Peppermint Sticks for Susie (3 page)

She would get even with Alex Martin! There was no way she would permit the man to get away with spanking her like she was a little girl! Somehow, some way, she would prove to him that she wasn't a child to be treated as though she couldn't take care of herself. And, as for Lefty... She would make him pay, too! He should be in jail for attacking her, and since he wasn't, she would see to it he was punished in another way. Jennifer made and discarded several plans while she waited for sleep to take over.

* * *

Alex couldn't believe the nerve of the little redhead. She'd managed to bring him low when men three times her size couldn't! He didn't try to go after her right away, knowing full well that if he did she would get a spanking born of his anger. He didn't feel she deserved that, but she did need to learn that she couldn't go around kicking people! And, she was going to learn that lesson before the evening was over. He eventually limped to Mrs. Neely's boarding house and since the hour was still considered respectable he walked up on the porch and knocked on the door. Mrs. Neely answered with a cautious look out the window first. Alex removed his hat respectfully and the widow opened the door.

"Good evening, ma'am. May I speak with Miss Jenny?" he asked.

"No, you may not. She has retired for the evening with a headache, and since I do not know you, I am not about to permit you inside my house. Good evening, sir."

And that was that! Of course, Alex wasn't about to take her 'no' for an answer. He rounded the house and saw there was only one light on upstairs, and he was sure it was Jenny's room. He frowned when he realized how easy it would be to reach her bedroom simply by climbing a tree and going in her window. He was up the tree in no time, and a sturdy branch led him to the porch roof right outside her window. He was in time to see her crawl into bed and lie on her tummy. He noted that she left the lamp lit, but on low, to act as a night light. She also left the window open and he wasted no time in climbing inside her room as quietly as possible. He was angry at how vulnerable she was, and if he wasn't already planning to reheat her pretty little backside, the open window would be reason enough!

Jennifer squealed when a hand was clamped over her mouth and she was lifted from the bed as easily as if she were a small child. She tried to defend herself, but her hands flailed empty air as she was twisted around in a dizzying manner, only to land on top of someone a mere second before a hand smacked on the sore flesh of her bottom. "Owwwww!" she cried out into the pillow that her face was buried in, effectively muffling any noise she made.

"How could you leave that window open, girl, when you know that Lefty is out to hurt you?" Alex smacked her bottom again.

Jenny was furious that the lawman got past her blocked door and into her room. She kicked and bucked and tried to throw herself off his lap, but he held her firmly, and gave her another sound spank. She tried to raise her head from the pillow so she could scream, but he simply held her head down so she couldn't cry out for help.

"You settle down right now, Miss Jenny. You are going to hear me out. When I leave here, you are to close and lock your window." He gave her another firm swat. "Then tomorrow after church I am going to come calling for you and you are to be here and ready to go on a picnic with me. In the meantime I expect you to think about your actions today and when we talk about your kicking me a few minutes ago, I want to know why you feel it is okay for you to do something like that. It is time you do some serious growing up, Miss Jenny." He spanked her once again, and then he dumped her on the bed. "Shut and lock this window, little girl, or I'll come back inside and take your hairbrush to you, and I won't be as considerate of your reputation as I'm being right now. I won't care that the town will be shocked to learn I visited you in your bedroom." When her green eyes flayed him alive, he grinned and added, "I wouldn't test me, Jenny. I can be a mean s.o.b. when I have to be."

Jennifer watched in disbelief as he climbed out the window and onto the roof of the front porch! He pointed at the window, and since Jenny didn't want him coming inside again, she ran to the window and shut it and then locked it. She then pulled her blind all the way down so that he couldn't see inside! The man had some nerve! She ranted and paced and ranted some more. Her poor fanny was burning all over again, and she had tears leaking from her eyes. Jennifer was angry and when her empty tummy reminded her yet again that she went to bed hungry, Jennifer burst into tears. It just wasn't fair! For two cents she would shoot that Marshal! And, she wasn't going on any picnic, either! How dare he presume to tell her what to do? It was overstepping his bounds for certain! She made a mental note to remind herself to have her headache again in the morning. She was going to stay in her room all day. No way in the world was she going to face Alex Martin again, not after the way he treated her!

