Return to Corbin's Bend

by Corinne Alexander

  Troy and Hallie have been setup by their families and Father Beauchamp. He should be angry at their manipulation, but as he stands there looking at Hallie’s wiggling bottom, listening to her sniffles as she awaits the remainder of her punishment, he understands why they’d done it. Hallie and Troy had moved so quickly at the start of their relationship, they had needed to both make decisions about their future independently in order to know for sure they were making the right decisions for the right reasons. The fact that Hallie had decided to stay in Corbin’s Bend and has consented to a real punishment tells Troy she has come to terms with living a domestic discipline lifestyle, even without him pressuring her.

  “Hello? Are you still there?”

  With one last look at each occupant in the room, Troy steps back to Hallie, placing his left hand over her tattoo to comfort her while he pulls his dominant right arm back to deliver a sound paddling to her panty covered ass.

  “Owie!”

  He silently delivers nine more swats, slow and steady. With each one, he can hear her crying increasing until she is sobbing. He would give anything to untie her and pull her into his arms, but knows it needs to wait until they finish. He is about to start the final ten swats when he looks up to see the other four occupants of the room filing out the back door, closing it quietly behind them, leaving Hallie and Troy alone for the first time in six weeks.

  This is no longer Father Henry’s punishment. The clergyman’s departure tells Troy this is now a matter between a HoH and his TiH, that is if Hallie will still have him. He knows what he needs to do.

  Stepping close to Hallie, he reaches out to hook his fingers into the elastic of her waistband before slowly pulling her panties down to her knees.

  “Whoa! What are you doing? I thought this was supposed to be over my panties!”

  Troy grabs hold of the thick curtain next, pulling it away from Hallie’s body exposing her beautiful blonde hair dragging onto the floor as her head is bowed towards her restrained wrists. When Troy begins to kneed the pink flesh of her bottom with his warm hand, she tries to flinch away.

  “Now, is that any way for a taken-in-hand to behave for her head of the household? I told you, baby. Your punishments will always be on the bare.”

  A choked cry fills the room. “Troy? Oh my God, is that you?”

  “Yes, honey. If it makes you feel better, we’ve been set up. I didn’t know it was you until about three minutes ago.”

  “Oh please, untie me! I need to see you. I need to hold you. Oh God, Troy, I have so much to tell you.”

  “Oh Hallie, me too, baby, but I’m afraid a deal is a deal. I think we need to finish the last ten before we can put this behind us and move on, don’t you?”

  She doesn’t answer with words. Only a forlorn sigh.

  Troy interrupts his massage to her ass with a sharp spank with his right palm. “Tell me Hallie. Why did you act the way you did that last night together? I have to know. I’ve wracked my brains trying to figure it out.”

  “I thought you were moving back to Washington DC to be with Victoria.”

  “Who the hell told you that?”

  “Victoria! She called on your cell phone while I was in the bathroom. I answered it and she told me she was expecting you in DC that next week. I thought you’d lied to me and were planning on moving away. In fact, why are you here now, Troy? Why aren’t you in DC?”

  “Why? Well for starters because Victoria is a raving lunatic who is currently in the brig awaiting her court-martial proceedings after sabotaging our team’s project in a misguided attempt to get me to move back to Washington.”

  “Wait. So she was lying?”

  “Of course she was lying, Hallie. I loved…no… I love you. I couldn’t wait to tell you I had plans to move to Corbin’s Bend.”

  “Troy, let me up. I need to see your eyes.”

  “Nope. Not yet. I kind of like this. You can’t possibly get up and run out without so much as an explanation or a fucking clue what the hell was going through that pretty brain of yours. I think I’ll keep you just like this until I get the answers I need.”

  “Oh God. Please. I really am sorry.”

  “Me too, baby. I should have fought for you harder and not taken no for an answer.”

  “We really messed this up, didn’t we?”

  “Yes, we both did, but I think I know just the thing to get everything fixed up.”

  Hallie can’t see his face, but if she could, she would have seen him steeling himself to complete her punishment.

