Sunny's Safe Haven (The Red Petticoat Saloon)

by Vanessa Brooks

  “What the hell, kid, this wasn’t in the plan!” A surly, long faced man pushed Kelly back against the wall, which had the advantage of freeing Stephanie as Kelly dropped his hold on her. As Stephanie moved to make an escape, Maisy flung her arms about her with obviously false sympathy, holding her secure.

  “Now, dearie, you must be fair tuckered out, you poor thing. Come over here with Maisy and tell me all about it, eh?” She maneuvered them both over to an ancient and stained settee, whereupon she plumped down on it, dragging Stephanie to sit next to her.

  “My husband is waiting for me. You just let me go right now!” Stephanie raised her voice angrily.

  “Now, now, lovey, no need for that tone of voice. I’m yer friend remember?”

  Stephanie glared at her. “If that’s so, then let me go this minute!”

  “You let her go, Maisy, or you’ll feel the back of my hand!” The tall long faced man growled from where he and Kelly were arguing in low voices by the doorway.

  “All right, Bill, don’t go gettin’ all nasty now; the girl’s just afraid is all!”

  “Why am I here?” Stephanie called to the man named Bill.

  He turned his head and his cold gaze raked over her. “I don’t rightly know that myself, but I’m sure your lover boy here has a damned good reason.”

  “He’s not my anything!” Stephanie retorted hotly.

  “Shut up!” Kelly barked at her. Bill drew back his arm and jabbed him in the stomach. Kelly doubled over heaving and coughing. Stephanie blanched; her hand flew to cover her mouth.

  “Bill!” Maisy yelled.

  “Idiot!” Bill spat, “what the fuck are you playing at bringing the little tart here into my house?”

  Kelly groaned loudly, it was obvious to all that he couldn’t speak.

  “Maisy, take the girl back to her husband, while I have a conversation with our stupid young friend.”

  Maisy stood and pulled Stephanie to her feet. The two women edged around the men and slipped out of the door. Stephanie picked up her skirts and ran.

  “You can trust me, dearie, honest… me an’ Bill wouldn’t let that boy hurt you none!” Maisy shouted after her.

  Stephanie didn’t look back, she just kept running, even when the walkway began, she stayed down in the dirt street and ran until she hit the solid wall of a man’s chest. She pounded against him with her fists, tears blinding her to his identity.

  “Wow, honey, hey there it’s me! Stephanie, baby, calm down, calm down! Honey, what happened?” Stephanie fought frantically against the arms that held her.

  “Steph, stop, stop it, what’s happened?” Tey shook her slightly, holding her at arm’s length so that he could look into her eyes. He saw her dawning recognition and crushed her to him wrapping his arms securely about her. She burrowed into his embrace, sobbing and he felt tremors ripple through her body. He stood continuing to hold her close, until she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him with swimming, red rimmed eyes.

  “You have to promise me that if I tell you what happened, you won’t go and do something terrible, like… like kill a man.”

  His eyes turned instantly icy. “I won’t make you any promises until I hear the full story. I want to know what the hell happened.” Stephanie glanced about her. There were a few people out and about their business.

  “Not here, let’s talk back home,” she whispered. Tey nodded.

  “All right, the boarding house, or the Petticoat d’you mean?” Tey asked, hating the fact that they didn’t actually have a home as yet.

  “Um, the boarding house, our room,” Stephanie replied. Tey nodded and she slipped her arm through his. They were silent all the way back right up until the bedroom door closed behind them. Tey led Stephanie straight over to the bed where he sat and drew her to stand between his knees. He took each of her hands in his.

  “Now tell me,” he commanded.

  Stephanie took a shaky breath. “The man whose child I lost grabbed me and dragged me to Maisy’s house an’ her husband Bill was there and, Tey, I was so scared! He, well I thought he’d hurt me, but he hit Kelly instead in the…”

  “Kelly?”

  “Um, yes, he was the man I was engaged to…”

  “Kelly Thurgood was the father of your child? He was the man who abandoned you? Why the hell didn’t you tell me this?” Tey dropped her hands, agitatedly running one of his through his dark hair.

