Jackie Draws A Straight: The Journey Series Book 5 (13 page)

"Will you marry me?"

Whereas her lower body had been fully engaged before, her heart was beating like a kettle drum all of a sudden. "I…um…"

He rubbed his face. "It's a lunatic idea."

It was way too good to be true, but there was a hitch. Did she dare ask
if he loved her
? Wasn't the proposal enough? Other things could be built. And, there was the fact that she wanted him, wanted him enough that she was willing to throw out the moral reservations she'd held through many temptations. There were some things you could wait to know.

"I'll marry you."

Pete grew very still. "Why?"

"B-b-because I lo- want to. Because I think it's the right thin
'
to do,
and that's what I've been tryin
'
to wait for
…
for a long time."

"And yet you're here with me now."

So true. "Yeah. I have a hard time resistin
'
you." He looked at her skeptically. "That's good, isn't it? I mean, if we're goin
'
to get married."

After a few seconds, he nodded. Jackie noted that his desire for her had flagged as they talked. That didn't seem to be a good sign. She pushed up and reached for his penis
,
intending to caress it, but he pushed her hands away. "No. We'll wait."

"Why? I mean, if we're goin
'
to get married anyway…"

He arched a dark eyebrow at her and climbed off the bed. "I told you. I don't deflower virgins
casually
."

"You'll have to after we're married, Pete."

"That's different
– it won’t be casual then
." Reaching for his shorts and pants as he spoke, his voic
e was calmer, but almost cold. Jackie
was
suddenly self-conscious of her nudity and the intimacy she'd shared thus far. She scrambled off the bed and found her bra and scrub top; her panties and bottoms were in the kitchen still.

"If you want to take it back…" The whole idea almost killed her, but she felt like she had to give him an out.

"No."

"Are you mad at me?"

He looked up from buttoning his shirt. "How's your backside?"

Jackie gulped. Her rear had been forgotten for a time, but it was still sore. "It hurts."

Pete's eyes dropped to her legs, but he blinked and turned away. "It'll hurt worse tomorrow after I spank the livin' daylights out of you."

"But we didn't-"

"
B
arely. Under the circumstances, you should have told me. You put me in a terrible position.
"

She had, but it had never occurred to her that he'd reject her. The sensation was unpleasant. "I didn't mean to. I didn't think it would matter to you."

He rounded on her, his voice sharp. "What kind of man do you think I am?"

Jackie took a step back. "I…I'm sorry. I did wrong. I was wrong."

"Goddamnit, Jackie Journey. You make me totally crazy." Suddenly, he grabbed her and took her mouth with his. It was not a gentle kiss like the ones before. This one was hungry and demanding. Relieved that she wasn't being totally pushed away, she gave as good as she got. When he broke from her, she was gasping and desire was coursing through her again.

Pete stepped back and looked her up and down. "I don't want to wait long, Jackie," he told her. "I'm not made of stone."

All she could do was nod. She wasn't made of stone either.

Chapter 6

Yanking a cardigan on
as she ran, Jackie hurried out into the early morning sunshine to catch her father before he left. Although the spring sky was cloudless, the morning chill remained and her scrubs weren't much protection against it.

She rushed to catch up with Leo as the back screen door slammed closed behind him. It was late enough that he'd already done his morning tour of the local buildings and had returned to get a fresh thermos of hot coffee for his meanderings further afield.

"Daddy! Daddy wait!"

Outside, Leo paused by the door to his truck, turning back toward her. "Somethin' wrong, li'l girl?"

"No…not exactly. I need to talk to you about somethin'." She couldn't look him in the eye. He was going to have a cow. Jackie
almost quailed at
his dark, assessing gaze on her face.

"If this is about your movin' away from the ranch again, daughter…"

"It is, and it isn't."
She wrapped her arms around herself.

Leo snorted. "Jus' like a woman. Well?"

"I'm…uh…gettin' married."

There was a deep and uncomfortable silence between them.
In contrast, b
irds nearby continued to chirp merrily and a horse whinnied out by the paddock.

"You're getting' married
t
o who? That Bud fella better not be sniffin' around you again."

Jackie sighed. This was so hard. "Not Bud, Daddy. Pete Kaminsky."

If Leo was surprised, he kept it to himself. "So… It's like that, hm? One spankin' and you're off to the altar."

Jackie turned her gaze up to him, a thread of annoyance creeping into her voice. "
Four
spankin's, as a matter of fact. And, if I don't marry him I'm gonna be
chewed up like a mouthful of stringy chicken."

