by Misty Malone
***
Cheyenne spent much of the afternoon thinking again. She couldn’t believe it was possible to allow yourself to be brainwashed like that, but obviously it was. She was upset with herself for allowing it, and decided to call her mom and tell her how she felt about what she’d done.
She dialed her mom’s cell number, but it went to voice mail. She left a short message, simply asking her mom to call her.
By the time the guys came in for supper, she’d made some decisions. Once they sat down to eat, she asked some questions related to what she’d been thinking about. “Clay, before you tell me any stories from the past, I’d like to ask you both something. I’ve thought a lot this afternoon, and I decided I want to give life on the ranch a fair try. One thing I do remember is riding horses. I used to like doing that, didn’t I, Clay?”
He smiled and said, “Yes, you sure did. That’s what a couple of the stories I wanted to share with you tonight are about.”
“As I’ve been thinking back, I remember a couple times when I was riding, and I liked it. But I remember every time I did Mom would get on me as soon as I came back in the house. She always told me that riding horses is not something a lady does.” She stopped a minute and Ty noticed an angry look on her face, which he didn’t care for. That look quickly left and she enthusiastically continued. “I’ve decided I want to try it again. Will someone please take me riding? I want to see if I still like it.”
Ty looked at her, as if trying to read her mind. “Honey, how long has it been since you’ve been on a horse?”
She had a lost look on her face, and turned to look at Clay. He shook his head and his eyebrows drew together, thinking. “You were pretty little, Squirt. Maybe eight or nine?”
Ty studied her. “Do you like horses?”
She looked shocked at his question. “I guess so. Clay said I used to like riding them.”
“I know what he said you used to do, but I’m talking about now. Today, do you like horses?”
“I don’t know.”
Ty squinted his eyes a bit. “Cheyenne, when was the last time you were in the barn?”
She was quiet, but Ty could tell she was thinking. Finally, after quite a bit of silence, during which Clay was thinking, as well, she shook her head. “I don’t know. When I was little.”
Ty looked at Clay, his eyebrows raised. Clay confirmed her words. “She’s right. I was trying to remember when I saw her in the barn last, and I swear, she was little. Mom always had a fit if she even headed toward the barn, so after so long she didn’t even come close.” He looked at his sister and seemed speechless. “Cheyenne, I’m really sorry. I absolutely loved growing up on the ranch. I should have seen what was happening and stopped Mom somehow. She was preventing you from enjoying the ranch, too.”
“Clay, I don’t know how you should have seen it and stopped her. She did it to me and I didn’t even know what she was doing.” She sighed. “So anyway, will one of you guys take me riding sometime?”
“Honey, I’d be happy to,” Ty said, “but I think you’ll need to start out slow. First we need to take you out to the barn and see what you think of horses. If you still want to, we can work with you, but you’ll have to learn how to ride first. You can’t just jump on a horse and go.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll come back to me once I get out there. I’ll be fine.”
Ty’s stern voice suddenly appeared. “Cheyenne, you are not to get on a horse until Clay or I have made sure you know what you’re doing and are with you. Do you understand me?”
Both men were watching her, awaiting an answer. She sighed and waved off his concern. “You worry too much. Ty, if I used to like it I must have known what I was doing.”
“But that was a long time ago, Cheyenne, and we don’t know what you knew about riding horses to begin with, or how much of that you remember. No trying to ride again unless I’m with you or Clay’s with you. We need to make sure you know what you’re doing so you’ll be safe. Do you hear what I’m saying?”
Cheyenne looked over at Clay, but he didn’t come to her rescue. “I’m with Ty on this one. Dad and I just got you back here with us. We don’t want you getting hurt. And I’m sure Ty doesn’t want to see you hurt, either. If you remember what you’re doing, it won’t take long, but just let us give you a quick refresher course first to be sure. That’s not really asking that much, is it?”
She looked from one stern man to the other and decided she didn’t want to fight tonight with either of them. “Okay, I guess I can do that.”
As she said that, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and got up from the table. She headed into the other room as she answered it. “Hi, Mom. Thanks for calling me back.”
Both Ty and Clay were on instant alert. They were quiet so they could hear what Cheyenne was saying. It wasn’t long at all before their concern rose. “Yes, I wanted something. I wanted to know what the hell you thought you were doing, turning me against the ranch. That was a horrible thing to do. I can’t believe anyone would do something like that to another person, but especially a parent to their own daughter.”
The guys were both quickly in the room, halfway to her when she said, “Oh, bullshit! You only cared about yourself, like always. Dammit, Mom, why did you—”
Ty grabbed the phone out of her hand and handed it to Clay. She whirled on Ty. “Hey, give me that back.”
“You’ve said quite enough as is, little lady. What were you thinking, talking to your mother like that?”
She whirled around, trying unsuccessfully to get free from him, her anger growing. “What was I thinking? I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking she’s a selfish bitch. Ty, she ruined my life, and all because she was looking out for herself only.”
Ty glanced over at Clay, who had stepped into the next room to talk with his mother, and quickly turned Cheyenne enough to land half a dozen very firm swats to her backside. “That is more than enough of that language, Cheyenne. You know I do not allow that.”
