Chapter Nineteen
Heath started the day in an unpleasant mood. It had actually begun the night before when she’d gotten quiet, answering his questions with “I’m fine” or vague nods as she’d done on the train. Then, as now, she’d sensed his displeasure. Even so, her mind was preoccupied and she hadn’t felt like pasting on a smile or participating in small talk, which he would have seen through as well.
“Is something wrong, Jenny?”
“Just tired is all—travel fatigue—I’m fine.”
He’d bristled over her response, but had been patient. “After the week you’ve had, it’s understandable. We’ll talk in the morning, after you’ve rested.”
He had simply kissed her good night and settled into his already familiar sleeping position: sharing the same pillow, his face in her hair, one heavy arm snaked around her waist with his body snug against her back as close as two spoons in a drawer.
She wanted to be with him, as a wife should, but Jenny couldn’t see risking a child that he didn’t want, no matter how badly she yearned to be with him. She’d lay awake a long time, memorizing the feel of him, the slow cadence of his breathing in sleep and inhaling his wonderful masculine scent. The great heat he put out was something else she’d remember, his warmth enough that they didn’t need the extra logs he’d thrown on the fire before climbing in bed. It wasn’t until the wee hours of the morning, after she’d absorbed as much of him as she could, that an exhausted sleep had at last claimed her.
That morning during breakfast, the vague answers and awkwardness had continued. He’d brought their meal—flapjacks, bacon, sliced cinnamon apples with fresh milk—from the bunkhouse dining room and they’d eaten at the small table. Oblivious to the strained silence between the adults, Will had chattered unendingly. When he’d run outside to explore, Heath made his stance on the situation clear.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Jenny, but something is amiss. You have today to rest,” he warned. “Come tonight, we’ll talk. Whether it happens here or in the barn with you over my knee, is your choice.”
He’d left with a fierce kiss, jamming on his hat as he strode out the door with a resounding slam.
That had been an hour ago. After which, she’d gone to the stable and had a horse saddled. She was surprised when the stable hand hadn’t questioned her right to a horse and found her a gentle mare as she requested. Shortly thereafter, mounted double with Will, they’d set out for Laramie. He had school, which she and Heath hadn’t discussed, but he’d missed too much already. After she dropped him off, she’d ridden straight to Mr. Bennett’s office.
“I’m sorry, Jenny. An annulment isn’t possible.”
She already admitted that she and Heath had carnal knowledge of each other, as he put it. Her face had flamed up faster than a brush fire from lightning having to discuss it, but she had.
“A divorce, then?” The hitch in her breath was quite evident.
“You would have to prove spousal misconduct,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “I’m sorry, Jenny. Wyoming territory is quite progressive. Women have the right to their earnings, to hold money separate from their husbands, and we led the nation in women’s suffrage with the first woman casting her vote almost ten years ago now, but marriage remains inviolable and the husband still holds almost all the cards. You would have to get Heath’s consent.”
She nodded, bowing her head. It was then she saw that she had all but destroyed another pair of gloves. These being of more sturdy leather, were crumpled but not torn.
“Are you sure you can’t work things out?” She could hear his concern. “You two seemed quite close on the trip to and from Nebraska. I’ve been married for twenty years. Couples have squabbles, especially starting out.”
“This is more than a mere squabble, Mr. Bennett. Heath never wanted to marry. He was forced to. Now that the threat from my uncle has passed, I’d like to give him his life back.”
“How magnanimous of you, wife.”
Jenny gasped. Twisting in her chair, she found Heath standing in the doorway. Mr. Bennett had to have seen him standing there and she cast a fulminating glare his way.
“Don’t take it out on Bennett, Jenny. He was trying to dissuade you of this foolish notion.”
“It’s not foolish! It’s the right thing to do. It’s the only fair thing—”
“I’ll give you two a few minutes.” Giving her an apologetic glance, Bennett quickly stepped by Heath, closing the door behind him.
“Let’s talk about fair. How fair is it for a man to find out that his new bride is meeting with a lawyer… behind his back… about a divorce?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me. Make me understand. Because after the last week, having you in my arms and loving you every night, I thought we had come to an understanding.”
“I’ve told you, several times, but you’re too bullheaded to listen.”
