The Strange Healing Page 4

  He watched her hesitantly turn and look at him, tears still filling her eyes. She slowly walked over to him, stopping in front of him, lowering her eyes back to the floor. He reached out and took her hand in his, guiding her over his left knee. He watched as she squirmed a bit until her upper body was supported on the bed and her gorgeous bare bottom was draped conveniently over his knee.

  He laid his hand in the middle of her bare bottom and watched the shiver go through her. It amazed him that although she obviously knew a spanking was coming, the first contact with his hand on her bottom always brought that shiver. He was reminded once again how fortunate he was that this beautiful lady was his.

  Shaking his head to clear it, he reminded himself of the task at hand. “Why are you getting this spanking, Heather?”

  She drew in a deep breath and whispered, “Because I was selfish. I was worried more about myself and getting some new jeans than about two of the most important people in my life.”

  Phil was a little taken aback by her statement. Now he realized why there were so many tears. She wasn't viewing this as simply forgetting to watch the time; to her it was hurting two people she cared very much for. Knowing now that there was more guilt to rid her of than he'd realized, he began his task.

  The first swat landed solidly on her right cheek, and she gasped, but didn't cry out. He followed with a matching whack on her left cheek. Again a gasp, and he could tell she was trying to be stoic and accept the spanking. He knew it wouldn't be long, though, until she was yelling and fighting his hold on her.

  He started a rhythm of swats, back and forth, and watched her squirming, trying to lie still. She was also doing her best not to yell out. He respected her for the attempt. However, when he started varying the speed and location of the swats, so she couldn't anticipate when and where the next one would land, all bets were off. She was soon very vocally letting him know she was not happy, and doing everything she could to escape from his lap.

  “Phil, ouch. Stop! Okay, okay, I get the message. Please let me up now. Oh, it hurts!”

  “Does it hurt enough that you'll remember this the next time?”

  “Yes! Yes! Phil, please stop! I promise I won't be that selfish again!”

  “And will you apologize to your friends?”

  “Yes! Please, Phil, it hurts!”

  Phil slowed down the swats as he said, “I'm glad it hurts. That means it might actually get through to you.” He stopped the spanking, but kept his hand on her bottom as he said, “Okay, Heather, if you really think you've learned a lesson, we'll stop now, but there are two things you are going to agree to do first.”

  She looked back over her shoulder at him and saw the determination in his eyes, and warily asked, “What two things?”

  “You're going to apologize to them when you see them again.”

  “Okay,” she readily agreed. “I was planning on doing that. What's the other thing?”

  “You're going to wear your new jeans tonight when we go out to eat.”

  Heather knew he had some ulterior motive for this, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She hesitated, trying to read his mind. She knew she'd paused too long when he gave her two more solid swats and warned, “Heather, I'm waiting.”

  She quickly resigned herself, saying, “Okay, but why?”

  Phil smiled as he asked, “Can't a husband want to see his sexy wife in nice, tight jeans?”

  Not buying it for a second, she answered, “Yes, but I know there's something else to it.”

  Phil just smiled and helped his wife to stand as he said, “Come here, sweetie.” He pulled her down onto his lap and into his arms again, loving the way she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. He ran his hand through her hair gently and reminded her how much he loved her as they sat there, absorbing each other's love. Finally, after several minutes, he said, “Okay, come on, honey, go get dressed. I really am getting hungry.”

  Heather reluctantly stood and said, “Yeah, I guess I am, too, although I really don't want to sit on those hard chairs. Can't we go someplace else tonight, please?”

  Although he thought she was adorable standing there rubbing her bottom, he said, “Heather, you know better than to rub. Am I going to have to warm it back up before we go?”

  She immediately pulled her hands away. “No! I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I was doing it.”

  Phil believed her, and had to smile as she went to get dressed.

  It wasn't long before Heather realized what his ulterior motive was for making her wear the new jeans. He couldn't stop the smile on his face as he heard her come to the realization.

  She came walking out of her walk-in closet complaining. “Phil, I can't wear these new jeans tonight. They're so tight they're holding all that heat in. My butt literally feels like it's on fire.” She looked up and saw the smile on his face, and stopped dead in her tracks. Her shoulders slumped as she asked, “You knew that would happen, didn't you? That's why you wanted me to wear them?”

  Phil held her by her shoulders and gave her a tender kiss on her forehead before looking into her eyes and saying, “Sweetheart, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, that was my thinking. Since you were in such a hurry to buy the jeans, I'm hoping that making you wear them right away, too, will make a lasting impression on you. Sometimes it's better to have some patience and wait for things.” He gave her several moments to absorb that information, then said, “Now, are you ready to go? Those hard wooden chairs are waiting for us.”

  She sighed, but accepting her fate, said, “Yeah, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.”

  “Good. I love you, Sweetheart.”

