by Lee Rose
He missed Hannah every second of the day and he wanted to throw her over his shoulders and take her to his house kicking and screaming. He’d tie her to his bed and make love to her over and over until she gave in and married him. Ben groaned as he imagined the scene in every detail of how he’d make love to her over and over. Thank God the station was empty because now he was feeling so horny if an emergency happened he wasn’t sure he could walk across the floor.
He knew Hannah had been hurt and not angry when he defended Dorothy. He saw the pain on her face and he regretted opening his mouth immediately but it had been too late to take the words back. He didn’t even understand his own stubbornness. He truly wasn’t attracted to Dorothy but he did feel sorry for her. So she was desperate to settle down with one man, did that make her a dangerous criminal?
Hannah’s words over the phone had made sense especially given her family history and her brother’s bitter relationship with Kelly. He knew he loved Hannah. She was the only woman he wanted in his life and he wanted to be there to help raise not only this baby but the others to come.
Dorothy still called him every day asking him out and everyday he gave her the same answer over and over—no.
“But I heard you and Hannah called off the engagement, Ben. Everyone in town is talking about it. Betty said Hannah claims she is pregnant, but she doesn’t look like it and was just trying to trap you. How sad is that?” Dorothy said, repeating the gossip she heard with joy in her voice. “Besides, I have a surprise for you. I changed my hair style just for you, darling.”
Living in such a small town made it hard for people to keep their business private. He had just reprimanded his secretary, Ruth, that morning and threatened to fire her if she mentioned Hannah’s name again over the phone to her friends.
“I only want Hannah and we will work our problems out. I don’t like gossip, Dorothy, so I better not hear you repeating that shit all over town. If I see Betty I will have a few words for her, too, so warn her. There are plenty of men in Bear Creek for you to date,” he said firmly and hung up the phone, wishing she would leave him alone. He ignored her comment about her hair. He couldn’t give a rat’s ass about her new hairdo, but refrained from being rude, barely.
Jackson was right. He was too soft with the ladies and if he had put a stop to Dorothy right away he wouldn’t be going through this misery. He had only himself to blame for the pain in his heart. The phone rang, interrupting his dismal thoughts.
He picked it up quickly. “Sheriff’s station.”
“There’s a party going on by the creek, sheriff,” Mr. Jenkins complained in a gruff voice. “I see headlights and hear music and it’s already ten p.m. Young people have no respect.”
Ben sighed. It wasn’t unusual for kids to party in the woods on the weekends and he usually left them alone unless things got out of hand. “I’ll send someone to investigate, Mr. Jenkins.”
Ben called Billy and asked him to go and see if everyone was behaving and to tell them to keep the music low. Ben went and laid on the couch in his office, hoping to at least shut his eyes and turn his brain off for a few minutes. He must have dozed off when the phone woke him up. He looked at the wall clock and it read eleven p.m.
“Ben,” he answered in a sleepy voice, knowing it was Billy. Hannah sure wouldn’t be calling him he thought sadly.
“It’s Billy, boss. Everything is fine. The girls promised to keep the music low,” Billy explained, sounding happy. He could hear the laughter of girls and groaned. The last thing he needed was a bunch of young girls throwing themselves at Billy and the station flooded with calls from angry parents.
“Please tell me that they are all over twenty-one if you’re gonna be flirting with them,” Ben said, feeling a headache coming on. He was getting too old for this shit.
Billy chuckled. “Oh, yeah, boss, all of them are adults. I can vouch for that.”
“We sure are.” He heard a feminine voice laugh in the background. “Come back and dance with us, Billy.”
Ben sat up and frowned. “Is that Grace? What the hell is she doing at a party?” If Grace was there then Hannah had to be there, too. Those two together were double the headache and always involved in a scheme.
Billy laughed and yelled. “Be right there, ladies, just clearing it with the boss.”
“Your boss is a big poop head.” Ben knew that voice anywhere. It was Grace, but her words were slurring.
