One Smart Cowboy

by Misty Malone

  To say Clay was surprised to hear that would be an understatement. He hugged her to him while they talked for the next fifteen minutes. He was happy to see she did, in fact, understand, which was a bit of a miracle considering Cheyenne didn’t understand it at all. He hoped Ty was able to explain it to her so she understood, as his Lynelle did.

  As if reading his mind, Lynelle spoke up. “I wonder how Ty and Cheyenne are doing.” She paused a bit. “I feel bad for her.”

  He was confused. “Why is that?”

  “Because she doesn’t understand it, does she?” She sat straighter on his lap and looked up at him. “Is there something between her and Ty? Did he spank her?” Assuming she’d figured it out, she said, “That’s why she’s been so angry the last couple times I’ve seen her. He needs to get her to understand, Clay.”

  He chuckled a little. “I have a feeling he’s trying to do that very thing, probably even as we speak.”

  She laid her head back down on his shoulder. “So what’s going on between Ty and Cheyenne?”

  “That’s a good question, honey. Right now I’m not real sure myself, but even if I did know, it’s not our place to interfere. If anything’s going to develop between them, we need to let them work it out themselves.”

  Even as he said the words, he wondered what was happening in the foreman’s cabin.

  ***

  Ty got to his cabin, opened the door and led Cheyenne in. He closed the door and locked it before letting go of her arm. “If you try to run, I will catch you and you’re in enough trouble as it is. Trust me, you don’t want to make me chase you down right now.”

  “You have no right to do this, you know.”

  “That’s one thing we disagree on, Cheyenne. I’ve talked to your brother, who said neither he nor your father would disagree with my spanking you. Darlin’, the other day when I spanked you for upsetting the cattle, if I wouldn’t have, your brother was going to.”

  “What? No, he wouldn’t have. You’re just saying that.”

  “Ask him yourself. But that’s not the only thing that gives me the right.”

  “What else are you saying gives you the right?”

  “I’m the foreman on this ranch, Cheyenne. When you father hired me, he asked me what was most important to me as a manager. I told him safety. He agreed, and that’s why I was hired over the others who applied for the job. There are a lot of ways to get hurt on a ranch, and my main responsibility as the foreman is to keep everyone on this ranch safe.”

  She didn’t say anything, but he could tell she was listening.

  “That’s why I wouldn’t let you go out on the four wheeler without a helmet that fit. When I saw you not wearing it, my heart started beating fast. I watched you with binoculars the whole way back to the shed to be sure you didn’t get hurt. You were lucky that day, and I’m glad, but I couldn’t just sit there and not do anything about your unsafe act. If I wouldn’t have done anything, you would have done the same thing the next time you went riding. I wasn’t willing to let that happen.”

  “So as foreman, if one of the stupid cowboys who works here would have done that you would have spanked him, too?”

  “No, he would have been fired, on the spot.”

  Her eyes shot up to meet his. It was easy to tell he was completely serious.

  “Cheyenne, I’ve gotten to know you a little bit since you’ve been back, even though you’ve been trying to hide the real you.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’ve been very angry, and you’ve been hiding behind that anger.” He held up his hand when she started to argue. “I’ve thought about it and I can see where some of that anger comes from. I know you never liked living on the ranch, and I know you’re kind of stuck back here after your mother left with her new husband. That would make me angry if I were in your shoes, too.”

  Cheyenne looked up at Ty and saw a very caring side of him she hadn’t seen before. He wasn’t ridiculing her at all. He went on, though. “But sitting there getting angry, feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to change a thing. You need to pick yourself up by the bootstraps, take the bull by the horns and make something change. The thing is, I intend to keep you safe while you do that. I’ll help you any way I can, as much as you’ll let me, but I will be keeping you safe.”

  “Why?”

  “Why will I be keeping you safe?”

  “You said you’ll help any way you can. Why?”

  “For the same reason I will be keeping you safe. Because I care about you.”

