He held her hand possessively as he led her towards a copse of willows. “Your voice is definitely the prettiest I’ve ever heard. Would you consider sharing it with the town?”
“I’m not a performer, Hank.”
“What if ‘Papa’ wanted you to do it, as a favor? It would make be so proud of my little Perl.”
“Well… if you put it that way. I’ll think about it. You really liked dinner?” Perl asked, pleased with his praise, and amused that he had found a way to soften her using the parental terms of endearment.
“I’m not going to lie to you. I could eat that every night, except it would make me fatter than Millie.” Hank laughed, watching the possum scurry in front of them.
“That is one very well fed possum,” Perl agreed, clutching his arm as the ugly creature stared at them in the moonlight before disappearing behind the barn. “Where are we going?”
“I’m going to take you to my special place. Keep quiet though,” he whispered, squeezing her hand and leading her silently through the dense portion of trees. He held his fingers to his lips and pointed. A doe and a fawn were drinking from a small, clear pool as the moonlight reflected on the still water. Perl held her free hand over her mouth, tightly clutching Hank in excitement. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she watched the graceful animals drink peacefully. A twig snapped and the doe lifted her head before bolting away with the fawn on her heels.
“That was… amazing,” Perl choked out, still holding his large, strong hand in hers.
He pressed his fingers into hers, nodding. “I love coming here at night, especially when it’s so warm out. Take off your boots. The water’s nice and cold. Spring fed.”
They sat next to each other in the moonlight, dangling their feet in the icy water. Perl buried her toes into the soft soil at the bottom of the pool and sighed as she looked up at the stars.
“I never thought a place could be so pretty. We don’t see these types of things back home.”
“Perl, this is your home now. Please try to understand that I can’t let you go back to that type of life. I… I care about you too much.”
“I can’t stay here forever. It’s not… me.”
“Give it a chance. With your voice, you could make a good living if you didn’t want to stay here. With me…” Hank said uncomfortably.
She looked at him, confused. “As what? Your pseudo-daughter? Housekeeper? Cook?”
“Well… as my friend right now. Plus those things.”
“What if I don’t want to be your friend?” Perl asked. “What if I want something more?”
“Miss Perl, it’s not proper or decent for a young lady to be so forward. I’m not comfortable with it.” Hank moved a short distance from her, trying to ignore the hardening of his manhood as he thought of how wonderful she would feel in his arms and underneath his body, her voice whispering his name as he made love to her.
Perl blushed, lowering her eyes to look down at her feet. On an impulse, she kicked water at him, soaking his jeans. Hank, startled, lifted his eyebrow.
“You did not just go there, little girl!”
“Oh yes I did!” Perl answered back, soaking him again and sticking out her tongue. She jumped up and ran to the other edge of the pool and kicked more water in his direction. Hank slowly stood up, wiping the water off his face. His shirt was now soaked and clung to his body. Perl’s eyes widened as he removed it. His skin was wet and the sharp outline of his work-hardened muscles and broad, lightly furred chest glimmered in the bright moonlight. He was… beautiful!
“You will pay for this, my dear child. Getting Papa wet like this was not wise.”
Perl giggled, keeping the pond between them. He started around and she raced to the opposite side, kicking more water at him. She didn’t see the log sticking out of the mud and she tumbled over it, landing face first on the wet ground.
“Ooof,” she grunted, and Hank fled to her side, helping her up and brushing her off.
“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, looking at her for cuts and bruises.
“Yeah. Just a little damage to my pride. I wasn’t very graceful.”
“Or respectful. Now that I caught you… in you go!” Perl screeched as he tossed her into the spring, watching her bob to the surface, teeth chattering. He squatted at the edge, a sardonic smile spreading across his handsome face. “Cold?”
“That… was… MEAN. I’m freezing.”
“It’s one way to cool off that temper of yours. Come on out. It’s time to get some shut-eye.”
