Her bottom tightened, involuntarily. “Y… yes.”
His hand rested lightly on her pink panties. Then he said in a harsh tone, “You put yourself at risk?”
“Yes.”
Thwack!
His hand slammed down on her bottom, and she yelped, feeling tears come into her eyes.
“You risked your life and mine.”
“Yes!”
Again, his hand blazed down. “Ow!”’ The cry came involuntarily, and she twisted on his lap. “Stay still or you’ll get more!” he said sharply. She froze.
“You will never put yourself at risk again,” he growled, slamming his hand down again.
“Aaargh! I won’t, I promise…”
“And if you ever think you’ve done something wrong you’ll come and tell me immediately.”
Thwack!
“I will–”
“And not leave it until you’ve been suffering for days.”
Thwack!
“I promise.”
Thwack!
“And I’ll make the same promise to you.”
Thwack, thwack, thwack! He rained down a veritable volley of blows on her exposed bottom, and she cried out helplessly as her bottom turned from rose to the deepest crimson. Heat bloomed across her flesh and she howled and sobbed, tears pouring down her face. He carried on until he was exhausted, his hand and rage burned out in the fire of the spanking.
Finally, he stopped, and listened to her broken sobs with the deepest weariness. Gently, he lifted her up and sat her on his lap. She cuddled into his arms, resting her head against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” she hiccupped, when she had calmed a little. “I won’t ever do something so stupid again, I promise.”
He closed his eyes tightly at her quiet words. “I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I promise to do my best for you, always. To keep you safe. To support you.”
She nodded. “Do you feel better?” she asked.
He looked down at his hands. “Yes. You’ll never convince me that you deserved a spanking for that, but I do feel better. Do you?”
“I do,” she said softly. “I know now that I’ll never do anything so foolish again. You’ve given me back my faith in myself.”
He hugged her close. “I’m glad.” He hesitated. “I feel so close to you,” he whispered. “I could die happy with you here in my arms.”
“Oh, love…”
She lifted her head, and kissed him. He kissed her back, feeling the heat flush over him, a wash of love flow through him.
Finally, he broke the kiss, breathing deeply. “Sweetheart, you are so wonderful.”
She wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I’m so pleased we’ve cleared the air between us,” she said.
Mac tensed before he could prevent himself.
Abby sat up, looking at him. “Mac? What is it?”
“There’s something else,” he said in a low voice. “I… need to tell you. To be honest with you.”
“About what?”
“About my feelings for you. I know I said friendship with a view to romance, but it’s gone beyond that. Darling, I love you.”
He lifted her off his lap, and dropped onto the floor on one knee. Taking her hand, he looked into her astonished blue eyes. “Abby, you’re the only woman I’ll ever want. You’re everything I want. I love you so much. Will you… will you marry me?”
Abby looked at him, and knew that Mac meant more to her than the whole world. “Oh, Mac,” she said softly, “I love you too. You’re my world. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Just two weeks later, they married in a flowery meadow in the sunshine, with the misty blue of the Rocky Mountains in the distance blending with the cloudless sky. Jeb and Calla, Lucy and Jacob and a host of other friends looked on approvingly as they said their vows. It was obvious to everyone that the two were deeply in love.
Mac couldn’t believe his luck as he looked down on his beautiful wife. To be able to wake up in the morning and see her face on the pillow next to his was amazing. To think that they could live, love, and have children together, was a dream come true.
Abby, meanwhile, was experiencing a sense of disbelief that this handsome, wonderful man was now her husband. It seemed unbelievable that any two people could feel so close, so in accord with each other. When she looked into his eyes, her sense of rightness was so profound that she knew she had found the one man on earth who was meant for her.
The next morning, Abby walked out to the corral, and looked out across the sunny plains towards the distant mountains. Her lips curved. Her wedding night had been everything she could ever have dreamed of, and more. Mac had been gentle and caring and patient, waiting until she was drowning and sated with the most overwhelming pleasure before seeking his own explosive release.
