by Bree Cariad
Slightly embarrassed that her father had just laid down the law in front of her – well, her boyfriend she guessed – she peeked at Xander out of the corner of her eyes. He didn’t look taken back or weirded out which had been the reactions from guys who had wanted to date her before. In fact, he seemed to be expecting this and stood up.
As soon as the two men disappeared into the study, she picked up the tray and went into the kitchen, her mother right on her heels.
Chapter 7
“Oh, don’t look at me that way,” Kathy pouted at the little ten-week-old mutt who was looking up at her with sad eyes. “It’s not my fault. I have to go to school next week. It’s my senior year and my parents won’t let me volunteer at the same time.” Actually it was a combination of her father and her boyfriend. Her father had allowed her to hold down a part-time job in their last town even while going to school, but Xander wanted all of her attention either on the school or on growing their relationship.
And having it put that way, she hadn’t even desired to object.
Being part of a Hyacinth courting had given her a few perks she had been aware of though she hadn’t known how they would pan out. Finding out what they were made her grin. The first was that her school uniforms were a little less formal. As it turned out, Xander was allowed to say what he wanted her to wear, so instead of a plaid skirt and a sweater over a simple blouse, she was able to order simple tan pants and a set of blouses in tan, pink, and green. A small button came with it that had his monogram on it – ACB – and she was to wear it daily.
The second perk she found out on Wednesday when she and Cami went to the school to find out their schedules. Cami picked her up just before ten and they drove to the school to find it teaming with students there for the same reason they were. “Ugh,” Cami moaned as she drove Xander’s car into the parking lot. “I was hoping people wouldn’t come until tomorrow.” While Kathy was in one of the outfits Xander had picked out for her, Cami was in the normal school uniform. Kathy had to admit that it looked better on than in the images. But she was still glad that she didn’t have to wear it.
Several students were milling about and watched them as they approached.
“Hey, Cami!” Kathy looked up to see one of the girls she had met earlier in the summer trotting over to them in the same uniform as her friend.
“Dora! Haven’t seen you all summer,” Cami said with a wide grin. “Where’ve you been?”
Dora, a short, slightly rounded girl with limp brown hair and braces looked relieved to see them. “Mom and Dad sent me to my grandparents for the summer,” she lisped. “Got braces though.” She grinned, showing them off.
“Do they hurt?” Kathy asked.
“A bit.”
“Seen Stephanie at all?” Cami asked in a whisper so low that Kathy almost didn’t hear it.
“No. Called her house but nobody answered. She didn’t write to me all summer.” It was obvious by the expression on her face that Dora was worried.
“I haven’t heard from her either. On Monday we’ll have to get the news at lunch.”
Turning to Kathy, Dora’s eyes fell on her uniform. “Lucky,” she said. “Only a few months and you’re already courted. Who is he?”
Cami squealed before Kathy could even say. “Xan! Kathy’s my future sister-in-law.”
Dora’s eyes widened. “Wow. You’re lucky. He’s a great guy.” She turned and looked as a small gaggle of girls came out the front door of the school chattering. “Shall we go find out our classes?”
The three of them made their way inside. There were several tables set up, with sets of the alphabet at each one. “Kathy’s and mine are over here,” Cami pointed to a table which read A-C. “Dora, the Ls are over there. Let’s meet out in the quad afterward.”
Kathy followed her over to the long table where a woman with thin metal-framed glasses perched on the edge of her nose sat, peering at the students as they went by.
“Hello, Mrs. Struthers,” Cami said brightly.
“Camille Covington,” the woman said in a bored voice, flipping through a set of envelopes on her desk. “Looking forward to your senior year?”
“Definitely,” Cami responded, taking the envelope she was handed. “And this is Kathy Bretherton. She’s a senior, too.”
Mrs. Struthers stared hard at Kathy and hummed under her breath. “Courted already are you?”
“Yes,” Kathy answered quietly, not sure quite why that should matter.
“Yes, she is,” Cami said proudly. “With my brother.”
Without another word, Mrs. Struthers thumbed through her envelopes and pulled one out. “Looks like I have you in chemistry,” she said in a bored voice. “I expect excellence from my students, Miss Bretherton. Don’t let your love life interfere with your studies.”
“Uh, I won’t.” The dislike in the woman’s eyes surprised her as Cami pulled her away.
“Don’t mind her. That’s Carol Struthers, the science teacher. She hates everyone. Let’s go find a place to sit down and wait for Dora.” Looking over at the table that read L-P, it looked like Dora would be awhile, she was tenth in line.
They made their way back outside and Kathy realized she felt kind of blah about her new school. She was far more interested in her time with Xander.
“What classes did you get?” Cami asked as she tore open her envelope and plopped onto a small step. Sitting down next to her, Kathy listened as she read off her classes. “I have baking first period, math second – oh goodie, I can annoy Mr. Lafferty with my sugar high, English third, chemistry fourth, yoga fifth – are they kidding me? Yoga in the late afternoon? Ugh! And advanced sewing sixth.”
