Corralling Callie Read online

  “Come with me,” he said, and led the way around a bend out of sight of the other passengers. There was no need to add the humiliation of witnesses to her punishment. He stopped, unclasped his gun belt, and placed it on a rock by the side of the road.

  “How far away should I walk?” she asked, her voice trembling. She looked at him fearfully.

  Jude felt confused by her question. “You don’t need to walk anywhere. Just turn around and bend over a little. Place your hands on your knees.”

  She set the weed down and obeyed. Jude couldn’t help but notice how comely she looked bent over waiting for her punishment. She had shapely hips and a round, pert bottom.

  She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Won’t it shred my dress?”

  Jude frowned, puzzled again, until it dawned on him what she was thinking. “Lands sakes! I’m not going to use my blasted horsewhip on you.”

  Her forehead was wrinkled into worried lines, and he felt a wave of compassion. The fact that she was willing to endure such a thing told him how strong her desire to get to California was.

  “I’m going to use this belt I’m wearing.” He patted the leather around the waist of his trousers. “Three licks for the stunt you pulled, that’s all. It’ll hurt, but nothing like a horsewhip.”

  When she looked at the belt, relief flooded her features. She let out a breath and turned her head forward while Jude unbuckled the belt from his hips. He folded it in half like he remembered his father doing the few times he was whipped as a boy. Jude had never given a naughty girl a licking, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out how to administer it effectively. He placed a steadying hand on the small of her back and took a moment to study his lovely target, which was quite spankable in that it was plump despite her small stature. There was no doubt in his mind that the impetuous little lady deserved a licking. However, the sight of her bent over in submission to punishment brought to mind a wholly inappropriate desire to lift her dress and give her an entirely different kind of seeing-to.

  “Hold still,” he admonished when she fidgeted nervously in anticipation of the first stroke. “You’re not to move from this position until your punishment is over, understand?”

  She settled immediately. A meek “yes, sir” reached his ears.

  He took a deep breath. He didn’t want to spank her too hard, just enough for her to know he was serious and to make her think before behaving foolishly in the future. He drew back his arm and snapped the belt across the seat of her dress with moderate force. She let out a small yelp but remained in place.

  “Good.” Although he spoke the word to praise her for taking the lick without moving, he also praised himself for inflicting enough pain to cause a reaction but not enough to tempt her to break position.

  Jude had a good aim and could strike a small target from ten feet away with the end of his horsewhip every time. He practiced whipping often because it was important that a horsewhip be used with complete precision during every part of the journey. Aiming a folded belt at a girl’s upended backside from less than a yard away was decidedly less complicated. That was why each lick he gave her landed in a neat line from the fleshiest part of her bottom down to the tops of her thighs, not once lashing the same spot twice.

  After the three promised licks, he removed his hand from her back. She hopped from foot to foot and reached around with both hands to grab her smarting backside.

  He made a last-minute decision. “You’re getting one more lick for the lies you’ve told,” Jude informed her sternly. “Get back into position.”

  “But… what lies?” she asked in a whine.

  He scoffed. “Where do I start? How about you being taught how to shoot by Jesse James, or being taught how to nurse by Florence Nightingale?”

  “But that’s the truth,” she protested. “I swear it.”

  “All right then. What about you knowing how to handle a whip on account of your pa owning more horses than everyone else in Missouri? Or being able to fix every part of a wagon?”

  She hesitated for a moment, but then said with lift of her chin, “I told the truth about those things too.”

  Jude let out an exasperated sigh. He’d hoped she would be forthright and clear her conscience. Out of all those lies, there was only one he could prove. He stepped a few paces away and removed his horsewhip from his hip. “Come here,” he ordered, as he flicked the handle with his wrist to uncoil it.

  Callie trudged to him, eyeing the whip warily. He handed it to her. “If you can hit the trunk of that tree,” he said, pointing at a thin baby oak about ten feet away, “I’ll believe you about your whipping skills, and I won’t punish you for lying. You have three tries.”

