A Shepherd Afield Pt. 03

He took her to the Korean restaurant and she was able to order some favorites. She was also able to use her Korean to order and the staff treated her very well. Ben ordered some rice and some beef dish in a sweet sauce.

They found a table near the edge of the food court so he and Tina could people watch.

Ben was pleased to discover that eyes were sliding past him to gaze at Tina. He looked at her too and saw she really was glowing with health and happiness. It warmed his heart.

"It's good?" he asked as she devoured her food.

"I have such a craving for this dish. I do not know why," she said perplexed.

Ben smiled. "I believe food cravings are a normal thing for pregnancies.

Tina looked up in surprise and grinned at him.

They finished their meal undisturbed which was a relief for Ben. He thought they were going to actually make it out alive as he wheeled Tina back to the exit when he heard a commotion behind him.

"It's him!"

"The Bronze Man!"

"OMIGOD!"

"-autograph!"

"Selfie!"

Ben sighed and Tina looked up at him in concern. The voices were definitely female and didn't sound young.

They managed to reach the info kiosk to return the wheelchair and he was helping Tina to her feet when the two women swooped in.

"Mr. Shepherd?"

Ben turned to see two women, probably in their thirties, fresh from the salon, dressed very well with maybe a few too many designer labels on display, eagerly waiting for him to acknowledge them.

"Yes?"

Huge smiles blossomed on their faces. "Could I have your autograph?" one woman pleaded.

"You know, I'm not a celebrity. I don't give autographs," he said, trying to be civil.

"A picture then?" the other stepped forward holding up her cell and Tina wobbled back on her crutches.

Ben braced Tina with a hand on her back and his other hand protectively touching her tummy. The cell's flash went off and the two women suddenly seemed to realize Ben wasn't alone.

"Who's this?" the autograph chaser blurted.

"OMIGOD! She's having your baby?" the photographer exclaimed. Ben scowled and they took that as confirmation.

"But- but she said you were sterile!" responded the first.

"WHAT?!?" Ben growled as he reeled back.

The women leaned away but their eyes were twinkling with the excitement of a shared discovery.

"The woman claiming to be your wife told the reporter that you were sterile! In Peeps magazine!"

Tina tugged on his sleeve and Ben came back to the moment. Ears and cheeks burning with humiliation, he turned and walked with Tina out of the Mall. He could hear the excited giggles of the two women behind him and he trembled with undirected rage.

He got Tina back into the truck and got them driving back to the house. Ben was silent, his jaw clenched, as Tina watched him from her seat.

"I had a lovely lunch Ben," she said quietly.

Her words seemed to snap Ben out of his funk and he glanced apologetically towards her. "Oh, I'm sorry Tina. I did too! It was really nice to just be two people out for lunch in the food court. I really missed that." His brow furrowed once more as a troubled look stole back onto his face.

His cell began to ring so he passed it over to Tina to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Tina?" asked a voice.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Joanne White. May I speak with Ben?"

"Ah, hello Joanne! May I put you on speaker? Ben is driving," Tina explained.

"Oh, sure."

"Go ahead," Tina prompted as the phone went on speaker mode.

"Ben? It's Joanne White."

"Hi Joanne! How is Florida?"

"Hot! But I'm not complaining!" she said and Ben heard the smile in her voice. "I- I'm calling about your offer. It's still on the table?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to lower it or tell me I told you so?"

"Joanne! I wouldn't do that! I'm sorry your other bids fell through," Ben said sincerely.

"Thank you Ben. I'd like to take you up on your offer then. I was going to contact you after the last buyer backed out but I was so embarrassed."

"Joanne, please! There is no need to be embarrassed. Listen, I'm going to give Trish's cousin Shelly a call. She's a realtor. You give her a call and she'll make all the arrangements. Here's her number." Ben gave her the number and Joanne repeated it back. "Just give me a few minutes to fill her in, ok?"

"Perfect! Thank you Ben!"

"Good doing business with you Joanne! Take care!"

"Bye!" she said and hung up. Tina dialed Shelly.

"Shelly Spencer, how may I help you today?"

"Hi Shelly, it's Ben Shepherd with Tina Lee on speakerphone."

"Hi Ben! Hi Tina!"

"Hello!" Tina answered.

