New Beginnings...Back to the ranch!

Subject: New Beginnings... Back to the ranch! (Part 1)
From: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>
Date: 06/05/1999

New Beginnings... Back to the ranch!

This story contains spanking of (fictional) children. If this is not your thing, then don't read it. It also contains lots of love and emotional interaction, written as well as the author could manage. If all you want is a spanking scene, with no emotions, this story may not be for you, because you won't find that here.

This story is a work of fiction. The author does not endorse or encourage the actual spanking of real children in any way. All characters are the products of the author's imagination.

Do not copy or distribute this story without written permission from the author. Permission to keep one personal archive copy is hereby granted. Do not write other stories using these characters without permission from the author.

This story is presented in multiple chapters, or parts, due to its length. The copyright notice and disclaimers apply to all the parts. These parts form one entire story, and are not to be distributed separately.

Send any comments to SamPast@aol.com. Praise or constructive comments are always welcome.

----------------- Chapter 1 ------------------------------

Back to the Ranch... Where it all began

Charlie looked at the pile of luggage sitting at the door waiting to be brought to the car. He shook his head and thought to himself, "Didn't we just do this?"

But it had been about a year ago, that the family had first set out to the dude ranch. Wow! A year since they had first met Heather and Maggie. It's amazing how things can change so much in one year.

Charlie thought to himself, "If you had told me a year ago that, that brat, Heather, would become my sister-in-law, I never would have believed it." Imagine, that little girl who had run away from him to the stables, was now his niece. Life sure was funny sometimes!

The twins were excited to be going back to the dude ranch. Aside from getting lost in the woods, and Maggie almost falling into the waterfall, all they remembered were the fun times. Oh sure, they had gotten into heaps of trouble at times, but they did at home, too.

And now they were a year older. Only a month before, the twins had turned nine. Now they were the age Maggie was when they had first met her. And, oh, she had been so cool! Now, Maggie was their cousin, and even older. Maggie was ten. Robin and Jennifer couldn't wait until they were ten.

"Girls!" Charlie shouted. "Are you ready?" "Yes, Daddy," Robin said, appearing next to him.

"Ready, Daddy," Jenn said, as well.

Lisa came over, putting down a last minute bag. She looked at Charlie, who said, "Another one? We might not be able to fit the girls in the car! They'll have to sit on the roof. Or in the trunk. Hey, that's not a bad idea. At least it would be quiet." Both Charlie and Lisa laughed.

"Daddy!" Robin exclaimed.

Charlie hugged her. "I'm just kidding, honey. Are we all ready to go?" Both girls nodded. They had been up since five, bouncing around. "Girls, I want both of you to go use the bathroom," Lisa announced. "Don't haveta," Robin said.

Lisa frowned. "Try. Especially you, Jenn."

"Awwww, Mommy!" Jenn whined.

Charlie frowned at her. "Jennifer!" he warned. "Go use the bathroom right now."

"O-kaaaay!" Jenn cried. She walked away.

Finally, ten minutes later, they were all set to go. They were going to be meeting Heather, Bob, and Maggie up at the ranch. With all their stuff, they never would have fit into just one car.

The ride up there seemed longer than last time. The girls brought lots of activities to keep them busy in the car. But after awhile, everything bored them.

"Are we there yet, Daddy?" Robin asked.

"Not far now," came the answer. Robin giggled. This was an old joke. A minute later, she asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Not far now," Charlie sang. Both girls giggled.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not far now!" Neither girl could wait an entire minute to say it again. The suspense was too great.

They both said, "Are we there yet?'

Charlie boomed, "No, we're not! So quit asking!"

Soon the whole car was filled with family laughter. Charlie thought, "Maybe this year we'll have more fun, and less trouble." Yeah, right! Another half hour went by, and they were not even close to being there yet. "Daddy, I'm bored!" Robin complained.

"Me, too," added Jenn.

"Girls, we have awhile yet. Read your books!" Charlie suggested. "I can't. It's giving me a headache," Robin whined.

Charlie decided to overlook the whining for the time being. He knew the girls would be cranky when he heard them up at five a.m.

"Why don't you two play a game?" Lisa asked.

"There's nothing to play," Jenn said.

"How 'bout the alphabet game?" Charlie queried.

"Okay, I'll play. You wanna, Jenn?" Robin asked her sister. "Okay, but no cheating!" she warned.

Robin looked at Jenn. "I never cheat!" she said. "You do." "I do not!" whined Jenn.

"Girls, are you going to play or argue?" Charlie asked. "Play. Okay, let's go over the rules just in case. You have to look for the letters of the alphabet in order. No skipping. And you have to be honest," Robin added.

"And you can't use license plate letters," Jenn called. "Well, except for the words New York, or something, okay?" "Okay," Jenn said.

So, they played for awhile. Robin won the first round. Then they played again, doing the letters in reverse. Robin won again. She always won spelling games.

"Let's play once more," Robin said.

"Why? So you can beat me again?" Jenn cried.

"Honey, don't be a sore loser. It's only a game," Charlie commented. "But Daddy, she always wins!" Jenn sobbed. She was starting to cry for real. Robin didn't want to start a fight, so she said, "I don't always win. Come on, Jenn. One more game!"

"NO!" Jenn spit out. She folded her arms across her chest and pouted. "Fine! Be that way!" Robin spit back.

Charlie and Lisa didn't know whether to intervene or not. In a way, at least if they weren't speaking to each other, the ride would be quiet for a little while.

"Girls, why don't you close your eyes and try to sleep for a while? You were up awfully early this morning," Lisa suggested.

"Don't wanna sleep!" Jenn spat out.

"Jennifer!" Charlie warned. "Don't speak to your mother in that tone!" Charlie looked in the mirror and stared at Jennifer. He waited. "Jennifer!" "I'm sorry, Mommmmmy!" she whined.

Charlie sighed. "Jennifer, if I have to stop this car, to teach you a lesson, you are going to be one very sorry little girl. Do I make myself clear, young lady?"

Jennifer started to cry. "Yes, Daddy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mommy." "It's okay, baby. Come on now, why don't you take a nap?" Lisa asked. "Okay," Jenn agreed. She leaned down and closed her eyes. Robin had already fallen asleep.

Jennifer opened her eyes for a second. "Daddy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"If I fall asleep, when I wake up, will we be there?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, sweetie, I think so. If you take a nice long nap, we'll be there when you wake up. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. Nite, Mommy!"

"G'nite, sweetheart," Lisa said.

Within minutes, Jennifer was asleep, too.

And true to his word, when Jennifer opened her eyes, they were pulling up in front of the main building, where it said in big letters, "Registration." "We're here, we're here!" Jenn shouted.

This woke Robin. She opened her eyes and realized they were there. "Yay!" she said, sleepily.

Charlie went in to register the family. Lisa and the girls got out of the car to stretch their legs. Jennifer was wet and needed to be changed, so Lisa did that before Charlie came back with their keys.

"Guess what!" he said.

"What?"

"What, Daddy?" Robin asked.

Charlie was beaming. "I got us the same cabin we had last year. And Uncle Bob will have the one right next door!"

"YAY!" the girls cheered.

Lisa said, "Isn't the one Heather and Maggie stayed in last year going to be too small for the three of them, hon?"

"Yes, that's why they got the one on the other side of us. The one that's the same size as ours!"

"Oh," was all Lisa could say.

By the time the family had finished unpacking their stuff, they heard a car crunch outside on the gravel. Jennifer went to look out the window. "It's them, they're here!" she shouted.

Both girls began to run outside, but Charlie caught them. "Hold on!" "What?"

"What's the matter, Daddy?"

"Do we ever just run outside without permission? Girls?" Robin looked at the floor and said, "No, Daddy."

Hanging her head, Jenn said, "No, sir."

"Okay, then. Maybe we should go over the rules one more time," he suggested. "No, really, that's okay."

"We'll remember, Daddy," Robin said.

"Can we go out now, Daddy?" Jennifer asked carefully. Charlie smiled. "Yes, go ahead!"

Having permission, the girls ran out to greet Maggie, Heather, and Bob. When they saw Maggie, the girls held hands and jumped up and down and all around in a circle, like they always did. It didn't matter if they had just seen each other the day before, or a week before.

All the adults laughed. Heather commented, "Do you think they'll ever get tired of doing that?"

"No," Charlie said, laughing. "And they just saw each other the other night." Charlie helped his brother, Bob, carry all their bags into the cabin next door. "Wow, and I thought we had lots of stuff!" Charlie commented. "Please, don't go there!" Bob said, feigning annoyance. Charlie just laughed. When everyone was settled and unpacked, the girls said, "Can we take a walk? Can we go to the stables? I'm bored."

Bob said, "Girls! We just got here. Don't you want to just sit back and unwind?"

All three girls looked at each other. "NO!" they all shouted. "Come on, I'll take you down to the stables," Charlie supplied. "Let's go!" "Bye!" Lisa, Heather, and Bob said, waving. The three of them sat on lounge chairs outside of the cabin, watching Charlie walk off with the three girls. Bob turned to Lisa and said, "Think he'll be all right?" "Yea, he's a big boy. He can handle it," she laughed. "Yeah, besides, how much trouble can they possibly be?" Bob asked. Heather and Lisa just stared at him. "You wouldn't believe how much!" they said. Everyone laughed. It was going to be a fun trip.

to be continued in chapter 2...

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 2 (M/ff) Date: 06/06/1999 From: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At the stables, Charlie decided that he might as well sign everyone up for tomorrow's morning ride. He chuckled when he thought of his brother on a horse. As he remembered it, Bob was pretty much of a stand at the rail type of cowboy.

As he finished talking to the head wrangler, he turned around and couldn't see ANY of the girls. Shaking his head, he wondered just how long this vacation was going to feel. Figuring they were in the barn he headed over there, and sure enough they were in there talking to one of the wranglers about what had happened since last year.

Charlie knew he should chide them about going out of sight, but realized that in some ways, he had to let go a little. They were getting a bit older. He pondered this train of thought while watching them. They were sure getting taller every day.

Finally, he figured he had better rescue Tony and called the girls over to him. Waving goodbye to Tony happily, they couldn't wait to give Charlie all the news. They all talked at once, contradicted each other, and began to talk again. Charlie finally thought he would surely have a headache if he didn't distract them, so he challenged them all to a race back to the cabin. Three balls of energy shot ahead and he kept a steady pace behind them. Maggie easily won the contest, with Jenn and Robin pretty much in a tie behind her. They all dropped onto the porch steps, winded and finally silent. In Charlie's absence, Lisa had put everything away, and was reasonably set up. Bob and Heather, however, had taken the brief respite for something else, and both looked kind of disheveled as they heard the kids come onto the porch. Robin looked up and said, "Uncle Bob?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Were you and Aunt Heather taking a nap?"

Maggie giggled, well aware of what they had been doing, but Bob just told her, "Uh huh, we were kind of tired after the long trip." "Ohh," Robin said, totally satisfied, "well we weren't. We slept on the way up."

Charlie smiled, and then told all the girls to go get ready for dinner. They were going to the mess hall for dinner, and then on to the rec center for the Friday night dance.

All three girls dressed up in their cowgirl outfits and after dinner, danced and twirled and had a great time. By 9 o'clock, Lisa decided that it was late enough for them, and she and Charlie offered to put the girls to bed, so Bob and Heather could stay a bit longer. They had danced in each others arms all night, except for a few dances that Bob had had with Maggie.

Maggie started tugging on Heathers dress, trying to get her attention. "Mom? MOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!"

Heather finally stopped dancing and looked at Maggie. "What, sweetie?" "Can I sleep over with Robin and Jenn? Pleasssssse?????" "We just got here, Maggs!"

"Yeah, but you and Daddy want to dance, and probably later want to smooch some more, right?"

Heather blushed and Bob picked her up and whispered in her ear. "Will you promise to be a good girl?"

"Yes, Daddy, I promise."

"Well, you know if you give Uncle Charlie any trouble what will happen, right?"

"Yes, Daddy, Uncle Charlie will spank me. I know, believe me, I know." Bob laughed, and asked her if she had asked Charlie or Lisa.

"No, Daddy, I thought I better ask you and Mommy first." "Thank you, Magpie," Bob said, and kissed her on the top of her head. Walking over to his brother with Maggie in his arms, he told Charlie of Maggie's request.

"Sure Bob, no problem. This feels kinda familiar." Charlie smiled at Maggie, and she returned the smile, knowing exactly what he meant about last summer. Bob put Maggie down, kissed her again, and swatted her bottom lightly telling her to be a good girl.

"I will, Daddy. See you in the morning," Maggie said happily and ran off to be with her cousins.

Bob and Heather danced some more and then took a long walk under the brilliant skies filled with stars that looked as if you could just reach out and touch them. Suddenly Bob pulled Heather into his arms for a very long, long, long, long kiss, and then swung her into a dance, listening to the music that came to them on the air. Bob sang the love song into Heather's ear, and she gazed at him in total love. She couldn't believe that it was only a year ago that she was here and how much of a mess her life was then. She really owed Charlie and Lisa a tremendous debt of gratitude, and wondered how she could EVER repay it.

Walking back to the cabin she shared her thoughts with Bob. "I don't think they even think of it that way at all, sweetheart," Bob told her. "But I do, Bob. Come on, we can think of something special for them if we try, right?" Heather pondered.

"Of course we will." Bob smiled down at his lovely young wife, and couldn't even begin to imagine his life without her and Maggie anymore.

It was past 11 when they got back to their cabin, and all was dark next door, so they figured everyone was asleep. Charlie and Lisa sure were, but they didn't realize yet, that three very active little girls were still awake plotting some mischief.

Maggie was telling them what a lark it would be to take a walk and look at all the stars again. Robin was scared of going out in the dark without her parents, but didn't want Maggie to know.

So she told her, "Forget it! I do NOT want to start this vacation with a very red sore bottom, and you KNOW we will get caught."

"Ohhh come on, no we won't," Maggie said. "Jenn, how bout you?" Jenn tiptoed to her parents' room and looked inside, and sure enough, they were sound asleep. "Well, are you sure we won't get caught?" she asked. "How are we gonna get caught? Your parents are asleep. Mine are still dancing and I am sure won't be back for hours yet. And, when they do get back, they won't be thinking of US at all. All we have to do, is take the screen off our window, slip out that way, and back in. Its OUR vacation, time to live a little, right?" Maggie concluded her speech.

The twins were NOT so sure, but figured it was better to just do it and get back then argue with Maggie all night. Soo, they got the screen off, and Maggie and then Jenn slipped out. Robin was so indecisive that they left her behind.

Maggie said, "Okay, Robin, your role is to be our lookout." They had already stuffed their beds in case an adult decided to suddenly check on them. Outside, alone in the dark, Jenn and Maggie felt really free and grown up.

They walked a ways and then Maggie said, "Hey, let's go look at the horses. I always wondered if they sleep lying down, or standing up." "Whoa, Maggs, that is a very long, long walk in the dark, and is gonna take awhile," Jenn said.

"Well, what do YOU want to do?"

"I dunno."

"Well, if you dunno, then we should follow my plan, right?" "How 'bout we just go see the lake at night, and see what the ducks do, and we can go see the horses another night?" Jenn suggested.

"Hmm, okay, let's go to the lake first then," agreed Maggie.

Bob and Heather were resting in each other's arms, happy and replete when Bob heard some strange rustling sounds outside the cabin.

"Did you hear that, Heather?" Bob asked.

Heather, drifting off to sleep murmured, "nope."

The hair on the back of Bob's neck stood up and he knew something was up, just wasn't sure what. He threw on some shorts and a tee shirt, and walked outside and around the back of the cabin just in time to see Jenn and Maggie taking the screen off the window, and getting ready to climb back into the cabin. Quietly but quickly, Bob walked up behind them and grabbed them both by the back of their shirts. Both girls gasped as they felt their shirts being pulled backwards, and then heard, "WHAT IN TARNATION DO YOU TWO THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Both girls knew they were in BIG, BIG trouble, and Maggie tried to talk their way out of things.

"Umm Hi, Daddy. What are YOU doing back here?"

"The better question is, young lady, what are YOU doing out here instead of being sound asleep in your bed?" Bob roared.

"Well, we umm, couldn't sleep, and decided to just, umm, take a little walk, Daddy. You know how safe it is up here, don't you?" Maggie asked, holding her breath as she finished.

Bob was angry and getting angrier by the moment by his daughters glib excuses, and her tone of voice. "Where is Robin?" he asked.

