by Joannie Kay
"You don't know anything about my daughter," Keith stated the obvious.
"I figure that I've seen her at her worst," Jake said with a smile, but to his surprise the older man snorted and then laughed.
"You've seen Kari sick, young man. Just wait until she unleashes that redhead's temper on you; you'll run for your life," he predicted.
* * *
Predictably, Keith offered to take Kari 'home'. Predictably, she refused. She reminded her Dad that he'd worked too hard to build up his landscaping business to sit in her apartment and watch her get well. It was his busiest time of the year, and Keith finally gave up trying to persuade his stubborn daughter to be reasonable. He thanked Jacob for taking care of Kari, and then promised to kill him and use him for fertilizer if he mistreated Kari in any way. Jake was hard put not to roll his eyes and point out that Kari got her temper from him, obviously. Since the man would someday be his father-in-law, Jake managed to appear properly 'threatened' and promised he would treat Kari with nothing but respect.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on one's point of view, one of the chefs who worked with his Ma fell and fractured her wrist, and Molly was running her kitchen by herself with minimal help and she was too busy to interfere with Jacob's patient. Jason made several more house calls, and then shook his head when Kari scorched his ears over being kept in bed and told she couldn't go back to work until the next week. All her sass just served to make the usually affable Jason dig in his heels and remain firm. He wouldn't release her to go back until then, and she couldn't return without a release slip. Jase wished his brother good luck with the stubborn young woman and slammed the door on his way out. It would have been funny to see Jase so disgruntled at any other time, but this was the woman that Jake hoped to make his, and since she would be a part of the family, he wanted his brother to like her!
"What do you think you are doing?" Jacob growled when he went back into the bedroom to scold the redhead for giving his brother a rough time and found her trying to get out of bed.
"Obviously, I am getting up! I'm sick of this bed!" Kari retorted sharply. She didn't much like the way she was acting, but she was going crazy! She had bills to pay, and she couldn't afford to be off work any longer. It was easy for Jason to tell her she wasn't ready to go back to work; he didn't have to pay her bills!
"You are too weak to be out of bed right now. Jase said that if you were doing better tomorrow, you could sit up for a while. You try walking right now, and you're going to fall flat on your face."
"I won't get my strength back lying in this bed!" she snapped. "Damn it, stop babying me!"
Jake calmly gave her a little push and she flopped back against the pillows. "You were told to stay in bed until tomorrow, sweetheart, and you are going to do just that. Two days ago you had a dangerously high temperature, and you aren't ready to be up and about. Mind Jase, now, and stop giving me guff."
"You aren't the boss of me!" Kari glared at him, her green eyes flashing fire.
"I'm the boss of you until I say otherwise," he answered, his own temper starting to fray at the edges. "I'll get you some broth."
"I don't want broth! I want some real food. Preferably McDonalds!"
"Jase said you need to keep down some liquids first. Broth and Jell-O for right now, and something more tonight if that stays down." He pointed a finger at her, "Stay put in that bed, little girl, or you and me are going to tangle."
Who the hell did he think he was, anyway! Kari was furious. She had every right to do as she pleased, and she wasn't going to let him tell her what to do! She threw off the blankets and sat up with effort. It took even longer to swing her legs over the side of the bed, and she was stunned to realize how weak she truly was! But, she was determined to prove to Jacob Tobias that he couldn't tell her what to do and she cautiously tried to stand up. She sat right back down when her legs were too weak to hold her weight. Of course, Jake picked that precise moment to walk back into the room with the mug of broth he promised her. The look on his face told her that she'd pushed him too far, and too late she remembered that he was extremely old-fashioned and believed in spanking grown women. "Don't you dare, Jacob Tobias!" she tried to scoot back under the relative safety of her covers, but she was simply too weak to make her body work like normal, even in the face of imminent danger!
"I dare, sweetheart," he said softly. "You've been pushing all day now, and I'm going to show you what happens to little girls who don't do as they're told."
"I'll stay in bed now," she promised. "I just didn't realize how weak I am," she admitted. "Please don't..." she whispered when he sat the mug down on the nightstand and then turned toward her.
