by March, Daisy
She had to be dreaming. Had to be. She couldn’t possibly be in Jack’s arms, could she? She had seen his face last night and not recognized it, maybe because she thought he was still in the army. That and the fact it had been years since she last saw him.
He wasn’t a teenager anymore. He was a man. And what a man he had become. All her memories of the crush she’d had on him came flooding back. It had to be a dream, right?
If it was a dream, why had she brought her hangover with her? Maybe he was going to kiss it better. That would be nice.
So many times growing up, she’d dreamed of Jack. She wasn’t even sure why to start with. He was just the cool, brooding teenager over on the Walker Ranch. She was a gawky, spotty little thing with braces and no chance in hell of ever getting the attention of someone so amazing.
She remembered trying a couple of times to get him to notice her. Sunbathing in her first ever bikini, yearning for him to see, come over and…and do what exactly? She didn’t even know back then. She just wanted him near her. Maybe hold hands?
He didn’t notice her. He was too busy on the ranch, always too busy. If he wasn’t working, he was riding one of their horses, before the place got foreclosed of course. How many years ago was that?
She couldn’t remember. What she could remember was being yelled at by her father for having so much flesh on display that day. That was so embarrassing, her toes curling at the memory. Him telling her to go inside at once and put something proper on.
Then when she had just started maturing, wearing that low cut dress, walking over with some apple pie, telling them it was for Jack. He was out. He was always out. So she left the pie with Jack’s parents and went home cursing her misfortune.
Was that why she was dreaming of him? Back in Cypress Creek so her childhood memories were coming back too.
Things were different now. She knew, for one thing, exactly what she wanted Jack to do to her. Not hold hands. Nope.
She wanted taking over his knee, spanked until her ass was red. Oh, that would be such a nice dream. Call him Daddy, be his little girl, with all that entailed.
“Where am I?” she asked, refusing to open her eyes in case he vanished and she landed with a thump on the ground back in the barn, hungover and alone.
“Hush now,” he said. “I need to get you warm. You’re freezing.”
“I don’t feel cold,” she said, her mind drifting away. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.”
There was a gap in her memory there. When she came back to herself she was laid out on a battered old couch, wrapped up in heavy blankets. A fire was burning in the hearth in front of her and she was…what was she?
Going to be sick.
She leaped to her feet, stumbling over something and tripping, landing heavily on her knees.
“Fuck,” she muttered, scrambling up again and running for the door. She made it outside just in time, running into the snow before losing control. She retched loudly, bringing up the whiskey alongside everything else she’d eaten the previous day.
She knew where she was. She was at her parents' house and they were about to start one of their legendary lectures. She winced, turning as she felt eyes on her from the back door.
It wasn’t her parents. It wasn’t their house. Where was she? She blinked. It was the Walker Ranch. Icicles hanging from the eaves. The house was battered and in need of a paint job but she knew it all too well.
The place she used to stare at from the fields, wondering what Jack was doing in there, picturing him in the shower, imagining those muscles of his covering his whole body.
Jack was standing in the doorway. Huge and built and every inch a cowboy. Older, a few lines around his eyes, bigger, if that was even possible, looking out at her with sympathy in his eyes.
“Don’t,” she said, waving a finger his way as she doubled over again. “Just don’t say anything, all right.”
“Nice to see you again, Holly,” he replied as she closed her eyes and wished it was a dream. He knew it was her. There was no hiding it.
So this was the long wished for reunion, was it? Her doubled over throwing up and him thinking she was still just a stupid kid who couldn’t hold her liquor.
When she was sure she was done, she stood up, staggering slightly. “Here,” he said, taking her arm. “Come and sit down.”
“I’m fine,” she replied, snatching her arm away. The momentum sent her stumbling to her right. “Oh, no, I’m not.”
He grabbed her and didn’t let go this time. Guiding her over to the verandah, he lowered her onto the swing seat. “Sit for a minute,” he said. “Then we’ll get you cleaned up.”
He vanished inside, reappearing with a glass of ice water. “Try it,” he said. “It might help your throat.”
She took a sip, the chill helping to relieve the acid burn at the back of her throat. She leaned back on the seat, shivering slightly.
Jack put an arm around her, shuffling up close. “You could have frozen in the barn,” he said. “It was a pretty dumb thing you did last night.”
“I was warm enough,” she replied, not sure why she was snapping at him.
His arm was around her. For years she would have killed to have his arm around her. It felt heavy.
She wanted to snuggle up into his lap, listen to his heartbeat through his chest, feel the warmth of his body against her. “How’ve you been, Jack? I thought you’d lost the ranch. Joined the army last I heard.”
“Got out. Got the ranch back,” he said. “Needs some work but I’ll get there. What about you? What have you been up to since I last saw you?”
“Lost my job, my apartment, and my car.”
“Wow. Really?”
“All in one day too. Yesterday.”
“No wonder you were drinking. Listen, I don’t know if you’re looking for work but I could do with a hand on the ranch. What do you say? Fancy spending Christmas working for me?”
