A Beautiful Ranch

by Malone, Misty

  "Dalton, I thought the reason you wanted me within sight of the house was so I wouldn't get lost. Daphne and I used to go down to the pond to swim often, so I know how to get back here from anywhere around the pond. And I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was supper time already. I was lost in thought."

  Her response brought all Dalton's thoughts to a stop. When he realized Lilly wasn't seeing Clay and that he was free to ask her out, he was ecstatic. But when he went to do just that, and found her missing, his protective nature came to life. He was worried. He'd just realized he was free to start a relationship with her, and now she was missing! The thought that something could happen to her scared him. Looking back on it now, he could easily admit that fear played a big part in his reaction to her not being there. But still, for their relationship to work, she had to know that he would be the head of whatever relationship they had, and she had to take his rules seriously. He had to know she was safe.

  Maybe he needed to just come right out and explain all that to her. "Okay, let's talk about what you just said. First, I know you said you were thinking about a problem you have. We'll talk about that problem in a few minutes and see if we can find a solution. In the meantime, I understand you were thinking about it and didn't realize what time it was, but that can't happen out here. You need to be more careful and watch the time. As long as you're my guest here, I feel responsible for you. That's the reason I want you here at supper time. I want to make sure you're safe. That's also the reason I made the other rules, especially about staying within sight of the house. It's true that as long as you can see the house from where you are you won't get lost, but it also works the other way for me. As long as you're within sight of the house, I can look out and find you and see for myself that you're safe and doing well. That's important to me, Lilly."

  Lilly sighed. "I appreciate that, Dalton, I really do. I've gotten to know you better over the last few weeks, and I know you care about not only your sister, but me while I'm staying here, and your men. I see that, and I admire that. But I'm not a child. I'm not used to having to follow rules in my every day life, especially when it comes to things like where I can go and when. I tried. I just didn't realize it was time for supper. I think you need to chill just a little. I just lost track of time today."

  Dalton was getting frustrated. She didn't seem to be getting it at all. And when she told him to chill, it brought back memories of the spoiled little girl years ago who'd climbed down the tree after he told her not to. He had to make her understand that he would not put up with that blatant disregard for his rules. He thought back to Clay's words, warning him not to scare her off. He didn't want to do that, but he also couldn't let her keep thinking she could do as she pleased.

  "This ranch is a big place, Lilly, and it's too easy to get lost. There are lots of ways on this ranch a person can get hurt, especially someone that's not used to it and the dangers of it. You think I need to chill, but I feel you need to take safety more seriously. I think—"

  "Nope, it's not me; it's you. You definitely need to chill. I'm not going to get hurt. I'm not a child, I won't do stupid things. You need to realize I've grown up and am an adult now."

  Without thinking about what he was doing, he followed his instincts and pulled her over his knees. He gave her bottom five or six quick, solid swats as he said, "Then it's time you start acting like an adult, Lilly."

  "Owww! Dalton, stop!"

  She squirmed, determined to get off his knees and stand up, but his hold on her was much too strong. He held her tight against him as he continued the spanking. "Lilly, settle down. I'll stop when I feel you've heard what I'm trying to tell you."

  "I heard you. You think I'm a kid and I'm going to get hurt or lost."

  He gave her at least a dozen smacks, harder and faster than before. "Is that what I said, young lady?"

  She yelped all through those stronger swats. When he finished, she was angry, and tried again to get up. "Let me up, Dalton. This isn't funny. It hurts!"

  "I agree, it's not funny, Lillian Yvette Jamison, and it's meant to hurt. Now, I'm waiting on an answer, and if you know what's good for you, you'll answer me. Is that what I said; that I think you're a kid who's going to get hurt or lost?"

  She struggled again, trying to pull herself free, but he had a good hold on her and she wasn't moving an inch. "Lillian?"

  She heard the warning in his voice and quickly said, "Okay. No, it's not what you said, but—"

  He cut her off with six more solid spanks. "But what?"

  "Dalton, please stop. It really hurts."

  "I'm not stopping until you understand what I've been trying to tell you, young lady. I'm trying to keep you safe. The rules I gave you are for that reason alone." He stopped the spanking and held his hand on her bottom, over her shorts.

  She was gasping for breath. He assumed she'd never been spanked before, and the concept of this much pain this quickly was new to her. It wouldn't last long, but she didn't know that. She was trying to catch her breath when he said, "Lilly, I care about you. I have to know where you are and that you're safe."

  Her butt hurt so badly all she could think about was the pain, and the anger she felt. "That's bullshit, Dalton. If you cared about me, you sure wouldn't be doing this!"

  The spanking started in again. It hurt so much she could hardly pay attention to what he was saying. "You little fool! I'm doing this because I care about you. I care too much about you to allow you to ignore my rules. I also care too much about you to allow you to use that kind of language without letting you know what I think about it." He gave her six more swats before gently pulling her up to sit on his lap. His arms were quickly wrapped around her as she cried. "It's over now, Lilly. There are consequences for ignoring my safety rules and using that language, but you've now experienced those consequences, and it's over. I need to warn you, though, if you keep ignoring my rules and talking like that, Lillian Yvette Jamison, your next spanking will be on your bare bottom."

