by Misty Malone
When he got to the barn, a couple of his hands were there and he thanked both of them. He asked Garrett if he would please take care of Thunder for him. Garrett looked at the subdued look on Jane's face and quickly agreed. Bryce was fair, but he was a stern man, as well. He had a feeling the nervous looking little lady had something to be nervous about. He also figured she knew it, and that's why she was so quiet.
When they got in the house, Lena had supper on the table, and Landon was there, as well. Bryce led Jane to a bathroom and gave her instructions to wash up quickly and get back to the table. He went to another bathroom and did the same. When she got to the table they were all there waiting for her. Bryce rose and got her chair, as he always had.
As soon as she was seated she said, “I want to apologize to everyone. I'm sorry I wasn't here in time for supper and caused you all to worry.”
Landon graciously told her not to worry about it, but Lena looked hurt. “I'm sure you had your reasons for leaving without telling me,” she said. “But you're back now and you're safe, and that's what's important.”
Landon and Lena carried on a conversation as normal. Bryce joined in some, but not as much as usual. Jane, on the other hand, said very little, and ate even less. Bryce noticed, and looked at her. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“Then eat your supper.”
“I'm not very hungry tonight.”
“You didn't eat much for lunch, either, and I heard you didn't eat any breakfast.”
“I just haven't been very hungry.”
“I understand you're upset, frustrated, sunshine, but you have to eat or you'll get sick.”
“I'll eat when I'm hungry.” She didn't mean that simple statement to come out sounding quite like it did, but she meant the words. They sounded mean or bossy even to her, but she couldn't do much about it now that the words were already out.
Bryce sighed. “Lena, Landon, go ahead and eat, but please excuse us. I think I know what's wrong here, and I aim to fix it.” With those words he got up. Jane was surprised when he took her arm in his hand and pulled her to her feet, leading her from the table. When she tried to pull her arm free he leaned down and whispered, “It's time we have our little talk, sunshine. You can settle down and come quietly, or I'll give you the first swat now to help settle you down. Then you can come quietly. Your choice.”
His words stunned her. Surely he wouldn't do that here, in front of Lena and Landon? A quick glance at his expression, though, told her he certainly would. She stopped fighting and went with him to his office.
Once inside, he turned and locked the door, then led her to the couch, where he sat down, pulling her down to sit beside him. “Okay, young lady, let's have that talk.”
“But Bryce, I already told you I'm sorry. I don't know what else I can say.”
“Then I'll start, because I do know what to say. Your safety may not be important to you, but it is to me. I care about you and I intend to keep you safe. I gave you some fairly simple rules in that regard, and you chose to ignore just about all of them. Would you care to explain why? Are you upset with me and did this to spite me? Do you not care about your safety at all? Lena feels bad that you didn't talk to her, or tell her you felt you had to get away. She's afraid she's done something to upset you. Is that it?”
Jane was upset when she heard his words, and tears started running down her cheeks. “No,” she cried, “I'm not upset with her at all. Or with you. Please believe me, Bryce.”
“If it's not one of us, then what is it? Does your safety really mean that little to you?” He paused a moment. Pulling her chin up to look at him, he asked, “Sunshine, do you realize what I'm talking about when I say I'm concerned about your safety? Do you understand there are a lot of things on a ranch that can be dangerous?”
Jane had so many conflicting feelings inside her she felt like she was being pulled in too many directions. She was sorry she'd worried him, and certainly hadn't meant to hurt Lena's feelings. But she was still so frustrated and confused about who she was. And she might not have her memory, but she wasn't stupid! Of course she knew there could be dangerous things on a ranch.
She was ready to tell him she wasn't as stupid as he must think she is, when she saw the expression on his face. He was hurt, but there was something else. It occurred to her he didn't have any idea about her upbringing. She didn't know much about it, either, but she must not have grown up in a large city, because she did know a little bit about a ranch. That thought just struck her. Once she'd gotten here, she did seem to know at least a minimal amount about ranching. She had to admit that as upset as he was, and he admittedly had a right to be, he was still trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she had grown up in a large city she might not know one single thing about a ranch.
Before she could put words together to express her thoughts, he spoke again, in a quiet, but authoritative way. “Sunshine, this is not a good time for you to ignore me. I am upset right now, and you are about to get your cute little bottom warmed. You will not like it, but if you decide not to answer my questions, I can assure you that you will dislike it even more. Now, I will ask it one more time. Do you understand what kind of danger you could be in around here?”
“Bryce, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I was thinking. Yes, I have an idea, although I can't say I'm real familiar with ranches.”
He shook his head. “Then I don't understand. If you know dangers exist, why did you ignore all my rules to keep you safe?”
Tears started down her cheeks again. “I don't know. I think I was just plain being selfish, thinking only of myself. I've been so upset, so confused, so angry, and I just wanted to get away from everyone and everything for a little bit so I could think.” A couple sobs escaped as she said, “I hoped I'd remember something else. Anything.”
