When A Cowboy Asks (A Rancher's Bride Book 2)

by Chula Stone

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Shep said, standing up and reaching for his hat. That niggling doubt was back. There was something he needed to do, but it just wouldn’t show itself.

  “Treli will walk you out, Mr. Shepard,” Aunt Mina said in parting. “Don’t be too long, dear.” She floated out of the room with her usual tottery step.

  Shep paused at the door and waited until he could no longer hear Aunt Mina’s footsteps on the stairs. “Is she gone?” he whispered.

  Treli leaned over and peered up the stairs. “I think so.”

  “Good then,” Shep murmured, already taking Treli in his arms.

  “Same time tonight?” Treli asked, leaning away from him.

  Shep turned and stepped onto the porch. “Why would we? There’s nothing left to do on the outside. And after what happened last night… well, actually it was this morning, and I think we’ve had all the clandestine trysts we need for a while. Everything on the up and up from now on.”

  Treli followed him to the fence. “But there is more we need to do! The whole cabin needs to be painted.”

  “I’ll take care of that during daylight hours when the paint will dry better.”

  “It’ll need a woman’s touch,” Treli disagreed pertly. “I’ll bet if I leave it up to you, you’ll slap a coat of whitewash on it and call it done.”

  “What would you do differently? Paint the whole house pink like your café?”

  She hit him lightly on his chest in a teasing but chiding manner. “I might! Pink is a perfectly good color.”

  “Not for a whole house.”

  “How about the door then? Pinkie would love a door painted in a nice dark rose.”

  Shep shook his head. “A fine fool Vince would look, going in a cabin with a pink door. How about red? That’s a respectable, sturdy color.”

  Treli scowled then shrugged. “I suppose that will have to do. When will we meet?”

  “I already said, I’ll get it done myself during daylight hours. We can’t go on like this, staying up half the night every night. You’ll wear yourself out.”

  “I’m not tired at all,” she said, but a huge yawn gave the lie to her words.

  “And if you wear yourself out, I’ll have to wear you out, as well,” Shep promised her, giving her a warning swat on her behind. “Give me three days to work on it. If by then I haven’t finished, I’ll enlist your help. All right?”

  “But I can slip away during the day as well,” Treli argued.

  “You’ve been a big help, Treli, and I appreciate it, but it’s my job and I should finish it up. I feel badly, taking you away from the café and having you work so much. You leave the rest to me, okay?”

  Just then, Aunt Mina opened the back door and called out, “All right, Treli. Time for you to come in!”

  Shep released her reluctantly and watched her as she tripped back up the stairs and into the house, not noticing that she had failed to answer him.

  Chapter 8

  At noon two days later, with an amused smile Treli faced an extremely irate Shep outside the cottage. She had just finished brushing the last of the tinted whitewash she had mixed up and was feeling rather pleased with herself. “See, I told you I could sneak off and do it in daylight as easily as you!” she declared stoutly.

  “Treli…” He let the word trail off in the time-honored manner of a school principal calling out an erring pupil. In his tone was an incredulity mixed with certainty that could not be denied.

  She had expected his anger and was blithely ready for him. “Oh, don’t take on so! I’ll fix it. That’s why I did it! So you’d have to let me help!”

  “Treli…” That same inflection, a kind of long, drawn out rising pitch at the end combined with his flexing his fingers and leaning forward as he strode toward her with what could only be described as menace.

  “It isn’t at all dark, you know,” she argued. His reaction was stronger than she had calculated.

  “Treli…” Softer, yet all the more threatening for that. She was confident he wouldn’t hit a woman, but she had first-hand experience with his other options. Options that she had thought he wouldn’t exercise once he had gotten over the initial shock of discovery. It had been no part of her plan to be on hand when he first got sight of her handiwork. He hadn’t done anything about the painting on the first day and it had irked her. She had decided to teach him a lesson. It seemed now that she might be the one being taught a thing or two.

  She backed away. “It probably won’t even show when it dries. At least not much.”