He chuckled and Jackie's annoyance ratcheted up a twist. "Chewed up, eh?" He paused a beat. "You're not in a family way, are you?
You been workin' for him less than two months!
"

"No!" Oh God, this whole conversation had gone wrong. "I'm not! We haven't…" She groaned before continuing. "That's the problem, Daddy. We want to, but he won't."

"Hmm. I like that fella more 'n more."

A small bud of relief began to blossom in Jackie's heart. "
So it's okay? You aren't mad?"

"Hmph. Your daddy's permission don't mean much in the scheme of thin's, li'l girl. You're grown and will do as you want no matter what I say."

Jackie put her hand on his thick forearm. He was still a very sturdy man, despite his advanced years. "But I want you to be happy about it, Daddy. It's important to me."

"It's mighty sudden."

"Yeah, well…"

"Have you talked to Father Ro
s
kovy about it?"

"No, sir. I am gonna call him today."

He turned away and opened the door to his truck. "You do that
; do things
proper-like. I expect to see Pete Kaminsky at our dinner table in the next day or two. I have words to say to him."

Anticipated embarrassment washed over Jackie and her face
burned
. Leo was going to put Pete on the hot-seat for sure. "I'm not a child, Daddy!
I won't let you browbeat him.
"

Leo gave her a sharp look and then got in the truck. The window was open and he spoke to her as he settled in the seat. "I'm gonna make sure he intends to treat my li'l girl well. How I do that is my business."

She'd have to warn Pete
, but right now, regrouping seemed like a good plan. "Yes, sir."

Her father's voice was a little softer as he began backing the truck away. "You're a virtuous woman, Jackie Journey," he told her. "I'm proud of you."

Smiling, Jackie waved at him as he drove away.

* * *

Pete looked at Jackie surreptitiously as they dealt with patients through the morning.
His fiancé.
He was going to get married. The whole situation was bizarre, but somehow…it was right. He hadn't called his parents or brother
s
and sister yet
. He'd do that later. Right now, he had to wrap his own mind around it.

Was thirty too young to get married? He was still establishing his career. Was he ready to establish a household at the same time?
And what about kids? He knew Jackie was a good Catholic girl—he knew that especially well after last night. Was she planning on having kids right from the beginning? Pete wasn't sure how he felt about that. He liked kids real well, but they were a big responsibility.

Jackie was so unexpected in his life. She turned his world upside down. His organized and carefully
considered
plans pretty much got thrown out the window.

He went through the motions while doing paperwork in his office in the early afternoon. Was he marrying her only because he wanted to have sex with her? Pete wasn't a green boy. He wasn't tied up in hormonal knots over her. There were other, less troublesome women in the world.

Troublesome was the word for her, too. He'd never spanked for punishment before he met her and now he'd done it several times. He had to admit that it was satisfying. She seemed calmer and less scattered afterward, and
maybe
she was learning better beh
avior. Was he going to have to spank her often once they got married? It seemed unlikely that she was suddenly going to lose her naughty streak due to the addition of a wedding band.

He was aware of a not inconsiderable desire to try spanking her during sex. Pete had always enjoyed that before with other women. Would Jackie like it, too? She'd been wet and ready yesterday. That seemed like a very positive sign

Thinking of yesterday reminded him again of
the spanking he owed her. Although he'd stopped being angry at her sometime in the middle of the night as he lay unsuccessfully trying to sleep, he believed in consistency in matters of discipline. He'd promised a spanking and he'd deliver one. Without a doubt, she deserved one. When Pete thought about how awful he'd have felt if he hadn't stopped
at the moment
he did, it made his temper flare. Hopefully, she'd learn a lesson from being taken to task again.

They only had one house call that afternoon and Jackie was quiet during the drive to and fro, until they were almost back at the office.

"I…uh…called my parish priest at lunchtime, Pete."

"Oh?"

"About gettin' married."

"You're marrying the parish priest?" he teased.

She snorted. "Don't josh me. I rec
k
on you know what I mean."

"I do. Were you asking him to do the wedding?"

He caught her nod out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah. I hope that's okay with you."

"My family is Roman Catholic, Jackie. I am not particularly observant, but I have the credentials." He was trying to make light of it, but taking steps to make the life-long commitment was a little daunting.

Her sigh was quite audible. "Good. I was worried that you'd have to convert. I don't know how much extra time that would take." She paused. "And you said you didn't want to wait long."

"No, I don't want to wait long. What did the priest say?"

"He'll do it, but we have to have marriage counseling first."