Our tale began here.

It had been four days since Roberta was able to reintroduce her bottom to a saddle and for once she opted for a riding skirt and with loose draws under them. She had even considered a small cushion for the hard leather, but since most of the ranch hands must have known she had recently been spanked, she decided that any more laugher behind her back was to be avoided.

As she cantered out of sight of the ranch she glanced towards her beloved high country, but from where it met the saddle her bottom flared a warming red and she decided to keep to the near bank of the river.

She told herself she had no particular agenda, but all the same she found the river crossing where Jake Sandman has been bathing. Maybe she could creep up on him unawares today, she pondered. But the tree stood alone, although she noted the water was further from its roots and far less tumultuous.

She could cross here, she knew, but her nerve was still frail from last time and besides she knew a safer place to cross if one should happen to want to visit the old Barton place.

*

The house was in better shape than when she last saw it and the corral had been repaired. There was a fine pinto and three brown mares cantering within it and she smiled. Mr Sandman knew horses then.

“Nice to see you again,” Jake Goodman said as he emerged from the barn.

A startled Roberta whirled the horse around to meet his firm smile.

“You got dressed,” she threw out and immediately winced.

“I do that a lot,” he shot back.

Roberta coloured and wondered why she had let slip what was on her mind.

“You didn’t drown then?” he chuckled.

“I try not to,” she countered.

“Crossed downstream this time?” he asked, but he could see from her relative dry clothing that she must have.

“I cross where I like,” she sneered. Damn I didn’t mean that.

“So what brings you here?” his smile retreated some and settled on neighbourly.

“I…” damn what did she say now? “I… just wondered how you were getting on, mighty fine by the looks of it,” she said a little too quickly.

He nodded and scanned his ranch to see it how she might.

“Cattle?” she said, not seeing any.

“Some,” he agreed, “Up a ways in the far pasture, but not enough, not yet. I don’t have the men.”

“You alone?” she looked at the ramshackle bunkhouse. No one lived there.

“Sable and Old Billy are with the herd,” Jake shrugged, “But I have a herd coming in. Not many this time. Maybe 500 if they all make it. It’ll bring my herd up to 1200 or so.”

Although her father had more than 20,000 head, she was impressed. Jake Goodman was starting off well.

“You been in cattle before?” she asked and patted her horse.

“As a boy,” he made a so-so gesture. “My Pa was a farmer back East. I am an army man myself, or was.”

Roberta wanted to sneer again. Her father hated farmers and she naturally followed his lead. But then she liked bread and apples and beef wasn’t everything.

Maybe he saw her disdain but he ignored it. “You want to come into the house for some lemonade?”

Roberta’s heart leapt and she rose up in her saddle as if to dismount. The action rekindled her bottom ache. Noon had come and gone. “I had better head back,” she sighed.

Jake nodded. “Suit yourself,” he said.

“I will,” Roberta shot back in a tone more brittle than she meant.

“It has been a pleasure,” Jake grinned.

“Likewise,” Roberta said haughtily and wheeled her horse to ride away.

*

Roberta found reasons to call on Jake every few days after that. Not that she was overly friendly. For one thing she always she remained cool towards him, and rarely did she stay long. Mostly she found made negative comparisons between his and her father’s ranch.

Today Old Billy was mending a harness on the front stoop. He was a grizzled old war veteran and although neither he nor Jake mentioned it, Roberta got the sense that Billy served under Jake in the Union Army.

“Miss Daly, how nice,” the old man smiled without looking up from his work. “It is nice to see you again.”

“It is Rand-Daly,” Roberta said impatiently.

“If ‘en you say so ma’am,” Billy shrugged, “I reckon you’re here to see Mr Sandman, he is in the barn.”

“I don’t care where he is, I just wanted…” Roberta snapped.

“If ‘en you say so ma’am,” Billy chuckled.

