A Beautiful Ranch

by Malone, Misty

  "What's wrong; why can't you just tell me what's going on now?"

  "Because, just—I'm sorry, but I want to tell you in person. Where are you?"

  "I'm in my office."

  "Okay, stay there. I'll be there in ten."

  Daphne was on her way to the ranch a minute later, and she realized how upset Dalton was. For him to be inside, in his office during the day said a lot. When she got there, he was waiting on the porch. He met her at her car and opened her door as he asked, "What couldn't you tell me over the phone?"

  She headed for the house, with her brother right beside her. "I just heard from Lilly."

  He stopped and turned Daphne to look at him. "Is she okay? Where is she? Why did she leave?"

  "She's okay, or so she says," Daphne said as she continued on toward the house again. "But that's about all I know. She wouldn't tell me why she left or what's wrong. All she said is she's not ready to talk about it yet. She wanted us to know she's okay and not to worry about her."

  Dalton was quiet the rest of the way to the house and into his office. Once they both sat down, he looked at his sister. "She won't tell us what's wrong, but I'm not supposed to worry about her? Did she go back to her apartment in South Carolina? I'll go see her. I have to know what's going on with her."

  "She wouldn't tell me where she is, Dalton, but she said she's not in South Carolina."

  "What's she doing?"

  "All I know is she said she's been doing a little painting and a lot of thinking."

  "Well, hell. Now what am I supposed to do?"

  She reached over and laid her hand on his, hoping to comfort him, much as he'd done for her many times over the years. "Right now, big brother, I don't think there's much you can do. Apparently, she needs some time to think. I'll keep calling and talking to her. I'll make sure she's okay and try to get her to talk to me."

  Dalton sighed. "Okay, I guess that's all I can do, at least until Mark finds her."

  "What do you mean, Mark finds her? Wait. Did you ask your detective friend to find her?"

  "I had to, Daphne. I have to be sure she's okay."

  "I understand, but you know that now. You need to call him off. I know you, and if you know where she is, you'll go barge in on her. Right now I'm not sure that's what she needs."

  "But if I barge in on her and hold her while I explain how worried I've been about her, she'll have to believe me."

  "Or think you're stalking her and she'll be scared to death. Look, I know how much you care about her, but she doesn't know that. You have to give her a little bit of time. Maybe I can talk to her and in a few days she'll be ready to listen to you. But if you push too hard too soon, you might ruin any chance you have with her."

  Dalton sighed. "I know you're right, but I'm not sure how much longer I can be patient. I have to know she's okay."

  "I'll make sure she is. You're just going to have to trust me this time, big brother."

  He wasn't happy, but he knew she was right, so he reluctantly nodded.

  True to her word, Daphne called Lilly daily, sometimes two or three times. She was able to assure herself that she was okay physically, and passed that information on to Dalton, but emotionally Daphne knew she was hurting. Lilly made it quite clear to her friend, though, that she wasn't ready to talk yet. Daphne knew how Dalton must feel. She herself was getting frustrated not being able to go to her friend and at least try to help.

  Chapter Seven

  Lilly was miserable. She thought of Dalton and Daphne daily and wished she was still at the ranch, enjoying life as she had been. But she knew that would never be again. She went over that day in her mind again and again, hoping to find something she'd missed that would help her come to grips with what happened, but there was nothing. In short, Dalton still thought she was his kid sister's annoying friend and was so upset with her that he had spanked her like a child!

  He thought of her as a child. Every time her thinking came to that conclusion, she cried again.

  Thinking back to that day was horrible. As if it wasn't bad enough that he thought of her as a child, when she finally came to her senses that day, she was on his lap! She had no idea how she'd gotten there, and she was probably better off not knowing. She cringed every time she thought about what probably happened, which was that when it was over she crawled onto his lap, crying like a spoiled little child, and used his chest as a pillow.

  In her mind as she pictured this, she saw him laugh when he looked down at her. He was laughing at her, the child he saw her as, crying when she was spanked. Being the gentleman that he is, he put his arms around her to console her. She remembered him talking, but she had no idea what he'd said. He was probably suggesting she grow up. When she came to that part of the scenario in her mind, she always felt so ashamed and embarrassed, she couldn't think any more, and usually fell asleep crying.

  She tried to get on with her life. She was afraid if she used her credit card, Dalton would somehow find her, and she just couldn't face him yet. On the other hand, if she used her credit cards and he didn't find her, it would mean he didn't care that she was gone. She knew she shouldn't, but she still held onto a little bit of hope that he was at least concerned like Daphne kept insisting. She didn't expect him to come find her, but she wouldn't be at all surprised if he had someone find her to make sure she was okay, and to lecture her about how rude it was to leave without saying anything. She wasn't ready to hear that either, so she simply withdrew money from her savings account in a large national bank and used cash for everything. She hoped he couldn't find her savings account number, but even if he did and saw that she'd been withdrawing from it, it was never from a branch in the same city twice.

  She forced herself to continue to paint, although she could tell her work wasn't as good. She moved from a motel in one city to a different motel in a different city, hoping to find another spot that inspired her like the ranch. She thought about doing another painting of the ranch, from pictures she'd taken, but that hurt too much. She wasn't ready to be reminded of the ranch in any way yet, especially not pictures of its natural beauty.

