Rocky Mountain Wild (Rocky Mountain Bride Series Book 6) (16 page)

“I didn’t mean to hit you with the pot. Can we just go to bed and talk about this?”

“Time for talk was earlier.” He drew up her skirts, and she could hear the satisfaction in his voice He loved the sight of her pale thighs and buttocks framed between her dress and dark stockings.

“I’m glad you’re sorry though, or your smacking would be longer. I’m going to turn your bottom pink as it is.”

She groaned. His hands worked her flesh thoroughly, readying it for his smacks.

The spanking was never harsh enough for her to cry. Worse was the scolding; he kept it up the whole time.

“From now on you have a short time after dinner to finish your work, and then it’s bedtime for wee Phoebes. And if I hear a word of protest, you go to bed with a sore bum.” His hand fell in a faster rhythm as if to emphasize this. “I’ll not have you yawning through the whole day; you work hard enough as it is. I told you I was going to care for you, and I intend to keep my word. Argue and you’ll get a smacking. You’ll get one every night to keep you sweet if I have to.”

Her cheeks felt hot by the time his lecture was finished. “You understand?”

“Yes.” She kicked her legs a little, but otherwise submitted to his touch—the sharp smacks and the deep massage in between that eased the sting, but made her insides quiver.

“Good lass. Now, part your legs.”

“What?”

“Part your legs for the end of your punishment,” he repeated patiently. “Unless you’d like more?”

Slowly she drew her legs apart, expecting him to smack the lower part of her bottom, as he had before. Instead, his fingers swirled between her lower lips, collecting the dew and sending little sparks of pleasure through her. By the time he took his fingers away, the itch between her legs was loud and insistent.

“Calum,” she gasped.

“You like that, Phoebe?”

“Please, don’t leave me like this.” He wasn’t going to send her to bed wet and needy, was he?

“Don’t worry, lass. I promised I’d take care of you, and I will. Normally, I’d send you to stand in the corner and think on what you’ve done, but I’d rather not put any strain on that leg. So, you’re going to lie here across my lap, and think about how to be a good Phoebe. And then I’ll give you your reward.”

The minutes felt like hours, but she did as she said. His hands rested on her, sometimes cupping her warm bum,

The ache faded quickly into a warmth that spread through her warm body.

Finally his fingers threaded in her hair. “Have you learned your lesson?”

“Yes, Calum. I’ll be a good girl.”

“Good. Take your reward.” A slight flick of his fingers and she was soaring. She heard him chuckle from far away.

“Now, you’re ready for bed.” He carried her to the furs and drew them up to her chin, tucking her in like she was really a little girl.

“Did you like your spanking?”

“Yes,” she admitted.

“They’ll all end like that.”

She gasped. “You mean, every time you punish me, you’re going to...”

“Give you pleasure.” He nodded. “Every time. It’s what you need. You’ve had far too little happiness in your life. It’s my duty to make sure you make up for lost time.” Bending, he kissed her forehead.

She reached out and stroked the front of his pants.

“What about you?”

“Let me get you healthy first,” he said. “I want to see you looking less pale and thin before I wear you out every night.”

“But—”

“I waited so long for you, Phoebe, I can wait a little longer. Now, I have something to speak to you about.” He sat next to her on the bed and took her hand. “Tomorrow, we need to go to town. After the Martins’ store, I’d like to stop by Dr. Shepherd’s house and—”

She pulled her hand away and he recovered it patiently.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Why not?”

“What can he do to help me?”

“I don’t know, Phoebe. That’s why we’d go find out.”

She turned her face away. “This is ridiculous. I should be allowed to do as I please.”

“You’ve suffered long enough. You may not mind, but I do. It’s my job to take care of you, and I’m going to do just that.”

Phoebe huffed.

“Do you think, if Esther hurt her foot she’d limp around and work herself to the bone without letting the doctor at least look at her to see what was wrong?”

“No, but—” she broke off the thought. It was too humiliating.

“But what, Phoebe?”

“Esther’s beautiful,” she blurted.

In the semi-darkness, she saw confusion crease his face.

He didn’t speak. He rose and left the room, returning with the lamp and his small shaving mirror. “Here,” he said, propping up the glass. “Look here. What do you see?”

