by Sue Lyndon
“Well, here it is. Home sweet home.” A look of apprehension clouded his eyes for a moment, and Callie realized he was worried about what she would think of his home.
“It’s wonderful, Lawrence.” She reached for his hands, thinking it sweet of him to have fretted over how much she would like the cabin, especially after how much time she’d spent worrying over whether or not she would make a pleasing wife. She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Perhaps you should start the tour in the master bedroom.”
“Callie!” he admonished, though his tone was playful. “In the middle of the day? I ought to take you over my knee right here and spank your behind for suggesting such a scandalous thing.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and made to run away, but he snaked an arm around her waist and started guiding her toward the dining area, where there was a long table with several tall-backed chairs. Still keeping a hold on her, he grabbed one of the chairs and dragged it into the middle of the room.
“I know a little girl who’s about to get a very red and ouchy bottom.” He sat down on the chair and yanked her down across his lap.
“Lawrence! You let me up right now!”
“I don’t think so, wife.” He flipped the layers of her skirt and petticoats up, then landed a series of hard smacks to her bottom cheeks. “Little girls who stick their tongues out at their husbands deserve hard spankings on their bare little behinds.”
“No, don’t you dare!”
But he was already working open the ties to her drawers, and in the next moment his hand descended on her bare cheeks.
“Ouch!”
“Quiet down and take your punishment, Callie.” He increased the pace of his slaps, igniting a blaze of stinging heat across her bottom.
She squirmed and kicked her feet, but he held her easily in place as he delivered her chastisement. Despite all her protesting, she was enjoying herself immensely, and it wasn’t long before the heat in her core quickened and moisture trickled from her nether lips onto her inner thighs. Soon she ceased her struggles and started lifting her rear to meet each slap.
“Naughty, naughty little girl.” He stopped spanking and cupped her quim. “What’s all this, young lady?”
A wave of heated longing stole through her. She spread her legs wider as he moved his hand to explore her wetness. He trailed his fingers overtop her moist lips, then he parted her folds and thrust his digits deep into her core.
*
Callie had never looked more beautiful to Lawrence. Her bottom was red, and her quim was swollen and wet. Needy moans drifted up from her as he thrust his fingers in and out of her tight little quim. God, she was perfect. He stared down at her, not quite believing that this perfect woman had agreed to become his wife.
He withdrew from her center and turned her over on his lap, then spent several seconds gazing deep in her eyes. His. She now belonged to him. Lord, he had to be the luckiest man alive. She gave him a shy smile and wiggled her bottom against the hardness that strained to escape his trousers.
“All right, little lady. It’s time for you to go stand in the corner.”
Her pout was adorable, but he refused to let it sway him. He slipped her boots, drawers, and stockings off, and then led her into the master bedroom. After guiding her to the nearest corner, he gave her behind one last smack.
“I’m going to go unload the wagon. I expect you to stay right here, young lady. Keep holding your skirts and petticoats up so that red bottom of yours stays on display, and don’t you dare rub your cheeks. Trust me, Callie, you don’t want to find out what happens to little girls who rub their bottoms after a spanking.”
She stood in the corner obediently, holding her skirts up, and staring at him from over her shoulder. She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll be good.”
He quickly unpacked the wagon, wanting to get everything inside just in case the weather turned bad. Once he had everything inside, he returned to Callie and made love to her several times that day. The first time was hard and quick, with her bent over the bed as he thrust into her from behind, but the proceeding times were slower and sweeter.
In the early evening, they finally left the bedroom in search of food. Mildred Bentley had packed them a picnic with biscuits, cheese, and dried beef, and they spread a blanket out before the fire in the sitting room and enjoyed the simple but delicious meal.
During the next few days, Callie set about putting feminine touches all over the cabin. She sewed curtains from the fabric she’d brought along and hung them on the downstairs windows. Little doilies appeared on top of the various pieces of furniture around the house, and she even hung an embroidered tapestry in the dining room, a piece she claimed to have made years ago with her mammy in Virginia.
Though they spent a great deal of time in the bedroom, Lawrence couldn’t ignore the homestead and he still had plenty of chores awaiting him outside. He tended the horses, chopped firewood, and began constructing a storage building beside the woodshed, where he planned to store the mining equipment he’d ordered weeks ago that still hadn’t arrived at the mercantile.
Callie expressed an interest in learning to ride, so on some mornings he saddled Misty and gave Callie riding lessons, opting to teach her to ride astride the horse, rather than side saddle, since he thought the latter method wasn’t very practical. After a few lessons, she was able to trot Misty in circles around the house and handle the horse with confidence. A well worn path soon appeared around the cabin, and he wished there was a more open area on his land for her to ride, but there were too many trees and much of the land rested in areas too steep for her to safely ride.
One morning, Lawrence announced that he was leaving for a few hours to ride the perimeter of his claim and also to visit his nearest neighbor, Peter. Callie was most upset that he wouldn’t allow her to go with him, but after a stern look she quieted down and stopped arguing with him.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Be good, my sweet. I will return well before night falls.”
