Sunny's Safe Haven (The Red Petticoat Saloon)

by Vanessa Brooks

  “I’m real sorry ‘bout that, folks. Mrs. Peabody is an uppity piece of work; I told her an’ her husband exactly what I think the Lord would say about her unchristian attitude. Her husband’s taken her home for some private discussion on the matter. Talking of discussion, if you’d like to use the meeting room at the back of the church, it’s at your disposal, Tey. The Lord’s witnessed my Cassie gal gettin’ her comeuppance in there on more than one occasion. I’m sure as dammit, he won’t mind witnessing your private discussion. Oh, and just so you both know, I’ll willingly marry the pair of you anytime. Jus’ say the word, folks, an’ you’ll become Mr. and Mrs. Tey.”

  Stephanie gave the pastor a look of utter disbelief, while Tey grinned and thanked him, pumping the pastor’s hand with one hand while keeping a firm grip upon Stephanie with the other. Then turning, he tugged and towed her inside the church. No amount of digging in her heels or attempting to pry herself loose worked. Tey was determined this particular discussion should go one way only—his way.

  Tey opened the door at the back of the church that led into the meeting room. He closed the door behind them, locked it and pocketed the key. He ignored Stephanie who stood silently watching him, her hand resting below her heart, whilst panting from her exertions and glaring at him furiously. He went to pull a chair free from those stacked against the wall and placed it in front of her. Pointing at it, he commanded her to sit. She flounced onto the seat. Tey paced up and down in front of her for a moment or two, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he stopped pacing and hunkered down in front of her. His gaze held hers as he took her hands in between his own and he rubbed his thumbs over the back of her small gloved hands.

  “I just want an honest answer to one question, Stephanie. Can you do that for me; answer me straight?” he asked calmly. Stephanie nodded, wide eyed.

  “All right then, if I had asked you to marry me and you’d never met that other fella, would you have said yes to my proposal?”

  “Yes,” she answered honestly. Tey hung his head. What he said next could decide whether or not they had a future together, he knew he mustn’t blow this.

  He stood up and pulled her upright and into his arms. Gently he touched his lips to hers and grazed her mouth with reverence. She responded by leaning into him, her mouth softly yielding. Tey deepened the kiss until he felt the moment her desire for him went beyond their separateness and he sensed her longing to become one in union as a couple. He drew back and kissed her forehead.

  “I love you, Stephanie. You are the woman for me. I don’t know why it’s you and not any other woman but, just as I know the sun’ll come up tomorrow, I know I want you to be the mother of my children. I’m no saint, I’m a gunslinger, honey but if you’ll have me I promise I’ll try to be the best damn husband you could have.”

  Stephanie opened her mouth to speak but Tey placed his finger over her lips and shook his head.

  “Wait, let me finish. I am not perfect; we are not perfect. No one is perfect, Steph. You’ll find I’m an easy going man an’ I’ll make you a fair husband, I’ve no doubt we will have our fights and you’ll get your butt smacked on more than a few occasions throughout our life together, but I promise you this; I will always love and provide for you and our children, right up to the end of my days. Marry me, Stephanie Kendrick, let me protect you and honor you with my name and my body, until our deaths do us part.” He rested his forehead against hers. His hands clasped behind her head as he spoke and stared intently into her almond shaped eyes. He watched fascinated as they swum with liquid, giving her eyes a golden hue, as tears filled her vision and spilled over to trickle down her cheeks. She gulped and nodded her head.

  “Is that a yes… please tell me that’s a yes,” Tey growled softly.

  “Yes,” she whispered and his mouth took hers hungrily, claiming his mate.

  When he came up for air, he swung her about, and seating himself upon the chair, he pulled her face down across his lap.

  She squealed, confused by his action. “Whoa,” she cried out in surprise.

  “I mean to start as we go on, darlin’, an’ you lied to me, Miss Stephanie Kendrick.” He clasped her dress and pulled it up. Next he caught a bunch of her petticoats in his fist and shoved those up too, exposing her bloomers. He was pleased to note they were of the split back variety, that he’d noted women folk favored nowadays. He smirked. Stephanie would feel his chastisement more keenly, since her pearly buttocks peeked up at him saucily, framed as they were by the white cotton drawers.

