Chapter Two
"No, I am not going to apologize to that horrid man!" Amanda jumped to her feet. "Robert Thorne treated me despicably, and if anyone apologizes, it should be him! He beat me! I struck him twice, and he used my whip to hit me considerably more than two times. I have welts on my posterior!"
"You couldn't feel a darn thing through those heavy skirts you was wearin', girl!" Matt scolded. "If you did you wouldn't be standin' there sassing me."
He glared at her, "I'm fed up with your uppity ways, Mandy. You struck our neighbor when he was tryin' to help you from your spill. You made a fool mistake in tryin' to jump that mare, and then you made it worse by gettin' mad at Rob.
You are goin' to take yourself over to his place tomorrow and apologize, even if I have to tan your hide and haul you over there myself."
"Why are you so determined to humiliate me, Father? Why do you persist in failing to see my side of this situation?"
She stomped her foot, clearly irate. "I will never apologize to that man! Never!"
She turned on her heel to stomp from the room, but she didn't make it to the door.
She didn't even hear Matt move, but he caught her by the elbow and pulled her right back to his desk.
"What do you think you are you doing...? No! Father, no!"
she cried out in dismay, but it was too late.
His work toughened hand landed on the rounded part of her skirt.
"Don't you dare treat me like this! I am fully grown!"
Amanda's temper was blazing as she struggled to get free of the ignoble position in which she found herself.
"All I see is a spoiled brat who needs to mend her ways, and I should have done this two years ago instead of waitin' to see if you'd settle down," Matt said as he spanked her again.
"I will never forgive you for this!" Amanda was humiliated beyond belief.
"We'll see about that," Matt Chambers said solemnly, and to her horror he flipped up her skirt and then her petticoats until all that was covering her bottom was her lace and ribbon trimmed cotton drawers.
"No! You cannot do this, Father! I am a grown woman! What if someone walks in and sees me like this?"
"If it is anyone who's had to put up with your snotty tantrums lately they'll probably applaud and want to shake my hand when I'm done, and I ain't gonna be done for a long while," he added in an ominous tone of voice as he continued to spank her rounded bottom.
"Father! Stop!" Amanda was already in pain... from her fall, and from the spanking she had endured at Robert Thorne's hand. "You are truly hurting me!" Tears filled her eyes.
"I ain't hurting you, girl. I'm tryin' to get your attention. You were out of line this mornin'.
You treated your mare bad, and you treated Rob Thorne like it was his fault you got throwed.
All the sass in the world ain't gonna change that.
It's time I started acting like your Papa and settle you down.
No man is gonna give you a second look if you keep actin' so high and mighty!"
Amanda burst into tears. The spanking really hurt! Her father was a very strong man and used to physical work. Her poor bottom was on fire and she felt like a naughty little girl! She didn't like being treated like a bratty child! "Please stop! Please!"
"Who are you talkin' to, Mandy?" Matt demanded, continuing to apply his hand in hard spanks meant to chastise.
"To you!" she answered sharply, and then gasped when he spanked lower, in an area that was especially tender from the earlier spanking with her riding whip! "Please, Papa, not there!" she begged. "Stop!"
"Now, was it so hard to call me Papa?" Matt asked quietly, giving her one more hard slap on her bottom.
"No," she admitted.
"I like it when you call me Papa," he admitted without a bit of shame. "Makes me feel like you like me a little."
"Of course I like you, Papa!" She tried to turn and look at him, but he was still holding her in place with one strong arm around her waist. "I love you," she said tearfully.
"I love you, too, Mandy, girl," Matt said emotionally. "And I don't like havin' to do this, but I love you too much not to tan you when you need tanning." He gave her three more sound spanks, causing her to cry out each time. "Are you going to obey your Papa and say 'sorry' to Rob?"
Amanda simply could not agree to do that. She just couldn't! That man had no right to thrash her with her own whip! Matt took her silence for stubbornness, and he started spanking again, in earnest. "Nooooo! Please stop, Papa! I am in pain!" she screeched.
"I'll stop when you agree to tell the man you're sorry for striking him with your whip, girl, and not one second before."
He was a strong man, and even though his hand was on fire, he would keep this up as long as necessary to make his point.
Mandy was always stubborn, even as a small child.
She'd needed her Papa's guidance, and now he was going to have to be very firm.
