The Shepherd of Ashburn Court Pt. 02

He saw the tears and his face dropped. "No, please don't." He growled at himself for making her upset. "It's nothing you did or said. It's all on me. I'm going to have to catch up. I'm missing a few more months out my life and everyone has moved forward but me." he tried to explain.

She wiped her eyes. "You must think I'm a ditz. Constantly crying and carrying on." she sniffed.

"No! I think you're wonderful and kind and generous! Please don't mind me. I'll be fine. I'm sorry to cause you all this headache." he reached over and took her hand. She seemed to calm down once he'd done that.

"You're no headache, Ben. Let's get you inside." she said with a small smile.

They went to the front door and stepped into the foyer. Ben closed the door with a thump and heard a strange noise from down the hall like a high pitched squeak. He looked over at Gabriella but she didn't seem to have heard it so he dismissed it as his imagination. As they hung up their coats they both heard a noise from down the hall. They looked around the corner and Catherine burst out of the master bedroom door with a pile of bed sheets balled up in her arms. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were badly wrinkled.

"You're home early!" she gasped with a smile. "I wanted to make sure you had fresh sheets on your bed for your first day home!" She seemed out of breath. "It's always nice to come home to fresh sheets."

"Yes, that's very nice of you. Thanks!" Ben said slowly. He wondered why she was wearing her shirt inside out and backwards. He absentmindedly tapped his own throat where her shirt's tag was showing. Gabriella caught the motion and suddenly realized what he was looking at. Her face froze and Catherine saw Ben's motion and Gabriella's expression. She reached up and felt the tag.

"Oh HA! I was in such a rush this morning I didn't even look. Your machines are in this closet, right?" she blurted as she strode quickly to the laundry room.

"Yes." He stepped past as she threw the sheets in the washing machine. Gabriella followed him as he entered the master bedroom. He got three steps in and froze. There was a scent in the room. A familiar scent. Female excitement. He stepped further into the room walking towards the far side of the bed.

Gabriella was in the doorway and she smelled it as well. She stepped inside and Catherine rushed into the room to get something she'd just discovered she'd left behind. She saw Ben picking something off the floor from the far side of the bed. Something pink. Something wet and giving off that distinct scent. Gabriella looked at her in shock. "What did you do?" she whispered.

"Did these fall off while you were removing my sheets?" Ben growled. They saw him stop and close his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Please forgive my tone. These are yours I take it?"

Catherine nodded and stepped forward to take the panties from his fingers. He looked at the mattress and realized his pillow top mattress was upside down. His only had pillow on one side and wasn't meant to be flipped. He looked at Catherine and reached down to the edge of the mattress and lifted it up. He felt twinges of pain in his side and they must have shown on his face because both women tried to stop him but he stared them down until they stepped back.

He pulled the mattress up and towards him then let it fall. Near its middle was a sizable wet spot. Catherine's expression was grim. She peered up at him from under her bangs to see how mad he was.

"You had sex in my bed?" Ben asked quietly. He was trembling for some reason and his mind was racing, doing nonsensical math formulas with calendar dates. He had to shut it down before he went mad. He held up his hand before Catherine could speak. "No, again, I'm sorry. Don't answer that. Could I please have my home to myself for a while? I'd like to be alone if you don't mind. Thank you Gabriella for bringing me home. You can both leave the keys on the front table."

She nodded and gripped Cat's arm, tugging her out of the bedroom with her.

Ben listened until he heard the front door close. Then he left the room and went to the kitchen to get some cleaning products. Maybe he could salvage the mattress.

Gabriella was livid. She was doing her best to stay calm like Ben had but it took everything she had to keep from leaping across the seat to strangle her friend. She drove them both to her place. Cat had the good sense to remain quiet until they were inside.

Once they were in Gabriella's office they sat down on a couch and faced each other. She took several deep breaths with her eyes closed then looked at Catherine. The woman looked lost. She was looking down at her clenched hands in her lap and the tears just started to flow. Gabriella's fury vanished and her heart went out to her friend. She reached out and took her hands.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

Cat looked up, her lips trembling. Gabriella handed her a tissue.

