Page 51 of Keeping His Brat

After Ben left Sam let out a long sigh. Charlie really had been busy. Still … Ben seemed to think the changes had been positive. Charlie was back in school. She was taking classes that did target ranching so that probably meant she’d done her homework this time.

He was inclined to let things stay the way she’d put them unless he discovered they weren’t working. That was not going to save her ass when he got home. All the guilty looks and hesitation from the day before, even the quiet ride home could be explained by this. She should have asked, or at least told him what she was doing.

He grumbled as he pushed his chair back and swung his legs up onto the desk. His boots hit the top with a loud thump as he considered how to deal with the situation. It took up his focus for a few minutes before he shook himself out of it. He had work to do. Plans to put into play.

It started with a phone call to a friend.

Chapter 15

When Charlie woke up Sam had already left for work. She sprawled across the bed alone and felt a delicious soreness in her muscles that came from lots of play time. How had she missed it so much when he’d only been gone two weeks.

She sighed and rolled out of bed, enjoying every twinge as she moved. She needed a shower desperately to wash the sex smell away and to wake her up so she could get busy. Now that Sam was home, he’d take control back and she could concentrate full time on her studies. She’d tried to fit in as much school as she could between working and visiting him, but she was behind in everything.

It wasn’t until she was yawning under the hot spray that she remembered how much trouble she was in. Sam was at the barn, so by now he knew at least some of what she’d done. There was a good chance he wouldn’t find out everything. It would be enough to make him ask some very pointed questions though.

It took the enjoyment out of her morning, and she sighed and scrubbed up quickly instead of savoring the hot water the way she would have liked. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Sam stormed through the door and spanked her right there in the shower, wet butt and all.

But she’d rushed through it for nothing. He didn’t come home early to deal with her. That left her with a nervous stomach, doing flips, and a lot of time on her hands to wonder what was going to happen when he did get home. It didn’t make for the best concentration, but she forced herself to sit down at the computer and work anyway.

She got a surprising amount done, and even managed to turn in one overdue assignment. The good thing about working at a doctoral level, she’d found, was that most of the students had full time lives and there was a lot of leeway on due dates. She’d explained that her partner (fiancé now!) was in the hospital and most of her professors had been sympathetic.

Getting things in as soon as possible would show her appreciation for that extra time. And working hard gave her something to focus on besides the way the muscles in her seat tended to clench every time she thought about Sam. The heat from the night before was gone, but there was a little residual ache to remind her she’d been spanked.

That had been a fun spanking. The next one she got was probably going to be anything but fun, and that had her as nervous as a barn cat.

“Iamthe owner too,” she mumbled to herself. It wasn’t very reassuring since she knew that she didn’t have any authority over how things were run. But her ideas were sound, and she knew it. At least the ones in the barn were. If he just gave them a chance.

Once she confessed about the biggest thing she’d done, well, shit was probably going to hit the fan then. It was something he was unlikely to uncover before she told him. Sam was sexy as hell when he put on his Daddy hat. But angry Daddy meant her butt was going to be sore for a good long time.

She’d admit the spanking had been earned for taking advantage of him being in the hospital. She hadn’t meant to be sneaky. It had just happened at first, but then she had continued knowing full well she was digging a hole. It was just one of the many things she felt guilty about.

But it had been a chance to show off the stuff she was learning and even though she’d snuck things in … she hoped he’d at least let her explain before he undid it all. If he did that, if he listened then she’d take what she’d earned without too much whining. Probably.

About the time her brain was running out of energy for working she glanced at the clock and realized it was coming up on lunch time. Sam had promised a short workday as he eased back into the schedule, so she was hoping he would be home by two or three at the latest.

She was heartily sick of sandwiches and the never-ending supply of soup for lunch, but she hadn’t had a chance to shop. Since the choices were dire, she decided to run into town to pick something up. On the way out she stopped at the big house to see how things were going.

It was on the schedule for them to be there, and the weather had been fine, so she expected to find them all busy. Instead, she pulled up to see them loading the trucks with all of their tools and leftover supplies. She got out of her car and went inside to see what was going on.

“You guys knocking off early today?” she asked as one of the men passed her with an armload.

“Nope, all done.”

And then he was out the door before she could ask anything else. Done? They couldn’t be finished already. She’d expected at least another week according to the updated estimate.

But when she looked around, she realized the thick layer of sawdust was gone. The wood floors had been polished to a high shine and when she looked into the living room, she could see the carpet she’d picked had been laid. There was a new house smell that came from the combination of fresh paint, carpeting, and the heavy odor of cleaners.

She went to find Tony, asking passing workmen where he was. She finally found him up in the attic. Tightening a screw on one of the new air vents they’d installed. He didn’t notice when she came in, a frown of concentration on his face.

Not wanting to interrupt, Charlie waited until he finished before she said anything. “Tony? The guys downstairs said you were packing up today. I wasn’t expecting you to be done this soon.” It wasn’t phrased like a question but there was a lift at the end as if she wasn’t sure if that was accurate.

He slipped the screwdriver into the middle pocket of his overalls as he turned. “Hey Charlie, yeah the weather’s been good the past week and we’ve been able to get in some good solid workdays. The carpet came in two days early too. Figured you’d be happy to see us gone a little earlier.”

“I’m thrilled, just surprised. So, you’re really finished? It’s all done?”

“Yep. Was going to call you later to schedule a walk-through, but since you’re here we can do it now, if you want? Shouldn’t be any problems, but if there are some touch-ups needed, we can handle it before we close out. Or come back later. Won’t be anything to keep you from moving in now though.” He seemed confident in that.

“Sure, that’s great. I was just about to run into town, but I have a few minutes. Sam just got home from the hospital last night so it’s good timing.”

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