Big Stick squinted again before he shouted, “Lily, get in here.” He waited until her slim form appeared in the doorway. “Is this fellow telling the truth? Did you meet up with a Scug tonight?”

“Yes, Daddy. They've set themselves up in that grove their family used to tend as an orchard. It's gone wild now, but I guess they still own it, so maybe I was on their land.”

“And you never told me? Here I was, thinking you were safe taking the woods path. Girl, when I get a hold of you...” Here, he stopped. He seemed to remember what his hands could no longer do when he tried to sit up and realized he didn't have the strength. He turned to Hank and seemed to make up his mind. “Young feller, you look like a man who knows how to handle a woman. I just want you to know that if you give her what you think she deserves, it's okay by me.” With that, he folded his arms over his chest and turned his face away.

As they entered the kitchen, he heard Big Stick's voice say, “My razor strap is hanging on the porch.” Hank looked on the porch and saw a washstand set up near a broken piece of mirror hanging from a wire on the wall. He unhooked the strap and approached Lily.

“I hate to do this,” Hank confessed, “but I think we both know it's what you deserve. It's definitely what he expects.” He nodded his head toward the bedroom they had just left. “Lean over that table and hike up all but one petticoat.”

“I couldn't! Please, don't do this, Mr. Hall. Really, I...”

Her father's now rasping voice sounded clearly through the cold kitchen, “Do like he says. Now!”

A widow living out her faith. A man lonely and concerned. An old man clutching his last remnants of dignity. A murderer on the loose. Hank Hall knows he'll need all the help he can get to catch first a murderer, then a wife.

Chapter One

Lily nearly tripped on the ice at the top of the church stairs. Hank reached out his hand and caught her elbow to steady her. Then he looked into her eyes and caught his heart just as it tried to sail into her pocket.

“The name's Hank Hall, ma'am. Nice to meet you,” he said. In this case it was not just a polite formula. Meeting a beautiful woman like her was indeed a pleasure.

“I'm Lily Hopshaw,” Lily replied. “Welcome to our church. We're glad to have you here.” She nodded her head and held her skirts up out of the way so that she could safely descend the steps. Hank politely took her elbow to assist her and kept it as he walked with her down the path to the road where the horses, wagons and other conveyances waited.

“Which one is yours, ma'am? I'll help you in, unless you'd rather wait for your husband.”

“I'll be walking home, Mr. Hall, but thank you all the same.” She smiled at the ground and started down the dusty street toward the rail yard.

He hurried after her. “Ma'am, you don't have to go that way, do you? That way will be dangerous. A rail yard is no place for a lady.”

“I have no other choice, Mr. Hall, but thank you for your concern. I don't have far to walk before I cut off onto our path.” Lily felt a shade of guilt at this slight deception, but she rationalized her statement by the thought that the word 'far' meant different things to different people. She continued on her way even though she felt Hank trying to catch her attention again.

“Wait, ma'am, and I'll walk with you!” Just then Brother Wren, the Pastor, called him.

“Hank, there are some folks I'd like you to meet if you have a minute. This is Mark Jelpik and his wife and their three sons. He's chairman of the deacons and Mrs. Jelpik heads up the Ladies Missionary society.”

“Glad to meet you folks,” Hank said politely, but he turned his head to watch as Lily disappeared between two train cars.

“Glad to have you with us, Mr. Hall,” Mrs. Jelpik replied. She followed his gaze and went on, “It's a shame that her father can't accompany her to church any more. It's not safe for her to be walking all that way home by herself. I wish we could give her a ride, but we haven't got room.”

“I've offered to take her home first then come back for you and the boys,” Mark Jelpik said, “but she won't hear of it. That's one independent woman.”

“I'm surprised her husband lets her go and come by herself if her father can't be with her,” Hank commented.

“Lily has been a widow for almost two years now,” Mrs. Jelpik informed him. “That was a sad case, too. We all thought so highly of Ted. Never thought he had an enemy in the world.” Mr. Jelpik gave his wife a quelling look and she fell quiet with an embarrassed grimace. “Sorry. I do run on sometimes but I know better than to spread gossip.”

Brother Wren saw Hank's bemused expression and promised, “I'll tell you all about it over dinner. As security man for the railroad, I think you need to know. It was a shame sure enough, but these good folks are hungry, so we'll let them get on home while you and I walk over to the parsonage and enjoy a bit of Joan's good cooking.”

Brother Wren took several steps toward the parsonage before he realized that Hank wasn't following him. When he looked back, Hank said, “I don't like the idea of that widow lady walking through that rail yard by herself.”

