Don't Tempt Me (15 page)

"Not like a parent. Like a loving husband," Will corrected.

"Daddy, I'm really tired and I would like to lie down. Could we please not discuss this right now?" Katy asked.

"Of course," Jenna answered quickly when it appeared that Will was going to say 'no'. "Your room is all ready, Katy. Let me take you upstairs."

Katy giggled and then said, "It just seems so funny to have you offer to show me upstairs when I used to live here, Jenna!"

"Young lady, Jenna is trying to be thoughtful."

"I know she is, and she is very sweet, Daddy. You are lucky to have her." Katy got to her feet, crying, and hurried from the room.

"Honestly, Will, can't you be nice just once?" Jenna fumed as she ran after the younger woman.

Will shook his head as his little wife ran after his daughter. Jenna was darn close to earning a spanking, and as for his daughter, she needed a good talking to! What husband who was worth a darn was going to permit his wife to get away with speeding? Craig was right to spank Katy, and he was going to make that known. Hopefully, Craig would be here by the time Katy was rested. And, he and Jenna were going to have a nice conversation while Katy was napping, too! His mind made up, he waited patiently for his wife to come downstairs.

"I thought Daddy would be angry with Craig, but he isn't, is he?" Katy demanded once she was sure her father couldn't overhear her comment.

"No, he isn't, Katy." Jenna had to agree.

"He is so strict when it comes to anything that breaks the law. I can accept that, but Craig punishes for all sorts of things he shouldn't."

"It is his way of showing love."

"It doesn't feel loving... especially now," she cried. "I just don't know what I'm going to do, and now Craig is going to be really angry because I left him!"

"You'll feel better once you get some sleep, Katy," Jenna said calmly as she crossed the room and closed the drapes to darken the room. "Why don't you slip into something more comfortable while I turn down the bed." Katy took her overnight bag into the bathroom, and by the time she emerged, Jenna had the bed all ready for her. "If you need anything, just call me, Katy," she instructed, and once Katy was in bed, Jenna left the room. It was time to have a talk with her hard-headed Judge of a husband!

Jenna found Will in the study. "There you are," she said, ready for battle.

"I've been waiting for you," he announced. "Come over here, young lady. We need to talk, and we can do that while you are lying across my knee getting your bottom soundly smacked." Will was aggravated with his wife and taking no pains to hide the fact.

"Now you listen to me, William Cole, I haven't done anything wrong, but you, on the other hand, are doing your best to alienate your daughter! What are you thinking?" Jenna demanded.

"Jenna, you aren't doing Katy any favors by babying her right now. Speeding is dangerous, not just for her, but for the baby, and for other drivers and pedestrians. What if she had an accident? What if someone pulled out in front of her while she was driving too fast? She might not be able to stop in time."

"I am aware of that, darling. You are so right, and it may come as a surprise to you, but Katy already knows that. Craig made it known, too. What she needs right now is loving support from you, and help to realize that Craig spanked her soundly because he loves her and she frightened him." Jenna looked at Will pointedly. "You are overreacting for the same reason, and that is precisely what Katy doesn't need. Her hormones are all out of whack right now. You saw how she was crying over every little thing that was said."

"What I saw was my wife cutting me off every time I tried to say something!" He glared at Jenna.

"You've spent years estranged from Katy. Do you want that to happen again?" Jenna asked.

"Of course not!" Will was offended that Jenna would suggest such a thing. "But, I'm not going to lie to her, either. She needs a good scolding."

"She needs a hug."

"Jenna, you need a spanking!" he growled.

"I need to go and work in my garden, Will. I think
you
need to get online and read about the first stages of pregnancy, and find some way to talk to Katy that will calm her down and help her realize that her husband loves her very much."

"Jenna, there are switches in that yard."

"And I will thank you to remember how upset you were with yourself the last time you used one, darling," she told him. "Seriously, Will... Did you ever discuss marriage with Katy? I know she saw you and her Mom together, but was she aware that you had to sometimes talk and work through problems?"