  “What do you mean by care about me?”

  “Cheyenne, when you’re not feeling sorry for yourself and being angry at the world, I’ve seen a very intriguing, feisty little lady. That lady is someone I’d like to get to know better, if you’ll let me.” She looked doubtful. “Now, I know you think I’m just a big stupid cowboy, but the feisty little lady I’ve seen glimpses of wouldn’t be afraid to give a man a chance to prove they’re not just a big stupid cowboy.”

  He could tell his challenge got her thinking, which is what he wanted. Right now, though, he had a job to do.

  “Unfortunately, right now it’s time we talk about what you just did, or said.” She looked down. “Why did you say that to Lynelle? I thought you liked her, but you sure seemed to be enjoying the fact that she would more than likely be getting spanked. Why?”

  She continued to look down, but then her eyes glanced at the door. He quickly spoke up. “Don’t even think about trying to run, Cheyenne. I asked you a question and I want an answer.” He waited, but when no answer was forthcoming, he sat down on the couch and pulled her over to stand in front of him.

  Her eyes were big as she looked at him, wondering what he was doing. She didn’t have to wait long to find out. “Cheyenne, you’re getting another spanking, but this time we’re going to go over a few rules first.”

  “Rules? For a spanking?”

  “Yes, rules. I want you to know what’s going to happen and what I expect from you. First of all, any spanking you get from me will be on your bare bottom.”

  “No. That’s not right. We’re not even dating.”

  “That can easily be remedied. But I’ll respect your modesty. Your panties will stay up until you’re over my knee, but the spanking will be on your bare bottom. While you’re being disciplined, anytime I ask you a question I expect an answer. If I don’t hear one I’ll switch from your bottom to your thighs until I get one, and I don’t think you like getting a spanking on your thighs. Next, you can yell and holler and scream if you want, but no swearing or name calling. Do you understand me on that, young lady?”

  She dropped her head and nodded. He quickly turned her sideways and gave her a swat on her butt. “Let’s try that again. I repeat, when I ask you a question I expect an answer. Do you understand what I said?”

  She frowned at him, but quickly said, “Yes.”

  “Much better. Now, the most important thing, you will never run off right after a spanking like you did the last time.”

  “What do you expect me to do; bow down and thank you?”

  “No, of course not,” he said with a frown. “I see now, after your little show you put on in the house, that you don’t understand this concept at all, so I guess it’s time I explain it a bit. Actions have consequences, Cheyenne. If you do something good, you’ll be rewarded. If you do something that is not safe, like not wearing a helmet, or beneath you, like being rude to your brother and his girlfriend, there will be consequences. Usually those consequences will be a spanking.”

  “Usually?”

  “There may occasionally be other consequences, but usually it will be a spanking, especially for the first little while. Now, that spanking will hurt, as I’m sure you noticed with the first one. If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t teach the lesson you need to learn. However, after the spanking is over, you’ve suffered the consequences, and we’re good again. Then my job turns to caring for you, giving you the comfort you need and
deserve after a spanking, and making sure you know what a special lady you are.”

  “How can you hurt me like that and then try to make me think I’m a special lady?”

  “You are a special lady or I wouldn’t take the time to correct you to keep you safe or be the best you can be.” He could tell she wasn’t so sure about that comment but he didn’t want to prolong this any further. He could try to explain that more later, while he was comforting her. Maybe she would understand it better then.

  For now, he simply reminded her of the rule. “So no running off after a spanking without letting me comfort you. I won’t make the mistake again of letting you slip away from me after a spanking without talking first, and if you try to get away, it will tell me we aren’t done with the spanking yet. I’ll catch you, we’ll finish the spanking, and then we’ll talk while I hold you.”

