“I like you quite a bit, Nettie. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. That’s why I’m going to give your britches a dusting.”
She shifted on his lap. “I thought you didn’t like people though.”
He brought his hand down on her rump, without much force. “I don’t like most people. I don’t like cruel people. Are you cruel?”
“N-no. I try to be nice. Trouble is, people aren’t nice to me.” She let out a pathetic whimper.
He smacked her bottom a little harder. “There you go feeling sorry for yourself again. Haven’t I been nice to you?” He rested his hand on her seat as he waited for an answer.
“Yeah, and I’m mighty grateful. But you’re not being very nice right now.”
He scoffed and gave her another swat. “I beg to differ. This is very nice of me. I’m making sure you don’t put yourself at risk again. You think I’d bother disciplining you if I didn’t care?”
He didn’t wait for her answer. He proceeded to give her ten firm swats over her trousers. The more he thought about how she could have killed herself with his gun, the harder he smacked. She yelped at the fifth and squirmed throughout the rest.
“Are you going to lie to me again, Nettie?” He gave her another hard swat to punctuate his question.
“No, Trapper Jack.”
“Good.” He moved his hands to the place where her bottom and thighs met and gave her two sharp swats on each side. “I’m growing quite fond of you. So much so that if you do anything to put yourself in danger again, I’ll take a switch to you.”
She gasped at that piece of information. He gathered a fistful of her short hair in his hand, lifted her head, and pointed it in the direction of a tree. “See that tree over there, the one with yellow leaves?”
“Y-yes.”
“I’ll make you go cut a switch from it and I’ll wear it out on your bare backside. That’ll leave welts and stripes. You want me to do that to you, woman?”
“No!”
“Then you listen to what I say and think twice about lying in the future. Got it?”
“Yes.” She squirmed. He released her hair and let her slide off his lap.
She stood and pouted at him. “Your hand hurts bad enough,” she remarked, rubbing her bottom.
Jack scoffed. “You’re lucky I don’t have time to keep spanking you. I don’t want to waste daylight. It seems I need to teach you how to use that gun, and I also brought you a trap and a fishing rod that I’ll need to show you how to use before I leave.”
Her frown slowly morphed into a smile. “Thanks, Trapper Jack. You believe I can survive out here on my own, don’t you?”
“That remains to be seen, but with the proper supplies, you’ll at least have a chance. There’s lots of fish in that river, so you shouldn’t have to go a day without food.” Jack grabbed the fishing rod. “Come along.” She followed behind him as he maneuvered his way around the brush to the river.
“I brought some flies made from fur and feathers for you to use as bait.” He showed her how to hook them and then threw the line into the river, let it bob at the surface for a moment, then pulled back and recast it near the same spot to mimic a flying insect’s movements. “You try,” he said, and handed the rod to her.
She cast the line awkwardly the first few times, but then she seemed to get the hang of it.
“That’s good. Now when you feel a pull, give the line a good jerk to hook the fish. I’m hoping they’re biting so I can show you how to scale and gut one.”
Nettie fished for some time, and Jack sat nearby observing her and giving tips every once in a while. They spoke easily. Jack admitted to himself that he was starting to have feelings for the plucky little woman. His resolve to get her safely to his cabin was stronger than ever. He didn’t like that he would be leaving her soon to fend for herself once again.
He felt a little better when she caught a perch that was a good size. He demonstrated how to scale it using the knife he’d given her. Placing the fish on a flat rock, he began the task.
“Keep the strokes short and quick,” he instructed. “Avoid pressing too hard and gashing it.” After he’d finished one side, he flipped the fish around and handed her the knife. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Nettie took hold of the knife in her small hands and went about scaling it. Although her movements were far from expert, they were sufficient to complete the task. He felt confident that she would be able to carry it out without his assistance.
“Now for the fun part,” he said, taking the knife from her. “Watch carefully, since I can only show you once and you won’t have a chance to practice.” He held the perch’s head in his left hand and sliced along the bottom, splitting the fish to the base of the gills. He reached inside the fish and pulled out the entrails, which he tossed back into the river. Jack glanced at Nettie, expecting to see a look of disgust on her face, but he only read concentration and interest. Good girl, he thought to himself.
In the late afternoon, they sat next to each other by a fire Nettie prepared, which they’d used to cook the fish. She seemed elated when he complimented her on how perfectly she’d arranged the fire pit. Jack swallowed his last bite of perch. “Two more things I need to show you before I leave, and that’s how to set the trap and handle the gun.”
She nodded and stood. He found a place near some rabbit burrows and set the wooden box near them. “Rabbits aren’t picky eaters, and this trap’ll work since it’ll seem like a burrow to a rabbit.” He made a small trail of berries, which he ended at the far corner of the trap. He lifted the door and secured the lever. “That’s all that needs doing. You already know how to skin one.”
Nettie nodded. “I don’t know how to kill it though,” she said with furrowed brow.
“I wish I could show you.” He explained how he did it with the hope that Nettie would be able to carry out the task alone. “Once you trap it, the difficult part is over. Make the death as swift as you can, but it won’t be perfect every time. You’ll learn.”
