“You’re looking for a strong woman, and a good little girl?” she whispered.
“Yes. Mine. For life.”
Carrie laid back down in the grass. She began to pull the petals off of the flower she held, one by one.
Wes stood up. He couldn’t trust himself to lie next to Carrie any longer. Any move he made on her today would go down in his mind as taking advantage of her on this day.
She looked up at him. “You want to get outta here? The fair is in town and we were all supposed to go. I’d hate to miss it, even considering the circumstances.”
“Sure. Let’s go have some fun.” He reached out for her hand, trying to ignore the electricity as he pulled her up off of the ground. She hovered, close to him. Their hands still joined, Carrie leaned up to kiss him.
Wes put a finger over Carrie’s lips. “No.”
She stared at him, hurt in her eyes.
“Not because I don’t want you to. I’d like nothing more.”
A smile came to her lips.
“When we kiss, you will be mine and that’s a decision I won’t let you make today of all days, and I won’t let you take lightly.”
She gave a small nod and hand in hand they headed towards the horses.
Wes led Carrie through the crowd, his hand gripping her tightly.
“I feel like everyone is staring at me,” Carrie grumbled under her breath, her face pink.
“That’s because you look like a naughty little girl who’s about to be set straight by her daddy.”
Carrie stuck her tongue out at Wes.
“Keep it up,” he chuckled, turning a corner towards the parking lot.
They had meandered around the fair for hours, holding hands. Being alone had easily brought them back to that same magical place they had been on the day they had been together on the ranch. The called off wedding, cheating brother and Jessica had all been forgotten, and they were in their world.
It had been a fun day, but due to that morning's events, Carrie’s mood was up and down. Wes’ promise to himself to keep his hands off her had to be broken, though. Carrie had taken the stress of her situation out on a stranger, and Wes was going to set her straight.
They came to Carrie’s family’s truck. Unceremoniously, he opened the passenger door. “Gotta love a bench seat,” Wes said as he hopped up into the passenger seat of the truck. “Kinda makes you wonder if a man with a naughty woman invented them.” He held his hand out to Carrie.
She stood firm with her feet planted on the ground, and her arms crossed defiantly across her chest. “You think you are going to spank me, and in there, no less?”
“I don’t think, I know.” Wes reached down and plucked Carrie up and over his lap. Her bottom was perfectly centered over his lap, and her legs hung down.
“Wes! Not here.” Carrie was squirming as best she could, but Wes had grabbed her hands by the wrists and pinned them to her back. Her legs kicked out, helplessly. “Besides you told me I had to take time and make a decision. I haven’t made a decision; therefore, I am not yours to spank.”
“Any man in his right mind would take you over his knee for the way you acted at the fair, his girl, or not.”
“Well, they cheat, the guys running those games. Everyone in town knows that I am the best shot around. That pink unicorn should have been mine.” She wiggled back and forth, testing the bond of his hand around her wrists.
“That did not give you the right to shoot your BB gun at the man, he could have had you arrested.”
Carrie stopped wiggling and hung over Wes’ lap, defeated. “I knew where I was aiming. It would never have hit him. I just wanted to scare him.”
“Well, you did the job. And you are going to be punished for it, and then you are going to be one sorry little girl when you go back to apologize.”
“No,” Carrie whined. “That would be so embarrassing.”
Wes lifted his hand and brought it down on her Wrangler covered bottom with a loud, slap, then repeated the motion ten times, fast and hard in the same spot. “That, little girl, is for sticking your tongue out at me.”
A shriek came from the front of the truck. “What? That was a full spanking all by itself.”
Wes laughed. “Is that what they call a spanking here in the Carolinas? Where I come from that’s just how we swat at a horsefly.”
Wes was interrupted by the noise of the clearing of a throat.
He looked over to his right and nodded his head at the pretty, older brunette who stood by the truck.
“Howdy, ma'am’”
The woman shifted her weight, nervously. “Um, is everything okay? I heard slapping and a shriek,” she gestured embarrassedly at Carrie’s rear that was currently right about eye level with her.
“Yes, ma'am. Just taking care of this naughty little girl here so we can get back to our pleasant day at the fair.” He patted Carrie on the spot that he had just annihilated. “Isn’t that right, Carrie girl?”
“Yes, sir,” said the small voice from the truck.
Wes looked down at the woman who was obviously unclear on what the appropriate protocol was when one finds a grown woman being spanked in the parking lot of the fair.
“Err, I,” the woman looked to her left and right.
“Ma'am,” Wes said, his voice unmistakably commanding.
“Yes?”
“I suggest you go on about your business now, unless you want to be next.”
Shock filled her eyes as a red flush crept onto her face.
“I’ll- I’ll just be going.” She turned and went off in the direction that she must have come from, rushing and calling over her shoulder, “Good luck, sweetheart.”
Carrie groaned. “Ugh, I’ve never been so embarrassed in all my life.”
“Don’t worry honey; she didn’t see your face, only your bottom. Though I would be able to pick it out in a line up after only seeing it once. Mmmm, mmm, a spankable work of art. Now, where were we?”
“You were just about to let me up and take me back for deep fried Twinkies?” Carrie asked, her voice pleading.