"We never fought in front of Katy. We discussed our differences in private, and even that last year when Cathy was so ill, we protected Katy from any dissention." He looked at Jenna and then asked, "Are you saying that Katy went into her marriage without any idea that she would need to compromise, or even answer to her husband when she did something stupid like speeding?"

"I know how shocked I was the first time you spanked me, William Cole. I knew that I was pushing you, but I never really believed you would spank me! You did, and I had to do some serious thinking to come to terms with the fact. Young women Katy's age were raised to believe it was wrong for a husband to spank. She doesn't see spanking as given with love. She thinks she is being wronged and mistreated. That she is somehow less in Craig's eyes."

"So she came here expecting me to knock some sense into her husband, when she is the one who needs a talking to?" Will said with a shake of his head.

"She needs a hug from her Dad and some conversation about marriage, and about discipline in marriage. She needs to know that some men express their displeasure with spanking, and for them it is a way of expressing love in a firm manner."

"I intend to support Craig."

"You can do that without sounding like you are passing sentence, Judge Cole. Now, I am going to go and pull some weeds. You let Katy sleep. I think she drove around most of the night."

"What?"

"She is exhausted, darling. Her body needs sleep."

"All right, Jenna. I will give you that one, but when she wakes up, we are going to have a talk, and the first time that you butt in and stop me from saying what I want to say, you will earn yourself a switching. I don't make that promise lightly, so do not tempt me," he warned in a stern voice.

"I won't interrupt you as long as you try to be understanding and not judgmental." Jenna knew she was pushing her luck. She hastily added, "I love you, darling, and I want you and Katy to be close again. Please listen to me to this time. I know I am right." To his surprise, she put her arms around his neck to pull his head down so she could kiss him tenderly. "I love you, and I know that you can help Katy if you remember to be patient and loving."

Jenna made her escape and went outside to work in her yard and garden. It was where she retreated to think when she was upset or needed to think. To her relief, Will didn't follow her outside, and after pulling every weed she could find, she decided it was time to go inside and soothe her husband's wounded pride. She found him in the kitchen, pouring lemonade into two glasses.

"I was just planning to come and find you," he said with a smile. "Would you like to sit on the patio with me?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful, darling. I need something cold to drink. Thank you," she said with a huge smile as she accepted the glass from him. "Is Katy still asleep?" she asked.

"Yes. I just went and checked on her and she is sound asleep." He slid open the patio door and followed her outside. Once they were seated he said, "You were right about the hormones and about Katy needing extra sleep."

"I was wrong to cut you off, however," she said truthfully. "No matter how good my intentions were, I was wrong to stop you from speaking. It was very rude and I'm sorry, Will," she apologized.

"You had a good point, Jenna. You wanted me to be a father, not a judge. I have a terrible time turning that off at times."

"Yes, I know, but I happen to love you," she said with a gentle smile.

They talked for a while and the patio is where Katy found them when she woke and came downstairs. Jenna decided it was time for Katy and Will to have some time alone to talk, and she quickly excused herself to go and take a shower.

"Did you sleep well, Katy?" Will asked with a smile.

"Yes, I did, Dad. I'm sorry I was so weepy earlier. I seem to cry a lot these days."

"I've been reading that that is normal," Will acknowledged. "So is being overly tired."

"It didn't help any when I didn't get any sleep last night," she admitted.

"Because you were upset with Craig for punishing you over the speeding?" he asked directly.

"Yes! Daddy, I'm not his daughter!"

"No, you are his wife and the mother of his child," Will said quietly. "A very serious responsibility. He loves you, Katy, and you frightened him with your behavior. He wanted you to know that, so he spanked you."

"You act as though you find that perfectly normal!" Katy was shocked and it showed.

"Honey, your Mom and I didn't fight in front of you because you were our child and we didn't want to upset you, but I can guarantee that if Cathy came home with a speeding ticket, I would have turned her over my knee and paddled her pretty backside. Not to be mean, or to hurt her, but because I loved her and I wanted her to drive safely and keep herself safe."

