by Joannie Kay
“It’s a scratch, Walker. I think we can fix it, but if we see any sign of infection, we’ll certainly get Doc to take a look. This part is going to hurt, Sam,” she frowned. “I’m sorry, but it is necessary to keep it from getting infected.”
“Go ahead, Miss Jessie,” he took a deep breath and held it as she dabbed the stinging alcohol on the open wound. Tears filled Jessie’s eyes, but she blinked them away and then wrapped a bandage around his arm. “You ain’t like her, and I’m sorry I treated you bad ‘cause of her, Miss Jessie. You was real brave to help me. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Sam. And, it’s good to know that it wasn’t anything I did to upset you so much.” She gave him an impulsive hug, and while Sam was stiff as could be, the expression in his eyes was pleased.
“I have some supper ready, and you all look as though you need to eat something,” Mrs. Gibbons said tiredly.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Walker smiled at the woman. “We’ll just eat here in the kitchen if it’s all the same to you. No need to make extra work at this time of night.”
“Thank you, Walker.” She beamed at him in approval, and then started dishing up.
The other boys came in from the barn, and Lee looked at Sam and said, “It was stupid of you to ride out like that, Sam. You nearly got yourself killed and Jessie, too. I shouldn’t of teased you, and I’m sorry I did.”
“I’m sorry I got so mad, Lee. I wanted to turn around and come back, but didn’t know as I’d be welcome.”
“We’re glad you’re back,” Denver said quietly. “But if you ever slug me again, I’m going to slug you back.”
“Fair enough,” Sam grinned.
“You get extra chores for the next couple days, unless Walker says you can’t,” Lee said with a grin. “Denver and me worked our tails off today since you and Billy were gone.”
“Fair enough.”
“If you boys had your supper, then get on up to bed,” Walker said with a smile. “Thanks for doing the extra chores today.”
“We were just kiddin’ about that, Walker,” Lee grinned. “Denver and me didn’t mind none at all.” The boys left the room after saying good night.
“Tanner, you’re welcome to stay the night if you want. There’s room for you,” Walker told his friend, who had to be as tired as he was.
“I’ll take you up on that, Walker. Thanks.” He was purposely keeping his mouth shut to see how Walker would handle Sam.
Once Sam was done eating Walker said, “Son, you go on to bed. We’ll talk about all of this tomorrow morning after breakfast.”
“Yes, sir.” Sam got to his feet and said, “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused, Walker. I didn’t do nothing to make you all risk your lives for me, but I thank you and I swear, I won’t never run away again. You got my word on that.” He left the room.
“Walker, if you thrash that boy, I’ll thrash you!” Mrs. Gibbons whispered as she started clearing the table.
“He doesn’t need a thrashing, ma’am.” Walker nodded in agreement with the elderly woman. “I’ll give him some other consequence, but that boy needs understanding and compassion right now.”
“I always knew you were a smart man.” Mrs. Gibbons leaned down and kissed Walker on the cheek.
“You go on to bed now, ma’am. You’re tired out. I’ll take care of cleaning up in here,” he said, blushing.
“Yes, Mrs. Gibbons. Please go on to bed. It was so sweet of you to stay up waiting for us, and to have something hot for us all to eat, but these dishes are mine to do. I insist,” Jessie said in a firm tone.
“I’ll help out, too, Mrs. Gibbons,” Billy promised.
“In that case, good night,” the elderly woman said gratefully. She headed for the door and then turned, “Do you want me to show the Sheriff to his room before I retire, Walker?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll do that myself,” he said with a smile.
“I put clean sheets on all the beds today,” she announced, not at all ready to let it go.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Walker said politely.
“Mrs. Gibbons, you stop fretting now, hear? I’m just thankful to have a roof over my head tonight and food in my belly. I’ll be just fine without any fuss made.”
“Very well. You all get to bed soon. Good night.” She bustled off to bed, and Jessie smiled thoughtfully.
“I hope I have half her energy when I’m that age,” she announced.
