Adopting Katie

by Allysa Hart

  “Not know? That’s that issue here, isn’t it? Everybody thinks they have the right to keep me from knowing anything! Don’t any of you see how demeaning and disrespectful that is? How would you feel?” Her anger began to turn into choking sobs. “How do you expect me to trust you when you can’t ever give me the courtesy of being honest about something this important?”

  “Sweetheart, Daddy asked…”

  “Daddy asked? Who the fuck is he to think he could make a decision like this without even talking to me?” The words blasted out of her mouth without restraint.

  “That is quite enough, young lady! We’ve been patient and understanding, but you’ve pushed it too far. I’ve had it with your attitude and little tirades today. It’s one thing to be angry and yell at us, but I will not have you disrespecting your daddy or the choice he made because he loved you!” Rounding the table, Keith took her by the arm and lifted her out of her seat. Propping his foot on the rung of her chair, he draped her struggling body over his knee.

  Katie kicked and yelled, fighting as hard as she could. “Put me down, you bastard! You can’t do this to me! He can’t fucking give me away! He has no right!”

  Ignoring her angry protests, Keith remained steadfast in his mission. Her skirt was lifted, and the panties were pulled down to her ankles before he applied his paddle-like hand to her bare backside. The sound his palm made as it cracked against her bottom was almost loud enough to drown out her screams. There was nothing else for her to do except scream louder. She called him every name in the book and received no verbal response in return. The only clue that he had heard her was that he spanked faster and harder.

  Katie didn’t care. He could spank her all day, but she would never submit. Not this time. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose round the corner with a paddle in hand. Her resolve wavered for a second. Keith had never used anything but his hand on her before!

  “I would have preferred to use my belt, but this will do just fine. Thanks, babe.” Keith’s calm demeanor exacerbated her anger and Katie screeched as loud as she could while bucking her body to escape his stronghold. Without skipping a beat, he liberally applied the offensive implement to her twisting bottom. The searing pain sent a surge of panic as the girl realized how far she had pushed him with her antics.

  “No, no, no! I’m done.” Her voice went from screaming to begging in record time. “I’m sorry. Please, stop!”

  “Not a chance. I’m just getting started. This is a lesson that I intend to drive home once and for all.”

  The swats slowed with a greater pause between them, but the intensity continued to build. Katie pleaded and promised good behavior, but to no avail. Her bottom turned from being unpleasantly warm to a raging inferno before she finally gave into his control and allowed herself to cry without any inhibitions. Setting the paddle on the table, Keith rubbed her back as she wept.

  “This has been a stressful day for all of us, especially you. I understand that, but it does not give you leave to throw tantrums or call names. Neither your daddy nor I have ever condoned this kind of behavior, and that will never change. One more thing—if I ever hear an F-bomb coming from your mouth again, you will be getting your mouth washed out with soap. Have I made myself clear?”

  “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry.” The word stuttered from her mouth as she fought to catch her breath between her sobs. “I just can’t believe he did this.”

  His body softened. “I’m trying to tell you that it isn’t what you think it is. Here, give Auntie some cuddles.” Keith shifted her off of his leg into the waiting arms of his wife.

  Katie settled herself in the safety of Auntie’s arms and allowed the sobs and tears to continue. “This is too much for me to handle. I don’t know what to do. Why is he giving me away?”

  “No, honey, no! He’s not giving you away. He wanted to make sure that you continued to get the love and care you deserve. He loved you more than anything and would never give you up for anything. He just wanted to make sure that if he wasn’t here that you’d never be alone and that he had someone he could share you with forever.” The emotion in Rose’s voice matched the expression on Keith’s face.

  “I can’t be adopted. I’m not a real little girl.” The weight of those words was too heavy for her to bear.

  “You are to us,” Rose reassured. “You always will be.”

  “You can’t adopt me.” The truth of her words shredded her heart.

  “Why not?”

