Life at the Ranch

by Malone, Misty

  Bo listened to his side of the conversation, and was concerned. As soon as he ended the call Wyatt relayed what he learned. “She should have been home a long time ago. Kayla's going to try calling her, too, but she's worried. You go on into town, I'm going to go get Kayla, then we'll head in. Call me if you find her.” He turned to Maria, who was just as anxious. “Call us if she shows up, Maria, and don't let her go anywhere.”

  “I will. Good luck. Please call me when you find her.” They both agreed to let her know, and headed for their pickups on a run. At the end of the lane Wyatt turned one direction to go to the ranch next door and get Kayla, while Bo turned the other direction and headed toward town.

  He got to her shop, but the lights were all off, the door was locked, and her car was nowhere around. Wyatt pulled up while Bo was still knocking on the door. “Not here?”

  “She's not answering, and I don't see her car anywhere.”

  “It was parked right here where Wyatt's truck is parked now. She was ready to go. She just had to run in and take out the meat and put it in the refrigerator. I have no idea where she could be. I never would have left if she'd had more to do.”

  “This isn't your fault, Kayla.”

  “I shouldn't have left.”

  Bo didn't want Kayla feeling bad about this. “If you took the money and she said she'd be right back out, there was no reason for you to stay. At six o'clock it's still light out.”

  “But where is she?”

  “I don't know,” Bo answered. “Let me call Maria and make sure she hasn't shown up there.”

  He'd just hung up after talking with Maria, when Alicia pulled up behind them. She got out of her car and came over and into Bo's arms. “What are you guys all doing here?” she asked in between Bo hugging her and kissing her.

  “Are you okay, Alicia? Where have you been?”

  She looked up into his eyes and could see how worried he was. She looked to her friends and saw the same expression, and it dawned on her. “Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry. I forgot to call you guys and tell you what happened.”

  “Are you okay?” Bo was still concerned.

  “I'm fine,” she assured him. She explained what happened, and that she decided she better get onions tonight. “I'm sorry, I was so upset about not getting all my order, I forgot to call.”

  Bo looked at her with a stern expression. “You didn't answer your phone when we called, either. I thought we'd discussed you having your phone with you.”

  “We did, and I had it. It never rang or I would have answered it.”

  “Where is it? Let me see it. If it doesn't work we'll get you a new one tomorrow.”

  “It's in my car.” She went to her car, and they all followed. She opened the door and leaned in. “Where is it? It was right here on the seat.” She looked all round, but didn't see it.”

  Bo looked concerned again. “Are you sure you had it here? Should we look in your shop?”

  “No, I know I had it out here. I brought everything out and was ready to go when I remembered the meat was still in the freezer. I talked to Kayla, and she took the money. I took my purse back in, but that's it. I left my phone out here thinking it would only be a couple minutes. But it took longer, and then I had to go to the grocery store. But I didn't take my phone back in. it should be here.”

  “Where in the car did you put it?”

  “On the front passenger's seat, where I always put it.”

  Bo got in her car in the back seat and looked around on the floor. Before long he held it up. “Got it. It must have fallen off the seat, then slid under it.” He looked at it closer. “And it's on silent. That's why you didn't answer it.”

  “I didn't put it on silent, Bo. I never do.”

  “I believe you. It probably got knocked around when it fell on the floor.”

  “Oh, good, I'm glad you believe me. You look upset. I didn't put it on silent.”

  “I am upset, but I believe you didn't put it on silent. Let's go inside so you can put those onions away. Then we've got to get home.” He turned to Wyatt. “Would you mind calling Maria and tell her we found our run away? Then why don't you go on home and eat. We're going to stop off at my house for a little while first. We'll be up later.”

  Wyatt hesitated before answering. “I'll call Maria and let her know. Are you sure you want to stop off first, though? I hear you, and I understand, but are you sure you want to tackle this on an empty stomach? I mean, Maria's got supper ready. You can eat, maybe calm down a little, then you're welcome to use my office.”

  “Thank you, Wyatt, but I want to take care of this first. I'm too upset to enjoy my supper right now anyway.”

  Alicia's face was bright red. It was obvious what they were talking about, and she could tell Kayla knew, as well. The only thing she'd done wrong was forget to call, and there were extenuating circumstances. She was in a bit of a panic. Besides that, it was extremely rude of them to talk about something so personal right in front of her, as if she wasn't even there. “I can't believe you two buffoons! How rude! I'm right here. You're talking about me like I'm not around. And furthermore, I didn't do anything wrong. Well, okay, maybe I should have called you-”

  Bo looked upset, and Wyatt held up his hand to try and stop her rampage. “I'll call Maria, Bo, and we'll go ahead and eat. I'm sure she'll keep yours warm for whenever you get there. Good luck.” He turned Kayla, who was looking upset herself now, and steered her toward his pickup.

  As they were walking off Alicia heard Kayla. “Wyatt, we can't leave now. She's upset, and I don't blame her.”

  “Let them work it out, Kayla. Get in the truck.”

  “But Wyatt, we should—”

  “We should let them work it out. Get in the truck now, Kayla, or we'll be using the office ourselves when we get home.”