"She didn't come with us, Daddy. She stayed behind." "Well, I'm glad ONE of you had some sense. Come with me, you two." Marching both of them into his cabin, Bob closed the door to his bedroom where Heather was sound asleep, and told Maggie, "Into the corner, young lady. I will deal with YOU in a moment. Jennifer Lynn, come here."

Jenn had NEVER heard her uncle use that tone of voice before, and thought he sounded exactly like her daddy. Standing before him, he told her in no uncertain terms, how very disappointed in her he was, how her dad was also going to be very angry, and that there was absolutely NO excuse for what she had done, so he wasn't even going to ask for one.

Jenn was silently crying, and knew for sure what was going to happen next. Sure enough, her pajamas and panties were pulled down, and over her uncle's knee she went. Bob wasted no time in warm ups and went straight for some pretty hard spanks, first on one cheek and then the other.

"I don't EVER- SWAT SWAT SWAT, want you, SWAT, to EVER SWAT, sneak SWAT SWAT, out SWAT, again, SWAT, is SWAT, that SWAT, clear SWAT????" "Yes, Uncle Bob, perfectly clear. I am sooo sorry," Jenn cried. "Well, you are going to be sorrier when your dad hears about this, young lady," and with that he gave her ten more really hard spanks and then set her on her feet. "Into the corner with you, young lady, and NO rubbing." Jenn ran to the corner, glad her ordeal was over, or was IT? He had said that he was going to tell her daddy, and she wondered if he would spank her all over again. She was a really sorry little girl at that moment.

"Come here, Margaret Ann!"

Hearing her full name, Maggie knew she was in for it. She came over, stood by his right side, and with her head down told him she was sorry.

"Well, not as sorry as you are going to be, young lady. First of all, you really let me and your mom down. Secondly, you led your cousin to do something wrong, and it is only our FIRST night here. I do NOT want to have to repeat this on a daily basis, so I am going to make sure you have no wish to wind up over my knee again. IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes sir."

Bob then pulled Maggie's pajama pants and panties down, and proceeded to spank her fast and furiously mostly in the same spot, but alternating cheeks, turning her bottom to pink, then red, then crimson. She was sobbing and struggling, and then finally as Bob lectured her, she went limp over his knee, finally accepting her punishment. Her spanking went on a lot longer than Jenn's and she was a well and truly spanked little girl by the time he was done. Standing her on her feet, he told her, "Into the corner with you, young lady. I need to take Jenn back next door. Come along, Jennifer." Jenn hobbled over, as he had not given her permission to pull up her pants yet. Bob hugged her, and pulled up her panties and pajama bottoms. In a quiet voice, Jennifer asked, "Am I forgiven, Uncle Bob?" Picking her up in his arms, he hugged her hard again, and said, "Yes, as far as I am concerned you are, but I can't speak for your father, Jennifer." "I know, Uncle Bob, but you already spanked me, do we have to tell my daddy?" she asked.

"What do you think, young lady?"

Sighing, Jenn just put her head down on his shoulder. Bob walked next door, and knocked gently on the door. Charlie appeared and was shocked to see Bob and Jennifer on the porch.

"What is going on here?" Charlie asked.

Standing Jenn on her feet, Bob told her, "Go on, Jennifer, tell your father what happened tonight."

Jenn stared at the floor, but finally found the courage to tell her dad all that she and Maggie had done while she stood there rubbing her bottom, and finished by telling him that Uncle Bob had already spanked both her and Maggie. Bob left them alone, knowing Charlie would want to talk to Jenn alone, and he still had a few things to say to Maggie.

Charlie looked down at Jenn and told her how disappointed in her he was. "I know, Daddy, I'm sorry."

"Well, young lady, since your uncle has already spanked you, I will not spank you again. HOWEVER, you will NOT be riding tomorrow, and you will NOT be having Maggie over again this week. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Daddy, perfectly clear."

Jenn hated being grounded from riding, but she also figured that it would have been a pretty uncomfortable ride anyway. She knew she had gotten off a lot lighter than Maggie did, and felt a little guilty, but what the heck, it was Maggie's idea anyway.

"Jennifer, I do NOT want to spend this whole vacation with you over my knee," Charlie explained.

"Me either, Daddy, me either."

"Okay," Charlie gave her a big hug, and told her to get some sleep, and sent her on her way, with a not so light swat.

Bob walked back next door, and found Maggie still in the corner, with her very red bottom facing him and her nose in the corner. "Come here, Magpie." Hearing her nickname, Maggie knew she was forgiven. Pulling up her panties and pajama pants, Bob asked her what she was thinking of when she pulled that stunt on their very first night here.

"I don't know, Daddy. I just wanted an adventure, I guess," she said reluctantly.

"Well, there are plenty of adventures to be had that I approve of, without getting yourself into trouble, AND, if you continue to misbehave, I will take you to your grandmother's house, and you will miss out on a wonderful time here." Maggie's eyes widened, and she couldn't believe what she was being told. Her grandmothers????

Bob continued, "I do not want to spend this vacation with you over my knee. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Daddy, I don't want that either, but please, don't send me away." Maggie threw herself into Bob's arms, and wept.

"All right, you are forgiven, Maggie, but remember what I said."

"Ohh, I will, Daddy, I will."

Maggie was really angry at what her dad had said to her, but knew she couldn't tell him that, so she backed out of his arms, and turned to go to bed. Thinking she was upset about the hard spanking she had just received, Bob let her go.

"I love you, Maggie. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Daddy."

Maggie refused to tell him she loved him and anyway seeing the look in her eyes, he might have known that trouble lay ahead.

to be continued in part 3...

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 3 (Background, only) Date: 06/10/1999 From: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

New Beginnings: Back to the Ranch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (C) 1999 Sampast. Regular disclaimers apply, although there is no spanking in this chapter. Sorry, folks! Comments are always welcome. Now, on to the story: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NB: Back to the Ranch: Part 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Jennifer sat up in bed. She looked around, trying to remember where she was. Then she remembered; they were back at the ranch. She stood up; she was wet and knew she had to change. She got out of bed and went into the living area of the cabin and saw her mother. She went over and climbed into Lisa's lap.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Have a good night's sleep?" Lisa asked, sweetly. Jennifer just nodded. Lisa could tell she was still pretty sleepy. "It's about time you got up. Everyone else has had their breakfast and has gone riding already," Lisa explained, as she cuddled Jenn close to her. It wasn't too often that Lisa had alone time with either of the twins, and even thought it was because Jenn was punished, she was glad to have this time with her.

"Why didn't you go, Mommy?" Jenn asked, sinking deeper into her mom's lap. "Well, someone had to stay here and keep an eye on you and your cousin, right? I understand the two of you had quite an adventure last night, huh, little one?" Lisa asked, turning Jennifer around to face her.

"Yes, Mommy," Jenn admitted.

"What on earth were you thinking, Jennifer Lynn?"

"I don't know, Mommy. It was pretty stupid," she finally said, after a long silence. Then Jennifer put her arms around Lisa's neck and held on for dear life. "I'm sorry I let you and Daddy down."

"Okay, baby, it's all right, now. You've been punished, haven't you?" "Yes, Mommy," Jenn said into Lisa's neck. "Uncle Bob gave me a hard spanking." Then she lifted her head from Lisa's and looked her mom in the eyes. "But not as hard as he gave Maggie. How come?"

"Well," Lisa said, pursing her lips. "Maggie is his daughter, and I guess Uncle Bob expects more from her. Also, she's older than you are. And she should have known better, I suppose. Although, you should have, too, young lady."

"Yes, Mommy."

"I bet you need to be changed, huh?" Lisa asked. Jenn nodded. "Okay, how about a nice bath? And then I'll find you some breakfast, okay?" "Okay, Mommy."

Jenn took Lisa's hand and followed her into the bathroom. While Lisa ran the bath, Jenn pulled off her wet garment and used the toilet, and brushed her teeth.

Happily settled into the bath a few minutes later, Jenn did not hear Maggie knock on the door. Lisa was pouring water over Jennifer's hair, trying to get all the shampoo out, without getting any in Jenn's eyes. She didn't hear her niece, either.

"HELLO? Anyone here?" Maggie called.

Lisa heard. "In here!" she answered. Maggie opened the bathroom door slowly. When she saw her cousin in the bathtub, she laughed.

"Hey!" she spoke.

"Hi," said Jennifer shyly.

"You just get up?" Maggie asked Jennifer.

"Yeah, I was up pretty late last night," she said sourly. Lisa just looked at Jennifer and frowned. She turned to Maggie. "Have you eaten, honey?"

"Yes, Aunt Lisa. My parents brought some breakfast back for me. They left me a note to come here after I'd eaten and gotten dressed. I guess they all went riding, huh?"

"Yes, Maggie. I'm sure you understand why you and Jenn will not be going today!" she admonished.

"Yes, ma'am," Maggie said meekly.

"Okay, well now that your cousin is here, Jennifer. I'm going to go do a few things. Call me when you want to get out, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Jenn replied.

Maggie sat on the toilet seat cover and said, "So, you mad at me, or what?" "Yeah, I guess I am," said Jenn.

"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't think we'd get caught."

"You never think we'll get caught, Maggie. That's the problem with all your ideas, you never think!" As Jenn said that, she splashed some water on Maggie. "Hey! Cut it out!" Maggie said, putting her hand into the water, and splashing Jennifer back.

Jennifer splashed Maggie again, and Maggie splashed Jenn again. This went on, back and forth, until Maggie was screaming and soaking wet. Lisa came running, and burst into the bathroom. She took in the scene. Maggie was sitting on the edge of the tub, soaked from head to toe. Both girls were laughing. "Oh, Maggie, you're soaked!" Lisa exclaimed.

"That's okay," Maggie laughed. "These clothes needed to be washed, anyway." "Mommy, can Maggie come in with me? That way we can finish playing," Jenn asked.

Lisa furrowed her brow and sighed. "Well, I guess so," she said. "Okay, Maggs, off with those wet clothes." She turned to Jenn and said, "I guess you two resolved your differences, huh?"

As Maggie stepped into the warm water, she looked at Jennifer and said, "Yeah, I guess we did."

Lisa said, "Okay, well, you two, play nicely." She looked at her watch. "For ten minutes, that's it. Otherwise, Jenn, you'll completely prune up. Maggs, I'll go next door and get you some dry clothes. Okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Lisa," Maggie said.

Once her mother was gone, Jennifer said, "I am sorry, Maggie." "I'm sorry, too. For getting you in trouble, again. I promise it won't happen again," she said, crossing her heart.

"It'll happen again," Jenn said, sure of herself.

"Oh, it will, will it?" Maggie asked, splashing Jenn some more. They played for awhile, and then Lisa was back, helping them out and drying them off. While Jennifer ate her breakfast, Maggie was silent. Then she said, "You know, Jennifer, you're right. I don't think things through. But I'm gonna try, from now on. Okay?"

"Yeah, right, Maggie," Jenn said. Then when she saw that Maggie was serious, so she added, "Okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, on the trail, Robin rode her own horse, as did Charlie, Bob, and Heather. Both Heather and Charlie were old pros, having been there before. But Bob hadn't ridden in years. He admitted he was never fond of horseback riding. But Heather assured him it was like riding a bike; he would remember as soon as he got back in the saddle, so to speak.

They were enjoying the slow ride, when all of a sudden, Heather began to slip from her horse. She regained herself pretty quickly, but it was enough to worry Bob. He jumped from his horse and ran over to her.

"Honey, are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

Heather laughed. "Yeah, it was silly. I just felt dizzy for a minute, there." Then she saw the worried look on Bob's face. "Hey, don't worry, I'm fine," she assured him.

"You don't look so fine. You look pale. Are you sure you're all right? We can go back," Bob said.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm fine, hon. Come on, Charlie and Robin will wonder where we've gone," Heather said.

She sounded so sure of herself, that Bob had to believe her. He got back up on his horse, and they continued the ride. But every few minutes, he would look her over to make sure she was okay. Heather tried to be stoic, but in reality, she did not feel so well. Her stomach was killing her. After the ride, she admitted her stomach hurt. "Maybe you have the flu," Bob said.

"Oh, hon, no, I'm sure that's not it. It was probably the chili from last night. I knew I shouldn't have had that second helping," Heather stated. Charlie was concerned, as well. "I don't know, Heather. Before we left the island, there was that new virus going around. Maybe you caught it and didn't even know it."

"No, Charlie, really, I'm fine," Heather insisted, even though she wasn't so sure herself. The last time she had felt cramps like this, was when she was pregnant with Maggie. But no, that couldn't be it. Besides, that was ten years ago; she couldn't possibly remember what that felt like.

The four of them headed back to the cabins. Lisa was sitting outside with Jennifer and Maggie. They were playing cards at the picnic table. "Hi, baby," Charlie said, kissing the top of Jenn's head. "Oh, hi, Daddy. How was your ride?" she asked. Jenn didn't even look as though she cared that she had missed it.

"Oh, it was so fun, Jenn," Robin exclaimed. "And, Maggie, your mom almost fell off her horse!"

"What?" Maggie asked.

Charlie put his arm around Robin and said, "Robin! That's not exactly what happened, and you know it!"

"Sorry, Daddy," she said.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Charlie said, pointing to Heather.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Heather. I didn't mean anything by it," Robin said. Heather put her arms out for Robin. She happily engulfed her niece. "I know you didn't, honey. It's okay."

Maggie watched all this and asked, "So, what's wrong, Mom? You look funny." "Are you trying to say I'm funny-looking, Margaret Anne?" Heather asked, chuckling.

"No, you know what I meant, Mommy!" Maggie insisted.

"I'm fine, really. I was just a little dizzy before. And my stomach hurts," Heather admitted.

Lisa stared at her sister-in-law. "You don't think you're...?" Lisa stopped, aware that everyone was staring at her.

Heather started to shake her head back and forth. "No, no, it was just the chili. I'm sure of it. I'll go to the bathroom and I'll feel much better." Everyone laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole family headed to the mess hall for lunch a short time later. Heather just had soup, while everyone else had roast beef sandwiches. "What're we doing the rest of the day, Daddy?" Robin asked. "Well, we thought maybe you kids would like to go to the camp they have here at the ranch," Charlie announced.

Robin thought back to last year and wrinkled up her face. "I don't think so. I didn't care for it last year. Besides, I want to stay with you, Daddy." "Well, Robin, I think it would be good for you three to be with other kids your age. And I know we won't have the same problems we had last year. Will we, girls?" Charlie stated, looking mainly at Maggie and Jenn. "No, Daddy," Jenn said.

"Uh-uh, Uncle Charlie," answered Maggie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, it was decided, the girls would spend the rest of the day with the camp. And it wasn't as bad as Robin expected. She actually had fun. They had an arts and crafts area, of course, and Robin kept busy with that. Jenn and Maggie chose, instead to play soccer. The teams were co-ed, and the other kids soon realized how good Maggie was.

That night, the camp was having its own children's dance. The twins and Maggie asked their parents if they could go.

"You want to?" Charlie asked Robin, surprised.

