Teaching Abby (Lone Star Family Values)

by Goldie Ledbury

  Thoughtfully, Abby looked at Mac. He’d been great company, and she couldn’t remember a time when she’d enjoyed herself more. He looked relaxed and happy. She wondered if it would be a good time to broach a subject she was curious about.

  Mac saw her hesitate, and his eyebrows rose. “What’s on your mind, honey?”

  “Oh!” He was very perceptive. She picked up her napkin nervously. “Well, first of all, I just wanted to say thank you for this meal. It’s been lovely.”

  Mac’s eyes narrowed. “You’re welcome.”

  “I… also wanted to apologize for what I said to you earlier. I know you’re not the kind of person who would go around beating or spanking someone for real.”

  “Ah.” Mac sat back in his chair thoughtfully. He hadn’t planned to have a conversation about spanking so soon, but since she’d brought it up, he’d have to deal with it. He just hoped it wouldn’t frighten her off completely.

  “Just a moment.” He ordered the coffees, and waited until they arrived before they spoke. He took a deep swallow of the black brew before beginning. “You’re right I would never beat a woman,” he said slowly. “The thought of hurting or frightening a woman is horrible to me.”

  She nodded.

  “But I do have some very traditional family values. I do believe in spanking occasionally, if the situation warrants it.” He watched as she unconsciously began to shred the napkin she was holding.

  “I’m not sure I understand,” she said quietly.

  “Well, I believe that the man should be head of the household,” he began, catching a glint of disbelief in her eyes. “By that, I don’t mean that he should strut around like some little Hitler, throwing out orders and expecting everyone to obey them.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean, then?”

  “I believe that men and women have different, but equally important, roles within a marriage. I think the man should honor the woman, love, protect and care for her, provide for her if he can.”

  “Okay.”

  “The woman should love the man, and seek to support him and their family.”

  Her eyes hardened. “Chained to the sink, barefoot and pregnant, you mean?”

  His jaw dropped. “No, I don’t mean that. Honoring a woman means listening to, and valuing, her input and giving it as much weight as you do your own. And that means that any decisions about having children would involve both people being happy about it. And as for being chained…” He shook his head. “I would never want a marriage where the woman felt chained. I would never want to force or trap a woman in any way.”

  Abby’s brow furrowed. “I’m not getting where the spanking comes in?”

  He laid his hand gently over hers. “That’s a lot of confetti you’ve got there,” he said lightly.

  She looked down in surprise at the bits of napkin scattered across the table. “Oh! Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I didn’t notice.”

  He laughed. “I noticed. And in answer to your question about spanking, it relates to rules.”

  “Rules?”

  “Mmm-hmm. I think for a family to work successfully, there needs to be rules.”

  “Imposed by you, I suppose?”

  “No. Imposed by both of us, in agreement.”

  There was an edge to her voice as Abby asked, “What kind of rules?”

  Mac rolled his eyes. “Oh, I can feel your mind working overtime. But you can put your fevered imaginings away, my dear. I would propose very few rules; only ones I thought were really important.”

  “Okay. Hit me with ’em.”

  “Well, I would propose a rule that neither party puts themselves or others at risk of harm.”

  She stared at him blankly. “That’s it?”

  His lips quirked. “Actually, that’s quite a big rule. It would cover today’s incident, about going to a doctor if you need to.”

  “And the rule would apply to you, too, right?”

  “It would.”

  “So your wife would get to spank you if you broke the rule?”

  He smiled. “Nope. But it would be part of my promise to her. I would always go.”

  “What else would it involve?”

  “Not speeding when you’re driving.”

  She remembered abruptly that Mac’s parents had been killed in a collision with a driver who’d been drinking and speeding. Suddenly, she realized the origins of Mac’s protectiveness. “Seems fair.”

  He looked down at his coffee. “Basically, I wouldn’t want her to do anything that would endanger her or others.”

  “Any other rules?”

