Moving a Little Heart (8 page)

Baylor moved over for him to join her on the bed and placed her cheek on his hand. "I'm in trouble, and Uncle Terry grounded me."

"Uh oh. What did you do?"

"You're gonna be mad, and I don't want you distracted before you leave for work. It can wait."

"That bad, huh? And without Matt here, you have no one to help you talk your way out of it, right?"

"Precisely."

"I'm guessing a pretty severe spanking is in your near future, isn't it?" Jake said seriously.

"Uncle Terry seems to think so."

"Is he wanting to wait until I'm off to discuss this, or until Hayden and Matt come home?"

"He said we would tell you tomorrow. I'm sorry," she said.

"Well, if he felt we could wait a day, then I doubt it is very bad. He would have woken me if he felt the need to deal with this was immediate."

"No, it's pretty bad."

"Whatever it is, we will handle it together. I have to go to work." He kissed her gently and then held her face in his hand. "No matter what you did, just trust that we all still love you, okay?"

"I'm trying. I really am."

"Have any of us disappointed you or let you down since we so rudely invaded your life?"

"No, but…"

"But it's only been a month. It takes time to fall into this lifestyle, baby. Trust Daddy, okay?" Jake kissed her and stood up. "Will I see you in the morning?"

"Uncle Terry said I couldn't leave my room until you got up from your morning sleep."

"Then you need to obey him. I'll come by here when I get home. Baylor?"

"Yes, Daddy?" The word felt good in her mouth.

Jake smiled and kissed her forehead. "Whatever you did—whatever you might do in the future—none of it changes the way I feel about you. I love you. You know that, right?"

She nodded, still amazed that he, and the others, had those feelings for her. More amazing, though, was her feelings for them. It was, as she described, unnatural—but could not be denied. She loved Terry and Matt from the bottom of her heart. They were the uncle and brother she had always yearned for. And as for Jake and Hayden—there was no doubt left in her mind that she had fallen madly and helplessly in love with both of them. She struggled, feeling as though her feelings might be a 'rebound' effect following the divorce. Regardless, they were strong and very real to her heart.

Being grounded sucked. Baylor glared at the clock on the dresser, wondering if time had, indeed, come to a standstill. Never had a night ticked by so slowly! A knock on her bedroom door gave her the relief she needed for the moment.

"Good morning, tidbit. I brought you some breakfast," Terry said.

"Thanks. Where's Jake?"

"I asked him to stay at the house. Being grounded means that you can't play with your little friends, remember?"

"But Uncle Terry," Baylor scrunched up her face, deciding to play it his way, "Jake is my daddy, not my friend!"

"That logic is not going to work on me. We have an agreement not to contradict one another if we are disciplining or setting rules."

"But he came by last night before he left for work. How is that any different?"

"He didn't know you were grounded, nor did I have a chance to tell him. Either way, he should still be able to tell you goodbye before he leaves for work. Did you let him know that you were in trouble?"

"Yes." Baylor pouted. "Just not why."

"That's fine. He'll find out soon enough. Do you still have your Halloween costume?"

"Yeah, it's hanging in the closet."

"Good. After you finish your breakfast, I want you clean yourself up, including this room. When you are done, put on that dress, along with a pair of your white cotton panties. Also wear some ankle socks with your tennis shoes, and have your hair in two ponytails. No make-up."

"Are we going to a costume party or something?" she asked, confused.

"No, we are going to march a naughty little girl into her daddy's office for a spanking."

"I'm confused. My 'little girl' didn't screw up, why would I dress that way?"

"I'm giving you a break on your first real punishment, Angel. Daddies don't get as angry when their baby messes up as they do when it's their big girl. You'll also find that it is easier to become the part when you dress the part. I'll be back for you in a couple of hours."

Terry was right. Baylor felt her adulthood slowly slip away as she dressed for her punishment. Every little thing, from the shortness of the frilly white hem of the pink dress, to the simple cotton panties, placed her in a mindset of regression. Her hands trembled as she tied her ponytails to either side and adorned them with little white ribbons.

The distance from her house to the one next door reminded her of a mile-long walk to the electric chair.

Terry was unusually quiet, and held her hand firmly as he escorted her into the communal office shared by the four men.

"Put your nose into the corner and stay there until Daddy tells you otherwise."

"Yes, Uncle Terry," Baylor whispered.

