Chapter 22 #2
Sadie, bless her, instantly stepped up. “What’s she trying to explain is that we didn’t go to GHCRC.
” When not a solitary person offered a single word, she plowed ahead.
“Great Hiking Climbing Riding Camp?” A longer pause still garnered nothing but silence.
“Really? You still don’t see? Okay, Daddy, what does ARK represent? ”
Wow, Tula had to hand it to her. No way would she not cave if that look and that lifted brow had been aimed in her direction. Sadie, however, seemed unfazed.
“We wanted to properly represent the Ranch so we had to make sure we ended our first ever River Kamp camp by doing something Awesome. You know, to properly represent the name A R K.”
“Ahh, I see,” Derek said, and Tula took her first easy breath. “In fact, I feel I can speak for all the Bigs here.” He looked around to see each Big nodding.
Tingles that began at her toes were now shooting up her legs though Tula didn’t understand why.
She glanced around and could swear all her friends were experiencing the same tingly feeling.
Was she just imagining the sound of the “doom music” playing in the background or was that the universe’s attempt to let her know she’d been relieved too quickly even though the Bigs were smiling?
“We’d hate to feel we weren’t doing our part in properly representing the Ranch and its mission as well, and in order to do that, I think we need to do our part in making sure each of you are left with a token from ARK to remind you of your time out in nature.”
Yep, should have listened to that tingle and run!
“That’s okay, Master Derek. Just attending such an awesome camp is enough. You know what they say. ‘Take away only memories and leave nothing but footprints.’ So we don’t need any tokens, right, guys?”
“Right.”
“We’re good.”
“Blake and I drew lots and lots of memories,” Payne said. “We can share those.”
Assurances that was a great idea tapered off when Master Derek shook his head.
“As much as we will all enjoy seeing your sketches, I’m afraid we’ll have to insist.” Daddies began to unbutton cuffs of shirts and fabric began to roll up to expose forearms. Even though Nurse MacIntosh and Aunt Jayne—now firmly in her Nanny J persona—were not wearing long sleeves, the way they were smiling at their partners established which way their votes had gone.
“Wha… what, um…” Tula began only to pause and clear her throat before continuing, “um what sort of token?”
“I’m sure that will become quite clear to everyone by the time we’re done here.”
“But, Master Derek, it was my fault it went wrong. No one else was in danger…”
“Only because our feet didn’t get tangled,” Wren said.
“She’s right,” Chloe said.
“We’re musketeers, remember.”
Sadie’s reminder had Blake adding, “All for one includes we all accept consequences.”
Master Derek nodded as if he’d expected nothing less. After scooping up Sadie, he looked down the line of Littles. “Chloe and Elise? You’re with me.”
Tula saw the two girls exchange glances and then would swear they sighed at the exact same time before chorusing, “Yes, Sir,” and following him.
An image popped into Tula’s head as she looked at her friends. Granted, Blake wasn’t the last one in the line, and none of them had tail feathers, nor were they gobbling, but they did indeed look like a parade.
She hadn’t seen her own Daddy coming so when her feet suddenly left the ground, Tula squealed.
From her upside-down position, she watched as other Mommies and Daddies stepped forward to claim their Littles before moving into the circle of logs and finding a seat.
As she was transferred from her Daddy’s shoulder to his lap, Tula caught a movement from the corner of her eye and looked over to see Everly being guided across her Daddy Andrew’s lap.
Nurse MacIntosh took a seat on the log and then patted her lap in a signal of where she wanted their Little boy.
His sister, Lori, sat on the end of the log, watching in sympathy for her brother as their Daddy lifted Blake from his shoulder and arranged him across his Mommy’s lap.
Eloise’s Daddies were sitting side by side on their section of log with their Little stretched across both pairs of knees while Payne’s Daddy duo were evidently still deciding on which one would have the honor of going first.
A shuffling sound had her cutting her eyes to the other side to see her aunt and uncle standing only a couple of feet away and then watched her aunt nod and move in front of her husband. A sinking feeling joined the tingling in Tula’s body.
“What are you doing?” Tula signed.
“Lining up,” Aunt Jayne signed back.
“Why?” Tula asked though she had a pretty good idea.
“To take their turns,” her Daddy answered.
“How is that fair? Payne, Blake, and Eloise are only getting two spankings. Why am I going to get three?”
“Four.”
Sure she’d misread the number of fingers her uncle had flashed, she shook her head. “There’s just three of you.”
“Your Daddy has two turns.”
“What! Why?”
Her uncle’s fingers and hands slowed as if wanting to emphasize the words he was signing. “Because he is now first in your life and will always have the last word. He is being generous in sharing your discipline with your aunt and me.”
Tula would like to discuss the definition of generosity, but before she could think of a way to begin that debate, her shorts and panties started to come down.
The only thing that offered any consolation was that her shouted “owww” was not the only one filling the clearing.
While every night before had been ended with rounds of songs or the telling of stories around the campfire while roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores, this night the only things being shared were the soft eeks of Bunnies, gentle huffs of Deer, the lower-toned growls of Bears and the sharp buzz of Bees.
Due to the fact she was transferred three times from one lap to another, to receive a total of four spankings, Tula was the last one to join the line of very contrite campers.
Looks of sympathy were exchanged, as feet shuffled and fingers twitched as if desperate to reach back and rub away some of the sting.
The sound of a throat being cleared had Tula’s attention snapping back to see Master Derek shaking his head. “No rubbing. The tokens you were given are meant to serve a higher purpose.”
While she understood the reason they’d been spanked, his choice of words had her asking, “What higher purpose, Sir?”
“You’ve all been gifted a token to honor the name you’re all so proud to represent.”
Tula was still not sure what he meant. Wondering if she were the only one, Tula looked down the line only to discover her friends’ all wore the same confused expression. Turning her attention back to Master Derek, she asked, “Sir, are you talking about ARK?”
“Exactly.”
He might as well have been speaking in code for all Tula could understand. Had all those swats jostled something loose in her head? She looked over at Sadie. “Do you understand?”
Sadie shook her head. “Not completely, but for some reason, I don’t think he means awesome.”
“I don’t know,” Master Derek said. “I believe that if you look behind you, you’ll find proof of how awesomely you did.”
Tula saw her friends exchange glances and then begin to turn to look behind them.
“There’s nothing behind us but trees,” Tula noted after turning back to the circle of Bigs.
“Sure there is. In fact, we just saw an entire lineup that honored the name.” Master Derek paused and his lips began to curl. “A R K—Awfully Red Keisters.”