The Problem With Jordan (6 page)

“What’s going on?” Doc asked with a frown as Cray knocked on the door.

Cray explained, and lifted the redhead onto the examining table. She didn’t even fuss as the doctor looked her over, which was a first for Jordan.

“She’s got a concussion and needs to stay right here tonight so I can keep an eye on her.”

“I want to go with Cray,” Jordan mumbled, holding onto him. “Please, Cray, don’t leave me here.”

“Honey, I want us right here where Doc can watch over you. Doc, may I stay here with Jordan?” Cray asked before she could argue.

“I think that would be a good idea, son,” the doctor said kindly, giving Cray a look of respect. He motioned for Cray to come aside. “Did Ike?”

“No, sir. I stopped him.”

“Thank God for that. We all love little Jordy, and I was mad as hell at them fools for marrying her off to you, but the girl is already in love with you.”

“We are getting to know each other,” Cray answered. “It’s too soon for the marrying kind of love to take hold. We just need time. I sure do care for her, however.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Jordan asked fearfully from the other side of the room.

“Doc just wanted to know if Ike did more than hit you, Jordan. I assured him that he didn’t get a chance to do that.”

“Thank you, Cray,” she whispered.

“I need to go to see the sheriff now, but I’ll come back and sit with you as soon as I explain things to the man.”

“All right. I’m going to lie right here; my head really hurts.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead.

*****

Jordan felt like crying, but she resolutely got to her feet and cleared the table so that she could wash the breakfast dishes. Cray barely said two words to her these days, and she was sure he regretted marrying her. He wasn’t tender with her, and at night he sent her on to bed but then he stayed up so late she fell asleep waiting for him to join her. During the first few days of their marriage, he was kind to her, especially after Ike hit her and gave her several days of a really bad headache. He stayed by her side at Doc’s and made sure she had whatever she needed. But now? Well, now he acted like he hated the sight of her, and it made her sad.

Alice and Jim Evans had had their baby girl a few weeks ago, and Jordan went and helped with the delivery and with keeping the other children happy and content while their mama rested until she felt good enough to take over the entire house once again. Each and every day Cray came into town to help out a bit with the kids, or anything else that he could do to give her a hand, but that was several weeks ago, and now he barely spoke to her. She felt unwanted, and that was when she decided it was time for her to go back where she came from. It would be difficult, especially after having it so nice for nearly three months, but she wouldn’t be an anchor around Cray’s neck. She wrote him a note, and then went into the bedroom and changed out of the dress she’d made for herself. She’d take nothing that wasn’t hers with her.

Her heart nearly broke as she ‘fended’ a few grocery items, but she’d grown used to eating, and had no heart for scrounging for food today. She made sure that Cray was nowhere in sight, and left by way of the path through the woods. Either Cray would come for her or he wouldn’t. It was that simple.

*****

Cray was tired. He’d never realized how hard it would be to keep his promise not to touch his pretty little wife until she was ready to be touched. People didn’t fall in love so fast, did they? Cray found that all he had to do was look at the pretty redhead and he was ready to make love to her. He had no clue what she was thinking or feeling because she was so quiet all of the time. Ever since he brought her home after the new Evans baby was born, she had been distant with him, and he feared that she was unhappy.

It was time to talk to her, Cray decided. This impasse couldn’t continue. They needed to talk through their problem and then compromise with each other to make their situation bearable. He was surprised when he couldn’t find her inside the house. He looked around the outside of the ranch house, but there was no sign of her there, either. He went back inside the house, sure he’d just missed her, but after calling her name several times, he worried that she might be ill. However, the bed was made and the clothes she’d been wearing that morning were lying on the bed. He went to her wardrobe and it only took a glance for him to see that her ‘fending’ clothes were missing! He stomped from the room, and it was then that he spotted a note lying on the table. He picked it up and read it, and then read it again before stomping out of the house and through the woods.

*****

Jordan was filled with despair as she looked around her old home. It was shabby as could be. Ike had destroyed almost everything that could be used. She was going to need to ‘fend’ a lot of pieces to furnish the house, and some paint for the outside. But, now that she’d been spoiled by Cray, ‘fending’ seemed so wrong. It just wasn’t right to help herself to what others worked for. She and Cray had talked about that several times, but she’d kept her promise and hadn’t taken one single thing while living with him. She was going to have to find a job; it was imperative if she was to survive and not resort to taking things from others.

She busied herself trying to decide what she needed most to survive in the old shack, and was in the process of making a list when a shadow loomed behind her. She jumped up and whirled to face a man she didn’t recognize, and leftover fear from when Ike would catch her alone came up to terrify her. Jordan screamed as if she was being murdered!

