by Joannie Kay
"Yes, something awful!" She glared at him. "That was a despicable thing to do, Michael O'Keefe!"
"It was necessary, Red. You were having a tantrum. You ran from me. You needed help, and you were letting your pride and temper make things worse. I take no joy in the fact that you are sore today, but I do hope it helps you realize that there are some good people in this world who will offer help and not expect anything from you in return. My family is like that. I hope you don't give them a rough time. Not only would I take you over my knee, Pop wouldn't hesitate to treat you just like he would a daughter. You belong to us now, honey." He helped her with her seat belt, shut the heavy door, and then walked around the truck to get in behind the wheel. "Don't look so upset, Molly. We might be a crazy family, but we have a lot of love to offer. And, you need to be loved."
Molly felt tears sting her eyes. Michael actually sounded like he meant it. It had been so long since anyone seemed to care about her. He drove to the apartment she shared with Natalie. "I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible," she told him. "I hope and pray Natalie isn't here."
"She won't bother you as long as I am with you," Michael said with confidence. "Just because I am off duty doesn't mean I can't arrest her. I will be wearing plain clothes from now on, unless it is a formal occasion and I need to wear a dress uniform," he added.
"Your Mom was bursting with pride for you this morning, and I am happy for you, too."
"Thank you, Molly. By now Ma has called all the family and invited them for dinner tomorrow to celebrate."
"I'll make sure I go and visit Gram while you are busy," she said quietly.
"You will not, unless you want to get your Gram and bring her, too. I would love to have you with us, Molly." His dark eyes were sincere and Molly found herself agreeing.
They approached the door and Molly got the key from her handbag. She fit it into the lock and went inside. To her surprise Natalie's father was sitting there, watching sports on the television. "Mr. Jamison, I didn't expect anyone to be here."
"Obviously. Did you bring your boyfriend along to see how much of Natalie's things you could steal?"
Michael immediately stepped forward, putting Natalie behind him. He took out his new badge and ID and said, "Lieutenant O'Keefe. I brought Molly to get her things."
"You're a cop?" the man sputtered angrily, his eyes blinking rapidly.
"Yes, sir. I am."
"There was no need to bring the law into this, Molly!" he scolded.
"I believe there was, Mr. Jamison. I realized during my investigation last evening that your daughter has been lying to you about a few things, and while Molly might not feel it necessary to point out a few facts, I have no such qualms."
"What are you talking about?" Natalie's father was clearly upset.
"Molly, go and start packing your things. I'll be in to give you a hand once I've set Mr. Jamison straight."
Molly nodded, thankful she wasn't in Natalie's shoes. Since she didn't have much in the way of clothing or personal items, she was well into her packing when Michael knocked on her door and walked in.
"How's it coming, Molly?" he asked.
"It won't take much longer. I need to take apart the bed and the dresser is mine, too," she informed him. The rest is in these boxes and suitcases.
Michael nodded, and cheerfully said, "I'll run out to Pop's truck and get a screwdriver and wrench to take the bolts from the bed frame."
"Great. Thank you," she replied with a smile. She truly was thankful for his help.
Michael wanted to hit something. It was totally unthinkable for one person to have so little. Molly's belongings weren't going to take up but a fraction of his Pop's truck. He couldn't help but wonder why her Grandma couldn't get some assistance, and he made a promise to himself that he was going to check into it for her, and he was going to speak to his parents about helping him help Molly. He grabbed the tools from his Pop's tool box and went back inside. He was surprised to find Mr. Jamison in Molly's bedroom. He paused to listen.
"It wasn't right the way Natalie lied to me, Molly. I want you to know I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You're more than welcome to stay here if you want to. Natalie is going to mend her ways."
"Natalie and I don't get along, Mr. Jamison. She doesn't want me here, and I don't want to be here any longer. She and I are poles apart when it comes to cleaning..."
"She told me you were the one leaving things a mess."
"Look in her bedroom," Molly suggested, smiling to herself as the man crossed the hallway and peeked in his daughter's room. She heard him swear.
"Starting to feel a bit better, Miss Molly?" Michael asked in amusement.
"A little. I've come up with an idea I hope your parents will agree to. I would like to pay them something for board as long as I live there."
"Go ahead and tell Pop that. Just remember that your butt is already sore, little girl."
"He would be offended?" Her voice squeaked.
"Oh yeah. He told you last night that he would care for you as he would for one of his own daughters. He meant it. He wouldn't take money from any of us to live under his roof, but the house rules stand, and you have to live by them. Now, you are an adult, so the rules are different for you than for the kids still home. Pop will explain all of that, and to my way of thinking you won't have a problem with the rules. It's mostly a matter of cleaning up after yourself, being considerate of others, calling if you are going to be late or staying elsewhere for the night."
He had the bed apart in mere minutes. Mr. Jamison helped him carry the mattress and box springs out to the truck, and within a short time everything that belonged to Molly was in the truck. Mr. Jamison once again offered his apologies and went back inside to wait for Natalie to get home from work.
"He's very angry with Natalie," Molly said.
