A Shepherd in France Ch. 02

"We're going to the beach," Gabriella smiled.

"Ahhh... perfect. I'm going to go get ready. See you downstairs," the blonde said and dragged herself off the couch. She gave Ben and Gabriella a kiss on the cheek and left.

"Ben, I'll see you downstairs in 45 minutes, alright?" Gabriella said pulling his attention from the laptop.

"Sure," he smiled and gave her a kiss as she left.

He saw there was only two seats left in first class but he didn't have travel documentation for the two yet so he picked up his cell and called to make the reservation. Twenty minutes later he hung up feeling a little worn out from the hoops he'd had to leap through. He had the seats though so that was what mattered. The ladies came out of the bedroom in their bikinis with gossamer sarong wraps around them. Ben shut down his laptop and made his way into the bedroom to get ready.

His shower was quick and he dressed in the bathroom. When he came out in black board shorts, a tight white tank top, and black sandals he was greeted with whistles and cat calls. Surprised, he looked up and saw Sophia, Rachel, Megan, and Miriam, who was grinning with the others but blushing fiercely, sitting in the living room with Karen and Penny. He gave them a grin and they giggled.

"Let's go eat!" he said.

The concierge arranged for them to have a selection of lounge chairs reserved on the beach out in front of the hotel so after they'd enjoyed their breakfast and grabbed their beach stuff they made their way down to the beach. They had five of the ten sets of lounge chairs roped off. Ben and Daniel took the middle set and the ladies divided up the remaining ones.

Out came the lotion and everyone applied some as no one wanted to go home red as a lobster. Ben pulled his tank top off and applied sunblock to protect his scars. Gabriella and Catherine applied it to his back. The bandages had been removed and they were gentle as they applied the lotion to his sides. He pulled the tank top back on gratefully as his large scarred torso was starting to attract attention.

Daniel, Miriam, and Megan immediately headed for the water with Karen and Penny fast on their heels. Ben tilted his lounge chair up to keep an eye on them.

"Bennnnnn?"

He looked over at Catherine who was wiggling a bottle of sunscreen between her fingers as she smiled at him. He grinned and moved over to her. He squeezed lotion into his hands and made his way up her body from her toes, rubbing and massaging the lotion into her skin. By the time he reached her face she had relaxed completely and was sleeping peacefully. He swore he could hear her purring.

He turned and Gabriella was holding up her own bottle. He saw Sophia and Rachel also waiting for him with smiles on their faces. He sighed and smiled.

He dropped himself down on his chair once he'd finished massaging the four women into a blissful state. He watched the kids play in the water as the shore wasn't far from the chairs. They were laughing happily and he allowed himself to relax. He'd periodically crack an eyelid open to check on them.

He felt cold droplets of water splashing on him and he realized he'd dozed off. He looked over at Daniel who had his back to him and was vigorously drying himself off.

"Don't forget to put more lotion on," he said and Daniel nodded. Ben looked down at the shoreline and saw Karen and Penny talking with four young men who were blocking their way back to the chairs. Penny nervously glanced at him and he rolled to his feet. He saw the immediate relief in her eyes as he walked down the beach towards them. For added effect he pulled off his tank top and draped it over his shoulder.

"Something I can help you fellows with?" Ben rumbled.

The leader of the group turned and Ben saw the large gold watch on his wrist. An image of a black SUV with four well-dressed punks popped in his mind.

The man's annoyed expression was quickly replaced with an 'oh shit!' grimace as he took in Ben's size and the visible signs of intense violence. Then recognition. "You!"

His friends turned and each mirrored his expression.

"Don't you have enough women?" one of the men complained.

"These are my daughters. Do you think you could pass my dating suitability test?" Ben growled and stared each in the eye. None could hold his gaze for more than a second. "Didn't think so. Enjoy your day gentlemen," he said as an obvious dismissal. They moved away down the beach looking deflated. Karen and Penny rushed up and kissed Ben's cheeks.

"Thanks Papa!" they said in unison.

He snorted and followed them back to the chairs.

They had lunch on the beach and once more Ben was asked to apply lotion to their backs. Penny and Karen pouted until he finally gave in and did their backs as well. He noticed their muscles were knotted and wondered if that was due to the extra weight of their implants. He massaged the knots away and both sighed happily and thanked him when he was done.

