Ranch Life is Great Read online

  "I wish I had better news," Sheriff Fitch said.

  "I do, too," Elsie said, "but I have to face the facts."

  After the sheriff left, Aunt Gertrude approached her niece again. "Elsie, I still—"

  "I know," she said sadly. "I have to tell Cade. I honestly don't know what to do to get my customers back. I mean, how do I fight against a rumor that whoever killed them is coming back? That whole idea is ludicrous, but how do I tell people that? If they're afraid to come back in for fear of a killer coming in, they're plain scared and won't listen to reason. I have no idea what to do, but Cade may be able to come up with something."

  Gertrude took Elsie in her arms. "I know this is hard for you, but I think you're doing the right thing telling him. He's a smart man, and if anyone can come up with a solution, it will be him. If not, maybe you need to sell the store. If people won't come in because you're a lady, there's nothing you can do about it, and I know your Papa would understand."

  "But I don't want to give it up."

  "Then let Cade help you come up with a solution. We haven't been able to come up with anything, so give him a chance."

  "I guess you're right, Aunt Gertie. I don't think I have any other choice. I will tell him the next time I see him. I'm just afraid of what he'll say."

  The deep voice coming from the doorway startled them both. "You're afraid of what I'll say about what?"

  They both turned to see Cade standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. Elsie quickly went on the offensive. "How long have you been standing there eavesdropping?"

  "Watch the attitude, little lady. I was not eavesdropping. I came in to check on you because I was concerned. As for how long I've been here, I heard your aunt suggest you let me try to come up with a solution, and you said you're afraid of what I'll say. So let me repeat my question. You're afraid of what I'll say about what?"

  Elsie looked outside at the people walking on the boardwalks. "I'm not sure this is where or when we should be discussing this, Cade."

  "Why don't you two go in the storage room and talk?" Gertrude suggested. "I'll watch the store."

  "But if it gets busy—"

  "If it gets busy, she can stick her head back there and call us," Cade said, leading Elsie toward the storage room with his arm firmly around her upper arm. "I knew you two were keeping something from me, and I'd say it's time I found out what it is."

  Gertrude cringed. He didn't sound happy at all. She should have insisted Elsie tell him, but her niece could be very stubborn at times. She was sure he knew that already, and had to wonder if that's why he didn't sound happy. Perhaps she'd kept things from him in the past?

  Cade led Elsie to the back corner of the room where he knew there were two chairs. He sat her down in one, and moved the other to face her before sitting down. "All right, Elsie, what have you been keeping from me?"

  "You sound upset. Maybe we should wait and talk about this after you've calmed down."

  "I am upset. We've talked about you keeping things from me before. Elsie, we're going to be married. I love you, but for a marriage to work, both people have to be able to trust each other. How can I trust you if you insist on keeping secrets from me?"

  "I'm not keeping secrets."

  He sighed, and tried again. "Honey, I want the best for you. I want to protect you and keep you not only safe, but happy, as well. But I can't do that when you insist on keeping things from me. There's obviously something going on, or Gertrude wouldn't have told you to tell me so I could try to find a solution. I assume that means you have a problem of some kind. I want to help you with it, but I can't help you if you won't share it with me."

  "But I'm afraid I won't like your solution."

  "You might not, but we'll neither one know if you don't give me a chance, will we?"

  "All right, fine," she said, "I'll tell you. But please don't be so upset with me. I'd already agreed to tell you."

  "After your aunt convinced you," he said, still looking a bit upset. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly in an obvious effort to calm down. "All right," he said slowly. "I wish you would trust me enough to tell me when something's wrong so I can help you. But for now let's put that behind us. What problem do you need my help with?"

  "The store."

  "I noticed you don't seem to have your normal business back yet. Is that what you're worried about?"

  "Sort of. The sheriff told us about the rumor going around, and the same thing you said, about people not thinking we can do the lifting. But there's another problem. Aunt Gertrude's going to be leaving before too long, so she won't be here to help me."

  Cade's eyes grew large. "When is she leaving, and when were you planning to tell me this?"

  "I'm not sure exactly, but probably within a couple weeks or so." She explained about her cousin needing their aunt's help.

  Cade stood and started walking, something he often did while he was thinking. Finally, he turned toward her. "I'm going to have to give this some thought. I'll be in Tuesday, or one of my men, but give me some time to think about this."

  "Thank you," she said rather sheepishly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

  "So am I," he stated sincerely. "A little more time would have been nice. Let me see what I can come up with, though."

  She stood up and started toward the front of the store, but he stopped her with a gentle, but firm hand on her arm. "I'll do what I can, Elsie. I always will, but I'm serious about this. You need to stop keeping things from me. Do you trust me?"

  She looked appalled. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if I didn't trust you."

  "Then you need to tell me when something is bothering you. You have to give me a chance to fix it." He picked up one of her hands and used his thumb to gently rub the back of it. "I have to know I can trust you, honey. If there's something that affects you, it affects me. We're a team."

  "All right."

  "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

  "Yes." She looked down at the floor.

  "Good, because I'm warning you now, the next time you keep something like this from me, you'll be answering for it over my knee."