  The expression on the girl’s face couldn’t have conveyed more doubt about the task, so Jude took a few steps away to get out of the whip’s range of motion. He crossed his arms and waited. Callie made an unsuccessful attempt to swing the whip, which she barely seemed able to lift. Her second attempt was slightly better in that she was able to get the whip to crack, but it landed nowhere near the target. Her third attempt was even worse than her first.

  Wordlessly, Jude walked to her. He took the whip out of her hand and recoiled it as he scowled at her. Callie studiously avoided looking him in the eyes. He didn’t have to ask her to assume the position again. She turned around and bent over. Jude fastened the horsewhip back on his hip and retrieved his belt. “I don’t take kindly to lying. Remember this the next time you’re tempted,” he growled at her, and gave her the hardest wallop of all.

  “Owww!” she cried, and straightened. Jude watched her lower lip protrude into a pout as she rubbed her bottom. He didn’t know why exactly he’d felt compelled to punish her for lying. It was outside of the original reason for punishment, and he certainly wouldn’t have punished her for it if he weren’t already in the midst of disciplining her for something else. Her behavior wasn’t his concern as long as it didn’t cause other people harm.

  Jude finished buckling his belt. He regarded the girl with his hands on his hips and wondered what he should do with her now. He wanted to give her a hug, since she looked very cute and forlorn with her lips formed into a pout and small hands rubbing her spanked bottom. Instead of hugging her, which didn’t seem proper, he reached out and flicked her lower lip gently with his thumb, which he realized wasn’t proper either when the feel of her damp lip against his thumb caused him to experience a sudden desire to kiss her. “Little girls who pout after punishment get more spankings,” he said in a teasing manner. Her lips morphed into a small smile, confirming that she heard the tease in his voice.

  Jude smiled along with her to let her know all was forgiven. “That’s better. Come along now. We are way behind schedule.” He walked in the direction of the coach as she scurried to the plant she’d uprooted, picked it up, and then followed him, jogging to keep up with his long strides.

  The passengers were still walking around, taking advantage of the opportunity to stretch their legs. Mrs. Tucker still looked quite green, and her discomfort didn’t do anything for her temper. She scowled at Callie and then at Jude. “Are we going to be stopping often, wasting time in the middle of nowhere?” she demanded to know.

  The senator complained next. “I told you to leave that girl behind. She’s nothing but trouble. I don’t want to suffer at the hands of a little scamp who isn’t even on the right coach.”

  Jude frowned. “Senator Tucker, Mrs. Tucker—Callie won’t be doing something so foolish again, but you might listen to what she has to say. She was only trying to help.” He looked at the girl and nodded, encouraging her to provide an explanation.

  Callie held up the plant proudly, as though it was a large fish she’d just caught and not a dusty weed. “This here is gingerroot.” Handing it to Mrs. Tucker, she said, “Gnawing on that root might help you with your stomach trouble.”

  Mrs. Tucker’s expression conveyed nothing but contempt for the dirty plant that had been shoved into her hands. She rolle
d her eyes and addressed Jude. “Can we go now?”

  It broke a piece of Jude’s heart when he saw Callie’s face fall and her shoulders slump forward. After all that, Jude hated that she wasn’t even graced with a polite thank you. “Yes, let’s get to it. We have lots of ground to cover before we arrive at the station.”

  As the others climbed into the coach, he bent and whispered into Callie’s ear, “That Mrs. Tucker is wearing the ugliest hat this side of Copes River, don’t you think?”

  The girl’s expression changed from crestfallen to delighted, and she giggled silently, holding a hand over her mouth and nodding at him conspiratorially.

  He winked at her and offered his hand to assist her ascent up to the box seat, though he knew she was perfectly limber enough to make it up herself. He didn’t imagine the girl had often been treated like a lady because she climbed up awkwardly, appearing like his assistance was more of a hindrance than a help, but she made it and settled on the seat with a barely perceptible wince. They started on their way again.

