"Why is it that when you tell me what to do or are dictatorial, I am not afraid? I'm irritated maybe, but not afraid. When other men try much less than that, not even close to the same thing, I panic?"
"Because I have shown you that you are safe with me. You might not trust me totally yet, but you do know I won't hurt you and you are beginning to calm down with me. Besides, I don't want any other men to tell you what to do, anyway. Right now, your boss, your father and I are the only men who should find it necessary to direct your actions."
"Why are you able to? Why should I let you?"
"Because you are my woman; don't you know that by now? You infuriate me at times because you argue with me, but I wouldn't give that part of you up for anything. It is your spark and your independence that excite me. Well, your sass and the fact that you aren't looking at my bottom-line helps. It means a lot to me that when we are together, we are only with each other, not with what we each can bring to the table financially or materialistically."
"Hmm. Maybe I will chat with Jocelyn. Maybe."
"Thank you. It is all I ask."
The pre-Fourth of July get together was on Friday night to allow resting up for the actual Fourth on Sunday. Ciarán was worried about Jocelyn when she wasn't home after he was done with his chores for the day. It was out of character. She was usually conscientious about calling. He tried her cell phone, but the call went to voicemail and said it was out of range. He next attempted to text her but no response. Then he wondered if she had gone to his parents' place anyway after Liam and she had agreed she wouldn't go alone.
He whistled at the fireworks Liam would set off on her rear end if she had. Liam was out on a job leaving Ciarán responsible for the ranch, which included his brother's lovely wife. If she took off without letting anyone know, Ciarán would light her ass up himself. He told Mrs. O'Malley to call him when she showed up at home because he would worry until she did and if she didn't come back by seven o'clock, to call him. Knowing the pre-party was happening that night and would be fun, and really believing Jocelyn had only stopped to visit with someone, Ciarán had called to ask Katie if she would like to go.
"Um, I don't know. I am kind of tired after working this long week."
"Well, it could be a short evening but if you don't want to go, I guess I could go alone, but I'd rather go with you. I enjoy the parties because there is not too much alcohol and no one gets out of control. Mostly neighbors go just to enjoy each other's company. Why don't I call you after you have had a shower and rested a bit and let's see if you still want to stay home."
"You mean you would go without me?"
Ciarán's smile came through his voice. "Sure. But I would much rather go with you."
"Um, maybe Libby would like to go with you if I don't get a second wind."
"Maybe, but I think I'll go alone if you don't want to go."
"Well, maybe someone will be there that you could hang out with if I am too tired."
"You mean another woman? I thought you were more secure in our relationship than that. You are the only woman for me, Katherine Franklin, and I don't want you ever to think that I would look for another. You are my heart, mo chroí, and there is no one to take your place."
Ciarán heard the wobble in her voice as she said she would talk to him in about an hour. He made a commitment to reassure her of his feelings for her. He knew she was not ready for him to make a full declaration, but the moment she was, he would announce them to the world. He was glad to hear her jealousy because it said more effectively than her words, that she had feelings for him. She was simply afraid of them. Ciarán finished his work for the day before he called Katie back.
"Well, how do you feel now, beag Leanai?"
"Well, I showered, dressed, and I imagine I could go for a while if you don't intend to stay until all hours."
He laughingly agreed. "How about I pick you up in about thirty minutes?"
When Ciarán arrived, Mr. Franklin answered the door.
Ciarán introduced himself and asked for Katie. Brian Franklin smiled and asked him to come in and he would go get his daughter. When Ciarán saw Katie, he looked her up and down and then whistled.
"You are something to see, Katie, but you can't go in that."
"What?"
"You look smoking in that see-thru tee shirt and those short shorts, but I have to tell you, that you are not going to wear that in public. I can't have every other man there ogle my girl. I am not going to spend all evening blacking the eyes of the available men of the county. Hell, I'd have to take on the attached men as well. I'll wait while you change."
