by Bree Cariad
“Tomorrow. His flight was cancelled.”
Barrett nodded slowly as if thinking of something different.
“What?” she asked, softly elbowing him in the ribs. Startled, he looked up at her. “What’s going on?”
Grinning sheepishly, he shrugged. “Promise not to get mad?”
“That’s not a good way to start a conversation. What did you tell him about me?”
Snorting, he shook his head. “Oh, he heard all those stories before you met.”
“Dad!”
Snickering, he dodged another elbow jab. “Deek, do you remember our discussion about my possible dating again?”
“Sure I do.” The closer she and Curtis became, the more she worried for her father. She didn’t want him to be alone.
“There’s a lady in town I would like to ask out.”
Startled, she looked up. “Who?”
“Elizabeth Straynar.”
Squealing, she jumped and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. “Dad! That would be fantastic! DeLynn’s mom is so cool! And if something happened between you two, that would make one of my best friends, my sister.” Releasing him, she hopped back, grinning. “When are you going to ask her?”
Chuckling in relief, he sat down at their outside table. “Well, I was waiting until I got your opinion, but the fact is Liz and I have run into one another several times since the July fourth picnic.”
“I heard you set Charity straight,” she teased.
“That young lady needed to be taken in hand,” he said firmly. “I’ve helped Elizabeth out a few times at the house when something cropped up and, well, it’s developing into something more.”
“Yay!” All sorts of excited ideas popped into her head.
“Now, before you start planning our nuptials, I don’t know if it’s going to go that far, so stay mum on the subject.”
Surely he couldn’t mean DeLynn. Oh, they had so much to talk about. “But—”
“Not a word to anyone. Especially DeLynn. She’s having a hard time right now and I’m not sure she’s ready to hear her mother might be dating when no guys are even asking for a courting dinner from her.”
Wincing, Deeka nodded. She truly didn’t get it. DeLynn was amazing. What man wouldn’t want to court her? “Okay. Not a peep. Can I talk to Curtis about it?”
“As long as he knows not to say a word, yes, you can talk to him about it.”
With her man coming home from a few days away, Deeka had wanted to fix him something good to eat. Unfortunately their choices were barbeque, barbeque, and barbeque at home. So after her father schmoozed some take-out from Hyacinth Inn—something they didn’t normally do—she went to the store to see what she could buy for dessert. Curtis had a sweet tooth, so she went directly to the bakery as soon as she walked into the grocery store.
Nellie, a girl who had graduated a year before her was at the counter when she walked up. “Hi, Deeka,” she said kindly. “What do you need?”
“What do you have that’s chocolate?”
All they had was chocolate cake and she didn’t feel in the mood for cake. “Okay, scrap chocolate. What else have you got?”
“Well, Martin was inspired by that PinPrickle ice cream and he made a pie that kind of tastes the same. It’s the green one over there.” Nellie pointed to the refrigerated section.
Perking up, Deeka nodded. “Perfect. Curtis loved their ice cream.” She opened up the door and pulled out the light green pie.
“How’s your courting going?” Nellie asked as she brought the pie up to the counter to be boxed.
“Really well. We’re in our fourth stage now.”
“Ouch.” Nellie giggled. “That’s when I found out there was more to Martin than met the eye. What does Curtis use?”
“What do you mean?”
“To spank? Martin used his belt and ouch!”
“I don’t know,” Deeka admitted. “We haven’t talked about it.” The birch rod on the wall of her bedroom came to mind and she felt a slight unease in the pit of her stomach. Three days previous she had lit into Wally Smyder when he made a crude comment about Curtis, threatening to kick him where it hurt if he ever said something about him again. She’d fully intended to come clean to her man about it when he got back, but now she wondered if she should find out what he used first.
“Well, good luck,” Nellie said wryly, handing her the boxed pie.
“Thanks.” Stopping at the produce department, Deeka picked out several ripe lemons to make lemonade and walked up to the checkout counter, her mind trying not to worry about her boyfriend’s reaction when he found out about Wally. He wouldn’t be mad, though he would probably be disappointed. But now she was slightly worried. Would he spank her? And if so, what would he use?
“Couldn’t you use a different register?”
The snide voice had Deeka jerk out of her thoughts only to stare at Wally, blushing as she realized she hadn’t even noticed he was there. Not saying a word, she put the pie and the lemons down on the counter.
“Your suitor needs to control you better,” he hissed, putting her food in a bag after ringing it up. “What is he, a pansy? Can’t control his woman? Don’t tell me, there’s nothing between his legs, right?”
Deeka didn’t actually recall how she got around the counter, but she did remember the satisfaction as her knee collided with Wally’s groin. A squeak left his lips as he doubled over, slowly falling to his knees. “I told you to stop making up lies about my boyfriend!” Slamming her money down on the counter, she grabbed her bag and turned to leave, aware everyone was staring at her and not really caring at the moment. Until she met a pair of deep green eyes. “Curtis.”
His eyes slid to the man behind her who was breathing hard and whimpering. “Deeka,” Curtis said calmly. “Don’t move.” His wheelchair moved smoothly to her side. “Can you call the manager?” he asked another checker politely. Nodding, she grabbed the phone and paged him. Deeka didn’t know what to say. That she was in trouble, there was no doubt. But what would happen now?
