"I have a message for you, from Sheriff Hogg."
"Thank you," she said as she took the note from his hand. He winked and Savannah couldn't help but wonder if he was one of the "drug store cowboys" Ben had warned her about.
She read the note all the way up the stairs, nearly in tears from the pain of her raw thighs. "Your Aunt will be home tomorrow, just thought I'd let you know...and good luck with your little scheme."
It sounded like a brush off, and that was best, she told herself.
Savannah sighed heavily.
A movie now and then wasn't too bad, but every night she had to come up with something different. That could be tiresome. Still, she started this lie, she would have to carry it through, at least until Janet went home.
She'd have to be careful.
She went inside her room, glancing about the room with vague interest. Decorated in old fashioned western style decor, complete with western boot style lamps, iron railed beds and home-made quilts, she couldn't help but wonder if anyone ever tired of advertising the old west.
On her way out here she had stopped off at several places, all complete with antique shops and malls. But once you'd seen one, a half a dozen more got boring.
Janet was still asleep in the other twin bed, a western outfit lay across Savannah's bed. Savannah went to the closet and pulled out a purple dress, soft, not too sexy, but very alluring. This would work. Thank goodness she and Janet were the same size, she'd borrow the dress. How many times had that come in handy?
She drew a bath, and soaked for a while. When she heard Janet get up, she decided she better get out. Draping the towel around her she walked into the bedroom.
"Hello sleepy-head."
"Hi. I'm starved. Are you going to the cook out tonight? I saw it on the schedule. It sounds like such fun, and I met this cute cowboy, his name is...get this...Leroy." Janet asked as she stretched herself. "Barbequed chicken, steaks and rabbit. I can't wait."
"No, I'm afraid Ben wants to take me to dinner, in town. Do you mind?"
"Of course not. Just keep your head about you. I know how these western romances go. A cowboy can sure pour it on, when they want to. Just because you didn't make the mistake of marrying Chad, doesn't mean you won't fall for another line. You are so vulnerable right now, Savannah, be careful."
"Oh, so now you're an expert on cowboys?" Savannah laughed. "So now you want me to be careful, huh?"
"No, I’m just an expert on men, silly." Janet laughed.
Savannah smiled, "What do you mean, make the mistake of marrying Chad? Did you know it would be a mistake?"
"Honey, I think every girl in town knew but you!" Janet asked innocently. "He was seeing someone else, wasn't he?"
"Yes, but...how did you know?" Savannah's eyes rounded on her. Did she already know Chad was gay? Surely not!
Janet stood up, a frown playing on her beautiful face, "There are classic signs when men aren't being entirely honest."
"But Janet...why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to several times, hon, but I figured it was more his place, than mine. Besides, we all figured he'd slip up and you'd catch him. You did catch him, didn't you?"
"Oh well, yes, I sure did."
"You sure took your time. So when did you finally catch him?"
"The day of the wedding."
"No...tell me it isn't so. That's cruel."
"I'm not kidding. It was the day of the wedding. But it's just not something you go around talking about. I thought Chad was just about the sweetest gentleman I'd ever known. I never dreamed...." Savannah plopped onto the bed with a heavy sigh.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I should have told you. Long ago. So...so his parents know?"
"Oh no, he couldn't tell them. I wouldn't have known either, if I hadn't caught him in the Rose Garden."
"Who was it?" Janet nearly screamed. Savannah nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all.
But the truth had a way of leaking into the conversation. "I promised not to tell," she admitted as her shoulders slumped.
"But I'm your best friend." Janet's face turned red, and then she touched her arm. "Oh honey. I can guess...it was Carol Stewart, I'll bet."
So Janet didn't know Chad was gay, Savannah sighed to herself. No one knew.
"This is one secret I'm keeping to myself. I might have been naive, stupid even, but I'm not about to blurt this one out."
"Well, it doesn't matter," Janet announced, "You weren't really in love with him either."
