Rob walked into the living room, but Dawn stood rooted to the floor. Her heart beat wildly and her stomach rolled. Fear that this could be the start of something she didn’t want to deal with was center front in her mind.

She didn’t think it would be that painful. But it would give Rob more control over her than he already had as her employer. She was sleeping under his roof, true, but this set a level of intimacy that she wasn’t willing, wasn’t prepared, to deal with.

She threw back her shoulders. It was time to tell him that, time to stop being a mouse. She walked to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

“No.”

He looked up from the couch. “Excuse me?”

“I said, no. I won’t let you spank me.”

She didn’t expect him to smile. He sat there for a few minutes, then stood.

“I’m glad you made a decision. But that doesn’t change things. I told you that I was going to spank you, and I always do what I say I’m going to do. Now, you can come over here and take your spanking, or you can make me come after you. But I warn you, if I come after you, the spanking will be harder than what I’d originally planned, and it won’t be over your bloomers. It’ll be on your bare bottom.”

“You have no right. I’m not your wife.”

“No, but you are living under my roof. You make the decision, Dawn. You submit to your spanking, or you take it the hard way.”

Was he telling the truth? If she turned and left would he come after her? She wasn’t sure, but there was only one way to tell. She knew there was a lock on her bedroom door. She took a step toward him, then turned and ran for the hallway.

She could hear him behind her, his boots slapping against the floor. He wasn’t running, but she knew that there was no way she would beat him to the door and lock it before he got there. But she would give it a good try.

She pushed open the door just as he gathered her in his arms. He threw her over his shoulder and walked back toward the living room. She hadn’t realized that he was so strong.

“Rob, please.”

“Hush, Dawn. You choose this path, not me.”

“You can’t do this!”

“I can, and I will.”

When they reached the sofa, he put her down on her feet, gathering her hands in his own as he sat and pulled her across his lap. He put one hand onto her back and began pulling up her skirts with the other.

No matter how much she twisted or turned he kept her in place. He moved her slightly so the top portion of her body dipped down, the blood rushing to her head.

“Stop fighting me. This won’t take long, and it’s inevitable.”

Her cry of frustration filled the room at the same time she felt him moving her bloomers over her hips.

“No! No! You said…”

“I said that if you didn’t behave yourself there would be no over the bloomers spanking, and I meant it.”

The cool air hit her heated skin and she blushed. Hank and the doctor were the only men to ever see her without any clothes on, and she didn’t like the feeling that was now coursing through her body.

She swallowed a deep growl and decided to try once more.

“I’ll do the dress first, I swear. Please, Rob, don’t spank me.”

The first swat took her off guard. He slapped her behind again and again and again. Years of frustration pushed forward and she started to cry. She kicked her feet up and down and slapped her hands against the floor.

Rob’s swats were not hard, but on her bare skin they did sting. He didn’t let up as she struggled against him, just continued a slow, steady rhythm of swats.

He remained silent when she stopped resisting him.

When he finally stopped the spanking, she fought to control her breathing.

Without saying a word, he lifted her onto her feet, then pulled her onto his lap.

Deep sobs wracked her body, but she knew it wasn’t from the pain. She laid her head against his chest and sobbed as he held her close, stroking her hair and telling her that things would be fine.

“He told me I was stupid,” she sobbed. “That I was ugly and stupid and a terrible cook and housekeeper.”

“He lied.”

“He told me I was worthless.” She felt his body tense.

“Another lie.”

“He said no man would ever put up with a cow like me. That I was lucky to have him.”

Rob pushed her back and stroked her cheek.

“The biggest lie of all.” He pulled her toward him and kissed her gently. His thumbs traced the pattern of her tears, wiping them away as he gently soothed her with calming words.

“I want you to be your own person. I want you to know that you’re wonderful, and that you are deserving of respect, love and care. You’re a mother, not a servant. And you’re a woman. A very desirable one. I want to teach you that.”

When he leaned up to kiss her again she pulled away.

“Don’t.”

“Dawn, did he frighten you of loving, too?”

“Loving? What happens between a man and a woman isn’t loving.”

“Yes, it is. Let me show you.”

“No. If you truly want me to learn those things you said, then you’ll respect my wishes.”

He sat back down against the couch.

“Very well. Are you all right?”

“Yes, but I have work to do. I need to make bread today, because we’re almost out. If I don’t get it set soon, it won’t rise.”

Rob nodded at her and she stood, smoothing down her skirts. She could feel her bloomers that were sitting just below her bottom.

“I need to…” She indicated her skirts and he stood.

