A Shepherd in France Ch. 02

"Sorry, I can't help noticing you seem to be looking for someone to jump out at you," Ben said to Nikolai who nodded.

"I have made a pest of myself with the police so they no longer will speak to me. I understand they have yet to catch that monster. They may make another attempt to take my children," the man said quietly only for Ben to hear.

Ben looked at the man. "They didn't tell you?"

"What?"

"He's dead. Last night, both he and his bodyguard were shot dead," Ben said and Nicholai grabbed his arm.

"Is this true? Where did you hear this?" Nikolai gasped and Galena moved closer to hear, a hopeful look on her face.

Seeing the desperation in their eyes Ben made a decision. He looked over at the boy. "Daniel, did you transfer the files from last night?"

Daniel looked at him seriously and nodded.

"Can you go get your tablet?"

Daniel nodded again and raced away.

"This isn't to go beyond us. Is that understood? It could cause a lot of grief for a police officer that put her career on the line for us," Ben said sternly and the couple nodded. A minute later Daniel returned with the tablet, the video queued for viewing.

"On our way back from dinner last night our group was stopped by Shakir and his bodyguard. Daniel had his camera and filmed the encounter." Nikolai and Galena were wide eyed with shock as they looked between Ben and Daniel.

Ben handed Nikolai the tablet and he and his wife leaned close and watched the video. It was shot around the legs of someone so the picture wasn't always on target but it was sharp and pretty clear. The audio was perfect.

Nikolai and Galena both jumped when the bodyguard was shot and they watched in shock as Shakir was sent to the ground with a single bullet. Nikolai handed the tablet back with trembling hands.

"Shakir fell but was he killed?" Nikolai growled.

"Yes. The bullet hit him in the neck and destroyed his jaw. He bled out in minutes," Ben explained.

"Minutes?" the man said hopefully.

"He had time to suffer and look into the eyes of the woman who killed him. I take great pleasure in that fact." Ben had a grim but satisfied expression. The father shared that smile.

Nikolai looked at his wife. "You heard what that man said on the video. Even if we had paid the ransom they had no intension of returning them as they could sell the twins. Truly, these were evil men."

Galena stepped forward and kissed Ben on the cheek. "You will always be welcome in our home. You may call upon the Noskov's should you ever need our help." Nikolai nodded, sharing his wife's conviction. He shook Ben's hand one more time.

The twins came over and each took one of Ben's hands. They pulled him down to their level then kissed his cheeks. He grinned at them.

With a final wave they left. Ben gestured for his group to head back to the pool. Daniel made a quick trip to his room to take his tablet back first.

Once everyone was back in the places they'd been before the call Margaux looked up at Ben. "Do you make friends and enemies everywhere you travel?"

"I hope I can skip the enemies part on my next trip! If they let me take one, that is! You know how protective women can be!" Ben joked.

"You have many protective woman already around you. Why haven't any of them tried to marry you to keep you to themselves? Wouldn't that be the ultimate protection?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Actually I am engaged to one. Tina. She's pregnant," Ben said.

Margaux's face registered a number of unpleasant expressions finishing with rage. "Why didn't you tell me this from the beginning?" she exploded.

"The marriage is for the child and security for Tina. Protection against our society's issues with unwed mothers and fatherless children. It doesn't nullify my love for Gabriella, Catherine, or Trish nor does Tina want me to change who I am. The pregnancy was a miracle, beating almost impossible odds. I cherish that." Margaux still looked skeptical and was breathing hard.

"Gabriella and Catherine suggested the marriage. Basically told me I should do it as it made sense. They also told me that they weren't giving me up. Our relationship has been stronger since that day."

Margaux now looked confused.

"Are you reconsidering your proposal? Was there a hidden or eventual exclusivity clause in there?" Ben asked.

Her pretty brows furrowed. "No! No, I never intended to ask for an exclusive relationship. As I explained the infrequency of my visits precludes that."

"What if you find that you want or need to increase the frequency? Your schedule will likely take precedence when it's infrequent but if that changes there may be conflicts. How will you deal with that?" Ben asked gently. "It's something you need to think about."

Her beautiful dark eyes looked troubled but she shook her head. "If it works at all I would learn to accept the others."