  So she continued to move around the country looking for another inspiring location.

  The curator of the gallery in South Carolina was extremely excited when she got the shipment of paintings Lilly had sent her from the ranch. She set up a showing to showcase her pieces, although Lilly wasn't convinced it was a good idea.

  "I think it's a wonderful idea," Emily, the curator, said. "These are fabulous, and I'm sure they'll be very well received. I'm sure you're going to get requests for prints."

  "I'm not sure my last few paintings are as good, though," Lilly warned.

  "I haven't seen them yet, obviously, but you're probably being too critical. After seeing these, I'm sure those are good, too. I need you to come here for the show, though. People always want to meet the artist when they find a painting they love."

  "I know. I'll be there," Lilly promised. "But if Daphne or Dalton call, you can't tell them about the show. I don't want them to know about it."

  "I don't understand why you're so adamant about that, but I hear you. I won't say a word to either of them."

  Lilly really didn't want to have this showing, and especially didn't want to be there and have to mingle with people, but she was running low on funds and knew she needed to get a little money flowing again. A show was the best way to do that. So she packed her things and went back to South Carolina.

  She got to her apartment several days before the show. The minute she walked in, she reached a decision. As soon as the show was over she would pack her things, put most of them in storage, and let her apartment go. It no longer felt like home. She saw too much of the botched relationship in it, and that only reminded her of Dalton, which represented another failed relationship. She'd never find inspiration here. She had no idea where she would go, but she couldn't stay here.

  She took her latest three paintings to the gallery the next day and got a less than stell
ar review. "These are good, Lilly, but there's something missing from them when you compare them to the first six. You said these were all done while you were staying in one place. I don't know why you ever left that place, but I think you should go back. Your work from there was just outstanding."

  "It was an outstanding place," she murmured, half to herself.

  "Well, I'm sure not going to tell you what to do, but if I were you I'd be going back there in a heartbeat and see if you can get a room around there, or even buy a house. We haven't had the show yet, but I'm sure these six are going to be very well received, and a few more of this quality would really boost your career, and your name in the art world. Your paintings and prints would demand a higher price. You should think about it, at least."

  "I'll give it some thought," she said, hoping to end the discussion. She quickly said she had someone she had to meet, and left the gallery, nearly in tears. She'd been miserable since she left the ranch, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She'd just have to find a way to forget about it and Dalton and find something else that could spark her inspiration again.

  ***

  Daphne was having a horrible time. Dalton was beside himself with worry. He'd put Mark back on the job of finding Lilly, but he'd had no luck. She herself continued to call daily and talk to her, but she never got much from her, other than to assure herself she was okay physically. Finally, Lilly told her she had to get to the gallery where she sold her art, because they were having an exhibition in a couple hours, featuring her work. She made Daphne promise not to tell Dalton until the next day, and Daphne made her promise to call her later that evening to let her know how it went.

  When she didn't call her that evening, she guessed the show went late and Lilly was exhausted and went home to bed, but when she didn't call the next morning Daphne knew something was wrong. She called and a depressed-sounding Lilly answered. "Lilly, what happened? Why didn't you call me last night? How did the show go?"

  "It was terrible." Daphne heard a few quiet sobs as she said, "The show went well. Hell, who am I kidding? The show went great." After a few more sniffles she said, "It was awful."

  Daphne paused several moments, trying to figure out what Lilly was trying to say. "What do you mean the show went really well, but it was awful?"

  "The show went great. The curator got numerous requests for prints, or copies of the paintings, which is great. She got more than she's ever gotten on my work before, so that's great. The problem is that all the requests and the complimentary comments were on the paintings I did at the ranch. Before the show started, the curator told me that's how it would be. She even said the three pieces I've done since I left the ranch weren't of the same quality. They weren't as inspired. And she was right. They loved the paintings I did while I was at Dalton's."

  "That's great that you got that good a reception on your work, Lilly. What's the problem?"

  "Because my work has sucked since I left the ranch, and I can't ever go back there."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I was too embarrassed. That's why I left."

  "What were you so embarrassed about? Lilly, tell me what happened."

  "I can't talk about it, Daphne, especially over the phone."

  "Tell me where you are and I'll come to you. We have to talk, Lilly."

  It took a little while longer to convince Lilly to tell Daphne where she was, but eventually she did. Daphne got a plane ticket and showed up at her motel room later that afternoon. After a little small talk, Daphne suggested they order dinner in the room so they could talk and eat in private with no interruptions. Lilly readily agreed.

  Once the food had been delivered and they sat down, Daphne couldn't wait any longer. "So, what happened that caused you to run away from the ranch?" When Lilly stiffened and didn't answer, she decided to try a different way and take it slower. "Talk to me about what happened the day you left. What were you doing?"

  Daphne watched Lilly relax a little bit as she thought back. "I had a problem I'd been fighting with, so remember how sometimes I go someplace and let my mind wander while my hands paint, and when I study what I've painted, I know what my most inner feelings are and I know what I need to do?"

