Wes gazed over the reflection of the stranger who stood in the mirror before him. Ten long years had gone by. His face had not aged much. The lines were a bit deeper, the frowning corners of his mouth tugging downward. There were a few strands of silver weaving their way through his sandy locks. It was his eyes that had changed. They were almost unrecognizable to their bewildered owner.

Once a gentle gray, they had darkened. Now, they were the color of angry storm clouds. The kind that gathered over the Texas hills before releasing a torrent of rain.

Sorrow had taken its toll on Wes.

The first five years had been the hardest. Learning to live without Carrie was like reprogramming a computer, an impossible task that he had absolutely no clue how to do. Then, there was fatherhood to figure out.

The moment the doctor had put the tiny baby in his arms, the sight of the golden halo of curls had broken him. Wes had almost handed the baby back to the doctor, the pain of his loss too great.

Then, like magic, the baby girl had reached up and out of her swaddling and grabbed the finger that hovered over her cheek. The squeeze told him ‘it’s going to be okay- we are going to be okay’. Taking a deep breath, Wes had kissed the curls breathing in deeply the enchanting scent of new life.

The panicked faces of the doctors over his shoulders, the medical team pushing him and his baby away from his bleeding wife. His arms tightening around the precious bundle as he watched, helplessly, while the color drained from his wife’s lifeless face.

* * *

“Dad!”

Wes startled, waking from his troubled sleep. Untangling himself from the sweat covered sheets he sat up. Running a hand through his damp hair, he willed his bleary eyes to focus.

“Your turn.” The sweet familiar voice mumbled from beside him. Looking over at Carrie’s side of the bed Wes gave a huge sigh of relief throwing his arms around her shoulders and laying his head across the lower back of his wife. She was here. And she was alive.

Sensing his urgency, Carrie turned over, struggling out from under his weight and sitting up. “Not that dream again? Wes?”

Wiping the stinging tears from his eyes, Wes nodded.

“The one about the birth?”

Smoothing her hand over his tumbled hair, Carrie crooned, “I’m here. Look at me.” Holding his face in her hands, Carrie smiled. “We made it through, Wes.”

Eleven years ago, Wes almost lost Carrie to a ruptured appendix. Wes had felt an unnatural sense of dread the moment Carrie had first mentioned the very idea of even having a baby. His feelings were a product of fear and anxiety from spending every waking moment at her bedside hoping she would live through that first ordeal.

Then, Carrie did become pregnant. Everything that could have gone wrong with the pregnancy seem to, culminating with the birth of their daughter. Carrie’s uterus had ruptured. Wes’ mind still flashed backed daily to the vision of his wife laying limp and bleeding to death on the white hospital bed.

“We are going to be late,” a little voice demanded. The angelic sound snapped Wes from his horrid memory.

Gazing down to the foot of the bed Wes stared at the miniature Carrie standing before him. The blond curls pulled into two braids she must have proudly done all by herself this morning. Sparkling purple skirt over pink leggings, the outfit complete with turquoise riding boots.

“Uncle Garrett said he would take us riding and we are going to be late,” she repeated with angst.

Rose may look like a spitting image of his beautiful, petite wife but she had inherited Wes’ personality. Even as a newborn baby Rose thrived on routine and at the age of five had adopted the habit of always being promptly on time. She, like her father, tried to make order out of the chaos of this world. Her mother lived moment to moment, seeming to thrive on chaos.

“I’m coming, sweetheart.”

Rose walked over to her father grabbing his large hand in her small one. The feel of her fingers wrapping around his was the only thing that made him know for sure that the dream hadn’t been their fate. That they had all made it out alive.

Tugging Wes’ hand, Rose impatiently stomped the heel of one of her teal boots.

“Let me get dressed,” he chuckled, smoothing down the curls that were escaping her haphazard braids.

In a matter of minutes, he was kissing Carrie on the head leaving her to sleep and heading towards the big red barn with Rose. Considering himself lucky that the little lady had allowed him to dress, he looked down, chuckling at his tiny boss. Wes mused at his daughter’s impatience. That, she had gotten from her mother.

Rounding the corner to the barn a smile broke over Wes’ face. He would never tire of the sight of his brother, Garrett, being back on the ranch. Leaning against the freshly painted red siding of the barn, Garrett waited for his niece.

