But Roy, with his first-class train tickets and fancy hotel suites, no doubt he had plenty of experience with banks.
“No, dear. When we get back to Juniper Junction we’ll visit the bank there and I’ll set up an account for you.”
“Why would I need a bank account?” I gasped, shocked.
“So you have money to spend. You don’t expect me to do the shopping, do you?” He chuckled as we entered a city park.
I suppose that was a silly idea. I hadn’t really given it much thought. Oh dear. I’d never shopped before. At Pendleton House and also Mrs. Campbell’s Boarding House, the food was all provided. I didn’t even know how much a sack of flour or a pound of sugar cost.
I was hardly prepared to be a proper wife. Suddenly the happiness I felt at enjoying a pretty day with my husband vanished and I had an overwhelming feeling of impending disaster. Maybe that was the charge in the air I’d felt a few minutes ago.
Roy, ever perceptive, noticed. “What’s the matter, Minnie?” We stopped and sat upon a bench in the park.
“I don’t know how to be a wife or how to take care of a husband. Sure, I’m good at making beds and scouring pots and I can even style lady’s hair rather well, but none of that is going to put dinner on the table. I’ve never even gone to the market to buy food before. Oh Roy, what will I do?” Then an even more troubling thought occurred to me. “Will you spank me if dinner isn’t good?”
He slid closer to me along the bench. “No, Minnie. I would never spank you for something like that. I know you want to do a good job. Spankings, like the one you’ll be getting when we get back to our room, are for things like we talked about down by the river. Remember that day?”
“It seems like a long time ago,” I said.
“A lot has happened. We’re married now. Things are different between us, don’t you think?” He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You know how to suck cock, for one thing.”
Heat suffused my face and I wondered if others had heard. “Roy!” I hissed at him. “Stop teasing me.”
“It is such fun to tease you, sweet Minnie. But I will be serious. Spankings and other discipline are for things related to your safety or character. So lying, like you did when I asked about the gown, has earned you a punishment. Bad dinner, unless you are trying to poison me, does not.”
“I would never try to poison you, Roy. What a thing to say.”
“Time for us to return to our hotel, Minnie. You have a punishment scheduled.”
* * *
Roy
“This is embarrassing, Roy,” Minnie protested from the corner where she stood naked, bottom pushed out.
“It’s supposed to be. Maybe you’ll think twice before lying to me next time.”
“I’d rather you just spanked me,” she said, looking over her shoulder at me.
“The night is young,” I replied, spinning my finger to indicate she needed to get her nose back on the corner. I couldn’t help it. I enjoyed teasing her. Besides, it was not as though anyone had ever died from standing in the corner.
“How long do I have to have this, this thing, in my… my bottom,” she mumbled into the corner.
“The butt plug? You can say butt plug, can’t you, Minnie?”
She glared at me over her shoulder again. “Of course I can say it, it’s just too embarrassing to say out loud.”
I moved closer to her. First, I grasped the top of her head and put it in the proper position for corner time. Then I opened my bride’s bottom cheeks and admired the sight of a dainty butt plug protruding from her ass. My cock hardened noticeably. If it hadn’t, I’d have been worried.
“Say it, Minnie.” I reached down and tapped the item in question. When I did so, she stiffened.
“I can’t,” she said on gasp.
“Don’t be silly,” I gave it a quarter turn, “you just said that of course you could say it. Prove it.” Another quarter turn.
She whimpered and placed her hands on the wall in front of her for support. “Roy, it feels… Oh, I shouldn’t like the way it feels. What’s wrong with me?”
I kissed her bare shoulder. “I have inspected you quite thoroughly, Minnie, and as far as I can tell you are utterly perfect.”
“I’ve never heard of a b-butt plug before. There, I said it.”
“I would have been shocked if you had heard of a butt plug. I bought it while I was out this morning, when you were supposed to be resting but made the bed instead.”
