A Bride for Two Brothers

by D. W. Collins

  * * *

  Fourteen hundred miles to the east, Captain Carl Barker sat behind his desk, and Sergeant Sal Colombo sat across from him. “We traced her cell phone to Pittsburgh,” Sal said. “The railroad’s security police picked up a couple of tramps who had it. They said that a woman dropped it off of a bridge in Chicago into the gondola car they were riding in.”

  Carl drew in a noisy breath. “I see that little Kelsey is very clever. She knew we’d follow her phone, so she sent us chasing after it. Do you have any idea which direction she actually went?”

  “The airlines have nothing under her name. We’ve also reviewed the security video from the train and bus stations. There was nothing. We’ve also made up a wanted poster that we’ve sent everywhere, even Canada.”

  “What charges did you list?”

  “We said she is a material witness in the murder of a cop.”

  “That ought to get attention,” Carl said. “Did you put out a bulletin on her car?”

  “The DMV says she sold her car. We’ve checked with the rental companies.”

  “Damn!” Carl shouted and hammered his desk. “I doubt she’ll take the risk of driving. She knows that’s the best way for her to get caught. Any minor traffic stop will be the end for her.” He stood and paced around the room. “We’re going to catch her, and I’m going to make her very, very sorry when we do.” Sal gave an evil smile.

  “I’ll keep you informed,” Sal said. “She has to show up after a while. My God, it’s the twenty-first century. People can’t disappear anymore.”

  “Don’t be too sure. She’s a woman. All she has to do is find a man who’s willing to be her sugar daddy, and she can stay out of sight for a long time. We can’t let her get away. If she talks, you and I are going to have a lot to explain.”

  “Stop worrying. She’s just a cook; she’ll screw up, and we’ll have her soon,” Sal said.

  Carl took his seat again. “Which direction do you think she went?”

  “I’m guessing south. She liked Cajun cooking. I can see her working in some bistro in New Orleans.”

  Chapter Three

  “I’ll be going into town,” Marcus remarked. “Do I need to pick up anything?”

  “No. The truck from the mercantile made a delivery yesterday,” Kelsey replied. “The pantry is very well stocked. We’ll be having roast turkey for supper.”

  “Be sure and fix some of your biscuits. I could eat a pan full of those damn things, and the boys love them too.” The door slammed behind him a moment later.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. Marcus had always treated her well, but ever since Alice Cummings’ warning, Kelsey had felt anxious whenever she was alone with Marcus. As soon as her kitchen chores were finished, she walked outside to get a little fresh air. The cloudless vista was spectacular. It was easy to see why Montana is called the “Big Sky State”. She was sure she could see all the way to Alberta, even though Canada was actually over twenty miles away.

  She watched Quinton motoring across a field on his four-wheeler. That fact that he was shirtless made that view far more interesting. He stopped to mend a fence, and she drank in the view. After a while, she returned to her kitchen to bake some cookies for the hands. They consumed the things by the dozen. When the baking was finished, she stepped outside again but was disappointed to find that Quinton was out of sight.

  A moment later, Kelsey heard Marcus’s pickup roaring up the dusty lane. When he caught sight of her, he did not park in his usual place, but roared toward her and slammed on his brakes just a few feet from her. When he bolted out of the cab waving a paper over his head, she realized that she had waited too long to flee. The furious expression on his face frightened her. He grabbed her upper arm and dragged her inside the nearby barn.

  “I can’t believe you’ve done this to us,” Marcus roared. “We take you in and try to give you a chance, but you’re on the run from the law! Just look at this!” He shoved the paper he’d been waving in front of her face. She only needed a second to recognize an enlargement of the picture from her driver’s license. The document was a wanted poster that accused her of being some sort of material witness.

  “I ought to take you in,” he fumed. “But first, I’m going to spank your ass.” He grabbed the waistband of her jeans and jerked them and her panties down in one move. She drove her shoulder into his chest and they tumbled down together. As the pair grappled on the barn floor, she was able to slip out of her shoes and tangled pants. She was bare from the waist down, but that did not keep her from jumping to her feet and bolting toward the open barn door. Just when she believed that she had escaped, she crashed directly into Quinton’s muscular body.

