Arrested Love

by Jean Baker

  “—and they have to be told.”

  “Not by me. My brother will—”

  A silence fell and Duncan became alert.

  “Ex-con or not, Goldie is in love with him, and he makes her happy.”

  “Yeah, that’s the gospel, but you know Susan. Besides, it’ll shock them both.”

  The blood drained from Duncan’s face. His glass crashed to the floor as he leapt to his feet. “My God, how long have you known? Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Sherriff Blackburn slid to the front edge of his seat. “Will you please sit down, Duncan? I can’t talk to you while you’re standing there looking like an attack dog. The minute I had your name, I ran a check.”

  He dropped as if he’d been shot, and all the oxygen escaped his lungs in one long whuff. Clasping his head, he put his elbows on his knees. “I knew I should have left before this came out. Damn me! Goldie has been hurt enough. The best thing to do is leave.”

  A patrol car came bouncing up the lane. The sheriff stood. “That’s Fred, coming for Joanne. I’ll go get her.”

  By the time the car rolled to a stop, they stepped out on the porch. Joanne smoothed her hand across Duncan’s shoulder, and he looked up. “She’s in a much better frame of mind. I expect her emotional recovery is in your hands now, even though the woman talk proved very helpful. Make sure she wakes every couple of hours to assure she has no concussion.”

  She waved to the car. “I’ll be right there.” Back to Duncan, she said, “Goldie loves you beyond belief, and if she senses for one moment this event dulls your feeling for her, it will be extremely damaging.”

  Leaving him with that horrific emotional burden, she gave a cheerful goodbye and tripped down the steps to the car.

  Carl Stanton went into the house and brought out another glass and filled it. Duncan hardly realized it had slipped into his hand. He thought his head would explode, or he’d break down and cry like a baby. Carl leaned over and picked up broken pieces of the glass. He placed his hand on Duncan’s knee to push himself upright. “You still figure on running?”

  He didn’t know anything except he had to see Goldie. He chased down half his drink and walked inside. A quiet voice followed. “Well, we’ll definitely find out if he’s the fine man we think he is.”

  So will I, Duncan thought.

  After Joanne left, Goldie stared up at the ceiling, wanting Duncan. Her throat thickened until it hurt. Maybe he’ll never want to be with me again after what happened. The thought of being with him made her a little nervous, but she reminded herself how he always made things better. She’d read that often men suffered from their wife’s or girlfriend’s rape almost as much as the victim, and many weren’t supportive.

  Sounds came from her room and she tensed, imagining him packing his things to leave. She felt a dark cloud of depression creeping into her mind and fought it off by thinking of Joanne. Why couldn’t she remember the answers to many of the detective’s questions? The questions were mixed with praise for surviving and gentle advice how to overcome what happened. The same question would come at her then, posed in a different way. Talking eventually made her feel better, even though some of the things that happened still confused her. Her whole body hurt and she wasn’t even positive she’d been raped. She couldn’t remember, but everyone behaved as if it had happened.

  She held her breath as Duncan finally walked into the bedroom. What would he say? Would he turn away?

  He leaned over her and kissed her lips. His lips trailed soft kisses over her face and kissed away the tears of relief. Enough light came from the hall so she could see his smile after he lifted his head. She thought she would faint from relief.

  “You’ve been drinking?”

  “Yes, liquid courage. I was so scared for you.”

  “Can I have a drink? I haven’t had pain meds for hours.”

  “Why don’t we join your uncle and Billy out on the porch? The night air is perfect and they’ll be so glad to see you.”

  She carefully made her way to the edge of the bed, and Duncan helped her into her housecoat and slippers.

  As she stepped on the porch, both men leapt to their feet and moved toward her with the clear intent of hugging her. Then they stopped, embarrassed, not knowing what to do. She smiled. “Yes, hugging would hurt, but I certainly want to kiss my two favorite men.” She pecked both men on their cheeks.

  They made awkward efforts to give her their seats, but she ignored them and sat in Duncan’s lap. “Uncle Carl, will you mix me a drink? I feel left out.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I can do that, but are you sure it’s okay. With the medicine, you know?”

