A Shepherd in France Ch. 02

Alexis and Béatrice were looking at Ben with nervous expressions again.

Gabriella needed to put them at ease so she pulled them aside. "Ben had a rough time growing up and we don't really know the full extent of it yet. There must have been some abuse but it's locked deep in his mind. We shouldn't talk about that around him because he becomes extremely protective."

"So, he's not a danger to us?" Alexis whispered.

"God no! The man will walk through fire to protect a woman. His mind takes him someplace dark when he sees a woman being hurt or abused in any way. It's frightening and brutal what he's capable of but it's always in the defense of someone in danger. When he comes out of it he can't recall what happened. That's disturbing for him. He's seeing a doctor back home but he needs more treatment. We're recording the blackouts for his doctor.

"Would he have killed Arsene just on our say so?" Béatrice gasped.

"Killed him? No. Beaten him unconscious? Definitely. That's why we have to be careful what we say around him," Gabriella explained as she saw the appraising looked they were now giving the big man.

He walked back to them with the ladies accompanying him.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled looking at their hosts.

"It's quite alright," Alexis said with a smile and looked over to Gabriella.

"Can I go see Stephanie?" Gabriella asked.

"Why don't we get you and your friends situated in your rooms then I'll take you to see her." She paused for a second with a thoughtful expression. "I think you should bring Ben with you when you see her. Tell her he frightened away Arsene. That might help her," Alexis suggested.

Gabriella nodded and smiled at Ben. They went back to the vehicles and everyone grabbed their luggage. Ben was once more given the largest and most luxurious room on the top floor. The view from its windows was spectacular as it faced the valley below. The massive bed looked inviting and the private bath was nicely appointed. He immediately noted some beautiful sculptures of dancers. There was also a bright and colourful impressionistic painting of a dance studio on the wall.

"The room is gorgeous and these pieces are lovely!" Ben enthused gesturing to the art.

Béatrice beamed at him. "Thank you. It is one of my favourites as well. Stephanie did the sculptures and I did that painting about two years ago."

Ben moved closer to the painting. "I'm no expert but I love this! I can almost hear the music they are dancing to!" Béatrice smiled broadly at Gabriella.

They moved to the next room which had a more feminine feel to it. It had softer colors and lots of colourful throw pillows. This would be Catherine's room which she'd share with Sophia. Next was the flower room which Rachel and Megan would share. Gabriella and Miriam's room was furnished with French antiquities much like they saw in Versailles. The last and smallest room painted in oranges and yellows with rich, dark wood furniture went to Daniel and he was delighted.

"Are we the only guests? Gabriella asked her cousin.

Alexis looked a little embarrassed. "For now. We've been having trouble getting local tradesmen to come to the property to finish off the renovations. I think Arsene is frightening them off."

"What exactly is his problem with you?" Ben asked.

"We're gay. He's homophobic and has a particular hate for Lesbians," Béatrice growled. "He's also made a nuisance of himself to the owners of another chateau in town. Richard and Henry run a beautiful B&B not far from here and they've told us he's also shot holes in their sign."

"Is that why your sign isn't up? Did Arsene shoot your last sign?" Ben exclaimed.

"We can't prove it was him as he does it at night but we heard a loud boom and in the morning we saw our sign had a huge hole in the center. It happened the same way with Richard's sign."

"Have you reported him to the police?" Gabriella asked.

"The man in charge of this area is Arsene's cousin. He won't do anything to stop him. Arsene is a bully and has no friends in town but no one stands up to him," Alexis said.

Ben was getting that grim look in his eyes again so Gabriella hugged his arm and that distracted him. "You know, Ben is a master at renovations. Maybe he could take a look at what's left to do?" Gabriella suggested and Ben's eyes lit up.

"I wouldn't want to impose on you during your vacation!" Alexis protested.

Gabriella and Catherine snorted in unison as they saw Ben's eager expression then started to laugh. "Ben is something of a reno junkie. It's something he loves to do," Catherine explained to their puzzled hosts.

"Let's visit Stephanie first though," Gabriella insisted and Ben nodded.

"If you don't mind I will just bring in Gabriella and then Ben if she is up to it," Alexis said. They nodded and followed the cousin down to the main floor and through a door with a 'Private' sign on it. At the end of the hall was a door and Alexis gently knocked. She announced herself and entered. Moments later she brought both Gabriella and Ben into the room.