“Big Stick will probably meet her halfway,” Brother Wren replied. “He wouldn't let her do anything dangerous, now would he?”

“Big Stick Flannigan?” Hank asked.

“Yes,” Brother Wren replied. “Didn't you know? That's Lily's father.”

“No. I had no idea. Well, he knows the situation. I guess he'll watch out for her,” Hank replied uneasily, and accompanied the Pastor up to his house.

Lily arrived home with her normally pale cheeks flushed from the snapping Autumn breeze. Big Stick examined his daughter's face when she came into the bedroom to check on him. “What's the matter?” he asked. “You usually look happy and have a spring in your step after Sunday meetings. You didn't go through the rail yard did you? You know I don't like you going through there.”

She had carefully cleaned the distinctive rusty soot off her boots to avoid alerting her father to the path she had taken. “I'm fine, Daddy. It's just cold out,” she said, hoping to avoid his question.

“It'll get colder than this once winter comes,” he replied.

“I'll be sure to wrap up better next time,” Lily promised. As she made her way back to the kitchen to start dinner, she wondered if Jubal would be there or if it would be just the two of them again.

When she carried her father's fried chicken and potatoes in to him on a tray, he looked at her and sneered. “Chicken again? Didn't that worthless brother of yours bring home a deer or even a measly rabbit? Useless cuss!”

“Jubal is still out, Daddy,” Lily replied. “I just wish he'd come home whether he brings any meat home with him or not.”

“You would wish that , wouldn't you? You'd let Jubal freeload and gladly. He's just another mouth to feed, not worth what it takes to fill his belly.”

That's just the pain talking. He never used to say things like that before he got so bad. When he could still walk and do for himself, he wasn't this bitter. Oh, Lord, please relieve his pain and heal his heart. I don't know how I'm going to stand this much longer.

In silence, she listened to his mumbled invective while she sat knitting in her chair. In silence, she watched him eat without enjoyment the meal she had put so much effort into. In silence she cleared the dishes away with a smile as she received his silent compliments. If he didn't yell complaints or swipe at her with the stick he kept at the bedside, that was high praise, indeed.

The knock at the door, when it came, frightened Lily. She ran to to open it, hoping against hope that perhaps her father had not heard. “Brother Wren,” Lily exclaimed. “How nice to see you. What brings you out this way?”

“Thought I'd check in on Big Stick,” came the gentle reply. “How is he today?”

“About the same,” Lily lied.

“That's funny,” Brother Wren answered. “Doc Mason seemed to think he was worse.”

Lily became very still and quiet, though she tried to control her voice. “How much did he tell you?”

“Nothing really. Just shook his head when I asked about Big Stick and looked so glum, I didn't have the heart to go on asking.” Here he paused and gave Lily an assessing look. “I just determined to come around here and see for myself.” For some reason Brother Wren didn't comprehend, Lily looked both relieved and yet somehow disappointed.

“I'm sorry, Pastor, but like I said before, Daddy doesn't want to see anyone.”

“Then you answer me,” Brother Wren replied. “Why isn't Big Stick coming with you to church anymore?”

Her desire to tell him everything shone in her eyes and made Wren's heart ache for this dear little sister in the faith. He knew she was on the point of unburdening herself when from the bedroom came a scornful bellow. “Throw him out, girl. Don't want him or any of his in my house.” Lily started to cry and Wren patted her shoulder before he turned to go.

“After all you did for us when Mama died, how he can treat you like this, I'll never understand.”

“It's not your fault, dear sister,” he answered kindly. “You'll tell me in your own time.”

“It's not me who wants to keep secrets,” Lily confessed through her tears. Looking both surprised and ashamed at the words she had just let slip, she went on, “We're fine, Brother Wren. The Lord provides every day, doesn't He?” How she wished she could tell him that her father was now bedridden and unable to take more than a few shaky steps, even with two canes, but her father hated the idea of anyone knowing of his illness's progression, so he swore her to silence.

“Indeed He does, “ Wren said, then closed the door behind him. Lord, You do provide. How about providing a man for Lily? She needs it, Jubal needs it, and Big Stick needs it.

As he neared the parsonage, he saw Hank standing on the front porch of the boarding house where he stayed. Hank called out, “She's all right, isn't she?”

It took Wren a moment to realize to whom Hank was referring. “You mean Lily Hopshaw?” The Pastor gave his new friend an inquiring look.

“Uh, yes,” Hank answered. “Your wife told me you'd gone out to see her.”

