Her Old-Fashioned Husband (2 page)

“Can’t you slow down?” she complained as they stepped outside. The long driveway was strewn with cars.

“No,” Tom snapped. “Now move before they decide they want a fight and come after us.”

When she made no move to speed up, Tom turned and crouching, slung her over his shoulder.

“Tom!” she screamed.

He walked steadily down the drive, ignoring her.

“Put me down.” Kicking, squirming, she tried desperately to free herself. This was not the way she’d wanted to gain his attention. But instead of putting her down, he simply placed his arm over her thighs
to keep her legs still
.

“Settle down now, Frankie,” he ordered in a low voice. “I know you’ve had a fright but that’s no excuse for acting like a brat.”

She pounded her hands down on his back.
How dare he!
A brat?

A heavy whack landed on her ass. She gasped.

“Tom, what the fuck?”

He growled. “You are just asking for a spanking, little one. You
calm
down now, before I do it for you.”

“How?” she screeched. “By spanking me?”

“Yes,” he said calmly.

Bloody hell, she’d fallen for a guy just like her brothers. Oh no way. Her brothers were
spankers
—
at least all of them had roasted her ass for one thing or another in her life. Didn’t help that she was the youngest, and the brattiest according to her brother, Cam.

But no way was she accepting a spanking from anyone else.

“Put me down,” she demanded coolly.

“No, I need to get you home and this is the quickest way to do it.”

“I am not going home with you, you jerk.”

Smack!
Not that she felt much through her jeans, but damn it was humiliating. The guy she’d idolized for years, daydreamed about marrying, even practiced her signature using his last name
,
was treating her like a two year old throwing a tantrum!

How mortifying.

“Language. And you certainly are coming home with me. Unless you’d rather stay here and get raped by that asshole.”

“How come you get to swear?” she asked petulantly as he stopped and pulled her right side up. She swayed, the sudden movement combined with the alcohol she’d drunk making her less than steady. “And you’re exaggerating. Rick wouldn’t have raped me.”

“Sure looked like it was headed that way to me,” Tom said darkly. “And you weren’t exactly getting anywhere
trying to fight him off
. A little bit like you had no chance.”

He held her steady, his hand sure and steady on her hip.

Frankie couldn’t help but compare him to Rick. Where Rick was a mess, sloppy and childish, Tom seemed old beyond his own twenty years.

“I’m not little,” she muttered. At
nearly five foot eight
, she’d always been taller than the other girls in her class.

He tapped her nose. “You are to me.”

She leaned in closer, drawn to the scent of him, his warmth, his strength.

“Tom?” she murmured.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Kiss me?”

His gaze widened and for a moment she thought he was going to do it. Then he shook his head and stood back, opening the door to his truck.

“Get in,” he demanded.

Crushed, horribly embarrassed, she turned away. “Fuck you.”

She
managed to take
a
step
before
he grabbed her arm, hauling her back. His
rested his
foot
on the skirting board of his truck, then hauled her over his raised knee, tipping her forward. Frankie screeched as his hand landed on her jean-clad buttocks, over and over.

“No, Tom, stop! You have no right.” She kicked her feet, humiliated beyond belief. How dare he?

“Stop fighting me,” he scolded. “You are coming home with me and you are going to behave, got it?”

“Stop!” she cried out. “I’ll do it. I’ll come home with you. Just stop.”

As quickly as he’d pulled her over his knee, he placed her on her feet once more.

Frankie held back a sob.

Tom clasped her cheeks in his hands. “
Frankie,
I am not kissing you while you’re drunk, minutes after you were attacked for goodness sake.”

Hope unfurled. Did that mean he wanted to kiss her?

“I’m not drunk,” she denied.

Shaking his head, Tom clasped her around the waist and lifted her into the passenger seat of his truck. Leaning across, he did up her belt.

“I’m not a kid,” she complained, but he ignored her, shutting the door before making his way around to the driver’s side. Frankie folded her arms across her chest, staring mulishly out the window. Her stomach rolled slightly as they
took
off and she took a deep breath.

Tom glanced at her sharply. “Tell me if you’re going to be sick.”

She remained silent.

“Not speaking to me now?” he asked, his voice holding a hint of humor.

Frankie bit the inside of her mouth.

“What were you doing there, Frankie? How did you even get there? I take it you snuck out of the house. Did you actually catch a ride with one of those guys?”

His voice was incredulous, begging her to tell him she wasn’t that stupid.

Frankie stared out the side window, not looking at him. Her emotions were all over the place. The shock of Rick attacking her, her mortification over Tom spanking her like a child,
it was all a bit much
.
She sat on her hands to hide their shaking.

“Frankie, talk to me. Th
is rebellious teenager stuff
isn’t you. What on earth where you thinking? How do you think your brothers would feel should anything happen to you? Do you even know any of those people? What if I hadn’t turned up? What then? I know you have a brain, use it.”

Suppressing her guilt, Frankie turned to him with what she hoped was a look of disdain.

“Well, if you think those guys are losers then what were you doing there? Shouldn’t you be at
c
ollege?”

He looked slightly uncomfortable. “You know damn well that
it’s
the holidays and I went with a friend.”

“And you left them there?” she asked, shocked. Tom was nothing if not responsible.

“She was busy.”

Oh man
, she mouthed.