Still as handsome as the devil after all these years, Garrett had lost the flashy Hollywood edge, trading his tailored suits for denim and flannel. He now had a healthy down-home air about him that fit in much better at The Lonestar Cattle Company. And reminded Wes of the Garrett who had been his best friend when the two were growing up together.

“Well, there’s my sweet little, Rose,” Garrett said. To her delight he picked her up spinning her in a circle. Putting the little cowgirl back down carefully. “You ready to ride, Rosie?”

Giggling, she nodded her head excitedly.

Garrett turned to Wes. His dark eyes considered his brother for a minute before he spoke. “You’re looking rough, brother. Bad night?”

Running a hand through his tangled locks, Wes muttered, “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Dad had the dream again,” Rose said, matter of factly.

“Kids don’t miss anything, do they?” Wes mused.

Rose put her hands on her hips speaking in a calm manner. “S’okay, nothing a good ride can’t cure, right Dad?”

“That’s right, lovebug. Who are you riding today?” Wes asked.

“Mable, of course.” The thirteen-year-old horse was once a wild mustang. Now, she was as docile as a kitten. Her white star still gleamed on the forehead of her tawny coat and made her Rose’s favorite horse. Rose called the star an ‘angel’s kiss’.

Garrett looked over Wes, concern flashing in his eyes. “You want to sit this one out?”

Looking at Rose’s expectant face, Wes answered, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Let’s ride.”

Garrett had changed so much over the last ten years. Having been sober for a decade Garrett’s addiction to alcohol wasn’t the only bad habit he had dropped. The usually selfish man, with the encouragement of his older brother, left his high paying fast-paced job on Wall Street. After sobering up in rehab, Garret had returned to his rightful home on the ranch.

A changed man, Garrett was quick to show concern, always putting the happiness of others before his own. His newfound compassion had led him to open a non-profit horse therapy program for children of recovering alcoholics. Pride welled up in Wes’ chest when he thought about the man Garrett had grown to be. He was grateful to have his best friend back. And Wes wasn’t going to let his bad dream get in the way of his morning ride with his little girl and his best friend.

* * *

Returning to the house, Wes breathed a sigh of relief to find his wife alive and well. She was singing into her favorite red spatula while flipping pancakes. Last year, Mama had surprised them all by leaving the ranch and moving into a lively senior community. Now, Carrie was the matriarch of the ranch doing all the cooking and baking. She had gotten quite good at perfecting her recipes as well as adding her own touches to Mama’s famous ones.

Wes and Carrie had moved with Rose into the big ranch house freeing up the smaller renovated bunk house for Uncle Garrett. Wes was more than happy for his brother to have his own private space. Garrett, feeling haunted by his mistakes had sworn off dating. Wes still held hope one day his brother would find the love that he had come to deserve.

“Smells wonderful,” Wes commented watching his wife as she twirled around the kitchen.

“Your Mama’s recipe. I had to call her this morning to make sure I had it right. She barely had time to give it to me, said she was going to be late for water aerobics.”

“Water aerobics. That doesn’t sound like Mama,” Wes chuckled.

“I think it’s code for something else. She’s got herself a boyfriend, Wes. I’m sure of it.”

“Are you now?” Leaning against the counter he crossed his arms over his chest. A grin spread across his face at his wife’s mystery solving tendencies.

“When she first moved to the community, she was calling here every night. She and Rose would chat for hours. I declare, she never calls on Friday or Saturday nights anymore.”

“She’s at bingo.”

“She says she’s at bingo,” Carrie said, pointing her flipper at Wes and giving him a knowing look.

Not able to entertain the idea of Mama having a beau, Wes was quick to change the subject. “Well, just don’t you forget where you are going to be Saturday night, young lady.”

He made his way over to where she stood. Wrapping his arms around his little wife, he kissed her deeply

“Can’t wait,” she murmured in between kisses. Eyeing her griddle, she pushed Wes away, and got back to tending to her pancakes. “We haven’t been away in so long. Don’t you think it’s a little funny Mama couldn’t watch Rose for the weekend? I think something fishy is going on there.” Carrie raised a curious brow at Wes.

“She has paint and sip Friday night, then yoga, then bingo, then her church picnic on Sunday. Besides, Uncle Garrett will do a wonderful job. Rose is so excited to stay over in the ‘little house’.”

