One Smart Cowboy

by Misty Malone

  He walked into the kitchen and saw her sitting at the counter, pouting and playing with her phone. “Lynelle Simone Anderson, you’ve got some explaining to do.”

  Her head snapped up quickly and she looked into his eyes. His tone of voice instantly got her attention, and she now realized just how much trouble she was in. He’d only spanked her one time before, but he’d used that exact same tone of voice. Memories of that night came flooding back to her, and she absentmindedly reached back and put her hands on her bottom, as if trying to protect it.

  He had to fight hard not to smile, as he could tell she’d just realized what was going to happen. He reached out and took her hand. “We’re going in the den so we can have some privacy for our little discussion. When we get there you better be ready to talk.” With that, he pulled her behind him through the house, to the opposite end of the house as the bedrooms the boys were in. They went into the den and he shut the door behind them and locked it.

  He continued on into the room to the couch, where he sat, pulling Lynelle over to stand in front of him. “Okay,” he began, “let’s hear your explanation. What was that little attitude tantrum all about?”

  “I didn’t have an attitude tantrum,” she denied.

  “You most certainly did. Ever since I spanked you for having a temper tantrum you’ve been having these attitude tantrums instead. Instead of getting mad and yelling and throwing things, you have this horrible attitude, pouting big time. Well, little girl, like I told you a couple days ago, you better get over them because they won’t be tolerated any more than your temper tantrums will. Now explain to me what this was all about.”

  “Nothing,” she said rather quietly.

  Clay tugged her wrist and before she knew it she was lying face down across his knees. He gave her five good solid swats on her bottom that hurt even through her jeans. “No more lying, Nell. In case you haven’t realized it yet, you’re in enough trouble as it is. Lying to me right now is not an activity I would suggest you engage in. Now, again, what brought on this bad mood and attitude? Are you still pouting about not getting to go to the grand opening of the club? I thought we had sufficiently discussed this the last time you were in this same position.”

  She was quiet, not saying anything until Clay landed about a dozen more sharp swats to her bottom. She quickly started squirming, determined to get away from his grasp on her, and began yelling. “Ouch! Clay, no. Ow!”

  “We’re at the opposite end of the house than the kids, but you still may not want to yell too much.” He handed her a pillow. “You might need this to yell into, especially if you don’t start talking soon.” He reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans. When he put his fingers in the jeans and panties to pull them down, she reached back to slap his hands away.

  “No, Clay, don’t take them down.”

  He stopped, but only momentarily. “Why? Because it might hurt more?”

  “Yes,” she answered, but quickly added, “and I don’t want to be spanked.”

  “Lynelle, the time for you to decide that and act on it, which would have prevented this, is long past. Now you’ve earned a good spanking, and you will have one. The longer you stall and put it off the harder it will be, and the more likely your cousin and her husband will walk in on it. So if I were you, I’d start answering my questions. What happened to bring on this spoiled little girl attitude tantrum?”

  “I’m not a spoiled little girl.”

  Clay actually chuckled at her words. “Lynelle, look at yourself, where you are and why. Can you honestly say having a snit about not getting to go to the grand opening tonight when you’d already promised your cousin you’d babysit for her kids is anything but a spoiled little girl attitude tantrum?”

  She paused, and he saw tears in her eyes. “But I don’t like to hear you say that.”

  “Because the truth hurts?” He gave her time to think about that. When he saw tears running down her cheeks, but didn’t get an answer to his question, he took her jeans down, this time with no objection from her. She wriggled a bit and cried harder, but didn’t stop his hand this time as he took her panties down.

  He laid his hand on her bare bottom. “I’m waiting for an answer, Lynelle. You said you don’t like hearing me say you’re having a little girl attitude tantrum. Why not; because the truth hurts?”

  She cried, but again he got no answer. Ten smacks later he tried again. “Ready to answer me yet, Nell?”

  She was crying harder now, but managed to answer. “Yes. I don’t like to hear it because it’s true. I’m sorry, Clay.”

  “I’m sorry, too, Lynelle, because this isn’t the way I’d planned on spending our evening after the kids went to bed. However, anytime you decide to have one of your little girl attitude tantrums, we’ll be back here again, with you over my knees, discussing it.” He started spanking again, and Lynelle grabbed the pillow and held on, occasionally yelling into it when he spanked harder or on a spot that hurt more than others.

  He continued spanking as he spoke. “Now, what happened that caused this again this evening? You were okay earlier in the evening when I talked to you. What happened?”

  She cried a bit harder, but then controlled the tears enough to answer. “I got a couple texts from friends who were there. They were having such a good time.”

  He paused a moment from the spanking. “Lynelle, you’re an adult. It’s time you start acting like one. We discussed this last weekend. I thought after your spanking then you understood that you couldn’t back out on prior commitments, and had agreed we’d go next weekend if you want.”

  “I know,” she cried, “but then I got those texts and they sounded like they were having a lot of fun. I wanted to be there.”

  “So you decided the adult thing to do would be to have a little girl attitude tantrum and take your disappointment out on the two little boys upstairs who had nothing to do with it?”

