by Holla Dean
“Just don’t think for too long, Julie. I don’t know whether you noticed or not, but your grandfather is at the end of his days.
She’d already started walking out of the barn and now turned around to look at him in surprise. “Is it really that close? Or are you just in a big hurry to get this settled?”
Seth took his cowboy hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “I took him to the doctor the day before yesterday and the doctor said it could be any time now. To be fair, he also said it could be as long as a month, but he wouldn’t count on it.”
Julie sat on a bale of hay and Seth watched as she tried to blink back the tears. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. When she flinched, he pulled his arm back and said, “I thought you knew how sick he really was.”
It was obvious she couldn’t speak, because she just shook her head back and forth. Seth waited for her to say something and when she continued to just sit there he put his arm back around her shoulders. This time she didn’t flinch. She didn’t move at all.
After a while, her head seemed to naturally lean on his shoulder and he could tell she was quietly crying.
“Hey, don’t cry,” Seth had no idea what to do when a woman started crying. Especially when it was about something he couldn’t fix.
Julie sniffled and dug in her coat pocket for a tissue. Wiping her eyes and her nose, she stood up and said, “I’m going in now to check on Gramps and take a nap. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what I come up with.”
“Okay, I normally come and check on Jason in the mornings. The land lines work out here, but cell phones don’t. So unless I hear from you before I leave my house in the morning, I’ll stop by here around noon.”
She nodded and left him standing in the barn. He looked around at the half dozen horses and noticed she hadn’t thought to feed them. It would serve her right if he just went home to his ranch and let her worry about the horses. But the poor animals hadn’t done anything to deserve having to go hungry so he fed them and even did a half ass job of mucking out their stalls before he left.
*****
Julie checked on Gramps without disturbing him. She stared at his chest and when she saw it rise and fall with his not quite even breathing, she pulled her two suitcases into the bedroom that always been hers.
Nothing had changed in her room. The same white lace curtains and bedspread Gram had bought all those years ago were still there. Julie had been born in this house and lived there with her parents and grandparents. When her parents had been killed in an automobile accident when she was ten, Gram and Gramps had raised her.
While she put her clothes in the closet and the dresser drawers, she almost wished she’d never left the ranch. But she’d wanted to see the world and live the city life. Not that she’d been unhappy with country life, it was just that she wanted to experience more. Had it been a waste since she was right back where she started?
Laying down on the bed, she didn’t want to think about that. Guilt was eating at her for all the vacations she’d taken with friends instead of coming here to the ranch to see Gramps. She fell asleep and when she woke up it was dark. Glancing at the old alarm clock, she saw it was after nine o’clock. Gramps must be starving, she thought as her stomach rumbled. She got up, walked down the dark hall towards a faint glow of light coming from the kitchen. It was the night light Gram had always insisted on having on at night.
The recliner was empty but the covered up shape on the sofa told her Gramps had moved himself from the chair to the sofa. He must have been too tired to make it all the way to his bedroom. Getting a glass of water in the kitchen, she saw a rinsed out bowl in the sink. He must have scrounged up something to eat. She felt a little guilty that she’d fallen asleep and left him to fend for himself.
Trying to be as quiet as she could, Julie pulled a couple of containers from the refrigerator hoping there was something good to eat in them. When she turned around she bumped right into an unexpected hard chest and dropped the containers.
A hand clamped down over her mouth as she opened it to scream and a familiar voice said, “It’s just me. Calm down, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“What the hell are you doing here? I thought you left hours ago,” Julie said once he took his big hand off her mouth.
“I did leave, but when I got to the end of the ranch road I decided the storm had gotten too bad and I turned around. I called my foreman and told him I’d be staying here until this blizzard lets up.”
Bending down to pick up the fallen plastic food containers, Julie said, “Keep your voice down, Gramps is sleeping on the sofa.”
Seth smirked and said, “That was me on the sofa. Didn’t you make sure your grandfather was in his bed before you went to your room?”
“No, I left him sleeping in his chair. He looked so comfortable and restful I didn’t want to disturb him.”
“He has medication he’s supposed to take at night, did you give it to him?”
She rolled her eyes and asked, “How the hell would I know he has medication to take if no one told me?”
“Keep on with your attitude, swearing, and eye rolling and you’re going to find yourself over my knee getting your bare bottom warmed up.”
Her eyebrows drew together in a frown. “What are you? Some kind of Neanderthal? What is this thing with you about spanking me?”
“No, I’m not a Neanderthal, just a man who thinks people should behave civilly and respectfully. That includes curbing your attitude, knocking off the swearing, and no disrespectful eye rolling.
“Well I’ve got news for you, cowboy. You’re not my father, not my husband, not anyone who has any say in what I do or how I behave. Try to spank me again and I’ll have your ass in jail on charges of assault.”
Julie had no idea why her ass tingled and her pussy clenched. She could feel the wetness between her legs but wouldn’t even consider that it might be due to the talk about spanking. No, it had to be just because Seth was the best damn looking cowboy she’d ever met.