Wide blue eyes stared back at her out of a pale, narrow face. There was a little flaw in one iris, a splash of brown that marked her different. “My face.”

“Do you not think you’re comely lass?”

“I do it’s just…it’s not safe to be pretty. Not for me.”

Understanding dawned in his expression and he nodded slowly. “It is now,” he said quietly. “I’ll not let anything happen to you. And that’s a vow.” Setting aside the mirror and lamp, he blew out the light and climbed into bed.

“You’ve had a hard life, lass, but not anymore. I’m going to coddle you and treat you like the treasure you are.”

Phoebe felt tears clog her throat. He made her feel pretty and loved, things she didn’t deserve to feel.

“You do know you’re a special lass, don’t you?”

“I—I don’t know.”

“Mrs. Martin met you once and she gives you gifts, stuffs you full of preserves and she does not do this for anyone. You worked for a woman for years who thought of you like a daughter, and misses you still. You work hard and run yourself ragged. You’re the most beautiful lass I’ve ever seen but that is not the only reason I married you. You’re strong, and stubborn, and I wish you could see that. But you will, Phoebe. One day, you will.”

“I’ll go to the doctor,” she said finally. “As long as you promise to go with me.”

“I’ll be at your side the whole time.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“Thank you. It’s a gift to me.”

He turned her to her side, fitting his big form against hers.

Her brain buzzed with two images over and over: Esther and the doctor looking in repulsion at her foot, and disappointment on her own husband’s face as they told him there was nothing to be done.

“What are you thinking about?”

She didn’t answer, so he tucked her more firmly against his chest.

“Sleep now, Phoebe,” he ordered, and amazingly, she did.

*

True to his word, the next morning Calum loaded her up on the little mule and took her to town. They were outside of the Shepherds’ house by midday.

Esther made a big fuss of them coming into the house and eating lunch, so in the end Phoebe’s examination took place in the kitchen. She sat on the edge of her seat, nervous as Dr. Shepherd propped her foot on another chair and started to probe it.

“Phoebe,” Esther said, coming over and handing out coffee as if they were all there for a social visit instead of a medical one. “Did Calum ever tell you of the baby boy he saved last Christmas?” The doctor’s wife launched into the story of Jack, the little Ute boy. “Calum found him and his mother in the snow. She was coming down the mountain, and got caught in a bad blizzard for a few nights. Calum came across them and lashed together branches to make a travois and pulled it behind him all the way to town.”

“Truly?” Phoebe turned wide eyes to her husband. He gave an uncomfortable shrug.

“I just found them and got them here. Tis you who did the rest, and Donovan’s woman.”

“Johnathan and I took Jack in and Carrie Donovan nursed him along with her daughter until we found a wet nurse. He was perfectly healthy, once he was warm and fed.”

“What about the mother?” Phoebe asked. The doctor was still measuring her foot, but she didn’t notice.

Esther’s face fell. “She didn’t make it.”

“She was married to a soldier. A traveling man who took her from her family. She left and was trying to get back to them,” Calum said.

“Calum went out in the spring to find her family. They recognized the blanket she wore, though they didn’t know she had a child. We took Jack back to them in April; his aunt wished to raise him.” Esther blinked several times, as if she might shed tears.

“We’ll visit him.” Dr. Shepherd reached over and squeezed his wife’s hand.

Phoebe startled a little; she’d forgotten the doctor was there.

“We can visit anytime; his aunt and grandma said so. They even said they will keep the name we gave him.” Esther brightened.

“Now, Phoebe.” Dr. Shepherd brought her attention back to the matter at hand. “I’m going to touch your foot and stretch it, and I want you to tell me how it feels. Especially whether it hurts.”

Taking a deep breath, Phoebe let the doctor go about manipulating her cursed limb, while Calum hovered close by. With her husband at her back and the charming Mrs. Shepherd humming at the hearth, Phoebe found she could almost relax, and was glad the doctor saw patients in his warm kitchen.

“All in all, the limb is very healthy and strong,” Dr. Shepherd pronounced when he was done. “It’s actually a very mild case of clubfoot. The deformity itself isn’t painful except what stems from walking on a twisted foot. You say it’s been like this from birth?”

Phoebe nodded.

“And you’ve never seen a doctor until now?” The doctor’s brow wrinkled, but his brown eyes were kind.

