Runaway Bride

by Hestand, Rita

  "You know Chad was really sweet. He calmly stood up and told the entire congregation that the two of you had changed your minds and apologized for the expense. And your parents were livid. I was a little shocked myself. I never thought you'd just run out...that takes a lot of guts. So what's your plans?"

  "Plans? I don't have any–now!"

  "Well of course. You can't just let this slide. You need to take action. Go for that hunk of a Sheriff, honey."

  "Go for him? I'm not the least bit interested, and neither is he! Look Janet, I just ran from one man, do you honestly think I'm going to run into the arms of another? Besides, Ben Hogg made it very clear, he's not interested in marriage…and frankly, that's all I want."

  "Oh come on, girlie, that's exactly what you did. And...unless you want some other lady to have him, yes. And look, we all know that you and Chad cared for each other, but no one, I mean no one ever believed you were in love with him."

  Savannah's mouth opened but nothing came out. How could everyone know, when she hadn't? Up until a few days ago she had planned to spend the rest of her life making Chad a good wife.

  "How could you know that about me? I didn't!"

  "Honey, you were in love with getting married. Anyone that knew you could see that. You just didn't know that you have to shop around before you find the right fellow for the job. Of course something must have kicked in, because you followed your own heart...here."

  Savannah stared at her friend in disbelief. Had getting married been her top priority?

  "Did he ask you out?"

  Janet began storming her with questions. How could she answer? What could she say? How could she lie her way out of this one?

  She was in too deep to admit there was nothing going on. Besides, a short fictional romance with Ben could afford Chad time to come out with the truth.

  "Oh Janet, when he kisses me...."

  "I'm so happy for you."

  Savannah rolled her eyes and groaned.

  "Well honey, you have to get back up on a horse when they throw you. Just because you and Chad didn't tie the knot, doesn't mean there isn't hope out there for you. And you sound pretty smitten with this Sheriff."

  She'd have to put up with Janet's conniving for another week. Would this little adventure solve her problems at home, for Janet was sure to tell everyone. Janet just couldn't keep a secret.

  It was simple, her mind clicked. She'd pretend she had regular dates in town with Ben and go watch a movie in the next town away from Junction. What could a little lie hurt? No one would know. Janet would never know, and she'd be rid of this albatross around her neck. She could finally pick up with her own life... maybe even find a life. After all, if Chad wasn't going to explain things any time soon, she had to come up with something plausible that everyone would believe.

  "So when you gonna see him again?"

  "Tomorrow night." she lied perfectly.

  "Oh this is exciting. I love it. A Sheriff. What a story. Your mom won't believe it. She'll have a fit at first, and then she'll just be so happy for you. By the way, your boss called. You've been fired."

  Savannah hung her head. She expected it, but what was she going to do with the rest of her life? Up until a few days ago she had happily lived with her parents, had a decent job and what looked like a great future.

  A month ago, she'd been so happy, planning the wedding, working all hours so she could have a honeymoon. Now, she had no husband, no job, and it seriously looked like no future.

  Listening to Janet going on and on about Sheriff Ben Hogg as though he were already in the family. Yet keeping up the guise could get tedious. Janet continued plotting how she should act around him, what she should wear, asking her personal questions she didn't want to answer. But one summer and this would all be over. Eventually, she'd go home, when Chad straightened this mess up. She'd stay a week or two here at the Dude Ranch, pretending to date the Sheriff, then meet her Aunt. Then maybe she'd plan what to do with the rest of her life.

  But the first sign of trouble showed up when the Sheriff didn't.

  "He's not picking you up?" Janet asked.

  "No, he's working late and wanted me to meet him."

  "That's reasonable, I guess. But don't let it become a habit."

  Whew, I got through that one, she sighed as she drove into the next town and pulled into the grocery parking lot across from the Theater. She went in and sat through two movies. She had gorged herself on popcorn and cokes and enjoyed the movie no end, so the evening wasn't a total loss.

