Emily

by Paige Mallory

  The wedding didn’t take long, and just when they wanted to be alone, Sheriff Dan announced that Eva Jo had a wedding dinner all prepared at her house. Mac and Emily looked at each other and smiled. They all walked to Eva Jo’s and enjoyed the lovely meal she put on the table. When Emily offered to help clean up, Eva Jo was horrified. “Oh my goodness, no! You have better things to do than wash dishes. Now go along,” she bossed.

  Mac helped Emily move her things over to his hotel room and finally they were alone. He could make Emily his. “Do you want me to give you some privacy so you can change into your nightdress?” he asked considerately.

  “Please,” Emily answered, suddenly very nervous. She kept reminding herself that she was with the same man who’d practiced restraint while they were camped a few miles outside of town for several days and nights. But, now that they were married, he had every right to claim her body. As she changed into her pretty new nightdress, she kept telling herself that Mac was a gentle man. He was nothing like some of the men she knew. Still, she was trembling when he tapped on the door before entering.

  “You’re frightened,” Mac said quietly, coming up behind her and taking the hairbrush from her hand. He gently ran the bristles through her long, red hair. “I will be gentle with you, honey,” he promised.

  “I know you will,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m acting like this.”

  “We’ll take our time. There is no rush, you know.” He continued to brush her hair until it was shining and soft, and then he leaned down and kissed her throat.

  Emily shivered with pleasure as she felt Mac’s warm lips on her neck. The kisses he planted soon had her wanting more of his touch. She rose to her feet, put her arms around his neck and pulled his face down so she could kiss his lips.

  Mac was sure he’d never tasted anything so sweet and he felt like pinching himself to make sure this was really happening. It seemed a miracle to him to finally meet a woman he loved and wanted to share the rest of his life with. He swept her off her feet and gently laid her down on the bed. Emily held her arms out, inviting him to join her.

  ********************

  Lucy Zabarski was leaving the general store when she looked up and saw Mac Forrester ride into town with Emily. She hurried toward the two, anxious to find out what took them so long to get back in town. “Hello, you two!”

  Mac dismounted as did Emily. They tied their horses to the rail and Mac looked at Lucy and grinned. “Lucy, meet my wife, Emily Forrester.”

  “Oh goodness!” Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. “Oh my! I am so happy for you both! Congratulations to you!” She gave Emily a hug, and a kiss, and then did the same with Mac. “You should have sent me a wire, Mac, so I could clean your house before Emily arrived.”

  “That is okay, Lucy. I am sure it isn’t that bad,” Emily said with a smile as she looked at her new husband.

  “Would you like to take supper with Henry and me?” she offered. “I am sure Henry would be thrilled, and it would make me feel like I did something for the two of you!”

  “Lucy, thank you, but Emily and I are tired and we want to stay home tonight,” Mac said.

  “I will manage to cook us something simple so we won’t starve,” Emily said with a giggle.

  “Don’t look so worried, Lucy. Em is a good cook,” Mac announced. “Did anything happen while I was away that I should know about?” he asked, looking around the street as if to spot anything or anyone out of place.

  “Oh, the Donnelly brothers got into a huge fuss over Lydia Gaines. Turns out she was seeing both of them behind each other’s backs. She mixed up her days, and both men showed up at the same time. Henry kept them from killing each other,” she said with a grin. “He locked them in separate jail cells until they calmed down and talked it out. They decided that Lydia wasn’t the right woman for either of them since she was a ‘lying cheat’. That was the worst of it.”

  “Doc Z did the right thing,” Mac said, nodding.

  “I just asked myself what you would do if you were here,” a deep voice spoke from behind him. “Welcome home, Mac. I see you found Emily.”

  “Hey, Doc. It’s good to be home. And, Emily is now my wife,” he added as he shook the other man’s hand.

  “That is good news. We’ll have to celebrate,” Henry said with a grin.

  “Not tonight, my friend. Em and I are both tired from the long ride, and I need to get back to work, earning my pay.”

