The Suspicious Mr. Greenley (5 page)

“They’ll be happy, Kady Jo, but not nearly as happy as me.”  He kissed her again, and reminded himself that he’d given his word to William Rogers that Kady would always be safe with him.  He needed to protect her innocence from him right now.  He stood her up and gave her bottom another hearty smack on top of her clothing.  “You step in the bathroom and change into some slacks, sweet one.  We’ll start packing and be at your folks in time for breakfast.”

“No.  Not so fast, Steven,” she said with a smile.  “I have a few things here to wrap up.  I can’t just leave without paying off a couple of bills, closing a couple of accounts, and quitting my job.  People would worry, and likely call the police, if I don’t do things properly.”

Steven’s face turned red, but he said, “You’re right, of course.  I just want to get you home where I know you’ll be safe from the Monica and Rory’s of the world.”

“Oh, I’m not going to change my mind, darling,” she whispered, putting her arms around his neck and pulling his head down so she could kiss him.  “You are my hero, you know.  I needed you and you were here.”  She kissed him again and felt him tense.  “Steven, I want you to know that tonight was an exception.  I normally come home right after work, unless I go shopping first, and I was only doing that because I was so bored.  I shouldn’t have let Monica talk me into something I knew was wrong for me.  I’m not a party girl like she is.”

“Your neighbor doesn’t like Monica, either.”

“Mr. Hubbard?  He is a nice man.  He’s been looking out for me and told me if I had trouble to let him know.  He never married, but claims I’m the daughter he wanted.  I’ll miss him, but not much else.”

“Your job?”

“Is so boring, Steven!  I take dictation all morning, and type letters all afternoon.  It would be different if the letters were interesting, but most of the time they are the same old thing.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I know that almost all secretaries have to start in the steno pool, and I was willing to do that and earn a promotion… it isn’t the work that was giving me second thoughts.”  She looked up at him.  “I need to be where you are, Steven.  This…” She waved her arm to indicate the room. “…isn’t for me.  I made these plans for myself before I met you, and without you, they mean nothing to me.”

Steven felt tears sting his eyes.  “You are my life, sweet one.  I can’t promise you wealth, and I can’t tell you we won’t ever have hard times, but I can and do promise you I will love you until my last breath and beyond.”

Kady gently brushed the tears from his cheeks and kissed him.  “I will love you with all my heart forever, Steven Greenley!”

Kady changed into a new pair of jeans that Steven found cute as could be, and they packed up her apartment in record time.  She fixed them an impromptu meal with some of the food in her small ice box, and told Steven she would give the rest to Mr. Hubbard before leaving the building.

Steven realized that Kady was having more trouble sitting than she wanted to let on, but after she changed into something suitable to run her errands, first of which was to quit her job, she grabbed up a pillow and said, “Steven, I can’t sit without something soft.  The seat of your car will be miserable if… What…?”  She looked at him as if he’d suddenly sprung another head when he took the pillow from her and put it back on the sofa.

“When you earn a spanking, sweet one, you will live with the affects of it until they go away.  No cushion today.  I want you to understand how foolish it was for you to go out with someone you knew you couldn’t trust.  And, you should have called the police when you realized what Carlson was planning.  Sitting on a sore butt should prove effective.”

“It’s mean is what it is!”

“I can give you another spanking if you think it’s worth arguing over…?”

“You are as inflexible as my father!”

“Thank you.  He’s a good man.”

Kady knew it was pointless to argue.  All it would earn her was another spanking, and that was the last thing she needed right now.  She directed Steven to the building where she worked, and smiled when he insisted on coming inside with her.  No one would dare give her any trouble while he was at her side, and if they did, he would handle it firmly.  Kady was safe and loved.  Mr. Jonas actually smiled and wished her well, and promised to mail her final paycheck to her parents’ address. 

Kady went to clean out her desk and as soon as Monica saw her she started in, “I cannot believe you threw such a baby-fit last night, Miss Goody Two Shoes!  Rory is furious, and now Max is upset with me!”

“You must be the party-girl Kady Jo told me about…?  Monica, isn’t it?”  Steven was furious, and doing his best to hide it.

“Wow, where has she been keeping you, handsome?”

