On Probation

by Malone, Misty

  "Thanks for coming to get me, Phil. That will save me some bus fare. Plus," she added, grinning, "your SUV is much nicer than the bus."

  "Plus it delivers you right to your doorstep," he chuckled. "How was your first day of work?"

  "I think I'm going to like it. Everyone seems real nice."

  "Good. Did you remember to text Derek all day?"

  "That's good, too," she announced proudly. "I let him know when I left home, when I left the college to go to work, and when I left to walk to the bus."

  "Glad to hear it. When do you see him this week?"

  "Tomorrow. I have an appointment at 4:00. Do you mind if I ask him over for dinner?"

  "Of course not. We can order out when you two get home. Is he going to bring you home?"

  "I don't know. Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't invite him over. I should have asked him sooner. If I ask him now it's going to look like I'm just wanting a ride home. I got stuff to put in the crock pot tomorrow, though, so we won't have to order out, no matter if he comes or not."

  "What are you going to fix?"

  "My crock pot chicken cacciatore. Derek mentioned that he had it in a restaurant once and loved it, so I got all the ingredients. I don't want to ask him at the last minute, though. I can fix it again some other time for him."

  "Nonsense," he said, taking out his phone.

  "Who are you calling?"

  "Quiet. You'll see." Kelli gave him a questioning look, until he said, "Derek? Hey, I just found out Kelli's making one of my favorite meals tomorrow, and you gotta try this. It's delicious. She's making it in the crock pot, so I'm sure there'll be plenty. Are you free for dinner? I haven't asked her yet, but I'm sure she won't mind. Are you working late tomorrow, or what time should I tell her you can be here? Oh, she's your last appointment? I didn't know that. Now that I think about it, I guess she did say she was going to see you tomorrow, sometime. Fantastic. I'm sure she'll appreciate that, and so do I. I've never been real keen on her riding the bus much. Yeah, I know. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow night. Don't thank me, thank your client when you see her. She's the cook. All right. Bye."

  Kelli's eyes were as big as saucers. "I can't believe you just did that," she exclaimed.

  "Why? I understood what you were saying, so I figured I'd help you out."

  "But you're my straight as an arrow, would never lie, big brother."

  "Okay, my arrow may have temporarily bent just a bit, but it was only to help my favorite, and only, sister. But I didn't lie. You told me what time your appointment was. I didn't know that was his last of the day. And I haven't asked you yet if I could invite him for dinner. You asked me, but I haven't asked you. So what did I lie about?"

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, until she broke out laughing. She put her arms around his neck and said, "Thank you, Phil. You're the best brother I've ever had." He had to laugh.

  ***

  Wednesday afternoon, Kelli signed in at Derek's office at 3:40 and sat down in the reception area with her psychology book. Derek came out ten minutes later and watched her scrunching her eyebrows together while she read. "Kelli, are you having a hard time seeing that?"

  Startled, she looked up at him. "What? Oh, no, I can see it fine. I just have no idea what it's trying to say." Shaking her head, she asked, "Is it 4:00 already?"

  "Not quite, but I'm ready early, if you are?"

  "Sure."

  He followed her into his office. "What are you reading that doesn't make sense?"

  "Psychology. I need two semesters of it, and I've got one, but barely."

  He closed the door behind him. "Barely?"

  "Yeah. I got a D."

  He raised his eyebrows as he asked, "D? I thought Phil said you did pretty well in school if you tried. Does that mean you didn't try?"

  "I didn't in all my classes, but I did in that. I had to try in psych just to pass it. That's the one class I never could get. Psychology is just impossible to understand. I'm worried about this semester."

  "Want some help with it?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "My minor was psych. I'll be happy to help you if you want."

  Instantly excited, she exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I'd love the help." Losing some of her excitement, she said, "I can't really pay you much, though."

  "Did I ask to be paid?"

  "No, but you're already doing a lot for me."