She busied herself with scooping what looked like beef stew into a bowl and put it in the microwave to heat. She supposed the right thing to do would be to offer Seth something to eat as well, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it after his threat of spanking her again.
As it turned out, Seth was quite comfortable in her grandfather’s kitchen. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bowl, filled it with beef stew and then waited until the microwave beeped before putting his bowl in it.
Julie was tempted to take her bowl to her bedroom and eat it there just to get away from Seth. But if she did that, then she’d have to come out again anyway to rinse the bowl and put it in the dishwasher. She’d just finish eating and then go to her room for the night.
Seth finished before she did and after rinsing his bowl and putting it in the sink he said, “I’m going to go check on your grandfather now and then try and get some more sleep.”
“You don’t have to do that, he’s my grandfather. I’ll go check on him.”
“Do you even know what to check for? Do you know how to tell if he’s taken his medicine?”
She rolled her eyes upward once more and said, “I may not know how to tell if he took his medicine, but I’m not an idiot. I can certainly check and see if he looks comfortable and is sleeping peacefully.”
As she stood up to rinse her bowl, Seth got up, pulled his straight-backed chair out and sat down. Reaching for her arm, he spun her around in a quick movement that put her squarely over his knee and before she could screech about being manhandled, he grabbed the back of her flannel pajama pants and pulled them down to the middle of her thighs.
“What the…”
The shock of his palm raining smacks on her panty covered butt left her speechless before she could even finish what she was going to say.
“You will not roll your eyes at me.”
Smack! Smack!
“You will speak to me with more respect.�
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Smack! Smack!
“Ow! Stop it! Let me up right now, you fucking Neanderthal!”
He smacked her several more times before asking, “Do you understand?”
“I’ll tell you what I understand, you fucking cretin! Just as soon as this weather allows for the sheriff to get over here, your ass is going to jail! You can’t treat me like some misbehaving child! Do you understand that?”
She kicked her legs and squirmed her body, trying to get away from him before he could see the tell-tale wet spot on her panties. She didn’t know why her body was reacting in such a way to this brutal treatment, but Julie certainly didn’t want him thinking it was arousing her.
It wasn’t. Not at all. She was just over-tired and her hormones were probably out of whack. She gasped as his hand came down on her rump four more times. Hard. Harder than before. Then he let her up.
*****
Seth watched as she pulled up her pajama pants and when she looked at him she glared with a glint in her eyes that he was sure meant she’d follow through on her threat to call the sheriff. It was hard not to smirk when he tried to imagine how she’d react when she discovered the sheriff was his brother.
He had seen the small wet spot he was sure was caused by her arousal, but knew better than to mention it. She would deny it and tell him it was just his imagination. He was pretty sure she hadn’t noticed that his cock had become very hard while she was squirming all over his lap.
Julie turned away from him and started cleaning up the small mess they’d made heating up the food.
“So when do you want to get married?” Seth casually asked.
“What? Are you on drugs or something? There’s no way in hell I’d marry you!”
“Be reasonable, Julie. You need to be practical about this. Either we get married or the ranch goes up for sale and we both lose.”
She turned to face him, “How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen your grandfather’s will. You get to keep the ranch if we get married. Otherwise, it gets sold and I get paid at the sale for my services in running things the last several years. It’s to both our advantage if we get married.”
“I’ll sleep on it,” she said and stormed out of the kitchen and into her room where she promptly slammed the door shut.
Damn that temper of hers, Seth thought to himself as he marched down the hall to give her ass another tanning. Didn’t she think of anything or anyone but herself? Her grandpa was ill and asleep and she was slamming doors.
Chapter Four
Julie stood by the window looking out at the snow covered expanse between the house and the barn. She could still see the rope Seth had run between the two buildings. It was a damn good thing he did that otherwise it’d be tough getting back and forth. Though she could see the rope about halfway to the barn, she couldn’t see the barn through the snow and sleet that was coming down.
She heard her door open and spun around to see Seth filling up the space.
“What do you want now?”
Without saying a word, he walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Turning her around, he half pushed and half dragged her to the only empty corner in the room.
“Get your hands off me!”
Shoving her nose into the corner, he pulled her flannel pajamas down once more and while keeping one hand on her back to hold her in place, she heard the jingle of his belt buckle followed by the sound of it being drawn through the loops of his jeans.
Her belly quivered and she pressed her thighs together as she felt her pussy contract. Was it fear or excitement? It had to be fear, didn’t it? He wouldn’t dare strike her with his belt, would he?
“You need to learn a little respect, young lady.”
Before he could start whipping her butt, she turned around and slapped his face just as his arm was swinging back to deliver the first strike. It was a hard slap and her palm stung from the force of it. They both stood and stared at each other, neither one of them sure what to do next.