The afternoon was relaxing and Ben spent hours playing in the water with Miriam, Daniel, Penny and Karen. Once they had dried themselves by basking in the late afternoon sun they made their way back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.

As a treat Gabriella had made reservations at an Italian restaurant which was famous for their pizza. There were other Italian dishes of course but she was sure the pizza was going to be a hit.

They were seated at a long table five to a side. They placed their orders then Gabriella got everyone's attention.

"As some of our party weren't with us in Paris I will explain what we are about to do. We have a little family tradition where we list our three favorite experiences from a vacation. We shared our top three experiences in Paris so tonight we are going to share our favorite three after Paris to today. As we did in Paris, Catherine, would you like to lead us off?"

Cat's eyes went dreamy as she recalled her night with Ben and Gabriella and her night with Chanel but she caught Gabriella's raised eyebrow so she tucked those memories away and selected some less steamy ones. "OK, well, number three was our shopping day in St. Paul de Vence, and number two was our shopping day in Nice!" She grinned as her daughters rolled their eyes. "Number one was singing with Gabriella on the cable car's return trip in Chamonix."

Sophia was obviously considering that day as well as a blush appeared on her cheeks. She was next and didn't realize it. When her mother poked her shoulder she jumped and looked around the table. "Oh! Sorry, uh, well, number three was the fun we had with the actors in Avignon. Number two was the cable car's ascent." Her face blushed a deep red and Ben blushed as well. Penny watched the interchange with interest. "Number one..." her eyes flicked to Ben once more then returned to the table surface. "There are too many good memories. Some frightening ones too but mostly they're good!"

"Rachel?" Catherine asked as the young woman looked distracted. She jumped. "Yes? Oh, the shopping in Nice, St. Paul de Vence, and Lyon," she mumbled. She looked at Ben then Sophia and shared a small smile with her sister.

"My list starts with dancing at the club last night. That was so much fun! Did anyone see who the celebrity was? We could barely get out of the club because of all the paparazzi!" Megan gushed as she looked over at her sisters who shook their heads. Ben scowled and Gabriella snorted. Megan continued. "Shopping in Nice was exciting and playing on the beach today with Ben was my number one!" She grinned at him and he smiled back.

Karen saw she was next. "Ben rescuing us from the house. Ben rescuing us from the police and bringing us to his hotel. Ben adopting us." She blinked at the gasps from Catherine's daughters. Miriam looked confused and a little worried so Gabriella whispered something in her ear and it calmed the girl.

Penny nodded and pointed to Karen. "That's my list too!"

"The adoption gives the lawyers something to build their new identities from. All we have is the police statement and, as of tonight, travel papers from the U.S. embassy so they can come home with us tomorrow," Ben explained. Karen and Penny shrieked with excitement and hugged each other. Karen turned to hug Megan and Penny squeezed Daniel to her chest. The boy blushed as he tried to hide the enormous smile struggling to escape.

Daniel sat up straight and looked at the group. "OK, it's my turn. Number three was Penny's hug just now." Laughter erupted and Penny kissed his temple as a reward. The blush continued. "Number two was the day Ben and I hung out at the pool." Gabriella's eyes teared up with joy as she beamed at her son. "Number one was playing in the water today but there really were so many awesome things about this holiday!"

Miriam looked down the table and smiled at her mother. "I loved shopping in Nice with the ladies. I had so much fun with the actors in Avignon." She looked at Ben. "Playing in the water today was best of all!"

Ben smiled back at the young woman.

It was Gabriella's turn and she beamed at her children. "I feel blessed for being able to share this incredible trip and all these wonderful memories with such wonderful people! Spending time with my cousins again. Seeing the joy on the faces of my children." She turned to Ben. "Thank you Ben for making this trip so much more special!"

The group began applauding and Ben took the praise graciously. He finally held up his hands and they quieted down.

"When Gabriella first invited me to join her on her family vacation, on Miriam's suggestion," he nodded to the young woman and saw her smile broadly for his remembering, "I had no idea what to expect. The furthest I'd traveled was down to Austin, Texas and that was just for a few days. France was a much bigger leap for me. I never would have done it without your guidance." This time he nodded to Gabriella and Catherine.

