The Dude Ranch-chapter 7
By SamPast and Huggedlots
Copyright (c) 1999, All rights reserved

By the time Charlie returned with Maggie, Heather had gone back inside the cabin. The girls were still up, although they had changed into pajamas, as it was close to 9:00. Heather had dropped off to sleep on the couch, and Lisa and the girls sat and watched tv.

Heather jumped up, and all eyes went to the door as Charlie walked in carrying Maggie.

"Oh, thank god!" Heather shouted. She ran to Charlie and took Maggie from him. "Are you all right? I was so worried."

Maggie looked at her mother as if she didn't even know her. "You were?" she asked.

"Of course I was," Heather said. Heather hugged Maggie close to her.

Lisa thought to herself, "Okay, maybe there is hope for these two." She went over to Charlie and said, "Honey, you're soaking wet. What happened?"

Charlie nodded to Maggie, "She and I took a little swim in the falls."

Robin and Jennifer ran over to Charlie. They wanted to hug him, but he didn't want them to because he was wet.

Lisa looked over at Maggie, who appeared fine. Charlie said, "But she's all right, now. I'm going to go change." He disappeared into the bedroom.

The twins stared at Heather and Maggie. Jennifer crossed her fingers and hoped that her friend would soon be happy. Charlie returned in clean, dry clothes. Robin and Jennifer went to him then. He hugged both girls.

In his hand was a towel. He brought it out for Heather to finish drying Maggie off. As she took it, she put Maggie down. Heather tried to dry her off, but Maggie ignored her mother and ran over to Charlie. She practically knocked him over.

"Thank you for saving me, Uncle Charlie!" Maggie cried.

Charlie looked over at Heather. He saw the hurt in her eyes. Heather mouthed at him, "Uncle Charlie?" Charlie hugged Maggie. "You need to go change, honey," he said.

"Okay, but I don't want to go anywhere with her!" Maggie pointed at Heather.

Heather looked as if someone had stuck a knife through her heart. She tried to laugh it off. "Don't be silly, now, Maggie. It's been a long day. Come on, now, these people have their own kids to look after."

"NO! I'm staying here. I feel loved here. I DON'T WANT TO GO WITH YOU! YOU DON'T LOVE ME!" Maggie shouted.

Then she held on to Charlie for dear life. No one in the room moved. Heather was completely shocked. No one knew what to say. Charlie comforted Maggie. He looked to Lisa. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to push Maggie away, but he also knew that holding on to her was hurting Heather.

Lisa finally broke the silence. "Okay, Robin, Jennifer, let's go. It's way past your bedtime."

"Now, Mommy?" Robin said, trying not to whine. She knew that would be a big mistake.

"Now, come on!" Lisa ordered.

The twins looked over at Charlie. He said, "Go on, do what your mother says. I'll be in to kiss you good night in a few minutes."

Robin and Jennifer slowly walked out of the room. They looked back at Maggie and their father. Jennifer broke free of Lisa's hand, ran to Maggie and said, "I'm so glad you're all right. We were so worried."

Maggie looked up at Jenn. "Thanks. I'm glad to be back."

Jennifer hugged both Maggie and Charlie. "Okay, now, go!" Charlie said, pointing towards her bedroom. Jennifer let go and left the room.

Heather was still rooted to her spot. She didn't know what to do. Charlie let go of Maggie and took her by the hand. "Come on," he said, leading her to the couch. He took the towel back from Heather. "Uh, Heather, why don't you go get Maggie some dry clothes, um, pajamas to put on. Then, if you want, we can all talk."

"It's awfully late, Charlie. I think I should just get Maggie to sleep and we can talk in the morning. C'mon, Maggs!" Heather tried again.

"NO!" Maggie shouted.

Heather gave up and left the cabin. Charlie shook his head. He thought to himself, "That's where she went wrong. She shouldn't have given up so easily. I have to help these girls. But how?" While he thought, he tried to dry Maggie's hair, and then wrapped her in the towel, and waited for Heather to return with her pajamas.

Charlie turned to Maggie, "Okay, young lady, when your mom gets back we are going to have a long talk."

"Yes, Uncle Charlie," Maggie replied.

Charlie was confused when she looked and smiled at him, but then realized that she was craving a male role model, and had never had one. In just a few minutes, Heather was back, trying to take Maggie's hand and get her changed.

"NO, I can do it myself. YOU have never tried to dress me before, why now?"

Charlie saw the effort that Heather was making, and the tears that had gathered in her eyes. Heather said, "Honey, please talk to me, and tell me what is wrong," as she handed the clothes over to Maggie.

Maggie blurted out, "I hate you, that's what's wrong, and I don't want to live with you anymore or for you to be my mom!"

Although Charlie knew that the "girls" needed to vent, he felt that this was not going in a productive direction. He looked down sternly at Maggie, and pulled her between his legs. "All right, young lady, we ARE going to have a talk, and there are some ground rules which I am going to lay down, and YOU WILL obey them. Understood?"

