---oOo---
Lilly awoke early the next morning. She glanced out to see the sun barely raised over the distant fields and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen, hoping to catch Jake before he left for the morning. She hadn't felt so well rested in months, and she couldn't wait to get out of the house and finally see the ranch. When she reached the kitchen, she found no one. Not even Sylvia was anywhere to be seen. She checked the other bedrooms, the garage, and the porch, wondering where everyone was. She decided to walk out to the stables to see if she could find one of the other workers who could tell her where to find Jake.
Just as she approached the side of the stable, she could hear an argument between two men. One definitely sounded like Jake, but she didn't recognize the other voice.
"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" Jake demanded.
"Jake, I honestly thought they were just trying to scare us. I didn't think anything would actually happen," the other guy responded wearily.
"Well if they want a scare, they will get one," Jake threatened.
Lilly climbed on a barrel of hay, clinging to the wooden window sill, listening intently while they talked, but she knew she only caught the end of the conversation. She was still wondering what could be going on when she heard heavy boots stalking out the door of the barn.
"What on earth are you doing?" Jake asked loudly, making Lilly jump and then stumble off the barrel of hay. He caught her by the arm, steadying her, and looked her up and down. "Why are you up so early? And what are you doing out here?"
"What's with the twenty questions!" she retorted, upset that she was caught eavesdropping. "I was just looking for you."
"You were?" he asked, his stubborn face changing to a boyish smile.
"Yes I was," Lilly spoke, looking around, trying to remember why she was looking for him in the first place. "You said that maybe we could go riding or something and I-I thought maybe we could do it today," she stated shyly.
Jake sighed heavily and bent down to look Lilly in the eyes. He put both of his hands on her shoulders. "Honey, I really wish we could, but I have some things that need to get done today and I don't think you need to be out running around quite yet. It's only been a day and a half since you got out of the hospital and your hand is still badly burned."
Lilly could feel the frustration rising in her throat and she wanted nothing more than to scream at him that she wasn't a helpless invalid and could handle being outside for more than an hour. Not knowing what to say, and feeling hurt that he didn't want her to go with him, she just huffed and muttered, "Fine," and walked back towards the house.
Jake shook his head, knowing he had disappointed her. He would much rather spend the day with her than settling the dispute between a neighboring rancher. He walked back to the stable, trying to decide how he could handle this threat. No one had ever attempted to poison his cattle over a land dispute. Lance Stetson just seemed like an angry old man, but not a cruel one. He couldn't believe his neighbor had gone to the lengths to try to kill his livestock. He grabbed some supplies and headed to his truck. He decided the best choice of action was to drive over there to talk to the man in hopes that this could be sorted out in a rational conversation.
---oOo---
Lilly threw open the porch door and walked into the kitchen. Sylvia still wasn't there, but this time she noticed the note on the fridge that said she had left to go check on her grandkids and she would be back before lunch.
Well that's just great! Now I really am here all alone with nothing to do. Lilly stormed around the kitchen until she decided that she probably should just make some breakfast and find something to do until Sylvia returned. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate while looking through the magazines in the living room. After flipping through three of them, she realized only twenty minutes had passed. She had to find something to do. She was full of energy and needed to get out of the house. Putting the magazines back on the coffee table, she decided to go for a run. It would clear her mind and rid her of some of this pent-up energy. She ran upstairs to throw on some running shorts and tank top. Lacing up her sneakers, she thought about leaving a note for Sylvia, but then figured she would be back before Sylvia would return. It was only 9:30 am and she didn't plan on running for more than an hour.
---oOo---
Jake parked in front of Lance's house. He stepped out of the truck, noticing his neighbor walking out of the front door onto the porch.
"Morning, Lance," Jake began as he strode toward the porch. "How are you doing today?"
"I'd be better if you got back in your truck and left my property," the old man answered.
Jake could see the visible sneer on the man's face. He didn't know why Lance had always hated him, but he wasn't going to let it ruin his ranch business. "Lance, I'm here to come to an understanding. I don't appreciate you trying to poison my livestock. I already turned down your offer to buy part of my land. It has been in my family for generations and I'm not willing to sell. I'm sorry but that's just how it is."
"You can't run all of that land by yourself boy," Lance said as he sat down in a rocking chair, "Your father was a no good rancher and neither were your brothers. Maybe you should move on into the city like them."
"I'm not leaving," Jake said with finality. "Stay away from my animals. If I catch you sneaking around again, I'll call the police." Jake walked back to his truck and slammed the door, screeching out of the driveway. There was no way that old man was going to run him off his own land. His brothers may have tired of the business but it was his life and he couldn't imagine doing anything different. His blood boiled underneath his skin as he made the 25 mile drive back to his own ranch.
During the drive home, he wondered if he had time to show Lilly all of the horses before helping Tom treat the sick livestock. He didn't want her to be too angry with him for making her stay home again. He reached the house forty minutes later to see Sylvia walk out the door directly toward his truck. He hopped out noticing the worried look on her face.
"Did you take Lilly with you?" she asked, glancing in the truck, not seeing anyone in the passenger or rear seats.
