* * * *
Ben sat at his desk alone, staring at the papers in his desk but not seeing anything he was looking at. It was late and he should be at home, the only problem was that home was a lonely place filled with Hannah’s scent. He couldn’t sleep and he felt like there was a hole in his heart and he knew it was all his own stubborn fault. He hadn’t seen or talked to Hannah in a few days. If he called the ranch, Ida refused to hand the phone to Hannah. Amy and Richard were the same if he called the shelter. He had Grace deliver her lunch every day so at least he knew she was eating. He was worried about her and wanted to take care of her and the baby, but she refused to accept any calls from him.
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.