Stephanie sat in a chair by the window with her hands in her lap. She shared a lot of features with her older sister. She wasn't as stocky though and her chest was more modest than her sisters. She had long sandy blond hair worn loose and pale blue eyes which Ben immediately saw weren't tracking their movement in the room. He glanced at Alexis who nodded at him. Stephanie was blind.

"Stephanie? It's Gabriella!" she said as she took her cousin's hands and held them up to her face. She released them and Stephanie ever so gently ran her fingertips over the contours of Gabriella's features.

"Hello Gabriella. Beautiful as ever!" Stephanie said with a gentle but sad smile.

"I'd like to introduce you to my good friend and neighbour Ben Shepherd," Gabriella said and gestured for Ben to step forward.

"Hello," Ben said taking her delicate long fingered hands in his thick ones.

"Hell- oh! You're big!" the woman said in surprise as she ran her fingers over his hands and up his arms.

"Yes, he certainly is! He just scared Arsene into running away!" Alexis said.

Stephanie's hands froze when her sister mentioned Arsene and Ben felt her panic. "I don't like that man. I'm going to have to do something about him," Ben growled deep in his chest.

The blind woman's hands went immediately to his face and Ben held still while she mapped him in her mind. She gasped when she found the scar across his face and the small bandage on his chin. Her hands finished with his face and moved down his thick neck. Her brows furrowed and she concentrated hard as her mouth hung open as he grew in scale in her mind.

"Ben, take your shirt off. Let her feel what you've experienced," Gabriella said gently.

He looked at her questioningly then pulled off his shirt. Alexis gasped as she saw the scars over his chest. He reached for Stephanie's hands which were held out before her and guided them up to his shoulders as he knelt before her.

"Big," the woman breathed as she felt how wide he was. When she moved her hands down over his pecs she encountered a large scar. She traced it with her fingers then moved on and found the next one. She found each with her gentle fingers. She was careful with his stitches on the few she encountered.

When she felt the bullet hole scars she looked puzzled as their shape was different than the others. "Those are the oldest ones. Three bullets," he said gently.

"I have to sculpt you!" Stephanie suddenly blurted, her face was flush and she was wearing a huge grin.

Ben looked at her in surprise and looked over to Alexis who had tears in her eyes and was clutching her hands together by her mouth. She looked at Ben with profound gratitude.

"Uh, I've never been a model before," he mumbled, embarrassed. He stood up.

"Alexis! I need new clay! Lots of it! This will be the largest piece I've done. I need you to contact Richard and ask him to make me a wire armature based on male proportions but one hundred and twenty centimeters tall," Stephanie blurted excitedly

"One hundred and twenty! That's not going to fit in our kiln!" Alexis cried.

"It's not going into the kiln. I'll explain later! When can I start?" Stephanie asked.

"Can we at least feed them dinner first?" Alexis chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Yes, yes! Of course! Where are my manners! Ben, will you pose for me after dinner?" she asked.

"OK, sure. I'd be honoured," he replied.

She suddenly stood and stepped forward colliding with Ben who was looking at Gabriella in surprise at the time. He quickly caught Stephanie as she bounced back from his bare chest. Her hands went back to his skin and she smiled. "You are big!"

"Yes," he smiled.

"Excuse me," she said and Ben moved aside. She unerringly found the phone on her desk. "I'll call Richard myself. I need him to get started on it right away."

"See you at dinner Stephanie!" Gabriella said.

Stephanie immediately stopped and turned with open arms. Gabriella stepped into them and was given a firm hug. She whispered something in Gabriella's ear who chuckled and whispered back. Stephanie blushed and grinned for her cousin. Ben raised an eyebrow at the whispering as they left the room but she just shook her head at him with a mischievous smile. He tugged his shirt back on.

Once they were out in the vestibule of the chateau Catherine and the rest of the group descended the stairs and everyone moved into a large sitting area.

Alexis crushed herself against Ben's chest and gave him a firm hug. "Thank you so much for drawing her out of her shell! I haven't seen her this passionate about her work in years!"

"I didn't do anything!" Ben asserted.

"What didn't he do?" Béatrice asked as she came into the sitting room.

Alexis spun to see her partner. "Stephanie is out of her shell! She's going to make a sculpture of Ben. One hundred and twenty centimetres tall!"

"We need to get more clay!" Béatrice said excitedly with a brilliant smile.

