Four months later
Her shoulder ached as Aurora picked up the box that held her wedding dress. She’d selected a tea-length cream-colored gown with a lace overlay. To complete the look she’d searched far and wide for white cowboy boots tooled with turquoise. Holt had finally found them at a shop in New Mexico and they were scheduled to leave tomorrow morning for Ruidoso to pick them up.
It was the first trip out of state since the accident. After the wreck, Aurora had been nervous about riding in a vehicle, and she’d yet to drive one. If she had to go to town for physical therapy Holt took her. She had all the groceries for the cabins delivered to the house and she would take the UTV up to get them.
Becky was still at the ranch. While Aurora was healing, Becky had taken over her job, and had done a fantastic job as far as the men, and Aurora, were concerned. Ladies had come and gone, and Aurora thought Becky deserved to be offered the den mother job. She planned to talk with Holt about it tonight, but before then they had something else to address.
They had not had sex in four months. Four months. She repeated the words to herself as she placed the box with her dress on the dresser in the bedroom. She knew Holt had been taking matters into his own hands, and she’d tried several times in the last month to get him to have sex. But he’d refused. He’d said the doctor had not yet released her from her physical therapy.
But she had now. Yesterday had been her last day of therapy, and the doctor had cleared her for all activities.
Even before that, Jessica had been giving her cooking lessons, but Holt had made sure she didn’t lift any heavy pots, or sacks containing too many groceries. If he knew she’d picked up the dress box, which barely weighed anything, he would probably throw a fit. Even though she was healed, her Papa Bear was being overly cautious. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d written out lines on the chalkboard, or stood in the corner because she’d ‘over done it’.
It was the no sex part that had made her come up with the plan for the day. She and Jessica had made a turkey with all the trimmings and put it in the oven around noon. Because she knew Holt would rather have mashed potatoes than stuffing, she’d peeled potatoes and put them on to boil. Now, as the clock neared Holt’s arrival time she went to the bedroom, stripped, put on her cowboy boots, and then pulled a full body apron over her head. She tied it in the back, then went to the living room to sit and wait on Holt.
When she heard the UTV pull up out front her heart went into overdrive and she questioned her decision. But it was too late now. She could hear him walking toward the door, his boots hitting the concrete that led to the house. She pulled on oven mitts and bent to open the oven door, giving a view of her bare ass. She lifted the turkey from the oven and put it on the stovetop, then turned to see Holt watching her, his anger apparent.
“Good evening,” she said. She pulled the lid off the roasting pan. “Turkey?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Cooking dinner,” she said. He set a bag on the table and she put her hands in front of her mouth and said in her most innocent voice, “Oh Papa Bear, did you bring dinner? I didn’t know.”
“Really, because we discussed it an hour ago.” He took off his jacket and hung it by the door. “What are you doing, Aurora?”
“Trying to prove to you I’m not an invalid.” She put the lid back on the roasting pan and picked up the pan loaded with boiling water and potatoes.”
“Put that down!” He started toward her but she was already at the sink, pouring the contents of the pot into the colander she’d put there.
“No! I’m healed, Papa Bear. You can’t treat me like I can’t even walk on my own. How am I supposed to build up strength if you won’t let me do anything?”
“I let you swim,” he said.
Aurora took off the oven mitts and threw them one at a time on the counter. “Don’t coddle me!” Tears stung her eyes and she took a step back from Holt. In her previous life those words would have earned her a black eye, or worse. But Holt didn’t move toward her. He was angry, that was for certain, but he wouldn’t hurt her.
“Four months ago I thought you were dead,” he said.
“But I’m not.” She crossed the room and stood in front of him. “Physically. But if you keep ordering me to sit around and do nothing you will kill me—spiritually.” She pointed to her chest and fought back tears.
“That’s not what I intended,” he said. “I want to protect you.”
“You’re being overprotective,” she said. “There has to be a happy medium. I want you to take care of me, to guide me, to love me. But if I have nothing to do but sit in this house day in and day out, it won’t work.”
“We need to talk about that, but not until after we’ve resolved this.” Holt took off his hat and hung it on the coatrack. “You disobeyed me tonight. You out and out lied to me about dinner. You set me up for this little charade.”
“You’re right, I did.”
“Only a brat does something like that,” he said. He sat down in a chair at the table, facing her as she stood in the kitchen. She liked where this conversation was heading.
“You’re right,” she said. Aurora walked to the kitchen drawers and pulled out the second one from the top. She took out a wooden spoon and waved it in his direction.
“How’s this for pushing?” she asked. When he didn’t move she said, “Please, Papa Bear. I want you to spank me. I want to come over your knee so you can claim your baby bear.”
He kept his seat, and she wondered if she’d pushed things a little too far.
“You’re being very bratty,” he said. “Maybe I should ignore your request.”
Yeah, she obviously had taken things to the limit. “Maybe I should withdraw it,” she said. The look on his face told her she’d said the right thing. He stood and grabbed the spoon from her and whacked it against her bare ass with no warning or words.