  “Wyatt! That is not funny. This whole thing isn't funny. Now turn around and—”

  Wyatt shut the door, shaking his head, and started to go to the driver's side, when Kayla opened her door. He was there instantly and stopped her when she tried to get back out. “Kayla, last warning. You're turning this from their problem into our problem, and I don't think you want to do that. Now get back in the truck and stay there.”

  She looked into his serious eyes and sat back in her seat. “Wise choice,” he said as he closed her door again.

  Bo had a tiny bit of a smile on his lips as he turned back toward Alicia, who was still watching them. He took the key out of her hand and opened the door to her kitchen, and they went inside. “Go put the onions away and let's go home.” His voice was very authoritative, which got her attention.

  “Can we talk a minute first?”

  “Put the onions away.”

  She huffed, not happy, but did as he said. When she came back to where he was still standing, she had her hands on her hips. “Now can we talk?”

  “About what?”

  “What's going to happen now?”

  “You're going to get in your car and drive your sweet little butt to my house. I'm going to follow you. When we get to my house I'm going to warm your sweet little butt up for you. Then you'll sit on my lap while I hold you in my arms and we both calm down. There'll be some kisses mixed in there, and I'll be reminding you how much I love you. Then I have something important I need to talk to you about. Then we'll go eat supper.”

  “But I didn't do anything to deserve a spanking.”

  “May I remind you all three of us were in here tonight because we were worried about you, as is Maria at home? We've all missed supper because we were worried about you and came looking for you.”

  “Okay, I admit I should have called and told you I was going to be late, but that wasn't my fault.”

  “It's not your fault that you didn't call?”

  “It wasn't my fault that they didn't bring the onions today, and I had to go get some.”

  “No, it wasn't. But then again, I'm not planning on spanking you for that. You didn't call and we couldn't get hold of
you, Alicia, and we were all worried.”

  “Well, it wasn't my fault that the phone fell on the floor and the ringer got turned off, either.”

  “Again, that's not what I'm planning on spanking you for.”

  “So again, we're back to I forgot to call you.”

  “We do seem to keep coming back to that fact, don't we?”

  “Okay, so I'm sorry I forgot to call. But forgetting to make one phone call isn't that big a deal.”

  “Alicia, I really don't want to talk about this now. Let's go home to finish this.”

  “No, I want to talk about it now. There's nothing to finish.” She stomped her foot. “I forgot one little phone call. That's not the end of the world.”

  Bo sighed. “Okay, if you want to talk about it now, we'll talk about it now. He grabbed her upper arm and turned her sideways so he could give her five quick, sharp swats over her jeans. “But you will do it with respect. Stomping your foot and putting your hands on your hips is not showing respect.” He led her to her office, where he took the chair that was sitting in front of her desk and turned it around before sitting down. He stood her in front of him. “Can you talk respectfully or do you need a spanking to get my point across?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “Sorry.”

  “Good. Now, what did you want to talk about?”

  She looked upset, ready to lash out, but when she saw Bo opening and closing his fist, she sighed, closed her eyes, and he could see her making an effort to calm down. Good for her.

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I'm sorry I forgot to call. I should have, I admit. But when I realized they didn't send the onions, I started to panic. I need them for tomorrow. I didn't even think of it, just went to solve my problem.”

  “I understand that, Alicia, and I can appreciate your anxiety. But we've talked about this before. All I've asked is if you're going to be late, you let me know so I don't have to worry. You weren't just a little late today, and it wasn't just me worrying. We all waited for you for supper, and when you didn't show we tried to call. Wyatt called Kayla to see if she was home and knew anything about where you might be. She told us you assured her you'd be leaving in just a few minutes, or she wouldn't have left. She's feeling bad for leaving you alone.”

  “It's not her fault. I did tell her to go ahead and go, I'd be ready to leave in just a few minutes. And at that time I thought I would.”

  “I understand. But when you weren't home and no one could reach you on your phone we were all concerned. I came down first, and Kayla was worried and felt so bad she wanted to come help look for you. So Wyatt got her and brought her down, too. We had no idea where to start looking for you.”

  Alicia was beginning to see what her simple forgetfulness had caused, and she looked down at the floor. “I'm sorry.”

  He held her by her upper arms. “Look at me.” She slowly lifted her head and looked at him. “Now I believe you,” he said. “I believe now you understand how helpful that simple phone call would have been.” She nodded, as the first couple tears escaped her eyes.

  “However, we've talked about it before, and unfortunately, it hasn't helped. Maybe a sore bottom will have a lasting effect.” With that, she found herself being lowered over his knee. Her hands automatically went to the floor to catch herself, and while she was trying to process what all was happening, and this new and not very flattering position she found herself in, he reached under her and unfastened her jeans. They were down to her knees in an instant. When he pulled her panties down, though, she reached up and grabbed them, and found her voice.

  “Bo, no. Don't do this.”

  “You're the one that wanted to talk about it now. I wanted to wait until we got home, but you wanted to talk now, so we will. You'll be driving home on a sore bottom, but hopefully that will serve as another reminder for you. All you needed to do is pick up your phone and call.”

