It's Just A Ranch

by Misty Malone

  “Yes, I do, but I think I know why, and it’s something you’ll have to fix; not Dr. Fielding. Remember when I told you I hate to wait?”

  “Of course.”

  “Last night you told me you were going to spank me, but not for a week yet.”

  “Your reaction to that surprised me. I expected you to be upset about the prospect of waiting a week, but you seemed to be okay with it.”

  “I thought I was. Unfortunately, the only part of it that I actually thought about was the part that got me out of a spanking last night. After I went to bed, though, the other half of it set in, and I realized I didn’t actually get out of anything. It was just delayed, and now it’s even worse because I have to think about it and worry about it for a week.”

  “That was more the reaction I expected last night. I figured if that was your reaction we’d talk about it, and if it was going to be a problem, I would go ahead and do it last night.”

  “I wish you would have,” she said quietly, looking down.

  “I wish you would have told me that’s how you felt about it. As it turned out, I wouldn’t have been able to last night, but we could have taken care of it this morning. But we can’t change what’s already happened, so the best we can do is fix it now and try to avoid it happening again. Do you think worrying about it is what caused your headache?”

  “Yes. Dr. Fielding told me some things to try to avoid for a couple months because they can trigger a headache after a concussion. The first thing on his list was stress. Waiting is hard for me under any circumstances, but waiting for something I know I’m not going to like is very stressful for me.”

  Garrett was nodding his head, understanding what she was saying, and thinking about his options.

  “This is horrible. I didn’t sleep much last night once I saw the whole picture, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Thinking about it just made the facts even clearer to me. I have to admit that I deserve it, so I can’t blame anyone but myself.”

  A few tears had escaped her eyes and were rolling down her cheeks, as he pulled her over his lap. “Then I think we need to take care of this right now.” He reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans and quickly pulled them down to her ankles. Her panties joined them moments later. He snugged her up close to him with an arm tightly holding her waist, while his other hand rested on her bare bottom.

  “Now, you’ve definitely earned a spanking, and I think you have admitted that to yourself this time. Am I right about that?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Good. That will make my job easier, so I can watch you closer. You’ve earned a spanking, but I don’t want you getting injured further in the process.”

  “Me, neither. I already have a headache.”

  “I know, and while I don’t like the idea of doing something like this while you have a headache, I think you’re right about the stress of waiting causing your headache. If that’s the case, your headache won’t leave until the stress leaves.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Since for once you’re not arguing, insisting you don’t deserve this, I want you to try and accept this spanking instead of fighting me the whole time. I know it’s going to hurt, and I’m not asking you to stay quiet, but flailing like you normally do certainly won’t help your headache, so try to keep that in mind.”

  “I’ll try, but you could help me with that.”

  He leaned sideways so he could see her face. “How can I help with that?”

  He saw the impish little smile on her face just moments before she answered. “If you wouldn’t spank quite so hard, I wouldn’t feel it so necessary to do whatever I can to escape.”

  “That’s probably true,” he conceded, “but then you would probably also be more apt to repeat your action again, and then I’d have to spank you again, only a little harder, so you see, it becomes a vicious cycle.” He pretended to consider her request a few moments. “No, I think I’ll stick with my method. It always worked when my dad used it on me. I tried hard to learn my lesson with one session.”

  She sighed. He had to grin, happy to see she hadn’t lost her spirit or sense of humor. That meant a lot to him. She wouldn’t be able to say things like that if she didn’t trust him. He knew she was dreading this, but it was good knowing she trusted him.

  He pushed those thoughts out of his mind so he could concentrate on what he knew he had to do. “Okay, Mindy, tell me why we’re here.”

  “What? Why?”

  He gave her two good swats, which had her squealing. “Ow! Garrett, what do you want?”

  He sighed. “What I want is for you to do what I say just once. I want you to answer my question, so I know your mind is where it should be during this spanking. If you’re just concentrating on getting through it, it won’t do you much good. I want you thinking about what you did that is the reason for this spanking, and how to avoid another one in the future. Now, tell me why we’re here.”

  She frowned, but answered. “Because I let my nerves get out of control and I turned into a bitch.” Two more good swats landed, and she yelped. “Hey! It’s the truth, and you know it.”

  “I also know my future wife can find better words to explain it than that, and you know that, as well. Now, try that again.”

  She sighed, which earned her another hard swat. She quickly answered. “Because my nerves got out of control and I was rude to the florist.”

  “And how could you have prevented that from happening?” She turned around and looked at him, obviously not expecting that question. “You think about that while I get started. I suggest you give it some serious thought, because this spanking won’t end until you can tell me how to avoid a repeat in the future.”

  With that, he started the spanking. She started yelling from the first swat, insisting he was spanking harder and it hurt really, really, really bad. He was glad she wasn’t looking back at him because he didn’t want her seeing the smile on his face. She’d tried to convince him of the same thing with every spanking he’d given her. He wasn’t sure if she seriously expected him to believe her and stop, or if it had become a habit during spankings now, or what, but he found it rather endearing.