He yanked her out of the water and, in a brief instant, stared into her eyes. The urge to take her sweet, soft lips into his mouth was strong. But he resisted. It was just not proper. Perl stared at him, wanting to drive her mouth lustfully against his. Was he really going to resist her? Well, if that was his plan, she intended to make it as difficult for him as she could!
Chapter Six
Try as she may, Perl hated her chores. They all involved dirt, stench, or both and left her sweating and feeling quite wilted. By day four, she threw in the towel and decided to go on strike. Knowing that Hank always performed a two or three hour long fence check of the entire property every morning, she approached Butch and begged for help with a promise to pay for whatever assistance he could offer. Of course, the man refused the money and quickly came to her aide. This little ruse worked well for about three weeks before Hank discovered her ploy.
“Butch? What are you doing milking Hannah? That’s Perl’s job.”
Butch turned quickly, red covering his face. “Uh, morning Boss. I, uh…”
“Out with it. Did that little brat put you up to this?”
“She asked for my help. She’s such a delicate little thing and the heat…”
“Is nothing compared to what she’s going to feel on her backside! What else did she get you to do?”
“Nothing much. Gather the eggs and go into the garden for some things.”
“All her outside chores. The little stinker. And the cooking?”
“I’m not doing that, Boss. I swear.”
“You’re done here. Get back to the stables and don’t let her con you again. I’ll finish this and then I have to go to town to work on a case,” Hank said firmly. Butch touched his hat and scurried out without a sound. With a frustrated sigh, Hank finished the milking and took the eggs, vegetables, and milk can to the house through the back door. He heard Perl in the kitchen, talking quietly to someone. Cook.
“Are you sure he’d like these flapjacks? I’m just impossible in the kitchen.”
“It’s his favorite, ma’am. They’re not hard to do. Just don’t turn the flame up so high on that there stove.”
“You see what I do. I burn everything. Oh, I want to please him so badly, but he’ll think I’m a failure.” The little actress applied a ‘damsel in distress’ tone to her voice.
“Don’t you fret, Miss Perl. I’ll help you as long as you need me, ok? No, please, don’t cry. This old man can’t take the sight of tears on such a pretty face.”
“Then I think you need to get back to the long house, Cook. You have men to feed there. Here’s your milk, eggs, and garden goods, Miss Perl. Compliments of Butch,” Hank announced grimly, placing the items on the table. Perl’s face paled as she stared at him.
“Boss, she needed my help. She’s such a tiny thing and…”
“Back to the boys, Cook. And no more helping this girl. She’s got all the men doing her chores.”
The old man, seeing the stormy look on his employer’s face, and the guilty look on Perl’s, quickly excused himself. Hank turned to look down into Perlita’s eyes, his disapproval clear.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself, young lady?”
“You only said to have the chores done. Not that I had to do them. I was being resourceful! You should be pleased,” she answered with a desperate attempt to bypass the crime she had committed. She swallowed, seeing her comment hadn’t helped. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make
you proud of me.”
“How could I be proud of you if what you were doing was nothing but a lie and an attempt to deceive me? All this time I thought you were adjusting. I was even going to give you a special surprise. But now…” he sounded deeply injured, looking away from her.
“You’re making me leave?” she felt her stomach turn in fear.
“No, of course not. You are going to be disciplined for your disobedience, your fibbing, and your dishonesty. Go up to your room, please.”
“But Hank…”
“Perlita Maria Consuelo Moretti, to your room!” he ordered, trying to keep his voice level.
Biting her lip, she raced upstairs and slammed the door. To her horror, she noticed that Hank had removed the lock! When had he done that? The sound of his heavy footsteps coming up the stairs made her heart pound in trepidation. He had promised her a strapping if she shirked on her chores. He wasn’t serious, was he?
The wide, leather belt that he slowly removed from his waist and then folded in half in his hand answered her question. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up into his forbidding, disappointed face.
