Heart and Home: The MacAllister Brothers

by Barron, Melinda

  “I’ll go. I’ll tell Corbin that I forgot something out there last night when we were there for dinner. I’ll tell him I need it now, and can’t wait.”

  “Can’t wait for what?” Corbin came up and put his arm around his wife. “Hello, Sarah.”

  “Hi, Corbin.” It was always a little disconcerting to Sarah to see someone who looked exactly like her husband.

  “I forgot a book at Rob and Dawn’s house last night, and I’d promised to loan it to Sarah. I’m going to ride out and pick it up, if that’s fine with you.”

  “I’ll go, you stay here.” He kissed her cheek, and turned toward the back of the store. Sarah and Ruby exchanged horrified glances. Ruby waved her hands around, and then snapped her fingers.

  “Darling, you can’t go. Remember you’re supposed to meet with Mr. Tucker today about advertising for the new feed store. He’s going to be here in half an hour.”

  “That’s right,” Corbin said with a laugh before turning back around and kissing his wife’s cheek again. “What would I do without you?”

  “You’ll never have to know,” she said before kissing him softly. “We’ll always be together.”

  “Well, thanks for going after the book,” Sarah said, inching back toward the door. “I really appreciate it.”

  “Sure,” Ruby replied, lifting her eyebrows at her friend and sister-in-law. “I’ll make sure you get it this afternoon.”

  “Why do you need it right now?” Corbin asked. “If you can wait until later, Ruby and I can ride out there together. You can’t read while you’re working the store, anyway.”

  “It’s not mine,” Sarah blurted out. “I borrowed it from, um, from Mrs. Stiles, and she needs it back.”

  “You borrowed it, and then loaned it to Ruby?” Corbin’s confusion was clear, and, Sarah knew, justified. You didn’t borrow someone’s book and then loan it to someone else.

  “She told me to, I mean, she said it was fine to pass the book around, but now she needs it back. Now. Right now.”

  “Un-huh, right.” Corbin studied her, and Sarah smiled back, feeling as if Josh were staring at her, daring her not to lie to him again.

  “I’m off then,” Ruby said, grabbing her hat. “I’ll just pop to the house and change into some britches so I don’t have to ride sidesaddle. I love you, darling.”

  “I love you, too,” her husband said. “Hurry back.”

  “I will. I’ll be back before two.” She pushed Sarah out the door, and they crossed to the store.

  “This is a nightmare,” Sarah said, clasping the railing. “Now I’ve lied to Corbin.”

  “You? He’s my husband and I lied to him.” Ruby shook her head as if to clear cobwebs. “But, it’s too late to worry about it now. In for a penny, in for a pound. This will be worth it in the long run, you know that, don’t you? And if we let the secret out now, the others will hate us.”

  “Yes, I can’t wait to see their faces when they find out about our surprise, and when they realize we’ve done it all on our own, as a surprise to them? Fantastic. Still, I hate being spanked.”

  “Me too, but we can’t let the ladies down now. We have to follow the course. In that vein, I’m off. I’ll come by when I get back and give you your fake book.”

  “My fake loaned book,” Sarah said with a laugh. “Let’s hope Corbin doesn’t say anything to Mrs. Stiles.”

  “He won’t,” Ruby said. “She never comes into the newspaper.”

  The two ladies hugged, and then Ruby hurried off and Sarah rushed inside. She’d been back about fifteen minutes when Josh came in, ushering a customer in right before him. He nodded at her, but she could tell he wasn’t happy. She smiled, and then waited on Mrs. Brown, cutting up fabric and helping her pick out thread and buttons.

  When she’d gone, Sarah stood near the front door and Josh stayed behind the counter, leaning over it, his hands clasped together. The silence grew for a few minutes, and then he cleared his throat.

  “Where did you go when I left?”

  “What? Nowhere.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Sarah. I looked back and saw you running across the street. Where did you go?”

  “I wasn’t running.”

  “So, you admit you just lied to me and you went somewhere? Where did you go?”

