A Shepherd Afield Pt. 01

"Our voice is very much self-aware. We comprehend the nature of our audience and the impact our dialogue has on the lives of those we speak for. You would be fully involved in the process of telling your story, ensuring the truth is front and center and preserving as much of your privacy as can be done now that you've reached this level of... notoriety. Celebrity is a cruel mistress. We can work with you to limit your exposure," she smiled. "In your case perhaps a more accurate target would be to redirect attention away from your over exposure," Naomi suggested.

Ben squirmed under her gaze of frank appreciation.

"I'd prefer to be completely ignored," he muttered.

"Yet the public has seen much and hungers for more after hearing of your heroism." Ben scowled and Naomi's keen eye caught that reaction and filed it away. "The phrase about nature abhorring a vacuum applies to the public's desire for information about people they have hoisted up onto a pillar."

Ben's expression was bleak as he contemplated the no win situation he was being cornered in.

A car swung around the circular court and stopped next to the curb beside them.

"Ben, is everything alright?" Rochelle asked as she shut her car off.

He looked over and saw his neighbor looking at him from her car's open window.

"Hi Rochelle. Yes, this is Naomi Klassen. She was suggesting she might be able to help me limit the public's attention."

"Naomi? Naomi Grant?" Rochelle gasped as she recognized the woman with Ben. She stepped from the car.

Naomi turned her face completely towards Rochelle and her expression froze. "Rochelle Jameson?"

Ben's eyes moved back and forth between the two women. "You two know each other?"

Naomi quickly turned to face Ben and her smile was back in place but there was a nervous quality to it.

"Yes, we went through College together. We had some mutual friends-" she began when Rochelle's barking laugh cut her off. The shorter woman moved next to Ben and looked up at Naomi.

"You slept with my boyfriends."

Ben's eyebrows went up.

"Yes, that wasn't a very bright moment in my life. I was suffering through some pretty bad self-esteem issues. I'm terribly sorry for my past behavior and for any pain I caused you at the time," she said with a sincere tone.

Rochelle was still looking at her with a scowl but she accepted the apology as gracefully as she could. "Klassen?"

Naomi smiled and seemed to relax a little. "I finally got married about a year ago. How about you?"

Rochelle looked at Ben then back to the woman. "I'm Rochelle King now. Widowed. I have a 21 year old daughter and an 18 year old son."

Naomi gave Rochelle a sympathetic look and saw Ben was beginning to fidget. She had to bring the conversation back to him. She needed his story. It would be a huge feather in her cap if she could get the exclusive.

"I was telling Ben that the media house I work for, Culture Couture Critic, could help defuse the media frenzy with a controlled and discrete delivery of his story," she said with a smile.

Ben's head twitched back at the idea of sharing his story with strangers.

"I just want to be left alone. Can you make them do that?" he grumbled.

The tension was back. "I don't think anyone would be able to put the genie back in the bottle and as long as the mystery remains people are going to want to know. Your best avenue back to some sense of normality would be to deliver enough information to quench their hunger sufficiently. We could do this for you and protect you from being hounded by the other media outlets... if we had the exclusive," she said carefully.

Rochelle smiled. "There she is."

Ben looked to her as she turned her eyes to him.

"Naomi needs the exclusive. That would give her career a significant boost if she landed an exclusive with you considering your refusal to speak with anyone in the media."

"So you think I should maintain my silence?" he asked his friend.

She looked at him in surprise. Rochelle hadn't expected him to put such faith in her. She felt incredibly flattered and that pleasure showed in her smile. She placed her hand on his arm as her face warmed up. Naomi looked a little peeved.

"I think that's a decision you need to consider a little more carefully. Maybe speak with Gabriella as well. She's always had a level head for important decisions like this. Naomi may have a point about controlling the information being delivered. How much editorial control you would have over the 'story' is still a question she needs to answer."

Ben nodded to Rochelle. He looked back to Naomi. "I'm going to follow Rochelle's advice on this and take a little more time to consider the options. If you have a business card I'll let you know if I choose to give an interview. That's the best I can do for now."

Naomi pulled a white card from her jacket pocket and handed it over to Ben. "Thank you Ben. Please feel free to call me any time with your decision. I hope we can work with you on this."