* * *

Alex wasn't a bit happy that Jenny's window was so easily assessable. Once he returned to his hotel room he knew that lying down in the bed and getting some sleep would be nearly impossible. He would worry all night long that Lefty was in town and seeking to harm the pretty little redhead that Alex couldn't get out of his mind for more than two or three seconds at a time! He didn't want to examine the reason why right now. He had a job to do in Pine Ridge, and the job had to come before any kind of romance that might be lurking in the background. He gave the matter serious thought as he walked back to the boarding house and found himself a position from where he could watch the house... especially Jenny's room. If he was seen courting the pretty redhead then it would keep the cattle rustlers from wondering at his presence in town, and he could still pretend to be concerned and ask his questions under the guise of wanting to buy a small ranch in the area. It would be easy to fill that role since it was his dream to own his own spread when he decided to give up his badge and settle down. He was of an age to start raising a few kids and doing so with a pretty young woman like Miss Jenny wouldn't be a hardship at all! Alex smiled, took a seat on the hard ground in the shadows of the house. Even if Jenny didn't realize she was in danger, he did, and he would keep her safe.

* * *

By morning Jennifer was determined to avoid the Marshal. She wasn't going to permit him to tell her what to do, and she wasn't going to hide in her room like some frightened child. She rose early, put on her best dress, the one she saved for Sunday services at the Church she attended. When she was all ready, except for her hat, Jenny went downstairs and helped Mrs. Neely put breakfast on the table.

"You sure look real pretty this morning, Miss Jenny," Oliver Grant told her as he took his seat. "Your cheeks are blushing like a rose." The elderly scholar constantly talked like that and Mrs. Neely was half in love with the man!

"Thank you, Mr. Grant." She flashed the man a smile and offered him the bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Aren't you going to eat, dear? There is nothing I like more than seeing a woman have a healthy appetite." "Mr. Grant, between you and Mrs. Neely I would be fat as a cow if I ate as much food as the two of you think I should eat!" she said with a laugh. "Besides, you know that I never eat scrambled eggs; I don't care for them."

"Well, you need something more than toasted bread!" Mrs. Neely complained.

"Yes, ma'am," she answered. There were many dishes of food on the table to tempt the boarders and by the time the bowls and platters made their rounds, Jennifer had plenty of food on her plate. She was very thankful that no mention was made of her visitor, except for Mrs. Neely informing her that she'd had a very handsome gentleman caller last evening, but since she was already in bed with a terrible headache she'd sent him on his way.

"It broke my heart to do that, Jenny. You don't have nearly enough attention from the men in this town."

"I am not sure I want any attention, Mrs. Neely. I am just a simple girl."

"Well, this young man seemed quite pleasant," the elderly widow insisted. 'It wouldn't hurt for you to act a bit more interested when young men come calling."

"I was in bed," she reminded the woman.

"Well, yes you were, and that is a pure shame." Mrs. Neely actually looked disappointed. "Of all the times to get a headache!" She tsked and Jennifer felt her cheeks flush with pink, If only the woman knew exactly what had transpired between her boarder and the marshal she would be completely shocked... and probably kick Jennifer out of her home!

It didn't take too long to tidy the kitchen. Mrs. Neely hired an Indian girl to come in and wash the dishes and help keep the place clean, and it left Mrs. Neely free to go to church, and to take part in her quilting group on Tuesdays and the women's charity group from church on Fridays.

They all hurried down the street to the little church at the edge of town. One of Mrs. Neely's rules was that all her boarders attend church weekly unless they were ill. She also made it clear to the men that she did not consider hangovers from too much drinking in the saloon on Saturday night an illness. Therefore, they put on suits and went to church every Sunday.

Jennifer took her usual seat beside Mrs. Neely and waited for the service to start. The minister was new in town and he'd expressed more than a passing interest in her, and while he didn't make her swoon, she thought he was nice... and cute. As if he knew she was thinking of him the minister came walking down the center aisle and leaned over to speak to her.

"Miss Jenny, would you sing and play for us today? Mrs. Wickham is ill with gout and was unable to come today. I would surely appreciate your help."

