Taming Texanna (25 page)

She was reacting immaturely in the proper way of looking at things but she had never had unconditional love. Oh, he figured her brother or whoever he was, did love her, maybe more than anyone, but he had left her at a vulnerable time in her life whether he realized it in his young adulthood or not. Colt had no illusions that if her brother Ben had thought that anything bad would happen to her with him gone he would have made a different decision. It probably never entered his mind.

Now this Grant, he was another story altogether. Colton had let go of his feelings before and had not acted on them. After today, that changed. Just thinking what he had tried to do today to his sweet Anna, made him want to hang up his badge and go gunning. However, Colt wouldn’t. He knew he couldn’t, but it didn’t make the urge any less difficult to control. Not protecting what was his made a man think crazy thoughts. Colton knew there was something that he could do with his badge still on that might stick. Grabbing the posters off his desk, he sent his deputy to do his bidding. He sent him to round up and arrest Mr. Horace Grant for trying to attack Texanna in the Café.

Joining Brock outside, he went on to his cousin’s house and he wondered what his reception was going to be. He had told Brock just a little of the morning’s issues so that if Texanna was not acting as though she was happy to see him, those same events might be the root cause. He hoped not, though. He honestly hoped that his wife would be as relieved to see him, as he would be to see her. The naughtiness conversation would wait until later.

Chapter Thirteen

Texanna knew it would be a while before her husband was located and she didn’t even know if he would come after her. She had gotten used to being the bottom of the barrel when it came to any kindness from her pa, but she wanted to be the first pick with Colton. He had said she was all he had ever wanted and more than he would ever need. She just didn’t know how to get that proven.

If he did come, she was not going to be in his good graces. Glancing after Mandy as she when to refill the teapot, she thought it could get awfully embarrassing if Colton decided to show her how upset he was while they were at the Josephs’ house. Maybe it was better she was in Mandy’s room. If Colton came for her, how would she react and oh, God, if he didn’t collect her, how would she ever get over the humiliation and the pain of the rejection? Somehow, she didn’t think Colton would do that.

He would be angry, yes, but the way she felt when he was holding her, she was sure what he showed her was love. She was more cautious with that sentiment than he ever was. Still the fear was there. Could she be confident that his feelings were real? He might say he loved her and that his love was different from what she had known but how could she believe it? She hadn’t known him that long really and lust was not love. She was worldly enough and now experienced enough to know the difference.

Horses galloped up to the house and while she was fairly sure she heard more than one set of hooves, in her troubled mind, she wasn’t positive. As she walked into the front parlor of the Josephs’ home, she decided she would keep her emotions intact. Whether Colt was with Brock or not, she would not lose all propriety. She would not cry or run to him if he did come.

She heard Brock call out her name causing her to stiffen in preparation for the news. He didn’t say anything else and just as Texanna was about to turn to confront the reality of whether her husband was coming or not, she heard the sweetest sound she could ever recall hearing. Her heart hurt immediately and her head pounded.

That soft, husky male voice full of emotion rasped across the room. “Texanna, baby, are you all right?”

His voice was all she heard, not the words, not the questions, just his voice and the love he had wrapped in that rough, urgent resonance. With a great sob, she turned and watched Colton as he extended his arms soundlessly to her in invitation. Gone were all the anxieties and doubts about how her husband would receive her. Forgotten were the resolves to maintain her decorum and not give away her feelings in her responses to him. She squealed and ran to her protector, her lover, tossing herself into his arms, only to be wrapped so tightly that she might have worried about her ability to breathe at any other time. Then she cried.

Colton carried Texanna to the nearest sofa and simply held his wife. He whispered, “
I’m here, you’re safe.”
He rocked her back and forth in a calming, soothing rhythm.
He loves me,
she chanted in her head.
He loves me.

She had sobbed for a considerable amount of time before Colton changed his words from kind and soothing to brisk and commanding. It seemed her husband was done with her pity party now.