“Her and some other members of the congregation, yes. I saw Lily and she's fine.” He hesitated, as an idea occurred to him. “You were asking Joan about Lily?”

Hank looked a little sheepish and grunted his assent. “Just thought I'd ask,” he demurred.

* * * * *

“Don't do that, Mable,” Lily fussed a few weeks later in the church yard. “There's no need to bite your nails. I'll be fine. It's not that dark, what with the full moon shining. I'll be home in two shakes of a lamb's tail.”

“But you shouldn't go alone. Max told me to tell you to wait. If you don't, I'll get in trouble.”

“I know Max better than to believe that,” Lily chided. “You're making a mountain out of a molehill.” Lily had already started down the path into the rail yard when she threw this remark over her shoulder. Mable watched her go and wished she were strong enough to hold her friend back. Lord, please protect her. She's being headstrong but surely she doesn't deserve the bad things that could happen to her out there.

Mable waited, stomping her feet and slapping her arms against her sides to fight the chill. Before Max arrived, however, Hank appeared. “Hello, Mrs. Grayson. I thought maybe Mrs. Hopshaw would have come to the Ladies Missionary Society meeting this evening.”

“She was here, but she just left.”

“At this time of night? Alone?” Hank was incredulous.

“We didn't plan to be this late. We ran a bit over our schedule.”

“And how are the other ladies getting home?” he asked. He could see many of the ladies of the church still waiting.

“When we saw that we needed more time to finish the project, we all asked our husbands or escorts to come back in one hour. In that hour, it got dark. When I told Lily we would take her home if she would just wait for Max, she ignored me and went on home. Oh, I don't like her going through that rail yard by herself at night.”

“Or any other time of day,” Hank agreed. “I wonder if she knows the bridge across the gully is closed for repairs? Do you happen to know if she cuts through that way?”

“Indeed I do and she does. If that's blocked off, surely she'll come back this way. There's no way for her to get home through the rail yard without either crossing that bridge or going far through the woods, and surely she wouldn't do that.”

Max pulled up in his wagon and greeted Hank with a grin. “Howdy, Hall. You picking up somebody from this hen party?”

“I thought I'd see if Lily Hopshaw needed someone to walk her home,” Hank replied distractedly. He was straining his neck to see if he could catch a glimpse of Lily's returning form.

“Max, Mr. Hall here was telling me that the bridge over the gully is out. Won't that mean that Lily can't get home?” Mable asked.

“If I know that one, she'll just cut through the woods even further than she usually does,” Max declared. “That's one independent lady. If I were Big Stick, I'd do something about her.”

“Well, if you folks will excuse me, I think I'd better just see if I can catch up to her and make sure she hasn't run into any trouble.” With that, Hank turned his long strides into the path to the rail yard and disappeared from view.

He found her tracks easily enough. They had received a slight dusting of snow the day before and it still lay, white and glistening in corners and under trees. Where it lay undisturbed on the path, Lily's footsteps showed in clear outline. Such a tiny foot, he thought to himself. Such a tiny woman. If she runs into any trouble out here, she'll have no more defense than a rabbit. Look there! That's where she made her decision to go into the woods. She could see the closed bridge from here and her footprints are unclear, overlapping in all directions as she dithered about what to do. If only she had dithered a little longer, I could have caught up to her by now.

He followed her footsteps into the woods. His ears, pricked to detect any sound, gave him first warning that all was not well. “Please, let me pass, Mr. Scug. I really must get home to my father. In fact, he could be here to meet me any minute.”

“We both know Big Stick ain't comin',” came the lurid gruff reply. Hank hurried his steps and didn't trouble to keep his paces silent. He wanted them to know as soon as possible that help was on it's way. “We done tol' you if'n you come around here again, we'd know it was cuz you wanted to have a good time with us'ns. Now you's here and we aim to give you that good time, girlie.” Horace Scug seemed to lift his dirty head up, like a beast smelling the wind. “That you, Clovis? What you makin' that racket fer? We caught us a female and I aim to be first, since was me treed her.”

Hank unholstered his service revolver and shouted, “Security here, boys. Hands up and freeze!” When he rounded a bend in the path, he saw only one ragged, disreputable scoundrel of a man instead of the two he had expected. Holding his pistol on the man he assumed to be the Mr. Scug Lily had addressed, Hank ordered, “Get behind me, Lily. I'll take you home then go get the sheriff.”

“She was on our place,” Horace grinned. “She was wantin' to be here. You got nothin' on us.”