“I remember,” she said. “I’ve had one spanking today, isn’t that enough?”
I gave her bottom a swat. “Not until I say you’ve had enough.”
The plug in her ass was nearly my undoing. I gave it another gentle turn and watched as her toes curled against the floor. Her breath sped up and the telltale scent of her arousal wafted up to my nose.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining so much, Minnie. You clearly like having this in your bottom hole.” I moved the plug in and out a small amount and she gave a soft shriek. “And before you say anything, let me remind you that you are standing in the corner because you were not truthful with me earlier.”
She let out an exasperated huff of air. “I-I do like it. I already said that. It’s just embarrassing to admit it. To know that about myself. It seems...wanton.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being wanton, Minnie. As long as you’re only wanton with me.”
I gave the plug another turn and she fisted her hand against the wall. Watching her reaction sent my libido into overdrive. Reaching down, I rubbed her clit with one hand while I moved the plug with the other. It took only a few moments for her to reach a heaving orgasm.
“Good girl, Minnie. Now it’s time for you to suck my cock.”
Chapter 10
Minnie
“Champagne!” Lizzie exclaimed. “You had champagne?”
It was my first time attending the Juniper Junction Quilting Society after my marriage and idyllic trip to Black Clover with Roy. Much had happened since our last get-together. We were having cobbler and coffee before getting down to the business of stitching up a quilt or two.
Several young ladies had gathered around to hear about my trip with Roy. Even Lizzie was impressed by the details.
“It’s been ages since I sipped champagne,” Lizzie said with longing as she stirred her coffee. “I do miss it.” Then she caught herself and said, “Not that I indulged in champagne all the time or even very often, but it is bubbly and delicious.”
“I’ve enjoyed a glass of champagne or two in my time,” Mrs. Campbell said with a sly look.
“Oh, don’t you act surprised,” she chided those of us who had started giggling at her comment, “I haven’t always been an old widow running a boarding house, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Campbell,” I said. I had yet to return to work at the boarding house and I was starting to get the feeling that Roy would prefer for me not to work at all, regardless of how much I protested about needing to earn my keep. “You do plenty. Let me provide for you and stop your fussing,” he’d said when I’d brought it up yesterday.
“I wish I could taste champagne,” Posey said.
“Me too,” Tassie chimed in.
“Where would we get the money for something like that?” I asked.
“Here’s how,” Mrs. Campbell said, dropping a newspaper onto the table. “Elusive Thief The Dandy Strikes in Black Clover. Fifty Dollar Reward” screamed the headline.
“Oh, let me see,” Posey said, setting her cobbler aside and grabbing up the newspaper to read out loud. “A thief unlike any other has traveled west from St. Louis where he spent several years honing his skills. He is known to steal from private homes as well as businesses. He gets his name, ‘The Dandy’ from his manner of stylish attire and reputed good looks which he uses to charm his victims into allowing him into their homes or businesses where he makes off with valuables.”
“There’s a sketch of him too,” Tassie pointed and everyon
e leaned in to get a better look.
“He is handsome,” Lizzie commented. “I’m sure I’d notice him if he showed up in Juniper Junction, though he’s not nearly as handsome as Matt.”
“I wouldn’t mind sipping a bit of champagne with him,” Mrs. Campbell said and I turned to gape up at her. She was full of it this particular morning.
“There’s more,” Posey said, continuing to read. “Police in St. Louis were hot on his trail until a few months ago when thefts attributed to him stopped.”
“Wasn’t Roy on the St. Louis Police force?” Tassie asked. “Maybe he knows more about this.”
“You aren’t serious about trying to catch him? He’s not going to come to Juniper Junction anyway. Just like Lizzie said, someone would notice a man that handsome, especially in a small town like this,” I said.
“Besides, Jake would roast my backside if he found out I was trying to track down a thief,” Posey said with a grimace.
“Same here,” Lizzie and Tassie chimed in.