  Troy brings the wooden paddle down to Hallie’s bare, spankable ass right down the middle, spreading real fire across both cheeks. “Owie, Troy! Please!”

  The seventeenth strike is lower and the eighteenth connects with her tender sit spot. Hallie is trying to wiggle out of her restraints, but they hold firm. Troy delivers two more strong paddles to her beautiful ass before throwing the punishment device to the floor and rushing to release Hallie. There is no way he can deliver the final five swats when he knows he has to share some of the blame for the mess they both made of things.

  Even once the restraints are removed, Hallie remains draped over the leather bench crying. Troy gently lifts her into his arms, sinking to the floor to cradle her tightly in his arms as he comforts her. “Shhh, baby. It’s all over now. You did so good for your first punishment.”

  “I’m so sorry, Troy.”

  “Me too, honey. Me too. We have so much to talk about.”

  “Yes, but before anything else, there is one thing I have to tell you.”

  “Shhh. It can wait.”

  She leans back to look up into his eyes for the first time. He can see her passion shining in her green eyes. “No, it can’t wait. I’ve waited long enough to tell you I love you, Troy.”

  “Oh Christ, I love you too, Hallie. I think we need to get out of here and head home before we have something naughty to confess to Father Henry.”

  Her laughter is music to his ears. “I’m not looking forward to driving all the way back to Denver, but I guess it can’t be helped. I can’t wait to be alone with you.”

  “Well, I’ve got some good news then. It should take us a total of three minutes to get home.” When her eyes widen, he continues. “I moved into Corbin’s Bend this weekend, Hallie.”

  “You mean…”

  “Yep. You’re stuck with me.”

  Epilogue

  Oh Hallie, you’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. I wish your mother and grandmother could be here to see you.” Gina’s voice warbles as she looks on her only niece, preparing to walk down the aisle.

  Their misty eyes meet in the three-way mirror as they complete the final preparations for the ceremony. Hallie has never been as happy as she is at this very moment. She’s sure of it.

  The last four months have flown by. On the one hand, she feels like she just met Troy because they still find new things about each other almost every single day. In other ways, it’s hard to remember her life before she met the man of her dreams. The memories of her time in Louisiana and on the road with Eddie and the band are distant memories. Her future is here in Corbin’s Bend with her soon-to-be husband and her aunt and uncle.

  She’s lost in happy thoughts when Traci steps close to hand her the most beautiful bouquet of white gardenias and lilies-of-the-valley; an array of flowers that were her mother’s favorites. Looking into the mirror, Hallie realizes that today she’s not only gaining a husband, but she’s finally going to get a sister.

  “Thank you so much, Traci - for everything. I can’t believe in less than an hour we’re going to be sisters.”

  “I know. I’ve always wanted a sister. I just didn’t know she was going to burst into my life in the middle of the night and try to beat up my brother.”

  The women dissolve into giggles. “It really is amazing, isn’t it?”

  “I just keep remembering the look on Troy’s face when you were on his back, hitting him.”

  Aunt Gin
a looks confused. “What are you two girls talking about?”

  Traci and Hallie burst into renewed giggles. “Oh nothing, Aunt Gina.”

  Uncle Adam knocks and lets himself into the cramped room in the basement of St. Michael’s Parish. They may have a small wedding party of just Traci as the maid-of-honor and Troy’s friend from work, John, as the best man, but the church is going to be bursting at the seams with witnesses to the happy occasion. Most of Corbin’s Bend is sure to show up for the service and those who don’t will still join the open reception and dance being held under a huge tent in the park across the street from Traci’s house. The same park Hallie had walked past in the snow on the way to starting the new chapter in her life here in Corbin’s Bend.

  “Aren’t you ladies ready yet? It’s just about time to head upstairs.” Uncle Adam’s words may be impatient, but Hallie sees the uncharacteristic tears pooling in his eyes as he looks down at his only niece.

  “Yes, Uncle Adam. I’m ready. Have you seen Troy? How does he look?”