"No, of course not," he answered in confusion. "I told her that she didn't need to be out running around with me after being out of the hospital for only a day."
"Oh no," Sylvia said to herself, walking back toward the house. "Maybe she left a note and I just didn't see it."
Jake followed her inside, still confused at the situation. "What are you saying? She's not here?"
Sylvia shook her head. "No, she wasn't here when I got back about an hour ago, and I haven't found a note from her. I left one on the fridge for her this morning, explaining I had to go check on my grandkids but I would be back before lunch."
Jake ran his hand through his hair and over his face, wondering where the hell she could have gone. She didn't know her way around the ranch and there was only one road in and out. He had just driven down it and hadn't seen her. "I'm going to drive around and look for her. You stay here in case she comes back. Radio me if you see her," he said to Sylvia, running back out to his truck and hopping inside.
Jake sped up the long drive, glancing on each side at the woods, looking for a sign of Lilly. He hoped she wasn't so mad at him that she had decided to leave for good. No, Sylvia would have said something about her suitcase missing if that were the case. That only left two options: either she was kidnapped, which was unlikely, or she deliberately disobeyed him by leaving the house without telling anyone. Anger and fear mixed inside of him as his truck dredged down the country drive. After 15 minutes, he caught sight of what he thought was a blonde ponytail in the woods outside his passenger window. The blonde hair bounced up and down in between the trees on the side of the road. He slowed his truck and caught sight of her bright blue jogging shorts. Thank God she's ok, he thought and then he remembered how worried he was. I'm gonna skin that girl alive, he decided as he threw on the brake and jumped out of the driver's seat.
&
nbsp; Lilly didn't even hear a car approaching behind her while she wore her headphones. All of a sudden, she felt a giant arm snake around her waist and she screamed, thinking she was being attacked. She felt her earbuds yanked from her ears and then a stinging slap on her behind. She thrust her head around to find Jake's angry face glaring back at her. "Jake! Put me down!" she yelled, squirming in his tight hold.
"What the hell did you think you were doing!" he yelled as he set her down on the ground, still keeping a firm grip right above her elbow.
Lilly was so overwhelmed by his anger at first that she didn't understand what was going on. "I was running," she answered nonchalantly. Before she knew it, he spun her around and landed five more extremely hard slaps to her behind. The thin running shorts were no sort of protection on her bottom.
"What did I do?" she cried, rubbing the sting out of her behind when he stopped.
"What did you do? Have you had any idea how worried we've been? What is one of the only rules of the house? Don't go anywhere without telling someone where you're going!" he yelled.
Lilly had completely forgotten she didn't leave a note, and tried to explain her side of the story. "Well I was going to leave a note, but I figured I'd be back before Sylvia got there so it wouldn't matter."
"What time is it, Lilly?" Jake asked angrily, noticing she wasn't carrying anything with her.
Lilly looked back at him, knowing she couldn't lie. "I don't know. I left my watch and my phone."
"Exactly. Get in the truck," he ordered. When she didn't move, he pulled her over to the passenger door, opened it, and roughly lifted her inside. He reached across her to buckle her belt, then went around and climbed in the driver seat.
The ride back to the house was disturbingly quiet. Lilly sporadically glanced over at Jake to see how angry he really was. She could see that muscle in his jaw clenching and knew she had pushed him to the limit. She could feel her whole body tingling with a mixture of fear and anticipation. As they approached the house, Lilly began to think of ways to explain her situation and talk her way out of impending punishment. The more scared she became looking at Jake's angry face, the more defiant she felt to submitting to his discipline.
Jake parked the truck in the drive and quickly made his way to the passenger door. He pulled it open as Lilly was unbuckling her seat belt. He pulled her out and stood her on the ground between him and the truck. He looked like he was about to say something, but then pulled away and pulled her by her upper arm toward the front door. Sylvia stepped out just as they were walking onto the porch.
"Apologize to Sylvia for worrying her," Jake said solemnly, still keeping a tight grip on Lilly's arm.
Lilly glanced up at Jake who was unmoving and looked back at Sylvia. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, feeling like an errant child.
"It's ok," Sylvia said, giving her a small smile. She could see how angry Jake was, and this time, she agreed with him for the most part. Even though she was very fond of Lilly, if one of her grandchildren had done the same thing, she knew a spanking would be in order for them as well.
Jake yanked open the screen door, ushering Lilly inside. "Go upstairs to your room," he said firmly.
Lilly took two steps up the stairs and turned around to look at him. "You know, I'm really getting sick of the way you treat me!" she said, raising her voice as she spoke.
Jake snapped his head back to glare at her. "Sick of how I treat you? I only asked you to follow a few rules and you have broken every one of them in only 3 days!" he yelled back. He had never met someone who got under his skin like she did. He couldn't believe she was standing here arguing with him when she knew she broke a rule and disobeyed him. He was still watching her, waiting for her to obey him and go upstairs. Instead, she crossed into the living room. He followed her, anger spreading throughout his body. "What are you doing?" he growled, "I told you to go upstairs."
"I don't feel like going upstairs right now," Lilly practically whispered, getting more nervous about his temper.
