The Young Outlaw - Chapter Four

Brett stepped over to his saddle bags and rummaged for a nightshirt. Jalen
stripped off his vest and draped it over the bed post along with his gun belt
which was positioned so that the pistol, hanging in its holster would be within
easy reach if he needed it. He took off his boots and then stripped off his
shirt, dropping it into a wicker basket Brett hadn't noticed earlier that was
near the door. Jalen, noticing Brett's gaze said, "I put your dirty clothes from
your bath earlier in that basket. There's a woman in town that needs the work,
so I bring my laundry to her. Yours will be included now as well."

Brett nodded. "All right. It will seem strange to not have to wash my clothes in
a creek or somethin'."

Jalen nodded in return. "I'm sure it will. We'll have to go over to the general
store tomorrow and get some more clothes hooks so you can hang up what clothing
you have."

Brett said, "Okay, sounds good."

Jalen had lit the oil lamp for them and he watched as Brett readied himself for
bed. When Brett turned his back to Jalen to slide out of his britches and
underpants and began to pull the nightshirt over his head, The Sheriff noticed
the ripple of muscles on the young outlaw's back, the place where it dipped and
then the curves of his buttocks and the promise that might be found there. His
mouth went dry and his own britches began to feel a bit tight. He got up and
said, "I'm goin' to the outhouse, be right back. You can just slip under the
sheets when you're ready to get into bed." He told the younger man and pulling
on his boots again strode out of the room.

*****

Brett watched the bigger man go and wondered at it, but then shrugged. He
crawled between the clean sheets and covered himself with the quilt. He tried to
stay as close to the edge of the bed as was possible. He wanted the Sheriff to
know he was respecting his offer of sharing the bed and making sure their bodies
didn't touch.

Jalen returned from the outhouse and pulled off his boots once more and blew out
the lamp. He crawled into the opposite side of the bed, facing away from Brett.
He could smell the clean scent of soap clinging to the young outlaw after his
bath that morning and something that was uniquely Brett. He squirmed a little
and tried to relax. "Good night Brett." He said.
Brett felt the bed dip as Jalen got in and he noticed he hadn't undressed
completely. "You always sleep with your clothes on?" He asked.

"Usually. If a fight breaks out at the saloon or there's a drunk that needs to
be locked up all I have to do is put my boots on, my vest and take care of the
situation." Jalen explained.

Brett said, "Oh, good night then." Not quite understanding why a part of him
felt a bit disappointed.

*****

Jalen shifted a bit in the bed. He was tired, but couldn't sleep. Images of a
rugged handsome man with smoky blue eyes and graying dark brown hair danced in
front of him. He hadn't missed Dallas so much in a long time. He tried not to
sigh and tried to clear his thoughts, but the man whom he'd loved with all his
heart kept intruding into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to push the
images away. The Sheriff noticed Brett hadn't fallen asleep yet and shifted
again. He thought to himself, it was going to be a long night.

*****

Brett lay as still as he could. He lay in the dark and saw Jalen in his mind's
eye. He smiled as he envisioned the sandy hair, the lock that kept flopping over
one eye and those green eyes. The tanned rugged features, the high cheekbones,
the full mouth and white even teeth. The firm jaw, the powerful shoulders, arms
and large hands. He could only imagine the rest of the strong body; well muscled
and hard…Brett shook himself from those particular musings as a certain part of
him was beginning to make itself known. He frowned slightly. He thought to
himself that wasn't supposed to happen when he thought about a man. He had seen
the erections of the gang members when they had been with women, leering at them
openly, while he'd found the females distasteful. He had been teased
unmercifully about not taking a whore. Well, the opposite sex certainly didn't
make things stir like now. He thought to himself and wondered what was wrong
with him. He felt ashamed of his reaction. The young man felt Jalen shift
slightly and wondered why the lawman hadn't fallen asleep yet. He figured since
the Sheriff wasn't used to sharing his bed with someone he was having a hard
time relaxing and feeling comfortable. After a bit the young outlaw could hear
Jalen's even breathing. It felt sort of comforting in a strange way to know
there was another human being close to him sharing a bed, one he didn't have to
worry about stealing from him or anything. He felt strangely safe, not having to
sleep with one eye open and one eye closed. Brett finally slipped off to sleep,
still wondering about things.

