by Misty Malone
“It's over and forgotten,” Lena assured her. “Are you okay this morning?”
“Yeah, I'm fine,” Jane said. “Why would you ask that?”
Lena's face turned a bit pink as she said, “I heard you and Bryce late last night. I heard the door open, and then I heard a 'discussion' going on in his office. I don't know what it was about and I don't mean to pry, but it was late, and I thought you might sleep in this morning. Instead, you're down here early, so I can't help being a little concerned. I don't want to embarrass you, but are you okay?”
Jane's face flushed, as well, but she put a hand on her friend's arm. “Thank you for your concern, Lena. It makes me feel good knowing you care, but I'm fine. I couldn't sleep last night and I went out to visit the new foal, knowing that would help me relax. I still don't know how Bryce knew I went outside because I tried to be very quiet, but he did, and he found me out in the barn. He wasn't happy about me going out alone.”
“I don't blame him, Jane. That was a foolish thing to do.”
“I agree with you now, believe me. I wasn't thinking very straight at the time.”
“We all do that at times,” Lena assured her.
Bryce walked in and looked at the two ladies. “Should I leave and come back in later?"
“Why would you ask that?" Jane asked.
“Because both of you have a red face.”
Jane went over to the door and looked outside. “Is Landon right behind you?”
“He'll be a couple minutes yet. Why?”
“Lena heard us last night, Bryce. She asked me if I was okay.”
Bryce put his arm around Jane's waist and pulled her closer to him. He didn't look a bit embarrassed when he turned to his housekeeper. “I'm sorry, Lena, I didn't mean to wake you. If this young lady decides to go for a stroll at two o'clock in the morning again I'll either give her her spanking before we come back in, or I'll take her to the den and close the door. That's further away from your bedroom.”
Both ladies turned a brighter shade of red, and Bryce just chuckled. “I never will understand women,” he mumbled, just as Landon opened the door and came in.
He took his hat off and hung it on the hat rack by the door when he looked up and saw Bryce grinning, and both women looking embarrassed. “Bad timing?” he asked.
All three of them laughed. “Nope,” Bryce said. “It amazes me sometimes how the simplest little thing can embarrass a woman. Let me wash up quick so we can eat.” He looked at Jane and winked.
Things went well for the next couple days. By the third day Jane was unsettled again though. The day before that she thought she was having a major memory breakthrough. She remembered having a good friend as she was growing up. She remembered what she looked like, and that her name was Laurie. She thought for sure this was the beginning of a big portion of her memory. After thinking about Laurie for several minutes she remembered another friend they had for awhile before she moved away. But try as she might, she could not come up with the second friend's name, nor could she picture what she looked like.
She thought about Laurie and the other friend several times during the day, hoping more memory would return, but it never did. Unfortunately, this wasn't anything that would be of any help to them in trying to figure out who she is.
By the next morning she'd given up on trying to remember more about Laurie and her other friend, and frustration had settled in again. She spent all afternoon in the ranch hospital even though there were very few animals there. Bryce stopped by on his way to the house for supper. “I thought I might find you here,” he said. “Are you ready to go eat?”
“What do you mean by that?” she snapped. “I thought I was allowed to be here. I stopped in and reported to Clay first, just like you ordered.”
Bryce never said a word. He looked around and went to Jane. He took hold of her arm and turned her to the side and applied five very firm swats.
He let go and Jane quickly jumped back, rubbing her bottom. “Ow! What the hell was that for?” She was livid.
He grabbed her arm, turned her again and gave her five more smacks, at least as solid as the first five. “The first ones were for your attitude. The last ones were for your language. Are you done now, or should we take this to my office?”
“Bryce, your men might hear. How could you?”
She was rubbing her bottom, and he pulled her hands around and held them in front of her. “No rubbing,” he reminded her. “And the men are all in the bunkhouse, eating. I had something else I needed to do, so I was a few minutes behind them. I knew they wouldn't hear a thing. But that doesn't answer my question, sunshine. Are you settled down now or shall we go to my office?”
She looked at him, but didn't answer. “All I did was say I thought I might find you here. I never said there was anything wrong with it. Now, what's it to be? Can you get your attitude under control, or do you need help?”
She looked at him, her eyes narrowed, hands on her hips, obviously upset. He half expected her to stomp her little foot any minute now. “I can see we have a little work we need to do before supper. Let's go to my office.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I'm sorry.”
“No, you're not,” he argued. “That look on your face and those little fists on your hips tell me you're not settled at all. Come on with me.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him toward the back of the barn.
“Where are we going?”
“I told you, to my office,” he said. “I have an office in the main barn. We'll have all the privacy we need there.” She pulled back, but before she could dig her heels in he said, “And if you want to fight me again I can put you over my shoulder and start the spanking on the way there.” She stopped fighting him, and he couldn't help but smile a bit. He knew she was frustrated, but he was starting to see that his little sunshine had a temper. He hoped he was going to have a chance to tame that temper he was seeing more often.