Billy came back on the line. “Don’t worry. It’s just Gracie, Hannah, Amy, and Sammie having some fun down by the creek. I’ll keep an eye on them.”
Ben stared at the phone. Billy was having fun with his woman and her friends? Oh, hell, no. He was going down there and what? Make Hannah more upset. Ben sighed, feeling defeated all over again. Jackson had to know what was going on. He was so overprotective of Grace and knew of her every movement.
Ben dialed Jackson’s number and Jackson picked up right away. “Let me guess, you found out the girls were having a party by the creek? Damn, the town gossipers get better and better.”
Ben didn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny. “Why did you let Hannah go down there? What if she falls in the dark, Jack? She is pregnant and should be sitting safely at home. Not off partying.”
Jackson laughed. “You want me to tell Hannah no, she can’t go and have fun because she might fall down? No thanks, Ben. I like my balls where they are and so does Grace.”
Ben sighed and winced, thinking of Hannah’s reaction if he went down there and told her to go home. “Okay, I like mine, too. Billy is down there with them dancing and having fun. It’s not fair.” He knew it sounded like a juvenile complaint but at this point he was desperate just to lay eyes on Hannah and see how she was doing.
“Yeah? It was supposed to be a girl thing, but if Billy invaded their space and lived, guess I will, too,” Jackson said in a happy voice. “The night is looking up.” And he hung up the phone.
Ben grumbled. Great, now Billy and Jackson was down there, so why not him too? As a concerned sheriff checking that everyone was safe he had a right to show up. He grabbed his keys and locked up the station.
* * * *
Hannah laughed as she heard Jackson’s horse galloping toward them and rolled her eyes at Billy. “Your boss is a tattletale. I bet he told Jack we allowed you to join the party and live. Grace threatened him to stay away tonight so we could have fun.”
Billy was dancing with Sammie but looked over at Hannah where she was sitting and resting. “He’s just jealous I am here with the most beautiful girls in Bear Creek.”
The girls all laughed and agreed with him.
Jackson stepped off his horse and eyed the bonfire and the girls with apprehension. “If Billy gets to stay, so can I, right?”
Grace nodded at her fiancé and went up to him, hugging him around his waist, feeling really good and happy. “Yeah, babe, but no lectures on safety and boring stuff like that, okay? We’re having fun, right girls?”
They all raised their beers and Hannah had her Sprite bottle and they cheered. Jackson was about to open his mouth and ask how many beers Grace had since she had obviously taken off her flannel shirt and was running around in a little white tank top that showed off her figure but stopped at the warning look in Billy’s eyes. It said don’t ruin their fun.
“Fine,” he mumbled, swallowing his words and playing it cool. “So what are we talking about? Nails? Fashion stuff?”
Amy laughed, sipping on a beer and looked him in the eyes. “No. We’re talking about what lowdown dogs men can be.”
Billy groaned and shook his head sadly at Jackson as if he had no social skills. “You just had to ask.”
When Ben drove up in his Jeep to the party, the music was back up and the four girls were dancing in the back of Hannah’s truck to Florida Georgia Line’s song, “Cruise.” Ben didn’t know what shocked him more. The fact that Grace stood on the edge of the tailgate singing to Jackson and dressed in a skimpy white tank top and short blue jea
n shorts with her cowboy boots or that Jackson stood there grinning like a fool instead of telling her to be careful before she fell off the tailgate and got hurt. He glanced at Hannah, dressed just like Grace, with her eyes closed and doing a seductive dance in the background along with Amy and Sammie. Billy stood there with a sappy look on his face and Ben shook his head sadly. His friends had obviously lost all common sense. He stood next to Jackson with a frown on his face but didn’t know what to say.
“I knew you couldn’t resist coming here,” Jackson said with a chuckle, but he didn’t take his eyes off the girls. “They are all safe and sound on our property. Hannah is not drinking so don’t ruin her fun okay, Ben? She’s had a rough couple of days. Let her have one night of fun.”