Wes had planned a weekend getaway, leaving Uncle Garrett in charge of Rose. Wes was going to pull out all the stops, making a memorable trip for himself and Carrie. Not only had it been too long since the two of them had been away, he had another motive for the trip. He had the hope that a little alone time with Carrie would ease the tremor of the recurring nightmare.

They were so busy with the ranch, and with Rose, throwing themselves one hundred percent into parenting, Wes feared he had never moved past that terrifying moment at birth. If they could go away and remember who they were, where they had started as a couple, maybe just maybe Wes would get a peaceful night of sleep.

The thought of what he would do alone with his wife had him taking the spatula from her hands, tossing it onto the counter and wrapping his arms around her tightly. He passionately kissed her with an urgency and hunger he felt right down to the core of his being.

A few minutes into their deep kissing, his fingers wandering, the smell of burning pancakes filled the kitchen.

“Oh, shoot!” Carrie struggled out of his hold running over to the stove to rescue the burning breakfast. “Wes, you’re making it too hot in here, cowboy. Even the pancakes are on fire!”

* * *

Walking in the lobby of the Texas riverside resort, Wes knew he had chosen well. He looked over at Carrie, her eyes widening as she took in the magnificent chandelier twinkling above them. The dark wood and red velvet gave the hotel a romantic feel that was just right for what Wes had planned—an uninterrupted adult only weekend of reconnecting.

Walking up the marble stairs, his wife’s hand in his, Wes hoped this weekend would bring him the peace he needed. He hid the fact that the nightmare took over his mind almost nightly from Carrie as best he could. Two days of nothing but he and Carrie wrapped in each other’s arms was the medicine he knew he needed.

They reached room twenty-two of the small inn. Wes took the brass key from his pocket, unlocking the door and throwing it wide open for his wife to enter.

As she had, when he had taken her to a private villa in Mexico, Carrie ran from corner to corner of the immaculate suite. The large room had a four-poster bed with red velvet curtains. There was a minibar and kitchenette as well as a seating area. The rich looking fabrics were in deep reds and golds. Gilded mirrors hung from the walls. The online pictures had not done the room justice. This was going to be a weekend to remember.

Finishing her short tour punctuated by happy exclamations, Carrie returned to Wes’ side. “It’s beautiful, just perfect.” Reaching up on her tippy-toes she planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m so glad you like it, Carrie.”

“Oh, I love it!” Carrie hurried over to the window having forgotten to get a view of the river when she had done her first round of the place.

Coming up behind her, Wes wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her back to his chest. “And you get to be nothing but a naughty brat all weekend,” Wes said as she looked out the window of the hotel at the riverside.

Whipping her head over her shoulder, curls flying, she locked eyes with him. “Pardon?”

Leaning down, smoothing the runaway tendrils from her face, he whispered, “I said, you get to be nothing but a naughty spoiled brat all weekend.” Grabbing her bottom hard in his hands she gasped as he said, “But of course, you will be spanked for it.”

Carrie’s big brown eyes widened at his statement. Wiggling from his grasp she turned away from the window to face him. “Why? It’s been so long since we…”

“You’ve taken on so many responsibilities at the ranch over the years. Always taking such loving care of our family, of Jessica and Ray’s boys. I thought you might enjoy a weekend to just let go. Let everything go and just be my naughty minx. Get back to our roots so to speak.”

Cuddling her head on his chest, Carrie sighed. “I would like that very much. We haven’t had much time for—that sort of thing, over the past ten years, have we?”

“No, we haven’t.” Holding her in his arms and staring out over the beautiful river, Wes did not complete his thought. He kept the part to himself of why he had ended the domestic discipline in their relationship. The truth was after almost losing his wife twice, he could not bring himself to correct her. Choosing instead to give in to her every wish and demand.

“What’s the first thing you want to do, today, Carrie girl?”

It only took a moment for her to answer. “I want to throw pennies in the river. Then I want to get an ice cream sundae as big as my face. I want you to take me shopping in every one of those cute little riverside shops. And to top it all off I want to go out to a nice dinner in a new dress that you are going to buy me.”

Laughing, Wes stroked her soft curls. “You always do know exactly what you want, don’t you?”

With a nod of her head, she was tugging Wes’ hand, leading him on the adventure she had planned.