"He should be. She's been lying to him for the last three months. He needs to paddle her backside and make her move back home. She's spending too much money, and that boyfriend of hers is probably married and just using her for sex."
"You told Mr. Jamison all of that?"
"I sure did."
"You told him to spank Natalie?" Molly was shocked at the very idea.
"I told him that as the brother of five sisters it was hard for me to tolerate her language last night; and that I was surprised a man like him would tolerate her lying to him. I also mentioned that she was seeing someone that was using her. He was very upset and said he didn't know what to do. I told him how Pop would handle the situation."
Natalie looked at Michael for a few moments and then she smiled wickedly. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall when she gets home from her hair appointment. I wonder what will happen."
* * *
"Daddy! What are you doing here?" Natalie asked as she walked inside the apartment and tossed her keys and handbag on a small table beside the door.
"I thought I'd better be here when Molly came to get her things... to make sure she didn't steal from you," Ed Jamison said quietly.
"Thank you, Daddy," Natalie said with a big smile. "I was so worried about that, but it takes weeks to get an appointment with Jules. I simply had to have my hair done. Do you like it?" she asked, twirling around.
"Your hair is just fine, young lady."
"Well, aren't you in a grumpy mood! Did Molly say something to upset you?" she asked, frowning.
"Molly didn't say a word. The police officer who was here last night had plenty to say, however."
"He was here, too? She dared to bring a cop along to get her things?"
"He told me a few things I didn't know, Natalie. Like the fact that Molly is supporting her grandmother, and that you agreed to allow her to pay you her share of the rent on the fifteenth instead of the first. She doesn't owe you money like you claimed she did. You have been taking advantage of the situation to get half of your rent paid by me and half paid by Molly."
"I was going to pay you back, Daddy, but I had a couple of f
inancial issues I didn't want to bother you with," Natalie lied.
"Would those financial issues have anything to do with a jerk named Jimmy Parsons?" he demanded.
"Molly just couldn't resist mentioning Jimmy, could she? She's just jealous that I have a boyfriend!"
"Molly didn't say anything except to tell me to peek in your room if I thought she was the messy one!" He glared at her. "Your boyfriend is married and has a six-month-old baby."
"He's planning to leave that witch, Daddy. She trapped him into marriage and he doesn't love her."
"He is married, Natalie. Start packing now. You are moving home."
"No I am not!" she argued.
"You are. I've already taken my name off the lease, and the landlord says he has three people waiting for apartments. You are moving out today."
"No, Daddy!" She stomped her foot angrily.
"You are coming home with me, and you are getting your butt back in college, where you belong. I've already told Jimmy Parsons he is not to see you or I will speak to his boss and have him fired. He promised that he wouldn't come near you. Sounds like a real man, doesn't he? He's probably got three more like you, all gullible little girls."
"You can't boss me around! I am of legal age!" Natalie yelled at her father.
"I've been paying your rent, Natalie. Your car and the payments and insurance, as well as all your credit cards are all at my expense... How many times in the last few months have you asked your Mom for gas money? For grocery money? You aren't supporting yourself on that receptionist job. The only thing reason you want this place is to hide your comings and goings from your Mom and me, and you are done as of right now."
"I don't have to come home!"
"Then you will be cut off completely, daughter. No money from us."
"Mom won't agree with you!" she threatened.
"She will or I will turn her over my knee."
"You can't do that!" Natalie declared, confident she spoke the truth.
"You see, Natalie, that is the problem. I let you believe you could do anything and get away with it. That is quite wrong. There are consequences when my patience is tested, and you need to learn that as of right now."
Natalie screamed when her father grabbed her and pulled her down over his knees and started spanking her. "Don't you dare do this!" she screamed furiously.
"I do dare, little girl. You are going to move home and you are going to obey some simple rules. You are also going to pay me back all the money you finagled out of your mom and me. Is that clear?" he asked, continuing to spank her with punishing slaps.
"Stop, Daddy! Please, stop!" she begged.
"No. This is long overdue, and if I stop now, I'll be doing it again before you are half through packing your stuff." He continued to do what he should have done years ago, hoping it wasn't too late to turn Natalie around, and praying to God she wasn't already pregnant by that bastard Parsons.
"Daddy, please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Natalie burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Daddy!"
"Are you going to come home with me without any more argument?" Ed asked, giving her another really hard spank.
"Yes, Daddy." Somehow, Natalie decided, she was going to get even with that awful Molly Henderson! This was all that bitch's fault, and she would suffer for ruining her life!
Chapter Four
Molly suddenly felt shy when Michael pulled into his driveway for the second time that morning. The first time she'd simply waited in the truck while he went inside and changed out of his uniform. Now she was going to get the opportunity to see inside his home. It was the sort of place that she often dreamed of owning... someday. The yard was beautifully landscaped, and it was obvious the house had recently been painted. Michael stopped the truck and then said, "I'll unlock the front door, Molly, and we'll take your bed inside and straight upstairs." While he was unlocking the door, she was eagerly getting out of the truck. Sitting was not one bit comfortable and it was good to stand and be able to walk around!
"How long have you lived here?" Molly asked when Michael returned.