  “Where are you going in such an all fired hurry?” the burly rancher asked. His hands clutched her upper arms while his eyes shamelessly perused her half naked body.

  “Keep hold of her, Quint,” Marcus yelled as he got to his feet. He stepped next to his brother. “Look at what came over the wire at the sheriff’s office.” He waved the wanted poster overhead. “This little lady is wanted by the Chicago police.” Kelsey struggled futilely against Quinton’s iron grip.

  “Well, well,” Marcus went on. “You didn’t count on the fact that Quint and I are volunteer members of the sheriff’s mounted posse. We search for lost people and fugitives. It looks like we found you by accident. You tried to hide out here, but I’m going to warm your ass for trying to take advantage of us.” Without another word, Marcus pulled Kelsey away from his brother and took a seat on a big bale of straw.

  She found herself bent over his lap in a second. At first he simply rested his calloused palm on her bare bottom. “You can’t do this,” Kelsey screamed. Marcus laughed and delivered a sharp smack directly on the widest part of her pale behind. She could not believe the fiery pain. Carl had punished her many times, but he had always relied on humiliation and other punishments that would leave no visible marks.

  Marcus slapped again a couple of inches lower. It was obvious that this man was not afraid to leave undisputable evidence of her punishment. “If you tell me to stop again, I will take you to the sheriff, and he’ll ship you back to Chicago. Is that what you want?” He stung her butt again. “What will it be, a butt warming or a night in jail? Speak up!”

  She shook her head and groaned out a long wail. “I’d rather be spanked than sent back to Chicago.

  Marcus delivered another series of hard blows, and she wailed piteously. “Beller all you want,” he cried as he laid another blow to her pink bottom. “I’ll teach you to abuse our trust.” He spanked her again and this spank struck that exquisitely sensitive crease where a woman’s legs and buttocks join. “We know how to train little fillies like you.” She shrieked as rivulets of tears began to stream down her face. “Do you want to take a turn, Quint?”

  The other man chuckled as he took the girl and transferred her to his broad lap. Kelsey could not believe her terrible luck. Of all the ranches she could have chosen, she picked a spread whose owners were volunteer cops and who liked to spank helpless women. Could things get any worse? After a few more fiery spanks, Quinton directed his attention to her vulnerable thighs. They were soon as crimson colored as her bottom.

  “How about it girl, what got you into trouble in Chicago?”

  “I was stupid and fell for the wrong man,” Kelsey said as she frantically squirmed in a vain attempt to get away from Quinton’s powerful grip. She spent the next couple of minutes telling the Whittington brothers all about Carl and the ways he had abused her. She was so desperate that she held nothing back. “I loved him and I thought he loved me too, but it was a lie. He was sick and wanted a slave, not a lover. It was awful!” Her eyes darted from Quinton to Marcus and back. “Please, please don’t send me back to him. He’ll treat me worse than before.” Her body went limp, and she began to sob.

  “Relax,” Quinton growled. Relaxing would have been much easier for Kelsey if she could not feel Quinton’s swollen cock pressing against he
r through the front of his tight jeans. She continued to squirm, but that only made his man flesh sprout more. “Did that circular accuse her of breaking any laws?” Quinton asked as he gently stroked the squirming girl’s soft brown hair to quiet her.

  “No. It just said she was a material witness,” Marcus replied. “What are you thinking?”

  “I think she’s a hell of a lot better cook than you are, and I think she may have learned her lesson.”

  Marcus chuckled. He stepped next to Kelsey. “Have you learned your lesson, missy?” He lifted her chin until their eyes met. “Are you sorry?”

  “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong,” she moaned. Her eyes darted between the two men’s faces. “I will never do anything bad again.”

  “Well, you know what will happen when you do,” Marcus said as his rough hand patted her sore bottom. “We’ll let you stay if you promise to not hide things from us.” He pulled her off his lap and pointed to a nearby corner. “Stand there and keep those hands on your head. If you move, I’ll take my belt to you. You need to just stand there and think about what you’ve done.”

