On Probation

by Malone, Misty

  They looked at each other, and nodded. The first lady that spoke said, "Of course. I don't know what the confusion is. We saw him knock the older lady down, and then the little lady took off after him. I'm sure she didn't even give it any thought; she just saw what he did and took off after him. If she needs any kind of help, absolutely we'll talk to an officer."

  Phil and Derek thanked the two ladies for their willingness to talk to an officer. They made arrangements for them to follow the guys to the station, and they were on their way.

  Derek made a call on their way to the police station. "Officer Williams, we're on our way in with the evidence you need to hear."

  "Seriously; you found something? What do you have?"

  "There's two ladies following us in right now who saw the whole thing. They have a different version of the facts, though, and they're willing to talk to you."

  "I take it they back up Kelli's story?"

  "Absolutely. They say they saw one man knock the woman down and take her purse, and Kelli took off after him. When she knocked the guy down, another guy, who they claim had been watching the chase, jumped out and ran to the two of them. These two women left then, assuming the second man went to help Kelli and would explain it all to the police."

  "Interesting. So we've got three saying she did it, and two saying he did it. I guess we need to do a little more investigating."

  "I think so. One place you may want to start is with the two men. I went to talk to them about the event, but they gave you false addresses."

  "How do you know?"

  "One is an empty lot, and the lady living at the other address has lived there four years and never heard of Mike Gentry."

  "Okay, Derek, I'll talk to these ladies. Thanks."

  "If you believe these ladies, Kelli can go home, I take it?"

  "If I believe these ladies. I'm not going to say anything to her yet, though, until I hear what the ladies have to say. I don't want to get her hopes up."

  "I appreciate that. How's she doing?"

  "She's upset, she's obviously scared to death, but she's been very polite to us. She's been crying most of the time, but no more tantrums."

  Derek felt his chest tighten at those words, but hopefully she'd be cleared shortly. "We'll be there in just a few minutes, Officer."

  Officer Williams was waiting for them, and had another officer take the two ladies, while he spoke with Derek. He apologized to Phil, but said he couldn't allow him back in the interrogation room, but invited Derek to join him. Phil waited in the lobby, while Derek and the officer went to talk to the first lady. She answered everything exactly as she had related the facts to Derek, as did the second lady, whose interview followed the first. They even mentioned a couple details Derek hadn't asked about, which Kelli had also mentioned.

  The officer thanked the two ladies for coming in and telling what they saw. He then turned to Derek and with a smile asked, "Do you want me to tell Kelli she can go home now, or do you want to?"

  "I'll do that, thank you. Is she just free for tonight, or what's the status?"

  "Honestly, I think she's the hero here, but I'll know shortly, I think."

  "How?"

  "I called the numbers the men gave me and to my surprise, they answered. I told them I forgot to get them to sign their statements and asked if they could come in and do that. They agreed, and the first one should be here shortly. I'm going to bring them in and confront them with these other statements. I'm anxious to see their reactions. You're free to watch the interview from the observation room if you want, Derek."

  "I would like to do that, thank you. I want to go get Kelli first, though. Would you mind if she watches the interview, as well?"

  Officer Williams paused a few moments. "You'll tell her what they say anyway, so go ahead and get her. I don't care if she watches."

  "Thanks, Officer." Derek practically ran down the hall to the room Kelli was in. He opened the door, and she immediately turned her tear-stained face toward him. He opened his arms to her and smiled. "You ready to go home, Kelli?"

  She ran into his arms and he wrapped his arms around her so tightly he was afraid he was going to hurt her. She was sobbing almost hysterically as she asked, "Really?"

  "Really, honey." He sat down in one of the chairs and sat her down in his lap, where she laid her head on his shoulder, clinging to his shirt like he was her lifeline. He rubbed her back and smoothed her hair, reassuring her softly with his voice and dropping kisses on her hair and forehead. When she calmed enough to listen, he explained what they'd found, and told her about the men coming in shortly. "Do you want to watch their interview, honey?"

  "Absolutely," she insisted, still crying. He put his arm protectively around her waist as he led her to the room Sergeant Williams had indicated. The sergeant came up behind them, clearing his throat, looking at both of them, and Derek's arm around her waist.

  Derek smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. I put a request to have her reassigned on the judge's desk last Monday."

  The officer smiled an understanding smile. "Now I know why you got so involved in this one."

  "Absolutely," Derek admitted. "I knew Kelli wouldn't have done that."

  They talked a few more minutes, before the officer brought the alleged thief in. Derek and Kelli watched from the observation room as the officer had him repeat his version of the story, then told him about the two new witnesses, and asked about the false addresses. To their delight, the thief realized he'd been caught, and quickly asked about the possibility of a plea bargain.

  The officer apologized sincerely to Kelli and thanked her for her quick action. He told Derek to take his hero home, and thanked him for his help. When they went out to the lobby, he again had his arm protectively around Kelli. Phil saw them and picked his sister up and swung her around, hugging her tightly.

  "Are you okay?" Phil had to know.

  "I am now," she assured him.