“She’s wore out.” Walker frowned.
“I’ll make sure she takes it easy tomorrow,” Jessie promised, and Walker nodded in agreement. “If you are all through eating, I’ll get these dishes done.”
“I’m stuffed.” Tanner smiled. “And beat.”
“I’ll show you where to bunk down.” Walker got to his feet, Tanner right behind him after he said ‘goodnight’ to Jessie and Billy. By the time he returned to the kitchen, Jessie and Billy were doing the dishes. It was obvious they were arguing, too.
“You had no call to follow after me, Jessie. You could have been captured by those Indians, and then what do you think they would have done to you?”
“They didn’t capture me, and might I remind you who is the adult here, young man? You are the one who shouldn’t have ridden out of here.”
“Walker left me in charge. I didn’t want to let him down,” Billy explained. “I only took the gun in case I needed it. It’s not like I don’t know how to handle a gun properly. Sam is just a green kid compared to me. I couldn’t let him get in trouble without doing something to stop him. I did what I had to do.”
“Son, I don’t expect you to go after a runaway. That is my job and my responsibility,” Walker said, calmly picking up a dishtowel.
“I didn’t want to disappoint you or let you down, Walker. You trusted me.”
“I trust you to handle things here when I ride into town, son. And I trust you to know what to do in an emergency. I’m not going to lose trust in you if one of the other boys does something they shouldn’t, like run away. You aren’t responsible for their actions when it comes to that. I am. The Judge gave me that responsibility, and I don’t expect to shove that off on you, understand?” His voice was deep, and he could see that Billy was embarrassed. “I know you did what you thought was right, and to tell the truth, Sam might not be with us right now if you hadn’t gone after him. I’m proud of you for not trying to rescue him on your own, and for coming to get help. That was the smart thing to do, Billy.”
“Thanks, Walker,” Billy’s eyes lit up.
“But, the rule about the guns… I expect you to remember that rule was made for a reason, son. You are not to take a gun without permission again. If I’m not here to give permission, then you don’t take a gun… unless it is an extreme emergency. If there is a next time, I’ll tan you. Understand me?”
“Yes, sir.” Billy gulped nervously.
“Good,” Walker said softly. He put his hand on Billy’s shoulder and then added, “You did fine today, son. Now go on to bed.”
“Yes, sir!” Billy wasn’t about to argue. If he was getting out of this without a strapping, then he wasn’t going to mess it up now by opening his big mouth. He gave his sister a ‘goodnight’ and took off for his room. For some strange reason, he had a feeling that Jessie was in a lot more trouble than him and Sam put together… and she should be! She was a girl, and going into that Indian camp was just plain stupid… even to rescue Sam! He didn’t like the thought of Walker spanking Jessie, but she needed a good spanking for sure!
“I had no idea that Billy thought I expected so much of him,” Walker said softly, not wanting his voice to carry to the young boy. “It scares me to death when I think of him out there doing my job.”
“He loves you and respects you, Walker,” Jessie said, defending her brother, and then added, “He’s good with a gun. He’s not reckless, and he knows better than to misuse a firearm. I don’t know what happened to his guns, but I intend to buy him another,” she announced. “I don’t want h
im going riding without some form of protection.”
“I don’t think that is a good idea, Jessie. The other boys will expect the same, and they are too young.”
“Yes, they are. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to take some time to teach them all how to handle a gun safely. I was worried that Sam might be armed, and if he had been, he would be dead right now. The Indians would have killed him outright. I am so thankful Billy was smart enough to ride for help.”
“What about you, young lady?” Walker’s voice was low and dangerous. “You did exactly what you didn’t think Billy should do.”
“I am an adult!” Jessie pointed out. “Sam is a child. I knew what they would do to him; I couldn’t let that happen. I also know that I’m better with a gun than Billy, and I didn’t take any chances. I waited for the right moment, and then did what needed to be done. If I’d waited, they would have started torturing that boy.” Jessie spoke firmly.