  Her head quickly flew back up and she met his eyes. "Cade, no."

  His eyes didn't leave hers as he answered. "Elsie, I'm serious about that. That's the only way I seem to be able to get through to you, so yes, I am very serious about it. The next time you keep something like this from me, you can expect to have a sore bottom when I find out."

  He could tell she was outraged, but he didn't really care. He'd talked to her several times about this, and it was important to him. This was not negotiable, but he knew if she started arguing about it now she'd just talk her way into a trip over his knees now, and he really didn't want to have to do that. She'd just been through a lot with her parents, especially since there were no clues yet as to who may have done it. He also knew she felt she owed it to her parents to keep the store operating. The last thing he wanted to do right now was give her a spanking for having a temper tantrum and for possibly using foul language.

  With that thought in mind, he headed her back toward the front of the store. "We better get back out there so we can help Aunt Gertrude if someone comes in. I don't want anyone thinking either of you will be here alone at any time."

  She couldn't argue with that, just as he'd hoped, and went with him back to the store. Gertrude was standing at the counter and stood, a worried look on her face. "Is everything all right, Elsie?" Her niece didn't say anything, but nodded. Gertrude looked past her to Cade. "Is it, Cade?"

  "Yes, it is," he said, "although I've talked to her before about keeping things from me. Maybe I should have the same conversation with you?"

  Gertrude looked from Cade to Elsie, then back to Cade. "No, you don't need to, Cade. I would like to apologize. I should have insisted she tell you right away."

  "Yes, you should have," he surprised her by saying, "but I understand why you didn't. She's been through a lo
t lately, and she can be very convincing. But if anything else comes up, I would appreciate knowing about it."

  She smiled at him. "Thank you for understanding, Cade. Elsie's found herself a good man."

  "Thank you. I'm glad you're here with her right now."

  * * *

  Cade thought long and hard over the next few days, and talked to Sheriff Fitch, and many other men in town. He had a possible solution, but needed to talk to Elsie about it. It was her store, so it was her decision, and he wasn't by any means sure she would see his suggestion in the same positive way he did. He decided to go into town Friday evening to take the two ladies out to supper, and would talk to both of them. Hopefully, Gertrude would see it as a good solution and could help him convince Elsie of it.

  He was surprised when he got to the store, however. When he walked into the store he heard Aunt Gertrude trying to calm her. "Elsie, you have to gather yourself. What if a customer were to come in? You don't want them to see you like this. Now take a few deep breaths and pull yourself together."

  Cade was concerned, and went toward the back corner of the store, where the voices were coming from. He saw her, and was relieved that at least physically she seemed to be okay. She was beside herself, pacing and mumbling. Aunt Gertrude was trying to calm her down, but had been unsuccessful.

  Not trying to hide his presence at all, his boots clomped against the floor as he walked over to her and reached out to put his hands on her arms and gently turn her toward him. She jumped. "What the hell—Cade, you scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that!"

  "Elsie, watch your language! You know better than to talk like that, especially in the store. I was not sneaking up. I walked in the front door, the bell jingled, and my boots clomped on the floor the whole way over here. Now, what's got you so upset that you didn't hear any of that?"

  "It's that damn Theodore Wilson." Cade instantly checked the door as he took Elsie by one upper arm and turned her halfway around. His hand instantly came down on her bottom three times, hard. He was sure she hardly felt it through all those skirts and things ladies wear, but he hoped it would get her attention, and it did. "Ow! Cade, you can't do that here. What if someone would have come in just then?"

  "I was watching the door to be sure they didn't. But what if they would have come in right as you were being anything but a lady and using that vulgar language?"

  She had the decency to look a little sheepish as she said, "Sorry. I'm just so upset."

  "I see that. That's no reason to use such language, though, and you know it. Now, are you ready to tell me what happened, without the colorful language, or should we go in the back first, and I'll give you a proper spanking to help you remember to control your mouth?"

  She exhaled slowly in an obvious effort to calm herself. "No, please don't do that. I'll talk to you."

  "That's better. Now, what did Theodore Wilson do?"

  "That snake in the grass came over here all high fa-luting and asked me out."

  Cade's eyes grew dark. "But he knows we're engaged to be married, doesn't he?"

  "Of course he does. Everyone in town knows it. He had the nerve to ask me if I am still waiting around for you or if I'd finally had the sense to realize I won't be happy living on some dirty ranch and sharing my husband with a herd of cattle. I know my mouth dropped open. The no good, two-bit varmint then suggested I let him take me out for a picnic so I could see what it's like to date a real gentleman."

  Cade was obviously angry, but controlling his temper. "Did he hurt you?"

  "No, of course not. I can take care of myself. But the nerve of him! I told him there was no way in hell I would go on a picnic, or anywhere else with him. He told me he wanted to take me for a ride in his rig to discuss a business proposition. I told him if he had something to say to me he best be saying it here because I wasn't going anywhere with him. He said if I'd feel better taking Aunt Gertie along with us, I could. The swine laughed as he looked around at the empty store and said we could close it down for an hour and nobody would even notice."

  He saw her getting upset again, and although he didn't blame her, he didn't want to see her temper appear here and now. "So did he really have a business deal for you, or was he just trying to get you alone in his buggy?"