"I'll go out tomorrow to get it," Alexis said.

"I was hoping to go into town" Béatrice said with a cute pout.

"Why don't you both go?" Ben asked.

They looked at him with a troubled look in their eyes. "We haven't done that since Stephanie was attacked."

"So he knew you were both out of the house when he... did that?" Ben said struggling with his rage.

Alexis nodded as she looked at Ben with wide eyes. "We have to drive past his house to get to town," Béatrice said.

"You should both go to town tomorrow. I'll stay behind to greet any unwanted visitors," Ben finished with a growl.

"We were planning on driving to Turin, Italy tomorrow," Gabriella said.

"I'll sit this one out if you don't mind," he said and she nodded. "I can do some of those renovations you've hinted at."

Alexis' eyes lit up again. "What can you do?"

"Framing, insulating, plumbing, electrical, drywall, tile work, painting... pretty much anything but don't ask me to wall paper. I hate that," he grinned.

Alexis' answering grin was wide. "Tomorrow morning we will do an inventory and we'll pick up whatever you need."

"Sounds good!" he replied.

"Speaking of good, our cook Marie would like to let you know we are having authentic Coq au Vin tonight with fresh baked bread," Béatrice informed them. "The vegetables are from our garden and the chicken was locally raised as well. Dessert is a wild berry medley and/or ice cream, also locally sourced."

The group made appreciative sounds.

"Dinner will be served in a little under an hour in the dining room which is just through that door," Béatrice said with a smile as she headed back to the kitchen.

Alexis turned to Gabriella. "We just got some mountain bikes and there are good trails nearby. Helmets are included and have those little movie cameras attached so you can film your ride. You have to offer those little perks to keep the tourists happy. Richard has horses and offers horseback riding. We can see if there is availability if you like."

"Actually I don't think we'll have time. I've packed our itinerary pretty full," Gabriella said. "We're only here for three nights and have two day trips, tomorrow to Turin and the day after to Lyon. Then we head for Cannes. We head out each day after breakfast and come back before dinner so we can spend the evenings with you. I'm imagining Ben will skip both day excursions since he has renovations to do," she said with a grin and he nodded.

"Ah Gabriella! Always the planner! You never change!" Alexis smiled fondly at her cousin. "Did she tell you the story of her Day of the Week panties yet?"

"Alexis! Don't you dare!" Gabriella shrieked.

Ben and Catherine perked up but Alexis just laughed at her cousin's flustered expression.

"We're going to look around the grounds," Rachel said with a grin and left with her sisters, Miriam and Daniel.

"Since we have time maybe you could show me what needs to be done, renovations wise?" Ben asked.

"Ah, we've lost him," Catherine quipped and Gabriella shared her grin.

"Would it be ok for me to steal him away for a second?" Alexis asked looking at the two friends. They raised their hands in surrender and Ben grinned eagerly as he followed Alexis from the room.

Stephanie entered from the opposite door using her white cane. "I heard voices so I followed them here."

Gabriella and Catherine stood up. "Stephanie, I'd like you to meet my best friend Catherine."

The two women shook hands then they all took seats.

"So you are neighbors... with Ben as well?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes. I live on Ben's north side and Gabriella lives on his south side. We've both known the man for years."

Stephanie tilted her head and a confused expression came over her face.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm not sure if I should say. I don't want to cause conflict between you two," Stephanie said quietly.

The two friends looked at each other in surprise. "Please tell me," Gabriella said.

She hesitated then spoke. "When you spoke of Ben earlier I could hear the love in your voice. Catherine has the same love in hers when she speaks of him," she said with a worried tone.

"Ah, that's all. It's true. I love Ben. So does Catherine. So does Tina and Trish," Gabriella said. "In fact, Tina lives with him, is having his child, and at our suggestion will be marrying him when we get back. Trish is another of our neighbors."

"Don't forget Lucy. I seriously believe the girl is infatuated with him!" Catherine added in.

"Yes, I think you're right," Gabriella nodded.

Stephanie's confusion just increased. "...but Tina's the one who's having sex with him?"

"No, we all are," Catherine said.

"Ben's a special case. Despite the damage done in his childhood he has a tremendous capacity for love. We're in love with him and he's in love with us. We share his time and sometimes his bed. He's not promiscuous. He needs an emotional context for sex. He's... a very physical man," Gabriella explained.

"Incredibly physical!" Catherine blurted.

