by Bree Cariad
“Great! Maybe you two can come over for dinner this week. Curtis and I were saying it would be nice to have another couple to play cards with and just sit around and talk.”
“Sounds fun. And we’ll definitely talk about this more, but I need to call and tell Chrissa before I go down and fill Mom in on everything.” They talked for a couple more minutes before hanging up. Having her friend be so happy for her just made it feel more real. She hit Chrissa’s speed dial and it instantly went to voice mail.
“Chrissa, call me back. I’ve got exciting news.”
Popping her phone into her pocket so it would be easy to get to when Chrissa called back, DeLynn went down the stairs where her mother and sisters were waiting for her.
The whole weekend felt like being wrapped up in a delightful bubble. Everyone was riding a high from their courting announcement and since Blaine and Evan were able to help Zachary and Anderson unload the moving van quickly, Zachary’s parents left relatively early and she was able to spend a lot of time with her boyfriend.
Sunday night he was over at their house for dinner, a definite Cherise disaster as they were served a large salad and what turned out to be burnt salmon patties, but he was just as gracious as he was with her meal and had her sister beaming and actually talking about trying different foods from now on. When the doorbell rang halfway through, Blaine hopped up and went to answer it.
“Mom! Barrett!” he called and something about the tone of his voice had both of her parents up and out of the kitchen quickly. DeLynn had heard the tone as well, but thought she should probably let them handle it. A few minutes later, Barrett walked back in.
“DeLynn, can we see you out here for a moment?”
Zachary, who was seated next to her, stood up and walked with her into the living room. She never would have expected to see the two people standing in the middle of the living room. “Mr. and Mrs. Carroll?” They both smiled, but their smiles were forced and her stomach tightened. Something was desperately wrong. “What’s going on?”
“Chrissa didn’t come home last night,” Mr. Caroll explained. “We thought maybe she might have spent the night over here, but Barrett just explained he hasn’t seen Chrissa in a long time. Do you know where she is?” The pain in his voice added to the worry going through her head.
“No. She hasn’t spoken to me since a week and a half ago when I got angry at her for saying something about Deeka’s husband. She did mention that she and her two new friends were planning on travelling, but I got the feeling that was not for a while.” Had she missed something? DeLynn went over their conversation in her head trying to spot any clue she might not have seen at the time. Pulling out her phone, she dialed her friend’s number only to once again get voice mail.
Zachary pulled her back into his arms and it was only then that she realized she was trembling. “When did you last hear from her?” he asked quietly.
“She left early yesterday morning saying she had to sell her books back at school. We haven’t heard from her since.”
Whimpering, DeLynn turned in Zachary’s arms and leaned her forehead against his chest. She had missed something. If she hadn’t gotten angry, maybe Chrissa would have admitted when she planned to take off and DeLynn could have talked her out of it.
“It’s not your fault,” he murmured against her hair. “You’ve mentioned that she’s been falling apart all term.”
“I know, but…surely I could have done something.”
“We’re going to check with some other people in town. Let us know if you hear from her,” Mrs. Carroll said in a sad voice.
“I will.” The door shut and it felt like a weight landed on her shoulders. “Where can she be?”
It was a difficult time, being both happy and worried at the same time. She spent several hours, basically all daylight hours, with Zachary. Nighttimes were the loneliest as without him around, all she could do was worry about Chrissa. Where was she? Was she all right? Was she happy? And the most pressing, was she safe?
Thankfully, while officially a couple in Stage Two wasn’t supposed to go on a date after dark, Barrett was on board with her and Zachary going to Deeka’s house for dinner. So less than a week after her official courting announcement, DeLynn was excited as she and Zach walked up to her friend’s house. Curtis greeted them at the door. “Hello.” He was using his forearm crutches this evening and appeared to be in high spirits. “Come in and have a seat. Deeka’s thrilled you could come. She’s been cooking like crazy.” They walked into the living room and DeLynn followed Zach over to one of the sofas. As they sat down, Deeka trotted into the room.