“You put yourself at risk. In the first place, you shouldn’t have ridden out alone after the boys.”
“You weren’t here, and someone had to go.”
“I can understand you wanting to go after the boys, Jessie, but once you knew those Indians had Sam, you put your own life at risk. Billy showed some good sense. He came to me for help. Did you do that? No. You went to take on a band of Apache all by yourself. Do you know what they would have done to you?” He took her arm to pull her around and give her a shake.
“I was more concerned with what they would do to Sam,” Jessie said defiantly.
“You would do well to think about yourself. Get on upstairs and get ready for bed. When I come upstairs, you are getting a spanking, Jessie. I won’t permit you to put your life in danger like that. You were foolish to the extreme.”
“If I was a man you would say I was brave!”
“You aren’t a man, and I’m going to remind you of that. Now get upstairs,” Walker ordered gruffly and then gave her a hard swat on her backside.
Jessie was furious. She ran from the kitchen, but she didn’t go upstairs. She grabbed up her gun and saddlebags from where she left them, and headed out the other set of doors at the back of the house. She was not going to permit Walker to spank her when she hadn’t done anything wrong. Jessie headed for the barn. She was going to head into town, and if nothing else, she would sleep in her bedroll on the floor of the new bank she was opening.
* * *
Walker was trying to get a lid on his temper. Maybe spanking Jessie wasn’t the answer, but she’d scared him bad tonight. While it was brave of her to sneak into the camp and rescue Sam, it was dangerous. No, he didn’t like the thought of Sam being hurt by the braves, but they would have hurt her a lot worse. She didn’t seem to realize how vulnerable she was. But he couldn’t spank her for saving Sam’s life. It wouldn’t be fair!
He hung up the dishtowel and decided to take a walk around outside, just to make damn sure that no Indians had followed them here. He headed toward the barn and immediately realized someone was inside with the horses. Walker drew his gun, and slipped inside the doors, and it didn’t take him long to spot the single figure hefting a saddle on one of the animals. Just as he was about to step forward an Indian came up behind her and grabbed her by her long braid, raising his knife. Walker let out a yell and drew the man’s immediate attention, but Jessie was already fighting back. She raised her booted foot and kicked the man in his knee, even as she twisted and ran her fingers in his eyes. The Indian howled, but his miseries weren’t over yet. Walker grabbed him and planted a fist to his jaw, sending him to the floor of the barn, unconscious. Walker took the man’s knife and shoved it into his own belt, and then made quick work of searching the rest of the barn. The man was alone.
“He’s coming to, Walker,” Jessie called, and she had her gun trained on the Apache.
Walker hurried back. The young man wasn’t very old, and Walker pulled him to his feet. “Do you speak English?” he asked. The young man finally nodded. “Good. Then let me make this clear… This woman is my wife. If you, or any of your people, touch her again, I’ll kill you all. Now, take your knife and go home.”
Walker held out the knife, handle first. After looking at him for nearly a full minute, the young man took the knife and left, running as fast as he could before Walker changed his mind. Walker followed him outside and watched as the Apache ran to a wooded area on the other side of the corral. He jumped on his horse and left for home as fast as he could ride.
Once he was positive the Apache was on his way, Walker returned to the barn to take the saddle from Jessie’s hands and put it on the railing. “Just where did you think you were going, young lady?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice soft, although he was furious with her.
“Into town to my bank,” she answered.
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because I didn’t think I deserved a spanking,” she challenged him. “I did what needed to be done. If a man did the same thing, you would consider him brave. You would have done what I did, Walker, and you know it… if you aren’t too stubborn to admit it!”
“I was planning to let you off, Jessie. It was my fear for you demanding some form of punishment. I intended to scold, and then hold you close and give you a kiss.”
“Really?” she smiled hopefully.
“Yes,” he acknowledged, and then grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to the bench outside the mare’s stall. He took a seat and in the next instant hauled her down over his lap. “But that was before you tried to ride out of here tonight!” His hand landed with a splat on her backside. “That Apache almost killed you, Jessie!” he roared, giving vent to the fear he felt and spanking her with heartfelt enthusiasm.
