“Mama?” Caroline prompted.
“Oki,” he responded.
“Have it your way, little man.” She laughed as she settled him in his crib. “Have it your way.”
Chapter 6
Sven
Sven watched his son sleep. The sight stirred his heart to the point of pain. He passed an absentminded hand over that organ. A swarm of feelings—love, responsibility, devotion—swamped his body.
Micah lay on his back with one arm thrown wide and the other bent to accommodate the thumb lodged in his mouth. His head was damp with the light perspiration of deep sleep. Loki lay at the child’s feet with eyes closed, but he would be alert in a moment if he sensed any danger to the little guy. Micah and Loki were thick as thieves. He chuckled remembering Caroline’s chagrin at her son’s first word. He agreed with her. It didn’t seem quite fair.
Sven leaned back in his chair, crossed his booted feet at the ankle, and pondered tomorrow’s sermon.
The Sunday after the dance, Sven had discussed the sin of pride. Sven did not write a sermon. He referenced a verse, and then simply spoke from the heart. It was immediate, intimate, and effective, he hoped. The verse that Sunday had been Proverbs, 16:18. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” From the shifting and squirming of the congregation, he guessed he wasn’t the only one guilty of the charge. He knew for a fact that in the little room sat sisters who refused to acknowledge each other. Men who had been partners who turned their backs when the other entered a room. He hoped his words splintered a few hearts or prevented the hurt altogether.
Caroline admitted pride made her turn from him. She’d never stopped loving him, but his apparent desertion had injured her in that sensitive spot.
He had been guilty of that offense himself. When he was imprisoned, he should have written to Caroline and explained. She would have been angry, astonished, amazed that the law-abiding man she knew was in jail, but she would have known where he was, and how he longed for her. She would have known he would come for her as soon as he could. She would have been secure in his love. To his everlasting shame, he had abandoned her in her time of greatest need. And Lars, well, Lars was at the core of this particular rotten apple.
For years, Caroline had been upset with the merry chase his brother set for him. She warned him time and again that Lars would lead him down a primrose path to trouble, and she had been right.
It was a pattern set in boyhood. Lars would get in a mess, raise a ruckus, destroy property, and his mother would beg Sven to go to his brother’s rescue. When Lars’ actions landed them both in prison, he could not bring himself to tell Caroline. Nothing but pride, pure and simple.
The following Sunday, Caroline sat in the front row directly in front of the pulpit. Her appearance in the place reserved for the fiancée or spouse of the preacher raised a few eyebrows, a good share of smiles, and an audible sigh from the single women.
The following weeks he hit the first book of Corinthians mighty hard. First had been, “Love covers a multitude of sins. (4:8)”. He had a personal stake in that verse. His love would surround and enfold Caroline and, he hoped, bring forgiveness. It seemed there wasn’t a person in the building who didn’t have some such hope of their own.
Week two centered around, “Let all you do be done with love. (16:140)”. Then, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (13:7)”, and last Sunday, “Love is patient; love is kind. (13:4)”.
As he drew his fourth sermon about love to a close, he witnessed a few chuckles barely concealed behind a hand. Several women looked at their husbands with misty eyes, and a few looked with disappointment. He’d been wearing his love on his sleeve, and the good people of the town looked on with kind and approving eyes.
He depended on the congregation’s forbearance one last time when his verse echoed the theme once again. “Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is Love. (13:13)”. At the end of the sermon, he announced that Caroline and he planned to marry when school let out for the Christmas holiday, and they were all invited. The warmth, the approval, the congratulations had done much to mend their hearts and set them on a road looking forward instead of back.
Two more weeks and Caroline would be his. It couldn’t come soon enough for him, and that was a stone-cold fact. He needed Caroline in his life and in his bed, hungered for her every day all day. Most nights he couldn’t sleep for wanting her in his arms and under his body. Most nights he lay in bed rock hard and unable to rest. He snorted. Maybe he should return to Corinthians one more time, “Better to marry than burn. (7:9)”.
