One Sweet Treat Read online

  “Just doing my part for all women. You have to train these men at an early age that the women in their life need pampering and loving care,” she said, trying to be funny. The answering heat in his eyes made her blush once more. Without thinking, she reached for her fan and began fluttering it in front of her chest.

  His sexy smile made her freeze as she realized how telling her automatic action had been. “Sorry, it gets hot in here sometimes,” she lied, continuing as her mouth kept talking when she wanted the floor to open below her. “It’s much warmer in weird spots, than in others. I know you’re fine.” Oh, Lord! Now, he knows I think he’s fine! She dropped her eyes to the floor berating her awkwardness. What was wrong with her?

  His polished black boots appeared in her view. Startled by his silent approach, her surprised, hazel eyes met his. Her heart furiously beat as she listened to his next words.

  “Sweetheart, no lying. Littles who lie earn negative consequences. If you’re hot, fan yourself. I’m pleased that I raise your temperature as much as you affect mine.” He leaned in to press his lips softly against hers.

  When he raised his head, she rose to her tiptoes to press her lips against his. Immediately, a thickly muscled arm wrapped around her waist pulling her flush against him as his mouth deepened her kiss. He tasted her pink lips with the tip of his tongue. Eagerly, Samantha opened her mouth welcoming his invasion. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue seductively met hers.

  Her eyes fluttered open as his strong hands slid to her waist to set her away from his body. “Go take off your apron, Samantha, before I forget where we are. Let’s go get some iced tea to cool us both down.” His light words broke the sexual tension that had instantly flared between them at the first touch of his lips on hers.

  Nodding quickly, she fled to the darkness of her storeroom to shed her apron. She pressed her soft hands against her hot cheeks for a moment to gather herself before grabbing her purse and keys. When she rejoined him, he held out a hand asking for hers.

  “Come on Little girl. I bet you’ve always wanted to ride in the front seat of a police car. If you’re good, I’ll let you turn on the lights.” His brown eyes twinkled at her in amusement as hers lit up. “No sirens, though. I’ll have to get to know you better,” he joked.

  Chapter 5

  Ben drove carefully through the downtown area of the small rural town. People shopping stopped to wave and smile as the patrol car passed. It was apparent to Samantha that Ben was very well respected. She was tickled when several children recognized her and waved with frantic enthusiasm.

  She knew she would have lots of questions about how cool it was to ride in a patrol car from her younger clientele. Looking around the inside of the car, she was overwhelmed by all the buttons, communication devices, and the computer to run checks on IDs or licenses.

  Samantha knew that Ben carried a service pistol, but the sight of all these ways to keep criminals off the streets worried her. There were obviously a lot of bad people that the sheriff had to deal with each day. She shivered slightly at the sight of the military looking rifle and the cameras.

  “You have a very dangerous job,” she observed in a low, concerned voice.

  “I do. Each year, the bad guys get a bit smarter and better equipped. One of my priorities is continual training for my officers. I want to make sure that they know the best practices to keep themselves safe so they can return home to their families at the end of their shift,” Ben honestly answered her. He knew it was a worry to be involved with a policeman or woman. They put themselves in danger each day.

  Stopped at a red light, he raised a hand from the steering wheel and laid it over her knee. “I’m good at what I do. I have good officers to back me up.”

  “And you’ll be careful?” she suggested when he lifted his hand to turn the steering wheel as the light turned green.

  “And I’m always careful,” he agreed. Parking the patrol car at one of Samantha’s favorite restaurants, Ben turned to smile gently at the beautiful woman in his car. “Now, let’s go have a delicious lunch, and we’ll talk about more pleasant things.

  When Samantha automatically turned to reach for her door latch, Ben’s low voice growled from behind her, “Do not open that door, little girl. I will come to open your door and help you out.” She froze against the back of the seat and lowered her hand to her lap.

  “Good girl,” he praised before opening his door and exiting the patrol car.