"So, how does my name on a piece of paper change things for you?" Ben asked.

"Won't you be taking an oath with Tina?" she asked.

"Yes, to love, honor and cherish her forever. There will be no clause in that oath that demands exclusivity," Ben explained.

She seemed to reach an epiphany that the circumstances hadn't really changed. "This brings me back to my proposal-"

"Yes!" he smiled.

"Be serious!" she scolded, looking uncertain.

"I am. Completely. I really like you and I think you're breathtakingly beautiful. Will this turn into love? Maybe. We'll have to get to know each other better. Maybe you'll discover I'm a muscle bound fool. Maybe I won't be able to get past how you hog all the sheets in bed. The future is full of maybes but I'd like to find out. But you should know one thing before you capture my heart."

She tilted her head up to hear this thing. "I don't fall out of love. I go full commitment when I fall in love. I'm still in love with my wife who ultimately betrayed and left me and I'm still carrying that pain. Does that make me a muscle bound fool? Maybe. But that's my secret. That's why Gabriella and Catherine both feel comfortable being in love with me. They know I love them and it's permanent... for me. If you don't feel you can make such a commitment please let me know before I fall in love. Spare me carrying that pain too."

"I want permanent love as well. Let us see if love develops between us. In the spirit of honesty, I am fine with the muscle bound part but not so much the fool," she teased and he smiled.

Margaux tilted her head to look at him. "We will have our romantic dinner tonight?"

"Sounds lovely." Ben smiled. "Now, if you don't mind I need to do a cannonball in the pool next to Daniel."

Margaux laughed at the joyful look on Ben's face as he rushed to the side of the pool and made a mighty splash next to the young man who shrieked with laughter. He hadn't even taken his shirt off! Ben played with Daniel in the pool for an hour until they both got tuckered out. They got out and dried off and Ben flopped down on the lounge bed. He smiled at Daniel's back as he sat cross legged at the end of the bed staring out over the pool. He looked over at Margaux and she dipped her head down and captured his mouth with hers. Sparks shot through his body as her sensual lips caressed his. She pulled back and smiled down at him.

"I think I will enjoy getting to know you better. Meet me at my room at 8PM tonight?" she asked.

"I'll be there!" Ben smiled.

She got up and said goodbye to Daniel and the ladies. She walked away as Ben watched. She knew his eyes were on her and that gave her a tingle in a good place.

Ben rested his head back and the next thing he felt was someone running their fingers gently through his hair. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Gabriella sitting on the edge of the bed looking down at him with love in her eyes.

"Hey beautiful!" he whispered. Then he noticed Daniel curled up against him asleep. He smiled and felt Gabriella's lips against his temple.

"I love you Ben," she whispered.

"I love you too Gabriella," he whispered back.

"How did it go with Margaux?" she asked.

"She's a woman of strong emotions but she's intelligent and is coming around. Telling her about Tina set her temper off but she stayed to listen as I explained. We're going to dinner tonight so we can work out some final details. God, I make it sound like we are negotiating a business deal. We're going to try. If we are compatible then maybe it will work. I asked her your question about issues that might arise if she needs to increase the frequency of her visits. She said that if it works at all for her with infrequent visits she will have gotten over the idea of there being others. I also asked her not to try if she wasn't willing to make the effort to commit. I won't do anything that would jeopardize what we have."

"Thank you Ben," Gabriella said.

"Please, none of this would have been possible without you. I would have self-destructed months ago without your guidance and love. You are the foundation upon which my life and love grows!" Ben took her hand and held it to his cheek and kissed her palm. "I will always love you Gabriella. Know that!"

"I do," she smiled with tears of joy welling in her eyes. She looked at her son, sleeping so peacefully against Ben. Her heart felt like it might burst with happiness. It was time to wake him up so he could get ready for dinner.

She leaned over Ben and whispered in Daniel's ear.

A smile slowly spread across the boy's face though his eyes remained closed. "Hi mom," he murmured and stretched. "Hi dad-" His eyes snapped open as he looked at Ben in embarrassment. Ben and Gabriella were looking at him with surprised smiles. "Sorry Ben."

"No, that's alright. I should be so lucky," Ben said and Daniel blushed with a pleased smile struggling to come out.

