* * *
Savannah sighed heavily as she leaned back against the pillows. She should be marching out the door about now and leaving this little paradise behind, but for the life of her she didn't feel like moving. The welts were still appearing all over her and she felt like one giant fever blister.
She wanted to cry, wanted to run, wanted to hide. And she wanted that Sheriff to kiss her too. In all her life she had never been so brazen. But the Sheriff was definitely woman shy. She had to get that through her head, and fast. He wasn't interested, and she shouldn't be. Hadn't Chad been a big enough experience for her? How could she be this attracted to a man, after such a thing happening to her own wedding? It made no sense, no sense at all.
The doctor came and administered a shot, then told her to rest until tomorrow. He didn't want her operating any machinery for at least a day and he'd have a look at her before she left town.
Savannah bit her lower lip when she saw the dismay on the Sheriff's face. He wasn't pleased with being stuck with her either.
Mrs. Johnson waited on her, informing her that the Sheriff would return soon, as soon as he took care of some trivial problems. Little things, like... someone had broken a glass in the school building, someone had a complaint about a car being parked in the wrong place half the day.
It was after sun down before the Sheriff came back and she'd been sleeping. When she woke, she found him sitting beside her looking at her with the biggest frown she'd ever seen.
"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't hear you come in." She said sitting up in the bed, trying to act alert and well, yet failing miserably.
"Mrs. Johnson said that shot knocked you out. You've been sleeping most of the day. I was beginning to worry."
"Great, I probably won't sleep a wink tonight." She grumbled. "I should be out of here by now. Any word on my car?"
"Um...yes, as a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you about that."
Savannah watched him closely, a shadow of doubt on her face. "Oh?"
"You want to tell me about it, or must I?" He firmed his lips and glanced at her. He knew the truth about the car. She had to come clean and tell him.
The blood left her face, her eyes clouded with tears, and she knew she was pouring it on a little too thick. He handed her a tissue and waited. He wasn't impressed. She'd have to level with him, if she wanted his help.
"It belongs to my parents. But I guess you know that by now. When I left the church, I had to have a car. I was at the wedding, my car was at home. I'd ridden there with my parents to the church. Chad lives across the street from the church. The man I was going to marry. Well, I couldn't take someone else's car, could I? I took theirs. Have they filed a complaint?"
"'Fraid so. I'll have to check it out, you know. I'm still waiting on proper id, too. Would you like me to send a message to your parents? At least let them know you are alright? You didn't tell them where you were going or anything?"
"No, there wasn't time, they were already in the church, waiting for us to arrive from across the street. There simply wasn't time and I really didn't want to deal with their reactions so soon. I needed time to think. You don't believe me?" she gasped. A message to her parents? No, she wasn't ready for that.
Seeing the alarm in her face, he felt guilty as hell for checking her out, but knew he had to do it. "Sure...I believe you. It's a formality Savannah...besides, who could make up such a story? Now about that message? No matter how bad the problem is, you should at least let them know you are okay."
She stared at him. "Oh... I suppose you could tell them I'm fine, and will be in touch soon. But that's all, please…"
"Alright. That's better. We'll talk about this when you're feeling better." He grinned. But she was still frowning.
He started to leave but paused in the doorway. "Why did you run out on the fella?"
"It's a long story."
He nodded and smiled again. "I'm sure it is. Indulge me."
"You wouldn't be interested."
"Okay, we'll drop it for now. Have you made any calls yet?" He asked.
"No, I'll need to reach my aunt, and my girlfriend, the one that's meeting me at the Dude Ranch. But it's long distance unless you have a cell phone."
"Your aunt isn't home, as I said, and what's this about a Dude Ranch?"
"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you. Since I've been stranded and your housekeeper told me all about the Dude Ranch not far from here, I called for a reservation. For me and my friend."
He still wasn't following her train of thought. "A Dude Ranch? And exactly what are you going to do at this…Dude Ranch?"
"Take pictures. It's perfect."
"You're going to take pictures at a Dude Ranch?" he queried still not able to put it all together so it made sense.
"Yes, isn't that exciting?" When he didn't respond, she explained. "Well, I borrowed your phone and called the editor of one of the magazines I've worked for. They sounded excited about the idea of doing a layout for them. A nature layout."
"And just what are you going to photograph?"
"Animals, nature."
"Oh!" he nodded now, understanding. "There's a cell phone in my bedroom, on the night stand, but I guess you've already found that. You make your calls, while I see what Mrs. Johnson left us for supper." He smiled at her.
It was the first sign all day that he wasn't upset with her. She felt pleased and more than a little pulled to that smile.
"Thanks," she called after him. "You've been very kind."
He smiled again and left.
Savannah sighed heavily, knowing she was going to miss him the minute she left his beautiful home, but that it was inevitable too. She was stuck here for a night or two, but then it would be over and she'd be gone. That thought left a very dull feeling in her heart. Why couldn't she stay in Junction? What was to stop her?
Good sense. No use pursuing a man who had absolutely no intention of getting married, and said so. But why? Why did he feel that way? Had he been through some painful experience, or was he just a male chauvinist?
Darn it, she didn't need to stay here. She was too attracted to Ben Hogg.
And turnabout was fair play, he didn't trust her any more than she trusted him.
She had just finished talking with Janet on the phone when the Sheriff came in with a tray full of food. He set it in front of her, and then returned to the kitchen.
When he joined her a few minutes later, he had his own tray and sat in the chair by the bed.
"You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble," she exclaimed, adjusting her pillows so she could sit up.
"No trouble for me, Mrs. Johnson did all the work," he said and smiled.
Dear God, that smile!
"I didn't have to be waited on, you know."
He eyed her before biting into his pork chop.
"No problem."