  Lilly was crying so hard his last words didn't even register. She was still thinking about what he said about consequences. That was another new concept to her, and it was taking a little time to sink in. He pulled her a little tighter to him and gently guided her head to lean against his chest.

  Her head felt like it was spinning. Try as she might, she couldn't control her crying. Her butt was on fire and she was embarrassed beyond words, but his arms around her, together with her head laying against his chest somehow made her feel safe. She was trying to figure out how she could possibly feel safe, when he put his mouth close to her ear and started talking softly. "Ssshhh, you're okay, Lilly. It's over now and you're forgiven. We're good again."

  She was still crying and didn't hear everything he said completely, and some of it didn't make sense to her, but it was like she was in a state of shock. She didn't care that she wasn't digesting everything he said. In fact, she wasn't digesting any of it. It was as if she were in a fog. All she knew was she was in pain, but his words and arms were very comforting. He held her and continued talking softly to her until she eventually calmed.

  However, as she calmed, she became more aware of her surroundings. It finally registered in her brain that he had spanked her, and she was now sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest. She was instantly embarrassed and jumped up from his lap and ran for the door.

  Her quick exit took Dalton totally by surprise, and she was out the door before he could catch her. He followed her up the steps, trying to calm her down. "Lilly, stop. What happened? Why won't you allow me to comfort you more?" She ran into her room and shut and quickly locked her door. He knocked and said, "Lilly, please let me in so we can talk. Your spanking was over and I was comforting you, which is the easy part, the fun part, when something must have happened. Please tell me what it is so we can talk about it. I want to help you."

  She was mortified, and there was no way she could look at him right now. "Go away. I don't want to see you right now."

  Dalt
on sighed. "Lilly, I'm not going to barge into your room, but I really wish you'd let me in so we can talk. I'd like to know what made you suddenly jump up and run away from me. Whatever's wrong, I'd like a chance to try and fix it."

  "Just go away!"

  "Okay, I'm going back downstairs, but think about my offer. If you decide you're willing to give me a chance to try to help you, come on back down, okay?"

  "Fine. Just please leave me alone."

  Dalton went back downstairs, confused as to what went wrong. This was the first time he'd spanked her, and since he knew her mother never would have spanked her while she was growing up, he left her shorts and panties on, and it was a fairly mild spanking. She seemed to be doing fine afterward, letting him hold and comfort her. So what made her suddenly jump up and run?

  As much as he hoped she'd calm back down and come talk to him, he wouldn't bet on that happening. After much consideration, he decided to give her tonight to come to grips with whatever had suddenly upset her, and he'd talk to her in the morning. If she was simply pouting, he'd put a stop to that.

  He would talk to her before she went out to paint. He wanted to talk not only about what happened to suddenly upset her tonight, but also about her problem. He'd promised they would talk about that. He also wanted to talk to her about going out. He was looking forward to starting a relationship with her, but he hadn't planned for it to start like this.

  He went to bed thinking about Lilly. He was hopeful, but also very confused and worried about what set her off this evening. Hopefully he'd get everything straightened out in the morning.

  ***

  The next day, Dalton hurried into the house after doing his morning chores, anxious to talk to Lilly. "Good morning, Stella," he said as he entered the kitchen. "Has Lilly been down yet?"

  Stella turned to look at Dalton with questioning eyes. "Not yet. Should she be?"

  "No, not really. I want to talk to her this morning and I wanted to be sure I haven't missed her."

  Her questioning eyes were back as she looked at him again. "Anything wrong?"

  "Not that I know of," he said, trying to quench her obvious curiosity. "I just want to talk to her before she goes out to paint this morning."

  During breakfast, he and Clay discussed what each man would be doing the rest of the day, as usual. After Clay left, Dalton checked his watch. Lilly was usually up earlier than this, and he was starting to wonder if she was planning to stay upstairs until after he'd left the house. If she was trying to avoid him, he wanted to know why. He hoped she wasn't pouting, because the one thing he wouldn't allow was pouting after a spanking.

  He went upstairs and knocked on her bedroom door, but got no answer. "Lilly, please open the door so we can talk." He waited a few minutes, but got no reply. "Lilly, answer me. I need to know you're okay, then we can talk about why you're hiding in your room."

  After a couple more minutes he knocked louder. "Lilly, open this door or answer me before I open the door and come in." When he still got no answer, he tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He opened the door and walked into an empty room.

  He wondered if he'd missed her. Perhaps she'd gone downstairs and slipped out the back door. He quickly walked across the hall to his room and went out onto the deck and looked out across his ranch in all directions, but saw no sign of Lilly or her easel. He went back to her room and opened her closet. It was empty. Checking quickly, he found the dressers empty, as well. He looked around, on the bed and the dressers, but there was no note.

  He sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. Just when he thought they could start a relationship, she left. He took out his phone and called her. She didn't answer, but he left an urgent message to call him. Next he called his sister.

  "Daphne, have you seen Lilly today?"