  Jude felt glad when Mrs. Tucker called out to Callie an hour later and told her the ginger was working and she didn’t feel as sick. The girl looked over at Jude with a happy grin. “That was worth the walloping. I’m not even sore anymore.”

  Jude arched a brow at her. “Maybe I didn’t spank you hard enough.” He cracked the horsewhip in the air, moving the horses along at a faster pace than usual during this part of the journey in order to make up for time lost.

  She stared at him with wide eyes. “It was hard enough. I won’t ever pull your reins again.”

  He chuckled at her earnest response. “I’m glad to hear that, darlin’. No more lying either, all right?”

  She sighed. “All right, Jude.”

  Chapter Three: Callie’s Malady

  By the time they arrived at the swing station, which was nothing more than a one-room shack and barn with a milk cow and four fresh horses, everyone felt sore and weary. Mrs. Tucker removed her hat and tossed it carelessly to the corner, causing Jude to grin and silently congratulate himself. She’d gotten sick of the hat even sooner than he thought she would.

  The groom who lived at the station provided the group with a bland meal of beans and potatoes, which they relished without a word of complaint. One thing Jude had discovered during his days in the army and on the line was that there’s no spice more delicious than hunger. Conversation between himself and the passengers flowed easily.

  “I hear there are two seasons in California—summer and preparing for summer. Sounds like heaven,” Annie said with a wistful sigh.

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” Mrs. Tucker countered. “I don’t care much for winter, but the heat causes me to feel faint.”

  The senator cleared his throat. “It’s a dry heat, dear. Much different from the humid climate we’re used to. What feels like a hundred degrees in Missouri feels like a balmy seventy in California.”

  “That sounds mighty fine,” Billy piped up. “If I wasn’t already sold on California, I would be after hearing that. The weather is something nice to look forward to after the discomfort of travel. I swear, I’d rather get caught in a tornado than ever travel by coach again. No offense, Jude.”

  “None taken.”

  “The driver’s seat is the most comfortable. That and the girl’s,” the senator commented, saying the girl with undisguised derision and resentment.

  Callie spoke for the first time then. “I’d think you’d be comfortable wherever you sat, Senator Tucker, seeing as how you have plenty of built-in cushioning on your person.”

  Jude choked on the drink of water he was swallowing, the female passengers gasped, and a red anger flushed the senator’s cheeks. Like when she brazenly climbed up to the box seat, Jude once again found himself in a state of stunned silence over the girl’s behavior which, while shocking, was becoming more and more predictable in its inappropriateness. He didn’t want to scold her in front of the other passengers, but he made a mental note to discuss manners with her in the near future.

  Quelling the tension, Annie changed the subject to mending, letting the passengers know she had a small sewing kit in her parcel should anyone need some patching during the journey. Callie didn’t speak again, and Jude noticed her slipping out of the shack after eating her meal.

  It was decided that the men and Callie would sleep on the hardwood floor, each with one blanket and a small straw-stuffed pillow. There were only two cots, which were offered to Mrs. Tucker and Annie. Callie wasn’t considered for a cot because she’d been riding in the most comfortable seat on the stagecoach. The senator continued to grumble about the disparity of her prime seating arrangement in comparison to theirs, and Jude reckoned he should switch her out with the others occasionally in order to keep peace on the journey.

  When Callie didn’t return after some time, Jude grew worried. He glanced around the room and noticed that everyone seemed to be asleep, but he wasn’t able to relax not knowing where she was. He exited quietly and headed for the barn, which was only a few paces north of the shack. He saw the glow of a lamp through the cracks of the door. When he pulled the door open, he spotted Callie on the ground next to one of the horses with her knees pulled to her chest. Her back was turned to him, and she rocked back and forth humming to herself. The coal oil lamp burned nearby, casting a glow on her head. Something about Callie’s pose, which seemed small and afraid, made his concern grow.