Burn he would. They had made love once and Micah was conceived. He couldn’t, wouldn’t risk it. Both of them cherished the respectability, the second chance John and Marcie Wayne had provided. Two weeks… he could burn.
He leaned forward, placed both elbows on his knees and contemplated the floor between his worn boots. Obedience would be the topic for tomorrow’s sermon. But first, it would be the subject of a discussion with Caroline as soon as she returned from her forbidden errand.
Once he held her in his arms and reassured himself that she was safe and sound, he planned to take her over his knee, bare her bottom, and spank her until she glowed like a Texas sunset after a dust storm.
Chapter 7
Caroline
Caroline tip-toed across the threshold of her fiancé’s house. Partly because the baby slept, and partly because she had an inkling, a strong one, that Sven was unhappy with her.
Sven leaned back in his favorite chair, his hands splayed across his abdomen. Caroline shivered. His clenched jaw was not a good sign.
Kneeling next to Micah, she brushed the damp hair off the baby’s forehead before turning her attention to the child’s father.
“How long has he been sleeping?” she asked. Caroline rose to her full five feet and moved to Sven’s side. She laid a hand lightly on his shoulder and a kiss on the top of his blond head.
“About an hour,” Sven guessed. “I went to see you when I finished my work. When you weren’t at home, I walked to Marcie’s. I know how the two of you enjoy tea and talk. I was mighty surprised only the baby was there, Caroline. Micah was tired, so I brought him back to nap. Where were you?”
Caroline cleared her throat and looked about the room as if searching for the answer Sven might find most appealing. “Now, Sven…” she began.
“Don’t, now Sven, me. It’s best you tell me the truth right out. I’ve got my suspicions, and it’s best you just tell it straight.” She saw steely resolve flash across his ice blue eyes.
The warmth of female fire started to burn. Lord, that man sent shivers racing up and down her body one minute and heat the next.
“Caroline?” His voice was a growl wrapped in a question.
“I went to the MacGregor ranch,” she stated with an accompanying flinch.
Sven’s eyebrows reached for his hairline. “After I told you not to?”
“I had to,” she said planting her fists on slender hips. “Those boys should be in school. You know they should, Sven, we’ve talked about it. The Mason boys have been attending for three weeks, and they began late after helping their father bring in crops. Why would the MacGregor boys need all that extra time?” Caroline lifted her shoulders and dropped them with a frustrated sigh. “I couldn’t let it go any longer. Those boys need an education,” she huffed.
“I agree. The MacGregor boys should be in school. That’s not the issue here though, is it?” He lifted just one eyebrow this time. It posed a question all by itself. “I told you never leave town alone, and I specifically told you not to go to the MacGregor place without me.”
“I couldn’t wait,” Caroline explained.
“Yes, you could have. You should have. I told you I would take you next Saturday. One more week wasn’t going to make one whit of difference in learning their letters. If,” he stabbed a finger into the empty air, “you can get those two rascals to si
t still long enough to do it.”
“I wanted to go today,” she complained.
Sven shook his head sadly. “I explained all of this to you. Mr. MacGregor is a difficult man and quick with that shotgun he keeps by the door. I’ve been told that since his missus passed, he’s been getting ornerier by the day. He doesn’t like people dropping by. I know. I’ve tried to invite them to church a time or two.”
“But it’s my job to teach the children of San Miguel. I couldn’t abandon two young boys.” Caroline’s voice rose in her defense.
“Did I ask you to?” Sven’s inquiry was soft and low.
“No, but…” Caroline began.
“I asked you to wait one week. I couldn’t take you today. I promised Finn that rocking chair for his wife’s birthday. Their baby is due any time. Would you have me disappoint him?”
Caroline shook her head. “No, of course not. Did you finish?”
“Yes, I delivered the chair, and they were mighty pleased, but I want to stick to our discussion.” He slapped his thigh. “Did Mr. MacGregor shoot at you?”