“Nope, that wasn’t it. What was it?” Wes patted Carrie’s bottom with his hand.
“Take me to ride the Ferris Wheel?” she said hopefully.
“No, I think I was just about to spank your butt for talking back to me when I told you that you were to apologize, young lady.”
Another groan surfaced from Carrie’s end of the truck cab.
Wes rested his hand centered on her bottom. He let go of her wrists and let her stretch out. “Now be good, or I will pin you again, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I think twenty good spanks for that mouth of yours and I want you to count them out for me, girly.”
Carrie rested herself on her elbows and Wes happily whacked away, her bottom jiggling with each slap and her little voice counting out each spank. When he fulfilled her twenty, he said, “And now your spanking for shooting a BB gun at a man’s head.”
Carrie was howling and kicking by the time he was done wailing on her behind. Apparently, she no longer cared who heard or saw her. The stress and anger from the day's events melted away with each swat. Finally, she lay limp over Wes’ lap, deep sobs racking her body.
When he was quite done and had thoroughly punished her, he set her upright on the ground, then jumped down to join her. Wes held her tight as she rested on his chest and composed herself.
“I know it’s a hard day, Carrie girl. The hardest one.” He stroked her hair and held her until her sniffles stopped. Wes slammed the door shut and put his arm around Carrie’s shoulders. Wes had known that the trauma of the day had caused Carrie to act out. He also knew the spanking, though well deserved, was therapeutic for her and a stress release.
“All right little sass, think you can mind your manners, now?” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
“Yes,” she said with one last sniffle, rubbing at her sore bottom.
“Then I will ta
ke you back to apologize.”
Carrie looked at him sullenly. “He’s going to know I got in trouble.”
“He deserves to. After that, you can get fried Twinkies, and ride the Ferris Wheel. Ready?”
Carrie smiled and stretched up on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Wes’ cheek.
“Ready.”
Hand in hand they made their way back into the fair. The sun was setting now, and the Carolina Blue was replaced with an inky navy dotted with stars.
They reached the game booth, and to Carrie’s absolute dismay, the same man was running the booth. A look of doom crossed his face when he saw her.
“You, again,” he sneered.
Carrie pulled herself up to her full height of five feet and some change. “I came back to apologize. I was wrong to shoot at you. And to thank you for not having me arrested.”
The man looked from Carrie to Wes, confused.
“You came back to apologize?”
“Yes. Let’s just say that I have been made to see the error of my ways.”
“I could still have you arrested, you know. That trick you pulled…”
“She’s been punished,” Wes said coolly. Eyes and ears around the booth were suddenly on him.
Carrie groaned. She stared at the ground, scuffing the dirt with the heel of her boot.
A smile spread over the man’s face. “I see. Well, young lady, if your husband here has taken care of it, I’ll lay the matter to rest. That’s good enough for me.” He winked at Wes.
“Goodnight, sir.” Wes steered Carrie away from the wide eyes and curious grins. “Good girl. You ready for that Twinkie now?”
“I think I’ve lost my appetite.” At the word, ‘husband,’ Carrie had frozen. The trauma and humiliation of discovering she had been cheated on just days before her wedding hit her like a blow. What was she doing here with Wes? She had picked the wrong brother, and she knew it. She also knew it was too late.
“I know that was unpleasant, but you didn’t think that I would allow you to leave the fair without apologizing, did you?”
“It’s not that.” She stopped walking but wouldn’t meet his eye.
Wes put his hands on her shoulders. “What is it, Carrie? What’s wrong?”
“He said, husband. He told me you were my husband.” She broke down in tears. “And you aren’t my husband, and Garrett’s not my husband, and everything is just a big, huge, mess.”
Stopping in his tracks, Wes gathered the crumbling Carrie tightly in his arms. “I know. And I’m sorry. Let’s get you home now. This has been quite a day.”
Wes led her back to the truck. He helped her up, then buckled the seatbelt around her.
The drive back to the farm was silent. Wes held Carrie’s hand every moment of the way, knowing he would be letting go too soon.
Wes pulled up to the white farmhouse. Every light in the place was on.
“Oh shoot, I should have left a note. Mama’s going to be worried sick.” Carrie unbuckled her belt. “Are you coming in?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
Wes looked at her taking in every inch, every feature. It was time to say goodbye. “Carrie, I’m going back to the ranch.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. I’d like to get the next flight out.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “So soon?”
“I meant what I said in the meadow. If I don’t leave now—”
“I understand,” she muttered. “You can take the truck. Just leave the keys under the mat. Dad and I can pick it up from the airport, tomorrow.”
He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to meet his. “Think about what I said, Carrie. But take your time.”
“I will. Thank you, Wes,” she whispered. “For everything. And for knowing what I needed today.” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodbye, Wes.”
He watched her head back up into the house, the front door opening for her. She didn’t turn back.
Wes guided the truck down the road and began the lonely drive to the airport.
Chapter 6
It had been forty days and forty nights since Wes had last seen or spoken to Carrie. After the sordid affair in South Carolina, Wes had hightailed it back to his sanctuary. He was devastated to arrive home to the ranch only to feel more unsettled than before. Without Carrie, the calming peace that the ranch brought him was gone.
