by Misty Malone
Bryce saw the small smile at the corners of her mouth. “You think that's funny?”
“No,” she quickly said. In that instant she realized he was right. Although her situation might not be fair, it wasn't his fault, or Lena's or Landon's, and taking it out on all of them was just as unfair to them as her memory loss was to her.
She let her shoulders slump. “I'm sorry, Bryce, and I need to apologize to Lena and Landon, too. My problem's not your fault.”
“No, it's not,” he agreed, “and an apology to Lena and Landon would be appreciated, I'm sure. But right now I want to talk a little. Did anything in particular bring this on, or just your frustration?”
“I don't know,” she admitted. “I was encouraged when I remembered running from those men. I thought for sure I'd be remembering more and more now.”
“You are, Sunshine. I know it's not big chunks of memory, but you're still remembering things. I know you're tired of hearing me tell you to be patient, but you really have to be.”
“And do you remember me telling you I don't think I'm very good at being patient?”
He chuckled. “And do you remember me telling you I bet I can help with that?”
“Yes, but I wasn't sure what you meant. How can you help me be patient?”
“The last time you were feeling impatient you went out for a walk alone, without a phone. Do you remember that?”
Her face turned pink as she said, “Yes.”
“And how'd that work out for you?”
“Not so good,” she whispered.
“But it did accomplish a couple things. One of them was you were a lot more patient the next several days. I don't know if you picked up on that, but that spanking settled you right down. You weren't as anxious for several days afterward. Did you notice that?”
Her face turned a deeper pink as she shyly answered. “Actually, yes, I did notice that. The next day it occurred to me I felt so much calmer, more relaxed, almost content even. I wondered about it, but I didn't think it had anything to do with the spanking.”
“Oh, but it did,” he contradicted. “It had a lot to do with it. A spanking will do that, it will settle you down. For a time all you're thinking about is the pain in your bottom and you forget all your problems and concerns. That calms you down and you can then put things in perspective. Having someone hold you afterward, letting you know they care about you and you're not alone, adds to the contentment. That generally lasts several days at least.”
“Much like the sore bottom,” she said with a mischievous grin.
“Now, don't exaggerate. The soreness from that spanking couldn't have lasted any longer than a couple hours. I went easy on you since it was your first time. Be warned though. Your next real spanking won't wear off quite that soon. For it to be most effective you should feel it at least until you go to bed that night.”
She looked at him, eyes wide. “There are so many things wrong with that statement.”
“Like what?”
“Like, my next spanking? Oh, no. One was more than enough.”
“Then don't earn another one.”
“But you already gave me another one,” she said, reaching back to rub her bottom.
He pulled her hands away. “No rubbing after a spanking. And for the record that wasn't a spanking. That was just a few swats to get your attention. It was meant as a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Yes, a warning. Watch your language, and watch your attitude or you will earn another real spanking, not just a few swats over your jeans.”
“That's twice now that you've said a real spanking. Aren't all spankings real?”
“Not in my book. A man and woman can have playful spankings, just for fun. They are just that, meant for fun. They're not what I consider a real spanking. A real spanking is meant as punishment, like if you ignore safety rules you're supposed to be following.”
She blushed at his words and nodded.
“Or if you're warned about your attitude, but ignore the warnings and keep taking your frustration out on people who don't deserve it. Then you get a real spanking.”
“Okay, I hear you,” she assured him. “Warning taken.”
“Good.” He held her a few minutes more, both of them enjoying their closeness. After a bit he said, “It's getting late. Are you ready to go to bed?”
“Yeah, I guess, but I'm not sure how well I'll sleep.”
“A good spanking tends to help a lady sleep real well. Do you want me to show you what I mean?”
“No, no, that's okay. I'll take your word for it. And maybe I'll take a book along and try reading. That usually helps me sleep.”
He walked with her to the library. “Okay, if you're sure you don't want my help,” Bryce said with a smile. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Good night, sunshine. Sleep well.”
“Thank you. Good night, Bryce.” She went into the library and found a book. She took it with her to her bedroom, but was doubtful it would help much. She hadn't remembered anything new for a couple days now and it was worrying her. She put her nightgown on and got ready for bed. She sat down in the rocking chair to read, but she couldn't concentrate on her book. She stood up and paced the floor. It didn't help, but it felt better than just sitting there.
That thought made her think. She needed something to do, something to get her mind off her lack of new memories. She needed something that would calm her down. There was only one thing that came to mind. She put her slippers and bathrobe on and quietly slipped out the door and went to the ranch hospital.
She got the Coleman lantern and turned it on, not wanting to turn the big overhead lights on. She didn't want to wake all the animals that were sleeping. She went to check on the new foal. The mother was a first time mother and had had a difficult time with labor. Bryce and Landon had had to assist with the delivery, and the mare had been too tired afterward to care properly for the foal. Then Bryce had had to give it some medicine, which meant the mare couldn't nurse the foal for 24 hours. Jane had gotten to bottle feed it twice. They'd had to separate it from the mare until it was okay for the mare to nurse it again, and Jane felt sorry for it, all alone.