Mrs. Campbell sighed. “I miss having a man with a firm hand around.”
I nearly choked on my cobbler. “I thought I was the only one,” I whispered to my friends.
“I wish you were,” Posey said. “I got some swats last night for staying up too late reading. Lizzie loaned me a mystery novel and after Jake went to sleep, there was enough moonlight coming in that I got out of bed and sat next to the window reading. I had to know how it ended. But when he woke up and saw me… well, I still don’t know how the mystery ends.”
“I noticed you sitting kind of carefully,” Tassie teased her.
“Don’t act like it never happens to you, Tassie,” Posey shot back.
Tassie grinned. “Sometimes I do stuff just to see if Cal is paying attention.”
I sat back and listened to my married friends with wonder. For the first time in my life, I was just like everyone else.
* * *
Roy
“I don’t like the looks of this. Not at all.” Cal rubbed his jaw while he examined the outside of the safe at Juniper Junction’s only bank.
“I was a damned fool,” Mr. Foster, the bank manager said. “It’ll be a miracle if I don’t get fired. Where else will I find a bank job after this?”
I’d had limited interactions with Mr. Foster but he seemed like an honorable man who took his job seriously. I’d heard rumors of him giving loans to people whose prospects for repaying were slim. Not the wisest way to run a bank, but it’s how I thought, and my grandfather too, a bank should be operated, especially in a small town. People needed someone to have faith in their dreams. Or to simply keep food on the table.
“Nothing was stolen. You’ll just need to change the lock on the front door,” I said. “And be more careful.”
“You can count on that,” Mr. Foster said, shaking his head ruefully.
“Tell us again what happened,” Cal said, giving Mr. Foster his full attention.
“A sharp-dressed gentleman came in to open an account. He said he was new in town and had some matters he’d like to talk with me about in private. He hinted that he had large sums of money that he wanted to put into the bank because he planned to do some big business deals, so I invited him to come to my home for dinner. More and more people are taking their banking business to Black Clover, that new EG Bank and Trust is impressive.” Mr. Foster sighed. “He must have stolen a key while he was at my house.”
“Did he give you a name?” I asked.
“He said his name was Zeke Gantry.” He glanced my way and I felt my face heat with anger. “I thought he might be some relation of yours. Truth is, I thought he might be a good match for my daughter, Caroline.” He smacked himself in the forehead. “What an idiot.”
My grandfather’s name? Anger pulsed through me and I was more determined than ever to capture the despicable thief who gave himself the nickname The Dandy. It was the height of arrogance and I hated arrogance.
But, I set that aside as best I could. For a lawman, anger and other personal feelings had no place in an investigation. It only led to mistakes and possible injury. I couldn’t afford for either of those things to happen.
The only regret I had about leaving St. Louis was that I hadn’t been able to capture The Dandy. I’d put in a lot of time piecing together clues and trying to track him down, but when higher ups put a stop to my investigation, I assumed he’d continue to run roughshod over the city of St. Louis. Apparently he’d decided to move west.
All the better for me, I thought, renewing my determination to put an end to his thieving ways.
“Don’t be too rough on yourself, Mr. Foster,” I said, “I have a bit of experience with this man and he’s very clever. He got the better of some of the sharpest businessmen in St. Louis. The best detectives too.” I didn’t tell him about the corruption which likely allowed the thief to go free more than once, but the fact that he’d left St. Louis indicated that someone had made him nervous.
“At least he didn’t get any money.” Cal nodded toward the window where we could see a group of people gathering. “You can reassure folks that their money is safe in your bank.”
“Thank you, sheriff,” Mr. Foster said. “Do you really think it’s The Dandy? Seems strange that he’d bother with a small town like Juniper Junction. People notice newcomers.”
“We’ll ask around,” Cal said.
“Last new people to arrive in town were you and Minnie,” Mr. Foster said to me.
It sort of felt like an accusation.
