Yawning, I surveyed the emptying room for the jobs left to do before I could go home and crawl into my cold, empty bed. Hey, when your sex life was nonexistent, at least you never had to change your sheets, right?
Funny, in my look around, I didn’t see Louanne anywhere. The rest of the ranch was here... including Colton, who was surprisingly not at the DJ booth flirting. Lady DJ must have gone home and put the wrap-up music on auto-play because she was nowhere in sight either.
I knew it was silly of me, but a sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. Where was Louie? She was in the Mess Hall for every event, start to finish. The memory of the stalky messages on her Insta flashed in my mind, the creepy bee brooch—
The bee brooch! I had been so busy, it never settled in with me. When Lady DJ had breezed in that evening, looking fabulous wearing one of the accidentally dyed pink shirts knotted around her tiny waist, something sparkly had caught my eyes. She was wearing a pendant pinned to her shirt. I didn’t get a good look at it but it could have been similar to the one in the profile pic of Honey2U.
What had Sarah said to me in greeting that evening? I pressed my fingertips against my temples, trying to remember. I reimagined her entrance, her shoulder brushing mine slightly as she slid by me, saying, “Hey, honey.”
Honey!
Lady DJ was Louanne’s stalker! But how was that possible? Wasn’t she dating Colton? I had to ask him. Smiling as I darted around the leaving guests, I cut the conversations short, desperate to tell him what I knew.
Finally finding him right where I should have looked first—polishing off the leftovers on the dessert table—I grabbed his arm, asking, “Have you seen Louanne anywhere?”
Finishing off his last bite of ice cream, he eyed me. “Hold on, Little Bit. Slow down. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I just can’t find Louanne, and... something weird happened. Have you seen her?”
He looked around. “Now that you mention it, no. That’s strange for her.”
“And what about Lady DJ... I mean, Sarah? Do you know where she went?”
He looked over to the DJ booth and shrugged. “No. Why? What’s up?”
A creepy crawly feeling of unease worked its way up through my body. “This is going to sound so strange, but Louanne was getting these weird messages on her Insta account—”
“What’s Insta?” he asked.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“You know I don’t get into that online stuff,” he said, reaching for a second dessert.
“Okay, that’s a conversation for another time. Man, this ranch is isolated. Anyway—as I said, Louanne was getting these super creepy stalker messages from a fan. Their profile picture was of a bee brooch, the same bee brooch I saw Sarah wearing tonight.”
His brow furrowed. “That is weird. But it’s probably just a coincidence.” Putting the bowl down, he looked around the room again. His gaze clouded over as he seemed to be thinking over the situation. “But... if I’m being totally honest, Sarah did seem to have a slightly unhealthy obsession with Louanne at times.”
My heartbeat quickened. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think much of it, but now that you mention it, she did ask me a lot of questions about Louanne when we would hang out. I knew she had a crush on her but—”
This was making no sense. “Hit pause. A crush? What are you talking about?”
“Sarah’s into women,” he said with a shrug.
My mind felt as if it were spinning as I tried to put the pieces together. “You mean, you guys weren’t dating? She was into girls the whole time?”
“I told you we were just friends,” he said.
“Why is it that men leave out so many vital details! You could have told me that, you know. I wasted a lot of time being mega jelly over a girl that doesn’t even like guys!” I shouted.
“What does it matter? You and I aren’t an item because of your own reasons. It had nothing to do with her,” he said.
I threw my hands in the air. “Whatever. I don’t have time to argue with you about why or why not you and I are not a couple. We have to find Louanne.”
“There’s Hayes. We have to let him in on this,” he said.
I grabbed his arm, stopping him from heading over to his brother. “No! No way. Louanne would kill me if he finds out.”
Colton’s eyes cut to mine. “She didn’t tell Hayes she had a stalker?”
“No, she was afraid he would be watching her every move,” I said.
Mistake. Clouds rolled over his face and lightning flashed in his eyes. “Damn right he would have, Josie. Then this shit wouldn’t be happening now.” He grabbed my hand in his. “Let’s go.”
Tugging me through the Mess Hall, he stopped, his gaze dark and locking on mine. “You girls are in so much trouble.”
Despite my dread for my sister’s safety, a delicious shiver ran through me, my tummy tying in knots. I murmured, “I know.”
“God, you’re naughty. You know that?” he asked, squeezing my hand tighter and hurrying me out of the building.
“So I’ve been told,” I murmured.
“The only thing on my mind right now is finding your sister. But rest assured, you know what’s on my mind after that,” he snapped, the heavy Mess Hall door shutting closed behind us as we stepped into the night air.
“My ass?” I guessed.
“You got it,” he said.
I was too worried about Louanne to worry about the upcoming state of my poor bottom—much. We found Hayes and broke the news to him. I was glad to have Colton beside me, my hand in his because if looks could kill, the one Hayes shot me would have stopped my heart right then and there. It would be an understatement to say he was upset with Louie and me for not coming straight to him with the news of a potential psychopath online stalker. I would say he was overprotective, but now that the worst was happening, I began to better understand his rigid ways.
