Harmony stood near the doorway of the house, watching Ben talk to their neighbor, Mr. Brown. It was late, and she was already dressed for bed in a nightgown and robe. Normally Mr. Brown wouldn’t have come over, but he was worried because he’d seen a pig near the stables and he didn’t know who it belonged to. He wanted Ben to look into it before anything happened.

She heard them discuss the pig, then say goodbye. She watched Ben heading toward the house, her heart full of love for her husband. “I’ve got to go out for a bit. You’ll be all right alone?”

“Of course.” She took a step back, then looked up into his eyes. Ben had been very quiet since they’d come home. Dinner had been a little strained, but four-year-old Caleb hadn’t noticed. He’d eaten and played just like always, going so far as to throw potatoes at his father, who laughed and scolded him, but not with any conviction.

He and Caleb had played in front of the fire until it was time for the tot to go to bed, and then he’d helped Harmony dress him and put him down. She knew he would love to have more children, and she thought about approaching the subject with him, telling him they should try again. Maybe this time would be easier.

“Are you feeling all right?” He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, rubbing his hands against her backside.

“Ow.” She made no move to push out of his arms. “I’m all right. It hurts, but I’ll be all right.”

He tipped her face up to his and kissed her gently. “Please don’t ever worry me like that again.”

“I’m sorry, Ben. I never thought you’d find out, or that you’d be so worried.”

“Why wouldn’t I worry? My wife disappears out of town without telling me? Of course I would worry. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’m sorry, you know that.”

He grinned at her and her body hummed in response. “Not sorry enough to tell me what you were doing.”

“No.” She grinned and when he pulled her closer and pushed her robe to the floor, leaving only her thin nightdress between them. He palmed her breast and held her close, and she felt the pulse of his erection against her stomach.

“Ben, you have work to do.”

“What work?”

“What about Mr. Brown’s pig? I heard him talking to you about it.”

“The pig can wait.” He pushed the gown aside and captured a nipple in his mouth, suckling her until she groaned against him. He moved to the other breast, his teeth teasing her nipple until she wound her fingers into his hair.

“Take me.” He stopped long enough to shut the door, then pushed her into the kitchen. It made her laugh that this was his favorite room to make love in. One morning, long before she’d become pregnant with Caleb, he’d stood her in front of the sink and entered her, loving her slowly for what seemed like forever. His masterful fingers had stroked her to passion several times, but he’d held off, waiting until she was panting and begging for him to fill her. Only then had he allowed himself release, pumping her hard as the morning sun crested into the back yard.

Now, he sat her on the table and she winced at the contact with her aching bottom. Neither of them mentioned it, however, as she lifted her nightgown and he undid his britches. He put her feet on the table and pulled her toward him, entering her so quickly she gasped. “Wrap your legs around me.”

She did as he asked, clinging to him as he grabbed her aching buttocks and massaged the ache, a reminder of her punishment as he stroked in and out of her wetness. They kissed hungrily, their mouths melting together until Harmony felt the tingling of her climax. She broke the kiss and buried her head in his shoulder to muffle her scream as pleasure ripped through her body.

“I love you. Ben, oh, Ben.”

“Harm, I… love…” The last word was almost unrecognizable as he, too, climaxed, thrusting into her so hard she thought she could feel his erection in her chest. He held her in his arms, their bodies resting against the table, the sounds of their heavy breathing the only sounds in the quiet kitchen.

“Go to bed. I’ll wake you when I get back and we can play some more”

“I’d like that.”

He kissed her one more time before letting her down, righting his clothes and heading out the door. When he was gone she could smell the sweet scent of their coupling and she closed her eyes and drank it in, knowing she was lucky to have found a man who could love her so completely.

Dawn sat at the kitchen table, mending one of Rob’s shirts. He was hard on his clothes, what with the work he did on the ranch. Part of her nightly ritual was cooking dinner, and then letting the kids wash up afterwards while she mending their father’s clothing. He would sit close by, a smile on his face as they continued dinner conversation and talked about what they’d done that day.

It was late, though, and the kids were in bed now, being tucked in by their father. The older boys stayed in the bunkhouse with a few of the hands, loving the fact they were old enough to be out on their own.

Of course Frank, at 27, was old enough to be married. He’d yet to find a wife, though, saying there was no one in Mac’s Crossing that would fit. Rob had reminded him that he’d found Dawn here, and Frank had nodded, but Dawn could tell he wasn’t too convinced.

Dawn was happy the bunkhouse was located far away from the house, and the woodshed. Rob hadn’t mentioned her spanking again that evening, but she was sure he remembered, and she hated that idea. If she were lucky, he would forget. She doubted that, though. She was pretty sure he would come in not long after the kids were asleep and tell her...