  As she watched him walk around the car, his body was framed in the large windshield from his broad shoulders to his muscled thighs. Samantha tried not to stare, but there wasn’t any territory that wasn’t drool-worthy in her line of sight. Self-consciously, she adjusted the hem of her pink dress over her knees. She wished she’d chosen a more flattering outfit this morning.

  The bright dress was too tight across her tummy. She could hide a lot under the apron that she always wore at the shop. Maybe she could hide behind her purse, and he wouldn’t notice. She lifted her purse from the floor and set it on her lap.

  When he opened her door and extended a hand to help her out, Samantha maneuvered her large handbag in front of her. Standing on the sidewalk next to him, she smiled. This could work.

  His warm hand pressed into her lower back to guide her into the restaurant. As Ben talked to the hostess, Samantha tried not to notice that the young woman smiled and flirted with him. She was a little perplexed that he didn’t seem to notice.

  Soon, they were seated with their menus. Samantha took care to open her menu shielding the front of her dress before setting the large purse down on the ground by her chair. Smiling, she met Ben’s eyes when the hostess had returned to her station.

  “That young woman was very interested in you,” she lightly commented.

  “It’s the uniform,” he dismissed her words easily. “There are too many romance novels with men in uniform now. She’s not my type.”

  “Oh, you have a type?” she teased. Samantha was enjoying getting to know this handsome man. He was not what she expected.

  “I do.”

  “That’s all you’re going to say? No, details?” she laughed.

  His eyes scanned her seated body. “My type is average height, softly rounded, beautiful, my age, and Little. Or, you,” he easily answered as he enjoyed the faint blush spreading across her cheeks under his careful assessment.

  “Oh!” she softly exclaimed before ducking her head down to look at the menu. A small smile lurked on her lips. Maybe she didn’t need to worry about her stomach.

  His hand landed to caress her knee softly. “Maybe sometime soon, you’ll tell me what your type is, little girl.” His softly spoken private words sent shivers down her spine. “Now, let’s choose something to eat. The waitress is on her way over.” He lifted his hand to open his menu.

  She missed it immediately.

  Chapter 6

  Back in her shop, Samantha busied herself with the afternoon and evening customers. With each lull in business, her mind kept going back to their effortless conversation during lunch. Everything had just felt right. Could it be this easy to find someone? she wondered.

  His kiss goodbye had been very controlled as if he was holding himself back. Standing just inside her door, Ben had taken her into his arms. The feel of his hard body against her curves had been thrilling. Even with her former husband, she hadn’t been this instantly aroused. Samantha could feel her drenched panties.

  He had asked for her cell phone number and immediately entered it into his phone before asking for hers and punching in his private numbers. She’d tucked her cell phone into her apron when she returned from lunch. Please call soon!

  By the time she’d closed up the shop and headed home for the evening that silent phone was beginning to irk her. He hadn’t said that he would call me today, she kept telling herself, but she couldn’t shake her growing anger. He isn’t one of those players, is he?

  Samantha stomped into her house and threw her purse into a
chair by the door as usual. She was going to send him a text and let him know just how she felt. Angrily flopping into the next chair, she pulled up her cellphone’s directory and went to the Bs. No Ben Underwood. Stupid phone, it’s listed him by his last name. She had begun scrolling toward the bottom of the alphabet when one word jumped out at her. Daddy.

  Instantly, her anger exploded. He wasn’t her Daddy. He hadn’t even followed up on their lunch date. Who does he think I am? A fool! She opened the contact and opened a message window.

  Dear Mr. No Call,

  I don’t know who you think you are, but Daddies take care of their Little girls. They don’t just ignore them all afternoon and evening. And then, you dare to call yourself, Daddy?

  Not your Little girl,

  Samantha

  A sharp knock on the door interrupted her celebration for standing up for herself and telling him off. Jumping up from her chair, she glanced down at her phone as it vibrated. There was only one word on the screen. “Indeed.”

