"I'm anxious to see my new home," Georgia said.
"I want you to feel like this really is your home, Georgia. Feel free to make any changes you want to make. You can do it right away, or take your time, but I want you to make it your home, too."
"Thank you."
An hour later the preacher pronounced them husband and wife, and Austin leaned down to kiss his new bride. Georgia was glad he had his arm around her waist, because his kiss nearly had her knees giving out. It was gentle, but firm, and very passionate. She'd never had a kiss that even compared to that one. If kisses like that were to be part of this marriage, she knew she'd made the right decision.
They were both happy as they rode to the ranch, holding hands. He talked about the ranch, giving her an idea of what life would be like. She was excited to start her new adventure.
Everything seemed perfect. Until he asked her about one thing she'd said earlier. "You said earlier that maybe you should have brought a few of your gowns with you. That tells me you didn't bring everything with you. Can I ask why?"
She hesitated, not sure how much she should say yet. "I just wasn't sure what all I'd need. I didn't think I'd need gowns, so I couldn't see dragging them out here."
"Is that all you left behind; a few gowns?"
"Well, no, there's a little more than that."
"Like what?"
"Well, I have a few more clothes. I wasn't sure what I'd need."
His brows drew together as he looked at her. She could tell he was thinking, and that worried her. "I just thought of something I didn't ask in my letters, and I'm thinking maybe I should have. Do you have family you were living with?"
"Um, yes."
"What family do you have?"
"Um, a father and two brothers."
"That tells me something happened to your mother, and I'm sorry about that," he said.
"Thank you."
"Do your father and brothers know where you are?"
She dropped her head and was suddenly very interested in her hands in her lap. He pulled the wagon over to the side of the road and stopped it. Then he turned to her and used one finger to pull her chin up so she was looking at him. "Mrs. Barrington, I've already told you how important I think honesty is in a marriage. Keeping that in mind, let me ask you again, do your father and brothers know where you are?"
"Not exactly."
He sighed. "Do they have any idea where you are?"
"Not exactly."
He sighed again, holding her chin so she had to look at him. "Apparently it's time we have another talk, wife of mine. Perhaps I should have told you this before we got married, but we were getting along so well that I didn't think about it. I apologize for that. You will find that I am a fairly easy going man. I won't ask a lot of you. But one thing I will demand is total honesty."
"I have never lied to you," Georgia insisted, worried about what was happening.
"Total honesty to me is more than just telling the truth about what I ask. Total honesty is not only being truthful in what you say; it's also telling the whole story. I'm going to let this time go because I hadn't talked to you about it yet and you didn't know my feelings on the subject. However, I'm going to explain it to you, and from now on I expect you to be not only honest, but forthcoming."
"Forthcoming?"
"Yes. I expect you to tell me about anything that would be a concern to me."
"But you never asked if I have a family."
"I know, and I hadn't explained my thoughts yet, so don't worry, my little wife, there will be no consequences this time, but listen carefully to what I say so there will be no surprises if it happens again."
Georgia was a little nervous as she nodded.
"You are my wife, and I intend to take care of you. That means that what affects you, affects me. What's important to you is important to me. It bothers me that your family doesn't know where you are, and unless you give me a valid reason not to, we're going to turn around right now and go back to town. We'll send them a telegram so they know where you are. They must be worried half sick about where you are, and I don't want that. Is there a reason you left without telling them where you were going? He picked up her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. "Have they been abusive in some way?"
"No," she quickly answered.
"Then why would you leave without telling them where you were going? Do they know we've been exchanging letters?"
"Um, not exactly."
He used his finger to tip her chin up again. "This would be a good time for total honesty, wife. What is going on with your family? Are you close? Do you dislike them?"
She tried to look away, but he was having none of it, holding her chin steady. "Okay, I'll explain everything," she whispered. He nodded, but didn't let go of her chin. "I love my father and my brothers, but they've been trying to marry me off. My father wanted me to marry his friend's son, and I'm very against it. He's not a terrible man, but he's over twice my age. I'm twenty-two, and he's forty-six."
"That is quite a bit older than you."
"It is. My brothers have someone else in mind. He's a friend of theirs. I've met him a few times, and I don't care much for him. They say I'm not giving him a fair chance, and maybe I'm not, but I can't help it. Sometimes you just don't care much for a person, and this man just strikes me wrong. I don't care for him at all. He's tried to get me alone on several occasions, and I just don't trust him."
"So you left home so you wouldn't have to marry men you didn't want to marry?" She nodded. "You weren't against marriage, just—"
"I was fine with getting married. In fact, my parents had a marriage that sounds similar to your parents' marriage. They loved each other, and I've dreamed of having that some day for myself. I was pretty sure that if I married either of those men I wouldn't ever have that. There weren't any men around us that I could see me being happy with, either."
He nodded his head slowly, obviously thinking. "How about me; can you see yourself being happy with me?"
