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"But can't I stay at my Aunt's?"
He wiped his mouth and settled back in his chair, then looked straight at her. "You could, if I knew you were Savannah Kingsley, her niece. And as soon as I find out you can. Until I do though, I'm afraid not. This is the best place for you, right now. Don't worry; it's for your own good." He reassured her. "Unless....you'd rather go to jail?"
"No thanks," she murmured.
After she was quiet for a long time he asked, "So what were you planning on doing? Aside from visiting your aunt I mean."
"I-I don't know. I mean, I thought my aunt might have a few ideas. She's a crafty lady after all."
"Yes, that's the word for Lucy alright."
"See, that should prove I know her. So…do you know her well?"
"Sure, everyone in Junction knows Lucy. She's a character too." He chuckled. "She's one of the nicest ladies in Junction."
"Meaning I am a character, I suppose." she frowned at him.
"Well, you have got to admit, it's not every day a runaway bride comes to town."
"There's really an explanation for all this..." she began only to be cut off.
He raised his hand, "Save it for another time. Right now we have to do dishes."
"Dishes?" she shrieked.
"Yeah," his eyes narrowed again, "dishes!"
"But, I don't do dishes!" she gasp. "I mean...I've never..."
It sounded ludicrous but it was the truth. She'd never done dishes.
"No," he looked comically at her. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything, isn't there." Again his glance slid over her only this time differently, as though he were seeing her as a woman. "So what happened to the groom? The one you obviously left at the altar, what about him? Won't you even reconsider your rash judgment?"
"No. No, I could never marry Chad....now!" she explained, tearing into the chicken as though she were starved. "Chad's got a lot of things to work out for himself. But I could never marry him. You see…well…there's things he didn't tell me."
* * *
He didn't buy all her story. She was leaving entirely too much out.
After a few minutes, she reached for another piece of chicken. "This is great, did you cook it?"
He almost laughed aloud. "Not hardly, I can't boil water. No, Mrs. Johnson my housekeeper leaves me something to gnaw on for Sundays, if I don't wander over to the church. They put on a regular Sunday spread. Or I can make a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
She laughed.
God, he wasn't prepared to see that smile of hers. It lit up her face and turned her into nothing short of beautiful. Those grey-green eyes sparkled with life. Who was she trying to kid, she belonged in front of a camera. Ben tried to ignore the fact that he liked this woman. Her refreshing honesty stirred his interest. And he knew he shouldn't be interested at all. She was in protective custody, and he had to remember that she was little more than a vagrant. She was obviously running away, but from what he couldn't be sure. And until he verified her story, she wasn't going anywhere, which left him uneasy. Because sleeping under the same roof with a little gal like her might be more than most gentlemen could tolerate.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen and heard it with my own eyes and ears. I've stumbled into Mayberry RFD, haven't I?" she chuckled.
The way she seemed to relax had him on guard. "It's a pretty calm little town. Pretty laidback people live here. We don't get in a hurry to do things. Most city girls find it quite boring."
"I can see that it's laid back…everything is closed on Sunday's. I wasn't mocking it. I'm delighted to have found it." When he wouldn't stop staring she looked away purposely. "This is a pretty big place for just you, isn't it?"
"Never thought of it that way." He glanced around his house. "It's comfortable here. My family can come visit and I've got plenty of bedrooms for them."
The word bedrooms brought her attention front and forward.
***