*****

Jalen was awakened by thrashing and moaning at his side. He was startled at
first, not remembering he had Brett in his bed, but then turned over and wrapped
his arms around the young outlaw and whispered into his ear, "It's all right.
Settle down…it's nothin' but a dream."

*****

Brett was in the throes of a nightmare, but woke when he felt the strong arms
around him. He tried to squirm away. "Don't." He said.

Jalen held him tighter. "It's all right. There's nothing wrong with bein'
comforted by someone when you're havin' a nightmare." He said softly, keeping
the strong arms wrapped around the young outlaw.

Brett said…"It ain't right."

Jalen asked, "Says who?"

"Says everybody." Brett responded.

Jalen shook his head. "I ain't everybody, I'm the man charged to take care of
you so there's nothin' wrong with me holdin' you to comfort you from a
nightmare."

Brett stopped arguing. He liked the feel of the strong arms around him and he
like the feeling of safety and security they provided so he relaxed.

"That's better. Jalen said, "Care to talk about the dream?"

Brett bit his lip. "Uhm…no, not really."

Jalen nodded. "All right. Relax now and go back to sleep. I've got you." He told
the younger man.

Safe and secure in Jalen's arms Brett fell back to sleep and had no more
nightmares that night.

*****

Jalen smiled to himself as he held Brett through the night. It felt good to have
someone to hold. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed times like this.
He realized Brett was confused and understood he had to take things slow. It was
how Dallas had been with him. A little at a time, so he didn't get scared.

******

In the morning Jalen reluctantly let go of Brett and they rose, dressed and
began their day. Jalen had set the coffee on the stove. They'd go over to the
café for breakfast in a while.

*****

Brett got up and dressed in the clothes he had worn the day before. They were
still clean enough he reckoned. He thought about last night and shook his head
slightly to clear it. It wouldn't be happening again so soon. He'd make sure of
it if he had to lie awake all night. He felt a bit embarrassed in the full light
of day that he had spent most of the night embraced in the Sheriff's arms and
liking it.

*****

Jalen noticed Brett's mood had become sullen and thought it would be helpful to
talk about last night. "Brett, let's sit and talk for a few minutes before we
head over to the café."

Brett eyed Jalen. "What about?"

Jalen said softly, "Last night. I'd like for you to tell me what your dream
was."

Brett shook his head. "I told you last night I didn't want to talk about it. It
was nothin'."

Jalen gave Brett a concerned look and accepting his not wanting to talk about
things just yet said, "Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen."

Brett nodded. "All right. I'll think about that."

Jalen reached out and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder and squeezed
gently. He said, "Well now with my being your probation officer you'll have
someone in your life that will be carin' enough to ask questions and hold you
accountable when it's needed."

Brett wasn't sure he liked that. In one way it felt nice, in another it seemed
restrictive, having to stay within boundaries he wasn't certain he could comply
with.

Jalen felt Brett's shoulders stiffen and the expressions that crossed his face
and flashed in the young man's eyes. He said, keeping his warm large hand on his
shoulder, "There are certain things I need to know to help you Brett. If you've
been harmed in some way I need to know." He told him, keeping eye contact.

The touch felt good and Brett relaxed a bit and then said, "I haven't been
harmed by anyone."

Jalen smiled and nodded. "That's good to know."

Brett smiled back, feeling more relaxed and then asked, "Uhm…you said you were
here to listen if I wanted to talk about my nightmare last night?"

Jalen nodded. "Yes, I said that."
Brett said quietly, "I was dreamin' the Rocky Mountain Boys Gang leader was
tryin' to kill me…that he caught up with me and…well…uhm…it was pretty scary."

Jalen nodded. "Nightmares generally are. Have you had that kind of dream
before?" He asked.

Brett nodded. "Yes. Ever since I sneaked away and left the gang."