“Time to go to the woodshed.” She turned toward his voice. He stood in the doorway, as handsome as the first day she’d laid eyes on him.

“You startled me. I thought you were still in with the children. I’m almost done with this shirt. You should be more careful around the fences. I think…”

“Now, Dawn. It’s time for your spanking. I’m sure the other ladies have been spanked already for their participation in today’s events.”

Dawn was sure they had been, too. When Win, Vanessa, Ben and Harmony had showed up to collect their children, the ladies had the distinct air of having been spanked. But they’d painted smiles on their faces and hugged their children close. They hadn’t mentioned a word about anything to Dawn or Rob before leaving.

“Can’t we forget about this?”

“No, we can’t. You know I don’t tolerate lying. Besides, there’s the small fact that you didn’t say a word to me today when the kids came here. I had no idea what was going on, and had to hear it from my brothers. You deserve this spanking and you know it. Let’s go to the woodshed. Now.”

After setting down her mending, Dawn stood and headed for the door, knowing she could argue, but knowing it would do no good. In fact, it would probably make him angry, and she didn’t want to do that. With any luck, he’d give her a few swats with the paddle and it would be over.

Rob held a lantern high to light their way across the yard. He opened the door of the woodshed and ushered her inside, shutting the door and lowering the board to keep it locked in place so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Give me a bare bottom.” He hung up the lamp and reached for the paddle he’d made, the one he used only on her bottom. He’s also built the place for her to bend over, two wooden boards supported by legs. He said it put her at just the right angle for a spanking.

She stepped in front of it and lowered her bloomers. Pulling her skirt around her waist in the back, she bent over, leaving the front of her skirt to protect her from splinters. Cold air surrounded her legs and bottom and she could hear Rob moving around.

Usually he got right down to business, so she wondered what was taking so long. Maybe it was just his way of reminding her she’d done bad that day, and it was an embarrassing thing for both of them.

Whatever the reason, it just reinforced the fact that she hated coming to the woodshed. When they’d first been married and he’d thought she’d needed a spanking, he would wait until after the boys had been in bed asleep and then he’d take her to the barn. After a few years he’d decided the woodshed was a better place. It was further from the house and closer to the trees, and sound didn’t drift out from it.

Then he’d built the ‘spanking bench’, and made the paddle. Since then she was spanked in the shed, unless it was a ‘fun’ spanking. That, he gave to her in their bed. She loved that kind of spanking. This, she knew she was going to hate.

“Tell me again why I’m spanking you.”

She wanted to say, ‘if you don’t know, then maybe you shouldn’t’, but she didn’t think he’d appreciate the joke. “For lying.”

“That’s right.” He rubbed the paddle against her buttocks. “You and your sisters-in-law were very bad today. We’ll figure out why before long, I hope you realize that. Until then, let this serve as a reminded that lying gets you nowhere.”

The first swat landed and Dawn clutched the sides of the spanking bench. Rob had been nice enough to install little grips for her to use to keep her hands from flying back to try and cover her backside. She’d stopped doing that ages ago, but she still used the straps, to keep her hands down. She also pulled on them to focus her energy and thoughts anywhere except for her bottom, which had just received several more swats.

She stayed silent as he rubbed her bottom, then delivered several more.

They weren’t hard swats, though, which puzzled her. Usually Rob started a spanking with a few slow swats, as he had tonight. But by the time he’d delivered the fifth or sixth swat, they were hard, and she was gritting her teeth. That hadn’t happened tonight.

He delivered several more, almost playful ones and she turned her head to glance at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Are you questioning me, wife?” Tap, tap, tap. He never called her ‘wife’, unless he was in the mood to play. This was not what she’d expected.

“Yes. I thought you were going to spank me for lying.”

“Well, I got to thinking about what you said, and you’re right. You were keeping a promise, and I admire that.”

“Then why am I…” She started to stand, then got back into position when he tapped her bottom with the paddle.

Tap, tap, tap. “Stay down.” Tap, tap.

“Your punishment for lying to me was spending the day thinking you were coming to the woodshed to get a hard spanking.”

“That is so unfair. I can’t believe you did that to me.” She shook her head as he continued to tap her bottom with the paddle. He delivered two hard swats and she yelped. Then, he started tapping her again. The feeling was reminiscent of the spankings he would give to her before they made love, and it made her insides quake. Two hard slaps came down before he started caressing her cheeks with the paddle.

“Bad girl.” Tap, tap, tap. “Bad, bad, girl.”