  “So just a little is okay, you think?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “Just a little red in the whitewash, yes. You said yourself that red is a good sturdy color.”

  “And I had enough of that good sturdy color to paint a door. Not the whole front of the cabin.” Shep stepped closer, his arm swinging wide to indicate the small structure.

  “But it’s still the same color. Red is red.”

  Shep gave a snort of derision. “Combined with all that white, it isn’t red anymore.”

  The giggle escaped. She couldn’t contain it any longer. “I’ll go over it again. There’s plenty of whitewash left. I was just trying to prove a point and I did. I got down here before you did and in daylight, too. You should have let me help in the first place.”

  “But why pink?”

  “Because I wanted you to know I’d been here.”

  “Well, you got your wish there, little bit. I know for sure it was you who did this.”

  “That wasn’t exactly part of my plan,” Treli admitted sheepishly.

  “Neither was turning over a pink cabin to my boss, who could come checking my progress at any minute.”

  “Your boss? He doesn’t know about this place!” Treli’s smile slipped from her face.

  “He sure does! He ordered me to fix it up. The only thing he doesn’t know is that his wife gave the exact same order two months ago.”

  Treli couldn’t help laughing again. “But what are you going to do? They’re each trying to surprise the other with the same cottage?”

  “More of a cabin, really,” quoted Shep. “And he hasn’t seen it yet, so I’m expecting him down here any time. What if he picked today? He trusted me!”

  “Pinkie did, too. And I think she’d love it just like this.” Rather than diminish, the rosy hue seemed to glow stronger as the whitewash dried.

  Shep came to rest beside the barrel of whitewash that was still pure white. A small can of the special pink mixture stood on a table next to it. He stared down into the can and gave it a little tilt with his finger as if examining the color in various lights. “But Vince…”

  “…would want Pinkie to be happy. He’ll like it. Let’s leave it.” Treli covered her mouth and turned back toward the cabin.

  “Let’s not.” Shep slipped around the table and caught Treli before she could escape.

  “Now, Shep,” Treli objected. “I thought we had agreed, no more clandestine trysts. You said yourself we were getting into dangerous waters the other night, and you were right.”

  “Oh, no, there’s nothing dangerous about what I’m about to do to you, except the danger that you won’t be able to sit down for a month when I’m through.” He had her caught and bent over the table, her face right next to the offending can of pink-tinged whitewash, before she could draw another breath to protest.

  “Shep, really, I’ll fix it! I’ll paint over it, I promise.”

  But he didn’t seem to be listening at all. His palm found her backside as with one hand he began to spank her soundly. His other hand was employed with gathering her skirt up and out of the way. “You’ll do that, too, but you’ll be painting with one hand and rubbing your stinging bottom with the other.” Over and over, he smacked his hard hand onto her stinging burning rump.

  Treli ouched and squealed at every swat. This wasn’t what she had expected at all. The other night when he had spanked her, she had felt strang
e and powerful feelings that she secretly wanted to feel again, but apparently things were even more confusing than she thought. All she wanted now was to end the experiment and stop this punishment. “It was just a joke!” she wailed. “No need to get all riled up about it!”

  “Just a joke? All that good paint, wasted! And making me look like a fool!” He swatted her all the harder, covering side to side, all up and down her nether cheeks and the tops of her thighs.

  “It wasn’t that much paint! And Vince didn’t come down here, so you shouldn’t be embarrassed. You are…” Here she had to stop talking and try to catch her breath. She felt as winded as if she had run a race uphill. The heat and sting were growing by huge leaps as he spanked harder and faster.

  “Well, maybe it isn’t the crime of the century, but since I can’t think of any other reaction that seems like it would meet the case, this will have to do!”

  She squirmed and bucked, half because she hoped to tire him out and half because she couldn’t stand the pain. All she succeeded in doing was depleting her own reserves of energy until at last she gave up and lay slumped over the table. His strong hand felt good on the small of her back after she gave up. It was somehow comforting, like a small candle on a dark night. Her mind clung to it as she endured the onslaught of his… rubbing. He was rubbing her backside, not swatting. When had that happened? She propped herself up on her elbows and looked back at him.