"How could you know I didn't love him? I didn't know myself till recently."
"Yeah...you were smitten by that gorgeous Sheriff. Doesn't that tell you something? I mean, you can't fall out of love with one man, and into with another that quickly. Unless you are the most fickle person in the world. And I know you too well, you aren't."
"Oh now Janet, I'm not sure how I feel about the Sheriff, really." Savannah cried, afraid her little lie was escalating into a full blown problem.
"Well, if Chad cheated on you, you have every right to do what you want. So go after that Sheriff."
"There's a problem."
"What?"
"He's marriage shy." Savannah was hesitant to admit it to her friend, but perhaps it would a welcome albatross, later. "I believe his words were, he didn't want a woman, rope and hog tying him."
Janet shook her head, "Oh you can't go by that. They are all marriage shy, at first. But once they are smitten, what can they do?"
"Janet, you are incurable. But don't get your hopes up about this cowboy. I'm not kidding, he is marriage shy. Very much so. Maybe it has something to do with his being a Sheriff. Maybe he's had a bad love affair, who knows. And you know me, I want marriage more than anything."
Janet refused to be discouraged for her, "Maybe he just hasn't bumped into the right woman, yet!"
"It's way too soon to worry about how serious the Sheriff might be." Savannah scoffed and put the dress on, smoothing it as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"That dress looks better on you, than it does on me." Janet chuckled.
"I'm glad you are here, Janet. I need you right now. Especially since my aunt isn't home." Savannah hugged her friend to her.
"Do you know when she's coming home?"
"Tomorrow, according to Ben..."
"That soon, huh? Well, I'll finish out the week here, since I took my vacation now, and I'll be leaving too. Besides, I've got to give this Leroy a chance at me. Say, his name is Ben...I like that name." Janet sighed and then giggled.
"Yeah, but his last name isn't very appealing…"
"What's his last name?"
"Hogg."
"You are kidding!"
"No, it's Hogg!" Savannah cried with laughter and laid against the bed for a moment. "He comes from a long line of lawmen. I saw the pictures on his wall at his office. Looks like he's about fourth generation lawman."
"Well, with a man like that, who cares what his last name is." Janet chuckled, getting her clothes ready and turning toward the bathroom. She turned to look at Savannah over her shoulder, "So where is Mr. Handsome taking you for supper?"
"I don't know. I'm to meet him in town."
Janet whirled about, "I really don't like that kind of thing, Savannah," she cried aloud as her face screwed up into a immediate frown. "I mean he should pick you up."
"He would, but sometimes his work keeps him later and he can't." Savannah defended realizing her friend had her best interest at heart.
* * *
A couple of days later, Savannah was at her aunt's house. Aunt Lucy seemed very glad to put her up for a while. She offered her one of the nicest rooms in the huge two story old farmhouse, and after Savannah had unpacked they had a long talk.
Aunt Lucy was a mixture of her mother and her uncle. She was eccentric, she loved the unusual and she lived life to the fullest. Even though her blonde hair had faded into gray a long time ago, her green eyes twinkled with mischief and merriment every time she spoke. Savannah warme
d to her quickly.
"Well, I'm just glad you found out about your young man before you married him. It's unfortunate but these days things are so different." Aunt Lucy said, pouring them both a cup of hot tea.
Savannah didn't want to dwell on Chad and the wedding though, so she changed the subject. "Do you go to Europe often?"
"Land sakes no, child. A church friend of mine, in Junction wanted to go, since her husband died and I offered to go with her. We had a good time, considering she spent most of the trip talking about her Howard as though he was right there with us. Frankly, it gave me the willies. But we enjoyed Italy so much, and the food was outrageously wonderful. I'd like to go again, but with the right company." She winked.
Savannah smiled, wondering what it might be like to be married to someone she loved so much she couldn't let go of him even after death.
"So...are your folks okay with you being here?" Aunt Lucy asked, sipping her tea and eyeing her over the rim of the cup.