“Dinner’s almost ready.” She sat down next to her husband and instantly curled up next to him. As Curtis wrapped an arm around her shoulders, DeLynn smiled. She could hardly wait until she felt that comfortable with Zach. “So, have all the calls come in?” Deeka asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Some,” DeLynn admitted. “I think the cold has stopped people from looking at the courting banns, though, as there haven’t been nearly as many as I expected.”
“Are you two going to Spank the Santa? If so, the word will get out real fast.”
Zach snorted and Curtis began to laugh. “Yes, I couldn’t believe the name either,” Curtis said. “What a name for a party. But it’s an enjoyable evening. I went last year with Deeka and Barrett.”
“Are you going with your family? Or would you like to come with us?” Deeka asked, her face lighting up. “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m so glad you two are courting. Curtis and I have done a couple things with Stephanie and Chris Triton and Jared and Cami Kinsley, but it isn’t the same as hanging out with my own friends.”
DeLynn’s mouth dropped. “You hang out with the Tritons and the Kinsleys? Wow.” Of all Hyacinth society, anyone associated with the Covingtons were considered the cream of the crop. The Tritons and the Kinsleys were right in their inner circle.
“They’re great,” Deeka admitted. “I met Jerod and Cami because of that incident the day I turned eighteen…” She coughed and turned a little red. “And I met Chris and Stephie at the grocery store one day. They’re the friendliest people. I’m not sure where I got the idea they were snooty. They’re not.”
“What did you ever do with that birch rod?” DeLynn asked with interest.
Curtis grinned. “I had her leave it where it was. It’s a gentle reminder to think before she acts.”
Deeka rolled her eyes, grinning. “Plus, I’ve gotten used to it. I think if we took it down, our room would look weird.”
Realizing Zach wouldn’t know what they were talking about, DeLynn turned to him. “Deeka got in trouble on her eighteenth birthday for going somewhere she wasn’t supposed to go and Barrett had her go ask Jerod Kinsley how to make a birch rod.”
“Seriously?” Zachary asked, his eyebrows raising. “Those things look nasty.”
“I was lucky,” Deeka admitted. “Dad just wanted me to apologize to the Kinsleys and plus I think he thought it was funny. He did laugh himself silly when I told him what happened.”
“So what did Barrett have you go to the Kinsleys to ask?”
Deeka’s cheeks filled with pink. “Okay, so here’s the story in a nutshell. I was lazing in a tree the morning of my birthday, hoping no more idiots were coming to call—and there were a lot of idiots—and I heard voices. I looked down to see Jerod and Camille and he had her choose three branches, cleaned them off, and then tied them together. When he told her to remove her jeans, I realized he was going to spank her with them and screamed for them to stop. I scrambled down the tree and ran for home.”
Spluttering out a laugh, Zachary’s body shook. “That had to be a bit embarrassing.”
“A bit,” Deeka agreed, nodding. “After I got home, I overheard Dad on the phone with Jerod and thought Jerod was calling to tell my dad what I’d done. So as soon as he ended the conversation, I went up to him and confessed everything. Only to find out the call wasn’t about me at all.”
“Barrett’s sneakier than I thought,” Zachary said with a chuckle.
“My sour expression only partially had to do with the birching I was expecting,” Deeka admitted.
“What else did it have to do with?” Curtis asked, his fingers combing through her hair.
“I wanted to know how it would feel so on the way home I slammed one of the branches over my own rear end to—don’t laugh!” Deeka squealed, laughing herself as her husband burst into laughter.
“Only you, little dove,” he said, his laughter turning to chuckles. “So how did it feel?”
“Ow!” she said expressively. “I felt really sorry for Camille that day. And I was very glad to find out you only ever use your hand…though it’s hard enough. You don’t need anything else.” As a buzzer went off in the kitchen, she hopped up. “Sounds like dinner’s ready.”
Once the four of them sat down at their dinner table and began to eat, Zachary spoke up. “I think that will be the thing I will have the hardest time getting used to.”