  He picked up his spoon, and stirred his coffee absently. “Well, if I ever had children, I’d want a rule about not cursing or swearing around them.”

  Abby sat back thoughtfully. She agreed strongly with that rule herself. If she ever had children, she’d want them to grow up in a wholesome environment. “Well,” she said lightly. “It’s an interesting view of marriage, one I’ve never heard before. Good luck finding a woman to agree to it, though.”

  Mac grimaced. “Does that mean you wouldn’t?” he asked, and the nerves in his stomach told him all he needed to know about how much her answer mattered.

  “Me?” She looked confused. “What have I got to do with this?”

  “Let’s get the check and get out of here,” Mac said abruptly. A few minutes later they emerged into the sunny afternoon. “Would you like a walk?” Mac asked. “The river’s just around the corner, and there are some ducks, I think.”

  “Sure.” She could do with a walk after her big meal. More to the point, she could do with some fresh air to calm her down. She was completely confused. One minute they’d been having a fascinating conversation about Mac’s views on marriage, and the next he was talking to her as if… as if…

  Abby was jolted out of her reverie by the sensation of a warm hand slipping into hers. Astonished, she looked up at Mac. He was focused on where he was going, probably hadn’t even noticed that he’d taken her hand. A courtesy thing. After all, he was a very well mannered man.

  “Come on,” he muttered. “I think there’s a path by the river that you might like.”

  They walked together along a side street, and emerged by a very pretty tree lined river. Across a small bridge, she could see a small, gravel path.

  “This is lovely,” she exclaimed, surprised.

  He looked down at her and smiled, the tension easing out of his features. “Glad you like it,” he said, and they crossed the little bridge and set off along the path.

  It was an amazingly peaceful area, Abby realized, as she walked along listening to the water flowing over the stones. Birds sang in nearby trees, and the soft breeze blew through the branches. The late afternoon sunshine was mellow and golden, and she felt herself, and the man beside her, relax.

  After a while, they came upon a park bench. “I spy ducklings,” Mac said softly. “Would you like to sit and watch them for a while?”

  Abby had spotted them too, and she smiled in agreement. Together, they watched as a mother duck led a line of little ducklings past the riverbank.

  “Abby,” Mac began with difficulty. “I didn’t intend to have a conversation like the one we’ve just had, today. What with your father, the doctor, our argument, you’ve had a difficult time…”

  Abby looked at him and shrugged. “You didn’t raise the subject, I did,” she said. “Thank you for telling me so much about your beliefs.”

  “Yes, well I wouldn’t normally share them,” Mac admitted. “My thoughts about family life are private and personal.”

  Abby frowned. “So, why did you?” she asked.

  He raised warm brown eyes to hers. “Can’t you guess?” he said softly.

  Abby tensed. Had he realized that she was attracted to him? Was he going to make a fool of her? She wouldn’t have thought it of him, but… She stood up, stiffly, and thrust her hands in her pockets, looking out over the river.

  Mac frowned. Her whole posture wa
s defensive. Was she trying to tell him without words that she wasn’t interested? His confusion deepened. In the car, in the restaurant, she had seemed warm and friendly. But now she just looked hard and distant. So what had changed?

  He stood up, and gently took her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. “Abby,” he said cautiously.

  She shrugged off his hands. “Don’t, Mac! You said I’d had a difficult time, and I have! So why are you putting the boot in?”

  “What? What the hell do you mean?”

  A wash of tears glazed her eyes. “I never thought of you as a cruel man–”

  “I’m not!”

  “Well, why are you taunting me about my feelings?”

  “Your feelings?” For a minute he froze. “Your feelings. For me?”

  She folded her arms, tightly. “You don’t have to say anything. You’re quite safe. I know full well you’re not in my league.”

  Mac’s brow creased. “Abby, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She closed her eyes. “Okay. I admit it. I’m attracted to you. But I know full well a man like you would never like a little nobody like me. You needn’t worry. I won’t embarrass you–”

  “Stop!”

  Abby stopped, her vulnerable blue eyes awash with unshed tears.

