“You know?” Francesca moaned, embarrassed. It was one thing to have her parents paying her bills, it was another to admit it.
“I do your dad’s books, remember?”
“I have a job,” she muttered defensively. How could she ever expect Finn to fall for her, when he knew all her worst secrets. This was going to be harder than she had originally thought.
“I know you do. You teach music to children. It’s a commendable profession, but you do it on your own time, on your own schedule to a very minimal number of kids. Why is that?” He prodded quietly, in a way that suggested that he already knew the answer.
She had had real jobs doing the same, several of them in fact, but they never lasted. Something always got her in trouble. She had gone through just about every decent music job in her small Oregon town, until doing it on her own was the only option she had left. Thankfully, Finley didn’t wait for her to formulate an answer before continuing.
“How many kids do you teach?”
“Three.”
“How many times a week?”
“Twice, each kid.”
“How long is each lesson, and how much do you charge?”
“Thirty minutes, and I charge $50.” It added up to only $300 a week. It was enough to cover a lot of her expenses, but not all of them. Coastal living was not cheap.
Finley fell quiet, and Francesca knew he had to be wondering what he had gotten himself into. Why did he even care? Why did she? She liked the arrangement she had- it had worked for a long time. What was that old saying? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?
“How many instruments do you play, Francesca?”
“Three, well enough to teach.” She had students for the guitar, piano and violin. She could also play the flute, clarinet, and drums.
“Do you still write your own songs? What about singing? I know you can turn a pretty tune.”
“What’s the point, Finley?”
It was too dark to see the look he shot her, but she could feel the depth of his stare, she just knew that his eyebrow was arched and his lips lay in a thin line of disapproval.
“The point is, you’re selling yourself short. You are very talented in many different areas of music, and you could be putting those talents to much better use. I’m not asking for much, but you should at least be capable of making your own living. It seems to me there are a great many jobs or opportunities you would be better suited to.”
“Preaching to the choir, again I see. I’ve had all those jobs, Finley. I’ve taught music at schools, I’ve had a gig at a local bar, I’ve worked in a music store. I’ve done it all.”
“And you lost them all. I don’t even need to hear the whole story, Francesca because what it boils down to is this. You’re spoiled and you’re irresponsible. And, so help me, even though I am seriously doubting the point of it all in this given moment, I’m going to try my damndest to change all that.”
“How?”
“It’s going to be more work than I thought, and you might not sit well for the first week or so, if I’m being perfectly honest, but we’re not going back until we have hammered out a schedule for you to follow and a plan of action.”
“How are you going to know if I’m following a schedule back home or not?”
“I’m not worried about that right now. Once you’re back home, you’re on your own, which means we have to work on your bad habits right now while we have a chance. We’ll start tomorrow.” He had his no-nonsense tone, and he nodded cheerfully, in a way that told her his mind was made up, and arguing was useless.
Of course, she was going to try anyway. “Finley, I’m on vacation!”
“Francesca, you treat life like it’s a vacation, and it’s a fast road to nowhere. Do you want my help or not? Last chance to back out.”
Chapter Five
There was a prize on the line, and it was much more desirable than just a good job, or a respectable career, she reminded herself the next morning when her alarm went off at the ungodly hour of six am. Finn’s heart was the ultimate prize, and it was the one she had her sights set on.
If getting up at the butt-crack of dawn was what it took to get Finn to stop looking at her like an irresponsible woman-child, and start seeing her as the adult woman she actually was, it was a small price to pay.
Of course, the early wake-up call was just a small part of the daily regimen Finn had outlined for her, but she was determined to take it one step at a time, one day at a time.
Today, she would be on her best behavior, which meant being ready when Finn showed up to pick her up at six-thirty.
“I should be shopping with Mama,” she muttered, thinking of their long-standing tradition of hitting the Black Friday sales in the city.
She had told Finn as much, but he was having none of it. “You don’t have any money. Besides that, you don’t need anything you can buy in a store. You need a good work ethic, a sense of responsibility, and a dose of self -respect. Do they have that on sale at Macy’s? I didn’t think so.”
Damn that man, and damn her own body for the way it reacted when he got all bossy like that.
Her eyes were barely open, and she didn’t have the time or energy that it would take to look the way she wanted to for him, but he wasn’t likely to notice anyway. Finn had long since been immune to her feminine wiles. She would have to win him over in other ways.
A quick pony-tail, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and her old worn out cowboy boots were as good as it was going to get. Today she planned on wooing him with her behavior. Once he could look at her seriously, she would turn on phase two.
*****
When he pulled up at the ranch, he was stunned to see Francesca waiting for him on the porch. He had fully anticipated having to wake her up with a morning spanking to get her going and show that he was serious.
If it was at all possible, Francesca looked even better without the makeup and fancy clothes, and stylish hair do. She could probably wear a paper bag on her head, and a gunny-sack for a dress and still be the most beautiful woman in Texas. The problem was she knew it, and she knew how to work it to get what she wanted. Getting things came easy to her. Keeping them was the problem.