"Yes, Daddy. I had fun today. I liked it," Robin admitted. Charlie was relieved. Usually, Robin clung to him on vacations and he felt as though he could not breathe. He had been shocked that she had left his side that afternoon without a fight or tantrum. He was happily surprised that she was showing this much independence, and he was glad. He thought she was finally growing up. Later, he would realize he wasn't ready for his babies to grow up.

~~~~~~~~~

The girls had a great time at the dance. The camp dropped them off at their cabins at 10:00. The twins were both exhausted and went right to sleep. Maggie, too. Bob was glad; she had behaved herself the entire day. He knew he would not have to send her away.

Next door, Charlie had different thoughts. He wondered how long it would be until the next time he would have to spank his two children... or all three of them. Hmmmm, he thought.

(to be continued...)

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 4 (M/f) Date: 06/19/1999 Author: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several blissfully quiet days went by and Charlie started to relax, although he still kept an eye on all three girls, for signs of potential problems. Early each morning the girls went off to camp, happily talking and planning their day.

On the very first day the three girls met Pam, a twelve year old, who was also staying at the Ranch for several weeks for vacation. Maggie and the twins all thought she was totally far out, and very mature. Pam was an expert rider, and showed them all some tricks she learned from her trainer during the year. She could canter her horse, jump down, and back up again. Everyone was pretty impressed. She could also rope and told them all about the team penning she did back home.

On the fourth day at camp, Pam came up with what she thought was a splendid idea. "Look you guys," she told them, "we are all pretty good riders, and I think we should be able to go off by ourselves and have some fun." "Ohhhh NO!" Robin exclaimed, "that idea is sure to get us killed." "Killed? What do you mean?" Pam asked, surprised.

The three cousins all looked at each other, no one wanting to tell her exactly what they meant. "Wellll," Jenn began, "our parents are pretty strict, and so is our aunt and uncle. In our families, you either abide by the rules, or there are pretty severe consequences."

"Heyyy!" Pam told them, "we are on vacation. Won't they chill?" All three looked at the others, and in unison said, "NO!!!"! "Well, if you are all chicken, I'm not." Pam finished saddling, and got in line with the others, but before long, she saw her chance and ducked out along another trail.

"Ohhh no!" Jenn told Robin, "what are we going to do?" Robin put her hands on her hips and exclaimed, "Well, I for one, am going to do NOTHING. I refuse to get spanked on vacation."

Jenn looked at her cousin, "Maggie?"

"Well," Maggie said to Jenn, "I sure do NOT want to get it again either, but I guess we can't let her go off on her own." Sighing, Maggie knew she should probably just tell a counselor, but they were so far ahead at this point. She was worried that if she rode to the head of the line to find someone, she might not find Pam.

"Okay, you two go ahead. I am older, and I can't let her go off alone. It just wouldn't be safe. So, when you get to a stopping point, tell someone what happened, okay?"

"Are you sure Maggie?" Robin asked hesitantly.

"Well, no, I am not, and I know this is NOT something my dad is going to approve of, but I can't let Pam go off by herself. What if she gets thrown? No one will know where to look for her. I will tell her how stupid this is when I catch up, and if I get into trouble, then I do. But I know that letting her go off by herself is just as wrong, and maybe my dad will understand." Turning her horse, Maggie trotted off down the trail that Pam took. It took her about 15 minutes to catch up to Pam, and when she saw her ahead, she called out to her to stop. Coming abreast, Maggie told her what a dumb thing it was to run off like that.

"Well, I couldn't stand that a minute longer, ya know?" Pam stated. "Well, actually, no I don't," Maggie said. "Wanna tell me about it?" Pam hadn't told any of them much about herself, but they had met her mom when she picked her up each night. Hopping off her horse, and ground tieing him, Pam sat on a log and started to shred some leaves she picked off the ground.

Maggie took in her posture, and expression, and sat down knowing that her new friend needed to talk. Not rushing her, Maggie just sat, and started to tell her some things about herself, her family, and the past year since she and her mom had met her uncle and aunt.

Pam just sat and listened in amazement. She had no idea that she and Maggie were so much alike. She just knew she had been drawn to her, and her cousins kind of came with the package. Pam started opening up about her parents' divorce, and Maggie encouraged her silently to keep talking.

Pam talked and cried, and the hours flew by without either of them noticing it. Maggie hugged her and told her that it really would be okay. Finally, Maggie noticed how hungry she was, and told Pam that they had best get back. Pam told her that they would both probably be in trouble anyway, so why rush. "Cause I am starved, that's why," Maggie told her laughing. Neither of them had a watch, so they had no idea how late it was. They had been gone for over three hours.

Jenn and Robin knew they needed to tell someone about Maggie and Pam, but couldn't quite get past the other horses and then decided that if they waited, maybe the two would come back, and they wouldn't have to. At noon, they stopped at a picnic spot, and the twins decided that they had best come clean and tell a counselor. Finding Susan, one of the counselors they liked, they filled her in on what had happened.

"My goodness, why didn't one of you tell me before this?" she asked. Jenn said, "Well, we couldn't get through the line, Suz, and we umm, kind of thought, welllll, that they ahhhh, might be back by now."

Robin nodded in agreement. Susan quickly filled in the other counselors, and resaddled her horse to ride back to the barn to get help. It was a much quicker ride back without all the kids, and she made good time. The first person she ran into was Joey, so she filled him in, and they decided that the parents had to be told, and she should do that, while he got fresh horses and some other wranglers to go find the girls.

Susan knocked on the door of the Clemente cabin, and no one was there. She remembered that Robin and Jenn were cousins of Maggie's so she tried next door at their cabin. Knocking there, the door opened and Charlie asked what was up.

All four adults were there playing cards. Susan quickly told them what had happened, and Bob asked her if that was how they took care of their charges. He got so incensed at what he considered to be their negligence, that he was threatening the poor girl with having her fired, and being sued, and every other dire circumstance he could think of. Susan got pale, and continually tried to apologize, but Bob was too upset to listen.

"That is MY daughter out there missing, and who knows what has happened to her? This is YOUR fault, young lady. Do you hear me?" Bob screamed. Heather put a hand on Bob's arm and said gently, "Hon, please calm down, the entire ranch can hear you, and I am sure that Maggie is fine, really. She is a great rider, and knows the trails pretty well, so I doubt she is lost. Come on, instead of standing here getting more and more upset, let's go look for her, okay?"

Susan quietly told them that she was going to go find Pam's mom, and slipped out the door. Tears running down her face, she ran as fast as she could, trying to out run her fear and anger at being so unfairly accused. She wiped her tears before she got to Pam's cabin, and knocked on the door there. There was no one at home, so she ran back down the trail to the dining room, and found Pam's mom sitting and eating lunch with friends.

Taking a deep breath, she told her what had transpired, and got quite a different reaction than Bob's.

"Well, she certainly knows how to ride, so it is no big deal, I guess. I am sorry she is a bother, but she will come back when she feels like it, I am sure," said Pam's mother, nonchalantly.

Susan frowned, not sure how to react to her total lack of caring over Pam and her whereabouts, but assured her they would look for her, and bring her back safely.

"I am sure you will," Mrs. Stern continued, "she does this kind of thing all the time. She likes to go on her own to think."

Susan walked out of the dining room, hands in her pockets, not sure what to make of either family. Talk about a contradiction in reactions, whew, she thinks to herself. By the time she gets back to the barn, both Clemente men have saddled up and gone in the direction that Susan had told them they had started the trail ride that morning.

Jenn and Robin had given her vague directions of where they thought the others had turned off, but they weren't too sure of the exact location. Bob and Charlie rode up the trail and found a turnoff they were sure was the right one, and rode on. Not knowing how far the girls had come, they knew that they might or might not find them very quickly.

Charlie looked at his brother, and saw the worried look on his face, and was amazed at how much he really loved his new daughter. She sure could be a handful for anyone though, that was for sure.

After about an hour of riding, they reached a point where the trail got so narrow that they figured the girls couldn't have ridden any further. Discouraged, they realized that they had ridden up the wrong trail, and decided to let their horses rest for a few minutes before turning back. Bob sat on a log and dejectedly asked his brother why he thought that Maggie did these things.

"Do you think she is deliberately trying to drive us nuts?" Bob asked, only half-kidding.

Charlie laughed, and told him, "Of course not! She is just a little girl, who gives in to her impulses sometimes, and probably has no clue that we are even worried."

"Well, she sure will know how worried I am when I get my hands on her bottom," Bob exclaimed. Looking up, he caught his brother's frown. "What?" Charlie put his hand on Bob's arm and stated, "Remember, little brother, always hear her out FIRST, and NEVER spank her when you are angry, okay?" Sighing, Bob told him he knew that intellectually, but right now, he wasn't thinking clearly. He was just plain scared that she might be hurt. "I know the feeling, bro, trust me. I know it well, as will you in the years to come, and guess what? IT doesn't get any easier, I hear. And, by the way, do you think that Heather might be pregnant?" Charlie asked, abruptly changing subjects.

"Well, I have to admit, that I have begun to wonder that myself. But she is not saying anything, and I don't want to push her too hard until she is ready to take a test," Bob reasoned.

Both men laughed, and Charlie told him, "Well, she sure acts like Marsha (the twins' birth mother) did when she was pregnant. I remember it only too well."

Bob sighed. "Gee thanks, that does NOT sound encouraging to me, Charlie. God forbid Heather should have twins!"

"Well, how do you feel about being a dad, again?" Charlie asked, slightly amused. After all, Bob had only been a dad for less than a year. "Excited, scared, I guess all the normal stuff, but mostly, I just want Heather to be okay," he said, showing how much he loved her. "But, right now, we have another little one to find, so let's saddle up," Charlie reminded him.

Back on the trail again, they start doubling back. Soon they came to the fork where they had taken the trail that was sure to lead them to Maggie, but didn't. They figured she had to have taken the other way.

"Well, here goes nothing," Charlie said, looking at his watch. It was close to 2:00. Maggie and Pam had been gone for several hours now, and even he was worried.

They rode along quietly, each man thinking his own thoughts. Bob, worried about both Maggie and Heather, tried to stay very calm. Charlie was also worried about Maggie, and was silently thanking god that Robin and Jennifer had not gone, too. He wondered if they would be able to find them.

"Hey, Charlie?" Bob asked after some time.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think maybe one of the wranglers found her already and they're just waiting for us to come back? Maybe we're searching and she's already back there. Maybe we should just go back and check."

"Well, we could do that. But Bob, if she's not there, then we'll have to come all this way again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Bob said dejectedly.

"I'll tell you what. Let's finish out this trail. If they're not here, we'll go back. I wouldn't mind refilling my water bottle anyway," Charlie suggested. Again, they were both quiet. After awhile, Bob started to say something, but then Charlie held out his hand, and said, "Shhhh! I think I hear something." Both of them froze. They both listened. They both smiled. Ahhh! The sounds of little girls laughing.

"I'm gonna kill her!" Bob stated.

"Now, now! Easy does it!" Charlie warned his little brother. Then he called out, "Maggie! Maggie, it's Uncle Charlie? Can you hear me?" Maggie and Pam had been talking and laughing, mostly just to stay calm. They had tried to go back but had gotten lost. Suddenly, she thought she heard her name.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Pam.

"No, what?"

"Listen."

"Maggie!" Charlie yelled again.

"There, that was my name. It sounds like my uncle," Maggie told Pam. Then she yelled out, "Uncle Charlie? I'm here!"

Charlie and Bob jumped down off their horses and ran to where they heard the voices. When Charlie saw his niece, he ran over to her and picked her up and swung her around.

"OH, thank goodness you're all right. Oh, Maggie, we were so worried about you," Charlie told her. Then he turned to her friend, "And you must be Pam!" "Yes, sir. How'd you find us?" she asked him.

Charlie turned to see Bob staring at Maggie. Then Bob turned away. Maggie went up to him. She couldn't see that he was wiping a tear away from his eye. "Daddy?"

Bob turned back to her. "Hi, honey. Are you all right?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky as it felt.

"Yes, Daddy. I'm sorry we got lost," Maggie said quietly. Bob picked her up and held her to him tight. "I'm just so glad you're okay." He put her down and turned her around. "You're not hurt anywhere?" "No, Daddy."

"WELL THEN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, MARGARET ANNE? YOU NEARLY SCARED YOUR MOTHER AND I HALF TO DEATH!" Bob shouted, beginning to smack poor Maggie's bottom.

"Daddy, I'm sorry, let me explain!"

Charlie, who had been talking with Pam, heard his brother's outburst and ran over to them. Just in time, too. Bob was about to remove his belt. "Bob, no! Remember what we talked about! Not in anger! Bob!" Charlie had to push his brother away in order to get his attention.

Bob pushed Charlie away and walked away. Charlie turned back to Maggie and said, "Maggie? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, sir," but then she started to cry.

"Come here!" Charlie put out his arms. Maggie came over and went right into them. Charlie picked her up and held her. He soothed her until she stopped crying.

Bob came back over with both of their horses. "Come on, we should get back and let everyone know we found them," he said seriously.

"Yes, you're right. Come on, Maggie, you can ride with me. Pam, you can ride with my brother, here." Charlie didn't want Bob alone with Maggie. He knew he needed time to calm down.

Pam said, "No, that's okay, sir. I'll ride my own horse back." "Excuse me? No, you won't. Let's go! Your horses will follow behind us," Charlie explained, taking the reins in his hand, as he helped Maggie up on his horse. Pam just stood there.

Finally, Bob said, "Let's go, young lady. I don't have all day." Pam still didn't know what to do. Maggie said, "Pam, just do it. Really, it's okay."

They rode back to the barn and gave the horses to the wranglers to bed down for the day. Charlie said, "Come on, Pam, I'll walk you back to your cabin. I'm sure your parents are worried sick."

"It's just my mom, and I doubt it," Pam said. "It's okay, Mr. Clemente, you don't have to walk me. I'll be all right. See ya later, Maggie. Sorry if I got you in trouble."

Pam started to walk away. Charlie said, "Hold it right there, young lady!" Pam turned. No one had ever called her that before today, and now she'd been called that twice, once by Bob and now by him. "What?" she asked testily. "Excuse me? First of all, you don't speak to me in that tone. And second of all, I said I would walk you back to your cabin. Now let's go!" Charlie ordered.

Pam didn't want to defy this man, so she followed him. Maggie waved to her, and went to catch up to her father, who had started to walk back to the cabin. Once there, Heather was very glad to see Maggie and hugged her and kissed her. "Oh, thank god you're all right. What on earth happened, Maggs?" "Yes, please sit down and tell us the whole story, Margaret Anne. And don't leave out one single thing. You know that you are in big trouble, don't you?"

(to be continued...) (Disclaimer: Yes, there is a good, juicy spanking in this part, but more important, there are a lot of emotions flying around. So if you're not in to that, then you'd best leave now.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maggie explained the whole thing to Heather and Bob. She tried to lay on as much emotion as she could. She admitted that she knew it was wrong to disappear like that, but she was doing it to help a friend.

"Daddy, I couldn't let Pam go off on her own. What if something had happened to her?" Maggie asked.

"What if something had happened to you, Maggie? Did you think that far?" he asked back.

Maggie shook her head. "No, sir."

"Maggs, it really wasn't such a bright thing that you did. And you had us, your aunt and uncle, and your cousins, and most of the ranch out looking for both of you. We really were very worried and upset," Heather said calmly. She was much calmer than Bob. Why was that? Bob wondered to himself. Was it because Heather used to not worry so much about Maggie and was able to take this? He was still so angry, and could barely listen to what he felt were excuses. All he wanted to do was punish her so that she wouldn't do it again. Bob knew he was much too angry to spank Maggie now. His brother's words rang back through his head, "Not when you're angry." Bob decided he needed a walk to clear his head.

"Maggie! I want you to stand in that corner for a little while and think about what you did and why Mommy and I are so upset. Then I want you to sit down and write anything that comes to your mind about what you did wrong. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Daddy," Maggie said glumly. She hated the fact that her dad was a teacher, and was making her do a writing assignment. She thought back to the essay he had made her write about fighting, and wondered if this one had to be letter perfect, as well.