"You spanked Mom?" Katy was stunned.

"I did," Will admitted without a bit of shame. "Always with love, and because it was the way we did things. I know that some people today think that everything should be equal, but a man is a born protector, and a woman is a nurturer. Those are the traits we are born with. It is natural for a man to lead in his home. A corporation or business can only have one boss, and it is the same with a family. The husband leads his family, but he does so with a great responsibility. He makes decisions that are based on what is good for the family as a whole, not based on what he wants. Craig strikes me as a man who loves you deeply and who cares very much what you do."

"You think he is showing his love for me when he spanks me?" Katy asked thoughtfully.

"Is he spanking you to control you, or to get you to do something wrong or foolish?" Will asked. "Is he blaming you for things you don't do, or lashing out at you in anger?"

"No! None of that!" Katy defended Craig. "Craig spanks me for being moody, or for speeding, or going running in the park after dark... That sort of thing," she confessed. She looked at Will, who was struggling not to scold, and said, "I should be thankful that Craig cares what I do, right? I should be thankful that he truly loves me and doesn't permit me to do things that my friends do all the time... and they complain because their husband is glued to the television or the computer and doesn't even notice."

"Craig sounds like a loving husband to me, Katy," Will said firmly.

"You don't think that it's wrong to have this kind of marriage in this day and age?" she wanted to know.

"I think it is wonderful to have this kind of marriage in this day and age. Your marriage has a good chance of working because you will be dealing with issues as they arise instead of living in a cold war, or fighting all the time. It takes a lot of trust and respect and communication to have a good marriage, and I think you need to have a long talk with Craig and ask him why he spanked you. I think you'll hear the words 'because I love you' at some point in the conversation."

"You really spanked Mom?" Katy was still amazed.

"Yes, when she earned a spanking."

"And Jenna?" she demanded curiously.

"That is between Jenna and I," he replied.

"Okay, Dad. I won't pry," Katy said with a giggle. "Since you are blushing, I already have my answer anyway!" She jumped up and said, "I'm going to call Craig. I need to tell him I love him."

Will smiled when she went back inside in search of her cell phone. His Jenna was right, and the talk went well. He had his Katy back again, and he was going to be a grandfather! Cathy would be pleased. He got up to go inside when Jenna came outside and shook her head 'no'.

"Craig arrived just as Katy came inside. They are in the living room talking right now. We should give them some privacy."

Will nodded in agreement, and then said, "I hope the boy has the sense to turn her over his knee and paddle some sense into her so she won't pull this stunt again! It makes me ill to think of her driving so far alone in the middle of the night, and no one even knowing she was on the road!"

* * *

"I'm so happy you are here, Craig! I'm sorry I sneaked out of the house last night!" Katy said as she hugged him tightly. "I'm a hormonal mess these days, but that is not a good excuse for speeding. I was wrong, and I won't do it again," she promised. "I love you!"

"I love you, too, and I am still going to spank you silly for running off and not even leaving me a note! I tried everywhere I could think of to find you, girl!"

"I was upset, Craig," she confessed.

"About what?"

"The fact that you spank me all the time. I was thinking that you were trying to be my parent... and that you were ashamed of me."

"I spank you because it is what a man who loves his wife does in order to keep peace and order in the home. I don't enjoy making you cry, Nadine." He still slipped up and called her Nadine from time to time. It was still hard for him to realize that her father was in her life again, and an important figure. "A spanking is a firm expression of love."

"I know that now," she conceded, realizing her father was right. "Daddy told me you would say that, and everything he said made sense."

"Good, because you can just lie over my lap right here and now," he ordered, positive it was the right thing to do.

"What if Daddy or Jenna comes in here?" Katy was embarrassed as could be.

"I'm sure they won't be shocked at the sight of you getting spanked, young lady. Now let's get this over with," he said firmly.

Katy wanted to fuss, but knew she would only prolong matters if she did. "You will remember I am pregnant, won't you?" Her concern for her child was very real and not a ploy to talk him out of what he felt was right.