“People talking about discipline so openly?” Curtis guessed. Zach nodded. “Yeah. Barrett had always been open about it, but I have to admit…hearing others talk about it as if it was a common, everyday experience was shocking at first. I’m just now getting to where it doesn’t startle me.”
“After studying it, I believe strongly in the Hyacinth way of life. It’s one of the reasons I moved here. But I have never spanked anyone before. It’s a bit daunting.”
DeLynn flushed as she knew in a couple months he would be able to spank her and she actually looked forward to it. While spanking wasn’t fun, it was grounding and she really missed that. Plus, she also knew it could bring a couple immeasurably closer and she wanted that for the two of them.
“Do you have some time tomorrow?” Curtis asked. “I have some information that might help. I’d be happy to go over it with you. So would Barrett if you wanted to ask.”
“I think I’d feel more comfortable talking with you,” Zach admitted. “Barrett may be my father-in-law at one point. It would feel strange talking to him about how to spank my future wife…who happens to be his step-daughter.”
A wide grin crossed Curtis’s face. “Try talking to him about spanking his actual daughter.”
Barking a laugh, Zachary nodded. “That had to be strange.”
“If he and I hadn’t been great friends, it would have been. But I’d known Barrett for several years. And he was insistent that Deeka needed that gentle reminder that she was taken care of.” Reaching over, he brushed a tendril of Deeka’s hair behind her ear. “Plus, loving discipline can bring you closer together than you can imagine.” The two shared a deeply loving look that had DeLynn’s throat close up slightly. It was like being given a window into how deep their love was. As if Zach was affected by it as well, he took her hand and squeezed it.
“You two are newlyweds, right?” Zachary asked after their gaze finally broke and they had gone back to eating.
“Just over five months,” Curtis said, nodding. “Feels like I’ve known her forever, though.”
Dinner moved smoothly into dessert and Deeka shared some fun stories of when she, DeLynn, and Chrissa had done some very silly things as teenagers. DeLynn joined in and by the time dessert was done, they had both of their men in stitches about some of the things they’d pulled.
“I’m surprised Barrett isn’t gray,” Zach said as they finished and moved back into the living room.
“Dad thought most of them were funny,” Deeka admitted. “He could handle just about anything except rudeness. That was his biggest bugaboo. Be rude and I could expect a lecture and a spanking.”
“Oh,” DeLynn groaned, nodding. “That man could lecture. He’s such a sweetie with me, but I still remember the time he lectured the three of us on the fourth of July.”
“Ugh,” Deeka said, grimacing. “I’d forgotten that one. Let’s not talk about it.” Changing the subject, she asked, “So, did you want to come with us to the winter solstice party? Or go with your family?”
DeLynn glanced up at Zachary who nodded. Smiling, she turned back to Deeka and Curtis. “We’d love to go with you.”
The holidays passed far too quickly. She spent every day with Zachary and many of the evenings were spent either with her family or his as they were invited to Longdale to dinner with them weekly. There had been no word about Chrissa and as the first day of her new term came around, DeLynn began to wonder if they would ever hear from her again.
It was decided that she would ride to Longdale with Zachary, Monday through Thursday and then, depending on what classes she had or what studying she wanted to do, she would either wait for his workday to be through and ride home with him, or take the bus earlier. She preferred to wait. The bus took twice as long and wasn’t nearly as enjoyable.
As she entered her first class the second Monday of January, DeLynn had a bit of a shock. Two of the girls who were already seated in front looked up and watched her as she walked to a seat halfway up. “So, you’re the one who caught Zachary Styles,” one of them said with interest, surprising her as she sat down. DeLynn just stared at them in confusion. How did they know?
Turning to her friend, the girl whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear. “She’s from that freak town Hyacinth. Zachary’s probably trying to save her from being abused. He’s such a sweetie.”