To her surprise, Bryce picked her up and sat her in his lap. He guided her head to his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. “I know this is hard, but I don't think I knew just how desperate you've been feeling. I wish I could do something to help you.”
“Thank you. It's not your fault, though. I just have to somehow learn to be more patient, I guess.”
He rubbed her arm while they were talking, and it seemed to help calm her. He was glad, and continued to rub gently. “Well, honey, I'll bet I can help with that.”
“You can?”
“Yep. I'll bet you find patience you didn't know you had after this spanking you're about to get.”
She sat up straight and stared at him. “What? You mean you're still planning to do that? Even after you realized how desperate I've been lately?”
“Absolutely. Especially since I see how desperate you've been.”
“I don't understand.”
“Now that I know how desperate you've been feeling, I have to watch you a little closer.”
“Closer? Why?”
“Honey, whether you realize it or not, there is a danger out there. You've been feeling so desperate to get your memory back that you're not thinking clearly about other things. You're concentrating on regaining your memory. That means I have to be more careful to be sure you're safe. Now that I know that I'll have to change a few things.”
“What things?”
“We'll talk about that after your spanking.”
“Why after? Why not now?”
“Because it will depend partly on how well you take this spanking. Now, no more stalling.” He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead before easily flipping her over his lap. Before she could recover from the shock of finding herself so easily placed over his knees, she felt his fingers unsnapping her jeans.
When he started pulling them down, she reached her hand back to stop him. “No! Bryce, no, you can't do that.”
“Yes, I can, sunshine, and I will. Now, let go of them. You'll do much better if you decide to listen to me and behave during a spanking.”
“But Bryce, I don't know you well enough for that!”
She sounded frantic, and Bryce was impressed. “Don't worry, I'll respect your privacy and leave your panties on, as long as you behave. That includes moving your hand so I can lower your jeans.”
“Last chance,” he said, as he gave her a firm swat on her bottom. “Move your hand now, or I'll move it for you and your spanking will be longer than I had planned. I don't think you want that, Sunshine.”
“But I don't want a spanking at all, Bryce.”
“I understand, but it's too late for that. You've already earned one, and you'll soon learn that when you've earned a spanking from me you will get it. Now you just have to decide if you're going to listen to me and move your hand, or if you're going to make me remove it and give you a longer spanking.”
She cried, but slowly moved her hand away. “Good girl,” he said as he lowered her jeans.
“I'm scared.”
She'd whispered her statement so softly, Bryce barely heard her. “I understand that, honey. But let me ask you something. Do you trust me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think I would do anything to cause you true harm?”
She turned enough that she could see his face. She looked into his eyes before she realized just how much she trusted him. “No, you wouldn't,” she said.
“You're right, I wouldn't. I'm trying to keep you safe. But I will give you a spanking, and like I told you before, this is going to hurt and you won't like it. I won't lie to you. But I would never cause you any harm.” He gave her a moment to accept what he'd said. “So you trust me?”
Again he could hardly hear as she answered, “Yes.”
“Good.” He gave her four quick swats on the cute panties-covered bottom he would rather caress than spank. He gave her a moment to come to grips with the fact the spanking was indeed going to happen, holding her tightly to prevent her from slipping away, which he expected her to do.
And he wasn't wrong. She yelled, her hand flew back to her bottom, which he easily caught and held at her side, and she used a burst of adrenalin-filled energy to try to get herself off his lap. And she tried many ways. She tried pushing up with her hands, but he held her down against his lap. She wriggled side to side in an attempt to slide off, but he again held her tight. She used her feet to try launching herself forward and off his lap, but his hold held again. She tried everything she could think of, but she couldn't manage to escape his hold. He held her tight.
He let her squirm and wriggle and fight, and when she'd worn herself out, he smiled. “Ready to accept that this spanking is going to happen, you're not getting out of it, and behave yourself?”
“Absolutely not,” she insisted, with another round of struggling. Again he let her fight, knowing she wasn't fighting him as much as she was fighting the situation she'd found herself in. When she finally settled down again, he held her tight with one hand. “Now that you've gotten that out of your system, it's my turn.” He gave her half a dozen swats with the palm of his hand before saying anything. When he started talking, it was with a smooth, caring, but authoritative, no nonsense voice. “Now, sunshine, you will have the spanking you've earned. I let you struggle and fight a bit, and I hope you've proven to yourself that you are not getting up until I say you are, which will be when the spanking is over.”
He gave her a few more firm, but not too harsh swats. “As I'm sure you've realized by now, I like rules. I think things run better, smoother with rules. People are safer if they follow the rules. When I make a rule it's for a reason. It's not to hinder you or prevent you from having fun; it's simply to keep you safe. When I make a rule, I expect it to be followed. That's how I keep you safe. Do you understand, sunshine?”
He waited, even stopped spanking for several moments, giving her a chance to answer. When she didn't, he gave her two more smacks, harder, and on her thighs. “Ow! Damn, that hurt!”
