She bent to retrieve the material around her ankles and slid them up her legs slowly. He then helped her smooth down her tousled hair and wrinkled skirts. Walking with her out of the barn toward the cabin, he said, “A young lady should be home before dark, regardless of whether the rule is enforced.” When they got to the door, Jesse entered with her.
Lily’s ma had retired for the evening, but Roy looked over at them from his seat by the fireplace, a shot of whiskey in his hand. When he saw Jesse, he indicated with a wave to take a seat on the sofa. “I won’t ask where you’ve been with my daughter,” he growled.
Jesse sat down. “I’ll gladly tell you, Roy.”
“Very well,” Roy said, frowning at him. “Seems you broke up an engagement between my daughter and a man of God. I’d like to know your intentions and what you’ve been up to with her.”
“You’re right, I did help Lily break off her engagement, but I’ll argue that Elijah’s no man of God. He’s a bully, brute, and liar, for starters.”
Roy grunted and downed his whiskey. “So you say. You like to say a lot. You came into my house and insulted me and my wife, saying we don’t care for our daughter. I may not be the best father around, but I’ve always cared for her and made sure she was fed and had a roof over her head. What exactly are you planning on doing for Lily?”
Jesse winced. “I said some things to you I probably shouldn’t have. But I was angry because I care about Lily and I don’t want her to get hurt. I plan to do right by her, I assure you.”
“Is that so? Where have you been with her?”
Jesse glanced at Lily, who sat at the kitchen table, eyeing them warily. Turning his focus back to Roy, he said, “Well, first off she came to the saloon and sang a little ditty with me.”
“She was inside the saloon?” Roy exclaimed.
Jesse held up his hand. “It won’t happen again, Roy. I wasn’t happy about it either, and I won’t permit it in the future.”
Roy only stared at him, so Jesse continued. “After that, we went to supper. Following that, I drove her home in my buggy, but we stopped at the barn first before coming to the cabin. There I gave her a hard spanking for disobeying my order to not go off alone with Elijah after what happened to Maria.”
Roy’s eyes widened. He looked more incredulous with every new bit of information Jesse gave him. “You spanked her?”
“Yes, and I would do it again,” Jesse said firmly. “I won’t allow her to put herself in danger, and I know what I saw. I saw Elijah running from the saloon in a panic, and after that I saw Maria clutching her bleeding face.”
Roy cleared his throat. “I’m offended that you took the liberty to punish my daughter,” he said, not sounding the least bit offended. He rubbed his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair and said wearily. “I hope you mean to court her.”
Jesse smiled. “Of course. I already feel responsible for her.”
“Come on over here, Lily,” Roy said.
Lily walked over and sat next to Jesse on the sofa.
“You want Jesse here to court you?” Roy asked.
Lily nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.” She tried to look less happy about it than she was, but her face broke into a wide grin, which she turned on Jesse. He winked at her.
Roy grunted. “I guess that settles it.”
Jesse stood and held out his hand. “Thank you, Roy. We might not see eye-to-eye on everything, but I promise from now on to show you the respect you deserve for raising such a fine daughter.”
Roy stood as well and took his hand. They bid each other goodnight, and Jesse left after giving Lily a peck on the cheek. Later, as she lay in bed, Lily thought of Jesse and the way his hands felt on her body. She rubbed her sore bottom and drifted to sleep with a smile.
Chapter Seven: Another Side to Lily
Jesse visited nearly Lily every day, usually in the morning when she was doing her chores, before the saloon opened. On Tuesdays, which was the slowest day at the saloon, Jesse would take her out to supper. He felt like a new man. Lily brought bursts of fun into the monotony of his daily life. Life would never be dull or lonely again as long as she was in it.
He realized after not too long of courting her that there was more than one side to his girl, and he loved each new personality trait she revealed to him. One side of her was very mischievous and a great lover of practical jokes. She seemed as surprised about this aspect of her personality as he was. Never before had she blossomed into her true self, since never before had someone accepted her as Jesse did.
On one of his morning visits, he walked to the barn as usual. He knew she would either be in the barn tending to the horses, in the chicken coop gathering eggs, or around the hog pen feeding the pigs.
“Lily, you in here?” he called at the entrance of the barn.