“I promise, Jake, I promise. I won’t touch them again.”
“I’d like to believe that…”
“You can,” Maisie Jane pleaded. “I won’t touch them again.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t believe you, because you keep making promises and you keep making the same mistake over and over. I told you before Maisie Jane, I will not stand for willfulness. I told you I was going to do this, and I’m keeping my word. Now you’ve done it again so this spanking going to be hard. Maybe, you’ll remember from now on. Now, do as I say.”
The tears were already running down her cheeks and he hadn’t even touched her. But, she took off her skirt and petticoats. He led her over to the edge of the bed and sat down.
“Don’t Jake, please,” Maisie Jane pleaded.
“This is for your own good,” Jake said as pulled her over his knee and pulled down her bloomers.
The first strike of his hand set the pattern. It was hard and it was painful. Jake thought of his good friend Juan with a gun pointed at him, and when he thought he’d delivered enough for that failure to obey him, he thought of Levi and his rifle, and he laid into her bottom for the second time. Then, he thought about the pouts, and the petulance and the flounces and foot stamping and he laid into her bottom a third time. By the time he finished, her little bottom was fire red with white welts coming up on it. He was breathing hard and his rough calloused hand was stinging. He gave her three more swats just for the fact that he hadn’t wanted to do this again and finally he stopped.
Maisie Jane was past kicking and screaming, past howling and bawling. She was past crying, and was sobbing and whimpering.
He picked her up and placed her on the bed and went into the kitchen and poured some water on a rag and took it back into the bedroom and laid it against her red little bottom. Then, he sat back against the headboard of the bed and pulled her over and let her cry it out on his lap as he stroked her hair, and rubbed her back. Maisie Jane cried herself to sleep and he covered her up and left the bedroom.
Jake went into the sitting room, looking around the room and saw a Bible sitting on one of those fancy tables. He picked it up, lit a lantern and sat down. His Pa had always looked to the Bible when he had to puzzle out something in his head, and Jake was shamed that he hadn’t touched one in years. Jake read for a while, some of the verses resonating in his memory from his Ma’s reading them out loud by the fire at night. It had been a long time since he’d spent any time remembering his folks.
At one time he had it all figured in his head. He’d taken to the law to earn money for a place of his own. He’d only planned on working maybe two years but it had evolved into twelve. When you’re good at something, respected for what you, it’s sometimes hard to give it up. But over the years he had become more and more disgusted with the corruption of law. Then finally last year he’d decided to quit. Then the judge had offered him a good deal if he’d stay on another year and reluctantly he’d signed on for it.
For a year, he’d made his plans in his head. He’d file a homesteading claim, winter out the first year by himself, (he’d never really planned on taking one of Judge Lement’s whores for the winter, although it had been tempting), and come spring, find him good woman for a wife. His life was changing too fast, and he was having a hard time in his head keeping up. Maisie Jane was his lawful wife, and he didn’t regret that one bit. She could be sweet and she could be aggravating, but she was sure enough fun to have around. And… he shifted when he hardened up; he had a fire in his loins near every time he looked at her. For the last several weeks, he’d been walking around half aroused most of time. It wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable feeling, but knowing Maisie Jane was learning to want him as much as he wanted her did that to him. What a sweet surprise she was turning out to be in bed.
Jake put the Bible back on the table and looked around the room again. Wintering over here wasn’t going to be a hardship. It was good solid house, a bit fancy for his taste, but solid. He looked toward the bedroom door and smiled. No, wintering here, with short hours of light and long hours of night wasn’t going to be a hardship at all.
Jake lit a lantern and went out to the barn. He searched around a bit before he found what every farmer, rancher or homesteader kept around to keep their animals healthy. He found a tin of tit salve for cow udders, and he found a bottle of horse ligament. He returned to the house and filled a basin with water, put a rag in it and returned to bedroom.
Maisie Jane was curled up in a tiny tangle of arms and legs. He set the basin down, undressed and climbed into bed with her.
“I need you to wake up,” Jake said. She flinched from his touch and he sorely regretted that. “Come on.”