  She thrashed about quite satisfyingly against his burgeoning manhood. “Settle down, missy, you ain’t going nowhere. I know you think I’m being too hard on you but it’s only fair you sample the kinda spanking you’ll be gettin when you disobey me, lie to me, or put yourself in any kinda danger.” He bought his hand down and the crack of his palm against her cringing flesh echoed in the empty room. She gasped and renewed her struggles.

  “I’m afraid you’ll be eating your picnic standing up, darlin’ but at least you’ll think twice before lying to me or sassing me once we’re wed.” His hand fell again and Tey admired his pink hand print and the shivering quiver of her bottom flesh after each and every spank.

  “I changed my mind. I won’t marry you now, not ever, you just let me up, you… you big… OUCH!” Stephanie shrieked, soon halting her tirade when Tey increased the delivery of his smacks.

  “I guess that’s a risk I’m gonna have to take, but, I tell you now, darlin’, that I ain’t taking no for an answer. We will be wed an’ I’ll make sure you never regret your decision to marry me, honey.”

  He covered every inch of her bottom and despite the romantic situation, he punished her soundly. He wanted her to know what she could expect from him as her husband by way of punishment when she earned it. The last time he’d spanked her, it had been given lightly, as more of a gesture than a sound spanking to teach her a lesson. Tey knew he was taking a risk that she would retract her agreement to marry him, but he counted on Stephanie’s innate sense of justice coming to the fore, after he finished this not altogether unpleasant chore and had her cuddled in his arms.

  Stephanie began to cry. Tey escalated the cadence of his slaps until she bawled. Her bottom was a nice deep pink, about the right color to make his point, Tey knew but not red enough for the sting to last. He stopped and rubbed her back soothingly until she calmed, merely weeping. “You gonna be my good girl if’n I let you up now?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” she whimpered.

  Well that was honest, Tey thought, grinning wryly. “You need more spanking maybe?” he asked.

  His grin widened, when she stiffened beneath his hand and screeched a resounding, “No!” before adding, "thank you, sir," as a provident afterthought.

  Tey brought her up into his arms and held her close, kissing her temples. He spoke soothingly to her until she finally quieted down and then he told her they’d be married on the following Sunday and they would live at his boarding house until their house was built. She appeared to be listening to all he said until he finished and then she sat up straight and asked. “Can I still dance at the Petticoat after we are married?”

  Tey was flummoxed by the question. “Why would you want to?” he asked, genuinely interested in her answer.

  “I’m really good at the Can-can. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at and I love the dance. I feel as though, oh I don’t know, like I could fly or something when I am dancing. I guess I feel happy. You’ll be there to keep me safe won’t you and I’ll come away as soon as the dance is finished, please, let me dance, Tey?”

  Tey pondered. He hated the idea of his wife being gawked at by all those men but he understood her need to feel good about herself. Maybe after they were wed she wouldn’t want or need the dancing anymore. Hell, after they were wed he could ban her from dancing altogether if he so desired as a wife had to obey her husband.

  “Yeah, you can dance because I know you’re really good at it, Stephani
e, but you’ll only carry on dancing at the Petticoat until I say no more, an’ then it’s over, finished with, no arguments. I get that this is important to you, honey, and I won’t naysay you for no reason. Are we agreed?”

  Tey was taken aback when she flung her arms about his neck and kissed him resoundingly on the lips. She pulled back and studied his face asking seriously, “Where are you from, Tey? Do you have family that you’ll want at our wedding?” She lifted her hand and traced the rough contours of his cheek with her finger.

  “Nope, no family. My pa was put in jail for the theft of a meat pie. He lost the use of his right arm in a crushing accident at the docks where he worked in New York. I was a small boy when he died in prison, some lung condition he contracted while awaiting trial. My mother struggled to find work, she’d always taken in washing, but it wasn’t enough to pay the rent and so we were evicted. One day she took me with her into a bawdy house. I been living with whores on an’ off my entire life, an’ frankly, darlin’, I prefer their good hearted openness, to those acid tongued matrons of pious society, their cold hearts full of vinegar, any day of the week.