  He let that sink in a few seconds before continuing. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” He unfastened her jeans and pulled them down to her knees. She wriggled a bit and tried unsuccessfully to slap his hand away once, but other than that, cooperated fairly well. Ty never believed it was necessary for a lady to drape herself over his lap for a spanking. That just seemed cruel to him. He did, however, expect her to not put up too much of a fight, thus accepting the fact that she had earned a spanking. With that in mind, he took her wrist and quickly pulled her down over his left knee, gently settling her into place with her upper body resting on the couch.

  Once she was in place, he reached down and gently pulled her panties down. She reached back to try to keep them in place, but he quickly slapped her hand. “Cheyenne, move your hand.” When she didn’t move a muscle, he said, “I won’t tell you again, Cheyenne, but if you don’t move your hand right now you will get extra swats at the end of the spanking, and you’ll be spanked on your thighs right now until your hand does move.”

  She quickly pulled her little hand back. He smiled. “Much better. Thank you.” He handed her a pillow. “Now, hold onto that pillow and don’t let go. If I see that hand come back at all during the spanking, I’ll move the spanking to your thighs until that little hand disappears. Do you understand?”

  He could tell Cheyenne was extremely nervous, borderline scared, and she nodded her head. He gave her two quick swats. “I repeat; do you understand?”

  This time she quickly said, “Yes.”

  “Much better. Thank you. Okay, time to get this done. Hold onto your pillow tightly, and remember, no cursing.” With that, he began the spanking with smacks he was sure she felt, especially as nervous as she was, but they weren’t especially hard. He gave her at least a dozen swats before starting his lecture. “Cheyenne, you are a much better person than the lady I just saw inside the house who hurt her brother and Lynelle with her words.”

  “Owwww! Ty, please stop. It really hurts.” She was struggling to get loose, but he was holding her tight against him and she wasn’t going anywhere.

  He talked to her a bit more about hurting her brother, but then he changed directions. “Darlin’, I understand you being angry right now. You didn’t have a lot of choice in coming back to the ranch after your mother basically ran out on you. I get that, and the circumstances probably would have made me angry as well. But trust me, Cheyenne, making other people angry won’t help you feel any better. Being mean to others and taking out your anger on them won’t help.”

  His words seemed to seep into her brain, and eventually her heart, and she stopped struggling as much. Shortly afterwards, she started to cry. He could tell she had been fighting back tears, but now that she’d lost that battle, she cried her eyes out. He knew it was from his words, not from the spanking, which hadn’t been as harsh as her first spanking had been. His plan was for this spanking to be longer, but he was now questioning that plan. From the way she was sobbing, he knew his words had done what he’d hoped they would. They made her think.

  He paused the spanking a bit, keeping his hand on her bottom. And what a sweet little bottom it was, he noticed. He’d been so busy when he started the spanking, with her putting her hand back, that he hadn’t had a chance to appreciate what a perfect bottom she had. He already appreciated her curves, unlike those little stick figures women seemed to strive for, but as part of her womanly curves she had what, in his mind, was an absolutely perfect bottom. Without realizing it, he found himself patting it affectionately. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he forced himself back on topic. “Have you heard what I said, Cheyenne?”

  She was still sobbing, but managed to say, “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  He believed her. “Are you going to take out your hurt on other people any more, making them hurt, as well?”

  She cried louder, but she managed to answer. “No. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you, Cheyenne, but I’m not really the one you should be apologizing to, am I?”

  “No.”

  “Will you apologize to Clay and Lynelle?”

  She cried again before whispering, “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’m going to finish this spanking now, Cheyenne, and if you’re really sorry, I want you to think about the people you’ve tried to hurt lately just because you’re hurting, and ask yourself if that was fair to them.”

  She was still sniffling, but looked back at him. “Like who?”

  “For starters, darlin’, the hands out there were all sincere when you moved back here and they tried to get to know you. But you led them on, wearing your short shorts and waving at them, flirting with them, but then hurt them when you wouldn’t even talk to them. Now, I understand part of that is because you think all cowboys are stupid, but you might want to rethink that automatic dismissal. Not all of us are quite as stupid as you seem to think we are. Your brother, for one, is not a stupid man. But you should ask yourself whether any of the hands out there deserved to be treated as they were, simply because you’re hurting.”

