Return to Corbin's Bend

by Corinne Alexander

  They’ve been setup by a room full of matchmakers.

  Apparently, he forgot to send the memo outlining the twenty reasons why falling for Hallie Boudreaux was a bad idea to the other occupants of the room.

  Troy has a brief moment of anger at being manipulated, but it fades quickly at the possibility of spending a weekend at Copper Mountain with Hallie. Ironically, it’s not the skiing he’s looking most forward to. He’s pretty sure he’s projected his less-than-gentlemanly thoughts to his face because he sees Adam’s frown.

  ‘Okay, get your mind out of the gutter, Jackson.’

  “Hallie, look at me.” When she doesn’t comply, he adds a gentle, “Please.”

  When she turns, he feels her fear. He links his open hand with her’s while he continues to stroke her lower back gently. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’d be honored if you would trust me enough to let me take you skiing and I promise you, we’ll start out with me giving you lessons and work up to small practice runs and bunny hills. I will never leave your side. Not even for one minute. I’ll push you a little bit, but never past what I think you can do and if you really want to stop, we will.” She was listening and he can see her softening. “The question is. Do you trust me enough to let me teach you to ski?”

  They may be talking about skiing, but there are so many other important implications riding on Hallie’s answer to this question. Trust. It’s what every successful relationship comes down to. Without it, nothing else really matters. If Hallie can trust him to guide her through her fear of skiing, maybe there would be hope he could guide her through her fear of other things… like spanking.

  The second the thought hits him, he looks up to see his sister’s approving nod. She may guard Hallie’s private conversations carefully as her therapist, but he can see as Hallie’s friend, Traci is doing her best to help her new friend overcome some of her fears and build her confidence.

  Troy doesn’t have time to reflect for long because Hallie has turned in his lap to face him. Her ass wiggling against his cock, pressing it into his jeans is the best kind of slow torture.

  “You promise me. You won’t leave me on my own. Not even for one minute?”

  “I promise, although people may look at me funny if I follow you into the ladies room when you need to pee.”

  Her blush is sweet. In some ways Hallie is so worldly for a twenty-three year old, but there are moments, like this, that she seems so young… vulnerable. He’s not sure which side of Hallie he likes more.

  “I guess I’ll let you off the hook then.”

  “So… I need to hear it. Do you trust me, Hallie?”

  The question hangs heavy in the air and they both know the question is way more than just about skiing.

  Her answer is a whisper. It’s intimate, meant only for his ears. “I trust you, Troy.”

  He releases the breath he hadn’t known he was holding, relief flooding in. He pulls her into his arms to hug her tightly to him. He’d love to kiss her, but thinks better of it with their current audience.

  They are torn out of their brief interlude by Adam’s clearing of his throat and standing to walk across the room to deliver a gift to Hallie’s lap. “Here you go, Hallie. This is your gift from your Aunt Gina and me.” Troy detects uncertainty in the older man and suspects the confident HoH is feeling unsure. It makes Troy curious about what is in the package.

  Hallie doesn’t open it right away. When she starts pulling at the ribbons and wrapping paper, he can see her fingers trembling. He whispers into her ear, “What’s wrong?”

  She turns to him whispering, knowing everyone is watching them. “I know what this is. I… well… I heard them talking about it the other night.”

  Troy doesn’t know what’s in the package, but he understands Hallie isn’t happy about it. “Well, okay. Is it something you don’t want?”

  Tears are spilling from her red-rimmed eyes. Her answer is almost choked out. “I don’t know.”

  He smiles, trying to comfort her. “Well, there’s only one way to figure this out. Go ahead and open it. It’s can’t be that bad, right?”

  He sees her push her fear aside, and she finishes opening the gift box to uncover a big folder with the Corbin’s Bend logo all over the front of it. Troy doesn’t need to open the folder to know what’s inside. It isn’t a surprise to him at all.

  Aunt Gina’s crying is the only sound to be heard over the Christmas carols playing softly in the background.