“Owwwww! Stop, Walker!” Jessie pleaded. He ignored her and continued to spank her, his hard hand making his point on her tender bottom. Jessie was on fire within seconds. “Please, stop! We should go inside in case he wasn’t alone!” she tried to tell Walker, but he didn’t pay a bit of attention to what she thought. “Owwwwww!”
“How dare you come out here and attempt to run away when you were sent upstairs to bed!” his deep voice rumbled, full of outrage at her behavior.
“I’m sorry!” Jessie said, bursting into tears. “Please stop! I’m sorry, Walker! You’re right! I shouldn’t have tried to run off. I just lost my darn temper!” It was a huge admission from her, but Walker didn’t seem to realize how hard the words were for her to say and he reached beneath her to unfasten her britches and jerk them down. Her drawers followed, and Jessie felt completely vulnerable as the cool night air made her bottom feel even hotter. “Don’t, Walker! Please! I’m sorry!” She begged him to stop the painful chastisement.
“You’ll be even sorrier by the time this spanking is over, Jessie. I won’t have you taking such risks with your life.” He picked up a piece of leather harness strap from the floor. One of the boys had left it lying there after mending a broken harness and Walker decided it would make an impression on the redhead’s stubborn attitude. He brought it down on her bared backside and smiled in grim satisfaction when she hollered bloody murder. “If I can’t trust you to stay put, Jessie, then I’ll make sure to keep your butt too sore to sit a saddle,” he promised, giving her another lick with the strap.
Jessie cried even harder and struggled to get free, but she eventually realized she wasn’t going anywhere until Walker released her. She stopped fighting him and just gave in to sobbing as the strap landed repeated on her delicate skin, leaving stinging red welts to cover her bottom cheeks, her sit spots, and her upper thighs. Walker was thorough in his task, and she knew she wouldn’t be riding anywhere for a few days by the time he finally dropped the strap on the floor and put her on her feet and watched as she struggled to right her clothing.
“If I have to do that every day, Jessie Ames, I will. You aren’t going to put your life at risk. If I hadn’t come out here to check around before going to bed, you would be dead.”
“I’m thankful you did
.” She looked at him through tear-filled eyes. “It didn’t occur to me that one of them could be lurking here in the barn, just waiting for a chance for revenge. I’m sorry, Walker. Truly. I was wrong to try and sneak off,” Jessie whispered, trying hard to keep from rubbing her stinging posterior. “Oh, I’m in so much pain, Walker!” She gave in to tears once more.
Walker suddenly realized that Jessie was trembling, and he cursed himself for being a fool. “Come here, honey. You’re safe now.” He took her in his arms and held her tight, and realized she was freezing cold! “You’re in shock, Jessie. I need to get you in bed and get you warmed.” He swept her off her feet, once again reminded how tiny she was… and how helpless. If he had been even one minute later walking into the barn, she would have been killed. It frightened Walker. He couldn’t imagine his life without Jessie in it.
Jessie was shivering, and didn’t protest when Walker carried her into the house and up the steps and to her room. He undressed her and put her nightgown over her head, and she didn’t seem to find it odd or out of place for him to do so. After he put her under the covers, she still couldn’t stop trembling.
Walker did what he needed to do. He undressed and got into bed with Jessie and pulled her close to warm her with his body heat. Jessie was still crying, and he mentally kicked himself for not realizing how upset she was before he turned her over his knee and spanked her. While he wasn’t sorry he’d done so, it could have waited until she wasn’t so frightened by what nearly happened. Slowly her shivering stopped, and she relaxed.
“I really am sorry I acted like a spoiled brat, Walker,” she whispered.
“I know, honey. It’s all over now.” He wasn’t one to keep harping on something over and over. Besides, he was trying to figure out how in hell he was going to keep from disgracing himself. He was rock hard, and praying that Jessie didn’t realize what was pressing against her so urgently.