Seth dropped the belt to the floor, grabbed her wrists, and shoved her backwards into the corner. Her eyes widened and she was sure he could see the fear in them. Yes, she was afraid. Never had she had someone manhandle her like this. But afraid or not, there was no way she was going to let him treat her like a child. He could not spank her or whip her whenever he didn’t like something she did.
He was leaning towards her and she tried to get further into the corner, away from him. His face was too close and she knew he was going to kiss her. She wanted to push him away, but he held her wrists on each side of her head and she was trapped.
“No,” she whispered. “No, please let me go. Leave me alone.”
She may as well have been talking to a post. He pressed closer. His hips were touching her hips and she felt the rock hard length of him. His chest came in contact with her still covered breasts and she inhaled sharply. His mouth descended on hers while her lips were parted and his tongue slowly entered.
Gently, ever so gently, he fit his lips perfectly on hers and began to explore her mouth. He found her tongue and the kiss deepened. Against her will—hell, she had no will at this point—she melted into him and kissed him back. She flicked her tongue over his and tasted him. She skimmed over his teeth and then found his tongue again and sucked on it.
She realized her hands were free when she felt his hands on her breasts. Breaking away from his mouth, she turned her head to the side and said, “Please stop. I don’t want this.”
“Don’t you?” Seth asked, his voice husky with desire. “Your body is telling me something different.”
“Please, I’m so confused. This isn’t a good idea.”
*****
Seth stepped away from her and said, “Maybe you’re right. We’ll talk in the morning.”
When she didn’t answer, he left the room and went back to spend the night on the sofa in the living room. He had a lot to think about. A lot to sort out, not the least of which was his feelings. Not just the feelings he had for Julie, but how he felt about getting married to her.
Jason’s will didn’t leave them with much time to get to know one another. Even if the old man lasted another month or so, was that enough time to know someone? Was it enough time to make a decision as serious as marriage? He’d always thought when the time came for him to marry, it would be someone of his choosing and it would be someone he’d want to spend the rest of his life with. Despite the ease with which people seemed to get a divorce when things weren’t going their way, he wanted to be sure the woman he married was as committed as he would be. Having an out in ten years wasn’t a good enough reason to marry someone he didn’t love.
Seth tried to figure out his attraction for the little spitfire that was Jason’s granddaughter. She was cute, though a little short, but he could work with that. She was sassy as all get out and that was something he normally didn’t care for in a woman. But somehow it just made Julie even more intriguing to him and he wondered if that was because he wanted to tame her or just because he hadn’t encountered a woman quite like her before.
Sure, he found Julie attractive and his dick woke up damn near every time he looked at her, but he’d only known her for a day and already he knew she would be more than a handful as wife. The thought of having her as his to tame was very enticing. But was he up to the challenge?
Was he really attracted to her? Or was the prospect of getting his hands on Jason’s ranch, thereby expanding his own ranch by more than double, clouding his judgment as to how he felt about Julie?
The idea of marrying her was no longer as abhorrent as he had first felt when Jason handed him the will that dictated they would have to get married or lose the ranch. At first, he’d been pissed off at Jason’s idea that he could force Seth to marry Julie. But he knew it was just Jason’s way of making sure Julie wouldn’t be alone on the ranch. If she was, she was sure to fail and lose the ranch in the end anyway. He had the option to not marry her and then just buy th
e ranch when it went up for sale. But though he had the cash for a down payment, he wasn’t sure that he could qualify for a loan.
He was glad she had shown up a few days sooner than expected. He had seen a steady decline in Jason over the last week or so and he was pretty sure the old man wasn’t long for this world. Once he died, they would have thirty days to get married or Jason’s lawyer would put the property up for sale.
He smiled to himself thinking what a time he’d have bringing her around to follow his lead. He could just imagine her kicking, screaming, and fighting him every inch of the way. When she’d turned around and slapped him tonight, he should have thrown her over his knee and spanked the daylights out of her. But there was something in her eyes.
A combination of fear and a challenging look that had made him want to take her right there in the corner of her room. He’d wanted to devour her. That kiss had not only stirred him, but he felt she was about to give herself over to him, when she pulled away and put an end to it. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to find the answer to all his questions now, he turned to his side and finally gave himself up to sleep.
When he awoke hours later and looked at the window to judge the time, he knew they were in a complete whiteout and the blizzard continued to dump more snow on the ground while the wind swirled it into high drifts. A sound he wasn’t familiar with came from down the hall and he tried to think what it could be. Knowing the sound was what must have awoken him, he threw the covers off, pulled on his jeans and socks, and walked down the hall towards the noise.
The low sound led him to Jason’s bedroom and he stood in the doorway watching Julie as she knelt at the side of the bed, holding on to her grandfather’s hand while she cried.
Jason was gone. His eyes were open and staring blankly at the ceiling.
Seth walked over and put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. He leaned over, and with his fingers gently closed Jason’s eyes.
Julie stood up and flung herself into his arms, sobbing loudly now.