The Rancher's Rules

by Dina Chapel

  Fortunately, Rafe found his voice. “She looks fine, just fine,” Rafe answered, glancing at Annie quickly while saying it and then just as quickly looking away. His trousers were getting uncomfortably tight. Then his eyes caught the pile of paper-wrapped parcels on the counter. “This all of it?”

  “Yes, sir,” Claire said. “Would you like me to go over the purchases with you?”

  “That won’t be necessary, ma’am.” Rafe didn’t really think he could stand to hear about Annie’s unmentionables right now. “As long as you’re sure she has everything she should need for now.” Rafe turned to Annie. “Did you want a hair ribbon or two?” He had seen her looking at them when he entered the store. Maybe if she had a few she might wear her hair like it was right now a bit more often.

  “I was thinking to get one for Jenny.” Annie would’ve liked to get Jenny the ribbon, she knew she loved them, but it didn’t seem right to ask Rafe to buy them for her to give. It had just been looking, that’s all. She didn’t have any money herself. “But I decided to wait.” Annie fibbed a bit to cover her embarrassment.

  “Go pick out two for Jenny and two for yourself,” Rafe said to Annie. Then, turning to Claire, “Add four ribbons to the tally and I’ll settle up.” He leaned on the counter and waited for Claire to do what was necessary. He glanced back to see that Annie hadn’t moved toward the ribbons at all. “Go on, now,” Rafe’s voice took a stern tone, “I want to get some lunch before we head back to the ranch, and the day’s not getting any younger.” The stern approach worked, Rafe noted, as Annie turned and headed straight over to the ribbons to pick out the ones she liked best.

  Claire finished tallying up and Rafe paid just as Annie returned to the counter with her ribbon choices.

  “I’ll wrap these for you and hold your packages until you return from lunch.” Claire smiled at them both. Rafe tipped his hat, thanked her for all her help – Annie did the same – and they headed for the hotel restaurant.

  * * * * *

  As they walked on the boardwalk toward the hotel, Annie was wrapped up in thought. So wrapped up that she didn’t notice that the men that passed them all glanced rather appreciably at her, some even lingering in their glances for more than they should have. No, Annie didn’t notice, but Rafe definitely did.

  And he didn’t like it one bit.

  Annie was surprised when Rafe reached out, took her hand and firmly tucked it into his arm. She looked at him but he didn’t look back at her, didn’t make eye contact at all; he just kept walking and looking straight ahead. She was becoming more and more confused by this man who seemed annoyed by the responsibility of her, and yet also seemed to be doing more for her than was at all necessary. Annie wasn’t used to the kindness of strangers; it was her experience that strangers were usually unkind. And she barely knew Rafe Stanton. Even though he was Tom’s best friend and Tom had married Jenny, she still didn’t really know him at all.

  Yet she had to admit to herself that she also felt safe with Rafe Stanton. Even though she had only just met him, she didn’t get that funny feeling that told her not to trust a man – a feeling she had gotten many a time over the past couple of years. Ever since she and Jenny had become of an age that they could marry, there had been plenty of men that had given her that feeling. It was one of the main reasons that Annie had just had to come along with Jenny to meet her new husband. She didn’t trust men as far as she could throw them and Jenny could be too trusting.

  It was Annie’s experience that a body could tell within minutes of meeting a man whether he was a decent fella or not. Tom was and Annie knew that from the minute Tom looked at Jenny and spoke to her. She had been more than a little relieved.

  Then there was Rafe. He was completely different from Tom, but Tom trusted him. Annie was sure that had something to do with the fact that she trusted him also. She didn’t think that Tom would leave her in Rafe’s care if he thought there was a possibility that Rafe might harm her in some way – with the exception of spanking her, of course. She had known last night that she and Rafe were the only occupants of the ranch house, and yet she wasn’t afraid that Rafe would invite himself into her bed. On the contrary, she remembered feeling safer knowing that he was there. She had lain awake in bed waiting to hear him come back inside from the evening chores. She hadn’t been able to sleep until she heard him come back in and knew that he was in the house.