Ben shook her hand once more and she held it out to Rochelle who only hesitated for a second before she gripped the woman's hand. With a final smile at the two of them Naomi walked back to her car and drove away.

"Thanks for stopping Rochelle. This whole situation is a mess," he gave her a hug and she grinned up at him. "How are you doing? You're home early today!"

Rochelle's smile faded. "I had to come home as the police are bringing Jayden back to the house. He's under house arrest and will be wearing an ankle monitor."

"What? What happened?" Ben exclaimed.

"I didn't want to bring it up as you were going through so much when you got back from your trip, what with the adoption and your sessions with Doctor Evil."

Ben rolled his eyes. "It's Dr. Granger. She's- she's not evil. Now about Jayden, talk to me."

Rochelle glanced down to the end of the block where a police cruiser was turning onto their street. "Sorry Ben, I'll have to take a rain check. He's home." She patted his arm and rushed back to her car.

Ben watched her drive around the loop to her driveway and park. The cruiser followed her in and two officers got out. They helped Jayden out of the backseat and walked the sullen young man into the house behind his mother. Ben picked up his tool box and headed up his own driveway. He went into the garage and put away his tools.

Entering his home from the garage he took a deep breath and his mouth immediately began to water. Tina had worked her magic again.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Tina moving around the kitchen with her usual efficiency. She glanced up as he entered and a smile flashed onto her lovely face. Pregnancy was really agreeing with her. She positively glowed with health which was a sharp contrast to the first month.

The diamond ring he'd given her when he proposed to her on the Eiffel Tower glittered and gleamed on her finger. He'd had it resized when he got home and she wore it constantly. They hadn't set a date for the wedding yet as she'd wanted him to finish his sessions with Dr. Granger. They had to readdress the date now that he'd stopped going. That was an outstanding issue.

Tina was supposed to be attending University this fall after taking some summer courses but with Ben's injuries and her pregnancy she decided to reschedule for the following year. That would give her enough time to spend time with their new baby.

Her son Christopher was enjoying himself in Daphne's daycare though Tina didn't take him there every day. Speaking of which, Ben glanced at the clock. It was just about time to pick him up. As Tina looked busy he would do it. He walked over and gathered Tina in his arms. The petite woman tilted her head back and he kissed her tenderly. She trembled a little in his arms and once he pulled back her expression was dreamy.

"I'm going to go pick up Christopher," Ben said with a smile.

"Thank you Ben."

"Dinner smells amazing!"

"I made lasagna, Penny and Karen's favorite."

"You're such a good mom!" he grinned and she swatted his arm with a smile of her own.

He gave her another quick kiss and let her go. She quickly went to check on the garlic bread in the oven.

Ben left the house and walked over to Daphne's place where he could see three cars parked on the street. Parents coming to pick up their children from the daycare. He normally tried to avoid the other parents but he wanted to help Tina.

He walked into the foyer and sure enough three women were standing there waiting for their kids to get their coats and shoes on. He racked his memory to recall their names. Ellen, Heather, and... Dawn!

"Hi Ben!" Dawn greeted him with a wide grin. Instantly the other two turned to beam wide, knowing grins of their own at him. Eyes roamed his body.

He sighed quietly. They were all aware of the damned bronze statue.

"Good afternoon Dawn, Heather, Ellen," he smiled graciously and their smiles got even wider.

"Picking up Christopher? He such a sweet boy! He gets along so well with my Sammy," Heather exclaimed.

"Daddy!"

Ben smiled as the boy in question came barrelling into the foyer. Not quite running but faster than a walk, at sixteen months old Christopher was now able to get himself around with surprising speed. More of a controlled fall, he tended to stop himself by crashing against walls, chairs, and in this case Ben's legs. Ben scooped the little man up and gave him a hug and a kiss causing Christopher to giggle wildly.

"Where's your sweater?" Ben asked and Christopher pointed back into the daycare.

He set the boy back on his feet. "Well, go get it." Christopher tottered away.

Sammy was tugging on his mom's sleeve but she was staring at Ben, her mind lost in her fantasies. Finally she realized her son was there. She blushed, said her goodbyes and left with her son.