Brian laughed and said, "Man's got a point, Katie, a really good point."
"I am not changing to please you, Ciarán O'Connor."
Ciarán shrugged his shoulders. "Then I guess we stay here tonight and visit with your dad because I am not taking you out in that. I don't mind staying here and talking with your father." Ciarán made to sit down in the living room to do just that.
Katie looked at her dad who showed no indication he would not side with Ciarán and then looked intently at Ciarán.
"I wear what I want to wear." That was Brian Franklin's cue to go outside and check on his radishes.
Ciarán waited for him to close the door before responding. "Absolutely and like I said, I love the outfit, but you aren't sharing it with other men while you are with me."
"Then I'll go without you." Katie did not know why all of a sudden it was important to go out in public wearing what she would never have done before. She wanted people to see them and to turn heads like any other couple.
Katie made to get her car keys and quick as lightening, Ciarán had his hand on hers.
He spoke into her ear, "Katherine, what is going on here? You never wear something this revealing and now you want to wear it out where every man can devour you with his eyes and imagination. Something is up." He watched her eyes grow large as the implications fully registered.
"Nothing is up. I-I just wanted to wear it that's all." Her bravado was fading.
"What are you trying to prove?" he asked without any doubt that his conclusion was right.
"Nothing, there is nothing wrong with me. I can be just like every other woman. Lots of women wear this in public."
"I imagine, but they aren't my woman. Because my girl does not need to prove that she is just like anyone else to be good enough for me. I don't want you to be anyone but yourself."
"That's not true. You want me to get counseling." Katie said with petulance in her voice.
"Katherine, I want you to go for you, not for me. Don't you understand? I don't care what anyone else wears or what they do; I only have eyes for you. Honey, I had my pick of pretty women that dressed as they wanted, but I want you. I want you just as you are. Now either change or sit down, but you are not going out to any public place like this. Make your choice."
He could feel the shiver that passed down her back and he had no doubt she knew he meant what he said. He waited to see if her stubbornness was going to ruin her chance at having a good time tonight. He hoped not, because he wanted to show her off. He just did not want to show off too much of her. He knew, down deep, she didn't either.
He shook his head as she stomped her foot and immediately looked at him to respond to what they both knew was a childish challenging maneuver. Simultaneously he watched her throw her keys on the side shelf, another less than mature response, before grunting her displeasure. He reached down and with some force placed a blazing swat on her butt followed by two more of equal strength that immediately brought her around to glare at Ciarán.
He shrugged and grinned unapologetically. "Sorry, that's my automatic brat response."
If that was all the attitude she gave him, then he knew they were doing well. It was time to step up the commitment and he hoped he didn't miscalculate because it would take a long time to regain his ground if he had. He was in for the long haul; he just hoped it wouldn't be one.
K
atie grunted again and left the room to change, returning in a more modest sundress. Ciarán whistled again, but she tried to ignore him and walked outside to the sound of his chuckle. Ciarán knew she was more comfortable in all ways dressed more modestly. He was too.
They were quiet in the truck. Weeks earlier, Katie had left off trying to drive herself to anything that she would be attending with Ciarán for he categorically refused to take 'no' for an answer. However, once they got to the festively decorated gym filling with party focused neighbors, Ciarán watched her relax and enjoy the fun. Because they had not talked in the truck due to her irritation or feigned annoyance, Ciarán was unable to tell her about Jocelyn. In a way, he wondered if that wasn't best because if he had, she would have probably not wanted to go to the party. She would have demanded, for his Katherine did not like to be out of the loop once she knew there was a loop, to go to the ranch and wait.
Moreover, she would have worried about Jocelyn as she had begun to enjoy a close friendship with her. That being said, he did not know how to tell her when Mrs. O'Malley called to update him at seven, as he had asked. He walked outside when he saw who was calling and was unaware that Katie was following him.
