“I can promise you that your rent is not going to go up,” Sid said firmly. In fact, he was pretty sure the rent was going to be lowered. He wasn’t about to gouge people until they bled! He was positive that Serenity would agree. The woman thanked them profusely, and then served them a huge amount of food. Everything was delicious, but when Sid asked for the bill, he was told there was no charge. He protested, but the woman stubbornly shook her head. When she was busy with another table, Sid left a large tip on the table and then he and Serenity left.
As they walked back to the hotel, Sid looked at Serenity and then said, “I wonder what else we are going to discover?”
“I don’t honestly know, Sid. Do you want to stay here tonight, or at the ranch?”
“We’ll stay here until things are resolved. We have a lot to discuss, and with everyone watching our every move at the restaurant, we couldn’t talk of anything.”
Serenity giggled at his perturbed expression.
“This is not funny, young lady.”
“Welcome to my life, and now you know why I’ve been living on my own for the last year. I had no privacy in this town; everyone was too anxious to keep tabs on me, and inform him of everything I did and said. It was too much, but the final straw came when he decided I was to get married to a man that he picked. I ran, and necessity dictated I find a job quick before my money ran out. It was Harrison himself, who insisted I learn to ride well and handle a gun expertly. I don’t have the temperament to work in a store or in a saloon.”
“I can believe that,” Sid replied with a wink. “Besides, I don’t like the idea of my wife working in a saloon.”
“I thought you didn’t like the idea of my bounty hunting either?” she asked with her eyes open to reflect innocence.
“You are going to earn a spanking, little lady!” Sid promptly answered. “Let’s be serious now. I need to know about your brothers. You haven’t even wired them yet. Why is that?”
“I wanted some answers first. Neither John nor Greg is going to be heartbroken at the news of Father’s death, and they wouldn’t attend the funeral even if they could be here by tomorrow. I didn’t think that wiring them until we knew about Father’s Will would matter. And, I don’t intend to share how awful he was in his Will.”
“You need to let them know,” Sid said firmly. “One of them might have a different view of things and want to come.”
“I doubt it, but I will do as you ask right now.”
“That is good. What are your brothers’ lives like? What do they do?”
“John owns a gun shop. He repairs and sells guns. Greg works in a shop building buggies, wagons, carriages, and the like. I haven’t had a lot of contact with either of them since they decided to get as far away from Father as possible. I do know that Father did his best to force them to come home, but it didn’t work. I will wire each of them right now, Sid. You’re right when you say I don’t have the right to decide for them what they want; that is too much like Father’s way of thinking to suit me,” she confessed, and was startled when his hand landed on her backside with a loud clap and a searing pain! “What?” she asked, tears filling her eyes as she turned to look up at him.
“Do not ever let me hear you compare yourself to Harrison Compton, Mrs. Prentiss. You are nothing like him; you were trying to protect your brothers, not control them. There is a huge difference,” he explained, hugging her before he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face. “You are so sweet.”
Serenity gave him another hug, and then preceded him inside the telegraph office. “Hello, Ralph. I need to send a couple of wires to my brothers.”
“I’m sure sorry to hear about your Pa, Miss Serenity.”
“Thanks, Ralph. That is kind of you.” The man nodded, and she waited, knowing that there was more just from the way he shifted from one foot to the other. “Go ahead and speak your mind, Ralph. I can handle whatever it is you feel you need to say.”
“It ain’t nothin’ bad, Miss Serenity. I just want to know what is to become of this place?”
“Are you telling me that Father owned this place, too?” she asked, exasperated.
“Why, yes, Miss Serenity. Didn’t you know?”
“No, I didn’t. Well, that explains how he always seemed to know when I sent wires to John and Greg.”
Ralph nodded. “He read each and every telegram sent from the office and the ones received. He claimed it would let him know who was having troubles so’s he could help them, but if you ask me, Mr. Compton took advantage of folks.”
“There will be no more of that, Ralph,” Serenity said firmly. “From this moment on, all wires are to be kept strictly confidential. My husband and I are just now learning of Father’s holdings, and it will take us a few days to sort things out. One thing I have always wondered; who gives you time off?” Serenity asked curiously. “I can’t remember ever coming in here that you weren’t working.”
“That’s because your Pa said I had to work them hours or he’d find someone who could. I need the job, Miss Serenity. My Ma lives here and I support her. I can’t move her away from her church and her friends. It would kill her!” he declared.
“As of now, post a sign on the door and cut your hours down to something more reasonable,” Sid said. “You can let folks know where to find you if there is an emergency, but I don’t want you coming in here at all hours if it isn’t a genuine emergency,” Sid added firmly.