She looked worried. “Why must you ride the perimeter of your claim? That will take forever. Why don’t you just go visit Peter quickly and then come home?”
“Callie,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “Sometimes other miners try to encroach on land that doesn’t belong to them. I’m simply going to make sure all is well and that no one has set up a camp anywhere they shouldn’t have.”
Most of the color drained from her face. “But that sounds dangerous!”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “I assure you, all will be well. I’m not particularly worried, though it is a task I must complete from time to time.”
“You promise you’ll be back before dark?”
“I promise.”
Lawrence decided to visit Peter before he rode the perimeter of his claim. He found Peter well, with his mud cottage finally completed. To Lawrence’s surprise, the structure was larger than he’d expected. The men caught up with each other and Lawrence invited Peter to dinner the following night.
“Thank you for the invitation. I’ll be there.” Peter smiled. “I must say, I am surprised you took a wife. Looking forward to meeting the little lady though.”
“I’m sure she’ll enjoy meeting you. We haven’t had any guests yet.” Lawrence tried to ignore the worry that had built during the preceding days that Callie might grow restless living so far outside of a town. Life in the mountains suited him, but he was starting to have his doubts about keeping a wife and raising a family so far from Culpepper.
After Lawrence bid goodbye to Peter and rode away from the mud cottage, an image of the parsonage that stood empty next to the church in Culpepper flashed in his mind. At first, he didn’t understand why he’d thought of the parsonage, but as he rode to the outskirts of his claim, he found himself thinking of more than living in the house that had been intended for the town pastor.
He found himself thinking of what it would be like to minister to the residents of Culpeppe
r. And for the first time, his thoughts on the matter weren’t negative. He’d always refused the mayor when he asked Lawrence to start holding church services, but as time went on, Lawrence realized he’d been refusing out of habit. Part of him wanted to take up preaching again. The people of Culpepper certainly had a need. What if ministering to the people in Culpepper was his calling but he hadn’t realized it yet?
But no. He’d promised Callie he wouldn’t become the pastor in Culpepper. Part of the reason she’d been hesitant to marry him was because she worried her status as a gem would hold him back from becoming the town preacher, should he decide to follow that path. How would she react if she knew he was thinking of it now?
He loved the cabin and he would never give it up, but he didn’t like the idea of raising a family so far away from town. What if one of their children needed a doctor? And before that, what about when Callie gave birth? She wasn’t with child yet, that he knew of, but he had faith that they would have many children. He felt it in his soul. What if she went into labor and he didn’t have time to fetch a midwife or the doctor?
These thoughts plagued him as he guided Abraham around the outside of his claim. After he’d struck it rich, he’d had to chase a few trespassers off his land. At least today he saw no sign of anyone camping or mining on his land. Hours later, once he finished making his rounds, he headed back for his cabin, anticipating his reunion with Callie. Since they had become man and wife, he hadn’t been away from her for so long. He missed her and couldn’t wait to spend the night holding her and loving her.
But when Lawrence entered the stable with Abraham, he found Misty missing from her stall. Had he forgotten to close the door all the way? He tethered Abraham to a post quickly and then hurried into the cabin, a sense of foreboding darkening around him.
“Callie! Callie!”
He found the cabin just as empty as Misty’s stall. There was no sign of Callie. Normally at this time of day she was busy preparing dinner, but the kitchen looked untouched. The dining room table wasn’t set either. He rushed from room to room, and he even ventured into the loft to make sure she wasn’t there.
“Callie!” He ran outside and screamed her name. He checked the outhouse and the woodshed, but both buildings were empty too.
He mounted Abraham and set off to find his wife. When he discovered Misty trotting up a nearby path on the mountain, saddled as if to indicate Callie had been riding her recently, Lawrence’s dread increased a hundredfold. Had she fallen off her horse? Was she lying on the ground hurt somewhere?
Oh, God. Please let me find her. Please God, let Callie be all right.
Chapter Ten
She had been so stupid. Callie huddled against a tree and listened for any sign of Misty. She’d gotten off the horse to try guiding it over a fallen log in the path, only for a noise to spook Misty. She’d run off through the woods, and now Callie wondered how she would ever make it back to the cabin. Her feet ached from walking so far, and she was sure every odd sound that came from the forest was a huge, hungry predator.
Darkness was already starting to fall. Lawrence had probably returned home, only to find her missing. Her heart ached, knowing she had probably caused him a great deal of worry. She’d disobeyed him too, but she would gladly accept whatever punishment she’d earned if only she could be back in her husband’s arms and in the cabin next to the warm fire.
She sniffled and set out walking through the woods. She hoped she was going in the right direction. If she took the path down to the fork in the road though, it would take far too long to reach the cabin. She prayed this short cut would work out and that she didn’t end up completely lost.
She’d been so certain that if she reached the fork in the path that twisted up the mountain from Culpepper she would be able to easily find the place Matthew was buried. But no matter how long she traveled up that particular road, she hadn’t come upon the shack she’d once called home. Just as she’d begun to fear she wasn’t even on the correct road, Misty had bolted off.
