by Joannie Kay
"Excuse me," Will said as he headed for the door. "I know one little girl sorely in need of a spanking."
Bridget jumped to her feet, but Patrick reached out to stop her.
"Think you should let them fuss this out between the two of
them, honey. You’ll just get caught in the crossfire if you go out there right now. I’d love another piece of apple pie," he smiled.
"You aren’t going anywhere, young lady!" Will scolded, catching Katie before she opened the barn door. "Now come over here
and let’s talk this out," he pulled her over to a bench beside the barn, and plopped her down. "Since when do you think you have the right to be so nasty to guests at my table? That is uncalled
for, Katie."
"He hit me, Will… and you didn’t care!"
"I care all right. I care that my little sister is such a brat she feels free to call my new wife a bitch before even meeting her. And I
don’t blame Patrick for spanking you. You deserved it."
"Ohhhh. I’m going home, Will! I don’t know why I even bothered to come here! You are such a pisser!" She jumped up, only to
have Will grab her by the hand and drag her face down over his
lap. In the next second, his hand landed in a hard wallop on the
seat of her pants. "Owwww! Will, stop it! You aren’t Papa!"
"Your language is terrible, little sister!" Will scolded, spanking her hard. "I ought to use a bar of soap on your filthy mouth, but this will do for now!" he continued spanking her until she was crying.
"Do I have your attention now?" he demanded.
"Yes!"
"You’re going to march inside, and tell Patrick you are sorry, and then you are going to offer to help Bridget with the dishes. Then, you are going to stay right here and be pleasant while I ride into town and send a wire to the folks to tell them you got here safely.
Pa is probably on his way to fetch you by now, anyway…" he
gave her upturned fanny another smack. "We’ll make you a bed
on the sofa for tonight, and I’ll expect you to be civil while you are here. Do you understand, Katie? Or do I need to find a
stick?"
"No, stick! Please! I’ll behave," she tearfully promised.
Will sat her on her feet, and then offered her his handkerchief.
"Wipe your eyes and blow your nose," he gruffly bossed.
Katie did as he said, then looked at him sadly, "I didn’t mean to upset you, Will."
"I know that, kitten," he gave her a brotherly hug. "Let’s go face the music."
"Will, are you daft, man?" Patrick demanded when they entered the kitchen. "Bridget is making me dry dishes because you do it all the time! What kind of work is that for a man?" he scowled.
"Your hands won’t fall off, brother, dear," Bridget informed him with a cheeky smile.
"If you tell the others about this, I’ll blister your butt for you!"
"No you won’t!" she retorted. "I can outrun you!"
Patrick chuckled, "I’l just have to lasso you then!"
"I’ll make sure I have a knife to cut your rope!"
Patrick laughed outright, "See what we’ve had to put up with, Will!"
"Sounds like the kind of guff my sisters all give me," Will grinned, and then gave Katie a meaningful look.
"I apologize for being rude, Patrick."
"I’ve had worse things said to me, darlin’, and I shouldn’t have called you a brat. It’s just not safe for a pretty young woman like you to be out ridin’ without a gun, and a good knowledge of your
whereabouts. And, like I said, if you’ve got a problem over your
brother’s marriage to my little sister, you take it up with my Pa. It isn’t Bridget’s doing."
"I know. Bridget, I truly am sorry for being so hateful. I hope you’ll give me another chance to prove I’m not always awful?"
"Of course I will," Bridget agreed, feeling sorry for the other woman.
Patrick offered to send the wire to Will and Katie’s parents since he was headed into town. Will gratefully accepted the offer, and
once Patrick was on his way, he turned to his sister and said, "I need to go and work on the new corral. Can I trust you to behave
yourself, Katie?"
"We’ll be fine, Will," Bridget interceded, feeling sorry for Katie.
"I was speaking to Katie, Bridget," Will said softly. "Kate?"
"You are being impossible today, Will! Papa isn’t going to like it when I tell him you spanked me! You don’t have the right!" she fumed.
"I was pretty gentle on you earlier, Kate; do I need to give you another demonstration?"
"No!" she cried in embarrassment, and when Will’s eyes
continued to stare her down, she decided to be prudent. "I will behave."
"That wasn’t so hard was it?" he asked gently, then shocked himself by giving Bridget a quick peck on the cheek. "That stew and apple pie was great, honey. Thanks."
Bridget touched her cheek as she watched him leave the
kitchen, and then smiled happily. The small kiss was the first
sign of genuine affection he’d shown her, and she found she
welcomed the attention.
"Bridget," Katie spoke tentatively. "I really am embarrassed about what I said. You are nothing at all like what we all
imagined you to be!"
"Katie, let’s just forget it ever happened," Bridget said with an open smile. "Instead, why don’t you tell me everything about
your brother that he wouldn’t want me to know!" she suggested with wicked grin.
Chapter Four
"Hi, Patrick!" Bridget greeted her brother with a big smile. "We’re just sitting down to eat. Are you hungry?" she asked.