Jalen said reassuringly, "Well you won't need to worry about that here. I'll be
keepin' a close eye on you so I'll know if there's anythin' suspicious goin' on
and will take care of it."

Brett nodded. "All right."

Jalen gently squeezed the young outlaw's shoulder and said, "Thank you for
sharin' that with me. I appreciate that you trusted me enough to tell me about
it. I want us to be able to talk about anythin' that's botherin' you Brett. The
more we talk about things, the better things will get. As we learn about each
other it will be easier for me to help you to become the man you want to be, law
abiding and someone who can feel secure and self confident. Someone who will be
respected and accepted."

Brett studied the lawman's face as he spoke and nodded. "All right Sheriff. I
think I might be able to do that."


Jalen smiled and said, "Sounds good. Let's go get breakfast."

*****

When the sheriff and young outlaw returned Jalen said, "Brett, sit down here at
my desk. It's time we began workin' on your readin' and writin' lessons."

Brett gave Jalen a look. "Already? I thought we'd have some time before we had
to start this."

Jalen said, "There's no time like now. I'm goin' to make my rounds. While I'm
gone I want you to write out the first ten letters of the alphabet, and write
three lines of each letter." Jalen pulled out a piece of paper and found a
pencil. He wrote the letters and left the space he wanted between them so Brett
could write the required number of lines for each letter. "You work on this and
I'll check it when I get back All right?"

Brett sighed and gave Jalen a sour look. "If I don't?"

Jalen said quietly, "Then you choose the consequence for disobedience."

Brett's mouth went a little dry. He didn't like the sound of that, but asked,
"What's the consequence?"

Jalen looked Brett in the eye and said quietly, with a hint of sternness, "A
sound spankin'."

Brett squeaked. "What?! You can't do that!"

The Sheriff said, "There you go again, tellin' me what I can and can't do. I
told you yesterday I can and will spank you if it's needed."

"B-but I didn't really think you meant it!" the young outlaw cried horrified.

Jalen told the young man, "It's time you learn from the very beginning then that
I say what I mean. I'm sure it won't be the first time in your life you've been
spanked."

Brett flushed, "No…but that was different." He argued.

"How so?" The Sheriff asked.

"Because that was my parents and you are not my parent!"

Jalen said, "No, but I am the person charged with bein' responsible for you and
your welfare. I'm held accountable to the judge for your actions. As a result
you'll answer to me if the rules of your probation aren't followed."

"But spanking? I'm grown! I'm not a kid." Brett protested.

"I know that…contrary to what you think not only kids get spanked, but young men
who need correction can get spanked as well." Jalen told the young outlaw.

Brett grumbled, "Bastard, you think you have an answer for everything."

Jalen took Brett by the upper arm turned him and gave him two hard swats on his
bottom and said quietly, "Don't be disrespectful or swear. I warned you I won't
tolerate that. You agreed to the terms of probation. You may revoke your
agreement anytime and I'll make arrangements for you to sit your backside in the
State prison."

Brett yelped at the swats and then glared at Jalen. "I wish you'd stop doin' and
sayin' that!"

The sheriff said, "I'm only correctin' you and pointin' out you have choices."

Brett muttered, "Some choice prison or bein' stuck with Mr. Bossy."

Jalen shook his head and landed a couple of more hard swats to Jalen's bottom.
"Keep it up young man and you'll find yourself examinin' the floor close up."
The Sheriff warned.

Brett tried to squirm away from the swats to no avail and when The Sheriff
released him rubbed his backside.

Jalen looked at Brett and said in a stern voice. "I'm going to trust you to do
your writin' assignment while I'm gone. It's not for punishment, although it
might feel like that. It's for your own good and I'm determined to help you be
the best person you possibly can be." He squeezed Brett's shoulder and putting
on his hat left the office to make his rounds.