Ellen was next and then Dawn who was practically devouring him with her eyes. Then he was alone in the foyer and all of the other kids were gone. Daphne walked out from the back room and grinned at Ben. She came forward and gave him a warm hug.

"How goes the daycare business?" he asked.

"It's a dream come true! The kids are wonderful! We haven't had any real problem cases and they all seem to get along. Christopher is amazing at defusing tantrums. He has such a positive effect on the others. Working with my daughters is wonderful! I don't know what you did and I don't really want to know but they are changed women. Calm, responsible, and really great with the children. I couldn't ask for more."

Christopher arrived and Ben's eyebrows went up when he saw the glue on his sweater and his hands.

"How did you get glue on yourself?" he said to the boy. He got a shrug as an answer.

Daphne took the sweater and Christopher's hand. "We'll be right back Ben." She led the boy back into the daycare to clean up and find the source of the glue.

Ben looked up to see Lisa and Lori approaching. The gorgeous red head twins were dressed up for going out dancing. They were masters of the quick change, able to switch from one look to another. Obviously they had plans tonight. Artfully applied makeup, hair teased up to hang down in ringlets, skin tight dresses that barely covered their asses, and strappy pumps on their feet, they looked good enough to eat.

An image flashed through Ben's mind. Lisa, flame red hair spilling over his mattress, clawing at the sheets and arching her back in ecstasy as his tongue explored the depths of her gushing pussy. Lori, gasping to catch her breath, her spent body glistening with sweat as she watched him bring her sister to a state of bliss. His pants began to feel a little tight.

As promised he'd rewarded the twins for their improved behavior the week of his return from France. The night had been... intense and he'd left them exhausted and satisfied. His intention was to wean them off so he'd insisted they go out and mix with their friends and find someone younger than him. They took his instructions as an order so for the past few weeks they'd happily spent a few evenings each week out at the clubs. He hadn't heard them ask for another 'reward' so maybe they'd found more suitable partners.

"Good evening Ben!" the two ladies said in unison. It was a trademark move of theirs as was dressing identically to confuse their family and friends. Ben could detect the subtle differences and hadn't mistaken one for the other yet.

"Good evening Lori, Lisa," he said nodding to each. They loved that he never missed.

"You both look breathtaking tonight! Are you going out with someone special?" he said, fishing for clues.

"Girls night out! The gang from University. We'll have dinner then hit the clubs and tease the poor little players," Lisa said with a grin.

"Oh! I thought you might have... met someone at one of the clubs... who you might be interested in dating," Ben said.

"Ben, you don't meet anyone worth dating at a club. Casual affairs only... if they're lucky," Lori said with a chuckle. "The men you find in dance clubs are usually desperate little boys."

He stared at the twins. He liked clubs. Did that make him desperate? "But... I like dancing."

"Will you come dancing with us tonight? It would be so nice to have a real man at the club for once," Lisa purred.

"Please Ben? I would love to dance with you." Lori moved closer until she was gently pressing against his chest. Blue eyes looked up longingly into his.

Ben felt her soft warmth against his body and felt his pants become just a little tighter. Then Lisa was leaning against him as well and he throbbed in response. She felt that against her thigh and her eye lashes fluttered as she gasped gently.

"Not tonight," he said, his voice deep and rumbling with his need. Lori trembled as she bit her lip and nodded.

"But you will come dancing with us soon?" she asked.

Ben gently pushed the two ladies back and looked into their eyes. "Yes, I'd like to go dancing with you. Just not tonight. Enjoy yourselves."

With hungry looks back at him they pulled their jackets from the closet and headed outside. He sighed. As Ben was alone he adjusted himself to make room in his pants and began to relax. Obviously his plans for the twins wasn't working out as he hoped. Maybe he'd get Tina's advice on this.

Christopher came thumping back into the hall and Ben saw the glue on the sweater was mostly gone. The child's hands were clean at least.

"Sorry about the mess Ben. One of the kids must have pulled a glue bottle out and spilled some. Christopher dropped his sweater in it. It should wash out," Daphne explained. He gave her another hug then scooped up the boy and headed out. They both waved to Daphne who waved back with a smile.

Ben was ravenous when he smelled Tina's cooking once more from his front door. Tina poked her head out the kitchen door.

"Dinner's in twenty five minutes Ben. Karen texted that they were five minutes away," she said.