He crouched down next to her and she turned her face toward him. The wood was cool on her bottom and he leaned over and kissed her.

“Should I give you what you thought you were going to get? Should I spank you hard?”

“No.”

“I don’t know.” He delivered another slap, the intensity of it between the hard ones and soft ones. “I think maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I should spank you, hard. I’m sure the other ladies were spanked.”

“The other ladies don’t have my wonderful husband.”

He laughed, then kissed her again. “Five swats, hard ones. And then you and I are going to the creek to skinny dip.”

She turned back around and took several deep breaths as he rose and delivered the first strike.

“Ow.” She bit her lip to keep from crying out too loudly, knowing she was getting off easy.

The second and third strikes came quickly, each one harder than the last. The fourth one made her eyes burn with unshed tears and the fifth one made her lift up as far as she could.

“Ouch.”

“Far too easy, but it was horrible for you to think of it all day, I know.” He rubbed the wood against her. “You won’t lie to me anymore, will you, Dawn?”

“No.”

“You won’t lie to Win and Ben, or any of my brothers anymore, will you?”

“No.”

“Good. Well, I was easy on you, but I’ll let you help decide the rest of your fate.” She heard him move to the door and raise the bar that kept it locked. “I’ll race you to the creek. If you beat me, I won’t give you the five more I had planned. If I win, you get them.”

He took off and Dawn righted herself quickly, making the door just as he made it to the trees.

“That’s not fair!” She took off after him, his laughter drifting back to her. She followed the path he’d taken, knowing there was no way she would beat him to the creek, and that meant five more swats, which she was sure would turn into more. But she didn’t care. His playful mood was contagious, and she felt it deep in her bones.

She made it to the creek to find him naked and diving in. A blanket lay next to the creek, on it were his clothes and the paddle. She quickly undressed, then waded in after him.

“Cold, cold!” She headed back out but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in with him, dunking them under and kissing her. When he let her go she pushed away and swam toward the shore, intent on wrapping up in the blanket.

He spoiled her plans though; he came up behind her and pushed her down on the blanket, sitting on her thighs. He grabbed the paddle and delivered five hard swats, then randomly struck her buttocks with it until she was laughing.

Dawn tried to push him off, but he was too strong. Her behind tingled before he threw the paddle away, turned her over and kissed her, then let his lips roam her body, brushing over her breasts, stomach and thighs before lightly kissing her core.

She spread her legs for him and he kissed her deeper before moving over her and sliding inside. This was so different than what she’d expected that it made her body quiver with delight. Rob was a masterful lover and he brought her to climax several times with his fingers before he released himself inside her.

“You’re a little liar yourself,” she said into his ear after he’d collapsed on top of her. “Telling me you’re going to spank me and then loving me so well.”

“I’ve always loved you,” he said. “From the minute you entered my house.”

“I love you, too. Thank for caring, and thank you for seeing that I was keeping a promise today.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Shall we go back to our house and check on our children?”

“Frank’s with them. We can stay here as long as we want.” She buried her head in his shoulder. “What?”

“It’s embarrassing to know our son knows we’re down here making love.”

“Well, he was the one who suggested the blanket. Don’t be embarrassed. You should thank him.”

Three days later, Vanessa sat in house, wondering when the other shoe would drop. The surprise would be ready on Friday, and she and Harmony were supposed to go to Denver and pick it up.

Getting it back to Mac’s Crossing would be fun, and difficult, but they would manage it. But after Monday’s fiasco of their being caught, their husbands were watching them closer than ever, making sure they didn’t run off and do something they weren’t supposed to do. She wanted to talk to Harmony about their plans, but Win had made sure she didn’t have too much time alone.

He’d informed the staff that when she went into town, he wanted to know. That meant someone would go to the bank and tell him, and then she felt as if that person, usually Charlie the stable boy, was tailing her to see where she went, and who she talked to.

It was horrible not to be trusted. Not that she didn’t deserve it. She’d done a bad thing, she knew, even if it was for a good cause. Her husband would know that tomorrow, but until then, she felt like a prisoner.

Win hadn’t brought the incident up in conversation, though and that made her feel pretty good about life. He hadn’t spanked her since Monday either. But after the horrible switching, she didn’t want to expose Harmony to it again, and had decided this morning that she would tell her sister-in-law to stay home on Friday.

Vanessa would go alone and pick up the surprise, bringing it back for everyone to enjoy. She just had to find a way to let Harmony know. She’d thought long and hard about it, and finally decided she’d go to the newspaper office and send her a telegram. Charlie didn’t have to know what she was doing in the office; he would just think she was in there visiting Ruby.