  He thought a moment before he answered. "Then I have an idea. You are a fantastic cook, and my cooking, well, is pretty much nonexistent. Let me eat dinner with you and Phil on the nights we study together, and I'll consider a full stomach payment in full."

  She giggled at his pun. "Deal."

  "Good. Now, have a seat, and let's talk a few minutes." He watched as she sat down. "I notice you're sitting easier than the last time I saw you."

  She felt her face immediately turn red. "Yes, much."

  "Kelli, I didn't mean to embarrass you, really. I only brought it up because I've been concerned. That was pretty serious the other evening, and I've been thinking about you. I started to call you a couple times to make sure you were okay, but I was afraid you'd think I was just trying to embarrass you. I figured if you weren't okay I'd hear from Phil, and he wouldn't be happy, so when he didn't call I assumed you were all right."

  "Really? You were concerned?"

  Derek frowned as he looked at her. "Are you serious? Of course I was concerned. Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Well, because you—"

  "Kelli, I'm the one who caused you pain, but I didn't revel in it. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I care a great deal about you, and I hate the thought of you being in pain. However, I hate the thought of you getting seriously hurt, not just having an extremely sore butt, even more. If causing you some temporary, though admittedly intense, pain in a place I know will do no permanent harm assures you think before you put yourself in danger again, I'll do it." Catching her eyes, he added, "As often as I have to."

  "I understand," she replied sincerely.

  "Good." He paused a moment to be sure it sunk in, then switched to a lighter tone. "Now, let's talk about what I need to put in my report to the judge." He started asking much simpler questions and they had a good conversation. He got her to open up about some of her hidden feelings more than she had in the past, and he was glad.

  His psychology training helped him realize that often times if he could get his clients to talk about their problems, past failures, or past hurtful experiences, they could avoid repeating them. They tended to feel like a burden had been lifted from their shoulders, and they were free to live their life differently now. That was usually a much happier and law-abiding life. He thought that would help Kelli, as well, but until today she hadn't been willing to open up much. This had been terrific in his eyes, a very good start. As soon as she started to hesitate and withdraw a bit, he dropped it, however. He didn't want to upset her, or she may not want to talk next time. He would be patient, coaxing her to open up a little at a time.

  "Okay, Kelli, I got what I need to give my report to the judge. Are you ready to go home?"

  "When you—will he be—do you think—"

  Derek saw her worried expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. I was just wondering, what will—never mind. I'm ready. Thanks for taking me home again. I appreciate it."

  "Will who think what, Kelli?"

  With a frustrated sigh, she asked, "Will the judge be upset when he gets your report?"

  Derek put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Look at me." She looked at him immediately, and he smiled and said, "Thank you. The judge will be thrilled with your progress, Kelli, as am I. You're doing terrific. Why were you worried?"

  She tried to lower her head, but Derek stopped her with a finger under her chin. "Because of the other night," she said, looking up at him.

  "Honey, that has nothing to do with the judge. The only thing he knows and cares about is the list of rules you hav
e for your probation. You're required to register for and take two classes; you're taking four. You're required to get a job or provide proof that you're trying to within four weeks. You've already started working. You've not only been on time for all your meetings with me, you've been early for every one of them. Your drug test was negative, although I really don't think drugs are a problem, and as far as I know you haven't had any alcohol. No one could ask for a better report. I wish all my reports to him were like this."

  "Really?"

  "Kelli, trust me, you're doing great. If you're concerned about the spanking the other night, don't be. That's just between us, the rules I gave you, and that's for your own good, to keep you safe."

  "I hate that I let you down, though."

  "Kelli, you forgot a couple things that day." Thinking a moment, he said, "Okay, several things. Unfortunately, you forgot several things, all in the same day, which is why the spanking was so serious. But everything you forgot was something new to you. You're not used to letting anyone know when you leave your apartment, or making sure you have your phone or coat or umbrella. I know this is all a new lifestyle for you, and I certainly don't expect you to never make a mistake or forget something. As long as you learn something through the process and I can see you're trying, you're not letting me down."