"I- I couldn't sleep last night. I was so keyed up knowing Ben was coming home today. I know that's silly but... Anyway, this morning I was up and I decided I would do something nice for him by changing the sheets on his bed. Like I said, it's nice to come home to clean sheets." She looked down and her tears ran freely down her cheeks. Gabriella leaned her head against Catherine's and rubbed her shoulders. When her friend seemed to get control again she leaned back.

"I went over to his house first thing this morning. The sun was just coming up. I used the key you gave me and went into his bedroom to change the sheets. When I pulled back the quilt I smelled him. The warm comforting scent from his sweater but so much stronger. I couldn't help myself. I stretched out on the bed and just breathed it in. God! It felt so good to be there with him surrounding me. You weren't bringing him home until the afternoon so I knew I had time. I needed to feel closer to him so I... I took off my clothes until I was only in my panties and crawled under the covers. Feeling the sheets caressing my skin while smelling him was so good. I felt like I was cuddled up in his strong arms resting on his powerful chest. So safe and so wonderful. I must have dozed off. I had this amazing dream where he opened his bedroom door and I was still in his bed. He slowly took off his clothes and slipped under the sheets with me. He kissed me like he did in the hospital, God that was hot! Then he took me. He was so big! I felt like I was coming apart but it was so good!"

Catherine trembled at the memory. She looked up at Gabriella, embarrassed by the intimacy. She saw only understanding in her friend's eyes.

"I- I must have been touching myself in my sleep. It felt so real! I had one of the most powerful orgasms I've ever experienced in my life. When I woke up I was drenched and the bed was soaking wet from me. I was cleaning myself up a little in his bathroom when I heard the car doors close. I panicked. I pulled the sheets off but the mattress was drenched as well because he didn't have a cover. I flipped the mattress over and pulled my clothes on fast as I heard the two of you coming in."

Cat looked up at Gabrielle as her bottom lip started to tremble again. "I've ruined everything! Ben's home but he can't sleep in his bed and now he hates me!" She burst into tears and Gabriella took her into her arms and rubbed the blonde's back.

"Ben doesn't hate you. He was a little off on the ride home. I said something that I think upset him... He tried to explain, saying something about everyone moving forward but him. The coma... Oh my god! I understand now!"

Catherine pulled back and looked hopefully at her friend.

"For us it's been almost four months since the accident. For Ben it's been just a month and a half and it might feel like less because of being stuck in that hospital room. We've had time to make progress in accepting our loss but to him it may seem like a sudden attitude change."

She tapped Cat on the knee. "I made a comment about how Daniel had disappointed me in so many ways... Ben got uncomfortable as for him it's like speaking ill of the recently deceased. Finding you had been in his bed doing... that, it was probably too jarring for him."

Cat suddenly looked cross. "How can he judge us? He doesn't know what our relationships with our husbands had become!"

She looked at her despondent friend. "And that's why he kept apologizing! He knows he shouldn't. I truly believe he's not trying to but you know how his own marriage ended. He'll come around. If we give him a little time and let him know what we've been through he'll get it."

Catherine suddenly stood up. "I have to apologize!"

Gabriella grabbed her hand. "Tomorrow is soon enough. Let him get his bearings."

"Have... have I lost him?" the blonde sank back to the couch clinging to her hand.

Gabriella was conflicted. She didn't want to hurt Cat. She truly was her best friend. But she also wanted Ben. She closed her eyes. "No. Give him time. We'll go speak with him tomorrow. You can apologize then."

Chapter 9

The next morning Ben stood by his front window drinking an herbal tea to warm his insides as he watched the gentle fall of snowflakes. He'd done a limited version of his workout routine, showered, gotten dressed, and had his breakfast.

It looked like he was going to have to get a new mattress. The cleaning job he'd tried the day before actually did more damage than good. Maybe he'd go to the shop today to order a replacement. He'd dragged in a queen mattress from one of the guest rooms but it looked odd on the California King platform.