Bob turned to Heather and said, "I need some air. I'm going to take a walk and clear my head." He turned back to Maggie. "GO!" he said, pointing to the corner.

"Yes, sir," said Maggie, dejectedly. She had tried to explain why she did what she did, but her dad just couldn't hear it. She walked to the corner and stood with her nose to the wall.

Meanwhile, Charlie walked Pam to her cabin. As Pam had figured ahead of time, no one was there.

"Hmmm, do you know where your mom might be, Pam?" he asked. Pam shook her head. "She could be anywhere, Mr. Clemente. I don't usually see her during the day. I mean, I'm at camp, you know."

"Yes, well, then, I guess I should just bring you back to camp. Your mom will pick you up at your usual time, I suppose," he said.

"Well, I'm kind of tired. I think I'll just lay down. I don't feel like going back to camp anyway," Pam said.

"No, I'm sorry, Pam. I'm not going to leave you here alone. Let's go, I'll walk you back to the camp."

"Um, no offense, sir, but I'm twelve years old. I've stayed alone before!" she spat.

"Young lady! If you were one of my daughters, you would find yourself over my knee for speaking to me like that. Again, no less! I already warned you not to speak to me in that tone. Now, in case you didn't realize that I was serious, I'm telling you now. I will not leave you here alone. You will do as I say, and come along back to camp!"

Pam was speechless. No one had ever spoken to her that way before. It kind of scared her in a way. But in another way, it made her feel safe. Here was this man, that she didn't know well, and didn't know her from a hole in the wall, giving her orders. And it made her feel secure. He really sounded as though he were doing this for her own good. She decided to follow along with Charlie. Not that he gave her a different choice, anyway.

As they walked toward the camp, Pam saw her mother out of the corner of her eye. She really didn't want to say anything but then her mom saw her. "Oh, Pam! There you are! The camp was looking for you," Mrs. Stern said. "Hi, Mom. Yeah, I know. This is Mr. Clemente. He's the dad of those twins I told you about," Pam explained.

"Good afternoon, I'm Jeanette Stern," she said introducing herself. "Hi, I'm Charlie Clemente. My brother and I found your daughter. She and my niece had ridden away. But I guess you knew that. The counselors came and told you, didn't they?"

"Yes, of course. But I knew Pam would be all right. She's a good rider!" Jeannette beamed.

"Oh, but I'm sure you were worried. I mean, we found them pretty far off on one of the trails. I know, we were very worried about Maggie." "Well," Jeanette said, looking at Pam, "what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing, Mom. Mr. Clemente was just about to take me back to the camp," Pam explained. She was about to add that she wanted to lie down, but something told her not to do that in front of Charlie. She had this feeling that would make him mad. And for some reason, she didn't want to make him angry. She felt sort of safe with him. Something she had never felt with her own parents. "Oh, okay, well, have fun. I'll see you at dinnertime," Jeanette told her, starting to walk away.

But Charlie stopped her. "Mrs. Stern?"

"Yes?" she said turning around. "You can call me Jeanette." Charlie said sternly, "Well, Jeanette, don't you think it would be nice for you to make sure your daughter is okay? I mean, she did go through a lot already."

"What do you mean? Look at her, she's fine. Aren't you, sweetheart?" Pam said, "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. See you later."

Pam and Charlie both watched as Jeanette walked away with her friends. Pam sensed that Charlie didn't approve.

"Don't worry, Mr. Clemente, she's fine. She's always like that," she explained.

"Hmmm, well...." What was he going to say? It wasn't his place to say anything. Although, there was something familiar about all of this.

Back at the cabin, Maggie sat at the desk, writing away. After a little while, Bob came back in. Maggie looked up and caught his eye.

"Hi, Daddy," she said.

"Hi, Baby, how's the writing going?" he asked.

Calling her "baby" made Maggie think that maybe things weren't as bad as she sensed. She had hope that maybe her daddy would go easy on her. "Okay, I'm almost finished. Do you want to read it now?" she asked.

"No, I think it's time to begin your punishment. Come over here," Bob said sternly.

Maggie put the paper and pen down on the desk, and slowly walked over to where her father was seated on the couch. She stood in front of him and looked into his eyes.

"Maggie, I'm very disappointed in you. Do you understand why?" "Yes, Daddy," Maggie said, sadly. She hated disappointing him. "Tell me what you did that was wrong."

"Well, I left the camp without permission. I went off on my own with the horse, which I know I'm not supposed to do. And no one knew where I was, which is a big no-no. And I got lost."

"Well, I can't punish you for getting lost, Maggie. But the other things are real big 'no-no's' to use your exact words. Sweetheart, what were you thinking?"

"Daddy, I tried to explain all this to you. I told you and Mommy before. And I wrote it in the letter. I just wanted to help my friend!" she whined. Bob looked at her. "Margaret Anne, do not add whining to a list of transgressions that is already too long!"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Well, you and I are not seeing eye to eye on this. I'm afraid that even though you thought you were helping your friend, it was a very bad thing to do, and you are going to be punished. We might as well begin right now!" With that, Bob pulled Maggie's shorts and panties down to her ankles and pulled her over his lap. He positioned her on his leg so that her bottom was high in the air. Then he began to spank. He lectured her while he spanked her.

"You will not {SPANK} wander away {SPANK} where we don't {SPANK} know {SPANK} where you are! {SPANK} You will not {SPANK} go off {SPANK} on your own, {SPANK} ever. {SPANK} You will always {SPANK} tell someone {SPANK} where you are {SPANK} at all times. {SPANK} Is that very {SPANK} clear {SPANK}, young lady?" {SPANK} {SPANK} {SPANK} {SPANK} {SPANK}

"Yes, Daddy!" Maggie cried, howling. Her daddy was hitting her pretty hard, and she knew she would be feeling this for quite some time. The spanking continued, and so did the lecture, but Maggie heard none of it. She was trying too hard not to feel the spanks raining down on her bottom.

Finally, Bob stopped. He began to rub her bottom. Then he lifted her up and put her against his chest, with her head resting on his shoulders. He patted her back, and soothed her bottom, and just held her tight.

"I was so worried about you, Maggie. Don't ever do anything like that again. Do you hear me?" Bob said, trying to fight back the tears he felt were coming. He had hit her harder than he ever had. And most of it was due to his earlier frustrations in not being able to find her. He couldn't imagine his life without her, and thoughts of never finding her earlier were beginning to now fade. He was just so glad they had found her and she was all right. "I hear you, Daddy. I really am sorry," Maggie cried. Bob just held her for a little while. Maggie could hear her father's labored breathing, and thought she could hear sobs.

She pulled away from his chest and looked at his face. "Daddy? You're crying?"

"Yes, honey. I'm so glad you're all right."

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," Maggie said, throwing her arms back around his neck and hugging real hard. She had never seen a man cry, and did not like seeing her daddy cry.

Bob felt stupid knowing his ten year old daughter had seen him cry. But he didn't know what else to do. He had felt so helpless, and now felt so glad that she was all right. Mostly, he cried tears of happiness.

Heather walked in then. She saw Maggie in Bob's arms and Maggie's panties and shorts on the floor. She realized that Maggie had been punished, and that things were okay. She went over and got in on the hug.

Maggie and Bob let Heather right in. And they stayed that way, the three of them hugging, for several hours. Things were going to be all right.

to be continued...

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 5 Date: 07/05/1999 From: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Bob took Maggie to camp, himself.

"All right, now, behave yourself!" he called after her. Maggie turned around and gave her daddy a big hug. "I will, Daddy, I will." Maggie, Heather, and Bob had had a very long talk the night before. Again, she had explained her need to help her friend, Pam. Bob was a little more understanding this time, and at least had tried to accept what Maggie was saying. He still felt that what she did was wrong, but he agreed to disagree with her. Maggie knew that would be the best he could do. But she did promise she would behave herself. For a while, anyway.

Maggie gave Bob one last hug and kiss and ran off to see if Pam was there yet. She was. The two friends hugged hello.

"Maggie, I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday. You really made me feel a lot better. I'm sorry I got you in trouble, though. Your dad looked really mad," Pam said.

"Yeah, you could say that. But we talked, and everything's all right now," Maggie insisted.

"Wow! You're so lucky. My dad probably wouldn't even have listened to what I would say," Pam said.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

The two girls sat on a bench and continued to talk. It was still early; most of the campers weren't even there yet. Not even Robin and Jennifer. Maggie kept looking out for them.

Pam said, "Well, my dad was hardly ever home. And when he was, he wasn't interested in what I was doing. If I got into any trouble, he'd tell my mother to handle it. And she didn't do anything either."

"Sounds very familiar," Maggie said.

"What do you mean? You seem to have a big family, who cares about you. Even your uncle. Can you keep a secret?" Pam asked.

"Sure," said Maggie.

"I think I have a crush on your uncle."

"Really? You do?"

"Well, I didn't at first. He was kind of strict. But I found that I kind of liked it, you know?" Pam asked.

Maggie just laughed. She wondered what her Aunt Lisa would think if she told her that a twelve year old girl had a crush on HER husband.

"Anyway, tell me what you meant when you said, it sounded familiar, Maggie." "Well, I told you that my parents were divorced yesterday, remember?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, you said your mom was really young when she had you and that your father took off. But you made it sound like that was a long time ago. Your father now cares about you a lot. I can tell," Pam said.

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, but he only adopted me a few months ago. He's only been my daddy for less than a year."

"Really? I never would have known. You are so lucky!" "Yeah, I really am. But I wasn't for awhile, you know. This time last year, I just wondered around where ever I wanted. I had no rules. I thought my mother didn't love me. All she did was drink and hang out with her friends, and. . ."

Maggie became silent. She noticed Pam was looking away. "What's the matter?" "You just described my life," Pam said quietly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Maggie said, putting her arms around her new friend. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Pam let Maggie hug her for a minute, then shook her off. "No, that's okay. You have a great life now. That means that there's hope for me." They sat back down and Maggie finished her story. She told Pam about last summer and how Charlie had rescued her several times. And punished her several times. She then told how she and her mom had moved down to Long Island, and her mom had hooked up with Charlie's brother.

"HEY! Does your uncle have any more brothers?" Pam asked. Maggie laughed and shook her head. "No, sorry," she said. Then they both laughed.

At that moment, Robin and Jennifer came running up. "Hey!" Robin said. "What's so funny?" Jenn asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Pam said. She and Maggie laughed some more. Then Maggie asked, "How come you two are so late?"

Robin answered, "We're not late. You're early! Your dad and our dad were going to play golf today. Doesn't that sound boring?"

"Yeah, they were wearing funny pants, and they left already. Daddy told Mommy he was gonna get a hole in one, just for her."

Robin started to laugh. "Yeah, and I thought he meant, a hole in his pants!" All the girls began laughing. Pam was glad she and Maggie had had time for their private conversation before the twins showed up. She was a good friend. And Pam needed some good friends.

Before long, the counselors called all the girls over to take attendance and plan their day. The girls skipped over, looping all their arms around each other's waists.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Lisa and Heather stood outside the corner store. "Well?" Lisa asked. "Are you going to do it?"

"Yes," Heather decided, "I am." She walked up to the store, started to pull open the door, and then stopped.

"Oh, Lisa, I can't. I'm scared."

"Come on, Heather. You have to know. Just go buy the test. Then we'll worry about whether you actually take it."

"You're right. I know you're right. But..."

"But, what? This is perfect. Bob is gone for the whole day, with Charlie. It will give you the chance to take the pregnancy test, and also to deal with the results. Come on now, Heather, I'm here for you," Lisa said. Heather hugged Lisa. "Oh, I know you are. And I appreciate it so much. I really do. But, but I'm afraid."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Lisa yelled, losing patience. She disappeared into the store. She came out a few minutes later, with a small paper bag. She thrust it into Heather's hands and said, "There, now, step one is over." Heather stared at Lisa, and then slowly opened the bag. Inside, was an over the counter pregnancy test.

"Come on, now. Let's walk back to the cabin."

Lisa pulled Heather along. When they got to the door, Heather hesitated again. "Oh, Lisa, what if I am? What if Bob isn't ready for a baby? After all, Maggie is quite a handful."

"Yes, she is. But Bob will be so excited. If you are pregnant, this'll be a baby you created yourselves. Charlie and I have been talking about having children together, as well. That doesn't mean I love the twins any less," Lisa said calmly.

"Oh, I know. Oh, Lisa, you're right! And besides, I might not even be pregnant. I should just take the test and know for sure. Right?" Heather asked.

Lisa nodded. "Yes, you should. Come on!" She grabbed Heather's hand and pulled her into the cabin she and Bob and Maggie were staying in. There were clothes everywhere.

Heather looked around. "Oh, maybe I should clean up first. I promised Bob this place would be neat when he got back." Heather started picking up clothes. Lisa knocked them out of her hands.

"Heather, you're stalling. Besides, you have plenty of time to do that. Bob and Charlie just left. They won't be back for hours!" Lisa stated. Heather looked at Lisa and smiled. "Yes, of course, you're right. Okay, Lisa, I'm going to do it." She picked up the pregnancy test and headed for the bathroom. "Keep your fingers crossed."

Lisa asked, "Which way am I keeping them crossed for?" She grabbed Heather's arm. "Are you hoping you are, Heather?"

Heather smiled, and shook her head. "Yes, I am. I really am. I can't believe it, but I am."

* * *

Lisa stood outside the bathroom door, waiting. Finally, she couldn't stand it another second. She knocked on the door. "Well?" she called to Heather. Heather opened the bathroom door. She was crying. Lisa took one look at her and began to cry, too. "Oh, Heather, I'm so sorry." They held each other close.

Heather pulled away. "No, it's not that. Lisa, I am pregnant!" "WHAAAAAAT!?"

They turned to see who the voice belonged to. It was Maggie. "Mom? You're pregnant?"

Heather looked to Lisa for some advice. Lisa just shook her head. She didn't know what to say. Who could have known that Maggie would pick that precise moment to come back and overhear that? She'd be mortified if the twins found that out by chance, and before she could tell her husband, no less. "Oh, honey, isn't it wonderful? You're going to have a baby brother or sister!" Heather declared, walking toward Maggie, with outstretched arms. But Maggie pushed Heather away. "I don't want a baby brother or sister! I can't believe this!" Maggie yelled, to no one in particular. "You always have to ruin a good thing, MOM! Things were going just great. And now this!" Maggie began to cry, and folded her arms across her chest. She sunk down on the sofa, pushing the clothes, out of the way.

Lisa went over to Maggie. She touched her arm, but Maggie pulled away. Lisa looked up at Heather. She could tell her sister in law was hurt by Maggie's words.

Heather came over to her daughter. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Maggs. I didn't know myself until a few minutes ago. What are you doing back here, anyway?"

Maggie picked up a piece of clothing from the floor. "I forgot my bathing suit! But now I don't feel like swimming anyway!"

Lisa said to Maggie. "Tell me what you're feeling, sweetie." Maggie jumped up. "I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to talk to anyone. I just want to be alone!" At that, Maggie did one of her famous acts; she ran away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warning: There is no spanking in this part. But there is something more controversial. There is a lot of humor. Don't say I didn't warn you. LOL. Enjoy! Please send any comments to Sampast.@aol.com

Maggie bolted out of the cabin. Away from her aunt, away from her mother, away from this newest news, that her mother was pregnant. Pregnant. She couldn't believe it. Everything had been perfect. Her daddy had finally adopted her and everyone was happy. Why did her mother have to ruin things by becoming pregnant?

Robin, Jennifer, and Pam were standing with the other kids waiting to go to the local swimming hole. All of a sudden, they saw Maggie run past them. "Hey! Maggie, where're you going?" Jenn called after her cousin. But Maggie didn't stop. Robin and Jenn looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"I don't think she's coming swimming," Robin noted.

Pam announced, "I'd better go check on her. Here, hold onto this." Pam flung her bag that held her towel and ran off after Maggie. Maggie was heading toward the woods.

"Do you think we should tell someone, Jenn?" Robin asked. Jenn nodded. "We'd better. Remember what happened last time?" Robin agreed. They both went to find their counselor to fill her in on what happened.

Meanwhile, Lisa ran back into the cabin. "Nope, sorry Heather, I couldn't catch up with her. She's too fast," Lisa said, out of breath. Lisa sunk onto the couch. Heather joined her, handing Lisa a glass of water. "Thanks."

"Well, at least you tried," Heather said, putting her head in her hands. "I can't believe what's happened. Of all times for Maggie to come back here." "Yeah, that wasn't great timing," Lisa said.