“I’ll give you some privacy.” He walked toward the door and she sighed.

“Dawn, I want you to know that I feel a great attraction to you. If I have to court you, I will.”

Her mouth dropped open as he left the room. He’d just spanked her and he planned to court her? Did he think that she would respond to him?

She put her hands to her mouth when a giggle escaped her lips. That giggle proved to her that yes, she would respond to him.

Dawn was just removing a loaf of bread from the oven when the boys arrived home. She’d baked nine loaves, and had two more to finish. With the number of men at the ranch, the bread wouldn’t last long, and she’d be baking again in a few days.

Stoking the fire in the oven kept the room hot, and she was sweating. She turned toward the door and smiled at her sons.

“How was school?”

“Fine,” they replied in unison.

“’Cept we had to do lots of ‘rithmatic,” Anthony said. “I don’t like it and don’t wanna go anymore.”

“You know that you have to. We’ve talked about it before.”

Anthony grumbled and sat down at the table. Dawn put several more pieces of wood in the oven, then put another loaf of bread inside.

“I’m thirsty,” Frank said. “Get me something to drink.”

Dawn put down the loaf she was extracting from the pan, washed her hands and poured her sons a glass of lemonade. She sliced one of the loaves of bread and filled a plate with it, setting butter and a knife next to it.

“Thanks, Ma,” Anthony said, taking a quick drink and grabbing a slice of bread. Mark echoed his sentiments and Dawn smiled. She went back to the counter and coated her hands in flour, working to release the newly baked loaf from the pan, then setting about getting the pan ready to hold the next one.

Frank, however, started eating without saying anything. He drank his glass down, then set it on the table with a thump.

“I want more.”

Dawn turned toward him. She could tell from the look he gave her that he was testing her. He wanted to see how far he could push her since Rob wasn’t around.

“The jug’s right in front of you, Frank. You can pour yourself a glass.”

“I want you to do it. MacAllister’s not here, so you listen to me.”

He sounded so much like Hank that Dawn shivered.

“I’m busy right now. There is no reason why you can’t do it yourself.”

The angry look that her son gave her almost made her jump to do his bidding. Almost. The only thing that stopped her was Rob’s words from that morning as he held her in his arms.

“You deserve respect.”

Years of abuse at her husband’s hands simmered in her blood.

“I am not your servant, and you are perfectly capable of getting your own lemonade.”

Frank straightened his shoulders. “I don’t like what’s he’s been putting in your head. We should leave here. I can take care of us.”

“We’re not leaving,” Dawn said, turning back toward the counter. “You just need to learn to deal with the change.”

The room fell silent.

“What if I don’t? What if I decide to leave? You have to come with me. You’re my mother.”

“Frank, don’t be silly. You’re only fifteen years old.” Her hands shook as she put the sticky bread in the pan. Would he leave? She didn’t want him to. She wanted him to learn to be different, to learn respect. She thought Rob MacAllister was the perfect person to teach him that.

He’d taught her quite a bit this morning. Not with words, but with his spanking. The feelings that the spanking had evoked in her had been long buried. She’d forgotten what it was like to talk to someone, to do more than say, ‘yes, Hank’, or ‘no, Hank’, or ‘I’m sorry, Hank’. She’d spent the morning thinking about the way her mother had taken care of the house, and still been happy. The way her parents had smiled at each other, her father sometimes pinching his wife’s cheek and kissing her when he thought no one was looking. And she’d thought about the moans of pleasure she’d sometimes hear from their room at night. Moans that had come from both of them, not just her father.

They’d moved to Denver long ago, and Dawn didn’t have any contact with them. She made a mental note to write them a letter and let them know where she was. Let them know that Hank had died.

Frank’s voice intruded on her thoughts.

“I can hire on with a cattle outfit, one bigger than MacAllister’s. And I’m almost sixteen. I’ll leave. And I’ll take Anthony and Mark with me. Pa always said I was gonna be the man when he died. He told me to make sure I kept you in line and took care of things.”

She punched her fist in the dough, rendering that loaf useless.

“I will not answer to you, Frank.” She fought down the anxiety she felt. “I’m not going to discuss this anymore.”

Frank pushed back from the table and took a deep breath. When he finally talked, his voice was like steel. “Fine. The boys and I are leaving. MacIntosh is hiring and I can work for him. You stay here with that sissy MacAllister. Let’s go.”

He headed toward the door and Dawn turned toward him. She looked at Anthony and Mark, who sat ramrod straight in their chairs.

At the doorway, Frank turned toward his brothers. “Get up.”

“No.” Anthony shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”

Mark shook his head furiously and Frank stared at them.