  “Where did you go? You certainly weren’t here. I’ve been waiting for an answer for about an hour now.”

  “Answer? What was the question?” She scowled at his insolent look. “It hasn’t been an hour.”

  “Okay, but it felt like it and I have been waiting.” He moved his hands to her shoulders and pulled her up to face him. Keeping a decent distance between them, he looked at her seriously. “My question was, ‘Do you promise not to disobey me again?’ That’s why I fanned your fanny.”

  “Not because of the pink?”

  “That was a bratty thing to do and deserved a swat or two,” he informed her archly, “but no, it wasn’t just that. As you said, we can fix that and… okay, it was funny. My first reaction was to laugh, but then I remembered that I told you to leave it to me. I didn’t want you down here anymore. You’ve got enough work to do. I don’t want you thinking that when we’re married, I’m going to make you work day and night without a break or any fun.”

  “I don’t think that. You don’t make me do anything. Hey, wait a minute!”

  He grinned unrepentantly down at her, a slight but definitely triumphant gleam in his eye. “Like how I just kind of slipped that one in on you?”

  She wrinkled her nose at him and made a disapproving sound. “You think you’re so smart.” But he was and she had to admit it, to herself if not to him.

  “Is that sass? From you? Right now? Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job. If at first you don’t succeed…” He reached for her and turned her around, laying his hard warm hand to her rump.

  She arched her back and pushed at his hands with hers. “No, not sass! I was just teasing you.”

  “And I’m just warning you. Teasing is fine. In fact, I like it. Just don’t push me too far and don’t disobey me. That’s no joke.”

  “I understand,” she murmured, suddenly serious and somehow shy about it. “But you didn’t need to spank me so hard.”

  “That’s for me to decide and you to take, little bit. Now, will you sneak back up that path and get yourself home before you’re caught down here with me?”

  “Why should I?” she pouted.

  “Because I asked you to,” he informed her evenly. “We’re a team, aren’t we?”

  She thought about that for a minute. “I suppose so.”

  “Sure we are and a good one at that. But a team can only have one captain. An outfit can only have one boss. If I’m not a man you can follow, then I’m not the man for you. Tell me now, before I get in any deeper.”

  She closed her eyes then opened them to peer into his. “I’m already in over my head. I hate to admit it, but there it is. I must be crazy, like my name.”

  “Crazy about me, is all. And I’m even crazier about you.” He took her face in his hands, planted a hearty kiss on her lips then turned her and marched her towards the path.

  That very afternoon, Shep found Vince and took him to the cabin, with its three coats of fresh, snowy and not even faintly pink whitewash. As they looked over all the renovations and improvements, Shep informed Vince about Treli’s involvement. While leaving out any mention of Pinkie gave him not one pang of conscience, Shep felt he owed Vince honesty when it came to Treli. He explained how they had been meeting in secret and that it was causing friction between them, ending with, “I brought you down here to tell you I’m officially out of the house renovation business from here on out. Treli’s my girl. I’ve staked my claim and I don’t want anything to muddy those waters.”

  “I can understand that. I’ll fix up the rest myself. You’ve done the heavy lifting. I can get everything else done. In fact, the only thing I can think of is curtains. Do you know anybody in town who can sew up some nice ones on short notice?”

  “There’s Betty Farmer. She’s a dab hand with a needle and can sew saddles from soap bubbles.”

  Vince gave him a skeptical look. “That’s not a ride I’d like to try. Soap bubble saddles! But I take your meaning. Do you think she has time for such an undertaking? I want them quick, so I’ll be ready when Pinkie is.”

  “But Pinkie said her surprise was for Christmas.”

  “Sure she did, so that means it’s for anything but Christmas. I’m guessing anniversary.”