  A second knock came to the door, and a young male voice called through the frosted glass. “Florist. Delivery for Ms. Samantha Townsend.”

  Shoving her phone into her pocket, she raced to the door and opened it. There in front of her was a glorious bouquet of pink, red, and white roses. The teenage delivery guy smiled at her as her mouth dropped open in shock.

  “Hi. I’m Garrett. Shall I set this down for you somewhere? It’s pretty heavy,” the young man helpfully offered. “Sheriff Underwood came in himself to pick out the bouquet he wanted. Most men just call and give them a certain price range for the florist to decide what to make. My dad’s one of his deputies, so he trusted me to bring it to you,” he shared proudly. It was easy to see that he thought a lot of Sheriff Underwood. “He got an urgent call just after he placed the order. He’s awfully busy.”

  “Please, come in. Could you set it on the table for me?” She asked stepping back to watch him carefully maneuver the large bouquet through the door. She stood at the door watching him gently place the large, emerald glass vase on the table. Then, realizing that she should give him a tip, she walked to the chair where she had thrown her purse in anger.

  “Perfect. Enjoy them. They smell great. Be sure to water it every day,” Garrett advised as he walked back to the door.

  “Thank you, Garrett,” Samantha smiled as she handed him a five-dollar bill. Her mind was whirling. What a horrible mistake she had made!

  “Hey! Thanks! Tell Sheriff Underwood that I did well, would you? My dad thinks a lot of him,” Garrett asked as he accepted her tip with a big grin. “Night!”

  As Samantha closed and locked the door behind the young man, she shook her head. The phone in her pocket buzzed signaling that a message had just arrived. With trepidation, she slowly removed the phone and looked at the screen.

  “Did you lock the door?” The message read.

  Quickly, she replied, “Yes.” Then, as fast as possible, she typed in, “Thank you for the beautiful flowers.” Guiltily, she looked at the string of messages. She hunched her shoulders forward. She tried to figure out what to say. Several minutes later, she simply texted, “I’m sorry. I feel like a fool. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “You have just earned your first consequence, Little girl. Get something to eat before you go to bed. I will come talk to you tomorrow.”

  She reread his text, over and over again. What did he mean by a consequence? He couldn’t be talking about spanking her, could he? She carried her phone into the kitchen and set it down by the tv to turn on the news. There was a live action report coming from a neighborhood on the east side of town. Flashing lights were gathered on the street in front of an older home. She turned up the volume to hear what was happening.

  “Sheriff Ben Underwood just went in to talk to the owner of that white house behind me. Terry Michaels has dementia according to his children who rushed to the scene to try to convince him to surrender to the police. The trouble here began at approximately three p.m. when a bank representative came to serve an eviction notice to Mr. Michaels for non-payment of his mortgage,” the pretty news reporter shared.

  “When the bank employee tried to deliver the papers, Mr. Michaels fired two shots from a handgun over his head before slamming the door shut and refusing to leave. Thankfully, the banker was not injured other than a few scratches he gained from throwing himself into the bushes for safety,” she reported with a professionally straight face.

  “Upon receiving a report of shots fired, the police arrived in mass to assess the scene. The standoff has existed here for many hours while the police and his family have communicated with Mr. Michael by phone. Up to this point, he had refused to allow anyone into the home. That changed when he received a phone call from Sheriff Underwood and the bank president, Adam Stewart. I’ll report any updates as they happen,” the blonde reporter promised with a serious look into the camera.

  Samantha’s hand crept up to cover her mouth. Her eyes closed as she realized that there was a very good reason that Ben had not contacted her earlier. This had to be the call that he responded to after ordering the flowers. Suddenly, she felt ill with remorse and worry.

  Chapter 7

  Samantha fell asleep in the family room as she watched the news for an update to the special report which had kept her awake way past her bedtime. The beautiful flowers swam into view as she blinked open her eyes. OMG! Is he okay? She desperately thought as she sat up.

