A New Day (87 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

     Tasha looked nervously from Tim to Dana, as they advanced on her from opposite directions.  They had amazingly similar expressions of grim displeasure on their faces, and determined battle lights in their eyes.  

    
"I think it's time she learned a lesson, don't you?" Dana asked Tim pointedly.

    
"Absolutely."  Tim agreed.

    
"I think she needs to understand about being a Rain, don't you?"

    
"Absolutely." he agreed, again.

    
"A girl this age should know how to behave, don't you think?"

    
"Absolutely."

    
"And she should know who her protector is, don't you agree?"

    
"Absolutely."

    
"She should show more respect for the man she's going to marry, than to keep secrets from him."

    
"Absolutely."  Tim agreed emphatically.

    
"And she should never keep things from the people who love her."

    
"Right again." 

    
"She should never keep secrets from them, especially about the enemy."

    
"Uh, huh."

    
"And she should never frighten anyone the way she frightened us today."

    
"I couldn't have said it better myself."

    
"She's a mess."

    
"Yep."

    
"She needs a spanking."

    
"Yep."

    
"Shall I hold her while you do the honors, or shall I do it?"

    
Tim made a face.  "You get pretty rough.  You might hurt her.  You have to remember, she's not used to getting spankings."

    
Tasha gasped in outrage.

    
"But then, I'm not sure you could hold her.  She's a bit of a spitfire when she wants to be."  Tim warned. 

    
"I think I'm up to it."  Dana sniffed disdainfully.

    
"All right, then."  Tim  said sternly, as if pronouncing a judgment, "A spanking will be administered.  Actually, we should both get to spank her.   I'll hold her, and we can both have a turn."             

    
"That's the best idea yet."  Dana agreed with satisfaction.

    
Tasha gasped in disbelief, as Tim picked her up and carried her to a chair.  He sat down, dumped her over his knees, and spanked her very smartly.  Tasha's buttocks were stinging and burning with acute pain. 

    
After about ten very healthy slaps, he allowed Dana to have her turn.  Dana, if anything, was worse than Tim.

    
When it was finally over, Tim let her up; and she fell to the floor on her tail. 

    
"You!"  she seethed.  "How dare you?"

    
Tim raised an eyebrow.  "Oh, I dare.  You ever do anything so stupid again, and you'll get worse!  He's dangerous; he could have easily hurt you, Tasha!  He was going to kidnap you today!  What hurts the most, is that you left me out completely.  You intentionally kept it from me!"

    
"Timothy, I am not a child, and I'm not yet your wife."  she said coldly.

    
"You will be my wife; and you used no judgment."  he corrected seriously.

    
"You take a lot for granted."  Tasha said chillingly.  She got up from the floor and went upstairs, shutting her bedroom door soundly, to emphasize her displeasure.

    
Tim wasn't too worried until dinner time came and went, and she had not come out.  He and Dana ate, but neither one of them was very hungry.

    
"Tim, I'm sure she's fine."  Dana soothed.

    
He made a wry face.  "Yeah.  I'm sure she is, too.  But I'm going to have to work on her, to get her to let me back in. "

    
"Wow."  Dana sighed.  "Why would a spanking upset her so much?"

    
"Well, I suspect that she never got them.  To us, it's just a family tradition.  If you didn't have them as a child, what we did to her was probably quite a shock.  No doubt there's a little bit of the spoiled rich kid left in her, and we waved a red flag in front of it, I'm sure. "

    
"Uh, oh."  Dana  winced.  "Well, there's no time like the present to get started."  Dana sighed.

     
Tim raised an eyebrow.  "You'll get no argument from me.  And please, Dana, say some prayers.  I think if I have to start all over again, it'll kill me."

    
Dana looked at time in surprise.  "Timothy, has it been that bad?"

    
He gave her a very serious and extremely peeved look.  "Dana, you have no idea.  It's like trying to get your arms around a cactus."

    
"Are you sure she's worth it?" Dana asked hesitantly.  "I mean, I know she's lovely, Tim; but maybe it's just too long a reach."

    
He shook his head.  "I'm not sure at all, darlin'.  I'm just going on faith.  The Lord told me without any doubt, that she is my wife.  How am I supposed to walk away?"

    
Dana looked at him with new comprehension.

    
Just then, Lucinda came down the stairs with a frown.  "What's the matter, Lucinda?"  Tim asked worriedly.

    
"She's in a state, Mr. Tim." 

    
He shook his head.  "Don't worry, we'll get everything straightened around."  

    
They heard Brent come through the back entrance into his office.  Tim grinned at Dana.  "Come on, I'll introduce you to Mr. Money.  You can get to know him, while I work on Tasha."

    
Tim knocked on Brent's door, and gently pushed it open.  Brent was on the phone, but waved them in with a hand that held a cigar.  Tim and Dana sat down.  Tim noticed with amusement that Dana was looking around her with subtle wonder in her eyes. 

    
Brent's office was very plush, but never gaudy.   He had soft lavender and purple leather furniture, silver and gray accents, along with just enough black to make it masculine, understated and elegant.  One wall was a muted silver gray with a huge, fabulous seascape in oil paint centered on it.  Another wall had muted geometric paper in the same shades.  One small wall was black leather, with a big clock on it.  It was quite something. 

    
Brent was obviously in the middle of some big business deal, and he did not hide it from his visitors.  He haggled over millions like it was penny candy, and although Tim was now used to it, Dana was shocked. 