For a moment, Dawn thought he might cross the room and hit her. Instead, he sneered at his brothers, then at her, he pulled the door open and pulled it shut behind him so hard that a pane of glass shattered, settling on the floor.

The room stayed silent, then Anthony stood.

“I’ll clean it, Ma.”

“No,” she whispered. “I’ll get it. You boys go into the living room and do any school work you might have.”

Mark groaned, but they both left. Dawn stood at the counter, tears silently falling down her face. She wanted to run after Frank, to tell him he was wrong and needed to stay here, to learn new ways of life. But she knew that it would do no good. Frank was too much like his father.

She was still standing at the counter, crying, when the backdoor opened. She heard the crunch of glass under boots and a soft whistle.

“What happened?” She could feel Rob staring at her.

“Frank left. He’s, he’s…” She put her head in her hands and sobbed.

Rob came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She shrugged them off and went running for her room, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it, sliding to the floor as the tears continued to fall.

Rob went to the living room and asked Anthony and Mark what had happened. They were both talking at once, but Rob got enough of the story to understand that Frank didn’t like how his mother was acting, and that he’d told them that he’d planned on moving the family back to their old house, and working for MacIntosh.

“When Ma said no, he left,” Mark said. “Do you think he’ll be back for dinner?”

“I don’t think so, Mark,” Rob said softly. “You boys finish your work.”

He hadn’t seen this coming. When he’d talked to Frank a few mornings ago, he’d told him flat out that he wouldn’t allow his disrespectful attitude in his home. He would either straighten up, or Rob would see that he learned how to act properly.

Frank had been sullen, but hadn’t fought against it. He’d been so happy with the chess games that Rob thought things were going well. Now Rob knew that the boy had simply been waiting to say something to his mother when Rob wasn’t around. But the new Dawn hadn’t allowed him to run over her, and Frank had left.

Rob knew that Dawn would probably blame him for her son’s departure, and he went into the kitchen. He smelled the baking bread and opened the door to check on it. It still had a bit more time, so he went to the door and cleaned up the glass.

He had wood and nails in the barn to use to cover up the hole. When he was there, he found Cody and asked him if he’d seen Frank.

“Little bit ago. He came and packed up his stuff and took off. When I asked him what was going on he told me to mind my own business, in so many words.”

Rob shook his head.

“I take it he’s decided to leave?”

“Yes. Later on, would you send someone out to see if they can find out where he’s gone? Dawn will be worried sick and I’d like to give her that bit of comfort.”

“Will do,” Cody replied. “Can I ask why he left?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s just suffice it to say that the boy’s father had different ideas, and he passed them along to his son.”

Cody looked confused, then shrugged. “All right. Kid’s on foot, so he can’t get far before night fall.”

“True,” Rob agreed.

“I’ll send Larry out to see where he gets,” Cody said.

Rob nodded, and went back to board up the window space. Inside the kitchen he found Dawn, taking her last loaf of bread out of the oven.

“I’m running a little behind, so dinner might be late.”

He could hear the anxiety in her voice.

“He’ll be back.”

She shook her head. “He’s stubborn, like his father. I’m afraid that he won’t be back.”

“When I find out where he lands tonight, I’ll go and talk with him.”

“He doesn’t like you very much.”

“Well, right now I don’t like him very much, so I think that about makes us even. You let me deal with this.”

“This is my problem, Rob, not yours. He’s my son.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Dawn. He is your son. But he’s angry right now because things have changed, and he can’t handle the change. If you go to see him he’ll walk all over you. No offense, but he will.”

“That’s not true. I stood up to him earlier, and that’s why he ran.”

“Exactly. And if you go after him, he’s going to play on your guilt and you’re going to fall for it. You let me handle this. One night under the stars ain’t going to hurt him none.”

“But the cold…”

“He took plenty of blankets from the bunkhouse. I may not approve of how your husband treated you, but he obviously taught his sons how to camp properly. Frank will be fine. Promise me you’ll let me go after him and talk to him.”

She stared at him and he repeated his directive.

“I promise.”

“He will be fine.”

Dawn nodded. She knew that Hank had taught the boys how to survive, and Frank would be fine on his own. Still, the thought of her son out there on his own gnawed at her. She cooked dinner, making sure that everyone had enough to eat.

When she saw Cody talking with Rob she knew they were talking about Frank. She eased closer to them, taking a plate of bread to pass out to the hands so Rob didn’t become suspicious of what she was doing.