"You are about to get a call from one of my previous neighbors, Joanne White. I've agreed to buy her home for 1.15 million. Can I ask you to take care of that for me?"

"Of course you can! You know you're my favorite buyer!" the woman said.

"Thanks Shelly! Let me know when you need my signature."

"Will do! Thanks again!"

Once she hung up Ben had Tina dial the bank to speak to the manager. Ben spoke with him to let him know he was going to need another check.

That taken care of they pulled into a gas station and while Ben pumped the gas, Tina made her way inside the little store to pick up snacks for her cravings. She returned with a bag and Ben's eyebrows rose. Tina stuck out her tongue and Ben smiled. She managed to get in by herself and Ben drove them home.

"I can get myself into the house on my own," Tina insisted and Ben wasn't even allowed to carry her bag of snacks.

He closed the garage and held the door for her but she made it in on her own and shooed him away once they were inside. He gave her a kiss and made his way downstairs to his office.

Ben stopped once more before the panic room door and stared at the dented surface. He was desperate to find something to occupy his mind, something to distract him from the incident in the mall. Examining the structure of the door he decided he was going to design a new one himself. He would work from the existing door's design but add gusseting to its back to stiffen the surface so it wouldn't bend under the pounding of a hammer. As that would increase its weight he'd improve the guides, the bearings and the hydraulics on the closer to bear the extra load as well as allow it to close faster.

Brain happily stimulated, he sat at his drafting table and got to work.

Tina sat in her favorite spot in the living room and listened for Ben. He was in his office so she knew she had a few hours at least. She pulled the magazine from her shopping bag. She'd grabbed an issue of Peeps and turned to the page with Wendy's story. Tina looked at the image of the woman. Greying blonde hair, sad eyes, tight thin lips, lines on her face, and very plump. She did not look like a happy woman.

Tina read the story which was only two pages. Aside from the picture of Wendy at the beginning of the article the only other photo was a wedding picture of Ben with Wendy. Attached as proof she supposed.

Wendy didn't paint a very flattering picture of her marriage to Ben or of Ben himself. She spoke of his disappointment when he discovered he was sterile and his subsequent loss of interest in her. By the end of the article Tina wanted to strangle the woman.

She flipped on her tablet and started a new email. She addressed it to Gabriella, Catherine, Trish, and Hannah and filled them in on the latest development with Wendy. She added the pertinent information Wendy had disclosed in the story and let them know how upset Ben had been when he'd been confronted by the two women in the mall. She snapped a picture of Wendy's face with the tablet and added it to the email. That done she sent it off.

First to respond to the message was Trish but that was no surprise. The language was very colorful but the message was clear, Trish loved Ben and would defend him to her dying breath. She offered to be at his side when the court case happened. Tina was sure all of the women in Ben's life would be there. She wasn't sure if that would be a good or bad thing to sway the judge's opinion. Something to speak to Gabriella about.

Speaking of the woman, Tina's tablet chirped with a video call request. Looking towards the stairs there was no sign of Ben. She dug her earphone out of the end table drawer and answered the call as she plugged it in.

Gabriella's concerned face popped up on the screen.

"Hi Tina! Is Ben there?"

She looked and the coast was still clear. She kept her voice quiet just in case. "Hi Gabriella! No, he went down to his office."

Gabriella's expression relaxed. She knew he'd be working on some engineering puzzle. "How are you doing?"

"Very well! I enjoyed very much my lunch with Ben today until the two rude women showed up," she said with a shrug.

"Tina, be honest with me. Does Ben need me to come back?" Gabriella asked.

"Does Ben miss you? Yes, but he will be coming to see you very soon. Would he ever forgive himself if he was the cause of your giving up your dream? I believe you know the answer to that question. We will keep him as happy as we can between his visits to see you. Tonight Lisa and Lori will be distracting Ben very much I believe," Tina said with a wicked grin.

Gabriella held up her hands in surrender. "That's ok, I don't need to know the details." A phone rang in the background and Gabriella looked away distractedly. She looked back at the camera. "Thank you Tina for being there for him. I miss him terribly too. Take care!"

"You as well!" Tina said and disconnected. She wondered when Gabriella got to sleep.

She saw a message from Hannah saying she would see how Ben was feeling in their group discussion session the following night.