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t want you to do anything that might get you into trouble. You’re a gunslinger for land’s sake!” Stephanie cried.

  “You’re telling me that Thurgood walked into the mercantile store and grabbed you, dragging you outside and nobody did a thing to help?” Tey was incredulous.

  Stephanie dropped her eyes. “Er, not quite,” she answered him softly.

  Tey’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Look at me.”

  Stephanie reluctantly raised her eyes to his. “Now then, young lady, I want to know exactly what happened from the moment I left you in that store.”

  When Stephanie had finished her explanation, Tey was livid but worried. He decided his first priority was his wife. He wouldn’t concern himself with the wider implications of Kelly and Bill until he had dealt with her. Afterward, he needed to talk through this development with Jeb.

  “What was the last thing I told you when I left you in the mercantile store?” he asked his anxious wife.

  “That you were going to speak to the sheriff?”

  “Yup and…”

  Stephanie hesitated; she had a pretty good idea where this was leading.

  “Stephanie Tey, I asked you a question and I expect an answer.”

  “Um, well, you said to wait in the store for you… but it’s not fair to be angry, Tey, because I got worried because you were gone so long and I went to look for you!”

  Tey cocked his head at her. “All right, let me ask you a question. If you’d remained in the store would Kelly Thurgood have dragged you away?”

  Stephanie sucked on her bottom lip. He had a point, but she wasn’t going to acquiesce that easily. “If you’d come back more quickly, I wouldn’t have got worried and gone looking for you!” she said, raising her voice adamantly.

  “Do not raise your voice to me, Miss Sassy,” Tey reprimanded in a deceptively soft tone of voice. “So you believe it is my fault that you were grabbed by Kelly, d’you?”

  Stephanie squirmed uncomfortably. “Noo, I didn’t say that…”

  “Let us get one thing straight right now. When I tell you to do something, I mean it and if you disobey me, what did I explain would happen?”

  Stephanie’s breath hitched and she began to shuffle herself nervously backward. Tey caught her hands, holding them fast. “Steph, I asked you a question. Answer me.”

  “You said that I-I w-will be s-spanked,” she stuttered, heat suffusing her face.

  “Yes, you sure will and when you put yourself in danger because you’ve disobeyed me and then sass me about it afterward, well then you get a taste of the strap too. When we have our own place with a woodshed, that is where you’ll be punished if you require more than a spanking over my knee but, since we are here, it will have to be over the bed. Now, turn about an’ lift your skirts, remove your under garments and lay across the bed.”

  Stephanie stared at him in wide eyed horror. “You can’t mean to punish me, not after what has happened to me?” Her voice sounded shrill even to her.

  “Darlin,’ I not only mean to, I’m goin’ to. Now take off those damned drawers before I rip ‘em off!”

  Stephanie stamped her foot, her eyes shooting daggers at him as Tey reached for her. There followed an extremely rough tussle, the outcome of which was never in any doubt. Stephanie’s drawers were indeed ripped from her; at least they hung in two separate, torn sections, each dangling somewhere around her ankles. Tey emerged not entirely unscathed. He sucked at a deep gouge across his forearm, which did not bode well for his resisting wife. Turning, he reache
d for his well-worn razor-strop from a hook on the back of the bedroom door. It had been his pa’s. It was thick but supple leather, ideal for punishing a recalcitrant wife.

  He cast a narrow eyed glare at her. Stephanie now stood on the opposite side of the bed, she had scuttled there, after he let go of her to fetch the strop. He faced her now, the leather wrapped tight in his right fist as he pointed at the bed.

  “Place yourself over the bed with your skirts lifted, an’ I’ll give you ten, but if I have to come get you, then the count will be doubled; your choice, darlin’.” He slapped his thigh with the strop and watched Stephanie’s face contort with indecision.

  “I’m counting to five an’ if I am forced to fetch you, it’ll be twenty. One, two, three, four…” He stopped his count since Stephanie stepped aside and began to make her way huffily petulant, around to his side of the bed. She hesitated when she reached him but turned away from him and obediently, albeit reluctantly, she bent over the bed.