"They don't know..." Savannah hesitated. "I mean, they aren't sure exactly where I am."
"Oh...well, my goodness. It wouldn't do for them to find out, just yet as they haven't spoken to me in years!"
"I know, that's why I'm here. I mean, I figured this was the best place to be, and the safest."
Aunt Lucy hung her head, a sad expression crossing her aging but beautiful face. "I see. You know this all started a long time ago. It was a silly argument we had years ago, about Mama's funeral that caused the rift between me and your mother. I miss her so. Your mother that is. What did it really matter, Mom was dead, but we continued to fight over it till we weren't speaking at all to each other. I've regretted it many times."
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know, really. Mom never talks about it. It never dawned on me how you might feel about me being here. It's just that, well, when I ran, the only person I thought of was you. I remembered how kind you had been to me as a little girl, and I thought maybe this would be a place they would never dream of looking for me."
"That's true." Aunt Lucy's head came up and a twinkle in her eye told Savannah they were comrade in arms at this moment.
"I can leave if I'm a bother to you," she began until her aunt shook her head. "I hadn't even thought you might not want me here."
"Nonsense, I'm glad you are here. It's very lonely living in this old house, it's so big, and so empty. I never had children of my own, you know."
"Why not?"
"I never could have children. My Henry and I tried so hard to have children. But it just wasn't meant to be. I think part of the problem was that I grew so attached to everyone else's children. In fact, I wanted you to stay with me that summer you last visited, but your mother was adamant. Your mother never understood me very well."
"I'm sorry you've been so alone. Maybe...I can make it up to you, Aunt Lucy. Whatever happened to Uncle Henry?"
"He died about eight years ago, not long after your last visit, in fact. Had a heart attack one day out in the fields. We were married forty-three years, come September. Anyway, I'm old enough now to know I can't hold you here. So you are welcome as long as you want to stay."
"Thanks, you might regret that invitation." Savannah laughed.
"So, what are your plans? Or do you have any yet?"
"I'm not sure. I want to photograph wild life, for one thing, and the Dude Ranch I'd been staying at provided a wealth of that for me. I thought I'd try to land a magazine layout with the pictures I've taken. Would you like to see them?"
"Of course I would, I love animals. Come sit beside me and show me what you have."
They spent well into the night, looking at the photographs and Savannah thought how wonderful it was to have someone appreciate her work. And someone she could confide in, too.
Chapter Eight
Two weeks passed and Savannah had enjoyed being with her aunt. Lucy had taught her many things, and Savannah was a fast pupil. She learned to clean a house, cook a meal, and relax. And out of it all, relaxing was the hardest. It seemed odd that she had so much in common with someone she barely knew. But what Ben had said stayed with her, "it isn't how long, but how well you know someone." They spent a lot of time together.
Then one afternoon Ben stopped by.
"Good evening ladies." He began, eyeing Savannah.
Savannah tried to control that melting feeling she got when she looked at Ben, but it just didn't work. He was the only man in her life that made her feel this physical reaction, with just a look.
"Well now, what brings you all the way out here, Ben?" Aunt Lucy chuckled.
"Thought I'd check on you Lucy and see how you've been. Enjoy your vacation?"
"As a matter of fact I did, but I'm even happier being back home. Savannah is just what I needed."
Ben nodded with a smile, "That's good. How long is she staying?"
Savannah put her hands on her hips and firmed her lips, "I'm not in the other room, you can ask me yourself, Ben Hogg."
He smiled, "Okay, how long you planning on staying?"
"A while, yet. Why?"
"Would you walk with me, Savannah, I've got something I need to ask."
Savannah was surprised but nodded, her aunt smiling at the two of them.
Ben walked faster than she did and she found it hard to keep up. She poked her hands in the pockets of her overalls and practically ran to keep up with Ben. She didn't know where they were walking, but Ben seemed familiar with the property. Exasperated that he wouldn't slow down, Savannah finally shouted at him, "What is it?"