He led her to the barn, and to the back where his office was. He went in, closed the door and locked it, and went to the window. “I don't think anyone will be going past this time of evening, but I'll close the blind to be sure.” When that was done he took out his phone and called Lena. “You and Landon go ahead and eat without us, Lena. Jane and I have a couple things we have to talk through, and it may take us a little while. We'll eat when we come in.”
“Okay, Bryce, but be easy with her. Put yourself in her shoes. It would be tough, and it's gone on way too long.”
“I know, Lena, and I agree. But I think a good talk will help.”
“I think a good cry might help more. Be kind.”
“I hear you. Bye.”
He turned to Jane, who was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands now, looking distressed. “They know what's going to happen, don't they?”
“I think Lena does,” Bryce admitted. “She told me not to be too hard on you. I doubt she tells Landon though.”
“Lena said that?”
“She did. She reminded me you're going through a tough time.” He pulled her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “I understand this is hard for you, but when you get this unsettled it gets dangerous. You don't think straight, and that gets you in trouble.”
She looked down, but nodded. Her head flew back up, though, at his next words. “That's why I think you need this spanking.”
“But I thought—”
“You thought you'd get out of the spanking again, I know. But I care too much for you to not follow through this time.”
“Say that again?”
“Sunshine, when I was spanking you the last time you said there were two things that helped settle you down, and I was one of them. That meant a lot to me. I'm glad I'm able to help you settle down. And I felt at that time you needed the security I seem to provide for you. But I didn't do you any favor by stopping the spanking early.”
“But you did do me a favor, and I appreciated it. It was really hurting.”
“I'm sure it
was hurting, but I didn't really do you a favor. If I had continued, it would have settled you down more. I could have given you the security you needed afterward, but I stopped too soon. You hadn't hit the point yet where you were able to release all that stress built up inside you. When you reached that point in your first spanking you stopped fighting me and I could actually see you relax as you did that. You then had a good cry while I held you and assured you that you were safe. That did wonders for you. That's what you needed again, and I'm sorry I stopped before you reached that point.”
Jane watched his expression while she listened to his words. He was very sincere in what he was saying, she could tell. She thought back, and had to admit she felt better after the first spanking, which had surprised her. She hadn't felt that same contentment after the second one, however.
She thought for a moment. Could he be right? She hated that thought, but she had to admit what he said made some sense to her.
Before she had time to think about it too much, however, she found herself being lifted. He sat down on the couch and again easily placed her face down over his lap. He reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans.
When her hand flew back he caught it. “We've been over this before, Sunshine. Your panties have to come down so I can see how red you're getting so that I don't harm you. If you put your hand back there during the spanking I could smack it instead of your bottom and your hand could be hurt.”
Instead of holding her hand at her side, he let go of it. “Sunshine, this spanking is for not listening to the rules I give for your safety. It's meant to teach you to listen to what I say. You know the rules for a spanking, and again, they're for your safety. Move your hand or you'll get extra, additional swats at the end of the spanking. Think fast because since this is about learning to listen to me, I'm not giving you long to comply. You will simply receive the extras. It's your choice, decide quickly if you're going to obey me this time or pay the price.”
He watched as she whimpered, but withdrew her hand. He could tell she was nervous and wanted to keep her hand covering her bottom, but she pulled it back, nervously putting it in front of her as she lay on the couch. “Good girl,” he said sincerely. “Thank you for that respect and obedience.” He handed her a pillow. “Hold onto this tightly so your hands stay there.
He made quick work of pulling her panties down, and as much as he would rather caress the lovely bottom bared on his lap, he steeled himself for what he knew would be unpleasant for both of them, but necessary. Knowing how nervous she was, he didn't make her wait, but started right in. He'd spanked her about a dozen times before she fought him. That was a nice change, and he wondered about it. Was his feisty little lady getting his message about obeying his rules? He hoped so, but only time would tell.
He talked to her while he spanked. “Sunshine, I know this has been a difficult time for you. I wish I could help you more. But one thing I do know is that Lena, Landon, and I have done nothing to earn your wrath, or bad attitude. We've done what we can to support you and help you through it. We do not deserve the attitude you've had lately.”
She dropped her head and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I also know some of those tears are because you know what I'm saying is true. I know you well enough now to know you're a special young lady. You have a heart of gold, and I know you feel bad after you lash out at one of us, like you did me just now. That then adds to your stress.”
She was crying harder now, and he knew his words were having a stinging effect on her. But he also knew they were true. “You don't need anything else to be weighing on your mind or your conscience. When you start feeling overwhelmed, whether it be from stress, anxiety, frustration, or anger, you need to learn to come to me, Sunshine. I'll help you talk through it. Or we can go talk to a doctor. Maybe a mild anti-anxiety medicine would help. We'll talk about it and decide how to work through it, but we will work through it together.”
“I'm sorry,” she said through her tears.
