Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Quinn
Two weeks of being bent over the kitchen nook and having my ass pinkened by Callum had settled my brat. Or bent over the couch, or his bed, or previously mentioned hay bale.
Who was I kidding? I was only mostly compliant. My mouth walked me into trouble more often than I cared for, as if I had no control. It had been easier to hand him the reins on our relationship, but not so easy when it came to matters of the ranch.
“I hear you, Callum,” I grumbled into the table. He had been lecturing while he spoke. I was only half listening, which was unfortunately an ongoing issue.
“What did I say, spitfire?”
“Something about staying away from the northwest pasture until the… something is… uh… fixed.” I blinked. What had he been dithering on about?
“Listen carefully, Quinn. Please pay attention. I’m not speaking because I love the sound of my voice.” He landed a few hard swats on my bare bottom. “The southeast pasture is off-limits until the fence is fixed. I don’t need you and Glimmer getting hurt.”
“Right, that’s what I said,” I pointed out. “Don’t go there because we can get hurt.”
“Close but you misheard me, beautiful. You said northwest. Commit the spot to memory. It matters which one because if you go riding and the fence is broken Glimmer can get stuck or wreck it. Worse than that, you could get hurt. Now, tell Daddy. Which pasture is off-limits?”
Callum targeted my tender sit-spots several times in a row. “Ouch! Southeast! I am listening. Promise.”
“What did I say about the black-eyed Susans?”
My mind went blank. What did wildflowers have to do with his lesson of the day? “I admit you’ve got me there, Daddy.”
“I knew you weren’t listening fully, babygirl. I added in some nonsense to see where your head was at. I told you that I replaced every flower in Nana’s garden with black-eyed Susan. Remember now?”
Callum rubbed his fingers into each of my bottom cheeks and it wasn’t pleasant. He found a partially sore spot. “Ow, Daddy. My ears are working but my brain is a million miles away.”
“Let’s finish up so we can get to our tasks. I have plans for us this afternoon.”
We had eaten breakfast and shared two cups of coffee, our typical routine. That he had something else planned piqued my interest. It trumped everything else on my to-do list. He shifted me, pulling my hips closer.
I raised myself up on my elbows. “Is this going to turn into something sexier, Sir?”
“Head down, babygirl. We aren’t done.”
“Yes, Daddy.” But I didn’t comply. Callum cupped his palm around my mound and I pressed into the movement, arching and moaning. He leaned across my body.
“Do I need to take off my belt, spitfire, or are you going to take the rest of your spanking like a good girl?”
He was not playing anymore. Though this wasn’t a punishment, adding the leather stinger from around his waist would flip it into one.
I didn’t dare ask him what he expected when his whole hand was still on my pussy.
“No thank you, Daddy. But just so you’re aware?
I was being a good girl,” I said matter-of-factly rather than giving him sass.
“Trying to distract me with your gorgeous curves is naughty. Pushing against my hand while I’m doing maintenance is teasing me. Hm?”
Callum had a very good point. I glanced over my shoulder and blinked innocently. “Yup. Very naughty,” I agreed.
His mouth tugged up into a smile and he pressed a kiss to my tailbone. “I can’t even be annoyed when you’re being so damn cute, Quinn. We have a busy day and we’re going out this afternoon. Back into position now.”
I let him adjust my body so I was flush against the table again.
He picked up where he left off, each smack delivered with precision.
Callum timed each one to allow the sting to bloom then fade into warmth.
Just as we were finishing I looked up to catch the sunrise.
As I raised my head, I nearly screamed. My heart pounded against my chest.
“Daddy!” I needed him to look out the window more than he needed to continue our maintenance.
“We are not done yet,” Callum said growling.
If he would look up he would understand what the issue was! “No, Daddy-”
“Hush, babygirl.”
“Respectfully? Look out the fucking window, Sir.”
“Do not curse at me, spitfire.” Callum finally stopped what he was doing. There in the window was my horse chewing on black-eyed Susans like they were her breakfast. He let out a string of curses, quickly fixing my panties and jeans. “Is she smiling?”
“Smiling. Yes, Daddy. My horse is clearly amused while there’s clearly a big problem on our hands.”
“Glimmer is smiling,” he repeated, tugging me around to face him. “We’ll revisit the rest of this conversation later.”
“I’m so sorry for snapping at you. I wasn’t trying to be rude, Sir.”
“I forgive you.” Callum kissed my forehead, each of my temples, my nose and then my mouth. “Daddy has to take care of whatever is going on in the barn, but we are still spending the afternoon together. Come on.”
We got our boots and flannel shirts on before walking around to the front porch. Cedar ran freely throughout the main part of the ranch like he’d always had dreams of being a racehorse. If it wasn’t so serious, the sight would be comical. Callum shook his head.