Two doors over on the north side of the street he saw a man get out of his car and get something from his trunk. A few minutes later and covered in snow the man drove away leaving a Realty sign hammered into the hard ground. The Millers were moving from the neighborhood. Another neighbor he didn't know too well. He recalled that she wasn't home when they'd tried to reach her for that little get together. He wondered if Gabriella and Catherine had reached out to... Sarah, that was her name. Shit. He felt bad that he hadn't had a chance to say anything to her since the accident. He'd barely spoken to her before that either. He'd seen her around, waved, said their good morning and evenings, just basic neighbor stuff. He'd also seen her a few times while he was mowing his front lawn in the summer. She'd sometimes join the other ladies in the park with her boys. Now she was leaving.

He looked at the clock. It was a little past nine so Gabriella should be awake. He dialed her number and she picked up on the third ring.

"Good morning, Ben! Sleep well?" she asked. He could hear the smile in her voice. It always brought his mood up to talk with her.

"Good morning, Gabriella! I slept alright. Yourself?"

"Very well now that you're back. What's up?"

"I just noticed someone putting a for sale sign on the Miller's place. Have they left? I never got a chance to give her my condolences." he asked.

"I'm sorry Ben. Sarah moved out with her boys a month ago. The house is empty."

"Ah. Well. It's good she's taking steps to move forward. I hope she's happy." Ben said.

"Ben, you are such a sweet man!" Gabriella smiled.

"It was just such a shock to so many people right here in our neighborhood." he mumbled.

"I understand what you were trying to tell me in the car yesterday Ben. About being displaced in time. I get it. We've had time to adjust and you haven't." Gabriella said. "I hope you understand that we were all in different places in our relationships with our husbands when the accident happened. Some of us discovered some time ago that our husbands were that in name only. That was when we mourned."

"Gabriella, I am so sorry if I was critical of you in any way yesterday. It's not my place to judge you or Catherine or anyone. I'm the last person who should be doing that!" Ben expressed.

"Speaking of Catherine, she explained to me what happened yesterday at your place. Initially I was as shocked as you were but after hearing the explanation I can understand how it happened. She's mortified and worried that you hate her now." she said.

"Hate her? Of course, I don't hate her. I can't say I'm not disappointed that she thought I'd be OK with her having sex in my bed-"

"Ben! She didn't have sex in your bed... well, not really. She was alone and asleep." Gabriella explained gently.

"What?" he said, confused.

"She went over to change the sheets like she said and fell asleep on your bed. Then... she had some nice dreams. That's all! She panicked when we arrived just after she woke up. She made a mistake, Ben. Can you forgive her?"

Ben was quiet for a moment. "I'd like to hear it from her if you don't mind."

"Of course! She's dying to apologize. I told her to give you a little space yesterday." she said gratefully.

Ben was quiet again. "You really are a good friend to Catherine." he said.

It was Gabriella's turn to be quiet. "Yes. I- she's my best friend." she finally murmured.

"That's one of things I most admire about you, Gabriella. Your loyalty." Ben said honestly.

"Not the first attribute a woman desires to be complimented on, Ben, but a nice one." she smiled.

"Your beauty and grace are truly breathtaking but loyalty is a much more precious and rare virtue these days. Sorry if I've placed a higher value on that." he expressed.

Gabriella was silent again and Ben was worried he'd offended her somehow.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

"No Ben, not at all." He heard the smile in her voice and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's Saturday, isn't it? Do you think we might be able to get together with whoever is available and catch up with how people are doing?" he asked.

"Sure, let me make some phone calls and I'll call you back." she replied.

"Thanks!" he said and hung up.

Just before noon he was standing in front of Catherine's door feeling nervous. He wasn't sure why he felt that way as he hadn't done anything wrong.

When Gabriella called him back she indicated that she'd managed to contact most of the women and they were all going to meet at Catherine's at 1PM for lunch. She asked him to arrive at noon so Catherine would have time to apologize. He thought an hour was a little excessive for a simple apology but he didn't argue with her.

The door opened and Ben looked down into worried blue eyes. Catherine's face was pink and on it's way to becoming red.

"Please come in. Let me take your coat." she said softly.

Ben slipped off his jacket and Catherine took it while he slipped off his boots. She led him into the living room and they sat on the couch. She was biting her lower lip nervously and glancing up at him from under her bangs. He waited for her to say something. He looked around expecting to see Gabriella but she hadn't arrived yet. They were alone?

"Is Megan home?" he asked.