“Ouch.” She backed away from him, but the glint in his eye made her shiver.
“Change your mind?” he asked.
“No, Papa Bear.”
“Perhaps you should let me control things like this,” he said.
“I had to push it.”
“Then you’ll pay for it.” He waved the spoon at her. “Take off the apron and go bend over the bed, ass up.”
“Yes, Papa Bear.” Aurora dropped the apron on the sofa as she hurried past it. In the bedroom she wondered if she should pull off the bedding, but she decided to leave it in place. She placed herself over the end, her hands raised above her head. She waited. And waited. And waited. He hadn’t said he was following her right in, but what was taking so long? Should she stay put? Or should she go and see if something happened? Maybe he changed his mind.
She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was ten minutes to eight. How long had she been in here? Finally, when the clock ticked over to eight she got up. She grabbed her robe and threw it on before she walked to the living room.
Holt sat on the sofa, clicking through channels on the TV. Her heart seized and she turned to go back into the bedroom. She’d blown it, obviously.
“Get back here,” he said. He snapped his fingers and pointed to a spot next to him on the sofa.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“That was your punishment for lying to me about dinner.” He turned his head to her and said, “I thought I told you to get naked.”
She quickly shed the robe, leaving it under her as a buffer because she was already wet. She wanted him so much it was hard to behave and keep her hands to herself.
“So, no spanking?”
“Don’t push it,” he said. “Feed me first, then we’ll talk.”
She got up and started toward the kitchen, turning her head when he called her name. He held out the apron she’d left there earlier. The turkey was good, but the potatoes suffered from being left in the sink too long. But Holt ate his weight in food, as he always did. Aurora picked at hers.
Her fork clanged against her plate as she dropped it. Mouth hanging open, she stared at him, only to see an evil glint in his eyes.
“You’re mean,” she said.
“Occasionally.” He winked at her. “We’re giving Becky your job, and you’re moving up in the world. We’ll live in the big house now, moving into my parents’ bedroom. It was their idea, before you ask.”
“So I’ll do nothing but clean and sit around all day?” she asked.
“You’ll be my assistant, helping with paperwork and other things on the business end. The guys are rather thrilled they won’t have to help anymore.” He looked up from his plate. “You look distressed. You’ll still get paid, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“It will be weird living with your brothers in the house.” She took a bite of the turkey.
“It’ll be fine,” he said. “Something tells me most of them, except Austin, will be hooked up with various women in the next few months, and we’ll be living there alone. Unless we have children.”
Children. “I don’t think I can,” she said. “Not only because of my age, but… I told you what happened.”
“You did.” He put down his fork and took her free hand in his. “But if we can’t, there’s always adoption.”
A smile spread across her face. He didn’t say if you can’t. He said if we can’t. That to her was the sign of true love. Their gazes locked, and after a few moments he winked, then went back to his food. He ate three helpings of supper before they cleaned up the kitchen together and lay down on the sofa, Holt in the back with her spooned in front of him.
She still wore nothing but her apron and boots. They clicked through choices, and soon found a movie to watch. After they’d been there a while he said, “You do realize you’re driving tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“Part of the way, out in the country, right?”
“All the way,” he said.
Aurora turned her head toward him. “What?”
“From start to finish.” He kissed her forehead. “You know what they say, if you fall off the horse you have to get back on.”
Her heart was already in overdrive at the thought of driving from Bookman Springs to Ruidoso. It was quite a trip, almost five hours.
“What if I can’t do it?”
“Baby bear, I will be there with you, all the way. Do you think I would do anything to put you in danger?”
“No, Papa Bear,” she said.
“Just so you know,” he said. “I love you, and I want to help you heal. You were right when you’d said I was coddling you. It’s time to take things one step further, and tomorrow will help.”
“Thank you, Papa Bear.”
“You don’t really mean that,” he said with a chortle. “Inside you’re cussing me out.”
“Just a little,” she said. Then she laughed.
He was right. She had to get back on the horse, and he would help her to learn to ride again… or drive again in this instance.
She would follow his instructions in everything she did, for the rest of her life.
* * *
The End
Melinda Barron
Melinda Barron loves to explore Egyptian tombs and temples, discover Mayan ruins, play in castles towers, and explore new cities and countries. She generally does it all from the comfort of her home by opening a book.
Melinda loves to lose herself between the pages of a book. The only thing she loves more is creating stories from the wonderful heroes and heroines that haunt her dreams and crowd her head. She believes love is for everyone, not just those who are a size 2. Her books are full of magic, suspense and love, in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Mel currently lives in the Texas Panhandle, with two cats, and a file stuffed with new ideas to keep her typing fingers busy, and your heart engaged.
Mel also writes as Maura McMann.
Visit her blog here:
http://barron-chronicles.blogspot.com
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Aurora's Cowboy Daddy (Rescue Ranch) Page 17
