Count This Cowboy In (31 page)

She got up the next morning, Sunday, to fix breakfast for Trevor, Grant and Consuela.  Together the two of them filled Grant and Consuela in on their trip, down to the wonderful time they had meeting and getting to know John and Jean Appleby.  Trevor told them she got part of her money back, but no amounts were mentioned.

Consuela was glad this ordeal was over for Sam and that she and Trevor seemed so happy.  She told the couple, "I'm going to spend the day with my friend today.  Do you have plans?"

Trevor told her,
"Yes, we do."

Sam looked over at him. 
"We do?"

"
Yes, we do.  I'm taking you out for a nice supper tonight.  I think we should celebrate tonight.  That's behind us now and we can move forward with our lives."

"
Oooh, I like the sound of that."  She looked at Consuela and Grant and said, "Yes, we have plans tonight.  And I'm really excited." 

They shared a friendly laugh.  Grant said,
"You two have a good time tonight.  You can tell us all about it tomorrow at lunch."

"
Will do," Sam said.

"
Well, parts of it anyway," Trevor said, raising his eyebrows and looking at Sam seductively.

Consuela said,
"Oh, my.  Mr. Trevor, you behave yourself, or I'll take my wooden spoon to your backside again."

Sam laughed as she asked,
"Again?"

Consuela said,
"Yes, again.  When Mr. Trevor was growing up he felt my wooden spoon on his backside more than once."

Looking at Trevor, Sam said,
"Oh, I'd pay to see that."

Grant added,
"And you can afford to now, too."

They all laughed.  They kept up the friendly chatter as they cleaned up the kitchen together.

Sam was so relieved her ordeal was over that she'd been wound tight all day.  Trevor took her riding that afternoon, hoping that would settle her down a bit.  They sat down by a pond and he pulled her back up against his chest.  They talked about how nice it was to be back home on the ranch.

She was squirming the entire time they were sitting there.  Finally Trevor asked,
"Sam, do you have ants in your pants?  You haven't been still for two minutes since we got here."

"
Sorry," Sam offered, "but I can't help it.  I've got all this energy that's pent up inside of me."  She saw a tree not far from them and said, "Look, a perfect climbing tree!"  She jumped up and ran to the tree, with Trevor in hot pursuit. 

She grabbed onto the first limb and pulled herself up, just as Trevor got there and, with his hands around her waist, set her back on the ground. 
"Sam, behave yourself."

"
But I've been climbing trees since I was little."

"
I don't want you climbing trees when you're this wound up.  You've got too much energy in that little body of yours, I agree, but there are safer ways of spending that energy than climbing trees.  We can jog around the pond if you want to work some of that energy off, or we'll take a walk, but I don't want you climbing trees until you calm down a bit."

"
You worry too much," she said as she tried climbing back up into the tree again.

He pulled her back down again and gave her butt a good whack as he set her on the ground. 
"Sam, behave yourself.  If I have to tell you again you'll be nursing a sore butt on your ride back to the barn."

"
Spoil sport," she muttered.  "Can we go down by the pond at least?"

"
We can go down there."  He had his hand on her back and was leading her down toward the water, when she took off running.  She was back up to the second limb again before he got there.  This time when he pulled her down he didn't set her on the ground.  Instead, he carried her to a fallen log and sat down, laying her over his lap. 

Sam knew what he was planning and used a good deal of her energy to prevent it.  Trevor watched her wriggle and squirm and let her go for a full minute before reaching underneath her to unfasten her jeans.  He pulled them down, then her panties
and watched her squirm again.  This time he let her struggle for over a minute.  She was not only using up her excess energy, but giving him a wonderful show in the process.  She had a beautiful bottom, but as much as he'd be happy just watching it squirm for another ten minutes, he had a point to make.

"
Sam, I warned you what would happen if you tried climbing that tree again right now.  When you're so full of energy you take too many chances.  And up in a tree is not a good place to be taking chances.  This is one of those times you definitely need someone to look out for you."

"
I would have been fine," she argued.

Six good swats later he said,
"Maybe, but your safety is not something I'm willing to take chances with.  You knew what would happen if you attempted that again, but you just can't help yourself sometimes, can you?"

Sam thought a bit and had to admit he had a point.  When her energy level was this high she did anything that came to her mind.  That had been the problem when she
'd fallen off the tree she was walking on early in their relationship.  It had also been the ultimate cause of a skinned knee and elbow she'd gotten while exploring the old abandoned barn toward the back of the ranch, after she'd been warned not to explore or climb in the dangerous barn while she was so wound up.  She'd gotten spanked that time, as well.

She was still thinking about his words when he started spanking again.  As if reading her mind, while he spanked he brought up past times when her exuberance had gotten her hurt.  Each of those times he
'd warned her, but she'd ignored his warnings.  Even she could clearly see the point he was making. 

Understanding why he was spanking her and accepting the spanking were two different things, though.  As much as she grudgingly admitted that maybe she did deserve this spanking, it still hurt.  A lot!  She tried, though.  She really did.  But she was soon struggling, trying her best to squirm off his lap and avoid his ridiculously large and strong hand.

"Okay, Trevor, I get it now.  I'm sorry."