“In her father’s back yard,” he answered, giving the answer that was a private joke between himself and Kady Jo.

“What on earth a man like you would do with a country girl like her is beyond me!” Monica boldly flirted, making sure her sweater was stretched tightly across her ample chest.

“Marry her, something you’ll never have to look forward to as long as you keep partying the way you do.”  Steven didn’t smile.  Instead, he leaned forward, his hands on the desk on either side of the bleached out blonde. “Fortunately for you I was there when Carlson tried to force my fiancée.  If she’d been harmed, you would have suffered for setting her up with the likes of that bastard.  Stay away from Kady Jo, Monica, and don’t expect an invitation to the wedding.”

“How dare you talk to me like that?”

“Someone needs to talk to you; someone needs to shake some sense into you, and paddle your butt until you wake up and see what you’re doing to yourself.”

Kady placed a hand on his arm.  “She doesn’t understand, Steven.  Let it be.  We’re going home and that is all that matters.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes, Steven came and asked me to marry him.  It’s a good thing, too.  I was planning to take the bus home this weekend and propose to him!”  Kady’s smile was full of love. 

Monica watched them leave, a wistful look on her carefully made-up face.  She mentally shrugged and threw herself into work.  Until they hired a replacement for Kady, she would be working overtime to get everything done.  Maybe the boss would notice her and promote her to secretary…?

* * *

“Are you happy?” Steven asked once they left the city behind.

“Yes, well… Except for my backside, and I think it is positively mean of you to refuse to let me use a pillow when there is one in the back seat!” she told him with an impudent grin.

“You can use a pillow, if you wish…?” he said slowly, but his dark eyes told her there was more to the offer.  “Of course, that just means I’ll give you another spanking when we get home…?  Your choice?”

“I could simply seduce you and make you think of other things besides spanking,” she shocked him by saying.

“Now, you try something like that before we’re married and I’ll…”

“Kiss me?” she teased.

He couldn’t keep a straight face.  He laughed.  “You are a naughty girl, you know that?”

“I try to please.”

“You do please.  I can’t believe I actually found you, Kady Jo.”

“In your own back yard…!  I can’t believe it, either.  Makes me think it was meant to be.”

“Maybe the grandparents talked to God…?” he suggested with a smile.  He grew quiet then and it was a few minutes before he said, “Kady, I need to take you up on that offer to talk.  Some of it isn’t fit for your ears, but of all the people in the world, you have to know what I went through.  I have bad dreams sometimes… nightmares.  Sometimes it takes me a long while to wake up and realize where I am.  I don’t like locked doors, and some nights, even if it is cold, I need to have the window wide open.  I don’t like sudden loud noises, and even if this makes me sound horrible, I can’t listen to anyone speak Japanese.  I associate those people with pain and horror and suffering, even though I know it was just a handful of men, most of whom were following orders.  It isn’t rational, but I may have to avoid them for the rest of my life, or at least until my memories fade more than they have now.  I am not violent; I can and I do control my temper, but if I ever ask you or tell you to leave me alone in the moment, I want you to promise you will obey me instantly.  I never want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” she said with such absolute certainty that he felt his fear lessen.  “I’ll help you wake from your bad dreams, and if you need to talk about them, I’ll listen.  If you can live through something that horrible, then I can listen to it and offer you my love.”

“You are so special, Kady.”  His hand found hers and squeezed.

Once they were home, they stopped by Steven’s place so he could tend the animals, and he took Kady on a tour of the house.  She admired all of the work he’d done, and was more than a little impressed by the furniture he was slowly building for each room.  “Of course you’ll want to make this your home, too, Kady.  I won’t be unreasonable,” he promised.

“I won’t be unreasonable either, but those torn curtains in the workshop have to go!!!  How can I spy on you if I can’t see in properly?”  He gave her a playful swat, and then loaded her in his car and took her ‘home’ until they spoke their vows in Church in front of family and friends.

“Kady Jo!” William exclaimed when he came out of the barn to see who pulled into the driveway.  She jumped out of the car and came running for a bear hug.  “Now, this is a pleasant surprise!”

“Kady!” Elsie came out on the porch, Kasey in her arms.  “Welcome home, honey!  How long can you stay?” she asked.