  She didn’t answer him, her stomach knotting inside her.

  “Sarah, tell me where and why. I may not spank you for not telling me earlier. I respect the fact you kept your promise to your sisters-in-law. But, I will spank you for not answering me when I ask you a direct question.”

  “It goes with the earlier conversation. I can’t tell you.”

  “Fine. Close the front door and put up a sign that says we’ll be back open in thirty minutes or so. Then, come in the back so I can spank you. I won’t have you lying to me, Sarah. You know that.”

  “Yes, Joshua.” He went into the backroom without saying another word and Sarah wanted to cry. If he only knew what they were doing, and why, he wouldn’t be angry with her. Would he?

  Still, what did it matter? She was about to be spanked, and she hated the idea. But it didn’t make her change her mind. Ruby was right. In for a penny, in for a pound. It was too late to back out now.

  Chapter 2

  Josh was sitting on a barrel when Sarah came into the backroom. He had a ruler in his hand and it made her breath catch. If she had to have a spanking she just wanted a hand spanking, not something that would hurt as bad as the ruler. She decided to try to improve her chances of a small spanking.

  “I just went to the newspaper office.”

  “It’s too late for that, Sarah. Take down your bloomers and come over my lap. I’ll lift your skirt when you’re in position.”

  Knowing it would do no good to argue, Sarah did as he said. She stood next to him, and then lifted her skirts enough to pull down her bloomers. She lay down over his lap, and grasped the shelf to keep herself steady. She’d received several spankings back here, and she hadn’t liked any of them. She was sure today would be no different.

  He lifted her skirts quickly, baring her bottom, then he wasted no time. The first strike of the ruler stung, and Sarah gasped. He spanked her quickly, the ruler falling harder with each strike.

  She counted five, ten, fifteen slaps and still he didn’t slow. Usually he stopped around twenty or so, but at twenty, he kept going, and she cried out.

  “Josh!”

  “Sarah!” The ruler came down again and again. “You lied to me!”

  “Joshua, please! I’m sorry that you’re upset, but you need to remember that I was keeping a promise.”

  “I told you, this is for lying to me about going to the newspaper office.”

  She gasped. “You already knew!”

  “Yes, before I came back, I went and asked Corbin if you’d been in there earlier, and he told me you had. Something about a book that you needed from Ruby, and she had to ride out to Dawn and Rob’s to get it. We know you ladies are up to something.”

  Smack, smack, smack. “We want to know what it is.” Three hard strikes landed and she cried out again.

  “No! You’re just being mean. Stop it! It’s enough!” Five more this time, all in the same spot. Her bottom burned.

  “What is the spanking rule, Sarah?”

  “That you’re in charge.”

  “That’s right.” Four harder slaps. “Tell me what you had to run and tell Ruby, and then she had to run and tell Dawn.”

  He rubbed the ruler against her burning buttocks. “Tell me now and I stop. Don’t tell me and I give you twenty-five more swats, and if you don’t tell me after that, then I’ll probably spank you again tonight, at home. I won’t tolerate deception, Sarah.”

  In for a penny, in for a pound. Ruby’s words echoed through her mind. “I can’t tell you what I said to her. Just know that I went to the newspaper office to talk to Ruby, that’s all.”

  Without saying a word, Josh delivered twenty-five more swats, varying the landing p
lace while Sarah held firm to the counter, her eyes welling with tears. When he was done, he set her on her feet then turned her toward him.

  The scowl on his face let her know he hadn’t enjoyed spanking her. “Sarah, I don’t like this. I don’t like you keeping secrets, and I don’t like to spank you so hard. You know that.”

  “Yes, Josh, I know.”

  “We’ll talk about this at home, after the kids are in bed.”

  She nodded, and then wiped away her tears as he stood and kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

  He always ended a spanking with those words. He’d told her it was so she would know how much he cared for her, how much he needed her in his life. The fact that he spanked her didn’t change his feelings for her. All the MacAllister brothers disciplined their wives with spankings, it was understood from the beginning of their relationships.

