Chapter 9

Hilda walked through the house looking for the girls and only found Talia, Peanut, and June. She asked where Trixie had taken off to and June shrugged her shoulders.

“That one is her own enemy. She left on that death machine that she runs around on. No knowing where she goes.”

June spoke very good English now, but it was still a challenge to decipher what she said most of the time. Hilda smiled and thanked her and got a nod in return.

Thinking about the nodding heads, she could only hope that June and May didn’t start fist bumping because she would laugh and it would probably hurt their feelings. They tried so hard to fit in and watched movies every chance they got.

May rented a movie about a girl that had a baby in a large chain department store. From that day on, the two women would snoop around the stores to see if people were possibly living in the sporting goods camping area. May refused to buy pillows from the place because, “They might have used the pillows to sleep with and they hide from the police in those tents.”

It didn’t matter what anyone told them, even Hilda. The movies were based on the real thing, and real life was often depicted on the big screen. Hilda didn’t even want to recall the crazy way that the women had ran into the pantry and into the basement whenever anyone in a suit came to the door. She told them that it was nonsense, but they were skittish and still hid around the house when anyone that appeared to hold any type of authority showed up.

She figured out that they were still worried about the death of the man that brought them to the area. It was too difficult to talk to them about his demise without letting them know what she suspected. They would eventually realize that the man’s death was considered an accident and that they were not even on the police’s radar as suspects.

Peanut was moving slow as usual after her session with her moonshiner. Hilda had long ago given up attempting to figure out how the short, stocky woman and the big bellied mountain man had sex. She didn’t really want to know.

Talia was reading some paperwork that she’d shown Hilda earlier, and she was taking notes to ask questions from the estate lawyers on the following Monday. The girl had quite a head for business, and Hilda figured that she would find her footing with a few little nudges here and there. The bruises were fading and were now a putrid yellow and green around her eyes. The scratches had healed over, and the red streaks were fading rapidly.

Hilda reminded her about the Sunday afternoon mandatory meeting.

“Talia, don’t forget to wear something comfortable and easy to move around in on Sunday. I’m sure that Trixie has told you that I don’t ask the women that live here for much, but this I demand. Every woman that walks through my doors and stays for more than a few days has to learn to defend herself.”

Talia frowned and looked at her papers, then looked up and started to shake her head.

Hilda wasn’t going to argue with her. “Don’t shake your head at me, girlie. If you had been able to defend yourself, that cow and her heifer might not have beaten the shit out of you. At least, you might have stood a chance to save your own skin.”

She walked over to the girl and raised her hand to lift the girl’s chin. “See? You’re in no danger from me, but you flinch as if I was planning to slap you. What happens if you are out in the store or anywhere in public? Will a stranger brushing against you make you jump? Will you scream and run or just stand in place waiting for the person to hit you?”

“I’ll expect to see you in the barn with the rest of us. I cannot do the running or some of the leg exercises but I can shoot, and that is what I’ll teach you when you’re ready to learn.”

She smiled at the confused girl, but there was no way that she would change the rules. Any woman that left the house after healing her body learned one way to help heal their minds. Learning to defend themselves brought self-confidence into the picture. From bent and cowering submissive, to confident and competent. That was her goal for each woman that stayed here.

It didn’t always work out as she hoped, but the women could defend themselves if they would.

Friendly strolled in, and Hilda admired the tall, slender woman. The girl was as submissive as she could be, but that was only in the sexual needs portion of her personality. She was normally quiet and was the first to offer comfort from a hurt of any kind. She was also one of the coldest executioners that Hilda had ever seen in action.

Since the day that the girl had come to the house, there had been something different about the beautiful brunette with those big brown eyes. The two of them had a history and Hilda respected Friendly’s talents. They had accidently discovered each other’s secrets, only a few months ago. Neither woman mentioned the discovery, but Hilda was amazed that the younger woman hadn’t confronted her yet.

Right now the subject was on the whereabouts of Trixie.

Friendly was looking for her best friend, and Hilda needed to talk to her about another girl that might join them here at the farmhouse.