"Okay! I will do it!" Amanda hated herself for giving in, but she was simply in too much pain to continue her resistance.
"You will do what?" Matt continued spanking, even harder. He wasn't letting her off so easy.
"I will apologize to Robert Thorne!" Amanda practically yelled.
"Papa, please stop! I hurt so much!" To her relief, he pulled down her skirts and then helped her to her feet.
Her hair had come down, and her face was streaked with tears of pain.
She turned to run from the room, but once again Matt stopped her.
He pulled her close and put his arms around her to hug her.
Amanda was embarrassed when she burst into tears and hid her face in his shirt.
"It's okay, sweetie. Papa is here and will take care of you. It's okay to cry."
He continued to hold her until she finally quieted.
"I didn't enjoy makin' you cry like that, Mandy, but I am your Papa, and I'm not gonna let you act all snooty with folks and get away with it. Rob is a nice man and a good neighbor. You think about what you want to say to him,
and I'll drive you over to his place tomorrow mornin' in the buggy and stand with you."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Are you mad at me, honey?"
Amanda looked up into his troubled green eyes; eyes that looked like her own. "I still feel I am too old to be spanked, Papa, but I know you did it because you love me. I will try to do better, and I promise I will call you Papa since it means so much to you."
"Now that is what I wanted to hear." He kissed her again and then said, "There is another matter we need to discuss, Mandy. You're to see to it that Glimmer is cared for every day; I want you to prove to me that you are responsible enough to own your own horse.
You won't be riding her again until I give you permission. You could have injured her today, daughter, but even worse than that, you could have been hurt or killed. You need a reminder not to be that foolish again.
Before I let you ride Glimmer again you are going to give me a promise that you won't try to jump her. In the meantime, you won't be sitting a saddle and the only exercise you'll get is from the use of your own two legs."
"Papa, nooo! I love to go riding! I love Glimmer, too! I will not try to jump her again, I promise! Please do not take her away from me," she begged, tears filling her eyes once again.
"You won't be riding her, or any of the horses, for at least one week, Amanda." Matt was serious and his facial expression told her there was no point in arguing. She was being punished for today.
"Why are you doing this, Papa?" Her wounded expression told him she was nearly heartbroken.
"You already spanked me, and I have promised you I will not jump Glimmer again. I will keep my word; please do not take Glimmer from me. I will prove to you that I can be responsible, and if I mess up again, you can always take her away then... But, I promise I have learned my lesson.
Please give me another chance to prove myself."
Matt gave her a hard, assessing look. It was clear that he wanted to believe her, and finally he asked, "Will you take care of Glimmer yourself?"
"Yes, Papa. I will."
"Okay, honey. I'll give you another chance, but if you jump that mare or I find out that Whitey is the one carin' for Glimmer, you'll get another tanning and I'll use a strap...
and you won't be riding another horse on this ranch for a year.
I mean that, girl. Do you understand me?"
Matt was as serious as he could be and it wasn't an idle promise.
"I understand, Papa. I am truly sorry I tried that jump today, and I won't do that again."
"You are more important to me than the horse, honey. That is why I am being so hard on you."
He gave her one more hug, and then said, "I have work to do. You take some time this afternoon to think about what you need to say to Rob. I'll see you at supper."
He picked up his hat and then left the room.
Amanda immediately groaned and reached back to rub her stinging backside.
Two spankings in one day! Unbelievable! Her Mama was probably looking down on them and shaking her head.
Mama did not approve of spanking and it was quite a shock to learn that her Papa had spanked Mama.
Amanda did not remember hearing her parents fight, nor did she remember being taken captive by the Comanche.
Her Mama was always so delicate and such a lady.
It was so hard to picture her married to her Papa...
or to picture her over his knee getting a spanking.
Amanda had to be honest, her Papa had a good reason to spank her Mama...
Just as he had a good reason today, she forced herself to admit.
She had been acting like a spoiled brat...
She was going to see to it that Glimmer had the best care she could give her.
She would not be sitting her saddle again today, and probably not tomorrow; her bottom was unbelievably sore; but she would change her clothing and go and have a talk with Whitey and find out exactly what she needed to do to care for her little mare.
She was not in Boston any more, and it was time she accepted that.
* * *
"Thanks, son," Matt said automatically when Whitey offered to care for his large white stallion. "How did my girl do today cleaning out Glimmer's stall?"