  Derek had a big smile on his face as he addressed Phil. "Our little hero is fine." But then his serious, stern look appeared. "At least for now. We have a couple things to discuss when we get home, but," he paused as his smile returned, "for right now, I think we need to get her some dinner. Heroes work up an appetite, you know."

  Derek promised her that although they missed their dinner reservations this evening, he'd reschedule, and they'd still have their special dinner celebration. For tonight they were all happy to eat at the local Bob Evans, and they discussed the evening, from everyone's point of view. Kelli was extremely proud and thankful of how Derek and Phil went after and found the evidence they needed to clear her, and they were proud of her for what she had done, although Derek was not pleased with the danger she put herself in, promising they'd discuss that later.

  When they got back to their apartment, Derek sat down on the couch, pulling her down on his lap. Phil remained standing. "Guys, I think you two need a little time alone, and I think Lisa will want to hear all about our evening, so I'm going over to her place. Take your time, discuss everything you need to discuss," he said, grinning, "but don't be too hard on the discussion, Derek. Remember, although my little sister really put herself in danger this time, her heart was in the right place."

  "I know that, Phil, but thank you for reminding me. We will be discussing safer ways she could have gone about it, but unfortunately, our more serious discussion is going to be about her behavior toward the police this evening, before I got there to try to help." His stern look at Kelli turned her instantly into a fidgeting, red-faced little lady, who looked as contrite as anyone Derek had ever seen. He was glad she was looking at the floor, so she didn't see his little smile.

  Phil noticed Kelli's reaction to Derek's words, and smiled, but he also noticed Derek's reaction to how she reacted to him. His smile grew. He knew in that instant just how much in love his sister and his best friend were, and he knew just how good they were for each other.

  Forcing himself back to the present, he knew he should let Derek h
andle the situation, but he'd had a protective streak toward his sister for too long to allow him to simply ignore it. He had to say something. "Kelli, please don't tell me you cussed out the police?"

  "I'm sorry. I was scared, and upset. They were blaming me!"

  Derek jumped in. "So the best way to let the police know they're making a mistake and that you're the good guy is to cuss them out?"

  "No, it's not, but I wasn't thinking at the time. I was just reacting."

  Derek started to answer, but Phil jumped in. "Kelli, I'm sure Derek has more to say about that, and I'm going to let you two talk in private, but listen to what he's telling you. I've told you before, cussing someone out is never acceptable, and it won't help any situation. I'm sure Derek will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the police could have charged you with something for that, and I don't even want to think about what that would have done to your probation. I'm sure he's planning to cover all those things, and rightfully so. But this time, actually listen to him and hear what he's saying."

  He turned to Derek and apologized. "Sorry, buddy, I didn't mean to step on your toes. I'm sure you're quite capable of handling this. That's evident in the change we've seen in her so far. I just couldn't keep my mouth shut this time because I've tried to get that through to her too many times to count. I obviously haven't had any luck, but I hope you will. I care too much about her to see her talk to people like that. She's going to get herself into some real trouble because of it one of these days if she keeps it up. See you later."

  Kelli had gotten up while Phil was talking and went to look out the window. Derek watched the interaction between the two of them.

  Phil left, and Derek went over to Kelli and reached over and gently pulled her chin up to look at him. "Did you hear what your brother said, Kelli? Did you hear the concern in his voice? Did you hear the frustration over how many times he's talked to you about your language?" She nodded, as tears started streaming down her cheeks.

  "I've told you before, Kelli, it's not just you anymore. You're not alone anymore. You were never actually alone. Your brother has always cared and worried about you. He's tried to help you, but you pushed that help away. Well, I intend to help you now, and trust me, little girl, you won't be pushing my help away."

  He grasped her upper arm firmly and led her back to the couch. He sat down and maneuvered her into place between his legs. Without saying a word, he reached out to unfasten her jeans, and pushed them down to her knees. He gently steered her over his left knee. When he had her positioned how he wanted, he spoke to her quietly. "Kelli, I've told you before, whatever happens, we'll go through it together. That means we'll celebrate when you do well in a particularly difficult class, like you just did, or when you make it through probation, which I know is difficult and not fun. That also means we'll be together through the bad times. Tonight I was extremely proud of you when I was able to prove you were the hero and not the thief. However, I wasn't so proud when I admitted to them that the little brat in there cussing like a sailor is the love of my life."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Phil is right, you know. They could have made your life very difficult, especially considering you're on probation. They didn't, for several reasons. In the end, we were able to prove you were telling them the truth, so they were willing to overlook your language. They appreciated the fact that you cleaned up your mouth after I talked to you, and I appreciated that, too, but your language should never have been an issue in the first place."

  "I know. I'm sorry."

  She was turning around to look at him, and he studied her eyes several moments. Finally, he said, "You keep saying you're sorry, Kelli, and I believe you. I think you truly are sorry, right now, but I'm not convinced you're sorry enough that you'll think about it next time, before you let your tongue take over again. I intend to change that, however."

  He unceremoniously pulled her panties down to join her jeans at her knees, and immediately started the spanking. He wasn't spanking extremely hard, but he was sure he was getting her attention, and he didn't stop until he'd spanked her thirty times. He finally paused, giving her a chance to catch her breath, laying his hand on her bottom.