"Lilly, I'm not going to ask you again," he said slowly, trying to calm himself down.
"Well then stop asking me!" Lilly screamed, picking up a magazine off of the coffee table and chucking it toward him. She knew it was a mistake as soon as she did it, watching blood fill his entire face, giving it an angry glow. "I'm sorry," she whispered, trying to reconcile her action.
Jake took three large steps around the couch and threw her over his shoulder before she could put up a fight. "Not as sorry as you're going to be," he promised, carrying her up the stairs.
"Jake, seriously, I'm sorry. I was just angry. I didn't mean to," she uttered as he opened the door to her room and set her down in front of him.
He looked into her tear-filled eyes, knowing he really had to follow-through this time. He had cut it short last night, thinking she really was going to start following the rules. Not again. She scared him to death today and it wouldn't have happened if she'd done what she was told. She could've been hurt out in the woods and no one would've known how to find her. He wasn't going to let that happen again. He pulled her with him to the bed. He sat down and pulled her to stand between his legs. She wasn't struggling to get away from him anymore; she merely stood there with tears filling her eyes.
"Lilly, I'm not going to take it easy on you this time. Do you understand how scared I was when Sylvia told me you weren't here? And you didn't leave a note for her," he said, his hands resting on her hips.
"Please don't spank me, Jake. I promise I won't do it again! I just thought I would be back before she got home."
"I understand that, but it doesn't change the fact that you left without telling anyone. And I told you I didn't want you running around after only recovering for one day. You didn't need to be running in the first place, did you?" Jake said, not waiting for an answer. "That means you disobeyed me twice - once for breaking a house rule and once for doing something when I specifically told you not to. Not to mention your disrespect downstairs with the magazine."
Lilly said nothing, only continued to cry as he spoke. He wiped away two tears with his thumbs and pulled her face to look at his. "I want you to know I'm punishing you because I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt. If this is how I've got to get you to start listening to me and obeying the rules, then this is what I'm going to do." Jake slipped his thumbs inside her running shorts to pull them down.
"No, please don't take them down," she cried, throwing her hands on top of his to prevent him from exposing her bare skin.
"What did I say would happen if you disrespected me again?" he asked. Jake looked at her surprised face and knew she remembered their conversation.
Lilly thought about what he said yesterday, and knew there was no way to get out of it. She stomped her foot and groaned loudly, not wanting the embarrassment of saying it out loud.
Jake tried not to smile at her reaction. Instead, he gave her a rough swat over her shorts. "Hey, none of that. Answer me. What did I tell you yesterday?"
"Why do I have to say it out loud?" she whined.
"Because I need you to understand that when I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I don't make promises I can't keep. Besides, I think a little humility will help you remember not to throw things next time."
"You said you were going to do pull my pants down," she grit out through her teeth, feeling completely humiliated as she stood in front of him, thankful that no one else was nearby.
This time he pushed her hands away from his and pulled her shorts down. She groaned again but didn't stop him. He pulled her over his left knee so that her upper body was resting on the bed. "Lilly, why are you being punished?" he asked, resting his hand across her bare behind.
Lilly didn't think it was possible to be any more embarrassed than she already was. She couldn't believe he was going to make her tell him. Didn't he already know? Why did he have to ask her, other than the sheer embarrassment of hearing her say it?
Two hard smacks interrupted Lilly's thoughts. S
he felt like she could already feel the red handprints forming on her pale skin. "Uhhh. Owwww," she mumbled.
"Lilly I asked you a question," Jake reminded her.
"Because I disobeyed you," Lilly grumbled.
"And?" Jake said, landing three more hard slaps on top of the two previous ones.
"Owww!" Lilly yelled, trying to catch her breath. She didn't think she was going to make it through this if he was going to spank that hard the entire time. "And I disrespected you," she answered, hoping that was all he wanted her to say.
"Right," was all he said and continued the barrage of spanks onto her behind without mercy. He continued down one cheek all the way to her mid-thigh and back up the other thigh, until every inch was bright red. Ignoring her wiggling and kicking, he placed his right leg over her calves and laid into her sit-spot.
"Please, Jake! Please stop!" she cried, barely able to speak. "I'm s-s-sorry!"
"You said you were sorry last night when I spanked you for disrespecting me. How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked, pausing to hear an answer.
"Because I swear I'll never do it again! Please! It hurts too much!" Lilly's voice broke as she pleaded.
"It hurt me that you would deliberately disobey me. I don't ever want to feel that scared again. People get hurt in the woods all the time, Lilly. What if you had hurt yourself and no one knew where to find you?"
Lilly could feel the strain in his voice. She hated feeling how much she disappointed him. Before she could say anything, he continued spanking. She started crying heavily again, losing all of the fight in her body. After another twenty or so spanks, he stopped again. She prayed it was over. Her behind had never been so hot in her life. It felt like she had sat on an oven. Her breathing slowed and before she knew it, she was lifted up and standing again between his legs.
Jake frowned at her reddened, tear-stained face. "Lilly, I want you to go stand in that corner," he said, pointing at the one next to the adjoining bathroom.
Rescuing Lilly Page 5