"Let's go sleepyhead. You need to get cleaned up for dinner. We are going out for Chinese food tonight," Gabriella teased her son whose eyes lit up at the mention of one of his favorite kinds of food.

Ben got up as well and looked to Karen and Penny who had somehow procured a deck of cards and were playing some kind of game. They glanced over at Ben and saw he was getting up. They packed up their stuff and were ready to leave when he was. They all shared the elevator to go back to their rooms but when they got off the elevator Karen snagged Gabriella's sleeve.

"Could we speak with you and Ben in private?" Penny asked.

Gabriella nodded and sent Daniel on ahead to get ready. The rest went to Ben's room. Ben and Gabriella sat on the couch and the two ladies took the chairs facing them.

"Ben told us today that he will take care of us, help us make lives but we can't flirt or have sex with him," Penny said bluntly and Ben blushed while Gabriella smiled at him.

Penny continued. "When we had lunch with the nice Russian family with the twins Ben rescued they looked at us like we were hideous. Are we ugly?"

Karen's lower lip was trembling and her eyes were glassy.

Gabriella leaned forward. "No! Not at all! You are both very beautiful!"

"Then why did they look at us like that!" Karen wailed and began to cry.

Ben realized they hadn't completely accepted the answer he and Galena had given them. The couple's reaction to their physical appearance had been too obvious.

Gabriella reached out and Karen crossed over to be held by the woman. Gabriella made soothing noises and looked at Penny who also looked upset. Ben opened his arms and Penny went to him. She was trembling as he held her. Gabriella sent him a sad look.

"Let me be very clear. You're both very beautiful. Certain aspects of your beauty have been emphasized and the Noskovs were just envisioning their daughters being changed in the similar way by Shakir. They're just children! No parent wants to see their children grow up. Did Shakir ask you if you wanted to have these medical procedures?" Ben explained.

Both women shook their heads.

"Was it painful?" Gabriella asked.

Both nodded emphatically. Gabriella and Ben gave them firm hugs.

"No parent wishes for their children to experience that," Gabriella said gently.

"Men look at us differently than they do at you or Catherine... or Margaux," Penny said to Gabriella. "You're all beautiful but their faces don't look the same as they do when they look at us."

Ben looked at Gabriella with a concerned expression. He wasn't sure how to deal with that without hurting their feelings. She smiled at him.

"Men are drawn to beauty. They can't help it. Women are too, to be fair, but for men there's a drive to mate. Your beauty was emphasized with these operations and some of the changes send a very strong mating message. A message you're not intending to send but it's there. That message can be toned down but it would mean another operation. You'll still be beautiful and men will still desire you. That's just a burden we have to bear." She grinned at them and got them to smile as well.

"Whatever you choose to do I will support your decision," Ben said.

They nodded and smiled at him.

"Now, it's time to get ready for dinner. Do you like Chinese food?" Gabriella asked.

The two women looked at each other. "We've never had it."

"Then you're in for a treat!" Ben said and everyone smiled.

Gabriella left after getting hugs from the ladies and a kiss from Ben. Karen and Penny closed the bedroom door to shower and change.

Ben had time before his dinner date so he opened his laptop and did some banking, transferring funds to pay off credit card charges and checking on a few other outstanding items. Most of his payments were automatic withdrawals so they didn't need managing but he tracked them anyway.

He checked his email and saw a note from his lawyer informing him that the background check was proceeding but it might take some time as records were not so good. He was also looking into the legal procedures for establishing new identification records. Ben would have to talk to Karen and Penny about that.

Then he spotted an email from his neighbor, Barry Walker. The old gentleman Ben helped with his leaves and snow shovelling. He lived next to Daphne and the twins and Ben rarely saw him and his wife Phoebe. He didn't know the man even had a computer. He read the message.

"Dear Mr. Shepherd,

I hope this note finds you well and recovered from your recent injuries. I also hope you don't mind but I got your address from Daphne McKellan. When I spoke with her she said it would be ok.

It is my understanding that you have purchased a number of the houses in our neighborhood. As you have been a good neighbor to Phoebe and I for so many years I would like to offer you the opportunity to purchase our home before we put it on the market. Phoebe's sister has finally been convinced to move to Florida so we will be moving to our condo there permanently in a few weeks.

