by Lauren Wood
Greg wanted to stop me, I could see it in his eyes and the determined look of his chin, but I also knew that I shouldn’t. He took my hand and pulled a pen from the credit card receipt he had just signed. I felt him write something in my palm and made me promise to call him.
“I’ll be waiting for your call Mandy.”
I nodded, but I could feel my face getting red like my hair. It really was good to see him again, no matter what old memories and haunts that he brought up. It was good to see that life was treating him well by the looks of it. He was successful and still just as handsome as ever.
CHAPTER 4
GREG
I was still watching the door that she had left out of, still not sure that what had happened was real. Amber was next to me when I looked back to the empty drink that was in front of me, as well as the one that was next to it that Mandy had used.
“Are you ready to go?”
An hour ago, before I had seen Mandy, I was ready to take Amber back to my hotel and give her everything that I had. She had already pleasured me in the bathroom and now it was her turn. She had been patience and though she was as pretty as she was before, more so now that I was a little drunker, I didn’t want her. The last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere with her. Everything had changed.
“No, I think I am going to head out. I’m not feeling so good all of a sudden.”
Her blue eyes looked at me as if I was lying. She was someone that I used to know as well, though Amber was just a friend that I went and seen when I was back in town. It was every few weeks and it had been a regular thing for several years. Amber was not happy with me and I knew that she wasn’t going to go quietly. While I tried to get her out the door before she blew up, I was a little too late and some trickled out before we cleared all of the people. The last thing that I needed to do was start a scene. It was bad enough that I was there with her when Mandy showed up. I didn’t need any more gossip about me reaching her ears. Not when I was trying to get another chance.
“Who is she!?”
I knew which she Amber was talking about. I didn’t want her to get her nose in it so I told her that she was just an old friend that I used to know a long time ago. Amber wasn’t buying it, but I didn’t owe her anything, so I didn’t say much else. It was too hard to explain it in my own head. How was I supposed to say it to her when I didn’t quite know what it was that I was doing or why I still felt the clinch in my heart all of these years later. There had always been something about Mandy and the draw I had to her was still undeniable.
“I have to go Amber. I will give you a call in the morning before I head out.”
“So that is it?”
Her red lips were pouting and for a moment I almost went with her because I needed the release that she would give me. Amber was many things, but she always was one to pleasure me well.
“For now. I just wouldn’t be any good the way I am feeling and you deserve better.”
It sounded good in my head, but reflected back in her eyes, I knew that it was a load of crap. She stormed off and if I was smart, I would have gone after her, told her that I was just feeling off and offer her a quiet night in with me. There were a lot of things I could have done, but I just let her go. She wasn’t the one that I wanted and now that I saw Mandy again, I remembered why no one else had done all of these years.
Driving back to the hotel, my mind slipped to Mandy. She looked the same as she always had. Her red hair was a bit longer and a bit more tamed, but it was still the same as when I had buried my fingers through her hair while we were making love. I had always loved her hair and there was a part of me that had ached to smell it, wondering if she still used the same shampoo as before. I would never admit to how long I had spent in grocery stores trying to find the right bottle, just so I could have that smell of her. I never found it and if I did get to see her again, I knew that I was going to have to find out what it was.
The room in the hotel was a lot smaller than I remembered and I was sure that it was because I was pacing before I went to bed. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mandy and all of the things that we had done together when we were young. She was the one that I thought of late at night when I was alone. Now I wondered if she was ever going to call me. Had I missed the only chance to see her that I was ever going to get? The idea was unsettling and I knew that there was a part of me that was never going to get her back. That sort of thing was only in my dreams.
***
“Morning sunshine.”
I smiled into the phone and wiped the sleep from my eyes. Looking at the clock, it had only been a couple of hours since I had lay down and though I was supposed to leave in a couple of hours, I was still debating what to do. It is what had kept me up all of this time and I was no closer to an answer than when I had started asking the question to myself last night.
“Did you get some rest before your flight?”
“Yeah.”
“Liar.”
I sat up and wiped my eyes until they were a little sore. I hadn’t really gotten any sleep, but that wasn’t any matter. I still had a million things to do and the only one that was going to get them done was me.
“I was going to bring over some breakfast before I left for the week. Do you have anything in particular that you would like?”
My Aunt Dawn told me that there wasn’t anything that she could think about and I was just going to have to pick something out for her. I knew that she wanted French toast, but she would never really ask for it because of her diabetes. She knew that I would tell her no, so she didn’t even ask anymore.
I hung up the phone and realized that it was still a little while before my flight and I was thankful that she woke me up instead of me waking up at the last minute and not getting to go see her. It had been a long time since I had missed a flight out of Watertown, but the last time I had been forced to rent a car and drive back to Chicago. It was easier to pay a little more and let someone else do the traveling.