  She slipped her hand into his outstretched hand he offered, and said, “I love you, too.” Reaching back to quickly rub her bottom, she added, “Sometimes I think maybe you love me too much.” They both laughed as he pulled her hand back around and replaced it with a quick swat.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Sara looked a bit overwhelmed as she looked at the huge menu at the restaurant, so Phil tried to help. “I don't know what kind of seafood you prefer, but all of them with an asterisk in front of them are caught fresh locally. Their crab stuffed flounder is delicious, and the crab and flounder are both local. Their lobster is very good, but it's not local. I'm not a big fan of mussels, but people say this is the best place to get them, and they're local. I personally love their shrimp scampi.” Looking at her expression, he asked, “Does that help, or did it make it worse?”

  He was rewarded with a big smile as she said, “It definitely helped. Thank you. I love crab stuffed flounder, so I think I'll try that, since you said it's all fresh.”

  “I don't think you'll be disappointed. Heather swears it's the best she's ever had.”

  “Now that you're talking about how good it is, I'm getting hungry.”

  Heath smiled as he asked, “Did you go to Wally's today for lunch?”

  He could easily see the excitement in her eyes as she exclaimed, “Yes, we did, and you were right. The atmosphere there is great, just like the food.”

  “Good. I'm glad you liked it. Maybe if we can show you all our great restaurants here we'll be able to convince you to stay.”

  The waiter came to take their order, and after he left Heath turned a bit more serious. “Have we convinced you to stay for a while, at least, Sara?”

  Her smile warmed his heart, and he watched as she took a deep breath. He could tell she was thinking, perhaps picking her words wisely, so he let her have the extra time. Finally, she said, “You and Heather and Phil have made me feel so welcome here, I'm going to stay at least a couple weeks, give myself a chance to feel more at home here.”

  Heath was happy, but he could tell she was still hesitant. She only committed herself to a couple weeks. He didn't want to push too much too soon, but he couldn't let the comment go unchallenged. “I'm glad you're giving us a couple weeks to convince you, Sara. I hope you stay a lot longer than that, though. I'm really hoping to get
to know you much better and spend time together. And I've never seen Heather allow herself to become friends with anyone this quickly.”

  “Heather is great. She's so easy to like, to be friends with.”

  Heath smiled. “Actually, I've wondered about that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, she's not usually this willing to open herself up so quickly. It normally takes her longer to trust someone enough to allow them into her life and become friends. Once you're her friend, though, you're her friend for life.”

  Heath could tell Sara was deep in thought. After a few moments she said, “That's interesting, because I was kind of thinking the same thing about me. I don't open up to people easily, so I don't tend to have a lot of friends. But I really do feel like Heather and I have been friends for a while. That's kind of strange.”

  Heath chuckled. "Phil told me this evening that to see the two of you together you'd think you'd been best friends for years. He knew that was unusual for Heather, too.”

  “It's really odd that we're both acting outside our norm.”

  Trying to lighten the mood a bit he said, “I think it just shows how much you two were meant to be friends. I think if you decide to make this your new home you'll find you and Heather becoming increasingly close, true best friends.”

  She smiled as she said, “I'd like that.” Her expression turned rather sad as she added, “I've only ever had one best friend, and since she got married we hardly ever see each other. We don't even talk on the phone all that much any more. She's got a busy life now.”

  Heath put a hand gently over one of hers as he said, “See? That's just one more reason you should stay here. You've already got a new best friend.” When she looked up at him with a smile that fully reached her eyes, he said, “Heather and I would both be very disappointed if you left.”

  Sara started to say something, but the waiter chose that moment to bring their food. Heath was disappointed, knowing the moment had been broken.

  They enjoyed their meal, and the easy conversation. When they finished, Heath asked, “Ready for some dessert?”

  “Oh, my goodness, no,” Sara insisted. “I'm not even sure I can get up and walk out yet, I'm so full. That was delicious.”

  Chuckling, Heath said, “I'm glad you liked it. I'm not ready for the evening to end yet, so how about if we have some coffee and let our dinners digest?”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  Heath motioned a waiter over to order their coffee, then said, “Sara, there is something I'd like to talk to you about.”

  “You sound serious, Heath. What is it?”

  “It is serious.” Reaching out, he took one of her hands in his and gently rubbed his thumb over the back of it as he contemplated how he wanted to approach his concern. He cautiously started, “I know we haven't known each other long, but I guess I'm a lot like my sister. I feel like we have. And I care about you.” He took a breath, trying to draw strength. “I care enough about you that you deserve the absolute truth about how I feel. I care a great deal for you, and when I care for someone I tend to be very protective of them.”

  She looked up into his eyes and said, “Heather told me that today.”

  “She did?”

  “Yes. Well, sort of. She said you're very protective of the people that are important to you. I told her those people were lucky, and she laughed. She said she agreed, but that you were way too overprotective with her.”

  Now Heath laughed as he said, “That sounds like my sister, but I don't think it's possible to be too overprotective with that little brat.”

  “You really love her, don't you?”

  “Yes, I do. And I will admit I am very protective of her, especially since our parents died. Now that she's married, though, Phil's taken over the full-time job of watching out for her. She accuses us of double teaming her, and I guess she's actually right, because we both love her and watch out for her.”

  “That doesn't sound all that bad.”