He gave her two more swats just as hard, in the same places. “I have rules for a spanking, as well, and I see it's time we go over those. You can yell, you can cry, you can even wriggle around some. But what I won't allow during a spanking is cursing, biting or hitting. Do you understand?”
“But it hurts!”
“I understand that. This is a spanking and it's supposed to hurt. The pain is what will make you stop and think before you ignore my rules the next time. I'll let your language go this once since I hadn't warned you yet, but any swearing during a spanking will get you a few good smacks on your thighs, or extras afterwards with a paddle or hairbrush. I can tell you right now, that's something you won't like a bit. Do you understand?”
“Ow! Yes.”
“Good. Now, I expect an answer to my question. Do you understand what I'm saying about why I set rules?” He gave her two more stern smacks.
She jumped, squealed at the pain, but quickly said, “Yes.”
“Okay, then,” he said with a couple more whacks. “We're getting somewhere now.”
“Ow! I'm sorry, Bryce. Ow! Please stop now.” He continued giving her smacks he knew she was definitely feeling, but they weren't by any means harsh or strong. “Ow! Bryce, I said I'm sorry. Now stop! It hurts!”
“Sunshine, there's something else you need to learn about a spanking. It will stop when I feel you've learned the lesson I'm trying to teach you, not when you want it to.”
“But it hurts,” she said as she broke into sobs. He stopped a few seconds to rub her back. “I know it hurts, and I hate doing this to you. But I hate all the thoughts that kept going through my head as to what could have happened to you when you were missing. You have to learn to listen to me so I can keep you safe. I'm sure this hurts, but there are things that could have happened to you out here that would hurt much worse.”
“What do you mean?” she managed to ask between her crying and occasional sobs. “Like what?”
“Like a mountain lion, or a few other types of wildlife out here. And what about whoever it is that's looking for you? We have no idea why they want you, but if they're going to the trouble and risk of lying to a sheriff to find you, they're determined. Would you rather take your chances with them than have me try and hide and protect you here until we know who they are and what they want?”
She hesitated, and he stopped. “Sunshine, would you rather go with them?”
“No,” she cried, exasperated. “But at least they wouldn't spank me. This really hurts!”
“I know,” he agreed. “But what do you think they'd do, and how do you think it would feel?”
She stopped crying for a few seconds, and he assumed she was considering that question. She broke out crying again, harder than she had been crying before. “I don't even want to consider that. I'm sorry, Bryce. Can you forgive me?”
“Now, that makes me think I may be getting my message through to you, Sunshine. You've got ten more whacks coming. If you accept these as punishment you deserve for not listening to me while I'm trying to protect you, I'll know you've indeed heard my message, and this spanking will be done. If you fight me, I'll assume you don't think you deserve them, and we'll continue.”
He immediately started her last ten swats. They were firm, but not harsh, as he assumed this was her first spanking. He was proud of her when she vocally made him aware that they weren't pleasant, but she didn't fight him like she had been.
As soon as the last smack had been delivered, he rubbed her back. She was crying, but lying limp over his lap. He allowed her a few seconds to catch her breath, then gently helped her up and directly onto his lap, where he again guided her head to his shoulder and pulled her in against him with his arms around her.
“It's all over now, Sunshine. You're forgiven.”
He wasn't sure she was even listening to him yet, so he was surprised when she whispered, “Thank you.”
“You've had a lot on your mind lately, and I understand. But you have to listen to what I say. If you feel like you need to get away, talk to me. Maybe we can talk about your problem and you'll feel better. If you
still really need to get away, we'll make some kind of arrangements. I don't want you hurting, Sunshine, and if you really need to get away, I'll come up with something. But it has to be something safe.”
“Like what? Bryce, I felt trapped. I felt like I had to get away, outside in the fresh air, with no one around so I could clear my mind and do some thinking.”
“If you felt so strongly about it, I would have let you. But I would have made sure you were safe.”
“How?”
“I would have gotten a couple of my men. We would have made sure you made it safely to a place on the ranch, away from roads, where it's calm and peaceful, maybe beside a creek or under a nice tree. We could have then gone off far enough that you wouldn't see us, but we could have been watching the area, making sure no wildlife or unwanted visitors bothered you.”
She looked up at him. “You would have done that for me?”
“Of course. Haven't you figured out yet that I care about you. Part of my caring about you and protecting you is I want you to be happy. If being alone for a while meant that much to you, you should have told me. Yes, we would have worked that out. You could have been alone, but safely alone.”
Her tears started again, but these tears were different. She snuggled up against his chest, curling into his arms that were still around her. She leaned against him again, but she looked so much more content this time. He smiled as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
He held her tight, hoping it helped her feel secure, and he whispered encouraging words and thoughts to her, as she calmed down and her breathing returned to normal. Then they talked a little about nothing in specific. Finally, he touched on one last thing he wanted to discuss with her. “Sunshine, I told you after your spanking we'd talk about some things I'll have to start doing differently.”