“Is there a—what happened?” the manager exclaimed upon seeing Wally who was still on his knees.
“It seems that problem you and I discussed months ago has reared its ugly head,” Curtis explained calmly. “I suggest the four of us go somewhere private to talk about this further.”
Nodding, the manager locked Wally’s machine and helped him to his feet. “Come along,” Curtis said as the two of them walked away and Deeka followed them, aware of the man at her side and not knowing what to say about it.
This was not how she planned their first face-to-face meeting in almost a week. She figured they’d hug and kiss a little and he’d tell her about his book tour. Then they’d have dinner with her dad. Sometime over the next couple of days, she’d inform him of the Wally situation from a few days ago and they would go from there. Only, she hadn’t counted on the argument from today, let alone him observing it. What could he possibly be thinking?
The manager took them into a small room in the back and closed the door after she and Curtis made their way through. Clearing his throat, he leaned back against an old metal desk that was pushed up against the far wall. There were no other pieces of furniture in the room. “What happened?”
“Deeka?” Curtis said, cutting off Wally who had opened his mouth. “I think we should hear from you first. Give us everything.”
Gnawing on her lip, she nodded and woodenly, trying not to think about what she was revealing, she gave the full overview of her last two encounters with the jerk standing near the corner glaring at her. When she got to the point of grabbing her groceries, she stopped. “That’s when you came in,” she whispered, casting a glance at Curtis under her eyelashes, hoping he wasn’t too disappointed in her. Could this be something that ended their relationship? Her chest tightened in fear. While she hadn’t told him yet because she wasn’t sure how he felt, Deeka was madly in love with the man at her side and couldn’t imagine how things would be
if she had screwed them up.
Nodding with such a stoic look on his face that she could not figure out how he felt about what she had just revealed, he turned and looked at Wally. “And your side?” he asked in a clipped tone.
“Deeka’s a flirt,” Wally spat. “She flirted with me for two years and then punched me for no reason whatsoever. Since then, she’s taken every chance to pick on me.” The manager raised an eyebrow and Deeka glared at the slime but managed to keep her words to herself as she was still very much aware of Curtis. He seemed to radiate an all-over aura of control. She was surprised Wally couldn’t feel it.
“A flirt?” Curtis responded. “I think not. I’ve known her father for years and in all the time I’ve spent with Deeka, she has not once come across as a flirt. She truly enjoys getting to know people and she loves to ask questions, but neither of those is in any case being a flirt. Deeka, reveal why you hit Wally, please.” His voice stayed calm and firm, and nodding, she took a deep breath.
“It was last January. Wally and I had been friends for a couple of years and he kept saying things that made me feel uncomfortable but I ignored them. Until the day he tried to kiss me. Dad taught me how to defend myself and I slugged him before I could think of a better choice.” She lightly flexed her hand. Wally’s eyes slid toward the movement and he backed up another step right into the corner.
“So, you tried to kiss her without her permission, driving her to defend herself. Then you continually picked on me. I can handle your barbs because they mean nothing to me. Little people have little minds and I’ve learned to just let them slide off my back. Deeka, however, has not reached that point. As for your remarks today, it is not up to you to figure out how or when she should be disciplined and I have the feeling all you were doing was taking the chance in public to try and belittle her and myself. That, Wally, just makes you look bad. And gave you a pain you will feel for several hours,” Curtis finished and just stared at Wally who was now looking at the ground. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I don’t know,” her nemesis muttered.
“Is this all true?” the manager asked Wally.
“It sounds worse than it is,” Wally murmured. “It wasn’t really all that bad. I was just teasing.”
“In this town, you don’t kiss a girl unless you’re courting her and you know it. And to go out of your way to make disparaging remarks about someone is below anyone. I’m disappointed in your actions, young man. I’m not sure this kind of callous behavior is what I want from my employees.”
Wally’s head snapped up and he shook his head frantically. “No! Please, no. My money’s going to help Mom and Dad. I can’t lose this job.”
“What if he made up for it?” Curtis suggested. All three of them swung around to look at him in surprise. “I think some heavy volunteer work to help bring his attitude back in line might be a viable option. This way he could pay for what he did, get rid of the arrogance, and still keep this job. If you’re willing.”
Thinking about it, the older man nodded. “What do you have in mind?”
“I’ve heard they’re looking for people to donate their time cleaning up the park and planting flowers this fall so that next spring it will be in good shape. It would be hard work, take up sixteen to twenty hours of his week, and the people who are in charge will keep an eye on him.”
Deeka was both impressed and annoyed. There was a part of her that wanted Wally to lose his job, even though she knew that was mean. But that Curtis had remembered this civic project and was willing to help Wally so he wouldn’t lose his job just made her love him more.
What if he didn’t want her after this? She’d disobeyed his request several times with Wally. She knew Curtis was a man of deep convictions. He was not the kind of man who took such things lightly. Deeka would pay for her mistake, the question was how. Gulping down the fear, she waited to hear what happened next.
