Giddy Up, Daddy (Dirty Daddies 2024 Anthology #5)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nick had been right and was smug about it. Sam did feel better after a couple hours of making a circuit around the pastures to check on the water. Part of it was the hard, physical work. Each large pasture had a stock pond, deep enough that they wouldn’t freeze through, but sometimes there was a buildup of surface ice that needed to be broken up.

Then, the smaller pastures had watering stations to be checked. They weren’t supposed to freeze. But… “Damn it all, every time.” Nick let out a long string of curses.

Sam laughed as he swung out of the saddle to go and help. “Not sure how they manage it, but I’ve yet to find a float that they can’t somehow mess up.”

The water in the round stock tank wasn’t entirely frozen, but cattle were playful creatures, and they’d managed to trap the float, so it stopped moving across the surface of the water. A crust had begun to form at the edges and was slowly working its way toward the center. Once that happened, the ice would thicken and pretty soon the dumb beasts wouldn’t have anything to drink.

One of the major winter jobs on the ranch was just circling around to make sure the cattle weren’t sabotaging themselves. It had to be done every few days, because dehydration could set in fast. Cows that were dehydrated couldn’t eat enough to keep their body temps up. If they didn’t check, they could lose the whole field in no time.

Between freezing his ass off, getting his hands dirty, and bantering with Nick… he lost the sharp edge of his bad mood. Hard work was a form of meditation sometimes, and he let go of his frustrations, so he could focus on getting the job done.

He was calmer on the long ride back to the barn. He sat in the saddle more easily without the tension. Neither of them was big on small talk, so long silences stretched out as they huddled in their coats to avoid the wind.

But now and then one of them would say something, and the other would reply. They joked a little; laughed a lot. Having Nick and Katie on the ranch had been good for everyone, and Sam was once again grateful that they’d been willing to uproot and move.

When they pulled up at the barn, he swung down easily and led the horse into the warmth. The mare went straight to her stall, after shooting Sam a reproachful look. “Sorry girl, work had to be done, but I’ll make sure you get something extra in your feed bucket,” he promised.

She snorted, saying in her own horsey way that he’d better.

He laughed, as he briskly rubbed his hands together to get the feeling back, so he could undo the straps and buckles. “Want me to send someone over to unsaddle her for you? I know you owner types don’t like to get bogged down in all that low work,” Nick said.

Sam didn’t have to turn around to know his foreman was grinning. “Smart ass.”

“Yep. But seriously… if you need to go and work things out with Charlie, I can handle getting her settled.”

It was a kind offer, but one Sam wasn’t going to take. Owner, foreman, or simple ranch hand— it didn’t matter. The lesson was too deeply ingrained. When you rode a horse, you better make sure you took care of her after.

“Naw, I got it. ‘Sides, you know how important aftercare is. Can’t be passing that on to someone else.”

A loud belly laugh burst out of Nick. “Hell yeah, I do.” There was a strong note of approval in his voice. “Alrighty, have it your way boss, but don’t put things off too long, eh? Doesn’t do any good to let things fester with these fillies. They work themselves up, and then you’ll have a real fight on your hands.”

After barely a second, he added, “Besides, if Charlie stays mad at you, she’ll eventually rope Katie in, and then it will be my problem too.”

They obviously weren’t talking about horses anymore and Sam laughed. “Ain’t that the truth. Don’t worry, soon as I get Jewel here settled in, I’m going home to fix things.”

Nick slapped him on the back and then moved to the next stall to start unsaddling his own mount. After a second, his voice came from the other side of the wall, asking, “Decided how you’re going to handle it yet?”

“Not a fucking clue, but I’ll figure it out. With Charlie, sometimes it’s best to just play things by ear.”

“Good luck, partner.”

Sam took that to be approval of his plan because his friend had zero trouble speaking up when he didn’t agree. With years of experience, his hands worked without thought; getting the saddle off Jewel, brushing her down, checking her legs and hooves carefully for any damage from the hard crust, and finally, settling her in with some extra feed.

But while he worked on autopilot, his mind was on Charlie. Nick was right, again. Putting it off wouldn’t do either of them any good. And it was entirely possible it was just an innocent surprise, as she’d claimed. Which made him a dick for jumping on her.

