What can make a strong man want to lay his head down and cry? How about a mysterious gal who can't stay put? With her relatives still claiming ownership, Daisy needs a firm hand to protect her as well as to guide her, as do all the ladies of Mayburg. The whole town works together to keep the peace, catch the villains, and get the two unlikely lovebirds together despite misunderstandings and disobedience which are quickly dealt with in the time-honored way: good hard spankings applied by irate husbands to erring wives.

Readers who enjoyed “Ask and Ye Shall Receive” will renew acquaintance with old friends like Lily Hall and Lizzie Jelpik, but this inspirational historical romance stands alone as well.

Chapter One

“Why don't I watch the jars while you keep shelling the peas?” Lily suggested. She didn't want to admit that her bottom was too sore to allow anything in the way of sitting today.

“No, no, I'll watch the jars. That's a hot job and you know I don't mind the heat,” Mable replied. What her friend and employer did not know was that the very thought of sitting on the hard bench at the kitchen table made her cringe.

“I'm already hot,” admitted Lily relaxing her shoulders and smiling ruefully at Mable, “especially in the nether regions. I take it I'm not alone in my discomfort?” Her invitation to share a confidence did not go unanswered.

“If he had brought that paddle down one more time on my poor behind,” confessed Mable with a rueful grin, “I'm afraid it would have sizzled.”

“If you saw a puff of smoke hanging in the bedroom, now you know why,” returned Lily as the two women gave each other a supportive hug and shared quick giggle.

“But why in this world would...?” Mable began, then stopped short. “I'm sorry. That's much too personal a question for me to be presuming to ask you.” She looked down at the floor, ashamed that she had allowed Lily's friendly demeanor to lure her into impertinence. Lily was a friend but during the work day, she was also the boss.

Lily's attitude asked nothing but a sympathetic ear. “I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Mable looked up, saw her employer's sheepish grin, and relaxed. Then she hesitated again. Should she tell right now? She'd have to do it sometime today, but right now they were commiserating and the timing just wasn't right. “You go first, and you're on,” she agreed.

“Well, it was about Daddy, of course. You know it's almost always about Daddy. It amazes me that as long as he's been as sick as he is, he can still find the energy to give me the dickens like he did when he was in charge of security at the railroad. Well, he was having one of his tantrums again, hollering and banging that stick of his.”

“He's still called 'Big Stick' for a reason, isn't he? That name didn't go away just because he retired from the railroad.” Mable nodded with understanding. Inside she felt even worse about what she was going to have to say next, so she just let Lily continue.

“Yes, indeed. You had already gone home for the day, but Hank wasn't here yet. Usually, it isn't a problem, but Hank is working some really long hours at the railroad and I haven't been able to make Daddy understand that he has to wait. He wants what he wants when he wants it and what he wanted was to be put back in the bed. He said he was tired and needed to rest and that I could get him back to bed by myself since he could stand on his feet for a few seconds. So we did that stand and twist thing, like the doctor showed us and I got him back into bed by myself.”

“Oh, Lily! Your husband was not happy about that, was he?” Mable conjectured. “That's what I'm here for, to help you take care of your daddy.”

“No, he wasn't happy at all. What I can't figure out is how he knew what I'd done. I certainly didn't tell him. That was part of the problem. I got spanked with the belt for moving Daddy by myself, then I got the switch for lying. That switch makes me itch!”

“I know it does, dear. It does that to me, too. And I can tell you how he knew. We saw Hank outside the train station as we were driving home. We go right past there. Hank came out as we rode by and asked Max whether Big Stick was in the chair or in the bed when Max picked me up. Max had offered to help us move Big Stick, remember? So he remembered clearly that Big Stick didn't want his help and said so in no uncertain terms.”

Lily cringed at the memory of the language her father had used to refuse Mable's husband's offer of help. “So Max told Hank that Daddy was still in the chair. That must be why he came home early. He knew I'd need help. If only I had known how quickly Hank would be home, I would have made Daddy wait. Oh, well. I didn't know, so I gave in to Daddy and Hank got home just about the time I was tucking Daddy back in. I greeted Hank all merry and bright, with no idea that he would know what I'd done.”