  "Yeah, I remember."

  "Well, that's what I was doing that day."

  "Okay. What problem were you trying to solve?" Lilly looked away, closing her eyes, and shook her head. "Okay, let me guess then," Daphne suggested. "Tell me if I'm close. You had developed feelings for Dalton, but you didn't think he felt the same way about you and you didn't know what to do about it."

  Lilly's head instantly shot up and she looked at her friend with her eyes wide. "How did you know?"

  "I could see it in your eyes when you looked at him. We've been friends too long for me to miss that, Lilly."

  "I tried to hide it. I hope he didn't know."

  "I don't think he did, so relax. Anyway, go on. You were outside painting. Did your painting tell you what you needed to do?"

  "Yes, it did, but not soon enough." When Daphne looked at her with questioning eyes, she explained further. "When I let my mind wander like that, I lose track of time. I missed supper time. When I wasn't in the house and Dalton couldn't see me from the house, he sent his men out to look for me."

  "Why weren't you within sight of the house?"

  "I thought that rule was for me, so I wouldn't get lost, and I was on the far side of the pond. I knew exactly where the house was. Anyway, he had all the guys out looking for me. When he found me, he was really upset."

  "I can see him being upset. I'm sure he was worried or he wouldn't have sent the men out looking for you."

  "He worries too much. But, even if he was worried, he didn't have any right to—"

  When she stopped, Daphne looked at her, and sat up straight. "No right to what? Lilly, are you saying my brother did something to hurt you?"

  "Yes!"

  Daphne was instantly on her feet. "I can't believe he'd do anything to hurt any lady, but especially you. What did he do?"

  Lilly was angry, and was pacing as she thought back to that day. Without thinking, she blurted out, "He spanked me!"

  Daphne tried, but couldn't stop the laugh that burst through. "I knew it! I knew he'd fallen in love with you!"

  "Huh? I said he spanked me!"

  "I know," Daphne said. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but sit down and let me explain some things."

  Lilly was still angry and not ready to sit down and listen. "Are you saying you knew he spanked me? He told you? Who else did he tell?"

  Daphne went to her and put her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Calm down and listen to me a minute. No, of course I didn't know he spanked you, and I'm sure he didn't tell anyone else, either."

  "But you didn't seem surprised."

  "I guess I'm not, or at least not as surprised as you were, I'm sure. The fact that he did spank you means he cares a great deal about you, though. Let me explain. When Dalton and I were growing up, our parents spanked us when we did something dangerous. Now, to them dangerous meant not listening to them for just about any reason. Their theory was they told us things, like when we had to be home, for a reason, to keep us safe. So if we missed our curfew, we were spanked."

  "But that was when you were kids."

  "When Dalton became my guardian he continued it."

  Lilly slowly asked, "So he spanked you when you were in high school?"

  "Yes."

  "And you let him?"

  "Yes, because I knew it was because he cared. My parents spanked us because they cared about us, and when Dalton spanked me, I knew it was for the same reason." Seeing the doubtful look on Lilly's face, Daphne continued. "I should also tell you, he spanked me after I was out of high school."

  "He did?"

  "He did. He spanked me when I needed it, until I got married."

  "Wow. I'll bet you were relieved to be married then."

  "Lilly, Brian spanks me now when I mess up big time.
"

  "Seriously? And again, you let him?"

  Daphne led Lilly to the bed, where they both sat down. "I know it may not make sense to you, but I let them because I can feel their love for me, and I feel better afterwards, when their arms are wrapped around me and I feel their love and I know I've been forgiven."

  Lilly harrumphed. "What I felt didn't feel much like love."

  Again Daphne laughed. "Yeah, I feel that, too. But—"

  "Wait a minute," Lilly said, cutting in. "How can you say someone's beating on you because he loves you, or that you feel their love when they beat on you?"

  "First off, neither of them have ever beat on me. There's a huge difference between a man beating on a woman and a man spanking a woman he cares a great deal about to keep her safe, or teach her a lesson she needs to learn. Our parents never beat on us, but they did spank us when we didn't listen to the rules they gave us. Those rules were meant to keep us safe. When they told us when to be home at night, it was for our good, to keep us safe, so when we failed to follow those rules they spanked us. Afterwards, they made sure we knew how much they loved us."

  "Weren't you upset with them?"

  "No, because before or during the spanking they explained what could have happened to us, and I understood it better. To be honest, I usually knew what could have happened, but chose to overlook it in the moment, when I wanted to do something different. The truth is I needed to be reminded."

  Lilly was listening, but still looked doubtful, so Daphne tried again. "They always waited up for me to come home at night to make sure I was safe, and then took the time to remind me why what I'd done was not safe, and the spanking was so I'd remember that lesson and not make the same mistake again. It would have been much easier just to yell at me the next day. But that wouldn't have been as effective, and they knew it, so they took the time and effort to explain it and follow up."

  "I guess that part makes sense."

  "It does. And they hold you afterwards and I swear you can actually feel their love. Which makes me have to ask you, when Dalton spanked you did he hold you afterwards? Did you listen to what he said while he was spanking you, and holding you afterwards?"