  “It’s been long enough since I’ve taken anything, thanks.”

  Sheriff Blackburn stood, twisting his hat around in his hands. “It’s about time for Carl and me to get on down the road.”

  Carl gathered up the glasses and opened the screen door. “Billy, grab those bottles and come in. You can help me fix our girl some food before we leave.”

  Both men looked to be so glad to get away from the lovers, Duncan had to chuckle. “Honey, I think you sitting in my lap got their goat. After all, you’re their little girl.”

  She snuggled down against his chest. “Let ‘em suffer.”

  After the men left and supper came to an end, Duncan realized he had put off going to bed as long as possible. Goldie kept watching him with that frightened expression in her eyes. The responsibility for her mental and spiritual health numbed his brain and everything below his belt. Oh, cut it out, after what she’s been through, holding is all she’ll want and need for a while. I ought to be ashamed for even thinking about it.

  He put the last dish in the cabinet and turned to her. “Ready for bed, sweetheart? I know I am.”

  Her smile was so tentative, it broke his heart. He wrapped her in his arms and put his chin on her head. “I want to pick you up and take you to the bed, but I’m afraid I might hurt you.” She smiled broadly and he sighed with relief.

  They walked down the hall arm in arm. When they stepped into her bedroom, she caught her breath. “Did you do this? Everything looks so nice and fresh.” She touched her fingers to a bouquet of wild flowers. The emerald in her eyes turned to glittering jewels as she looked at him.

  He flipped the covers back on the bed. “I thought it would be nice to have a fresh start with all fresh linens.” Gesturing to the bed, he said, “Let’s see how quickly you can jump in bed.” With a quick motion, he pulled her housecoat off and laid it aside. His chest clutched. She looked so damn cute in that flannel, granny gown. Once she managed to crawl into bed, while groaning with pain, he tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

  As he turned toward the door, Goldie cried out. “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll sleep in the guest room so I won’t bother you. If you need me, I’ll hear your call.”

  Tears instantly flooded her eyes. “I knew this would happen.”

  He moved to the bed. “What would happen?”

  “You wouldn’t want to be with me after what happened.”

  Oh, dear God help me. He removed his clothes where he stood while she watched. Her face was hurt and damaged, but her eyes were hungry for him. His cock began to rise. I’m such a pig. He wanted to slap the damn thing into submission, but Goldie smiled. He stomped around to the other side of the bed, pissed. At himself or at her, he wasn’t sure. Moaning from fatigue, he spread eagle on top of the covers.

  It became silent. Duncan needed to move. Finally, Goldie wiggled and whimpered. “What’s wrong, baby? Need some pain killer?”

  “You’re pushing the covers down on me and it hurts.”

  He remained still. She’s messing with me. No, that’s not right. Swinging his feet to the floor, he went to get some water and a pain tablet. Wrapping a towel around his waist he brought the medicine to her. He flipped on the lamp and she sat up and took the pill while watching the towel. The son-of-a-bitch jumped. Before he could turn the lamp off, h
e saw a beatific smile covering her face.

  It turned out to be a night of misery for him. She insisted on needing his body heat to help with the pain. For hours his hormones did battle with his decency as she snuggled against him, until he fell deep asleep.

  His eyes flew open and he held his breath. Something had a death grip on his cock. Morning light fell across the bed, so he quickly realized he wasn’t in a prison cell with an out-of-control cellmate. He glanced down his body. Goldie’s head moved at a nice clip up and down. I ought to stop this. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, trying not to smile.

  As the muscles in his abdomen tightened, he thought of what Joanne had said. This is probably good for Goldie. She is in complete control. Hmmm, justification is a good thing. She’s working out her anger on my poor dick. He was losing it—needed to pump his hips—oh God, he was about to pour himself into her busy little mouth. Suddenly, cold air surrounded his cock and so did her hand, squeezing so tight he couldn’t ejaculate. I wonder if she’s planning on beating me. That might be interesting. A groan escaped from his throat.