    
At last, using all his diplomacy and tact, he was able to wrap up  his business and get off the phone.  He looked at Tim with extreme satisfaction, and grinned. 

    
"Boy, am I glad to see you.  Hang on, Tim, I'll be right with you.  I have to finish this up."  he explained.  He dialed the phone and barked into it.  "Marie!  Get on the line and get one of the lawyers to amend the contract with Larson's.  It'll be ten mil instead of nine, and we'll have it in 90 days instead of 150.  I need all the paperwork delivered to Larson's office by close of business tomorrow … No way.  Tell them to get it done!  If you have a lick of trouble with it, call me right away.  All right.  Thanks."

    
He turned to Tim and sighed as he changed gears.  "Timothy, where have you been, and what have you done to Tasha?" he growled.  Before Tim could answer, he turned and walked over to Dana, and picked up her hand.  "And who the heck is this beautiful woman?"

    
"My name is Dana." she said, showing incredible fortitude, as far as Tim was concerned.  Brent was pouring it on, with those deep, sharp eyes of his, and all his power oozing out of every pore.

    
"Incredible.  Tim, she's magnificent.  Where did you find her?"

    
"The first time I can remember, I think she crawled over and stole my cookie.” Tim teased.  “My sister, Dana.”      

     “
Dana.  Dana, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.”  he said, his eyes still searching hers deeply.

    
Dana just smiled at him, and blushed slightly.

     “
Dana, this is Brent Charles, Tasha’s father.”  Tim informed her dryly.

     “
I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Charles.”

     “
Call me Brent.  Please.  I am absolutely delighted that you’ve come to be my guest.”

      “
Well, I suppose I’d better see what I can do with Tasha.  I'm afraid I've got her upset with me.  Dana, stay here and keep Mr. Charles company, will you?”

    
Dana nodded,  and looked a bit nervous.  Tim winked at her, and left her alone with Brent.

    
Once Tim was gone, the office was very quiet and the man sitting beside Dana seemed much more intimidating.  He smiled at her affably, though, and crossed his legs.

     “
Are you hungry, Dana?  I can have Lucinda bring up some coffee, and food.”

     “
Oh, no.  Thank you,  I just finished dinner.”

    
He smiled again.  “All right.  Well, then, tell me about yourself.”  he suggested.

    
Dana blushed and shook her head.  “There’s not much to tell.”  she assured him.  “I’m just Tim Rain’s little sister.”

    
Brent laughed.  “I imagine that there is a great deal to tell.  You are a skier, like your brother?”

     “
Yes.”  Dana admitted.

     “
You live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  You work in your brother’s organization.  And you are distinctly uncomfortable with me.”

    
Dana looked at him with deep suspicion. 

    
Brent laughed.  “I’m sorry, Dana.  Forgive me.  I didn’t mean to come on strong.  It’s just that I’m very attracted to you.  I find you extremely beautiful.”  

    
Dana looked at him as if he’d grown another head. 

     “
Will you let me take you to the theater tonight?  I’d love to spend some time with you, get to know you better.  After all, we're going to be kind of related, soon.”

    
Dana looked terrified.  “Um.  I didn’t really bring anything suitable to wear for a formal evening.  I’m sorry.”

    
Brent kept smiling, not to be deterred.  “We’ll go shopping first, then.  I’ll buy you something wonderful to wear.”

    
Dana looked totally bewildered, and Brent covered her hand with his.  “Relax, Dana.  I just want to get to know you, and show you a good time.  I promise I’ll behave. If I start getting carried away, you let me know. All right?”

    
Dana looked at him uncertainly.  “All right.”  she agreed quietly.

     “
Now, tell me about yourself.”  he urged again.

     Tim knocked very lightly on Tasha’s door.  There was no answer, and it was locked.  Sighing, he pulled out his pocket knife and carefully picked the lock.  The door swung open, and he went in. 

    
Tasha was lying on her bed, her hair spread out like a flag behind her.  She was in her slip.  Sighing, Tim went in and locked the door behind him.  Then, he went to the windows, and closed the blinds.  He sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at her.  He touched her shoulder.  She flinched, and pulled away. 

     “
My darling.  Please forgive me.”  he said in a husky voice.  He waited. 

    
She seemed frozen.  Finally, she began to cry.  “You and Gary.  You both think you can just treat me like a child, spank me when I’m bad; yell at me and hurt me, and I’m sick of it.  After Gary died, I didn’t have to take any crap from anybody!  Since you walked into my life, there has been precious little else.  Why the hell should I forgive you?  I don’t want to!” she snapped bitterly.

     “
I suppose I can’t deny that.”  he mused.  “But I think it will be worth it to you.  Think about it, Tasha.  Your pride was all that received any injury.  You just aren’t used to spankings.” 

    
"You know, it didn’t really occur to Dana and I how different our background is from yours.  We were just following an old family tradition.  See, when Dana, Angel or I were really bad, especially in a way that was dangerous,  the whole family would line up and tell them why.  How it was unsafe, and warn them not to ever do that again.  And, everybody got to share in the spankings.  By the time your whole family gets done giving you a piece of their mind and spanking you, you know you were wrong and you feel pretty doggone disciplined – but you knew you were loved.  It’s definitely humbling, but it’s pretty wonderful, once you get used to the idea.”