“I’m sorry, Papa. Please don’t spank me,” she whispered in a little girl’s voice, hoping he would be softened by the term.
He shook his head sadly. “What did you expect to happen? Did you really think you could hide this activity from me forever?”
“I hate these chores so much! I can’t do any of them right!”
“Because you have not tried. Instead, you took the spoiled little princess approach. I am so very disappointed in you, Perlita. I really believed that you could do this. I had such faith in you. And I thought we were becoming more honest with each other.”
“Are you sure you have no Italian in you? You are as good at giving guilt as the sisters at our church,” Perlita commented, trying to lessen the tension with humor.
Hank was not amused. “There are reasons I want you to learn to do these things. You need to take responsibility for yourself and for your life, and not think you can bend everyone to your will because you’re sweet and pretty. Come to me now and let’s get this done.”
“I promise, I’ll learn to do everything myself. Please, don’t…”
Her pleas were interrupted as he quickly grasped her elbow and urged her face down over the edge of the tall bed. She began to cry fearfully as he slowly folded the long, thick leather in half and held the buckle end in the grip of his right hand, leaving the business end dangling.
“Perl? Are you listening to me?” he asked softly. “You are to reach back and pull your dress up around your hips and then lower those knickers to your thighs. Go on, girl. Mind me.”
A plaintive sob erupted from Perl’s lips as she reluctantly obeyed him, her hands trembling as she lifted her hips to pull the thin, cotton panties to the middle of her thighs, exposing her well-rounded bottom.
“Good girl. Now reach your arms in front of you and hold your hands together. You are not to try to reach back for any reason. Trust me, this strap will hurt like the dickens if it catches your fingers.” He sounded sad.
Perl, her eyes already red from tears, glanced back with fear at Hank and the strap in his hand. With a loud cry, she obediently stretched her arms out on the bed in front of her and tightly entwined her fingers together, grabbing a piece of the quilt for extra support.
“You have earned this licking and I expect you to take it like a big girl without moving from this position. If you budge, I’m afraid this punishment will end up taking longer than it has to. Do you understand me?” his low voice asked gently. Perl sobbed into the quilt, nodding.
“Ordinarily, a strapping like this would mean being taken out to the woodshed. I’m sparing you that humiliation because I’m not ready for the hands having to hear you cry.”
Perl could only mutter a ‘thank you’ into the quilt as Hank placed his left palm firmly on her back and then raised the strip of leather with the other. With a loud sigh, he aimed for the right cheek of her chubby backside and laid down the first lash with a resounding CRACK! Perl yelped in pain, her hands instinctively flying back to protect her bottom. Hank waited in silence and watched as she shook furiously before slowly returning to position. Again he raised the strap and laid the second loud CRACK!
Perl shrieked again with an irrepressibly loud, "OWWW!! I’m s-sorryyy, Hank… Papa… Pleaseeee no morrre!!"
"I am so disappointed in you, Perlita. You are never” -CRACK!- “ever to even consider” -CRACK!- “pulling another such stunt to try to deceive me” -CRACK!- “ever again!" He held his breath as he continued her whipping with five more blistering and very effective strokes to the right side of her scarlet red bottom.
With his low voice patient and controlled, Hank said, “We are almost halfway through, darling, but your backside still requires some more reminding.” Still weeping profusely, the girl complied, grasping hard onto the quilt’s edge.
A few more strokes finished off the right buttock, and the man immediately started on the untouched left cheek. Perl’s screeching and wriggling started anew and soon both her left and right bottom cheeks glowed identical shades of crimson. Deciding that the punishment was nearing completion, Hank quietly stated, “Hang in there, sweetheart, just a few more and we are done here.”
He stepped back and released the free end of the belt to hang loose. Still holding the buckle in his palm, he wrapped some of the strap around his hand and inhaled deeply as he raised his arm. As the strap fell, it neatly struck both sides of her tender sit-upon, making the girl buck wildly and beg him to stop. Silently, Hank carefully placed another three stripes in the same area to serve as “reminders” for Perl to feel every time she tried to sit down for the next couple of days.