The short cut she was taking through the woods suddenly felt like the worst idea. She couldn’t imagine being stuck in the forest at night. It would be pitch dark.
What if she ran into a dangerous animal? What if she stepped on a snake? Matthew had always cautioned her to be careful about where she was walking, lest she run into a rattler. Yet he’d been the one to end up bitten. She wiped tears from her face and kept moving through the trees, trying to shut out the image of Matthew’s swollen black leg and the pain that had been in his eyes while the venom took its toll on his body. He’d died in her arms, after she had watched him suffer for hours. A miner from the next claim over had tried to help and suck the venom from his leg, but it hadn’t worked as they had hoped.
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “Stop thinking about it.”
If she wanted to visit Matthew’s grave, she should have asked Lawrence to take her there. She had worried such a request might make him uneasy, but that hardly seemed to matter now that she was scared and traipsing through the forest with the sun inching toward the horizon.
A growl sounded behind her, a bit distant from her, but loud enough that a shiver shot down her spine. Fear clutched her heart and she walked faster. Please God, please let me find my way back to Lawrence.
As she rushed between the trees and through the underbrush, she decided she would have to be diligent after they had children. What if one of their children wandered off into the woods? She also worried about if one of their children had an accident or became ill. The ride from Culpepper up the mountain in the wagon had taken almost six hours. She supposed she should trust in God that everything would work out as it was meant to, but it was difficult when the safety of her future children was at stake.
After her odd encounter with Mrs. Gerrard, during which the old woman had wished her well, Callie didn’t feel as reluctant to travel to Culpepper as she’d thought she would. She sensed the gossip about her would die down soon, and she also suspected Mrs. Gerrard felt some remorse for the way she had treated Callie. Perhaps the woman had realized her husband wasn’t innocent and harbored guilt over taking her husband’s side over Callie’s, after all.
If they were to move to town though, the pressure on Lawrence to become the town pastor would increase. She supposed she ought to keep her thoughts on the matter to herself and trust in Lawrence to keep her and any children they might have safe from harm. Guilt besieged her for her feelings. The cabin was wonderful, and she doubted he would wish to leave it behind and live somewhere in town.
Breathless from her fast pace through the woods, she gasped at the sunlight splintering through the trees ahead. She broke into a full run and soon exited the woods entirely, coming to the very path that she hoped led straight to the cabin. Still, traveling on foot would take all night.
She brushed dirt and leaves off the bottom of her dress and set out up the mountain. At least she knew in which direction to travel. The road to the cabin was at a steep incline.
She couldn’t see the sun anymore, but full darkness hadn’t fallen yet. A sharp pain throbbed in her side and her mouth tasted like copper. Just as she considered stopping and finding a place by the road to curl up for the night, the sound of horse hooves clomping on the dry ground reached her.
Hope overcame her, but in the next moment panic set in. The noise was coming from ahead of her, but what if it wasn’t Lawrence? What if it was the type of miner who squatted on another man’s land and tried to mine his plot? Before she could decide whether or not to run into the woods and hide, a man on horseback appeared from around a turn in the road. She squinted, trying to make out the man’s features and praying it was her husband, no matter how upset he might be.
As he slowed to a stop in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Lawrence. Oh, thank you, thank you, God. He dismounted Abraham in a flash, his demeanor urgent and his eyes filled with worry. Tears of happiness clouded her vision and she ran into his o
pen arms.
“Callie. Lord, Callie, you put a scare into me.” He pulled back to peer down at her, his handsome face etched in concern. “Are you hurt?”
She gave a slight shake of her head. “I’m fine. Just very glad to see you.”
“What happened?” The first hint of sternness appeared in his gaze, and Callie’s stomach flipped.
She had never truly disobeyed him before, not as she had today, and surely he would punish her for it. Severely, judging from the tightness of his jaw. He must have been worried sick over her. Shame filled her as she stood circled in his arms.
“I-I took Misty for a ride.”
“I gathered as much, young lady. But why? Did something happen? Were you looking for me?” His eyes searched hers.
She swallowed hard and stared into his dark depths. “I wanted to try to find Matthew’s claim. He was buried on it, and I wanted to visit his grave. I thought it was closer than it was though, and I didn’t make it there before Misty became spooked and ran off while I was trying to guide her over a fallen tree.”
A look of understanding overcame his visage, but then in the next moment anger firmed his features. “Callie, you could have been hurt or even killed. What were you thinking?” He gave her a brief but hard shake. “Why didn’t you ask me to take you? I would have gladly taken you to visit Matthew’s grave.”
She was crying now and she couldn’t seem to stop the flow of tears. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad. I’m all right. I’m sorry I lost Misty, but maybe…”
He gave her another hard shake. “I don’t care about a lost horse! I care about you, Callie.”
“I’m so sorry.” She looked at her dirt covered boots and sniffled. If only she’d obeyed her husband. If only she had stayed in the cabin and awaited his return. They would probably be making love right now. She despaired over having caused such a deep rift between them. She had never seen him so angry before. All because of her.
