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"What do you mean nothing? That makes absolutely no sense at all. There's got to be more to this story than that." It was obvious Janet was braced for a real story.
"Oh, you'll think I've lost my mind entirely if I tell you," she cried.
"Try me, what happened?"
"He arrested me...."
"For what?" Janet nearly shouted, as heads turned in their direction.
Savannah pulled Janet up the stairs, "His attitude toward marriage enraged me, so I flirted with some guys in a pool hall. I mean...I really flirted. I flaunted myself. For the first time in my life...I played. Only…I wasn't very good at it. I'd seen you do it many times, it looked easy enough. But I don't think I got the hang of it."
"You did what? Why....Savannah, this doesn't sound like you at all. I just don't understand. I thought I knew you so well."
"I guess I was trying to get his attention. Well, believe me, I did..."
"Well despite what you told me about him not wanting marriage, it sounds like he was a little interested himself." Janet said watching her every move. "So come on tell me. What happened between you and the Sheriff?"
"Happened?"
Her friend smiled, and pushed her long golden hair away from her blue, inquiring eyes.
"Nothing...I told you. He's a red-necked male chauvinist. He just didn't want me stirring up trouble in his little town."
"He didn't arrest you, sweetie," Janet corrected her.
"What do you mean? He put handcuffs on me. I spent the night in jail."
"Under protective custody, more than likely." Her friend chimed.
"No he put me in jail."
"You are still so naïve, Savannah. Did he fingerprint you? Did he charge you bail money?"
"Yes, he said I owed $150 for disturbing the peace. He said I could pay it or spend the night in jail. I opted to spend the night in jail since my money was running low."
"So why didn’t you pay it and leave?"
"I only had two-hundred dollars on me. Money my uncle sneaked to me before the wedding. I was afraid to spend it all on something like that. He didn’t really have a case against me, so I figured he’d have to let me go the next day. They can’t hold you over twenty-four hours without charging you with something. Jared told me that once."
"And you purposely came to this little town out in nowhereville for what? Now...I'm beginning to see. You left Chad for the Sheriff, didn't you? Why, you little minx."
Savannah sighed, not digesting the lie very well, she swallowed hard and continued.
"Yes, I guess I did. Which was stupid. Sheriff Ben Hogg is not interested in me. Or marriage." she cried, sure she had put a stop to Janet's wayward curiosity. But she stopped short of making her see the light. After all, if Janet and her family thought the Sheriff was interested, maybe they would soon forget about Chad. And what could it hurt, the Sheriff would never know. She was sure she'd never see Ben Hogg again, even though a tiny voice in her head said she wanted to.
"So how did Chad take me leaving?"
"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. You know that…"
"Well yeah, I gotta admit, I do know that. But come on Savannah, that's exactly what you did. You ran from one to the other. And...unless you want some other lady to have him, yes you are going to have to have a plan. 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.
