Count This Cowboy In (20 page)

"
But I've been climbing trees since I was a kid.  I've never gotten hurt doing it."

Trevor gave her six swats, harder than any yet, to the tender place where her bottom met her thighs.

"Ooowww!  Trevor, no, that hurts!"

"
I said I want you to listen, not argue."

"
Sorry."

"
Now, let's try this again."  He started spanking as he said, "We're going to be talking about your safety again.  I'm glad you haven't been hurt climbing trees before, but it's still a risk, there's still an obvious chance of injury.  But what I had in mind when I said we were going to be talking about your safety is that you don't take your safety seriously.  You do things without even considering that it could be dangerous."

He was still spanking while talking
and though he knew she was feeling it, he could also tell she was considering his words.  "For instance, when you decided to climb that tree, did you even stop and think for one second that it could be dangerous?" 

He waited, but got no answer.  Six more good swats to her sit spots later, she yelled,
"No!  I'm sorry."  She started sobbing and he knew she was being honest.  Just as he'd thought, it had never entered her mind.  He talked about that for a bit and how that was going to change.

He stopped the spanking for a moment, resting his hand on her bare bottom. 
"Have we covered your safety sufficiently now, or should we go over it again?"

"
No.  No, I get it," she cried.

"
Good.  From now on I expect you to stop and think about your safety before doing things like climbing into a tree like that."

"
I will, I promise."

"
Okay.  We have one more thing to talk about before this spanking is over."

Trevor rubbed her bare bottom, which was dark pink now.  As much as he hated to, he knew it would be red before this spanking was over.  Anxious for it to be done, he told her, "The other thing we have to talk about tonight is the fact you didn't talk to me.  Honey, I want to fix any problems you have, but I can't fix it if you don't tell me about it.  You have to at least give me a chance to fix it."

"
But I didn't think there was anything you could do."

"
You didn't think there was anything you could do, but you didn't trust me enough to see if there was anything I could do."

She started crying again, as she said,
"It's not really about trust.  I'm just not used to anyone ––"  She paused, looking for the words she wanted.

"
You're not used to anyone telling you what to do and expecting you to listen to them."

"
That's not what I meant."

"
Maybe not, but it's the truth.  You're not used to anyone suggesting anything to you, or telling you to do or not to do something, even though it's for your own good.  And you're especially not used to someone expecting you to listen to them when they tell you these things."  He rubbed her bottom, easing a bit of the sting, as he said, "Well, that's changed now, Sam.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, I do care.  And I will do whatever I have to do to keep you safe, even if that means spanking you every day."

Tears
were streaming down her cheeks as she listened to his words.  It wasn't the words as much as the sincerity she felt behind them.  He really did love her and he really was going to protect her.

He patted her bottom
. "When I tell you things, like to be more mindful of your own safety, I say it for a reason, Sam."

"
I know.  I'm sorry."

"
Your safety is something I don't take lightly.  I want you to trust me, Samantha.  Trust me enough to give me a chance to solve your problems in a safe way.  That's one lesson you need to learn and I hope you learn it now."  With that he started spanking her again.  This time, though, he'd said what he planned to say, so he spanked her hard and fast.

He knew it hurt, but he meant to teach her this lesson once and for all.  He continued to quickly and firmly redden her bare bottom, knowing she
'd be reminded of this lesson the next day or two when she sat down.  When she started yelling louder, he reminded her to use her pillow, which she did.

She not only screamed into her pillow now, but she fought with everything she had.  She squirmed and kicked and tried to roll off his lap.  He held her tight, but she gave it a valiant effort.  He continued to spank
and watched as she slowly and reluctantly gave up the fight.  That's what he'd been waiting for.  He wanted her to give in, to accept that this was one thing she couldn't control.  When she did that, the spanking ended.  He rubbed her back gently while she caught her breath.  She was sobbing and it slowly ended while he rubbed her back.

When she had regained a bit of control of her breathing
, he gently rolled her over and onto his lap, pulling her into his chest, where she immediately buried her face.  Her arms circled his neck and she cried her heart out.  He held her tight, whispering, "I love you, Sweetie.  It's over and we're good again.  You cry it out now, I'll hold you and take care of you.  You're safe here, just relax."

He held her for a full ten minutes while she calmed down. He kept his arms around her
, talking softly into her ear, assuring her she was safe and he loved her.

"
Are you okay now?" he asked, when she grew quiet.

"
No.  My butt has never hurt like this."

"
Will you pay more attention to your safety now?"

"
Oh, yeah," she said sincerely.

"
Good."  He hugged her to him a bit tighter. "Because your safety is very, very important to me.  I love you too much to risk losing you to something that could have easily been prevented."  He felt her relax a bit until he said, "And I'd hate to have to do that again, but I will if you continue to ignore your safety."

She immediately sat up straighter, looking at him. 
"What?"

"
You heard me, Samantha," he warned in his stern voice.  She knew he meant every word he said when he used that voice.  "If you ignore your safety again I will blister your butt again.  I'd really rather not have to do that to you, but if you persist, so will I."  Running his fingers through her hair, he asked, "Do you understand, Sweetheart?"

