A/N Thank you for your nice reviews and for reading this tangled little tale, which is about to get even more tangled, with a dark undercurrent.

He'd been seeing her for four weeks, and it had been an adventure. He'd learned a lot about her, but the more he learned, the more he realized he still had a lot to learn.

It was Saturday afternoon and they were having her favorite, a Limeade Freezie at the diner. It was getting to the point where he was starting to develop a taste for the damn things.

It made him smile how she truly liked the simple things in life. Sure, a lot of folks said that, Beth lived it.

Aside from her Limeade fix, going to church, and picnicking at the lake, there really wasn't much she cared to do outside coming to his house. Too many people around she'd say.

She'd even told him she wanted to quit doing gigs for Stookey, which was breaking Stookey's heart because she was a big draw, but the idea didn't bother Rick at all. Although, he supposed the reason for it should have, but really, why? She was certainly entitled to want to stay away from large crowds of people. That wasn't uncommon, lots of folks felt that way.

But there was something he was very curious about, and he was going to ask her about it today, over this nasty limeade, which, damn, really was starting to taste kind of good.

"Beth, when I first met you, you told me you had a very small place here in town, yet I've never picked you up there, or taken you home to it, I don't even know where it is. When do I get to see it?" He smiled across the table at her.

"Oh, umm, well, I don't know, it's quite different Rick. And I never really stay there, I just go there to think, to be alone. It's kind of my little escape pod. You wouldn't really like it," Her face was bright pink.

"That's not fair Beth, I might just love it, but we won't know if you don't let me see it, will we?" Then he did it, smiled that smile at her and tilted that head to the side.

"Alright, just remember, you asked for it," She smiled back with those flushed pink cheeks.

Rick hadn't noticed the rough looking man in the dark car who watched them leave the diner.

He could tell from the outside of the place it was small, just like she'd said, it was a unit built atop the single car detached garage of an only slightly larger old house. There were wooden stairs that led up the side of the garage to the door. She told him the landlord was kind of an odd lady who lived alone, and that they sort of had an unspoken agreement to just leave each other alone.

You have to love that.

Of course, that didn't mean that same odd lady didn't see that strange young woman taking a man up to her apartment, and not just any man, the Sheriff. And it didn't mean she didn't make a quick call to a friend of hers and tell him what she'd seen.

What she didn't see was the rough looking man parked up the street in a dark sedan, watching the Sheriff and strange young woman.

He took the key from her to unlock the door, and she took a deep breath.

He'd never seen anything quite like it. It was indeed small. There was just one room with a door that opened to what appeared to be a small bath. There was a loveseat size sofa, an overstuffed chair, a very small dinette table with two chairs, and a small desk with a laptop on it. No kitchen or kitchenette, just a bar size refrigerator and the world's smallest microwave. And oddly out of place, there was also what must have been a 50" TV mounted on the wall opposite the small loveseat.

But that wasn't even what a person would notice first about the place, not even close, all he could say was, "Wow Beth, I would have never guessed this in a million guesses."

Then he noticed she looked worried, and he put his arm around her. "This is something else Sweetheart, really. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all. I'm just so surprised, and pretty impressed."

Every wall was covered with score cards, stat sheets and posters.

"You never told me you were a baseball fan. Who's your favorite team?" He smiled.

"Oh I don't follow any particular team, I like them all. Baseball intrigues me. The averages, the percentages, the scorekeeping, and I love their baseball lingo, oh and the superstitions and I enjoy trying to read the signs they use. I find it all so interesting. You know Rick; it's ultimately a game of numbers." Now she was getting into it.

"So you just watch games, but you don't cheer anyone on?" He loved watching her go on.

"I cheer for everyone. I'm sure they're all perfectly nice men. Oh they argue, but I think they're just overly excited." How could she be just that sweet?

"What about the off season? Then what?" He had to ask.