"
I'm glad you're sorry and I hope you do get it now.  But this spanking will end when I am convinced you've learned your lesson and not before.  He continued a bit longer, but ended it sooner than he normally would have.  He knew her excitement came from her newfound freedom to love her father again and that it was all behind her.  He was as happy about both of those things as she was and could understand her exuberance.  He couldn't let her carelessness go unpunished, but right now he didn't feel the need to be too harsh, either.

With that in mind, he brought the spanking to an end, asking,
"Are you going to heed my warning next time, Sweetie?"

"
Yes.  I'm sorry, Trevor."

He turned her over so she was sitting on his lap, even though she flinched when she made contact.  He wrapped her in his arms the way he knew she liked so much after a spanking and told her,
"I love you, Sam."

She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks and said,
"I love you, too, Trevor.  And you're right.  I get wound tight and you try to warn me.  I'm sorry."

"
It's over with now, Sweetheart.  We're good again."  He held her as she leaned against his chest and calmed down.

Several minutes later she asked,
"Am I ever going to learn to listen to you when you're trying to keep me safe?"

"
You're getting there, Honey.  You're listening much better than you were." 

She smiled and snuggled back into his chest, only to shoot back up when he said,
"Another few dozen good spankings, maybe a few with the paddle and you'll get there."

"
What?"  She looked over and saw the grin on his face.  "Oh, you," she said, hitting his shoulder.

They talked and cuddled a bit more before Trevor said,
"We better get going so we have time to shower before we go out to dinner.  It takes a cowboy awhile to get all spiffied up, you know.  Suits don't naturally just slide onto our bodies."

She giggled. 
"And you think a dress with hose and heels feels natural to a cowgirl?"

"
Probably not," he admitted, "but I know this little cowgirl sure does look fine in them."

They made it back to the barn, though she did a lot of complaining about how sore it was in her saddle.
They brushed out their horses and went to get cleaned up.

* * *

Two hours later they were in a nice restaurant, sitting side by side in the center of a half circle booth, sipping wine.  They had a nice meal, both using the night to relax and unwind from the last few days.

After they finished their meal Trevor took both her hands in his.  "Samantha Louise Simmerly, I love you."

"
I love you, too, Trevor.  And thank you."

"
For what?"

"
For a lot of things.  For calling Clay and asking him to look into this, for one thing.  I feel so much better now.  I owe you such a big thank you."

"
You're welcome, but I had to do that, Sam."

"
Had to?"

"
Yes, I had to.  I've told you I want to take care of you and keep you safe and happy; remember?"

Smiling, she said,
"Yes, I remember."

"
This is keeping you happy, like I promised I would."

"
Wow, you take that very seriously, Trevor.  That's a lot to do just to keep me happy."

"
I do take that responsibility seriously.  Do you feel safer?"

She didn
't think long before saying, "Yes, I do."

"
Do you feel happier?"

She didn
't think at all before saying, "Yes, I do.  I definitely do."

He picked up her hands again and kissed them both as he said,
"Good.  Like I said, I love you.  Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and letting me take care of you the rest of our lives?"

Sam was shocked.  She looked at him, trying to comprehend what he
'd just asked.  He went on to say, "But before you answer, I have to tell you something.  I've wanted to ask you this for awhile now, but I had to wait until Friday was over."

"
Why?"

"
Because I want you to know before you answer me that you have enough money of your own that you can live comfortably, or you could even buy a ranch of your own.  I know you wanted to run your family ranch and have the best herd of cattle in Texas and now you can buy one and run it if you want.  I wanted you to have that money in hand before I asked you so you wouldn't think I asked you to marry me, knowing you'd be coming into money.  The money has nothing to do with it at all.  I needed to make sure you know that, Honey."

"
Oh, Trevor, I would never have thought that.  I love you, too and I know the money wouldn't matter to you."

He smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a ring box.  He opened it and said,
"I'll ask again, Sam.  Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"
Samantha Louise Nottingham.  Yeah, I like the sound of that."  She giggled.

"
Samantha Louise, if you don't answer me pretty soon ––"

"
You'll what?" 

Her mischievous smile was adorable. 
"I'll show you what happens to little brats."

She looked at him with pure love in her eyes. 
"Yes, Trevor, I would love nothing more than to be Mrs. Trevor Nottingham."

He leaned over and kissed her passionately, before taking out the ring and putting it on her left hand.  When he looked up at her again he saw tears streaming down her cheeks. 
"Honey?"

She assured him,
"It's happy tears, Trevor.  This has been the happiest week of my life.  I feel like I got my dad back and two days later the man responsible for that asked me to marry him.  What a week!"

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him in the booth. 
"It has been quite a week, hasn't it?"

She leaned against his shoulder, completely comfortable.  After a bit she asked,
"Trevor, are you sure you want to marry me, even after this afternoon?  I'm not too much trouble?"

Running his fingers through her hair, he said,
"Honey, if anything, this afternoon just makes me want to marry you sooner.  And no, you will never be too much trouble."

"
Why would this afternoon make you want to marry me sooner?  You like spanking me, don't you?" she whispered, looking around to be sure no one was listening.

He chuckled as he said,
"No, Honey, I don't.  At least not that kind of spanking.  But this afternoon just showed me how much I need to keep an eye on you to keep you safe.  And I do intend to keep you safe."  He leaned down to kiss the top of her head.