By the time he got back to the house, he was ready to apologize for overreacting. Charlie had very obviously been hamming it up, exaggerating her hurt, but still, he had no reason to think she was up to anything awful. Even in a D/s relationship people were entitled to the occasional little secret, as long as it wasn’t harmful and didn’t break the rules.

He wasn’t entirely convinced that her mystery did meet those requirements, but for now he’d accept her explanation. Both eyes were going to be on her though.

The second he opened the back door, the sweet smell of banana bread hit him, and he stopped to take a nice long sniff. Charlie baked when she was nervous or upset. And the fact that she was baking his favorite, meant she was making a peace offering.

The rush of cold coming in from outside must have warned her, because she was already turning as he closed the door behind him. “Well, that smells amazing. Is that banana bread, Charlie girl?”

She started to smile, stopped to search his expression, and then finally let the smile slide into place. “It is! With chocolate chips. I thought…” She hesitated and then took a deep breath and plunged in, “I thought maybe it might make up for my attitude this morning.”

“That so? You think you can buy me off with baked goods?” He frowned and began to shrug out of his coat.

“Maybe?” Her voice lilted upwards.

He hung the coat on the hook by the door, and crossed the kitchen to take a look at the results of her work. There were six loaves in all—six so far , sitting on the wire racks cooling. The oven was still on, and he was pretty sure there was at least one more baking.

That… was a significant amount of bread and implied she’d had a lot of feelings to work through. He wondered how much was guilt about the argument, and how much was stress about keeping a secret.

“You think I’m controlled by my stomach or something?” He leaned down and inhaled. His mouth watered and his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten all morning.

Charlie snorted. “You’re a cowboy.”

He held back a laugh. “Good point, but that doesn’t mean you can get out of trouble by bribing me with banana bread.”

“Doesn’t it?” Her mouth tilted up at one side and she fluttered her lashes at him. “I guess I could come up with another bribe, if necessary.”

“Girl, I swear.” He growled and pulled her into his arms. His mouth came down on hers hard. Charlie melted into the kiss. Her body softened against his, pressing close, and he finally felt like everything was fine again.

He’d kissed her simply because he’d wanted that reassurance, but as usual, the feel of her body against his shifted his priorities. He forgot about the banana bread for a second, and focused on her soft lips, her warm mouth, and the way her tongue teased as it explored.

Things might have ended up in the bedroom if his stomach hadn’t chosen that moment to make a series of loud growling noises. Sam could have waited for some of the bread, his stomach wasn’t having that.

They laughed as they pulled apart. “I’m pretty sure I won’t need any other bribes,” Charlie commented as she slipped out of his arms and turned to grab plates out of the cabinet.

Sam gave her a good hard smack on the ass. He had the urge pretty much any time he saw Charlie’s ass cupped in tight jeans, but because he wanted her to know she was still in a little bit of trouble, he added some emphasis.

His palm stung and she yelped.

“Daddy!”

“That’s my name,” he agreed, blank faced.

She screwed up her face, narrowed her eyes, and scowled. “Rude. Maybe you don’t deserve this bread I spent all morning making.”

He let one eyebrow rise as he gave her a significant look. “You really want to play the brat with me right now, sweetheart? Because, while I agree that I might have overreacted, and I’m sorry about that… your attitude this morning didn’t exactly go unnoticed.”

Her brown eyes widened, and her mouth held a perfect ‘o’ shape for a moment, before she swallowed hard. “It was only a little bit of attitude.”

“Then I guess I’ll only punish you a little bit ,” he said in a slow amused drawl. Before she could reply, he added, “But I’m going to eat first. I’m starving and I left before breakfast this morning. If you hand over that bread… it might put me in a better mood.”

She turned away, but not before he caught her eyes rolling. And since she wasn’t looking, he let a grin curve his lips. “Make it a nice thick piece to hold me over until dinner time.”

Charlie ended up slicing an entire loaf into nice thick slabs. She deposited it on the table, with plates and butter. They didn’t talk but the silence was relaxed and peaceful, punctuated by occasional moans of pleasure.

They finished the whole loaf. Sam wasn’t ashamed to admit he devoured most of the banana bread by himself, and probably could have eaten more. “Best damn banana bread in the state,” he said as he settled back in his chair with a long sigh. “That hit the spot.”

She tilted her head. A soft smile curved her lips up at the corners. “Feel better now?”

