Lawfully Indulged

by Ginny Sterling

  “You’ll both need to come in to the station and give a statement- but we aren’t completely heartless,” Kaminsky teased them as he stood nearby. “You two lovebirds can ride together in the back of my car. We’ll just pretend I’m your chauffeur for a quick spin around the block.”

  Sienna looked away from Harper, blushing furiously. It was embarrassing to be called out by the officer in such a friendly way. If he could see her feelings, she was certain it was written all over her face. She wondered what Harper thought of it and felt like it was putting them both in an awkward position- her for feeling like she did…and him, for having her feelings announced when she was certain they weren’t ‘there’ yet as any sort of couple. Sure, he’d been sweet and tender with her- but what if that was just his way with the ladies?

  Nodding, both complacently got into the squad car- neither saying a word.

  14

  Harper was stunned with the intense surge of feelings he’d just experienced. He’d never felt such blind rage towards a human being as he did towards Sienna’s old boyfriend, Joel. When the man began calling her derogatory names, impugning her honor, character and morals, his mind flashed with scenes of how virtuous she was. The mornings that they said their prayers together in the early hours, enjoying the solitude and sunlight streaming through the garden windows. The tender, sweet way Sienna blushed when he kissed her – or the naïve way she thought her gun was broken at the range when it simply needed to be reloaded. He’d been flattered that she’d gotten jealous he spoke with other women in the office and it was that much more special to him that he’d garnered her undivided attention.

  Sienna Angelica was a good person at heart. It went against everything in him to hear how foul Joel thought of her. When he’d heard Sienna calling his name and Joel started mouthing again, this time becoming disgusting and vulgar- implying that he’d had his way with her, Harper had been uncontrollable. He cared for Sienna and the thought of something so disgusting as what Joel said made him feel unnaturally possessive of her. He knew in that moment that he wanted Sienna for himself.

  Harper wanted to love her, smile with her, pray with her and laugh with her – the thought of it being soured, besmirched or ruined between them made him see red. He’d never lost such control in his life and was mortified by his reaction. How could he ever expect Sienna to care for someone like him when Harper was the monster he’d described Joel as. Good men didn’t fight or lose control. Sienna needed someone who would care for her, love her, and the thought of it being anyone else but him was nauseating. He didn’t deserve her.

  Please God, forgive me for my sins – losing control like that. I just know that such a beautiful soul had been so close to being tainted that I was angry, enraged. Don’t let me scare off the girl I’ve just only realized that I love beyond everything, he prayed silently as he stared out of the window of the police car as they drove through town. He wondered if she was afraid of him now, especially since she was trapped in the back of the car with him.

  Pulling into the station, they were led into the crowd and Harper saw Sienna start before letting out a gasp. Looking over, he saw Maisie from the office sitting at a desk. She was talking with an officer, holding an icepack to her face, and was barely recognizable. Sienna darted forward and wrapped her arms around the woman that had betrayed her, her voice full of tears.

  “Maisie, what happened to you, sweetie?”

  “I was beat to a pulp by my ex-boyfriend for threatening to come here,” Maisie whimpered and let out a soft moan as her jaw moved. She could see the large bruise underneath the icepack and knew it had to be painful.

  “I’m glad you are here- are you pressing charges?”

  “Looks like I won’t have to,” Maisie let out a snort and then gasped in pain before continuing. “Someone beat the snot out of him already. They already picked him up for something else and he’ll be doing time for a while now.”

  “Joel?” Sienna asked, her beautiful expressive face stunned as she looked at Harper. Maisie let out a disgusted sigh.

  “I knew he’d helped you in your career during the early years and I want to be like you, have my own business and make my way. When he asked me out, I was so very flattered. I couldn’t help it- and when he asked for help tearing up one of the dresses, he promised that we would be engaged and set up our own boutique. Sienna I am so sorry.”

  “I am too,” Sienna concurred. “I understand why, but I still can’t have you work for me- but that doesn’t me I am uncaring or cruel. I had to learn to stand on my own and I want you to know that you can too. The gala we sponsor is always looking for people to aide with their charity events. I’d be happy to make a few calls so you could land on your feet elsewhere.”

  Harper was floored by the generosity Sienna showed the woman. He listened as Sienna went on to say that everyone had a moment’s weakness or stumbled, but that didn’t mean that they were bad people. There was a catch in her voice that made him look up, meeting her eyes and tender smile.