Cray heard Jordan scream and he took off running. Damn it, he should have talked to her sooner, but the girl was in for a good hiding. How dare she run off from him? She was his wife, and just because she didn’t want to be married didn’t mean she could simply take off. He wouldn’t have it. He ran faster when he heard a crash from within the house.

Jordan didn’t know what to do. She’d thrown the only chair in the house at the huge black man, but he merely held out one large hand and batted it away as if it was a pesky fly. “My husband will hurt you if you touch me!” she threatened.

“Your husband is about this close to spanking your bare butt!” Cray said from right behind her.

“Cray! Oh, thank God you are here!” She put herself behind her husband. “This man broke into the house and has been threatening me!” she explained.

“This man is Otis Brown, Jordan, and I hired him to do some repairs on this place. He is living here as part of his wage.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me this?” Jordan demanded, her hands on her hips.

“He just done hired me a day ago, Miss,” Otis said quietly in his deep bass voice. “I didn’t mean to scare you none, but I figured I should check to see why you was snoopin’ in here.”

“I wasn’t snooping!” she angrily declared. “I live here!”

“You don’t live here, young lady. We are married, and you live with me. Hear that?”

“No, I do not hear you! You ignore me for weeks and I am supposed to think you want to stay married? You can go straight to hell, Cray McCormick!” Jordan shoved past Otis Brown and climbed out the window, and then she took off running. At this moment she didn’t care if she ever saw one Cray McCormick again. How
dare
he rent out her home and hire someone she couldn’t afford to pay. Hell, she couldn’t afford to support
herself
, much less a hired man!

“I didn’t mean to scare the girl, Mr. McCormick,” Otis said. “Iffen you want, I’ll get my gear and move on.”

“No Otis, I don’t want you to move on. This misunderstanding is my fault. I didn’t tell my wife about you yet because she has so much pride. I knew she wouldn’t like to know I was paying your wages to fix the place up for her. I apologize to you, and I’m asking you again to stop calling me Mr. My name is Cray.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Cray.” He shuffled his big feet. “Will you tell the little gal how sorry I am to scare her? I know I’m a big man and I scare women.”

“She will be the one to apologize to you, Otis. You didn’t do anything wrong. Just give me a while. I’ve got to track her down and cut a few switches to stripe her backside.” The big man chuckled, but by then Cray was gone. Otis decided he’d best get back to work and earn his keep.

Jordan found her special place and climbed up the friendly tree, and then she hugged herself and started crying. Otis Brown frightened her; she wasn’t used to a person of color, and he was so large. After the experience with Ike Kellogg, she didn’t trust strange men, especially if they were large. She was so relieved to see Cray… until she learned that he’d hired Otis Brown without even telling her and making sure she didn’t object. She knew nothing at all about the man, and for all she knew the man could be a murderer hiding out on her property. Cray should have asked her before taking it upon himself to bring Otis Brown to her little shack to live.

And, how dare he insult her by telling her that she was his wife and that she would live with him? Hell, he didn’t even talk to her or sit at the table for five minutes after eating his fill! No, he didn’t want her, and it was time to realize that and get on with her life. She was hurt deep inside, and she wished she’d never met Cray. Hell, she wished she’d never ‘fended’ his eggs. It wasn’t worth the pain she was enduring right now.

Jordan decided to go back to her cabin and toss the big man out on his ass, and she was going to live in her own place. Cray had no right to go and do what he did, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind when she next saw him.

“Are you ready to come down out of there yet?”

Jordan about fell from her perch on the tree limb. She’d considered herself well hidden, but somehow Cray found her, and she was thinking so hard she didn’t hear him approach. The problem with Jordan was that she was mad at the man and she was more than ready to tell him what she was thinking.

“You are a no good skunk, Cray McCormick! You had no right to put that man up at my place without tellin’ me. You know I can’t afford to pay him, and even if I could, I don’t want him there. You either fire him or I will!” she promised.

“You are not going to fire Otis; he is a good worker, and I am the one paying him. You can’t fire him.”

“He’s on my place and I can do what I damn well want to do! Get on out of my way before I kick you in the head!” she threatened. Suddenly, Cray grabbed her ankles and yanked her from the branch and she fell across his shoulder. Cray headed toward his place, and when she hollered and beat on his back, he reached up and slapped her behind with the palm of his hand. “Damn you, Cray McCormick! That really hurt!”

“If you don’t want me to smack your butt out here, then you settle right down.”