Please let me know if you are interested at your earliest convenience so we may discuss the details.

Your neighbors,

Barry and Phoebe Walker."

Ben read the date on the message and saw it was two days ago. He immediately wrote a response thanking him, indicated he was definitely interested, that he would be home in a few days, and to contact Shelly Spencer to work out the details in the meantime. Ben knew Trish's cousin would ensure the Walkers would get a reasonable price for their home. He CC'd Shelly on the message so Barry would have the email address and the woman would be in the loop. He sent a separate note to Shelly letting her know roughly how much he was willing to go and to inform him if that wasn't accepted.

Feeling upbeat from this delightful news he was grinning broadly when Karen and Penny exited from the bedroom. "Wow! You two look great!"

Brightly colored tops over tight black leggings and their customary high heeled shoes... but not quite as high. The design and pattern on the tops subtly de-emphasized the size of their breasts so they both looked a little nervous as it was not their typical style. Ben stood and walked over to look at their new outfits appreciatively.

"Truly! This is a smart look for you both. Very stylish and lovely," Ben said honestly.

They gave him happy hugs and a kiss on the cheek then headed out. It was time for Ben to get ready for his date.

Chapter 20

Catherine had so much fun shopping in Nice and had found some really beautiful outfits she was looking forward to wearing at work.

What made the day that much better was Chanel. The woman did something to her. Something only Ben and Gabriella did. It was like being supercharged! There was an energy in her that wasn't present when she was with anyone but those three. Catherine had experimented a little in University but she'd never really experienced sexual attraction to a female until that night with Ben and Gabriella. Something had changed for her. A new door had opened.

Chanel had worn a simple black tank top and a pair of white short shorts which showed off her long tanned legs. Classic black and white low rise sneakers completed her outfit. Catherine was impressed with how strong Chanel's arms looked and the woman had caught her staring a few times. The brunette's eyes had been hidden behind dark shades but Catherine could feel them on her and it was electric!

Catherine wore a short sleeved red button down blouse over blue shorts and white sandals. Her bra wasn't doing a good job of hiding how excited Chanel was making her. While they shopped Chanel would occasionally pass her in the aisles and accidentally brush up against her, or touch her arm, hip, or shoulder and each touch sent shocks through her body. She had gasped aloud on more than one occasion and blushed furiously when eyes would turn in her direction. Chanel walked away in each instance with a little smile of satisfaction.

Sitting across from Chanel during lunch at a sidewalk café Catherine got her revenge. A large flower planter next to the table hid Cat's foot as it slipped up the inside of the brunette's leg. She teased the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs while Chanel did her best to hide her reaction to the stroking. It quickly became apparent that the woman was equally affected by Catherine. Her face flushed and she gripped the side of the table until her knuckles went white. Catherine finally pressed her big toe to the tender spot between Chanel's legs and her legs snapped together trapping her foot. The brunette went very still as she squeezed her eyes shut and rode out the waves of an intense release. Eventually Catherine was able to pull her foot back. Chanel slipped her sunglasses down her nose and the look she gave Cat promised of sweet retaliation. Sparks shot through the blonde's body once more.

After they were all exhausted from shopping they headed back to the van and discussed dinner plans. Chanel asked Catherine if the two of them might go to a restaurant she'd always wanted to try and she agreed. The others were going for Chinese then out dancing afterwards. The plans were set.

Now Catherine was getting dressed for her 'date' and she was feeling strangely nervous. A good nervous but still. She looked over at Sophia who was also dressing.

"You don't think less of me because I'm going out on a date with another woman do you?" she blurted with an anxious expression.

Sophia's eyebrows went up. "What made you think that?"

"I caught the looks you three were giving me all day and I'm worried you disapprove!"

"We were giving you looks because we saw how close you two were to tearing each other's clothes off in the middle of the shop! We had a bet going that you'd disappear into one of the change rooms with her. We can see you're happy and we'd never do anything to keep you from that. We're just worried about how this affects you and Ben. What about him?" Sophia asked.

"I'm not giving Ben up. I love him too much. He and Gabriella know I'm attracted to Chanel. She makes me feel amazing! It's a lot like I feel when I'm with Ben... but different. I can't really explain it."