"Eyes front, Lizzie." His stern voice admonition made her gasp and turn her head forward.
Her hands were clasped behind her back and she worried her fingers together wondering what was going to happen. Would Matt send her away? Where would she go?
She had enough money and jewelry to take care of herself, but now she realized more than anything else, she wanted to stay with Matt. In the house in Juniper Junction and make venison stew and wash dishes and take care of her man.
Oh why hadn't she figured that out hours ago and saved them both this grief?
A chair scraped across the floor and Matt called out. "Come here, Lizzie."
Taking a deep breath, she turned and did as he instructed. He opened his knees and pointed to a spot on the floor where she was to stand. On trembling legs, she moved to the place he indicated, head down. A slow tear trickled down her cheek. She braced for a scolding and shouting. She deserved it.
"When I was a little boy," Matt started, his voice not angry at all, "my parents fought all the time. Didn't talk to each other. Not about important things like what was on their minds."
She looked up at him, confused about why he was talking about that instead of her horrible behavior.
"One day, I came home and found my ma's apron on the kitchen table and a note. Said she was tired of life on the prairie. Never saw her again."
A gasp escaped her and she reached her hand out to touch his cheek. He stopped her and held her hand in his, rubbing his thumb along the tender flesh inside her wrist.
"I came home early today to surprise you. Wanted to spend time with my girl."
Her heart clenched when he looked into her eyes. Oh lord she was the worst human on the planet.
"When I saw your apron and then the broken dishes---I didn't know what to think. I checked with the doc and then the sheriff, but no one knew where you were. Thought the worst had happened."
"I'm sorry about your ma, Matt," she whispered. "I'd never run off like that. What I did was wrong, I know that." Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "Pl-please don't send me away."
He gaped at her. "Send you away? Never. But, you are going to tell me what happened that caused you to break our dishes and then take off without leaving a note or telling anyone where you were going."
Oh lord. What should she say?
“The truth, Lizzie. Nothing else will do.”
She drew in a long, ragged breath. “I-I guess I was feeling sort of homesick for St. Louis.” That was in the neighborhood of the truth. “And the f-fancy house where I worked.” Oh, she felt like an absolute wretch admitting it. “The dishes there, even the ones the servants ate from, were pretty and it made me feel nice to eat off of them. But our dishes, the ones I b-broke, are ugly and I guess it just all felt like too much.” She sniffled and tears flowed down her cheeks. Tears of shame over her childishness and how hurtful it must have been to Matt.
“I’m sorry about the dishes. The first plate slipped from my hand, but it felt good to see it broken on the floor so I dropped another and the next thing I knew, I’d dropped them all and enjoyed it. But now, I h-hate it.”
“I don’t give a damn about those dishes, or any dishes for that matter. But those dishes were ugly. They were here when I moved in. I figured they would do until we had a chance to pick some out together. Remember—make our house a home together?”
“Ohh.” She really was a fool. The biggest fool ever.
“But what I do care about, is that you were upset about something. Stuff like that doesn’t just happen, usually it builds and builds until it boils over. But you never told me. You just let it keep building. That won’t work, Lizzie. We have to talk about these things. Did you think I’d be mad if you said you didn’t like the dishes?”
“I-I didn’t know if we could afford other dishes,” she said. “I guess if I was that worried about it, I shouldn’t have broken them.”
Matt just cocked his head to the side.
“Is there anything else you want to say? Why did you leave?”
“I guess I needed some time outside. Away from all the chores.”
“I bet you miss all the things you could do in St. Louis, eh?”
She nodded. “Sometimes. But, there are things to do here too. And I-I lo-love you, Matt. You’re more important than dishes or strolls in the park or any of that. I just needed to learn that lesson, I guess.”
Matt squeezed her hand. “I hear there’s a fancy dance happening around here soon. I’d be honored if you’d go with me.”
A smile spread over her face and her heart filled with love. “I’d be honored to go with you.”
“You look awful cute in that apron.” His gaze roamed over her and she blushed.
He patted his thighs. “Let’s get this over with, then we can get on to other things.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Over with?”
He patted his thighs again, then closed them together. “You’ve earned yourself a spanking. Over you go.”
He gave her arm a tug and she settled over his lap. “You’re serious about this? You mean to spank me?”
“Oh, absolutely. It’s the only way to deal with a tantrum. You’ll feel better afterward too. I promise.”
The first swat landed on her bare cheek and she yelped with surprise. Elizabeth Corwin Pendleton had never been spanked in her entire life.
Whether Matt knew that or not, he was certainly making up for lost time. His work-roughened palm came down on her upturned backside repeatedly.
“Ouch,” she cried out. “It stings.” She tried to twist away from him, but he held her firmly with one hand and swatted with the other.
“You’ll