“Just what do you consider an emergency?” Ralph wanted clarification.
“If the law asks for your help, that is a given,” he answered. “Anything else is at your discretion; I certainly won’t fire you for trying to help someone if you feel it important, and I won’t fire you for telling someone to come back in the morning. Serenity?” Sid looked at her for input, and she was nodding.
“Ralph will be fair to people, husband.”
“Then, that is settled. What are you being paid?” he asked directly, and Ralph stammered his answer. “Is that standard with what other telegraphers are paid?”
“No, but like I said, I needed to stay here and take care of Ma. I couldn’t afford to argue with Mr. Compton or he would have fired me.”
“That’s not fair, Ralph,” Sid said. “In the next couple of days, Serenity and I will come in to talk with you, and we’ll make sure you are making a fair wage for what you do, and we’ll see about hiring someone to work under you so that you have some free time.”
“Thank you kindly,” Ralph said humbly. “Miss Serenity, I almost forgot that you come in here to send word to your brothers?”
“Yes.” Serenity wrote out the telegram, choosing her words carefully, and waited for Ralph to send the wires. Before he was completely finished sending the second one, John was replying to his telegram:
Good stop Want nothing of his stop Love you, little one stop John
“I’m sorry, Miss Serenity. There’s things you don’t know,” Ralph nervously proclaimed. “Your Pa was mean as could be to your brothers, especially to John since he’s the oldest.”
Greg’s reply came then:
Are YOU alright, sister stop Hated him want zero of his stop John feels same stop Come visit soon please stop Life is short stop Divorce the creep stop Greg
Serenity immediately wrote out a reply:
Married MY choice stop Not his stop I am happy stop
“Serenity, what are we going to do? This isn’t fair.”
“We’ll come up with something, darling. Please don’t be upset. Just think of all the good you can do now for this town.” She smiled trustingly at him.
“You do trust me, don’t you?”
“With all my heart, and with my life, several times now.”
The telegraph started clicking again, and Ralph said, “It’s for you, Miss Serenity. Your brother again.
I am happy for you stop Write details soon stop Greg
“Thank you, Ralph,” she said gratefully, then took out her purse to pay him.
He shook his head. “You own this place, Miss Serenity. You don’t pay yourself,” he said with a grin.
“Oh.”
“And now I reckon I know why you always paid before; you didn’t know your Pa owned this place.”
“No, I didn’t have a clue.”
They left then and walked back to the hotel. To Sid’s surprise, Serenity walked right up to the desk and demanded, “ Did this place belong to Harrison Compton, too?”
“Well… well…” He looked helplessly from Sid to Serenity and back again. “I am not at liberty to discuss that, Miss.”
“I don’t believe we’ve met, have we?” she asked him.
“Why, no…”
“When did my father hire you?” She wanted to know.
“Your father!” The clerk’s face turned red.
“If Harrison Compton owned this place, then yes, my father.”
“About two months ago, Miss.”
“It’s Mrs. Prentiss,” Sid said, interrupting.
“Oh my! Let me give your money back!” he hastily offered.
“It doesn’t matter,” Serenity told him. “So, Father owned this place, too. What about Mr. Mills who used to work here? What happened to him?”
“He was murdered, Mrs. Prentiss. In the middle of the night! Mr. Compton didn’t seem too upset; he just promoted me to head desk clerk.”
“Mr. Compton died this morning,” Serenity told him, and quickly realized that the man did not know. His face turned red and he quickly offered his condolences.
“Sid and I just learned that Father owns a lot of buildings in town; please give us a few days to pull everything together, and then we will discuss business, wages, and anything else pertinent with you.”
“Yes, Mrs. Prentiss,” the man whispered. “Please let me give your money back!”
“Just apply it to Miss Curtis’ room. She was displaced due to unfortunate circumstances, and my wife and I wish to help her figure out what she wishes to do next.”
“That is commendable.”
“No… My father hurt a lot of people; we just want to try and make things right.”
Serenity felt tears fill her eyes, and Sid quickly took her arm and led her upstairs to their room. “I am so damn angry!” she raged. “I want to shoot Harrison Compton! How dare he put these good people through hell?”
“Calm down, wife. You are not responsible for the things he did.”
“It doesn’t matter!” She stomped back and forth across the carpet. “I am his daughter, lived in the same fucking house with the bastard, and I didn’t have one damned fucking clue that he was shafting people right and left! And, all of these people just assumed I knew! How in hell could I be so fucking blind?” she railed.
“That is enough!” Sid scolded. “I know you are upset, but if you use that word once more, you are going over my knee for a good spanking.” The words were a promise, and one he didn’t make lightly. Never, in a million years, did he expect her to pick up the first thing she could get her hands on and throw it at his head. If his reflexes weren’t so quick, the heavy vase would have brained him! He jumped off the bed and started for her.