Cal and I strolled back to the sheriff’s office as though we didn’t have a care in the world. Many eyes were upon us and we did not want to give the impression that we were concerned or panicked about this attempted robbery of the bank. Gossip and speculation ran rampant in the town as it was, we had no desire to add to it.
A couple of business owners stopped us as we walked down Main Street. “Was it The Dandy?” Mr. Blake, the owner of the general store asked. “Do we need to be concerned?”
“We don’t know who it was, but it seems unlikely that The Dandy would come here. Juniper Junction is too small for him to blend into the crowds. It was probably an amateur. We should all be careful as usual. But no cause for alarm.”
“I saw a fancy dressed man knocking on Mr. Foster’s door last night. Was that him?” Mr. Blake persisted.
“We haven’t finished our investigation, but you’ll be the first to know when we do,” Cal reassured Mr. Blake and the others and we hurried back to the jail and closed the door behind us.
“I’m going to defer to you on this one, Roy,” Cal said to me. “You’ve at least got some experience with him.”
“So, you think it’s The Dandy?”
“Don’t you?”
I paused for a moment and let out a breath. “Yes. In fact, I think he’s here taunting me. I know that sounds kind of preposterous, but I did come close to capturing him in St. Louis.”
“Seems most thieves would go the opposite direction from the man who almost caught them.”
“I agree. But this man is full of conceit and I think he enjoys taunting me.” I rubbed my temples. “I don’t want a lot of people around here to know about this, but back in St. Louis, my family owns a number of banks.”
Cal’s eyebrows shot up. “Whatcha doing working for me for a few dollars a month and all the dirty jobs you can do?”
“I want to make it on my own,” I said, standing up straight.
“I admire that.” Then Cal chuckled. “Tassie came home yesterday from the quilting meeting full of information about your trip to Black Clover. Champagne and a suite at The Grand Hotel? It makes more sense now.”
“I might have gone a bit overboard,” I admitted. I sure wished I was back in our suite in Black Clover with Minnie kneeling before me and sucking my cock.
But, we had returned to reality and that meant a thief was on the loose in Juniper Junction. “Another thing,” I said to Cal, “Zeke Gantry was my grandfather, the man who
founded the bank. The EG Bank and Trust in Black Clover is one of my family’s banks too. I didn’t realize they’d branched out this far. I don’t have much communication with my family.”
“Not even your grandfather?”
“He passed away three years ago. Things haven’t been the same since.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cal said.
“Well, we’d best get out and see if we can find this fancy dresser, though I have a feeling he’s left town already.”
* * *
I was worn out by the time I got home that evening, but I knew there was a task to be taken care of before supper and just thinking about it put a spring in my step.
Minnie was a sight for sore eyes as she rushed to the front door to greet me. I’d managed to rent a house on short notice after we became engaged and since our return to town Minnie had been busy making it into a home for us.
“Welcome home, Roy,” she said after I kissed her. “I heard The Dandy tried to rob the bank. Is it true? Everyone in town is talking about it.”
“Someone did try to break into the safe at the bank,” I acknowledged. That information was commonly known around town so it wasn’t as though I’d revealed any secrets from the investigation. Besides, the investigation had turned up next to nothing. “Let’s not talk about that. We have other matters to address.” I patted her backside. “How’s the butt plug feeling?”
Despite wearing progressively larger butt plugs for part of each day since our return from Black Clover, she still blushed whenever I mentioned it.
“It feels...I kind of like it, Roy. It reminds me of you when you’re gone. That I’m yours.”
“Good girl,” I said, taking her hand and leading her to our bedroom, “because you are mine. Only mine.”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a grin.
“Let’s see how you’re doing,” I said, patting the bed. “Bend over.” I’d put the plug in during a stop at the house that afternoon. Being a deputy sheriff gave me some flexibility in my time which conveniently allowed for butt plug training.
Cowboy’s Demands: Brides of Juniper Junction, Book Five Page 9