  * * * * *

  The carriage ride back to Tom’s ranch was quiet, with neither Rafe nor Annie feeling the need to speak. They had made small talk over a large and delicious lunch at the hotel. Well, at least Annie had made small talk. She had asked Rafe about his other errands and also wanted him to tell her more about Claire and her family.

  But Rafe was not prone to idle chatter. He gave her grunts or one or two word responses to almost all of her questions until she decided to stop trying and just ate her lunch.

  She had thought they might run into Tom and Jenny while they were there, but Rafe explained to her that Tom had intended to take Jenny to the next town over, which was larger and had a much nicer hotel. It had been enough really, anyway, to just enjoy the experience of eating a meal in the hotel. It wasn’t something that Annie got the chance to do just any day. And Claire had been wonderful company earlier when she was at the mercantile, so Annie decided to feel satisfied with that.

  Rafe pulled the buckboard up by the front of the house and proceeded to help Annie get down. Annie, herself, couldn’t believe how much trouble she was having moving around in these fancy clothes; plus the new shoes were really beginning to hurt. She had every intention of changing back into her britches and old boots once she got inside the house. Rafe grabbed her parcels from the wagon and headed to the door.

  “Thank you for the clothes and for the lunch, Rafe.” Annie stated as Rafe held the door for her. He seemed preoccupied – had seemed so the whole ride back to the ranch – and didn’t respond to Annie at all. He placed her things on a chair in the kitchen. “I’ll get to my chores just as soon as I’ve changed my clothes and put all these things away.”

  That got his attention.

  “Change?” Rafe turned and fixed Annie with a steely gaze. “Change into what?”

  Annie just looked at him like he had two heads.

  “Well, my old boots and old clothes, a’course. These new boots are pinching my feet something fierce and I can’t do my chores with these fancy clothes on; I’ll ruin them!” Annie shook her head in disbelief at his seemingly complete ignorance of these facts.

  “You’ll do no such thing, young lady,” Rafe was shaking his head as he spoke. “I told you, you are not to wear those britches again. You can change into a less-fancy dress, if you like. And the boots stay on too. You need to wear them to break them in. Once they’re broke in, they’ll be comfortable.”

  “But—” Annie started, only to be cut off by an impatient and increasingly angry Rafe.

  “Do I need to reinforce my rules, Annie?” Rafe took a few steps toward her while also starting to undo his belt, an action that was not lost on Annie. She backed into the sideboard while quickly shaking her head.

  “N-no,” Annie stammered nervously. “No, sir.”

  Rafe redid what little had been undone of his belt, gave Annie a small, quick nod of his head and turned and headed out the door. Annie let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding and stared at the door that closed behind Rafe Stanton. She just couldn’t understand the power he seemed to have over her, threat of tanning notwithstanding, of course. The only other man that she had ever took to minding in her life had been Henry. She and Jenny had been so young when their Pa had died, Annie couldn’t quite recall if she had always done what her Pa had told her to do. She definitely didn’t remember any spankings or whippings from her Pa, though. And the only times Henry had laid a hand on her was to hug her or give her a peck on the forehead.

  There had been plenty of punishments at the orphanage, though, and at every home they had bee
n farmed out to over those years. Between her sassy mouth and need to run away at every given opportunity, Annie had gotten her share of the hand, brush, switch, and belt over the years. None of it had ever made her want to do as she was told. It always had the opposite effect. But Rafe’s discipline was different somehow.

  Not wanting to dwell too much on the reasons why, Annie set to changing and getting to her chores since the day wasn’t getting any younger.

  * * * * *

  Rafe grabbed the horses’ reins and started for the barn. Boy oh boy, that little girl sure could test him! She never had a mind to just do as she was told. And her in that dress wasn’t helping any. Rafe was glad that he hadn’t had to put her across his lap just now because he wasn’t sure that he could fully control himself if she was squirming and wiggling on him like she had the last time he had tanned her hide. He hoped that she behaved herself from this point forward so that he could keep a respectable distance between them, but he was almost certain that she couldn’t behave herself even if she was tryin’ to.