"The trip was... life changing in many ways, almost all of it for the better. I met some really special people, present company included. It's been an adventure... but I'm ready to go home." He lifted his glass of water.

"To HOME!" he called and they raised their glasses to cheer with him.

Chapter 23

Ben relaxed back in the first class seat as best he could. He was still a little too big to fit comfortably but the rest of his group looked very happy indeed. Especially Karen and Penny.

The process for getting them through customs and onto the plane had been an ordeal and he was informed that what he'd done in France paled in comparison to the hoops he'd have to jump through when they landed. His lawyer had arranged to have someone on hand at the airport to help them through the process. He put that from his mind.

Gabriella still wore the little self-satisfied smile on her lips from catching Ben sadly patting the fish tank goodbye in the rental returns lot at the airport. Daniel even took an incriminating photo of him doing it.

She had shipped all of their purchases home once more from the hotel under her import company's account so the luggage they came with contained the clothes they left with and a few items. Karen and Penny had their clothes with them as that's all they had.

After they'd boarded Catherine had indicated that once they were underway she wanted to speak with him privately, say, in the first class washroom but they were on a daytime flight so he had to deny her request for the discrete liaison. She pouted and whispered in his ear that her ass missed him. This made Ben's pants uncomfortably tight for a while.

Ben was really looking forward to being home so he could get back into his daily workout routine. Vacations wreaked havoc on his fitness regimen.

He also missed Tina and Trish and Rochelle. God, he wanted to give them all a hug!

Trying to distract himself he turned on the TV and put on his earphones. He switched to the news to catch up on world events. He watched the financial market news and made it through the sports when the anchor began talking about the mystery man who rescued the girls from the slave ring. There were a few bad photos taken by paparazzi but Ben saw how poor the photos were so be relaxed.

"In the world of art, we have an exclusive interview with a blind artist who sculpts based on touch. Sara Fenhall has more on this." Suddenly he saw a familiar face.

"Gabriella! Turn on your TV! Your cousin Stephanie is being interviewed!" Ben called to her. Everyone in the group quickly found the channel and put their earbuds in. Smiles popped up on their faces as they watched the interview.

Ben returned his attention to the program.

"...remarkable talent for a woman who relies exclusively on her sense of touch when she sculpts," the reporter said.

"I don't really see it as a disability. Especially since this last piece. It expanded my perceptions and honed my skills as never before," Stephanie replied.

"I understand this was your first collaboration with another local artist," the reporter stated.

"Yes, Richard Garrison cast a Bronze sculpture from my clay original."

"I believe it was Mr. Garrison who contacted us for this exclusive interview and unveiling of the new piece of work on the property of your family's hotel. A fitting tribute to a hero who saved those young women from a life of slavery!"

Ben's smile slowly dropped from his face. He glanced nervously around to see who else was watching the show. Every screen he could see in First Class had the program on. Gabriella looked over at Ben and saw his worried expression. She leaned over and asked Miriam and Daniel to change the channel. They protested until their mother explained why. They both looked over at Ben then shut their screens off. Ben looked back to his.

The camera panned over the front lawn at the chateau where some stone workers were packing up their tools. A small stone pedestal had been built on the lawn and something stood upon it under a sheet. A dozen or so photographers were preparing their cameras for the unveiling.

"Oh GOD NO!" Ben gasped. Faces turned in his direction.

The picture cut to a second camera facing the chateau and the pedestal. Alexis and Béatrice walked into the picture with Stephanie between them. They looked thrilled by the attention the chateau was getting. Richard and Henry came in next and took up a position on the opposite side of the stone base. With a few words to Alexis the camera didn't pick up, Richard reached out, took a grip on the sheet and gave it a tug.

There was a collective gasp in his earbuds from the people at the scene as well as from the passengers around him. The sound of cameras firing filled his ears and Ben tugged his earbuds out.

On the stone pedestal stood a four foot replica of Ben in burnished bronze.

Completely naked for the world to see.

Ben put his face in his hands and groaned.

"Oh my GOD! That's BEAUTIFUL!" Catherine gasped loudly then winced as she realized how loud she'd been. Karen and Penny looked back at him with wide eyes.