"Yes, I can," she said in a convincing way. "I thought that while we were exchanging letters. That's why I accepted your proposal and came here."
"But you didn't tell your family we were exchanging letters. Why not?"
"My father would not have allowed me to move this far away. I didn't want to go against him, but I just couldn't see myself with either of those men for the rest of my life."
He patted her hand, and turned the wagon around. "We're going to send them a telegram so they know you're here and you're safe. We'll make sure they know they're all welcome to come visit us anytime they want. I'd love to meet them, and I know they'll feel better if they see where you're living and that you're happy."
"Thank you, Austin."
"You're welcome. It bothers me, though, that you kept this information from me. On our way back to town we're going to have a little talk about keeping things like that from me. For me to take care of you and protect you, I need to know what's going on in your life. That's why I insist on total honesty. I will warn you, I am very protective by nature, so I will be very protective of you. I think this might be a good time, as well, to talk about what will happen the next time you keep something important from me."
"You mentioned something about consequences earlier. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that."
"Then we'll talk about it. I believe you make choices in your life, and everyone needs to be held accountable for those choices they make. If you make bad choices, there have to be consequences so you'll think about what you've done, and hopefully those consequences will be incentive not to do it again."
"You're making me nervous. When we were growing up my brothers and I had consequences when we did something wrong. But I'm an adult now. Surely you're not saying—"
"What kind of consequences did you have?"
"Different things. Sometimes I had to spend all afternoon or evening in my room. Sometimes I had extra chores to do. Basically, the more upset my father was with me,
the more time I had to spend in my room, thinking about what I'd done."
"I see. Those are all good ideas for children, and perhaps we'll consider them some day for our children, but out here women play an important role. Most women have chores they perform, in the house, out at the barn or both, and the men are busy. They don't have time to watch over their wife while she sits in a bedroom to think about what she's done. They both have work they need to do, so when a man feels the need to correct his wife, they do it in a much quicker way. It's also a very efficient way. It gets the punishment over quickly, and she is forgiven, and the whole incident is forgotten."
"And what is this quick, efficient method?"
"A bare bottom spanking."
Chapter Two
Georgia stared at Austin, her mouth hanging open. "Surely I must have misunderstood you," she finally said.
"No, I don't think so. But before you get too upset about it, consider something. I do believe spanking is a very efficient method of correcting a disobedient wife, but I do not spank for many things. In short, I already told you I plan to protect you. The only things I will spank you for are things that put your safety in jeopardy, or for not being honest with me. Therefore, if you are honest and do not take unnecessary risks, there will be no problem."
She looked at him, a doubtful expression on her face. He sighed. "Have I lied to you about anything, wife?"
"No," she admitted.
"And I am not lying about this, either."
She considered his words. "Are you saying it's common around here for husbands to spank their wives?"
"It is. Husbands care very much about their wives around here, and there are a lot of things that can be dangerous. We men take our duty to protect our wives seriously, so it's important that they listen to us when we tell them things to keep them safe. When they don't, we don't just let it go. We can't. If you love someone, you can't just sit by and watch them get hurt."
She nodded, and was listening closely.
"In some marriages husbands simply turn the other cheek and not say anything, which is easier than taking the time and effort to correct their wife. In others he tells her the same thing time and time again. They tend to argue a great deal, and often go to bed upset. The anger then grows. That doesn't happen here. The couple deals with it at the time. He tells her what she did that was dangerous and why, and they discuss it. After the spanking, he holds her in his arms to comfort her while she calms. She is forgiven, and there is no guilt for her to deal with since she's paid the consequences. They cuddle, and go to bed together that night, very much in love. Do you remember I said earlier that we will share the same bed, starting tonight?"
"Yes."
"That's why I said it's important to me. We will not go to bed in separate beds, and we will not go to bed angry and not speaking. Let me ask you, does that sound so bad?"
She thought for several moments. That part sounded good. If it was common, it must not be all that bad. She wasn't a disobedient type person, anyway, so maybe she was getting herself worked up over nothing. She would watch the people she met and see if they seem to be very happy, like Austin was suggesting. In the meantime, she'd have to listen to what he said. If he was telling her things to protect her, it only made sense to listen. She had to admit, the idea of knowing someone is watching out for her sounded nice.
Austin was watching her face carefully. Finally, she seemed to make peace with the idea. "Are we okay now?"
"I'll give it a chance," she said.
"Good. Let's go send a telegram to your father and brothers. I hope they'll be able to come out for a visit soon. I would love to get to know them, and to assure them you're safe, and I intend to keep you that way." She nodded. A few minutes later he reached over and took her hand in his, and she allowed it. They rode back to town talking again, and smiling.
It was almost an hour later before they were once again headed toward the ranch. He again reached for her hand. "I'm glad we sent the telegram to your family. I can imagine how worried they've been. If any of the men come to town over the next couple of days, I'll have them stop and see if we get an answer from your family."
"Thank you, Austin."
"For sending the telegram?"