“Lily, after two years of marriage, I think you'd realize that Hank knows you well enough to be able to read your face like a newspaper. Even if we hadn't told him, he would have known from your expression just what you had done.”

“I guess you are right. Hank barely greeted Daddy before he dragged me out of the room and up the stairs. I was over his knee with my skirts over my head before you could say 'Jack Robinson'! He had his belt off his waist and on my backside even faster. I didn't even have time to make any excuses or beg for mercy before he was striping my rump like a flour sack. Slap, slap, slap went that belt, with me ouching and owing to beat the band. 'Why didn't you wait?' he asked me over and over without waiting for a reply. 'You know better, don't you?' he demanded. 'You've got to mind me,' and 'What else is Mable here for if not to help you?' Finally he stopped and let me catch my breath.”

“That sounds terrible, Lily.”

“It was, but what was worse was when he sent me to the corner to wait while he went to cut a switch. I had to wait there, not rubbing my stinging bottom while listening to him rummaging around in the bushes looking for just the right switch to add some thin stripes to the thick ones he already laid. It was miserable and I just stood there and cried.”

“You poor soul!”

“So finally he came back in and clumped up the stairs. This time he did all the talking before he started punishing. He told me how I had lied by omission when I didn't immediately tell him what I'd done. According to him, I guess the first thing I ought to do the minute he gets home is tell him every little thing I've done that I think he might take some exception to. I might as well just meet him at the door every day with the wooden spoon in one hand and a switch in the other if he's going to be that way about it.”

“Men can be picky, especially when it comes to being lied to. Not that you were lying of course,” Mable hastened to add. “I just mean that they get their danders up awfully fast over nothing.”

“That's for sure,” Lily agreed. “Once he finished fussing, he started switching. He didn't even let me out of the corner. He just told me to bend over and put my hands on the wall. I had to keep my hands there or I would have fallen. He used that switch from the top of my rump all the way down my thighs and back up. I thought I'd jump out of my skin by the end. Actually, I wished I could jump out of my skin since it felt like it was smoking. At least he didn't keep on going. Just once down and back up is all he ever does with the switch, so it was over pretty quick. He wants to make sure I don't rub when he uses a switch so he usually leads me over to the bed and holds my hands while I lay on my tummy and cry. Then he was sweet to me and rubbed my back a little. I'm still really sore today, but at least I know that he forgives me and everything's alright again. I had to promise not to try to get Daddy back in the bed by myself though.” She hesitated and then changed her mind about telling Mable the rest of the story.

“I'm sorry you got in trouble over something I really should have helped you with,” Mable confessed. “It was partly my fault.” Here she looked at Lily closely to see how she would react to her next statement. “Maybe I'm not the girl for this job anymore, anyway. I mean, maybe you need someone to live in.”

Lily's heart leaped with hope when she heard this, but she wanted to be sure she was hearing what Mable was saying rather than what she wanted Mable to say. “It wasn't your fault. You worked the hours you always work and what you agreed to work. Hank's the one who has changed his mind about what we need. And I know you need the money you bring home. Yesterday was just a fluke. Usually, I'm fine at home alone for a while.”

“Let me tell you my story from last night and maybe I can put both our minds at rest,” Mable rejoined. Her heart was relieved, though a little heavy at what she was planning to say. “Last night when we got home, Max didn't even have to ask me whether I had done what he told me to or not. He could tell by my face that I hadn't obeyed him. He never said a word. Just pointed to the house and helped me out of the wagon. I knew what I had to do. When he makes me wait like that, I have to put my nose in the corner and hold my skirts up out of the way. When he comes in the door, he wants to see my backside, in full view.”