  Phil had to smile at that comment. “I'm glad to hear you say that.” When she cocked her head a little and looked at him, he explained, “Like I said, I care a great deal about you already. That means I'm going to be just as protective of you as I am her.”

  Heath could tell she was wondering what exactly that would be like, as she said, “Okay.”

  “Sara, I just want to warn you. I will do everything I can to make sure you're safe, healthy, and happy.”

  “Why do you say that as a warning? That sounds like a dream come true, having someone trying their best to keep you happy.”

  Smiling, he explained, “I hope you always feel that way.” After taking a sip of his coffee, he went on, “I am concerned about one thing already, though.”

  “What's that?”

  Rubbing her hand with his thumb again, he explained, “I have a feeling something's bothering you that you haven't told me about. Something to do with those men that approached you yesterday.” When she dropped her eyes to the table and tried to pull her hand away, he held on a little tighter. “Sweetheart, I'm not going to push you to talk about it until you're ready to, but please remember that I'm a good listener. I think you'll feel a lot better if you talk about it.”

  Sara was quiet, still looking down at the table. Heath forged ahead, stating, “In the meantime, until you're ready to talk about it, I don't like the idea of you staying alone in your motel.”

  Her voice wavered a little as she said, “I'll be fine.”

  He quickly assured her, “I think physically you'll be fine, but I worry about you getting a good night's sleep.” She did look up at him, and he could tell she was concerned about the same thing. “Phil and Heather would welcome you to stay as their guest for a few more nights, I'm sure, Sara. As a matter of fact, Heather would be ecstatic.”

  Sara shook her head as she said, “I know they told me I would be welcome anytime, but they've already done so much for me, I couldn't impose on them any more. I'll be fine in my motel room. It seems like a safe place to stay.”

  “I'm not so worried about how safe your motel is. I'm just not sure you should be alone this soon after that happened. Will you please at least consider staying with them, at least for another day or two?”

  “I'm sorry, Heath, but I just can't take advantage of them like that. Besides, I'll have to stay alone sometime, so why put it off?” Seeing the worry on his face, she tried to assure him. “I'll be fine, really. You don't need to worry so much about me.”

  He encased her hand again and caught her eyes as he said, “Yes, I do, Sara. That's what I was just telling you. I care about you and I'll try to protect you.” He watched as understanding came over her face. “I told you I won't push you on this and I won't, but I will ask you to do two things for me.”

  “What's that?”

  “I want you to tell me you'll think about what I've said. I think if you'll trust me enough to talk to me you'll feel a lot better. Hopefully we can talk it out, but I think you'll feel better even just sharing your concern with someone.”

  She considered his words carefully before nodding her head. “Okay, I promise I'll think about it. But that's all I can promise right now. What's the other thing?”

  “If I take you to your motel room tonight and you're restless and can't sleep, I want you to call me.”

  “Heath, thank you for your concern, but I'm not going to call you in the middle of the night.”

  He sighed, but asked, “Will you please at least call me if you have a nightmare?”

  “Again, I appreciate your concern, but if I call you in the middle of the night, how are you going to be able to work tomorrow?”

  “Sweetheart, I told you earlier that I won't say something if I don't mean it. Let me worry about my work tomorrow. I don't have any early meetings, so that's not a concern to me. What is a concern is if you have a nightmare and are alone. So I'll ask again, will you please call me if you have any problems like that?”

  Sara took a
long time answering, and Heath could tell she was giving it a lot of thought, which he was glad to see. Finally, though, she said, “Heath, I hear what you're saying, I really do. I can give you my word that if I do have a nightmare so strong it shakes my very core, I will call you, and I want to thank you right now for offering that. I feel a lot better knowing that offer is out there.” She paused, sighed, and added, “But if I just have a restless night, or maybe even a bad dream that just wakes you up with a start and then you can shake it off, I feel I need to deal with that myself. I can't always call you in the middle of the night if I have a bad dream or think I hear some kind of noise.”

  “Why not?”

  She looked at him as if he were crazy. “What do you mean why not? Because you have your own life, too, like going to work. You can't always come running to me anytime I have a problem.”

  “Why not?” He gave her time to see that he was serious, then explained, “Did I not just explain to you that I fully intend to protect you? That means I want to be there when you need me. I want to protect you from anything that threatens your safety or well being or happiness. The thought of you alone in a motel room at night, trembling from some kind of nightmarish experience is not acceptable at all to me.” He lifted one of her hands and placed a gentle kiss on it before holding it in his own.

  She watched his face as he talked, and Heath knew she saw his determination. He conceded a bit as he said, “I'm not going to ask you to promise me you'll call if that happens, but I do want to know if you understand what I just said?”

  She reluctantly nodded and quietly said, “Yes, I think I do.”

  “Then all I'm asking is if you do have any problems tonight, please remember what I said, how important it is to me to be there, to be able to protect you and hold you in that kind of situation.”

  He sipped some coffee, watching her digest this. Deciding it was time for a subject change, he asked, “How's your coffee? They have their own blend, and I really like it.”

  Sara smiled, and Heath was sure it was in response to the change of subject. “Seriously, this is the best coffee I've ever had. Do they sell their blend so you can make it at home?”