Ben lurched out of his seat and made for the washroom. He yanked open the door and dropped to his knees before the toilet as his breakfast made a hasty exit. His body kept heaving until there was nothing left to eject. Then it squeezed a few more times just for the pain. Ben slumped against the wall gasping and felt a cool damp towel wiping his mouth. He glanced up and saw Gabriella looking down at him in concern. Catherine was right behind her.

"I'm so sorry Ben! I should have insisted she keep it private!" Gabriella said sadly.

He could only nod.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Ben looked over his shoulder past Gabriella and saw the flight attendant looking in at him. Her eyes widened as she recognized him and Ben turned away to rest his forehead against the cool surface of the wall.

He rested for a minute then he let Gabriella and Catherine help him to his feet and back out to his seat. He tore into the First Class goodie bag and pulled out the sleep mask and earplugs. Gabriella got a blanket and tucked it around him and he just tried to block the world out for the rest of the flight home.

Chapter 24

Ben leaned back in the taxi's back seat wedged between Karen and Penny. He rested his eyes as they drove through the dark streets towards his neighborhood. The two ladies watched the scenery, taking in their new home.

Their arrival on US soil was almost as chaotic as Ben had worried it might be. Apparently the stories about him in France traveled faster than their flight did and the press was waiting for him when he arrived. Not a lot of them but enough to make airport security extra surly and the Immigration Services process just a little more hellish. Due to the security measures the airport imposed his lawyer's help wasn't allowed to enter the area and Ben was largely on his own through the process.

He'd convinced Gabriella and Catherine to head home with their families while he stayed behind with the two ladies. Finally, after hours of answering questions and waiting the final documents were stamped and he'd been allowed to leave with the two women. Ben was exhausted both mentally and physically. He sent a text to Tina to let her know that they were on their way. He saw the time was 9PM and at this time of night it wouldn't take long to get home from the airport.

His stomach growled loudly. Karen giggled and Penny patted his tummy. He smiled and hoped Tina had something to eat in the fridge.

Finally they pulled into Ashburn Court.

"We're here," Ben said softly. Penny was looking at the homes passing by on the right and Karen was looking to the left.

"Such big houses!" Karen gushed. Ben smiled and wondered what their reaction would be to his more modest home.

They pulled into his driveway and the ladies jumped out to get the luggage as Ben paid the driver.

The taxi pulled away as Ben stood looking at his home. His heart warmed with the familiarity of its cozy exterior. He slung his laptop case over his shoulder and pulled his suitcase behind him as he walked up to the front door. He carried all the suitcases up the stairs as the door opened. Tina stood in the doorway with a beautiful smile.

"Welcome back Ben!"

Ben set the bags down and gathered the small woman up in his arms and hugged her. God, he'd missed this!

"Set me down, silly man!" she chuckled after she hugged him back.

He put her back on her feet and she looked around him to the two young women standing on the steps. "You must be Karen and Penny! I am Tina. Please come in!" Tina said with a small bow. She stepped back into the house and Ben followed with his suitcase. The ladies grabbed theirs and followed him in.

Ben heard voices and stepped into the doorway to his living room.

Sitting in the living room was Gabriella, Catherine, Rochelle, Hannah, Trish, Daphne and her twins, and Lucy.

"A few friends dropped by to welcome you home and to greet your new family members. Everyone, this is Penny and Karen," Tina said with a sweet smile. Her eyes were twinkling with joy at having him home.

Everyone waved and said hello to the two young women and they smiled and waved back.

Gabriella and Catherine both came over and hugged Ben at the same time.

"Thank you for making our trip so special!" Gabriella said. "You look tired so you should head straight to bed. We'll talk in the morning." She gave him a kiss and headed home.

"Good night Ben!" Catherine said as she crushed her body to his, giving him a deep kiss. A familiar zing shot through his body and he shook his finger at her when she pulled back.

"Remember what I said about kisses like that at the end of the night!" Ben scolded her with a smile.

She grinned wickedly and headed out.

Rochelle walked up to him with a conflicted look. She was still a little hung up on the fact that Ben was marrying Tina. She knew what Tina said but maybe Ben's feelings for her had changed?