Hi, Brent,” Lainie said cautiously. Grant reached out a hand to her, and she came around to sit beside him on the couch, tucking her leg under her for comfort. “What’s going on?”
Brent shifted. He seemed inordinately serious and just a bit uncomfortable. “Well, as I was just telling Grant, a problem has been brought to my attention.”
“What sort of problem?” Lainie asked, the tension in her belly instantly morphing into an uncomfortable knot of nerves that sank like a rock
“I got a call from a friend at Denver PD. A concerned citizen called 911 yesterday claiming she had overheard a conversation in the mall that led her to believe that women and children were being abused in our community,” Brent explained.
Lainie thought she might be sick. This was the very thing Corbin’s Bend was designed to protect the residents from, and now her daughter’s very public tantrum had brought it right to their door steps.
“My friend got the security video from the mall and emailed me the relevant portion to see if I could identify the people in question,” Brent went on. “I think you know what the video showed.”
Lainie nodded. “She didn’t mean it. I swear to you. We’ve never laid a hand on our girls, save for the odd swat here and there when they were small.”
Brent nodded, satisfied. He turned to Grant. “I need to talk to Lainie alone for a minute.”
“There’s nothing you can’t say in front of Grant,” Lainie told him. “We don’t have secrets in our marriage.” The irony of that statement was not lost on Lainie. Could it have only been last night that Grant had disciplined her for that very thing? It seemed like a lifetime ago now. It had to be. The last ten minutes had been years long at least.
“Not this,” Brent insisted. Looking directly to Grant, he continued. “You know SOP in situations like this as well as I do. Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
Grant’s eyes went wide as the implication of Brent’s words dawned. “Wait a minute. You and Matt encouraged me to add physical discipline to our relationship, and now you think I’m abusing her. That’s bullshit.”
“I have to ask,” Brent replied calmly.
“Would you go get me some water, please, sweetheart?” Lainie said to Grant. She’d been a cop’s wife for fifteen years. You didn’t live with someone for that long without picking up some of the lingo and procedures. It was clear to her what was going on here, and it was just as clear that she needed to find a way for Brent to be able to ask his questions without Grant exploding. In general, Grant was an easy-going man who rarely got angry, but when something finally reached the end of his long fuse, he was perfectly capable of living up to the kind of temper his red hair suggested. That kind of reaction would not do their assertion that he wasn’t harming her any good.
Grant raked hand through his hair, clearly trying to keep a handle on his rising temper. “Yeah, okay, I can do that.”
As soon as Grant had disappeared into the kitchen, Brent turned to her and said, “You know what I need to know. Is he hurting you?”
“Of course not!” Lainie replied. “We practice DD, of course, but he’s never hurt me.”
Grant came back into the room on the heels of this comment. “What the hell, Brent?” he blurted. “You taught Matt, and Matt taught me. You know that. You know damn well I’m safe.”
“I do,” Brent agreed. “I’m sorry about that, Grant. I had to be able to tell the investigators that I had asked and found no evidence of abuse. For what it’s worth, if I honestly believed you were abusing her, I would’ve never had this conversation anywhere around you.”
Grant nodded, grudgingly acknowledging the logic of what Brent was saying.
“As it is,” Brent went on, “I can now honestly report that I have looked into it and am convinced that it was nothing more than baseless accusations thrown around in a temper.”
“That’s all it was,” Lainie told him. “I swear it.”
“I believe you,” Brent replied, “and I’m fairly confident I can convince the authorities that there is no need for further intervention. Unfortunately, that’s not the only problem.”
Lainie had begun to relax when he had said he believed her, but now she went on high alert all over again. If he believed her and no further action needed to be taken, what other problem could there be? Had Kathleen done something else she didn’t know about. Please God don’t let her have done anything worse.
“What else?” Grant asked. He was outwardly calm, but the way that he was clutching Lainie’s hand told her he was just as anxious as she was.
“You are both aware that we have certain rules in our community,” Brent said. “One of those rules is that we do nothing to bring undue scrutiny into our community. Even though I believe this incident was no more than a teenager having a tantrum, it was very public and as such brought our community under scrutiny from the police and social services. While I don’t believe that it warrants outside intervention, it is without question a violation of our own community rules. That brings with it its own set of consequences.”
“Like what?” Grant asked.
“Therein lies the problem,” Brent explained. “In the past, incidents of this nature have been handled by sentencing the person or persons responsible to a public spanking, typically with some element of community service also attached. However, those cases have all involved adults who were members of the community and had agreed to be subject to our unique justice system.”
Horror washed over Lainie. Throwing up became a very serious possibility. Her heart pounded impossibly hard. Her palms had gone sweaty and clammy, and she realized through a haze of distance that she was trembling.
“Lainie, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Grant questioned. Despite the fact that Lainie could see him sitting right next to her, he sounded somehow very far away. She tried to form words to answer him, but the words refused to form. Suddenly, he was gone and that scared Lainie even more.