"What's the update, Mrs. O'Malley?" Ciarán listened intently and soon Katie and Mrs. O'Malley were educated in the finer points of dry land sailor talk except in two languages. He signed off with Mrs. O'Malley and immediately dialed Jos's cell phone.
*****
"What's wrong? Is something wrong with Jocelyn?"
Katie gave him a worried look and stood close to Ciarán. In response, he put a comforting arm around her but she was too focused on his initial response to the news to feel the comfort. He had no right answers for her. The phone went to voicemail. Another string of expletives and he told Katie he had to go home to find Jocelyn.
"If you want, I can get someone to drop you off at home later or you can come with me to the ranch but I need to leave now."
"I am going with you, of course," Katie stated as she started for the pickup.
Happy to oblige, he repeated, "Of course."
All the way back to the ranch, Ciarán appeared angry. As he drove, his conversation alternated between apologizing for ruining her evening and trying to figure out where Jocelyn was.
"Liam is going to have to stand in line to beat Jocelyn, for I have earned the first round," Ciarán spoke in an angry authoritarian manner she had never heard him use before. He could be bossy but bossy and angry was new.
Surely, he is joking, Katie thought. However, when she looked over at her, what was he, her boyfriend? Ciarán looked like he was serious. Oddly and for some reason she could not identify, she wasn't afraid of him, but she needed to know if he was teasing. She remembered the 'swat' conversation and tonight he said something about his 'brat response'. Did he actually spank butts if he were unhappy with his sisters? And wait, wasn't there something Jocelyn had said when they went to the church picnic about butts burning? Things were falling into an uncomfortable order.
Katie looked at him a bit oddly and finally said, "You're kidding, right? About beating her?"
Ciarán looked over at Katie. She waited for him to process his answer for Ciarán rarely answered without forethought. That is why he rarely misspoke. If Ciarán said it, he meant it.
"Oh no, honey, no one would beat her. No, not a beating but she will definitely get a bottom warming session. If Jocelyn purposely went against Liam's wishes for her safety, then she has made a grave error in judgment. If we have to pull out the stops to make sure she is safe now, and I do not have back up here, she is in for it. Luckily, the guys have not left yet for Kelli's house. They are still in Sheridan. Jos left no information, note, or message with anyone. Oh, yeah, she will most definitely have earned a warm bottom. Does that bother you?"
"I'm not sure. Does Liam hit Jocelyn?"
"Not as in, hurt her, hit her. Remember we discussed this. Hitting is to cause harm; Liam spanks. It is how they agreed to live. Jocelyn is fully consenting. No one takes advantage of her.
"Do you, I mean, have you, um, you know…"
"Do I practice paddling? Spank? Sometimes. I swatted you a couple of times, like tonight. It would have to be under the right circumstances, and if Jocelyn drove off to Sheridan, it is one of those times."
"But I have a feeling it would be more than a couple of swats."
"And you would be right; it would."
As he pulled into the yard, Katie could see that Jocelyn's car was still gone. Thank goodness, it was summer. They would have a few more hours of decent light before it got dark. Ciarán and Katie went into the house and after talking to Mrs. O'Malley, who said she couldn't find anything missing, Ciarán embarked on creating a plan. Mrs. O'Malley said her travel bag and cases were still in the bedroom storage closet untouched.
"I cannot believe she would go to Sheridan after she said she wouldn't." Ciarán truly sounded as though he was amazed that she would do that. Katie wondered what the big deal was if she had gone alone. Not telling anyone was the crime in her book.
"She can drive and she is capable, so why wouldn't she go to Sheridan? That is where your parents are, right?" asked Katie. "And really, there isn't much here to say that is what happened. She told me she found it easier to follow Liam than go against him most times and that usually he was right if she got past her anger. Besides, she would have taken her hairbrush, toothbrush and things like that and Mrs. O'Malley says they are not missing. I can't believe she would have left everyone to worry about her. She isn't like that."
"Yes, that is true, but…" Ciarán said.