“Oh, fuck you, Sid Prentiss! You and your perfect life! I hate that bastard so much!”
Sid grabbed her, pulling her struggling body over to the bed. He then sat down and jerked her face down over his left thigh. His hand fell on the seat of her pants in the next second.
“Owwww! Ouch!” Serenity cried out. “Let me go, you son of a bitch! I’m going to shoot you the very second I get my hands on my guns!” Sid didn’t let her go, but continued to smack her backside while she fought to free herself.
Sid managed to take her britches down, and then her drawers, baring her butt to his gaze… and his hand! He spanked her hard, holding her struggling body down with his strong arm clasped around her tiny waist, and his right leg over her kicking feet. He wasn’t about to let her go until she was very sorry for talking like the worst criminal that ever lived.
“Stop! Stop! Please, Sid! No more!” Serenity hated herself for begging, but he merely ignored her and continued to give her an awful spanking. Suddenly, she was crying and sobbing her heart out.
Sid gave her a few more spanks right where she sat so that she would have a lasting impression, and then he stopped, gently helping her up to sit her on his lap so that he could comfort her. “You are too sweet to use such terrible language, honey. Please don’t.”
“I’m so sorry!” she sobbed. “I’m awful when I’m so upset!”
“We’ll work on that,” he said, gently rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. “I love you, and I know you’ve had one hell of a day.”
“Oh, Sid! I don’t even want to show my face in this town after all the horrid things he’s done!” she admitted, still crying.
“It isn’t your fault, and I believe that most folks already know that. Besides, I’ll be at your side.”
“How can you love me after meeting him and learning that he was so awful?”
“I am not going to judge you because of the things he did,” Sid promised. “But, I will spank the daylights out of you when you resort to having a tantrum like that. You can control yourself better.”
“I’ll try,” she promised.
“That’s all I ask, sweetheart. I’m not perfect either, and you might need to remind me to settle down sometimes.”
“Do I get to spank you then?” she asked hopefully, the sting of her bottom making her long for the opportunity to deal him the same type of retribution.
“No. But, it means I have to do something special to make it up to you. I hold to self-discipline. That means I will make something for you, do something you want, or I’ll give up something until I think I’ve learned my lesson. It wouldn’t be fair for me to spank you for swearing and then go around saying whatever I pleased with no consequences.”
“That sounds fair,” she agreed, and then sniffled one last time before saying in a small voice, “I am very sorry for my temper tantrum, Sid. I felt so overwhelmed by everything, and I lost my head. I didn’t mean any of the things I said to you.”
“I know you didn’t,” he whispered. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It is going to take more than a little tantrum to run me off.”
“I’m so glad to have you.”
“Even though your sweet ass is on fire right now?”
“It is on fire,” she admitted. “But I’m glad, because I know you have my back. I feel safe when I am with you, and I really want you to make love to me again,” she begged, touching his cheek with her palm.
“It is officially our wedding day, so I can’t tell you no; I don’t want to tell you no… but, sweetheart, in the future, we won’t be making love right after a punishment spanking. That is like rewarding you for bad behavior, and I won’t do that, no matter how much I might want to. But, today is very special to both of us, and I need you so much I can’t put the need into the right words. I love you, wife, and I am honored you agreed to marry me. I know I’m not a prize, but I promise I will love you with all my heart always and forever.”
“Oh, Sid, you feel like a prize to me. I love you and I couldn’t say yes fast enough to marrying you. I want to be your wife again, so please don’t keep me waiting!” she begged, drawing him down so that she could kiss him.
Sid didn’t need any other encouragement. He kissed her breathless, and then transferred her to the bed, smiling when she grimaced as her bottom hit the bedspread covering the bed. “Hurts, huh?” he asked without a bit of sympathy.
“Yes, it does,” she conceded. “Please don’t rub it in, darling. I truly am sorry, and I want your forgiveness; it is important to me.”
“You had my forgiveness before the first spank fell on your pretty butt, sweetheart. I was serious when I said I understood how you were feeling. That spanking released a lot of hurt, didn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes, it did. I wasn’t angry with you.”
“I know that,” he softly said, kissing her gently. “May I please make love to you, Mrs. Prentiss?” he asked, and then said, “I love the sound of that… Mrs. Prentiss… I never thought I would have such a beautiful woman agree to marry me!” He felt his own eyes fill with tears he quickly blinked away.
“I like the sound of Mrs. Prentiss, too, Mr. Prentiss. You rescued me over and over and how could I not love you?” She put everything she had into showing her new husband just how much she loved him.