“Oh, Mable, how embarrassing. I hope your Max never tells my Hank about that little rule. He'd love it and I'd hate it”

“I think Max got it from Mark Jelpik, truth be told, but please don't tell Lizzie I told you.” Mable named a good friend of Lily's. “He came in straight from the barn with a riding crop still in his hands. I heard him thump it down on the bed for practice a couple of times before he called me over. He was sitting on the trunk, thank goodness. That riding crop is twice as bad when he makes me kneel and bend over the trunk. He gets a real big swing then and it's awful. With me over his lap, he can only swing so hard. He gave me ten right off the bat and they hurt like crazy. Then he told me that if I didn't obey him today, he would give me double, then the next day triple and on it would go.”

“Then your best bet is to obey him today, honey! Whatever it is, you should just do it. Surely you don't want twenty strokes with a riding crop over the ten you already got.”

“But what if the thing he wants me to do is going to hurt a friend?” Mable asked miserably. “What if it's very hard to do? What if I really don't want to do it? Even though it may be the best thing for everyone...” Mable looked so indecisive, Lily's heart went out to her.

“A true friend would want you to obey your husband, no matter what. If it hurts, she'll get over it, for friendship's sake. The Bible tells us to love one another. This sounds like a time for your friend to show some love.” When Mable still didn't respond, Lily began to understand. “If it were me as your friend, I know I would give you a spanking myself if I thought you disobeyed Max and earned yet another spanking just trying to spare my feelings.”

This brought an unwilling smile from Mable. “You know I love working here. You know I've enjoyed myself almost too much to call this work.”

Lily's confusion showed on her face. “I don't understand. What is it Max wants you to do? Work here? You already do work here.”

“No, that's the problem. He wants me to give my notice.” Lily's expression turned from confusion to shock. “He says I can work here until you find someone else to help you, but he says that it's getting to be too much for me. My mother is coming to live with us and she's doing poorly herself. Max says my duty is to stay home with her.”

“Mable, is that all? You took a spanking just because you didn't want to tell me you couldn't work for me any more? You deserve a spanking for being so silly. Of course, I understand. I'm not mad. In fact, I'm rather relieved. I was going to have to try to convince you to work longer hours, which I knew you really couldn't do. Hank wanted me to find someone to live in, but I convinced him we could go on like we are a while longer.”

“So maybe this will be easier all the way round?” Mable asked hopefully.

“Yes, I guess it will,” Lily mused. “It should be pretty easy to find a girl to live in. There are always young girls out there who want to get away from home. Finding honest work and a safe place to live will be a godsend to them. We'll just have to pray for the right girl to come along.”

“I'll definitely be praying, Lily. Just hope the Lord understands that I'll be doing my praying standing up!”

* * * * *

The wagon pulled up at the sheriff's office in Mayburg about noon that same day. Sheriff Eby from Crittenden Flats pulled back on the brake handle then climbed down with a grunt. He walked around the wagon and told the crying occupant of the seat, “I won't be a minute. I'm just going in to find out where your kin live and then I'll take you there myself. You hush that squalling! You'll be with your family in no time.”

That's what I'm afraid of, she thought. My family. Oh, what am I going to do?

“Howdy, Burke! What do you know?” Eby greeted his old friend.

“Howdy yourself, Stranger. Long time no see!” Burke replied, rising to shake his friend's hand.

“I've got a favor to ask of you, pardner.”

“Shoot!”

“As if I didn't have enough to do rounding up real criminals in Crittenedn Flats,” Eby explained, “now they've got me doing delivery service, too. Seems we got ourselves a lone female whose next of kin live here in your neck of the woods. I got stuck with the job of bringing her here right after the burial this morning.”

“Sounds kind of tough on the woman, making her leave her town and her friends the same day as she buries her... what, pa or ma or husband?”

“Pa. Ma died a good while back. You'd think somebody would take her in, at least for a while, but no soap. Seeing as who she is, I guess you can't blame folks.”

“Who is she then?” Burke inquired.

“She's a Scug.”