  “Thank you Harper for protecting me tonight,” she said softly, stepping away from the desk as they were led into one of the enclosed offices. Several camera flashes were going off in the distance and Harper knew that they were there to get the scoop on Sienna in the police station. Word spread fast in the city. Harper pointed to one of the open offices just on the far side of the rows of desks.

  “Can we make this a bit more private? The media is going to have a field day with Miss Angelica’s photo all over the front page,” he said firmly, refusing to take a seat in the chair they’d brought him to. Harper took Sienna’s elbow automatically and followed the officer so they could have a moment’s privacy to give their statements.

  “Would you like some water or coffee before we begin?” the officer asked, as they took their seats at the table inside the empty room.

  “Please,” Sienna said softly, wringing her hands together down in her lap anxiously. It was mere seconds before she spoke, breaking the silence. “Thank you.”

  “Of course, that is what you pay me for.”

  “I’m sorry about Joel hurting you or what the officer said…” she began quietly, staring at her hands in her lap.

  “Was it true?”

  “What?”

  “Do you care for me?” Her beautiful eyes looked at him. Harper could see the fear and hope shimmering in them as she looked at him silently. She was so beautiful, inside and out, that it made his heart feel like it wanted to burst in emotion. “Sienna?”

  “Harper…” she whispered, her voice thick, but the promise in her eyes told him what he needed to know. She did care for him and was unsure about making the first steps. His sweet, confident, prickly woman was complete mush around him -and it made him feel like he could take on the world for her.

  “Knock, knock,” he murmured softly, brushing a lock of hair off her forehead. He saw her soft smile and her momentary confused glance.

  “Who’s there?”

  Harper leaned towards her, kissing the tip of her nose and her cheek- just before leaning towards her ear. “Olive” he breathed silently, smelling her sweet perfume that she dabbed along the graceful curve of her neck. The scent of gardenias would forever make him think of her and her smile.

  “Olive who?” she questioned almost soundlessly, as he lifted up and looked into her eyes. In that moment, he knew that everything was going to be okay and there was no place he’d rather be than beside this woman that had touched his heart. He saw the open surge of love in her gaze as her words suddenly clicked in her mind.

  “Olive you, Cactus,” he breathed, kissing her softly, every bit of feeling in those simple words. The taste of her lips and sweet look in her eyes before her lashes drifted shut would forever be emblazoned in his heart and soul. This was his woman and he’d been waiting for a perfect love like this since the moment he was created. There would never be another perfect soul for him, like Sienna’s. “Olive you very much and I was thinking that perhaps it’s time
for a promotion,” he teased, gently nipping at her lip and hearing her deep, throaty laugher as her neck arched towards him. “I was thinking instead of ‘bodyguard extraordinaire’…the title of ‘significant other’ sounds so right-what do you think?”

  “It sounds perfect.”

  Epilogue

  November 2018

  Sienna smiled softly as she looked in the full-length mirror behind stage reminiscing and thinking back over the last year. Harper’s self-titled promotion had been short lived…moving from ‘significant other’ to ‘fiancée’ and then to ‘husband’ in less than a month. They were crazy about each other now that they’d opened up and shared their feelings. It was as if a dam had burst forth or the floodgates had opened. He told her he loved her all the time and she was always finding an excuse to reach out and hold his hand, simply to be near him. He’d changed jobs, claiming that he could never take on another bodyguard position and feel right about it. It wasn’t just the fact that they’d fallen in love, but he’d been severely upset with himself after Joel’s beating.

  Harper had all charges dismissed that Joel had pressed once the judge heard the case. He didn’t condone mental or physical abuse at all but nearly congratulated Harper for doing society a favor. Harper didn’t feel that way and he still felt like he needed to give back to the community. He wanted to earn God’s forgiveness and giving was the only way he knew how. Harper had started his own school of self-defense for women and even had a counselor on site in case it was needed. Being able to help, teach and provide a chance to prevent someone else from being hurt had been all the boost he’d needed to begin the long path of salvation within his mind.

  For Sienna, she looked at it all as a new beginning…several new beginnings, she thought rubbing her slightly swollen stomach. She’d been able to hide the pregnancy from Harper so far, by sleeping in his large t-shirts. He’d made a comment about how marriage agreed with him and he was going to have to let out a notch on his belt if she kept feeding him so well…Sienna almost told him then- but that is when the inspiration hit her: she would use this chance to debut a maternity line of clothing.