  “Because you are going to have your own family someday and then I will be all alone again,” she whispered. Rose’s body stiffened, and Keith scooted his chair close to turn Katie to face him and took one each of Rose’s and Katie’s hands, looking at them with sadness. “I’m right, huh! You don’t wanna keep me. You can’t!” The level of her voice rose way above normal as the fear consumed her.

  “Stop and listen, right now.” Keith’s tone was quiet and calm. “I need you to hear me, Katelyn. Can you do that please?”

  At the sound of her full name, Katie stiffened and nodded.

  “Words, honey,” Rose encouraged.

  “Yes, Sir. I’m listening.”

  “Thank you.” Keith closed his eyes and cleared his throat before continuing. “Rose and I found out a while ago that we can’t have children and concluded that maybe parenthood wasn’t in God’s plan for us.”

  “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me, Rose? That’s all you ever talked about was having a big family. I could have supported you.” Katelyn said, her heart breaking for the couple.

  “We want you, Katie. We want you to stay with us, always and forever.” Rose had chimed before Keith was able to continue.

  “But I can’t always be little. I have to go back to work. I have to find a new life. I don’t know what you expect of me.”

  “We will support you in whatever you would like. You can choose if or when you want to be little. You’re right—it is your life and your decision. We just want to be a part of it. You are important to us, honey, and I promised Mark that we would take care of you for as long as you would allow us to.” Keith’s hand tightened around hers.

  “We want you to live with us,” Rose added. “We’ve been looking for a new house for a while and finally found the perfect place for the three of us.”

  “What about Mark’s house?” She couldn’t call it hers anymore.

  “We will do whatever you want with it. I am not here to run your life and am available to help you make decisions if you need me, but ultimately they are up to you.” Keith reiterated her freedom to make her own choices.

  His comment assuaged her most serious concerns. “If I don’t want to be little, are you going to force me to be?”

  “No, but we would like for you to allow us to nurture that side of you.” Rose’s tone was hopeful. “I need that side of you as much as you do.”

  Katelyn considered her words and then addressed Keith. “Just to clarify—if you’re not going to run my life, does that mean no more spankings?”

  He chuckled. “In your dreams, sweetheart. Little or not, if you act up and break my rules, you will definitely get your butt smacked.”

  Katie crossed her arms. “That’s not fair. You can’t have it both ways.”

  “Rose isn’t a little and still gets her bottom warmed. We both also know that you wouldn’t want it any other way, so knock off the drama,” he said with a laugh, tapping her lovingly on the nose. “I do not hear any protesting. Does that mean you’re in agreement?”

  Katie rolled her eyes and then stuck her tongue out at him. “I plead the fifth.”

  “Ha, just as I thought. Joking aside, you have some decisions to make. Rose and I are here to help you through every step of the way no matter what you choose, but ultimately it is your decision. We can’t do this for you.”

  “I want to stay with you. I want to sell the house and find a way to start over.” The words had left her mouth before her brain had processed her final decision. She felt peace
settle in her heart confirming that she made the right choice.

  “Don’t you want to give it a little more thought? There’s no rush,”

  “There’s no need for more time.” She assured him confidently. “I love you guys, and I don’t want to live alone. I certainly don’t want that house.”

  Opening his arms, Keith beamed at her with pride. “I think I speak for both of us when I say that we are thrilled with those choices. Thank you for trusting us, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Seven

  After the whirlwind of emotions of that day, the trio settled into a somewhat normal routine. Katie returned to work and then also helped with the sorting and packing of both houses in preparation for the move. Having Keith and Rose as a permanent feature in her life helped her deal with being in her old home. She couldn’t find the words to express her gratefulness for them. She was permitted to choose when she wanted to regress, and for how long—unless she was sick or especially fatigued. That was when Auntie and Uncle stepped in and took care of her. She protested wildly, but she knew her antics didn’t fool them one bit. She thrived under their firm guidance and unconditional love.