  Kelsey could feel the men’s eyes on her scorched bottom. That situation was humiliating, but she also felt safe in a strange way. She understood she had put the men in a bad situation and she had paid the price for her wrongdoing. For the first time in years, she felt cleansed and even innocent. She turned her head to catch a glimpse of the men’s expressions.

  “Keep those eyes forward,” Marcus chided. “You owe us more corner time.” He delivered a quick swat to reinforce his words.

  She could hear Marcus and Quinton whispering, but she could not make out their words. Finally Marcus spoke in a normal voice. “I guess you’re right. Quint feels that I have been unfair with you and I can see what he means. I never asked you if you were on the run, so I was not fair in punishing you. I will be more careful in the future. That wanted circular scared the hell out of me. I had no idea who I might have allowed into our home. I’m sorry.”

  “The boys will be coming in from the range,” Quinton said. “I think we should finish this talk after supper.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Marcus replied. He stepped next to Kelsey and handed her panties and jeans to her. “Put these back on and get the food on the table. You have some hungry hands to take care of.” She grabbed the clothing and dressed hurriedly. Her butt was so sore that even the soft cotton panties provided no comfort, and the jeans suddenly felt terribly stiff. Thank goodness serving the food would keep her busy and she would not have to do a lot of sitting.

  She hurried out of the musty smelling barn and into the kitchen. A couple of the hands grinned, and she wondered if they had any idea what she had been through.

  The meal went smoothly. The roast turkey was a big hit, and Marcus was not the only man to appreciate her biscuits. Not a single one of them was left behind. Quinton and Marcus sat by themselves once again and kept their conversation private. They glanced at her from time to time, and she could not help feeling anxious about what subject they were discussing. When they suddenly burst into laughter, she grew even more concerned.

  After dinner, she loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. She was glad that no one stopped by to chat. The Whittington brothers’ rooms were empty when she rushed past them. Once inside her own space, she carefully removed her clothing and stretched out on the bed, face down. That position gave some relief, but it was nowhere near enough. She was about to slip into sleep when her door opened without any warning. She tried to find a cover, but Marcus did not give her enough time.

  “How dare you?” she screamed. “You need to get out of here!”

  “Watch your tone, little lady. This is my house, and I go where I want. Anyway, Quint and I have already seen all you’ve got. I came to make your bottom feel better.”

  “How do you plan to do that?” she growled as she groped frantically but still could not get hold of anything to cover herself. “I’m not some slut that you two can…”

  He interrupted her tirade. “Relax. I am not going to take advantage of you.” She stared at him warily as he produced a large jar of some kind of salve. “This cream will put out the fire. Are you going to stay still, so I can put this stuff on you?” After a moment, she reluctantly resumed her position. His anointing hand wandered over her inflamed skin without reservation, but she had to admit that the cream was very soothing. It tingled at first, but then felt very cool. Within a few moments, her bottom was mostly pain free.

  She was starting to relax when Quinton barged into the room. “Did you put the fire out on her hiney?” Kelsey wanted to scream at this new outrage, but wisely decided to keep quiet. Any protest would do no good.

  “She’ll be able to get some sleep now,” Marcus said as his palm gently patted her crimson bottom. He turned to Kelsey. “We will do our best to keep you hidden, but there will be no more trips to town for a while. You have to stay out of sight. Do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, get some sleep,” he ordered. As usual, Quinton remained stoically silent. Once the brothers finally left the room, she was able to slip into blessed sleep.

  * * *

  In faraway Chicago, Captain Carl Barker was not feeling so peaceful. He glared across his desk at Sal. “What have you got?”

  Sal opened a large manila folder. “The wanted circulars have generated a good bit of activity. We have reports from all over. A girl was picked up in Dallas that could have been Kelsey’s sister. Oregon and Pennsylvania had good lookalikes too. Unfortunately, none of them were your missing girlfriend.”