  Shep tried to hide his reaction, but he couldn’t help being impressed with how well Vince knew his lovely wife. “All I can do is ask Betty. But after that, I’m done!”

  “Get her to make them for me then. And don’t haggle over the price. Whatever it costs, I want it done. The other surprise I had in mind doesn’t seem to be working out.”

  Vince didn’t seem to want to confide in Shep further so Shep didn’t press. He thought he knew what the other surprise was and wondered why Branson hadn’t been able to figure out who the real owners of the buildings were. Was he too busy harassing young ladies like Betty Farmer? Shep determined to ask Betty about it when he found her. That took a bit of doing, but eventually, he spotted the girl coming out of the dry goods store on the main street in Merriview. “Here, let me get that for you. Why didn’t Chuck have these delivered to Aunt Mina’s?”

  “They aren’t for her. These things are going to the Baldwins and Mr. Baldwin is not the sort to want to tip a delivery boy. He’s paying me to do the job, so I do it,” Betty returned with a gracious air. There was no self-pity or resentment in her tone, but there might have been a little chill.

  “I didn’t mean to criticize, Miss Betty.” Shep took the baskets from her and began walking with her towards the Baldwin’s large home.

  “Here, if you’re going with me, we need to take the alley.” She indicated their direction with a wave of her hand.

  “Oh, yeah, right. The servants’… I mean, the back door.”

  “You were right the first time, Mr. Shepard. The servants’ entrance.”

  “This route takes us right by the café,” Shep noted. “Why don’t we stop in for a bite? I have something I want to ask you.” They were in front of the café so Shep peered in, hoping to catch a glimpse of Treli, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  “I can’t,” Betty replied. “We’ll have to talk on the way. I’ve got work to do and after I finish at the Baldwin’s, I have to stop by home before heading over to clean the mayor’s office.”

  “But it’s almost quitting time now,” Shep objected.

  “For you, maybe. I keep going. I can’t clean the mayor’s office with him in, can I? Half my work, I do at night.”

  “But that doesn’t sound very safe. You aren’t alone over there, are you?”

  “Sometimes one of the clerks w
orks late. And there are… others who come by.” Was she being cagey or did she sound more scared?

  “Who is it, Miss Betty?” Shep demanded sternly. Just by looking at her alarmed face, he knew she didn’t like his line of questioning. Then suddenly, it hit him. He put a hand on her arm to stop her steps. “Bailey Branson! Has he been bothering you at work?”

  “He has every right to be there,” Betty said in a conciliatory tone. “And he hasn’t taken liberties he shouldn’t.”

  “But I’ll bet he’s tried,” Shep growled.

  “I’d rather not discuss it,” Betty snapped decisively. “What was it you needed to ask me?” She removed his hand from her arm and continued walking.

  “I need some curtains made,” Shep began carefully. “I’ve seen the kind of work you do. Those quilts you made were lovely so I know you could do a great job on curtains. I’d make it well worth your while.”

  “Curtains? Mr. Shepard, did you take Aunt Mina’s advice and buy a house?” She sounded excited. “I overheard her talking to you in the parlor the other day.”

  Shep hated to disappoint her, so he let her continue in her error. It wouldn’t hurt. He would make her assumption true just as soon as he quit spending all his free time on the Sloan’s cabin. “Let’s just say that like you, I also need discretion on my job. Will you do it?”

  “I’ll be happy to. When can you get me the material and the measurements?”

  “Material?”

  “Yes, Mr. Shepard. You know, that stuff I need to make the curtains you want.” Betty raised her eyebrows expectantly and rolled her hand in a ‘surely, you get it’ gesture.

  “How about you buy whatever you need? You know better than I do what to make curtains out of.”

  She almost succeeded in suppressing a little laugh. “There’s any number of colors and styles and materials, all depending on the look you want.”

  Shep stood there, stumped. How did he know what kind of material or style? “I thought curtains were… just curtains. I’ll get you the measurements, but can you come up with the cloth?”