"Oh there's never an off season if you have the MLB network. They always have repeats of games, and there are lots of shows where they talk about baseball and the players, and stats, the managers, the strategies, the drafts. It's all quite fascinating. It's such a nice hobby for me. I come here, watch a couple of games, and I score them while I watch, and I have popcorn or peanuts. It's very relaxing and a nice departure from my work." She was animated.

"Beth, you are without a doubt the most interesting person I have ever known." And he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, and she seemed to be good with that, so he didn't see any reason to stop, for a minute anyway. Then he pulled his head back and looked in her big beautiful blue eyes.

And she said in a soft voice, "When you kiss me like that it just makes me feel warm all over, and kind of excited, and like I want more." Damn, girl, I want all of you, is what he wanted to say.

But instead he rested his forehead on hers and what he did say was, "Me too Sweetheart, me too."

Because dammit, he was going to do the right thing by her if it killed him. The relationship was still new, and as much as he wanted this to work, wanted so much for it to be some kind of forever deal, and as much as he thought she did too, who really knew about this stuff? He wanted to at least be as sure as he felt he could be before he took those next steps with her. He wasn't going to be that guy that took everything she had to give, and then decided she really wasn't right for him. She was too good, too innocent and way too trusting. So he had to show self-restraint, he had to be patient. But damn, that wasn't always easy.

She was going to work at Stookey's, because she'd promised, and then she was going to tell him no more. Not only was she tired of the crowd there, but she had her programming work, her work at the Vet clinic, and she wanted to spend as much of the rest of her time as she could with Rick. That suited Rick just fine.

So he drove her back to the farm and planned to be back for her at 6:30. He walked her to the door, and he was just giving her a little kiss goodbye when Hershel walked out. "Well hello Sheriff, I see you've brought my daughter home safely."

"Hey Hershel, I'll be back by to get your beautiful daughter at 6:30," And they shook hands. He'd become quite friendly with her Daddy, he was a kind and caring man with a good life philosophy who was devoted to his family.

Rick admired that.

Three Weeks Earlier

He'd gotten the call from Aaron Bush, who'd told him he'd assembled an armload of evidence against a bookkeeper working for Dale Horvath. Even though he'd been expecting this call, Rick acted as though he knew nothing about it. Aaron asked to meet with Rick in his office, and of course Rick agreed.

They shook hands and Rick asked, "So what do you have for me?"

"I've caught someone setting up false accounts on Mr. Horvath's books, and skimming cash. I've assembled quite a bit of evidence. However, I will say, I don't think the woman who's doing this is the real brains behind the operation, I think someone else is telling her what to do, pulling her strings so to speak." Aaron seemed nervous, but also honest and quite concerned.

Rick saw he was keeping his promise to Beth; he never mentioned her or said he had help from anyone else in getting the evidence.

"Do you have any idea who that other person may be?" Rick questioned.

"Well my first thought would be it's a boyfriend or a husband, but that's just a guess. I think she's being manipulated, maybe if she's charged he'll come forward, although I suppose if he's that big a scumbag, he wouldn't feel any guilt about her taking the blame."

"Well, what's the woman's name and what can you tell me about her?" Rick inquired.

"Andrea Holden, she's not a CPA, she's a bookkeeper who said her specialties were payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable work. That's all Mr. Horvath needed in the office, his wife had been doing the bookkeeping, but she took ill and he had to hire someone. I do the more complicated accounting like reconciliation, financial statements, quarterly reports and tax filing, so eventually all the records have to be given to me."

"What made you suspect something?" Accounting wasn't really Rick's field of expertise. He kept a budget, paid his bills, the usual stuff, but any more than that and he took it to an accountant.

"It may surprise you to know, but Horvath's is a top money earning business. It's the only true hardware and home supply in a 50 mile radius of here. Dale still let's locals just sign on an account, and he bills them once a month. A lot of those people, and a lot of people in general around here, pay in cash. They're proud to pay in cash. As I'm sure you can imagine, cash is the easiest of assets to steal, and it's the first thing I noticed a steep decline in. Then there were two new vendor accounts added, not at the same time, about a month apart. They had pretty substantial invoices, and I wasn't sure what Dale was buying from them, so I took him to lunch and asked him. He hadn't heard of either vendor, and that's when I knew, but I still needed proof it was her. I feel I have more than enough evidence here to get this woman indicted."