  Rafe decided to put Annie out of his mind for the moment and concentrate on his bigger problem. When he was at the lumber mill in town, all the talk was of a fast approaching snowstorm – early for the season, but it did happen every couple of years. And storms of this type usually had them all snowbound for a few days, at least. He was sure that Tom would stay put. He and Jenny wouldn’t have enough time to make it back and it wasn’t worth the risk of being caught out in it. Tom had sense enough to wait it out where he was.

  After taking care of things in the house, Annie decided to see if anything needed doing in the vegetable garden. It was nearing the end of the season, but the garden still managed to produce a few squash and assorted other vegetables that shouldn’t go to waste, if at all possible. Annie brought a large basket with her to the garden, which was located on the sunny side of the barn. As she kneeled to check for gourds, she heard voices in the barn, Rafe’s in particular.

  Rafe was deep in conversation with Zeke, Tom’s foreman, about a very big snowstorm that was headed their way very soon. They were sorting out what needed to be done before the storm hit and also discussing when Rafe would head back to his own ranch to see to everything there. Rafe didn’t want to leave Tom’s place until everything was secure. This way, if he was caught in the storm and had to remain at his ranch, he could rest easy that Zeke had everything under control here at Tom’s spread. Zeke assured him that he needn’t worry, if that was the case. He could see to things here. Rafe thanked Zeke and then their voices faded as they both left the barn, discussing the particulars of what needed to be done in preparation for the snow.

  Annie sat back on her heels in the vegetable patch. This was her chance! If she left tonight, before the storm hit, if it proved to be as bad as they seemed to think it would be, then no one would be able to come after her. She just needed to get to town and then she could wait out the weather there. Then take the first stage out. This might be her only chance for quite some time and, Annie thought, she really needed to take it. Once winter hit, she’d be stuck here until spring. Her mind made up, she set to finishing her daily chores.

  Chapter 4

  Rafe woke with a start. Something wasn’t right; he could feel it in his gut. And his gut never steered him wrong. He got out of bed, quickly got dressed and grabbed his holster, which he had slung over the headboard. He liked his guns to be in easy reach at all times. He slipped quietly from his room.

  Rafe made a quick check of the house; everything looked as he had seen it last night before turning in for the night. He peeked into Annie’s room and saw a lump under the covers – she was fast asleep. He headed for the back door.

  Just as he stepped out of the house, he saw it – the chestnut mare streaked across the field moving away from the house and outbuildings, the rider’s poncho and long braid a giveaway that made Rafe start for a second, but only a second.

  Rafe raced back inside and went directly to Annie’s room. Bursting through the door, he moved quickly to the bed and ripped the covers back. Damn! She had bunched up some quilts and a pillow under the covers to look like a sleeping form.

  When he caught up with her – and he would catch up with her, of that Rafe had no doubt whatsoever – she was gonna be one very sorry little lady, with one very sore behind. Rafe would see to that if it was the very last thing that he did.

  He ran to the barn and saddled his horse faster than he ever had in his life. The feelings running through him were confusing him, to say the least. The anger was there, of course. Plenty of anger, aimed directly at one little lady named Annie Walters. She was messin’ with his time and his patience and Rafe was gonna be sure to make her fully aware of how much he didn’t appreciate that. But there was something else too. He was afraid for her. It was fear. Rafe wasn’t too familiar with that feeling; it took him a while to identify it. He didn’t like it one bit.

  He had to catch her and make sure that she was safe and then, hopefully, this feeling would go away. If he had to keep her tied to a post at the ranch all day just to make sure that she was safe from now on, that’s what he would do. Right after he spanked her little backside raw, of course.