“Fuck. All right. It’s clear that Cedar is going to be a challenge. Get Glimmer to the temporary stall. Do not go near the barn.”
Before I could argue or protest, Callum continued.
“I don’t know what the damage is yet only that two horses were displaced. The structure could be unstable. Daddy doesn’t need to worry about you getting hurt while he’s handling everything else.”
I actually wasn’t going to argue for once. Nodding, I went up on my tiptoes. Callum leaned down and kissed me one more time. “Yes, Daddy.”
“I see my hand has improved your mood. I’ll give you an update as soon as I have one.”
With that he rushed off toward the barn, cell phone already to his ear. Violet Meadows was gated, so there wasn’t a huge risk of Cedar breaking free into open land. I knew Callum would take care of everything. I trusted him to handle it. I grabbed a spare lead rope and halter from my truck.
Walking to Glimmer, I clucked my tongue lightly. “Hey, pretty. Are you chomping on Nana's flower garden? Such a naughty thing.”
Glimmer whinnied.
“Yeah, I know. Why put such delectable treats out if they weren’t meant to be eaten?” I held out the halter and Glimmer dipped her head, clearly done with her snack. After the halter was on, I clipped the lead rope under her chin. “I hope you had fun, nearly gave me a heart attack.”
As I led her to the temporary stall in one of the other barns, she chuffed.
Of course her belly was full of yummy flowers.
I got her some hay, adding some fresh water to the nearby bucket and her grain.
Routine and stability. Pausing as my sweet mare ate, I realized that Callum had added the same thing to my mornings.
Everything had improved with him around.
My stress levels were way down, and I was smiling at nothing more often than not.
I was also very interested in the plans he had for us and what they’d entail.
Spending time with him away from the ranch sounded like a dream.
For the second time today, I was shocked. Callum had caught Cedar. He was already back and walking him toward the temporary enclosure. That was fast! It had been less than three hours since Glimmer appeared in the window. Hardly any time at all since our morning went sideways.
“Should I add roping to your list of talents, Sir?” I teased him as he entered.
“Nah. I think Cedar was tired out after his jaunt. He walked to me.” Callum gave me an infuriating smirk.
“Oh, yeah? Cedar? He just walked to you.” I shook my head smiling.
“He did. Such a good horse,” he replied, chuckling. “Maybe he needed the morning off. Stretch his legs.”
“You’ve got jokes, Daddy.”
“Always, spitfire.”
“What’s the damage to the barn?”
“I’m happy to report it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Contractors provided an estimate and repairs will be underway by early tomorrow morning. We should have everything fixed within a few days. Luckily the structure is solid overall. We’ve moved the remaining horses out. Easy-peasy.”
“With you at the helm it sure feels like it. Thank you for taking care of it.”
“You don’t have to thank me, beautiful. These are the sort of things that I’ve been working on. I just didn’t know that there was hidden damage there. There’s a plan to do a more detailed inspection of the other barns. Nothing for you to worry about. I’ve got it.”
“If you’re doing all the heavy lifting, what do you need me for?”
“Watch your mouth, spitfire. There was entirely too much sass in your question. We’re running things together. Not apart.”
Cedar nickered and Glimmer responded. I didn’t know if horses could be friends but she sure seemed to be telling him that he was silly for running off.
The thought brought an even bigger smile to my face.
What had started out as a disastrous morning faded into a minor inconvenience. Callum fed Cedar while I looked on.
“Right. I know. Sometimes my brat falls back into old patterns.”
“I’ll do my best to interrupt that loop,” he said.
I knew he meant it. “So, Daddy….” I brought up the aforementioned plans. “You mentioned that we’re doing something this afternoon. Is that still on or do we have to change it?”
“Things wrapped up nice and early, so we’re set. Go take a quick shower. I’d love to see you wear that pretty blue dress with the flowers on it.”
He finished with Cedar and strutted to me. I licked my lips as he reached for me and took my hands in his. “Fancy plans!” I giggled. “Are you taking me somewhere?”
“Mmmhmm. Not ballgown-fancy, but away from work.”
“Sounds lovely.”
He hugged me close to him, rubbing my back as he spoke. “I hope so. I’m really proud of you for listening. Things could have gone off the rails this morning, but having you trust me meant the world, baby.”
“A few weeks ago I would have probably headed straight for that barn, if I’m being honest. I didn’t trust you the way I do now.”
I glanced over at the horses who seemed to be listening to us. Like they had also been plotting and hoping that I’d drop my overworking tendencies and lean on someone else.
They were happy and cared for. We were their chosen people.
“I know you didn’t, Quinn. I’ll keep showing up. Keep proving that I’m here for the right reasons. Go on. I have one more thing to do and then I’ll meet you inside.”
“Yes, Daddy. Thank you.” I squeezed his hand before saying goodbye to our horses and heading to the house.