***
Ben Hogg took one look at the illusion of a woman stumbling toward him and pushed his hat over his eyes, nearly shutting her out. He squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. Here comes trouble! In the first place, he didn't believe what he saw. In the second, he wanted to ignore it more than anything else on this ride from hell.
Of all things to materialize out of the blue, a woman in a —
What was she wearing? Looked like parts of a wedding dress. But only parts. The bodice was there, but from the waist down, only a white nylon slip covered her, and that was stretching it since the slip was practically see-through. A ghostly image of beautifully shaped legs made him aware in places he didn't want to admit. The sleeves of the dress were ripped completely off. She was a mess, and yet as alluring as a baby kitten. Ben always had a weakness for kittens.
He could just imagine what her story was. And he didn't want to hear it, didn't need to. Pretty obvious the woman was escaping some poor unsuspecting snook at the altar. God bless him. Yes, the poor sap was probably mooning over a cold one about her now, Ben imagined. After all, even covered in grit and grime she looked good. Her light brown hair shone even though it looked tousled, and there was a streak of blonde in the front. It captured his attention for a second. How a woman could have just one streak in her hair, he didn't know. And he didn't know why this particular streak caught his attention, either.
None of his business, and he wasn't about to ask. He didn't need any hassles, especially from a woman. He'd learned that lesson the hard way. Married all of two months five years ago had taught him that marriage was not for Ben Hogg.
Not that he was the least bit interested in her story. No sir, he had a comfortable life and he aimed to keep it that way. Marriage was for suckers, and he had ceased being one.
The woman was coming straight in his direction, just like an arrow aimed at a dartboard. Ben slouched down into the seat and began to slightly snore. If anything would drive a woman away fast, it was snoring, according to the town crier of Junction.
He'd left his saddle in the seat beside him, so surely she wouldn't plop herself down beside him. If anything she should read it as an open invitation to look elsewhere for a seat. But the bus was crowded, where could she go? The woman didn't have much choice, he conceded with a heavy sigh.
She was going to sit down beside him, and there wasn't a way in the world he could stop her.
Then he heard a thump, a loud, thump.
Without looking he knew it was the saddle landing on the floor, and none to gently. He bit his tongue to keep from snapping at the woman. Didn't she realize how much a saddle like that cost? Hand tooled!
But she hadn't finished making a spectacle of herself yet. She wrestled with the tripod for several minutes before it finally lay silently against her side of the seat.
With one finger, and a frown bigger than the Pecos he stared at her.
The woman peered at him beneath the longest lashes Ben had ever seen on a human, a cow maybe, but not a human.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
The woman fluffed her slip around her, and finally put it down to a decent level then eyed him with all the innocence of a teddy bear facing a rattlesnake. But even venom couldn't stop the immediate reaction Ben had to those engaging green eyes.
"Sorry about the saddle, but all the seats were taken." She said sweetly.
He glanced at his saddle which had become her instant foot prop.
Satin shoes and leather didn't mix, Ben thought quietly to himself as he watched her fumble in that sorry excuse for a purse for who knew what. Why would a woman carry such a little thing, and put so much in it. It made no sense to him.
He couldn't stop himself, he handed her a handkerchief, without a word.
"Thank you," she smiled quickly.
"Yes, ma'am," he said and pulled his hat over his face again to pretend sleep. But he'd caught a glimpse of that smile and something in his insides sprang aware. He hadn't been this aware of a woman in years.
The woman seemed to shrug her indifference and he watched from one corner of his vision as she tried to clean her face. Not that he was interested, but she was such a puzzle, he had to pay attention to what she might do next.
It looked as though she might settle down until all of a sudden she opened her mouth to check her teeth. Good Lord, did she fully intend to clean her teeth, right here in public? He squirmed.
Pulling his hat down so he couldn't see her, that's when he noticed her feet on his saddle again. Tiny feet, in what was once white satin slippers. The dress she wore must have cost someone a fortune, Ben thought to himself. Just the intricate beadwork on the bodice told him that much and the fact that a tiny bit of it overlapped on his lap against a finger and he felt the softness. He didn't want to feel the softness, but it was there, and darn hard to ignore. She was impossible to ignore.
He'd give fifty cents to hear her story, just out of curiosity and the peculiarity of the moment. But he wasn't about to ask. He knew better.
"I had car trouble out on the highway, I was stranded." Her proffered explanation fell on deaf ears.
He didn't want to start a conversation, so he merely nodded a little and didn't look at her at all.
He couldn't help thinking about his quickly failed marriage. No way would he ever let himself in for something like that again. Marriage wasn't in Ben Hogg's plans. No matter how long her eye lashes were.