A friend from the old days had called and was looking for a place for a runaway from a religious cult. Apparently, the punishment for disobedience was a harsh one. Her friend hadn’t elaborated on the punishment, only that they needed to move the girl soon.

Hilda wanted to send Trixie and Peanut to go talk to the girl and assess the situation. She was so proud of the two women and their goals of earning college degrees to help other women the same way that she helped so many others.

She had her will made out, and the farm would continue on under the women who had been with her since the beginning. Heaven was chasing her own dreams, and Daisy was scouring the Earth looking for her mystery man. If they came back, they would always be welcome. If not, then she had a back-up plan.

It was humbling, but someone needed to be around to take care of the abused women. There were several programs through the state and several religious organizations to offer aid to families with children. There were not as many people that gave women time and help to rebuild their lives.

She felt a tinge of unease. Trixie was a smart ass with a hot and quick temper, but the girl was punctual, and she was reliable to a fault.

“June said that Trixie took off on that damned crotch rocket that she rides every time she gets upset. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about Krom almost getting his big ass blown up. I figured that if I didn’t tell her, some malicious bitch might call her and cause her to do something rash.”

Friendly nodded and hugged the shorter woman. “I’ll take a drive and see if she broke down. We both know that she probably had to run over to his place to see the damage for herself. She acts like a cold bitch, but we both know that she loves his dumb ass.” She hugged her harder and let her go as she headed for the door. “He doesn’t deserve her.”

Hilda was left alone and wondered how that happened. She went up to her office that had been the old dressing room off of the master suite. She loved this place. The old farm was left to her along with a fortune to pay for the upkeep. Grandpa Benson had been an investor and had made millions in the stock market. Unfortunately for him, she and an elderly cousin were the last of the lines in two formerly large and prosperous families.

Cousin Arlen was in his late seventies and suffered from dementia. She had successfully fended off two opportunists that had learned of Arlen’s family connections and arranged for a bogus marriage to gain compensation as a widow. They hadn’t done their homework and had no idea that Hilda had complete control over the estate and all legal and medical dealings for her uncle. He was her favorite relative even before he lost himself into the rabbit hole of dementia.

She stepped over to the curved windows that looked out over the kitchen orchard and vegetable garden. This place needed people. Ideally, there would be several children running wild over the acreage, but unless she produced a few offspring of her own, there would be no children living here.

She shook herself from the slightly morbid thoughts. She still had many years to live, and only the almighty knew what was in store for her.

Colin called, and they discussed the fact that Gypsy wanted to talk to her as soon as she came into the bar.

“I swear, Colin, if she’s going to complain that you’re not cooperating with her plans to seduce you and make you her bitch, I will tie you up and hand you over to her.”

She could hear his indrawn breath and the exhale before he assured her that it was not him.

“You know that I’m perfectly capable of dealing with the resident junior dominitrix. She was running late, but she told me that as soon as you came in she needed to talk to you. Her five o’clock appointment was ready for her, and you know how she is about being prompt. The client was eager and waiting for his weekly spanking.

“If you get here before seven o’clock, she will have time to talk to you before her next client. He’s a strange duck, to say the least. I never believed that some men liked to have their peckers whipped, but her seven o’clock will be ready. Did you see those little whips that she uses on her clients? Just thinking about having someone do that to my dick makes me shudder. Can you imagine paying someone to torture such a delicate part of your body? Not me.”

She hung up on his speculation of the many little kinks some people desired. He would probably faint away if he knew that she had been tied with her arms and legs spread on the St Andrews cross that was in her private basement dungeon. No one was allowed down there without a personal invitation and being escorted by her.

Thinking about the sting of a small crop whipping her nipples made the nubs stand at attention and the crease of her cunt ready itself for an evening of enjoyment. Unfortunately, her body didn’t understand that there would be no playing for a while longer. The dungeon had not been used in months, and there did not appear to be any change in that anytime soon.

Hilda walked into the bar and could see that Gypsy was riding on the shoulders of the man that she’d just spent an hour with. He was smiling, and from the calm look in his eyes, the woman had given him exactly what he kept coming back for.

She went around the bar and into the office behind the liquor wall. It was time to do some serious reorganizing.