Roberta glared at him but dismounted all the same and strode over to the bar. Today she had heard that some cattle had strayed onto Big D land, but she wasn’t sure if they were her father’s or not. At least she could confront Jake about them. Maybe there were his and he could send someone to collect them.

“Miss Roberta Rand-Daly,” Jake addressed her ostentatiously as she entered the barn, “Such a surprise to see you again, it must have been… oh two days since you were here last. What can I do for you?”

“Look you may as well call me Roberta,” she said sullenly. “I just wondered if…” Suddenly her accusations about straying cattle seemed childish. She knew full well that they weren’t his. “I wondered if you would like to come to supper next week,” she blurted. “I mean we are neighbours and all, and…”

Jake stood up from whatever he was doing and dusted himself off. “This invitation come from you or your father?” He smiled pleasantly.

Roberta kicked at the ground and looked down suddenly shy. “Me I suppose,” she said.

“In that case I would love to come,” he beamed, adding, “Roberta.”

They made small talk after that and settled on details. Her father wasn’t going to be happy, but he would never withdraw the invitation. He might even hit it off with another rancher.

As she got back on her horse the rain started.

Jake followed her out see her off and frowned at the sudden downpour. “Maybe you should… stay here tonight,” he suggested and eyed the grey sky.

“Best not,” she smiled and turned her horse.

“Then make sure you use the Barton Crossing and not go by the Old Oak,” he said commandingly. “Likely be a torrent by the time you get there now.”

Roberta was just thinking the same, but she bridled at being ordered about. Instead of answering, she kicked her horse to a canter and skirted the fence line. At the trail head she suddenly remembered his ‘orders’ and swung right towards the shortest route.

“Bye Jake,” she yelled mischievously and kicked her mount up into a gallop.

*

It must have been raining in the high country as the river was as bad as before. Roberta felt her mouth go dry and contemplated a long detour south to the safer crossing. She sighed; she knew that would make her late again. She eyed the water and worked her itchy palms on the reins. Damn Jake for being right.

Roberta drew a slow breath and then blew. What the hell, she had made it before and urging the horse on, she took the plunge.

The cold water was a shock and the horse kicked up in distress. It was far worse than before and instead of making headway, she and the mount went further sideways. After the longest minute of her life she gave and tried to turn. Only then did she begin to panic.

She might have made it, but the horse was terrified. Somehow he shrugged her of into the boiling onrush of water and bounded for the nearest bank. The last thing Roberts saw of it was the damn horse shaking of water on the far bank. That’s when she knew she was going to drown.

Roberta was still calmly contemplating her death when a steel grip took her arm and pulled up so that she was dangling above the river by less than a yard. Whoever had her was on a branch jutting out from the bank and she twisted to see. But the strong arms swung her twice and the let her swing onto the hard ground.

“Jesus girl, what the hell were you thinking?” Jake yelled as he jumped from the tree.

Roberta was too stunned and exhausted for either praise or anger. Jake must have followed her when she set off.

“Let’s get you back to the ranch,” he sighed.

“I have to get home,” she insisted without force and she had no fight in her when he helped her onto the back of his horse.

*

Roberta awoke with a start. For the longest moment she could not remember where she was and her darting eyes scanned the darkness in panic. Then she remembered undressing herself and flopping into the bed at Jake’s ranch. She relaxed just a little as she thought about her lucky escape and idly muttered, “Daddy will be worried.”

The she bolted awake and sat up. “Daddy,” she gasped.

Scrambling into her clothes she ran down stairs to find a way out, hard to do in a house only lit by the fire.

“Where are you going?” Jake yawned from the shadows.

He had camped in a chair by the fire and was now gaining his feet.

“My father, he will think…” she supressed a tumble of apprehension.

“Old Billy rode over before dark,” Jake told her. Adding with a hint of sarcasm, “He went the safe way.”

She sagged a little with relief, although little mice tugged at her tummy still. Her father would know what she did and maybe he would not think the worse. Otherwise a trip to the barn would be the least of her worries.

