Courted by Discipline: A Courting Romance (In Hyacinth Book 1) Read online

  “What? Courtship?” Confusion settled, and Kathy glanced between the couple who looked startled at her interruption, and her parents. Her mother looked concerned, but her father had a calm expression on his face that did not fool her. She was in trouble. It was in the firm set of his jaw and the darkening of his eyes. Ah, drat. There would be no way to talk herself out of this one. Interrupting someone while they talked was something he hated. Hoping he would settle with either making her write a million lines or stand in the corner for an hour, she tried to keep her mind off the most likely punishment, a spanking.

  “Kathy,” Gerald said quietly. “Please go wait for me in my study.”

  Oh, no. So it included a lecture too. Blushing, she nodded and stood up. “It was nice to meet you,” she murmured to their guests before practically running from the room. She only hoped they had no idea what was about to happen, but supposedly most of the households did the same thing so they probably did. Stepping into her father’s study, she closed the door quietly behind her and went to stand in front of his desk. The whole room felt masculine, from the dark, cherry furniture, to the deep maroon leather sofa in the corner. One whole wall behind his desk was filled with books, all of them medical in nature. The dark carpet under her feet just added to the feel. She wondered if this was how it felt at school to be sent to the headmaster’s office.

  There was no way to know how long her father would take. It could be now, or it could be an hour from now. She was pretty sure he would wait until Leyton and his wife left before he came in to spank her.

  The clock ticked softly on the wall and every once in a while she glanced at it. Five minutes… seventeen… twenty-nine… forty-two… She began to wonder just how long this was going to take when the door opened and he stopped inside. Gulping, she stared at his desk.

  “Kathy, you know I don’t accept rudeness in my home or from my family.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Most of the time, you’re a well-behaved young woman, one I am proud to call my daughter. Your lapses are infrequent, but when they come, it’s just a chance for you to be reminded to pay attention.” His voice was kind, soft, and his hand as it touched her back was comforting.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “They shocked me.”

  “Was that an excuse?”

  Blanching, she shook her head. He hated excuses. If you did something wrong, admit it, take your punishment, be forgiven and move on. That was his motto.

  “No. I shouldn’t have interrupted Mrs. Compton.”

  “Correct.” The sound of his buckle coming undone made her grimace. “Bend over the desk, rest on your elbows.” Groaning softy because that meant he really meant to wallop her, she bent over, resting her upper body on her forearms. Her friends always said a spanking over jeans was a good thing. She had no idea what they were talking about. His belt seemed to act as though denim wasn’t even in the way. The bite was still strong and very powerful. And there was never any warning before the first blow fell.

  Her air whooshed out as the leather fell across her bottom, heat spreading across her cheeks.

  “My daughter won’t make these kinds of mistakes again,” he said quietly, his belt coming down two more times. “She thinks of others first before she speaks.” And again the belt fell, always in the same spot, right across the fleshiest part of her rump. “She never wants to be rude to anyone.” Heat added to the fire until it was impossible to stand still. Tears leaked from her eyes even as she whimpered, her lips twisting into an ugly grimace in her attempt not to sob. “I love her and will make sure she acts as the woman she truly is.”

  When the leather fell again, her ability to hold the sobs back broke and she bawled as he continued to lay down his belt over her overheated backside. When the only sound in the room was her coughs and sobs, she knew he was done. But she couldn’t move as her knees gave out and she sunk to the floor, crying. Before she reached it, he pulled her up and into his arms.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy,” she sobbed into his chest, grasping his arms.

  “Shh, I know. You just aren’t paying enough attention. You’ll do better next time.” He kissed her softly on her forehead and she nodded quickly. This reminder would stay with her for a long time. “Now come into the living room. We’ll have our prayers early and you can go to bed.” It was only eight but Kathy didn’t feel like arguing at all. In fact, collapsing into her bed and sleeping sounded very attractive at the moment.