"It's time you learn a few basic facts, Kari. First, I am a man of my word," he picked her up and then sat down on the bed and flipped her over his lap. "When I promise a spanking if you do something, then you can bet your sweet ass you'll get that spanking if you go ahead and do what you were told not to do." He pushed her nightgown up to bare her bottom and deliberately gave her a stinging spank to her left cheek and another to her right cheek. Her skin was so pale that she was sporting two distinct handprints on her fanny.
"No!" Kari protested. "Don't do this!" The two swats were stinging unbearably. "I'll stay in bed now, I promise!"
"Yes, sweetheart, you will," Jake agreed and delivered several more stinging spanks to her lovely bottom. Kari cried out each time his hand fell, and he warned himself to be gentle. She needed a lesson, but she was still ill. "Second, sweetheart, I do not like the way you spoke to Jase." His hand delivered another two spanks. "He's gone out of his way to make sure you didn't have to be admitted to the hospital, and I expect you to apologize for being so rude to him when he checks on you tonight. Is that clear?" Two more spanks, a bit lower, right on her sit spots.
"Yes! I'm sorry!" Kari was crying now. "I'm so sorry!" she cried.
"Third, I expect you to knock off the complaining. I'm trying to take care of you, not poison you. Ma made this broth for you, and you are going to drink it and forget about McDonalds until you are well again. Clear?" he delivered two more swats on top of the last two.
"Owwwwwww!" she wailed. And when he gave her a couple more swats on her upper thighs, she hastily answered, "It's clear! Please stop, Jake! I'm sorry!"
"I think you need a few more to give you something to think about, sweetheart," he told her.
"Nooooooo!" Kari tried to scramble away, but she was too weak to help herself. She couldn't protect her flaming bottom from whatever Jacob wanted to do, and she hated feeling so weak and helpless. Jake's hand was so hard, and her skin was very sensitive. She'd been hateful and rude, and after both Jake and Jase went out of their way to be nice to her! She deserved the spanking, but knowing that didn't make it hurt any less. "Please, Jake, I'm sorry!" she couldn't help pleading, but Jake ignored her and didn't stop spanking until her bottom was burning and she was crying hard. She felt so ashamed of herself, and wouldn't blame Jake if he walked out the door and didn't look back!
Jacob knew exactly when Kari's remorse was genuine and he gave her a few more spanks after that just to reinforce the lesson. The little redhead was going to have to learn to control her sassy tongue or she wouldn't be sitting too easy. He pulled her gown down over her reddened bottom, and then carefully turned her over to sit on his lap so he could comfort her. He knew it was important to be firm, but it was just as important to make sure she knew he wasn't just spanking her to be mean.
"I'm so sorry I was so awful, Jake. I hate myself when I act like that," she confessed.
"I know you're sick, sweetheart, and it doesn't bring out the best in any of us to be so ill, but you really do need to let me take care of you. You'll get well that much faster if you do what Jase says. He knows what he's doing," Jake said calmly.
"I'll apologize to him... if he comes back," she fretted.
"He'll be back, Kari. He's got a thick hide, and so do I," he reassured her. "We aren't trying to be mean to you; w
e just want you to get well."
"I'll behave now," she promised in a meek little voice. "I'm so ashamed of myself."
"There is no need for that, sweetheart. You're forgiven now. I'm going to put you back in bed, and I want you to try and sip some of this broth. You're weak as a newborn kitten, and this will help you get your strength back," he promised as he stood with her in his arms, and then gently placed her in the bed and propped the pillows behind her so she could safely hold the mug of broth.
"I'm not sure I can drink all of this," she said tiredly after taking a few sips of the liquid.
"Just a little will do for now," Jake agreed. "I'll reheat it later and you can try again. In a day or two, you'll be ready to run races," he promised.
It was all she could do to sip a bit more of the broth, and Kari felt so tired that she closed her eyes. Jake took the mug from her hands and then removed a couple of the pillows so she could recline and go to sleep. When she woke a while later, he helped her to the bathroom, and when she was back in bed, she had more broth and it tasted a bit better this time. "Your Mom is a good cook if she can make plain broth taste good."