  “Abby, I think you’ve misunderstood me. I wasn’t going to taunt you about your feelings. I didn’t know…” He swallowed. “I told you about my beliefs because I have feelings for you.”

  “What!” She stared at him as if he’d grown two heads. “But… that’s impossible!”

  “Why?”

  “Because you own one of the biggest ranches in Wyoming, not to mention an oil field!”

  “So?”

  “So you could have any woman you wanted. A rich, gorgeous one!”

  “Ah.” He looked down at the floor. “Abby, do you like me because of my money?”

  “No!”

  “Well, that makes you one in a million. I’m attracted to you because – well, I just am. I’ve always felt drawn to you.”

  “You have?”

  “Mmm-hmm. But you were just so darned hard to get near.”

  She flushed.

  “Why, Abby? Why did you always disappear when I came to visit? Your father said you were just shy, but I don’t think that was it.”

  “It wasn’t it,” she said in a low voice. “I was attracted to you. I was afraid if I came near you’d realize and make fun of me, or be embarrassed…”

  Mac winced. “Oh, Abby. I could spank you for even thinking that. All these years…” He shook his head.

  Abby looked up at him, her mind racing. “So, you told me about your spanking beliefs because…”

  He looked at her gravely. “We don’t know each other well, yet. But I’d like us to. Friendship with a view to romance, say? But I knew it wouldn’t be right to start a relationship without you knowing my beliefs.”

  She swallowed. “I see,” she said. “Can we walk a bit more?”

  Abby didn’t notice a thing as they walked further along the path; so busy was her mind with tumbling thoughts. Mac stayed quiet, trying to hide his tension. Finally, she said, “I think I need to ask you a few more questions.”

  “Okay. Go ahead.”

  “This spanking. What does it entail?”

  “Oh! Well, a spanking is meant to be like a guiding hand, teaching you something for your own good. So, it would only happen if a rule had been broken.”

  “Uh-huh. So what would happen?”

  “Well, I would never spank you whilst I was angry. Spanking has to be a proportionate response to what’s happened. Considered.”

  “Right.”

  “I would bend you over my knee, and use my hand to spank you.”

  “Over my clothes?”

  He smiled down on her. “That would depend. If we were married, then no, I’d remove your clothes. If we agreed to do it before we were married, then over your clothes.”

  Abby’s jaw dropped. “We could do it before we were married?”

  Mac studied her in silence. Finally, he said, “In some ways I’d prefer it if my wife-to-be had had the experience. Then you could make an informed decision about whether to marry me, knowing what you’d let yourself in for. But if it made you uncomfortable, then we’d wait.”

  “But you’d need a reason? For me to do something wrong?”

  Mac’s lips quirked. “Didn’t you call me a pervert earlier?”

  She couldn’t help it, she laughed. “True.”

  “So, how about it? Would you like to try to get to know each other better?”

  Abby scuffed the ground with her boot. She was so attracted to him, and she desperately wanted to get to know this fascinating, dangerous man better. But she was a little worried about the spanking issue. “I think,” she said, “that I would like to try. Getting to know you, and maybe the spanking thing, too.” She felt a squirm of nervous excitement run through her at the thought of being bent over Mac’s knee.

  Mac expelled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and drew her into a gentle hug. “You won’t regret it,” he whispered, kissing her hair.

  “When should we…”

  “When should we try spanking?” he asked tenderly.

  She blushed, and nodded.

  “Not for two weeks, at least. That’s what Dr. Taylor said you’d need to heal. And remember, the first rule–”

  “Not to cause harm to oneself or others.”

  His eyes crinkled with laughter. “Right. So we wait. Two weeks from today, we’ll see how you feel.” He lowered his head to kiss her. “Darling, it’s going to be wonderful.”

  Chapter 3

  They stopped off to buy fruit, candy and magazines, then went to visit Jacob Connor at Billings Hospital. A brief conversation with the nurse on duty established that whilst he was badly hurt, he was on the road to recovery.

