Peppermint Sticks for Susie (15 page)

He briskly walked to the Beckley home at the edge of town and walked up the steps to the front porch to knock on the door. Alma Beckley answered, a smile on her face until she saw who it was. "Miss Jenny does not wish to see you, Reverend."

"It isn't that I doubt your word, Mrs. Beckley, but I want to hear that from Miss Jenny. She has been very active in my church since I arrived in town and I simply cannot believe that she doesn't wish for me to pay a sick call. I wish to ascertain for myself that she is not being held under duress."

"Preacher, my wife doesn't lie." Peter Beckley pulled the door open wider to glare at him. "Why would Miss Jenny want to see you after you got her kicked out of the boarding house and attempted to get her fired? She sees through you for what you are. Now get out of here and don't come back."

"You'll sing a different tune when I tell the good people of this community that you are encouraging Jennifer Shelley in her immoral behavior with Alex Martin. They will have nothing to do with you... and I imagine they will forbid their children to play with your daughter." No sooner did he finish speaking than Jeffrey found himself pinned against one of the posts holding the front porch overhead. He gasped for air as Peter's forearm cut off his air supply.

"If you say one word against Miss Jenny, or implicate my family in any way, Preacher, I will see your tongue cut out so you'll never speak again. Got it?" Peter angrily demanded.

Jeffrey tried to nod, even as he wished for his gun.

"Peter, darling, let him go. He is not worth getting into trouble with the law."

"My wife made me give up my old ways, Preacher, but I wouldn't go pushing me too far. I don't have any patience when my family is threatened." He shoved the man down the steps of their home. "Pick yourself up and don't ever come back."

Once he was gone Peter looked down at Alma and said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know I promised you that there would be no more violence in my life, but I'm still a man. I won't let anyone threaten you and Susie and get away with it."

"I'm thinking that since you've started eating better, Peter, you are regaining your strength," Alma told him with one of her gentle smiles, letting him know that she understood.

"I'm getting there, Alma," he admitted, putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her inside. He was a fortunate man and he had the good sense to know it.

* * *

Jennifer felt her face burn with embarrassment when she woke and recalled the childish way she'd behaved earlier. She got out of bed, put on her wrapper over her gown, and then slid her bare feet into slippers. She ran her hairbrush through her long hair, recalling how she'd threatened to throw the brush at the Doctor. How awful. She owed everyone an apology. Alex was right about that. Just because she was frustrated, it didn't give her the right to treat everyone with such disrespect. Once she was presentable, Jenny straightened her bed, and then she opened the door of her bedroom. Alma was standing at the stove, stirring a pot. She turned to face Jenny and smiled.

"Alma, I am so sorry for the terrible way I acted this morning. I am so embarrassed," Jenny admitted.

"Oh, I understand, Jenny. Don't give it another thought. Does your arm feel better now that the stitches are out?" she asked.

"It's still a bit sore, but the pulling is gone, and that is a huge relief."

"Why don't you sit down and I'll fix you some tea...?" Alma was relieved when Jenny didn't argue and did the sensible thing instead of insisting she would make the tea herself.

"Tea sounds wonderful, Alma. Thank you." Jenny sniffed the air and then said, "Something smells wonderful... Vegetable soup...?" she guessed.

"Yes. Peter said it sounded good to him, and I am so happy to see him eating and enjoying food again. He is regaining his strength, Jenny." She recounted the visit from the Preacher and watched as Jennifer's green eyes filled with temper. "I'm not trying to upset you, Jenny," Alma said quietly. "I just wanted to share the good news about Peter regaining his strength."

"That is good news," Jennifer agreed. "I'm just indignant that you and Peter are having to deal with Jeffrey because he won't simply leave me alone. He is not a very good minister, and I wonder how long the people in town will be fooled by him?" she mused.

"I didn't like the look in his eyes this morning," Alma admitted.

"If he shows up again, let me know and I will tell him flatly that I am not interested in anything further to do with him, and make it known that I won't be back to that church until a new minister is hired to take his place."

Alma giggled at the expression on Jenny's face and then looked up in surprise as the front door opened to admit Alex.

"I'm sorry, Alma. I'm so used to being here that I forgot to knock first." It was easy to see that he was embarrassed.

"You don't need to knock, Alex," she assured him with a smile on her face. "Jenny and I are having a cup of tea; would you like to join us? Or could I fix you some coffee?" Alma offered.