  “He looks like a nervous bridegroom, that’s how he looks. For some strange reason, he was under the misguided impression that you might be having second thoughts about going through with the ceremony this afternoon. Something about you being unsure if you wanted to marry a man who grew up in the 50s or some silliness like that. I think he’s just got a case of the nerves, that’s what I think. I tried to get him to take a shot of whiskey, but he said he needs to stay on his toes around you.”

  Hallie’s face turns a nice shade of pink at the memories of why Troy is nervous. As pink as her face is, she knows her bottom is several shades darker. She’s just lucky the bustle on her dress prevents her from sitting. As angry as she’d been at her fiancé for delivering a long, hard spanking the night before their wedding, she knows she’d earned it ten times over.

  The weeks leading up to their wedding had really been stressful for Hallie. Like most brides, she wanted everything to be perfect. Apparently she turns into a temperamental pill - Troy’s words, not hers - when she gets stressed and after her mini-meltdown after the rehearsal dinner the night before, Troy decided he’d had enough. At the time, Hallie thought he was just being a Neanderthal trying to ruin her special day. Lucky for Hallie, he was man enough to spank her long enough to work through her stress and nervousness to uncover the more relaxed Hallie standing in front of the mirror today. The fact that he knew what she needed and was brave enough to deliver it against the tears and pleading of a basket-case bride proves she’s found one-in-a-million in Troy. Hallie is comforted by the warm tingle encasing her well chastised bottom. It’s as if she secretly gets to carry a bit of Troy around with her today as she waits to walk down the aisle and take him as her husband.

  Ten short minutes later, Hallie pauses at the entry to the sanctuary, her arm through Uncle Adam’s tuxedo covered arm, watching Traci walk down the aisle in front of her. The sprays of white flowers decorating the alter and ends of each pew look exactly as Hallie had dreamed. She takes a deep breath as the bridal march begins on the organ and the congregation rises, turning, all eyes on her.

  A rare moment of true clarity surrounds Hallie as she takes the first steps forward to her future. She’s so grateful to Troy for helping to get her refocused on what is really important today. It isn’t the perfection of the cake or the scent of the flowers. It isn’t knowing that her shoes have the right sized heal or that Troy’s tuxedo is perfectly pressed. No, as she nears the alter and catches the first real glimpse of her soon-to-be-husband, Hallie’s heart expands with love for the most handsome man she’s ever met, waiting with a grin on his face as if he’s the luckiest man on the face of the earth. This… today… it’s all about their love. Their commitment to each other and their future.

  As Hallie arrives at the altar to take Troy’s arm, sandwiched between the two men who love her, she realizes that today she doesn’t just gain a husband, but the five of them are forming a new family. Aunt Gina and Uncle Adam never got to have children of their own, but Hallie knows they love her as if she were their own. Today two small families will join forces to become one extended family. Hallie prays that soon Traci will find her own Mr. Right who will want to join their family and later, hopefully add children for the two couples.

  Hallie feels Troy squeezing her hand, bringing her back from her daydreaming. He smiles at her indulgently as Father Henry welcomes the congregation.

  “And who presents this woman for marriage to this man?”

  Hallie hears the emotion in her uncle’s normally strong voice. “Her Aunt Gina and I.” Adam lifts her short veil and leans in to place a quick kiss on her cheek, whispering in her ear. “I’m so happy for you, Hallie. Your aunt and I love you very much.”

  Emotion warbles her voice. “I love you both too, Uncle Adam. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for Troy and me.”

  Her uncle moves to take a seat in the front pew next to his wife, pulling her into his arms to comfort her as she is briefly overwhelmed with happy tears.

  The rest of the ceremony flies by in a blur for Hallie. She hears the music, enjoys the candles and tries to listen to Father Henry’s message, but she’s distracted by Troy’s calming caresses on her arm linked with his. She sees the twinkle in his eyes as she recites her vows, the word obey prominently included. She also hears his solemn promise as he vows to love, honor, protect and cherish her till death do they part.

