She was crying her eyes out and didn't even realize the spanking had stopped. Dalton was rubbing her back and it felt wonderful. His hand on her bare bottom hurt, but it was still, and somehow it felt right. She allowed herself to catch her breath, and once she had, she felt herself being lifted. The big strong arms helped her gently onto his lap, and one hand guided her head to his chest and shoulder. The other arm was around her, holding her tight against him.
She felt like she was in a daze of some sort. Things were moving in slow motion, and she was having trouble comprehending what all was happening. The only thing she knew for sure was that Dalton's arms were around her and he was whispering in her ear. She had no idea what he was telling her, but it didn't matter. It was his voice, and his tone was encouraging. His arms around her held her tight, and although she wasn't completely sure of what all was going on around her, it didn't matter. She'd been focused on Dalton, and all she felt right now was his love. She felt safe, and more content than she'd ever felt in her life. She snuggled into his arms and rested, knowing he'd keep her safe.
Dalton looked down at the lovely little vixen in his lap. He'd given her a sound spanking, but she'd taken it surprisingly well. In fact, he was almost sure she had come to the place where she could accept the spanking, no longer fighting it. That was the first time she'd done that. He hoped that was in fact the case, because getting to the place where she could admit she deserved it and accepting it would help her forgive herself. She was also much less likely to do it again.
He held her tight and talked softly to her. When she snuggled into his chest a little closer, he smiled. He held her a little tighter, not willing to loosen his hold on her. He'd be happy to keep her right here all night, where he knew she was safe.
Remembering they agreed to meet in roughly half an hour, he asked, "Are you okay now, honey?"
Lilly heard his question, but she wasn't ready to talk yet. She wanted to stay in the safe cocoon of his arms. Speaking somehow seemed like it would end the safe daze she found herself in, so she simply nodded her head.
He chuckled and kissed her forehead, somehow sensing she needed more time. He held her, giving her that time. After another five minutes, he tried again. "Honey, as much as I'd like to just hold you here all night, we need to either go back downstairs pretty soon or call Brian. Which do you want me to do?"
The mention of Brian brought her out of her safety-filled daze. "Oh, that's right. Brian and Daphne are here, too."
Dalton chuckled. "Yes, they are. Are you okay, ready to go back downstairs?"
"I'm okay, but I don't want to go downstairs yet."
"Why not?"
"I'm not ready to face them yet. I'll be embarrassed. They know what you did." She snuggled in against his arms and added, "And I like it here, with your arms around me."
"I like that, too," he assured her, "but I can hold you just like this again downstairs. And you don't need to be embarrassed. Brian and I both know the two of you made a mistake, but we understand why. Honey, we know it's been hard for you. You've had to give up your painting temporarily, and your freedom to come and go as you please has been taken away. It would be hard on anybody. But you and Daphne have now paid for that mistake and have been forgiven. We love you two and we're proud of you. There's no reason to be embarrassed."
"That's easy for you to say," she said. "You're not the one whose butt is so sore it hurts to sit on your lap. Please don't make me sit on a hard chair. I couldn't do it and I'd be so embarrassed."
Hugging her again, he said, "Honey, I just said I don't want you to feel embarrassed. There's no reason for me to do something like that. You've been punished and it's over. End of story. You can sit on the soft couch, or if you like it here on my lap, you can sit on my lap again down there." He held her another few moments. "So are you ready to go down, or should I call Brian and tell him we need a few more minutes?"
"No, I guess I'm ready."
***
Brian led Daphne into his office and sat down on the couch. He pulled her in front of him and unfastened her dress pants and pulled them down to her knees. He followed that by pulling her panties down to join her pants at her knees. He helped her over his lap and laid his hand on her bare bottom. "Okay, Daphne, why don't you tell me why you're in this position, about to get your fanny spanked?"
"I'm sorry, Brian. I wasn't thinking. I thought it would be okay for us to go out and look at Valerie's car. Lilly's been looking at cars and was considering a Jetta, so when Valerie asked us to go look at it, we did. I wasn't thinking."
"No, Daphne, you weren't, because I know you know better than to ignore the rules your brother and I put in place for your safety. What happened? It's not like you to ignore our rules. I can understand Lilly not following them precisely because she's new at this. My understanding from Dalton is that her mother pretty much let her raise herself; doing what she wanted to do. So I can understand her having trouble with the rules. But you know better. You've been raised with rules, and you know we don't give you rules just to make your life difficult. Why do you have rules, Daphne?"
She looked down at the floor, but whispered, "To keep me safe."
"A little louder, Daphne. Why do you have rules?"
"To keep me safe."
"And what am I doing when I give you a rule I want you to follow?"
"Trying to keep me safe."
"Of all the rules your parents or your brother or I have given you over the years, how many of them have been frivolous, with no good reason behind them?"
"None of them."
"So why did you decide this one was frivolous and not important?"
Daphne started crying at his words. "I'm sorry, Brian. I never thought of it that way. I just thought we would probably be safe for a couple of minutes."