  Goldie threw her leg across his pelvis, held his cock until her hot, wet pussy enveloped it. A hot arrow of pain shot through his chest when he thought of what had last entered her. His cock began to wilt. No! Don’t go there. Fill her so full, there’s no room for anything but me, fuck her until she forgets every man exists except me. Come on big boy, don’t let me down. His cock responded, growing, becoming stronger and harder. Involuntarily, his body arched and the end blew off his engorged cock, and he couldn’t stop screaming. For the first time in his life, he passed out.

  Light hit his eyes and he blinked. What the hell happened? His cock felt as if it had been through a ringer and his empty sacs just lay useless. He turned his head. Goldie lay flat of her back grinning like an Olympic gold winner. “I really took advantage of you, didn’t I? You won’t believe what I did while you slept.”

  Oh, yes I do. And barely lived to remember it. He groaned and threw his feet to the floor. The rest of his body didn’t want to follow. “I need to milk Bessie, feed her and the chickens, and the pigs—not to mention Baby. What made me think I wanted to be a farmer?”

  Duncan staggered to the bathroom and turned on the cold water. Before he stepped into the shower the phone rang and Goldie answered. I cannot believe what happened. How could she do that in the condition she is in? I dreaded keeping away from her until she healed, but hell, maybe I’ll just let her take over until she gets better. He chuckled. Maybe, I won’t survive, but I’m damned willing to give it a try.

  His body felt more in working form. He smiled leaving the shower and entered the bedroom. Then he saw Goldie’s expression. “What is it? Are you alright?”

  “Billy called.” She touched her cheek bone and grimaced. “He’s in Greendale at the airport picking up Mom and Dad. They freaked and hired a private plane.” She glanced around taking in the wreck they had made of the bed.

  “What’s so bad about that?”

  “Look at me. I could go out and wrestle a hog to the ground. Now, I’ll have to lie around like I’m dying to justify the expense they went through getting here. And, look at this bed.”

  Duncan began pulling on clothes, howling with laughter. “I have fresh sheets in the dryer from yesterday. I’ll bring them to you. And don’t worry; they’ll think you're dying. Don’t tell them you did the sexual tango this morning. They wouldn’t believe it anyway.”

  She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “What, exactly, does that mean, Duncan Elvery?”

  “Look in the mirror.”

  Naked, she walked to her full-length dressing mirror. “Oh my God. I look like a hell—like someone beat me half to death. How could you bring yourself to kiss such a horror?”

  Duncan’s face settled into a frown. “You were almost beat to death, and you might think you’re good right now, but as soon as everything catches up with you, you’ll be happy to stay in bed. Your parents will be glad they came. I’m certainly glad.” He left the room.

  He came back with fresh linen and found her struggling to pull linen off the bed. He could tell it hurt her. “I’ll do that. You go bathe the Sir Sexalot perfume from your body, and afterward you can crawl into a clean, made-up bed.”

  She yawned. “Thank you, Duncan.” Still naked, she staggered to the bath.

  Both beds were made and he held a pain tablet and a glass of water ready when she came back to the bed. He handed her a fresh gown. She slipped it over her head, took the meds, and crawled under the covers.

  He kissed her brow, gathered up the dirty linen and went to the pantry where the machines resided. He threw the sheets in the washer, added some detergent, and went outside.

  “It’s about noon, you want to share left-overs with me, Harvey?”

  “Could we paint this antique tractor first? I’m real proud of this machine, to tell you the truth—been working on it around forty years now. First time it’ll get spruced up with a paint job, though. I like the way you do things, Duncan.”

  “Yeah, I can wait. With the two of us working, we might have it gussied up by the time Mr. Stanton gets here.”

  “This here is the first piece of equipment he bought for the farm and refused to junk it. Only thing that gave him more pride—and that was his Goldie. Sure gonna’ upset him something awful when he sees her face all messed up.”

  Duncan’s mind swirled while he prepared the paint. How could a woman behave that way this morning after being raped? Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she had been and, as Joanne said, couldn’t remember it. He felt guilty as if he’d taken advantage.

