Jessie scrambled to her feet and said, "Oh, no, you don't. I did not put myself in danger."
Brady nodded grimly at her. "Yes, actually, you did. And you know perfectly well what the consequence is for that."
Jessie tried to run, but Brady caught her hand and pulled her against him. "I don't know exactly what's behind all this, but I'm putting a stop to it."
In a split second, he was seated on the couch with Jessie face down across his lap. His hand came down hard and fast on her behind, making her squeal and kick in protest. His answer was to spank her harder. She had stripped down to her long johns when she sat down by the fire and she felt every smack of his hand as if she only wore panties. Brady spanked her all over her bottom, returning over and over to the tender sit spot at the top of her thighs. When she continued to struggle, he sighed and pulled down her long underwear and panties.
"No! Brady, stop! You're right. I'm sorry, I won't do it again."
"Maybe you won't. I'm pretty sure you'll think of something else, though."
Brady lit into her bare bottom with hard smacks of his big, calloused hand, quickly turning her pink cheeks red. Jessie squirmed and kicked, and Brady's only response was to spank her harder. He didn't stop until her struggles stopped. She lay limp across his lap for the last hard smacks on her sit spot. And then the spanking was over. Brady lifted her to sit on his lap and she cuddled against his shoulder, tears on her face.
"Now, what was all that really about?" Brady asked, his arms around her.
"I don't…I don't really know why I got so mad. I know it didn't make sense. I was just really mad all of a sudden."
Brady tipped her chin up so she looked directly at him. "So something was going on in your head. What was it?"
"I don't know. I really don't," Jessie said helplessly.
"Come on, Jess, think. Whatever it is, we can talk about it."
She was silent for a long minute, and Brady waited patiently. Finally, she said, "I've been having these dreams."
"What kind of dreams?"
"It's Jake. He comes to me in my dreams, and at first, he's always smiling and telling me how proud he is of me and how much it means to see the ranch taking shape. Then he warns me."
"Warns you about what?"
"He tells me to be careful. He says I can't trust that guy. He says I need to watch out and remember that I can't trust that guy. Then he fades away, and the dream is over."
Brady was mystified. "What guy? Who is he warning you about?"
"I don't know! I always ask him, but he doesn't tell me. I always tell him he can't mean you, he sent you to me. It doesn't make any sense, and it's driving me crazy."
Brady said slowly, "You think he's warning you about me?"
"No!" Jessie was adamant. "He can't be. It wouldn't make any sense. You're his best friend, and he sent you here to me because he trusted you so much. But I keep having this dream over and over, and I can't figure it out."
"Jessie, you do know they're just dreams, right? He's not really sending you messages from the grave."
"I know, but how can you be so sure? Strange things happen all the time, right?"
"Jessie." Brady kissed her forehead. "Maybe it's Dan Whitman he's warning you about. Maybe Whitman spooked you more than you realize."
Jessie said thoughtfully, "I guess that's possible, I hadn't really thought about it. But nothing else has happened, and I haven't even thought about Dan in weeks."
"Or, maybe it's that you have doubts about our relationship and they're coming out in your dreams." Brady looked at her squarely as he spoke.
"No!" Now Jessie looked upset. "I don't have doubts about us. You make me so happy, and you've given me so much."
"But you've been through a helluva lot, and it's not bad to have doubts. It's normal. You're not hurting my feelings if you have doubts to work out. I'm okay with that, and I'll be glad to talk out any doubts you have. You're smart to think things through."
"Oh, Brady." Jessie snuggled closer to him. "I should have just talked to you in the first place. It could have saved my butt from that spanking."
She felt his chuckle deep in his chest. "Yeah, it could have. Tell you what. Next time you have that dream, wake me up, and we'll talk about it right away. Maybe you'll remember a little more of it, or maybe we can connect it with something that's happened."
"That's a really good idea. I like it. See? I had no idea what to do, and you had a good idea. I'm so lucky to have you here."