"I'm not very hungry," she protested. He probably already sized her up as totally incapable. A ditz. Maybe she was!
"You should eat though. Food always gives a person a better disposition."
"Look you've been very kind. But, you don't have to take care of me. I'm a big girl."
He smiled. "I don't like to eat alone."
"No, but you live alone, don't you?" She asked nibbling her pork chop now and realizing that no pork chop had ever tasted so heavenly.
"Yeah, but Little Bit and I eat together every evening." He grinned.
"Oh, why don't you invite him in here?" she said and her glance slid to his lips, that looked moist and inviting with every bite.
"Sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all."
She was drooling over the man. She had to get a grip. It made her angry to feel so helpless and so vulnerable to one man. This was ridiculous, being attracted to another man only a few days after her planned wedding to Chad. Especially a man who wanted no part of marriage. Wouldn't she ever learn?
"So what's the story?" he asked as his dog joined his side and contentedly waited for a scra
p of food from his master.
"The story?" She moistened her upper lip, nervously. He wanted details and she wasn't sure she could provide them. She couldn't tell him the truth, she'd made a promise and she intended keeping it.
"Running away from a wedding isn't an everyday occurrence. What happened?"
"Oh," she blushed, "Chad Huntington II. He's really a great guy. He actually took it very well, as I was leaving. Better than I expected. He simply didn't light any fires, that's all, I recognized it in time. He wasn't for me, and I knew it." the lie coming from her lips tasted sour. She'd never been good at lying; it bothered her, caught up with her
"Then why did you accept his proposal?"
How could she go into this without telling him the whole truth? She couldn't do that. She promised Chad she wouldn't say a word to anyone, and she couldn't. No, she'd have to invent the story as she went. Whether the Sheriff bought it or not.
"When you are accused of being an old maid, it pushes buttons. My two sisters are married, and have children. My brother is engaged. It seemed the thing to do. Besides, I'd known him all my life, he's a good man."
"What was wrong with good ole Chad?" he asked with a chuckle. "It had to be something."
"Nothing. Nothing at all. I just didn't love him, and woke up before it was too late. Our parents thought it was mutually beneficial to get us together. I'm twenty six years old and they pushed it."
When he kept waiting for more story, she twisted her head, "What?"
"Indulge me, start from the beginning."
"Well," she began but the phone rang and the Sheriff answered it. He was talking and nodding at the same time, a frown lining his handsome face. That phone saved her and she was ever so grateful. After all, why should she burden the Sheriff with her problems?
"Trouble?" she asked as she finished the pork chop.
"'Fraid so, John and his wife are at it again. Never comes to anything, but if I don't show up they get mad and tell everyone I'm not doing my job, so I go. Sorry, you better try to get some rest. We'll finish this talk later."
"Y-yes, just what I need," she rolled her eyes. She set the tray away from the bed and snuggled into the covers, but she couldn't stop the frowning. Darn it she would miss him, and she shouldn't miss him at all.
He seemed to sense it and before she knew what he was doing he bent over her, and kissed her tenderly on the lips. His lips felt like soft butter, much different from the way Chad had always kissed her. It reminded her of when butter touched a hot pan and began to melt and spread. She wanted to explore this new feeling, but knew better than to go there.
It didn't last long enough to amount to anything, but Savannah felt like a big ball of mush nonetheless. She pinked then asked him, "So what was that for?"
He shrugged, "My Mama used to say a kiss made it better."
With that he tipped his hat and left her.
It was hours before he returned, but he didn't come into her room. She listened intently as he moved about the house.
Late that night, she snuck into the kitchen for a glass of milk and was about to tiptoe back to bed, when she ran into a big, hard, shirtless, chest. His skin was like silk, with just a touch of sweat peppering it.
She gasped; the light from the hallway lit him into a shadow in front of her.
"I was...just getting a glass of milk," she explained. "I'm having trouble going back to sleep."
Her hand, the empty one was on his chest, and it seemed to melt into that hard wall of man. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, and couldn't move away. Her fingers immediately sent a message to her brain. This was another unexplored territory and best left alone.
Without a word, he took the glass of milk from her, put it on the kitchen table, then turned around and took her into his arms.
It was like some movie playing out in front of her.
Sexy, romantic, and oh so wrong.
She wasn't thinking, just feeling as his lips came down to meet hers. Her body instantly moved toward him. He seemed to suck in breath between nibbles of her lips and cheek. "I've been thinking about doing this all day..." he whispered.
"Me too..." she barely managed between sighs of contentment. The feelings were so new to her, she knew she was in over her head, but what could she do? She was practically reaching for his next kiss, so wound up…so in trouble.
"You're so damned sweet..." he murmured.
There it was! That word. Why did everyone think of her as "sweet". Why couldn't he have said, "Charming", "alluring", anything besides, "sweet"? It irritated, and stopped her from making a big fool of herself.
"I think I should go to bed..."
He stopped dead cold.
She staggered backwards and he caught her to him again. "Yeah…I guess you should…before I take you there myself...." he whispered, his lips grazing her ear, as his breath blew against her. She shivered.
She stared at him through the darkness, she didn't want the moment to end like this. For a second, she envisioned him caring her to her bed…
But sanity prevailed and then she slipped down the hall quietly to her room as though nothing at all had happened.
Falling against the door, she closed it and held her breath until she heard him close his.
What had just happened? It was the steamiest moment she had ever shared with a man. He wanted her. That was clear, and the truth be known for a second, she wanted him.
Had she completely lost her mind? Standing there in the dark, kissing a man that was nearly a stranger. Not only that, but responding to his kiss like she had. She felt clueless to her own emotions. But what must he think of her? Thank God, she didn't let him take her to bed.
Chapter Five