  She grabbed her phone and texted the number listed as Daddy, “Are you okay?” Her phone buzzed almost immediately with a response.

  “Where are you, Little girl? I’m standing in front of your shop with two customers. Are you going to come to open your store?”

  Her eyes flew to the clock! “Crap!” she yelled as she flew through the house to her bedroom only to run back to grab her phone. She texted back. “I fell asleep on the couch. I’ll be there ASAP! I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Taking the phone with her this time, she quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a top. It was a more casual outfit than she normally wore, but it would do for today. When she sat to put on her shoes, Samantha couldn’t resist adding another text. “I’m sorry!” She even added an embarrassed emoji face.

  “Drive safely,” came the return text.

  Grabbing a fiber bar from the kitchen for breakfast, Samantha grabbed her purse from the chair by the door, stopped to smell her flowers, and raced out the door. Traffic was moving quickly since she’d missed the morning rush and she made great time in reaching her shop. Frazzled, she parked behind the shop and rushed through the back door to open the shop.

  Her heart fell to see that Sheriff Ben Underwood was not there. The three regular customers who had waited teased Samantha about her tardiness as they entered the shop. She quickly helped them with their purchases which she discounted twenty percent because they’d had to wait.

  Nothing made people happier than a discount, she thought as the last early shopper left the store with a smile. She tidied up the store and caught up on all the tasks she normally accomplished before opening during a lull in business. By lunchtime, she was ravenous.

  Ducking into the back, she checked the salad she had brought for lunch yesterday and abandoned to go out to lunch with Ben. It was wilted and sad-looking. Her shoulders drooped. It looked like limp lettuce was her lunch today. Maybe she could disguise it a bit. She squirted on some extra salad dressing from the small fridge. It didn’t look much better. The jingle of the bell at the front door made her set down the salad with relief. She’d eat later.

  Walking through the swinging door with a tired smile, Samantha stopped abruptly to see Ben’s large frame filling the front of her store. Without a second thought, she darted forward to throw herself into his arms. “You’re okay!” she whispered.

  “I’m fine, sweetheart,” he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed her in a bear hug.

  After a long pause, she stepped back to look at him. “I’m sorry.�
�

  “I know. You immediately thought the worst, didn’t you?” When she nodded her head, he continued, “I’m not like other men that you may have dated. I’m not interested in playing you or causing you pain. I’m glad I found you.”

  “I’m glad you found me, too!” she quickly assured him.

  “I’m here to build a long-lasting relationship with you.” He smiled at her as her face transformed from drawn with concern to happy. Pulling her into his arms, he hugged her tightly once again before releasing her to walk over to lock the door and flip the sign to closed.

  When he turned back around, his face was very stern. “Little girl, you sent me a very disrespectful text message yesterday.” He held one hand up to stop her response as she opened her mouth to protest. “You have earned your first consequence. Go lock the door and turn the sign to closed.”

  She walked quickly to follow his instructions, but hesitated before turning around. Silence surrounded her. Ben wasn’t going to force her to do anything. She could submit to his authority or not. Squaring her shoulders and gathering her courage, she turned and walked back to the man in uniform.

  “Come with me.” He held out his hand for hers.

  Samantha place one slightly trembling hand on his palm. The breath she hadn’t realized that she was holding escaped in an audible exhale.

  Ben gently pulled her into the back room. He released her hand to pull a low stool from the desk into the center of the room. Sitting on it, he met her hazel eyes. “Come stand in front of me, Samantha.”

  His eyebrows raised imperiously when she hesitated. His, “You do not wish for me to come to get you,” made her move quickly.

  “Good girl. Now, due to your disrespect, Little girl, you have earned a consequence of twenty swats on your bottom. Drop your pants and lay over my lap,” he instructed. His stern face didn’t brook any argument.