"
Yes."

"
That's my girl.  Now, unless you're too tired, I want to talk to you about you wanting to do more on the ranch."

"
Okay." 

"
Are you sure you're okay to talk now, or do you need to go to bed and talk in the morning?"

"
I'm good now."

"
Are you sure?  I know you're tired."

"
I know, but this is important to me."

"
I know.  It is to me, too.  Because of that, though, will you please give me a few days to think about it?"  He could tell she was disappointed, but he said, "My first instinct is to say no, you're safer staying in here.  But then I thought a bit more and I understand that your father let you do a lot on the ranch and it means a lot to you.  Am I right so far?"

"
Yes."

He tugged her to him a bit tighter and kissed her forehead. 
"Seeing how important it is to you, if you'll give me a few days to think about it, I may be able to come up with a compromise we can both live with at first and we'll see how it goes."

He could tell she was disappointed, but at the same time, happy he wasn
't just saying no.  He explained, "Please don't think I'm doubting your skills.  I'm really not.  It's just that growing up I was taught to take care of women, especially the woman you love.  I've also been taught that ranching is a man's job, not because a woman couldn't do it, but because it's hard work.  You protect women, take care of them and that includes doing the hard work for them."

Trevor could tell she was listening to him carefully
and was glad when she started slowly nodding her head.  He hoped she understood.  Finally, she said, "I think I see what you're saying.  As I'm thinking about it now, Dad let me do what I wanted to do, but the ranch hands always did the hard physical stuff."

"
Well, I'm glad to at least know that; that someone else did the heavy physical lifting.  I'll keep that in mind while I give it some serious thought."  Looking at her he added, "If you're willing to give me a few days to think it through?"

"
Now that you explained why you have a problem with it, yeah, I can give you time to think.  But will you also consider letting me go out riding alone?"

His eyebrows rose as he asked,
"You don't like when we go riding together?"

Snuggling into his chest a little tighter, she said,
"I love when we go riding.  But sometimes I have something on my mind that I need to think through and that's always been how I do my best thinking."

He kissed her forehead as he said,
"Then I'll give that some thought, too.  Be patient with me, Honey, I'm not used to women having the skill level and experience you do."

Looking up at him and turning red, she said,
"I can be patient with you if you'll be patient with me.  Don't give up on me."

"
Oh, Honey, I won't ever give up on you.  I'm very proud of you.  This whole thing is all new to you, I know, and I'm proud of how you've accepted it."  He showed her just how proud he was as he cradled her face in his hands and gave her a very passionate kiss.  They talked more, cuddling the whole time.  He knew it had been a pretty hard spanking and lots of cuddling afterward seemed to put her in a content, happy mood for a while.

It also made her sleepy, so when she yawned the second time he went to the door, reminding her to lock
it after he left.  He bent down and gave her a kiss meant to invoke good dreams while she slept and left.

As he was getting ready to go to bed himself he got a phone call from Clay. 
"Hey, buddy, how are you doing?"

Clay answered,
"Doing good.  How are you and Sam?"

"
We're good.  Have you been able to find anything yet about Sam's dad or stepmother?"

"
That's why I'm calling you.  I'll tell you what I've found and you tell me if you want me to go on, investigate further.  Her dad died of a heart attack, according to the autopsy.  From what I've heard from friends, though, no one ever knew he had any kind of heart problem."

"
Curious."

"
Very.  But now for the stepmother.  It seems she was suspected of stealing from her employer at one time, but they couldn't come up with any solid evidence, so the charges were dropped."

"
Charges were filed?"

"
Yes.  Then apparently the evidence they had came up missing and they were forced to drop all charges."

"
Any idea what happened to the evidence?"

I talked to her former employer.  He feels sure the man she was dating at the time broke into the company and stole the evidence, but they couldn
't prove that, either.  He says it was taken from the safe, which was still locked when the evidence came up missing, so it had to be someone that knew how to get into the safe.  She did before she was fired, and could have passed the information on to her boyfriend so he could steal the evidence."

"
Interesting."

"
There's more.  She was investigated another time, as well.  She had supposedly befriended an elderly lady that was financially well off.  Her two daughters insist that she pushed her way into their mother's life, but she claims they were friends.  When the lady died the girls said there were several family heirlooms missing.  They went to the police, who got a warrant and searched her house.  They found quite a few very valuable pieces there, but she claimed the lady gave them to her as gifts.  The girls insisted she might give her gifts, but would never give up family heirlooms.  It was important to her that they stay in the family."

Trevor cut in,
"Let me guess.  With no evidence, no charges?"

"
Pretty much.  There was no evidence and everyone said the lady probably would have given her a few gifts because she was a generous person.  So they reached an agreement.  The girls got back the family heirlooms and she kept the rest.  The girls tell me the things she got to keep were worth quite a bit of money in and of themselves.  They're adamant that she stole all the stuff, but with no evidence, you're right, no charges."

"
That's enough information for me to say keep going.  How much do you want to do a full investigation?  I'll send you a check, but I want you to keep digging."