  "No, why? What's wrong, Dalton? I can tell something's not right."

  "She's gone."

  "What do you mean she's gone? She went out somewhere on the ranch to paint?"

  "No, I mean she's gone," Dalton said. "She took her clothes and left. It must have been last night during the night. She must have been quiet because when either of these doors are locked you have to turn the lock, and they're both loud. I generally hear anything like that, or a door opening."

  "Was a door unlocked this morning?"

  Dalton paused. "That's right. Both doors were still locked this morning, so how could she have gotten out? He thought a moment before saying, "Oh, Hell. Tell me she didn't."

  "Didn't what?"

  He got up and went across the hall to the room she'd been staying in. "She certainly did," Dalton said in a disbelieving tone. "I just happened to think, she was staying in your old room. I came over and looked, and the window's not fastened. She crawled out the window and down the tree. I can not believe she did that."

  "Big brother, I'd laugh if I knew where she was right now. What did you do to chase her off?"

  "I don't know. She got upset about something last night, but I'm not sure what."

  "What were you doing when you upset her?"

  "That's between Lilly and myself, Daphne."

  "Dalton!" Daphne was shocked. "What did you do?"

  "Calm down, Daphne. You know me. Do you honestly think I would do anything to hurt her?"

  "No, of course not," she admitted. "But I sure wish I knew what upset her."

  "So do I," Dalton agreed. "I had no idea she was that upset."

  "You usually pick up on people's feelings really well."

  He thought back over last evening and this morning. "Not this time. I didn't even know she'd left this morning. I went up to see why she hadn't come down for breakfast yet, and when she didn't answer when I knocked I went into the room and found everything of hers gone." He sighed. "Can you call her? She didn't answer when I called. If she's upset with me, that's one thing, but I need to know she's okay. I'll apologize if I upset her, but I have to know she's all right. "

  "Okay. I want to be sure she's okay, too."

  "Thank you. Call me right back."

  "I will. I know you're worried." She hung up and immediately dialed Lilly's number. She didn't get an answer, either, and left a similar message to Dalton's. She called her brother back with the bad news.

  "Do you have any idea where she could have gone? Any idea at all?"

  "I have no idea. I'm surprised she just left, with no note or anything. Wait a minute. How could she have gotten all her paintings down the tree?"

  "Yesterday she put all her paintings in her car. She was going to go to the UPS store today and have her paintings shipped back to the gallery she sells them through. She was anxious to see how they go; what kind of response they get."

  Daphne thought a few moments. "Do you know the name or number of the gallery?"

  "No. Do you?"

  "No, but we might be able to find it. I have her address. I know she said it's about an hour from her apartment. Let me work on that this morning. If I find anything out, I'll let you know."

  "Thanks. If you hear from her—"

  "I'll let you know," she assured him. After a moment she tentatively said, "Uh, Dalton?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Not to upset you or anything, but do you think maybe you should ask Clay if he's seen her or knows anything about where she is? They seem to be spending some time together."

  "I know they did, but there's nothing between them. Clay and I had a good talk. I'll check with him, though, just to be sure. Thanks for your help, Daphne."

  Dalton grabbed his hat from the kitchen and started out the door. "Dalton, what's wrong? You look like you just lost your best friend."

  He turned around to look at Stella. "Lilly's gone. Her clothes are gone. You don't know anything about where she could have gone, do you?"

  Dalton could tell by the look on Stella's face that she knew nothing about Lilly's disappearance. "Not a thing. She didn't leave a note or anything?"

  "Not that I've found," he answered.

&nbs
p; "That doesn't sound like her. She must have been awfully upset about something."

  "I wish I knew what. If you hear anything from her would you let me know, please?"

  "Of course I will."

  He went out and talked with Clay, who was surprised by her sudden departure, as well. Dalton tried working the entire day, though he got very little accomplished. He called her and left a new message at least hourly, and called Daphne several times, as well. Daphne found the gallery that sold her paintings, but they hadn't heard from Lilly in almost a week. They told her they'd tell her to call Daphne if they heard from her.

  By supper time, Dalton was about to go crazy with worry. Stella and Clay knew how upset he was when they watched him eat about six bites and push his plate away.

  ***

  The next several days went much like the first day Lilly was missing. Dalton spent more time on the phone, leaving messages for Lilly, begging her to let him know she was okay, or to Daphne, making sure she hadn't heard from her.

  The third day, he was going crazy with worry, and he still hadn't figured out what had upset her so badly. He assumed it had something to do with the spanking he'd given her, but he was confused. The spanking was over and he was holding her in his arms while she cried, and she seemed to be calming down. She was even leaning her head on his shoulder and appeared to be relaxing. He didn't think it could have been anything he said because all he said were things meant to comfort her. He told her to calm down, it was all over, and told her she was special to him, and told her how upset he'd be if something happened to her. He couldn't see how any of that should have upset her.

  He was so frustrated he had to do something, so he called a detective friend of his and hired him to try to find her.

  The next day, though, Daphne called. "Dalton, where are you? I need to talk to you."