"It’s a long ride from town, Bridget, and breakfast was hours ago," he admitted, taking a seat at the table and grinning at the pretty Katie. He seemed to be devouring her with his eyes, but
instead of speaking to her, he glanced at Will and said, "Will, I have several telegrams for you from your Pa. Thought it best to
come by on my way home…"
"I appreciate this, Pat," Will took the envelopes from Patrick and used his knife to open the first one. "One of the new puppies tripped Ma and she hurt her ankle, Katie. Pa can’t come after
you…" he handed her the telegram to read for herself.
"Oh no!" Katie exclaimed. "I need to get home right away to take care of her, Will. Susie’s too little to be of much help to Mama,
and Connie has school every day!"
Will took the second telegram and opened it. He read silently,
and then looked at Patrick. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Oh, yeah! I think I’m the man for the job," Patrick chuckled, and Bridget noticed his dark eyes were full of pure mischief.
"Patrick? What are you up too?" she asked with a smile, pleased to see her brother in such a good mood.
"Just doing my good deed for the year, little sister," he winked at Will.
Will snickered, then opened the third telegram, read it, and then
looked at his sister. "This one is for you, Katie… but you’ll need to read this one first…" he handed her the first telegram and waited for the explosion.
"There’s no way I’m letting you escort me home, Patrick O’Riley!"
the blonde didn’t disappoint Will, and he silently handed her the
last one so she could really lose her temper.
Bridget quietly picked up the telegram Katie laid on the table and learned that John Bishop had given Patrick permission to escort
Katie home since Patrick had offered and assured Mr. Bishop
that it wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all. He then instructed Will to be sure Katie complied with his wishes. The other telegram
read: Daughter, you will return home with Patrick O’Riley. He
assures me he is capable of dealing with any temper tantrum
you might ha
ve, as he has already spanked you once! I will be
hearing the details of this very soon, and we will have quite a
little talk on the subject! Papa
Katie looked at the redheaded Patrick O’Riley and felt her
temper flare anew. "You had no right to tell Papa and Mama
about that!"
"I was just easing your folks’ mind, little girl," Patrick gave her a huge grin.
"Well, I’m not going! And that’s final!" she tossed her blonde curls and stomped her booted foot on the floor beneath the table
for emphasis.
"This telegram is from Pa, Katie, and you’d do well to pay
attention to what he says," Will reminded her.
"Papa hasn’t met Patrick, and there is no way I’m going to let him escort me home! If Papa can’t come, then you can take me
home… or I’ll go by myself!"
"Katie, I would love to go and see Ma, but I can’t leave here right now. I’ve got too much work to do. And, you are forbidden to
travel alone. You read what Pa said," he patiently stated.
"I am not going with Patrick, Will. I’ll just stay here until Mama is better and Papa can come!" she decided.
"Your brother and my sister just got married, little girl. The last thing they need right now is a houseguest. You’re leaving
tomorrow morning bright and early, so make up your mind to
that," Patrick scolded.
"I won’t… and if you try and make me, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born!" she threatened.
"You heard what Pa said, and that’s the end of it, Kathleen.
She’ll be up and ready when you get here, Patrick?" Will said decisively.
"Patrick, escorting someone is not the same as bossing them
every step of the way!" Bridget reminded her older brother. "And I don’t see why Katie can’t stay for a few days, Will!" she glared at her infuriating husband.
"She can’t stay because Pa wants her butt at home so he can
take a hairbrush to her for hightailing it out of there in the middle of the night without a word to anyone. Katie is not twenty-one,
and until she is, she will obey Pa! And that is the last I want to hear out of either of you. The next one who says something
sassy to either Patrick or myself is going to get a trip over my
knee."
Bridget felt her face turn a bright red. How embarrassing to be
threatened in front of her brother and her sister-in-law! She put
the pot of vegetable soup on the table, and started serving
everyone. For once, Patrick used some common sense and
didn’t say anything to provoke her temper. He asked Will a
couple of questions about the new corral, and soon the men
were talking ranching. Bridget gave Katie a sympathetic glance,
and wasn’t all that surprised when the blonde didn’t seem to
have much of an appetite.
"I don’t suppose there’s any apple pie left from yesterday,
Bridget?" Patrick asked with a grin for his too-quiet sister, his laughing brown eyes telling her he was daring her to throw a fit in front of Will.
Bridget got what was left of the pie and put it on the table, and
while Katie cut the pie into four large wedges and put the pieces
on plates, Bridget refilled their coffee cups.
Patrick finally left, after reminding a sullen Katie to be ready to leave early, and Will excused himself to go and work on the new
corral.
"I could cheerfully brain your brother!" Katie declared as she helped Bridget tidy the kitchen.
"I feel the same way about your brother!" Bridget declared solemnly, and both girls burst into giggles. They talked for a
while, and Katie asked if Bridget minded if she go and lie down.
"I have a terrible headache… I didn’t sleep well last night, and I really need to rest a bit."
"Are you sure some fresh air wouldn’t help, Katie?"