  His declaration of love was to remind her of his love for her. It did just that, but it didn’t make getting spanked any easier.

  “I love you, too.”

  He kissed her lips gently, and then went back to main room. She could hear him moving toward the front door, opening it and welcoming someone inside.

  Sarah pulled up her bloomers, then went to the bathroom and washed her face, wiping away the last of her tears. She knew that Ruby would now be in trouble, since she was sure Josh had told Corbin about the fake book. That meant it would trickle to all the sisters-in-law, and probably every last one of them would be spanked by the time the night was over.

  She tried to remind herself that this would turn out to be a good thing, that in the long run their husbands would be happy. She just wished that happiness had come before she was spanked.

  * * *

  Ruby made it to Rob and Dawn’s place in record time. Still, when she reined in out front and called Dawn’s name, she was shocked that it was Ben that stepped out of the door, Win right on his heels.

  “Hello, Ruby,” Ben said softly. “Fancy meeting you here. What tears you away from the newspaper office this fine April afternoon?”

  “Ben, Win, hi. How are two of my favorite brothers-in-law?”

  “We’re fine,” Win said, leaning against the post. “You didn’t answer Ben’s question, though. Doesn’t Corbin need you at the newspaper office? Isn’t he meeting with Mr. Tucker about advertising for the new store? I just approved the loan for it early this morning.”

  “A loan for advertising?” Ruby laughed, trying to cover her nerves. “Win, we don’t charge that much.”

  Ben narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled. “He means for his new business. You wouldn’t happen to know why my wife went to Denver today, would you?”

  “Me? Denver? I didn’t go to Denver.”

  “That’s not what I said, and you know it. My wife went to Denver, unannounced, and she brought our son out here.”

  “My wife went with her,” Win said. “And she brought our children out here, too. Now usually when she goes, she leaves the children with the housekeeper, who watches over things. So I have to wonder exactly why she changed things up.”

  “And, I’m wondering why they went and didn’t tell us,” Ben said. “But none of you seem to know. I asked Dawn the same question. And Sarah. Now I’m asking you, again.”

  Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “Not a clue. Sorry. I just came out to talk to Dawn for a minute, to get a book, for Sarah.”

  “A book for Sarah,” Ben said. “You rode all the way out here at noon, while you should be at work.”

  “Actually, it’s about one thirty. Not noon.” Ruby looked behind them, hoping Dawn would come out. Instead it was Rob who stepped outside. He nodded at her, and then Dawn stepped up beside him, standing close to her husband. She grimaced at her and Ruby knew she’d just received the third degree from the MacAllister brothers standing on the porch. She also knew Dawn had kept the secret, just like they’d all agreed upon. It was a good thing, but it meant Dawn would be spanked, just like she was sure Sarah had already been spanked, and she herself would be spanked when she got back to town. She was sure by now Corbin had talked to Josh, and knew the book story was fake.

  “May I talk to Dawn, please?”

  “Of course,” Rob said. “Win, Ben, come out and see our new filly. She just arrived this morning.”

  The men started toward the porch and Ruby rushed to Dawn. “Well?”

  “I told them nothing, and now my husband is furious with me for lying to his brothers. He said there’s no way I could keep the children and not know what the ladies are doing in Denver.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Dawn shrugged her shoulders in resignation. “It won’t be the first time I’ve been spanked, and I’m sure I will be, right after you all leave. I could tell by the set of Rob’s shoulders that this put him in a spanking mood. He doesn’t take kindly to lies.”

  “Neither does Corbin. Now I have to ride back into town and tell him why I lied about having to come out here and get a book from you.”

  “A book? What book? No one said anything to me about a book.”

  “It was the excuse I gave Corbin. I wanted to get here before Ben, to warn you he might come because he found out about the trip. I didn’t expect Win to tag along.”