Opening up her envelope, Kathy pulled out her schedule. Her six classes were listed, but four were in green type and two were in blue with lines through them. “Um, baking first period, yoga second, chemistry third, literature fourth. Those are in green type. Does that mean they’re before lunch?”
“Usually the classes in green are before lunch, classes in blue after lunch. What are your other two classes?”
“Well, art and advanced sewing are listed fifth and sixth but they have a line through them.”
“What?” Cami stuck her head around Kathy’s arm to look at her schedule. “Weird. I’ve never seen that before. I wonder if those classes were full and you have to pick two more?”
“I better go check.” Getting back on her feet, Kathy went back inside and headed toward the administration area.
“What do you think you’re doing?” The snapped voice made her swing around where Mrs. Struthers was glaring at her over her spectacles.
“There’s a problem with my schedule. I’m going to straighten it out.”
“There are no problems with schedules,” she said in a rather snide tone and Kathy realized she didn’t like her science teacher very much. “I put them together.”
“But my classes have lines through them.”
“Let me see.”
Kathy handed over the list and if she could look any more displeased, Mrs. Struthers managed it. “Oh, you have early release. As such those classes have been removed from your schedule.”
“Early release? How did I get that?” Not that she was complaining. Getting off two hours early? That was great.
“Your—” sniff “—courter requested it. As such, you have all four pre-lunch classes and then are off for the day.”
“Oh, thanks!” Once the list was handed back to her, Kathy sped back out of the building to find Dora and Cami with their heads together comparing their schedules.
“Well?” Cami asked, turning toward her.
“Xander got me early release. I get out at one rather than four.”
Both of the other girls groaned. “So lucky,” Dora sighed. “I have Struthers last class of the day.”
“Eww,” they all said.
When she saw Xander later that evening when he came over to take her to dinner, she ran and jumped into his arms. “Well, hello to
you, too,” he said in a wonderful deep voice that made her body do things it had never done before she met him.
“Thanks for early release.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “I would like to say I did it for you, but the fact is I did it for me. I figure this way you can do your homework before I get off work. Are you ready for dinner?”
“Yep. Mom, we’re going out!” she called out.
“Have fun, honey!”
Their courtship so far had gone along swimmingly. In the third stage now, Xander had begun to give her small tasks to do to get her used to following him. The thing was, it was not only easy to follow him, but the tasks he gave her were relatively simple. She had only gotten in trouble once. He made her stand in the corner of her living room for thirty minutes while he and her parents chatted. There had been, at first, embarrassment as he sent her to the corner knowing her parents were there and observing it. But once she settled, there was peace, too. If her father had felt her boyfriend was in the wrong, she was pretty sure he would objected. Of course, Gerald Bretherton and Xander Covington were getting along very well. She thought that was a good thing. Cami was iffy on it.
“It’s great they get along. But what if you do something and they both punish you for it? I’ve had that happen, a lot. First Dad spanks me and then Xan does and my brother doesn’t pull his strikes. I love him, but ouch!”
Since starting the third stage, she saw Xander almost every day. As long as she let her parents know when she was going out and approximately when she would be home, they trusted him enough not to worry about where. And he took her to some fun places. They hiked up in the mountains, took a lazy day in a boat on a nearby lake, drove to Seattle for a Saturday. Meanwhile, she learned more about the man and so far, she liked everything she heard. Well, everything she heard that mattered. Kathy did her best not to think about all the girls he had dated, of which some he had gone all the way with. She really did try to not think about that.
“So you see,” she continued to talk to the puppy who was still pouting at her, “I won’t be back until next summer and you’ll have been adopted way before then.” The lights above her flashed a few times. “Uh-oh. I better go check and see what’s going on. Let me put you back in your pen.” After locking him in with his three brothers, she went to the front office. Cheryl, her boss, looked upset. “What’s happening with the lights?”
“Oh, this happens a few times a year,” Cheryl admitted. “Storm’s coming and the electricity goes out. It never fails, actually. Why don’t you go home? That way you won’t be here when the panic really hits.”
Glancing at the clock, Kathy knew her mother wouldn’t be around to pick her up for another hour as she had gone shopping out of town. Which left her two options: call someone else or walk home.
A huge boom filled the air and the lights flickered and went out, the emergency lights coming on seconds later, along with massive amounts of barking from behind the dog door. “Oh, here we go,” Cheryl moaned. “The noise is just going to get worse from here on out.”
The noise was practically deafening now. Kathy was pretty sure a few minutes of it and she might go deaf. “Guess I’ll have to walk,” she commented, her promise to Xander from months ago tapping at the back of her brain. He had asked her not to walk to or from the shelter. But that was before. Surely during a time like this it couldn’t count. Calling people to ask for rides wasn’t something she enjoyed doing. Besides, she could get home quickly and get ready for their date this way without having to bother him. At least, that was what she convinced herself of.
“Watch out. You don’t want to be struck by lightning.”
Well, wasn’t that a pleasant thought. Kathy hadn’t worn a coat as it had been hot out when her mother drove her here. Her short shorts and white t-shirt would get very wet if it rained. Peeking out the door, she didn’t see any rain and figuring she had to do something, she took off at a jog. It would still take a half hour to get home, but it was better than the caterwauling going on at the shelter.