  “Your aunt and I know you don’t have the money to buy into the co-op on your own, but this is where you belong, Hallie. Here with your only family. We’ve gone ahead and put your name in on an application and paid the down payment so you can stay here in Corbin’s Bend with us. Merry Christmas, honey.”

  Adam and Gina obviously meant well, but Troy could belt them for springing this on Hallie like this. Deciding where she is going to live needs to be discussed. Deciding to live in a town based on the principles of the domestic discipline way of life is not something to be taken lightly for anyone, but for Hallie, who has obviously experienced violence in her life, it is a huge decision. No wonder she was afraid to open this present. She doesn’t want to hurt her aunt and uncle’s feelings by rejecting the gift, but she also doesn’t want to get railroaded into living in a place that could make her miserable.

  A pregnant pause has fallen over the room, all eyes on Hallie. Maybe he’s being a hypocrite by jumping in with his opinion on the matter. At least Adam and Gina are blood relatives. Who the hell is he to butt his nose into this decision? Yet, when Hallie turns to him, vulnerable and sad, there is nothing he wouldn’t do to make her feel better.

  Troy looks up to the HoH in the room, choosing his words carefully. “That’s quite a generous gift, Adam. I know having Hallie here with you and Gina has made you very happy. Hallie is lucky to have family that loves her so much.”

  The men are in a visual showdown. Adam is intuitive enough to pick up on Troy’s protective stance. “But…” Adam is defensive.

  Troy stays calm. “But, nothing. It is a very generous gift. I’m just not sure Hallie is ready to decide where she wants to live yet. She still has a lot to work through with Traci.”

  Adam snaps back. “And she will be able to do that since she’ll be living in Corbin’s Bend full time.”

  “But what if Hallie decides this isn’t the right place for her? Let’s face it. This is a very unique town with very unique rules and customs. I’m not sure Hallie is ready to commit to living in Corbin’s Bend. I thought she had more time before the January Housing Board meeting to make up her mind?”

  “She doesn’t need to wait that long. She needs to stay here with her family.” Each of Adam’s answers are coming back faster and more terse. He isn’t used to having his decisions questioned. As the only other male in the room, Troy suspects he’s the only one who can say what needs to be said with a hope of getting through to the older man.

  “With all due respect, Adam, none of us, including myself, can push Hallie into accepting a domestic discipline way of life. To make her live here if she truly cannot accept the way of life is actually worse than the kind of judgmental crap all of us who have lived outside of Corbin’s Bend are faced with when friends and neighbors find out about our unique kinks and practices. You choose to live here so you could be with like-minded people who won’t judge you. Doesn’t Hallie deserve the same courtesy?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about, young man. You don’t live here either. The people of Corbin’s Bend will welcome her with open arms. They will love her and protect her as their own.”

  “I’m sure they will, but that isn’t the real problem now, is it?”

  Adam looks like he is about to blow, so upset he is not able to come up with a new retort to Troy. Troy looks down at Hallie in his lap and finds her staring up at him in awe. It gives him the courage to push forward.

  “Let me give you just a couple of examples from the last twenty-four hours. Last
night at the party, we were welcomed with party gifts. Hallie was given a lotion for TiH’s to use on her ass after receiving a harsh punishment. She took her gift in stride, but you should have seen the look of fear on her face when I opened my heavy wooden spoon. We all know the men of Corbin’s Bend are not home using those spoons to cook Christmas brunch today, now don’t we?”

  Adam is listening intently so Troy continues on. “The biggest example however was that the woman who was passing out the gifts happens to be the same woman Hallie got to know by innocently walking from your house to Traci’s for a counseling session. Hallie heard a submissive crying out in pain while being paddled by her HoH through an open window. Hallie had to go through the torture of having to walk by without helping. To you and me, we understand what was happening in that house was consensual and if done right, even loving. But to Hallie, she had to turn her back on someone who was being abused. Are you really sure you want your niece with you so much that you are willing to constantly put her into these types of uncomfortable situations as she goes about her normal everyday life? Trust me, Adam. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on this very topic myself.”