  "I'm not?"

  "I told your brother this morning how impressed I've been with you. Yes, you forgot a few things, but look how many things you've remembered. I'm asking you to make a lot of changes in a short period of time. You're doing terrific. I just hope you can keep up the good work." It was obvious to Derek from the smile on her face that she wasn't used to hearing much praise. He'd be sure to remedy that situation.

  "You were talking to Phil about me?"

  He smiled. "Yes, I was. I asked if he had your writing assignment from Sunday night. He assured me you gave it to him on time, so I'll look at it this evening after dinner." Seeing her cringe a bit, he asked, "Is it all completed?"

  "I think so." In a little quieter voice, she added, "I hope so."

  "Me, too. We'll look at it later. Right now let's go eat." Once again, she noticed how he led her with a light touch to her back, and opened all doors for her. She was trying to fight back her feelings for her mannerly, handsome probation officer, but it was getting harder all the time. She'd just have to try harder, she told herself as they walked to his Jeep.

  After what Phil and Derek described as yet another delicious meal, Kelli brought out a special strawberry shortcake she and Phil used to enjoy growing up. "Kelli, I haven't had any of this fixed this way since I left for college. We only had it on special occasions at home. What's up?"

  "I just wanted to thank you two. Little things, like you bringing me home tonight, Derek, and you showing up just in time to take me home so I didn't have to take the bus yesterday, Phil. I want you both to know that I've noticed them, and I appreciate them."

  "And we appreciate the good dinners you've been making us," Phil told her. "I'm not always going to be able to take you home after work, but when I can, I will. If the roles were reversed, you'd do the same for me, Sis." She smiled. "On that note, though, I better warn you. I know you're working again tomorrow after your classes, but I've got a meeting that will probably go until after 5:00."

  "Okay, I'll take the bus home. I'm glad we found a bus stop I can walk to. It's cheaper than a taxi."

  Derek swallowed his bite of strawberry and asked, "What time do you get off tomorrow, Kelli?"

  "I work until 4:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

  "That's perfect. How about if I pick you up after work, then we can go over your psychology tomorrow evening? If you struggled with your first psych class and that was two years ago, we need to make sure you understand this from the start. We may have to spend a little time reviewing before you're ready to tackle this class."

  "I've been worrying about that, too," she admitted.

  "Will that work for you tomorrow?"

  "That'd be wonderful, Derek. I'll put something in the crock pot for dinner before I leave in the morning."

  "No, you won't," Phil said. "You've been cooking delicious meals for us since you got here. We'll call and order Chinese tomorrow, my treat. There's a place not far from here that Derek and I both like really well, and they deliver. I know you like Chinese, so no arguing. Got it?"

  "Yes, sir," she said, chuckling.

  "Phil, do you have her writing assignment? I want to go over that this evening so we can put it in the past."

  "Sure, I'll get it." When Phil returned, he handed it to Derek. "Here it is. I've got to go buy a gift, so you'll have the apartment to yourselves. Any ideas as to what I can get my boss for his birthday?"

  "Lots of luck, buddy. You're on your own there," Derek said, laughing. He turned to Kelli. "Okay, let's see what we've got."

  Kelli gave Phil a suggestion for a gift he could buy as they walked to the door. After he left, she went back to the living room and watched nervously as Derek looked over her writing, all six pages of it. He glanced at each page, read part of the last page, looked up to study Kelli a minute, and started at the beginning again, looking more closely at each page. Kelli swallowed hard, her hands playing nervously at the bottom of the shirt she was wearing.

  Finally, Derek looked at her again, causing more fidgeting on her part, before a big smile spread across his face. "I'm impressed, Kelli. You took this assignment seriously, which is exactly what I was hoping. By making you write each rule I hoped it would make you think about each one as you wrote it. Writing each rule you broke fifty times each was meant to drive it into your brain. You did the entire assignment, and I can appreciate how much time that would have taken you, so I'm impressed.

