Tabitha's Guardian (11 page)

“Oh, Tabby! Are you all right?” Janice
tearfully asked.

“Yes. He startled me, Janice. Did you see if
he is the same man who accosted you yesterday?”

“Yes, my dear; it was him.” Janice was
shaking now. “Oh, Tabby, we need to call the law officers to
come!”

“Madam, I have made the call,” a man sitting
at the next table addressed Janice. “I saw the entire thing, and
was ready to offer assistance when the criminal ran. You were brave
to scream like that, Madam,” he said to Tabby. “It frightened him
away.”

They heard the sirens, which indicated the
officers were on their way, and within moments they were telling
their story. Once the young officer heard Janice’s story, she
called in and talked with the officer who took the complaint made
the previous day. The officer said he would come immediately and
asked the officers on the scene to scan the area and look for the
man. The lady officer asked them to remain seated where they were,
and Tabitha assured her that they would. Once she walked away,
Tabby decided she needed to call Owen and apprise him of the
situation. She searched her purse for her communicator and it was
not there. “Janice, I do not have my communicator! May I borrow
yours?”

“I lost mine last week and have yet to
replace it,” her aunt replied.

“Oh dear. Owen is not going to be happy! He
is very insistent that I carry my communicator any time we are
apart.”

“You had no way of knowing this would
happen, my dear. Stop worrying now. We will handle this.”

The officer from the night before arrived and
he asked, “Are you both unharmed?”

“We are fine, Officer. Thank you for
asking,” Tabitha said quietly. Now that the first shock had worn
off, she was feeling angry. “Aunt Janice recognized the man as the
one who grabbed her yesterday. Did you learn anything from the
sketch?”

“No. There does not appear to be a record of
any crimes committed, and I am convinced the man is singling out
your family for some reason. This attack today is not a
coincidence. Did you notice him watching you while you were
shopping?”

“No,” she admitted sheepishly. Owen insisted
she be aware of her surroundings; but she had been so engrossed in
looking at fabrics that she did not pay attention.

“We were shopping, Officer, and we were
absorbed in what we were doing,” Janice explained. “I honestly
thought yesterday was just a fluke.”

“I warned you to have care, Madam,” the man
lightly scolded. “Ah, good,” he said, looking behind them. “I am
thankful you could get away from your office, Representative Owen.
I am afraid we have a situation. Your wife was grabbed in much the
same manner as her aunt was yesterday. She screamed, and that
seemed to frighten the man trying to grab her.”

“Are you both all right?” Owen asked, his
dark eyes snapping with the anger he was struggling to control.

“We are fine, Owen.”

“Why did you not call me?” he asked in a
controlled voice.

“Because I left my communicator at home,”
Tabby admitted, positive that he would scold. To her relief, he
turned to the officer, “May I take them home now, Glen?”

“Yes, of course. We will continue to search
for this man, but in the meantime, these ladies need to stay home
and under watch for their own safety.”

“I agree, Glen, and I will make sure they
are guarded until this man is found. I will also ask my
father-in-law to sit down with all of us and discuss this situation
and rack our brains for any idea why this is happening. It could be
this man is hired by someone else, or that he knows of my
father-in-law’s wealth and wishes to kidnap my wife for a
ransom.”

“We will consider all of these
possibilities, Owen. Please keep them safe in the meantime.” He
walked away, leaving them free to do as they pleased.

“Let us leave now.”

“I am not finished shopping, Owen! Aunt
Janice and I only took a break so that we could reflect on the
fabrics offered so that I could make a wise choice.”

“We are going home immediately, Tabitha Rose,
and I will not tolerate any argument.”

“It would only take a few minutes, Owen,”
Janice dared to comment. “Tabby will be so disappointed if we do
not finish.”

“She will have to bear her disappointment,
Janice. I do not know if this man is armed with a weapon, or if he
will start shooting at the two of you out of frustration. I am not
taking chances with your lives. We can shop for fabrics another
day.” It did not take Owen long to hail transportation for them. He
gave the address and then took out his communicator and called
Jenson. The conversation was short, but Janice’s face was pink by
the time Owen disconnected the call.