  My mother passed a couple of years back, but not before I’d rented rooms of her own for her to enjoy some peace before she died. I got me a job in a gunsmiths; learned how to shoot straight.

  “So you see, Steph, I understand you wantin’ to carry on with your Can-can dancing. Let’s jus’ say that when we move into our own home, that there’s an end to it. So do we have a deal?”

  “Deal!” She leaned in and kissed him. Before long they were kissing so passionately that neither heard the door knob rattling, until Pastor Black yelled through the closed door, asking if they were ever coming out to join in with the picnic party.

  It was arranged that the wedding would be the following Sunday in church at eleven o’ clock, after the regular service.

  Chapter Twelve

  Despite Tey’s estimation that Stephanie would have to eat her lunch standing up, she did manage to sit, albeit gingerly, and enjoy the picnic. There were no more nasty incidents like the one with Mrs. Peabody and she relaxed, settling in to enjoy the day. They sat with Sheriff Justice and his wife Rebekah, Crawford Slade, his deputy and his wife Ada, Mayor Rockwell and his brother along with their two wives, Louise and Rose. Conversation flowed easily within the group and Stephanie watched Tey when his attention was drawn elsewhere and she marveled at her sudden good fortune.

  He was a handsome man, a charming man, people liked him despite his trade, and he, it appeared, liked them, mostly. His physical presence thrilled her, as did his deliberate gunslinger walk. He was light on the balls of his feet, alert and fleet of foot. Inexplicably, some part of her enjoyed the fact that he’d spanked her today. He’d said he was a fair man and her experience of him so far had proved that to be fact. He was kind too. Stephanie surmised that his depth of understanding came from the harsh childhood he had suffered. Whereas many men would have become hard and embittered, Tey had developed some understanding and sympathy for human imperfection.

  They were in the midst of enjoying the picnic, when a scream erupted from the top end of the trestle table where they were seated. A rapid blur of brown and white fur skittered down the table length toward them. It was Dog, living up to his new name of “Scamp.” A large cooked chicken leg dangled from his jaws and as he reached them he dropped the mangled treat, leaping upon Stephanie first and then Tey, washing their faces frantically, while his whole rear end wagged so furiously that his tail whipped a plate of food, dashing it to the ground.

  “Down!” shouted Tey laughingly, as he pushed the manic dog off himself. It seemed that whatever had caused Dog issue, recently denying his master, was now forgiven and resolved.

  “I left him with Nettie for the day but he must have escaped her!” cried Stephanie, giggling at the animal’s wild antics.

  “He’s come to congratulate you both!” Rebekah, aka Ruby told them with a chuckle, “come on Scamp! I’ll take him back to Nettie.” She called, scooping the dog up into her arms, whereupon he promptly washed her face too. Jeb stood and the two took the wriggling dog back across the street. Picnic baskets were righted and calm was once again restored.

  Late afternoon and the rough plank trestles were being cleared away by the men folk. A woman approached Stephanie while she waited for Tey, one who she hadn’t noticed before. The woman appeared to be somewhat older than herself, her cheeks heavily powdered, her lips rouged.”

  “Hello, dear, you’re Mr. Kendrick’s daughter aren’t you?” she enquired politely.

  Stephanie nodded. “Yes, yes I am.”

  “I am Mrs. Brown; my husband Bill knows your father. I just wanted to say hello and to tell you not to worry about folk like that Mrs. Peabody. I had the same catcalling from them so called proper ladies of the town, when Bill and me got married. However, their spiteful comments soon blow over.”

  “Oh, you worked at the Red Petticoat too?” Stephanie exclaimed in surprise.

  “No dear, I worked at the saloon before your Madame bought the place, when I worked there it was a right old dump! You gems are lucky women, believe me! Then my Bill offered and I got out of the trade, just like you and your friends have done. We are the lucky ones, dearie.”

  “Yes, I suppose we are, Mrs. Brown,” mused Stephanie.