  Tonight, she would be walking the catwalk with the models, revealing her shape in the form fitting dress that was designed to stretch as her body grew over the next nine months. One thing she’d noticed was that most maternity clothing was loose and baggy, almost sexless in appearance – but Sienna knew she wanted to revel in the changes that were coming and prayed that other women did too or else her line could be a massive failure. She’d designed garments that she wanted to wear as her body changed. Pleated lines that had panels that stretched, darts in the right places to accentuate the softer curves…even a line of lingerie that could look enticing, as well as functional. Sienna wanted women to look like the fertile creatures they were and celebrate the gift of life.

  “Sienna, are you almost ready to go on? They are cueing up the lights and music,” Melinda said with a warm, knowing smile. “This is going to be freaking fantastic and will rock this season.”

  “I hope so,” Sienna said, encouraged.

  “I know so. You look gorgeous.”

  “Thank you- I feel it,” Sienna admitted and grinned as the music got louder and louder. “Let’s get this started!” she called out, gesturing everyone to line up. “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

  Sienna took her place at the end of the line and watched happily as they took their turns out on the runway. Each time the curtain parted, she hoped she’d see a glimpse of Harper and knew deep in her heart he was out there. He’d texted and said he was stuck in traffic but would be there for the show if he had to run across half of town, abandoning his car. She’d laughed because she knew deep down inside he’d have done it.

  It was now her turn.

  Taking a deep breath, Sienna didn’t have to fake a smile on her face before stepping out into the blinding lights – her face felt split in half by the proud, satisfied grin plastered across it. She was going to be the mother of Harper’s child and couldn’t wait to see his reaction. Stepping forward, she knew she was strutting down the catwalk, swinging her hips. As the lights followed her, she felt a bit of relief as the direction of the lamps moved from her face to other spots of the runway as the other women who’d walked lined up behind her. Sienna got to the end of the ramp and saw Harper in the crowd holding roses, his face smiling widely.

  Sienna couldn’t help the small laugh escape her as she turned to the side and posed, putting her hand on her stomach. She saw Harper’s smile falter before he spiked the flowers and ran towards the stage…to her. He catapulted up on the stage and pulled her into his arms, kissing her in front of everyone.

  “Cactus, is this what I think it is?” he asked excitedly, dropping to his knees and kissing her teeny baby bump in front of everyone. The camera flashes were going wild and Sienna knew deep down inside that this publicity would be tremendous for the line- and for them. She’d cut the article out and put it in the baby book she’d ordered on Amazon this morning to memorialize this…as if she’d ever forget it!

  The sheer look of pride and love on Harper’s face would stay with her forever. Sienna couldn’t speak, she could only nod in agreement as she felt tears erupt uncontrollably in happiness and joy as Harper’s arms wound their way around her waist again, pulling her into another hug there on the catwalk. “Olive you, Cactus,” he whispered passionately, kissing her-the promise of a shared lifetime of love together …now as a family.

  Afterword

  Thank you for taking the time to read Lawfully Indulged. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Doesn’t have to be much, just a simple rating and a few kind words work wonders. Your thoughts, opinions and feedback are much appreciated.

  Sincerely,

  Ginny

  Winning the Billionaire

  God, Country and his Mama…

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  Could it be that his luck had finally turned around, winning the jackpot – more than once!

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  Desperate for a fresh start after the war, Jeremiah Ellington responded to an ad in the paper for a job. His home had been razed, his family gone, and he had only the items on his back to begin his life again. When he received a response to the ad for an assistant to the town’s undertaker, it seemed to be a perfect solution for a former surgeon in the army. One look at the love
ly undertaker and his dead heart came alive. Jeremiah would do anything to have Ava in his life, including making her forget her long lost husband.

  Can Ava let down her guard enough to begin to enjoy the life around her? Can Jeremiah find a way to break through the shell that is protecting her heart as they are suddenly hopefully matched together.

  Get your copy of Hopefully Matched today!

  Melissa Miller is tired of being alone. Angry, bitter and jaded, she is fully aware that her marriage prospects are horribly slim after the war. With the threat of outlaws raiding towns nearby, her very safety, as well as her mother’s, is at risk. She cannot afford to have her chance at happiness whisked away. But just when she thought she couldn’t take much more and had lost her faith, he walked into her world. Gideon is full of laughter, an inner light and a buoyant personality that she craves… but he is harboring a secret.

  Gideon Ashton waltzed into the small north Texas town on a wing and a prayer. A request for help to protect the citizens had been passed to him and it felt like divine guidance when he met Melissa. He happened upon the lonely young woman one afternoon, causing a flutter in his stomach and a rush of feelings that had been locked away. She’s everything that he felt was missing in his life and more, causing a fierce yearning for a future he’d never considered before.