  As cute as it was, though, he knew she wasn’t thinking about what she should be, so he stopped a second, giving her time to catch her breath. He patted her bare bottom while he attempted to direct her line of thinking back to where it should be. “Have you come up with a way to avoid this happening again yet?”

  She froze, and he knew she’d forgotten about his question already, but he also knew she was thinking about it now. He started the spanking again. “Apparently not. Keep thinking about it, though, because I’m serious. We won’t be done here until you can tell me what you can do differently in the future to avoid that happening again.”

  She squealed, but he watched as she settled down a bit. He was sure she was thinking, so he eased up a little on the strength of the spanking he was giving her, but kept up the pace. As long as she was still feeling the pain of a spanking while she was thinking, it would serve the purpose.

  He continued the spanking for another dozen swats before stopping once again. “Have you figured out yet how you can avoid being here, over my lap, getting your bottom warmed for the same thing in the future?”

  “Garrett, please stop. I’ll tell you, but please stop. It hurts.”

  “And it’s going to hurt worse if you don’t start talking. What do you have to do differently in the future to avoid this again?”

  “Please! I can’t talk.” She gulped in a breath. “I can hardly breathe.”

  He stopped momentarily. “Talk quick or I’ll start again. You either know and can tell me, or you need to think some more.”

  “No, please. I have to talk to you sooner.”

  He patted her bottom. “Good girl. Mindy, we’ve gone over this before. You’ve said you trust me.”

  “I do,” she interjected quickly.

  “Then why won’t yo
u trust me to help you? When your nerves start getting control over you, all you have to do is come tell me. We’ll talk it out. Getting it out in the open and talking about it has always helped in the past.”

  “But what if it doesn’t always?”

  His heart about broke. She sounded so scared, and desperate, and vulnerable.

  He pulled her up and into his lap, quickly cocooning her in his arms. “Then we’ll find something else that does. Honey, I won’t ever leave you struggling like that all alone. If that doesn’t work we’ll try something else, but I’ll be with you, holding you the whole time so you know you’re not alone.”

  Tears started streaming from her eyes again as she wrapped her arms around him and clung to him. He hugged her, willing her to feel secure in his arms again. He kept talking to her softly, telling her that together they would get through whatever haunting thoughts and feelings she had left yet from 9/11. As usual, hearing that promise of being there for her and holding her when her nerves flared again was enough to calm her down. He felt her relaxing in his arms.

  He kept his arms around her until she was ready to look up at him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “You’re very welcome, honey. I want to be sure you understand one thing, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That spanking you just got was not because your nerves started to overtake you again. I hate that that happens to you, but I know it’s not your fault in any way. But I want to help you avoid breakdowns because of it. I’ve been able to pick up on it a couple times when it’s first started bothering you, and it’s always seemed to help you when we talk.”

  “It does. I think you reminding me that you know about what happened, and knowing you don’t get upset with me for allowing that to bother me so much, and being there to help me through it is what calms me down.”

  “Then why won’t you come to me when you need me to remind you of that? The times I see it happening, I initiate our talk. But over the years you’ve learned to hide your suffering well, and there are times I don’t see it until it gets out of hand, like it did yesterday when I heard you talking to the florist. You need to come to me and tell me so we can get a handle on it before it gets to that point. Do you understand what I’m saying, Mindy?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, looking down.

  “That’s what this spanking was for. It was to remind you, the next time you feel like this, you come to me. If you don’t, and you allow it to turn you into this rude little lady I saw and heard talking on the phone, you’ll be back over my lap again, and the spanking will be harder.”

  “Harder?” She reached around and rubbed her bottom. “Is that possible? I don’t think you know how hard you spank.”

  “Let me assure you, my dear, it can be harder.” She was still rubbing her bottom, and he gently pulled her hand back in front of her. “You know there’s no rubbing the pain away quickly after all my hard work getting it there in the first place.”

  When she looked up at him with a grin on her face, he was waiting, and captured her lips with his, showing her how sincere he was in his love for her and determination to be there when she needed him. They spent the next half hour talking, with her sitting on his lap.

  “You know, honey, I think we should go down to the florist together and look at the flowers she was telling you about.”

  Mindy was quiet a few moments. “I need to apologize to her.”

  “I’d like to see that happen while we’re there, yes. Then we can look at them together and see what we think. If you decide you like them, that’s fine. If you want to stay with your original choice and the florist can no longer get them, we’ll look around and see if someone else can get them.”

  “She didn’t really say she couldn’t get them,” Mindy admitted, “so I may have jumped to conclusions. And the more I think about it, the lighter pink she described does sound like it might be really pretty to mix a few in with my first choice. The two together might be wonderful.”

  “Then I think we definitely need to go see them,” he told her with a kiss to her forehead. “I have one more question for you, then we’ll go out and watch some television if you want.”

  She looked up at him. “What’s your question?”