"What am I gonna do? Maggie's run off again. Bob and Charlie won't be back for hours, we have no way of calling them, and then when they do come back, I'll have to tell Bob why she ran off! It's not the most romantic way of telling your husband that you're having his baby."

Lisa didn't know what to say. She knew her sister in law was right, and there wasn't much to be said.

A little later, Maggie's counselor, Susan, knocked on Heather's cabin door. Lisa had gone to lunch and was going to bring some soup back for Heather. Heather was going to clean up the cabin, but didn't. She was laying on the couch when Susan knocked.

Heather opened the door and saw Susan. She invited her in.

"Oh, well, Mrs. Clemente, I'm here, uh, well, what I mean is, I'm sorry to say, that Maggie's run off again," Susan gulped.

"Yes, I know," Heather answered.

"You know?" Susan asked surprised.

"Yes, she ran from here. I'm sorry; I didn't even think to let you know. We, uh, sort of had a little disagreement. Maggie is upset with me over something."

"Oh, I see. Well, do you know where she might be?" Susan asked. Heather shook her head no. "She could be anywhere. She could have gone to the waterfall, or back on the trail. I really don't know." Heather sank back onto the couch. She didn't know what to do.

Susan just stood there. She didn't know what to do either. Then Lisa came back. She saw Susan and figured out why the counselor was there. "I'm sorry, Susan. We should have let you know that we knew Maggie ran off. We weren't thinking clearly after she ran."

"Yes, Mrs. Clemente, that's what Mrs. Clem-uh, yeah, she told me," Susan responded, pointing to Heather. Then she added, "Well, we'll try to look for her. We'll let you know when we've found her. You should know that it was the twins who let me know Maggie was missing again."

Lisa said, "Was it? Oh, good, I'm glad they told you." Susan said, "Yes, but this time Pam went after Maggie." "Pam? Oh, no!" Heather said. "I'm so sorry." "Well, like I said, we'll find them. Talk to you later," Susan said before running off.

Heather tried to eat her soup. She looked around at the messy cabin. "I really should clean this place up. Bob'll be so mad."

"Bob's not going to care about the state of the cabin, Heather. But, we can't just sit here. We have to either go out and look for Maggie and Pam, or go find Charlie and Bob," Lisa stated.

"Oh, no! I can't do that!" Heather said.

"Heather! We have to do something."

Heather knew Lisa was right, but she didn't know what to do. She decided that finding Bob and Charlie would be easier than finding Maggie. She finished her soup and she and Lisa got into the car and set off for the closest golf course. ~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Pam ran pretty fast to catch up to Maggie, who had stopped to rest on a rock in the woods.

"Wow, Maggs, you run pretty fast for a little kid," Pam said, breathless. "Who you calling a little kid?" Maggie asked defensively. "And what are you doing here? Why'd you follow me? I ran off to be alone."

"Okay, okay, calm down. I just thought you might like some company. Remember when I ran off? You came after me. That's what friends do." "Yeah, I remember," Maggie stated.

Pam sat down next to Maggie and put her arm around Maggie's shoulder. "So, you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. 'Cause if I say it out loud, then it'll probably be true." "Oh, come on, how bad can it be?" Pam asked.

"Really bad," Maggie stated. She was upset. She looked at Pam and continued, "I just found out my mother is pregnant."

"Pregnant? You mean she's gonna have a baby? Wow, that sucks." "Yeah, I know. Hey, thanks for understanding."

"Well, I mean, I would hate it. My mom would go off and leave me alone to take care of it, just like..."

"Just like what?" Maggie asked.

"Nothing, never mind. But yeah, I mean, you're ten, right? That would be embarrassing having a little baby for a brother or sister." "Well, that's not why I'm upset. It's just that, well, I just got my daddy. And I like having him all to myself. I don't want to share him with a baby. My mom really blew it. Things were going really great. Boy, she really messed up. Big time."

Pam was quiet. She was thinking about something else. The moment became very intense, and Maggie felt it.

"What's the matter, Pam? What's wrong?"

Pam began to cry. "It's n-nothing. Don't worry about it." Maggie said, "Come on, tell me. I'm the one who's supposed to be upset here, not you. So out with it."

But before Pam could answer, they heard their names being called. "PAM!" "MAGGIE!"

Pam was about to answer, when Maggie put her hand on Pam's mouth. "Shh! It's Adam, from the camp. Don't answer. I'm not ready to be found. Come on, let's hide."

The girls ran behind the rock, and Adam and the others walked right past them. "What'd you do that for, Maggie?" Pam asked.

"Look, if you want to go back, go ahead. I need to be alone now, to think." Pam stood undecided.

Maggie said, "Go, if you want."

Pam said, "Nah, I'll stay with you. You might need me." ~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, after checking with four golf courses, Lisa and Heather finally located the one Bob and Charlie were at. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of the course, and they couldn't get to them.

Then Lisa had an idea. "Come on, let's go!"

"Where? What? Lisa, what are you doing?" Heather exclaimed. Heather stood planted to the ground, and watched in horror as Lisa grabbed the keys to a security golf car and jumped inside. "Come on, Heather, let's go!" she shouted.

Heather looked around. There was an angry guy in a golf shirt heading towards them.

"Come on!" Lisa insisted. "It's now or never!" Heather looked back at the man and then at Lisa and jumped in. Once seated, Lisa turned the key and zoomed off.

The man tried chasing them on foot, yelling, "STOP! STOP!" But Heather and Lisa did not stop. They just kept on going. After a minute, Heather turned to Lisa and said, "Lisa! I didn't know you could be so wild!" Lisa laughed and said, "I didn't either. Come on, let's go find Charlie and Bob."

The two women drove through each hole. They asked each set of people if they could play through. Most of them had no problem. At one hole, there were two elderly gentlemen who did not want to let them pass.

Lisa was getting annoyed. She was increasingly worried about Maggie, and didn't want these men getting in her way. She picked up the security megaphone and yelled into it, "LOOK! I got a pregnant woman in this car, who's daughter is missing, and we need to find her husband. So get OUTTA OUR WAY!" The men stepped back, and let Lisa and Heather pass. Heather grabbed the megaphone from Lisa and said, "Oh, my god, Lisa! You are out of control." The two women were hysterically laughing, when they finally found Bob and Charlie. Lisa wished she could save the look on Charlie's face when he figured out who was in the security car that was zipping up to them. Bob didn't see yet, as he was bending over his club, lining up his shot. Charlie nudged him, and Bob said, "Hey, watch it, bro!"

Charlie said, "Um, I think you need to see this, little brother." Bob said, "What?" Then he looked up and he noticed Heather and Lisa in the golf security car. "What the hell!"

Lisa pulled up to the two men and stopped the car. They both hurried over. "Lisa, what's going on?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, honey, what are you two doing here?" Bob asked, surprised. Before they could answer, another security golf car pulled up. "Okay, there they are," one man said. "Arrest them."

"What?!" Lisa asked, as one man grabbed her.

"Hold on a second. That's my wife. What are you doing to her?" Charlie asked. Charlie was ready to punch these men.

"These two women stole this golf car," the man said.

Bob looked from Heather to Lisa and shook his head. "I cannot believe this," he said. "Officer, just hold on a minute. Something is going on here. I think we need to hear what our wives have to say."

"Oh, Bob! It's Maggie! She's run off again!" Heather wailed. "What? Why? What happened?" Bob asked, concerned.

Charlie nodded to the officers and went over to Lisa. He pulled her aside and asked her what was going on. Lisa whispered to Charlie what Maggie overheard and how she ran off.

"Oh, boy!" Charlie said. "Okay, let me see if I can't get Officer Chip and Officer Dale off your backs." He started to walk away and then turned back to Lisa and whispered, "Hon, did you really steal this vehicle?" Lisa just nodded. Charlie couldn't believe it. He didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He couldn't picture his wife stealing anything. While Charlie spoke to the security officer and the police, Heather spoke quietly to Bob.

"Honey, tell me, what happened?" Bob asked.

"Oh, hon, this isn't how I wanted to tell you," Heather said. "I don't understand. What do you mean? Heather! You'd better tell me, right now!" Bob commanded.

Heather started to cry. "Oh, hon, don't cry. I'm sorry," Bob said. He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'm calm. Please tell me whatever it is you need to tell me."

Heather took a deep breath and said, "Bob, I'm pregnant." "PREGNANT?"

Heather nodded and said, "Yes."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Bob whooped. Then he picked Heather up and swung her around. "Hey, everyone, did you hear? We're going to have a baby!"

Charlie and Lisa both hugged Bob and Heather. Everyone was congratulating them. Even the security officer was happy, and agreed not to press charges. Well, really, how could he, under the circumstances?

Bob looked around and said, "But, why here? I don't understand." "Well, Bob, this isn't exactly the way I wanted to tell you. It's just that, well, Maggie, she overheard me tell Lisa. That's why she ran off," Heather explained.

Bob said, "Oh, so that's what did it. Oh, that poor little girl." "What do you mean, honey?" Heather asked.

They were walking towards Charlie and Bob's golf cart as they had their little discussion.

Bob continued, "Well, Hon, think of what she must think. She's so happy and then we go and have a baby. She must think she wasn't enough for us. She's going to have a hard time dealing with this, I think."

"And you?" Heather asked, uncertainly.

"Me? I think it's wonderful. Don't you worry about that. Okay?" Bob asked. "Okay."

"Let's just get back and find Maggie. And don't even worry about that. We'll assure her that we love her. She'll come to accept the baby in due time, as well."

Bob and Heather got into their car, while Charlie and Lisa got into their car. They drove as fast as was possible without getting speeding tickets, back to the ranch. Bob walked with Heather into the cabin.

"I'll find her, hon, don't you worry," Bob said.

"I know you will, hon. And I'm sorry I had to tell you the news that way," Heather said.

"Are you kidding? How many men get to hear about their wife's pregnancy on a golf course, surrounded by security and the police?" Bob joked. "Oh, Bob!" Heather said, putting her arms around her husband. "I love you so much."

"And I love you so much," Bob said, looking around the cabin. He grabbed a water bottle and a flashlight. "I hope I won't be needing this," he said, referring to the flashlight. It was still early in the day, and Bob hoped he would find Maggie before dinner.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Bob opened it. It was Charlie. In his hand was a first aid kit and a water bottle. Bob also noticed Charlie had a flashlight in his pocket.

"Ready?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, you don't have to, Charlie, it's okay," Bob said. "Are you kidding? Come on, let's go!" Charlie said, smiling. Bob smiled back. Then he peeked back into the cabin and jokingly said to Heather, "Hey, how 'bout cleaning this place up while I'm gone?" Heather laughed, so she wouldn't cry. "Okay, hon. Be careful!" "I will," Bob called to her. "And don't worry, we'll find her." Bob closed the cabin door and followed Charlie off down the trail, toward the woods, where the twins had told Susan Maggie had run off to. They hoped they would find Maggie, and Pam, in a short amount of time.

Warning: Hold on to your seats, and grab a hankie, this is an intense one! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5c~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bob and Charlie searched and searched for Maggie. Charlie told Bob about last summer when Maggie ran off to the waterfall. He had a feeling that Maggie might be there. They decided to look there first. It was a long walk up there.

Meanwhile, Maggie and Pam arrived at the waterfall. "Oh, Pam, isn't it beautiful?" Maggie asked.

"Yes, it really is. I love waterfalls." Pam sat down on a rock next to Maggie. "So, how're you doing?" Pam asked.

"Well, it's starting to sink in, I guess. It's not like there's much I can do about it. I just wish it weren't true. I wish my mom wasn't pregnant," Maggie said, sighing.

"But, I don't understand," Pam said. "Why wouldn't you want a cute little baby brother or sister? They're really fun to play with, and cuddle, and you can tell bedtime stories, and. . . well, never mind." Pam realized she had gotten carried away.

But Maggie turned and stared at her. "And what? Come on, Pam, don't stop there. Besides, how do you know any of this? You told me you were an only child!"

"Yes, but," she began.

Maggie was becoming impatient. "But, what? Tell me." Pam began to cry. "I, I wasn't always an only child. I had a brother." "Had? What do you mean? Oh, Pam, what happened?"

Pam looked up at Maggie, tears running down her cheeks, "He-he-he died." "What? You had a brother, who died? Oh, my god, I'm so sorry," Maggie said, putting her arm around Pam. "Tell me, please, what happened?" "He, he was just a tiny thing. Only a few months old. They said it was crib death. My parents, my parents were so upset. I'd never seen them like that. They didn't even try to communicate with each other. Everyone was so upset for so long, so quiet. Then the arguing started. I couldn't deal. I left the house whenever I could. Then my parents just split up."

"That's so awful. OH, Pam, I didn't know."

"No, of course, you didn't. How could you?" Pam asked, tearfully. Maggie didn't know what to say. She just sat there, with her arm around Pam's, trying to be a good friend. "How, how long ago was this?" Maggie asked. "I was 9 when Billy died. So, about 3 years ago. My parents don't talk to each other at all. I know that what they did wasn't healthy. They probably do, too, but it's been so long, now. I guess it's too late," Pam said sadly. Already the wheels were turning inside Maggie's head. There must be something she could do, to help Pam and her parents. Her daddy would know, or Uncle Charlie. She had to ask them, right away. Oh, but wait, she had run away. That was a bad thing to do! Why did she always do that, she wondered to herself.

She thought back to the first time that her daddy had punished her after running away. Bob wasn't even her daddy yet. In fact, he had just met Maggie and Heather. It was Thanksgiving last year. She had run off after she heard Bob and Heather having words. Uncle Charlie and Bob had found her in the playground. Maggie recalled the conversation with Bob, later, in her room: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Shhhh, little one," Bob crooned to Maggie until she calmed down. "Okay, first of all, running from our problems rarely solves anything. Secondly, it is dangerous, and makes everyone who loves you crazy with worry. Right?"

"Yes Sir."

"Okay, so hearing your mom and I have some words made you run, right?"

"Yes sir."

"It scared you?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay, I think I understand," Bob acknowledged.

"You do?" Maggie asked, thinking that her plan was ruined.

"Yes, and it's okay. I do like your mom," Bob told her.

"Then why did you yell at each other? I thought you hated each other," Maggie admitted.

Bob smiled, and looking down at Maggie, told her, "You know what, you two are going to be interesting to get to know better, but honey, I think you better get used to your mom and I having words with one another. It is okay. It does NOT mean we don't like each other; it's just the way some people communicate. Your mom and I well, I guess I can't explain it, but trust me, it is all part of getting to know each other, okay? Now, I want you to promise me something..."

"What?" Maggie asked, surprised.

"I want you to promise me, if you start to feel unhappy and like you need to run, that you'll talk to an adult. Okay?" Bob asked.

"Yes sir, I promise."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I promise. Oh, Maggie's own words rang through her head. She had promised. She had promised her daddy that she wouldn't run away any more. But she had done it. And not just this time, but many times. Maggie was suddenly very angry at herself.

She jumped up off the rock, and said, "C'mon, Pam, we gotta go." "What? Why? Maggie, what's wrong?" Pam asked, surprised. "I made a promise to my Daddy. I have to keep it. We have to go back. C'mon!" Maggie said, pulling Pam up.

Suddenly, Maggie slipped and started to fall into the water. Pam tried to hold on to Maggie, but her grip wasn't strong enough. Maggie realized that if she didn't grab onto something soon, she would go straight down the river, and then over another small waterfall.

Maggie was scared. "Please, Pam, don't let go!" she screamed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie and Bob were walking along, when Bob suddenly stopped. "Charlie? Did you hear that?"

"No, what?"

"It sounded like screaming. It sounded like Maggie. Come on!" Bob shouted, and ran in the direction of Maggie's voice.

By this time, Charlie heard it, too. Within minutes, they were at the waterfall, and saw Pam trying to hold on to Maggie. Maggie was in the river, and was holding on to Pam with all her might.

Bob froze. He was so scared. Charlie nudged him and said, "BOB! COME ON!" The two men raced over to where Pam was kneeling on the ground. She was stretched as far as she could, holding on to Maggie. Maggie was struggling against the raving water. She was crying hysterically. When she saw her father and her uncle, she screamed.

"DADDY! UNCLE CHARLIE! OHMYGOD! HELP ME!"

"Hold on, Baby, we're coming!" Bob yelled.

"Please, I can't hold on much longer," Pam yelled.

"Okay, there, there, it's okay," Charlie said, grabbing Maggie, at the same time, gently pushing Pam out of the way. "I got you." "I can't," Maggie cried.

And at the moment Charlie grabbed Maggie's hand, and pushed Pam's out of the way, Maggie let go. She thought her uncle had her, but it was a split second and he didn't. Maggie started to drift down the river.

"Oh, my god! Maggie!" Bob shouted.

Charlie screamed, "Maggie! Grab onto that rock, sweetie. We'll get you." He started to take his shoes off.

Bob looked at his brother, and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm going in to get Maggie," Charlie said.

"You can't do that. You'll be pulled away," Bob said, logically. Charlie frowned. "Well, what do you suppose we do? We can't stand here and argue all day."

