She looked up at Quinn, and he called a halt while he got everyone some iced tea and some pie. Cheyenne had stopped in between the telling to answer the questions the deputy had, making her tired. After Quinn had everyone set up and she had taken a refreshing drink of tea, she began again. “That’s when things changed and got weird. Shelby sounded irritated. She tried to convince me to change my mind. She said she would just call Kelli because they were neighbors.”
Quinn stepped in. “Another indication of how tired you were and not thinking clearly was the fact that Cheyenne had never mentioned Kelli to Shelby except in passing.”
Cheyenne nodded in adamant agreement. “Right, she said she had a nice little house, and Kelli was in a duplex until she and Parker married. I didn’t think that odd that she knew that. I was preoccupied with keeping Kelli out of everything, so I finally agreed.”
She sat a moment and then continued. “That’s when thing got weird. She said she was already in her car and needed to get home. She told me she would just meet me at her house and rattled off her address then she just hung up.”
Cheyenne went to the bathroom. “I was irritated, but I was committed at that point so I tried to call Quinn. He was out of range, and so I couldn’t even leave a message.” She turned over to look at Quinn. “I was worried that you would be upset with me if I didn’t get home quickly.” She looked at the deputy. “It wasn’t about having dinner done, although he always appreciated that, it was that he had an expectation that I would be safely home before he was. But I couldn’t get through so I just drove to the address that Shelby had given me.”
“Yes, ma’am, we have most of the rest except, what happened when you went inside the house?” asked the Deputy.
“Well, Shelby reached for something in the closet, and I heard a noise so I turned and saw her husband, the assistant manager at the bank. They told me they set it up for Chuck Wyman to be killed, sent Jason enough money for a trip, had skimmed off all the money. Shelby slid into the job they had conveniently cleared for her to make it easier but I was hired, and that messed their plans. And they were going to get rid of me.” Quinn pulled her tight to him.
“Can you tell me simply what happened to embezzle the money?” the deputy asked.
“I wrote it all down for you and have a copy of my proof. In a nutshell, the co-op loans money to reinvest in the community of ranching mostly. Then when those repayments are made, they go into one account then each investor gets a percentage, and it is distributed to each person’s account. What was happening was another account was created, and it was set up as the dummy account in Spencer’s name. That is when Chuck and Jason were the only ones to access the accounts. Then the amount they wanted to distribute was deposited into the wash or holding account, and the distributions happened off the lower value.”
“Why into Spencer’s account and not one of their own?”
“Well, because the manager could access it at any time and if they were caught they could say that is how Spencer set it up a long time ago. They are off the hook.”
It was finally over. Two months after the ordeal, Cheyenne knew she would have to testify, and that is why she had made several copies of the evidence before sharing it with the sheriff’s office. Quinn enjoyed being the liaison and it was usually a day shift job with few off hours call outs.
Quinn concentrated on Cheyenne getting herself back in shape, exercised regularly, rested and ate well. They enjoyed more time together and began serious work on the club, their next big project. Well, that and building a family.
Epilogue
Cheyenne smiled as she put down the last schedule for her last client’s taxes. She was now doing the books for The Edge, their very private BDSM club. They jointly owned it with several other couples who had relocated close to Bozeman. Their closest friends had relocated or taken trips up to help with the club’s construction. Now she needed to get ready because they were officially christening the club tonight with those most important to them outside of their families and she was excited to play.
It had been over a year since the abduction and three months ago, Cheyenne had delivered their daughter, McKenna Reagan. She told them they shouldn’t tell her she couldn’t do something because that had the opposite effect. McKenna’s birth certificate would always have to be translated unless she was in Ireland, she supposed. For her name was spelled as all good O’Connors were spelled, in the Irish, MacCionnaith Ríagáin O’Connor. It's translated meaning was ardent love/fire sprung and sovereign.
Quinlan picked his daughter’s first name and Cheyenne the second, each making their feelings known. Cheyenne laughed and said if she went by her initials when she was a professional, maybe she would find the love of her life barging in her business looking for MR O’Connor just as her father had done when he went looking for CJ Sterling, so many years ago.
Little Miss McKenna would be spending an evening with her Auntie Katie and her cousin KC. Cheyenne rushed to drop off her little love so she could finally play with her grownup love. It had been almost a year since she had been able to play unreservedly and she thought she would burst with the excitement. Quinn had been secretive, but she knew it was because he was as excited as she was to finally play. He had been planning this for weeks.
The recurring thought that it was always someone’s tax time, again ran across Quinlan O’Connor’s mind, but tonight she would not be worried about schedules, payments, or numbers. He smiled, except those swats he would have her count for making him wait until the official opening of The Edge.
He had planned to take her to The Edge as soon as they could find time to go and then after Josh had screened a small group of new people for membership they would open for real. Until now, their intimate group had met once every two weeks for some play and planning. Cheyenne had their perfect little McKenna almost three months ago and while he understood waiting two months for real impact play, three months was more than he had bargained for in the beginning. He was thankful that modified bedroom play had been okay with Carter. When Carter released her for full club participation two weeks ago, she agreed to wait until tonight grudgingly.
“It’s just like you to want to wait, Quinlan O’Connor.”
“I know you are as frustrated as I am to have full contact, but it’s just a couple of weeks, and I know anticipation will make it all worth it,” Quinn promised.