  Troy stops and looks back down into Hallie’s eyes, tears now streaming down her face. His anger at Adam is fading as he reaches out to cup her face, never taking his eyes from hers as he continues on. “If we really care about Hallie, we need to give her the space and time she needs to figure out what it is that’s going to make her happy. I don’t know all of the things she’s had to go through, but I know it’s been a long time since she’s… since you’ve got to decide what you really want in life. I’m not willing to force you into something I know you could never accept in the long run. You’re too important to me for that.”

  There. He’s said it. He’s outed himself. Twenty reasons or not, he wants Hallie in every sense of the word. They barely know each other, but it doesn’t matter. During the two weeks apart, he had convinced himself his memory was faulty. He was sure that when he saw her again last night he would realize his attraction to her had been a fleeting result of the extraordinary events that brought them together. Now, less than twenty-four hours after being back in Corbin’s Bend, he is just as sure that his life has been irrevocably changed by the spitfire in his lap. The depth of his feelings for her should scare him, but the only emotion he can recognize is excitement.

  Adam clearing his throat brings Troy back to the moment. Looking up, he can see he had gotten through to the older man. Troy can hear the emotion in his warbling voice as he addresses his niece. “Hallie, honey. I never thought of it that way. You have to know, your aunt and I just love you so much that we want you to be happy and safe. I’m sorry if I tried to railroad you into staying here with us if you aren’t going to be happy here.”

  Hallie speaks for the first time since opening the gift. “I know you both love me and I love you too, but I am just so confused right now. I’m not saying I won’t want to stay here… but I’m also not ready to say that I am ready to stay for good. Can’t you please give me a little more time to figure things out before I have to make a decision?”

  Aunt Gina tries to reassure her. “Of course, honey. You can have as much time as you need.”

  It’s her husband that corrects her. “Gina, we both know that’s not true. She has some time to decide, yes, but as an adult, she is going to have to join the co-op if she decides she wants to stay. I’m on the Housing Board. I can’t go breaking the rules, not even for family.”

  Gina snaps at her husband. “That’s crazy, Adam. Hallie is way more important to us than Corbin’s Bend.”

  “I’d watch your tone, my dear.” Adam shoots his wife a look that Troy recognizes from the HoH’s handbook that says to straighten up or you’re gonna find yourself over my knee. When Gina looks properly quieted, Adam continues on. “And of course Hallie is more important to us. What I’m trying to say is that if Hallie is not happy here, then we can’t break the rules and have her stay. We’ll just move back to New England so we can be together there.”

  A choking cry escapes from Hallie. “Oh God. Stop! You both love it here. I’m not going to let you move away from Corbin’s Bend because of me. I’ll just sign the papers. Thank you for the thoughtful gift.” She is trying to be brave… and failing miserably.

  Troy is happy Adam beats him to the punch. “Nobody needs to be signing anything yet, young lady. Troy is right. We have a few more weeks before we need to make any decisions. I’m sure you want some time to explore what is available for you here in Corbin’s Bend in the way of going back to school or finding a new job. I’m sorry I tried to rush things along, but there is no harm in waiting a bit longer and then we can decide what we need to do closer to the next Housing Board meeting. Is that okay?”

  Troy can feel her relaxing into his arms at being given more time. “That would be great, Uncle Adam. Really. Thank you so much. It is a wonderful gift. I just need to think things through is all.”

  Troy reluctantly lets Hallie out of his lap to cross the room and give her aunt and uncle a big hug. Troy looks at his sister for the first time in awhile and she is grinning from ear to ear. Damn. He is never going to live this down.

  Chapter 9

  Two days later, Hallie is up at the crack of dawn for no other reason than the butterflies in her tummy were fluttering strong enough she was feeling sick to her stomach. The problem is, she isn’t quite sure what has her more nervous. The fact that she’s about to go skiing again after swearing she’d never again hit a ski slope, or the fact that she is going skiing with Troy Jackson.