A wall of fear was left with nowhere to go.

“You could have drowned,” Jake scolded her.

Then she found a mark.

“You had no right, I was doing fine when you got in my way…” the rest of her rant made no sense but she continued anyway.

Jake reached out and lit the lamp. Then he drew himself up to his full height to fix her with a hard stare. “Has anyone ever taken the trouble to put you across their knee and give you a darn good spanking?”

Roberta gasped and stopped in her verbal tracks. Her heart pumped a little faster and she worked up some moisture in her mouth. “What?” she blurted and shook her head in denial.

“I said, has anyone ever put you across their knee, taken down your draws and paddled you bare bottom until it shone like a polished tomato?” He folded his arms.

Roberta responded with a draw-dropped gasp and made a little strangled laugh in her throat. “Y-you, you’ve… w-why…” she babbled incoherently, not knowing what to say to the man.

“Yes, no?” he pressed.

She was too embarrassed to tell him Daddy still took her to the barn and the fact that her mom applied a good solid hairbrush to her bare bottom past the age of 18 was none of his business.

“I have to go,” she said sullenly and moved towards the door.

“In the morning we will go together,” he told her sharply. “The horse is in no fit state and it really isn’t safe to cross the river in the dark,” he added with an attempt to mollify her.

“I am going now Mr Jake Goodman and you can’t stop me,” she said petulantly.

Jake tapped the back of his fingers on to his left hand three times and appeared to make up his mind about something. “Oh I think I can,” he said.

Roberta, with a belated sense of self-preservation, made bolt for the door. Jake caught her easily and swung her around to pull her close. For a second their eyes met and she could feel his breath on her face. Then regarding her sternly he dropped onto a Shaker chair in front of the fire and hauled her across his lap.

“N-nnn-nooo,” she spluttered, “You wouldn’t.”

“When I do a job, I do it properly,” he told her and with only the merest thought of propriety to slow him down he rucked up the tangle of her skirts and slapped his hand to her upturned posterior, taughtly covered by her draws.

“Jake Goodman, don’t you dare,” she squealed.

Time hung in aspic for a seeming age as wild instincts overtook them both and then Jake acted decisively. With a quick tug at her waist the draws slid to her knees to reveal the woman’s oh so bare bottom.

Roberta’s eyes started in her head as she gasped.

“Girl, I am going to give you the spanking you have long, long needed,” he snarled.

His hand struck her bare bottom sharply and she began yelling her indignation. “You beast, you bastard, I will never talk to you again.”

“Who asked you to?” he snapped back and spanked her again.

“Y-yyou, ooooh,” she wailed angrily.

A dozen spanks soon left her bottom quite pink and a dozen more began to mottle it in red. The sting was every bit as bad as her father’s strap and Roberta kicked her legs and bit at him for all she was worth.

“Stop, stop,” she raged.

“I don’t think so,” he chuckled and spanked her some more.

Sensing no respite, Roberta growled through clenched teeth and defied him to make her cry. It was a short-lived defiance. “Please Jake, please,” she sobbed.

“You so have this coming,” he told her and spanked her harder.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be good,” she pleaded.

Jake paused. “Sorry for what exactly?” he asked.

Roberta, who lay panting and exposed, trawled her turbulent mind for an answer. “Whatever you say,” she snarled.

“Surrender, but no apology, I see,” Jake said sagely and resumed the spanking.

“I never surrendered,” she snapped.

“No, but you nearly drowned yourself, you nearly drowned your horse, and you were going to do it again in the dark yet,” he told her angrily.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, but if I stay my father might think…” she blurted.

“Think what,” Jake yelled.

“He might not let me see you,” she shot back.

Jake gripped her bare bottom like he owned it. The heat was sharp on his hand.

“I thought I had lost you,” he whispered.

“I thought so too,” she replied.

Roberta twisted around to sit in his lap and they embraced like they would never let go.

To be continued…