"And this Andrea Holden is still working for Horvath?" Rick asked.

"Yes, I'm reluctant to have him let her go because I'm afraid she'll skip town. If she's done this at Horvath's, I'm certain it's been done to other businesses. Many smaller businesses never use a CPA, they rely on the bookkeeper for everything. If she has a history of this, I want to put a stop to it once and for all."

"So what has you thinking she's being manipulated? Any evidence, or is it just a feeling?" He liked this Aaron fellow, he was obviously a good guy who really knew his stuff, and he knew the man was a dear friend of his Beth. Wow, had he just thought of her as "his"? Hmmm

"I'm sure you've seen the signs Sheriff, it's hard to put into words, it's more of a feeling. Some days she seems almost frightened when she comes into the office, and there's been more than once I was pretty sure there was make-up covering a bruise on her cheek, and I've seen bruises on her arms, like she'd been grabbed. She rushes out of the place right at quitting time. It seems odd, most single, unattached folks, like she claims to be, aren't rushing to get home, they're talking about going to the gym, or happy hour, going shopping, things of that nature. I don't know it's just a very strong feeling I have, but I think she's got someone telling her what to do, someone she's afraid of." Aaron pursed his lips.

"Those very strong feelings, 'hunches' usually mean we're onto something," Rick nodded his head slightly.

Aaron didn't notice the rough looking man in the dark car who watched him as he exited the Sheriff's Office.

Two days later Andrea Holden was arrested and jailed.

xxxx

As usual, he arrived at the farm a little early, chatted with Hershel and waited for his beautiful date. Hershel explained to him, "Beth's hair ties seem to have gotten themselves tangled up, as have her necklace and bracelet, and I think I heard mention of a blow dryer cord and a flatiron cord. Her Mama and Maggie are helping her out."

"You do know Rick, if you ever get REAL serious with my daughter; you're going to be the one busy helping her with all those things, and often." The older man looked him in the eye.

"I do Hershel, and the way I feel right now, I don't think I'd mind one bit, but I do want to be sure before I make that promise," Rick's expression was thoughtful.

"I appreciate that son. I think my Bethy is a one man woman with a very tender heart. I'd want that man to be ready, willing and able to untangle things for her the rest of his life, with love and patience of course," He smiled a fatherly smile.

Just then Beth came downstairs. She looked pretty as a picture, just like always, and he was proud to be the guy escorting her out this evening.

They arrived at Stookey's and the place was packed, like it was every time she sang. Merle and Daryl were at the bar, and they made their way over to say, "Hi."

Rick shook hands with the brothers, and Beth hugged them. Merle said, "I got ta say Little Sister, I'm glad you're quittin' this joint, the crowd is lookin' rougher and rougher all the time. Startin' ta make me and Little Brother look like altar boys," He laughed at his joke, and Rick couldn't help a laugh himself. Even Daryl almost smiled.

Beth sang her three sets as promised, but something was making her feel uneasy the entire time.

Rick could tell something was bothering her, but he didn't know what. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

When she finished her last set, she told Rick she wanted to get out of there right away and go to his house. He noticed her hands were shaking slightly and her brow was furrowed. They quickly said goodnight to Stookey and the Brothers, and headed to Rick's.

Merle and Daryl had not failed to pick up on Beth's discomfort, but couldn't pick up on what was causing it.

No one had noticed the rough looking man sitting way back in a darkened corner nursing a beer. The one who hadn't taken his eyes off her all evening.

As soon as they were in his house, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "Beth, Sweetheart, what's the matter, what happened," he was trying to comfort her, rubbing her back.

She spoke softly and he could tell by her voice she was on edge. "That's just it Rick, I'm not sure. There was just something wrong in there. Well it could have been someone, but anyway, I could just feel it, strong and negative. I don't like to use the word, but it felt evil." And she shuddered.