  It had been a murder mystery and she had sat there plotting her own life to the movie. She was killing Chad, hiding the body in her parents’ car. Then there was Ben investigating the murder. He chased her until he caught her, then pinned her to the wall and demanded she admit her crime. She stuck her hands out to be cuffed and the movie ended.

  Climbing back into her car, at a respectably late hour she noticed a storm had come up. It was raining heavily as she pulled back onto the highway. She switched her wipers on and turned the radio on.

  But something was wrong. All wrong. She didn't recognize any of the land markers. She must have missed the turn off for the dude ranch. How could she be sure? She wasn't familiar with this stretch of the highway.

  She sat up in the seat and turned the radio off. There was nothing but static on it anyway. The lightening was frightening, and the thunder seemed to echo through the small car.

  She grimaced. To top it off, she was lost.

  Not one sign. No traffic, and she was lost on the highway to hell.

  She pulled over to the side of the road and killed the engine. She reached in the backseat for her map and turned on the overhead light to read it. She just couldn't tell where she was. She hadn't paid that much attention; she'd been too busy plotting her murder mystery out, to find any land markers.

  The highway she left on was a four lane highway, this was a two lane. She had taken a wrong road somewhere. She tried to remember where the road had forked and how far back. She'd just have to turn around and head the other way. The solution seemed simple enough.

  Checking her mirrors she saw one car, and it was far off, so she turned around and headed back the way she came. Then it happened, a tire blew and she skidded to a fast stop on the side of the road again, nearly bumping her head on the dash.

  She groaned, unfastened her seat belt and checked herself. None of these kinds of things happened to her back in Dallas. How could she possibly have so much bad luck? It made no sense. All she wanted to do was get back to the dude ranch. The town hadn't been but about ten miles down the highway. There was only one fork in the road. So, she'd taken the wrong road. Now, she was faced with a storm that seemed destined to last the night and a flat tire which she didn't know how to change. She silently cursed herself for not checking the tires before she left. However, under the circumstances, she couldn't be blamed for that one. But how could she have known she would run into so much trouble. Besides, this was a rental car, she wasn't buying tires for a rental. She checked her cell phone. It was dead. She'd forgotten to plug it into the charger. Great! Was there anything she could do right?

  It was too much. All she could do was cry. She laid her head down on the steering wheel and cried like a baby. It was a release, and it helped her emotionally, but it wasn't going to get her out of this predicament.

  Suddenly she heard a tap on the window. She started not to react at all, thinking it could be anyone, and with not the best of intentions on their minds. But realizing the person on the other side wasn't going away when they tapped on the window again, she jerked up from the wheel and glanced at a dark looming shadow. Then a bright light shone right in her face. She winced.

  Before she knew what was happening, someone reached inside the car and pulled her out and into the rain.

  "Damn little fool. What were you thinking? Where were you going?" The very familiar voice asked.

  She knew that voice, and she shivered when she looked up to see tho
se cold brown eyes staring at her again through a bolt of lightning.

  Ben Hogg, and looking more handsome than she remembered.

  "I got lost..."

  Her voice didn't sound like her own.

  "Lost?" He politely opened the door of the squad car to shove her inside and went around to the other side to get in.

  "What are you doing out so late, and alone?"

  "I am an adult, Sheriff." She rolled her eyes at him. What was he, her father, for goodness sake?

  "Really, I wonder."

  She bit her lip. Well, he was right, she really did look like an idiot, but it wasn't her fault.

  "I had a flat."

  "No kidding. Well, leave it to you to find disaster."

  "Haven't you ever had car trouble?" she blasted back this time, unwilling to let him get the best of her again.

  "Not recently, no. And not in this kind of weather."

  He noted her dress clinging to her and grabbed a blanket from the backseat and threw over her. "Cover up before you catch a chill."

  “You always carry blankets with you?”