And his body had been a revelation to her, too. The experience of touching him, discovering his mysteries, had held her spellbound for hours. Even now, just thinking about it, she wished that she were back in bed with him. Laughing softly, she realized that tonight, and every night, she would be able to hold him in her arms.
“What are you laughing at?” A soft voice behind her made her spin round.
“Mac!” She reached up to kiss him. “I was just thinking about last night.”
“Last night made you laugh?”
She giggled. “Nope.” She took him in her arms with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “But what we do tonight might!”
Turning, laughing, they went into the house, hand in hand. And as they did so, Abby knew that together they could face all of the challenges the future might hold, secure and firm in the warm embrace of their love.
Part 2:
Chapter 1
It was late afternoon, and the mellow golden sun cast long shadows across the Lone Star ranch. On the verandah, Mac and Jeb finished discussing the business of the day and sat back in their chairs.
“Beer?” asked Mac.
“Please.”
Mac went inside to get the drinks, noting how very quiet the homestead was without the women there. Abby and Calla had gone into town to do some shopping, stop at the library, then they were going on together to have a meal out.
He opened the beers and took them back outside. Handing one to Jeb, he sat down and relaxed. Looking out over the far plains to the purple-hued mountains beyond, he felt his tired body relax.
Beside him, Jeb took a long swallow of his cold drink. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he murmured.
Mac nodded. “Best view on earth. Couldn’t live anywhere else.”
“Mmm.” There was something in Jeb’s voice that made Mac look at him sharply. He was disturbed to see an uncharacteristically grim look on the older man’s face.
“You okay, Jeb?”
Jeb sighed. “I went to see Dr. Elliott last week.”
Mac stiffened. “Oh, yes?”
“It’s my hands. They’ve been giving me hell. Fingers are stiff, and I can’t grip like I used to. No use if I’m on one end of a rope, and a steer’s on the other.”
“True. What did he say?”
“He did some tests, and it turns out that it’s arthritis. Down to old age and wear and tear, apparently.”
“Can he treat it?”
“Painkillers and ointments to ease the pain, but nothing’s going to get rid of it.”
Mac sighed. “Damn. I’m sorry. We’ll just have to work round it.”
Jeb shook his head. “No, lad. It’s good of you to offer, but I’m getting past it. I think, in the next year or two, I need to hang up my spurs and retire.”
“Retire!” Mac looked at him, shocked. Jeb and Calla had been part of his life, part of his family, since he was a child. He couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to imagine, life without them.
“Ah, don’t look like that, boy,” Jeb said gruffly. “We’re not going to up and leave you. You and Abby are like our own son and daughter. But we thought maybe we’d look around and buy a smallholding nearby, so we could be near you.”
&nb
sp; Mac felt punch-drunk. The shocks just kept on coming. Jeb and Calla wanted to move out? The Lone Star had been their home for years!
“You don’t need to move out,” Mac said. “Stay here, with us.”
Jeb shook his head. “It’s time for some new blood, son,” he said. “You need a new foreman, someone younger with more fire in him. We’ll cramp his style if we’re here. No, we’ll move somewhere nearby and visit often.”
“When?”
Jeb leaned forward, placing a reassuring hand on Mac’s arm. “Relax. I’m not talking about going right now. Maybe in a year, if we can find a new foreman and train him up. I won’t go until I can safely hand over to him.”
Mac picked up his beer and drained it. He couldn’t imagine life without Jeb working alongside him. Where on earth would he ever find anyone he could trust so implicitly? Not only that, if Calla retired, they would also need to find a new housekeeper. One who didn’t mind living away from town on a ranch, who could prepare food for the hands in industrial quantities, and who could keep on top of a homestead which saw a constant stream of muddy boots passing through. In short, he needed a paragon.