He stopped and slowly turned around. "You remember that kid that came in the Sheriff's office when you first came? When I…locked you up?"
"I remember."
"Well....her mother got married."
"So, what has that got to do with me?" Had he married the woman? But why bother telling her? Why bother coming all the way out here, a good twenty miles to tell her something like this? She was nothing to him, still the thought of Ben being suddenly married made her almost ill.
Ben stopped and looked at her again, "I thought you being around, and the fact that I wasn't seeing her every Saturday night might scare her off. Make her think twice about asking me to supper. I mean, the woman just wants a built in father, that's all."
Savannah really didn't want the details of their relationship, but from the sounds of it, it wasn't serious, anyway.
"So..."
"Well, I guess it worked. Strangely enough, she got married!" Ben burst out.
"Married?" Savannah seemed to hold her breath for more information. "You mean you married her?"
This made no sense.
"No," he frowned at her, "Not to me. You know how I feel about marriage."
"Y-yes, I do." Savannah said still not understanding what the matter was. "If she's married, I guess you don't have a problem. That is...unless you want to continue seeing her."
"Of course not. I'm not that kind of man, and you know that. But I do have a problem. You see, everyone in town is feeling sorry for me. In a small town people have a habit of pairing people up. Now, I hear it night and day. How she dumped me for Luke Butler."
Savannah rolled her eyes, perhaps his male ego had been bruised. What was she supposed to do about it? She wanted to laugh her own relief.
"So?"
"So, I'm the Sheriff, and I can't have everyone talking' like they do. So...I need your help."
"I'm listening, although I'm not sure why."
"I need you to come to town with me. Be with me. Let the townspeople see us together. So people will quit feeling sorry for me."
"You're kidding!" Savannah nearly laughed till she saw his face. "You're not!"
She couldn't stop the giggling, even when he frowned. "Look this wasn't easy for me to come and ask. But it's the only thing that will stop them."
"But...why me? You must know a hundred other women..."
He shrugged his big handsome shoulders and sighed heavily, "Most of the folks in Junction know me too well. They
'd see through it, with any of the locals. But you...."
"But me what?" Savannah pressed him.
"When I locked you up...they all thought it was because I was concerned about you. Cared about you. So it wouldn't seem strange to be seen with you now."
"Concerned? You locked me up....well, I don't know why you locked me up. Perhaps for my own protection. I don't know. I'll never forget that."
"No, I guess you won't. And it was for your protection, Savannah." he said, his voice lowering, his eyes searching hers.
"I don't see any reason I should concern myself with this. It's your problem. If you recall, I had a similar problem with my friend, and I didn't see you stepping forth and rendering me aid."
"You're right, I didn't. I didn't want to get involved with...with a screwball little lady, like yourself."
"And now...you do."
"It's the only way. You are the only stranger in town. They all know you were at my house, in my jail, and well...it might seem natural if we..."
"We...what?"
He put his hat back on his head and turned away to go. "I won't beg, Savannah."
His voice was low and held some strange emotion. She felt bad about treating him so.. After all, he had locked her up for her own protection. He had seen after her during the storm. He had befriended her.
"Wait. Ben. Okay," she said reluctantly. "I'll help you, at least till they quit talking. I guess I owe you that much. You did take care of me when I got stung. You did keep my secret. I guess I can extend the courtesy. But why don't you just do like I did? Tell everyone you are meeting me, and not."
"As sorry as everyone feels for me, I doubt it would work. They need to see with their own eyes. It won't take long for the word to spread."
"I don't think this is very wise, Ben." she began.
"Why, 'cause we are attracted to each other?" He seemed quite serious.
She fumbled for the right words. "I won't sleep with you Ben. I've never done that, and I won't start now. As old fashioned as it sounds, I'm saving myself."
"I don't think I've asked you to," he added with a slight smirk.
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