  “Oh call me Maisy, everyone does. Well, I just wanted to say howdy an’ if ever you want to chat, or ask my advice, I’m last house on the left before leaving town. Y’can’t miss us, we’re the house with chickens scratching everywhere. I do hope you’ll come and see me dearie, I get lonesome too y’know.” She waited expectantly and Stephanie felt it would be rude to refuse her plea and so she nodded affirmatively. Maisy Brown smiled, and called a cheery, “bye now,” as she made her way over to a man Stephanie could just about discern, as he waited for his wife, hidden in the deep shadows of a tall tree.

  ***

  Stephanie requested a formal meeting with Madam Jewel and Gabe in Jewel’s office adjacent to the kitchen. She had elicited Ruby’s promise of silence upon her engagement until she could tell her employers herself.

  “I-I hope you don’t think that I’m ungrateful for all that you’ve done, when I tell you that I have accepted Tey’s offer of marriage,” she began hesitantly.

  “What!” shrieked Jewel and Stephanie reacted by cringing.

  “No, no!” the madam cried, running around her desk, to pull Stephanie into her embrace. “This is wonderful news, wonderful!” She kissed Stephanie and relinquished her when Gabe tugged her into his own arms and hugged her.

  “We are so happy for you, niña." he told her grinning from ear to ear, “come we must tell Nettie and the others!” They tugged her from the office and into the kitchen, where Stephanie haltingly began to tell the other gems and Nettie her news. When she finally got the words out, Nettie tossed her apron up over her face and hurtled over to lift Stephanie clean off her feet, spinning her in a whirling bear hug. The kitchen erupted and Stephanie found herself being hugged and kissed as never before. She simply couldn’t stop smiling at all the excitement. Scamp joined in, yapping madly which only added to the chaos.

  “The only sad thing is that we lose you here at the Red Petticoat,” Jewel mused sadly when things had quietened down. Stephanie shook her head grinning happily. “No, Tey said that I can continue to dance if I want, at least until our house is built!” More hilarity ensued until Gabe sent everyone about their business and Jewel suggested that Stephanie and she sit and talk about the wedding.

  Jewel had brought some very elegant gowns over with her from England. Formal ball gowns of silk and satin, which were far too fancy for wear in a saloon. She offered one to Stephanie to wear as her wedding dress. They went together into Jewel and Gabe’s bedroom and Jewel pulled three elaborate ball gowns from a trunk that were stored underneath her bed.

  There was a pale blue silk, trimmed with silver ribbon, a coral silk with satin edging and also a pale golden silk decorate
d with cream lace at the décolletage and three layers of frothy cream lace at each cuff. Stephanie had never before seen such stupendously beautiful dresses. She held out a tentative finger and stoked the silken material wonderingly.

  Jewel helped her into each dress in turn. There was a large hooped petticoat that by rights should be worn under each of the gowns, holding the material out so wide from the hips that the dresses looked utterly ridiculous in the normal proportioned room and so they disregarded it. Stephanie tried on all three of the gowns but the pale shimmering golden dress, suited her to perfection. It was by far the most ornate of the three, decorated with tiny creamy colored seed pearls sewn across the stomacher of the dress and randomly scattered across the lace, at neck and cuff. Thankfully, the dress laced up at the back and no sewing adjustment would be required to accommodate her tiny waist.

  She twirled about the room with joy and Jewel wiped tears from her sapphire eyes as she watched her with a wide smile. This girl, little more than a child really, had been given a second chance at happiness, just as she had been; she knew only too well the relief and joy that a new beginning could bring.

  The week flew by for both Stephanie and for Tey. He had sent Kelly and Luke back up the mountain with the wagon and didn’t expect them back much before the end of the week.

  Stephanie floated through her days working downstairs in the saloon. Her nights were worry free, now that she knew that only at the Red Petticoat would she ever wear her red flounced dancing dress with sequined bustier that she danced in every weekend. She slept well and felt fully fit and healthy.

  On Thursday, she was helping Nettie prepare the midday meal, when Amy popped her head around the kitchen door to tell her that she had a visitor out front. It turned out to be the woman called Maisy from the picnic. She gave Stephanie a grin and waved her arm about to encompass the room. “This is extraordinary!” she exclaimed staring about her with interest. “You should have seen it before. You girls don’t know how lucky you are working in a place like this!” she cried.