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* * *
Blake
The simple fact that Merry was in the woodshed told me exactly where her mind was. And exactly how she wanted this day to end.
Well, I have news for you, baby girl. You are not the one in charge here. I pushed open the door and stormed my way to the bench in the back, where I knew she would be.
"Those little shits put a burr under the saddle," I exclaimed, fishing it out of my shirt pocket and holding it up in front of me. "That's why Leon went crazy. It's a small enough one that, if they positioned it just right, he might not have felt it until Tobias leaned in to make the jump."
Merry and Slade jumped up, gaping at me. "Are you sure they did it?"
I leveled Slade with a look. "I check all the tack, myself, every morning. You know that. But if you're asking if I at least gave them the benefit of the doubt, yes, I asked them. They admitted it."
Slade shook his head. "Times like this, I sure wish we could take a switch to them, the way Nan would have if we had pulled a stunt like that."
"Agreed. Nan would have worn us out."
Merry stayed silent, pouting. I had to chuckle at the cute little way her lip jutted out and at her sad eyes. "What's up, baby girl?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what was up.
Merry just shook her head. "I don't know what the point is, if we can't make a difference, if we can't do anything about kids like that behaving that way."
"First of all, baby girl," I said, sitting and pulling her onto my lap. "We aren't here to help those kids. I mean, we are here to help them all, sure, but the ones we are really here for are the Saras and Tobiases of the world. Furthermore, you don't always know when you are making a difference in someone's life or the way they think. Sometimes, you don't know until much later, if at all, the impact you have. So, all we can do is do our best."
Merry looked up at me, her eyes wide and sad. "I didn't do my best."
"I think you did. I think you should go yell at them some more," Slade interjected. I silenced him with a look and a quick shake of my head.
"They deserved to be yelled at, I'm sure—laughing like that and making fun of Tobias when he fell. He could have been seriously hurt. And you knew that, so I understand why you were upset. What do you think you could have done better?"
"Not screamed at them and ran off. I could have handled myself a lot better. I acted like a kid, throwing a tantrum."
I chuckled at her description. I couldn't disagree. "Maybe a little."
"And you think you should be punished for it, don't you, baby girl? That's why you ran out here, isn't it?"
Merry nodded.
Slade was watching quietly, but his eyes were filled with a silent fury. I could see both sides.
"Well, now, I can see why you think that. It is the agreement that you and I made, and I can see that you have a lot of guilt building up over it, don't you?"
She nodded, her eyes flitting around the small space, looking everywhere but at me.
"But here's the thing, baby girl. I think you are missing the big picture. And part of the big picture is that your Daddy and I are the ones in charge. We are the ones who decide when you deserve a punishment and how you are to be punished, aren't we?"
She looked at me, then frowning deeply as she nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"And I feel like there is a lot more going on behind your blow up over those mean kids making fun of Tobias, isn't there?"
Stubbornly, Merry shrugged, but she wasn't fooling me. The truth was in her eyes.
"I think you do need to be punished, baby girl. I think that is the agreement we made, and your terms for coming to work here, and I agreed to hold you to that. I can see that the guilt will eat you alive, if you don't find some relief for it. So, you will be punished, later. But, it will be on my terms. The how, why, what, when and where are up to Slade and me, and I promise you, baby girl, it will not be what you are expecting. Do you understand me?"
* * *
Merry
Not what I was expecting? I didn't like the sound of that. Like, at all. But Slade and Blake were both watching me intently, waiting for me to answer. What else could I do? My stubbornness and my guilty gut had gotten me into this mess, and apparently, the only way out of it was on Blake's terms. I nodded.
"Words, little one," Slade admonished sharply.
"Yes, Sir," I responded, turning back to Blake. My foot scuffed the dirt floor beneath me, willing my mouth to stay shut and not pester him with questions.
"Go up to the house. Take the rest of the day off. Take a shower, clean up. Get ready for us. Dress nice, but casual. Slade and I will be off in a few hours, and we will do the same. You are not to leave your room until we come for you. Disobeying any of my instructions will result in a hard paddling atop and aside from what you already have coming. Are we clear?"
We weren't clear. At all. His instructions confused me and had my heart in my stomach and my stomach in my toes, but I nodded my acceptance, anyway. "Yes, Sir. Crystal clear."
"Good, then. Give me and Daddy a hug and then march your butt up to the house."
I shuffled on legs that felt like Jello, over to each one of them, and allowed them to pull me in for a hug, basking in their warm embrace. When they hugged me, I knew that, no matter what came, I was safe and loved and would be better for it. It helped to ease the nerves, if only for a moment.
