by Joannie Kay
“It is,” Bridget answered. He was making her feel like an employee rather than a wife. They reached the house, and the first thing she heard was crying coming from the loft.
“Papa, may we please come down?” Susie called. “It’s really hot up here, and Sally is miserable. She needs another hug.”
“Come on down,” Seth answered. Susie came first, and she ran to him for a hug. Sally did the same, and Seth wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I hate to punish you girls; you know that, don’t you?” he asked of them, and they both nodded emphatically, their arms still around his middle to accept his comfort.
“We’re sorry for some of it, Papa, but can’t we be a little glad that we have a new Mama?” Susie asked tentatively.
Seth nodded, too choked up to speak.
“What are we supposed to call Bridget?” Susie asked.
“That is up to Bridget.” His chest was tight. It was going to tear him apart to hear his daughters call another woman ‘Mama’.
“When I was younger than your age I called my mother ‘Mammy’, when I got older I called her ‘Mam’. Since you called your real mother Mama, I would like to be called ‘Mam’. Okay?” she asked of them.
“Wow! Our first Irish word!” Susie said happily.
“Now we can tell that Melissa that we have a Mam.” Sally was thrilled.
Bridget’s tummy growled again, and the girls went into action so quickly that Seth’s head whirled as he tried to figure out what they were up to.
“Sit down, Mam, and we’ll fix you something to eat!”
Seth was proud of his girls as they did their best to welcome Bridget into their home… and into their lives. He closed his eyes and prayed that Catherine would be happy with his decision to take another woman to wife. The day was finely done. Bridget fixed them a wonderful supper that included cake for dessert, and his daughters were right there, watching, and asking her a million questions. Bridget was patient with them, and Seth enjoyed listening to their laughter as they worked together. Bridget praised them for their willingness to clean up afterwards, and she told them stories about Ireland before it was time to send the girls up to bed. Tomorrow, he would have to trust that the girls would be fine with their new Mam as he finished the corral. Seth couldn’t afford to take days off very often, but he didn’t feel like he could leave the girls with a stranger, and he didn’t feel it would be good of him to leave Bridget on her own her first day here. “Girls, it is time to say goodnight. It’s getting late.”
“Do we have to go to bed now, Papa? I want to hear more about Ireland and Mr. Feeney.” Sally was enthralled with Bridget’s stories of the people she knew.
“Tomorrow is another day, Sally,” Seth told her, and then gave her a smacking kiss on her cheek. “You go on now. You, too, Susie.”
“Goodnight, Papa!” Susie kissed him. And then she said, “Goodnight, Mam!” She kissed Bridget, too. Sally did the same, and then they hurried up the ladder to the loft.
Bridget was suddenly very afraid. The very thing that she’d avoided thinking about since she first answered the letter she thought was from Seth was in her face and could no longer be denied. Seth was a man, and he would expect her to share the large bed in the corner of the room. She had no idea what to expect, and she was so afraid she would disappoint him to the point he would tell her to leave. She was afraid.
Seth could feel the tension between them, and if he’d wondered at her innocence, he no longer did. Only a virgin would be so terrified… or a woman who had been shamefully abused. He had wanted to give the girls plenty of time to get to sleep before discussing their sleeping arrangements with her, but Bridget was too scared for the talk to wait. He went to where she was sitting and then whispered, “There is no need to be afraid, Bridget. We are too new to each other. Trust me, we’ll know when the time is right.”
Bridget’s relief was palpable, and even though they shared the same sleeping space, Seth was true to his word. Their routine over the next few weeks was the same. They fell into bed at night, and her husband was asleep within a couple of minutes of his head meeting his pillow, which suited her just fine for the time being.