  “This isn’t my car, it belongs to my deputy, he usually has his dog with him, and he carries it to wipe him off when it rains. Any more questions?”

  “I guess not,” she settled down.

  Naturally, he wouldn't notice that she was dressed to the nine's. That she'd borrowed one of Janet's dresses and as she tried so hard to impress her with her lovesick act.

  "Look Sheriff I didn't ask for your help," she began only to be cut off.

  "No, what were you going to do, sit there till someone came along to fix it for you?"

  "If I had to, yes." It didn't seem unreasonable to her.

  "And what if they'd have cut your throat instead of fixed your tire? Did you even consider anything like that?"

  "Then I'd be dead and out of your hair."

  "Don't you have a cell phone?" He asked.

  "Yes...but...oh, it doesn't matter." She turned away to dispel a sudden rush of tears. Then biting them back, she faced him again. "I hate them...I hate gadgets, you can never rely on them." When he glanced at her strangely she went on to explain. "Okay, so that's weird too, these days. But haven't you ever noticed how dangerous a cell phone can be? Everyone carries them....everywhere! They drive with them, shop with them. People just quit paying attention to what they are doing."

  He glanced at her again, and something softened in his expression. He looked even better than the last time she'd seen him. Darn the man.

  He nearly smiled.

  Her whole body responded. How could that be? This man, this particular man, wasn't the least bit interested in her; he'd made that clear since the disturbance.

  "Where are you taking me?" She asked when he started the squad car. "Not to jail again, I hope. Getting lost isn't against the law, is it?"

  "No, but in your case it should be. To the dude ranch, isn't that where you are staying?" came his fast retort.

  "Yes."

  Then without warning, a loud noise alerted him to the fact that he had a flat too.

  "For crying out loud, I don't believe it." He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. He glanced over at her and this time his temper flared. "What are you—a jinx?"

  Savannah's mouth popped open, but she didn't have a reply.

  "Stay here," he commanded as he got out of the car and checked the damage. She heard him mumbling something as he searched the trunk for a jack and slung tools and things around for several minutes.

  Before long he was back and soaking wet. His expression more angry than before.

  "What's wrong, why didn't you fix it?"

  He grimaced and looked away, "The spare is gone."

  "Gone?" she screeched, "but it can't be. I mean you are a policeman, and you are bound to have a spare."

  "I usually do, yes, but now that I think about it, I borrowed his spare and forgot to replace it with another."

  "And this isn’t your car…"

  "Right. But I don't see as how I owe you an explanation."

  She felt herself giggling, and tried to stop, but the more perplexed his face got the more she giggled.

  When he sent her a frown she no longer withheld her laughter.

  "This isn't funny," he bellowed.

  "I don't know. It's pretty funny to me."

  "We're not in a position to laugh right now." This time his face looked less serious.

  "So what are we going to do?" she asked when he was silent too long.

  "The old Dugan ranch is about a ten minute walk from here. You think you can manage to keep up with me in this weather?"

  Savannah sobered and nodded.

  He radioed for help, but the dispatcher was quick to douse all hope of rescue for a while.

  "Sorry Sheriff, Jim's still over in Sweetwater taking that test this weekend, he didn't pass the first one, they let him have a retest, and Martin's probably taking care of his stock. But I'll try to raise him on the radio."

  "Thanks, we'll be at the Dugan ranch."

  "I'll get right on it."

  He gave Savannah his rain slicker from the trunk, and adjusted his Stetson. He wore a light jacket and she knew he was protected almost as well, so she didn't balk about the rain slicker.

  Taking her hand in his he led the way. She hadn't expected him to touch her and the contact brought immediate awareness. Sharp, clear awareness that told her she was in over her head this time. However, that awareness simmered as he pulled her through the rain and mud.

  His long strides were hard to keep up with, but he kept a firm grip on her hand. When she nearly fell down a slight ravine, he grabbed at her, pulling her close. The intimacy of the act was lost on the pouring rain though.

