The Lawman's Lessons

Patty Devlin

Description

Choose one of the two men, or take the return ticket and head home. It wasn’t much of a choice. Celia had worked and studied so hard to have a school of her own. And she had known that they might be a little upset. She knew exactly what they had wanted. It was stated very clearly in the advertisement and she could probably read and write better than anyone one of them.

Jackson sure never planned to marry, and how could he when his name would be a disgrace to his bride? So why had he fought so hard to keep her from marrying the other man? He could have shrugged it off and gotten out of there, but he just couldn’t do it. The new school teacher needed someone who would stay on her tail and teach her a lesson or else she’d run right into danger.

But, he’d have to be honest with her and tell her about that no good scoundrel who had sired him. She at least had a right to know he was a bas—illegitimate, that the man who fathered him had left his mother alone to fend for herself. Then if Celia could handle that, well, they could work the rest out. Besides, there weren’t any other good choices and she simply couldn’t be without a husband.

Sujets

• Humor
• Alpha (ethology)
• Inheritance
• BDSM
• Brother
• Family
• Discipline
• Ranch
• Suspense
• Bondage et discipline, domination et soumission et sado-masochisme
• Western

Informations

• Publié par: Blushing Books Publications
• Date de parution: 04 juin 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781627504423
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Lawman's Lessons
By
PattyDevlin
Copyright 2014 by Blushing Books andPatty Devlin
 
 
 
All rights reserved.
No part of the book may bereproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic ormechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storageand retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by BlushingBooks®,
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Charlottesville, VA 22901
 The trademark BlushingBooks®
is registered in the USPatent and Trademark Office.
Devlin, Patty
The Lawman's Lessons
eBookISBN: 978-1-62750-4423
 
Cover Design by ABCD Graphics and Design
This book is intended for adults only .Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasiesonly, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted asBlushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activityor the spanking of minors.
Table of contents:
ChapterOne
ChapterTwo
ChapterThree
ChapterFour
ChapterFive
ChapterSix
ChapterSeven
ChapterEight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Aboutthe Author
Blushing Books
 