I checked to see if there were any messages that I had somehow missed. I was waiting for Mandy to call me. I was sure she would, but then again, she had ghosted me so many years ago. There was no telling if she was just going to do it again. I tried to tell myself that I wouldn’t care like I had the last time, but I would have only been fooling myself. If I never heard from her again, I would be devastated like the last time.
**END OF PREVIEW**
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Chapter One
Sara Albright, was only 22 years old and was running a farm and watching over her siblings. It wasn’t the life she had ever imagined for herself. But after her Ma and Pa had been in the accident, she had no choice.
She sighs heavily as she cleans up after her two siblings. Henry, age 16, and Sally, age 17. They didn’t ask for their parents to be killed either, none of them had ever thought of a life without them around. Well, eventually, but not until a much later time.
The shock of it all still was fresh in her mind and heart. She would forever miss her parents; it had left a huge hole in her heart. But it hadn’t been one that she had any time to focus on.
Immediately the tasks of everyday life had been pushed on her. She didn’t have a choice, she would be the one who had to feed her siblings and do it all. But Sara knew how bad the situation was for them, she was on the verge of losing it all. What would happen to her family then? Sara honestly didn’t know her family had been the only one who accepted her anymore. Ever since she had stood beside Elizabeth, the rest of the community here looked at her as an outcast.
Sara didn’t blame them, after all what had she expected? She was Amish and knew how her community would react. As soon as everyone had heard about the unwed Elizabeth’s impending child, they had turned on her quickly. Not Sara though, she had known E
lizabeth since they had both been young children.
She knew that Elizabeth hadn’t done this as a betrayal to their religion. She had just enjoyed rumspringa too much. But that was the time they were supposed to have fun. Not that Sara would have gone and had sex, but her friend had. How could she turn her back on her?
Elizabeth had not admitted to that though, she had told everyone that Seth had raped her. It wasn’t true of course, but Sara still stood by her friend. It had cost her everything, well almost everything. At least she hadn’t been kicked out of the community. That was just because when the truth had come out, Sara had played dumb. But she knew people looked at her differently. She knew they were sure she had known the truth. After all her and Elizabeth were almost inseparable since they had been little. In fact she was sure they all thought Sara had gone and had sex during rumspringa too. Though she hadn’t, she couldn’t plead her case, no one ever listened.
Her friend had left shortly after that to parts unknown. But Sara had been stuck there, and then after a short two weeks her parent’s had passed away. Numb, but smart enough, she realized that no help would come from anyone in the community. She had to solve this on her own, but how?
She heard a knocking on the door; it must be someone who saw my sign for vegetables for sale. She was happy, that would mean money coming in finally!
She opened the door to a man who was definitely not Amish. He was dressed in ripped blue jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of cartoon superhero on it. She had seen outsiders wearing them in town before.
“Who are you?” She asked, immediately leery.
“Yeah, well you don’t know me obviously. But I have a proposition, wait do you use like our money?” He stopped and looked waiting for her to answer.
Sara was still shocked looking at him. “What? Yes we use money, how do you think we buy things?” She chuckled lightly.
“Okay, then I have a great deal for you. I can change your life, with only two weeks of your time spent. I can make you rich.” He explained.
“Well sir, first off I don’t know your name? However, how rich can you make me?” Sara admitted she was interested. If it would mean being able to keep the farm, and her now much smaller family together, she was all for it.
“Oh I’m sorry, my name is John Austin. I’m the agent for Ben North. Have you ever heard of him?” He asked.
Sara had seen things while in town about Ben North many times. She had always thought how attractive he had been in those pictures. “Yes, but only a little bit.”
“He is playing a new role, and needs to learn about Amish culture. So what I would like you to do is help him out. Let him come into your home, and teach him everything. This is a very important role to him, and we are willing to offer you ample compensation for your time and effort.” John explained.
“Well, he would have to come in as a cousin. We’d have to try and make it possible that the community would believe it. See I’m already quite the outcast here. But bringing in a man, who isn’t related, no they would tar and feather me for sure. I’d be kicked out and have nowhere left to go, my siblings, I don’t know if they would send them with me. I have no clue what would happen, but it isn’t something I want to experience.” Sara explained.
“Of course, we will follow your rules. Aren’t you interested in how much we will be paying you?” He asked.
Sara realized she hadn’t found out what he was offering. She realized it was because she was thinking of what Ben North looked like. He was rugged and very handsome. “Of course I do, how much are you offering me?”
“We will give you $250,000.”
She sat up surprised by the huge amount of money. If she used that correctly, it could keep the farm running for years. “When will he be coming?”
“Is next month okay?”
“Sure.”
“Good, see you in a month. Thank you very much. I’ll bring the money that day when I drop him off.” John shook her hand and said goodbye.
Sara plopped down on the sofa. Her life would soon change for the better and she would have Ben North in her house!