A message from Catherine arrived and in it she asked if she should come over tonight. Tina let her know that Ben was ok for now and would be going out tonight. That made her think about dinner. Was Ben going to be home for dinner? It was almost time for her to begin preparing the food. She would have to ask Ben to put the roast into the oven but she could do everything else. She sent him a text. Moments later he replied he would be home for dinner but would be going out at 9:30PM.

Tina tucked her earphones away and put the magazine in the drawer. At the back, just in case.

She made her way into the kitchen to begin the prep work for dinner. She loved cooking for her man.

Ben was feeling pleasantly full from yet another amazing meal. Tina spoiled him terribly! He grinned happily as he scrubbed the roasting pan. He could hear the sounds of happy conversation behind him as Penny and Karen teased each other about something or other. He caught Karen saying the words 'your boyfriend' and he turned to look at Penny in surprise.

The doorbell rang and Penny leapt to her feet. "I'll get it."

Ben looked over at Karen who had a guilty look on her face. He sighed. Being a dad was harder than he thought it would be. He knew Tina had arranged for them to get birth control pills and they were technically adults but his instinct was to protect them. Penny's grades were still very good so he wasn't as concerned as he might have been. He wasn't happy that she had kept this new development a secret from him though.

Penny reappeared in the door with a strange grin on her face. Behind her was Jayden. Ben's eyebrows went up. He hadn't expected him to move quite this quickly but he supposed he should have.

Ben leaned back against the counter as he dried the roasting pan and watched Jayden nervously enter the kitchen. All eyes turned to him as Penny rejoined her sister at the kitchen table. This meant the young man was facing the curious eyes of Tina, Lucy, Penny, and Karen while under Ben's scrutiny as well. Christopher wasn't paying any attention at all as his toys kept him occupied on the floor.

"Good evening," he said, clearly nervous.

The women returned the greeting and Karen glanced quickly at Ben.

"Karen, I was wondering if you'd like to go see a movie with me on Friday. We could have dinner first then see that new Katherine Heigl movie."

Karen's eyes were wide with surprise and she quickly looked over at Ben to see if he was going to protest. Her eyes got even wider when she saw he was just smiling at her. Her face split into a wide grin as she looked back at Jayden.

"YES! I mean I'd love to. Could- could we see that Fast and Ferocious movie instead though. I don't like rom-coms. I like action movies!" Karen blurted excitedly. Jayden's smile got wider as he realized he'd hit the jackpot.

"Apparently Penny has a boyfriend too. Maybe you could double date," Ben suggested.

Jayden nodded and Penny looked even guiltier but nodded as well.

Lucy and Tina were all smiles.

"I'll pick you up at six on Friday?" Jayden asked.

Karen nodded excitedly and her smile was priceless. Jayden returned it and nodded to the group.

He looked over at Ben. "Goodnight Ben."

"Goodnight Jayden."

Karen got up and walked him to the door. She locked up when he left then came racing back into the kitchen to hug Ben. "Thank you!" she gasped into his chest.

Ben kissed the top of her head as he hugged her. "All I'm going to say is take your time. Enjoy the whole experience of dating and courting."

"Courting?" she asked looking up at him with big blue eyes.

"Getting to know each other before... it gets physical," he said uncomfortably.

She hugged him tighter and he hugged her in return.

"Do you have homework?" he asked and she released him to rush off to her bedroom to get started.

"Not so fast young lady," Ben called out to Penny as she tried to follow her sister.

Penny returned looking sheepish.

"What's the thing I've asked for in this household?" he said firmly.

Penny looked up at him through her thick lashes. "Honesty," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"I'd like to meet him. Have him meet you here Friday night. I also want you to keep an eye on your sister." Ben sighed. "And the same goes for you about taking it slow!" Ben growled.

Penny crushed herself against Ben's chest and hugged him. "Thank you!"

He kissed the top of her head then shooed her to go do her homework too.

Ben looked back at the kitchen table to see two very happy faces. "What?"

"Such a good dad!" Lucy said with a grin.

Ben snorted and went back to cleaning up.

"Please join us in the living room when you are done." Lucy said as she assisted Tina up and onto her crutches. Tina told Christopher to bring his toys into the living room and the boy quickly gathered them up and rushed into the next room.