"Dalton and I were devastated when we couldn't find you two. Since you apparently couldn't think of anything that could have happened, let me mention a few things that entered our minds during that time when we couldn't find you."
Tears were flowing freely down Daphne's cheeks as he started the spanking. After eight or ten smacks he started telling her what they'd thought. "We went outside and looked all around, thinking surely you wouldn't go far. When we couldn't find you, we started back inside when we saw Valerie's empty parking spot. We had to wonder if whoever we're dealing with forced all three of you into her car and kidnapped you."
"Oww! Brian, I'm sorry!"
He kept spanking as he continued his talk. "I don't think I need to tell you what all could have happened if he had kidnapped you. Even if we could get to you, the thought of you and Lilly going through such a traumatic event was beyond anything we wanted to even think about."
Daphne felt like her bottom was on fire. She felt bad already, she knew they'd made a mistake. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more he said, "Daphne, have I made my point clear about following the rules so we can keep you and Lilly safe?"
"Yes! Yes, Brian, I promise!"
"Good." Daphne tried to sit up, but Brian held her where she was. "I think I've made that point, but there's something else I feel we need to talk about."
Daphne couldn't stop the tears. She was already extremely sore, but she knew by his voice that he was serious, and she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. But what was worse, she had a feeling she knew what it was he wanted to talk about, and he had a valid point.
Brian patted her bare, red, sore-looking bottom. "Daphne, can you tell me what else we need to talk about?"
In between her sobs she said, "I should have been a good example for Lilly. I should have been the one to step up and say no, we can't go outside unless we get one or both of you to go with us."
"If you know what you did wrong, why did you do it? I'm surprised at you, Daphne. You're usually much better at following rules to keep you safe. And you of all people should know how hard it must be for Lilly. This whole thing is new to her. I would think you would want to not only be a good example for h
er, but encourage her to begin making the hard decisions."
By the tears and the way she wasn't meeting his eyes, he knew she knew exactly what he was saying, but he had to make sure she remembered it, and knew he was still watching her. "Daphne, go get your paddle."
"Please, Brian, no. I'm so sore, I can't take that. I know I need to be a better example to her, and I promise I will."
"Daphne, if I have to tell you again I'll be adding five more on, and I don't think you want that. Now go."
Still crying, Daphne knew Brian meant every word of what he'd just said. She stood and went to his desk. Pulling the bottom drawer open, she took out the leather paddle. Her hands shook as she carried it back to Brian. She hated that paddle, and he knew it. He only used it when he felt a real need to teach her a lesson. And when he used it, she definitely learned the lesson. He had yet to use it on her twice for the same thing.
She stood in front of Brian holding the paddle, trembling. He hated using the paddle on her as much as she hated it, but he had to step up and be the man she needed. That didn't mean he had to draw it out for either of them, though. He took the paddle and helped her back over his lap.
"Do I need to say anything else about this, Daphne?"
Tears streaming down her cheeks, she said, "No, sir. Lilly's my best friend, but I wasn't much of a friend to her today."
He nodded. "I know you can be a better example for her to follow, sweetheart, and I know you will be. Keep your hands in front of you and I'll stop at five. If I see your hands back here where they don't belong, you'll get extras." He didn't waste any more time, but gave her the first whack.
"Owww, ow, ow, ow." She clenched her fists, but kept them in front of her. When he gave her the second whack she cried louder and jumped, but her hands stayed in front of her. After the third one she again yelled, and tried to squirm off his lap, but kept her hands in front of her.
Tears were streaming down her face, and Brian felt sorry for her. He said, "Get ready, and keep your hands in front of you." He quickly gave her two solid whacks, one immediately after the next, with no time to react in between. Just as quickly, he had her in his arms, on his lap, assuring her it was over and she was okay.
As sore as she was, she knew the love she felt in Brian's arms was real. She snuggled in against him, crying. She didn't even try to stop, knowing she'd feel better after she got it all out. And she knew he'd hold her until the tears were gone and she was back to herself again. It was such a good feeling to know she could count on him.
Ten minutes later, with his arms still around her, he asked, "Feel better, sweetheart?"
"I do. All except my butt. I won't be able to sit on our hard dining room chairs anytime soon."
"I bet you will," he said with a chuckle.
"Okay, let me clarify that statement. I won't be able to sit comfortably on our dining room chairs anytime soon."
"That statement I can believe, since you added the comfortably. But I know you can sit there. In fact, you'll sit there for breakfast tomorrow."
"I know," she said sadly.
"Are you ready to go downstairs now? Your brother and Lilly may already be there."
She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "I guess so," she said. "I'll have to face them sooner or later. Let's get it over with."
"That's my girl," he said, helping her to her feet.
He held her hand as they walked out to the living room. Dalton was sitting on the couch, helping Lilly onto his lap. She winced, but sat down and leaned against him. "Are you okay, honey?"
"I guess. Thank you," she said as he pulled her closer with his arms. She snuggled in against him. "I can't believe they aren't out here yet. I hope she's okay."
"Brian loves her, honey. He wouldn't hurt her any more than I'd hurt you."