Bracing himself to spend the day warding off flirtatious ploys and advances, he couldn’t have been more thrown off, when Francesca climbed into the passenger seat without so much as a coy smile or a fluttered eyelash.
“What’s on the agenda for today, Finley?” she asked without looking at him.
“I have a town hall meeting this morning, and you are going to help the Ladies Auxiliary plan the toy drive for the needy families.”
She couldn’t keep the disdain from showing on her face. The Ladies Auxiliary was a dour bunch of older ladies, many of whom had known Francesca all her life. Finn had his suspicions that they did more gossiping than actual work, but, they were also the only group in town in desperate need of help today.
“You have a town hall meeting this early? Good Lord, the sun is barely even up!”
“Of course not, darling, I allotted extra time this morning, figuring I’d have to roll you out of bed, and blister your butt to even get you moving. Wasn’t too much looking forward to doing that with your mama and daddy downstairs either, so I much appreciate your cooperation. It will make today much easier for both of us. Since we have time to kill, we’ll go get breakfast.”
Loretta’s diner was the only place open this early, and they weren’t known for their gourmet fare, so much as their hot coffee and their greasy calorie heavy breakfasts. He expected to see Francesca looking down her nose at the food, and everyone in the place, but to his utter surprise, she was more than gracious, even to the few snide remarks from the older folks that she pretended not to hear. She greeted everyone with a smile, like they were a long lost friend, and ordered a hot coffee with a side order of hash browns and toast, and gobbled every bite like she hadn’t eaten in days.
Truly surprising, considering that while growing up she had co
nsidered the small town diner for the working class to be much beneath her, preferring the upscale teahouse, and the soda shop that catered to the younger crowd. Then again, he reminded himself snidely, Francesca lived on a much tighter budget these days, and was probably well accustomed to the less fine things in life.
Breakfast was the smallest obstacle of the day though. She still had to put in a full day of work with the Auxiliary, and they could test the patience of a saint. Francesca was no saint.
******
When Finn finally picked her up at four, her back was sore from lifting boxes, and moving tables all day long. Every bit of grunt work the ladies could assign to her they did. Finn must have signed her up to be their gopher, and forgotten to give her the memo.
Her tongue was nearly bleeding from biting it all day- these proper how to do auxiliary ladies were straight up bitches masquerading as charitable do-gooders. It was no wonder they needed her help with the heavy lifting, she thought, it must be hard to move around when you have a giant stick up your ass.
All she wanted to do was fall into a hot bath, down a bottle of wine, and sleep the weekend away. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday, and Finn would be hard-pressed to find work for her to do around town over the holiday weekend. It was bad enough the ladies seemed to expect her back on Monday.
“How was your day, princess?” Finn asked with a wink as she all but collapsed against the leather seats of his pick-up.
“Bite me, Finley.”
“Now, now, Franny darling, nobody says bite me anymore. Also, that’s not a very respectful way to answer my question, now is it?”
She hated when he called her Franny, and he knew it. She was sorely tempted to remind him just how much she hated it, but there was more at stake here than a little teasing. Her ass, for one thing, but far more important was her determination to prove that she wasn’t just a spoiled, irresponsible, immature brat. Anything that Finley Tucker could toss at her, she would take.
“Sorry, Finley,” she said with as much sincerity as she could muster.
If he had let her just leave it at that, it would have been fine, but Finley Tucker knew how to push her buttons.
“How was your day?” he asked again, his eyebrows raised pointedly.
“It sucked ass, okay? Those fucking ladies are impossible to begin with, but today they were all looking at me in this way, as if they were saying, you’re either hot for the mayor and trying to get in his good graces or, you stole the mayor's truck and he sent you to do his dirty work as punishment.”
Finn threw back his head and let out a hearty guffaw at that, which only served to further infuriate her. She glared at him.
“Listen up, princess, and listen good. First of all, you are skating on thin ice with your disrespectful language. Second of all, there is not a single person currently residing in this community that knows about my affinity for punishing naughty young ladies, so whatever they may have been thinking, I can assure you that it was not that.”
“Oh, yeah, dumbass?” Francesca spat back, unable to help herself. “What about the sheriff?”
Finley frowned, and Francesca found it hard not to smile at the cute way his eyebrows wrinkled when he did. “Touché,” he finally admitted. “However, even if the ladies were thinking that, which I highly doubt, they would be wrong. Today was not at all about punishing you for stealing my truck- that debt has been paid. Today was part of a much larger plan of adult responsibilities and succeeding in the real world.”
“I succeed just fine in the real world, thank you very much,” she huffed.
“Oh, really? And how well would you be succeeding if Daddy took away your monthly allowance and stopped paying your rent? Where would you be then?”
“Fuck off,” she grumbled, pouting out the window, refusing to look at him.
She frowned when the truck rolled to a stop barely outside of town in front of a house she didn’t recognize. “Oh, god. What now? Haven’t you gotten enough slave labor out of me for one day?”
“No more labor, slave or otherwise,” Finley told her cheerfully, jumping out of the truck and crossing over to the passenger side, where he opened her door, and gestured for her to get out.
