romance novel. He was only being nice, or
trying to be. He certainly had no use for her, and his thoughts of
marriage were so removed from her own, she knew better than to
contemplate anything. Still, there was an instant attraction, and
she knew he felt something, from the way he kept moving away from
her.

Get real, this guy was a cop, and he
could put her in jail if he knew she'd taken her parents’ car. But
what was a girl to do, she couldn't stay at the church, she
couldn't marry Chad after what she had witnessed for herself, she
had no choice, she had to run.

But as he directed her to the room, he
showed her where the TV was, and the remote, and the few magazines
that Mrs. Johnson left. He seemed intent on making her perfectly
comfortable for the night. She should have felt grateful, but she
knew there was a danger here and she didn't know how to handle it.
The danger was in herself. She was definitely overly attracted to
the Sheriff. Flirtation was one thing, but not with a Sheriff.
Especially now. Not with the Highway patrol sniffing at her
heels.

There were pictures on the dresser,
probably him and his family. She picked them up and looked at them
for a long moment. The Sheriff was undeniably handsome. He was long
legged, thin, but built, weathered from the sun. His jaw was
squared with determination, his lips firm and sensual, and his eyes
were sometimes warm and friendly with crinkles around them, and
sometimes cold and hard.

As he left her, she looked about the
room. It was very simple, with a big feather bed and plump pillows,
yellow curtains at the window, and the television was a good size
and swung around from the bed to the chair. She propped herself
after changing into her nightshirt and decided to make the best of
the night.

She heard him going outside a time or
two, and wished she hadn't changed her clothes, a nice walk after
dinner would have made her feel better. She'd eaten way too much,
but darn it, the handsome Sheriff made her nervous. As it were, she
felt leaded down. With a sigh of discontent she grabbed a magazine
and glanced through it. It was several months old and she'd read
it. She flipped on the television and watched for a while, but most
was reruns and she felt a restlessness that confused
her.

The day hadn't gone well, but at least
she was here, in nowheresville. She could relax, she told herself.
She'd get her car fixed tomorrow and figure out what to do from
there. Everything would be fine.

So why was she so acutely tuned to the
Sheriff's every move?

It was a given he was a fantastic male
specimen. Way out of her league. She'd never dated a man so
attractive before. Even though Chad was handsome, he lacked that
he-man attraction that this man seemed consumed with. Thick brown
hair that was perfectly manicured, eyes like a hawk, and a smile
like the devil himself. She'd better be careful. She'd love to
photograph him. But there wouldn't be time and she was pretty sure
he wouldn't dream of posing for her. No cameras. Still, she doubted
she would ever see or be near another Sheriff with his looks and
strange kind of charm.