*****

After the Sheriff left, Brett sat at the desk for a few minutes staring at the
paper. He could still feel the heat of those swats a bit and frowned. The young
man picked up the pencil and began to write the letters, but after just writing
a line of the first letter, he put down the pencil and frowned some more. He
thought to himself how stupid and pointless this writing assignment was. He
wasn't in the first grade in the schoolhouse. He was a grown man and could do as
he pleased. Tossing down the pencil he sat back to think for a moment. Then he
remembered the Sheriff telling him his horse was at the livery and they'd bring
him back here today and that they needed to go to the general store for more
clothes hooks to put up so he could hang his clothing. He'd get his horse, stop
at the general store and then come back and put up the clothes hooks after
settling Spirit into his stall. That at least was something worthwhile to do.

He got up and putting on his hat left the office, the assignment forgotten on
the Sheriff's desk.

*****

Brett stepped outside and closed the door. He walked toward the livery. He saw
the horses out in the corral and was pleased to see that the livery owner took
good care of his animals. He saw Spirit prance, snort, throw his head up and
then dash across the corral. He wondered at his horse's unusual behavior and as
he drew closer grinned. A magpie was playing with Spirit. It flitted from its
branch toward the horse. The horse lowered its head as it came closer and then
perched on the animal's back. Then the magpie flitted back up into the tree and
his horse snorted once more and pranced toward the tree.

Brett watched the antics of Spirit and the magpie for a bit. It made him laugh,
something He hadn't done in a while and it felt good. The young outlaw went into
the livery. He explained why he was there and the livery owner, having seen
Brett in the makeshift courtroom over at the Diamond Dust yesterday nodded and
got a halter and brought Spirit inside. He tacked him up and led him out to
Brett.

Brett said, "Thank you my good man. Just charge any remaining expenses to the
Sheriff."

The man smiled at the young outlaw and nodded. "All right. I'll do that." He
went back into the livery and Brett hopped into the saddle and headed Spirit
toward the general store.

Once in front of the general store he got off his horse and hitched him to the
rail. He went inside and purchased a half dozen clothes hooks and taking Spirit
led him across the street to the Sheriff's office. There was an alley way and he
led the animal to the back of the building to the shelter where Liberty was
housed. He grinned up at his horse. "Well Spirit, this is goin' to be your new
home."

The horse whinnied softly and blew at Brett.

Brett chuckled and stroked the long black nose. He led his horse to a stall near
Liberty and then produced a couple of apples he had seen in an old bowl inside
the shelter. He cut them up with his pen knife and fed one to Spirit and then
one to Liberty. He spent time then petting and talking to the horses, not
realizing how late in the morning it was getting.

*****

Jalen was just finishing his rounds and stopped at the general store last. He
walked through the variety of goods displayed in the store. There were the usual
farm implements, stacked tins of food, the ready to wear shirts, britches and
dresses as well as bolts of material and clothes patterns. He saw the display of
thread and lace and buttons and such and paused at the candy display and glanced
over what it had to offer. It had some of his favorites, gum drops, peppermint
sticks and butter toffee.

There were two women standing near the bolts of material discussing the merits
of one type of cloth for dish towels verses another and Jalen tipped his hat to
them. "Good day ladies."

The ladies smiled up at him. "Good day Sheriff."

Jalen passed by the toy display and smiled as he saw a few little ones looking
over the offerings hopeful as always of being able to take home a new toy. The
Sheriff greeted them with a few words and a smile. The children grinned up at
him and said, "Hello Sheriff Brooks."

Jalen went back over to the candy jars and decided to take a selection to Brett
as a reward for his working on his writing assignment. He remembered the clothes
hooks and went up to the counter with his purchases. "Hello there Jim."

James Duncan smiled at the young Sheriff. "Good day Sheriff." He looked at his
purchases and teased, "Feeding your sweet tooth Sheriff?" Then he commented,
"You and your new charge must have an awful lot of clothes."

Jalen looked at Jim quizzically. "Why do you say that Jim?"

"Well that young outlaw was in here earlier and he purchased a half dozen of
them. Charged `em to your account."

Jalen looked puzzled. Brett wasn't supposed to be out and about buying things.
He was supposed to be at the desk in his office practicing his writing.

The Sheriff said, "Well, then I suppose I won't need the clothes hooks."