“Why did you trouble Jenson with this?” she
snapped at Owen.

“Because he is your fiancé and Tabby’s
father, and he has every right to know that a second attempt was
made to kidnap one of you.” Owen was not happy and it showed.

“You are frightening Tabby!” Janice
accused.

“She is not frightened of me, Janice. She
knows better than to argue with me when I am in this mood. Now,
please stop scolding and think of how you are going to explain
yourself to Jenson. I am sure that is what Tabitha Rose is
doing.”

“You act as though we have done something
wrong!”

Janice was livid by now and Tabitha feared
she was going to push Owen too far. “Aunt Janice, it is time for
reflection. Please do not take your fear and frustration out on
Owen. He is not responsible for that man’s actions.”

“Why did that mean you could not finish your
shopping?” Janice demanded.

“Because Owen felt we needed to be away from
that area and home where he can keep us safe. He is not an
arbitrary man,” she defended her husband.

“Oh, I am sorry,” Janice said emotionally,
and suddenly burst into tears. “I do not know what I would have
done if that horrid man had kidnapped you!”

“I am safe, Aunt Janice. Do not cry.
Besides, did you not hear the man at the next table say that he was
coming to my aid? We had help if we needed it.”

“I did not even have a communicator with
which to call for the law officers!” she sobbed. “Owen, I am sorry
for taking my nerves out on you! Please forgive me,” she
begged.

Owen took her hand in his and said, “I
understand, Janice. We are family now, and of course I forgive
you.” He smiled, and then offered her his clean handkerchief.

“You are such a nice man,” Janice whispered,
trying to stop crying. “You are a very lucky young woman, Tabby
Rose.”

“I know I am,” Tabitha admitted. She was in
more trouble than Janice realized, and she was positive that Janice
would be in for a scold, too. Her father was going to be irritated
with both of them for not having access to a communicator, for
losing track of time, for failing to pay attention to those around
them, and for not calling him when the incident happened. Owen was
angry with her for the same reasons, and knowing him as she did, he
would probably find other reasons to punish her.

The ride home did not take as long as she
wished it would have, and once they were inside, Tabitha hurried to
the kitchen to start something for their dinner. Janice followed,
offering to help, and Owen silently took a seat at the table, his
eyes following their every move.

“Owen, it is not necessary for you to watch
me cook!” Tabby scolded. “You are making me nervous!”

“I am not going to leave you two women
alone, wife. You need to get used to the idea that there will be
very little privacy in the near future, until that man is caught
and he explains himself.”

“I do not wish to be a prisoner in my own
home, Owen! You are making too much over nothing. The man probably
wants to approach Daddy with a business proposition and fears
contacting him. Either of us is more approachable than he is!”

“His method of contacting your father leaves
a lot to be desired. In fact, I have never heard of an approach
like his. No, Tabitha. I believe he is out to kidnap you. It could
be about money, or a business deal gone bad, or it could be that he
has fixated on you and Janice. I do not care about his reason; I
just want to keep the two of you safe.”

“I am capable of protecting us,” she reminded
him.

“Unless he has a weapon, or comes upon you
when you are thinking of something else. Stop fussing at me,
please, and do what needs to be done to prepare for dinner. I hope
you are fixing something that is healthier than what you ate for
lunch?”

“I am not a child, and if I want a hot dog
once in a while, then I will have one!”

“Good for you, Tabby!” Janice added her two
cents worth,

It was good that they heard Jenson coming in
the front door then. Owen was close to losing his temper, and he
did not wish to do so when he was certain that Janice’s sassy
attitude was due to the scare she had. His wife, however, was a
different matter altogether. She was due a good spanking, and he
intended to see to it before the day was over.

Jenson put his arms around Janice when she
got up and ran to him. “Are you all right, my love?” he asked
her.

“Yes, we are fine. I am a bit frazzled,
though.”

“Who is this man?” Jenson demanded of his
son-in-law. “Could he be one of your former clients?”

“I have considered that, sir, but I do not
recognize the drawing the police artist drew.”

“He did not harm you, daughter?” Jenson
asked softly, noting the tears in her eyes. He moved to hug her. “I
am so sorry this is happening.”