  It never ceased to astound her how there was no physical manifestation of such a spanking. With how much it hurt, shouldn’t there have been bruises form over night? But no. In fact, even though there was slight discomfort, her rear end didn’t feel bad. But sitting down would be a definite reminder. After taking a shower and putting on a pair of shorts and a tank top, she went downstairs where her parents were talking at the kitchen table.

  “Morning,” Carilyn said. “Fruit this morning. Help yourself.”

  “Thanks,” Kathy yawned, hugging her from behind and accepting a warm hug from her father before she went to put some fruit in a bowl. “So what was this picnic thing that’s happening next week?”

  “Memorial Day,” her father said. “There’s a huge picnic in the town park. Games, a few rides, everyone goes.”

  Nodding, she tried not to grimace as she sat down. True, it wasn’t exactly painful, but her rump would have rather not been sitting on a hard surface. “Sounds like fun.”

  “It will be. Carilyn, you’ll need to make Kathy some more Sunday dresses. She’ll need them far more often here than she did before and we want to make sure she has plenty of them.”

  Swallowing a half glass of juice to stop herself from complaining, Kathy stared down at her food. Yuck. More frilly dresses.

  “And make them a little more mature. She’s eighteen and this summer is very important from what everyone says. Today when I go to the town council meeting, I’ll find out more about what happens during a girl’s eighteenth summer so we can plan accordingly.” He smiled and winked at her. “Our little girl’s grown up.”

  “Dang right. Can I have a car?” she blurted out, aware her mother winced.

  He raised an eyebrow. That was all he had to do. Uh-oh.

  “Stand.”

  “Daddy, I—”

  “Now, Kathy.”

  Whimpering, Kathy slowly pushed her chair back and leaned against the table, gripping the side. At the kitchen table, he never removed his belt. Instead there was a small piece of leather that was all too conveniently left nearby and he grabbed it, laying five swats over her shorts, reigniting the burn from the night before. They were quick and hurt, but this had been more of a warning than a true punishment.

  “Sorry.” Swearing of any kind wasn’t allowed. Not even the more acceptable ones. Where was her head lately?

  He waited for her to take her seat and then sat down, placing the leather right where she could see it. Not that she needed the reminder. Her rear throbbed and burned and sitting on the hard wooden seat just added to the discomfort.

  “Carilyn, there’s a ladies auxiliary to the town council. They meet every other Saturday from noon till two. The next meeting is next week. I’d like you to attend.”

  Kathy’s mother nodded. “It will be nice to meet the other women in town.”

  “Kathy, after school is officially finished, the council has set aside events for the teenagers to do all summer. They’ll be announced at the picnic and I would like you to choose at least a couple, one you will enjoy doing and the other that will be more of a chore. If you feel up to it, they need volunteers at the hospital.”

  Volunteering at the hospital was not one of her favorite activities. He had roped her into it for the last two summers and she would prefer to do anything else. “I’ll think about it.”

  He nodded and glanced up at the clock. “Now, I don’t need to leave for four hours. What do you need doing around here?” That was one thing about her father. He was not above helping
out. Before long, he had on a mask and the sound of the sander filled the air as he worked in the living room walls. Between the three of them, they got quite a bit of the downstairs sanded before he had to shower and leave.

  “Are you all right?” her mother asked after he left and Kathy reached back to squeeze her rear end which was still a little hot.

  “Yeah. I deserved it.” Not that she enjoyed it. She didn’t. But knowing her father didn’t hold a grudge and that after punishing her, he seemed to forget all about her infraction was a big help. It lifted any guilt she had about it.

  “Well, now that we’re settling in, your dad asked me the other night if you were too old for a father/daughter date. He was thinking tonight if you’re interested.”

  Beaming, Kathy nodded. Father/daughter dates were a tradition for as long as she could remember. They usually consisted of doing some sort of game like bowling or go carts and then eating food her mother wouldn’t approve of. With something so wonderful to look forward to, the rest of the day went by quickly. The two of them were able to finish the downstairs sanding, before she ran upstairs to shower the dust out of her hair. She had a fun night ahead.

  Chapter 3

  “You did not,” Kathy laughed as she and her father sat at the local diner eating something greasy and rather gross. It tasted divine though.