  “P-please, Tey, will you l-lift my skirts?” she asked in a small quavering voice.

  His lip twitched with amusement as he rucked up her skirts as she requested. “I know this is new to you, honey, but dang, it’s new to me too. I think it best you call me sir when you’re gonna be punished,” he admonished gently.

  “Yes, sir,” she answered obediently, obviously having resigned her state of mind to her fate.

  He admired the picture she presented, laid across the bed with her rumpled skirts framing her pale naked rear end, thighs bare to just above her knees, her lacy garters holding up her thick dark stockings. His loins tightened and he regretted that on this occasion he wouldn’t be plunging his aching cock into that sweetly shaded cleft when his task was done.

  There would be no reward for either of them on this occasion, for this was a serious infraction, one deserving significant punishment. The pastor had warned him to be strong with her early on in their marriage, impressing upon Tey the need for a firm foundation from the outset. He cleared his throat. It was time to begin her lesson in wifely obedience.

  “Do not reach back or I will tie your hands; I have no wish to harm you. Perhaps you want them tied before we start?” he asked.

  “W-what d’you think?” she asked in a trembling voice. He considered a moment.

  “Put your arms straight out and grip the far side of the bed an’ don’t let go. I’m spanking you first with my hand, so we can see how we go.”

  He placed his palm on her left orb before lifting it and bringing his hand down with a sharp crack. He felt her start and settle as he spanked her cheeks alternately, increasing the cadence until she was gasping and shifting her hips. Her bottom became rosy pink; a sign he took to mean she was about ready to receive her full punishment. Stepping back, he wielded the strap without warning and her cry indicated the level of shock she felt from the searing pain of the first stinging thwack. One,” he told her and struck again. She wailed and squirmed, her hand flying back to rub at the crimson stripe.

  “Hands!” he barked and she hurriedly moved to once again grip the bed covers above her head. “Two.”

  The strap continued to fall and, by the sixth blow, she was weeping profusely and begging him to stop. He continued in a slow, almost tortuous vein, making each and every strike count. He was hoping against hope that this would be the deterrent that would keep her safe, teaching her to obey him and his rules, designed to keep her safe forever onwards. He did not relish having to chastise her like this again, but he would do so any and every time that she defied him if that was what it took.

  By the time ten was called Stephanie’s buttocks were crisscrossed in flat angry red welts, the top of her thighs had one livid stripe across them, which was where Tey had laid down his final punishing mark. He knew it would be the most painful stripe of all and was not at all surprised when not only did both her hands fly back to clasp her bottom cheeks with an agonized shriek, but she also simultaneously leapt to her feet.

  He carefully re-hung the strop on the back of the door to give her a moment of recovery then he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off, not yet ready for his comfort or forgiveness; he knew at once what she required.

  “Take your dress and petticoat off and go stand to face the wall.” His voice was firm and unrelenting. She flounced to do as he bid, still weeping copiously. Tey landed a stinging smack on her punished rear, which had the effect of speeding her along with diminished attitude.

  When she was finally facing the wall wearing nothing but her white bodice, he spoke to her in a softer tone. “Five minutes or so of reflection an’ then I reckon you’ll be ready to accept some comfort.” He accepted her curt nod and seated himself upon the bed watching her as she wept and finally reduced to sniffling. She made a pretty picture standing there, all soft and curvy, her rounded buttocks on full display, wore his chastising welts. His cock lengthened, ready for action, but Tey knew he would resist his body’s need until they retired later that evening. Stephanie needed to learn the difference between real discipline and play.

  He’d hated hurting her so bad but he knew full well that she wasn’t harmed. If she continued to disregard his rules, there was a strong probability that she might become worse than harmed and it was his job to keep her safe even from her own poor choices. He began to ponder on that no good snake Kelly Thurgood. He felt rage simmering toward the cowardly dog who’d ditched Stephanie while she carried his child.

  Tey had to make a conscious effort to unclench his fists, for he knew full well that rage got in the way of a man’s judgement.