After wiping down the countertops Ben walked into the living room and saw Lucy snuggled up on the couch with Tina and he smiled. Lucy moved over and the ladies patted the cushion between them.

Ben carefully sat between them and they moved closer to him. Christopher thought they were playing a game and crawled up on Ben's lap, giggling the whole time.

Ben gave the boy some kisses and pretended to eat his ear causing an explosion of giggles. He caught sight of Penny as she walked down the hall.

"Penny, I think it's time for this young man to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Could I ask you to help him with that?"

"Sure! Come here little man!" she said scooping him up. He clung to her and more giggles could be heard as she swooped him back down the hall.

When they were alone once more Tina tapped on Ben's arm and he lifted it over her so she could lean against his side. Lucy did the same and the two ladies sighed with happiness.

Tina looked up at Ben. "I was texting Lisa and Lori today and they told me you were taking them to Club Eon tonight." He nodded. "They also told me it's not the usual kind of dance club you are used to." Ben's face took on a worried expression. "I would very much like you to take Lucy and me to this club after I have had our baby. You did say you would take me dancing."

"Yes I did and I will. What's special about Club Eon?" Ben asked cautiously.

Lucy looked up at Ben's face and caught his attention. "I did some research when Tina told me about it and I completely agree. I would love to go there with you! It caters to Doms and their Subs. You don't have to be in that kind of relationship to be admitted but there are strict rules of conduct to protect the patrons. It is very civilized so it's very freeing for us subs. Everyone wears two glowing pins except tourists, those not involved in the lifestyle, who wear a single yellow pin. Wearing the blue pin means you are a Dom. A red pin means you are a sub. An Orange pin means you can be both. The color of the second pin tells people your intent. White means you are there just to dance with your partner, or partners in your case, and aren't seeking additional relationships. A green pin means you are open to being approached by those seeking a relationship."

"I thought we were just going dancing!" Ben complained.

"You are but it is very nice for us to be able to show our appreciation of our Dom in a public way. An extra element of excitement," Tina explained and Lucy nodded emphatically.

"So I get to wear a blue and white pin and the twins will wear a red and- what, green?" he asked.

Tina and Lucy gave him a frank look and he realized he was still avoiding the truth. The twins were both subs and had claimed him as their Dom. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Honestly, as much as he fought the idea of them 'settling', deep inside he desperately wanted them for himself. He opened his eyes and felt the truth of it bitch slap him. It was time to man up and finally accept it. They needed a Dom and he would let them know tonight that they were his. He'd strung them along long enough, left them in this uneasy limbo for too long. He owed them that much.

He looked into Tina's eyes and saw they were practically twinkling with joy as she understood he'd figured it out. He kissed her and felt her melt against him. She knew she was his but that still left the question of Lucy. He pulled back from Tina's soft mouth and looked at the beautiful tattooed woman under his other arm and saw her eyes were filled with a desperate need. He felt something open in his heart as his resistance broke.

"You're mine," he growled as a wave of emotion almost overwhelmed him. He took her mouth with his and she squeaked.

When he pulled back from the kiss she had tears of joy in her eyes. "I love you Ben!" she gasped.

"I love you too Lucy. I love you both. I'm sorry I haven't been a better Dom for you. I will do better," he said, emotion making his voice rough.

"Ben, you're a better Dom than you realize," Tina said gently.

Ben still seemed a little unsettled. "What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I- I feel... uncomfortable with how possessive I am with you, Tina, and the twins. I consider myself rather progressive but my behavior with you four feels rather primitive, primal." He was struggling to verbalize his instinctive reaction to their submissiveness.

"Do you think we are your possessions?" Tina asked.

"No! That's not it-"

"Are we not women in your eyes?" she continued calmly, ignoring Ben's agitation.

"Of course you're women! You're all intelligent, strong, loving, beautiful women-"

"Ben, what you want to possess is our love, body and soul. This is what we want more than anything to give to you. It may be primal but for us it is exactly what we need. We feel safe being submissive with you because you still see us as women and not as objects," Tina explained. Ben paused to think about that.

"You'll tell Lisa and Lori tonight as well?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," he replied, his throat tight with emotion.

Tina gently pulled Ben's face down to hers and kissed him tenderly.