"I have an idea. We'll make a little human bridge, and the one closest to her, will pull her out. That way, none of us will get pulled away, okay?" Charlie looked to see where Bob was pointing. "Okay, that will work. Come here, Pam, you can help, too."

Bob looked out to Maggie, still holding on to the rock for dear life. "You just hold on, sweetheart, we're going to come get you."

"HURRY, DADDY! I'm scared!" Maggie cried.

"I'm scared, too, honey. But I got Uncle Charlie here to help me. We'll get you, it's gonna be all right!" Bob shouted over the noise of the rapids. Pam was crying. "I don't know what to do. I don't understand." "Listen, honey, I know this will be hard, but you can do it. I'm going to stand on shore, and put you in the middle of Bob and I, and he's going to grab Maggie. Okay? Shhh, you can do it," Charlie advised Pam.

Before long, they had made their human chain, and Bob was almost to Maggie. "Reach out and grab my hand, Maggs!" Bob called to her. "I can't, Daddy. I'm too scared. I don't want to let go of this rock!" Maggie cried.

The scene was a tense one. Bob didn't know what to do. He understood why Maggie was reluctant to let go, but at the same time he was irritated, and scared.

"Sweetie, Daddy's right here. I'm going to grab you." Bob pulled on Pam and Charlie and got as close to Maggie as he could. Finally, he was able to pull Maggie off of the rock and into his arms. "Hold on tight, Maggs."

But you didn't have to tell Maggie that twice. She wouldn't have let go of Bob for anything at that point. Just then, Pam's hand started to shake. "I can't do it. It's too far. I can't hold on!" Pam cried.

"Just another minute, Pam," shouted Charlie. "You can do it." Charlie pulled on Pam, who pulled on Bob, and safely Pam made it back to shore. Bob went to try to throw Maggie to Charlie, but she wouldn't let go. "It's okay now, honey. Go to your uncle. I can stand up here, now," Bob encouraged.

Finally, Maggie let her dad place her into her uncle's waiting arms. She clung to him as she had to her father not a minute before. Just then, Bob lost his balance, and fell back into the river.

"DADDY!" Maggie cried, seeing her dad go under.

Then he bobbed back up again. "Oh, my god, Daddy!" Maggie cried. Charlie put Maggie down and ran to help his brother. Pam came over and the girls put their arms around each other and held each other for support. They were both beyond crying.

Charlie reached his hand out to Bob. He was able to pull Bob up on the land, but not before Bob tripped over a hidden rock in the water. He fell onto the ground and clutched his foot.

Maggie dropped Pam's comforting arm like a hot potato, and ran over to where her father lay on the ground.

"DADDY! DADDY! Are you all right?" Maggie asked.

Bob looked up at his daughter, still clutching his foot and nodded. "Yes, sweetie, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Oh, Daddy!" Maggie cried, throwing herself into Bob's lap. She just held onto him and cried.

------ ----NB: Back to the Ranch-part 5d, Disclaimer: There is a spanking in this part. If you're not into that, go away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5d~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather laid with Bob, in their bed. The camp counselors had come along pretty soon after the incident, and had helped Charlie get Bob back to the ranch. Now, Bob was resting in bed, with an ice pack on his foot, and with Maggie, asleep on the other side of him.

"Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're all right," Heather crooned at him. "Me, too. And I'm glad Maggie's all right. She was pretty hysterical. I know we still have to talk, but it can wait a bit, I think," Bob stated. Just then, Maggie stirred. "Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie, I'm here," Bob said gently.

Maggie sat up and hugged Bob hard. "Oh, Daddy, I was so scared." "So was I, baby. But it's all over now, okay?"

"But Daddy! You could have been killed. You could have gotten swept away by that water!"

"Maggie!" Heather warned.

"But Mommy, no, listen. Listen, Daddy, what I'm saying is, you saved me. You risked your life to save ME!" Maggie cried.

Bob sat up, and even though shifting hurt his foot a little, he did it. He faced Maggie and said, "Maggie, of course I did, sweetie. Don't you know I would do anything for you. Anything at all to save my sweet, dear, little Maggie. You're my daughter. The only one I have. I would be devastated if anything happened to you."

Maggie put her arms around Bob then, and hugged him really hard. "Oh, Daddy!" she cried, holding tight.

They held each other for a long time, then. Neither of them wanting to let go. Heather held on to Bob's other side, also. She was glad the bad part had passed, but she knew there was still going to be a lot of other stuff coming up, what with a very insecure daughter, and a new baby on the way. Things were sure to stay interesting, to say the least.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took a few days for Bob's foot to heal. But between Heather, and Maggie waiting on him hand and foot, he had nothing to complain about. Heather and Bob had sat Maggie down and lectured her on running away, and made her promise for the fiftieth time that she would never do it again.

"But Daddy, that's why I fell in the river!" Maggie had said. "What do you mean?" Bob had asked.

"Well, I remembered when you made me promise last Thanksgiving not to run away, and then I felt bad that I had gone back on my promise. That's when I told Pam we had to go back."

Heather was surprised. "Last Thanksgiving? But Maggs, we had just met Daddy then."

"I know. Don't you remember, Mommy? I had run away, and Daddy spanked me. Only I called him Uncle Bob then," Maggie said, smiling.

"I remember, sweetheart. I told you that running away didn't solve anything, and that you have to talk to an adult when you're upset."

"Yes, Daddy," Maggie said.

"But Maggs, you didn't do that this time," Heather kindly reminded her. "I know, Mommy. I was just so upset and mad when I heard you tell Aunt Lisa you were pregnant. I thought you wanted to replace me with a little baby," Maggie said, thoughtfully, beyond her ten years.

"Oh, sweetie. No one could ever replace you. You, sweetie, are one of a kind," Heather said.

"That's right," Bob added. "Besides, we need you to help the baby. He or she will have no idea what this world is like. You can help him or her." "I know. And I want to. And I want to read to him/her, and cuddle, and tell stories, too. Just like Pam told me. Oh, Mommy, Daddy, it's so sad. Let me tell you about Pam."

"Hold on, young lady. Just a minute, before you go telling any more tales. We need to discuss what you did, first."

Maggie hung her head and said, "Yes, Daddy."

"Now, I know you are sorry. And I know you tried to come back when you realized your mistake, but Maggie, you must stop running away." "I know, Daddy."

"You know? But you continue to do it. I'm afraid, young lady, that you still must be punished."

"Yes, Daddy."

"Come here."

Maggie went and stood in front of her father. He was sitting in one of the leather chairs that came in the cabin. Bob put his hands on the waistband of Maggie's pajama bottoms and lowered them to the floor. Then he did the same thing with her panties.

Bob pulled Maggie over his lap. He started to spank, hard and fast. He also started to lecture.

"You will not (spank, spank) run away, (spank, spank) ever (spank, spank) again. It is wrong, (spank, spank) and you know better. (spank, spank) You have been punished for this (spank, spank) several times already, (spank, spank) and I am getting tired of it. (spank, spank) You know if you are upset about something, (spank, spank) that you should find an adult (spank, spank) that you trust and talk to them. (spank, spank) Is that understood, young lady? (spank, spank)"

"Yes, Daddy," Maggie cried.

"Good, and to help send this message home, I'm going to give you something to remember it." He grabbed the hairbrush that Heather offered him. "Daddy, no! Not the hairbrush. I promise!" Maggie cried. "Maggie, don't!" Heather warned.

Bob gave her about ten whacks with it while he finished his lecture. "It is okay (WHACK!) to be upset (WHACK!) or even angry (WHACK!) about a situation, (WHACK!) but it is not (WHACK!) okay (WHACK!) to run away. (WHACK!) Ever! (WHACK!) I don't want to have to repeat this again. (WHACK!) Is that clear? (WHACK!)"

"Yes, Daddy," Maggie sobbed.

Finally, Bob put down the brush and pulled Maggie up into his arms. He held her tight and rubbed her red, sore bottom.

"Oh, I love you so much, honey. And I don't ever want anything bad to happen to you. Do you understand me?" Bob asked, gently.

"Yes, Daddy, I understand. And I'm so sorry, sorry for everything." Very quietly, Bob whispered to Maggie, "I think, Magpie, that you have one more apology to make." He nodded over to where Heather was sitting on their bed.

"Yes, Daddy."

Maggie stepped out of her panties and pajama bottoms and walked over to where her mother sat. She climbed up on the bed, and sunk into Heather and threw her arms around her mother.

"I'm so sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry I screamed at you, and ran away. I really am happy about the baby. And you'll see, I'm gonna make the best big sister there ever was."

"Oh, I know you will, Maggs. Oh, I love you, sweetie," Heather said, holding on to Maggie.

She was very happy. At least for the moment. She knew there would be tough times ahead. There always would be. But for now, things were all right.

(To be continued...)

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 6 Date: 08/17/1999 Author: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maggie woke up to the bright morning sun, and winced when she tried to sit up. Suddenly she remembered last night, and the spanking she had gotten from her daddy. She knew she had deserved it, and in a way, it helped her feel really forgiven. Maggie knew that what she did was really wrong, and felt terrible that it had resulted in her daddy being hurt, but, even though now SHE hurt, she felt good as well.

This was her next to last day at the ranch, and she wanted to go see Pam and talk to her. She had been grounded for the last three days, and had wanted to stay near to help her daddy anyway, and she hadn't seen or talked to Pam in all that time. Pam had come by; she had heard her voice, but each time her mom had sent her away, telling her that Maggie was still grounded.

Maggie gingerly got dressed and wandered into the kitchen, where her mom was sitting having coffee.

"Morning Maggie," Heather smiled at her.

"Morning Mom. Ummm Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Am I still grounded?"

"No, baby, you have been punished, forgiven, and all is okay. What did you want to do today?" Heather asked.

"Well, I really wanted to see Pam if it is okay with you, Mommy," Maggie stated.

Heather thought this over. "Hmmm, you two sure get into trouble when you are together, young lady!"

"No, Mommy, I promise, cross my heart that I will be perfect, and follow all the rules, and everything," Maggie said in a rush.

Heather laughed, not believing it for an instant, but seeing the pleading look in her eyes, agreed for her to go to Pam's cabin. "Okay, here are the rules. There is no camp today, so you two can play together, but no matter where you go, I must know where you are, agreed?"

"Agreed, Mommy. What time should I come back?"

Heather smiled, and told her by lunchtime she needed to check in. Maggie was so excited, she quickly stuffed a bagel into her mouth and ran out the door.

When she knocked on Pam's cabin door she was so excited she was hopping from foot to foot. Pam answered it and threw herself into Maggie's arms. Pam drew her into the cabin and insisted she sit down and tell her everything that had happened. Maggie sat quickly, and just as quickly jumped up again, realizing when she felt the sting what a lousy idea THAT had been.

Seeing her wince, Pam asked her what was up. "Did you hurt yourself or something?"

"Welllll, ummmm, I, ahhhh, ohhh geez, Pam, I got into a LOT of trouble, and my daddy spanked me last night."

"Spanked you? Wow, does he do that often?"

Maggie rubbed her still sore bottom and said, "More often than I wish he did, that's for sure. Have YOU ever been spanked, Pam?"

"Well, yes, when my daddy was around, but my mom never does. She never really notices much of anything, I guess. She is still so depressed that I kind of tiptoe around her, ya know?"

Both girls fell silent thinking of what that was like. Maggie remembered all too well how Heather was before Daddy came into their lives, and felt really bad for her friend. She knew that Uncle Charlie was out of brothers, but she wondered if Pam wanted her daddy back.

"How often do you see your dad, Pam?"

"Ohh, not too often. He travels a lot these days, and I think he likes being out of town. He and my mom are just separated, I think that's what they said, that they aren't divorced yet. I sure wish they would get back together." "I wonder if there is anything WE could do to help that along?" Maggie wondered aloud.

Pam jumped up. "How? Maggie, how could WE do that?" Maggie thought. "I don't know. But I bet if we put our heads together, we could think of something!"

Together they discussed the situation backwards and forwards, and decided that the only way they could both think might even have a chance of working is if Pam was seriously hurt or sick and then her daddy would HAVE to come. And he would HAVE to be with her mom, and then they would talk, and everything would be okay.

Pam didn't like the idea of deliberately hurting herself, so the girls tried to think of a good way to fake it.

Maggie shouted, "Okay, I got it. How about some severe nightmares? Can you scream?"

"Of course I can scream, but what will that accomplish?" Pam asked, confused. "Well, see, here is the plan," and Maggie whispered into Pam's ear. They agreed to put it into action that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pam's mom was actually home that night, listlessly thumbing through some magazines, not really looking at them, from what Pam could tell. Pam yawned, and told her mom goodnight, and her mom barely looked up from her magazine. Pam got undressed, put herself to bed, and waited until she heard her mom go to bed, and her breathing get even. She counted to 100 slowly, then got up onto her knees, and said a little prayer that this plan of theirs would work. She had gone over all the scenarios in her mind, first looking at it one way and then another and had practiced them with Maggie while she had been there earlier. Maggie had been her, and she played her mom, and then they switched. Pam felt prepared for anything her mom threw at her.

Laying back down, closing her eyes, and screwing up her courage, she let out a blood curdling yell. She kept yelling and had worked herself up, crying and getting all sweaty by the time her mom came in. As she heard her open the door, Pam put her heart and soul into her performance, knowing that she needed her mom to believe her.

"Pam, Pam, what is it sweetie?" Jeanette yelled.

"Mommyyyyyy!" wailed Pam, "I need daddy, I really, really do." "Why sweetie, I am here. Why do you need daddy?"

Pam just let herself go, crying, screaming, and couldn't calm down. Then she started to moan, and rock herself back and forth. Her mother was beside herself, not knowing what to do.

Pam kept moaning, "Daddy, I want my daddy."

"Honey, talk to ME. Did you have a bad dream? Did something scare you? Is that it?" Jeanette asked, frustrated. She didn't know what to do. It had been a long time since she had to mother Pam in any way.

Pam just shook her head, back and forth, crying, and moaning, and finally, almost at a whisper, "He died too, didn't he? That's why I haven't seen Daddy in a long, long time. He died, just like my little brother, and you just don't want to tell me."

With that, Pam just collapsed on her bed, curled into a fetal position, and rocked herself. Her mom was stunned. Knowing it was just a bad dream, she thought she could talk Pam through it, but nothing she said seemed to work at all. Jeanette thought quickly. "Okay, sweetie. I will call daddy and let you talk to him, I promise. I can do it tomorrow." "Noooooo," Pam wailed, "NOOOOOOOOOOO. I need to see him, I do, I do, I DO." "Shhhhhh, okay, okay, if I call daddy tonight, and he comes up tomorrow, Saturday, you can see for yourself that he is fine. Baby, please, I wouldn't ever lie to you about that, you have to believe me."

Pam finally looked up at her mom, and saw that for the first time in a long time, she was really looking at HER, seeing HER, and hoped, prayed, that her dad would come. Did he love her enough to come? She really wasn't sure. Jeanette continued, "Okay, sweetie, it's late, but I will go call daddy, and ask him to come tomorrow, okay? Will you go back to sleep if I do?" Pam cried, "Nooooo, you won't call, you won't!"

"Okay, up we go," and her mom picked her up, wrapped her in a blanket, and headed out the door. Pam put her head on her mom's shoulder, feeling really loved, and safe for the first time in a long, long, long, long time. The pay phone was right outside the family building, which was a short walk from their cabin.

Jeanette knew that calling her husband, Steve, at 1 am was NOT going to go over well, but she just couldn't help it. He would HAVE to understand. Finally a sleepy voice answered the phone. Jeanette tried to fill him in quickly about what was going on, and asked if he would come up in the morning. It really was only a three hour drive, and if he left early enough he could be there by 10 or so, and spend the day with them. She rushed, telling him he was welcome to spend the rest of the weekend as well, and then fell silent waiting for his response.

Sleepily, Steve answered, "Sure, I will come up. Put Pam on the phone." Handing her the receiver, Jeanette felt nervous. Steve crooned at Pam, and asked how his little Princess was doing.

"Daddy? Is that really you, Daddy?"

"Yes, pumpkin, it really is. Sooo, did you have a bad dream?" "Yes, Daddy, I did, and it was awful, and I really, really need you." With that, Pam broke into gut wrenching sobs again. Jeanette took back the phone, and Steve realized that she needed help.

"Look Jeanette, I know it's late, but I am sure I will never sleep now hearing her that way anyway. Is it okay, if I drive up now?" he asked. "I don't think that is such a hot idea. The roads around here are windy, and awfully dark. How bout you sleep for a few more hours, and then get up at dawn?" Jeanette advised.

Steve sighed. "Okay, I can do that. Let me say goodnight to Pam. Pammy? Pumpkin?"

"Yes, Daddy, I'm here," Pam said, having taken the phone back from her mom. Pam was hiccoughing into the phone.

Steve said, "Daddy will be there when you wake up. Be a good girl, and try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy. Night."

Pam snuggled back into her mother's arms, and Jeanette carried her back to the cabin. Passing her room, Jeanette carried Pam into her own, and put her to bed there, and climbed in after her.