  “They did, too, have something to do with it. They’re the reason I couldn’t go tonight!”

  Clay was shocked that she would actually say such a thing. Without saying a word, he tightened his hold on her and started spanking harder and faster. She started yelling and squirming more, determined to get away from the awful pain he was instilling on her bare behind.

  He kept up the faster pace long enough to be sure he had her attention. “If you ever decide those little boys did nothing wrong, nothing to deserve your wrath, you let me know. I’ll stop long enough that we can talk about it.”

  It wasn’t long before she sobbed out, “Okay, I get it. I’m sorry.”

  He was leery and kept his hand on her bottom, ready to renew the attack. “What do you get, Lynelle?”

  “They may not have done anything wrong. But I was still stuck here with them instead of with my friends, where I wanted to be.”

  “Wrong answer,” he said as he started the spanking again. He was spanking fast again, but had added a bit more strength behind the swats. His little lady was going to learn this lesson one way or another. He continued spanking until she finally gave up fighting. She fell limp across his knees and sobbed. “They didn’t do anything. I just didn’t want to be here after I got those messages from my friends.”

  Those words sounded much more sincere to Clay, and he stopped spanking. But, to be sure, he again kept his hand on her bottom. “So let me make sure I have this right. What did those boys do to deserve your attitude?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What did they do wrong tonight?”

  “Nothing.”

  “So why did you have your little attitude tantrum?”

  “Because I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

  “Because you were being a spoiled little brat?”

  “I’m not a brat. And I’m not spoiled.” After another dozen good swats, she changed her tone. “Okay, maybe I was acting a little spoiled.”

  “A little?”

  After another six or eight swats her tone changed more. “Okay, okay. I was acting like
a spoiled brat. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s better. Now, I’m dating a lovely young lady, not a spoiled little brat. And I expect that lovely young lady to act like an adult, not a spoiled little girl. Do you hear what I’m saying, Lynelle?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll find out if you do understand and how sorry you are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t reward spoiled little brats by giving them what they want. Therefore, we won’t be going to the grand opening next weekend, either.”

  “What?”

  Another few sharp swats later he explained. “If you really do understand now and are ready to act like an adult, you’ll accept that as part of your punishment, and you won’t pout about it between now and two weeks from now. If you’ve shown me you’re ready to be an adult, we’ll go two weeks from tonight. But if you pout or whine about it, or decide to have another little girl attitude tantrum next weekend, we’ll be putting it off longer. Do you understand what I’m saying, Lynelle?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He stopped rubbing her back and helped her up to sit on his lap. He put his arms around her tightly. “Are you okay, honey?”

  “No. My butt really hurts.”

  Clay chuckled. “Enough to remind you to watch your attitude for two full weeks?”

  “Probably,” she said, rubbing it.

  He gently moved her hands back in front of her as he said, “No rubbing the sting away, my dear, unless you want me to add a fresh layer of sting to it?”

  “No. No, you don’t need to do that.”

  “Then no rubbing.” She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. After a minute or two she glanced up at him. “Clay?”

  “Yes, Nell?”

  “I really am sorry.”

  “Thank you. You’re forgiven. You have the next two weeks to prove to me that you really are sorry.”

  “I will. You’ll see.”

  “I hope you do, baby, because if you find yourself over my knees again for this same thing, we won’t be going to the club for a month instead of an extra week, and I’ll be using a paddle or wooden spoon instead of my hand on your bottom.”

  She sat up straight at his words and looked at him, eyes wide. “You wouldn’t really do that, would you? Your hand hurts something awful. A paddle or something else would be terrible.”

  “Then watch your attitude, baby, because I most definitely would use a paddle. If you have another little hissy fit about going to that club, I will be using a paddle and you won’t like it. But you have to learn, Lynelle, I won’t allow you to act like a spoiled little girl. I care too much to sit back and watch you do that.”

  Once again, she found she couldn’t be upset with him because he’d made her realize she had taken her frustrations out on the boys and they’d done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. “Clay, I’m glad you came when you did. And thank you for taking over for me. You’re right, the boys didn’t deserve the way I was treating them.”

  “You’re welcome. We make a good team together, don’t we?”

  She chuckled a bit as she nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. About the time I started getting upset is when you came and took over. You got here just in time.”

  ***

  The next morning at breakfast, Cheyenne was surprised when Ty gave her a quick kiss when he came in the back door. Clay just smiled. “You two have a good night last night?”

  “Yes, we did,” she answered. “And how about you and Lynelle?”

  He chuckled a bit. “We had a good night in the end, too. Although I’m not sure her end thought that at the time.”

  Cheyenne and Ty looked at him for a second, but they both got his drift when they saw his grin. Then they looked at each other. Ty smiled as she turned red. Clay didn’t miss the red face. “Anything out of the ordinary happen with you two last night, little sister?”

  When she didn’t answer, but turned back toward the coffee pot, Clay turned to Ty. “What’d she do now, Ty?”