Next Jack led the way to a clearing, where he set up some sticks and leaves as targets. Situating themselves a good distance away, he tore a cartridge open with his teeth, then spat out the piece that had been torn. As he poured the gunpowder and bullet into the barrel, he shook his head. “This is a lot to learn in one day, Nettie.” He drew out the gun’s rammer.
“I already know how to load the gun, though, Trapper Jack,” she assured him. “I watched my husband do it a thousand times.”
This didn’t provide Jack with much relief. He grunted. “Watching and doing are two different things.”
“Yes, but you heard me shoot it earlier. I obviously loaded it right.”
“True.” Jack rammed the cartridge into the base of the barrel. After drawing the rammer out and clicking it back in place, he handed the loaded gun to Nettie. “Prime the cap only after you’re ready to shoot.”
Nettie nodded and flicked it. Jack took in a sharp breath, nervous that the inexperienced woman was holding such a big, loaded weapon in her small hands.
He helped her position the butt of the gun against her shoulder and moved her arms and hands into the right position. “Are you looking through the sight?” he asked, noticing that she’d closed one eye.
“Yep,” she said.
“Good. How it is now, you can aim for animals that are within a hundred yards, like your target there.” Jack reached out and flipped up a leaf. “That sight is for firing at a distance of three hundred yards,” he explained, then flipped up the other leaf. “And that’s for five hundred yards. Understand?”
She nodded.
He turned both leaves down again and told her to go ahead and shoot. She did, and hit the edge of the target. The kickback no doubt bruised her shoulder, but she made no complaints.
“Good,” he said.
She looked over and beamed at him, clearly happy about his praise.
He frowned at her. “It’ll be harder when the target is mo
ving, Nettie.”
Her smile disappeared and she nodded solemnly. She carefully placed the butt of the rifle onto the ground and grasped the barrel. “I understand, Trapper Jack.”
He reached out and pushed aside some of her tangled red hair from her face. She looked pale and fragile, and he hated to leave her. “I need to go now if I’m going to get back before dark. I want you to come with me. I can keep teaching you things if I have you near to where I work and trap.”
Her posture became noticeably stiffer. “I’ll be fine on my own now, Trapper Jack. I ain’t afraid, and you don’t need to come again to teach me things.”
He scowled. “There’s more to learn. A lot more.”
“I can teach myself. Did you have someone showing you how to do everything when you first moved out here?”
“No, but I’m a man. As a boy I learned these things from my pa growing up. I reckon you learned about sewing and cooking growing up.”
He could tell by the way she set her jaw and avoided eye contact that he was right about her education growing up. Frustration built again. This woman sent his heart racing for multiple reasons. Again he resisted the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his cabin. Tying her to the bed didn’t seem like a bad idea either.
Instead, he sighed. “I’ll be going then, Nettie.”
Her expression softened. “Goodbye, Trapper Jack. Thanks for coming. I’m real grateful.”
Jack called out to Cager, and his faithful canine companion bounded out from the trees and trotted by his side as he journeyed home.
Chapter Six: On Her Own
Nettie thought about her day with Trapper Jack. He was a brute who didn’t hesitate to light her bottom on fire, but it was obvious he genuinely cared about her. She was sorry to see him go and felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. She brushed that feeling aside when she realized that Jack probably would return before not too long. He would check to make sure she was doing all right. Why he felt compelled to do so, she didn’t know. It confused her. She’d stolen from him and had offered nothing in the way of physical repayment.
A thought struck her then. What if Trapper Jack didn’t find her attractive enough to want her physical attentions? It was a vain concern that took her by surprise, since she hadn’t worried about her looks for months. Her concern about the sheen of her hair and the softness of her skin had waned as her concern about when and what she would eat grew. In that moment, however, it felt very important to her that Trapper Jack find her attractive.
She ran her fingers through her short hair that she’d sheared off before escaping to the woods. It was impractical to carry a hairbrush along to maintain it, so she’d easily made the decision to cut it, even though her hair had been one of her finest features. It had been long and wavy down to her waist. The color was something men seemed to love, since it set her apart from other women. She felt regretful that Trapper Jack wouldn’t see her looking her best.
The spanking he’d given her that day was far more gentle than the previous. As she laid over his hard thighs, she’d felt a building ache in her core and a longing to have it soothed by his rough hand or filled by his cock. When he wasn’t smacking her, his hand rested very near to her ache, and she desired for his hand to find its way to between her legs. She mentally shook herself out of her bawdy daydream. Like feeling sorry for herself, imagining sex didn’t have any place out in the woods.
As Nettie lay on her bed of pine needles in the cave, she forced her thoughts away from Jack and planned out her next day. The sky had been clear, so it seemed that she would have the fortune of good weather. Her last thought before drifting into sleep was that she would fish come morning, and while she was there, she would examine her reflection in the sparkling water of the river.
Morning arrived. Stretching the kinks out of her worn-out body, Nettie rose and ate some berries Jack had found while she fished the previous day. Feeling halfway satiated, she took hold of her new fishing pole. After checking the box trap and seeing that it was still empty, she walked to the river. It was a chilly morning. Having nothing to keep her warm other than the fur blanket Trapper Jack had given her, which she left in the cave, she had no choice but to endure the cold. She shivered in her thin shirt and trousers, longing for the warmth of afternoon when it would be more pleasant to carry out her tasks that required her to be away from the fire.
