Time Out (16 page)

“The boys will not appreciate this.” Bill said seriously, realizing that she was right.  He still harbored some resentment about her ill-mannered and disrespectful treatment towards him over the years and had, many times, wanted to put her over his knee.  Margie had prevented it, concerned that the girl would feel ‘abused.’  She had been wrong.

“It’s not up to the boys.  Bill, you were the closest thing to a real father I had and I treated you terribly.  I wanted… no, needed, to know that you loved me as much as your sons.  I never felt that way. I need things to be right with us before I can ever think about letting go of Bryon.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Bryon found someone else. Pretty soon, there won’t be room for me, despite what he says.  I still need to have a dad in my life, even if he’s not as strict with me as Bry.”

“Cass… have any of us ever lied to you or given you reason to be so suspicious of our motives?  If Bryon promised he would always fill this role for you, he will never go back on that promise.  I raised them to be men of honor.”

“And they are raising me the same way, which is why I’m asking you to do your duty as my dad.”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. I am.”

Bill studied her for a moment, seeing the positive changes that had occurred since ‘the boys’ had taken over her upbringing.  They had been right all along.  He nodded. “Very well. Take the kitchen shears and go outside and cut me two switches. 2-3 feet long and the thickness of your little finger.”

Cassie paled. “You said you wouldn’t switch me.”

“I promised to treat you as one of my boys.  That is the implement of choice for me when they received their ‘just desserts’.  Go on.”

Gulping, she left. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the long, straight branch off the white birch tree.  It sprung forebodingly in her hand. The rain fell lightly and she shivered, but not from cold.

“Let’s see them.” Bill held his hand out when she returned.  She handed the two slender rods to him silently. “They look good.  You need to clean them now. Scrape off all the bumps and bark, leaving green.  I like my switches wet and flexible.”

Cassie obeyed, wondering about her sanity as she proceeded with her chore. She was honest when she told him the truth. 
Needs
verses
wants
did not always follow the same guidelines.  She hoped the boys would see that she was trying to do the right thing for once.

“Very good. Go to my study and have your jeans and p
anties
down to your ankles and lean with your palms on the seat of the big chair.  Wait for me.”

Cassie felt bile rise to her throat as her stomach twisted fearfully. She knew Bill had been stern with her brothers when they were younger, but they never talked about his methods other than he wielded a nasty switch. She suddenly remembered that she was in store for a session of discipline with Rob and Bryon the following evening.  She groaned knowing her butt would be hamburger.

She tried to push aside her embarrassment when she unzipped and lowered her jeans and panties to her ankles and then bent to grasp the edges of the old, wooden straight-backed chair.  Her bottom rose high in the air and she felt her skin stretching along the backs of her thighs and hind end. She also knew that her private parts were cle
arly visible
while in this position.  Oh well, she re
a
soned, what’s one more Johnson m
an eyeing her womanly goods
? Her three step-brothers had seen everything she had months ago. Thank God that her headache had receded!

Bill entered the room, pausing to observe his step-daughter’s position.  He could tell she was frightened, and rightfully so. He was a big man with a strong right arm and had been able to reduce his boys to tears in less than six strokes.  Cassie’s pale, firm bottom stuck out in the air, a sacrifice she was making to heal their rift. He doubted she appreciated the offer as much as he did.

“For 12 years, I’ve been there for you. You’re right.  For twelve years, you’ve pushed every button I had, sliced me to pieces with your nasty tongue, and blatantly ignored every rule I set to make ours a happy and healthy home for you.  While I’m so glad you are finally coming around, I have to tell you that you’ve really hurt me.”

“I’m so sorry, Bill. Please forgive me.”

“I do.  But, yes, I think this will help bring back some balance for both of us. I’ve never punished a girl before and seriously doubt you would be able to take what I would have dished out to my sons had they dared behave the way you did. With that in mind, you and I will start our own tradition.”

“You changed your mind about switching me?” Cassie asked hopefully.

“Absolutely not.  You do, however, need a more personal touch, so when the switching is over, I will spank you with my hand, like a good father should do to his daughter.”  Bill suddenly understood Bryon’s need to have a little girl in his care. The nurturing, the guiding, the need to direct…. It all made sense.  Bill grieved over the lost ye
ars when he could have had with this little girl, and now they were gone.  He knew he could still provide many of these things, but never as though she were a child again. He needed to talk with his sons about this lifestyle and explore some needs of his own.

Bill stood to Cassie
’s
left and laid the switch across the center of her trembling cheeks. “You are to stay in position until I decide you are done.  If you move, I might catch you where you don’t want me too.  No clenching, either.  How well you take your punishment will determine the length of time I give it.”

“Yes, sir.” Cassie whispered, closing her eyes and holding her breath.  Bill hesitated for a moment, eyeing her perfect round globes,

“From now on, you won’t call me Bill. It’s either Pop or Dad, ok? I know ‘daddy’ is reserved for Bryon.”

“Only when we are home alone.  He would understand.” Cassie whispered, feeling the stick touching her bottom.

“Ready?”

Stupid question.  How could anyone be ready for the slash of pain that streaked straight across her fleshy bottom? She squealed, rising on her toes. A second blow whipped across her upper thighs and she broke into a cold sweat, fighting back a scream. Her body shook visibly as the third cut of the birch switch wrapped over her sit spots and tears sprung from her eyes.

“I must say, you are taking this very well. Maybe Rob has taught you some discipline.  I’m impressed.”

“Thank you,” Cassie forced out, clutching the chair’s edges. The switch whistled through the air and sliced
over
the center of her shaking bottom. A sob escaped her lips, but she stayed put. Twice more, the switch kissed her delicate skin, leaving behind a series of scarlet lines etched into her pale skin.

