Free Peppermint Sticks for Susie by Joannie Kay

won't ever bother you again, sweetheart. I promise."
    "I'm so sorry!" she insisted.
    "For what?" he asked, tipping her face up so that he could look at her. "You didn't do anything wrong; in fact, I was impressed that you were able to fight him off until I got out here to help you. You are one brave little lady and I am proud of you, Jenny. You have nothing to be sorry for."
    "I should have known you were right about Lefty and waited for you this morning," she tearfully admitted. "I was wrong."
    "Yes, you were," Alex agreed, but held her tight. "We'll discuss that later. Would you like to go home now?"
    "No!"
    "The lass fears the skelping you promised her," Angus spoke up. "I think you should take her home and get the lesson over with. The dreading is worse than the actual spanking."
    "Did you ask Mr. McGregor to protect you from me?" Alex asked, clearly unhappy at the idea.
    "Nay, she dinna do that, Alex," Angus defended her. "Take her home now and deal gently with her. She has had a bad scare."
    "I don't want to go home. I'm fine, honestly."
    "I will bring you back later if you wish," Alex offered with a smile. He knew that she would not feel like returning after he gave her the switching she'd earned. It would be wrong to let her off when she was feeling so guilty, and this was the time to make sure she knew how he felt about disobedience.
    "I can't just up and leave Mr. McGregor here alone!" she argued.
    Angus came up behind her and handed her her purse and then he draped her shawl around her shoulders. "Go now, lassie. It's an order and I willna argue with ye."
    And that was that, she realized. Alex took her arm and led her from the store and walked her in the opposite direction of the Beckley home. "Where are you taking me?"
    "Somewhere we can be alone," was his reply.
    "I don't want you to switch me," she tearfully proclaimed. "I know I was wrong this morning and I've already learned my lesson and I'm not likely to forget it, either. Please, Alex, spare me this one time!"
    "I think you need this punishment even more than you realize, Jenny. Come along now and we'll make sure to deal with this and hopefully this will be the last time we need to deal with disobedience." She was feeling guilty as could be, and a switching would rid her of the guilt and make it easier for her to get past what just happened with Lefty Bridges. He rented a buggy, and helped her get seated before he climbed up, and sent the horse trotting on out of town. He knew precisely where they were going, too.
    Jennifer was still sniffling, and she just knew that she was going to be very miserable by the time Alex brought her home. It was simply awful to wait for a switching, especially when she'd never experienced one before. She glanced over at Alex to see he was deep in thought. She feared that did not bode well for her and she didn't know what to do about it.
    "Jenny, you do know that I love you, right?" he suddenly asked. "I thought I was going to go out of my mind when I walked out of the storage room and saw you trying to fend Lefty off. I knew in that instant that I would die if something happened to you. I would lose all reason for living; you've become that precious to me in just this short time. If I didn't love you, I would never do what I am preparing to do to you. Giving a spanking is an act of love, a firm expression of disapproval. Do you believe me when I tell you all that?" he asked, looking at her solemnly.
    "I believe that you think you love me, but I am not sure you will still feel the same way a week from now," she replied truthfully.
    "Jenny, I love you for life. It is that simple."
    "Oh, Alex...! I want to believe you; I don't want to end up with my heart broken."
    He smiled. "You are starting to feel the same way, aren't you?" he wanted to know.
    "Yes," she admitted. "I dreamed of you last night, and when you didn't come for me this morning I was very disappointed."
    "I always do as I say I will do, sweetheart. You'll know that