  Packing two houses was tedious, and Katie soon tired of the chore. She wanted nothing from her old place, and anything she required had already been safely packed and accounted for.

  “Where’s Keith? Shouldn’t he be here by now? I’m so fed-up with this crap. Let’s just throw it all out and start over; it’s such a waste of time.” Her irritation was emphasized as she banged things around and tossed items haphazardly into boxes.

  “He will be back soon,” Rose stated calmly. “We are all tired of this, but complaining isn’t going to make it go faster. We aren’t throwing out perfectly good things because you want to be lazy.”

  “Well fuck it, I’m done,” she announced, throwing a newspaper wrapped dish into an open box, unconcerned as the sound of it breaking reached their ears.

  Rose spun around to face her. “Excuse me, little girl?”

  Katie slapped her hands over her mouth. “Oops. I’m sorry Auntie. I didn’t mean it. I was just getting irritated, and I’m so tired.”

  “What did Uncle say would happen the next time you dropped the F-bomb?”

  The memory of his warning slammed into her brain like a high-speed train. “No! No soap! I’m sorry. Please, I won’t say it again. We don’t even have to tell him.”

  Rose shook her head. “I am not putting my backside on the line and disregarding his instructions just because you decide to break his rules. Bathroom. Now.”

  “No. Please…”

  “One.”

  “Okay, I’m going!” Katie dragged her feet toward the bathroom with Rose on her heels.

  “Good thing we haven’t packed this room yet,” Rose muttered as she pulled a fresh bar of soap from under the sink and unwrapped it. After lathering it well under warm water, she turned to Katie. “Open.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Would you rather have Uncle Keith do this? Open.” Katie quickly widened her mouth and was gagging before the soap even got near her tongue. “Close. Good girl.” Rose placed her hands on Katie’s shoulders and turned her in the direction of the corner. Smacking her sharply on the behind, the woman said, “I want you to stand in that corner and think about why you have soap in your mouth.”

  Katie tried to keep her tongue and lips away from the vile tasting bar as she stood with her nose in the corner and her hands behind her back. Corner time was awful to begin with, but when forced to hold the soap between her teeth, she decided that the combination resulted in something that a normal person would consider cruel and unusual punishment. With every breath came the permeating taste of the soap, keeping her misdeed at the front of her mind. Finally, after what felt like hours, Auntie called her back to the sink.

  Hands on her hips and stern expression firmly in place, Rose asked. “Well? Did you reconsider your actions?”

  Katie nodded tearfully, and Rose removed the bar from her mouth. Her relief was short-lived as Rose lathered a washcloth. “What’s that for?”

  “I am going to make sure that your mouth is nice and clean so that we don’t have to do this again.”

  “We won’t! I swear; we won’t ever have to do it again. My mouth is all clean, see?” She opened her mouth without thinking, which offered Rose total access.

  “Thank you.” Rose praised as she stuck the washcloth in her mouth and began to scrub.

  It took all of Katie’s effort not to puke. Even though the deed was over quickly and she was allowed to rinse, her senses remained overwhelmed with the taste and smell of the soap. She went as far as using a towel to wipe out the remaining suds. Rose stood by, arms crossed, as she waited for Katie to finish.

  “Are you done yet?” asked the rigid disciplinarian. “Put the towel down and give me a hug. You need to clean up that language. Trust me; you don’t want your uncle dealing with naughty words. It is an unpleasant experience, to say the least. I’ve been there.”

  Katie bit her lip and tried to suppress a giggle after discovering that Rose had been subjected to discipline for the same disobedient behavior.

  “Uh huh, it’s hilarious. Let’s get back to work. No more complaints, right?”

  “No more complaints,” Katie promised.

  ***

  “What is the rule about misbehaving while I’m not home?” Keith asked, leveling her with a glare that brooked no nonsense.

  Katie’s shoulders sagged. “But I was already punished.”

  “I’m sure you were, but that is not what I asked you, young lady.”