  “We are happy for your both,” Lucy said. “Aren’t we, Henry?” she included the tall redhead.

  “Yes, we are,” Doc Z answered, a smile on his face. “Mrs. Zabarski, did you take care of that little task you were to do?” His tone of voice was firm and Lucy turned stiff as her pretty cheeks flooded with color.

  “Henry, I do not wish to discuss this matter on the street!” she replied.

  “Should I take that as a ‘no’, my dear?” Henry asked, raising one eyebrow in disapproval.

  “I am not going to apologize for something I am not sorry for doing,” she told him, ignoring Mac and Emily to glare at her husband.

  “This is where we say goodnight to the Zabarski’s, Em.” Mac took her hand, waved at the couple standing on the sidewalk in front of his office, and led Emily inside the jail.

  “When Henry and Lucy go at it, it is best to get as far away from the fireworks as possible. Lucy is about to get her skirts raised for a good spanking… again! That is one feisty little lady.”

  “What did she do?” Lucy was concerned about her friend. She knew firsthand how scary and intimidating the Doctor could be when he was angry. The first time they met, he’d threatened to soap her mouth for calling his wife a ‘bitch’. At the time she knew he meant the words and she backed down, only to learn later that Lucy wasn’t responsible for Dove’s death, and she certainly wasn’t a bitch.

  “Knowing Lucy, it could be anything. She has a terrible temper, and she’s not afraid to butt her nose into other people’s business if she feels justified. She’s as good with a gun as you are, Em. And, she likes to wear pants, even though Doc wails her proper for doing it, each and every time.”

  “He is scary,” Emily commented.

  “Who? Doc?” Emily nodded and he chortled. “Doc wouldn’t hurt a fly unless that fly was threatening Lucy.” When she gave him a doubtful look, he decided to change the subject. Em would get to know Doc Z in time and she would know him for the good person he was. “My home is through this door, Em. We’ll look for a house, and if you don’t see something you like, we’ll build one. In the meantime, this is home sweet home.” Mac opened the door leading to the small apartment and motioned for her to go inside.

  Emily’s first impression was one of neatness. Mac was at least tidy, even if his decorating skills left a lot to be desired. It was obvious he didn’t spend much time in the parlor. It looked unused. The kitchen fared a little better. Mac at least fixed coffee for himself on the stove. The bedroom was sparse, but the bed was large and looked comfy.

  “I don’t spend a lot of time back here, except to sleep,” he confirmed what she’d figured out. “Feel free to make any changes you wish.”

  “What have you got here in the way of food?” she asked. “We need to eat some supper before we go to sleep.”

  Mac hurried down the steps to the cellar and returned with ham, potatoes, onions, and cabbage. “This is about all I could come up with, Em. I don’t keep much on hand since I never know when I’m going to be riding out of town.”

  She smiled. “This is enough to fix supper. Tomorrow I’ll worry about stocking up on the basics.” She put herself to work while Mac went out to his office and examined his official mail.

  ********************

  “I am not one bit sorry for telling that awful woman what I think of her.”

  “Lucinda, it is not your place to pass judgment on Sylvia Crawford,” Henry said firmly. “I’ll give you one last chance to walk over to the candle shop and apologize to her for
interfering in a personal matter.”

  “She was treating Kathy poorly in front of people and wouldn’t even give the poor child a chance to explain what happened. I am not sorry I spoke up and said something. A loving mother would have waited until the shop was free of customers before scolding a child Kathy’s age. And, she is certainly old enough to stop at the general store and buy some ribbon on her way home from school. If you’d seen the look on that child’s face when her mother took her ribbon and threw it into the stove…! It was an act of cruelty, Henry, and I am not one bit sorry I spoke up in defense of the girl. Sylvia Crawford is a nasty, bitter woman.”

  “You were in her store, Lucy. You scolded the woman in front of her child, and thereby, interfered in a personal matter that was basically none of your business. You owe her an apology.” His voice was firm and unyielding.

  “Hell will freeze over first,” Lucy declared, her chin up in the air in that gesture of stubbornness he knew so well.