"No more bad dreams, okay? Mommy is right here, and Daddy will be here tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Mom." Pam was so emotionally wrung out that she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pam slept soundly, which was more than Jeanette could say. She tossed and turned the rest of the night, keeping an eye on her daughter, wondering what on earth had brought up the kind of dream she must have had. She was nervous, and really didn't want to see Steve, but felt she had no other options. She had to do whatever her daughter needed.

Jeanette realized, with a start, that she hadn't been paying much attention to Pam, and berated herself with being so wrapped up in her own grief, that she hadn't been there for her daughter. Knowing Pam had needed her, she had still ignored her feelings of grief, and realized honestly, for the first time, that she had no clue what her little girl was really thinking or feeling. Obviously, she was feeling abandoned by her dad. Well, he would be there soon. She just didn't know how SHE felt about it.

Steve arrived shortly after seven, and Jeanette realized he must have started quite early to get there that soon. She walked out of the cabin, leaving Pam asleep, to talk to him. Seeing him getting out of the car, unshaven, tired looking, and crumpled made her heart melt. She was surprised at her own reaction to him. She had been numb for so long that feeling anything was a difference. Walking to the car, she stopped short, and said a timid hi.

"Hi, Jeanette, what the HELL is going on? Pammy sounded hysterical!" Steve shouted.

Getting defensive immediately, Jeanette told him, "Well, she was hysterical, why else would I call YOU!"

"Well, for one reason, maybe because I am her FATHER!" Steve was angry and frustrated, that Jeanette had been blocking his time with Pam, telling him that she didn't want to see him, but hearing his little girl on the phone, he had been wondering if that were true at all.

Steve went into the cabin and sat on the bed where Pam was asleep, and gently kissed her forehead. Waking instantly, she opened her eyes, and he melted, seeing the love that shone there, right before she threw herself into his arms. She began to cry again, and he rocked her, shushing her, and telling her it was okay, he was there for her. He pulled her into his lap, and Jeanette turned away, with tears in her eyes, wondering what she had done. Walking into the kitchen, Jeanette made coffee, and brought a cup into Steve. She knew that as soon as Pam and Steve started to talk, she was going to be in big trouble.

She walked back in just as Steve was asking Pam why she hadn't answered any of his letters. Jeanette winced, but knew that this was inevitable. "Letters, Daddy? What letters?" Pam asked.

"What letters? What do you MEAN what letters?" Steve asked. "But, Daddy, I didn't get any letters from you, and I just thought, well I mean, I ummm," Pam hid her face in her daddy's shirt, unable to say, she felt he didn't love her.

Steve turned around and glared at Jeanette. "I think we have some talking to do, don't you?"

Jeanette couldn't think of a suitable reply and began to stutter. "Well, I guess so, umm maybe, ahhhhhhhhh, . . ."

Pam looked from one parent to another, not sure how things were going, but sensing a lot of tension. Kissing the top of Pam's head, he asked if she wanted to go back to sleep.

"No way, Daddy, I just want to be with you," and she held on for dear life. Steve said, "Okay. Want to tell me about your dream?" Pam lowered her eyes, and shook her head no. She really didn't want to admit that she had faked it. "I just felt, well I, I, I," Pam started shaking, and Steve told her not to worry, she didn't have to relive her dream, that he was there now, and everything was going to be okay.

They all ate breakfast, and Pam got dressed a few minutes before Maggie knocked on the door. Maggie had been frantic, wondering if their plan had worked. Letting her in, Pam introduced her dad to her new friend. "Well, hi, Maggie, nice to meet you," Steve smiled at her. "Wow, I am glad to meet you too, Sir. My mom and dad are taking everyone down to see the horses. Do you want to come, Pam?"

"No thanks," Pam replied, "I don't want to be away from my daddy." Steve put his arm around his little girl. "Hey, tell you what, Pumpkin (Pam always loved it when her daddy called her by her nickname), why don't you go down, and get ready, saddle up, and I will come watch you in the arena in a little bit? I have to talk to your mom. Is that okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. But you won't leave, will you?" The fear in her eyes hurt Steve to the quick.

"No, Pumpkin, I promise. I will be here and I will see you in just a bit." Throwing her arms tight around his neck, she agreed to go, and ran to get her riding boots. Kissing her mom goodbye, she went skipping down the road with Maggie.

When she was gone, Steve turned to Jeanette, and seeing the look in his eyes, she began to get really nervous. "Okay, start explaining, and I do mean NOW. What were you THINKING, hiding my letters from her?"

Jeanette gulped. "I guess I wasn't thinking, Steve. I just was hurting, and I stuck them in a box. I didn't want to talk to you, and so I well, I guess, I, ohhh I don't know. You know I haven't been myself."

"Look, Jeanette, THAT is not an excuse. We BOTH lost our little boy, actually we ALL did. Pam is grieving, too, and we need to be together, not split apart."

Jeanette hung her head, not sure of what to say. Steve saw her uncertainty, and knew that he still loved this woman, no matter what a selfish brat she could be sometimes, and suddenly he knew exactly what he had to do to get them back on track.

"Look at me, young lady!" Steve said sternly.

Hearing that tone and those words, Jeanette's heart stood still. She was afraid to look up, knowing what she would see: a very stern, determined husband. "NOW!" came the order.

Her head instantly came up at that command. Jeanette looked into Steve's eyes. "Jeanette, do you still love me?"

She was not expecting that question, but knew that he deserved an honest answer. "Yes, I do, Steve. I have felt so lost, and alone since you left." Steve sighed. "I didn't just leave, as you put it. I felt pushed away, and I couldn't take it anymore."

Jeanette nodded. "I know, I did that, but I didn't mean to." "Ohh, just like you didn't mean to NOT give Pammy my letters? Or didn't mean to keep the family split and unhappy?" he asked rhetorically. "Well, I didn't," Jeanette tried. Even to her, that sounded weak. "You have a LOT to answer for, young lady, don't you?" Jeanette knew exactly what THAT meant, but before she could even answer him, Steve had grabbed her hand, and was pulling her into the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she was turned over his knee before she knew it. "Steve, what are you doing?"

"I think that would be obvious, dear. YOU are about to be one sorry young lady."

"But Steve?"

"Okay, tell me, young lady, do you deserve this?"

"Ummm, do I have to answer that?"

A resounding smack on her bottom was his answer. "Uhh, I guess so, huh?" Another smack, and she said, "Yes, I do. Yes?"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Better, much better," and with that Steve proceeded to spank and lecture his beautiful wife, until she was limp over his knee. "All right, you are forgiven, but Jeanette, it is important for you to forgive yourself. It is the only way we can have a life together."

Jeanette was crying hard, and Steve just sat there, with her draped over his lap, and let her cry it out. When he thought she was done, he pulled her over, and wrapped her in his arms. He caressed and rubbed her bottom, and told her he still loved her. He proceeded to show her just how much he had missed her, and they both fell asleep together.

Back at the stables, Pam got worried when her parents didn't show up. Bob kept trying to reassure her that they had a lot to talk about, but she finally pleaded with him to let her go back to the cabin. Seeing how upset she was, he walked her back.

Pam let herself into the cabin, after thanking Bob and hugging him goodbye. Not hearing anything, she walked into her mom's bedroom, and saw them asleep together and smiled. Quietly, she got into bed next to her dad. Opening up one eye, he cuddled her close, and told her everything was going to be ok. "How okay, Daddy?"

Steve smiled. "Very okay, Pumpkin. We are ALL going home together tonight." "We are?" Pam asked, surprised.

"Yes, we are."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Pam hugged Maggie goodbye.

"Thank you so much, Maggie. Without your super idea, this never would have happened," Pam enthused.

Maggie smiled. "I'm just so glad everything worked out so well." Then very quietly she said, "Usually my plans backfire and someone winds up in trouble." Maggie looked around to make sure no one had heard her.

Pam just laughed. "Well, not this time. This time your plan was great. And no one got into trouble." Pam hugged Maggie again. "Oh, thank you so much. I can't even imagine my life if I had never met you."

Maggie thought to herself how she had finally done something for someone else. Last summer it had been her whose life was so messed up. Then Charlie and the rest of the Clemente family had come along and changed it for the better. Maggie smiled and said, "Oh, you're welcome, Pam. I'm so glad we met and became friends."

The girls exchanged phone numbers and addresses and promised to call and write once a week. They hugged one last time, and then Pam got into the car with her parents. Maggie ran behind the car for a bit, and waved until Pam and her family were out of sight.

Bob called Maggie over and gave her a big hug. "You're going to miss your friend, Pam, aren't you, Magpie?"

"Yes, Daddy. I'm just so glad her parents got back together. She seems so happy now," Maggie stated.

Bob smiled. "Yes, she does. I'm happy for her, too. Now, how about we go get some dinner? Remember, we're leaving first thing tomorrow. And we still have to pack."

"I know, Daddy. But I don't want to leave here. Wonderful things always seem to happen at the Dude Ranch," Maggie said dreamily.

"Well, we can come back next year. Come on now, sweetie. Mommy's waiting," Bob said.

Maggie took Bob's hand and together they walked to meet Heather for dinner.

Subject: NB: Back to the Ranch-part 7/Conclusion- (M/f, F/f, M/f) Date: 08/25/1999 From: SamPast <sampast@aol.com>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was early morning, and the twins sat on the stoop outside their cabin. They were leaving the dude ranch today, right after lunch.

"I don't want to go home," Robin complained.

"Yeah, me neither. But Daddy has to go back to work, and we have school soon. Besides, I'm kind of bored. Maggie hasn't played with us in days." "Yeah, but that's because she was punished. Uncle Bob wouldn't even let her come to camp!" Robin stated.

"But even when she could come, like Friday, the very last day, she didn't. Instead she hung out with Pam!"

"Pam's nice."

"She's okay. But I think Maggie likes her better than us!" Jenn said, pouting.

"Well, Pam is gone now. She left last night. Maggie seemed really upset at dinner last night," Robin explained.

"Well, I don't care. I'm mad at her. She is supposed to be our cousin and best friend. And she's ignored us for days. I'm not even going to talk to her!"

"Yeah, she has been ignoring us, which isn't very nice. But, Jenn, we're going home today!"

"So?"

"Then we won't get to see Maggie every day, for a while. I'll miss her. Even if I'm a little mad at her right now."

"Well, I want to get her back. I have to think of something!" Jenn plotted. "Jenn, no! Oh, wait, here she comes now," Robin said, pointing. Jenn turned and looked to see where Robin was pointing. She turned back around and ignored Maggie.

"Hi, guys!" she said cheerily.

"Hi," Robin answered quietly.

"Hi, Jenn," Maggie said.

Jennifer didn't answer. "What's with her?" Maggie asked Robin. "Well, she, uh, she's sad 'cuz we're leaving today."

"Oh, yeah, I know. I don't want to go home. But we're not leaving til after lunch. My mom told Daddy she needed more time to pack," Maggie laughed nervously. She could tell something was up.

"So, what's going on? You guys want to play? We can go over to the playground."

Jenn said, "Nah, don't want to."

"Oh," Maggie said, sitting down on the stoop, next to her cousins. "Well, what do you wanna do?"

Jenn jumped up. "I know, let's take a walk!"

Robin looked at her sister. She was confused. One minute she didn't want to talk to Maggie, the next she was suggesting a walk? What was going on? Maggie said, "Okay."

The three girls got up and started walking around. They already had permission to be outside, so none of them thought to ask for permission to take a walk.

Jenn led them to the archway at the entrance to the ranch. "I just wanted to take one last look at this totem pole," she said.

Robin and Maggie looked up. There was an old Indian totem pole at the entrance. It was painted pretty colors. It was made of wood. The girls thought it was real, but they weren't sure.

Jenn said, "Hey, Robin, remember what Little Tommy said the other day? About climbing it, and Maggie!"

Robin looked at her sister with a questioning face. "No, what are you talking about?"

Maggie was interested, "Yeah, what did that brat, Little Tommy, have to say about me?"

Jenn looked at Robin and mouthed, "Go along." To Maggie, she said, "Oh, well, he climbed up to," she pointed, and Maggie looked up. "See that yellow line, all the way up there?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah, that's not that high, though." "Well, Little Tommy said that was the highest anyone had ever climbed. He thought of you, and said even you couldn't climb higher than that!" Maggie looked up again, and said, "Yeah, well, I wish Tommy was here right now. I can definitely climb higher than that stupid yellow line. Why, I could get right to the top. I'm going to do it right now!"

Robin said, "No, Maggie, don't!"

Jennifer elbowed Robin. "Shut up, Robin," she whispered. Maggie looked at Robin. "What?"

"Don't do it, Maggie, it's too dangerous!" Robin said. "Nah, it's not. I can do it! You just watch. And then we'll go find Tommy and tell him so!"

Before Robin could stop her, Maggie held on to the totem pole, and started to climb. Robin grabbed Jenn and said, "What'd you tell her that for? You know, that Mr. Steve said that no one was allowed to climb that thing anymore. He just said it on Friday, the last day of camp. He said it was old and not sturdy, and someone could get hurt. Don't you remember that, Jenn?" Jenn nodded and smiled. "Yep."

"Jennifer! I can't believe you would do that to Maggie. She's our cousin, and our friend. Mr. Steve was really mad that day. He told Billy and Jim that they'd be in big trouble if they climbed it again, and he didn't care if camp was over!"

"Yeah? Well, where was Maggie the past few days? Not with us. And if she hadn't been hanging out with Pam on Friday, she would have been at camp, with us, and she would have heard what Mr. Steve had to say!"

Robin looked up. Maggie was only about a fourth of the way up. "Maggie! Come down!" she shouted.

Maggie looked down and gave them the thumbs up sign. "Hey, I'm almost half way. You should go and get that snot-nosed Little Tommy. He should be here to see this!"

Robin didn't know what to do. On one hand, she was a little angry with Maggie, for ignoring them. But, on the other hand, she knew this was dangerous. But, if she told Maggie, then Jenn would be mad at her. And they had a long ride home together that afternoon. She looked up again. Maybe Maggie would decide it was too scary, and come down on her own. Then, Robin wouldn't be stuck having to make this decision.

Jenn looked up at Maggie and smiled. She knew that Maggie would never turn down such a dare. She almost wished Little Tommy was still at the ranch. She knew for a fact that he and his family had left on Thursday. Of course, Maggie didn't know that.

While Robin was still trying to decide what to do, Maggie yelled down, "Look, I got to the yellow line. Where is that Little Tommy? Ha ha! I'm going to get much past this!"

Robin looked around. Uh oh. All of a sudden, Mr. Steve, and some other ranchhands were running toward them. She stood back.

"Hey, you! What are you doing up there? Come down this instant!" Mr. Steve yelled up to Maggie.

Maggie looked down. From the height she was at, she couldn't see Mr. Steve's face, but she could hear in his voice that he was angry. She didn't know what to do! She really wanted to get to the top. If only to rub it in Little Tommy's face.

Mr. Steve turned to Robin and Jennifer. "Who is that, girls?" Robin found her voice and said, "It's Maggie Clemente, our cousin." "What's she doing up there? Didn't I just tell you the other day how dangerous that is?"

"Yes, sir. We tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen," Jenn replied. Robin slapped Jennifer. "Jenn! I can't believe you!" Mr. Steve yelled up, "Maggie! Come down, right now!" He turned to Robin. "Please run and get her parents, would you?"

Robin stood still. She didn't want to get Uncle Bob. He would be so mad. And she just knew the whole story would come out. Her daddy would find out, and she would be in big trouble, too.

But Mr. Steve nudged her, and said, "Come on, now, do it." Robin said, "Okay." She turned and ran back to their cabins. She saw her daddy first.

Charlie had been walking all over, looking for the twins, when he saw Robin running towards him. When she got to him, he grabbed her and said, "There you are. Where have you been?"

Robin started to cry. "I need to get Uncle Bob and Aunt Heather." "What's the matter? Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Where's Jennifer and Maggie?"

"Maggggggggggie! Jenniferrrrrrr! Robbbbbbbbbin!" Bob was shouting. Charlie yelled, "Bob, Robin's back. Come here!"

Bob appeared in front of the cabin. He took one look at Robin's tear-stained face and said, "Oh, my god, what's happened? Where's Maggie and Jennifer?" Robin was crying, steadily now, and found it difficult to get the words out. Charlie gripped her shoulders and said, "Robin! Come on now, you need to tell us. Where are Jennifer and Maggie?"

"They're at the totem pole. Maggie climbed up, and Mr. Steve told me to get Uncle Bob!" she cried.

Bob smacked his hand to his head and said, "Oh, what now?" He started to walk away, towards the entrance of the ranch.

Charlie called out to him, "Hold on, Bob, I'm coming with you." He turned to Robin, and said, "You stay here, with Mommy. We will talk later!" Charlie gave Robin one smack to the seat of her pants. "That was for running off without telling me. Now, go on!" Reluctantly, Robin went into the cabin. Charlie watched her go in. Then he turned around and ran to catch up to Bob. Robin wanted to go back to the totem pole and see what would happen, but she knew she was already in enough trouble.

Bob and Charlie got to the totem pole quickly. They looked up and saw Maggie about three fourths of the way up.

Bob said, "What is she doing?" Charlie put his hand on Bob's arm to steady him. It had been an exhausting two weeks at the ranch.

Steve said, "Mr. Clemente?"