  “I did,” he admitted, grinning. “On our second date, I was still trying to impress your mom and her major was, well, I thought it was physics. At the time I had no idea what metaphysics was. So, when I brought her the periodic table that I had spent days putting together, she smiled but looked really confused. It wasn’t until several dates later that I found out that A: the periodic table was more of a chemistry thing and that B: metaphysics was not physics.”

  Squealing a laugh, she shoved a fry in her mouth. Imagining a younger version of her father trying to impress her mother was too fun.

  Before they could continue, her father looked over her shoulder and nodded. “Alex,” he called. Alexander Covington walked into view, just as tall, just as imposing as he had been in their living room a couple of weeks before.

  “Good to see you here,” Alex said smoothly, shaking Gerald’s hand. His eyes slid over to Kathy and he nodded. “And how are you enjoying Hyacinth, young Kathy?”

  Gulping as something about him unnerved her, she glanced at her dad who nodded encouragingly before looking back at the man standing next to their table. It might have been her imagination, but he looked pleased for some reason. “So far so good. I haven’t really met anyone yet.”

  “You should come to the picnic next weekend,” he encouraged, lifting his hand and waving someone from behind her forward. “The entire town turns up and you can meet some of our wonderful girls. Of course, now, you can meet my son.” A younger version of the man in front of her stepped forward and turned startlingly bright blue eyes on her. “Alexander, these are the Brethertons. Gerald’s a doctor at the hospital and his daughter Kathryn will be a senior next year. Gerry, Kathy, my son Alexander. He just moved back into town a year ago. This summer he’ll be courting.”

  The people around here sure were old fashioned. Courting? Couldn’t he have said his son was dating the girls locally?

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” her dad said, shaking his hand. “Your father says you’re a lawyer.”

  “Yes, Dr. Bretherton. Currently I work remotely for a firm in Chicago that has several cases in our state.” Turning his eyes back on Kathy, Alexander held out his hand, taking hers between both of his. “And it’s a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Bretherton.”

  “You too,” she said softly, not sure of what else to say. The younger Alexander had short dirty blonde hair and besides his gorgeous eyes, his face was all angles. She could only assume he would look a lot like his father when he reached his age. Looking to be in his late-twenties or early-thirties, she thought he had the look of a man who belonged in a courtroom – he held that inestimable quality of being very firm and strong. She actually kind of felt sorry for whomever he married. Poor girl.

  “We’ll let you get back to dinner,” Alex said, taking a step backward. “Have a good evening.” The two of them walked away before Kathy turned back to her dad and lowered her voice.

  “What’s with the town? Everyone talks so strangely. Courting? What is it, the eighteen hundreds?”

  His lips quirked, but he shrugged. “In ways it is the same as we believe, honey. It’s just that they put a firmer emphasis on traditional values. And from what I’ve heard, the courting thing works pretty well.”

  Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a couple more fries. “Courting. Why don’t they just call it what it is? Dating.”

  He leaned in as if to say something when someone else walked up to their table. “Gerry, good to see you out tonight.” Looking up Kathy spotted another man her father’s age with short black hair, wrinkled, deeply tan skin, and the look of a man who had spent most of his life out of doors.

  “You too, Kevin. Kathy, this is Kevin Staplefield. He owns a cattle ranch a few miles out of town. Kevin, this is my daughter Kathryn.” Her father had now introduced her twice by her given name, which was strange. Usually he would just introduce her by her nickname. It just added to the oddities of this town.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kevin said, holding out his hand. She shook it, surprised by the physical strength it held. He might not have squeezed her hand, but his hold was definitely strong. “And before I leave you to your dinner, let me introduce you to my sons, Bryant and Kevin, Jr.” Two men walked up, both of them in old jeans and button-down shirts, with the same deeply tanned skin, though theirs wasn’t wrinkled yet.

  The whole evening went on like that. She barely had a chance to take a bite of food before someone else would walk up, talk to her and her father for a moment, introduce their son or sons, all who ended up being in their late twenties, and then wish them a good night and leave. Sure she wanted to meet people, but she meant girls her age, not guys a decade older. Even if a few of them were kind of hot.