  “Your backside is going to feel like you backed into the fires of hell,” he warned, taking her arm and marching her down the street a short ways to the steps leading up to his office and their home. “By the time I’m finished taking my belt to your sweet butt, you will be eager to apologize to Sylvia.”

  “If you had been there, Henry, you would have done the same thing!” Lucy argued as he practically dragged her up the steps and through the door to the waiting room.

  “Go on into our bedroom and bare yourself from the waist down, Lucinda.” When she stomped her foot and opened her mouth to argue, he pointed a finger at her and said, “This would not be a good time to argue with me. The spanking you have earned is going to last a long time. You will not want extras tacked on at the end.”

  Lucy turned on her heel and ran for the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Why did she have to be married to such an impossible man? Why did he never see these things the way she did? Why couldn’t he simply take her word for it that Sylvia Crawford was a terrible mother? Why did he always find fault with her and criticize her behavior? After all, she didn’t use her special brand of fighting to give the woman a good beating. And, she didn’t draw a gun on her! She merely told Sylvia that she was behaving badly… and she was.

  “Why aren’t you undressed?” Henry demanded as he walked into the room. He’d removed his jacket and was in the process of rolling up his sleeves. “Do you want extras, Lucinda?”

  “No. I don’t want a spanking at all! I want to know why you even bothered to marry me if I am such an embarrassment to you all the time! I can’t say or do anything that you don’t find fault, Henry! I feel that I am constantly under a magnifying glass and you are studying my every little move. Why can’t you ever believe in me and take my side?” Lucy was yelling and she didn’t care.

  “People do not like it when you interfere in their personal business, wife. That is what you did. I am not saying you are wrong about Sylvia, but she is Kathy’s mother and she has the right to correct the girl. She probably has a good reason for telling her she is to come straight home, and that doesn’t include stopping in the general store to shop. You have no idea what came before the incident yesterday. And, I am always on your side. You are just used to living with parents who didn’t care enough to pay attention to the things you did. I will always care what you do, and when I think you cross a line, I will tell you so. I gave you every chance to go and apologize for intruding on a personal matter, and you failed to do the responsible thing. Now you are going to get your pretty tail warmed six ways to Sunday and then you will go and make the apology. You chose the hard way by being stubborn, Lucinda Zabarski. Now take off your clothing or I’ll start adding extras.”

  Lucy wanted to refuse, but she knew her husband well enough to know that he would definitely add the extras if she pushed him. He didn’t do anything by half measures, and that included spanking. If he promised her a horrible spanking, she would be begging him to stop a long time before he did. She suddenly wished she’d taken the coward’s way and apologized, or at least lied and claimed she did. She kicked off her shoes and then sat on the bed to roll down her stockings. “I can’t see why this is so important to you, Henry!” she commented, tears filling her eyes.

  “Because you are my wife. I don’t want people turning their backs to you. Sylvia Crawford has a nasty tongue, and she could stir up trouble.”

  “Is this about me… or you…?” Lucy asked. “I can handle myself with other women and their nasty gossip.”

  “Lucy, stop stalling.” He was close to losing patience, and he didn’t want to do that. It was necessary to give a good lesson, but he didn’t want to be too harsh with his little wife.

  Lucy removed her dress and draped it over a chair so it wouldn’t wrinkle. Her petticoats were next, and then she was wearing nothing but her camisole and her drawers. “Can’t I keep my drawers?” she pleaded.

  “No. I spank on the bare; you know that, Lucy,” he stated and refrained from smiling. Lucy hated baring herself for a punishment, which was one reason he always made her do it. He took a seat on the side of the bed, and when she was bare from the waist down, he took her hand and pulled her face-down over his knees. “Being stubborn costs, Lucinda,” he said quietly, and then he started spanking.