He knew he needed to have patience, to wait, to give her time but he still jumped every time the phone rang. Whenever he saw dust billowing up the dirt road, he knew the vehicle causing the cloud didn’t hold the precious cargo that his heart desired. He never lost hope, and so he waited.
Not only had Wes lost contact with Carrie, but he had also not heard hide nor hair from Garrett, or Jessica, since the day before the wedding. Wes had kept Jess’ brother on as a ranch hand, but the two men never spoke of her. Falling back into his daily routine of working dawn till dusk, day in and day out, Wes fell into bed exhausted in the evenings. His days were lonely but productive. And he waited.
Wes had avoided town as long as he could. He didn’t want to face the nosy people or risk bumping into Jessica. Eventually, he had to make the trip to refill the stock of feed and supplies. Wes looked longingly at the empty bench seat of his truck.
Driving down Main Street, Wes saw that Jessica’s Salon was dark. Upon further inspection, the decals from her business had been removed from the windows, and there was a ‘For Rent’ sign on the windowsill. Well, at least now she would get decent pay for her work. He couldn’t imagine what a haircut on Wall Street cost.
Wes ignored the whispers, the stares as he fulfilled his errands. He was relieved to finally climb back into the truck and head back to the ranch, alone. The night was black. There wasn’t a star in the sky. The only sound in the cab was the noise of the wheels as they rolled away the miles from Poke to the ranch, The Lonely Star Cattle Company- as Wes had taken to calling it in his head since he returned.
Too soon, he was turning his truck under the sign and heading down the dirt road towards another sleepless night. When Wes reached the house, he was surprised to see the porch lights on, and what looked like two figures sitting side by side in the rockers. As he drove closer, Wes was sure it was Carrie sitting with Mama on the porch. Wes felt his heart beating hard in his chest. The sight on his porch was the most natural thing he’d ever seen. And the way her face lit up when she saw him get out of his truck, that was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Wes couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he walked up the stairs towards them.
“Well, look who I found,” Mama said, standing to greet Wes. She gave him a smooth kiss on the cheek. Turning to Carrie, she said, “All right dear, it’s getting late. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”
She patted Wes on the shoulder, whispering, “I knew she would come for you, love,” and was off to bed. Wes had told Ma the whole sordid story as soon as he had gotten back from South Carolina. Mama’s only reply at the time had been a curious smile, and the words, “Well, now, everything happens for a reason.”
Here she was, in front of him, flesh and blood, and soft golden curls. Carrie stood slowly, her hands moved behind her back.
Wes was a man of few words, but had even fewer for this moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Eventually, he managed a choked whispered, “Hey, stranger.”
“Hello, Wes.”
“Have a seat.” Wes gestured to the rockers.
“I’m a little nervous,” Carrie giggled. “I don’t usually make trips like this, by myself.” She rocked back and forth. She wore a patchwork skirt. Wes cautiously took a seat in the rocker next to her. The arms of the rocking chair felt smooth and stable. He was glad to have the sturdy place to sit down as the moment felt surreal.
“I came to talk.”
“You came all this way, to talk?”
She nodded shyly.
“Well, let’s talk.”
“I guess you’ve heard Jessica and Ga
rrett have moved in together.” She smoothed the material of her skirt in her lap.
“I hadn’t heard. I guessed as much though.” Wes looked off into the night sky. The night was clear, and the stars had all come out to witness this reunion.
“It freed me up, so to speak. I thought I would be angry when I heard the news, but I believe it was cleansing for me. I’d known for quite some time that Garrett and I weren’t a match, but it was never so obvious as it was when I met you.”
Carrie’s confession caused hope to well up inside of Wes.
She looked up at him, then quickly looked away. “I guess we weren't much better than them. The time we spent alone together—I felt more for you than a girl should feel for someone other than her man. And there was the spanking.”
“Inappropriate.” Wes held in a laugh. “But totally necessary.”
“Yes. It was.” A small smile played on her lips. She took a deep breath and looked to be mustering up her courage. “I want to know more about what it would mean to be your girl.”
Wes leaned back in his chair and was silent for a moment. “Let’s see. My girl. It’s a hard thing to explain. It would be easier to show you.” He turned to her. “Are you around for a few days?”
“I might be.”
He took her hand in his. “Then let me show you.”
“Okay.”
Wes lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently, ever so gently, and said, “First thing I’d do with you if you were my girl is get you tucked in after an exhausting day of travel.” He stood, pulling Carrie up with him. She laughed with surprise as he picked her up and cradled her. Wes carried her into the house, opening the screen door with the toe of his boot.
Bringing her into the guestroom, he sat down on the bed and settled her onto his lap. Her arms were around his neck, and she left them there. He gently untangled her from him. “Did you bring anything with you?”
“Yes, my bags are in the living room.”
“About how many days did you pack for?”
“Well, I’m on summer break, so I don’t have to rush back.”
Wes smiled. “I’ll go and get your things.” Carrie stood up off of his lap, and Wes left the room.
Daddy Mine (Sweet Texas Love Book 1) Page 9