“Who is us?” Hank wanted to know. He still saw no other person to whom the vagrant in front of him might be referring.

“They just always talk that way, Mr. Hall. Mr. Scug's brother is not here at the moment but all of the Scug's family always speak as if the whole family were present. He could be inside their house over there. This is indeed their property and I was probably trespassing, for which I do apologize again, Mr. Scug. Please, Mr. Hall, if you could just take me the rest of the way home, I would be greatly obliged.”

Hank marveled at how calm her voice sounded. She had to be terrified, and yet she neither cried nor raged. Only her glittering eyes and flushed cheeks betrayed her agitation. “Trespassing or not, he has no right to assault you like that, or even threaten you.” Turning to the leering Horace, Hank used his most calm and therefore dangerous voice. “You will leave this lady alone in the future or you will answer to me. I don't have the power to arrest you, but I won't need it. If I hear of you so much as looking at her, I'll nail your hide to the barn door to scare the rats away.”

Though Horace was not mentally talented, he did have the sense to understand when danger threatened. He cowed before Hank and smiled what he thought looked like an obsequious smile. “No harm meant. We didn't know she belonged to nobody. We ain't lookin' to horn in on no territory of your'n. Just keep her off our place.” He gestured to a pile of brush and rocks that Hank had taken for a hillock or fallen tree. He saw now that it could indeed be recognized as a habitation of sorts. It looked more suitable for a bear or wild boar, but then again, it seemed quite fitting for the person he was still covering with his gun.

“Be sure to tell this Clovis you mentioned, and anyone else you happen to harbor out here, that Mrs. Hopshaw is protected. In fact, I'd better not hear of any lady having trouble out here or you'll find yourself on an empty cattle car headed West with no return ticket.” With that, he took Lily's arm and escorted her smartly down the path.

“I can't begin to thank you enough,” Lily began as soon as they were out of earshot of the Scug encampment. “You saved me from... from...” At that point, she could not continue. She stopped in the path and hid her face in her hands.

“Hey, now. None of that,” he ordered. “I hate it when a woman cries. Just be glad your foolishness didn't end up getting you seriously hurt.” His words were gruff but his touch was gentle as he took her in his arms and held her tenderly. “I came in time. That's all that matters right now. And you'll never go near that no-account villain again, so you'll be safe from now on. Hush, now. Everything's all right.”

She sniffled and tried to dry her eyes on the backs of her gloves. She searched in her pockets for a handkerchief, but he found his first and gave it to her. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for this and for helping me. I'm sorry I broke down.” She turned and began walking up the path again. Hank watched her as they walked and noticed that she was turning this way and that, seeming to search for something.

“What are you looking for?” he asked suspiciously.

She started, then answered, surprised by his attention. “I'm looking for another path to get me around the Scug's haunts. I'll still have to go through the woods to get to town, now that the bridge over the gully is out.”

“You what? No way! You can put that thought right out of your stubborn little head. Didn't you learn anything tonight? Don't you know what he intended to do?” Hank's heart was still pounding in his chest and here she was planning to put herself through it all again.

“I said I would find a way around their area. They won't bother me if I stay away from them,” she asserted.

“Don't you believe it. He just used that as an excuse. Anytime he thinks he can catch you, he will. You'll just take the road from now on. It's the only safe way.”

“I can't take the road. It's much too far to walk. It goes around the pond and the Indian mound.”

“Well, then you'll just have to figure out another way or wait until someone can give you a ride or walk with you, preferably armed. You can't go through those woods alone, and the bridge over the gully isn't slated for repairs until Spring. It's not safe for you to go through the rail yard alone anyway. No, you will take the road and that's all there is to it.”

She opened her mouth to argue, then realized there was no sense in it. He could say whatever he liked. He didn't know her situation and wouldn't be around to enforce his decrees. With her father confined to his bed and Jubal gone more and more, her life was her own now, and she had to learn to take care of herself.

They were upon the house before Hank realized where they were. It was much farther than he had been led to believe, but the way seemed short to him due to the excitement of the encounter with Scug and the pleasure of walking with Lily. She had accepted the assistance of his hand at her elbow several times and he found that a very hopeful sign. This lady needed looking after and Hank had already begun wondering if he weren't the man for the job.

“Why isn't there a light on? Isn't Mr. Flannigan home?” Hank hated to leave her there by herself after the fright she had just experienced. Lily couldn't tell him that Big Stick was often too weak by the time evening came to light his own lamp.