"Yes, but more for understanding why I left without telling them."
"I do understand," he said, "but I wish you would have told me about your problem. I would have helped you with it."
She turned to look at him. "How could you have helped? If I would have told them what I planned to do, they wouldn't have let me leave."
"If I would have known of the problem I could have come out there to get you. If they would have met me first, they may have felt better. You would be leaving with me, and I could have protected you. I'm sure they would have felt better about you traveling this far, knowing you wouldn't be alone."
"You would have gone out there to get me?"
"Of course I would have," he answered with no hesitation. "Mrs. Barrington, I don't think you quite understand what I mean by I intend to take care of you and keep you safe. I didn't like the idea of you traveling this far by yourself. If you will recall, I offered to come to New York so I could travel back with you. You didn't want that. I didn't like the idea of you traveling alone, because I didn't feel it was as safe as I would like for my future wife. I didn't say too much because I didn't want to upset you before we'd even met."
"I didn't think you were serious when you offered that. I thought it was just a kind gesture."
"As you get to know me, you'll learn I don't say something unless I mean it. I know you didn't know me yet then, so you had no way of knowing that. But remember it for the future."
It was getting dark by the time they reached the ranch. Austin showed her through the house. "I'll show you around the barns and show you how to take care of the chickens tomorrow when it's lighter. I have to go out and check on the ranch and help with the evening chores. Do you feel up to making us some supper, or should I stop in the bunkhouse and see if the cook has enough for us, too?"
"No, I'll fix some supper."
He showed her the root cellar and where he kept some smoked meats, before going out to the barn. While he was gone, she took a quick inventory of the vegetables and some apples in the root cellar, the smoked meats he had, and the pantry. It was pretty apparent to her that he didn't do much cooking, but ate with the men at the bunkhouse. She cut off rather generous slices of ham and cooked them in one skillet, while she cooked sliced potatoes and diced onion in another. She made biscuits, and finally, cooked some apples.
His eyes grew when he came in an hour and a half later and saw the meal she'd prepared. "I didn't expect a full meal," he said, "and never dreamed of biscuits. I thought you would be too tired from all the traveling you've been doing. It all smells wonderful, though. Thank you, my lovely new wife."
She felt her face blush, and turned back to the stove to hide it. "It feels good to be off the train, and I actually enjoy cooking."
"I am a lucky man indeed," he said as he seated her before sitting down at the table.
They talked while they ate, and he complimented her on the delicious supper. Afterward, they continued to get to know each other better while he helped her clean up the kitchen. They enjoyed a little time together in the living room before retiring for the night.
He led her into the bedroom and could tell she was tense. "I'm a little nervous, too, Georgia, but we don't need to be. I meant what I said earlier. I will not force you to do anything you don't want to do."
She nodded. "Thank you."
"I'll sleep in my union suit." He proceeded to quickly shed the rest of his clothes, and got into bed, rolling over so he was facing away from her. "You can change into your nightgown now. I won't look."
She felt confident he meant those words. She changed into her nightgown and got into bed beside him. He started talking softly, explaining his morning routine. "I get up early. I go out and do the morning chores, and then come in fo
r breakfast. That's usually about the time the sun's coming up."
"Okay. I'll try to have breakfast ready then. It may take a day or two to get my timing right so it's ready about the time you come in, but I will try to have it ready when you come in."
He reached over and put an arm around his new wife. "Thank you, Georgia. That's all I ask of you. I know it's going to take us both a little while to get used to being married and working together, but I think we'll do well together. I will be patient, and if you do the same, I think we will be fine."
She patted his arm he draped over her. "Thank you, Austin. I will try to be patient as well."
He raised up on one elbow and used the other hand to gently turn her face toward him. He gave her another kiss, much like the one he'd given her earlier in the day when they were married. He was relieved when instead of fighting him or backing away, she seemed to welcome his kiss. "Good night, Mrs. Barrington."
"Good night, Mr. Barrington." He pulled her closer to him and held her in his arms and smiled as he felt her relax and fall asleep.
Georgia woke the next morning to find her husband gone. She quickly got up and dressed. She made their bed and went to the kitchen, wanting to make her new husband happy with a breakfast waiting for him when he finished chores. She was surprised and happy to see he'd started a fire in the stove for her before he went out. She worked quickly and soon had breakfast ready. She moved it to the back of the stove and covered it with a towel to keep it warm until he came in.
She didn't have long to wait. He came in, hung his cowboy hat on a hook by the door, and went straight to her. "Good morning, lovely wife," he said as he gave her another sizzling kiss.
She loved his kisses, and couldn't help wrapping her arms around him, or the smile on her face afterward. "Good morning, handsome husband." She hadn't meant to say quite all of that, and felt her face flush as soon as the words left her mouth.
He grinned down at her. "Handsome, huh?" She was so cute when she blushed! Changing the subject to tone down her embarrassment, he said, "Something sure smells good again this morning."
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