Heart sinking, he asked Jeb, “Have you got anyone in mind as a replacement foreman?” He couldn’t think of anyone on the ranch who would be suitable to take Jeb’s place. In fact, he couldn’t think of anyone who’d want to. Jeb’s job, though well paid, involved long hours, hard work and a mountain of responsibility.
Mirroring his thoughts, Jeb answered, “No one here. But there was a man in town looking for a new job. Nick Farrell. He’s been a foreman before. Of course, we’d have to get him in, interview him and check his background. But he might be worth considering.”
Mac nodded. “You’ve met him?”
“Briefly. He was in Nancy’s Diner when I was in town last week. I liked him. Got a good feeling about him.”
Mac nodded. Jeb’s sixth sense about people had saved him a world of trouble in the past. On one occasion, it had prevented Mac from hiring a ranch hand who had seemed perfect for the job, but who had turned out to be a thief who had stolen a significant amount of money from his previous employer. “Okay, can you sort out an interview?”
“Sure.”
“And get Hollisters to do a background check on him.”
Jeb nodded. “Leave it to me.”
That night, lying in bed with his arm around Abby, Mac recounted his conversation with Jeb. In turn, she told him about the discussion she’d had with Calla. It appeared that both of them had been told of the couple’s plans simultaneously.
“Calla told me about it over dinner,” Abby said. “She said that they want to travel a bit, see some of the world before they get too old to do it. I think Jeb’s arthritis has been a bit of a wake-up call for him, made him realize that he’s not immortal.”
Mac nodded. “He’s always been such a tough, strong, healthy man. I can’t remember a time ever when he’s been ill. I really didn’t think about how old he was getting.”
“I know. Calla always seems so strong, too. But I suppose they’d have to stop sometime, and it might as well be whilst they’re still young enough and healthy enough to enjoy the money they’ve saved.”
“They have savings?”
“Some. Calla said they hardly touch their pay – not much to spend it on, when you’re out here on the ranch all the time.”
Mac nodded. “True. But if they want to buy a smallholding and travel… We should give them a golden handshake. If they’re going to retire, we’ll make sure they do it in style!”
Abby laughed, and wrapped her slender arm around his waist. “Oh Mac, I do love you. You come up with the most wonderful ideas.”
Mac’s eyebrows rose, and he felt his body quicken at her touch. “That’s not all I can come up with,” he said dryly, rolling over to kiss her. His warm lips stroked over hers, and he felt her body respond to his.
“Really?” she whispered. “Show me.”
Breathing deeply, he gathered her up into his arms, and proceeded to show his beautiful wife exactly what a man in love can come up with when challenged.
The next morning, Abby sat out on the verandah with her coffee, enjoying the warmth of the early morning sunshine and thinking about the night before. Mac was a wonderful, attentive lover, and in the six months since they had married, their lovemaking had just gotten better and better. And more and more inventive, she thought, wryly. Last night, for the first time, he had shocked and then thrilled her by using not only his hands and body, but also his lips and tongue to pleasure her. At first she had frozen, embarrassed by the intimacy, but his soft voice reassuring her that ‘it’s okay… please let me…’ had encouraged her to relax. And she was glad she had, she acknowledged, recalling the explosive culmination of their lovemaking. It had been spectacular.
That said, she wasn’t at all sure how she was going to face him this morning. It was one thing to enjoy such delights in the darkness of the night, quite another to have to see him in the morning.
She didn’t have long to worry about it, though, as Mac came out onto the verandah carrying his own coffee. He bent to kiss her, watchfully observing her wild shy blush.
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t shock you too much, last night?”
“No.”
“Truthfully?”
She laughed. “Well, maybe a bit. But it was a good kind of shock. I… really enjoyed it.”
“Me, too.”
She looked at him, wondering if the act had brought him pleasure, or if he’d just done it for her sake. “Truthfully?”
