Jennifer and Donna stood on the floor of the barn, waiting for Alex to throw some hay down to them.
"You really like Alex, don't you?" Donna said.
"A lot," Jennifer replied.
"You think, maybe, you guys are going to get married?" the slim blond teenager asked.
Jennifer thought for a moment, then she smiled. "I wouldn't refuse if he asked," she said.
Donna grinned. "Yeah, I didn't think you would," she told her employer. "I can tell from how you look at him." She giggled. "And I can see it in Alex, too. Sometimes, when he looks at you he gets a kinda goofy expression on his face," she added.
"Who looks at who kinda goofy?" Alex asked. He'd overheard the tail end of Donna's comment as he approached the edge of the hayloft with a bale in his hands.
"Donna thinks you have a goofy look on your face when you look at me," Jennifer told him, feeling her face get hot.
"That true, Donna?" Alex asked. "Do I?"
Blushing furiously, the girl nodded.
"Must be I do, then," Alex said. "Stand back girls, here it comes." He tossed the hay bale down. It didn't matter that it would burst when it hit the floor, they needed to spread the hay around in the stalls anyhow. Then he turned and went back to get another bale.
"There anybody special in your life, Donna?" Jennifer asked while she and the teenager spread hay in one of the stalls.
"Ah...no," Donna replied. "I...I haven't found anybody yet. I..." Suddenly she burst into tears. She knew Mel Ott was in jail, and would never be able to hurt her again, but she couldn't get the memories of the disgusting and humiliating things he'd forced her to do out of her system. She felt unworthy, as if no one could love her. After all, why had all of those awful things happened to her if she didn't deserve to have it happen.
"Donna, what's the matter?" Jennifer asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Donna replied. "It...it's nothing."
"I don't buy that. I've had a feeling something's been bothering you for a long time," Jennifer said. "Donna, I consider us friends, and I'd like to help. Maybe, if you tell me what is going on, I can help."
"It...it's over," Donna sobbed. "I...there's nothing I can do about it now."
"Alex told me that one of the things he's learned is that when something bad happens to you, it helps to talk about it," Jennifer said. "He organized a team of police officers who help other officers when they're involved in something serious. Maybe if you tell me what happened to you, it will help make it easier for you to get over it."
"I...I don't know," Donna said, sobbing softly. "I...I'm afraid if I tell you, you...you won't be my friend any more."
Jennifer couldn't imagine what the young woman's secret was. It had to be pretty horrible, if she felt that way about it. "Donna, I can't imagine anything you could tell me that would make that happen," she replied. She put her arm around the girl. "Donna, we're friends. Actually, sometimes I kind of think about you as the little sister I never had. If you had a sister, you could tell her what's troubling you, couldn't you?"
"I...I guess so," Donna whimpered. Taking a deep breath, she began telling Jennifer about the things Mel had forced her to do. "One day, when Mr. Ott and I were working out in the barn, he...he told me there was something we had to do in...in the trailer..." she began, and once she started, she couldn't stop. She told Jennifer everything.
Anger clouded Jennifer's lovely face as the young girl told her tale. She could feel her muscles tightening, and began quivering, she was so enraged.
"My God!" she exclaimed when Donna finally finished. "Oh, Donna, I wish you'd told me sooner. I...we...maybe there was something I could have done to help you." She hugged the girl against her.
"You...you don't hate me?" Donna sobbed. "You don't think I'm...I'm a tramp because of what I...what I did?"
"Of course not!" Jennifer replied, stroking the girl's back. "You were a victim! Of that horrid man! He...he's a predator!"
"Hey!" Alex said, appearing in the stall doorway. "You guys going to work, or are you going to goof off?" Then he saw that Donna's eyes were all red and puffy, and recognized the angry look on Jennifer's face. "What's going on?" he asked.
"You need to tell Alex," Jennifer told Donna. "He needs to know so he can do something to see that horrible man is punished for what he did to you."
"What's going on?" Alex asked, stepping into the stall. "What horrible man?"
"Donna has something to tell you," Jennifer said.
"Are you sure it's all right for...for me to...to tell him?" Donna asked.
"Don't worry," Jennifer said. She held Donna close, rubbing her back. "Alex will help you. Mel Ott and his friends will never, ever bother you again."
By the time Donna finished telling Alex what had happened, his face was bright red, and his hands were clenched in tight fists. "That scum-sucking slime!" he muttered. "I wish to hell he'd resisted when we busted him!"
"Are you going to be able to do anything about what he did?" Jennifer asked.
"I'm not sure," Alex said. "I think I'll run it by the P.A.'s office." His face set in a scowl. "One way or another," he growled, "he's going to pay. I promise you that, Donna."
"Donna..." Jennifer said. "Tonight you're staying here on the farm."
"You...you mean that?" Donna sniffled. "You sure it's OK?"
"It's fine," Jennifer said. "Come on, let's get this done, then we'll go in and Alex can make supper for us."
They finished up their chores in the barn, then went to the house. While Alex made dinner, Jennifer took Donna up to the spare bedroom and got her a wash cloth and towel. "Take a shower while Alex is getting dinner ready," she told Donna. "I'll get you one of my nightgowns to use tonight. Tomorrow, we're moving you out here." She smiled at the teenager. "And no arguments this time."
Donna smiled at her and nodded. "No arguments," she said.
Jennifer got a nightgown and robe for Donna, laid it on the bed in the spare bedroom, then she went back downstairs and sat down on the sofa in the living room to wait for dinner.
A little later, Donna walked into the living room wearing the nightgown and robe. She had a towel wrapped around her hair. "Won't Alex mind if I stay?" she asked.
"No," Jennifer said. "Not at all."
"I'm sorry I...I didn't tell you sooner," Donna said. "I...I didn't know...how...how you'd react."