*****
All in all, Seth felt that Bridget was a good addition to the Masterson family. Bridget was polite to his neighbors when they came calling to meet her. She conducted herself above reproach when they went into town to shop for the supplies they needed, and she was friendly at church. People accepted her, and more than one person congratulated Seth and told him they thought it was about time he moved on with his life and married again. Seth hadn’t realized how much his girls needed a mother to look up to, but his girls were constantly at Bridget’s side. He also felt she was growing more comfortable around him, and in spite of his determination not to love her and allow Bridget to take Catherine’s place in his heart, he found himself watching her, smiling at her, making excuses to come back to the house for coffee, or to get something he ‘forgot’ just to spend time with the lovely redhead. Seth was also growing more and more aware of her at night when they shared a bed. His body was crying out in need of release, and lately, turning to her and making her his wife in every way was getting harder and harder to resist.
Bridget wasn’t perfect, however, and she had a temper that she found difficult to control at times. Seth had cleared his throat once when he heard her swear, and another time he said her name in warning for the same thing. She’d apologized both times, so he’d let her off the hook, but he was sure the day was coming that he was going to need to take her over his knee for a good spanking for using bad language. He didn’t want Bridget’s temper rubbing off on the girls, and he definitely didn’t want them to start swearing. Catherine would have a fit at that! No, he wanted to raise ladies, and Bridget seemed to be on the same page with him. Of course, there were times she did not agree with him, but she’d been careful to keep her disagreements private and not involve the girls. Bridget was one to demand explanations when she thought he was being arbitrary, and Seth was not used to explaining himself. His daughters took his word as law, but he could hardly expect a wife to do so, especially one as stubborn as Bridget.
Seth was pretty sure the day would come when his new bride crossed the line of what he would and wouldn’t allow, but he truly didn’t expect her to involve the girls in her disobedience. When the girls asked to go and pick blackberries at breakfast one morning a few weeks after he and Bridget were married, Seth told them no. He didn’t want to scare them, but there were some renegade Indians in the area, and he didn’t want to risk the girls running into them. So, he simply said no, and promised he would take them the next day. He had a mare foaling, and needed to stay close to the barn. The girls seemed fine with his decision, but Bridget was another matter altogether. She gave him a defiant look, and the minute his back was turned to go out to the barn, she announced that she wanted to make a blackberry cobbler. The girls were excited, and once the breakfast dishes were all done, they picked up pails and headed for the patch of blackberries at the far end of Seth’s ranch. Seth was busy in the barn and didn’t see them leave.
It was a pretty good walk to the berry patch, but the day was beautiful and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It didn’t take them long to fill their buckets, and when Sally asked how they were going to explain to their Papa how they came to have blackberries when he said not to go picking, Bridget said she would tell him that she was capable of taking them berry picking without getting lost! In truth, she had been so intent on proving she could go and pick the berries without his help that she hadn’t given a thought to how he would react when he learned of her defiance. She was wrong to lead the girls astray, and somehow she had to let them know that before they took it upon themselves to disobey Seth at a critical moment.
They’d just started back to the house when Bridget heard a blood curdling scream! She whirled around to see two Indians with painted faces coming at them. “Run, girls!” she yelled, instinctively planning to fight to give th
e girls time to get away. “Run to your Da!” she yelled, swinging her bucket high and hitting one of the men upside the head. His dark eyes glassed over and he fell to the ground, unconscious. That seemed to infuriate the other brave and he took out his knife, muttering threats at Bridget that she couldn’t understand, but his hatred of her translated with no difficulty. Bridget was positive that he meant to kill her when he raised the knife and prepared to use it. Suddenly, little Susie let out a yell and ran up to kick him as hard as she could!
“You leave my Mam alone! Go away!” she yelled.
The Indian now had another target for his hatred, and Bridget rushed forward to grab his arm and stop him from hurting the child she loved so much. “Run, Susie. Get your Da!”
“I sent Sally,” the child answered, launching herself at the Indians back! The man tried to throw her off, but Susie clung to his neck, choking him. Eventually, however, his strength was more than Susie and Bridget’s combined, and he tossed them to the ground, murder in his dark eyes.
*****
“Papa! Papa! Help! Papa!” Sally screamed hysterically as she ran toward the barn, where she hoped to find her father. “Papa! Papa! Indians!”