  Troy. She’d given up trying to resist him. She’s fallen hard and fast. She’d at least had a chance of pretending he hadn’t caught her attention up until Christmas morning, but between him giving her the most thoughtful gift she’s ever received and his standing up to her Uncle Adam for her, the protective wall she’d been trying to erect between them had crumbled down.

  The really hot kiss on Christmas Eve didn’t hurt either. Hallie would be lying if she didn’t admit to being disappointed that in spite of spending a lot of time together the last few days, Troy has yet to try to kiss her again. Granted, they’ve been surrounded by their families almost every minute, but she can’t help but wish he’d been able to sneak in a kiss at some point.

  Which brings her full circle to the butterflies this morning. For the next two days, she is going to be alone with Troy. Her aunt and uncle had been thrilled with the planned ski outing up until they realized it included a night away at the ski lodge at Copper Mountain. They had insisted Troy needed to drive her home tonight, but Troy had put his foot down that would be silly considering the package Traci had bought him was for a two-day pass with a night’s lodging and dinner in the fine dining restaurant.

  In the end, Uncle Adam relented because Troy had reminded him that Hallie was twenty-three years old and had been living on her own for many years before coming to Corbin’s Bend. It also didn’t hurt that Troy had sworn he would never do anything to put Hallie at risk. It had been nerve-wracking watching the two dominant men go head to head and Hallie’s respect for Troy only grew as she watched him expertly handle her sometimes old-fashioned and always bull-headed uncle.

  It is barely seven and Hallie is already showered, dressed and packed. She heads out to the kitchen in search of caffeine in hopes it will calm her nerves while she waits the last half hour for Troy’s arrival.

  Aunt Gina is already up, putting a pot of coffee on. “Good morning, Hallie. I’m not surprised to see you up early.”

  “Morning, Aunt Gina. You knew I would need coffee, did you?”

  “Well you always need coffee. I was talking about how nervous you must be to be going skiing for two days with Troy.”

  Hallie had been getting the mugs out of the cabinet, but she turns she sees her aunt’s smiling face. “I’m that obvious, am I?

  “Not at all, honey. But anyone would be a little nervous in these conditions. It’s perfectly normal.”
<
br />   “Well, I still think I’ve lost my mind to give skiing another try.”

  Aunt Gina tsks, shaking her head with a giggle. “Oh, Hallie. You don’t need to be nervous about skiing.”

  Hallie is confused. “Well, then what?”

  Gina has come to stand in front of her niece, looking down the few inches gap with a loving smile. “Hallie, it must be so exciting to be falling in love. I can tell he cares about you very much. I’m so happy for you.”

  “Whoa. Aunt Gina, I barely know the man. Let’s not get carried away.”

  “Whatever you say, dear. I see the way the two of you look at each other.”

  Hallie is panicking. It was one thing for her to admit to herself that she might be falling hard. It’s another to have her aunt having them married off already. “I do like Troy, Aunt Gina, but that doesn’t mean anything. There are… things… that will make a relationship with him very hard.”

  “Pish-posh. If you two care enough, you can make it work. He’s a good man, Hallie. Those are hard to find.”

  Hallie is torn. Her aunt has given her the perfect opening to ask some hard questions she’s been wanting to ask, but was too afraid. She decides with the Housing Board’s meeting less than two weeks away, there is no time like the present.

  “Aunt Gina. I have some more questions I’ve been wanting to ask you, but… well they are personal and probably none of my business, but if I am going to stay in Corbin’s Bend, well… they are the questions I need answered to help me make my decision.”

  Her aunt is smiling broadly. “I know we’ve talked about DD in generalities, but I’ve been waiting for you to ask the harder questions, honey. I knew you would when you were ready.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever really be ready, but… well… Troy…” Damn this is hard. “We’ve never talked about it, but I think it might come up this weekend. I’m pretty sure he would like to live in Corbin’s Bend one day. Do you know what I mean?” Hallie is having trouble spitting out exactly what she means.