  Rafe woke Zeke to fill him in quickly on what was happening. Depending on where they were when Rafe caught her and how bad the storm was by then, he might not make it back to Tom’s ranch. He would just head for his own instead and he and Annie could ride out the storm there. Zeke was a good man and could be trusted to be in charge of things at Tom’s ranch in Rafe’s absence, so Rafe knew that he needn’t worry on that. Instead, he focused all his worry now on Annie’s safety.

  * * * * *

  Rafe pushed the door shut behind them – no easy effort with the wind gusts fighting him – and put the steel bar in place across the door. He quickly shucked his coat and hat and set about doing the things that were of an immediate need in his mind. First, light an oil lamp so he could see what he was doing. Second, get a fire going. Third, get Annie by the fire and warmed up some. Lastly, bare Annie’s bottom and whup the daylights out of her for running off right before what was proving to be a very bad storm. She could have easily died out there tonight. Rafe didn’t want to dwell on that thought or try to figure out why it terrified him.

  He had managed to catch up to her faster than he had expected to, but at that point the snow was already making it difficult to see more than a few paces in front of them. Also, Rafe figured them to be slightly closer to his ranch than Tom’s and so had decided to head for his own. If he hadn’t woken when he did – well, it really didn’t bear thinking about. They wouldn’t have even found her body until spring thaw. The unnecessary scare angered Rafe more than he would have liked. He felt the need to get a little control over himself before dealing with her.

  After the oil lamp was lit, Rafe set to building a nice fire that would warm the whole house. Annie watched him silently from where she stood by the door. He looked grim and determined and, for a moment, she almost wished she was still outside facing that storm rather than in this cabin facing Rafe Stanton. He noticed that Annie still stood by the door, trembling from cold or fear or both.

  “Take that blanket off,” Rafe ordered, “and your poncho, and come over here by the fire.”

  For once, Annie did exactly as she was told exactly when she was told to do it. Rafe knew he shouldn’t be surprised by that, but he was. Sometimes it seemed she just wanted to defy him, no matter the cost.

  Annie stood close to the growing fire, holding her hands out to it and enjoying the warmth. She felt frozen from head to toe. Rafe fetched a blanket and bath sheet from the bedroom. When he reached around Annie from behind to wrap her in the bath sheet, she flinched and jerked away from him. She was wary of him, figuring he meant to tan her hide at the first opportunity for running away.

  “C’mon now, Annie, I need to dry you off a bit. The heat from the fire will do the rest.” Rafe motioned with his hands for her to step closer to him. She did so, aga
inst her better judgment, and Rafe immediately wrapped the large sheet around her and began rubbing up and down her arms. When he was satisfied that her upper body was a bit drier, he dropped the sheet to her lower body and dried that too. When he was done, he took the blanket and wrapped that around her, enclosing her in his arms and holding her close. Annie figured it was probably just to warm her up more, but she liked how it felt just the same.

  “You’re going to punish me, aren’t you?” She glanced over her shoulder at Rafe, already knowing the answer, but figuring there was always a chance he might think almost dying in that storm was punishment enough.

  “I aim to get you warm and dry first and check you over for frostbite.” Rafe turned Annie around and guided her to sit on the stone hearth, right next to the fire. “When I’m satisfied that you’re all right, then yes, you’re going to get a tanning with my belt that you won’t forget anytime soon.” Rafe had been taking off Annie’s boots to check her feet and wasn’t looking at her as he spoke. At that moment, he looked up and his hard and serious expression locked onto her eyes. “I intend to make certain that you never do anything like this ever again, little girl.”

  * * * * *

  Rafe stood Annie up and held her by the shoulders for a minute until he was certain that she was able to stand on her own all right. She seemed a bit unstable; Rafe supposed it was the harsh punishment. He had strapped her bare backside with his belt until every inch of skin from the top of her behind to halfway down the backs of her thighs was dark red and swollen. He was sorry he had to do it, but he would do it again. She needed to learn to mind him. It was too dangerous out here to not understand that. Rafe had a feeling this wouldn’t be her last time over his knee. She really seemed to have trouble with doing as she was told – at least the first time, and that first time could be the only chance she got to survive.