Jim smiled as he took Jalen's money for the candy. "Nice horse he has there
Sheriff."

Jalen's green eyes went wide. "Horse?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes that young outlaw had a real nice black horse he was ridin'." Jim shared.

Jalen swore softly under his breath. "Thank you Jim. I'll see you later." He
told the storekeeper as he took the candy and tucked it into his pocket and
strode out of the store. He headed over to the livery to find that Brett had
indeed gotten his horse. He had trusted the young outlaw…he should have known
better. If that kid skipped town…he'd have no choice but to bring him in and
he'd be sent to prison for breaking his probation.

*****

Brett scratched behind Spirit's ears and the horse butted him with his nose.
Brett asked the animal, "You got treated real well over there? Did you get
spoiled?"

The horse snorted at him and Brett laughed.

*****

Jalen with long strides headed for the Sheriff's office. He entered and found
the paper Brett was supposed to be working on sitting on the desk. He glanced at
it and saw it had been barely started before it was abandoned. He checked the
bedroom and found Brett was not in the jail. The Sheriff swore once more and
grabbing his rifle off the rack headed out back to saddle up Liberty and find
that young hot head.

As he made his way to the shelter where Liberty was housed he stopped short to
see Brett stroking Spirit and Liberty looking over at him interestedly.

Jalen's green eye sparked and he went up to Brett and demanded, "just what do
you think you're doin'? Aren't you supposed to be practicin' your writin'?"

Brett whirled around startled at the approach of Jalen and setting his jaw
looked right back at the Sheriff and said, "What the hell does it look like I'm
doin'? I'm talkin' to the horses."

"You're supposed to be doin' you're writin' lesson and you weren't given
permission to roam all over town or to go get your horse." Jalen said in a
stern, quiet, firm voice.

Brett shrugged and said, "I did the assignment…at least what I wanted to do of
it and I was bored so I decided I'd get my horse and pick up the clothes hooks
so I could do somethin' more productive than that dumb writin' assignment."

Jalen said, "Well you thought wrong."

Brett gulped. "Uhm…I did what I thought was needed. At least I was tryin' to do
somethin' useful."

Jalen said, you're practicin' your writin' was useful."

Brett shrugged again. "Not to me."

Jalen said evenly, "It should have been. What did I tell you was goin' to happen
if you didn't do the assignment?" He asked.

Brett said defensively, "You ain't beatin' me."

Jalen said, "You're right."

Brett said surprised, "I am?"

"Yes you are, I'm not goin' to beat you I'm goin' to give you that sound
spankin' you deserve." He quickly set his rifle safely aside to free up his
hands and reached out and took Brett by the upper arm.

Brett tried to jerk away. "No!" You ain't spankin' me!" he cried.

Jalen stopped. "Are you tellin' me you want to revoke your probation?" He asked
quietly.

"No…I just don't want to get spanked!" Brett said anxiously.

Jalen said, "You should have thought about that before you decided to leave your
assigned work undone and go off on your own without permission. That was
breakin' your probation young man."

"B-but…" Brett protested.

Jalen let the young outlaw go and crossed his arms in front of him. "I ain't
goin' to force you Brett.

The young man moved a step back from the Sheriff.

"I'm givin' you a choice, you either accept the consequences or I lock you up in
the cell and arrange for you to go to prison. What's it goin' to be?" The lawman
asked.

Brett nearly stomped his foot in frustration. "That's no choice!"

Jalen explained patiently. "You made your choice Brett when you chose to
disobey. It isn't like I didn't tell you what would happen. You knew exactly
where this was goin'."

Brett bit his lip. "Please…can I have another chance?" He begged, hating it as
he did so.

Jalen shook his head. "No, you already had a chance when you chose probation
over prison. Now that you have to face the consequences for your choices you
want me to let you off. It doesn't work that way Brett." Jalen told the younger
man quietly. "I know it's scary and you don't know me very well, but you've
trusted me enough to tell me your story, share your nightmare and to allow me to
be your probation officer and be in charge of you…trust me now in this too. I
won't hurt you…not in a bad way. The spankin' will hurt, have no doubt about it,
but it won't be permanent and it won't be more than you deserve. I can promise
you that." The Sheriff told the young outlaw.