“Oh, he's home, all right. I'll be fine from here. Thank you so much.” Lily put a firm dismissal into her tone, but he batted it away like a hitter making a double on a baseball diamond.

“You're very welcome, ma'am. I'll just be a minute, but I'd like to discuss a few matters with Mr. Flannigan, if you don't mind.”

“I'm afraid my father isn't receiving visitors these days, Mr. Hall. He's been ill as you know and... Mr. Hall, please. Don't go in there. You can't! Wait!” Her words followed him as he opened the back door and let himself into the dark house.

“Who is that with you, girl?” came her father's angry bellow. “I want to know who it is that's keeping my girl out till all hours of the night!”

“It's not his fault, Daddy,” Lily cried from the kitchen. She turned to light a lamp, then saw one flare as Hank found the kitchen lamp in it's bracket on the wall and lit it.

“Is he too drunk to light his own lamp?” Hank asked Lily in a serious whisper. “I need to know if he's sober enough to deal with this.”

“He's not drunk! I don't know why he didn't light the lamp.” She suspected that the matches had rolled off the bedside table out of reach, but she still hoped to salvage the situation without revealing the depth of her difficulties, so she didn't explain further. Her father gave her no time to make up additional stories.

Big Stick kept shouting, though the effort was costing him. “Who are you and what are you doing with my daughter?”

“My name is Hank Hall and I've heard a great deal about you, sir.”

“Hank Hall? The Hank Hall who's the new head of security at the rail road?” The angry energy seemed to leave the man's voice and he sank back into the bedding.

Hank lit another lamp and made his way to where he thought the shouts had come from. The sight that met his eyes was anything but the sight he had expected. Instead of the big, powerful and angry patriarch towering in his lair, he saw a tall thin man lying on a bed. His shaggy head and shrunken shoulders propped up on pillows, Big Stick Flannigan no longer looked the part that his name portrayed. Good Lord, they'll have to change his name to Twig if anyone gets a look at him. No wonder he's not seeing anyone. He doesn't want anyone to know what he's come to. Please, God, give me the wisdom to deal with this man. It's going to be a lot harder than I thought to do what needs doing but still leave him his dignity.

“I'm trying my best to fill your boots but it isn't easy measuring up to a legend like you.” Hank put every ounce of strength he possessed into looking respectful, strong, challenging, and even defensive. The one thing he did not want the older man to see in his eyes was pity.

Big Stick squinted at him in the dim light. The disease that was ravaging his body and sapping his strength was also attacking his senses, so he struggled to judge what he saw. It did not take him long to note the broad shoulders, the short dark hair, and the no-nonsense look of the tall man in front of him. Big Stick's manner seemed to change and he relaxed. Hank even thought Big Stick seemed to recover some of his earlier pluck once he realized that he was going to be treated like an equal, not an invalid.

“What's railroad security got to do with my daughter?” Big Stick demanded.

“It's not railroad business, no, but I thought you deserved to know what she's been up to. Any woman kin to me wouldn't sit down for a week if she did what Lily did tonight. Did you know she makes a habit of traipsing around in those woods at night alone?” Hank sounded accusing, though he realized there was little or nothing this elderly and very ill man could do about anything his daughter might take it into her head to try.

“She has to go through the woods to avoid that rail yard. It isn't safe for her to be going through, what with the hobos and all. Never could understand why Mittel and his like wouldn't let me clear them out. They wouldn't, you know. Wouldn't let me touch 'em. I could have cleared out the lot of 'em, and good riddance, but no. I did my best, but my hands were tied. So I won't let her walk through there. It's safer in the woods than near the tracks.”

“I don't see how trespassing on Scug's land can be safer than anything you might name,” Hank argued.

“Scug? What's she got to worry about from a Scug? They wouldn't dare speak to her, much less hurt her. And it's not like she's likely to run into them out in the woods anyway.”

“That's not what it looked like tonight. I followed Lily home, just to make sure she got here okay. By the time I caught up to her, Horace had her cornered and was already talking dirty to her. Nothing else happened but...”

Big Stick cut him off. “I can't believe it! He hasn't got the guts to do something like that! He doesn't know how bad off I am, so he's still scared of me. And she's got enough sense to steer clear of them, anyhow.” He didn't want to imagine what might happen to Lily if the Scug clan figured out the extent of his illness.

Hank hesitated for a moment before commenting, “Maybe something has happened so that they're feeling bolder. From what he said tonight, I think somehow they may have figured it out. All I know is, Lily was in big trouble until I got there.”

