Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (12 page)

"It's Pete and I know pert near everything about this town. I've lived here nigh onto seventy-two years and there ain't much that gets by me."

"Which company does the best carpentry work?"

"That would be Wood Works. Kevin Carter or one of his crews," Pete replied quickly. "Best there is hereabouts, but sometimes you have to wait on him. He's busy. If you need advice on who does what best in this town, you call me. If I ain't here, call Dory Green over at the Durango Diner. We ain't upstarts like a lot of people in town now. You tell her I said to call, she will send you to the right people."

"Thanks." Josh added Pete's and Dory's names to his growing list.

"Well, we have one vote for the Carter's and one vote against," Jenny said.

"Yeah," Josh said. "I'll need more recommendations before hiring anyone."

Mila tucked a napkin under Emmie's chin. "Josh, did you notice a difference in the way Blake Parker was speaking today?"

Jenny and Josh both turned to her.

"More country," Mila said carefully, "Less confident and, not to sound like a snob, less like an educated man."

Josh looked around at the old-fashioned room and shrugged. "He's a local. He probably fits in with both worlds."

* * *

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" Jenny asked. She sat cross-legged on a blanket as Adam used his newfound toddling ability to wander back and forth and cover her in fall leaves. Since he carefully searched for a single gold leaf at a time to carry to her, it would take him a while. Emmie, on the other hand, built a big pile of multicolored leaves, which she ran through scattering them in the breeze.

"What?" Josh asked as he lay flat on his back with his eyes closed.

"I don't know, something," Jenny teased, dropping leaves on his face.

Josh shook his head and opened his eyes. "We are doing something; we are enjoying the afternoon. How beautiful is this?" He waved in the direction of their mountain view covered in red and yellow fall foliage. "The temperatures are dropping every day, and they predict snow tonight in the mountains. It is warm today so this may be our last chance to enjoy it. Enjoy, woman!"

"Have you received a response to the last sketches we sent Mr. Mitchim for our mystery boss?"

"Not yet," Josh said, glancing quickly at Jenny. Sometimes he felt guilty about his subterfuge, but he still thought it was worth it. Over the last two months, both of them had renewed spirits and creativity. They had reset the clock on their marriage, and apparently on their sexual vitality, too. What was there not to like about their current home and activities? They still had the occasional flare-up between them, but they settled them quickly enough.

"Finger paint, Daddy," Emmie said, dropping a handful of wet leaves on him.

"What the…" Josh brushed the leaves off himself, turned over his daughter's hands, grabbed a handful of napkins and a bottle of water, and washed them quickly. He got to his feet pulling Jenny to hers. "Take the kids inside, now."

"What is it?" Jenny demanded.

"Take the kids to the house," Josh whispered. "Don't let Emmie touch her mouth with her hands until you wash and disinfect them. That wasn't paint, it was blood."

"What? From where," she asked looking around.

"I don't know exactly. The wind is blowing from the direction of the woods so I will check them first."

"No," Jenny protested. "Come to the house with me and call the police."

"For what?" Josh whispered. "It could be something as simple as a dead rabbit."

"If it is, it was killed by a wild animal or someone carrying a gun," Jenny whispered. "I don't want you walking into danger. Come back inside with us and call someone. Call Blake. He carries a gun and knows how to use it."

Josh nodded reluctantly. "Okay, I agree we might need assistance, but it could be nothing. Let's get the kids inside."

* * *

Blake Parker arrived forty minutes later. When Josh started outside to meet him, Jenny grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Let him handle it!"

"Jenny, I am going with him to find out what is going on," Josh said firmly.

"No, stay here and let him handle it. I don't want you to go out there."

"Jen, stay here with the kids or go over to Mila's."

"No, I want you stay in where it is safe! Do not go out there," Jenny ordered.

"Jen! That's enough," Josh snapped, walking out the door.

Josh met Blake outside as Blake pulled a rifle out of the back of his truck. The two men retraced the steps into the clearing where the family had recently picnicked. They walked into the woods and soon found more red-stained leaves.

"This is no rabbit," Blake said, looking around carefully.

Thirty feet further into the woods, they found the source. Someone had killed an elk and removed its head.

Blake pulled out his phone to call the game warden. They walked to the edge of the woods and waited for the officer to arrive. When he saw the County truck, Blake motioned for him to drive across the expanse of yard and meadow to the edge of the woods.

"Trophy poachers," Blake announced as he introduced the two men and they walked back into the woods.

"I thought we cleared out the last of them two years ago," grumbled Game Warden Jim Hodges. "Same as before?" he asked Blake.

"Same as before," Blake agreed. "Someone knows what they are doing. They sliced the head clean through. It took more than one man to carry out a head and rack of that size. It would weigh two hundred pounds or more."

"Are you saying this has happened before?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago a group of hunters weren't satisfied with only trying their luck legally. They took to poaching out of season without permits. They weren't interested in the meat, only the heads, and racks."

"Why?" Josh asked.

"There is enough money in selling trophy heads to make it worthwhile," Blake explained. "Those heads you gave Pete were worth about ten to twelve thousand dollars each."

Josh shook his head chuckling. "He didn't bother mentioning their worth when I offered them to him."

"He wouldn't. You will play hell getting them back!"

"I wouldn't ask him to return them, but I have learned my lesson," Josh admitted. "I'm primarily concerned about poachers being this close to my home."

"Poaching is a hit-and-run kind of operation. They spot a six- or eight-foot rack and go after it. Sometimes, they run 'em down, wear 'em out before they kill 'em. If you hear four-wheelers or snowmobiles out in the woods, more than likely it's poachers, so call me. Poachers don't usually buy hunting tags. They have to move their kill fast to a taxidermist who does illegal work on the side."