She stared at him. “Where are we?”
“We are at my house.”
“Oh.” She was torn between excitement and trepidation. “Why?”
“Did you honestly think you were going to get away with, fuck off, dumbass, and bite me?”
“Well, I hoped.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, my dear, but when I make a commitment, I stick with it. It’s a skill you could stand to learn.”
She rolled her eyes, but allowed him to help her down from the truck. Even when she was safely out of the oversized cab, he kept his arm around her waist. Probably afraid she would run. The thought crossed her mind, but the truth was, she was super curious to see the inside of Finn’s house-especially the bedroom.
Finn kept his grip on her as he led her to the large wrap-around porch, and even as he unlocked the door, and swung it open wide.
Francesca let out a low whistle as they stepped over the threshold and into the spacious foyer. The house was much larger than it looked from the outside and exquisitely decorated. This was no ordinary bachelor pad. “Damn, Finley! You’ve come a long way!”
Finn smirked at her. “Who would have thought, right?”
“It’s very nice,” she purred, leaning in close. “Can I have a tour?”
He grinned like the Cheshire cat, and she thought she had distracted him from his reason for stopping. “Not a chance. Nice try, though. Maybe after our discussion.”
“Awww, Finley, do we really need to have a discussion? I was just flicking you shit!”
“You were just flicking me shit the first time. After I warned you that you were skating on thin ice, the second and third time became punishable offenses, sweetheart. That’s how that works.”
“I’m not,” she exclaimed, pulling her arm away, “your sweetheart!” She wished she was, though, more than anything. Damn Finley Tucker. All he had to do was smile at her, and she was back to being a lovesick teenager. It was worse now even, because now, he had actually spanked her ass, instead of just telling her she needed a good licking, like he had when she was a girl. He had whooped her good, and even taken his belt to her ass and she was still head over heels crazy about him. What in the hell was wrong with her?
Her stomach was concurrently sinking into her toes and doing happy flips, her palms were sweating and her lady parts were tingling as she waited for his instruction.
Crossing into the living room, he sat on a large leather chaise and patted his lap expectantly, raising his eyebrows as he waited for her to join him. This was without a doubt the hardest part- actually going to him, and putting herself into position for a spanking. It made her feel humiliated and excited all at once.
She walked as slowly as possible, taking in her surroundings as she went. The fact that Finley planned to spank her here, in his own living room was oddly thrilling. It seemed so intimate. It’s just a spanking, Francesca, she muttered to herself. Get a grip. He only brought you here for the sake of privacy. It doesn’t mean anything.
When she finally found herself standing in front of him, she noticed him looking at her strangely, and she briefly wondered if she had spoken aloud. He didn't say anything though, and neither did she.
She started to place herself across his lap, but he grabbed her arm, and stopped her with a shake of his head. “Jeans off, Franny.”
She glared at him, but wordlessly obeyed. He had already seen her backside in panties, and thankfully, she was not wearing a thong. Her thin black bikini was all but see through, but at least it covered her.
Finley helped her settle onto his lap, patiently adjusting her into a position that was at least semi comfortable. She had to admit, she liked being over his knee, it was oddly comforting.
Large hands rested on the fabric of her panties, and she willed hers
elf to breathe. It was working until Finley took the fabric on each side and pushed it up to the middle of her bottom, exposing her cheeks. She railed, pushing up off his lap, but he was holding her in place. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“I’m checking on the state of your backside. I don't want to do undue harm.” She shivered as his hands explored her tender flesh, and blushed at the thought of him seeing her so intimately and so completely.
“And?” she pushed, rolling her eyes. This was mildly humiliating, and very, very arousing. She just wanted to get it over with and go home.
“It’s a little pink, but no serious bruising. You can handle a spanking.”
“Isn’t it a little late for you to be worrying about that?”
“No,” he answered with a resounding slap to her left cheek. “But it’s probably a good thing for you. If you were bruised I would have been forced to use an alternative punishment- and I daresay you would not have liked it much.”
“Yes, because I just love being spanked,” she sassed. “It’s my favorite.”
Finely chuckled. “Not a good time to be sassy, my dear, unless you would prefer I wash your mouth out with soap.”
Her jaw dropped and she gaped at him. “I…what? You wouldn’t!”
“I don’t recommend testing that theory.”
She couldn’t have even if she wanted to. Her body was numb, and her ears were ringing. Her panties were soaked, and she knew her face was beet red. Why in the hell would her body react this way?
She whimpered. The threats might be worse than the actual punishments. She just wanted him to begin.
He did not disappoint. His large hand made contact immediately, and she squealed as her bottom erupted in a flame of delicious pain. Finley made short work of making sure her whole bottom was as warm as her face, as he silently spanked away, leaving no inch untouched by his hand.
He paused, but she knew better than to think that he was done. “Franny,” he lectured, “I am doing this for your own good.”
“Yes, Sir,” she mumbled when he paused.
Catching Her Cowboy Daddy Page 5