She jumped forward with the force of his swats and reached back to rub her butt as she yelped. “Ow! Ty, that hurt! Cut it out!”
He moved her hand away and gave her six more good swats. “It was meant to hurt. And I’ve told you before, no rubbing when I spank you or I’ll repeat the spanking.”
She danced on her toes, an angry look on her face, but she didn’t rub again. He turned her around to face him. “Now, if you’re ready to settle down, we can talk about this a little bit before you get your spanking. If you persist in this childish behavior, we’ll go directly to the office and I’ll blister your sweet little bottom good. Then we’ll talk a bit after your spanking. Your choice. Which will it be?”
Before Cheyenne could answer Ty’s question, Clay came back into the room, fire in his eyes. He went over to his sister and looked into her eyes. “I assume you have an explanation for that, little sister, and I’m anxious to hear it.”
She looked up at her brother’s angry face, then over at Ty’s face that looked just as angry, and she started crying. “I can’t believe you guys are taking her side over mine.”
Both guys started correcting her at once. “Honey, we’re not taking her side,” Ty said. “We’re not taking anyone’s side. I am very disappointed, though, to hear you talk that way, especially to your mother. That was very disrespectful.”
“And it was respectful of her to turn me against my own home? To brainwash me into thinking something that wasn’t true?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Ty assured her, “but two wrongs don’t make a right. What she did was wrong, no question about it, but doing something just as bad is stooping to her level, Cheyenne, and you’re better than that. Much better than that. A good spanking will help you remember that.”
“Well said, Ty.” Clay turned to his sister and expounded on the thought. “I don’t care what she’s done to you, Chey, she’s still your mother. And as hard as it may be to believe right now, she does love you.” He held u
p his hand to stop what she was about to say. “She may have used you to try to get what she wanted, but that’s second nature to her. I don’t think she even realized what she was doing. And if you think about it, she didn’t like the ranch, so in her mind she was trying to protect you from it, as well.”
“I don’t want her protecting me.”
“Yeah, I think she got that point pretty clearly. Look, Cheyenne, the bottom line here, what Mom did was wrong, but in her heart, as twisted as it may be, she thought she was protecting you from something she didn’t like. Now it’s up to you to be the bigger person. Like Ty said, don’t stoop to her level, but rise above it.”
Ty smiled at his friend. He’d explained it to Cheyenne as only a sibling who had lived through the same thing could, and he appreciated it. He only hoped she did, as well.
Clay sighed and gave his sister a hug. “Right now, I heard Ty say you’re getting a spanking. I know you’re upset right now, but Ty’s right. You need a good spanking right now to settle you down so you’ll hear what we’ve said. He’s doing me a favor because if he didn’t spank you I would, and that’s not something I want to do. But Cheyenne, you need to think about this. Don’t just pout and rebel your way through the spanking or you won’t learn a thing.”
“It’s not fair. I was wronged, but I’m the one getting spanked.”
Clay looked exasperated, so Ty stepped in again. “You’re right, you were wronged. But that’s not what you’re being spanked for. You’re being spanked for how you reacted to being wronged. And I agree with Clay. You need to think about this. I need to be sure you understand in your heart why you’re being spanked.”
Clay offered one more thing for her to think about. “Cheyenne, let me tell you what Dad told me a couple times when I screwed up and found myself in his office, as he took his belt off.”
She looked at him, eyes wide. “Dad used his belt on you?”
“Not often, but a few times during my rebellious years, yes, he did.” He paused, thinking back a second, and winced. “And it hurt. I challenged him about it, and the fact that he didn’t use it on you, but he said there’s a difference between a girl and a young man. He said his hand, or occasionally the paddle if you were being extremely stubborn, always seemed to get through to you, but yes, he did use his belt a couple times on me.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not something I announced publicly because I wasn’t proud of it. But back to what I was trying to tell you, sis, on those times he did use his belt. While he was taking it off, he told me I needed to think about what I’d done, then absorb the pain and learn from it, not just rebel my way through it, without accepting it. Dad always said you pout and I rebel, but he told me if I rebel my way through it instead of absorbing it, we’ll more than likely be back here doing the same thing again, and neither of us wants that.”
Ty watched Cheyenne’s face and could tell she was still not fully accepting what they were saying, but she was getting there. He turned to Clay. “Stay here a minute, I’ll be right back.”
Chapter Ten
Ty took Cheyenne by the upper arm and led her into the office, closing the door. “Honey, your brother’s right. You need to think about this and be in the right mindset or this spanking will be meaningless. I don’t want to have to do this twice, and I doubt if you do, either.” He led her to a corner as he continued. “So I want you to stand right here in this corner and think about what Clay and I have said.”
He unfastened her jeans and pulled them down, leaving her panties up. He gently urged her nose further into the corner, “This will help you think about why you’re here. When I come back in here, I better find you just like you are now. I want you to think about what we’ve said, and I’m going to ask you about it before your spanking. How hard and how long the spanking will be will depend on the answers I get. Do you understand?”