"No, she's at her friends place." Catherine blurted out.

He nodded and looked expectantly at her. She closed her eyes and she seemed to be taking a deep breath as she leaned towards him a little. It calmed her down and she smiled. When she opened her eyes she looked up into Ben's.

"I'm very sorry for what I did to your mattress. I understand Gabriella told you what happened?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. More importantly she told me what you weren't doing in my bed." he replied.

"Weren't doing?" she asked.

"You weren't... having sex with someone... in my bed. I thought you had brought a lover into my house and used my bed. That thought was... disturbing." It was Ben's turn to blush.

"Lover? I don't have a lover. I haven't had sex in almost a year. Which is why that dream was so incredible." she sighed, oblivious to the effect she was having on him.

Ben's face was threatening to ignite. He wasn't sure where to look. He was so close to her and everything about her looked so good.

"The most sensual thing I've experienced all year... maybe ever, was that kiss we shared in the hospital." she said, looking at him with a desperate need in her eyes. "I really enjoyed that kiss."

His eyes were immediately drawn to her sensual, plump lower lip. Even though he'd barely been conscious at the time he remember distinctly what it felt like, how it tasted, how much he'd wanted to continue kissing it. "Yes, uh, it was a really nice way to return to the land of the living."

She slid a little closer on the couch. "Could I... could I have one more?" Her blue eyes seemed to fill his vision and he found himself lowering his face to hers.

Then their lips met. Just a tentative touch, a caress of lip against lip. No breath was shared as both seemed to be holding theirs. The second contact was firmer. He sucked her bottom lip between his and lightly slid the tip of his tongue along its smooth surface. He felt her tremble and gasp then she was straddling his lap and he was sliding his tongue boldly into her mouth where she sucked it deeper into her. His hands went around her back, his left up near her shoulders holding her against his kiss, his right at the base of her spine pulling her groin in hard against his. She whimpered when she felt his hard member straining against the fabric of his pants and crushed against her heat.

Then the doorbell rang.

The sound was like a bucket of cold water for Ben. A hard slap of reality. He pulled back from the kiss and had to hold Catherine's shoulders back to get her to disengage as she clung and moaned. Her eyes opened dreamily and her need was still flaring in them. The doorbell rang again. Ben lifted her and set her back on the couch and stood up. His head was spinning.

"I'll get the door, you might want to check your lipstick." He stumbled away to get to the door before the bell rang again. He yanked it open and saw Gabriella standing there looking concerned. He pulled her inside.

"Here let me get your coat." he said reaching for it. She turned in his grip and reached up to his mouth. She wiped her finger across the light pink gloss that was smeared across his lower lip. Ben froze as his brain finally caught up with him.

Gabriella looked so sad and a little lost. Then a determined look briefly crossed her features. She slipped her hand behind his neck and pulled his face down to hers.

Ben was immersed in the warm spice of Gabriella's perfume and his head was floating away as her lush lips pressed against his. Her nimble tongue darted into his mouth and he captured it with his own and gently sucked on it. Gabriella groaned and crushed her soft body against his hard muscles. Ben's body immediately reacted to the intense sensations and he gasped.

"Ben? Gabriella?"

Once more Ben was yanked from heaven by reality and blinked in confusion. His lower lip slipped from Gabriella's mouth as he pulled back. Her perfume was still riding his senses and he looked around to see who had spoken.

Standing next to him Gabriella was coming down from her own body rush. She turned and saw her friend who was just inside the opening to the hall. Cat was looking at the two of them with nervous expression.

Ben looked at the clock and saw only fifteen minutes had passed though it felt much longer.

His legs began to shake as he'd maybe overdone it a little when he worked out and he wasn't up to full strength yet. "Can I sit down please before I fall down?" he asked.

Catherine stepped forward and took his arm, guiding him back into the living room. She was about to seat him on the couch when Gabriella appeared at his other side and sat him in the middle with a women on either side.

They pressed up against him as they curled their legs up underneath themselves. Ben was starting to feel dizzy again.

"Gabriella, Catherine, please. I feel like I'm being buried in the most wonderful quicksand imaginable. I can't think straight with you both leaning against me like that." he said somewhat desperately.