"No, I just came by to check on Miss Jennifer," he said, raising an eyebrow in the pretty redhead's direction. "The rustlers struck again last night and I'm planning on riding out of town to check for signs of the steers and the ones who took them."

"I think you should take someone with you, Alex," Jenny said with a worried look on her face. "Maybe the Sheriff could go along?" she suggested.

"I'm meeting up with him at the livery in thirty minutes," he replied, winking at her.

"Good. I'll still worry, but not as much as I would if you were alone."

"There is no need to worry, honey. I know what I am doing," he reminded her, and then asked, "How long have you been out of bed, Miss Jenny?"

"Not that long," she stated, raising her chin in the air.

"If you've finished your tea, honey, you need to get back to bed. Come on with me now and let me tuck you in before I leave."

Jennifer abruptly decided it was Alex's way of trying to get them some privacy for a stolen kiss or two, and she got up and politely thanked Alma for the tea and the conversation. She wanted to tell Alex about Jeffrey, too, because she didn't want her friends to suffer from his vicious tongue.

"I'll make you some sandwiches to take along, Alex," Alma offered. "I also have some cookies," she added.

"That would be great, Alma. Thank you." Alex vowed he was going to do something special for the Beckley family once he was settled here. They were good friends, asking nothing in return, and he truly appreciated Alma and Peter's care of Jenny.

He followed Jennifer into her room and this time it was Jenny who shut the door for privacy. "Alex, I have a serious concern."

"Are you in pain, honey?" he asked, worried there was something wrong with her.

"No. I honestly feel much better, and don't worry... I intend to apologize in a moment, but first..." He listened patiently as she told him about Jeffrey Dixon's visit, and the fact that he'd threatened their friends. "Alma said that Peter pinned him against one of the posts on the porch and warned him that he would hurt him if he said one word to cause trouble for Alma and Susie. Peter has been so ill, Alex, and I'm afraid that Jeffrey will do something underhanded to harm him. I saw the crazy look in his eyes the last time he accosted me on my way to work."

"I'll take care of it, honey. Now stop worrying. You need to get back into bed and rest."

"I slept most of the morning, Alex, and I feel fine. I would like to sit up and visit with Alma for a while," she said clearly.

"Did you hear Doc this morning, young lady? He told you that you are feeling better because you are staying in bed and resting like you are supposed to be doing. Get on into bed and no more tantrums, hear me?"

"I'll just get up the minute you leave!" she made the mistake of telling him, her good intentions about apologizing for the way she behaved earlier all but forgotten in the moment. Jennifer did not want to lie down. She was sick of being in bed, and there was no way she was going to spend most of the day trapped in this room!

Alex raised his eyes heavenward, silently asking for patience. Doc's words that it was 'her shoulder that was hurt, not her fanny' came back to tempt him. "Jenny, you do know how to try a man's good nature, don't you?" he softly questioned.

Jennifer suddenly realized she was in serious trouble. She'd pushed the lawman too far, and when Alex was pushed, he spanked! "No, Alex! Don't!" She tried to back out of his reach, but she wasn't fast enough. She didn't dare struggle when he picked her up around the waist and carried her over to her bed. "I'll go to bed now," she offered, but Alex was exasperated with her. He took a seat and gently turned her so that her upper body rested fully on the bed while her bottom was positioned over his left thigh. "Nooooo! Alex, please don't! I'll stop being such a brat, I promise!"

"I know you will stop being a brat, little girl, because I'm going to give you a reason to behave yourself." He flipped up her wrapper, leaving her gown covering her for modesty's sake. Jennifer started to scissor her legs up and down and he put his right arm across her thighs to stop her. "You just hold still, Miss Jenny. You've been asking for a spanking ever since you woke up this morning and now you are going to lie still and take what you've got coming." He raised his hand and brought it down on her rounded bottom with a loud smack.

Jennifer cried out in anger and pain. "You are being mean, Alex Martin!"

"You are the one who is being mean, Jennifer. We're only trying to take good care of you, and you are giving us all kinds of grief. That is going to stop, hear me?" he asked, emphasizing his words with another firm spank.