“I'm sorry, too, honey. If I would have finished the last spanking it might have settled you down more and we wouldn't be here now. I'm also sorry you have to go through this in the first place. I wish I could do more to help you. But us being sorry isn't going to change the past. It can change the future, however. From now on when I know you need a good spanking, you will get one, the entire spanking. Stopping too soon only hurts you more in the long run.”
“That wasn't your fault,” she said through her tears. “You were responding to me, and my needs. That means a lot to me.”
“But I didn't give you what you needed. I know that now and it won't happen again. But by the same token, you now know that lashing out at us only adds to the weight you're carrying around with you. Watch your attitude and don't lash out at us and you'll be helping yourself.”
She was struggling, crying out when he hit a particularly sore spot, but she wasn't trying to escape like she normally did. He could tell she was listening to his words, and they were having an effect on her. He continued the spanking, knowing she was getting sore. This was a longer spanking than she'd had previously, and her bottom was turning red. She would definitely feel this when she sat down tonight and probably most of tomorrow.
Knowing she was listening to him, he decided to finish the spanking with something for her to think about. “Sunshine, we all make mistakes. I made a mistake the last time I spanked you, by not spanking you as long as I should have. I'm sorry, and I know now how to do better. I intend to do just that. You made a mistake taking your anger and frustration out on us, and all it did was add to your stress level by giving you something to feel bad about. You've said you're sorry, and I believe you. But now you know how to do better. It's up to you now, whether you control your temper, or if you want to keep adding to your stress.”
“I'm so sorry, Bryce. I want to change.”
Bryce continued the spanking, not letting up any. “Again, I believe you, Sunshine. You try to do better, and I'll help you. I'll warn you if you're starting to have an attitude with us, but it will ultimately be up to you. I want you to know, though, that if I warn you and your attitude doesn't improve, I won't hesitate to do this same thing again. Sometimes things get to be too much, and I understand that. But you need to understand that when that happens, you will be spanked. That's one thing I know settles you back down.”
He gave her six more extra firm swats to her sit spots and stopped. He gently rubbed her back while she caught her breath, then picked her up and settled her in on his lap. Her head this time went to his shoulder without him guiding it. His arms wrapped around her and she cuddled right into them. She clutched his shirt with one hand, holding on tightly. Looking down at her, his heart went out to her. She looked so small and vulnerable. She held onto his shirt like it was her lifeline.
He wanted very badly to lean down and kiss her, tell her she was forgiven and that everything would be all right, but he couldn't. He didn't know yet if he even had a right to have these feelings for her. He sure hoped things worked out, because whether he had a right to the feelings or not, they were already there. Try as he might not to allow it, he'd fallen in love with the lovely little lady. He just had to hope she wasn't already someone else's. He knew it would break his heart to walk away, but that's exactly what he'd have to do if she were already married.
He gave her his handkerchief and settled for leaning down to kiss the top of her head and whisper words of encouragement to her. He rubbed her arm gently as she calmed and kept his arms around her. This had been longer and more painful than any spanking she'd had thus far, he was sure and it took her several minutes to get her breathing back to normal. “Are you okay?” Bryce asked once she had recovered sufficiently to talk.
“Yes,” she assured him. “But I'm really sore.”
“I understand that, but it was necessary.”
“I know,” she surprised him by saying.
“You do?”
“I do. I think I understand a lot of th
ings better now.”
He cocked his head to one side as he looked down at her. “Like what?”
“You're right. When I get overwhelmed with my feelings I take it out on you. Then afterwards I feel worse than I did before.”
“Because you've added guilt to your overwhelming feelings.”
She nodded. “I see that now.” She tightened her hold on his shirt. “You said something else that opened my eyes.”
“What was that, Sunshine?”
“When I moved my hand away before the spanking you thanked me for my respect and obedience.”
“Yes.”
“I never thought of it being disrespectful to you when I don't follow your rules, but it is, isn't it? I have a lot of respect for you, Bryce, and I would never have done something to disrespect you. When I did those dumb things it was because I just plain wasn't thinking. It was not done to disrespect you.”
“I know that.”
“I'm sorry.”
“You're forgiven, honey. You made a mistake and there were consequences for that, but you've been spanked for it. You've paid the price, suffered the consequences, you have a clean slate, we're good again.”
“Thank you,” she said, snuggling back in against his chest again.
After holding her a few more minutes he asked, “Do you feel content?”
She looked up at him and considered his question. “Yes, I do. And I feel like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Thank you for that.”
He grinned. “Are you thanking me for spanking you?”
“I sure hope not,” she said as she rubbed her bottom.
He chuckled as he pulled her hands back in front of her. “The spanking took care of your guilt and settled you down, which gave you the contentment you're enjoying now.”
“Darn,” she said. “That means I am thanking you for the spanking.”
He laughed as he watched her face. She looked horrified. “Don't worry, I won't tell a soul,” he kidded her.
Chapter 9