  “If I get in trouble with Auntie, I will get a spanking from you. But, honestly, I was good after! Auntie, please tell him I’ve been a good girl.” She pleaded openly.

  Rose shook her head and took a step back. “You were, but this is between you and him. I told him everything he needed to know.”

  “That’s not fair!” Katie stomped her foot while crossing her arms.

  “Come here.” Keith pointed to the floor in front of him.

  “No.”

  He lifted his eyebrows as high as they would go and offered a crooked smile. “Wow. Is that how you want to play this out?”

  Katie took one look at his face and ran. She had never run from him before, but the only thing that mattered was fleeing for her life. The sliding glass door banged against the wall as she hurried to get outside and climbed into her tree house as fast as she could.

  “Did she just tell me ‘no’ and then run away from me?”

  “I believe she did, darling,” Rose giggled. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

  Keith pulled his sleeves up and winked at his wife. “I think someone is getting quite comfortable with her place in this family. Too bad she won’t be sitting comfortably when I am finished with her.”

  “We don’t want to discourage her from playing, honey. Please don’t be too hard on her. She did behave after she was disciplined.”

  “Who’s the boss here?”

  “You are,” Rose said with an unhappy sigh.

  Keith quickly scaled the tree and entered the little house. Katie’s eyes widened upon seeing him. “Why do you look so surprised? I’ve been climbing trees long before you were born. Now, I think we need to have a little discussion regarding you telling me ‘no’ and then taking off.”

  “I’m sorry, Uncle! I won’t do it again. I promise!”

  “I’m sure you won’t. At least, not anytime soon. Get your bottom over here.”

  Seconds later, Katie was squealing at the top of her lungs as his palm relentlessly assaulted her backside. “Stop! The neighbors are going to hear!”

  “You should have thought about that before you ran out here.”

  “I swear, I’ll be good!” she pleaded, trying to bury her squeaks in a pillow.

  “Do you think that running away from me is acceptable?” Keith asked with a hard smack.

  “No, Sir! I won’t do it
again, I promise!” She twisted to look back at him with an adorable little pout on her face.

  “Glad to hear it.” Adding a couple of good whacks to her sit spots, he completed the swift punishment. It was not the worst spanking he had ever given to her, but her bottom was still quite red when he finished. “If you hadn’t run from me, then your bratty behavior today would have simply resulted in a warning. Since you insisted on pushing me, you get to feel this for the next hour or two,” he declared, pinching her sore backend.

  Scooting away from him, Katie scowled and sniffled before wiping her face with her shirt. He pursued her and wrestled her into a hug. Together, they cuddled in quiet reflection.

  “This is the only thing I’m having a hard time letting go of,” she admitted tearfully.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “My tree house. Daddy built it special for me, and I wish I didn’t have to leave it here.” Her eyes glossed over with unshed tears.

  “No one can take your memories from you, sweetie. Those will always be right here when you need them.” He touched her heart and caught a tear with his thumb as it escaped. Pressing her back to his chest, he hugged her tighter. Her declaration was important and immediately set him to thinking of more things he could do to make their new house a real home for Katie.

  ***

  “Is my desk there? And all my Legos? You didn’t break any, did you? I wrote fragile on the box. I hope you were careful!” Leaning forward, Katie stretched the seatbelt to its limit to make sure her questions were taken seriously.

  Keith raised his hand. “All of your stuff is there. Nothing got broken. Scout’s honor.”

  “You got kicked out of the Scouts,” Rose mumbled under her breath.

  “Are you sure you didn’t forget anything? What if I don’t like where you put everything?”

  Stopping at a red light, Keith turned in his seat. “Sit back, calm down, and take a breath. We will be home in five minutes, and you can see it all for yourself. I promise that your room is yours, and you can do whatever you would like with it, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to like what your Auntie came up with. She worked very hard on this surprise, so I would check your sass and find some gratitude or you will not be allowed to touch anything in that room until you earn it. Is that clear?”