by Allysa Hart
“Ugh. Please let me up, Auntie?”
“Not yet. Why do you think you are a ‘tick’?” He laced the last word with sarcasm.
“Oh. My. God! Okay, you want to do this? Well, let’s see…” Before Katie was able to continue, a searing pain stole her breath. Her body bucked, and she turned her head to see what implement of hell had assaulted her vulnerable backside. What she saw made her mouth drop open in surprise. Hovering over her bottom, waiting to strike again, was a plastic hanger. Never before had she been spanked with something thin and whippy. As a Little, she did not require high amounts of pain to get the point across. She had felt paddles, spoons, even a belt once, but nothing left her bottom feeling like this, and after one stroke. Panic bubbled from her brain, down her spine, and out to her extremities, causing her to flip off Rose’s lap. She landed with a thud, driving the wind from her lungs. The pain didn’t even register as she rolled onto her belly and got her feet under her, but before she took a step, her arms were seized, and she was pulled into a hard chest.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you are going?” Keith’s voice was calm and quiet.
Katie squirmed and fought to no avail. “Uncle, tell her she can’t beat me with that thing! It hurts. She is going to kill me!”
Keith chuckled. “You are overreacting. Take a breath and relax. We are not done here.”
“We are! I’m not submitting to that thing! I’m not!” Katie’s breathing became erratic.
Turning her to face him, Keith bent eye to eye with her. “Listen to my words, young lady. I want you to breathe with me. Right now.” He took a deep breath, and she attempted to mimic it. Her heart banged around like a marble in a pinball machine, but she did her level best and, after a couple of minutes, regained control.
“Good girl.” Keith kissed her forehead and turned her back to face a concerned Rose.
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. Come here, please.” Rose stood and spread her arms. Katie’s feet moved across the carpet of their own accord, and she found herself in a comforting embrace.
Rose spoke low. “I used the hanger to get your attention. I know you are tired and stressed out and a quick, sharp lesson would be easier than anything long and drawn out, but I never meant to scare you.” Rose’s hand made slow, soothing circles on Katie’s back.
“I know, Auntie, but that hurt. I don’t want it.”
Rose chuckled. “It’s a spanking, baby. It’s supposed to hurt. This whole scene has taken a turn I did not anticipate and I’m at a loss as to where to go.”
“I know what you are trying to do, Rose, and I appreciate you both, but can we call this one a loss and eat dinner so I can go to bed?” Katie slid out of Little mode and gave them both a serious look.
Rose deferred to Keith, and he nodded. “We can, but we are having a discussion at dinner, deal?”
“Deal, thank you.” Katie slipped on some sweatpants and followed the two to the kitchen. Passing Noah’s bassinet, she smiled down at his angelic, sleeping face. “How do you do that, Rose?”
“He can read your stress, honey. You have been doing the work of two people, trying to take care of him on your own. Keith and I are here. We want to help, so why don’t you let us? You need a day off—”
“Jeff and I had lunch together the other day, he’s waiting for you to call him.” Keith placed the food on the table.
“I don’t need a matchmaker, Keith. I’m not ready for a relationship.” Katie tried to mask her tiny gasp with her words, but her heated cheeks would tell her family the truth. She didn’t miss the dirty look Rose shot in his direction.
“Who said anything about a relationship? He’s a good dude. Why can’t you be his friend?” Keith ignored the annoyed women and forged on.
“If you like him so much, you date him,” Katie mumbled as she spooned the casserole onto her plate, wondering how Rose had put it together in such a short amount of time.
“We have gotten to know each other. I like him, and I think you would, too, if you gave him a chance.”
Katie set down her fork and leveled a glare at him. “Listen to my words. No. Date.”
Keith shrugged. “I’m just throwing my thoughts out. No need to get so upset.”
Katie rolled her eyes and took a bite of dinner. The food warmed her from the inside out.
“As I was saying,” Rose interceded, “you need a day away. Or at least a few hours. Why don’t you go to the salon then see a movie or something? You have to have enough milk pumped. I would be thrilled to watch the little man for the day.”
Katie looked again at the sleeping bundle as she considered. She had not been to the salon since Mark died, but her hair could use Cherie’s special touch. “I will make an appointment tomorrow.”