“Texanna Rae, you have had your cry and as much as I want to be sympathetic to your day, I have to think what all could have been avoided if you had not tried to annoy me. Then you came to town to cinch the bet that you would succeed in doing it.” Colt lifted her face from his now thoroughly soggy shirtfront to point her face toward his. “We are going to discuss this in private after I get you home, my dear.”

Colt held her chin in place and she knew he was waiting for her to at least acknowledge his words. She wasn’t sure she was ready to speak but he lifted his eyebrow in that questioning and yet demanding way as she croaked out some words. “Yes, sir,” felt the most natural.

Colt nodded, then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face and the drops that fell from her chin. He kissed her eyes, moving to her nose and chin. Finally, he latched onto her lips briefly for he knew they were on public display. Patting his hand on her knee after diverting his hand in time from its original goal, he leaned in close and Anna waited for him to speak to her.

He murmured in her ear, “Time to go home, honey.”

Anna nodded her head. She was assisted up by Colt. He brought her up physically with him off the sofa, placing her feet on the floor. Texanna was worried what going home would mean to her already jittery bottom. Standing, she looked up into her husband’s strong face and knew that he intended to handle everything. He would take care of all of her worry, her confusion, and keep her safe. She knew if he took care of it, it would be taken care of. Regardless of whether it was those men by the creek, the man who had raised her or her behavior, Colt would handle it completely. Her bottom muscles contracted again and her sex wept.

“Colt?” her eyes finished her question but he shook his head at her.

“Not now,” he admonished. Grabbing her hand, he brought her to his side to start toward the door but that crazy woman that moronically seemed to have moved into Texanna’s head and taken her sense away opened her mouth.

“But are you going to spa—”

Colton looked at her as though she had lost her mind just as Texanna had thought the same thing about herself. He leaned down one more time but his words had a distinct bite to them.

“One more word and we will discuss it here
and
at home. Just one more word; is that what you want?” Colt raised up just enough to be able to look her in the eye. Texanna could see a full description of what that discussion would entail written on his continence.

Texanna whispered a vehement, “No, sir,” punctuated by a quick shake of her head.

He nodded again, raised his head to say their goodbyes and after taking their coats from Mandy, kissed her mother’s cheek. He shook hands with the men of the house, grabbed Mandy and kissed her soundly on the cheek before landing one solid smack to her bottom.

“Ow!” she yelped quickly rubbing the sting away. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I know you have earned it, and if by some great chance you haven’t, then it’s a deterrent for the next time you want to do something that earns it.” Colt grinned and led Texanna out the door.

***

Colt was going to stop and check to see if her pa had been picked up.  Check to see Grant in the jailhouse but figured tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with things like that. He had not gotten to show his Texanna the posters and decided to take them home because now the whole house would need to know what these men looked like if it were the Adder gang. If not, Colt would have to figure out who it was that had threatened his wife and what they would be after. Even without his bride looking at the posters, the more he thought about it, the fewer doubts he had that it was the Adder gang. His gut was clenching at the thought.

The Adder gang was a known entity. They wanted money. Didn’t matter whose money; stagecoach money, bank money, cattle money, payroll of any kind, that was their target every strike. In some ways, he hoped it wasn’t the Adder gang because he cringed to think that any of that filthy group even laid eyes on Texanna let alone having her identified to them. She would never be safe as long as they were alive.

Colt knew his Texanna was sweating her arrival home and so did not pick up the pace as he normally did, and he was in no hurry to get home yet. He needed to figure out what he was going to do to keep her safe if she did not heed his words. He wondered if she really knew why she defied him today so blatantly. He knew she did not like spankings. Trouble might be that he had often followed a spanking with making love to her. 

Maybe she was equating getting the spanking with making love, or receiving love and he needed her to see it as punishment when it was and loving when it was that. He could comfort her; reassure her that he loved her, without making love to her. While they might both be aching, he didn’t want to continue mixing sex with punishment. He needed to have a hard talk and an even harsher session on her bottom cheeks with the aid of his new backside toy. Texanna needed to know how much danger she actually had put herself in and harsh discipline would keep her in the right frame of mind.