  Carl impatiently drummed his fingers on the desk. “Her face is just common enough to make her hard to spot. She may be hard to catch.” The men reviewed dozens of reports until they found a promising one.

  “We got a reply from a Montana deputy sheriff,” Sal said. “He thinks he may have spotted your girl getting off a bus at some jerkwater town out there.”

  “What took him so damn long to get back to us?” Carl roared. “It’s been over a week.”

  “He just got back from taking some time off to go fishing. He says he’ll check around for her.”

  “Hell no! Get a hold of him and tell him to do no such thing. I don’t want some clumsy hick scaring her off if it actually is her. Contact the federal marshal’s office in Montana to look around. Their business is hunting down fugitives without tipping them off. Let the deputy get back to writing speeding tickets.”

  “I’m thinking that may be a mistake,” Sal said. “The marshals can’t help being noticed in a town so small. The local deputy won’t stand out.”

  “Don’t argue with me!”

  “I’ll do whatever you say,” Sal muttered. “It’s probably a waste of time anyway.”

  “When I get my hands on that little bitch, she’s gonna pay. She’s gonna pay big time.” The men continued to review a few more unlikely reports. None stood out.

  * * *

  Of course, Kelsey could not hear Carl’s angry threats. Her mind was focused on two realities, her aching bottom and her confusing feelings about the Whittington brothers. She had no desire to trade Carl’s brand of psychological torture for the brothers’ caveman discipline. Could she find other places to hide out? That thought made her very sad. Carl was still on her trail and the more she ran, the more chances she took of running into some cop who’d do a routine check on her ID. No, like it or not, she knew she needed to stay put even if that risked more spankings.

  Her fingers explored her swollen bottom tentatively. The cream Marcus had put on her had eased her pain. Of course, she wished that Quinton had been the one doing the doctoring. Feeling his hard cock press against her slit had been a pleasant surprise. Carl had done a good job of making her feel undesirable. Quinton’s response to her showed that at least one man had some interest. She tried to visualize her spanking from his point of view. Had he enjoyed watching Marcus bare her butt, or had he wanted to protect her?

&n
bsp; She chuckled silently. No, Quinton had slapped her butt hard just like his brother. He had just given her fewer spanks. It was clear that Marcus was in charge and Quinton would follow his brother’s lead.

  Still, the spanking had an unexpected effect. Her pussy had been very wet when she got off of Quinton’s lap. What was wrong with her? What kind of woman gets excited when a man spanks her? Had Carl’s perversity ruined her for life?

  * * *

  When morning came, Kelsey got back into her routine. Neither brother reminded her of her punishment. In fact, they acted as if nothing had happened at all. She made sure to avoid anything that would cross them, and she was able to avoid any confrontations for several weeks.

  During that time, the fall season began to emerge. The days shortened and the air got more and more brisk. Most of the ranch work had ended for the season and the hands returned to their homes with the promise that they’d be back in the spring. Finally, Kelsey and the Whittington brothers were the only people living on the big Rocking W. Ranch. She was glad that no mention was made of her leaving, in spite of the fact that she had much less work to do with only three mouths to feed. Meals became much less formal. Kelsey would simply put the food on the table, and the three of them took their places and ate family style. All three of them became much more comfortable with each other.

  Kelsey became much less inhibited as her memory of the cruel discipline she had experienced at Carl’s hands faded. One day she and the brothers were enjoying a late breakfast when Quinton stepped behind her and playfully snitched a strip of bacon from her plate. She laughed and impulsively swatted the seat of his tight jeans.

  “You’d better be careful,” Marcus butted in. “Two can play that game. We haven’t tanned your ass for some time. Are you asking for a licking?”

  “Why don’t you leave us alone,” she yelled and smacked Quinton’s hard butt again. It felt good, and she was beginning to enjoy herself and to resent Marcus’s intrusion. “What’s the matter? Are you jealous? Leave us alone. He likes having my hand on his ass.” Quinton stepped away and remained maddeningly silent. She got up and tried to swat him again, but Marcus grabbed her wrist before she could complete the act.