Ben nodded and kept his mouth shut. When the song was over Grace threw herself into Jackson’s arms, knowing he’d catch her. “You are too sexy for your own good, darlin’,” he told her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and held on to his shoulders. Jackson couldn’t resist kissing his future wife.
“Okay, you two. Let’s keep this party rated PG,” Billy joked. He was happy to see his cousin looking so happy after all she had been through in the last year.
Hannah looked at Ben. He held his hand out to help her down without saying a word. She looked at him suspiciously as if she knew he wanted to lecture her. “If you’re going to stay, no lectures, Ben.”
“Okay,” he agreed and put his arms around her waist to help her down, keeping his hands on her longer than necessary. He led her to the bale of hay and saw it already had a blanket placed there. “I couldn’t take one more minute of not seeing your face, honey. Go ahead and cuss me out, yell at me. I’ll take it if I can sit here with you just for a little while.”
Hannah blinked back her tears and leaned against him. “You shouldn’t be sweet, not when I’m mad at you. Tonight, let’s not fight. I just want to relax and have a good time. Let’s put the serious stuff on the back burner for now.”
“I can do that for you, baby. I can do anything for you if it makes you happy,” he whispered against her forehead, feeling grateful to have her in his arms for just one more minute.
True to his word, he danced and laughed and fed her roasted marshmallows, accidentally spreading the goo all over her face and licking it off, making the girls boo him and say he did it on purpose. But Hannah laughed and smiled and that made it all worthwhile to see her eyes bright and not filled with pain.
Once the party was over, Jackson sent his horse home. It knew the way back to the stable and he drove Hannah’s truck home with Grace snuggled close to him. Billy took Amy and Sammie home. Ben drove Hannah to her house and kissed her lips lightly, wanting more but being careful to keep things on a friendly level.
“Tonight was fun, Ben. Thanks for not getting all caveman on me.” She smiled a little sadly.
Ben looked over at her. “I know I hurt you, but we’ll fix this, Hannah. I can’t live without you, but tonight was about you enjoying yourself. I had fun watching you dance, honey. I have to go home and take a cold, cold shower now, but it was worth it.”
Hannah giggled and kissed his cheek. “Night, Ben.”
Chapter Twelve
He looked down at his desk the next morning when a name on a report caught his eye. Was that Hannah’s name? He picked it up and read it closely, it was made yesterday morning by Stan Warren but he had missed it last night since his head had been full of thoughts of Hannah. Hannah called Stan and not him. He felt like someone punched him in the gut physically. She hadn’t trusted him to take care of the problem. Apparently someone threw eggs at their newly fixed window.
Ben walked over to the shelter, immediately feeling concerned and angry at the same time but he didn’t want to fight with Hannah and upset her further. He needed the walk to get some fresh air and make sense of everything that was going on. The last thing he needed was to prove to her that they would have a bitter marriage full of fights. Once he felt calm, he opened the door to the shelter and walked in.
Richard was behind the counter and looked up from the paperwork he was doing. “Can I help you, sheriff?” he asked politely, but his attitude was no longer friendly toward Ben and he didn’t care if Ben liked it or not.
“Where’s Hannah?” he asked, ignoring Richard’s rudeness and looking around the waiting room. Everything seemed very quiet and calm.
“She had some work to do at home. She’ll be in later this afternoon,” Richard answered him with a frown.
“Why didn’t she call me about the vandalism? It seems the shelter has made an enemy,” Ben stated, giving Richard his best intimidating look.
Richard denied that with a shake of his head. “Actually we have more support now than we have ever had before. Hannah put Grace in charge of the volunteer program and we now have lots of people coming in and helping us, even our donations have increased lately.”
“So what do you think is going on?” Ben asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.