Caroline jumped and looked to the left and to the right.
“Quit stalling.” Sven’s stern voice drew her eyes to his face.
“Yes, but only over my head. A warning shot, I guess you’d call it. I pulled my horse to a quick stop.” Caroline bit her trembling lip. “I was a little scared.”
“A little scared? Caroline, I’ve been scared silly waiting for you to get home. What would Micah and I do if some harm came to you? As far as that goes, what would happen to Micah? We’re not married yet. I don’t have any legal rights to my own son until you become my wife.” He paused. “You disobeyed me. I told you not to go. I told you I would take you next week.”
Micah stirred in his sleep and gave a little whimper.
“He’ll be awake soon,” Sven stated. “Here’s what’s going to happen. After Micah has gone down for the night, you are to wait for me to come and spank you. I can’t let you put yourself in danger and have it go unpunished. I won’t let it go unpunished.”
Caroline glanced at her son before turning sad eyes to his father. “I don’t want to be spanked.”
“No one wants to be spanked,” Sven told her. “If they did, it wouldn’t be much of a punishment. I don’t give many orders, sweetheart. But when I do, I expect to be obeyed. Your health and safety, Micah’s health and safety, the strength and sanctity of our marriage, are the things that matter most to me in this world.”
“Please, Sven, I understand,” she pled.
“Do you deserve a spanking?” he asked.
Caroline hesitated. She didn’t want to admit such a thing, but he was right. She deserved a spanking. Going to the MacGregor’s ranch had been foolish and dangerous. “Yes, Sven. I guess I do.”
“You guess?” he growled.
“I do, but I thought I could handle it.” Tears surfaced and threatened to fall.
“Accept that you deserve a spanking. Accept it and learn that I will not be disobeyed,” Sven stated.
“I needed to go, Sven, those boys,” she wailed.
“Caroline?” His voice was low and thunderous. “Do you deserve a spanking?”
“Oh, Sven, please,” Caroline cried.
Micah gave a squawk and rubbed his eyes with his chubby fists.
Loki came awake with a bark and licked Micah’s face.
“Oki,” the child cried. “Oki.”
The big dog continued with his devotion, licking, barking, and licking again. Micah rolled to his back fat little legs kicking at the air. He turned to all fours and attempted to crawl away, but Loki held his shirt between his teeth and allowed no progress.
Sven chuckled, and Caroline joined in. Tension drained from the room at the shared amusement for the little boy and the big dog.
Caroline rose with the child in her arms. “I better take him home. He needs a bath before dinner.”
“Don’t forget, sweetheart. I’ll be over after Micah is asleep.” He reminded her.
Caroline gave a little jump to get Micah more firmly in her arms. A wave of anticipation that was part fear, part desire, swept through her body. She blushed.
“I will be the head of our home,” Sven whispered into the shell of her perfect ear.
“I know,” she stammered. “I want it that way.”
She walked toward her rooms with the baby straddling her hip and Sven’s words ringing in her ears. “I will be the head of our home.”
She sighed. It might be painful at times, but Sven was a fair man. He would paddle her bottom, but he wouldn’t harm her. She could relax and place herself in his care.
It wouldn’t always be easy. She had a wide streak of stubborn, and they would lock horns on occasion, but Caroline yearned for his strength and his guidance like a river seeks the sea.
She would do as he asked. She would be ready for her spanking.
A tremble ran down her spine. Fear? Excitement?
She didn’t know, couldn’t tell, and wouldn’t guess.
Chapter 8
Sven
When Sven faced difficulties, needed to think, or was troubled, he worked with his hands. Ever since he was a small boy and his father had handed him a block of wood and a piece of sandpaper it had been so. Tonight he worked on a rocking horse he planned to give Micah for Christmas, sanding, shaping, shaving away a rough spot here and there. The boy was big and strong, and he would ride the little horse with a wild vengeance. Sven chuckled at the image.