  Harvey broke his reverie by saying, “Here comes Goldie’s parents.”

  “Would you please put all this stuff away? There’s no way to finish this job today. Next time you come, we’ll do it.”

  By the time he cleaned his hands, the rental Ford coup drove in the yard. Mr. and Mrs. Stanton stepped from the car and walked directly toward him. Tears sprang to Susan’s eyes. “How’s my baby?”

  Not sure how to handle the situation, Duncan took a deep breath and held her hand. “You’ll be upset at the condition of her face, however, it’s not as bad as it looks.” Clinton’s face was grim as Duncan turned to him and shook hands. “She’s in bed asleep. I think you should go on in and see her now so you can get over the initial shock before she awakes.”

  Harvey approached, his hand extended. Clinton took it, trying to smile. “I gotta’ be on my way, Mr. Clint, but I want you to know, Duncan messed up Marty pretty damn good for what he did. Thought, for sure, he would kill the bastard.” He walked away, not waiting for a response.

  “Harve’s always been a good guy. Okay, come with us and we’ll see our daughter.

  The three of them stood by the bed. I wonder if my face filled with as much despair when I found out what Marty did, as Mr. Stanton’s is now. The man appeared to be destroyed. Goldie’s father whispered, “How is she? How did this happen?” His wife’s body shook with restrained sobs.

  Duncan grimaced. This would be hard. He held Clinton’s elbow and led the couple from the room.”

  In the living room, Susan Stanton, sniffed and wiped away tears. “Her face? My daughter has always been so beautiful.” She began sobbing and Clinton’s arm circled her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.

  “Her eyes are swollen and bruised—that will clear quickly. It will take a while, but she’ll look good as new.”

  Clinton mopped his face and blew his nose. “Internally? Her brain?”

  “A doctor checked her out thoroughly, and I stayed with her all night to wake her every once in the while to make sure Goldie didn’t suffer a concussion. The doctor brought an ambulance with her, and I’m sure she would have taken your daughter to the hospital if she had been dangerously injured.”

  Susan mopped her face and straightened. “I’m going to make some coffee and buttered toast. We need it and I need to be doing something.”


  Clinton motioned to Duncan to go outside. Once settled, Clinton said, “On the phone, you told me what happened, but were light on the telling. First of all, I want to say, I appreciate your protecting my daughter no matter how you did it. Billy wasn’t too informative.”

  “I just pounded him with my fist—got carried away and thank God, Harvey stopped me before I killed him. I’m sick about what I did.”

  “Should’ve killed him.”

  “Did worse. Kicked his manhood up to his throat. Expect he’s damaged for life.” He leaned forward trying to see who drove toward them. “It’s the sheriff.” The minute Billy crawled from the car and Duncan saw his expression, he knew what would happen. Heart racing with an impulse to run, his eyes darted around, looking for an escape.

  Before he could move, Sheriff Blackburn clutched his arm. “Duncan, do not run!”

  “I can’t be arrested. I will not be screwed over by the law again.”

  Clinton’s eyes darted from one man to the other. “What’s going on?”

  Billy stepped in front of him and moved his face within inches of Duncan’s. “How about Goldie? You really want to run away from her?”

  Duncan covered his face with his hands. “Oh, God help me.”

  “Son, I knew about your past within a half-hour of getting your name. You have nothing to fear. I must take you to jail, now, or you’ll have more troubles than you can imagine.”

  “Billy Blackburn! You are going to arrest this man for defending my daughter? It’s ridiculous.

  “Once he’s arrested and the papers are processed,” Billy said to Clint, “I promise he’ll be back here within hours.”

  Duncan dropped his hands, and stared into Billy’s face, looking for deceit. Nothing showed except a fatherly concern. “Why didn’t you tell the Stantons? Goldie?”

  “After getting all the facts, I figured you needed the chance for a fresh start, and I really hated to break Goldie’s heart. Been a long time since seeing that girl happy, and you’ve definitely made her happy.”