“What do you say?” The older man looked happy with the suggestion and Wally shifted from foot to foot.
“I can keep my job?” he asked tentatively.
“If you show up for every shift here and with the town and stop picking on this young lady.”
“What about her? Why does she get away with what she did?” he asked belligerently.
“She is not your concern, young man. If I were you, I’d be more worried about my future than the fate of the individual I deliberately injured,” Curtis said quietly.
A shudder went down her back. His words could be taken in so many ways. The two that stood out were that she was only his concern, not Wally’s, and he would take care of her. Or that right now Curtis didn’t care enough to discipline her for breaking his rules. Deeka sent up a little prayer that it was the former and that Curtis meant a spanking and not ending their courting. Right now she’d be willing to accept a birching if that was what he wanted.
When Wally finally agreed to the compromise and promised to call the name Curtis gave him, they left.
“Come with me,” Curtis said as they exited the store. She followed him to his car.
“Dad’s truck,” she said, pointing over to it.
“I’ll drive Barrett back later for it. You’re too jumpy to drive.”
Well, that was true enough. Deeka was pretty sure it would be almost impossible to concentrate on the road with wondering what was going to happen. As she slid into the passenger seat, he hooked his chair onto the back of his car and used his braces to get to the driver’s side door.
“You should teach me how to do that,” she offered. “Then you wouldn’t have to struggle so much.”
“I will,” he said. “But while I can still do it, I prefer to.” Nodding in understanding, she folded her hands in her lap as he exited the parking lot.
The drive home was quiet. Neither of them said a word. When they got to her house, they got out and went inside.
“Curtis, you’re back…what happened?” Barrett asked, looking from one to the other.
“I need a quiet, private spot to speak with Deeka,” Curtis said calmly. “Where do you normally discipline her?”
Her father’s face relaxed. “Actually, with the construction going on, it’s a mess at the moment.” He pointed over to the corner that now held boxes of pots and pans. “Why don’t you use her bedroom? Just leave the door ajar.”
“Deeka?” Curtis said quietly, nodding toward the hall. “Lead the way.”
After handing her dad her grocery bag, Deeka headed toward her bedroom, wrapping her arms around her chest and trying not to cry. He’d said he would teach her how to connect his chair to the car. Surely that meant he wasn’t planning on breaking up with her. Holding to that thought, she walked over to the large bay window in her room and stared outside.
She heard him come in and then there was complete quiet. “Deeka,” he said softly. Turning around, she began to sob as she spotted him sitting on the edge of her bed, his crutches off to the side with his arms out toward her. Rushing forward, she crawled up onto his lap and held onto his arms, crying against his shoulder. “Shh, my little dove,” he murmured in her ear. “Shh. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I don’t mean to do it,” she hiccupped through her sobs. “I never mean to reply, but he says such horrible things about you and I find myself just reacting.”
“I know. It’ll take time to learn to let the kinds of things he says not affect you. Though if he keeps today in mind, he won’t do it for a while.” There was a definite humor to his tone and her sobs slowed down as she curled further into his embrace. “But,” he added, “this is the seventh time you’ve defended me since I asked you not to and you agreed. Remember that?”
“Yes,” she admitted, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“I know. Let’s take care of it and move on.”
It was the kind of thing her father would say and gulping, she nodded. Part of her wanted to ask what he was going to use to hit her with, but mostly she just wanted to get this over with. Deeka felt s
o badly about the whole thing and she just wanted it behind her.
Curtis helped her to her feet and then patted his lap. “Come on, Deeka. Over my lap.”
It was a strange position to be in with her hips high on his legs, her toes not touching the floor, and her upper body prone on the bed. When she was a little girl, her father had spanked her a couple times over his knees, but usually he had her bend over the arm of a chair to do so.
A warm hand wrapped around her waist and he didn’t say a word as the first blow fell. Gasping as his hand fell on her rump, her eyes widened. Her father usually started out soft and built up to hit this hard. If Curtis started out this way, she might not be able to sit down once he really got going. His hand fell with nary a pause between each spank. He went from side to side and sometimes over both until her behind was burning and her body writhed and twisted over his lap.
She tried to stay still, keeping in mind his physical disability, but halfway through, her scorching, aching backside took precedence. “Curtis, no, I—Ow! I’m sor—Ow!” His hand on her waist kept her relatively still as her legs kicked and her body twitched while his other hand continued to rain down on her backside. When the tears leaking out of her eyes turned into gut wrenching sobs, she stopped actually noticing much as she bawled. Letting Curtis down was something she took seriously and didn’t want to do it again.
When he stopped, her heavy breathing and sobs filled the room as he held on to her, his right hand rubbing her lower back as his left reached up and softly combed through her hair. “It’s over with, little dove. How do you feel?”
“I’m sorry,” she hiccupped.
“Shh. It’s done with. Come here.” His arms were amazingly strong as he lifted her up and sat her on his lap, holding her tight against his chest. It took a long time before her sobs stopped and then she lay against him exhausted and yet feeling better. His hand rubbed up and down her arm as he placed a soft kiss on top of her head. “I missed you.”