“No, no,” Maisie Jane whispered in her sleep.
“Come here,” Jake said and he sat up and pulled her over in his lap. He reached for the liniment, poured some on his hand and gently began to rub the liniment on her bottom.”
“Oh, warm,” Maisie Jane mumbled trying to pulling away.
“Easy there, this will help,” Jake said holding her in place and covering her bottom carefully. Then, he pulled her close, half onto his chest and held her as she slept.
Sometime in the night, Maisie Jane woke up to Jake applying a smelly, warm liquid to her bottom, but she didn’t say anything or open her eyes. Then, again she woke up and he was doing the same. Each time he reapplied the liquid, he was gentle and he’d kiss her on the forehead, but he made no demands, and didn’t try to wake her up. The smelly liquid was taking the sting out of her bottom. She knew she’d be sore, but he was making it hurt less. At dawn, he left the bed, dressed and was gone for a while and then he returned and climbed back in. This time he wiped the smelly stuff off and smeared some salve on. This time Maisie didn’t pretend to be asleep she just watched his movements.
Jake knew she was awake, he kissed her on the mouth and pulled her close burying his face in her hair and just held her.
Finally, nuzzled against his chest Maisie Jane lifted her head. “Are you still mad at me?”
Jake shook his head. “No, I’m not mad at you. It would have been easier if I had been mad, but I wasn’t.”
“But, you still spanked me,” Maisie Jane said confused.
“I know,” Jake admitted. “And it was hard thing for me to do Maisie Jane. It was something I didn’t want to do, but something I had to do. And, I’m ashamed to say, but part of that spanking was my fault.”
Maisie Jane just looked up at him with confused eyes.
Jake nodded. “Two nights ago, when you pointed my Colt at Juan Alvarez I should have spanked the tar out of you right then. But, I let you down. Instead of correcting you, I was more concerned about being embarrassed in front of my old friend. I let it go, and I shouldn’t have. If I’d done my duty, and corrected you immediately, you probably wouldn’t have pointed that rifle at Levi Campbell. You would have thought about it and known what the consequences for such actions would be. I failed you, and you paid the price for it.”
Maisie Jane swallowed. “Are you apologizing?”
Jake pulled her to him tightly and gave a sigh. “I reckon I am, for being so hard on you. Maisie Jane, sometimes you are so spoiled and willful; it sorely does try a man. I’m not apologizing for the spanking, you earned that, but I am sorry for not taking you in hand and correcting you two nights ago. If I had, that second part of the spanking wouldn’t have had to happen. As new as you are to being a wife, darling, I’m new at being a husband.”
“Do you want me as a wife, Jake?” Maisie Jane whispered with a hitch in her voice. “Not because you had to marry me, but because you want to keep me?”
Jake smiled. “Yes, of course I want to keep you as my wife. On some of your wifely duties, you’re making me a very happy man. Now, dry those tears up and give me kiss.”
Maisie Jane did just that, and Jake tilted her sideways just enough to be able to trail and line of kisses down to her breasts. Maisie Jane gave a sigh of c
ontentment and looked over to the saddle on the floor.
“Jake?”
“Hmmm,” he said a little distracted by making circles around her nipples with his tongue.
“Do you think, it’s time to put the saddle on the bed again?” Maisie Jane asked turning beat red at her daring.
Jake froze for only a second and then he raised his eyes to hers. “Oh, you are making me a very happy man.”
Jake lay spread eagled again, exhausted and the cause of that exhaustion was lying across his chest on her back, her were feet propped on the saddle so her sore little bottom wouldn’t rub so much against the linens.
“Woman, you’re trying to kill me,” Jake exclaimed fondling her breasts and giving her a long kiss.
Maisie Jane laughed. “Well, I don’t want to die, so maybe you can take that saddle to barn where it belongs.”
Jake shook his head. “No ma’am, that saddle’s going to have a permanent place right here in this bedroom.”
“Jake?” Maisie Jane said with a teasing tone in her voice.