"I said I would get into bed; there is no need for you to be doing this!" she protested. "Please, Alex... I don't want a spanking. I've suffered enough pain lately!" She promptly burst into tears.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, honey," Alex stopped the spanking to tell her. He gently picked her up and sat her on his lap, and she promptly buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

"I'm sorry," she said when she had her tears under control. "Alex, I don't know why I am being so horrid."

"You aren't used to being injured," he quietly stated.

"No, and I'm used to working nearly every day," she said. "But, you are right. It doesn't give me the right to be evil with everyone... especially you." She paused, trying to gather her courage for what she knew she needed to say, "I'm ready now," she managed to whisper, feeling her cheeks flame with the admission.

"Ready to get into bed...?" Alex asked.

"No... Ready to finish the spanking. You're right about my deserving one, but please, Alex, I don't want to be welted and bruised again! I'm sorry, and I promise I'll try to do better."

Alex was tempted to put her straight into bed, but decided that they needed this spanking to happen so that Jenny would trust him to have more care for her when it was necessary to punish her. He carefully turned her over once again and then said, "I give you my word that I have no intention of harming you, honey. This spanking is given with love, and I promise you that if you need another spanking to convince you to stay in bed tomorrow, you will get one. Now lie still so you don't hurt your shoulder.

Jenny relaxed when she realized that Alex was only going to use his hand on her bottom. The spanks were painful, and she would be very happy when they stopped, but she wasn't terrified that he was going to make it so that she suffered like she did from the switching. She couldn't help wincing, and eventually she started crying when her butt felt as though she backed into the cook stove.

"Do you think you can stay in bed and rest now, young lady?" Alex finally paused to ask.

"Yes, Alex," she answered. To her surprise, he gently picked her up and then stood to lie her down and cover her with a blanket. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"Be my good girl now, Jenny. I honestly don't enjoy punishing you." He kissed her again, and asked, "Is there anything I can get you before I go?"

"No, I'm fine," she answered. "Will you promise to be very careful, Alex?" she asked.

"I promise, honey. Will you promise you'll rest while I'm gone?"

"Yes, I promise." She could see the love he had for her in his dark eyes. "Say hello to Kieran for me, please...." she said with a smile. Alex grinned at her, gave her one more kiss, and then was on his way.

Alma came in the room just a few minutes later and she nodded in satisfaction when she saw that Jennifer was sound asleep. The redhead wasn't nearly as well as she wanted all of them to believe, and she did not want to be the one to have to tell Alex that she disobeyed his orders to rest while he was gone.

* * *

Lefty Bridges was going crazy inside the small jail cell. His window looked out on an alley, and there was nothing to see back there... except when a drunken cowboy needed to relieve himself and walked behind the buildings to take care of the problem. Lefty felt lost without Mort in his life, and he hated the woman he held responsible for his death... Her and that man she was letting between her legs. Somehow he was going to get out of this place and do for both of them. Lefty had tried twice to escape, but that damned Sheriff always seemed to know what he was thinking. He figured his best shot was going to be during his trial. The Sheriff would be expecting him to make a break for it on the way to the courthouse or on the way back to the jail; he wouldn't be expecting him to take off while he was testifying. Lefty knew that Marla, one of the girls at the saloon, would put him up and keep quiet about it. He did her a favor and got rid of a gambler that was making problems for her. He claimed she was married to him, but Marla said she divorced the man because he didn't like her going upstairs with men like Lefty. Marla never told him no when he wanted a slap and tickle, and Lefty knew she would help him hide from the law.

After eating the beef stew and biscuits one of the deputies brought him at noon, Lefty decided to lie down and take a nap. He was sound asleep when something hit his cheek and woke him up. He jumped off the cot, his left hand going immediately for the gun he was no longer wearing. There was no one standing outside the cell, and there were no other prisoners. His eyes spotted the pebble that hit his face laying on the blanket on his cot. After thinking a bit he turned toward the window and then walked closer to see if someone was outside in the alley. He spotted a string tied to one of the bars, and he reached out to pull on it curiously. Lefty realized that whatever was on the other end of the string was heavy. He figured some kids were pulling a dirty trick on him, but it was better than being bored all day long. Finally he was able to see through the bars and he was shocked to realize a gun was attached to the other end of the string. He glanced toward the heavy door that separated the office from the cells, and hoped he could get the gun through the bars and not get caught doing it. His hands were shaking, but he managed to pull the gun inside, and wonder of wonders, it was actually loaded.