Richard stayed silent for a few minutes, then spoke honestly. “I say it’s personal. Hannah says you’ll never believe her, but I walked in on the tail end of her conversation with your so-called peaceful admirer. There was a lot of hatred in her voice when she spoke to Hannah. She bumped into me on the way out the door and you should have seen her eyes, they were cold and mean. I even told Hannah to call you right away but she said you would never believe her. I have worked with Hannah for a long time now and she has never been deliberately mean to anyone, or been a liar. If she told me she feels threatened by someone I’d believe her. You claim to be in love with her, so why do you think she is making this up?”
Ben didn’t know how to answer that. He had thought Hannah was judging Dorothy due to her jealousy but maybe he did need to open his eyes and really see Dorothy for who she was. “You’re right, Richard. I fucked up big time in not taking all this seriously. If anything else happens, call me and I promise to listen this time.”
He left feeling more upset and walked down the street not paying attention to anyone. Finally he looked up and noticed he was in front of the beauty salon. Maybe it was time to question Dorothy and get to the truth once and for all. He walked in and Dorothy looked up in surprise from behind the counter where she was filing her nails. At least he thought it was Dorothy. Her hair was dyed blonde, the same color as Hannah’s. Ben just stared at her in shock, not knowing how to respond to that.
“Like it?” Dorothy beamed, patting her new hair. “I knew you’d like it, that’s why I did it. I’m so glad you stopped by to see me. I was going to go and see you later to cheer you up.”
Ben looked around, thankful no one else was in the shop. He walked up to the counter, feeling apprehensive and uncomfortable.
“I’m just here to ask you some questions. Did you go to the shelter to talk to Hannah a few days ago?” he asked in his sheriff’s voice to let her know this wasn’t a friendly conversation. Dorothy looked at him in surprise, then composed her expression and shrugged carelessly, giving him an innocent smile.
“Yes. I just wanted her to know I wasn’t giving up on you. You two aren’t married yet, so it’s only fair she knows she has competition for your affections,” Dorothy explained with a sweet smile, batting her lashes at Ben. “I’m much better for you. I will give you all my attention, as you deserve, while that girl barely gives you the time of day. Everyone knows she broke up with you, Ben. I bet she’s not even pregnant. How desperate can a girl get?”
Ben felt his anger rising. Maybe he had been too nice in the past, but that ended now. Dorothy was delusional. “Hannah says you threatened her and I believe her. Let’s get this straight once and for all. I love Hannah and I am marrying her. She is pregnant with my baby and if I hear you or Betty spreading rumors, there will be hell to pay. I was polite and friendly toward you but I am that way with everyone. Stay away from my fiancée or you will find yourself in trouble. And stop calling me or I will file stalking charges against you.�
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He walked out, leaving her standing there in shock, with her mouth gaping open. What a fool he had been. It was a bitter pill to swallow that he hadn’t seen Dorothy’s obsessive behavior earlier. He owed Hannah a big apology. But he knew a simple I’m sorry was not going to fix everything. What a mess!
Chapter Thirteen
Hannah sat at the shelter alone, looking over the financial books. At least one thing in her life was going well. Thanks to Grace being in charge of the volunteer department, they had a lot of helpers coming in. Amy was almost done with veterinarian school and then Hannah could cut her hours to part-time and be home with the baby more often. Ben had Grace deliver her lunch every day and although inside she was touched by his concern, she wasn’t ready to forgive him that easily. He had really broken her heart and a few lunches could not erase that fact. She was resigned to making the best of the rest of her life no matter what happened between her and Ben. Right now she owed it to her baby to give it a good and healthy start to life.
Suddenly, she heard a noise up front. She knew Richard and turned the lights off and locked the doors, as he left earlier. She was sure her heart had stopped beating from fright. She searched her desk and sighed in relief when she found her cell phone. She listened quietly and heard a scraping noise coming from the front door. She slowly crept up to the front office and peeked around the corner. It might be Jackson checking on her. He had made it known he didn’t like her being there all alone at night, especially with all the trouble they had had lately. He made her promise to keep her cell phone on her at all times. This was one time she was glad she followed her brother’s orders.