“Yeah?”
“I have the squigglies.”
Jake’s head came up but he was grinning. “Lord, I’m going to die a happy man. Where’s that saddle?”
Chapter 12
Jake stood in the front door looking out over the barnyard. Just looking. It was a pretty place. A wind came up and a shower of leaves fell to the ground. Fall was setting in, but fall was short season in the Nevada high desert. September only had a few days left in it, and snow could come as early as next month. He had a lot to get done if they were going to winter here.
Maisie Jane came out to stand beside him and he drew her in, and put his chin down on the top of her head.
“It’s pretty here,” Maisie Jane said as Jake’s arms tucked her into him. “It looks like home.”
“Do you miss Baltimore?”
Maisie Jane shook her head. “It was pretty there, but we lived in the city so there weren’t many trees around. Some parts of the city are pretty, but it’s a harbor city, so it’s smelly too. And, it was awful lonesome after my Grandma Louise died.”
“How come you didn’t marry? You’ve been of age for a while,” Jake asked. “Lots of men must have come sniffing around as pretty as you are.”
“I didn’t like anyone that come calling,” Maisie Jane answered honestly.
“But you like me,” Jake said kissing the top of her head.
“You’re growing on me,” Maisie Jane teased, and “Ouched,” as he tapped her bottom.
“Brat!”
Maisie Jane blushed.
“I’m hungry, woman,” Jake said turning and giving Maisie Jane a push toward the kitchen. “Now that we’ve got a cabin, you have got to learn how to cook!”
“I can’t get the water to come out of the pump, and I don’t know how to start a fire in the stove,” Maisie Jane admitted.
“More I got to teach you,” Jake grumbled but he was grinning.
“Jake, did Mr. Madison’s wife die?” Maisie Jane asked.
Jake turned to look at her. “I guess I haven’t gotten around to telling you that part,” he admitted.
“She did die? What about the baby?”
“No, Brett’s wife if fine and the baby is too, I guess. Charlotte left him, moved to California to be with her parents and took the baby with her. She just run off one day and left him high and dry. Brett tried to write to her, make her change her mind, but I reckon when she wouldn’t, he went to them.”
“Is he bringing her back?” Maisie Jane asked.
“It doesn’t sound like it from the letter he left. He left this place to me, that’s what Mr. Campbell came over to talk about yesterday. Brett deeded this place over to me, lock, stock and barrel. The livestock is over at Mr. Campbell’s place. That’s why I said we’re going to winter here. I’m going to write Brett, make sure he hasn’t changed his mind. Come spring, we’ll see.”
“But, what about all their belongings? I peeked around and it looks like they didn’t take much with them.”
“Lock and stock and barrel, was what I was told,” Jake said. “I’m going into Elco today. I want to order up some winter supplies and get to the land office.”
Maisie Jane’s face lit up and then it fell and she put her hands on her behind.
Jake laughed. “You don’t have to go on this trip. You should be safe here.”
“But, I wanted to go,” Maisie Jane pouted.
“Not this trip.” Jake said sternly. “Even if I did doctor up your sore bottom, it would be mighty uncomfortable. You need to stay here, get some rest and find out what-all’s here that we can use. From Brett’s letter, he made it pretty clear he wasn’t freighting the furniture or his wife’s things to San Francisco. I guess I can use the men’s things; Brett and I are about the same size, and women’s things are yours. I’m more concerned with the legalities of the land, so I’ll be checking on that today.”
Jake primed the pump and got it working and told Maisie Jane not to try to light any fires while he was gone. He didn’t tell her, but he was worried about coming back to a burned down house. He hitched up the wagon and headed off to Elco to do his business. Seeing that his wife, still wasn’t listening to him, and was still running around barefooted, he took one of her shoes and tucked in his pocket.
Maisie Jane went on a grand scavenger hunt. She wasn’t really interested in the kitchen, but she knew food was real important to Jake so she went through all the cupboards. She found a door that went down into a scary earthen cellar and found some canned goods, peaches, beans, a pile of potatoes and a barrel with a few apples in it. There were also, spider webs. She went through all the drawers in the desk and tables. She stacked up magazines, mostly ladies magazines, to go through later and spent some time looking at the fashions.