"Of course Jenny will help you, Reverend Dixon. Doesn't she have a beautiful voice?" Mrs. Neely praised her while doing her best to achieve a little matchmaking.

"She does indeed, Mrs. Neely, and that is why I asked for her help. Please, Miss Jenny...?"

"Of course I will, Reverend Dixon," Jennifer shyly answered. She rose from the pew and walked with him into the sacristy, already trying to decide what she wanted to sing. She and the Reverend discussed several ideas, and then she walked out to the organ and took her seat. As was the custom in their church, Jennifer started playing softly a few minutes before the service was to begin. Then she sang a hymn just before Reverend Dixon walked out and invited everyone to join in a hymn. Jennifer played the organ, and led the singing, and then sat back to listen to the message he'd prepared for this week's sermon. As she sat there her eyes were drawn to the back of the church and she spotted U. S. Marshal Alex Martin sitting there, and he was staring at her!

She felt her cheeks blushing a tell-tale red! Jennifer was positive that everyone in the entire congregation was staring at her and knew all about the way that Alex Martin treated her the night before. In fact, she couldn't help squirming on the padded bench of the organ, her tender bottom reminding her that he'd promised to take her on a picnic then spank her again for kicking him! Jenny was so flustered that she missed her cue for another hymn and Reverend Dixon had to call her name twice to get her attention. Jennifer couldn't recall one other time in her life when she was so acutely embarrassed, and she hurried to the sacristy to hide when the last hymn was finished.

"Why are you hiding in here, Miss Jenny?" a deep voice she well knew asked from directly behind her.

"I am not hiding!" she quickly denied, and then wondered if she would go directly to hell for lying in a church and on the Sabbath! When he chuckled she stomped her foot. "Well, I'm not!"

"Why, Miss Jenny, what would the good Reverend have to say about your fibbing?" Alex teased her.

"He wouldn't do that! He is a gentleman... unlike some people I know!"

"Are you ready for our picnic?" Alex came to the point.

"I didn't agree to go on a picnic with you, Mister U. S. Marshal Alex Martin!"

"Hush, little girl. You know that I don't want that bandied about. I want folks to get used to me as Alex Martin, a man looking for a small ranch to buy."

"As if you could fool anyone!"

"You are in a sassy mood this morning, aren't you, little girl? Do you know what happens to sassy little girls?" he asked.

"You probably beat them because you are a beast!" Jenny promptly informed him.

"No, I save that for redheaded brats who kick me and leave a big ole bruise on my leg."

"Good! I hope it hurts."

"It does, but not as much as your behind is going to hurt once I cut a switch and take it to you," he promised, certainty in his words. "I'll go and get the buggy I rented and pick up the picnic basket I ordered from the hotel, and then I will pick you up at the boarding house."

"I am not going with you!"

"You'd best be there and be ready to go, little girl, or I'll come and find you, and I guarantee you won't sit down for a week by the time I'm done taking you to task."

"You aren't the boss of me, and you don't have any right to order me around."

"I'm a man of my word, Miss Jenny." Alex turned on his heel and walked out of the sacristy by the side door.

Jenny did her best to shake off her temper before she had to face Reverend Dixon and apologize for daydreaming during the service. It was unforgiveable. When he finally entered the sacristy after greeting the parishioners who came to the service, Jennifer stammered out her apologies.

"I know how you can make it up to me, Miss Jenny," he said with a boyish smile. "Will you do me the honor of joining me in a picnic today? I've been wanting to ask you, but was positive that you must have a beau somewhere...? Mrs. Neely assured me that wasn't true, so I'm hoping you will say yes."

Jennifer quickly nodded and smiled. "Why yes, Reverend. I would love to go on a picnic with you."

He grinned at her and said, "Jeffrey. My name is Jeffrey. Don't you think that under the circumstances you could call me by my given name?"

"Yes, Jeffrey," she agreed. So there too, Mr. U. S. Think you know it all Marshal Alex Martin!

The spot that Jeffrey picked for their picnic was very secluded and beautiful and Jenny found herself enjoying the outing very much. Jeffrey's housekeeper packed a lovely picnic basket full of goodies and they were both full when they were done discovering all the items inside the basket.