  Lucy remained silent. The spanks hurt like crazy, but she wasn’t about to give Henry the satisfaction of thinking he could spank her into doing what he wanted when she knew it was wrong. If anything, this was going to make her wish she’d landed a few bruises on Sylvia Crawford! His hand was like a board, stinging more and more each time he spanked her unprotected cheeks. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. She was pleased that Mac and Emily were now married. It would be nice to have another friend. Lucy couldn’t help kicking a bit. Henry was spanking her right below her cheeks, and it truly hurt. It was getting harder and harder to keep from crying, and to keep from begging him to stop!

  Henry shook his head. He knew exactly what his bratty wife was doing. She was trying to prove that she was unaffected by the spanking, but her skin was turning a deep, dark red, and she wouldn’t be able to last much longer. He continued to spank her sit spots until he heard a grunt pass through her lips. A few more, he decided, and she would start to lose that damned pride of hers.

  Lucy did her best to close off her mind to what was happening to her backside. If she did not acknowledge the spanking, then it was as if his hand wasn’t wreaking havoc to her bottom. He moved lower and attacked her upper thighs. Her skin was very sensitive, and she couldn’t prevent the tears from falling. Still, she clung to her silence, determined to outlast his hand!

  Henry shook his head. Lucy was the most stubborn woman he had ever met in his entire lifetime. He reached for the hairbrush lying on the nightstand.

  Lucy gasped when she felt the hairbrush land on her right cheek, and she cried out when it landed on her left cheek. “No, Henry! Not my hairbrush!” she pleaded. She hated it when he used her own brush to spank her. It just wasn’t right for him to do that. It wasn’t fair!

  “I think your hairbrush is exactly what you’ve earned, little girl. The stubborn act goes only so far with me.” He suited action to words as he quickly peppered her reddened cheeks, sit spots, and upper things with the wooden side of the brush. Lucy was now crying freely and begging him to stop. He was not even close to ending the punishment. “Stop whining, Lucy. You earned this dose of hairbrush for being so stubborn. By the time I take my belt off and give you the tanning you deserve, you will be begging to apologize to Sylvia Crawford,” he promised.

  “No, Henry, I won’t apologize. You can spank me all you want; I am not going to apologize for something I am not sorry for doing.”

  “Brave words; I’ll have to see if I can change your mind.” He continued to smack her behind with the hairbrush until she was sobbing. She begged him to stop, but there was no offer to tell the other woman that she was sorry. Reluctantly, Henry took off his belt and doubled it, the buckle end
in his hand. “When you are willing to apologize, let me know. This strapping won’t stop until you do…”

  ********************

  Mac reread the letter, and then looked at the picture once again. It couldn’t be! His wife told him her family was all dead, but the papers in front of him said otherwise… He got to his feet and hurried toward the kitchen in back. He wanted answers and he wanted them right now…

  Chapter Six

  Emily felt like a real wife and she was shocked to realize that she was enjoying the feeling! She was actually wearing a dress… and an apron… and cooking Mac’s supper! She smiled to herself and then started humming. Emily was happy; something she never expected to happen to her was actually happening! A man loved her for herself!

  She sliced thick slices of ham to put in a skillet, shredded cabbage to fry, and peeled potatoes and sliced them, and did the same with a large onion. She hoped that Mac would enjoy what she was cooking. She didn’t normally fry everything, but she had to go with what was available, and do it quickly, and make it good, too.

  Mac stopped in the doorway, listening to his little wife hum and watching her as she sliced the potatoes and then the onion. She quickly had everything on the stove before she realized that he was standing in the doorway watching her.

  “Mac! How long have you been standing there?” she demanded, startled by his presence, and the fact she’d been putting on a show without being aware of it! She felt her cheeks flood with the hot red of embarrassment and she wanted to sink through the floor. She braced herself for the teasing that would surely follow.

  “I am not used to having my wife fix supper for me, and I was enjoying watching you work. You are a beautiful woman, Emily.”

  There was no mockery in his words or in his eyes as he looked at her tenderly. She smiled. “Thank you,” she said, feeling shy. “I actually feel like a wife and it feels good!”

  “Em, we need to talk,” he said solemnly. “Something came in the mail today…”