The problem with Jordan was that she let her temper overrule her common sense. She pounded on him with her fists, and she tried to raise her feet to kick him. He was holding her so tightly, however, that she couldn’t get free enough to get his stomach a good one with her boots. The one who got the worst of the situation was Jordan. Cray decided to drop to one knee and drag her over his knee. He rained spank after spank over the seat of her worn pants, and she cursed and tried to wriggle around so she could sink her teeth into his thigh.

“I’m not going to fall for that again, little girl. In fact, I think it’s time to take away all this protection you’re wearing and give you a bare bottom tanning that will make you think twice before using your temper in such a way!” Cray was thoroughly disgusted with Jordan’s temper and he intended to let her know it in a way she was sure to remember. In spite of her kicking and squirming, he jerked her pants down to her knees, and then he tore her old, thin drawers and tugged them out of the way. Her pretty bottom was already a nice shade of red, but she was nowhere close to saying she was sorry.

Jordan was mortified that Cray was looking at her bare rear end. It was humiliating, and she knew her face was red as could be. Before she could protest and beg him to cover her once again, his hard hand landed on her bare skin with a loud crack and Jordan cried out in shock and pain. It hurt!

Cray was well aware that he was lighting a fire that would last for some time, and he continued to punish her, making sure that every inch of her pretty butt and upper thighs were a deep dark red. Jordan was sobbing, and he was sure she’d had enough. His hand had had more than enough! “Do you think you can come along with me now without resorting to cursing and hitting?” he asked.

Jordan was crying too hard to talk, but she nodded in agreement. Anything to stop the painful spanking. “If you start again I will cut a switch and stripe you until it wears out. Do you understand? I don’t want you saying you didn’t hear me warn you.” She nodded again, but at least he allowed her to walk toward his home instead of carrying her like a bag of grain.

Cray waited a few minutes to give her time to control her crying and then he asked, “Are you calm enough to listen now, Jordan?”

“I don’t want to listen to you!”

“Would you rather I cut a switch and stripe you?” he demanded.

“No!” She was horrified at the idea.

“Then you’d best listen to what I have to say.” He took a deep breath and then said, “You are right; I should have talked to you before I hired Otis, but my intentions were good. I hoped that if I got him to fix up the place and make it look nicer that we could start an operation up there that would bring you some money. I don’t know if Otis would be interested in raising the colts, or whatever you think best. The land isn’t suited to raise crops, but there is a lot of pasture ground to use.”

“I’m moving back there. Otis can’t stay; I don’t like him.”

“You are
not
moving back there. Otis
is
staying. Jordan, why are you suddenly full of yourself and acting like a snotty kid?” he demanded.

“You don’t want to be married to me, and don’t you dare lie to me about it. You haven’t said more than five words to me any day since I came home from helping Alice. I can see you can’t stand to be with me! I won’t stay where I’m not wanted.”

“Jordan, that is a bunch of bull. The problem is that I want you too much and I’m having a terrible time keeping my promise to you. You are beautiful. I just don’t want to rush you into something you aren’t ready for. I’m sorry I made you feel unwanted. I thought you would understand that I was giving you the time I promised you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know how,” he replied. “Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling?” he asked.

“I didn’t know how.”

“This just proves we need to start talking more and telling each other what is going on inside our heads. By hiring Otis I was trying to keep my promise and see that your land was earning you some income.”

“I can’t afford to pay him.”

“I know that; I hired the man and I will pay him.”

“No, that isn’t fair!”

“Why isn’t it fair? I hired him; I should be the one to pay him.”

“But he’s working on my place!”

“You are splitting hairs, Jordan. I want to do this for you.”

“Fine. What can I do for you?”

“Be your normal, pleasant self. Smile for me, and let me see you sewing on your sewing machine. You haven’t had it out lately.”

“I’m out of yard goods,” she admitted, stunned that he seemed to enjoy watching her sew.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You can go and get more.”

“I don’t have any money,” she admitted. “I can’t keep taking things from you, not when we aren’t really married. You were forced to marry me, and you don’t love me, Cray. You said so yourself when the doctor said something. I can’t keep taking when I have nothing at all to give you. My house, my land; it’s all worthless.”

“You come with me, young lady. I can see that I have totally messed up.” Cray took her hand and led her inside the house and into the bedroom. “First of all, I want to see you dressed in the clothes you have made for yourself. Please do this for me,” he said simply, and then left her in the bedroom to change.