"Ma is the best," Jake said proudly.
"You're so lucky to have her," Kari whispered, her green eyes filling with tears of emotion. "We lost Mama when I was little, and I can't remember much about her except the way she smelled and her beautiful smile."
"I was only ten when my Dad was killed, and a lot of my memories of him are from photographs. It's even worse for Jenna, because she was just an infant and has no memories of him at all."
"Your Mom never remarried?" Kari asked.
"No. She's dated some, but never let it get serious. What about your Dad?" he wanted to know.
"He remarried and then divorced when he caught his ex being horrid to me. She was abusive," Kari said sadly. "I felt terrible about it, but Dad has always insisted it wasn't my fault."
"It wasn't your fault," Jake stated firmly, and felt his respect for Keith Morgan rise several notches.
He and Kari talked about their respective parents for a few more minutes, and then she had to close her eyes and sleep some more. Jake used the time to get on line and do some more investigating on Quincy Darles. In another day or two, he would get back to work... Once he reached a dead end on the lead he was working on, he started looking for another apartment for Kari. There was no way in the world he was leaving her alone in this apartment with a murderer living next door.
Chapter Four
"But, I can't afford to move, Jake!" Kari insisted. "Especially with taking this time off from work."
"You can't stay here, sweetheart. It's not safe. Anyone could rent an apartment in this same building and have access to your apartment whenever they wished. I'm not about to let you stay here and run the risk of being raped or assaulted, or even killed."
"It's not your decision to make!" she reminded him. They'd been arguing for the last thirty minutes, and Jake was frustrated with her because she wouldn't look at any of the advertisements for other apartments. "I like this apartment, and if I move, my furniture might not fit as well as it does here."
"So, you sell this furniture and get something new if that happens. You can't stay here, sweetheart." As far as he was concerned, she was going to pick an apartment or he would do it for her. "You'd better get some rest now, sweetheart. Jase said you were doing well, but that you needed to rest often."
"I don't want to get back in bed!" Kari pouted. "I'm feeling much better now!" she argued.
"And we want to keep it that way. Come on, now, and take a nap." He wasn't about to let her argue her way out of doing what Jase said. Kari was a grumpy patient, and Jake was positive that if he stepped one foot out of her apartment, she would be dressed and off to work in the next minute. She wasn't going to get that chance.
"You know I'm well enough to be alone now...!" she glared at the man. "I don't need a nurse, or a babysitter. Go home and enjoy your vacation."
Jake chuckled. "So you can sneak out the door the minute my back is turned? Do you honestly want another spanking?" he asked, and when her cheeks turned a bright red, he added, "That is exactly what would happen if I had to come and fetch you from work, and I would come after you, Kari. Now stop giving me guff and get you sweet tail to bed and take a nap."
Kari wanted to argue, but she didn't dare. That spanking he'd given her had left her bottom very tender, and she had no desire to experience another at his hands. "All right... you win, but I don't like this!"
"Duly noted," he grinned. He waited until she had time to get into bed, and then peeked in the room to make sure she was actually resting and not out of bed cleaning out drawers like she did earlier that day. Jake had to smile when he saw that she was already sound asleep. Her body was recovering, but she still needed a lot of sleep. She looked so young, and so pretty lying there, the thought came unbidden, and he shook his head to clear it. When she was well, he would have to tell her that he was attracted to her and ask her out on a regular date. He didn't know what he would do if she said 'no'.
Kari was shocked to realize she'd been napping for nearly three hours! She hastily got out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, and once she relieved her bladder of all that water and juice that Jake kept pushing at her, she ran a brush through her hair and tried to make herself look as pretty as she could without resorting to makeup. It truly mattered to her that Jake find her attractive... and she didn't know what she would do if he said, "You're well, Kari. Good bye!" She was used to having him with her, and truth to tell, she'd come to enjoy his company a lot... even if he was too bossy for words at times. She liked Jason, too, and their Ma was quite a character. Molly came by every day and brought enough food to feed them and all the neighbors, too. She made Kari giggle at the way she talked to her son as if he was a little boy, especially when Jake towered over the woman by a good eighteen inches!