  “Do you still have a headache?”

  Her eyes opened wider, and she slowly, tentatively moved her head side to side, then in circles. “No, I don’t.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Garrett.”

  “You’re certainly welcome,” he said with a bit of a chuckle as he returned her hug. “But you do know you’re thanking me for giving you a spanking, don’t you?”

  “No, I’m not,” she quickly denied. As she thought a few moments, she turned that adorable shade of pink again. “Well, maybe I am, in a way.”

  “You most certainly are,” he announced. “And you are most certainly welcome.”

  “But wait. Didn’t that happen before? What’s going on? This can’t be happening.”

  He had to chuckle. “Think about it and see if you see a pattern there. Remember, the next time if you come to me sooner, we can get rid of the headache without transferring the pain to your bottom.”

  “That sounds good. I think I’ll try that.”

  “I hope you do.”

  * * *

  Over the next week it became quite apparent to Garrett that after her accident, Mindy did indeed now understand his concern for safety on the ranch. She double checked every time she went out to be sure she had her phone and that it was fully charged. She had a gun when she came to the ranch, and said her father taught her how to shoot it. Garrett took her out to shoot, and she showed him that she did, in fact, know how to use it.

  Since she was now more willing to listen to safety, he allowed her to go out further from the house, but encouraged her to take her gun with her if she was going on longer trips on the ranch. He and his hands had begun seeing a few more wolves around, and although he doubted they would bother her, it never hurt to have a gun handy. He explained that if a wolf or two appeared and seemed to follow her, shooting in their direction would usually scare them away, and then she should go back to the house.

  She should tell Garrett where she was when they started following her, and he and Wyatt would watch for them in that area. If they were going to start following people, they needed to get them out of the area. That might involve killing one or two of them, and they would do that if they needed to. She agreed, and started taking her gun with her.

  Their wedding was approaching, and her nerves were becoming more prevalent. Garrett talked to her about it regularly, though, and she was able to keep the nerves at bay. He was glad they hadn’t planned a long engagement. She didn’t need any longer to worry about the ceremony. Even though it was going to be a small ceremony, he hadn’t yet been able to convince her that everything didn’t have to be perfect.

  The week of their wedding was going to be busy. The wedding would be on Saturday. She was to go on Wednesday to see the orthopedic doctor who was treating her broken arm. If the x-ray showed it had healed, he would take the cast off. She was hoping it was okay, because she didn’t want the cast on for the wedding.

  The wedding would be at the church, but the reception would be at the ranch, so there would be lots of decorating to do both places. Thursday and Friday would keep her busy with that. Tuesday she and Maria and Sheila, the wife of one of the ranch hands, who was very artistic, planned on spending the day making some of the decorations they would use decorating on Thursday and Friday. Monday would be her hardest day. Without something to do to keep her busy, she would worry. Once she started to worry about the wedding, her mind automatically seemed to go back to the 9/1l era and all the worrying she did then. That’s what she wanted to avoid.

  Monday after breakfast she and Maria went over the menu they had come up with, and the grocery list. They also went over their time schedule, and all the wives who had offered their help. She realized after her accident that they
truly cared and wanted to help her. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt their feelings, so she welcomed their help, much to Garrett’s delight. He was thrilled to see her accepting help, and he knew how happy it made them, knowing she appreciated their assistance.

  Once they were done going over everything, she helped Maria make lunch. She decided after lunch she would take a long four wheeler run, and go out to a spot she especially liked that was overlooking a creek. She about always saw wildlife of some kind coming to the creek to drink, and that always calmed her down. She would sit under the tree and go over everything for the wedding one last time. Once she did that, and assured herself everything was ready and on schedule, she would watch the wildlife at the creek. Hopefully that would help her calm.

  She told Garrett of her plan while they ate dinner, and he thought it sounded like a good idea. He knew that today would be the day she would have the most time to worry. He planned on spending the evening with her, out on Duke.

  She checked her phone to be sure it was charged, and got her gun and some ammunition while Garrett and Wyatt were talking about their plans for the afternoon. They walked out to the machinery shed together. Garrett smiled as she checked to be sure she had a full tank of gas, and gave her a kiss before she left. He left a few minutes later on a four wheeler of his own, headed in the other direction.

  She enjoyed her ride. She thought back to when she first started riding the four wheelers. She liked going fast, feeling the wind in her face. But her accident had made her see how much Garrett worried about her, and she hated seeing the worry and fear in his eyes. It occurred to her that although she was riding slower these days, she was enjoying it more. Garrett was proud of her when she started taking her safety more seriously, and she found she liked that feeling. She still felt the wind in her face, but she loved knowing he was proud of her.

  She did as planned, and went to her favorite spot. She sat down on the blanket she’d brought with her, and pulled out her check list. Before looking at it, she mentally went over everything she would need for the wedding, and checked it off in her mind. Then she went down the list and thought about each item, making sure it had been ordered or was already at the house.