Silence hovered around the McFaddens until they arrived at the homestead. Colton said very firmly, “Texanna let’s get you down. I’ll take care of the horses while you take care of getting water and using the necessary because we are having a talk. Go inside and let them know that I will do the chores, not to come out and disturb us. That will stop anyone from coming out here while we work on this issue between us.”

Texanna started to say something but the look of frustration, the tipping back of his hat and the swat on her behind sent her the powerful nonverbal incentive to do as he said. As she returned, having taken her time doing what she was instructed to do, Colton was just finishing up with the second horse. He looked up and beckoned her to come all the way inside the barn to where he was. He sensed her hesitation and he hid his smile. Clearing off one side of the tack table, and reaching down, he washed his hands in the water bucket set aside for just that purpose.

Texanna sat on the bale next to where he indicated and Colton sat next to her. He could see she was nervous. That was good because he had been worried the whole time he was working this afternoon. His gut had been uneasy about his woman’s safety then finally it was shouting its worry. If the men working with him had not been ready to finish the day, he would have called it.

Colton took a moment to look at his wife with a gentle smile as he reached up to tame an errant curl behind her ear before settling his hand on her thigh. “Looks like we have some communication problems that I think we had better clear up right now, don’t you, Texanna Rae?”

“I guess.” Colt looked at her hands worrying her skirt something awful. She was unnaturally quiet and had none of her defiances now. Good, he hoped it meant that she was beginning to understand the gravity of her choices and not just dreading her punishment.

Suddenly restless, Colton stood and walked. “Well then, let’s talk.” As he reviewed the issues as he saw them, his strides went from casual to almost determined but his matter of fact tone belied any real irritation.

Colton waited for her nod before reviewing her behavior.

“Today, you went out without another adult with you to escort Walker to call us to the meal. Then you stayed to gather eggs instead of coming in. I don’t think the gathering eggs would have been a big deal if you had done so earlier and not gone along the road to where we were working. When you didn’t get what you wanted in reaction from me, and I can only guess that is what set you off, you went to town. Alone.” Colt stopped to stare at the bowed head of Texanna. “Look at me and tell me if I am right so far.”

She nodded her head but took a moment to raise it to meet his gaze. There was a hitch in her breathing. She understood something. Whether it was the severity of her behavior or the severity of its punishment, he still wasn’t sure.

“Then, you wandered alone in town instead of staying at the Josephs’ to wait on Mandy or a solution to your problem. I had already told you the reasons I had for you not going into town this week, not to mention wandering the streets in town alone.”

His look was hard for a moment while he thought before continuing. He rubbed his hands on his pants, knowing he was not going to be able to rub the spanking itch out of them. He sat down and pulled her over his lap quickly. He felt her stiffen and then accept the position. He patted his approval and began to untie her drawers.

“Then you didn’t think you should tell anyone where you were going before tromping down to the creek.” As Colton discussed the infractions, he was lining up his justifications so he had no problems wearing out her little bottom. His hand landed solidly and uniformly but not too heavily on her rear cheeks beginning to rosy them up. 

“Do you have anything to say to me about this?” Smack, smack, smack. Change cheeks, repeat. He knew she hated when he slapped the same spot more than twice because the sting was intense. It was just what he wanted to warm up.

Her discomfort was obvious but she answered in a clear voice. “No. I don’t know why I did it.”

“Oh, yes you do and I am sure you don’t want to admit it but you are not going to slide out of the full ownership of this day.” Another round of threes on each cheek had her tensing in anticipation of the next swat. “I can feel your emotions and I’ve often told you how it seems as though I can just know your thoughts. I
know
you have trouble trusting that I am deeply in love with you.” He spanked her firmly in the same pattern of three.