“It certainly is not your fault, Daddy.”

“I have considered the possibility that it
is someone I had to fire for some reason, or someone who asked for
employment and I turned them down. Or perhaps a relative of some
such person. I do not like this.”

“Neither do I, sir, and I believe it
important enough to hire protection to be here with the women when
we are at work.”

“I have already called an agency, and they
are sending over several applicants for us to interview. I know
that Tabby is very capable in self-defense, but it will be a good
idea to have another pair of eyes and ears here to offer help if it
is needed.”

“No! No, no, and no!” Janice got to her
feet. “I do not want a babysitter! You can just forget this idea,
Jenson. I will not have it.”

“Now, my dear, you are not thinking
clearly.”

“Do not tell me that, Jenson! You were not
there, and you have no idea what happened. Tabby and I handled the
situation, and if we keep the doors and windows locked and the
security alarms turned on, we will be fine. Neither of us want
someone spying on us all the time, and what if our so-called
protector tries to take advantage of us?”

Jenson looked from Janice to his daughter
and then to Owen. “Okay, Janice. What are you trying so hard to
keep me from finding out? Picking a fight is not going to change
one thing. I have made a decision, and you will abide by it, as
will Tabitha Rose.”

“You do not have to be so gruff, Jenson.”

“Talk to me, Janice, because I am not a
happy man right now. Why did you not call me when this happened?
And, why did you leave the fabric store without letting me
know?”

“We were shopping and suddenly realized we
were hungry, and we just stepped outside the store to a corner cart
lunch stand and got a hot dog and a soda. Certainly that did not
count as going somewhere else!”

“It most certainly did. I repeat, why did
you not call me?”

Janice’s anger suddenly disappeared and
tears filled her dark eyes. “I lost my communicator a couple of
weeks ago, and I have not yet replaced it.”

“I see. You are in for a spanking, Janice.
Go to your bedroom and I shall be upstairs soon. And do not argue
with me right now. Go.”

Janice ran from the room and up the steps to
the second floor.

“Daughter, why did you not call me? Just
because you now have a husband, it does not mean I have no fatherly
feelings for you.”

“I forgot my communicator, Daddy. I
apologize that it was Owen who needed to call you to come to our
aid. I was so excited at the prospect of shopping for fabrics that
I made several mistakes today. The first was in believing as Janice
did that yesterday was a case of mistaken identity. I did not use
caution, did not have my communicator, and I failed to keep us from
harm. I am so sorry you worried. All the man did was take my arm
and try to pull me from my chair. I jerked free of him, and I
screamed loudly. And Janice told him to let me go, and the man took
off running. A man at the next table called for the law
officers.”

“You may go upstairs to our room, Tabitha
Rose. I shall be up shortly to discuss this matter with you,” Owen
said sternly.

Tabby walked slowly from the kitchen,
positive that her husband was going to spank her soundly.

“Jenson, I do not wish to interfere, but you
need to be very firm with Janice. She is full of arguments and sass
concerning what happened today. As a guardian, I would have paddled
her soundly, but that is no longer what I do, and I am relieved. I
did not enjoy taking the relatives and household members of my
clients in hand when necessary. I love Janice, but she needs to
learn that this man is a serious threat and that she and Tabby need
to obey us and accept help. I apologize if I have spoken out of
turn.”

“Janice has always resorted to arguing and
sass when she is stressed and upset. I am sorry she took her fear
out on you, and she will apologize.”

“She has already done so, Jenson. I am not
angry with her, but I do want her to be safe, and not encourage
Tabby to disobey me.”

Jenson nodded. “I agree. She used to do that
when she visited when Tabby was small. She would argue every
restriction that Rose and I gave Tabby. I finally threatened her
with a very sound spanking, in spite of Rose’s dismay, and Janice
went home to sulk and pout. The next time she was here, however,
she was the model guest. She means no harm, but I will correct her
and give her to know it is not acceptable behavior. If that does
not work, we will sort out another method and let her know what it
is like.” Jenson winked at him, and then said, “Let us see to our
ladies, son, and get the unpleasantness over with. You do realize
that Tabby is truly sorry?”