Jordan didn’t know what to do. Her bottom was in some serious pain, and the last thing she wanted to do was to anger him again. Slowly, she started undressing, and soon learned that her oldest pair of drawers was only fit to be used as cleaning rags. The mirror beckoned to her and she couldn’t resist looking at her backside. Jordan gasped when she saw the deep splotches of red decorating her skin, and she was positive that she was already developing some bruises since her skin was so delicate and bruised easily.

She couldn’t help crying again as she took out a pair of new drawers and put them on over her flaming bottom. Soon enough she was dressed, but she didn’t want to go out and face Cray, so she turned her gaze the other way. She didn’t know how long she stood in front of the window, looking outside at nothing in particular.

Cray waited, and then he waited some more. Finally, when he was convinced she’d crawled out the window, he opened the door to their bedroom and saw her just standing there, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. The sight made him sad. “Why are you crying, Jordan?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I hurt inside… and outside.”

“I’m sorry you are hurting inside, honey. I think we need to talk about that. Now that I see how upset you are, I realize that I should have been honest with you about what I was going through. I am in love with you,” he whispered. “I know it seems foolish, considering the short time we’ve known each other, but I realized I was in love with you the day that Ike tried to harm you. I suspect that I fell in love with you even before that. I haven’t been neglecting you, but trying to control myself so that I didn’t take you in my arms, like this…” He pulled her close. “And kiss you, like this…” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her, gently at first, and then more passionately when she kissed him back. “I’ve wanted to do that for weeks now, Jordan,” he admitted.

“I was afraid I’d ruined your life, Cray, and it hurt so bad! I’ve tried so hard to be a lady, but no matter what I did it was never enough to earn your attention. I wanted you to like me as much as I liked you.” She lowered her eyes and then whispered, “I didn’t know that I am in love with you, too, until I left and missed you so much I could barely breathe! When you came, at first I thought you were there to save me again, and to bring me on home. Then you scolded, and I wanted to die. It hurt so much, and I got mad as hell.”

“I was mad that you wanted to leave without giving me a chance. I thought I was doing the right thing, the noble thing. I would like to start over and do this right; if you would give me that second chance?”

“I would like that, too,” she answered, her green eyes shining with love.

“All right, come with me, please.” He took her hand and led her to the kitchen. He pulled out her chair, and when she gave him a look of horror, he smiled sadly and ran back to the bedroom to get their pillows. He stacked them one on the other, and then he seated her, and ran around to his side of the table and took his seat. He took a deep breath and said, “Jordan, I have some business to discuss with you. I don’t think your land is much good for farming, but it would be a great place to raise some colts. I hired a man to clean up a bit, make some repairs, so that we can find someone to work with the colts and care for them. His name is Otis Brown, and he used to be a slave. I think him an honest man, and he promised a day’s work for a day’s wages. I hope this is a decision you can support.” He looked at her, indicating it was now her turn.

“Thank you for trying to help me, Cray. If you think this man is qualified to do the repairs, then I will go along with your decision.”

“He’s qualified. I saw him fixing a fence over at Spencer’s, and he did a good job, and he did it fast. It shouldn’t take him long to finished things.”

“Sounds good to me. Where will he live?” She was giving him a chance to tell it all.

Cray smiled at her. Jordan was playing right along, and he was very pleased. “In order to keep costs down, I told him he could live in the house. Otis thought it was fair. And, honey, I know you can’t afford to pay him, but this is something I want to do for you. I hope you know that I am not trying to insult you?”

“You are a good husband, Cray, and I am in love with you. I would like to be your wife in every sense of the word. I hope I am not acting like the women in the saloon when I say that? If so, I am sorry for shocking you.”

“I am not shocked; I am pleased, honey.”

“I am sorry for overreacting about Otis. I am ashamed of yelling at him.”

“It would be nice if you would apologize, honey,” he said softly, smiling at her.

“Oh yes, of course, I will do that as soon as I see him.”

“May I kiss you again?” he asked hopefully.

“Please.” When he got up to come to her, she eagerly rose to her feet. Sitting was miserable and painful, and she was going to take the opportunity to rise. Cray didn’t disappoint her, but instead gave her a kiss that was full of promise.

“I want to make love to you, Jordan. If you are sure that is what you want?” he asked.

“I am very sure, Cray,” she told him, and the sincerity in her voice gave him permission to pick her up in his arms and carry her into their bedroom.

*****

The problem with Jordan was that she didn’t have a clue what to expect when Cray carried her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. She truly should have had a talk with Alice, but it was too late to do so now, and she was suddenly frightened. How did she know that Cray wouldn’t hurt her?