Hearing his tone, Maggie was surprised and quickly nodded her head. Charlie stated, "There will be NO rudeness or disrespect to your mother, is that CLEAR?"

Maggie answered meekly, "Umm, yes sir, Uncle Charlie."

He continued, "I do not want to hear the word "hate" come out of your mouth again."

"Yes sir, I mean, no sir."

"Now, first of all, your mom and I want to know why you ran away this afternoon."

Charlie looked up at Heather, standing as if the wall were the only thing holding her up. She was very pale, and slightly shaking, and the hurt and fear in her eyes made Charlie's heart soften a bit towards her. Looking back down at Maggie, he saw another hurting little one, looking at the floor, trying to figure out what to say.

"Maggie, honey, look at me, please," Charlie requested.

Maggie didn't comply so he put his finger under her chin to make her look at him. "I want you to start from being here in this room, and tell us what happened to make you run." Maggie was still quiet, and couldn't seem to speak.

"Okay, did the girls being punished scare you?"

"No, Uncle Charlie, that wasn't it."

Slowly tears were falling down Maggie's face, and Charlie knew it was important to somehow pull this out of her. "I know that Li-Aunt Lisa was yelling, did that scare you?"

"No sir," Maggie shook her head. "It was, was, was," and Maggie started to sob, and incoherently told them it was overhearing him talking to Jenn, about how important she was to him, and how loved she was. "NOBODY LOVES ME!"

At this, Maggie got completely out of control. Heather ran over and tried to hug her, but Maggie pushed her away. Heather pleaded, "I love you, Maggie, I really, truly do."

"NO! YOU DON'T! You are never home with me, you drink all the time, and you always tell me that you wish I had never been born!" Maggie shouted.

Charlie looked at Heather with a questioning look, sure that Maggie had exaggerated that last statement. Heather looked very pale, and Charlie was getting worried.

"Heather?" he demanded in an authoritative voice.

Heather began to cry and said to Maggie, "Honey, you know I don't mean that."

Charlie was shocked speechless. "You mean you actually said that to her?" Both of them were crying now, and Charlie knew this was going to be harder than he thought. He rubbed Maggie's back and crooned quietly to her until she calmed down, and felt she was ready to listen.

"Heather, sit down," Charlie commanded. Heather sank into a chair opposite Charlie and Maggie. Charlie turned Maggie around to face her mother, and told Heather, "Okay, tell Maggie how you really feel about her, and Maggie, you are going to listen and not interrupt, okay?"

Maggie just nodded, but wouldn't look at her mom. She tried to turn around, but Charlie had a firm grip on her. She kept struggling and Charlie, losing patience, swatted her once, hard, on her bottom. Maggie was shocked, as was Heather, and Charlie told her, "Young lady, enough, understand? Now, listen!"

"Yes, sir." Maggie stood perfectly still and looked at her mother. Heather took a deep breath and started to talk. "Maggie, honey, I love you with all my heart. I know that I haven't been the best mom to you, but honey, I am trying my best. You know I got pregnant with you when I was 15, and your daddy married me, but that didn't last because at 16 and 18 we were just too young to make it work. Your daddy sends checks, but he has no interest in being a part of our lives, and I know how hard that has been for you."

"Living with Grandma is no picnic either, but without a college degree, I am limited in what I can do, and so I haven't been able to afford to get us a place for just us, and also Grandma is there to take care of you after school. I don't mean to leave you alone all of the time, but after working all day in a job I hate, and listening to my mother complain all the time about how I ruined my life, I guess I started to believe her, and started going out too much and drinking too much, and I didn't realize how much it had affected you, sweetie."

"I really, and truly want you to be happy. But honey, I have also been trying to find someone who will love and take care of us both! Someone who will be like a daddy to you. I have to go out in order to meet people." Heather stopped. She probably never said so much to her daughter in all of Maggie's nine years.

Maggie looked up at Charlie silently asking for permission to speak. Charlie nodded at her, and Maggie looked at her mom and said, "Okay, I can understand that, but why do you drink all the time, and why don't you ever give me a bath, or hug me when I cry, or tuck me into bed like Uncle Charlie and Aunt Lisa do? You never care if I am safe, and I don't even have any rules."

Heather responded, "Honey, that's not true. I don't drink all the time. I only drink on Friday and Saturday nights when I go out with my friends. The other nights I am home with you."

"Come on, Mom, that's not even a little bit true. You drink even at home, when no one is around," Maggie said.

"Honey, that's not drinking, that's just a beer," Heather replied fliply. Charlie realized that the conversation was getting off track. "Heather, Maggie, I think we had best save that discussion for another time, and Maggie, I think I will be the one to have that conversation with your mom, okay? It is more of an adult topic. I know it affects you, and that part we will discuss. But the rest is not for you, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Maggie, your mother is telling you she does care and loves you very much. Maybe she doesn't show it the way you would like her too, but I think she is more than willing to work on that, right Heather?" Charlie questioned.

"Yes, of course I am. I love you, Maggs, really."