He walked toward her and hauled her out of her chair. “I’m bullheaded? You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. I think talking right now is a waste of breath.”
He sat down in her vacated chair and to Jenny’s horror, pulled her across his knee.
“You can’t, not here—” She stopped when he flipped up her skirt, the answer to her half-uttered question quite obvious; he could and would, right here.
“I’m speaking with my hand since you aren’t listening effectively with your ears.”
Up went her petticoats. Next, she felt his fingers move over the split in the back of her drawers.
“I like these split drawers, darlin’. They’re very convenient.”
With his tug on the drawstring, the linen easily parted and the cool air in the office brushed across her suddenly bare behind. She found her tongue as the first smack landed. “Heath,” she cried. “Mr. Bennett could come back any minute.”
“You think James Bennett won’t recognize the sound of a wife getting a bare bottom spanking? Like he told you, he’s been married twenty years.”
“You heard that?”
“I heard everything.” He lit into her then, delivering smack after smack of stinging swats.
Despite the many shelves lined with books, and the heavy carpet and drapes, the sound of her punishment resonated loudly, each spank like a shotgun blast echoing in the Laramie Valley, which rolled on forever, and could be heard for miles. Jenny’s head came up and her eyes shot to the windows. The drapes were open, leaving the glass covered with only insubstantial sheer curtains. Anyone walking by would surely hear, become curious, and peek inside.
“Heath, for pity’s sake, the windows.”
“I’m angry and fresh out of pity. I suggest if you don’t want anyone to be the wiser, that you be quiet.” A flurry of firm slaps to her upper thighs followed, igniting her skin. “This has been building since we left Laramie a week ago.”
“What?” She’d been very mannerly and polite during their travels.
“You get snubbed up worse than any woman I’ve ever seen.” His hand kept up a steady barrage on her backside as he lectured. “I’ve told you I expect honesty. Omitting the truth is the same as a lie. I’m getting tired of you answering my questions with what you think I want to hear or with no answers at all.” The tender skin where her bottom joined with her thighs was paid attention to next, which really stung.
“Heath! Please.” Her breathless plea rose above the din.
“You didn’t tell me you were intimidated by my family’s wealth or that you were still feeling insecure about our marriage. I also know you weren’t forthcoming about what happened that night at your farm with Harper. I know you were afraid I’d kill him and it’s why I let it slide at the time, but never again.” He stopped, rubbing and soothing the burn he’d created on her bottom, but not the burning pain his anger had built inside her.
“I will have honesty between us, Jenny. If I have to swat your naughty behind every day for that to sink in, so be it.” His warning given, he resumed, his hard palm reinforcing the message, the intensity not lessening one bit.
It seemed to go on forever, the fiery heat leaving her breathless and squirming over his lap. After a particularly sharp smack connected with her upper thigh, she forgot about the flimsy curtains, blocked out the risk of passersby overhearing, and cried out.
“I’m sorry, Heath. I promise—” Her vow was interrupted by a yelp as an identical smack landed sharply on her other thigh. “Please, I promise to tell you the truth from here on out.”
He stopped and once again started rubbing. The sting eased, but the burn persisted. “I’m going to hold you to that,” he murmured softly as his hand moved lower to caress her tender thighs. “Or else, in addition to becoming well acquainted with my hand on your backside, you’ll get to know my belt or a paddle real quick. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she breathed out shakily.
“Mm,” Heath grunted and delivered four more stingers, two on each cheek before concluding, “for the sake of this gorgeous behind, I sure hope so.”
Giving her one last all-over caress, he retied her drawers and helped her to her feet. He didn’t let her go, however. Instead, his hands cupped her hot cheeks through the thin linen as her skirt fell over his arms. His head was aligned with her breasts as she stood in the circle of his arms, but his face was tipped up to her, his expression serious.
“There will be no more talk of annulments or divorce, Mrs. Jackson. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me until death do us part as you promised before God, in front of the preacher and witnesses. You’re simply going to have to learn to deal with it, and me.”
A tear escaped her eye as she gazed down into his handsome face. She saw affection in the caramel depths of his eyes; even with that, the burn in her bottom and the grip of his big hands warned how adamant he was about staying married to her. Maybe, if fortune smiled at her for once, from that affection, love would eventually grow on his part. She hoped and prayed that it would.