  While Sunday was a quiet day, filled with making dinner, talking, and laughing, the next week was busy as Carilyn and Kathy finished sanding the upper floor. By the weekend, they were finally able to start buying paint. Her mother let her choose her room colors. The rest of the house was a soft, soothing green. Her bedroom would be a bright peach with a nice bright blue for the bathroom. The man at the hardware store didn’t think it would go together, but Kathy wanted it anyway.

  Unfortunately, they weren’t able to start painting as first her mother went to the ladies auxiliary meeting and then her father’s brother and his family came to visit. Kathy didn’t want to be rude, and she would never say it to her dad, but she found Chester, his wife Beth, and his two sons from a previous marriage to be uppity. As Chester’s job was keeping septic systems running, it seemed a bit incongruous. They lived in a tiny two bedroom home with no land. What did they have to be uppity about?

  “Ah, Kathy,” he said in a boorish voice as he walked into the living room where she and her mother sat waiting. “I’m so glad your parents have moved you to Hyacinth. Just the place for you.” Managing a small smile, she gave a nod. Thankfully, he turned to talk to her mother so she didn’t have to try and make conversation.

  Beth sat down on the sofa as though she was sitting on a throne and Chester’s sons, Gary and Paige, sat down next to her. At eight and ten, both of them looked bored. Kathy couldn’t blame them. It was exactly how she felt when she’d had to visit their house two weeks before.

  They stayed through dinner and after they left, Kathy groaned in relief. Carilyn winked at her in the kitchen. “They are a bit much, aren’t they?” she whispered.

  “What’s the deal?” Kathy whispered back. Neither wanted Gerald to hear them. “I mean, he spends his life cleaning out septic tanks.”

  Snickering, Carilyn nodded. “You have to admit. He acts like his mother. I don’t know how Gerald turned out so well.�
� At her words, the man in question walked into the room.

  “Because of you, dear,” he answered automatically, opening the fridge. “Every time I acted like what I had been taught was normal, you squashed me.”

  Laughing softly, she nodded as she handed the last dish to Kathy to dry. “True. Every time you tried, I usually punched a hole in it.”

  Nodding, he turned and winked at Kathy. “Your mother’s mean.”

  “Invariably,” Carilyn said dryly and he grinned and kissed her on the cheek as he pulled the rest of the pie they had for dessert the day before out of the fridge.

  When the day of the picnic came, Kathy was cautiously excited. Finally, she would get to know some other girls. The thing she wasn’t excited about was the dress she would have to wear. It was sure to be ghastly. Not that her mother was a bad seamstress. She wasn’t. But her father had required Sunday clothing for the town ritual and that had been frilly and girlish her entire life.

  A knock on her door surprised her. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was already nine. She should probably get up. “Yes?”

  Her mom walked in, holding several dresses on hangers and went into her walk-in closet. “Okay, I finished four dresses for you,” she called. “I suggest you wear the blue. It would really set off the red in your hair.” Kathy sat up as she had looked as the dresses went by and none of them looked frilly. As her mother stepped back into her room, Kathy got up.

  “No frills?” she asked, heading past Carilyn into the closet.

  “Oh, there’s a couple, but they aren’t little girl-ish,” her mother assured her. “Your father has been on board with letting you appear as a young woman, thankfully. Do you like them?”

  Like them? Kathy stared at the four dresses and squealed. “Wow! These are great!” They would stack up against anything in the mall and as they were sure to cover her from above her chest to mid-thigh, her dad couldn’t object. The first one she picked up was a two-layer black affair with a form-fitting skirt and bodice with spaghetti straps for the first layer and black lace as the second. The second was a bright red off-the shoulder dress that once again, would set off her figure and had a small poof in the skirt. The third was a deep blue made of soft, light cotton. The skirt would come mid-thigh and would flow as she walked. The bodice had half sleeves and a small plunging neckline. The fourth was a skirt/blouse ensemble with the top being white with yellow polka-dots and the bottom being a tan pencil skirt.