Seth grabbed his gun and hurried out of the barn to see Sally running toward him, crying and terrified. He hurried toward her. “Sally, calm down. Tell me what is happening,” he ordered, his voice firm enough to get her attention.
“Mam and Susie… There are Indians. By the berry patch!” She gasped for breath, still sobbing, and very frightened.
“Go inside and bar the doors and windows. Stay there. I’ll be back.” Seth ran as fast as he’d ever run in his life, knowing that even now it might be too late to save his daughter and Bridget. He didn’t think he could survive losing either of them, but he refused to give up without a fight. When he finally spotted them, little Susie was clinging to the Indian’s back, and Bridget was holding onto his arm, trying to keep him from using the knife in his hand. He watched as the brave threw them to the ground and raised his knife to plunge it into Bridget. He aimed his gun and fired, and the Indian fell dead. Seth heard Bridget scream, and he ran to get to her.
“Papa! Papa!” Susie jumped up and ran to him. “Papa! I’m scared!”
“It’s over now, baby. You’re safe.” Seth picked her up and hugged her to him. “You’re safe, baby. Papa has you now.” Tears filled his eyes. “Let me help your Mam, Susie.” He gently put her down so he could go and kneel beside Bridget. “Are you hurt, Bridget, honey?” he asked gently, looking for blood.
“I am fine, I think, Seth. Thank ye for comin’ so fast,” she said, and then burst into tears.
Seth pulled her close and held her while hugging Susie, too. “Let’s get you two back to the house while I deal with this,” he finally said, getting to his feet and pulling them up to stand beside him. “Sally is probably convinced we are all dead by now.”
“Oh, the poor child!” Bridget suddenly pulled herself together. “You did no’ listen to me, Susie! You were supposed to run with your sister!” she scolded.
“I had to help you, Mam. I love you,” Susie explained, and Bridget hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I love ye, too, Susie.”
“Let’s get you two back to the house,” Seth said firmly. “We don’t know how many others are with these two, and I want you someplace safe.”
“What about you, Seth?” Bridget asked with indignation. “We want you to be safe, too!”
“We’ll be safer if I bury these two,” he announced. “Now do as I say.” His hand acted of its own accord, and smacked against her bottom with enough sting that Bridget jumped and headed for the house without further argument. She called out to Sally to let them inside, and Sally threw open the door, sobbing hysterically. “We are fine, darlin’. No more tears now.” Bridget did everything she could to calm the girls, and finally suggested they go to the loft and lie down for a while. She knew how upset they both were when neither girl argued. Bridget’s conscience demanded she go and look for Seth. She couldn’t help but be worried about him, and she also needed to apologize for taking the girls to pick berries after he said no. It was wrong of her to do that, and she needed to own up to her mistake.
Seth was just now returning from burying the two Indians, and doing his damndest to make sure there was no sign of them on his land. He spotted Bridget coming toward him and he felt his heart leap in fear at how close he’d come to losing her. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, and that is exactly what he did… after dropping the shovel and putting down the buckets they’d taken berry picking, and taking off his dirty gloves. “I have been thanking the Lord that you and the girls are safe, sweetheart.” The endearment slid off his tongue without effort, and Seth knew that the tiny redhead and found her own place within his heart. “Why aren’t you inside?” he asked, rubbing her back.
“Because I have no’ been a good wife, husband. I’ve earned a spankin’ for sure and certain.”
Chapter Four
Seth looked at her in surprise. “How did you earn a spanking?” he asked.
“I took the girls to pick berries after you told them no. I did no’ realize there was danger, but assumed that you thought I was incompetent and would get us lost. I should have trusted ye had a good reason for no’ wantin’ us to go.”
“I didn’t tell you the reason because I didn’t want to scare you and the girls,” he admitted.