Bob nodded.

"Your daughter refuses to come down. She just keeps on going higher. Something about getting someone, but I'm having trouble hearing her; she's up pretty high. This pole is very unsafe. I'd go up to get her, but I don't think that would be such a good idea."

Bob went to the base of the pole and yelled up, "Margaret Anne!" Maggie looked down. She saw her daddy at the bottom. She couldn't tell if he was angry, from this distance, but she was willing to bet he wasn't too happy. She looked up: not much further to go. Maybe he'd be proud of her if she made it to the top.

"Maggie! You come down right now!" Bob shouted up at her. But she was too far up and didn't hear him. Bob looked over at Steve, and realized he wasn't going to do anything. "That's it, I'm going up to get her." Charlie watched his brother and shook his head. Of course, if it had been Robin or Jennifer on that pole, he would have done the same thing. He walked over to Jennifer and said, "Okay, tell me what you know." Jennifer looked at her daddy. "What do you mean?" she asked. Steve walked over to where Jennifer and Charlie were standing. "Mr. Clemente, I don't think it's a good idea for your brother to go up that pole. It really is very unsafe. I just told the kids the other day not to climb it." Charlie looked at Jennifer. "Is that true?"

Jenn looked at her daddy and then back at Mr. Steve. "Yes, sir," she said. "Well, then why would you let your cousin climb it?" Charlie asked. "I tried to tell her not to, Daddy, but she insisted!" Jennifer lied. She didn't know why she was bothering to lie. When Maggie came down, the whole story would be out and she would be in big trouble. But she couldn't help but lie.

"Something's going on here, Jennifer Lynn, and I want to know what it is!" Charlie said, sternly. Obviously, he was not buying Jennifer's story. Jenn didn't answer. He gave her one quick smack on her bottom. "And I don't want to have to spank it out of you, either. You and your sister disappeared without even telling us. We will talk about that, too."

They were startled by Bob yelling. They ran over to the base of the pole. Bob had unsuccessfully tried to climb it, but the pole itself started to sway, so he jumped down.

Mr. Steve ran over and said, "I told you this thing's not too sturdy. It's really just for decoration. I don't know what it is, but the kids keep wanting to climb it. I just sat them down the other day, Friday, I think it was, and told them no one had better climb it."

Bob scratched his head. "Well, Maggie didn't go to camp on Friday." "But Robin and Jennifer did," Charlie said, eyeing Jennifer. "They should have known better."

They all looked up at Maggie. She had been a little scared when the totem pole had started to sway. But now she was almost to the top, and felt like she just had to go on. She looked down, and tried to wave, but was afraid she'd lose her footing. Everyone just stared at her.

"Well, now that she's got to the top, I guess we just have to wait for her to come back down," Bob said, sighing.

Just then, Heather ran over. "Oh, my god, what's going on?" Heather called, looking up. "What is that girl doing up there?"

Bob went over to his wife. "We don't know the whole story. I called up to her but she wouldn't come down. I tried to climb it, but it started to sway. We're just waiting now for her to come down."

"One way or the other!" Heather screamed. "My god, Bob, she could fall off that thing, and die."

Mr. Steve went over to Heather. "That's why the guys are standing here with the trampoline, ma'am." Steve pointed it out to Heather. Jennifer, Charlie, and Bob looked over at it, too. They had been so busy talking and worrying, they hadn't seen it brought over.

Heather clutched her stomach, and said, "Oh, god!"

Bob ran to her side. "Heather, are you all right? Is it the baby?" "No, no, I'm fine. I just got a cramp. Probably from worrying so much about Maggie. Oh, hon, I think I'll be glad to finally go home this afternoon," Heather said.

Charlie said, "Heather, why don't you go back to the cabin and lie down? Jennifer will walk back with you. Jennifer, come here!"

Jenn ran over to her aunt. But Heather said, "No, that's okay, I'm fine. Besides, I want to be here when Maggie gets back down."

"Here she comes!" one of the men yelled.

Everyone looked up. Maggie was about halfway down. She was going very slowly, for she found when she tried to go quickly, the whole totem pole moved. This frightened her. On the way up, she was so determined to make it past the yellow line, past where Little Tommy had gone, and up to the top, that she didn't think about how high up she was. Now on the way down, she was terrified.

Bob ran to the base and yelled, "Come on, honey, you're almost down!" Maggie heard her daddy this time and said, "Daddy, I'm scared!" Bob tried to remain calm. Now she was scared? She had just climbed hundreds and hundreds of feet, and now she had just realized how scary and dangerous it was? Okay, calm down, Bob, he told himself.

He looked up and saw that Maggie had barely moved. "Come on, Magpie, you're almost down. Just a little further!"

Maggie got to about three feet away from Bob. "Jump, Maggs, Daddy'll catch you!" Bob said.

The men with the trampoline moved right below Maggie, just in case she fell. When she saw the trampoline, she felt better. She saw her daddy waiting to catch her, as well. She climbed the rest of the way down, and then Bob grabbed her.

He pulled her off the pole and hugged her to him. "Oh, sweetie, are you all right?" he asked.

Maggie clutched onto her daddy. She knew she was probably in big trouble, but for right now, she needed him. "Daddy, I was so scared. Coming down, the totem pole started to move!"

"I know, I saw that. But you're okay now, you're on solid ground," Bob said, putting Maggie on her feet.

Heather, Charlie and Jennifer ran over then. Heather grabbed Maggie and smacked her on the rear. "Just what do you think you were doing up there, young lady?"

Maggie clutched her bottom. "Ow, Mommy!"

Then she saw Jenn and grinned. "Did you see me, Jennifer? I made it to the top. We should go find Little Tommy right now and rub that in his face!" Jennifer just nodded. With Charlie standing right there, she was afraid to say anything. She looked up at her father and he was staring at her. "Yeah, I saw," was all Jenn said.

Mr. Steve came over then. "Maggie, are you all right?" he asked. Maggie was still a bit shaken from her experience, but she nodded. "Yes, sir, fine."

"Of all the stupid things to do. Why didn't you come down when I yelled up to you?" he asked.

Maggie stared at him. "I didn't hear you."

Bob turned her around and said, "Margaret Anne, don't you lie. You heard; you just didn't want to listen. I want the full story, and I want it now!" All this time, Jenn had been standing there, not saying a word. She knew the truth would be out in a matter of minutes. She didn't know what to do. Charlie said, "Come on, let's go back to the cabin, and see if we can sort this out." He took Jennifer by the hand, and waited for Bob, Heather, and Maggie to follow.

Mr. Steve turned to Maggie and said, "And you, young lady, should know, that this is off limits, in case you and your family should come back next summer! If you had been at camp on Friday, you would have heard my lecture about how unsafe it was." He shook Bob and Charlie's hands. "I'm just so glad she's all right. I must speak to the camp about replacing this thing." And he walked off.

Maggie looked at Jennifer. "But you said that Little Tommy climbed up to the yellow line. You said that he practically dared me to get past that." Maggie was confused; she did not understand what her cousin had set her up to do. Everyone stared at Jennifer, too. She just stood there. Charlie got down on one knee and looked into Jenn's eyes. "Is that true? Jennifer?" Jennifer started to nod. "Yes, Daddy." She started crying. Charlie said, "Let's go. We need to discuss this further in our cabin." He grabbed Jenn's hand, and started leading her away from the totem pole.

Bob took Maggie's hand and said, "You too. We also need to have a discussion."

Heather took Maggie's other hand and the three of them went back to their cabin, also. Charlie said to them, "Um, we'll see you at lunch." They nodded, and all disappeared into their cabins.

Charlie pushed Jenn in and said, "Go to your room. I will be right there." He went into his bedroom and kissed Lisa hello. "Where's Robin?" "In her room. What happened?" she asked. Charlie filled her in on what he knew.

"Come with me, hon. We need to get to the bottom of this right now. I do think I know two little girls who are going to be riding home with sore bottoms," Charlie stated.

Lisa followed him into the twins' room. Robin was laying on her bed. Jenn was crying into a pillow on her bed. Charlie and Lisa sat down and then Charlie said, "Girls!"

They both looked up. "All right, I want to know what happened, the whole story, and I want to know right now."

Robin cried, "Daddy, is Maggie all right?"

Charlie regarded his daughter, "Yes, Robin, she's fine. Now tell me what happened."

Neither of the girls said anything. They didn't know where to start. Robin stared at her sister, wondering if Jenn was going to fess up, or not. She found some courage, and her voice, and said, "It's Jenn's fault." Charlie looked at her. "Robin, you know better than that! Tell me what happened!"

Robin started telling the whole story, starting with how they were mad at Maggie for ignoring them, then about Jenn wanting to get her cousin back, then about walking over to the totem pole. Jenn didn't say a word the whole time. She knew it wouldn't matter. She had messed up and she was going to be punished.

Charlie nudged Jennifer. She had been lying with her face toward the wall. "Jennifer, look at me." Slowly, Jenn sat up and turned toward her daddy. "Is what your sister's saying true, young lady?"

Jennifer looked at Robin. She wanted to lie again, but knew it would be futile. They would get the whole story from Maggie, anyway. She looked at her daddy and nodded. She knew he was very disappointed in her.

Charlie sighed. "I don't know what to say, Jennifer Lynn." "I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, new tears falling down her face. Lisa sighed, too. "Are you, Jennifer? Or are you just sorry you got caught?" she asked.

Jennifer cried and said, "I don't knooooooow!" Then she flung herself back onto the bed, and continued crying into her pillow.

Charlie and Lisa stared at each other. He said, "Robin, go into our bedroom. Mommy and I need to talk." Robin looked at her daddy, got up, and walked out of the room. Charlie said, "I think we need to separate them for punishment." Lisa whispered, "Okay, I'll take Robin."

Charlie smiled. Then he said, "Thanks a lot."

Lisa got up and joined Robin in her bedroom. She sat on the bed, and patted it. "Come here, Robin." Robin walked over to the bed. Lisa pulled her between her legs and said, "Do you know why I'm going to punish you, young lady?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, Mommy. 'Cuz I helped Jenn lie to Maggie about the totem pole. I knew it was unsafe, but I didn't say anything, when I could have," she cried.

"That's right. Your cousin could have been very hurt. Yet, you stood by, even when you knew it was wrong, and you stayed quiet. Even after she had gotten on it, you could have come back and told us. And also, young lady, you did not have permission to be at the totem pole. You were disobedient by wandering off in the first place. I am very unhappy about this!" "Yes, Mommy," Robin said. She knew there was no point in arguing. Besides, she knew she should be punished.

Lisa pulled Robin's shorts and panties down, and lifted her up over her lap. She began to spank right in the middle; she didn't alternate cheeks like her husband did. Robin began to cry right away. Her mother always spanked really hard.

"OW! I'm sorry, Mommy!" she cried.

Meanwhile, back in the twins' bedroom, Charlie had stood Jennifer in the corner. He was trying to calm down. After several minutes, he said, "All right, Jennifer, come over here."

Jennifer walked over to her daddy. "I am very disappointed in you, young lady," he said.

"Yes, Daddy, me too," Jennifer said, honestly.

"Tell me why," Charlie directed.

Jennifer cried. "Because I was mad at Maggie. But I dared her to do something that was bad."

"Not just bad," Charlie began.

"But dangerous?" Jenn asked. He nodded. "Yeah, and I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, Daddy."

"I'm sorry, too, baby. I'm sorry that I have to spank you again. I thought you were going to try to stay out of trouble this vacation." Jenn nodded. "I know, I'm sorry, Daddy."

"We're going home today, young lady. And you are going to be sitting in the car, feeling very uncomfortable. Do you have anything else to say before we begin?"

Jenn shook her head no. Charlie pulled down Jenn's shorts and panties. He motioned for her to step out of them. She wouldn't be needing them anymore for awhile. He pulled her over his lap and started to spank. Along with the spanking, came the lecturing.

"That was very {Smack!} naughty what you {Smack!} did today, {Smack!} Jennifer {Smack!} Lynn. {Smack!} Goading your cousin {Smack!} into doing {Smack!} something dangerous {Smack!} was wrong. {Smack!} I don't ever {Smack!} want to discuss anything {Smack!} like this {Smack!} with you {Smack!} ever {Smack!} again. {Smack!} Do I make myself clear?" {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!}

"Yes, Daddy," Jenn cried.

"And furthermore, {Smack!} young lady, {Smack!} you and your sister did not have permission {Smack!} to be near that totem pole. {Smack!} You were supposed to be sitting out front. {Smack!} You know better {Smack!} than to wander off, {Smack!} like that. I am getting tired {Smack!} of spanking you for this. {Smack!} {Smack!} Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Daddddddddy, Ow! Please stop, it hurts!" Jenn cried. Charlie gave Jenn a few final spanks, and then rested his hand on her backside. She was crying profusely. He began to rub her bottom. Then he stood her up and held him to her. He patted and comforted her for a little while.

Jenn held on to her daddy's neck, while he hugged her. "I'm so sorrrrrry, Daddddddddy."

"Okay, it's all right. You've been punished now. I forgive you. Shhhh," Charlie said. He was glad she had not done what Maggie had done, and he told her so. "I'm just so glad you didn't do anything that stupid." "Yes, sir," Jenn replied.

After she had calmed down, Charlie laid her down on her bed. He slipped her pantsies on her, and tucked her in. "I want you to lay down for a little bit. Later, at lunch, you will apologize to your cousin for your lies." "Oh, Daddy, please no, I can't!" Jennifer wailed.

"You can, Jennifer Lynn, and you will. I'm going to suspend a mouth soaping, even though you lied to me. Don't make me change my mind. And you will apologize to Maggie. And that's final," Charlie expressed. Jenn said, "Yes, Daddy." Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Getting a spanking always exhausted her. Robin lay sleeping on the bed in her parents' room. Next door, there was more talk.

"Margaret Anne, I thought maybe we could go one more day without any problems!" Bob was saying.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't know. Jennifer lied to me!" she cried. "That doesn't matter!" Heather expressed. "You still should have known better. And Maggie, we didn't even know where you were!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I thought it was all right."

Bob sighed. "Maggie, is it ever all right for you to just go wherever you please? I know we have talked about this before. Now, climbing up that pole was pure stupidity. You could have been killed."

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I wanted to beat Little Tommy!" Maggie explained. "Little Tommy! Little Tommy! We are not discussing some little boy from your camp group. We are discussing you. And you are not to do anything like this again. Do I make myself clear, young lady?" Bob shouted.

Maggie continued to cry. "Yes, Daddy, I'm sorry."

"You're going to be even sorrier in a minute, young lady. You're going to be punished. You could have come down that pole when Mr. Steve called up to you, but you didn't. You saw him and you just kept going!"

"I know. It was because of what Jennifer said about Little Tommy," Maggie said, quietly.

Bob sighed. "Don't blame your cousin. I admit it wasn't very nice what she told you. And you can be sure your Uncle Charlie is punishing her for that, but that is still no excuse, Margaret Anne. I don't care if this Little Tommy climbed to the top of a water tower, you are not to do things like this. Now come over here!" Bob pointed to his side.

Maggie was there in a flash. She knew better than to argue at this point. She still thought that she had broken some kind of record. She was sure no other kid at the Dude Ranch had ever climbed to the top of the totem pole. But she didn't dare say it out loud. She knew her daddy would not like that. Bob pulled Maggie's shorts and panties down and pulled her over his lap. He didn't lecture her, just spanked and spanked until her bottom was a bright, cherry red. When he was finished, he ordered her into the corner. Maggie shuffled there quietly. She hated when her daddy sent her to the corner. That meant he was still mad, and needed time to calm down. But at least so far, there was no mention of doing a writing assignment.

After twenty minutes, Bob called her over to him. He reached down and pulled up her panties and shorts. He pulled her into a hug and said, "I'm glad you weren't hurt, Magpie."

Maggie smiled at her special nickname. She knew everything was all right again. "Me, too, Daddy. And I'm sorry I worried you." Bob said, "Me too. I'm glad we're going home today. There's not much in Brookville that I need to be concerned with you about. No waterfalls for you to get into, or rapids to fall in, or totem poles to climb. Life is going to be very boring for you, isn't it, Maggie?"

Heather came over, now that the smoke had cleared. "Oh, I don't know about that, hon. Maggie has to be a big sister now to this little baby," she said, patting her tummy.

Bob smiled. "Yes, that's right."

"I'll be good, Daddy," Maggie said, and she almost meant it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The end!

Epilogue: Jennifer had apologized to Maggie at lunch that day. It was a very quiet affair. The grownups had smiled at the sight of the three of them kneeling on the bench for lunch. They hugged goodbye and got into their separate cars to head for Long Island again. After two weeks at the Dude Ranch, they were all glad to be getting home. School would be starting in a couple of weeks, and Lisa and Heather knew they would be busy getting the kids settled into a new school year. Heather and Bob also had a tough time ahead of them, what with Maggie being a handful, and with a new baby on the way. But they all remembered the Dude Ranch as a magical place. They hoped they'd be back again next year.

(Stay tuned for a new series starring the ever-popular Clementes.)