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"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? Was that why she ran? Could it be, that deep down, she never wanted to marry Chad, but simply wanted to be married?
"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? One fabrication would lead to another and when would it end?
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...."
Janet's eyes lit with happiness. "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. You can't just walk away from him without giving him a try."
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. Maybe she should go on with the lies. The more Janet believed her, the easier it became.
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. It seemed like a good plan at the time.
But the first sign of trouble showed up when the Sheriff didn't.
"He's not picking you up?" Janet asked.
Savannah reached for another lie. "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. She decided she could make this fun for herself without creating any suspicion.
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? It was so dark and the rain was a distraction. 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.