No, he didn't need trouble. And this lady was definitely oozing with it.
Then he saw her hands and it was all he could do not to laugh. Right in the middle of that beautiful, dainty little hand, were three broken fingernails, marring a perfect manicure? A manicure that probably cost more than any steak dinner he'd ever eaten. Had she noticed yet? Probably not, and he wasn't about to tell her. It reminded him of old man Perkins polishing his white Cadillac when the back fender was all banged up. He polished that car every week, rain or shine.
Thoughts of Perkins, brought Ben's mind back to the present and how anxious he was to get back to work after one long vacation with his family. Yeah, being a Sheriff was a pure pleasure after that, especially in Junction. For a small town that only boasted a couple of thousand, had one local bar, one bank, five churches and three beauty parlors, Ben felt safe returning to his office again, where the biggest problems were keeping the darn air conditioner from blowing every year. He loved his family, but sometimes it was a pure relief to get away.
"Could you tell me what the next town is, sir?" The woman in the wedding dress purred sweetly.
Didn't she know he was trying his best to sleep? He didn't want a conversation. He could use some shut eye after celebrating his younger sister's birthday half the night.
Good manners forced him to tip his hat back and cast her a curious glance. But when he did he nearly bust a gut trying to stop the laughter. The woman had used his handkerchief alright, but instead of cleaning up, she only managed to smear the dust and grit over her face. It had dried in a slur across a dainty little nose, and determined looking chin. Obviously she thought she had cleared it away, but it had managed to dry and was caked in places. She looked as if she'd been playing in the mud.
Ben tried not to notice things about her, but it didn't work. Messed up as she was, she was still nice to look at, a little too nice.
She had a pleasant little face, her mouth was kissable, and her eyes looked too big to be on her heart shaped face. The long lashes covered a set of dancing gray-green eyes. Her hair was fairly long, and framed her face. It was hair that attracted him first, the way it dangled about her shoulders and face, all shiny and curled and there was that one little blond streak.
"Next town is Junction." He answered gazing out the window so he didn't have to see those sparkling eyes dance with a smile. This woman irritated him from the moment he laid eyes on her and usually he was an agreeable fella.
"So I've finally come to Junction?"
He whipped about to look at her sincere gaze. S
he looked mesmerized.
Junction wasn't her kind of town, he assumed too quickly.
"That's it."
She did smile just a little and he was flabbergasted at how beautiful her smile was. She radiated a warmth like sunshine with that smile and Ben was quickly appalled at himself for noticing.
"I'll bet you're from there, aren't you?"
"Yes ma'am."
Maybe if he didn't offer conversation she'd hush and he could go back to pleasantly dreaming of a fishing trip he aimed to take real soon.
"I could tell."
His mind began to explode with reasons he shouldn't continue this conversation with the lady. However, Ben prided himself on being a gentleman, all part of being the town Sheriff.
He crossed a leg over and leaned back. He had no intention of carrying the conversation any further, but suddenly found his mouth didn't belong to him. "What gave me away?"
"Maybe the way you're trying so hard to sleep on this bus that manages to hit every bump in the road."
"I guess I'm about as laid back as a man can get at the moment, that's true. Are you stopping in Junction, ma'am?"
He could have bit his own tongue out for asking such a question, but it just slipped out. What did he care whether she stopped or not? Still, she had a way of bringing out the conversation in Ben like no other.
"Oh yes. I'll have to have my car towed and fixed."
"What's wrong with it?" He should have ignored her conversation but somehow she'd got the best of his curiosity.
"Well for one, a busted radiator hose and a flat tire. At least I think that's what it is. Steam was shooting out from the hood. I recall my brother saying something about a busted radiator hose once when it happened to him."
It shocked Ben that she actually knew what was wrong with the car. He figured her for nothing short of an air head. She was just the kind of woman he liked to have a romp in the hay with and send her on her way.
"I guess you were late for the wedding, huh?" Ben couldn't catch his mouth in time. Here he was minding his own business when this runaway bride came waltzing up the aisle and now he was talking more to her than he did to his younger sister, Dana during his visit home.
"Wedding?" she shrieked enough to get the attention of the woman in the seat in front of her, and then glanced down at her clothes. "Well...as a matter of fact, yes. I guess you could say that."
But it was too late to explain, because the bus was pulling into the small station. Ben sighed comfortably as he moved to get up. He needed to get as far away from this woman as possible, obviously. He'd already asked too many questions, and gotten too many answers.
"We're here?" she gasped and looked about her.
"Yes ma'am."