“I know that now, Seth. I’m ever so sorry I disobeyed ye, and it was very wrong of me to encourage the girls to do so. I am ashamed of meself. I earned a spankin’ for sure,” she whispered, relishing the feel of his arms around her. She felt so safe and loved, even if it was fear that was prompting Seth’s concern.
“I gathered up the berries that I could,” Seth told her. “I wasn’t about to let them lay there and go to waste. But, I don’t think a few berries were worth risking your lives, do you, young lady?” he asked, his voice stern enough that it sent shivers of remorse through his tiny wife.
“No, sir. I’m sorry.”
“You should be sorry,” Seth scolded. “Come with me, Bridget. I think you are right to ask for punishment. A good spanking will remind you to think twice before you choose to disobey me again.” He felt her trembling, but forced himself to be firm. Bridget not only needed the spanking to remind her never to do something this foolish again, but to ease the guilt she felt. She loved his girls and he didn’t doubt that for one moment. If one of them had been harmed, Bridget would have been inconsolable. He led her over to a small bench that he’d built against a horse stall so he would have a place to sit while he worked on repairing harness. He took a seat and pulled her face down over his left thigh. Bridget had red hair, and he’d heard her complain to the girls that her skin was sensitive; she bruised easily, sunburned easily, and a spanking was going to make her feel like she had a sunburn on her backside. He wanted to be able to hold her easily to make the spanking work when she started fighting him, and she would. The couple of times he’d had to smack Catherine’s butt, she’d fought like a wildcat to escape what she had coming to her, and he expected Bridget would do the same.
Bridget wanted to protest when Seth tossed up her skirts, but she clamped her lips shut. She’d earned this spanking, and the man was her husband. He had every right to toss up her skirts if he chose to. But, when he pulled her drawers down to bare her, she reached back to cover her bottom cheeks, too embarrassed for words. “No, do no’!” she said.
“You are my wife, Bridget, and I spank on the bare bottom. Move your hands; you earned this spanking.”
“It’s too embarrassin’!” she proclaimed.
“It is supposed to be embarrassing,” Seth told her, amused.
“But, we are no’ really married, Seth! I did no’ want you to see me like this the first time!” Bridget burst into tears of shame. “’Twould be easier if you really cared!” She cried out what she was thinking.
“Bridget…” Seth sat her up on his right thigh s
o he could look into her pretty green eyes. “Bridget, now look at me, sweetheart. I know my feelings for you, and I’ve come to love you. I will always love Catherine, but my heart has its own place for you. I think I half fell in love with you the first time I set eyes on you. I know that our first meeting was less than ideal, but I believe that God had His hand in bringing us together. I’ve been trying to find a moment to tell you this when little ears weren’t listening. I want a real marriage with you… when you are ready. I’ll not force you, Bridget.”
“I came here plannin’ to marry ye, Seth. Maybe ye did no’ write the letters, but they were true. The girls let me see you through their eyes and you are the kind man I thought ye to be. I would no’ have married ye if I did no’ want to be your wife. But, we both needed some time to be comfortable together. I want to be your wife, and I want to have your children,” she said, her cheeks pink.
“I think the girls will make wonderful big sisters,” Seth said with a smile. “I’d love more children, Bridget. We’ll build on to the house. I planned to do that anyway,” he told her.
“Oh, Seth, I would like for us to have a bedroom with a door.” Privacy would be a luxury, Bridget thought.
“I think we can arrange that, sweetheart, but right now we need to finish this spanking. Are you ready now?” he asked. He didn’t want her to feel he was disrespecting her in any way. Bridget looked at him and shyly nodded. “I won’t enjoy making you cry in pain, Bridget, but when a spanking is earned, I do it right.” He gently put her back over his thigh, and he noted that she was holding onto the side of the bench with her hands, and she was resting her head on her arms. Seth didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand and smacked it down on her left cheek with a sharp crack. Bridget cried out and a red imprint of his right hand appeared instantly. It looked very angry and Seth decided he was spanking too hard. He gentled his hand and set up a steady rhythm, scolding Bridget as he continued to spank her.