Word spreads like wildfire on the ranch and in a matter of minutes, a search party had formed behind the Mess Hall. Not wanting to frighten the guests that were making their way to their cabins for the evening, we kept our voices down in a hushed whisper. Hayes stood before us as he ran his hand through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck as he tended to do when he was upset. “We have to find her.”
Brody jumped into boss mode, splitting us up and sending us to designated sections of the ranch. Colton had his cop friends on standby but since we didn’t have much to go off other than the sick feeling in my stomach, a few weird Insta messages, and Louanne not being anywhere in sight, we opted to try to find her ourselves, first.
Colton’s hand never left mine as we headed to the offices. When Colton asked me why that was the first place I wanted to search, I told him, “If I’m thinking like a woman with a crazy crush on my sister, I would want to go to where the action was. Either her home, or her office. And we all know as profesh as Louie is, her office has much more of her girly mojo in it than her home.”
“Good call.”
A dim light glowed from Louanne’s office. My heart caught in my throat. She never, ever left her lights on. She was too responsible for that. I signaled to Colton. “I think they are in there. Should we peek in the windows, first, or just go straight up Cops style and bust down the door?”
He gave me an exasperated look. “I’m taller than you—”
“Just a touch,” I agreed.
“By almost two feet. You stay right here by this tree, and I’ll sneak over the window and take a look,” he said.
“Why do I have to stay here? She’s my sister,” I said.
“Exactly. If anything funny is going on in there, you’re not going to be able to hold back. You’ll be Kung Fu Panda-ing your way right through that window and possibly be putting your sister at risk with your hotheadedness.”
“That doesn’t sound like me,” I frowned.
Pointing to the tree, Colton cocked a brow at me and in his stern daddy voice said, “
Stay.”
I harrumphed my displeasure, to which he responded with an even higher raise of the brow. That look alone was enough to freeze me into place. “I think I’ll wait right here.”
“Good girl.” He gave me one long look, then stealthily made his way over to Louanne’s office window.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I watched him look into the window. What felt like an hour later but was probably only a matter of seconds, he crept back to me.
“Lay it on me. What did you see?” I demanded.
“It looks like a creepy girl crush situation. They are both in there, looks like they are just talking, Louanne was going through some files.”
“How did her face look? Was she scared?” My heart skipped a beat knowing my sister was locked in that office with her stalker.
“She was a little... pale. Lady DJ on the other hand... she looked, over the moon? I’m calling Brody and letting him know what’s up. We will make a plan from there,” he said.
“The hell we are! We are busting down that door right now and breaking my sister out of there and getting her away from that bee pendant psychopath!”
Two heavy hands landed on my shoulders, anchoring me into place. “Josie. Calm down.”
“How dare you tell me to calm down. My sister is in there with that monster and we have no idea if she’s about to try and cut off her hair to make herself her very own Louanne Jenkins wig... or worse!” I cried.
His gaze locked on mine, his fingertips grabbing ahold of my shoulder blades. “Do you trust me?”
Despite my sickening concern for my sister, I have to admit that I momentarily lost myself in the sea glass pools of his eyes. “Of course I do.”
“Then we do things my way,” he said.
“Fine,” I agreed.
He gave me a reassuring squeeze. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he called Brody and told him what was happening. They agreed the situation was strange enough, and Louanne’s face had been pale enough, that we needed to call for backup. A squad car could be to us in a matter of minutes. Colton pulled a few strings to ensure the lights and sirens would be off. No need to alert the guests of our little emergency, or startle Lady Doomsday in there.
Until then, I would remain by the tree, Colton would stay by the window, keeping an eye on things, and the other Jenkins men would find their way over to the offices to join us. Everyone else would head to the Mess Hall and wait.
I stood by my stupid tree, sick to my stomach. Every few seconds, Colton would give me the thumbs up to signify everything at least looked nonviolent. At some point, he must have caught Louie’s eye, because his next thumbs up was pointed at the window and I could see his lips mouthing the words, “Cops.”
I heaved a huge, audible sigh of relief. She knew we were here and that we were going to save her. I could breathe again. “Hang in there, Louanne,” I whispered like a prayer.
Brody, Hayes, and Travis appeared out of the dark shadows. Brody had one strong arm locked around Hayes’ shoulders, Travis on the other side of him. I was pretty sure they were prepared to physically keep him on lockdown so he didn’t bust down the door as I had wanted to do.
Finally, two cop cars pulled up, their tires crunching quietly over the gravel. Colton made his way toward the cars, stopping to give me a reassuring kiss on my cheek on his way.
I stood by as the men conferred with Charlton and the other officers. The plan was for us to stay back, and they would do a sneak attack, guns drawn just in case, and get that office door opened and my sister out of there.
Colton’s arm wrapped tightly around me and like a child, I pressed my hands against my ears as if to shut out the terror I felt from the sounds of their boots making their way over the gravel. There was a shout of “Police, open up,” and other noises that I recognized from my many hours of watching cop shows.
Then Louanne appeared. Escorted by two policemen, her face pale and drawn but echoing with relief. She ran into the arms of her love, and Hayes locked himself around her as if he would never let her go. I stood in Colton’s arms, waiting for my turn to have my tearful reunion with my sister.