Karen and Penny had fallen in love with having their own cell phones and texting had already become an obsession for both. The bastard that kept them as pets would never have allowed them access to a phone and Ben wanted to be able to reach them at all times. The memory of the squealing they'd done when they looked into his little gift bags and saw the cell phones still brought a smile to Ben's face.

He set Christopher on his feet and tugged the little sweater off. The child made a bee line for his mother who scooped him up with a huge grin. The sweater went into the laundry bin and Ben went to get changed for dinner. He took a quick shower and slipped on some comfy pants and a clean shirt. He heard the happy noise of the ladies returning home so he headed down the hall to greet them.

"Ben!" Penny chirped and leapt into his arms. He caught her and gave her a hug. Karen was right behind her waiting for her hug so he set Penny back on her feet and gathered the blonde in his arms for a squeeze. Both were grinning widely.

"Dinner's almost ready so go get cleaned up," he said and they rushed past to their rooms.

Lucy was standing at the door smiling at Ben demurely. His breath caught as she looked so lovely in her new cream colored sweater and light grey jeans. When he'd sent her home from France with Tina all she had was a suitcase of threadbare clothes. Tina and the McKellan twins took her on a shopping trip downtown and outfitted her with clothes she could wear when she went to college.

"How was your day?" he asked.

She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around him, and tilted her head back for a kiss. This was their daily ritual. When Ben told her he would take care of her it was with the condition that she would keep her heart open to finding love from someone closer to her own age. Tina helped Lucy enroll in an Audio Engineering course at the local college when they returned from France. If Lucy met someone there she was considering a relationship with she would simply tell him how her day was. If not she would take her welcome home kiss.

Ben's heart did a little flip as a guilty relief flooded through him. He'd grown quite attached to Lucy and would miss her terribly if she were to succeed in finding the love he'd insisted she seek. He took her face between his big hands and kissed her deeply, his emotions running a little too close to the surface today. The young woman moaned and clung tighter to his body as she sucked at his tongue.

He pulled back when he got control over himself. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, embarrassed by his neediness.

Lucy's gaze moved from his mouth to see his unease. "Ben, don't ever apologize for expressing your heart's desire. That was... wonderful! I look forward to repaying that kiss later." She patted his chest gently and stepped back to move around him to head down to the master bedroom to get ready for dinner.

He had some time before dinner so Ben made his way into the living room and sat in his favorite chair. He grabbed his tablet and reviewed the latest requests on the engineering boards. He answered a few questions, pointing people in the direction they needed to go and came upon a request from a mining company in Melbourne, Australia. They didn't mentioned their name but the nature of the request required some background hence the minimal disclosure of industry. The geographical location must have been a slip as it wasn't pertinent to the puzzle. He read some more and felt his curiosity spark. He could see the edges of a solution for this one. Just a hint but enough to tell him he'd have to work on it.

"Dinner's ready," Tina called out from the doorway.

Ben looked up and nodded with a smile. He quickly added a message to the board letting them know he'd taken on the request and would get back to them. Then he shut down the tablet and joined his family at the table in the dining room.

Penny and Karen were sneaking in a few more texts before dinner. With a raised eyebrow Ben signalled it was time to put them away so into a pocket they went. He looked over at Lucy who was wearing one of her old shirts. It was perhaps a little too tight for her large tits and he could see by the obvious impressions of her nipple rings she wasn't wearing a bra. He felt a surge in his pants and shifted on his chair to ease the pressure. A small satisfied smile appeared on Lucy's lips indicating she'd noticed. Ben looked away and into the happy eyes of Tina who placed the large baking dish of lasagna onto the large trivets on the table. She went back into the kitchen and returned with fresh, hot garlic bread and everyone's mouth watered. Penny and Karen lifted their plates with glee and Tina served them some lasagna before she put a large portion on Ben's plate. Lucy was served and Tina took her portion and a small one for Christopher which she cut up fine and blew on to cool down.

Everyone dug in and happy sounds ensued. Ben complimented Tina on her amazing cooking skills and the ladies joined in. Ben looked to his daughters. "How was school today?" He'd enrolled them in adult high school to help them get their secondary school diploma. What they did from there? They'd figure that out later.