  His face softened as he watched Stephanie’s hands creep around her back to gently clasp her tender bottom cheeks, whimpering as she touched her own seared and tender flesh. He stood and moved to stand a little way behind her.

  “Turn around and face me,” he ordered gently. He opened his arms wide apart, an invitation to her offering his comfort. Stephanie lost no more time in sulking, she walked straight into his embrace and Tey folded her to him as she snuggled in.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered, simply.

  “I know, honey,” he answered and they stood that way for a few quiet moments until Tey kissed her temple and led her over to the bed. He drew back the covers and helped her to lie down. She didn’t argue but lay down upon her tummy giving a deep sigh.

  “Wait there and rest while I fetch some water and ointment,” he told her and left the room.

  Stephanie lay upon the bed whilst her bottom throbbed and ached in a way she had never experienced before. Yet Tey had left her feeling cared for and safer than she had in a long while.

  She knew that she would do everything in her power not to be punished that way ever again but something about Tey disciplining her for her foolish mistake that day made her feel protected and cherished in a way nothing else had before. When he returned, he awkwardly helped her to sip water whilst lying face down, then proceeded to gently rub horse liniment into her fiery rump. She felt such a rush of love, stronger than anything she had previously felt.

  Without thought, she told him that she loved him. She watched his face, his expression spoke of an internal battle and she wondered what he was pondering. Then he clasped her chin and bent to gently claim her mouth. When he finally pulled away he settled the covers over her feet leaving her back and sore behind clear of constraint.

  “I love you too much to risk losing you, Steph, that’s why I was harsh with you today,” he told her seriously.

  “You matter so much to me, honey, an’ later on when you’re rested up, I aim to show you jus’ how much, but I need to go talk with Jeb right now about that sonofabitch Kelly Thurgood. You rest up and stay put, understood?”

  “Yes, Tey,” she answered meekly.

  “That’s my good girl.” He grazed her cheek with his lips and was gone, closing the door quietly behind him. Stephanie yawned; she felt surprisingly tired and closed her eyes, wondering if the thrumming in her bottom would allow her to sleep. A few moments la
ter it seemed that it would.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “So what d’you reckon then, Tey? This Bill Brown in on the gold thefts or not?” Jeb frowned, he didn’t quite get where Tey was coming from.

  “I have a strong hunch that he is yeah, but how and why I can’t work out yet but I’m as sure as dammit that snake, no good Kelly Thurgood’s involved.”

  “What d’you wanna do about this?” Jeb asked.

  “How d’you mean?” Tey frowned.

  “Well now, d’you want me to question Kelly?”

  Tey thought for a moment. “N-o, let’s set a trap an’ see which particular rats we catch.”

  Jeb nodded. “Like your drift… go on.”

  Tey leaned in and the two men began to form a plan.

  When Tey returned to the boarding house, he found Scamp asleep outside their bedroom door and when he opened it, ready to step inside, the dog pattered into the room in front of him and leapt up onto the bed where Stephanie lay sound asleep. The dog turned around and settled himself beside her. Tey patted the animal’s head, looked down thoughtfully at his sleeping wife before taking himself off once again, this time to speak with Stephanie’s father. He wanted to know if Kendrick had known that Kelly Thurgood had courted his daughter.

  It seemed that he hadn’t. “You mean that low down varmint got my girl with child and then just up an’ left her? Why that stinking piece of…”

  “Mr. Kendrick,” Tey interrupted, “I think Kelly not only took advantage of Steph but that he had an ulterior motive for courting her.”

  “How so?” Kendrick frowned.

  “I think Kelly Thurgood is involved with the theft of the gold shipments from the Merit Mine an’ he used Steph to find out the timetable.”

  Kendrick colored up. “I am certain sure Stephanie would never disclose something like that deliberately but maybe…” he tailed off and halted. Tey wondered if perhaps he suddenly realized that he was speaking ill of his daughter to her husband.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not suggesting for one moment that Steph knew she was disclosing anything confidential but I think that is how the outlaws knew when the shipments were happening.” Tey went on to explain what had occurred with Kelly earlier on in the day, leaving out the part where he’d tanned his wife’s backside.