Staring into the sage green corner, she gave no thought to anything other than what was about to happen. She knew she should be grateful that Terry was watching out for her in the best way he could, but it still didn't make her any less fearful of Jake's reaction. Her body began to tremble as she accepted that there was no backing out now, and that her rear end was about to be toasted. Whether or not she agreed that they could enact any punishment they felt was needed, she was still facing the unknown, and fear for the condition of her rump.

Tears began to flow as soon as Jake came through the door. He sat down on the small couch and called her over to sit on his lap. He cradled her in his left arm and patted her tears with a tissue, gently commanding her in a deep, resonant voice to calm down so they could talk.

"I want to know everything from start to finish, Baylor."

She shared what had occurred between her and Terry, editing the story to reveal that she had not realized she was out of glucometer strips until she went to test herself.

"When was that?" Jake asked.

"A little over a week ago," she lied.

"I'm confused. Didn't Terry ask you to show him your readings every night?"

"Yes, but when he saw I was stabilizing after our first week of checking, he said to just show him my chart every Friday. I didn't have one for him this week because I ran out and couldn't find where I put the extra ones," came the sniffling answer.

"Do you have more strips?"

"Yes, sir," she answered demurely. "They're packed somewhere… and you know I haven't had a lot of time to unpack everything."

Jake then interrogated her, calmly laying out the logic which inexorably led to her guilt. Finally, she mustered all the courage she had and placed her palms tenderly on his chest, forcing herself to look directly into his hazel eyes.

"Daddy, listen. I was feeling fine and eating everything you and Hayden said I should. I didn't need to take the blood sugars. I took care of myself like you told me to, really I did! Wasn't that the whole idea?" she asked, keeping her eyes fixed imploringly on his and praying that he would not discover the extent of her transgression.

A moment passed, and his expression wavered from stern to soft as he broke her gaze and looked away. Baylor was never a good liar under any circumstance, and lying to Jake while looking him square in the eye was more than she could endure. Was he actually going to 
believe
 her? She held her breath as she awaited his next words.

Jake frowned to himself and looked down, then back at Baylor to study her face. She quickly lowered her eyes, unable to meet his probing gaze. He then looked away again for several seconds, his eyes closed and his breathing deepening.
He looked up at her again with sadness in his eyes and shook his head.

"Did you consider that Terry might have taken a few minutes to speak with me before I came in here? He wanted to reduce your punishment, and tried to tell me that you're still adjusting to being accountable. I also know he had you dress in your Little outfit to soften me up. Come on, girl, I wasn't born yesterday. He said that you had also run out of your blood pressure medication. What's with that, young lady?"

She remained silent, hoping his question was rhetorical.

When she did not respond, he continued. "You being irresponsible with your health troubles me very deeply. Stop the crying, Baylor. I'm not done talking to you. Even if your blood sugars were in balance, there's also the matter of your blood pressure. Didn't we ask you to call in your prescription a month ago?"

Miserably, she shut her eyes, and silently nodded yes. "I didn't mean to forget, Daddy! It just happened! I swear, I didn't mean it!" she blurted. "I was just so caught up in being with you guys that it slipped my mind. I'm so sorry!"

"But you still did it," he said, with finality. "I love you so much. Far too much to allow these things to go uncorrected. In this house, that means you are going to be spanked good and hard. Hopefully it will discourage you from neglecting your health and remind you to be more responsible in future. Comments?"

"No, sir," Baylor mumbled.

"I really wish I didn't have to do this. Not today. I would have preferred to have an evening with my special girl without her squirreling from a sore bottom. But I promise you two things. One, I will not withhold any love I have for you, and two, I won't withhold a well-deserved spanking when it is sorely needed."

Jake easily lifted her from his lap and laid her face down across the side of the sofa, with her panty-clad bottom centered over his left thigh. Holding her wrists firmly against the small of her back, he clamped her legs into position between his. 

A wave of emotion raced through Baylor's body as his warm hand tucked the hem of her dress to her waist to expose the seat of her panties. She sincerely wished she could vanish and be spared the pain and humiliation the ensuing minutes would undoubtedly bring.

It was only a matter of seconds before his big, hard hand came down across the thin white cotton. The garment offered no protection, and she felt herself plummet to a level of misery she never knew existed. Why would someone who claimed to love her wish to put her through such agony? Even worse, why would she have agreed to it?