4
Jack
* * *
Why did he ask her that? It was so obvious he wanted her. She could clearly tell from the way he’d just blurted it out. He wanted her bad.
She stiffened. “I’m not a charity case,” she snapped at him.
“Didn’t say you were. Just offering you some work is all.”
She glanced up at him. Those eyes of hers hadn’t changed. They were the eyes he used to see spying on him all those years ago.
Did she know he knew she watched him? He thought of that day he’d seen her sunbathing in a bikini, the only time she’d ever done it. Even back then, he’d wondered what might be possible in the future.
Of course it was a dumb thought, he was too old, she was too young.
“What do you say?” he asked. “Want to work here for a while?”
She broke into a grin and he was lost in that moment. He knew he’d never want anyone else for as long as he lived. “If I said yes, could I wear a gingham dress with pigtails and pretend to be Dorothy Gale?”
“I’d insist on it.”
She sat up straighter, her head throbbing. “If we’re going to have a formal interview, I should probably get the hay out of my hair first.”
“And maybe brush your teeth.”
“My stuff,” she suddenly said, slapping her forehead. “Ow, that was dumb.”
“You all right?”
“Yeah, just don’t let me do that again. I can’t brush my teeth. My stuff was in my car and my car is currently God alone knows where.”
“It’s at the bar.”
“Sorry, what?”
“I got it back for you. It’s at the bar whenever you’re ready.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “I’ll go get it for you if you’ve got the keys.”
She felt her pockets. “My handbag. In the barn. Terry. I forgot all about Terry. He’ll be freezing. He’ll…” Her voice crumbled away.
“Terry? Who’s Terry?”
She sighed loudly. “You need to promise not to rip the piss o
ut of me, okay?”
“Deal.”
“Terry is my stuffed tiger. I took him in the bar with me last night and then I forgot all about him. the poor thing.”
“I’m guessing he’d be pissed with you if he thought you’d left him in the barn, right?”
“Are you teasing me?”
“Nope.” He got to his feet. “Wait there.”
Inside the stuffed tiger was sitting on the kitchen windowsill beside her handbag. The morning sun had dried both out after Jack’s careful cleaning the night before. He carried the tiger outside and handed him over.
“Where did you find him?” Holly asked.
“He knocked on the door last night, said you needed him.” He winked at her. “You two enjoy the view. I’ll go get your car.”
“I’ll come with you,” she said, getting to her feet. She fell straight back down. “Oh, no I won’t.”
“You stay there and rest,” he said, pointing at her. “No doing anything. Just rest. Okay? I come back and you’re doing anything but resting, you’ll be in big trouble, got it?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said with a sarcastic grin.
“Don’t call me that unless you mean it,” he replied, not smiling.
He walked away and none too soon. If he’d stayed any longer he’d have freaked her out, demanding she call him Daddy again, calling her his little girl, getting her dressed like a Little, treating her like one.
She didn’t need that. She didn’t want that. No one did. That was why he was single. No one had ever wanted what he wanted. No one ever would.
He walked across the fields to the bar. It took a while but he was glad of the time it gave him to think. Why had he invited her to work there? Was it just because he needed a hand? How long would she be willing to stay when she realized he had no money to pay her?
He collected the car, glancing in the back at the binbags full of stuff. There wasn’t much. Christmas decorations stuck out the top.
She really was in trouble. What had happened to the carefree kid he used to see playing in the dirt while she waited for the school bus?
He drove back, not liking the way her engine sounded. He’d have to take a look at that for her.
When he got back to the ranch she wasn’t on the verandah. He headed inside, shocked to find her scrubbing the kitchen floor. “What are you doing?” he asked as she got to her feet.
“Wanted to say thank you,” she replied, wiping her knees. “For last night, I mean.”
“I told you to rest.”
“I know but I came in to get a drink and there’s so much needs doing in here, Jack. I thought maybe I could help a little. you haven’t even got a tree.”
“You can help by resting like I told you. You got caught in the snow and nearly froze overnight. You need to take it easy.”
“I know but-“
“No buts. Put that cloth down and come with me.”
She did as he said. He ignored the stiffening of his cock at seeing how obedient she was.
He walked upstairs, knowing she was following. He stopped in the bathroom, turning to face her. “You are going to take a bath. You are going to relax in it for as long as you want and you are not going to suddenly start cleaning the faucets or dusting the ceiling. Got it?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she said again.
He couldn’t resist. “I might as well be your Daddy while you’re under my roof and I’m going to look after you whether you like it or not.” He turned away from her shocked face, filling the bath with water.
He didn’t look up at her again until it was full. Twisting the faucets, he glanced her way. She was looking at him funnily, her brow wrinkled, her lips pursed like she was working on a hard bit of algebra.
“Towels are there,” he said. “Shampoo in that cabinet. I’m going to deal with the horses. There’s food in the kitchen when you get done.”
“Jack,” she said, her voice quiet.