They were out of the room, door locked and key in Wes’ pocket in a matter of minutes.

Stepping out into the warm spring day the sun shone, highlighting Carrie’s golden hair. Making their way to the riverside, Wes fished pennies from his wallet, handing them to Carrie. Her face was determined as she tossed pennies into the flowing river.

“What are you wishing for?” Wes asked while skipping rocks along the smoother parts of the water.

“Can’t say. Won’t come true.” The easy smile was absent from Carrie’s face. Instead, there was a worried look there.

“It’s the dream, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

“You were wishing I wouldn’t have it anymore?” he asked softly.

She nodded again.

“Don’t worry, baby girl. I’m sure it will stop.”

“It’s been ten years, Wes.” She gazed out over the sparkling water.

“I know,” he answered quietly. “But let’s not let a silly dream spoil our fun weekend. I saw the most beautiful pink lace dress in the windows of one of the stores.”

Looking up at him, she snapped, “Where?”

“Right over there.” Wes pointed over his shoulder at the shops lining the brick walkway.

He had not, in fact, seen any such dress, but was desperate to keep the mood light and relaxed. And give Carrie everything her heart desired.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” she proclaimed forgetting her concern and grabbing his hand. They headed towards the row of shops. Looking over her shoulder, she added, “Don’t forget my ice cream, either.”

Tugging her hand, he pulled her against his chest. Whispering down into her ear, he demanded, “I think you forgot an important word, young lady. What is it?”

“Please,” she breathed, her eyes shining up into his.

“Good girl.” With a slap to her rear, he held her hand, leading her up to the cute little ice cream shop he knew she had spotted from the hotel window.

Leaving a half hour later with a chocolate sauce stain on her blouse and a contented look on her face, Carrie excitedly looked left and right, “Dress time! Now, where was that pink one you told me about?”

“I didn’t see one, actually. But I do know there will be the perfect dress in one of these shops.”

Carrie gave a fake gasp. Throwing her hands on her hips, giggling, she proclaimed, “Weston. I am shocked! Lying? I should put you right over my knee.”

Wes had not spanked his wife in a long time. Too long. He knew she needed it, wanted it and thrived on his strict discipline. But with life turning out the way it had, he had let that side of their relationship take a back burner. It was time to correct his mistake.

Quickly, Wes tugged the little lady into an alleyway between stores. “That is the last time you threaten to spank me, young lady. I’ve let you get too big for your britches, haven’t I?” Holding her arm firmly with one hand, Wes lifted her skirt with the other, pinning the fabric into the elastic waist. Giving her bottom several fast, hard swats over her panties, he asked, “Are we clear?”

“Ouchy! Yes!”

Letting go of her arm, Wes untucked her skirt letting it fall back in place. He then took the hand of his woman, leading her back to the main street.

“There’s a good girl,” he said, chuckling as he caught her trying to discreetly rub her sore bottom. He caught a happy glance from Carrie as she smoothed down the material of her skirt.

Wes spoiled his girl even more than he had planned, leaving almost every store with packages and bags. There were dresses upon dresses, new boots, hair ribbons for Rose, hand knitted leg warmers for mama, kaleidoscopes for the boys. And one, little, hot pink package that held Wes’ personal favorite of their purchases. From a little hole in the wall shop they had found, called, ‘Naughty’.

Carrie had gotten herself lost in the little shop, so enamored by all the frilly nighties and sensual gifts. When she came back to Wes, she had a basket full of goodies and the sauciest glint in her pretty brown eyes.

Laying the objects on the counter, Wes was grateful for the professional manner the clerk used while scanning their items. Otherwise he may have had to grab Carrie’s hand and run from the store. There was a black fur lined pair of handcuffs, a cinnamon flavored oil that warmed when you applied it, and Wes’ personal favorite—a woman’s nightgown that boasted the words ‘Naughty’, across the chest. He had added his own purchase to the mountain of goodies. A little, blue, plastic paddle that had smarted like the dickens when he had tested it on his open palm. Carrie’s eyes had widened when he placed the implement on top of her tower of purchases.

It was shaping up to be one of the best weekends of his married life.

* * *

All done up in her new presents, with fur cuffs linked around her wrists and one of the four posters of the bed, Carrie was a sight to behold. Wes lifted the naughty nighty, exposing his wife’s bare bottom. The thrill of reinstating himself as his wife’s disciplinarian ran through him.