"A couple of years now. It was in pretty rough shape when I bought it, but Pop said the foundation and structure were in good condition. He and my brothers Patrick and David have helped me with some of the changes I've made, but mostly, I work on improvements when I have a day or two off."
"What about the yard?" Molly asked, in awe of him. "Did you do the landscaping, too?"
"I did the work, but my sister Kathleen helped me plan everything; she has her own landscaping business."
"Your family is talented."
Michael nodded. "Pop and Ma raised us all to find something we liked to do, and then to be the best we could be... no matter what the job entailed. Little Bridget is planning to be a chef; she loves to cook and is always whipping up something for us to try. She'll take a recipe, and then twist it around, adding this and that, and making it fabulous. Rachel is sixteen, and leaning toward teaching small children. She works part time at a daycare as an aide, and she loves those kids. The one thing the folks are adamant about is that there has to be some kind of schooling after high school. It can be an apprenticeship, which is what Patrick and David chose to do, and now they work for Pop in construction. Kathleen studied business and landscaping. Kevin is a nurse practitioner and works with the elderly. Melissa is in her last year of law school. Daniel is still drifting about trying to figure out what he wants to do. He hates anything and everything to do with construction. Don't get me wrong, he respects the family business, but he isn't cut out for that kind of work, and Pop doesn't insist his sons follow in his footsteps. He figured that out with me," Michael grinned as he looked down at Molly. "I worked for him during high school and college, but I like doing that stuff more as a hobby. I was born to be a cop."
"I believe that!" Molly said dryly, and then smiled. "You frightened me when you came to the door. I was so positive that something terrible happened... like the night my parents were killed in a car accident."
"I don't like notifications," Michael admitted, and then added, "I want to sit down and cry with the family. I put myself in their place, and think of my family, and it hurts. For the most part, we have a couple of officers who do notifications as part of their job, but every so often it becomes necessary, and it is difficult. I get all weird just thinking about it," he added, shrugging his shoulders to rid himself of gloomy thoughts. "Let's get this box springs inside. Are you sure you can handle this, Molly? I can call Timothy and get him over here to help...?"
"I'm stronger than I look," she assured him.
If Michael was surprised that she could handle her end of the box springs, he didn't say so. He guided them through the front door and wished he could see Molly's face better when she saw the inside of his house. The bedroom was the first one they came to upstairs, and he had her help him lean the box springs against the wall. "See what I mean, Molly? This room is bare, and this way you won't need to pay storage for anything."
"We'll set it up to look nice so that it doesn't look like a storage room," Molly promised.
"If you don't mind...?"
"Of course not! You are being so kind to me!" It wasn't long before they had everything upstairs that she felt she wouldn't need at his parents' home. He put the bed together, and while he was putting her boxes inside the closet, she made up the bed, and soon the room looked like a guest room. Her comforter and drapes looked nice with the existing paint color, and Michael seemed pleased with the results.
"If you have guests, Michael, please feel free to use this room as if it was your furniture. I won't mind." Of course the guest had better be male, she told herself, suddenly jealous at the idea of any female with the tall, handsome man.
"I have a college roommate who has been promising to come for a visit for ages, Molly. Now that I can offer him more than a sofa to sleep on, he might be more anxious to come for a weekend. Thanks."
"May I see the rest of your house?" she asked, curious to see his home.
/> Michael started with the upstairs since they were already there. Another bedroom had been set up as an office, and he had built in bookcases behind a large desk. There was a nice reading area set up on the other side of the room, and it was obvious Michael spent a lot of time in the room. The next room he showed her was a bathroom. "I had a lot of help in here with the plumbing, but I did all of the tiling myself," he said proudly.
"It's beautiful, Michael!" Molly exclaimed. "You could do this for a living!"
"It's more fun to do this as a hobby."
His bedroom was next, and Molly thought it a bit too masculine for her taste, but she could see Michael enjoying the room. He had a large television in there, and she suspected he liked to lie in bed and watch the screen until he fell asleep. There was also a master bath, and it was every bit as nice as the guest bath in the hallway. "Seriously, Michael, you are very good at this!"
"Thank you." He was pleased. The main floor was a lot of work, too. He showed her around and then said, "The kitchen isn't done yet, Molly. I saved it for last. It works well enough for me, but it needs some serious remodeling. I'm going to knock out a wall and make it larger when I get around to starting demo."
"I would love to help you!" she said enthusiastically, and then blushed. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to invite myself..."
"I never turn down help," Michael said with a smile. "Relax, Molly. You're completely safe."
"Maybe I don't want to be safe," she replied, shocking herself to the very core of her being. What on earth was she doing? It sounded like she was throwing herself at him! She didn't play those kinds of games!
"I didn't mean that the way it sounded, Red," Michael told her. When she looked at him in confusion, he explained, "I meant that I will care for you; I'm not one to play games. I will be truthful with you and I expect the same from you. We just met yesterday but I feel as though I've known you a very long time. It is as though I recognize you, Molly. I want to take this slowly and yet, I want to take you in my arms and hold you forever and never let you go."