"Listen, baby, if you have a problem or something on your mind, you can always come to me. I'll do anything I can to help you work it out. But I will not let you do anything to endanger your safety or your health. You mean way too much to me."
Jessie said slowly, "You sound kind of like we're already in a relationship like your friends."
Brady shook his head. "No, we're not in anything like that, though I guess there are similarities. It's just a real red line for me. I can't stand by and watch you do something that puts you in danger or risks your health. I'm pretty clear about the consequence, and you seem to accept that. If you want to call it a rule, I guess we can call it a rule. We're in our own relationship, and it's unique to us. How do you feel about that?"
"If someone had asked me if I would willingly be in a situation like that a year ago, I would have been insulted. But, here I am, and I honestly feel safe and protected with you, knowing that you feel that way and knowing that you mean it. So I guess I'm okay with that rule. Weird, huh?"
Brady laughed. "It's not weird to me. And we are the only ones who matter, right? You know that I'll never do anything to injure or bring real harm to you, right?"
"I do know that. And spanking my butt has nothing to do with injuring or harming me. I do trust you completely to keep me safe. Although it rubs me the wrong way sometimes to have you expect me to listen to you. I guess I do have a brat side." Jessie looked a little surprised at herself. "Wow. I have a rule enforced by my lover. I sure couldn't ever have predicted that. It's kind of exciting."
Brady tipped her chin up for a kiss. "Now, go get dressed. We're going shopping."
"Shopping! For what?"
"We're going to get you some better gear for working outside. I have no objection to you working out there, but you will be properly dressed from now on. Scoot, it's getting late."
Jessie scrambled to her feet and headed toward the bedroom to get dressed, rubbing her red butt as she went.
* * *
Brady and Jessie went to the farm store, where they got Jessie a good set of cold weather gear, including pants for over her jeans and much warmer boots and socks. Brady insisted on a couple of warm hats and scarves and several pairs of gloves, so she would always have dry hands. Finally, he bought a plentiful supply of hand warmers, the same ones Jessie had laughed at when he had gotten dressed for hunting.
"Now it's really getting late," Brady said as he started the truck. "Want to go over to the Rusty Spur for a burger and a beer?"
"Sure, that sounds good. I'm starving."
"Shopping with a sore butt will do that to you," Brady said with a straight face.
"Brady!" Jessie said, shocked, then she giggled. "It's only a little sore now."
"Hmm, I'll have to do something a little different next time."
Jessie stuck her nose in the air and said, "What makes you think there'll be a next time?"
Brady laughed out loud. "One word answers that. You. I have no doubt there'll be a next time."
Jessie sighed and said regretfully, "Yeah, you're probably right. Not on purpose, but, you know. Human nature."
"Uh huh. I know your human nature. Good thing you've got me to keep an eye on you."
Jessie was still giggling when they walked into the bar. They took seats at the bar and said hello to Mitch, who brought them each a beer as soon as he saw them. They chatted about Christmas for a couple of minutes then ordered burgers and fries. Jessie went off to the ladies' room, and Brady watched her go.
"Have you seen Whitman lately?" he asked Mitch.
"After I took your number, he wasn't in here for several weeks. The last couple of weeks, he's been a couple of times, but he's been quiet. I figured he finally let it go. I didn't think you'd want to stir him up if he has."
"No, you're right. But I'm still watching for trouble. You'll let me know if you see anything that looks like that?"
Mitch nodded. "Absolutely. I put your number in my phone."
"Appreciate it. I'm not letting anything happen to Jessie."
Mitch smiled. "And we all appreciate that. Jessie's a nice girl; everybody likes her."
Jessie was walking back to the bar, stopping to say hi to a couple of people. When she settled a little gingerly into her seat, Brady grinned, making her blush.
"Mitch," Jessie said brightly, "You don't have a girlfriend right now, do you?"
"Thank you for pointing out my lack of a love life, darlin'," Mitch drawled.