Big Stick squinted again before he shouted, “Lily, get in here.” He waited until her slim form appeared in the doorway. “Is this fellow telling the truth? Did you meet up with a Scug tonight?”

“Yes, Daddy. They've set themselves up in that grove their family used to tend as an orchard. It's gone wild now, but I guess they still own it, so maybe I was on their land.”

“And you never told me? Here I was, thinking you were safe taking the woods path. Girl, when I get a hold of you...” Here, he stopped. He seemed to remember what his hands could no longer do when he tried to sit up and realized he didn't have the strength. He turned to Hank and seemed to make up his mind. “Young feller, you look like a man who knows how to handle a woman. I just want you to know that if you give her what you think she deserves, it's okay by me.” With that, he folded his arms over his chest and turned his face away.

Hank could tell the interview was over. He wanted to talk more, but he realized by listening to the man's wheezing breath that Big Stick Flannigan needed to rest. He took Lily's elbow and led her out of the room. As they entered the kitchen, he heard Big Stick's voice say, “My razor strap is hanging on the porch.” Hank looked on the porch and saw a washstand set up near a broken piece of mirror hanging from a wire on the wall. He unhooked the strap and approached Lily.

“I hate to do this,” Hank confessed, “but I think we both know it's what you deserve. It's definitely what he expects.” He nodded his head toward the bedroom they had just left. “Lean over that table and hike up all but one petticoat.”

“I couldn't! Please, don't do this, Mr. Hall. Really, I...”

Her father's now rasping voice sounded clearly through the cold kitchen, “Do like he says. Now!”

She looked in the direction the shout came from, then looked over at Hank. He indicated the table with a wave of the strap, now securely held in his right fist. She didn't see where she had any choice. To obey her father, to guard his last scraps of dignity, she would have to submit to this treatment.

How could she bear it? She hadn't been spanked in several years, not since she was a young bride. Ted had spanked her at first, before she understood that the respect and courtesy he gave to her were also expected from her. After that, only rarely, when she skirted the truth too broadly, had he used her hairbrush on her backside. She knew her independent streak could get her in trouble, but now that she was a widow and completely on her own, she felt she needed that independence to survive. Despite that, here she was, being punished by a man she barely knew.

As she complied with Hank's instructions, she tried to defend herself. “I only did what I had to do. I can't be a prisoner in my own house.” Her tone came out waspish which she hadn't meant, but she found it impossible to moderate her tone when this man was holding that strap.

“It's not for going out that you are getting punished,” Hank explained firmly. “It's for lying to your father, which you obviously did when you didn't tell him about the Scug's moving into that grove. You also lied to the church folks when you let them think Big Stick was coming to meet you halfway home. You even lied to me when you said it wasn't far to your house. This is what happens to young ladies who tell lies.” THWACK! The strap came down on her almost bare backside like a lightning bolt. It burned and ached in a blossom of pain that had almost come to full flower when THWACK! it came again. This time, he aimed lower down and put more snap in the stroke. She jumped and yelped this time, so he knew he was getting through to her. THWACK! Another stroke landed and she started to sob.

He began his lecture then. “You'll get five strokes with this strap for every lie I just named.” He continued his relentless count as he spoke. “What I can't understand is why you lied about all this. You needed help. Why not just ask for it? Instead, you put yourself at risk and kept other folks guessing. You denied them the chance to help you. They would still love to help you, but you don't ask.”

By the tenth stroke, she was in agony. She could not help reaching back and rubbing at her burning backside. “Move your hands, or I'll start over,” he promised grimly. She instinctively knew better than to doubt his word. “That's better,” he stated when she slowly removed her hands from her rump and placed them back on the table. The last five strokes snapped louder than the rest. Hank covered every inch of her flesh thoroughly and painfully. That last thin petticoat did nothing to protect her from the strap's onslaught.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. He pulled her to him as her skirts swished back into place. Holding her was just the courteous thing to do, he told himself. Any man with any decent feeling would do the same for a sobbing woman. “Your daddy cares about you,” he whispered. Then he surprised himself by saying, “I care about you. Don't do anything so foolish ever again. Promise me?” She nodded her head in assent.

Whispering words of comfort to her felt as natural as breathing to him. “Nobody will hear from me how bad off Big Stick is, but people are beginning to guess. If you ask for help, they won't ask any questions that he's told you not to answer. Try asking. You never know what will happen.”

Somehow, he had his doubts about her listening to him on this point, but at least talking to her was a good excuse to keep holding her close. Finally she backed away from him and he let her go.

Copyright © 2007 by Christian DD Group.