She turned her head and glared at him. He reached down and gave her five good swats on her pantied-covered bottom. “Cheyenne, you know that when I ask you a question while you’re being punished it would be in your best interest to answer that question. Do you understand what I want you to do?”
She sniffled a bit as she grudgingly answered. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, nose to the corner and think. I’ll be able to tell if you’ve thought about it from your answers. Think about what Clay said.”
He watched her several moments from near the door to be sure she was doing as he asked. When he was convinced she at least knew what he expected of her, he left to go talk to Clay.
Clay looked a bit puzzled when Ty walked into the kitchen alone, so he explained the situation. “She’s in the corner, thinking.”
Clay grinned. “Or at least you hope she’s thinking.”
“You got that. She needs to think this through. Right now she doesn’t get it, and unless I can get through to her, a spanking won’t do anything but upset her further.”
“Good luck, buddy. Better you than me.”
Clay was smiling at Ty, who frowned. “Yeah, thanks.”
Clay got serious then, however. “If there’s anything else I can do let me know. I feel sorry for her and I want to help her, but you’re right. She needs to see the big picture here.”
“Yes, she does. Before I tackle that job, though, I need to know, what was your mother’s reaction to Cheyenne’s phone call? Is she okay?”
Clay stopped and considered his question carefully before answering. “Mom is fine. Mom will always be fine. As a matter of fact, I ended the call sooner than I would have, but I was getting so frustrated with her I was about to repeat some of what Cheyenne had said.”
Ty grinned a bit at his words. “How did she do that?”
“She was basically blaming the whole outburst on Cheyenne. You know, ‘After all I’ve done for that girl, I can’t believe Cheyenne would talk to me that way.’ I explained to her that Cheyenne was hurt, that she feels Mom stole a big portion of her life from her by not allowing her to make her own decisions as to what she does and doesn’t like, including the ranch.”
“What was her reaction to that?”
“She said she wasn’t doing any such thing. She was simply telling her the way things are. The ranch is no place for a woman, no matter how old, and her daughter should be thanking her for keeping her out of that nasty barn all those years, et cetera, et cetera.”
“So she really was trying to protect her, in her mind?”
“Maybe to a degree, but a big part of it is exactly as Cheyenne said; she’s selfish and wanted off the ranch. If she could convince Cheyenne to want off, too, there was a much better chance of it.”
“Your mom sounds like a real peach.”
Clay laughed and shrugged. “That’s actually a really good analogy. She’s sweet on the outside, but has a large, very hard pit in the center.”
Ty chuckled as he turned to go back to the office. Clay spoke sincerely as he left. “Good luck, Ty. I hope you can get through to her.”
“Thanks.” He stopped and turned toward his friend. “One more question. Is the paddle your dad used to use on her still around?”
“Right where it’s always been,” Clay answered, going to the pantry in the kitchen. He opened the door and pointed to the wall. Ty reached up and took a paddle off the hook. He turned it over and chuckled. On it was a picture of a lady with her hands on her hips, saying ‘What attitude? I don’t have an attitude!’
Clay smiled as well. “It even looks like Cheyenne, doesn’t it?” Ty looked at the picture a bit closer and smiled. Clay got very serious, with a warning. “Be careful with it, Ty. It looks innocent enough, but it really packs a sting. A long lasting sting.”
“Speaking from experience again, are you?”
“Damn straight,” Clay said with a grin. “That innocent little thing kept me from sitting comfortably the next day on a few occasions.”
Now Ty chuckled. “Warning duly noted. It’s mostly for effect. I hope I don’t need t
o use it.” He turned and went back to the office.
He took a deep, strength-gathering breath before he opened the door and went back in the office. He was relieved to find his little misguided sweetheart still standing in the corner as he left her. He noticed tears on her cheeks and hoped that was a sign she’d been doing some serious thinking. He sat down on the couch and quietly laid the paddle down beside him, in plain sight for her to see. He watched her for several moments, wondering what may be going through her pretty head.
Finally, he said, “Okay, Cheyenne, come on over here.”
She slowly turned around, keeping her eyes pointed at the floor. “Look at me, Cheyenne.”
She very slowly raised her eyes to meet his and started slowly walking toward him, her jeans still around her knees. Her eyes then caught the paddle, and he saw what looked way too close to fear for his liking. “Wh-what’s that for?”
“That’s in case I need help getting you to understand what Clay and I are trying to get you to see.”
“You don’t need it,” she quickly said. “I understand now.”
“I truly hope you do, because I really don’t want to use this. But I will if it’s what I need to do to get through to you and protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“Before we talk about that, I have a couple questions.” He helped her move closer so she was standing in front of him. “Did you think about what happened this evening?”
“Yes.”
“Do you feel you did anything wrong?”
She dropped her eyes again and quietly said, “Yes. And I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“For being disrespectful to my mother.”
Ty was a bit concerned with her use of the word mother. He’d always heard her refer to her as her mom. “How were you disrespectful to her?”
“By yelling at her.”
“And?”
She thought a bit before answering, “And swearing.”
“Do you feel she deserved that from you?”