When she was near them, she heard the words, creek and caves and she sighed. Those words would mean Frank was about an hour away from her, in the caves by Bushy Creek. She couldn’t stand the thought of her son out there on his own, hungry and maybe just a little scared.

She went into the house where Anthony and Mark were eating. She retrieved a basket from her room and packed it with a great deal of ham, two loaves of bread, a jar of honey, some berries and some jam.

“I’m going out for a while,” she said to the boys. “If Mr. MacAllister comes in, tell him I’m not feeling well and that I’ve gone to my room to lie down. Do the dishes, then sit down and play chess with him. I’ll be back soon.”

The boys both nodded and she headed out the front door, skirting the edges of the trees so that Rob wouldn’t see her. When she was far enough away she turned toward the creek, walking as fast as she could through the ever darkening woods.

Somehow she would convince Frank to come back. And if she couldn’t, then she would have to tell Rob that she couldn’t work for him anymore. She and the boys would move on and try to find someplace where they could all stay and be happy, together.

“Where’s your mother?”

When he didn’t receive an answer, Rob cleared his throat. Both boys continued to wash the dishes, their backs to him.

“Where’s. Your. Mother?” He enunciated each word, his voice harsh. Anthony turned to him with wide eyes.

“She, um, wasn’t feeling well. She’s, um, lying down.”

Rob narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. He walked to Dawn’s room and knocked on the door. Mark hurried after him, trying to grab his hand before he opened the door.

“She said we shouldn’t bother her.”

The door opened to an empty room and he turned toward the two boys, who both looked more than a little nervous.

When he lifted his eyebrows in question, they both started talking at once. Rob caught the words food, basket and walk and muttered to himself. She had to pick right now to stand up for herself. It was close to dark and she was now out wandering the woods looking for her son.

Rob ran to the back door and yelled for Cody, who was on his way to the bunkhouse.

“Saddle up my horse.” He turned to Mark and Anthony. “Stay here, play some chess and eat some dessert. Do not, I repeat, do not, go to the bunkhouse until your mother and I get back. Do not come out after us. Do you understand?”

They nodded in unison and Rob went out the back door to find Cody sitting on his own horse, the reins of Rob’s in his hands.

“You don’t have to go,” Rob said.

“I know. But this time of night, a nice black bear might be out looking for a meal. You could use my help if you run across one.”

Rob swung into the saddle. “Yes, I could. And little Dawn Richardson is carrying food in a basket on her arm. I just hope a bear doesn’t scent it out, then choose to include her as part of his snack.”

When Dawn got to Bushy Creek, she called out Frank’s name. No one answered and she fought back panic. It would be dark soon and she hadn’t thought to bring a lamp. By now, Rob knew that she was gone, and he would be very, very angry with her.

She pulled the basket closer to her and licked her lips. Cody had said something about caves, and she knew that those were farther north from where she stood. She began walking along the creek bed, wondering exactly what she would say to Frank.

He had to accept the fact that his father was gone, and things were different now. Dawn, for one, was very happy with the change. Rob treated her with respect, even though he’d spanked her that morning.

He hadn’t screamed at her, or called her names. He’d just calmly told her that she’d broken their deal and needed punishment. She’d take Rob’s punishment over Hank’s any day of the week.

She didn’t particularly want to be punished again, but she knew that this time she’d not only broken a deal with Rob, she’d broken a promise. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t go after Frank.

Yet here she was, walking along the creek bed calling Frank’s name. She wondered if Rob would punish her again. And if he did, would he spank her again? Or would he do something worse?

She had a feeling that this time the spanking would be hard, that Rob would be trying to prove a point. And of course she knew that he’d been right. She never should have come out here on her own, so close to dark. She should have let him handle the situation. But it was too late now.

A few minutes later she reached the caves.

“Frank.” No answer came, and she called his name again. This time she took the basket away from her body and began waving it in the air, hoping the aroma of ham and bread would draw her son from his hiding place.

“Frank, I know that you’re out there somewhere. I brought you some dinner. Come out and talk with me, please.”

She watched as Frank came out of the cave, a mixture of wariness and fear on his face.

“Ma, don’t come any closer.”

“Frank. I know you’re mad at me. But we need to talk. I brought some food. Come and eat and then we can go back to the house together.”

“Ma! Stay where you are.”

“Frank, please.” She took a few steps toward him and movement from the trees caught her attention. Her first thought was anger. The boys had given her up. Rob was here to take the situation in hand, even though she wanted to handle it by herself.

Then, logic took over the anger. What she was seeing was no man. She inhaled deeply as a large bear stepped out of the woods, walking on all fours. It had two baby cubs walking in its wake.