“Yes?”
She looked like she was about to say something but then she gave a slight shake of her head. “Nothing. Just, thank you.”
“What for?”
“For being nice to me.”
“That’s what Daddies do,” he said, pulling the bathroom door closed as he went.
5
Holly
* * *
She’d almost done it. She’d almost told him she used to have a crush on him. She managed to stop herself at the last minute. He could have no idea of the type of relationship she actually wanted, what a weirdo she was.
Could he know that was why she’d called him Daddy? She’d tried to do it in a way that could be passed off as a joke. The way he’d reacted had made her tingle deep inside. He hadn’t laughed it off. He’d acted like he wanted it too.
She knew she was reading too much into the situation but she couldn’t help daydreaming as she undressed, imagining life in the gingham dress, the pigtails, being his Little.
She ached to think of him becoming angry with her for cleaning the kitchen, demanding she get over his lap and expose her ass to him for a spanking she’d never forget.
She climbed into the tub, closing her eyes, sighing happily as the hot water sank into her bones. He had asked her to work at the ranch. Maybe she could stay for a little while. What harm could it do?
She would find out once and for all if he was a Daddy. She’d disobey him again. That would tell her everything she needed to know.
The steam helped her head and by the time she climbed out of the bath, she was feeling hungry rather than hungover. She dried herself using one of the world’s fluffiest towels before leaning out of the bathroom door. “Jack,” she called out. There was no answer.
She wanted clean clothes. If he’d brought the car back, she could rummage something out of the back of it but she needed her keys.
She wrapped the towel around her. It was too short to cover much but it would do for her quick trip downstairs. “Jack,” she called again. He was definitely out somewhere. She was safe.
Her bare feet enjoyed the thickness of the carpet as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She looked on the countertop, glad to find her keys sitting there next to Terry and her handbag.
She walked through the house to the front door. Opening it slightly, she peered out, a cold wind making her breath catch. No one there. Her car sitting beside his, like they belonged together. The sun high in the sky.
She had a sudden urge to fling off the towel and run outside naked, make a snow angel with boobs. She giggled to herself, heading out and immediately regretting it. The drive was made of gravel and her bare feet had barely sunk through the snow to it before she was leaping back onto the porch.
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered, grabbing one foot and rubbing it with her hand, losing her balance a second later. She fell backward, landing on her butt, the towel flying open just as Jack rode around the corner on the back of a magnificent black stallion.
He brought the horse to a halt as she scrambled to her feet, pulling the towel back around her, the towel stubbornly sticking to a nail in the wall and refusing to move far enough.
“Don’t look at me,” she said, running back into the house, grabbing a blanket and bundling herself up in it as Jack appeared in the doorway.
“Should I ask?” he said as she glared up at him.
“I wanted some clean clothes out of my car, all right,” she said. “I didn’t plan on giving you a free slut show.”
“I put some clothes outside the bathroom for you. Didn’t you see them?”
“Really?”
“Go take a look.”
She headed upstairs, making sure not to trip on the dangling blanket. On the chair opposite the bathroom door was a gingham dress, along with cotton panties and knee-high white socks, all plain as day. “Where did you get these?” she asked.
“Went into town while you were in the bath,” he shouted back up. “Called into Betty’s and asked for a Dorothy Holly dress. What do you th
ink?”
“I think it’s perfect,” she said, scooping up the clothes and heading back into the bathroom.
The dress fit perfectly. She decided against wearing her bra. Like the rest of her clothes, it was still wet and the idea of the soaking cold fabric clinging to her skin was less pleasant than the risk involved in going without.
With the dress on, she did feel like Dorothy Gale. She tied her hair into pigtail braids seeing as it needed drying. That done, she glanced at herself in the mirror. Could you tell she wasn’t wearing a bra? Maybe but then again maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
Lunch was ready for her when she went downstairs. Jack smelled slightly of the stables, it was a comforting smell. She joined him at the table, looking out at the chicken sandwich and milk waiting for her. “Thanks,” she said, taking a sip of the milk. “Is this what counts as Christmas dinner in your life?”
“Light lunch while your stomach recovers,” he replied. “Glad to see the dress fits.”
“I’ll pay you for it.”
“I can take it out of your check if you agree to work here.”
“You still want me to?”
“If you want to.”
“I guess. I’ve not done ranch work for years though. Not since I was a kid.”
“I remember you riding that horse of yours while your pop yelled at you to get out of the pumpkin patch.”
“You saw that?”
“You’d be surprised what I saw back then.”
They lapsed into silence. Holly chewed her food slowly. “You live here alone?” she asked a few minutes later.
“Uh-huh.”
“So you’re working the whole ranch on your own? No wonder the house needs fixing up.”
“It’s not that bad, is it?”
“I don’t mean that. I just mean it needs a bit of TLC, that’s all. Maybe a bit of tinsel here and there.”
“Maybe you can give it that. As long as you don’t do it when I’m telling you to rest.”