“Good, now, if Noah is not awake by the time we finish eating, you can pump and go to bed. I’m on duty tonight.” Rose’s determined expression dared her to argue.
Too tired to argue, she found the idea of a night of uninterrupted sleep too good to pass up. And with her stress level and emotions skyrocketing, if she stayed up, she’d end up in more trouble. She wasn’t foolish enough to think she’d be able to escape it a second time.
“Thank you, guys. You’re right. I could use the rest.”
Katie sat up in bed and stretched. The moon loomed in the early morning sky; it was way too early to get out of bed. Snuggling back into her warm haven, she flipped on the television. The news anchors had nothing but bad news to deliver, so she settled on Disney. Rose had commanded her not to come out of her room before eight o’clock, barring an emergency, and Keith had cemented the edict with a firm look. It felt good to stay in bed and not worry about anything. With Noah in capable hands, her only concerns were the growing discomfort in her chest and the hunger pains in her stomach. Locating her breast pump, she realized the shields and bottles were in the kitchen. She could kill two birds with one stone. Padding out of her room, she decided on pancakes and bacon. A slight hesitation stopped her search for the necessary ingredients. Dinner the night before had been an utter disaster. Maybe she should have a bowl of cereal? She started the coffee, pumped a quick bottle for Noah, and deemed her craving for a hot breakfast more important than her fear of charred pancakes. Batter blended and bacon sizzling, it didn’t take long for the rest of the family to join her in the kitchen. They appeared less than pleased.
Pointing the spatula at the couple, Katie spoke with determination. “Before you start in on me about not being obedient, this breakfast is selfish. I had a craving.”
Keith grumbled on his way to the coffee pot, and Rose shook her head but said nothing more. Turning back to her pancakes, Katie smiled to herself. What a fabulous start to the weekend.
Noah started fussing as she placed the last pancake on the platter. “He has the best timing. It’s like he knows right when we are about to eat and decides he doesn’t want to be left out,” Katie grumbled.
“He had a bottle an hour ago. I’ll put him in the swing, and he should be fine. You eat.” Rose moved toward the baby, and Katie cringed as the familiar pangs of mom guilt twisted in her belly.
“I see that look, Katelyn”, Keith barked. “Rose wants to take care of the baby. It gives her joy. Sit down and eat.”
The words he spoke rang true. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
“Somebody needs more coffee to deal with life. Eat.” He filled cups for all three of them and delivered them to the table.
Katie dug into the sweet and salty combination of pancakes and bacon, planning to stuff herself to the brim.
“Did you make your appointment, baby?” Rose questioned.
Katie glanced at the clock. The receptionist would be at the salon by now, so the excuse of it being too early would not work. She shook her head and shoved a piece of bacon into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to talk.
“It’s Saturday, so they may be booked. You might want to call early.”
Katie nodde
d and kept eating.
Rose stopped a forkful of the food before it got to Katie’s mouth. “Hey, slow down and enjoy. What’s going on with you this morning?”
“Nothing. I’m just hungry.” She tugged her wrist away and took the halted bite.
“Your expression says you are avoiding something you need to express. Have you done something naughty?”
Keith laid down his fork and knife and folded his hands in front of him.
Panic bubbled in her belly. “What? No! I didn’t do anything! I’m nervous about going to the salon. The ladies like to chat, you know, and I don’t want to discuss certain stuff.”
A satisfied grin spread across Rose’s face. “I knew you hadn’t done anything wrong, but I got you talking at least.”
Rolling her eyes at the cheap trick, Katie huffed and stabbed a piece of pancake with her fork. “Not nice.”
“The girls at the salon all know what happened, and they will be sensitive to you. I promise.” Rose’s comforting tone settled Katie’s nerves, and she felt like her heart could beat freely once again. Rose chased her out of the kitchen as soon as she finished her last bite, to call the salon and get ready for her appointment. As expected, Cherie, the only stylist who could manage her unruly hair, moved her clientele for that morning around, announcing everyone would have to wait for her to catch up with her favorite redhead.
Katie hung up the phone, giggling and shaking her head before going in search of her baby boy. She found him burbling and playing on the lap of his uncle.