Lately, Quinn had begun to carry a rubber glove and a little tube of lube, sometimes even a plug for attention because it had worked before and she was getting quite mouthy. With no other recourse open to him, he had to do what he could to keep the peace. He had heard enough soft rock music to last a lifetime by now.
He also had been known to take her panties if she was too irritated or stressed because it would focus her quickly. Then he changed it up some with a collapsible portable polymer stick that when extended, it would be a silent but deadly attention getter. Two or three swats bought him complete compliance. At least the risky behavior had all but disappeared. It was just the naughty backtalk and other little things that told him she was desperate for full-on play. Finally, they were here now, and he had it planned out to the final moment. The wait was over.
Walking into the club felt good, and Quinn had changed before strolling up to the bar and having a soft drink. He got Cheyenne her standard ginger ale. Quinn smiled at how he saw things so much different now, since McKenna. He sure loved being a dad, but they had decided they needed a babysitter they could call on because this felt too good to give up for long.
Cheyenne came out showing a little self-consciousness in the way she stood, just as Quinn knew she would be the first night after the baby and he wanted her to know how beautiful she was to him. He had it all planned out. The stage was set, and Josh introduced himself and then the other three Club Masters. Then he welcomed the dozen newly vetted members and their submissives. After reminding them of the hours, basic rules and the confidentiality, he invited everyone to enjoy the club.
He also encouraged everyone to come and watch the first demonstration and special event.
“Master Quinlan, it’s all yours.” Master Josh left the stage after shaking Quinn’s hand. Cheyenne froze in her spot when Quinn held his hand out to her. Knowing she could not refuse him, especially in this environment without getting a public spanking at least, maybe more, she pasted a smile on and allowed him to help her to the stage platform.
“Cheyenne, mo ghrá, we have gone through many things in the last three and a half years that have taught me so much. I have learned that loving you is what had been missing my whole life. Now you have given me a gift of that love in our daughter. Your passion and patience with us astound me, and I’m forever blessed to have you in my life.”
He paused to kiss her lips and thumb the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “You’ve asked for a collar for so long and then finally you quit asking. I said we would do it when you were ready but then life happened, and I forgot in the daily craziness of living. But I wanted it to be more than just a collar to put around your neck or your wrist, I wanted it to mean even more to both of us.”
He reached over and placed the beautiful titanium choker collar with Celtic scrolls and swirls on her neck. In the center was a tree of life. He then took his shirt off and showed what he had just completed that morning. A simple replica was tattooed on his upper bicep. He had worked hard to hide it and get it done quickly. “I’m as committed to you as you have shown you are to me. We are joined again. Thank you for allowing me to be all the things I need to be for you. You are all I’ll ever need. You and our McKenna complete me. I love you forever.”
Cheyenne was crying and so were many of the other submissives. She had missed some of his words, and she hoped someone would be able to remember them later, but she knew what to do now. Cheyenne gracefully knelt before her husband, her lover, the father of her child and her dominant. Life would still be a balancing act, throwing them curve balls when they least expected it but Quinlan O’Connor would always be there to protect his family and knock those balls out of the park. Cheyenne would be there right beside him, she and McKenna, surrounded by their loving family, ready to take on whatever came their way.
The End
Alyssa Bailey
Alyssa Bailey is a dyed in the wool Texan living in the beauty of Southeast Alaska with her husband, her youngest four (of eleven) children, two dogs and two cats. Her first memory of books was when her mother read to her as a small child. She began writing as soon as she could put letters together to form words. Her first story at the age of six was about a performing horse that ran away from the circus. As she got older and read more of a variety of books, she would say, “I can do better than that” and then rewrite them in her head. She was writing fanfiction before fanfiction was a 'thing'.
In high school and college, she won journalism and special recognition for her academic and fictional writing. Alyssa is a firm believer in all things spanking. She loves writing about domestic discipline and power exchanges between strong, intelligent women who are not afraid to make a stand and men confident enough to give them their space but Alpha enough to keep his woman safe, in spite of herself. Her characters predominately live in Regency England amongst lords and ladies, in the contemporary realm amongst men and women of the world, and all things Cowboy. Contact her, she loves to chat, and as always, have a Spankolicious day!
You can find Alyssa online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyssabailey.romance
Twitter: @blushingalyssa
Blog/web page: http://alyssabailey.com/
Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Alyssa_Bailey
Also by Alyssa Bailey and Blushing Books!
Cowboy Welcome
Taming Texanna
Chase Abbey Series:
Lord Barrington's Minx (Book 1)
Becoming Lady Barrington (Book 2)
Lady Caroline's Defiance (Book 3)
The O'Connor Series:
Liam & Jocelyn's Story
Her Sweet Complication, Liam O'Connor Book 1
Liam's Lessons, Liam O'Connor Book 2
Loving Liam, Liam O'Connor Book 3
Ciaran and Katherine's Story
His Gentle Persuasion, Ciaran O'Connor Book 1
Rancher's Creed, Ciaran O'Connor Book 2
Katie Consents, Ciaran O'Connor Book 3
Quinlan and Cheyenne's Story
Quinlan's Quest, Quinlan O'Connor Book 1
Accepting His Ways, Quinlan O'Connor Book 2
Her Balancing Act, Quinlan O'Connor Book 3
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Her Balancing Act: Quinlan O'Connor Book 3 Page 22