Maggie looked at Charlie. "Uncle Charlie? Are you very mad at me for running away?"

"Yes, I am, Maggie. It was very wrong of you, and you know that don't you? You had a lot of people worried, including your mom, and you could have gotten hurt. You were alone out there, and when you fell into the water, you could have drowned if I hadn't been there. Do you have any idea how hurt we all would have been to lose you? When you have a problem, you talk to someone about it. That is twice you ran today, isn't it young lady?" Charlie's voice became stern.

"Yes, Uncle Charlie."

"And I definitely do NOT like the way you talked to your mother. You owe her an apology, right now!"

Maggie looked up at Charlie surprised. "I WON'T!" she said as she stamped her foot. Charlie expected that defiance, and swatted her on her bottom. Maggie had been getting away with that for far too long, and it had to stop or Heather would never be able to get her in hand.

"I will not stand for that kind of behavior, young lady. Not now, and not ever again!" Charlie insisted. Maggie put her hand back to rub her bottom.

"Am I making myself clear, young lady?" "Yes, Uncle Charlie."

"Well? We are waiting," Charlie said firmly.

Heather was glued to her seat, not knowing what to do. "NOW!" Charlie boomed, and gave her another swat. Maggie jumped as his hand connected to her bottom. He turned her around again, facing her mom.

"Mommy, I am sorry I yelled at you," Maggie whispered to her feet. Charlie wanted more, but knew he couldn't push too hard, and didn't have her repeat it as he would have if it had been one of the twins.

Heather had tears in her eyes, and said, "It's okay baby, I love you, really and truly I do," and held open her arms. Maggie wasn't quite ready to forgive yet, and turned back to Charlie and buried her face in his chest.

"Are you going to punish me for today, Uncle Charlie?" Maggie asked shyly.

"That is up to your mom, Maggie," Charlie answered.

Again, Heather was at a loss as to what to do. Charlie feeling sorry for her, said, "Of course, if it were one of my daughters, she would have a very sore bottom for what she had done today."

Heather was still clueless. Charlie sighed, "Heather? Are you going to tell Maggie what her punishment is to be?"

Heather's eyes got big, and she mumbled, "Um, well, I think since Maggie caused you and your family so much grief today, that umm, you should be the one to punish her." Then she looked at the floor. She was embarrassed to have asked.

Charlie said, "I see." Inside his head, Charlie was thinking, "How do I get myself involved in these situations?" Knowing she was looking for guidance, but not sure how she would react, Charlie started lecturing Maggie again. "Young lady, tell me why you think you are going to be punished here tonight!"

Maggie said, "I, umm, ran away from my group this morning, and you had to come find me. I went with Robin and Jennifer, and we got lost, and we should have stayed with the counselors. And when you told me to stay here, I disobeyed and ran away, and you had to find and rescue me."

"That is some list young lady, isn't it?" Charlie asked sternly.

"Yes sir," Maggie said, looking down.

"And what do disobedient girls get in this family? And you know what Maggie? You ARE a part of this family now, and we all love you very much!" Charlie added.

Maggie looked up as she heard the words she had been dying to hear. "I don't know, Uncle Charlie."

"Yes, you do, young lady. I know the girls have told you," Charlie prodded.

Maggie replied, "They, umm, ahh, they get a spanking, Uncle Charlie?"

"That's right, young lady. And you are about to get one right now."

With that, Charlie pulled down her pajama bottoms, turned her over his knee, and began to spank her rather lightly on alternate cheeks. Knowing she had never been spanked before, Charlie didn't want to be too hard on her. As he spanked, he lectured her on the importance of listening and obeying adults who were in charge of her, of being safe, of checking in, and lastly, of believing her mother that she really was loved.

As her bottom turned pink, and then slightly red and she was sobbing, Charlie decided that she had had enough. He stood her back up, and hugged her tightly while she cried it out. Pulling up her panties and pajama bottoms, he turned her around and gently nudged her toward her mom.

Maggie ran straight into Heather's arms and held on tight. "I am sorry, Mommy, I really am."

Heather agreed, "Me too, sweetie. I love you, you have to know that." Heather gently rubbed Maggie's sore bottom.

"Mommy, may I please spend the night here with Robin and Jennifer, please?" Maggie asked.

Heather said, "If it's okay with Charlie and Lisa, I mean UNCLE Charlie, and AUNT Lisa, it's okay with me. I think he and I need to talk, anyway." Heather waited for Charlie to nod that it was okay. Then she said, "Come on, I will tuck you in," and she picked Maggie up, as Maggie snuggled on her mom's shoulder.

Walking into the girls' bedroom, Heather saw that they were still awake. "Where are you going to sleep, sweetie?"

"With Robin, Mom, okay, Robin?" Maggie asked.

"Sure, hop in," Robin said as she held the blanket open for her. Heather tucked Maggie in really tight, and kissed her all over her face until Maggie was giggling. She then kissed Robin and Jennifer and said goodnight. Lisa and Charlie kissed all three girls as well, and then all three adults left the room.

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