She went into the pen and sat down beside it where it lay in the straw. The foal whinnied a little, cuddled up next to her and fell asleep as she rubbed its neck. She watched it for a little while, noticing how content it seemed. Her mind wandered back to the men who were chasing her, and she tensed. The foal opened its eyes and looked at her. The little foal must have reacted to her tension. She relaxed again, and the foal was soon back to sleep.
She thought about how observant animals are when she heard a noise. It sounded like the door to the barn opened. She froze, not wanting to make a sound. She slowly and carefully turned her head toward the door and was terrified to see a man, and he was headed her way. She started to turn the lantern off, but knew it was too late. Whoever it was had no doubt seen it already. She held still, half expecting to see one of the men who had been chasing her. She was relieved when he got close enough that she could tell it was Bryce.
Her relief lasted just until she saw the look on his face. “Bryce,” she said softly. “I'm so glad it was you. What are you doing out here?”
“Shouldn't I be asking you that question? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, by yourself, without telling anyone you were going here?”
“I couldn't sleep, but I didn't want to wake anyone up.”
“So you decided it would be better to once again simply ignore all my rules and do as you please?”
“It wasn't like that, Bryce. I would have told someone, but everyone was sleeping.”
“You said you were glad it was me. What did you mean by that? Who else did you think it would be?”
She sighed. “I was afraid it was one of the men who were chasing me. I'm sorry. I see your point now. It could have been one of them.”
“Yes, it could have been.”
“But they don't even
know I'm here,” she argued.
“How do you know that? We were out close to the road a few days ago when you were looking at the area where we found you. For all we know one of those men could have driven past and seen you.”
A few of the animals were starting to make some noise, obviously uneasy with voices in the middle of the night. “Come on,” Bryce said. “We're upsetting the animals. If they make a bunch of noise I'll have half a dozen ranch hands over here checking on them, wanting to know what's going on.”
“Where are we going?”
His shock showed on his face. “We're going in the house. It's 2:00 in the morning. Where did you think we'd go?”
“We're going in to go to bed?”
Now he saw what she was getting at. “Yes, we'll be going back to bed,” he assured her. “And you'll be able to sleep much better this time, since you'll be going to bed with a sore bottom. Remember how I told you a spanking helps you sleep? Now you'll get to see that first hand.”
He had taken her hand, and they were headed for the door, but she stopped when she heard his proclamation. “No, Bryce, you can't spank me.”
“You're wrong there, sunshine. I can and I most certainly will. You once again ignored my rules and put yourself in danger. What would you suggest I do, pat you on the back and tell you good job?”
“No, but—”
When she paused, he asked, “But what, sunshine?”
“I don't want another spanking.”
“I'm sure you don't. But you've earned another one, and that's that. Come on, let's go.” He pulled her out of the barn and closed the door. When she dug her heels in, refusing to walk with him, he simply leaned down, putting his shoulder to her stomach, and picked her up. He headed toward the house with her over his shoulder. When she started kicking and hitting his back he gave her two sharp smacks on her bottom. “Keep it up and I'll stop long enough to give you a preview right here,” he warned. “It won't bother me any, but if you start carrying on you'll wake up the men and they'll come out to see what all the noise is about. If you don't mind an audience, it's okay with me. Just keep it up.”
She growled, but stopped struggling.
Chapter 8
Bryce walked into the house and straight to his office where he sat down on the couch. He took her off of his shoulder and laid her over his knees in one easy move. He tugged her nightgown, but she reached her hand back to stop him. “No, Bryce, you can't do that.”
Hearing the fear in her voice, he had a pretty good idea why she was objecting, but it wouldn't matter. “Why not?”
She hung her head and stammered a couple times, but didn't say anything he could understand. He gave her a couple of sharp swats over her nightgown. “If you have something to say, say it, sunshine.”
“I don't have any panties on,” she yelled out. He watched her face quickly turn red.
He calmed his voice to respond. “Sunshine, it wouldn't matter. If you'll remember, I told you the next time you get a real spanking I wouldn't be going as easy on you.”
“But Bryce, you didn't go easy on me before. It hurt like hel – like crazy!”
“Good catch. I'm glad you didn't curse; you're in enough trouble as it is. And Sunshine, your panties would be coming down this time, regardless. This is the second spanking you've earned for the same thing, so you're going to be feeling this one longer. To do that I have to be able to see how red your bottom is getting. I don't want to do any harm to you, so I have to be able to see it. You've ignored my safety rules again, and what's worse, I just warned you about it this evening. I guess the five quick smacks to your bottom weren't enough to get your attention. I'll remember that next time.”
He quickly lifted her nightgown and started the spanking then, giving her eight or ten swats before saying anything more. “I don't understand you, Sunshine. I could tell how scared and upset you were when you remembered those two men chasing you. But yet here you are, maybe a week later, sneaking out of the house by yourself, ignoring all the rules I put in place to protect you.”