As they walked into the family room, the phone started ringing again, so he strode further into the room to take it from Mrs. O'Malley. That kind woman then assisted Katie in getting a cold drink and one for Ciarán. When she walked back into the family room, Katie heard him place the phone down heavily, running his hands through his hair that had been flattened by the hat he had removed. She remembered that was a family trait for frustration.
He had called the sheriff but other than look unofficially, which they would do, there wasn't a lot else they could do. Katie knew the problem was that Jos was an adult and no missing person's report could be filed yet. Ciarán had said it shouldn't be anyway, but she wondered if he was changing his mind.
Ciarán thought aloud. "Something in my gut tells me this was not a brat prank or defiance with Liam; she is in some kind of trouble."
Regardless of what it was, Ciarán called the sheriff back and gave him the information and what they were worried about now that they didn't think she was going to Sheridan. The sheriff stated he would try to track her cell phone but it was not as useful a tool in this area as in more populated areas. The signals just could not get through. Ciarán then put in a call to his brother Quinlan, who took the information and hung up to make some calls of his own. Working in the Sheriff's Department in Wyoming helped sometimes. Quinn called around to get any reports of accidents on the road between Elk Ridge and Sheridan that met her car description and her details. Nothing came up, so at least, she was safe if she was driving.
Katie said, "I think you should go back over the incident and all you know, starting with when you saw her this morning and when she left."
They agreed that was a good idea, so Ciarán sat down with Mrs. O'Malley and discussed when they figured she left the house. It was eight o'clock now and if she left when they thought, it was around one or two o'clock in the afternoon so she would be pulling into Sheridan in a few hours. If she were not there by eleven o'clock, he would have to call Liam on the satellite phone.
Katie watched Ciarán pace back and forth, strong and silent as the panther she had seen in the zoo. It was an oddly calming but lethal picture. This man was confident in who he was and what he wanted. She would always be protected with a defender like Ciarán. If what he had said was true, her bottom's comfort might be in jeopardy with him as its keeper.
Katie watched him and marveled at how o
rganized and methodical his thinking was. It continued to be apparent through the next hours as she learned more about this man. When he got restless, he got up to check on the livestock and to clear his head. There was no ranting, raving, no hitting, and except for that few moments of reactive ire earlier, no anger.
Katie wondered where Jocelyn could be if not on her way to Sheridan. To Katie, that was scarier to think about than her driving late somewhere. That didn't seem a big deal at all, actually. Nine o'clock came and went bearing no news. Then ten o'clock came and with that hour came calls from everyone. Katie watched his agitation change to one of concern and worry. Then a surprising thing happened as she continued to watch him warily, waiting for his mood to become darker.
Katie noticed as his thinking changed, he touched her more often, rubbing her arm, pulling her close, kissing her temple. It was as though he needed that connection with her, as though when he touched her, it was to remind him that she was safe with him. Katie was especially moved by his unconscious effort to protect her even though she was safe. More than that, she was relieved down to her core.
None of her few boyfriends had ever done that. Most were all about themselves and Stuart became violent and hurtful when he experienced any negative emotion. She hated that she compared every man to Stuart and prayed Ciarán was the man to make her stop. The man she could have a future with and the man who would put her first more than himself.
As the night continued, Katie could feel the weight of Ciarán's responsibilities as a man with this ranch. She also started to see the pressure of the expectation he put on himself and the intenseness he possessed when trying to protect one of their own. Katie no longer wondered how it would feel to be Ciarán's, she knew. Instinctively she knew the O'Connor women were incredibly lucky. She also intuitively knew it would mean she would have to suffer through a hot rear end sometimes. So when Ciarán drew her close or sat her on his lap, she did not resist the movement for she felt taken care of, cherished, and loved. It was as though, even unconsciously, he was taking possession of her. Katie could not get enough of that feeling.
Ciaron O'Connor 01 - His Gentle Persuasion Page 4