Then she turned to the bedroom. One of trunks held men’s clothing, most of it very similar to what Jake wore. One bureau had four drawers full of women’s clothing, and the bottom drawer had work shirts like Jake wore. Most of the women’s clothes were very well made and looked store-bought rather than hand sown. They were very pretty, although they would be a bit big on her. She found a pairs of women’s shoes, too large for her feet, and to her utter delight a set of hoops. Jake had ripped her favorite set and thrown them away the first day she’d met him. And her extra set of hoops had gone missing, as had her curling irons. The second bureau was more women’s clothing in the top two drawers and then baby gowns in the next two. The bottom drawer was full of thin books. Maisie Jane opened one of the books to a middle page and her eyes widened. She gasped and gulped and turned one page back and read some more. She was reading about a man ripping the bodice of a woman’s dress off, exposing her bosoms. It was a dirty book! She dropped the book back in the drawer and shut it, looking around guiltily.
Elco was two hours from the homestead and the town hadn’t changed much since Jake had been there last. The sign over the Emporium read Grint not Bundy, but other than the new land office, that was it. His first stop was the land office and with two signings of his name, 640 acres became legally his. With his deed carefully tucked into his money pouch along with his marriage license, Jake was now officially a settled man.
The next stop was the bank where he opened up an account and deposited a thousand dollars in silver coin. No questions were asked, no explanations were offered. The bank manager, Mr. Lester Findley had already been told by Brett Madison to expect him. He also cashed in two fifty dollar coin pieces for ten greenbacks.
The Grint Emporium was operated by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Grint who appeared to be sour couple. Jake introduced himself and told them he was taking over the Madison property.
“I’m going to need supplies for winter,” Jake told the man, “but I haven’t wintered over this far north yet so if you could come up a fair list of what we’ll be needing, I’d appreciate it. It’s just me and my wife.
“I don’t offer no credit until a man’s been in town a year,”
Simon Grint said sourly.
“I’ll be paying cash,” Jake answered. “I reckon a four month supply should get us started. Double up on the flour, sugar, lard and bacon.”
Jake could almost see Simon Grint rubbing his hands together in greed. The man hustled into the back of the store. Jake handed Maisie Jane’s shoe to the woman. “I need a size bigger than that, shoes with no buttons if you have them.”
“All ladies shoes have buttons, Mr. Maddox,” Mrs. Grint answered.
“All right,” Jake agreed. “Give me whatever you have. Do you have a book on how to cook?”
The older woman grinned showing several missing teeth. “Newly married?”
Jake nodded.
“We got two cookbooks, Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management and Directions for Cookery in Various Branches,” Mrs. Grint offered.
Jake looked at the two books. Since he’d met Maisie Jane, to his knowledge she’d never cooked or baked anything except the biscuits with Maria and they had been hard and tasteless.
“I’d better get both,” Jake said with a sigh, thinking it might take his wife a little bit of time to catch on to cooking and she could use all the help she could get.
Mr. Simon Grint returned to the counter and added up the cost of two barrels of wheat flour, twenty-five pounds of corn meal, coffee, dried beans, molasses, soap, lard, corned beef and the sugars, both brown and white and other sundries. “That’s forty-six dollars, cash and I ain’t putting in your wagon ‘til I see my money.”
“Add on this other stuff,” Jake said motioning the cookbooks.
“That’s $1.80 for Mrs. Beeton’s Cookbook and $1.75 for the other one,” Mrs. Grint hollered. “And, $2.25 for a pair of ladies shoes.”
“That’s $61.80 cash money,” Simon Grint snapped.
Jake wasn’t caring much for Mr. Grint’s attitude but he just nodded.
“Throw in a tin of tea, and about a pound of peppermint candy,” Jake said looking around the store for anything else they might need.”
Teaching Miss Maisie Jane Page 11