Several different emotions flooded DeLynn’s chest and she had a hard time grappling with them. Anger, humiliation, and the one that was the worst: worry. For a brief moment, self-doubt made her wonder if Zachary was dating her because he thought spanking was abuse. He had admitted he’d never spanked anyone before. But quickly, she pushed that aside. Zach liked her and she knew it. She wasn’t going to allow some girl she didn’t even know to destroy that.
“Ah, shut up, Kelli,” one of the guys in the back said. “You’re just jealous because she caught the chaplain. You’ve been after him since the day you arrived on campus and he’s never given you a second look.”
Kelli sneered at him over her shoulder. “’Lot you know.”
He barked a laugh. “I know that Zachary would never date a girl who sleeps with every boy she meets. My granddad knows his family well and says his mom’s the best judge of character he’s ever met and she’s overjoyed at his finding her. You’re jealousy’s gonna get you into trouble.” Hearing that Konani truly liked her helped DeLynn to fully put her doubts about Zachary aside.
Glaring at him, Kelli turned back to her friend. “I’ve heard Hyacinth girls aren’t allowed to speak unless given permission and that they are all forced to wear iron underwear.”
A few titters broke out around the room and anger overtook the rest of her emotions. Sitting up straight, DeLynn glared right at the back of the girl’s head. “Sorry we wouldn’t allow you in, Kelli, but in Hyacinth, girls have to be pure. And we don’t have to use special underwear because our legs don’t just open automatically when any man walks by.” As the words poured out of her mouth, she had a momentary feeling of triumph as the girl in question turned to her in shock. But when laughter broke out and realizing what she’d said, DeLynn’s cheeks flamed with heat as she grabbed her books and ran out.
She ran into the professor as she darted out the door. “Sorry,” she sobbed, running out of the building. “Unbelievable,” she whined as she left the building and walked around the quad. While she knew Kelli had no right to say what she did, DeLynn only had control of her own words and she was horrified at what she’d said. Here she was, dating the school chaplain and…Her words came back to her and she groaned. “How can I even imagine myself as his wife if I can’t control myself?” The worst part was she worried her actions might reflect badly on him and that’s something she would never want to do. DeLynn wanted him to b
e proud of her.
Embarrassed by her crass words and rude behavior, she did the only thing that made sense. She went to Zachary.
He was in his office, pouring over a document in front of him as she dashed in. Zachary looked up and instantly his expression went from calm interest to alert and worried. “Honey, what’s wrong?” He leapt to his feet and had her in his arms a second later.
“I screwed up,” she snuffled.
“What happened?” His arms tightened around her and right in this moment there wasn’t anywhere she would rather be.
“A girl insulted me and I bit back.”
Warm lips pressed to the top of her head. “We’re not angels, honey. We can’t always stop ourselves from doing something in the heat of the moment. Who insulted you?”
“Her name’s Kelli. I don’t know anything else about her except she knew we were dating and that I was from Hyacinth.”
“Ah.” His arms tightened for a moment before he released her. She sat down and he sat in the chair beside her. “Tell me what happened.”
Slowly, achingly slowly, DeLynn went over the small scene in her classroom without actually repeating what she said. “I can’t believe I said what I did,” she finally admitted, horror clear in her voice. “I’m never rude to people.”
“DeLynn,” he said, taking her hands in his. “First off, you were provoked. I know you enough to know that you aren’t the type to go around insulting people. Was it the best way to handle it? Probably not. And just so you know? I wouldn’t go to all the trouble of going in front of the entire council to court you if I thought you were going to be abused. Instead, I would have tried to get you to spend more time with women here in Longdale who don’t hold to the same values you do.” He released one of her hands to press his index finger underneath her chin, encouraging her to look up until she was looking directly into his kind eyes. “I asked to court you because I have very strong feelings for you. I want you in my life and quite honestly I find the Hyacinth courting system a relief. Dating…well, it’s a lot of trouble, honey. I like being in our kind of relationship where we each know the other is interested. There aren’t any games. There’s no putting on a front because in a loving discipline relationship there is an intense kind of honesty.”