Stephanie smiled at her outburst. "So, no jealousy?"

"No. There can't be. That's torture for Ben. A woman's emotional pain is something Ben can't endure, particularly when he's the cause. Besides, we know his love is genuine and he'd never hurt us so there's no need to be jealous."

Stephanie looked thoughtful.

"Did you arrange to get the armature made?" Gabriella changed the subject as she heard approaching footsteps.

"Yes, I convinced Richard that I needed it for tomorrow morning. He'll deliver it then," Stephanie said as Alexis rushed into the living room to hug Gabriella.

"What?" Gabriella said with a grin.

"Ben said he's going to be able to complete the work in the next two days so we'll just need to do the painting and decorating afterwards," Alexis gushed.

Ben followed her into the room and smiled at the grinning women. "Just a little plumbing, then some drywall with taping and mudding, and some tiling. No biggie."

"Five rooms! He says he can finish five rooms in the two days!" Alexis exclaimed as Béatrice rushed in to find out what the fuss was about. She looked at Ben in surprise.

"Well you still have to get me the supplies I listed so that's going to eat into the time. You've got some decent tools and there is stuff I can do tomorrow until you get back but I'll make real progress when you get back with the stuff. I'll need an assistant."

"Me!" Alexis yelped. "I want to learn how to do this kind of work so I can do my own repairs."

Ben grinned and nodded. Béatrice rushed over and gave him a big hug. He hugged her back with a smile.

She turned to her partner. "We'll be able to paint next week then get the furniture in and have the rooms decorated and ready for the beginning of the following week! I can update our website to list the new rooms and post some photos. So much to do!" She was grinning.

A short, plump woman wearing an apron over a flowered dress entered the sitting room and nodded to Béatrice.

"Ah! Dinner is ready! Everyone, this is Marie who is a master in the kitchen!" Béatrice said with a flourish and Marie smiled with a deep blush.

"Ben, could you look outside and see if the ladies are on their way back?" Catherine asked. He nodded and headed for the front door. Daniel was entering as he stepped outside.

Dusk was approaching and he noticed the gazebo was lit up with tiny white lights. The ornate structure was very large and was obviously designed after the famous one in the Sound of Music. He wandered over and spotted Sophia dancing in its center with her sisters and Miriam sitting on the benches watching with rapt attention.

He stopped at the open double doors to watch her graceful moves. He didn't want to break the magic of the moment but she noticed him standing there and paused her dance.

"Have you come to dance with me?" she said with hope in her voice.

"As delightful as that would be our dance will have to wait as our hosts have called us to dinner," Ben said. He held out his elbow and Sophia gracefully flowed over to him and took his arm. "Your dancing is exquisitely graceful!" he said.

"Thank you kind sir. I will hold you to your promise of a dance," Sophia said, keeping the spirit of the scene alive.

They elegantly walked back to the entrance of the main building with the others following with silly grins on their faces. When they got to the dining room they were shown to their chairs. Alexis was at the head of the table with Béatrice to her right and Stephanie to her left. Daniel looked very pleased to be seated next to Béatrice and Miriam sat next to him. Gabriella sat next to Stephanie and Ben sat between her and Catherine. Sophia was next to her mother and Rachel sat across from her. The end of the table opposite Alexis was for Marie who would join them once she and Alexis had delivered all of the food to the table.

Miriam grinned with pleasure at being seated across from Ben and he shared her joy. He pretended to fire something across the table at her with his spoon and Gabriella took it from his hand and put it back on the table as he stuck his bottom lip out in a big pout. Miriam giggled and Daniel joined in. When Ben sneakily reached for the spoon again Gabriella rolled her eyes and took it and Ben pouted once more causing more giggles from across the table.

Alexis and Béatrice watched the exchange with a twinkle in their eyes.

Marie came out of the kitchen carrying a huge antique serving tureen and set it in the table near Alexis. She left and returned with several baskets of cut bread still hot from the oven. There was fresh butter on the table and a huge bowl of garden salad tossed in a vinaigrette dressing.

Alexis lifted the lid of the tureen and the amazing scent of the coq au vin reached the noses of the hungry guests. Everyone smiled and made appreciative comments. Marie smiled shyly. Alexis began ladling servings onto plates and handed them around the table. Soon everyone was reaching for bread and salad and a look of bliss came over their faces as the tender coq au vin melted over their tongues.