  They walked for what seemed like an hour to Savannah and finally he halted in front of a ranch house.

  It was dark, and looked vacant. Was anyone home? Would they help them if they were?

  "Where is everyone?" She asked as she glanced about the place.

  "It's been abandoned a long time. But we should be able to get in and have some shelter till I can get some help out here."

  The door was locked, so he had to bust it open with a hard shove of the shoulder. He let her through and then tried the lights. They didn't work. He grumbled.

  "Maybe they have some candles around somewhere?"

  "No one's lived here in five years, I doubt there's any emergency supplies. But we shouldn't be here that long. I've used this place many times when the old bridges wash out."

  "The bridge washes out?" she repeated.

  "Nothing to worry about. It doesn't last long, a day or two at most." He explained.

  Through the darkness, she couldn't read his expression, but his voice held some strange sort of tension that rattled her nerves, as well.

  The room seemed empty, from the glimpses she got as the lightening split through the small house.

  The Sheriff moved and made loud noises, but she couldn't tell what he was doing till the lightening flashed again. Then she saw the small fireplace and he was lighting it.

  “How did you light it?” she asked. “I mean you said no one has lived here for a while.”

  ”They left a lot of old newspapers, I guess from packing up and I busted an old three legged chair they had left behind. The fire won’t last long, but we shouldn’t be here that long.”

  She shivered a little and hugged herself.

  When the fire blazed she came forward and warmed herself. Not that it was cold, but being wet made her very uncomfortable.

  She saw the frustration and anger on his face and wished she could erase all the bad impressions she'd made.

  "I'm sorry for this," she began as she sat on the floor near the hearth. Her clothes were plastered to her, her hair dripping wet. She tried to dry it a little with her hands.

  "Yeah, me too," he nodded and took his hat off.

  He ruffled his hair with his big hands and she imagined what it might be like to run her f
ingers through it. She liked a man with nice hair. She ignored that urge. The less she had to do with the Sheriff the better right now. He was probably blaming her for all of this and she didn't need any more reprimands.

  When the room grew too silent he looked at her and suddenly smiled, "I guess you can laugh about it now."

  She smiled, glad that he didn't hold a grudge.

  Silently she knew she should be thanking him for coming along and saving her like he did, but she knew he wouldn't appreciate a thank you.

  "So, how do you like the dude ranch?" He asked stoking the fire with scraps of wood he had scrambled from somewhere in the house.

  "I'm enjoying it."

  "And where were you tonight?" His eyes met hers for only a moment.

  "I went to a movie." She felt uncomfortable talking about her evening, when she was supposed to be with him, according to her lies.

  "By yourself?"

  He wasn't going to let this pass. He wanted to know everything. She supposed his job made him inquisitive about everything. But just once, she wished he'd drop it.

  She nodded.

  "All those drug store cowboys out there and not one offered to take you?"

  Drug store cowboys? Is that how he saw them? He seemed so judgmental of people and she wanted to argue the point with him, but this was not the time nor the place. But who did he think he was?

  "I didn't go there for dates, Sheriff. Actually, I'm doing a layout for a magazine, and enjoying it no end. So how did you happen by... way out here?"

  "Way out here, it's still my jurisdiction. Actually, I went to look for you, I got a call from your aunt, she wanted to know if I'd meet her at the airport when she arrives, as Helen's son, the woman she went to Europe with won't be available. I told her about you. She's excited about you being here and wanted me to tell you to hang on, she'd be home by first part of next week."

  "Great. I didn't realize you knew her that well."

  "Lucy's lived here all her life, she knows everyone. Out here, as you call it, everyone depends on their friends to help them."

  "That's nice," Savannah sighed.

  He let out a long breath and sighed, "I'm sorry. About the drug store cowboy thing. And I suppose I shouldn't call them that, some of them are actual ranch hands, but most are there for show."