"I wonder if her butt hurts as much as mine does right now then," she said as she looked at him with a little smile.
"I'd say at least as much," Brian said as he sat down in a big chair across from them. He held out his hand for Daphne, who took it and sat gingerly on his lap.
She hissed and said, "I'd say probably more." At Brian's look she said, "But I deserved it. Lilly, I'm really sorry. I wasn't much of a friend today. I've had a lot more practice at following rules than you have, and I should have been a better example."
"Thank you, but it's not like I didn't know I was ignoring a rule. I wanted to see Valerie's car and I thought we'd be safe for just a few minutes. I knew we were told not to go out without them."
Dalton had to smile. "Now that we've established that you both knew better, are you going to remember it for awhile and let us keep you safe?"
Both men had to chuckle when the girls both said a definitive yes at the same time.
"Good," Dalton said. "Now, it's over and done with and we don't need to dwell on it any more. I'm a little disappointed that we haven't heard from Sheriff Sloan yet."
Brian agreed. "I was hoping our mischief maker would try breaking in again by now and this would have all been over with."
"A couple hours ago would have been nice," Lilly said, subconsciously reaching back to rub her sore bottom.
Dalton gently pulled her hands back in front of her with a quiet reminder, "No rubbing," while all four of them chuckled.
Daphne looked at her watch. "How long should we give the sheriff? It seems like if someone were going to break in they would have done it by now."
"I was thinking the same thing," Brian said. "Maybe we'll have to try again next Saturday night."
"I don't want to have to go another week stuck in the house," Lilly complained. She looked at Dalton and quickly added, "I will, of course, if I have to, but—"
He smiled and nodded his head. "I know, honey. I also hope we don't have to wait another whole week."
"I tried painting from some of my photographs, but it's just not working," Lilly said. "I'll just have to wait until I can go outside again."
"I imagine trying to work off photos reminds you that you're stuck inside, and that would make it hard to concentrate," Brian said.
"Yeah, I think that's a lot of the problem," Lilly agreed.
"Well, maybe something will happen this week to give us a good solid clue," Dalton said.
***
As it turned out, something did happen that week. Wednesday, Sheriff Sloan came out to talk to Dalton. He had Deputy Sherman with him. "We may have had a development in the case," he said.
Dalton looked confused. "May have?"
"Well, there was a break in last night, and I think it may be related to the problems here at the ranch."
Lilly was with Dalton, and anxiously asked, "Who was broken into?"
"The gallery." Dalton and Lilly were quiet for several moments. The sheriff tried to explain. "Lilly, didn't you say they had a show of some of your paintings?"
"Yes."
Dalton ran his hand through his hair as he paced in the living room. "The show was maybe a week before these things started happening. Time-wise I can certainly see questioning it, but how do you think they could be related? What could they be looking for, or why would they break into both places?"
"I don't know," Sheriff Sloan admitted. "I'm not sure they are related, but it seems quite a coincidence if they're not. I came over here hoping maybe we could sit down and talk. Sometimes if you put three or four heads together, someone will catch something someone says. I'll be honest; we don't have much at all to go on here. If we don't come up with any connection, we aren't out anything."
"That's true," Dalton said. "I'm willing to try."
"Me, too," Lilly said. "Where do we start?"
"Let's just sit down and talk. Tell me about your paintings and where all you've sold them, if you've had other shows. I admittedly don't know much about art or art shows, so why don't you educate me a little bit?"
"Okay. Dalton, why don't you take them into the living room and I'll bring us some coffee."
"Oh, I've already got the coffee on," Stella sa
id. "You go on in with them. I'll bring the coffee in when it's ready."
"Thank you, Stella," Dalton said as he motioned them all into the living room.
They sat down and Lilly started right in. "My paintings are mostly of scenery. I've had a few shows before, all at a gallery in South Carolina."
"Could I get the name of the gallery in South Carolina? You don't happen to know if they've had any break ins, do you?"
"Not that I know of," Lilly said. "I'll get you the name and address and phone number. I have a card upstairs."
"Okay, thank you. When you have a show, I take it you have your paintings out on display. Are they for sale?"
"Kind of. How all my shows have been, anyway, the gallery puts them on display. People that come to the show can tell the gallery curator if they're interested in purchasing a print and/or if they'd like to buy the original."
"A print?"
"If you have several people interested in a print, that's a good show. The curator has professional prints made of the painting, and often times the artist will sign the prints. If someone is interested in purchasing the original, the curator gets an idea of a price range they'd be willing to pay and passes the information on to the artist. If the painting is for sale, the artist may call the prospective buyer personally and negotiate a price, or sometimes the artist would prefer the curator handle the negotiations, knowing the minimum the artist would take for it."
"Can I ask, was the local art show what you would consider successful?"
"Very much. I sold numerous prints, and I had three or four offers to buy original paintings. For a first show in this area, I was very happy with it."
"Congratulations," the sheriff said. "Have you sold any of your originals from that show?"
"Not yet, no."
A Beautiful Ranch Page 22