Then, as suddenly as he had disappeared, he was back, holding out one of the small brown paper bags she occasionally used to pack lunches in and telling her to breathe into it. She did, and after what seemed an eternity, her body finally began to cooperate again, more or less at any rate. She shook her head back and forth frantically, “No, please, not that.”
“Absolutely not,” Brent assured her. “That was my point. The normal consequences do not apply here. Kathleen’s a minor.”
“But I’m not,” Lainie whispered before she even consciously realized the words had formed. “She was with me. I was responsible for her. I should have stopped her. I know I should have. It’s my fault, but please, don’t make me... Not that.” She had just barely begun to wrap her mind around the idea of Grant setting boundaries and punishing her. The idea of submitting to that in public before all of her neighbors... The very thought had her shaking again.
“No,” Grant said firmly, breaking through the haze of panic. “Kathleen is responsible for her own actions. Her deplorable behavior is her fault. Not yours.”
“You did try to stop her,” Brent added. “It was clear even from the tape I saw that you were trying to talk her down and diffuse the situation. I didn’t mean to imply that I somehow held you responsible. That never crossed my mind. I only wanted to let you know that I will have to take this before the discipline board, and let them determine the consequences. I am so sorry I frightened you. That was never my intention.”
“Speaking of consequences,” Grant put in, “I’m not sure you should consider all of the typical consequences off the table.” Somehow, in all the chaos of the last few minutes, he had returned to sitting beside her. He had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and was rubbing his hand up and down her arm in a light, warm touch that was surprisingly comforting. “Yes, spanking may be off the table, but I’m not sure community service is a bad idea. She put the community in a bad position by her behavior. Now she needs to give something back to the community. That seems like a logical consequenc
e to me. I will also tell you right now in addition to whatever the discipline board decides, she will make a public apology to the community. They can include that as part of the consequences if they feel so inclined, but even if they don’t, it will happen.”
“Actually,” Brent said thoughtfully, “that’s not a bad idea, community service and a public apology. It will be up to the discipline board, but I can certainly put that forward as a suggestion.”
“I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about Kathleen,” Grant told him. “As you can probably tell, she’s having a very hard time adjusting and understanding spanking relationships as not being something abusive. Lainie and I have both tried to talk to her multiple times. I have taken the approach that she doesn’t have to like what we do or what other people believe and do, as long as she is still polite and respectful, but clearly this isn’t working. I was thinking that sometimes kids have an easier time hearing things coming from someone other than their parents. Do you know of anyone who might be willing to talk to her? I know this is incredibly personal and private information, but we’re at a loss.”
“Sure, I’d be glad to,” Brent answered, “or I can ask Char if you think she would be more receptive to it coming from a woman. Actually, now that I think about it, Char is probably a better idea. Teenagers can be so sensitive and easily embarrassed.”
“That would be great. Maybe there is something Kathleen can do for Char as part of her volunteering that would give them a chance to talk,” Grant suggested.
“I’m sure we can think of something,” Brent agreed. “I do have to tell you that there is a chance the discipline board won’t accept the suggestions we talked about. I don’t think this is going to happen, but they could possibly choose to refer you to the housing board to determine whether or not it’s best for you to stay in the community.”
“We could have to leave?” Lainie gasped, shocked.
“It’s a possibility,” Brent admitted. “At this point, I think that possibility is very small. I think we have come up with a solution that is workable, but it is a possibility. I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I just felt like I needed to be honest and say that it is a possibility, albeit remote.”
There was a long moment of shell shocked silence before Grant recovered enough to say, “I understand. I appreciate you being honest with us, and I really appreciate you being willing to talk with Kathleen.”
“I’ll let you know something as soon as I know,” Brent said. “Try not to worry.” With that, he excused himself and left.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Lainie practically launched herself at Grant. “Oh my God, what are we going to do if they make us leave?” She blurted, clinging to him. She might have had her doubts about this move and the new direction they had taken in their marriage in the beginning, but she loved it here now. She’d made friends and was the happiest she could remember being in years, possibly ever. The idea that it could all be ripped away... Her eyes blurred and filled. She buried her face in Grant’s shoulder, crying quietly.
Grant wrapped his arms around her. “Hey now, you heard Brent. The likelihood of that happening is very small. It’s never going to come to that.”
“But it could,” Lainie insisted. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to go back to like we were before.”
Grant held her tight. “You’re not going to have to,” he assured. “They’re not going to make us leave over this.” Lainie started to protest, he added, “Even if they did, we’re never going back to the way it was before. I won’t let that happen. That’s a promise.”
The logical, practical part of Lainie wanted to argue. He couldn’t possibly know what might happen in the future. Life happened. It had driven them apart once already. It could do it again. The other part of her, the newer part that she was just discovering, wanted very much to believe him. That part couldn’t even fathom going back to juggling it all herself and didn’t want to.