She giggled and said, "I didn't mean that. I just—"
"Jessie," Brady said, "What are you up to?"
"Well, Mitch is a nice guy with a good job, and Kayla is a really nice girl. They might like each other. I mean, just to maybe go out and have a good evening together."
"Look out, Mitch." Brady shook his head. "This smacks of matchmaking to me."
"I know who Kayla is," Mitch said, looking cautiously interested. "She is a nice girl. Pretty too. And that little boy of hers is a cutie."
Jessie beamed at him. "See? I think we should introduce them."
Brady choked on his beer. "We? Leave me out of this. I don't get involved in fixing people up together. The last time I did that, they ended up married in six months and divorced six months later. And I was the bad guy as far as both of them were concerned."
Jessie and Mitch both laughed at him.
"You must have used some bad judgment, buddy," Mitch said.
Jessie nodded toward Mitch. "Never mind him. We can do this without him. So you'd be interested?"
"Sure," said Mitch. "Like you said, an evening out, dinner and a movie or something like that. It'd be fun."
"All right." Jessie leaned back, looking immensely pleased with herself. "I'll talk to Kayla."
Chapter 15
Brady came through the back door and said, "We've got a calf missing."
Jessie was putting the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. "What? Are you sure?"
"Yep. I just called Red. He'll be here in thirty minutes. You better get your gear on. Hopefully we'll find her soon, but better be prepared."
"Okay."
Jessie hurried to get dressed for cold weather, all except coat and hat. She quickly put together some sandwiches to stow in her saddlebags and filled two tall thermoses with hot coffee. Brady went to the barn to saddle the horses while she worked. By the time they were ready, Red had gotten there.
"Should we take Indy?" Jessie asked.
"Yeah, the snow's not too deep, and she can always hop on the four wheeler when she needs to. She's good at finding calves. Jess, Red will ride your horse and you take the four-wheeler. There are some blankets strapped on the back and a first aid kit too. Here's a radio for each of you, and we've all got our phones. Jess, start along the fencerow going that direction. Red, you take the other direction, and I'll zig zag back and forth across the middle of the pasture. I'll take Indy with me for the time being."
They all set out, and a couple of tough, cold hours went by without seeing anything. They stopped for coffee and then set out again.
This time, Indy rode with Jessie, and another hour went by before there was a shout over the radio from Red. "I got him. He's pretty cold. I'm at the northwest corner of the pasture. Better get that four-wheeler back here. And, Brady, the fence has been cut back here."
It took both men to load the calf onto the back of the four-wheeler and strap him down, wrapped with blankets. They did a hasty temporary repair on the fence and started back to the barn. They put the calf in a warm stall in the barn with plenty of hay and a heated bucket of water.
"Jess, why don't you and Indy go in; we'll go out and fix that fence. Put on a pot of something hot for when we get done. We'll take the four wheeler out."
"Here, have these sandwiches before you go back out. You need fuel too. Do you need more coffee?"
"Yeah, we'll eat the sandwiches after we rub down the horses and put them up. That should give you long enough to brew more coffee."
"Okay, on it."
Jessie hustled into the house with her dog and started the coffee before getting out of her outdoor gear. She had set out venison burger to thaw before they had left the house, intending to make a pot of chili for dinner. She slipped back into her boots and coat and carried the full thermoses out to the barn, where the two men had just finished their sandwiches. She handed them a baggie full of oatmeal raisin cookies and gave Brady a kiss.
"Be careful. I'm making chili and cornbread. I'll be sure it's ready when you get back in. Got your phones, right?"
"Yep, we'll be fine, and chili and cornbread will hit the spot just fine. Thanks for the coffee and cookies."
It was more than three hours later when the men got back to the barn. The chili was simmering gently on the stove, and freshly baked cornbread and peach pie were ready and waiting. Brady and Red pulled off their boots and hung their coats and other gear on the hooks in the mudroom. They headed straight to the woodstove to warm themselves.