  "You're too good a person to talk like that. You proved yourself in the end tonight, but I've got to tell you, when I first got there, their impression of you was not too complimentary. They cringed when they told me about the stream of expletives spewing out of your mouth, and it had an influence on your believability. What would have happened if I wouldn't have been there tonight, honey?"

  She cried harder as she said, "Thank you."

  "You're welcome, honey. The thing is, I know you, and I knew without a doubt that you wouldn't have done that. But they don't know you, and all they had to go on is your appearance and behavior, and the fact that you're on probation. Put those together, and what kind of first impression do you think they had of you?"

  She was crying as he started the spanking again. He was spanking a bit harder this time, but still not as hard as he had at other times. However, he again gave her another thirty crisp swats before pausing for her to catch her breath.

  "You have one more semester of classes, then you'll graduate and be ready to go out looking for a job as a professional. No employer is going to put up with that from someone on his staff. The work force is competitive enough, without you undermining yourself."

  Once again, his words had her crying harder, as he started on her next set of thirty spanks, and this time he did put more strength behind them. She was screaming and fighting, trying to get off his lap by the time he stopped to let her recover a bit again. He didn't say anything this time, simply held his hand on her bottom and allowed her to catch her breath.

  When she was breathing a little more regularly again, he had one more thing to say. "Like I told you earlier, honey, I want you to be sorry enough this time that you'll stop and think about what you're saying the next time you have a tantrum." He sighed, not wanting to do this, but knowing she needed it, and started again. He gave her thirty more swats, the harshest yet, and he knew how much they were hurting. Her bottom was already sore, and he was not going easy on her now. He had to move his right leg over hers, trapping her, to prevent her from kicking her way off his lap.

  She was slumped over his knee by the time he finished, not having any more fight left in her. He rubbed her back and talked softly to her while she caught her breath. As soon as she was breathing fairly regularly, he brought her to his chest in a tight hug. "I love you, Kelli, and you're forgiven." He smoothed her hair and kept her held tightly against him, talking softly to her while she calmed.

  He let her sit on his lap, her head on his chest, and cuddled tightly against him, while she recovered. Eventually she looked up at him and quietly said, "I'm really sorry, Derek."

  "I know you are, honey."

  She sensed a reservation in him and looked into his eyes, not liking what she saw. "Do you think I'm really sorry this time?"

  He reluctantly said, "Honey, I do believe you're sorry right now. However, I think you've been sorry before, but not enough for you to control your mouth the next time you lost your temper. We also haven't discussed the temper tantrum you had tonight, or the danger you put yourself in."

  Her head snapped up off his chest and she was staring into his eyes. "Derek? I'm too sore right now. I can't possibly take any more."

  Soothing her hair, he said, "I know you are, honey." She sighed and he felt her relax as she laid her head back against his chest. He hated it, but he told her, "But we are going to address those issues tomorrow night."

  Chapter Eleven

  Kelli's head snapped back up to look at Derek. "Please tell me you're not serious. I'll still be extremely sore tomorrow night, I'm sure. And I don't think I could stand thinking about it all day. That's cruel."

  Derek immediately responded, "It's cruel to yourself and those around you when you cuss like that, sweetheart. I was embarrassed, not only for me, but for you, for
what I knew their first impression of you was. I'd hate to hear you lost a job because of your language when you had one of your tantrums."

  "Me, too," she quietly admitted.

  "I'm hoping that if you think about this all day tomorrow, dreading another spanking, it will finally get through to you. Your tantrums have to stop, and so does your foul mouth. I want you to take some time tomorrow, at least twice, to contemplate the spanking you'll be getting, and why. Will you do that for me, please?"

  "I won't like it, but I know I'll do it. I'll probably be thinking about it all day. As sore as I am right now, I think I'd rather you do it now so I don't have to wait."

  "That's exactly why we're waiting until tomorrow night. I've already spanked you for your language and your tantrums, a few times, and it obviously hasn't helped much. Maybe thinking about it all day, anticipating what's going to happen, especially with an already sore bottom, will get your attention."

  "But I—"

  "You're getting another spanking tomorrow night. Arguing with me right now, young lady, will earn you a third one, tomorrow morning."

  Derek watched as Kelli fought her urge to say something. She opened her mouth, only to shut it again on three separate occasions. She got up and started to stomp away, but stopped herself. Finally, he watched her resign herself, and she quietly said, "Well, hell." She immediately clamped both her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Derek. I didn't mean to say that. Please don't get upset." She was starting to panic, when she looked up at him and saw a grin on his face.

  "Language," he said, trying to sound stern. Pulling her into his arms, he said, "Come here, you." Once she was wrapped in his arms he said, "I'm not going to spank you again for your language just now, though I can't believe you said that after what we've been talking about. I could see your frustration, so I'll let that one word pass this time."

  "Thank you."

  "What bothers me more is the little temper tantrum you had started there when you started to stomp out of the room. I'm glad you got better control on that, but that's what we're going to be talking about tomorrow night. You should stop and think a couple times tomorrow about your temper tantrums, your safety, and again about your language. We'll be discussing all of them tomorrow night." She hung her head, but nodded.