"Hi!" she said as she walked out of her room to find Jake on his laptop. "What are you doing?" she wanted to know.
"Looking for apartments for you," he admitted with a grin. "I've found several that are possibilities."
"Jake, we had this conversation before I took my nap! I can't and don't want to move. End of story."
"Don't get all stubborn on me, sweetheart. You can't stay here. End of story."
"Ummmhummmm. I'm hungry," she headed for the kitchen.
"Let me get you something," he was on his feet so quickly that it was impossible for her to believe he could move so fast.
"I want to do it myself," she pouted. "I am tired of being waited on hand and foot, Jake. Please, let me do it."
Jake reluctantly nodded. It was obvious that Kari was well enough to care for herself, and if he was a gentleman, he'd leave and get his butt back to work. But, he wouldn't be able to stop worrying about her if he did. This apartment wasn't safe. He continued to watch her as she filled two plates with food his Ma brought by and then she put them into the microwave, one at a time, and once they were heated through she carried them to the table and put one in front of Jake, a proud smile on her face. "See, I didn't pass out or anything!" she grinned impudently.
Jake had to chuckle. "No, you didn't, sweetheart. It's good to see you feeling so much better."
"I guess," she was suddenly sad, and doubted she was hiding it from his too perceptive dark eyes.
"Kari, what are you thinking right now?" Jake asked quietly.
She made a face, but looked at him and answered truthfully, "It's time for you to go back to your life, Jake, and I am really going to miss you. I like you... a lot!" Now, that was bold and brazen! And the truth! she reminded herself.
Jake gave her the biggest smile ever and then reached across the table to take her hand in his. "I'm not going to give you a chance to miss me, sweetheart."
"You aren't?" she asked hopefully.
"I'm surprised that Ma didn't tell you," he admitted a bit sheepishly, but continued with determination, "The folks in Ma's family, clear back sever
al generations, have had this strange ability to recognize the love of their life on sight. Ma felt that with Dad, Jase felt it with Gretchen, and Kari, I feel it with you." He smiled and asked, "I'm not frightening you, am I?"
"Oh no," she shook her head vigorously. "I feel the same way," she shocked him by admitting, and then she giggled. "I've so dreaded you leaving, and I was so afraid you'd say good-bye and be happy to be rid of me...! I've been a real pain as a patient."
"Wait until you get the chance to take care of me sometime. I'm a bear," he admitted and then laughed when her eyes went wide.
"Oh, Jake, you aren't feeling ill are you? Did you catch this from me?" she immediately wanted to know.
"No, I feel fine. I don't get sick often, but when I do, I'm worse than you could ever be, sweetheart."
"Do I get to spank you?" she asked with a giggle.
"You're welcome to try," he arched an eyebrow at her, and when she giggled again, he added, "I think you'd be the one to end up over my knee, however."
"Oh, I don't know. I was as weak as a kitten, and if you were that way, I might stand a chance... provided I called Jason and asked for help," she tacked on. That made Jake chuckle in amusement.
"Now, that might work, but you should realize that you'd both be in big trouble when I got well." The doorbell chimed and he was on his feet before she could move. "You stay put while I check that out."
If she was shocked when he drew his gun from his holster, she didn't let on. Jake was concerned about her neighbor for some reason, and his fears were making her paranoid. However, a few seconds later Jase followed Jake into the kitchen. "How are you feeling, Kari?" he asked with a smile for her.
"I'm all better," she said. "May I please go back to work tomorrow?"
"No. Not until Monday," he answered without hesitation. "It's important that you rest a lot this weekend, sweetheart. You don't want to go back to work tomorrow, and have a relapse. You were really ill, and if Jake hadn't been here with you, I would have admitted you to the hospital, and I'd just be releasing you today with orders to rest a lot today and tomorrow, and take it easy over the weekend." When she stuck her tongue out at him he chuckled. "Besides, brother is going to make sure you rest anyway."