  “Who we need to warn is Vanessa and Harmony. The men are planning on intercepting the stage before it gets to town, so they can talk to them before you or Sarah do.”

  “No!”

  “Yes.” Dawn cleared her throat, and Ruby knew that meant the brothers were coming out of the barn, and headed their way.

  “I’m leaving before they can ask me anymore questions. I stink at lying.” Ruby mounted her horse quickly. “Plus I have to go and deal with my husband.”

  “Thanks for sticking around to support me, coward.” Ruby started to turn the horse, who startled nervously when Ben ran up and grabbed the bridle.

  “Wait. We’ll all ride back together.”

  “Well, I’m sorta in a hurry,” Ruby said. “Corbin needs me before three.”

  “Then we’ll hurry,” Win said, mounting his horse. “And we can talk.”

  His voice sounded friendly as always, but Ruby knew she was about to undergo an interrogation. She just hoped she could make it through without spilling the beans.

  * * *

  Dawn ushered her youngest son, Seth, out the door, he was ten-years-old now, and always raring to go. “You stay with everyone else now, don’t go past the trees, understand? Mark, make sure you keep an eye on everyone while I talk to your father.”

  With Win’s four children, Ben’s one and four of Dawn and Rob’s, three from her previous marriage and one with Rob, things had been hectic today. Her son Anthony was old enough to work at the stables in town, and Frank was in the fields with the other hands. She was thankful for Mark, though, who was old enough to work, but stayed behind today so he could help out with the younger children. She was grateful her older boys called Rob dad, and he never once called them anything but his sons.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mark said, winking at her. He nodded at Rob, who nodded back.

  He was old enough, Dawn knew, to know that his father, who had raised him but was not his biological father, was angry with his mother, and they needed to talk privately.

  “If you’re going to spank me, do it now.”

  “No, I’m not going to spank you with three sets of kids here. What I do want to know, though, is why you lied to my brothers.”

  Dawn said a silent prayer in thankfulness for the man she’d married. Tonight, when everyone had gone to bed, he would spank her, she knew. She was just glad he wasn’t doing it now.

  “I made a promise.”

  “You promised my brothers’ wives that you’d lie to their husbands, to cover up what they’re doing?”

  “It’s not like that.”

  Rob sat forward, his blond hair was getting long, and it hung down into his eyes.

  “We need to cut your hair. Shall I do it now?”

  “No, right no
w I want you to answer my question.”

  Dawn sat own in a chair opposite him. “May I ask you a question?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you’d made a pact with someone, would you keep it?”

  “You know I would.”

  “Yes, I do know that. And that’s what I’m doing. Keeping a pact. It’s for nothing bad, I can assure you of that. They’re not out robbing banks or anything. They just had something they had to take care of in Denver.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Win and Ben that?”

  “Because they wouldn’t have let up on me. They would have kept hounding me until I told them exactly what was going on, and I don’t want to do that.”

  “Tell me.”

  “No.”

  He gave her a cockeyed glance. “Excuse me?”

  “No. I’m sorry, Rob, but I can’t. I made a promise.”

  He watched her for a few minutes, and then he stood. “I appreciate your sticking to the promise you made, but you still flat out lied to my brothers and told them you had no idea what was happening. If you’d told them what you told me, I’d be fine with it. But you didn’t.”

  “I know.” Her voice was soft.

  “Tonight, after Win and Ben pick up their kids, and ours are in bed, you and I will visit the woodshed. Twenty swats.”

  “Twenty?”

  “Now it’s thirty. Don’t argue with me, Dawn, because I can easily make it forty, or fifty. You lied, and this is the punishment.”

  He left without waiting for an answer and Dawn could already feel the ache in her behind, growing stronger as the clock ticked away the minutes left in the day.

  * * *

  “So, how’s your day been, Ruby?” She turned to Win and smiled her best smile.

  “Fine, just fine.” She tightened her grip on the reins, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

  “That’s good. Ben and I are a little concerned because we know you ladies are up to something. Not that we think it’s anything bad.”