He had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about being hungry. He nodded once, “Yeah, I do. That doesn’t mean you won’t be taking a trip over my knee later though,” he warned her.

Her expression twisted into a grimace, but she nodded. “I figured.” She blew out a breath as she pushed her empty plate away. “I had no right to get hurt or mad that you suspected I was sneaking around behind your back. Not like I haven’t done it before, but I promise this isn’t like that.”

Sam believed her. Her tone was earnest, and her expression seemed sincere enough. “You can’t help how you feel, darlin. If something hurts, it hurts. There’s no logic to it, and I probably shouldn’t have assumed, no matter what happened in the past. That’s on me and I’m sorry.”

He leaned over and took her hand. “Just to be clear… this surprise, it’s nothing to do with the business?”

She shook her head.

“Nothing I’ve told you not to do?”

Even more vigorous headshaking. “I promise.”

“Nothing that breaks any rules?”

“Well, just the hiding things rule, but it’s for a good cause.”

That was fair, he supposed. Because he knew Charlie, he had one more question. “It’s nothing too… extravagant? Too big? I’m not going to freak out when I find out what it is?”

She hesitated for a suspiciously long moment. Finally saying, “Not… really .” The tone wasn’t very confident.

Prevarication was a sign that there was at least some aspect of this mystery that she thought he’d be annoyed with. He filed that away for later. “And am I eventually going to learn what this secret is?”

“Yes, Daddy. Of course! On Valentine’s Day!”

Sam was even more curious now to know what she was hiding, but shrugged. “Then I guess I won’t pester you about the secret for now, but I reserve the right to spank you for whatever it is anyway, if I think it’s necessary.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Like I didn’t know that.”

“You should by now. We’ll take care of that little attitude issue tonight, before bed, and then we’ll consider the issue done.” In Sam’s mind it was no longer worth punishing her for. They’d worked it all out and he accepted part of the blame.

He’d already decided to drop the line between discipline and fun, to let it spill over into foreplay that they could both enjoy. He wasn’t going to tell her that now, but she’d figure it out when it happened. In the meantime, worrying about future punishment might keep her sassiness to a minimum for the rest of the day.

Might.

He needn’t have worried. She vanished soon after, to work on some assignments, and he didn’t see her again for a while.

The afternoon went pretty well, considering how the day had begun. He took some steaks out of the big freezer in the basement, and left them on the counter to defrost for dinner. He’d planned on something a little lighter, but banana bread for lunch didn’t make up for missing breakfast and he had a feeling he’d be down for a large meal by dinner time.

Then he settled in his office to take care of some paperwork that was a priority. The government reports took up a few hours. They were needlessly complicated and aggravating, but submitting them late wasn’t an option.

Normally it would have put him in a bad mood, He hated the redundancy of answering the same question three different times, but he’d apparently cleared all of that out of his system. He was still looking forward to some much-needed stress relief with Charlie later that evening. It would be a reward for getting his shit done.

Cooking was a nice way to relax too. He did that more now that his days weren’t so long. He tossed a couple of foil wrapped potatoes into the oven to bake, and turned to the steaks, considering. He’d have preferred to grill outside, but didn’t feel like braving the cold again, so he threw them into a cast iron skillet and got them sizzling.

They hadn’t been cooking more than a few minutes when Charlie appeared, lured down by the mouthwatering aroma of seared beef. He put her to work chopping onions and peppers, and then tossed them into the pan as soon as she was done. She kept chopping, but switched to salad ingredients.

They bantered and teased as they worked. They were still very much newlyweds, and frequently touched each other. It could be distracting, but fun. At one point he almost burned the steaks, when she wrapped her arms around him from behind and let one hand slide down to cup the front of his jeans.

She stroked and rubbed the denim until his cock was painfully hard. He groaned and closed his eyes. His head fell back, and he listened as the button popped and the zipper hissed down. Her warm hand worked its way into his briefs and wrapped around his erection.

His hips thrust forward eagerly for more and he lost track of what they were supposed to be doing. The smell of burning onions caught his attention and he pulled away with a yelp, yanking the pan off the burner before the steaks could take any damage. The vegetables were beyond saving, and were consigned to the compost.

After that she was banished to the other side of the counter to chop more onions, with a hard swat across the ass to get her moving.