“I guess that could present a problem,” Burke admitted. Everyone for miles around knew that the Scug clan was the dirtiest, meanest, laziest bunch a person could ever hope not to meet. Even their women and children were prone to stealing and fighting, so Burke readjusted his thoughts to encompass the reality of a new Scug to fend off.

“It does present a problem, but now it's your problem, not mine. She's got kin here and they'll have to take her. I haven't got any real charges I can hold her on, or you know I wouldn't be dropping her on your doorstep, but I don't see as how I have any choice. So just tell me how to get to the Scug's place and I'll be on my way.”

“At least let me have a look at her so I'll know her when I go to arrest her the first time,” Burke said, not doubting that it would not be long before a Scug would be crossways of the law somehow.

Burke stepped out on the street and looked up into the wagon. What he saw there gave him pause. Expecting a defiant, filthy or at the very least slatternly looking woman, he instead found a terrified and sobbing girl of about twelve, from what he could tell. Far from dirty, her clothes looked threadbare, but neat as a pin. A tattered bonnet tried to cover her mouse brown lanky hair in a surprising attempt at modesty. Burke looked again at Sheriff Eby. “Is this her?”

“It is indeed. Take your bonnet off, Daisy, so he can get a good look at your face.”

Slowly she complied and Burke carefully examined the face she revealed. There seemed to be a sad kind of maturity in her brown eyes, as if she had seen more than a girl her age should have. He saw none of the usual bitterness or sneaking deceit displayed by her kin with whom he was acquainted. Burke's heart went out to her and he smiled briefly to re-assure her. This was not the face of a relative of the Scugs he knew. “Are you sure there isn't some kind of mistake?” he asked. “She doesn't exactly favor the Scugs around here. I hate to send such as her out to that encampment.”

“Encampment?” Daisy spoke for the first time, fear palpable in her voice. “I was sure my uncle's farm came to my cousins when he passed.” Her voice had a pleading tone.

“The farmhouse is falling in, Miss. Your kin don't live there any more. Look, Eby, how old is she? I can't send a kid like this out there. One of their own women is something different, but this...” He indicated Daisy with a lift of his hand. “You find somewhere else to take her.”

“Got no choice. As you can see, she's too young to be left on her own in Crittenden Flats.”

“I am not,” she whispered.

“What was that?” Eby demanded.

“Miss?” asked Burke more kindly.

She took a deep breath and tried again. “I'm not too young. I'm seventeen, almost eighteen, at least.”

Here Burke smiled and Eby growled. “That'll be enough of your lies.”

“What do you mean by saying, 'at least'?” Burke inquired politely. “Speak up, girl.”

Sheriff Eby answered for her. “She doesn't know her real age exactly. There's no record in the house and her pa couldn't remember precisely the year. She thinks she's almost eighteen, but as you can see, there's no way.” He waved his hand over her girlish figure, completely devoid of womanly curves. “It'll be years before she blooms.”

It'll be never if those Scugs get a hold of her. Heaven only knows what they'll do to her, as young and helpless as she is. I'll have to do something, he thought. I'll go see Wren. Pastors see all kinds of things. He'll know what to do.

“Just point the way,” Eby continued, “and I'll be getting her on out there. I need to get myself back home. The Missus didn't like me bringing her here by myself. She knows what's likely to happen to a law man if he turns his back on a Scug.”

“I'll ride out there with you and show you the way,” Burke countered. “No use taking chances on y'all getting lost.” He hoped that during the ride out there, a plan would present itself that could get him out of this predicament. He also assumed that Eby would realize that the girl could not stay with the Scugs. He would need Burke to show him how to get to the church so they could consult with Wren.

“I'd be much obliged,” Eby replied. They chatted amiably as they rode down the road through the woods until they came to the cut off to the Scug's encampment.

“You'll have to leave the wagon here and walk the rest of the way. Where's her bag?” Burke asked.

“Her things were given to the dry goods store owner in partial payment for her father's bill. Good man that he is, Tucker forgave the rest.”