We watched as Charlton escorted Lady DJ out of the offices. Tears streamed down her red face as she screamed at my sister chilling words of her devotion.
Colton let out a low whistle. “She has some serious issues. I hoped they could get her the help that she needs. I never saw this coming.”
“Lesson learned. Best you don’t hang out with other women. Looks like I’m the only safe one to be around,” I joked.
Hayes and Louanne made their way over to us. My sister and I locked arms around one another. My voice wavered as I apologized. “I’m so sorry, Louanne. We should have told someone right away. It’s my fault.”
“No, no. We both put the wedding before our safety. It’s fine. I’m fine. Just a little shaken up. She was... nice enough for a kidnapper.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“It was so weird, I didn’t think anything of it, at first. She came up to me and told me that one of her cords had busted and she thought she had left a spare in my office, could I let her in? We went over together but as we got closer, I got this queer feeling in my stomach. She put her arm around my shoulders and started to tell me how much I meant to her. I should have turned and run right then but I wanted to be polite—I hadn’t put two and two together yet—I figured it was just innocent flattery. Then we got to the office. That’s when things took a turn. She wanted to see my files, all of my files. She started taking pictures of me on her phone. I almost threw up, I was trying to make a plan to run by her but I had no idea if she was going to get violent or not. That’s when I saw Colton in the window, giving me the thumbs up. I read his lips and knew the cops were on the way. After that, it was easy. I just pretended I was showing a good friend all my files and waited for the cops to arrive.” Louanne gave a shudder.
Hayes held her tight. “We don’t have to go over all this now. Take some time. Besides, the police are going to have enough questions for you. You don’t want to have to go over it all twice.” His cold gray eyes locked on mine as he said, “And Josie, they are going to want to see those messages Sarah sent.”
Before I could apologize, Hayes led Louanne over to the Mess Hall, where everyone awaited her return.
I turned to Colton. “Hayes is so mad. I can’t believe this happened! And it’s all my fault. I feel awful! Could this have been avoided?” I wailed.
His big arms wrapped around me, instantly calming me. “Honestly? Probably not. Unless Hayes canceled the whole wedding, which would have been a bit rash, considering it was just a few weird messages. But you both should have come to us and let us know.” His eyes narrowed at me. “Did it cross your mind when you read the messages that maybe you should tell someone?”
“Maybe,” I confessed.
“And then, you pushed that thought away and consciously made the choice to not only ignore your own judgment but also keep us in the dark? I’m pretty sure you both know where the Jenkins men stand on wanting to be alerted about potential stalkers,” he said.
“I have a vague idea,” I said.
“There are consequences for your actions. Aren’t there?” he asked.
“Yes. In this case, I was scared shitless. That’s a pretty hefty consequence,” I said.
He looked at me curiously. “And was that enough for you to learn your lesson?”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Maybe not. I think you are a little girl in serious need of some discipline. A little spanking to pay your dues and wash away your guilt. You’ll feel like a new woman afterward, I promise.”
My ass remembered the feeling all too well. His huge hand wrapped around mine, as he led me to the office.
“What do you say you pay your penance at the scene of the crime?”
I gulped. I had no words of protest. I was shocked that this was even happening—that Colton would spank me again even though we weren’t in a relatio
nship. Knots formed in my stomach as he pulled me into the office, shutting the door and locking it. Walking over to the desk, he flipped open my laptop. “Second time your computer’s gotten you into trouble. I think I’ll leave this here so you can keep an eye on it while I’m spanking your ass. A visual reminder.”
I began inching and backing my way toward the door. “I think I’ve learned my lesson, Colton. My heart nearly stopped and I was sick with worry over Louie. Trust me—I won’t make the same mistake again. I promise, anything dangerous and you’re the first person to find out about it.”
“I’d expect no less.” Colton wheeled the desk chair out from behind the desk. “Now are you going to come here of your own free will, or am I going to have to chase you down?”
My back bumped up against the door. My hand went behind my back. “It’s just that...” My fingertips felt for the lock on the doorknob.
Colton was over to me in three strides, his fingertips digging into the flesh of my upper arm. He led me to the desk. Holding one of my arms behind my back, he pressed my waist into the wooden edge of the desk. My free hand pressed into the desktop, steadying myself. I looked over my shoulder, pleading with him, “You don’t have to do this, you know. We aren’t even in a relationship or anything so we really don’t owe one another—”
“You’re my friend and I am concerned for your safety. This isn’t anything less than I’d do for a younger sister in the same situation.”
There it was again... the dreaded ‘s’ word. Nothing dried up the puddle in my panties faster than being reminded that the hunky spanking daddy cowboy was keeping it in the friend zone. All thoughts left my mind when the first hard spank came raining down over my work dress pants. Their thin material gave me no protection whatsoever.
“Ow! I just mean that this is very inappropriate—”
Another spank landed, harder than the first. “I’ll tell you what’s inappropriate. You and your sister putting event planning over your personal safety.” Two more stinging smacks landed, one on the center of each of my quivering ass cheeks.
“Okay! Okay! So you’re looking out for me! I get it. But isn’t there another way to—”
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