Hank dropped the belt on the bed and knelt down next to the sobbing girl. He put his arm across her back and praised her for taking her punishment well, and promised her that all had been forgiven. Perl could not respond, and sobs wracked her body as she lay limp and shaking against the lovingly made quilt. Hank’s heart ached to see her in such agony, but he knew he had done right by her. His heart was thumping wildly as well. Fear for her future, and the need to guard her from harm, was something he had been thoroughly and carefully thinking about. He only knew one way. The best way. His way. She couldn’t survive in this world if she didn’t learn skills, and she couldn’t learn skills if she knew how to escape work.
To distract his mind from her crying, he focused on rethreading the belt and buckling it around his waist, all the while working to regain his own composure. The thought of losing her weighed as heavy upon him as the pain of disciplining her. He eventually approached her and pulled her up into a comforting, secure hug. "There, there… it’s over, honey doll."
Perl buried her head into his chest, still sobbing fiercely and crying too hard to speak the apologies that burdened her heart.
"Shhh, it’s okay, sweetheart, cry it all out," he told her as he rocked her steadily in his arms. His eyes fell on her bare, quivering back-end and he noticed the angry red radiating from it. He closed his eyes, wondering if perhaps he had been too strict. He couldn’t deny that it was the most adorable and luscious bottom he’d ever seen. The urge to run his hands along the hot flesh and cover those soft mounds with tender kisses was overwhelming. To part those same mounds with his large hands and explore her most private place with his finger… He gulped back his lust. His responsibility was her protection right now.
Perl attempted to calm down, and finally after a few minutes of leaning against him, she was able to offer a sincere and heartfelt apology. "I’m sorry, Hank," she said, wiping her eyes.
"Yeah, I know you are. You just made a mistake and paid the price. It’s all over and your slate is clean," he said with reassurance as he gently brushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear with unusual tenderness. “You know you deserved that whipping, right?” he sounded worried.
With a faint smile and a nod, she muttered, "Yes. I k
now. I’m just not ready to thank you for it, if that’s what you’re waiting for." She saw his small smile and she slowly stood and reached down to pull up her panties and cover her throbbing backside with her dress. She inhaled sharply, wincing as the material rubbed against her swollen flesh.
Hank circled her shoulders with his arm and started to walk towards the door. "Are you okay, baby?" he asked, leading her carefully downstairs.
She nodded with a sniff and a two-handed rub to her scorched behind. "Yes. It just hurts terribly."
Hank kissed her head. "Well, okay then. I could say it’s supposed to hurt but I’m sure you know that. Now, let’s make some breakfast and then teach you how to do your chores the proper way.”
Perl groaned. The thought of sitting on Hannah’s milk-stool had been the farthest thing from her mind.
* * *
Feeling a little guilty for being so severe, Hank decided to take Perl with him into town later that morning. She painfully fidgeted in the seat of the trunk but stayed quiet, not wanting to draw any attention to the fact that her bottom still felt completely and thoroughly chastised. They parked next to the sheriff’s station and walked inside.
“Good Morning, Miss Perl,” Dennis said, standing as he saw her enter. “Hank! What brings you to grace my humble door with such beauty?”
“Thank you. It’s nice that you decided to stop insulting me.”
“You wish I was talking about you.” Dennis chuckled, giving Perl an affectionate squeeze around the shoulders. He noticed her quietness. “Everything okay?” he asked with a small frown.
Hank ignored his question. “I thought it would be good to pick up some more things for Perl and show her around town. She’s been all alone at the ranch and I haven’t been around much to keep her company. I know we both agreed it would the wisest move right now, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that those goons have lost her trail, don’t you?”
Cowboys Know Best Page 7