  "Oh, the jackass had an offer for me, all right."

  Cade took Elsie by the upper arm and headed her for the back room. "Aunt Gertrude, I'm sorry, but would you please watch the store for us for a few minutes? She obviously needs help settling down, so I'm going to give her that help. If you need help, yell back there."

  "Of course, Cade." She had to hide a smile as she watched him lead his little wife-to-be out of the store and into the back storeroom. Gertrude was really glad Elsie had found Cade. Her brother, Henry, always said Elsie was a handful, and now with him gone, Elsie needed someone to keep her reined in a little bit and out of trouble. Cade was a good man, and had proven to be up to the challenge.

  Cade led Elsie back to the chairs he'd used just a few days ago to talk to her, but this time he sat down on one of the chairs and brought her straight down over his lap. He unceremoniously brushed her chemise and all her slips and petticoats or whatever they called all those layers ladies wore beneath their dresses these days, up onto her back. He looked down at the cute little pair of pantaloons with lace trim covering her bottom, and sighed.

  Her drawers would stay in place until they were married, but once she became his wife, he'd pull them apart and give her the spankings she earned on her bare bottom. He'd heard a lady was more embarrassed when a man split her drawers and exposed her bare bottom before the spanking. Maybe that would get her attention a bit better. Elsie was a little spitfire, and although he knew she hated receiving his spankings, even though they always served to calm her down and tone down her attitude, they hadn't alleviated the need to repeat them.

  He had come to the conclusion that his little Elsie was one of those rare ladies who, although spankings were effective for a time afterward, she would always need a man, namely him, to keep her in check. If that meant he would be turning her over his knee when her mouth got away from her when she was ninety, he'd do it. He loved his feisty little lady, and had admitted to himself that he'd rather have her this way, and keeping him on his toes, than the demure, quiet ladies he saw so often.

  His wandering mind snapped back to the business at hand when she squirmed in his lap, trying to get back up. He quickly brought a hand down sharply on her cute little bottom, which stilled her. "You're not going anywhere until I feel you can tell me what happened without using all the colorful language, Elsie, so you may as well get yourself settled in. As upset as you seem to be, we may be here a spell."

  Even through her pantaloons he could see the shapely little bottom his hand was itching for, so he started the spanking in earnest, letting his hand fall on one cute little cheek, then the other. Once she was squirming again, but this time from the pain, he knew he had her attention. "Elsie, we've talked about your language before. You're too pretty a lady to be talking like that. Even more important, though, if you're going to run a store you have to have the respect of the townspeople. Do you think they would respect you if they heard you talking like that?" He waited, but when he got no response, he gave her two good swats to her thighs. "I'm waiting for an answer, young lady."

  "Ow! No. They probably wouldn't, but I am so upset at that little weasel."

  "I understand that, Elsie. I'm not too pleased with him myself right now, but you have to learn to be the bigger person. Don't let him get to you. When you lose your temper like this and start swearing, you're letting him win. Don't you see that?"

  He talked and spanked a couple minutes, asking questions here and there to be sure her mind was solely on what she'd done to get her in this predicament. He watched and could tell when she'd given up her fight and lay draped over his lap, accepting the spanking. Not liking it, but accepting it. That's when he stopped the spanking and pulled her gently up onto his lap. He
quickly had her wrapped in his arms and tight against his chest, where her head slowly came to rest. She was clutching his shirt, like she always did, with her face lying flat against his chest, tears drenching his shirt.

  "Ssshhh, honey, it's over now and you're all right," he whispered in her ear. He gently played with her hair with two fingers, which helped her calm down. He kept using his soft, soothing voice that had such an effect on her, and soon had her calming nicely. As usual, she apologized for ruining his shirt, and he again assured her she hadn't ruined anything.

  He used his thumbs to gently dry the last of the tears. "Are you all right now?"

  She nodded, but snuggled in against him a little tighter. He knew that meant she wasn't ready to get up yet, so he tightened his arms just a bit to let her know that was fine, and kissed the top of her head. He held her five or ten minutes longer before asking again. "Are you ready to tell me now what has you so upset, or do you need a little longer?"

  She nodded again, but this time she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before answering. "I'll try."

  "That's my girl. As long as Aunt Gertrude doesn't need you, why don't you stay right here to tell me? Maybe that'll be easier for you." He grinned as he added, "For some reason, you always seem a little calmer while you're sitting on my lap with a sore bottom."

  She looked up at him, but instead of looking angry, she smiled. "Funny how that works, isn't it?"

  "Not really," he said as he kissed her nose. "Now, what kind of business proposition did Theodore have?"

  Chapter Four

  Cade pulled her in to lean against his chest as she started talking, hoping to keep her calm. "He looked around the store and said he's heard rumors that all of our customers have started going to his store. He said he believed for the most part it had to be true because of all the additional business they've had since the unfortunate incident involving my parents. The little snake said he had no idea why they would stop coming to our store, but he had an evil grin on his face at the time. Cade, he's the one who started that awful rumor that whoever killed them is coming back. I know he is, because of that look he had on his face."