“Her family told her it was a curse,” Calum rumbled behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “They told her it could not be fixed.”

Dr. Shepherd pursed his lips. “That’s a shame. I must tell you, that there’s a very simple treatment for the limb. The ligaments in the foot are too tight to let it unbend, but they can be stretched easily. It’s a simple procedure if done for a few weeks after birth—most babies, when treated immediately, never have any problems. Their foot heals in place, and they’re able to walk completely normally.”

Phoebe suddenly couldn’t breathe. She heard the doctor continue talking, but it was like he was far away and she was underwater.

“So there’s something that might help Phoebe?” Calum asked.

“It may take longer, but the process is the same for an adult. I’m going to prescribe a simple course of exercises and bindings for the foot. The course of stretches will slowly move the navicular from its position on the medial malleolus—”

“English, dear,” Esther reminded her husband.

Johnathan cleared his throat. “Apologies. I can show you the exact way to stretch the foot. If that goes well, we’ll put it in a cast in its correct position, and the foot will heal in place. If all goes well, I’m confident it will greatly improve the angle of your foot. It’s possible you will be walking on a completely normal foot by spring.”

“Oh, Phoebe, that’s good news,” Esther cried.

Phoebe nodded, trembling a little. She’d always thought her foot was a curse she would never be rid of. Ten minutes with a proper doctor and suddenly everything she’d believed was a lie.

A pause, and Calum’s head bent near hers. “Do you hear that, Phoebe? You’ll be able to walk, good as new.”

Phoebe heard the words from far away. A lifetime of shame and suffering, all because of her family’s spite over her foot. She let out a little sob, and the whole room stilled.

“Phoebe?” Esther said with concern, but the tears were already running down the young woman’s cheeks. Calum leaned down and her arms went around her husband. He lifted her easily and carried her out of the room.

“Let them be, Esther,” Dr. Shepherd said. Calum strode down the hallway to a little parlor at the front of the house.

“It’s all right, wee one. I’m here. You’re going to be fine,” he murmured and seated them both on a chaise. “Now tell Calum what’s wrong.”

It took a couple of tries for her to gulp out the truth.

“‘From birth,’ he said. They could have fixed it, if they wanted to. My family let me think this would be forever. Why didn’t they love me enough to help me? Why didn’t they—”

Her mouth stretched with a sob and she couldn’t speak. Calum wrapped his big arms around her, holding her while she cried.

“Oh, Phoebe lass, you’re all right. Just cry it out.”

Tucked into his warm, hard body, she let the tears pour down her cheeks. Calum murmured soft endearments, his beard scratching her cheek.

When she’d cried enough to rest against him, he cupped her chin.

“My sweet lass,” he said. “You’ve been treated most cruelly, but no more. Never again. I’m going to help you, Phoebe,” his grey eyes held a promise, “and you’ll walk straight and tall like you should.”

Sniffling, she nodded, and hid her face in his neck, breathing in the fresh, wild scent of him. His big hand covered her face, holding her close. “I wish I could go back to the moment you were born and watch over you. I’d hold you like this and tell you how beautiful you were.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and more tears ran out. Calum tipped his head back and thumbed them away. “I can’t, but I can hold you now, and care for you. And I’ll be with you for your first steps. Does that sound good?”

Nodding her head, she gave him a tearful smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, can you sit in my lap while the doctor shows us how to heal your foot? We’ll both learn together.”

Her breath shuddered out. She didn’t want to face the doctor, her foot and her fears again, but with Calum beside her, she knew she could do it. It was him between her and the rest of the world, and she could trust him to keep her safe.

*

The exercises Dr. Shepherd gave her were simple, but Phoebe hated doing them. Every time she had to touch her foot, she could feel the ugliness spreading through her. Calum helped her the first few times, but since she was to do them several times a day, he left her to do them most mornings while he did the morning chores of fetching water and wood.

One morning she waited too long stoking the fire, and he returned before she could do the stretches. She went to the bedroom and pulled on her socks and boots, then hurried to get breakfast going without doing any of the prescribed treatments. Once her day started, she forgot about doing the exercises at all. She skipped them at noon too, but by early evening, she found her hip and thigh muscles cramping, tired from the long day of work. Without the stretches and the bindings, her foot was turning in again, putting strain on her whole right side.