  She had slumped over his lap, thinking, which again is what he wanted her to do. He believed a spanking needed to be harsh enough to teach the young lady a lesson, but beyond that, he questioned the necessity of an extremely harsh spanking. This one hadn’t been extreme by any means, but maybe combined with his words, it was enough to get his lesson across. He was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, the first time or two anyway. If another lesson was needed on the same topic, it would definitely be more memorable.

  With that in mind, he got her attention again. “Okay, Cheyenne, you think about what we’ve talked about here while I finish this spanking up. And remember, no running away afterward.” With that he gave her another dozen swats on her bottom, followed by eight solid swats on her sit spots, all eight of which especially got her attention.

  She squirmed and tried desperately to get away. “Ow! Ty, it hurts.”

  “Did you learn your lesson, Cheyenne, or do I need to continue?”

  “No,” she sputtered out between sobs. “I learned.”

  “I hope so,” he said, “because if you didn’t, we’ll be back here again. And if there is a next time, it will be more memorable. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she quickly answered.

  “Good. That’s my girl,” he said as he patted her bottom gently before pulling her panties back up. He then gently helped her up so she was sitting on his lap. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, assuring she wouldn’t run this time. He was glad she didn’t even try.

  He gently guided her head to his shoulder while she was crying. Again, he was happy when she didn’t fight him. He used his handkerchief to gently wipe her eyes and cheeks, before handing it to her. She readily took it, and after wiping her eyes and nose, she seemed to cling to it. He got some tissues from the table by the couch and gently exchanged them for the hankie, and guided her other hand to his shirt. She clung to it like she had clung to the hankie.

  He smiled down at her and tried to reassure her. “It’s all over, honey. We’re good. I’m proud of you.”

  “Proud?”

 
“Yes, proud of you. This was your first spanking after hearing the rules, and you did really well. I’m proud of you. You truly are a special little lady, Cheyenne, and I hope you’ll give this stupid cowboy a chance to get to know you better.”

  She was just now getting her breathing under control, but she looked up at him. “I’m sorry for calling you that, Ty.”

  He smiled as he looked down at her. “I assumed that had something to do with the fact that you never liked living on a ranch, and, therefore, anyone who chose to work on a ranch must be stupid. Am I close?”

  She turned what he found to be a very becoming shade of red. “Yeah, you’re real close.” After a minute she looked up at him again. “You really aren’t stupid, are you?”

  Again he chuckled. “Why, thank you, ma’am.” He got more serious then. “I guess to answer your question, I never thought of myself as being stupid. If I can ask, what made you say that, change your mind about me?”

  “Because you’re smart enough to figure out why I was so angry, or why I was acting like such a bitch.”

  Without saying a word, he reached around and landed one more sound swat to her butt. “That was not only for your language, but let me warn you right now, I will not allow you to put yourself down. I think that’s part of your problem, and I intend to work on fixing it. I certainly will not allow you to make it any worse.”

  “Huh?” She reached back to rub her sore bottom. “What’s part of my problem?”

  He moved her hands back to his shirt again with a quick warning, “No rubbing after a spanking, darlin’.”

  “But it hurts!”

  “As it was meant to. And it’s meant to hurt long enough to have a lasting impression. If you rub all the hurt away right away, it won’t be effective. Therefore, if I see you rubbing, I’ll have to refresh the spanking, because when I spank, I mean for it to be an effective lesson. A lasting lesson.”

  She looked up and saw he was serious. She leaned back against his shoulder again. “Oh.”

  Not wanting to dwell on that too long, he changed subjects quickly. “To answer your question, Cheyenne, I think part of your problem, why you’re not happy right now, is that you have low self-esteem. I intend to work on that.”