Carrie had chosen to act up in the restaurant. At first it had been a ruse, he knew she was asking for a spanking. But the scene had escalated when they had been given a waiter who was rude and dismissive. The place he had taken her was expensive, and they both expected excellent service, but Carrie had let her disappointment trail off into crazy land. The two generous glasses of wine he had poured her hadn’t helped, giving her a false sense of confidence to mouth off at will.

Finally, it had gotten so out of hand that Wes had thrown a large bill on the table to cover the check of the unfinished meal, taken his wife by the elbow, and escorted her from the bustling eatery.

“You just wait until we are back in that hotel room,” he had hissed, genuinely incensed. “I am going to burn your bottom up with that paddle I just bought.”

Trying to argue her side of the story, Wes had given her derrière a firm slap in plain sight of the customers in the restaurant. She quickly closed her mouth with a plump pout and let herself be escorted quietly to the hotel next door.

It had taken twenty minutes and three sharp swats to finally get her where he had her now. And he couldn’t wait to try out his new implement on that naughty full behind that was sitting on the bed before him.

Carrie’s head rested on the pillow as she turned towards him. “It wasn’t my fault,” she protested. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the thin, blue, plastic paddle. Her arms were stretched up to the post, her tiny wrists adorable in the black fur lined cuffs.

Standing beside the bed, he reached down pushing the white gown up even further above her curving bottom.

“He was being so rude,” she continued, taking Wes’ silence for him reconsidering her side of the story. “Did you hear what he called me?”

“I did. A spoiled brat. Which you are.” Wes tried to hide the grin that he felt tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Ugh!” Burying her head in the pillow, Carrie groaned. “You are still going to spank me for it, aren’t you? Even though I wasn’t the only one to blame.”

“Well, I can’t spank the waiter, now can I? But I can happily punish you for the bratty show you put on.”

“Was it that bad?” she asked, her voice small and sheepish.

“Yes.”

She groaned again. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean for it to get out of hand.”

“Didn’t you?” he asked.

Giving him a mischievous look over her shoulder, Carrie shrugged.

“What’s done is done and you are going to be spanked. Long and hard. Until you are my very polite well-behaved wife again.”

Putting the paddle down on the nightstand in clear view of Carrie, Wes placed his hand on her lower back. He began to spank her bare bottom with little swats, warming her skin. He chuckled as Carrie squirmed, knowing once the paddle came out she would be squirming out of discomfort, not pleasure.

His hand spanked all the neglected spots of her curvy bottom, remembering the satisfaction the slap of his hand against her bare skin brought him. As he spanked harder, the pink skin began to have red hand prints over it.

Whimpering, Carrie said, “I don’t know if I want us to go back to spanking after all.”

“You can decide tomorrow.”

Picking up the paddle, he watched as her eyes popped open wide.

“You haven’t had your bottom properly reddened in a long time, have you, young lady?”

“No. But I’ve been so good.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. Life just got busy but it’s good for you to get a little taste. A reminder of what is coming back into our lives.”

Unlinking the cuffs from her wrists, Wes told Carrie to stand. Sitting down on the warm place on the bed where she had been lying, he told her to raise her arms. Lifting the nightgown, he exposed her bare body, drinking in her beauty.

Then he pulled her over his lap. Propping up one knee by putting the heel of his boot on the frame of the bed, Carrie’s upper body rested on the bed while her bare bottom was high in the air, ready to receive his paddle.

The little, blue paddle felt light in his hand. He tested his first swat, reading her reaction. The plastic made a slapping sound leaving only a light pink mark. Carries hips moved a bit telling him what he needed to know—he could spank much harder with this implement, and he intended to. There was no better way to reset a marriage than with a sore bottomed wife spending the night in your bed.

* * *

The weekend ended too quickly. Between the shopping, the eating, the spanking and the lovemaking, it had flown by. He had woken each morning, refreshed by a good night’s sleep free of bad dreams. Refreshed, and on fire for his wife. Turning her over under the rays of the sun, he had loved her every way he knew possible, cherishing the quiet moments alone with her.

As they packed their bags and newly purchased goodies, the couple shared a long look of love with one another. It was time to go home and pick up where they had left off a decade before.