“Ow! I'm sorry, Bryce.”
“What were you thinking when you slipped out alone tonight? Did you not care about the possible danger out there?” He stopped her spanking to give her a chance to answer. When she didn't, he gave her six more sharp spanks. “This would be a real good time to answer my question unless you want me to put a little more effort into this spanking.”
“No! No, don't do that, please. It already really hurts.”
“Then if I were you, I'd start answering my question, and any others I ask during this spanking.”
“I do care about the danger, but I honestly never thought about it. I was upset and couldn't sleep, so I went to one of the two places I know of that always seem to help me calm down.”
“I'm glad that barn helps you calm down, but it's the middle of the night. I don't want you going out there alone ever again until we know what those men want with you.” He renewed his efforts spanking her again, and she renewed her efforts to fight it. She yelled and struggled, trying to get free, even though she was having no luck in that endeavor and didn't expect to. “You said that was one of two places that calms you down. What's the other one, and why didn't you go there, or is it outside, too?”
He felt her stiffen, but she didn't answer. Four good smacks on her thighs later he asked, “Ready to answer me yet?”
“Ow! Yes! Yes, I'll answer you,” she said with tears running down her cheeks. “The other place is in your arms, and I didn't want to wake you up,” she admitted.
Now it was Bryce who froze. He had to take several moments to think this through. She had pretty much just said she was upset and needed help to calm down, but how could he ignore the fact she had disobeyed him, putting herself in danger again? He sighed and did the only thing he felt he could do at that moment.
He picked her up and sat her on his lap, pulling her against his chest and holding her. She cried, and clutched onto his shirt, a desperate move she hadn't done before. That certainly wasn't making it any easier on him.
He simply held her for a solid minute, doing his best to build the strength and resolve he would need to finish her spanking, before he spoke. “Sunshine, why didn't you tell me how upset you were?”
“It was late, Bryce. I know you get up early every morning. You've already done so much for me I couldn't ask you to miss any more sleep just for me.”
“Don't ever worry about me missing sleep. I have men working for me that can cover the chores if I'm up all night. You're much more important to me than the chores.”
“But you've already done way more than most people would for me, Bryce, and I'll never be able to tell you how much that means to me. I couldn't stand the thought of you working tomorrow after not getting much sleep. We both know that's dangerous, and if something happened to you because you were tired and got careless I'd never be able to forgive myself.”
He was still holding her as he said, “Don't worry about me, Sunshine.”
“Why not? You worry about me, you say because you care about me. Well, I worry about you for the same reason.” She looked down before speaking again, very softly. “Besides, that was part of the reason I didn't want to wake you up.”
“What was part of the reason?”
“I care about you. I think I care too much about you. I don't know if I have a right to care that much about you yet. And when you hold me I feel safe and it calms me down. But I'm afraid it will also make me care even more about you.”
“Well, that does it,” Bryce murmured as he pulled her a little tighter against him.
“What do you mean, that does it?”
“There's no way I can finish your spanking now, you little vixen.” He gave her a lopsided little grin when she looked up at him. “That spanking wasn't over. You deserve more, and I think you know it,” he said with his eyebrows raised. “But I also know now why you went outside by yourself, and I see how hard this whole situation has been on you.”
<
br /> “I am sorry, Bryce. I really didn't mean to disobey your rules.”
“I know,” he conceded, “but it still doesn't make it right. But I hope the scare you got when you thought I was someone else will help you realize how important it is for you to listen to what I say. And let me warn you now, young lady,” he said with a sterner voice, “if I catch you outside by yourself like that again, I don't care how much I'll hate doing it, you will be getting the full spanking you deserve. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” she quickly said. After a moment she added, “But it does really hurt.”
“Not like it should,” he answered.
“How do you know how much it hurts?” she asked. “I think it hurts a great deal.”
“I imagine it does,” he allowed, “but the pain will fade quickly. We'll be able to tell if it was enough to settle you down. If not, I'm sure we'll be back here soon, finishing it.” She didn't look happy with him, but he told her, “Remember that.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't relent at all, keeping his eyes on hers. She soon backed down, admitting to herself again that he was right, she had been upset and taking it out on them. Seeing her retreat, he again guided her head to his chest, and talked with her quietly, until she was calmer. “Do you think you can sleep now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered, “although I'm still pretty sore.”
“Good. Like I told you, a sore bottom usually helps you sleep well.” She saw his smile as he helped her up off his lap and stood himself. He led her with a gentle hand on her back, up the stairs to her room. “Good night, sunshine.” He kissed her forehead and went to his room.
The next morning Jane was downstairs earlier than normal, asking Lena what she could do to help. As the ladies worked together they talked. “Lena, I want to apologize to you for my horrible attitude lately,” Jane said.
Lena paused to look at the younger lady. “It's okay, Jane. I can't even imagine what you've been going through.”
“It has been rough, but it's not your fault, and I feel terrible about the way I've been taking it out on the people I care about most. It's not fair to any of you, and I'm sorry.”