  Relieved, they went to talk to him. He lay, hooked up to a drip and a monitor, looking grey, but he brightened when he saw Mac.

  “Well, look what the wind blew in,” he said, beaming. “It’s mighty nice of you to come and see me.”

  He spied Abby, just behind Mac. “Well, if it isn’t little Abby Proudfoot, all grown up. Girl, you look fine. Glad to see you together. Ethan and I, we always thought you’d make a good pair…”

  He paused, as if the effort of talking had been too much. Abby sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Jacob, it’s good to see you, too,” she said. “I was sorry to hear you’d got hurt.”

  Jacob grunted. “Cattle rustlers. Nasty gang, too. Vicious. Mind you keep an eye on your place, young Mac…”

  Mac nodded. “I’m working with the sheriff now, and we’re taking precautions. We’ll get them.”

  “You do that.” He nodded, wearily. “And Mac, thanks. Lucy told me what you’d done…”

  “It’s no problem,” Mac said quietly. “At times like these, we have to pull together to put things right.”

  Jacob nodded, his eyes closing. “We sure do,” he said, his voice slurring.

  They departed quietly, leaving their gifts on the bedside table. Once they were out of the hospital, Abby asked, “What did you do?”

  To her surprise, Mac flushed. “They don’t have much, Lucy and Jacob. I was worried they might not have medical insurance. So I got Calla to call Lucy…”

  “You’re covering his medical bill?”

  He shrugged. “Money’s nothing compared to the welfare of people you care about,” he said. “Sometimes, I’m just thankful when I encounter a problem that money can help. I wish I could do more for your father…”

  Abby shook her head. “There’s nothing more that anyone can do for him,” she said. “But I’m grateful for the help looking after him.”

  It occurred belatedly to Mac that Abby had been caring for her father without a break for months. “How long is it since you last left the homestead?” he asked absently.

  Abby reflected. “About
four months, I think,” she said. “Jackson Mercantile offer a delivery service, so they’ve been bringing supplies.”

  Mac bit back a curse. Today was the first time in four months she’d had a break from the house?

  Abby saw his ferocious scowl, and was confused by it. “What’s the matter?”

  “You’ve been struggling in that house with your father for four months, and I didn’t know,” he growled. “I don’t like it. I should have kept a better eye on you.”

  Abby’s eyebrows rose. “You can put your god complex away now,” she said dryly.

  “What?”

  “Mac, you’re a human being like the rest of us. You do your best, but you can’t solve everyone’s problems, or keep an eye on everyone all of the time. Yes, our families were friends, but that doesn’t make you responsible for us.”

  Mac’s frown dissolved. “Okay, I take your point. But I still wish I’d come home and rescued you earlier.”

  “Well, you’re here now, Sir Galahad,” she said teasingly.

  He looked intently at her. “I promise, from now on, I’ll always be here for you.”

  The next couple of weeks were extremely busy for the whole household. By some miracle, Calla managed to find a male nurse, Jack, who could come and sit with Ethan through the night. In the daytime, Mac and Jeb took turns sitting with him, or Calla and Abby sat with him together.

  The sheriff became a regular visitor to the house, as the cattle rustlers moved across the state, causing damage and stealing thousands of dollars worth of livestock. Thankfully, they hadn’t shot anyone else, though everyone knew it was only a matter of time. Mac had loaned the services of some of his best men to help the sheriff, and there were frequent discussions in Mac’s study. All of the men now carried rifles, and everyone in the household was on high alert.

  But through it all, Mac still found the opportunity to spend time with Abby. In the evening after dinner, when Jeb and Calla had gone to their own suite, they would meet in the den, and watch a film or read. Mac took to sitting beside her on the sofa, gently cuddling her in to him as they relaxed.

  Abby looked forward to their quiet time together each day. It was so relaxing being with him, talking and learning more about him. She discovered that they had a lot in common, with similar values and attitudes to life. He made her laugh too, with his wickedly wry sense of humor.