As she jogged along, there was a slight apprehension as she passed by the area of town Xander had requested she not go near, but that had been months ago and with a storm like this, surely nobody would be out in it. Not even a bad guy. Besides, she would get home, take a shower, and he would never have to know. Right? Unfortunately, Kathy had never been one to hide her indiscretions. They made her too guilty. Maybe if she told him, they could just get her punishment over with. And telling Xander was safer than informing her father. Dad could spank her, Xander could not. At least not yet.
As a strike of lightening hit some way off and the loud boom sounded a second later, she covered her ears as she continued to jog. Almost as if orchestrated, the water came down in a torrent, as though someone upended a bucket over her head. “Drat!” she cried as she sped up. She didn’t even hear the car until it pulled up beside her.
“Kathy, get in!” Xander called and she leapt in beside him, closing the door next to her. It wasn’t until he turned on the heat that she realized she was shivering. “Honey, put this on.” He removed his shirt and handed it to her. “Yours is see-through.”
His calling her honey made her smile and then she looked down, turning pink at how see-through her shirt actually was. Her shirt clung to her breasts which her demi-cup bra didn’t cover much of. Wrapping his shirt around her shoulders, she said, “Thanks. I thought I’d get home before it poured.”
“Went for a jog?”
“Uh…” Oh, dear. She was going to have to tell him now. “Actually, today was my last day volunteering at the shelter. The power went out and they sent me home.”
“And you didn’t call?” Xander had made sure she had his number as well as those for the rest of his family if she needed it.
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
For a couple minutes he didn’t speak and she hoped she was off the hook. “Do you remember me asking you never to walk out there?”
“Well, yes, but what was I to do? Mom wasn’t expected back into town for an hour and the noise was deafening.”
He parked in her driveway and turned and looked at her. The disappointment on his face made her pout. “I’m sorry, Xander.”
“Let’s go inside.”
Knowing he was going to discipline her, she followed him up the steps and unlocked the door, glad to be in out of the storm. “Go up and dry off,” he said calmly. “Then come down and join me.”
“Okay.” Running up to her bedroom, she wondered what he would do. Corner time? Lines? An essay? She had broken a promise to him. That was huge. Kathy was just glad they were in stage three. If they were in stage four, she would have more than likely be taken to her dad’s study and asked to bend over the desk so he could spank her. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.
Peeling her wet clothes off, she tossed them in the bathtub to wring out later and changed into flannel pants and a sweatshirt. After rubbing her hair dry with a towel, she trotted back down the stairs.
“Exactly,” Xander said and she looked up to find him on the phone. “I’m glad we agree, Gerald.” Gerald? He couldn’t be talking to her father, could he? Oh, drat. He looked up and beckoned her over and she walked up to him and sat down. “Let me put you on speaker so she can hear it from you.” He held out his phone and her father cleared his throat.
“Kathy, Alexander and I have decided that you’re now in stage four. As such, he may discipline you in any which way he chooses as long as it’s over your clothing. Do you understand?”
Kathy gaped at the phone. Her father had done it. He’d given Xander the right to spank her.
“Kathy? I asked if you understood.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered, not looking at the man next to her.
“Good. Son, you’re welcome to use my study.”
“Thank you, Gerald. I will.”
Xander put the phone back in his pocket and stood up. “Kathy, go to the study.”
Standing up, she ma
de her feet move as she walked back to the room she would rather not be in right now. She wanted to submit to Xander because she knew she was in love with him, even if she hadn’t told him, but she had never been spanked by anyone but her father before and Cami said he hit hard.
As they walked into the room, he closed the door behind them as she went to stand in front of the desk.
“Come here,” he said, taking her hand and drawing her over to the couch. After he sat down, he turned her so that she faced him. “Kathy, I know this is new and you’re scared, but I’ll never harm you. Ever. I take being the head of house seriously. And as the head in this relationship, I expect you to follow my guidance and to keep your promises. Do you know why I’m going to spank you?”
This was so much harder than being spanked by her father. It was so… personal. Xander insisted they keep eye contact and she knew she had to answer. “Because you asked me not to walk there and I did.”
“Yes and no. I’m spanking you because you agreed not to walk there and then did. Do you understand the difference? Kathy, if we get married, then I’ll be your head of house and when I ask you to do something, I’ll expect compliance and being the girl you are, I know I would receive it. As we’re in a courtship, I can only discipline you for what you have readily promised me you would do. You broke your promise to me.”
Tears sprang to her eyes and she felt her mouth tremble. Hurting him had never been her intention. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Xander. I didn’t mean to break my promise. I just… I didn’t think.”
“I know, honey. Discipline is a good help with that.”
Her father said the same thing and unfortunately they were both right.
She expected him to point her over to the desk just like her father did, or perhaps to lean against the wall, but instead, he patted his lap. “Over my lap, Kathy.” He was going to spank her over his knee.
Over.
His.
Knee.
Sure, she had heard of it, but had never had it herself. Her father had never taken her across his lap. Maybe that was something you only did to your wife or girlfriend. “Um…”