"You want coffee?" Jessie called.
"Cold beer sounds better," Brady said, and Red nodded his agreement.
"Here you go," Jessie said, handing them each a beer. "How's the calf?"
"He's eating, so that's a good sign. Hopefully that means he wasn't out there alone long enough to do him any serious harm." Brady took a long pull off his beer.
"Did you say the fence was cut? How in the world did that happen?"
"Yeah," Brady said grimly. "And the only way that happened was somebody did it deliberately."
Jessie looked horrified. "Who would do a thing like that?"
"You know my first, best guess."
For a moment, Jessie was lost. "You mean Dan? But, surely…we haven't heard anything about him since before Christmas."
"No, we haven't. But it's time to find out what he's up to. I know he's trouble, and everybody in town has said we need to watch out for him. You can't trust him, Jessie."
Jessie had a sudden, disquieting thought at his words. They were eerily like what Jake said to her in her dreams. A chill ran down her spine, and she went to get a beer for herself. She was quiet, listening to the two men talk while she dished out big, steaming bowls of spicy chili. She set them on the table along with a plate full of cornbread and fresh beers for the men.
Red and Brady wolfed down the food as if they were starving and then enjoyed big slices of warm peach pie topped with a scoop of ice cream. Red groaned as he leaned back in his chair after the last bite.
"Damn, Brady, why don't you weigh three hundred pounds? That was delicious."
Brady laughed and said, "Just good genetics, I guess. My mom's a great cook too, and Dad's not a pound overweight."
Jessie smiled and said, "Your mom is a great cook. And Becca can cook just fine when she wants to."
"Yeah, she just never wants to. She learned from the best, but she never learned to like it."
After Red left, Brady went to take a shower, and a little later, the two of them went out to the barn to check on the calf, who was munching hay peacefully. He had emptied his water bucket and Brady refilled it and then smiled.
"I think he's going to be fine. He can probably go out with the herd tomorrow. They're all fine, using the shelters just like they're supposed to. Well, we made it through our first emergency. And you did good work today, Jess. Indy too."
Jessie gave him her luminous smile. By the time they got back to the house, Brady was yawning. The day had caught up with him. Jessie locked the doors and went to shower while Brady dozed
in the recliner as the fire crackled and the TV played. She thought about talking to Brady about the thought she had had about her dreams but looked at him stretched out in the chair and decided it could wait. Before long, the house was dark, and they were all sleeping peacefully.
* * *
Brady and Jessie drove into town to do some errands. They split up once they got into town. Brady went to the farm store while Jessie went to the pharmacy and then the bookstore, looking for a gift for Brady's mom. Her birthday was coming up, and she had mentioned a book she wanted when they had spent Christmas together. While she was browsing the shelves, she overheard two women talking, around the corner from where she was standing.
"Joe said he ran into Dan Whitman the other day out at that sleazy bar on 225. He said he was pretty drunk, but the stuff he was saying about Jessie Mills, oh my God! I don't know what in the world he has against her, but I'd be scared to death if I was her."
"Really? What did he say?"
"He said someday he's going to get her where he wants her, and he's going to…screw her until she can't walk. Not in quite those words, you know. And then he's going to give it to her…I can't even say it. He said when he's through with her, she'll never breathe again."
"Oh my God, that's horrible. I swear, that man's crazy. I've heard a couple other people saying he's been saying awful stuff about Jessie. They need to lock him up before he actually tries something crazy."
Jessie's heart was pounding, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. A wave of dizziness hit her and she bent her head, trying to get control. She made her way out of the store in a daze and stumbled down the street for a few feet. The cold air cleared her head slowly, and she began to feel a slow burn of anger. When the shakiness passed, Jessie strode down the street to the farm store and went in, looking for Brady.
"Hey, baby," Brady said with a smile until he saw her face. "What's wrong? What the hell happened?"
Jessie’s Dusty Dreams Page 14