“Trust me,” Grant whispered into her hair, and for once in her life, Lainie took a deep breath and did just that.
Chapter 9
Grant watched Kathleen through the rearview mirror as he slowly pulled away from Brent and Char’s house. Though Char was expecting her to come and help watch little Kayla Rachelle, Kathleen made no move toward the house. Instead, she glared at his receding taillights with the intensity of a laser beam. If looks could kill, someone would be calling the coroner for him right now.
Thankfully, Brent had managed to get the discipline board to agree to their suggestion of having Kathleen do community service work with other adults in the community as a way to make restitution for the embarrassment and undue scrutiny her actions had caused. They had also agreed with Grant on having her make a public apology with one notable exception. They had tabled the issue of whether or not to refer them to the housing board until after Kathleen made her apology. There was concern that if Kathleen’s attitude did not alter this would continue to be a problem. They weren’t willing to subject the community to the possibility of this happening over and over again if Kathleen continued her efforts to expose them all. As such, possible eviction was still hanging over all their heads.
He understood the decision. Frankly, he couldn’t blame them. They couldn’t risk the privacy of the entire community for the sake of one stubborn, hotheaded teenager with more opinion than sense. He just hoped that somehow, someway, someone could make her see what she was really doing. Heaven knows he had tried. Privately, Brent had also confided that he had asked several of the people Kathleen would be working alongside of to talk with her about their perspectives of DD, and why privacy was so important in a community like theirs. He could only pray that Brent’s idea would work.
What worried him was that he did not think Kathleen was going to be particularly receptive no matter how hard anyone tried. To say she had not taken her consequences well was a tremendous understatement. When he had told her, she had immediately thrown yet another raging fit. Screaming and storming around her bedroom, ranting about the unfairness of it all. How it was double jeopardy and she shouldn’t be able to be punished again for the same offense when he had already grounded her. Pointing out that one consequence that come from her parents and the other from the community had only started her in on yet another diatribe about how weird and unfair the community was, and how much she hated living here.
Personally, Grant was torn about the whole situation. On the one hand, he hated that Kathleen was unhappy. On the other hand, he was sick to death of her attitude and continually outrageous and bratty behavior. He had been tempted on more than one occasion to put a stop to it the way his own father would have, by the simple expedient of taking a paddle to her backside. He knew from personal experience that one was much more inclined to be cooperative after an encounter of that sort. Lainie had pointed out, however, that reacting in that way when Kathleen had not been raised with it like he had would likely confuse the situation even further. Not to mention it was extremely unlikely to convince her of the validity of the argument that consensual spankings between adults were not harmful. If anything, it would probably add fuel to her fire. He agreed with the logic of what Lainie had said, but that didn’t make it any less tempting in those moments when she was continually fighting him. He hadn’t done it, and he wouldn’t, but there were moments...
He idled at the entrance to the community, watching Kathleen. She had still made no effort to go inside. He wondered whether he should turn around and go back. Frankly, he wouldn’t put it past her to try running way. He’d known no few teenagers who had tried it. It never worked out well, and he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy what happened to some of them on the streets. He couldn’t let that happen to Kathleen. Just as he was about to turn around, Char came out onto the porch and coaxed Kathleen inside. Satisfied, Grant pulled onto the highway and prayed for a miracle.
His day turned out to be the kind of flat out busy day t
hat meant he barely had time to inhale his lunch – some unidentifiable thing from the cafeteria that was masquerading as Salisbury steak – let alone spare a thought toward how Kathleen might be doing. Summertime was ending and the college was beginning to gear up for the new fall semester. That meant that in addition to the routine work of rescuing students locked out of cars, reviving the car batteries, and dealing with parking violations, there was the inevitable rush of students who had waited until the last minute to pay their summer parking violations in order to have the fees cleared away from their accounts so that they could register for fall, and an obligatory safety workshop with the faculty to prepare for the upcoming semester. It was a far different and saner crazy than the kind of crazy he dealt with in his years working at the county jail, but it was an insanity all its own. His own personal concerns didn’t cross his mind again until he was nearly home. When they did, he sent up a silent but fervent prayer that the day had gone well. Hell, at this point, he’d settle for it not having gotten any worse. The house was relatively quiet when he came in. He could hear the faint thrum of noise from upstairs that told him the girls were either listening to music or watching TV in the family room, but there was no yelling or obvious arguing. He counted that as a good sign, breathing a sigh of relief and letting out a breath he wasn’t even consciously aware had been holding. He found Lainie in the kitchen, surrounded by old photographs and pouring over one of her scrapbooks. She was barefoot with her feet crossed at the ankles and tucked back beneath her chair. He smiled at the sight, fondly remembering many days when he had walked in on her doing homework at the table, seated in much the same position.
He stooped to kiss her, heeling out a chair and taking a seat beside her. “How did she do today?” He didn’t specify which she. There was no need. Both of them knew that Kathleen was paramount on his mind, on both their minds actually.
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