“I'll pay that bill,” Daisy whispered as she climbed down from the wagon.

“What was that?” Eby demanded suspiciously.

“Miss?” Burke asked politely.

“I said I would pay that bill. I don't want charity. I can work. I can make my own way. I'm old enough to work, I tell you. Please.” She turned her eyes up to Burke. “Just let me go home.”

“That house will be sold for back taxes, girl, as well you know. You'll have work enough to do, I reckon.” As they talked, they followed the path Burke indicated. “Living back in the woods like this will keep you busy enough. You just be sure to stay out of trouble. If any of the Scugs can do it, I'd say you could. Tucker forgave that debt and I don't want you coming back to Crittenden Flats to try to repay him. Let well enough alone.”

At last they arrived at the collection of huts that passed for a home for the two Scug brothers, Clovis and Horace. When Eby saw it, he began to have second thoughts as well. What was he letting this child in for? Still, it had to be better than leaving her to sleep in the streets. He knew no one in Crittenden Flats would take a Scug into their home.

“Where's the house?” she begged. She did not want to believe her eyes.

“What y'all doin' here?” Clovis demanded, appearing from the largest of the brush and scrub structures. “That warrant wudn' no good no more so you can blow smoke wi' it.”

“I'm not here about the warrant,” Burke began. He glanced over at Daisy who was crying softly behind him now.

“Shooo-ee! Is that little Daisy? We don' b'lieve it, huh, Horace? Git on out here! It's Cousin Daisy come fer a visit like.”

“Just a short visit. She's not staying,” Burke declared. “Get back in the wagon, Miss.”

Though he didn't see any options, even Eby was having second thoughts. “Elmer Scug passed on two days ago. We buried him today.”

Burke wished Eby hadn't said that the moment the words were out of his mouth. He hoped maybe Clovis hadn't heard, but the smile that spread across his filthy face told a different tale. “Now ain't that too bad? With her Daddy gone, she belong to us'ns.” Daisy's knees gave out from under her and she collapsed.

When she came to her senses, she was being dragged by her arms into a hut. She could hear a heated discussion outside, though the words made the situation worse rather than better.

“Nuthin' you can do about 'er. She our'n now. You got no right.”

“She isn't of age, Burke. If you take her from here without their permission, it will be kidnapping.”

“She's not their slave. We just fought a war, remember? There aren't any more slaves. Scug, bring her back out here.”

“They are her next of kin,” Eby argued.

“She ain't goin' nowheres no how. We got 'er an you got no call to take 'er. Now charge one of us or get off'n our property.”

Burke started toward the hut where Daisy still lay sobbing, but Eby held him back. “Come on, Burke. There's nothing you can do here.”

Burke fumed all the way back to the road but when they reached the wagon, he exploded. “We can't leave her there. It's even worse than I remembered. I wouldn't leave a cur dog with those two varmints. Not after what they said.”

“And the looks they gave her. No, I'm with you on this, but you have to be smart. Legally, there's nothing you can do. She's under age. Besides, where's she supposed to go?”

“We'd find work for her here. Honest work somewhere.”

“What family will take in a Scug, even to work?”

“You let me worry about that. I'll talk to Brother Wren down at the church. He'll do something. I'm not leaving that child...” He headed back into the woods.

Again, Eby held him back. “You can't go back there now. Not without a plan and a place for her to go. You'll tip your hand and put the Scugs on their guard. They'll make off with her and you'll never find her. You go make your arrangements while I go see what I can do at the Flats.”

“I hate to admit it, but you're making sense. Our biggest problem is her age.” Burke mounted his horse while Eby turned the wagon. As they rode back to town, they continued to plot a rescue. “If only she were as old as she claims. You go back to the Flats and see if you can prove she's eighteen, or if she isn't yet, find out when she will be eighteen.”

“I'll see what I can do, but I haven't got much hope.”

“I'll get over to the church and see what Wren says.”

Copyright © 2007 by Christian DD Group.