  “Callie,” he called to her softly. “You all right?”

  Looking back, she nodded at him but didn’t speak.

  Jude approached her cautiously, as though she was a rabbit who might bolt at any moment. He crouched and placed a hand on her back. “Come to the cabin now. It’s time to get some shut-eye.”

  Callie shook her head. “Nah, Jude. You don’t want me there, trust me. I’ll sleep out here.”

  Jude could see that she needed some convincing to return with him, though he didn’t have any idea why. He sat on the hay-covered ground next to her. “What are you talking about? You should be sleeping in the cabin with the other passengers, not out here alone in the barn.”

  “I’m not alone,” she said, looking pointedly at the horse next to her.

  “You know what I mean. Why don’t you want to come inside? I won’t let anyone treat you poorly, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She looked over and gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Jude. It’s not that. The thing is, I have a strange malady that will keep others from being able to sleep.”

  “Oh? And what is it?”

  She hesitated, obviously not wanting to share, but she took a deep breath and said, “I don’t like the dark. I panic. I can’t handle the quiet so I have to make noise.”

  Jude didn’t understand. “Noise?”

  “I have to hum or tap my foot or do something whenever it’s dark and quiet, like when others are sleeping. Sometimes it’s not enough and I end up screaming. Believe me, I’ve tried not to. It annoys people something fierce, but I just can’t help myself. I’d wake people up and they’d be sore at me.”

  It was the strangest affliction Jude had ever heard of, but the way she communicated it reluctantly to him with some embarrassment in her voice told him that she was serious and that it really was something she couldn’t help.

  “I know I’m addled,” she lamented. “I worry that Albert won’t like me when he finds out about this.”

  “Balderdash,” Jude said, his voice firm. “It’s a little odd, I will admit, but everyone has their peculiarities.”

  “Some peculiarities are more peculiar than others, though.” She looked down and fiddled with the hem of her worn dress.

  Jude rose to his feet and held out his hand to her. “Come along. I won’t have you spending the night out here alone.”

  “But Jude—”

  “No point arguing, Callie, my mind is made up. Take my hand now.” He spoke to her as he would a child whose only choice was obedience.

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p; Callie sighed and slowly reached up. Jude enclosed her small hand in his much larger one and tugged her to her feet. He led her out of the barn and headed for the shack. She dragged her feet a pace behind him, obviously reluctant to go with him.

  He stopped walking. “Look, young lady,” he said in a disapproving voice. “You’d better stop acting like a stubborn child or I’ll take you back to the barn and give you your second spanking of the day. Is that what you want?”

  She let out a whimper and looked down. “No.”

  “Then stop dragging your feet.” He resumed the walk, and she fell into step beside him. He gave her hand a squeeze. “I don’t mean to sound unkind, and you’ll have to forgive my bossiness. You seem so young and alone in this big world. I feel I must look after you until it becomes your husband’s job.”

  She didn’t immediately respond. As they reached the door, he felt her squeeze his hand in return. “I’m glad I met you, Jude, even if you are a bit bossy.”

  * * *

  Callie lay on her back atop her assigned blanket, staring at the darkness above her. Jude had shown her to her spot on the floor, which was a body’s length away from where he slept. She remained quiet for several minutes, but as she lay there in the noiseless dark, her panic formed and grew steadily. It started in the pit of her stomach and rose to her chest. Her heartbeat picked up speed and she felt frantic. It was too quiet. She had to hear something! With tears streaming down her cheeks, she began to hum as quietly as she could, but the hum built in volume along with her terror.

  Before long, the senator was awake and not at all happy about it. “Shut up, you useless waste of space!”

  Annie was politer in her admonishment, but her annoyance was just as apparent. “Hush now, girl. We’re trying to sleep.”

  Callie was able to stop humming momentarily, but a short time later the panic compelled her to resume. Angry grumbling could be heard from the passengers, and Callie wondered if Jude would notice if she snuck out and slept in the barn as she originally intended.