“I have no problem learning to deal with you, Heath. It’s the other way around that worries me.”
“Trust me, darlin’, I have that part of our bargain well in hand.” He squeezed her behind enough to emphasize the double meaning of his words. When she sniffled and gave a little laugh, one hand came out from under her skirt and rose to curl around the back of her neck. He pulled her down for a kiss. It was no light peck. His tongue swept out and insinuated itself between her slightly parted lips, taking possession of her mouth. It was brief, but it was full of passion as was usual for him. When he eased up, the sternness was gone.
“Since that’s sorted, let’s get on back to the ranch.”
“Will is in school.”
“I know. That was my second stop, after the farm.” Heath smoothed down her skirts before he stood, towering over her. “I’ll assign a man to escort him to and from school. I’d planned to start Monday, after giving him a couple of days to get acclimated, but it seems we start today.”
“It would have helped if you told me that, husband.”
“You were in a bit of a snit last night and this morning, wife. So it slipped my mind.”
His words were accompanied by an extra swat. Through her skirts, it was no more than an attention getter, but she yelped in surprise.
“Which reminds me, I don’t want you riding off alone anymore, Jenny. If you need to come to town, find me. If I can’t tend to it, I have plenty of men to spare one for an escort. Understood?”
“I’m not a child, Heath.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re twenty, forty, or one hundred and two, darlin’. Jackson women have an escort—always.” His hand came to her chin and he tilted her head back. “It’s for your protection. We are well liked around these parts, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there that want what we have or resent that we have it. You know about Janelle being taken. I’m not about to let that happen to you.”
Horrible images of what had happened to Janelle flooded her mind. She’d been more than taken; in a scheme of revenge masterminded by Louise Meyers, her friend had been kidnapped, taken up the ridge behind Silverbend, and almost raped. After overtaking her abductor, she had then escaped, spending a perilous night in the cold and snow, naked except for a tattered blanket. Aaron and the other Jackson men had searched long through the night, finding her near frozen the next morning.
When Letty had told her all this on the train home, Jenny had been horrified. For a long time after hearing the disturbing tale, she could only stare at Letty in disbelief. At her inquiring glance, Aaron had nodded grimly in confirmation adding that Louise Meyers and her mother were no longer a threat, having been run out of town by the fed-up people of Laramie, and her accomplice, Jamie Jessup, was serving hard time in the territorial prison.
Lost in her own grief and life’s drama, she’d had no idea. She felt angry on Janelle’s behalf, and guilty. “I’m a terrible friend. I should have been there to help her, somehow, if only as a shoulder to cry on in the aftermath.”
“This went on while your mother was ill, Jenny,” Aaron had explained. “Janelle understood; in fact, she felt as bad that she wasn’t there for you when you needed her.”
“Aaron lost control, Jenny.”
Her eyes snapped to Heath; she’d been so lost in thought she almost hadn’t heard.
“My calm, collected little brother, the marshal with nerves of steel, nearly lost his mind with worry that night. So for my sake, I’m asking you to obey me in this.”
Remembering how he’d reacted to Eugene Harper’s manhandling, she couldn’t imagine his rage if she was kidnapped or God forbid like Janelle, stripped naked and nearly raped. She shuddered at the thought. “I can easily promise that, Heath.”
He kissed her lips gently and murmured, “That’s my girl. Now that we’re settled, how about we head on home.”
Jenny was relieved to find the anteroom empty when they walked out. Mr. Bennett had respectfully given them full privacy. As they left the office, they spotted him across the street talking animatedly with the mayor. He lifted a hand, giving Jenny a kind smile before going back to his discussion, as if one of his clients receiving a spanking in his office was commonplace. Jenny’s cheeks burned, both top and bottom, as Heath lifted her onto her horse. He didn’t say a thing, winking at her in a manner she’d seen Aaron use with Janelle. Hope flourished anew because as Heath had said, despite their rocky beginnings, love had grown between the other pair.
Once she was seated in the saddle and he’d handed her the reins, he patted her knee, then moved to his own horse and mounted up. He led them west out of town, setting a moderate pace for the thirty-minute ride back home. For Jenny, it was an uncomfortable reminder that Heath took his job as husband very seriously, as her sore behind could attest with each smack against the saddle.