Bill kept a stern expression as he stood the weeping girl to face him. “Bend over my knees and let’s get this finished.”

Cassie continued to cry as she obeyed, finding it difficult to move her limbs due to the painful trembling that shuddered through them. With her nose to the floor and holding tightly to the chair legs, she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the final dose of ‘just desserts’ to her bottom.

“OWOWOWOW! I’m sorry! Daddy, please, I’m so, so, so sorry!” Cassie yelled out as Bill’s hand landed in a flurry of solid blows across the stinging lashes left by the switch.  Cassie kicked and wriggled, unaccustomed to the fast and furious raining of smacks that quickly erupted into a fire on her back end. The strikes came so quickly that she could not even cry out, and she fought to suck in a breath of air. 100? 200? A thousand? Cassie could not even begin to imagine the number of swats that left her feeling like ground beef. The number didn’t matter, though.  Each one was vicious.

Cassie was crying so hard that she didn’t even realize when Bill had stopped the punishment. He held her in place, staring at her welted little bottom, suddenly sad. “I’m sorry I was so rough on you,” he said softly, pulling her to sit up and draw her into his arms.

Cassie just cried, holding his neck. “I’m sorry I pushed you into having to be so rough. Bill… Dad, please forgive me.”

“All is forgiven, my girl.  And forgotten.  For me, at least. You finally called me Daddy,” he smiled, kissing her cheek as he wiped her face with his hand. “Go wash your face and we’ll go out for ice cream.”

“Huh?” Cassie looked confused. 

Bill shrugged, helping her step back into her jeans. “You wanted to be treated like one of my sons.  Didn’t they tell you that I always took them out for ice cream if I had to punish them? It was to show all was done with.”

“No, they never said anything about it. It’s pouring out, are you sure?”

“We could go to Denny’s and get some hot cocoa.”

“I will never go to Denny’s as long as SHE works there.”

“Cassandra that is enough.  Bryon deserves to have a nice girl in his life, so don’t you dare ruin it for him.” Bill scolded, arms crossed. 

Cassie stared at the ground. “Can we go to Cold Stone?”

“Meet me in the car when you’re ready,” Bill smiled, kissing her temple and then leaving the room.

As Cassie squirmed in her seat, she saw Bill smile while glancing at her.  That butthead! The ride and ‘ice cream time’ forced her to sit on her sore bottom and remind her of the punishment! She now knew where Rob inherited his sadistic nature.

Chapter Ten

Bryon c
ame by the house to pick Cassie up after work.  She was sleeping in her old room when he peeked through the door.

“Hey son, I didn’t hear you come in.” Bill whispered from behind him.

“Hi, Pop,” Bryon hugged his father, “How was she today?”

“Well, we had an interesting turn of events.  Come sit a spell.  Beer?”

“No thanks. What did she do this time?”

Bill poured out the story of his day from beginning to end.

Bryon’s mouth hung open. “You
Spanked
her? For real?”

“Yeah, for real. I hated doing it, but she seemed to need it as much as I needed to do it.  I feel like her father for the very first time.”

Bryon felt himself bristle.  How could he be jealous of the man who had the legal right to call himself Cassie’s father?

Bill eyed his son, noticing the silence. “She’s terrified of losing you in that role. I
also
understand why she’s been so desperate to have it played out. I failed as a father to her.  My intentions were good, but I never knew that she wanted guidance as much as she actually needed it. I’m glad you had the foresight to step in and give it to her.”

“Is she calling you Daddy now?” Bryon tried to hide his growl. 

“No, I told her that you had dibs on that.  She’s calling me Dad.  Finally.” Bill reached over to squeeze his largest son’s wrist, “You’ve done well with her.  Thank you.  It means a lot to me.”

“Rob’s done the work.  I’m just an adjunct.”

“Like hell you are.  You need to know some things, Bry.  She thinks you are dumping her for this Kristina gal.  That’s why she asked for me to step in and be a dad for when she needs it.”

“You are her Dad, Pop,” Bryon said sullenly.

“I’m her step-father.  Until this afternoon, that’s all I’ve been to her. A stranger that provided for her physical needs. You boys provided the emotion
al ones.
”

“That’s all she allowed you to give her until today.  It’s not your fault.”

“I should have known better and not treated her differently than I did you boys. I thought I was helping. My l
ack of consistency was the thing that hurt her worse.
”

“Pop, her father dumped her
and Marge.  He’s the bastard who hurt her worse.  None of us knew how she felt until a few months ago.  You used to tell us that hindsight is always 20/20, right?
We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.  Remember when you told me to watch my flank when I was 15?”

“Yeah.  You thought you were too big to be brought down.  It ended up with a busted arm.”

“My pride got in the way and I got sacked.  Pop, please be a father to Cass. She needs you.”

“Bryon, you are not going to abandon her!”

“Oh God, never! She just needs to know she has all of us on the field with her.  I have a date tonight, do you mind if she just stays here until I get home? I think it would be good for her to have some quiet time with you.”

“Fine with me.  Just let Rob know.  He’s a bit possessive of her.”

“Just
a little.  I’m gonna get cleaned up and get going. I should be back by elevenish.”

* * *

“How’s my baby girl doing tonight?” Bryon asked, pulling Kristina into his arms and landing a big kiss on her lips.

“I missed you. Do we have to study tonight?”

“Yes, we have to study.  How’s the journal coming?”

“Good.  I’m getting more and more insight.  Hey, Bry? Is Suzanne ok? She looked like shit yesterday and Glenn didn’t know what was wrong.” Kristina sipped her coffee, eyeing him carefully.

“So, you finally met my kid brother.  What did you think?”