“Mind if I steal him for a bit?” she asked before scooping him into her arms and nuzzling his cheek.
“Of course not.” Keith closed the footrest to his recliner and stood with a groan. “I’m too young to be this old. What time is your appointment?”
“I need to leave in about an hour. I wanted to get some cuddles and feed him before I go.”
“Okay. You two have your moment. I’m going to surprise my wife in the shower,” he stated with a wink and departed.
Katie rolled her eyes. “Tell your uncle Keith we don’t need his TMI, would you, Noah?”
“Woo-woo, look what the cat dragged in. Girl, you better not have let anyone else cut this beautiful hair.” Cherie welcomed Katie with a strong embrace. “We have missed you. Rosie brought in pictures of your sweet angel. Woman, you don’t even look like you had a baby. You’re lucky I’m so nice, or I would hate your ass right now. After I had my Max, I looked pregnant for the entire first year of his life.” She chattered on and on, and Katie found herself comforted by the fast-lipped stylist. Cherie took her back to the shampoo bowls and soaked her hair in blissfully hot water, spending a long time massaging the soap deep into Katie’s scalp.
“What’s kept you away, girl?”
She shrugged. “No reason in particular. I have just been busy.”
“You should never get too busy to take care of yourself. Your butt should be in my chair every six weeks, you hear what I’m saying?” Cherie raised an eyebrow, and Katie swore she saw “Domme” written all over her expression.
“Yes, ma’am.” She giggled.
“Ma’am, huh? I could get used to that.” With a wink, she went about finishing up Katie’s wash.
“I think I want something totally different.” Katie looked at her long red hair in the mirror. “I don’t have time to deal with this anymore. How about we cut it all off?”
Cherie gripped her chest in horror. “You want to…you want to…dear Jesus take me now. Cut it all off? Girl, are you trying to send me to an early grave? No, just no. You want different, I got you, but you want to ‘cut it all off,’ and there’s the door.”
Katie’s eyes opened wide in the mirror. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Serious as Sunday fried chicken.”
“Okay, okay, geez. I trust you. Just make it easy to deal with, please.”
“You got it. Now, hush and let me work.”
“Fine.” Katie used her fingers to “zip her lips.” Crossing her arms across her chest, she gave a smug look to her longtime friend.
Cherie spun her chair around, leaving Katie face-to-face with her generous chest, planted her hands on her hips, and leveled a glare. Waving one hand in the air, she commanded, “Oh no you don’t. That’s not what I meant, and you damn well know it. Unzip those lips and start flappin’. What have you been doing with yourself?”
Katie giggled as she went through the motion of unzipping her lips. “Well then, what do you wanna know?”
Cherie grinned and spun her back to face the mirror. “Everything.”
Having expected nothing less, Katie nodded and relayed almost all of the past eleven months, leaving out anything embarrassing, of course. When she got to the subject of Jeff, Cherie’s eyes lit up, and she leaned in close, hanging on every word.
“Oh girl, please tell me you are going to call this man. And if you aren’t, give me his damn number so I can.” Cherie teased as her scissors moved as quickly as her lips.
“Cher, you’re married,” a girl from across the room threw in.
“Yeah, so? I got sisters who could use a man to dote all over them. He brought the baby a damn dinosaur. That alone should earn him a booty grab.”
Katie couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard. By the time she walked to her car with the fancy new hairdo she would never be able to replicate, her cheeks hurt from smiling, and her stomach muscles ached from the laughter. She felt like a new woman. Sitting in her car, she stared at her cell phone, thinking about all of the things Cherie had said about Jeff. The loud, opinionated woman was right. What exactly was she waiting for? Nothing would bring Mark back. He had told her himself he wanted her to move on and be happy. Her thumb hovered over Jeff’s number.
Jeff’s cell vibrated against his wooden coffee table. Without taking his attention off the video game he was engaged in, he picked up the device.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jeff?” The voice on the line shook.
“This is he.” Pulling the phone from his ear, he looked at the caller’s name, and sprang to his feet in surprise as the name registered. “Katelyn, hi! Hold on a second.” He covered the mouthpiece with his palm while he addressed his teenage nephew. “Nate, pause the game. I need to take this call.”
“Oh, come on, Uncle J!”