He
finally gr
ew
silent. As they neared the driveway to her house, Frankie put her hand on the latch of her seatbelt, prepared to jump out and walk up the long drive so she could sneak back up the tree to get into her room.

Instead of stopping, though, Tom turned up the drive.

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

He didn’t answer.

“Umm, Tom, there’s no need to come up to the house. I’ll walk,” she said nervously.

“Honey, if you think I’m not escorting you inside and making sure you’re in the care of one of your brothers, you’re sadly mistaken.”

She gaped at him in horror. “Heath will kill me.”

Tom stared at her calmly. “He won’t kill you, but he will ensure this doesn’t happen again. Probably by spanking your ass scarlet.”

“You cannot talk to me like that!” she squeaked.

He turned to her with a smile and her heart raced. He was so cute. Even when he was being an asshole.

“You’re forgetting I’ve seen that butt of yours being spanked quite a few times. You’ve always been a brat, Frankie. But you’ve never gone this far. You could have been really hurt. I’m worried about you. You can talk to me, you know.”

Tom stared at her in concern as he stopped the truck.

Frankie shrugged, wishing she could confess her loneliness, her confusion, her need to find some respite from the grief. But instead she bit her lip, holding in her emotions.

She didn’t wait for him to come around and open her door. Jumping out, she ran up to the porch, trying to get inside and up to her bedroom before Tom reached the house. But he suddenly appeared bes
ide her and grabbing her hand,
tugged her towards Heath’s study.

Stopping, he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Heath called out. Frankie winced at the tiredness in her oldest brother’
s voice. Tugging her in, Tom
closed the door behind them with an ominous thud.

By this time, Frankie’s heart was going a mile a minute, her palms sweating and stomach sick.

This was not happening.

Heath stared at them in surprise, his face tired and lined. Heath didn’t need her doing this on top of everything else he had to worry about. He’d not only become her guardian but he had a whole ranch to run. Even with Kent and Cam’s help it was still a lot for him to take on.

Maybe she should leave
home
.
She was old enough to get a job.
She was just a burden and a trouble maker.

“What’s going on? Tom, what are you doing here?”

Heath’s gaze narrowed in on Frankie. Heath was so like her Daddy, sometimes it hurt her to look at him. Tears filled her eyes as she glanced away.

“Frankie, sweetheart? What’s wrong?” Heath asked, his voice filled with concern. “How did you t-shirt get ripped?” His voice grew darker, more demanding.

With a sob, she shook her head, her gaze lowered.

“Tell him, Frankie,” Tom urged her.

“I can’t,” she wailed.

“Frankie, look at me.” She raised her gaze to meet her brother’s. He pushed his chair back from the desk and held his arms open, waiting. Frankie flew at him and he gathered her on her lap, rocking her gently.

“What’s wrong, little girl, hmm?” he asked. “What’s happened? Has someone hurt you?”

She could feel his alarm as she gulped for breath.

“Frankie,” Heath said firmly. “You’re scaring me, sweetheart. Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

Slowly, she settled to the point she could talk. “I’m so sorry, Heath. I-I really am.”

“Tell me. We can figure it out together.” Those few words broke the dam and she told him everything.

“I snuck out of the house and this guy, Rick, picked me up at the bottom of the drive. I knew you were busy and the other guys are out on dates and stuff. Rick took me to this party over in Bronwood. I didn’t really know anyone there.”

“Who is this Rick?” Heath asked, running his hand up and down her back. Damn, she didn’t deserve his comfort.

Frankie shrugged. “Just this guy I met one time at Amy’s. He’s a friend of her older brother’s. He asked me out to a small party about a month ago. This is the third time he’s picked me up to go out.”

Heath remained calm. “Did they have alcohol at this party?”

“Yes. I only had three beers,” she said in a rush.

“Hmm.” He kissed her forehead and she collapsed against him, relieved he wasn’t furious. She knew Heath loved her, but what if he grew sick of her? He was only twenty-
seven
—
he had a life of his own to live without looking after a sixteen year old brat.

“And you were at this party, Tom?” Heath asked.

She stiffened. She’d hoped to keep some parts of what happened from Heath. If only Tom would leave
then
she could keep the rest a secret. Why hadn’t he left? Hadn’t he caused her enough problems already?

It was devastating that the guy she’d adored for so long had humiliated her so much.

“I want there with a friend,” Tom began.

“With a friend,” Frankie interrupted with a sneer. “She
found someone more interesting to play with
,” she continued, hoping to embarrass him.

Heath’s hand stilled and he stared down at her, his eyes dark with disappointment. That was worse than anger.

“Apologize, Frankie.”

Frankie wanted to do
it;
she really did, because she knew Heath was going to take her defiance out on her butt. But she just couldn’t get the words out. As though he knew this, Heath sighed and turned to Tom.

“Tom, I apologize for my sister’s poor manners and rudeness. I assure you, she will be held accountable for her mouth and actions.”

“Don’t punish her for that,” Tom said tiredly. “She’s upset with me because I spanked her.”

Heath stiffened further. “Do tell,” he said dangerously.

Crazily, Frankie now swung from being angry at Tom to being worried about him. Heath would not look on Tom’s actions kindly.

“It wasn’t much of a spanking,” she said quickly. “It was over my jeans. I didn’t really feel it.”

Both men looked at her in surprise. She turned her gaze away, embarrassed.