By Christmas day, both Caroline and Micah would carry his name. He closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer. Somehow, against all odds, he had been granted his most fervent desire, Caroline as wife. Micah was a bonus he hadn’t expected, and he sent another prayer of thanks for the blond baby.
The boy needed his father. Of this Sven was certain. Caroline already struggled to hold him, and the child was a bottomless source of energy. Micah needed two parents to guide him, care for him, and support him. He would, of course, be in need of discipline on occasion and this was a father’s duty, a husband’s duty. His hand stilled, and his mind turned to Caroline.
Caroline, his almost-wife, deserved a spanking. She had placed herself in danger. He couldn’t and wouldn’t allow it.
Sven pictured her small white bottom draped across his muscular thighs and groaned.
The last time he had spanked her bare bottom, he’d taken her virginity. Taken her virginity on the banks of the river in the cold of the night. She deserved better. As the man, the leader of their union, he was responsible. An ache as deep as a Minnesota lake reproached him.
In two weeks, she would be his lawful wife. He would wait to take her to bed until she was legally his. He glanced at the hardness pressed against his trousers and winced. Two weeks stretched before him in an endless sea of frustration.
Sven rose, rinsed the fine dust from his hands, and turned determined feet towards Caroline’s rooms. He glanced from side to side before pulling the key from his pocket and opening the door. They had conducted a careful, public courtship and given no cause for gossip, but some of the older women in town were quick to point fingers. They might think it improper for him to have a key. “Two weeks,” he whispered under his breath. “Two weeks.”
He climbed the stairs to the second floor of the building and entered Caroline’s rooms. A fire popped friendly warmth, and her unique smell of vanilla and roses enfolded him. He sank onto the little couch and listened as Caroline soothed Micah into sleep.
“Hello, Sven.” Caroline emerged from the room she shared with Micah and sat next to him. The warmth of her thigh touching his sent heat shooting to his groin. His resolve would be tested tonight. He hoped he was up to it or not up to it would be more to the point. He suppressed a groan.
She rested her head against his upper arm. Sven lifted her to his lap. Caroline snuggled into his chest and held the fabric of his shirt in her tiny hand.
“I love you, Sven,” Caroline said.
“I love you, too,” he replied. “I feel so lucky to have a second chance. Without you, I’m half a man, lost and alone.” He rubbed his day-old beard across the top of her head.
She burrowed deeper into his chest.
“Let’s go downstairs. I don’t want to wake Micah when I spank you.” Sven stood and carried Caroline with him.
“Sven, please,” she began.
“No begging, Caroline. You know better. You already admitted punishment was called for. I expect you to behave and accept it.” Sven’s stern voice echoed from the walls of the stairwell.
He pushed open the door to a spare room and set Caroline on her feet. A chair with a hard seat and a straight back stood like a soldier at attention against the wall. It didn’t look comfortable, but it would work. He lifted it in one hand and set it in the middle of the room.
He held out his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.”
Caroline shrank away. Rubbing her hands up and down the side of her dress, she landed a plaintive look.
“Come here,” he repeated, “don’t make me come get you. That’s not a habit I plan to start.”
Her eyes wandered to the door before settling on her husband-to-be.
“Don’t even try it, Caroline. If I didn’t love you so, I wouldn’t bother to spank you. But because you are so precious to me, I can’t ignore willful, dangerous behavior.” He made a come-here motion with his extended hand.
With a grimace, Caroline placed her hand into his and stood beside his legs.
Sven placed his hands on her waist and drew her close. She was so tiny. He would remember that and temper his spanks.
When his hands undid the button on her skirt, Caroline clawed at his hands. “Don’t, Sven.”
“Stop that this instant,” he commanded.
He continued with the buttons until a gentle push dropped the skirt to the ground. “This skirt will just get in the way. It’s easier for it to be off. When we’re married, you’ll wear your nightgown or be naked.” He was working at the ribbon that held her bloomers in place. They followed the skirt to the floor. “Step out,” he ordered.
The Teacher and the Preacher Page 5