Page 23 of A Flower for Angus

“Thanks for taking her with ye, Dad,” Ben told his father as he closed the truck door. “We’ll catch up later.”

Angus chuckled at Dorothy’s antics as Ben retrieved her purchases from the back of the pickup. “That lass is something else,” he said fondly.

“I think she’s a sweetheart,” Macy replied, moving over some so she could breathe a little better. She didn’t move too far because she didn’t want him to think she was trying to get away from him, but at the same time, she didn’t want to encourage him either by staying close when there was no need. Realizing how juvenile she was being, she rolled her eyes and looked out the window. She was too old for this kind of boy/girl anxiety. It would be a lot easier if she simply wasn’t attracted to him. Unfortunately for her, she was.

“That she is,” Angus replied. “Now let’s talk about yer problems, lass.”

“How far is it to Culloden?” she asked, trying to put him off.

“Not far at all.” He shot her a stern glance. “Why do ye have a stalker, Macy?”

“I-It’s a long story,” she hedged.

“I’ve got plenty of time.”

“We should probably get back to Neamh.”

“Are ye mixed up in somethin’ illegal?” Angus suddenly growled.

“Of course not,” Macy snapped back, shooting him a glance that could strip paint.

When Angus suddenly pulled into a small parking area that appeared to be a lookout for the Ness River, she held her breath. He did a U-turn, then parked facing the road from the small stand of trees nearby. “W-What are you doing?”

“I’m facin’ the road to see if anyone appears to be followin’ us,” he growled as he turned toward her. “But I’m also giving ye a chance to start talkin’ before I have to put ye across my knee.”

She gawped at him. Was he for real? “Look here, Angus,” she finally sputtered indignantly, “I’m not a young girl with stars in her eyes like Dorothy, or a child. I’ll charge you with assault if you even attempt anything like that.” Her pulse picked up rapidly when he didn’t seem to be impressed.

“So, ye’re goin’ to go back on yer word? At the restaurant we had a deal. I wouldn’t take ye to get a phone, and ye would tell me what was goin’ on the first chance we got.”

“I never promised,” she protested. “I just told you what you wanted to hear and to avoid an argument.” That ploy had served her well with both Sam and Julian in the past and had made life easier for her.

Angus’s eyebrows threatened to escape his skull, then lowered with a warning glare. “That may have been the way ye treated yer husband but that won’t fly with me, wee lass. I’ll have answers or ye’ll soon have a sore bottom.”

“It’s none of your business,” she yelped, getting angry.

He didn’t say anything, just stared at her as if he were planning his next move. It was very unnerving. She stared defiantly back.

When she’d defied Sam or Julian at this point in an argument, they had merely turned around and left the room. It seemed Angus was made of sterner stuff. Either that or he didn’t intend to get out of his truck. The incongruous thought suddenly struck her as humorous in a crazy way as she imagined driving off and leaving him behind.

“Look, Macy,” Angus began evenly. “Ye’ve been actin’ like ye are hiding from somethin’ or someone ever since ye got to Neamh. Ye don’t talk about yerself unless it’s an accidental slip, and ye guard yer words like they are the queen’s jewels and can’t be spent on the rest of us. Ye finally admitted ye may have a stalker and it’s obvious ye’re running scared. I want to know why. I’m ready to help ye. I know Darro will be willin’ to help ye too, but ye have to let us in.”

Macy almost crumbled. Almost. Until she realized that if they tried to help her, their inquiries would certainly lead Adrian right to her. If the man in the restaurant wasn’t the man she’d seen in Toronto, then she was still safe. She couldn’t risk it. Shaking her head at Angus, she replied, “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Okay, won’t,” she sassed.

“Last chance, Macy,” Angus said firmly.

“Or what?” Macy scoffed. She didn’t believe he would actually follow through on his ridiculous threat. People their age didn’t act like that.

Angus suddenly slid towards her in a quick efficient movement. Then he grabbed the back of her jean shorts with one hand, and with the other arm across her breasts, he suddenly lifted and tipped her over his broad lap where she landed face down in the driver’s seat. The warmth of the leather where he had been sitting was suddenly up against the side of her face. His muscled arm was now effectively pinning her down. When the first of many spanks from his hard right palm burned through her jeans, it finally dawned on her that he meant business.

“Let go of me,” she yelled as several unladylike curses assuring dire retribution sprang from her lips. “I mean it, Angus, I’ll have you arrested,” she shouted, her voice breaking as the heat and pain began to build in her rear. He didn’t show any signs of stopping either.

Frantically, she pushed her knees against the seat, her toes against the floorboards, and tried to grab the steering wheel with her right hand, but all her struggles were completely ineffective. He didn’t miss a spank in his steady rhythm.

“You have to stop,” she finally wailed as tears spurted into her eyes. She couldn’t take much more of the heavy-handed punishment. No one had ever spanked her before, not even when she was a child. Her butt must be glowing from the heat he was dishing out.

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