She waded into the frigid, shallow edge of the river, careful to not go too far in, as the water’s current was strong and could easily pull her under if she didn’t pay mind to it. She found a stable rock to stand on, then cast her line into the river. Allowing the fly to settle for a few moments, she brought it up and with a smooth movement, cast the fly near to where it settled before, just as Trapper Jack had shown her. She went into a sort of trance. Her movements helped her to warm up, and her racing thoughts slowed to a crawl. She felt at peace, standing there surrounded by such beauty and the sounds of water and chirping birds. There was a purity in nature, and being part of it made her feel pure as well. It allowed her to forget the last two years of her life.
A thrill went through her when she felt the first tug on the line. Although the fish got away, the bite gave her a surge of confidence. Not too long after, she actually hooked one. It was only a medium-sized perch, but Nettie thought she’d never seen anything so magnificent. She realized that it was her first time successfully catching an animal, without stealing and without anyone’s assistance. She skipped back to her cave, delighted and wishing she could brag about her success to Trapper Jack, who would surely give her a word or two of praise.
Try as she might, she couldn’t get Trapper Jack out of her mind. She recalled his deft handling of the tools, from the fishing rod to the trap to the gun. She recalled how his corded forearms, tanned from the sun, flexed with every movement. Nearly every time she’d stolen a glance at his face, his features revealed a calm, stern expression. She knew he had little patience for mirth or playfulness. Whenever she showed the slightest attempt at humor or lightheartedness, he brought her back to the harsh reality she faced with only a few strict words. She wasn’t used to such behavior from a man. Her husband had joked around with her often and always managed to make her laugh. The men she serviced after her husband’s death found great joy in her playful demeanor.
Trapper Jack was different, and the difference unsettled her. She could see that he took her safety and survival seriously, and the feeling his seriousness generated was one of warmth toward him. She still thought he was a brute who could use a lesson on manners, but she reckoned that was much less important than the survival lessons he’d imparted. Nettie fell asleep that evening with a full belly and a desperate longing to see the brute again as soon as possible. She could hardly wait for him to visit her again.
* * *
Jack set off early the next morning for Nettie’s neck of the woods, carrying in his sack a live rabbit he had trapped. If the woman hadn’t managed to catch one yet, and he highly doubted she had, he planned to fill the trap for her. He had no intention of alerting her to his presence, however, since her words rang clear in his head.
I’ll be fine on my own now, Trapper Jack. I ain’t afraid. You don’t need to come again to teach me things.
The woman wanted to be left on her own to prove something to God-knows-who, and Jack was going to do his level best to respect her wishes. As he let the rabbit loose in the box and closed the door, he shook his head. This is ridiculous, he thought. It was taking too much of his time, seeing to this woman, when he should be spending the early morning hours seeing to his traps and earning his living. It made no sense for her to be living separately, and his impatience over the situation grew. He stalked a few paces away and sat on a tree stump to wait for Nettie to discover the contents of the trap.
She rose entirely too late. She should have been up a full hour before she was, since morning was the best time for fishing. He hadn’t told her that, so he didn’t blame her too much. He hadn’t t
old her many things she still needed to know, on account of her refusal to stay with him, and for that he did blame her.
His ire over the situation lessened as he watched Nettie discover that the trap door had been triggered. She fell to her knees and bent her ear to the box to listen. Then she let out the cutest squeal of delight and jumped to her feet, clapping her hands together once. After dancing around the box, she excitedly bent down and slid open the door.
Jack watched helplessly as she gave the rabbit enough space to escape with no thought as to how to catch and kill it. His ire returned in spades as the rabbit dashed away from her. Foolish woman! What happened next was even harder for him to watch in silence. What followed was the greatest tantrum in the history of tantrums. She let out a wail as the rabbit bolted away. She proceeded to kick the trap with all her might and let loose a slew of obscenities that made his army comrades sound like choir boys. After stomping around and cursing everybody from the angels in the sky to the rabbits on the ground, she stormed away in tears and disappeared into the cave.
Jack stood and walked in the direction of his cabin. He doubted that ever a woman existed that deserved a licking more than that one did just then, not for accidentally letting loose the rabbit, but for not dusting herself off and setting the trap again like a rational human being.
He returned the following day with another rabbit. Pleased upon seeing that she’d reset the trap after his departure, he again deposited a rabbit inside. Walking back to the same stump, he waited for Nettie to discover what he’d left. This time when she discovered that the trap was occupied, she showed no emotion. Instead, she retreated and reappeared with a length of rope. Jack held his breath as he watched her very slowly slide the door open a crack. When the rabbit’s head appeared, she pressed the door down on its neck, pinning it into place. Quickly, she wrapped the rope around his neck and tightened it. With her foot, she kicked off the trap and simultaneously yanked both sides of the rope, breaking its neck in one solid motion.
Claimed by the Mountain Man Page 5