"I'm sorry Sweetheart, but I'm right here with you, and we're home safe, okay?" He was concerned now. He knew she had her "abilities" to pick up on things others missed. What could have been going on?

"Rick, I'd like to stay here tonight, with you, please?"

"What about your Daddy, something tells me he's not going to like the idea of you spending the night here," Rick had been caught completely by surprise.

"Oh they're not going to worry about what we're doing; I already told them you weren't trying to have sex with me." She said it so matter-of-fact.

"What Beth? You talked to them about that?" He was flabbergasted.

"Well just Maggie, she asked me if you tried, and I said no, that it seemed like you wanted to, but you weren't ready yet." Damn, she was innocent, and he couldn't help it, he laughed.

"Oh Sweetheart, I am so beyond being ready, there's nothing I would enjoy more. I just think maybe it's a little soon, and you might not be ready," He held her face in his hands and was smiling at her, he gave her a sweet kiss to the top of her head.

"That's what Maggie said," She replied.

"If you want to stay here, I would love to have you here, but you need to clear it with your family, okay? I wouldn't want your Daddy to think I'd disrespected him or you."

"Okay, I'll call Daddy and explain." And for some reason he wasn't surprised that her Daddy agreed, it made him feel proud in a way, just knowing Hershel trusted him.

Rick had a beer, Beth had a can of cherry coke and they talked about baseball. Rick was happy to have someone who was really knowledgeable about the game to talk baseball with; it was a favorite of his. "I've got an idea Beth. How about one night this week we go to the batting cages, I bet you'd be good. What do you say?"

"I've never even thought of that Rick, that sounds like so much fun, I'd love that," She was smiling that big beautiful smile, and she finally seemed to be relaxing, and then just like that, she said, "I'm tired and we have to go to the farm early so I can get ready for church, can we go to bed now?"

And Rick could never recall being so nervous when a woman wanted to go to bed with him.

He gave her one of his t-shirts to sleep in, and a flannel to use for a robe. He usually slept in his boxers, but pulled on a pair of running shorts for tonight, and a t-shirt. Fortunately, he had a packet of extra toothbrushes and gave her one.

They crawled in the bed and held each other, there was a lot of pretty heated kissing, and he did let his hand skim softly over her breast, and round little bottom while he kissed her. She didn't seem to mind at all, but he still wasn't going to let it go further, not quite yet. No matter how much he wanted to.

He had no idea that the rough looking man in a dark car was watching his house.

He made them a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, which she thanked him for as though it were a banquet.

When she was dressed, and he was dressed for church, because by now everyone just assumed he was going and then having Sunday dinner with them, they headed to the farm.

No sooner had he pulled up to the farmhouse than his cell phone rang, it was the office on a Sunday morning, this couldn't be good, and it wasn't. The desk sergeant spoke, "Sorry to bother you Sheriff, but we have what appears to be a hate crime. Two homosexual males were severely beaten in the park early this morning. It looks as though they were out for a morning run. They did have I.D. on them and one of them is the gentleman you spoke to a few weeks ago, Aaron Bush. The other is his companion Eric Moran. Mr. Bush is in critical condition at the hospital ICU. It appears Mr. Moran wasn't the main target, his injuries aren't as severe. It looks as though he may have been hit from behind, knocked unconscious and left while Mr. Bush was beaten. Mr. Moran is expected to regain consciousness sometime later this morning. The doctors don't have any idea if Mr. Bush will ever regain consciousness. That's all I've got right now."

"Who's on this Jim?" Rick was shocked.

"Vazquez and Johnson." Jim responded.

"Okay, I'm going to head over to the hospital in just a few minutes, call me if anything comes up in the meantime." He glanced over at Beth who was playing on her phone.

"Sorry Sweetheart, work, I'm going to have to go, but let me walk you inside first." How was he going to tell her? He didn't want to take a chance she'd hear something on the radio, or see it on the Internet, so he decided he'd better tell her now.

A/N And there it is, Yikes! Thank you so much for reading, please review xo