New Beginnings: Back to the Ranch-chapter 4 (M/f)
Copyright © 1999 Sampast and Huggedlots

(Disclaimer: There are a lot of emotions flying around. So if you're not in to that, then you'd best leave now. For the rest of the standard disclaimers, see index)
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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.)

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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...

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