Chapter One
He hadn't looked at any ofhis deputies in quite a spell. The heavy thud of their horses' hooves againstthe hard-packed, still half-frozen clay and the occasional whinny were the onlysounds heard in hours and hours of riding. They had followed him out to searchfor the outlaw Wilson brothers whom they knew were in the area. Jackson was surehis men had only come for the chance to give him hell. He should be happy they'dfinally stopped making fun of him about his ... situation.
Jackson had always been aproblem solver. He could find people who didn't want to be found, settledisputes between neighbors, and his quick wit in emergencies had saved manylives. But this, this "situation," would take much more than hismeager capabilities.
How had it even happened? He'dnever wanted to be married! Marshals did not make good husbands, and he happenedto be a bad choice beyond being a lawman. His own father couldn't stand him. He'dnever planned to marry and pass his disgrace on to children, and what of theshame his wife would suffer? So, how had he, the authority figure in the greattown, the county of Denver, let it get so out of hand that he'd agreed to marrythat spitfire schoolmarm? That cunning little sprite with all her highfalutin' waysshould already be on an eastbound train headed back to wherever she called home.An instant and fleeting thread of guilt, over the fact he didn't even take thetime to talk to her or get to know anything about her before he'd found areason to leave, crossed his mind.
"Hey, Jackson, you goin'over High Ridge Falls?" his brother-in-law Byron asked, his voice so tightit almost cracked. Without looking back, Jackson knew a smile split the otherman's face ear to ear and that he was trying hard not to laugh outright.
His face hotter than a tinplate on a cook stove, Jackson muttered, "I thought we could look in thatold cavern up there. Give it one last shot before we give in and go home."He refused to give up and admit that even though he'd been staring at thetrail, the ridge line and the leftover late March piles of melting ice, he'dbeen distracted and missed the turn off. He didn't give any thought to the factthey'd lost the trail of the outlaw gang the day before either. Jackson neverlost his way; he was the best tracker in the county!
"Iffen we go up there,we won't make it to town 'til after night fall for sure." This came fromold Solomon. "Some of us want to go home to our brides."
Ignoring the guffaws thatsurrounded him, Jackson turned his horse around and headed toward a lower partof the fast-flowing Colorado River where they could cross safely. There was nosense in denying what they all knew—as important as it was to catch the band ofoutlaws who had been plaguing the county, there hadn't been any recent news oractivity. Jackson had merely decided to set off on the day after his wedding totry to find them. His loyal deputies would not let him down; they insisted theywere going with him.
And if they had not been withhim, he'd have stayed away much longer. But in the end, good sense weighed out.He couldn't stay gone forever; he was going to have to go home and deal withhis wife. He had to accept it. To be honest, it wasn't her—there was nothingdistinctly wrong with her. He had to admit her pint-sized package had fitnicely over his lap.
Wait! Where had that thoughtcome from? Perhaps from the fact that he thought it every time they were neareach other for more than two minutes. For some reason, they seemed to get rightunder each other's skin. Oh heavens, that put another picture in his head. He'dlike to be under her in a different position—damn it, his breeches were startingto feel way too snug!
Celia acted and respondedcompletely different than any of the women he'd grown up around, not that therewere many, but she had these ideas about things and got this determined look inher eyes. Then, if it was you she'd set her sights on, she'd lock those blueeyes on you and fire away. It proved quite obvious she needed a protector.
In the fast growing city ofDenver, men outnumbered women grossly, so a lot of the men behaved likeanimals. Celia, with her act-first-think-later behavior, would have theriff-raff lining up for a chance to have at her, not to mention in theclassroom, with students who had run the last teacher right out of town in themiddle of the school year (even if there might have been good cause for hisdismissal).
Celia's and Jackson's firstmeeting had been reason enough for her to need some looking after, and if shehad been his wife then, she'd have received a whipping sure to instill somesafety measures in her.
His mother ran the boardinghouse where the superintendent had arranged for the new school teacher to stay.When Jackson had come home, he'd found his mother in quite a state becauseCelia had been gone most of the afternoon, the sun had set by then, and stillshe hadn't come back.
The city's streets were noplace for a lady after nightfall, no matter her age or position. So their worrywas not ill-placed, and Jackson had gone out looking for the young miss rightaway. Even his sister Susanna wouldn't walk home after dark if Byron or Jacksonweren't there to escort her. Jackson and the deputies did their best to keepthe criminals off the streets, but it was a huge undertaking in a city of thatsize, with the number of saloons and brothels and then with all of the minersand ranchers, too.
Well, Jackson was more thanrelieved to find the little dove safe and sound and covered in enough dust tomake an elephant sneeze. Her sleeves had been rolled up past her elbows and herdress, which he assumed had been a pristine white at one time, looked as thoughshe'd lain right down in the middle of the road and a whole team of stage coachhorses had made their way over her—twice. The teacher's desk on top of whichshe stood had been moved, perhaps so she could reach the wall, and she wascleaning the cobwebs or some such out of the corner. His presence must'vestartled her because when he called out to her, she nearly jumped right out ofher dress. But she composed herself quickly, he'd give her that.
She spun around and hopped tothe floor, as nimble as a cat, brushing at her skirt and sending plumes of dustinto the air as she spoke. "Excuse me, I'm not fit to meet anyone yet. Igot caught up in cleaning and I didn't hear you come in. My name is Miss CeliaWhitman; I'm the new teacher." Her pink tongue darted out to wet herheart-shaped lips, which curved into a soft smile right before she covered hermouth and gave in to a dry cough.
 "I know who you are. I'vebeen sent to find you; I'm the marshal, Jackson Owens." He'd taken hisworn leather hat off when he'd come in, and he used it then to gesture toward theboarding house. "Mother and Susanna were quite worried. I don't know whereyou come from exactly, but out here it isn't safe for a young lady to be out onthe streets after dark."
Her shoulders rose quickly,along with the color in her pinkening cheeks, right before she snapped, "Excuseme, Mr. Marshal. I didn't intend to stay this long, but I'm certainly glad Idid. This schoolhouse is in deplorable condition. I don't know how the poorchildren are expected to sit in here all day. It's filthy. They'll be coughingand sneezing the whole day long. Why, I do believe that is a fungus I've readabout growing along the floor in the corner there." She'd turned her backon him and wandered over to point out the area of concern. "I came here tolook at the books and get some lessons in order, but this—oh, these poorchildren." She spun around again and glared at him. "You know, Iappreciate Mrs. Owens's concern, but your high-handed and ill-foundedassumption that I can't take care of myself is unnecessary. I have traveled—"
It was hard to take herseriously with the loose strands of whiskey-colored hair hanging haphazardlyaround her oval-shaped face and the smudge of dirt on her left cheek. But shewas prepared to dress him down fully before Jackson finally called it to ahalt.
"Little dove, it isquite clea