That seemed like the best plan. It was almost noon now, and she could make it into town and back before Win arrived at home. She went upstairs to change and check on the children. They talked her into sitting and playing a game of checkers. After that she changed her clothes, then turned toward the door where she found Win standing.

“Going somewhere?”

“Yes, into town. I’m rather bored today.”

“Well, we have a party to plan for tonight, so you should just stay here.”

“A party?”

“Yes, a family party. I’ve invited everyone out for dinner: brothers, their wives, and their children. Everyone.”

She stared at him, her mouth open. “Win, why didn’t you tell me? I don’t have anything planned. What will I tell Mrs. Walling?”

“She’s been apprised of the situation and is preparing dinner as we speak. Several roasts with potatoes and carrots. I can smell it. I’m surprised you can’t.”

She inhaled deeply. She did smell it, and it was heavenly. She’d just been so busy trying to figure out a way she could talk to Harmony, and not make Win suspicious, that she hadn’t noticed it.

“What’s the occasion?”

“It’s just a little family meeting,” he said. “I thought we needed one after Monday.”

“Oh, I see. More you’ve been bad and we’re going to spank you talk?”

“If you’re not careful, yes. But we have something else to discuss. Don’t worry, we’re not planning a group spanking. Right now, anyway.”

“What do we have to discuss?”

“Lots of things. We’ll get to it all tonight.” He pulled her close and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a coy look.

“Are you trying to seduce me, in the middle of the afternoon?”

“It’s a fantastic idea, but unfortunately I have to get back to work. I’ve come out to get the carriage to take back into town to load up for tonight. You know we need at least two for all of them. Charlie is hooking it up for me right now.”

“Well, that hurts my feelings, but I suppose I’ll get over it.” She kissed him, sliding her hands through his hair and pulling him close.

“Yes, I suppose you will. Why don’t you go and ask Mrs. Walling what you can do to help her with dinner.”

“I’d be delighted, but I wish you’d told me about this sooner. Keeping secrets from me.” The minute the words were out of her mouth she blushed furiously.

“Who me? I would never do anything like that. Would you?”

“Never, my darling. Never.”

The house started filling up at six, the children running around and playing with their cousins. Vanessa was always happy to have a house full of MacAllisters. It was always fun to listen to them laugh and tell stories on each other. And they had so many to tell.

At least the children didn’t have a story from early this week. That would bother her to no end, for them to know about the deception. She wanted them to take part in the surprise, yes, but not in the debacle that was Monday.

She was handing out cool drinks to everyone, smiling and giving hugs when Harmony caught her eye. She headed that way, drink tray in hand.

“There’s no way we’ll be able to go tomorrow,” Harmony said. “They’re watching us like hawks.”

“We’ll have to find a way,” Vanessa said, handing her a drink. “We can’t lose all that money, can we?”

“No, but I don’t want a repeat of the switching we got. That was more than painful.” Her voice was low, and Vanessa put a hand on her arm in comfort.

“I agree with you, it was. You stay home. They’ll be looking for the two of us to do something together again. I’ll go alone tomorrow.”

“And how do you plan on getting on the stage tomorrow?”

“Obviously, I won’t be able to. I’ll have to find a different way into Denver. After that, the plan will still work. I’ll be back by four. And by four fifteen, we’ll be celebrating and the men will be laughing.”

“I hope so, but sometimes I wonder if we just shouldn’t let them in on everything now. Wouldn’t that be easier?”

“Yes, but since when is doing the easy way the fun way? We’ve had this in the works for a year now. We need to play it out.”

“All the way,” Ruby came up and took a drink from the tray. “If we stop now, then it will spoil all the fun.”

“Agreed,” Vanessa said. “I’ll make Friday’s trip alone. I’ll sneak out of the house early and ride a horse into Denver.”

“That’ll pose problems,” Ruby said. “That’s a long horse ride on your own. I’ll go with you this time. I’ll sneak out of the house early.”

“No, I’ll go,” Harmony injected. “Best for the two of us to go, since we’re already in trouble.”

“You mean since you’re already being watched.” Ruby took a sip of her drink. “Dawn and I could go.”

“No.” Vanessa held up her hand. “I’m the oldest, and I’m going, alone. Things will be just fine. It won’t be the first time I’ve gone to Denver on my own. Are we agreed?”

The other two ladies lifted their glasses to their mouths and nodded. “Good, then we have a majority. I’ll leave first thing in the morning, before it’s even light out. And I’ll make sure Mrs. Walling knows I’ll be gone, so she can take care of the children. This will be perfect.”