Chapter Two
Ben North looked out of the windows as they drove through Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “What kind of world is this? I’ve not seen one oriental restaurant, let alone a Thai food one. What in the world has John talked him into? How in the world will he survive here?” He talked to the driver.
He heard the man chuckle lightly, “No sir you won’t find much choices in food here. But you’ll really enjoy what they have to offer. The Amish food is something that many enjoy around here, and pay quite a pretty penny for.”
Ben looked around more; he couldn’t even imagine what this was going to be like. In a slight panic he pushed the button on his phone and calls John.
“John, how the hell will I do this? I mean seriously, is she going to take me around all the other people? I don’t think I’ve learned enough to pull off really being Amish.” Ben questioned the man quickly.
“Look, you want to do a great job on this role right? You will have to absorb as much about the culture as you can. The good news is that you won’t have too many visitors; she is kind of considered an outcast there. It was why I picked her out of all the choices. She also wants to make sure you don’t blow your cover, so she’ll watch how much interaction you have with everyone. If they find out something, they will banish her from their community.” John explained.
“What? John, why didn’t you tell me that before I agreed to this? What if I blow it for her? How do you think I’d feel knowing I got some girl banished from her whole community?” Ben could feel his blood pressure rising. It was so much more pressure on him, he didn’t think he liked it one bit.
“I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t have agreed to it. But Ben this is what you need to pull this off. You’ll have lived the life and you’ll know exactly how they would react. You’re sure to bring home the Oscar for this one, no doubt about it. But in order to do that, you had to go. Tell me Ben, if I would have told you about the chance she was taking. If I would have said, look Ben if you get found out, her and her brother and sister may be kicked out of the community. Would you have agreed to do it?” John asked.
“Hell no I wouldn’t have agreed. It’s not just her but two other people? John, you’ve put me in some sort of spot, I’m just thinking of calling it all off.” Ben said.
“Look Ben, the kid really needs the money. Her farm is going to be lost if she doesn’t get it. Plus I took the money to her yesterday. She’s got it already. You should have seen her face. Seriously, I think we just saved her family with this offer.” John explained.
Ben felt his heart melt a bit. “Oh shit. Alright, I’ll do it, but I’m not going to like it one bit.” He cut off the call without saying goodbye.
The thing was John knew him quite well, he knew what would make Ben feel bad for Sara Albright. That was his hostess name. He was to be her cousin Ben from out of town.
He knew John had picked this girl on purpose. John had most likely checked out everything he could about her. Then approached her and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Not if she wanted to ensure her family farm was to continue. It was a dirty ploy, but it had worked. Ben knew that John was right about this role.
Ben North had been a big name in the movies for the past 7 years now. But he had always played an action hero. He had gone to John one afternoon a few months back and asked him to find him something different.
“What do you mean different?” John had asked him.
“I want a more serious role. A drama, something that will make people see that I can do much more than action. I’m tired of the same old story line. I want to spread my wings, and while doing that, I want to prove how skilled I am.” Ben had told him.
John had looked at him, and studied Ben closely. “Well I just got one in yesterday, I was thinking of passing on it, at least for you.”
“What is it about?” Ben had asked.
“It’s an Amish love story, well, more of an Amish betrayal. But it opens as a love story; the husband finds out that his wife has been sleeping around on him. You would have to pull off that you were Amish, and well its high drama. The story is pretty decent, I have to admit.” John explained.
“Let me take it and read it.” Ben had gotten the script and taken it right home that day.
He had flipped through the pages, getting into the story, and even seeing how he would play the part. He loved it, but wasn’t sure if he could play the part. It would mean a lot of work on his part.
“I’ll do it, sign me up now.” Ben had called John and told him. “But somehow I have to learn about the Amish culture. Put me in it if you can, so I can absorb everything. I want to play this part so well that people will think I used to be Amish.” Ben stated.
“I’ll get on it.” John had hung up the phone. No more than two weeks later he had called Ben with the details of his stay.
At that time Ben had been thrilled. But driving through Lancaster had tampered that excitement quite a bit. Now when he looked out he saw they were in the country. By the bumps in the road in figured they were on an old dirt road.
“We’re here sir.” The driver turned and told him. “I’ll get the bags.”
Ben stepped out of the car; they were nowhere near a house. “Hey where are we going? There’s no house.” Ben asked.
“Yeah, we can’t drive up to the house and tell everyone you are her cousin.” The driver stopped talking for a second, and then pointed to the south. "That will be your ride the rest of the way.”
Ben watched as the carriage drew closer to them. He looked closely at the girl and studied her as much as he could. He smiled upon seeing that some of her hair had come lose during her trip. It was flapping in the wind, and every once in a while she swipes it out of her eyes.
The brown mass doesn’t pay attention to her pleas for it to stop either. He can hear her pleading to stay out of her eyes as she gets even closer.