He glanced at her, and gave a choked laugh. “Honey, I loved it. I could live on the taste of you, your scent. I fell asleep still able to smell you on me.” He took a deep breath, remembering the visceral pleasure that loving her so intimately had given him. “It was perfect.”
She gasped as his heartfelt words invoked the magic of the night before. She felt her body respond, and from the look in his eyes, his was, too. He shifted uncomfortably.
“Lady, you’re dynamite,” he said in a driven tone. “I could take you back to bed right now.”
She sighed, wistfully. “I wish you could.”
But of course, it was impossible. There was work to do and animals to feed. Mac saw Jeb walking over from the barn, and stood up, bending down to kiss her. “Later,” he said deeply, and then he was gone.
* * *
“So, did you tell him, then?” Calla asked Abby later in the morning, as they stood peeling vegetables ready for lunch.
“Tell him what?”
“About what Mr. Franks at the library said?”
“Oh! No. We had more important news than that to discuss, didn’t we?”
Calla rolled her eyes. “Our plans can wait. This, my girl, is an offer you should seize with both hands.”
Abby looked doubtful. “I don’t know. There’s loads of work to do here. And it’s not as if we need the money.”
Calla put down her vegetable knife and looked at the younger woman. “Abby, you’re a lovely woman and you work hard here, but it’s a waste of your skills. You love books, and you love working with children. Even if you don’t need the money, a job as a children’s librarian would be great for you. You’d love it.”
Abby smiled. She would. Not for a minute had she regretted giving up her job when her father was ill, but she missed talking to people about books, watching the expressions of rapt delight on the children’s faces when she read to them. It would be wonderful to work at the library again.
“Besides that,” Calla continued, “the new library assistant, Holly, seemed really nice. It would be good for you to have some more female company.”
“Calla, I have you!”
“You always will have, honey. But you’re a young woman, and some friends around your own age would be good for you.”
“I suppose so.” She shrugged awkwardly. Living so far from town, and being home
schooled, she had never had the opportunity to make friends with other women. Would she have anything in common with another female her own age? After all, her upbringing had been quite sheltered, and life on a ranch was pretty isolated.
On the other hand, she could imagine that it might be fun. It would be lovely to have someone to gossip to and laugh with, someone to confide in.
To confide in… The thought took her by surprise. Did she need another woman to talk to? It was true that she didn’t feel able to discuss much about her relationship with Mac with Calla. How could she, when Mac was Calla’s employer? And she had no desire to share the intimacies of her marriage with anyone else. But it would be nice to discuss relationships in general, to be able to ask questions and share worries.
She picked up a carrot, and began peeling it absently. Last night she had loved what Mac had done, but it had brought home to her how little she knew about intimacy. She had read about making love that way, but had never expected to experience it herself. Was it a normal part of lovemaking?
Moreover, was it normal to want to do the same back to him? She wasn’t so naïve that she didn’t know that women gave oral sex to men, but was it something ordinary women did? Was it something wives did? Did it make her wanton to want to do it to Mac?
Her own ignorance of such things frustrated her.
She was vividly aware that Mac always took the lead in their lovemaking, and until recently that had suited her just fine. But now she felt restless, dissatisfied. She wanted to enjoy Mac’s body freely, just as he enjoyed hers. But would he like it if she made the first move? Would he be disgusted or shocked if she tried to do to him what he did to her?
It crossed her mind that she should talk to him about it, but she rejected the thought out of hand. Her father had never spoken about intimate things, and she shied away from the thought of discussing them herself. Maybe things would have been different if her mother had lived, or if she’d had female friends, but she hadn’t. She just couldn’t even imagine being able to talk about such things.
To have a conversation like that with Mac would be absolutely mortifying, and if he was shocked by her desires, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to look him in the eye again. The thought of his rejection cut deep. No. There was no way she was risking that. She’d just have to go on as usual, and enjoy their lovemaking as it was.
Teaching Abby (Lone Star Family Values) Page 6