"No, I’d rather sleep, Bridget, if you don’t mind. I’m exhausted from the trip here, and the thought of leaving so soon makes me
numb. I need to sleep it off," she insisted, and then gave Bridget an impulsive hug. "I do like you, Bridget, and I’m so happy Will married you. You’re so much nicer than we imagined you would
be, and I am truly sorry for calling you a bitch. Mama and Papa
and all the sisters are going to be so relieved when I tell them
about you!"
Bridget smiled warmly, hugging Katie back. "Thank you, Katie. I like you, too," she assured her. "Now go and get some sleep!"
she said in a bossy tone of voice that made both of them giggle.
Katie headed for the bedroom, and Bridget busied herself in the
kitchen, baking cookies for Will’s sweet tooth, and for Patrick and Katie to take on the stagecoach. She went to the bedroom a
couple of times to check on Katie, and was pleased to see that
she was obviously sound asleep, snuggled deep inside the quilt.
"Where’s Katie?" Will asked curiously when he came inside a couple hours later to grab a handful of cookies and a cup of
coffee.
"In our bed, sound asleep," Bridget replied. "She had a headache, and is exhausted. She didn’t sleep a wink on the sofa
last night."
Will nodded. "I need to add an upstairs to this house soon, so we’ll have a guest room."
"That would be nice," Bridget agreed politely.
"I think it was nice of you to want Katie to stay for a few days, honey," Will shocked her by admitting. "I know she didn’t make a good first impression on you, and I’m proud of you for giving her
a second chance. She’s really a good-hearted kid."
"I’m a sister, too, Will," Bridget said softly, pleased by his comments. "I would protect any of my brothers if I felt they
needed protecting. I like Katie a lot." And she was growing to like Katie’s brother more and more every day. Especially when he
looked at her in that special way of his, and called her "honey". It made her feel all warm inside, and she wondered when he would
get around to making her his wife in more than name only.
Will cautioned himself not to read too much in the friendly smile
Bridget gave him. They’d only been married eight days, and it
was too soon to rush her into intimacies, but that didn’t mean he
couldn’t give her a hug now and then, he decided.
Bridget was surprised when will took her hand and pulled her
into his arms to give her a hug. She laid her head on his chest,
and felt him rest his chin on the top of her head. "This is nice, Mrs. Bishop," Will said softly. "Are you feeling a little bit better about being married to me?" he wanted to know, but was afraid of her answer.
Her heart was pounding, and Bridget could barely manage to
answer. "Yes, I am, Will. You’re a good man, and you treat me very well."
"You’ve treated me well, too, honey," he kissed the top of her head. "I hope that someday you’ll be able to trust me enough to want to make our marriage real."
"I want that too, Will," she shyly admitted.
"There’s no rush, Bridget," he reassured her. "I’ll admit I want you, but I won’t touch you in that way until you want it too."
"I think I’m ready, Will," she made herself say the words she wanted to say, even though her face was a flaming scarlet.
Will held her at arms length and looked into her green eyes. "Are you sure about this, honey?" And when she simply nodded, he
pulled her close again to hold her tight. "Okay. This is what we’ll do… I want you to be absolutely sure. Katie is here for one more
night. You think about this today, tonight, and all day tomorrow. If your answer is still yes tomorrow night at bedtime, then we will
> have our wedding night. If you change your mind, I’ll be
disappointed, but I promise I will understand and wait until you
are sure. I will never force you, Bridget. I give you my solemn
word on this."
Bridget smiled shyly, and then stood on tiptoe to give him a
sweet kiss full of promise. "I won’t change my mind, Will."
Will kissed her back, slowly and thoughtfully, taking his time and enjoying every second of her sweet willingness. He ran the tip of
his tongue over her lips in a gentle caress, and then kissed her
mouth hungrily.
Bridget was startled by the intensity of Will’s kiss, and at the
passion it stirred deep within her. She wrapped her arms around
his neck, and gave in to the simple pleasure of responding.
After several minutes, Will knew he had to stop. The kitchen
table was not the place to make love to his bride for the first time.
She deserved a soft bed, and the assurance of complete privacy.
"I think I’d better get back to work, sweet wife, but please hold this thought until tomorrow night!" he said softly, looking down into her passion-filled green eyes.
"I’ll plan on it!" she whispered, trailing her hand over the handsome planes of his left cheek.
Will reminded himself once again that Katie was in the bedroom
and in their only bed, and vowed that he was going to add the
upstairs as soon as possible!
"I need to ride out to the north property line, and check out the water situation up there, honey. It’ll take me quite a while, so
don’t look for me until after dark. If Katie gives you any guff at all about leaving with Pat tomorrow, tell her to take it up with me
when I get back. Ok?" he asked.
"Katie won’t give me any trouble, Will."
"You don’t know her as well as I do, Bridget. She’s going to pitch a full-blown temper tantrum over this, and it’s just a matter of
time. My guess is that she’ll do it tonight, hoping to win me over before Patrick comes in the morning. And, if she does, she’s
going to get her backside tanned good and proper. You might
point out that little whip hanging on the wall over there and tell her that’s what she’ll get if she acts like she usually does!"
"But, Will, she’s nearly twenty years old! She’s old enough to travel alone!"