  They finally arrive at the part of the service Hallie is most looking forward to. Turning them around to face the congregation, Father Henry announces, “I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Troy Jackson.” The packed church applauds as Father Henry informs Troy that he may now kiss his bride.

  Hallie doesn’t have even a second to wait before Troy’s mouth latches onto hers for a very risqué kiss for the middle of church. Father Beauchamp doesn’t seem the least bit bothered and allows Troy to maul his bride for a good thirty seconds until catcalls from their friends and family force them to separate enough for Troy to look down on her.

  “I love you, Mrs. Jackson.”

  Her heart is ready to burst. “I love you more, Mr. Jackson.”

  As perfect as this day has been, by 11:00 p.m., Troy is more than ready to start his honeymoon. He knows he’ll feel guilty later for cutting their time at the dance short, especially because he’s enjoying watching Hallie dancing with a group out in the middle of the dance floor, but he can’t wait to get his bride alone. They plan on spending tonight in Corbin’s Bend before leaving for their honeymoon to the Caribbean the next day. He decides the next break the band takes, he’s going to urge his wife to start saying their goodbyes.

  His wife. He’s married. He has to pinch himself when he realizes how fast things fell into place. The six weeks they’d spent apart from each other at the new year had been hell, but that time also served its purpose. Hallie and Troy had both used that time to figure out what it was that would make them happy in life and luckily, they had both decided it was each other.

  Troy smiles as he remembers that not everything has been completely smooth sailing. His young bride has tested his resolve many times and his cock twitches remembering how much fun he’s had guiding her, often over his knee. Considering they met with her tackling him, thinking he was the devil incarnate for beating Traci, the fact that Hallie is whole-heartedly embracing the domestic discipline way of life has him feeling as if he’d won the lottery that snowy night she barged into his life.

  Hallie is finally tiring and he sees the relief on her face as the band announces their next break. He’s just about to collect her to make their exit when he’s joined by Brent.

  “So, are you two ready to open your gifts?”

  Troy’s heart drops. He should be grateful for the overflowing table of gifts, large and small, but he had hoped they could open them when they returned from their honeymoon.

  “Hi, Brent. Actually, I was just ready to snag up my bride and take her home to start our honeymoon.”
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br />   Brent’s laughter draws several other HoH’s over to their small group. The men all start pressuring Troy to open the presents.

  “Come on, Troy. I can’t wait for you guys to open your gifts.” Zachary Cunningham, his mentor, had become a good friend in the months since Troy had moved to Corbin’s Bend. “Erin didn’t like the gift I picked out so we got you two gifts. I somehow think Hallie is going to like the one Erin picked out more than mine.”

  Troy counters. “Well, thanks, but I think starting the honeymoon is a bit more important that opening gifts, don’t you guys?”

  The small group chuckles, several slapping him on the back. “I think you’ll be more than happy if you take the time to open your gifts tonight, my friend. You may just want to put some of them to use in the coming days of your honeymoon.”

  The conspiratorial grins remind Troy that the open nature of the Corbin’s Bend spanking community most likely has influenced most guest’s gift choices. Watching Hallie’s hips swaying as she walks his way has him suddenly interested in unwrapping the table full of presents.

  “Hello, Mr. Jackson. You need to stop standing on the sidelines and dance with me again, please.”

  Hugging her close. “Hello, Mrs. Jackson. The guys here were just convincing me that it’s time to open our gifts. Are you game?”

  Her eyes twinkle. “Oh, can we, Troy? I love opening gifts!” Hallie is clapping her hands excitedly as they move the short distance to the table holding the festively wrapped boxes.

  Troy somehow doubts she’s going to enjoy her gifts tonight when he hears the round of barely contained chuckles from the HoH’s of Corbin’s Bend.

  Hallie’s face as she opens the first small box from Danelle and Carrie Ann is priceless. Nestled inside is a small leather tawse. To Troy it doesn’t look very threatening, but Hallie looks as if she’s going to drop it onto the nearby waiter’s tray to be carried away.