Jake's palm silently swept down to contact her trembling bottom once more, the force driving her into his thigh. His hand continued to press against her backside, as if pushing the spank deep into her buttocks. The pain came just a fraction of a second later, and felt like wasps stinging deep into her bottom muscles. The extent of the single smack was so concentrated that Baylor shrieked and immediately began to sob while drumming her feet against the floor.

"That huuurts!" she cried out, helpless to escape the intense sting radiating from her behind as she flailed her legs.

"Spankings are supposed to hurt, my love. But they provide much less damage than the mistakes that caused them," Jake said gently. She did not feel Jake lift his hand, so when another spank landed in a loud thunderclap against her posterior, it struck her with as much surprise as the pain that followed. Pinned under the man's strong leg, Baylor only had enough room for the balls of her feet to kick the floor, and very little room to otherwise wiggle her backside to the right and left to avoid the next spank. She wailed into the couch cushions as his punishing hand continued to tirelessly swat at her helpless nates, and she slowly transformed into a repentant little girl with a tear-drenched face who was receiving a very sound, and very thorough, spanking from her beloved daddy.

The moment Baylor stopped kicking and gave in to her punishment, the spanking stopped. Jake smoothed the dress back over her bottom and released her wrists, gently rubbing her crimson cheeks as she continued to cry across his lap.

Several minutes passed before she managed to pull herself to stand upon unsteady legs, her sniffles subsiding enough to listen to his directions. Jake's voice was gentle and kind as he ordered her back to the corner to think about what had occurred and how she could prevent a repeat of the unfortunate event.

Baylor whispered, "Yes, Daddy," and promptly obeyed him. She listened to the sofa creak as he stood, the sound of his footsteps leaving the room, and the quiet click of the door closing behind him. Leaning her forehead against the wall, she reached behind to rub the agonizing sting from her incredibly hot backside. She was grateful that Jake had allowed her panties to stay in place, guarding her modesty in the process of her erratic kicking and twisting which would otherwise have guaranteed the man an eyeful of her private secrets.

Breathing in time to the ticking wall clock helped calm her. She heard the door open and the sound of footsteps walking across the room. A hand was placed on her shoulder, and Baylor was turned to face Jake. He gathered her in his arms, comforting her as she broke into another set of tears.

He tenderly brushed a stray wisp of hair from her eyes and smiled. "It's over, darling. I want you to go to Uncle Terry and apologize for making him worry, and promise that you won't do it again."

"Yes, sir," she sniffled, turning to leave.

Terry was working on his laptop at the dining room table when she approached him with Jake in tow.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Terry. I should have told you I was out of those strips and that I forgot to call in the prescription."

"Next time, I want to see the glucometer. Fudging the results because you're out of supplies is unacceptable and also very deceptive. I need to be able to trust you to be truthful with me, okay?"

"What do you mean by fudging the results?" Jake asked.

Baylor watched the younger man's face turn to stone as Terry explained how she had made up the numbers on the charts, and that she had not been eating properly since Hayden had left with the rescue team. In the space of an instant, everything had gone from being very, very right, to horribly, horribly wrong.

Jake turned to her. "Is he talking about a chart that would require you to take three readings a day for the last three weeks? Readings that require glucometer strips that you ran out of a
week
after you arrived here?"

"I—"

"Baylor Anne Parish, I want the truth from you this instant. Did you lie to both Terry and me? Did you actually think you would get away with trying to deceive us?"

Busted. The knowledge that she had written down bogus numbers was now exposed. Baylor saw Jake's face darken and averted her eyes.

"One thing I can not abide is when I am lied to. I admit, you were very convincing, but the facts speak for themselves. You could have easily ordered more strips if you had run out. You could have told Terry and he would have gotten some for you. You admitted that you could not check the readings without them, and yet you falsified the results for two weeks. Two weeks, Baylor! Didn't you suspect for a minute that he would eventually ask you for the machine and check the averages himself?"

"I told you that I didn't need them, and that I was taking care of myself!"

"The issue now is that you deliberately lied to us. You," he barked, his eyes drilling into her, "are going to learn your lesson right now, young lady! Come with me."

"Oh, my God! No more! Please," Baylor dug her heels into the carpet, resisting him. "I can't take anymore."

"I made a promise that I would not withhold my love, or my discipline, from you. It's one thing when you forget your medication, it's another when you lie and deceive."