“It wasn’t my fault,” she protested, laughing.

“Yes, it was. And you’re going to pay for it. Don’t forget we have an appointment, Charlie girl.”

Judging by the snickering and grins, she was still amused by what she’d done and the threat didn’t diminish that. He was half tempted to bend her over the island and take her right then, but ruining a prime cut of beef was too much of a risk.

Besides, he was starving. There would be plenty of time for all of that after he filled his grumbling stomach. He had a feeling he’d need all the energy later.

Out of reach, but not out of mind. His cock stayed hard, and he was forced to adjust himself more than once. He was glad when dinner was on the table, and he could sit down and manspread to give his aching cock some room.

By then he had more than one appetite that needed to be satisfied and he ate aggressively, tearing through the meat and potatoes like a man on a mission. His glance kept sliding over in her direction, as she took slow, dainty bites of her meal. His plate was half empty before she’d made a dent.

She was stalling, which was probably his fault, because she still thought she was in trouble.

“If you think sitting here all night, poking at your dinner like a five-year-old facing spinach, is going to save you from your doom…”

Her head shot up. “I’m just enjoying the meal!”

“Uh-huh.” He wasn’t fooled by the innocent expression.

“What? The steak is amazing. You want me to gobble it down without even tasting it?” She gave his own, nearly empty, plate a pointed look.

“If it means we’re not going to be sitting here all night while you ‘savor’ then yes. Eat at a normal pace, or your meal is going to get interrupted.”

She shifted in her seat, frowned, but started to take real adult-sized bites of her dinner. While she was finishing, he cleaned up the mess from cooking. It wasn’t what he wanted to be doing, but he was too restless to sit there and watch her eat, once his dinner was gone.

When she got up and came over to join him, empty plate in hand, he simply took it and dumped it in the sink. And then he scooped her up, tossed her over his shoulder, and headed for the bedroom.

“Hey! I can walk you know!” She thumped his back with her fist and tried to kick her legs.

He shifted his arm to hold her legs down and used his free hand to smack her ass. “Settle down, darlin. I’m just making sure you don’t find any other ways to stall, because I’m past ready to deal with you.”

He could hear her muttering behind his back. Knowing Charlie, it probably involved a lot of swearing, but he didn’t mind that. He squeezed her ass cheek and grinned. “What’s the matter? You’re acting like you’re not looking forward to our appointment.”

Her response was incoherent, which was probably a good thing. He kicked the bedroom door open with his foot and set her on her feet just inside the room. “Strip, darlin. All of it. I want you buck naked for this.”

Charlie wasn’t shy about her body, especially not with him. Having her strip wasn’t going to add a shame factor or anything like that. He simply enjoyed seeing her naked flesh in all its glory. And, since he’d be turning things in a different direction after… having her naked and ready to go would be a plus.

“I said I was sorry, Daddy. There was a reason for the attitude,” she reminded him, but the shifty way her eyes slid sideways told him a different story. There was still guilt lingering.

He’d take care of that before they moved on. “There was a reason, I agree. I’m sorry for jumping on you, but that doesn’t change the fact that you need this. You going to argue that?” One eyebrow went up as he watched her expression.

She rolled her shoulders in a half-shrug, which was as good as admitting it.

“Right, then shuck out of your clothes, sweetheart.”

He took a seat on the bed, but his clothes stayed on, because he felt like being dressed when she wasn’t added some authority to a scene. There was just something about the uneven power dynamic that worked when she was in trouble.

He’d intended to give her a quick hard series of swats, just to make his point, before encouraging things to go in another direction, but the fact that she had lingering guilt changed that plan a little. His job as her Daddy and Dom was to help her deal with guilt.

Charlie, like a lot of submissives, needed punishment to let go of things. Otherwise she beat herself up over mistakes, or, and this was more likely, her behavior would quickly spiral until he was forced to be even stricter with her. He’d learned it was better to just cut that off early and save them both the trouble.

He didn’t like punishing Charlie. Oh sure, having his naked wife wiggling over his lap while he spanked her was physically enjoyable, but the emotional turmoil that came with real punishment made it a thing to be avoided. Especially since he could have her naked and squirming for fun instead.

But it didn’t matter what he liked. It mattered what she needed.

He patted his knee. “Over, Charlie girl. Let’s get this taken care of.”