"Basically, you are saying there isn't anything you can do to stop them," Josh asked the warden.

"Oh, we'll catch 'em," Warden Hodges countered. "It might take a while. I have eight Wardens, and they cover a lot of territory. I noticed that have you posted signs, but signs won't stop poachers. Now, don't get all pissed off. Most hunters are legitimate. They know what they are doing and the respect the law. Unfortunately, someone always thinks the law doesn't apply to them. If you see a hunter on your land, call the sheriff or me."

"Are you another transplanted Easterner?" Warden Hodges asked suspiciously.

"Yes, from Connecticut and New York."

"Look, Mr. Grayson, since you are a city man, I'll give you some free advice. Get yourself a gun and learn how to use it," Warden Hodges said bluntly. "This ain't the city. If you got little kids and womenfolk, keep them under wraps until hunting season is over. I don't want to deal with accidents. The fact is, this is big-game hunting country. If you continue to live here… get used to it. Throw lime over the carcass or let the animals do what comes natural."

"Jim Hodges didn't mean anything nasty, Josh," Blake said after the game warden left. "We get a lot of transplanted city slickers here. They come in, buy properties as investments, build fancy places but they only live here part time. This drives the cost of land up, so locals can hardly afford to buy. Then the outsiders start saying our way of life is wrong. Most of us want to tell the city slickers to return to where things are to their liking, rather than trying to change us.

"Most hunters in these parts are in it for the meat. Elk and deer put meat on often-empty tables. The mounted heads give them bragging rights or they are sold to help support families. It is a rare Colorado native who doesn't have one in their home."

"I understand, although I have never hunted," Josh said. "Do you think I should get a rifle for protection?"

"Yeah, I do. However, there is more to it in Colorado than walking in, buying a gun, and learning to shoot. Go to Herman's Guns in town, he'll get you squared away," Blake said. "Are you planning on sticking around?"

"Yes, I suspect we will be here for quite a while," Josh said truthfully.

When Josh entered the guesthouse, Jenny was still in a snit, banging pans in the kitchen. At first he decided to ignore her, then she said a swear word that made Emmie's eyes widen in surprise.

"Bad," Emmie whispered.

"Yes, it is a bad word," Josh echoed. "Not a word I ever want to hear a good girl like you saying. I do want to hear you say all the other words you know, baby. Will you go get the book I was reading to you last night? Change into your jammies and put your toys away before coming back down." Emmie nodded and skipped off.

Snit or not, he could not ignore Jen's continued bad humor. He should not have even considered ignoring it in the first place. Not facing their little problems at once had caused many of their bigger problems in the past.

With Emmie out of the way, Josh went into the kitchen and turned off the flames under two pots.

"Josh, I'm cooking!" Jenny protested as he propelled her onto the closed-in porch.

"Enough, Jen! Do you want Emmie repeating what you said?" he demanded.

Jenny gasped, "She heard?"

"Yes. She heard. I heard. I won't have it. This is not only for your swearing; it is for the way you spoke to me earlier. You have every right to voice an opinion, but you will not order me around." He pushed her over the back of a chair, yanked down her yoga pants, and laid into her backside with hard stinging smacks, which soon had her squirming and yelping. When he saw her bottom reddening, he stopped, yanked her pants back up, and set her on her feet.

"Are we clear on this? The days of behaving like your mother are over. I will not have you channeling her attitudes and bossiness."

Jenny cried, nodded in agreement, laid her head on his shoulder, and then turned away when she heard Emmie calling.

"We will discuss this later," Josh warned.

Jenny nodded again, although not sure what he meant. She was more in love with Josh now than in the last several years. However, she was not so sure about the resurgence of the strict Josh and his punishments. Part of her always loved the strong take-charge Josh. The part of her not liking it was her backside. Her bottom had paid the price for many a lie or small deception during the early days of their dating and marriage.

She wiped away her tears and considered her earlier words realizing she had sounded dictatorial. Worse, she had behaved exactly like her mother, barking orders. Jenny was fully aware of the dichotomy of her hatred for disciplinary spanking, but her enjoyment of spanking for sexual stimulation. It had taken her years to admit it to her husband. Rather than shaming her for it, Josh had embraced it. Coming from a large family who practiced D/D, he had no problems with spanking for any reason. It also appealed to his dominant nature to have it come alive in their sex life.

His
later
arrived after the kids were asleep. Settled on the couch, Josh motioned for Jen to sit beside him as she came down the stairs. When she got close, he pulled her into his lap.

"Still mad," he asked.

Jenny shook her head. "No. You never did say what the source of the blood was."

"A dead elk, apparently poachers kill elk and deer to make their heads and antler racks into wall trophies."

"How barbaric," Jenny exclaimed.

"As far as the poaching, I agree. You, Mila, and the kids will have to stick close to the house over the next six weeks. The property is posted for 'no hunting,' but we can't take chances. It's full hunting season out there for the next two months. It means you must drive more carefully, too because hunters will have their prey on the run. I'm buying a rifle for protection."

"Josh, I don't want a gun in the house!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It will be in a gun safe, the kids won't be able to get to it. There is a gun shop and club in town where I can purchase a firearm and get shooting instructions. We will both take on-line safety courses."

"I don't…."

"Jen." A sharp smack on her rear stopped her protest. "We live in Colorado now, we have to fit in. This isn't New York City or Waterbury. We can't impose our views on people who have lived here all their lives.

"I know you don't like the idea of guns or hunting, but here it is a necessity and a regular part of life. It is food for their tables. It is a staple for the tourist trade. How many places have we gone to with elk or venison on the menu? I'm not asking you to shoot anything. I am asking you to learn how to use a firearm for safety."