Chapter 3

Monday Morning

Old Bean Coffee Shop

Harborton, Washington

Kelly stared at Ben’s back as he exited the coffee shop’s front door. She couldn’t fathom what had just happened to her.

First there was her uncharacteristic reaction to Ben’s presence. She had seen the polite, distinguished looking older guy many times before. He was a bit of a mystery to her as for some reason he never had tried to chat her up. Today was totally different though, she just tingled all over when he leaned toward her. Her body betrayed her like never before. Luckily she was behind a counter so the signs of her arousal weren’t too obvious, still though, she hoped fervently that no one else in the coffee shop had noticed her rattled state.

Then there was her reaction when that older slut Vicky or Nicki? ... whoever- tried to jump his bones right in front of her! The nerve of some people thought Kelly with a mental huff. Kelly had had to fight to keep from launching herself over the counter at the busty brunette soccer mom bimbo. She couldn’t remember ever having this sort of jealous reaction with her many boyfriends from before the ‘incident’. She hadn’t had a date since then and truthfully couldn’t imagine ever dating again.

She was hit on pretty much continually though, and had been ever since Junior High. Unlike many beautiful young girls she had never let it go to her head. Her dad had always told her ‘beauty fades, but who you are to yourself remains.’ Her mom and dad had kept her grounded firmly in the reality of the teenage dating ritual. She started dating at 16 and was a pretty typical teenage girl as far as boys went. She had had a series of boyfriends with remarkably little drama as she knew none of them were going to be the “one”. Her first sexual experience was also not remarkable, not unpleasant, just not all that she had been led to believe by her friends, her books. movies and social media. She had continued dating casually after she graduated high school and began college. She had pictured a future where she could meet someone (NOT from Harborton) in college and shortly after she got her degree they could marry, make a home and start a family. Along the way maybe she could find a way to help people. It wasn’t everyone’s sort of dream but it had suited her fancy.

Now that simple homey dream felt worlds away. She just couldn’t picture it any longer. She knew no one that she could care about would want her once they knew who she really was. Even if they did, she didn’t think that she could bear the touch of another, in fact any closeness at all, either physical or emotional made her frantic with anxiety. Her mom was the only person that she allowed even a hug. She had begun to learn to live with her aloneness though. She had her classes at Evergreen college. Working toward her psychology degree was a long process but it kept her busy. She also had her books and her WWF wrestling on TV. And there were a couple of casual girlfriends to chat with if she got too lonesome. No dates though, and not even a thought about men.

Until today.

His deep coffee colored eyes had been so soft and kind and when he smiled the crinkles around them had deepened with warmth. And his scent! When he leaned in toward her she thought she would faint. Her throat tightened and at her center a warm tingle had begun spreading throughout her whole body. He had smelled like trees, mountains, and earth with smoky wild overtones. Looks Wise, he wasn’t handsome by any measure. It looked like his nose had been broken once and then poorly set and he had a slightly crooked smile to go with high cheekbones in a tanned face. He didn’t have the body of a gym rat but instead looked like the ranchers and cowhands she remembered from her girlhood dude ranch days in Montana. He was filled out but lean with long working muscles and scarred forearms and hands. His voice was a bit scratchy but deep and when he spoke she felt shivers running down her back right to her core. She couldn’t tell his age. He could have been anywhere from his 40’s to his 50’s. For some reason that didn’t seem to matter at all.