  "What I'm most happy about, however, is the paragraph you wrote at the end, telling me in thinking about it, there were probably several more rules you broke indirectly. When you said you probably should have written each of them fifty times as well, I can tell you did indeed give this a lot of thought. That, Kelli, is what I was after, and I'm extremely proud of you."

  Derek was surprised to see a shy Kelli turn away and quietly say, "Thank you."

  When she looked back toward him, he noticed she was blushing. He thought the blush on her face made her even more beautiful. "If you keep taking your rules this seriously, Kelli, you won't be on probation as long as you think."

  "So you're not upset with me anymore?"

  He held her by her shoulders. "Kelli, I forgave you after the spanking as soon as you'd paid the consequences. Didn't you hear me tell you that?"

  "Yeah, I did, and it sounded wonderful. I just didn't think you really—I mean, you were really upset, and I—"

  "You're right, I was really upset. I was really upset because I kept picturing all the ways you could have gotten hurt, and the things that could have happened to you. I was upset that you allowed yourself to get into that situation. However, once you faced the consequences, which were pretty significant because of the number of safety rules you'd broken, I was confident you knew what you'd done wrong and why, and I meant it when I said you were forgiven."

  Once again, he thought she was adorable as she quietly said, "Thank you."

  Chapter Eight

  Derek was waiting for Kelli when she got off work Thursday, and took her home. Phil got home about forty-five minutes later, and they had Chinese for dinner, as Phil promised. After dinner, Derek suggested Kelli get her psychology book and they go over her assigned reading together to make sure she understood it. He spent the next hour and a half explaining some theories and concepts she hadn't mastered in her first psych class.

  The three of them easily settled into a routine. Kelly worked on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Phil normally picked her up and took her home on Tuesday, Derek got her on Thursday, when after dinner they worked on psychology, and one of them, generally Phil, took her and picked her up on Saturday. She walked to classes and back home on Monday and Friday. She took the bus from school
to Derek's office on Wednesday for her probation meeting, after which he took her home. Derek ate dinner with them on Wednesday, Thursday, and generally a couple times over the weekend.

  They discovered they all three enjoyed doing many of the same things, and indulged in these activities on weekends. They took long bike rides, occasionally leaving after Kelli got off work on Saturday, and spending the night in a cabin at a nearby state park. After fishing and swimming the next day, they'd return home, tired but happy.

  Kelli made friends with some people from college, but made sure Phil and Derek approved of the friendship before spending too much time with them. She became closest to a girl who was in two of her classes. She and Lisa had similar interests, and similar backgrounds. Lisa had been spoiled while growing up by her doting parents, who seldom denied their only child. The two were quickly becoming best friends, and neither of the guys minded at all. Derek thought it was good for Kelli to have another lady to talk to, and he thought Lisa seemed very nice, though a tad bit spoiled.

  Phil approved of their friendship for a different reason, however. He thought she was a lovely young lady, in every sense of the word. She had beautiful eyes that had just enough feistiness in them to be perfect. He had a bit of a concern, though, about Lisa and Kelli together. Kelli had a wild streak in her which they were trying to tame, and it was obvious Lisa did, too. He talked to Derek about it, and they agreed the friendship was a good thing, but they would keep an eye on their activities.

  The four started spending a lot of time together, and Derek kept a protective eye on Kelli, while Phil kept a close watch on Lisa. It soon became obvious that Lisa was welcoming the attention from Phil.

  Things between Derek and Kelli were confusing, to both of them. They were very much attracted to each other, but both tried to deny their feelings since Derek was her probation officer. She was doing fantastic on probation, and with his personal rules he set for her. She occasionally earned a spanking, and Derek always delivered when one was earned. Kelli had never been able to talk him out of one, though it didn't keep her from trying.