  Cheyenne was not happy, until she heard Ty’s answer. “Clay, that’s private between Cheyenne and myself. If you want to announce what goes on between you and Lynelle, that’s your business. You might want to check with her first, though. I’m not sure she’d be as willing to make that information public as you seem to be.”

  Clay was taken back by his words, but considered them several moments before responding. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  Cheyenne whirled around at that moment and glared at her brother. “Clay, we need to talk. Ty’s right. It’s none of your damn business what we did last night.”

  Ty quickly tried to warn her. “Cheyenne, language.”

  But she was on a roll. Clay’s question this morning didn’t sit well with her at all, and it reminded her of what Ty talked to her about last night. What’s worse, the more she thought, the angrier she got. She got right in her older brother’s face and spoke her mind. “You had no right to tell Dad that Ty spanked me. You may look at it as something to be proud of as a man, but what about me? How do you think that makes me feel? I’m not sure I’m going to be able to look Dad in the face now. It’s very embarrassing for your dad to know your boyfriend spanks you.”

  Ty was up and at her side now. “Honey, calm down.”

  “I can’t calm down. Don’t you see? Now thanks to this jackass I can’t look my own father in the face without being embarrassed. He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut about things that don’t concern him.”

  Ty quickly made a decision. “Excuse us, Clay. We’re going to borrow your office.” He quickly pulled Cheyenne, who was red in the face and fighting Ty for all she was worth, into the office and locked the door. He marched her over to the desk and leaned her over it, quickly landing six hard swats on her jean-covered butt.

  She immediately stopped struggling and started crying. He pulled her up and into his arms, where she cried her eyes out against his chest. He rubbed her back, soothing her with his voice, saying little things that didn’t really mean a lot, but yet meant the world to her.

  He knew that although he’d only given her six swats, it was enough on a sore bottom from last night to get her attention. And he knew that’s all he really needed to do. She was upset with her brother, which in his mind was completely understandable, but she needed to calm down so she could talk to him about it.

  After a couple minutes she was able to get her breath again and speak quietly. “Thanks, Ty. I guess maybe you are just what I need.”

  He chuckled, remembering their conversation from the night before. “I certainly am, honey. Just remember that. Are you ready to go talk to your brother now, instead of yelling at him?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry for losing my temper.”

  “He’s the one you should be saying that to. And you might want to mention something about that jackass comment while you’re at it.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “I forgot I said that.”

  “I thought so. I’ll bet he hasn’t forgotten, though.”

  “Was that spanking just now for—”

  He smiled and nodded his head. “Yes. I went easy on you this morning, but don’t get used to it. You should have gotten spanked for your outburst, and again for your language. I let you off easy this morning only because I know you’re upset with your brother, and I understand that. You have a reason to be upset. You need to calm down, though, so you can talk to him about it and make him see your point. But watch your language. Do you hear me?”

  “I do. Thank you.” He held her a couple more minutes, making sure she knew how much he cared for her before letting her go.

  They walked back into the kitchen a couple minutes later, hand in hand. Clay looked up, and Ty thought he looked ashamed.

  Cheyenne immediately addressed her brother. “Clay, I’m sorry. I had a little temper tantrum, and I apologize for that. I’m sorry I called you a jackass, too.”

  Clay looked at her and smiled. “T
hank you, sis. I accept your apology, but thinking about it, I think you may be right. I am a jackass.”

  Ty was proud of his little spitfire when she quickly shook her finger at her brother. “Hey, watch your language.”

  Both men smiled at her, but Clay went on. “And Ty, you’re right, I need to apologize to Lynelle, too. That should be kept private between she and I, and I had no right to mention it this morning. But, Cheyenne, I need to try to make you understand something. You said you’re embarrassed by the fact that Ty spanks you. I guess I can’t speak for him, although I’d be willing to bet he feels the same way, but when I spank Lynelle I don’t mean for her to be embarrassed by it. She may be, and I guess I am a jackass for not realizing that myself, but I don’t do it for that purpose.”

  Cheyenne looked at him, trying to follow what he was saying. He tried again to explain. “I spank her because I care about her. A lot. In my mind, when I see something she’s doing that is beneath her, she’s hurting herself. And I don’t want anyone to hurt her, including herself. So in my mind when I spank her, it’s because I care enough that I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

  Cheyenne slowly said, “So in your mind when you spank her, it’s because you love her and you’re protecting her?”

  Clay paused a minute at her use of the word love. Did he love her? He’d give that some thought later. For now, he answered, “Yes.”

  “Well, in our mind, it’s embarrassing. I can’t speak for her, but as far as myself, I personally feel how much Ty cares about me, but not until afterwards, when he’s holding me while I cry. It’s like his feelings come through his arms that are holding me tight, and I feel how much he cares about me then. But all I feel until then is embarrassment, and a lot of pain.

  Ty had pulled her a bit closer to him as she described how she felt after a spanking, but when she mentioned the pain, both men chuckled a bit. Ty smiled down at her. “Thank you, Cheyenne. Now I know I’m doing it right.” He kissed her forehead.