  She realized she wasn't going to talk him out of it, so she reluctantly let go of her panties. It didn't take long for Bo to pull them down to join her jeans at her knees, and begin the spanking.

  He spanked hard enough that she had no doubt about how serious he was taking this. Once he was positive he had her attention he started his talk. “Alicia, this comes back to me protecting you. You're very important to me and because of that I am very protective of you. I want to keep you safe and healthy. How can I do that if you don't tell me where you are? A simple phone call would have taken care of it. I think you realize that now, so I'm not going to dwell on it too long, but maybe a sore butt will remind you to use your phone next time.”

  He emphasized his last several words with a harder swat per word, which had her wriggling, trying to get off his lap. His hand around her waist was like iron, however, and she couldn't budge. He kept spanking, reminding her how worried Wyatt and Maria were, and how Kayla felt responsible for her being missing. It didn't take as long as he'd anticipated before she stopped struggling, and hung over his lap, crying her eyes out.

  He stopped and laid his hand on her bare bottom. “Okay, honey, I think you understand what I'm saying now. Several of us have spent time worrying about you, when a simple phone call would have prevented that worry. You have to get it in in your head that you're not on your own now. You have people that love you and care about you, and that worry about you.”

  “I know. I'm sorry.”

  “We're going to finish this now, but while I finish it I want you to keep telling yourself this is what will happen every time you forget to call me or someone and let them know when you're going to be late. Hopefully remembering this, and how sore your bottom is right now, will help you remember that simple phone call. Okay, here we go.”

  He had to remind himself how worried he was when she wasn't home earlier this evening. With that thought in mind, he was able to finish this the way he knew he needed to. He gave her ten more swats, all to her tender sit spots. He watched her squirming, and knew she was struggling with the pain. He gave her the last five swats faster than he intended to, but he was already fighting back a few tears in his eyes.

  He finished and helped her up onto his lap, quickly wrapping her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, but he swallowed a couple times before he said anything, trying to get control of the stray tears in his eyes, and his voice. He finally managed to say, “I love you, Alicia. Don't scare me like that again.”

  Something in his voice got her attention, and she looked up at him. Even through the tears streaming down her cheeks she could see the unshed tears in his eyes. For the first time she realized how worried he'd been, and she vowed to never make him worry like that again. Tears streamed down her cheeks faster now, as she snuggled into his chest. He tightened his grip, and they held each other for several minutes.

  When she eventually calmed, she apologized again. “Bo, I really am sorry I worried you like that.”

  “I know. But you've paid for it now, so we don't need to talk about it again, unless you want to.”

  “Thank you.” After another couple minutes she looked up at him again. “Bo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I'm sorry I haven't hired anyone yet. I didn't think of it as you see it. You're worried about me, aren't you? That's why you want me to hire someone?”

  He kissed her forehead. “Yes, I am worried about you. I worry that you're working too much too hard, and it's going to make you sick. Or you're going to be so tired you're not paying attention to things like you should and you're going to get hurt.”

  She nodded. “I didn't think of that before. I'll get serious about hiring someone now. I'm sorry I didn't take it as seriously as I should have.”

  “I'm glad to hear that. I was beginning to think we were going to have to have a discussion somewhat similar to this one to make you see what I was trying to tell you.”

  “You might have had to,” she whispered.

  “You're admitting that?”

  “Hey, I'll admit when I'm wrong. I'm just so stubborn tha
t it may take some time to get me to see that I am actually wrong.”

  “No argument there,” he said with a chuckle. “But I love you, every stubborn little bit of you.”

  Now she chuckled. “I love you, too.” After a couple more minutes of contented silence she sighed. “You said you had to talk to me about something serious tonight.”

  “I do.”

  “Serious bad, or just serious?”

  “I guess that depends on your reaction.”

  “My reaction?”

  “Alicia, let me start this by saying I love you. I've told you that before, but I mean it.”

  “I know. And I love you, too.”

  “I know. And I'm fortunate enough to know you mean that, as well, and that's what I want to talk to you about. We've been dating for several months, and we've gotten to know each other pretty well over that time.” She nodded.

  “That whole fiasco with the burglaries pointed something out to me. It became clear to me that we not only love each other, but we trust each other, as well.”

  “Yes.”

  “I was going to wait until Christmas to ask you this, to give us more time to get to know each other, but after today, I don't want to wait.” She looked up at him, confused. “Garnet Alicia Adamson, will you please marry me? I want you to come home to me, to our own home every day, go to our own bed together every night, and I want to wake up with you beside me every morning. I want to protect you, keep you safe, keep you healthy, and make sure you're happy.”

  He looked down at her eyes, and worried. He couldn't read her expression at all. There was something there, but he had no idea what she was thinking. She sat there, still, looking at him, not moving a muscle or saying a single word. Finally, after what seemed like three or four hours, but was probably a minute, she giggled. She giggled!

  “I pour my heart out and propose to you, and you respond with a giggle?”

  “I'm sorry, but I just thought of something.”

  “What's that?”