“Pause it, I said,” he ground through clenched teeth, uncovering the phone and turning his attention back to Katie. “Sorry about that. My nephew is here. Hi, how are you?”
“If I’m interrupting, I can call back.” Her voice held the perfect combination of seductive and sweet. He could listen to it all day.
“No, it’s fine. We were just playing a video game. He’s taking advantage of the fact I live so close now.” Nerves on edge, he paced his kitchen like a caged lion. He hadn’t expected her to call after only a couple of weeks and found it unnerving how little control he had on his pounding heart.
“That must be great for him. So, you moved?”
Confused with the idle chitchat, he was more than happy to keep her talking. “Yeah, I accepted my old position back, in order to be close to my family again. It’s been pretty amazing for all of us.” The fact the move brought him closer to Katelyn had not escaped his notice, but he left that part out. He didn’t want to scare her off.
“I’m so happy for you. I will let you go, so you can spend time with him.” The soft lilt of her voice expressed her pure sincerity mixed with a bit of sadness.
“Katelyn, there’s no need. He’s fine entertaining himself. You called for a reason, and I would like to hear it.”
“Oh, all right, well I called to see if maybe you wanted to meet for coffee, or maybe go see a movie with me? Keith and Rose have Noah and I’m supposed to take time for myself, but I don’t want to go to the movies alone. So, I thought maybe you might want to come out with me?” Her words were fast and melded together, but when she finished rambling, his heart rate spiked again. She wanted to see hi
m today, and nothing would keep him from accepting the unexpected invitation.
He forced a deep breath before answering. What about this woman had him so tied up in knots over a simple phone call and an afternoon movie date? “Sure, sounds fun. What time?”
“Well, I’m kind of in front of the coffee shop right now. I know it’s last minute, so if you can’t…”
“Katelyn, listen to me,” he demanded. “I would love to spend some time with you today. I want you to hang up and text me the address. I can be out my door in five minutes.”
“Yes, S-s, umm, okay. I will.” She tripped over her words in an endearing way, making him want to hold her close and reassure her.
“Good girl. I will see you soon.” He waited for her to hang up before pumping his fist in the air and leaving the kitchen. “Okay, bud. I’m kicking you out. I have a date.”
Nate didn’t even take his eyes off the screen. “Is she hot?”
“Very. Let’s go.” He wrapped his arm around the boy’s neck, putting him in a headlock, as his phone buzzed with the address.
“I’ve never seen that goofy grin, Uncle J. Who is this chick?” Nate teased when they got in the truck.
“You don’t worry about it. And keep your mouth shut. Your mom and grandma do not need to hear about this until I am ready. Got me?”
“Yeah, yeah. I won’t say anything, but it’s gonna cost you.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he raised his eyebrows expectantly.
With a deep sigh, Jeff fished his wallet out of his back pocket and tossed it at the kid. “Is twenty enough to buy your silence?”
“I think that should do it.”
Turning the radio up, he squashed any more questions from the intuitive teenage boy. He’d been the same at his nephew’s age. Thoughts of the little redhead waiting for him at the coffee shop raced back into his head. He knew she was a handful. The few times he had interacted with her told him as much.
What a wonder she had called him. Two weeks prior, she had told him she wasn’t ready to date. While not surprised, he’d made his feelings known and had planned to back off for a while. He knew firsthand how much losing a spouse could hurt. His ex-wife wasn’t dead, but she’d up and left him after being impregnated by another man two years before. It still tore him apart to wonder what he could have done wrong. He came home from work one day to find her and her things missing. She disappeared without a word for two weeks before deeming him worthy of a halfhearted email explanation. Her cruelly worded message informed him she’d never loved him and only married him because he fed her masochism. Unable to deal with the heartache, he’d sold their home, left the club he had frequented, and requested a transfer a couple of hours away. He’d needed a fresh start, and anonymity offered the best way to achieve that. Meeting Katelyn at the ball had been a total surprise. No one had sparked his interest the way she had. From the moment he saw her, he wanted to get to know her. The pregnant belly had been a stab in the gut, but finding out her husband had been killed in the line of duty made him want to swoop in and protect her. No one should have to raise a baby alone. Especially after dealing with such an overwhelming loss.