“Oh, for a little while,” she replied seriously, and then added, “At least until we can plan a wedding and I can move out back with Steven!”

“So that’s the way of it?” William was all smiles.

“With your blessing, sir?” Steven asked hopefully.

“Well, you had that when you came to me and said you were going to fetch her home, son!  It was high time, too!” William stated.

“Oh, Daddy!  You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“You’re my daughter, and of course I knew.  The trouble was that you had to figure it out for yourself, and it looks like your Mama was right about that.  So, we have a wedding to plan?”

“You’d best leave the planning to us women, William Greenley.  You just figure out how you’re going to pay for it!”

“I have some money saved, Mama,” Kady said.  “And, of course, I want you to make my dress!  I know exactly what I want.”

“This is where we disappear, son.  Kady Jo, just so there is no misunderstanding, you will let me pay for your wedding.  Any money you’ve saved is yours and you take that with you when you marry.  How you and Steven decide to spend it is your business, but paying for my daughters’ weddings will be my privilege.”  He leaned over to kiss her and then decided he needed to be alone for a bit.  A man just didn’t cry in front of his wife and daughter.

Steven pulled Kady close when Elsie went inside to see what Karen was getting into.  “I’m going to give you a choice, sweet one.  I can buy you a small engagement ring, or I can make new bedroom furniture for us.  I can’t do both, as much as I would like to.  If you want to think about it…?”

“No need to think, Steven.  I would love the bedroom furniture, and we’ll both enjoy it.  As long as I have a wedding ring, I will be happy.  Mama never had a diamond, and she and Daddy are as much in love as ever.”

Steven smiled, kissed her tenderly, and left.  Of course, he visited later that night, in time for supper, as he did almost every night.

“What’s wrong, daughter?  You are so moody the last couple of days,” Elsie asked as she pinned up the hem on Kady’s wedding dress.  “Are you having second thoughts about marrying Steven?”

Chapter Five

“No!  I love Steven!”  She looked down at her mother and sighed.  “I don’t know if I should tell you this, Mama, but I hate this waiting to be married!  It’s getting harder and harder to be around Steven without wanting him to make love to me,” she said, whispering the last few words.  To her surprise, her mother laughed.

“I remember it well, Kady Jo!  Those last couple of weeks were the hardest of all, and if you weren’t feeling frustrated, I would be very concerned and worried about you getting married.  I noticed that Steven isn’t taking you off alone… and that is exactly the way your father dealt with the situation.  He made sure we didn’t have opportunity, even though it was all we wanted at the time!”  She placed another pin and then asked, “Do you have any questions about that part of marriage, Kady Jo?  I know we’ve talked about things as they came up over the years.  I don’t believe in keeping girls ignorant… I’ll answer anything you want to know.”

“How much is it going to hurt the first time, Mama?” Kady asked.  “I don’t want to act like a big baby and make Steven think he’s hurt me!”

Elsie answered Kady’s questions, and was thankful for the time they had to share.  She also told her that she could come to her any time after she was married if she needed advice.  Kady hugged her and said, “I already know that, Mama!”

The wedding was beautiful and it was obvious to everyone in the church that the young couple was in love.  Both Kady and Steven insisted on singing to each other, and they did another hymn as a duet.  When Steven saw Kady on William’s arm, he felt tears of joy sting his eyes.  It was all William could do to give his little girl away, but he managed, making sure Steven knew he was pleased to welcome him into the family, too.  Elsie was proud of her husband and held his hand tightly as Kady Jo said her vows.  She prayed her other children would find husbands and wives they could love as much as she loved William and Kady loved Steven.

The reception was also held at the church and there was much laughter as the bride and groom opened their gifts.  Someone gave them a paddle with their names carved on it and William’s eyes landed on Kevin who was enjoying his sister’s embarrassment just a bit too much and decided he wasn’t going to save him if Kady figured out it was him.

All along Steven told everyone he was taking his new bride to Columbus for a honeymoon.  When they left the reception, everyone wished them well, and watched them drive off… toward Columbus.  Once they were out of sight of everyone, Steven grinned at Kady Jo and turned off the highway and took a roundabout way back to their home, where they’d decided to spend their wedding night.  Steven figured that if everyone thought them in Columbus, they would have peace and quiet for their first night together as husband and wife.