Bret chewed his lip and tried to think of a way out of the situation, but Jalen
had made his choices very clear. He took a deep breath. "All right." He said in
an almost whisper.

Jalen nodded and let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He
took Brett by the upper arm once more and guided him to the woodshed. He opened
the door and once they were inside closed it after them. He brought Brett with
him over to the chopping block and sat down, gently pulling the younger man
around to stand in front of him. "I don't know how your parents did things, but
I am goin' to spank you bare with my hand and once we start I won't stop until I
believe you've learned your lesson. I don't enjoy inflicting pain on others, but
will do what is necessary to help you become the law abiding citizen you told
the judge you wanted to be."

*****

Brett stood there nervously as he listened to Jalen describe how things were
going to be done. The young outlaw squirmed at the Sheriff's words regarding
spanking him bare. He was startled when the older man asked, "Brett Ashton
Montgomery, do you understand why I'm goin' to spank you?"

The use of his full name caused Brett's sapphire blue eyes to meet the emerald
green ones and he said softly, "Yes Sir."

Jalen was a bit surprised at being addressed as Sir, but didn't show it. "Tell
me what you understand. I want to be sure you and I are perfectly clear about
this." The Sheriff repeated words he himself had heard many times and took
comfort in them.

Brett shifted. "Do I have to?" He asked, sounding much younger than his
twenty-one years.

Jalen nodded. "Yes." He said firmly.

Brett dropped his eyes and said softly; because I didn't do the things I was
supposed to do. I didn't finish my writin' assignment, I went off without per
mission and…uhm…I swore and was disrespectful to you."

Jalen had to admit to himself that the boy was thorough which showed that his
Papa had taught him well regarding his punishments. It pleased him as this was
familiar and how he and Dallas had done things. He nodded. "Yes, that's exactly
right."

Brett bit his lip and shifted once more nervously. He was no stranger to
spanking and he knew at some point his bottom was going to be bare and he was
going to end up crying over this man's lap as much as he hated the thought of
it. His Papa once he had made up his mind to it didn't relent and he doubted at
this point the Sheriff would either.

Jalen watched the young man in front of him shift nervously. He himself felt
butterflies in his own stomach. He'd never spanked anyone before, but figured
with the number of times he had found himself face down over Dallas's lap it
couldn't be that hard. He'd follow what the man had done with him and hopefully
he and Brett would get through this all right. He took his own steadying breath
and said in what he hoped would come across as a firm and confident voice,
"Bret, Take down your britches and underpants."

The younger man, even though he had known something like this was going to be
asked still fumbled with the buttons on his britches as he unfastened them and
pushed them down over his slim hips to his knees. His underpants followed.

Jalen averted his eyes. He didn't want to do anything right now but to focus on
the task at hand. Once he heard the clothing being removed he reached out, took
Brett by the wrist and guided him face down over his lap. He tucked Brett's
shirt tail out of the way, exposing the pale mounds further, pulled him close to
his hard flat stomach with his right arm across Brett's back and his large hand
curved around his hip. He adjusted him so the young outlaw's bottom was in what
he thought was a good position and said quietly, "Don't put your hands back. If
you have to you can hang onto my leg. If you kick too much I'll pin your legs."
He told Brett firmly, shaking like jelly inside. He was repeating things that
his mentor, then lover, told him in times like this

*****

Brett bit his lip as he was pulled over the Sheriff's lap. He felt the hard
muscled thighs through Jalen's britches and the roughness of the material
against his exposed skin. It had a familiar, yet strange feel. Brett squirmed as
the heavy arm was placed across his back and shivered as it pinned his shirttail
up out of the way, making him feel more vulnerable. He listened to the Sheriff's
other instructions and tensed a little when he heard him talking about things
that indicated how painful the upcoming spanking might be. When he felt the warm
hand resting on his bottom he relaxed a bit knowing from past experience that
tensing would only make it hurt more.

*****

Jalen took a deep breath. He rested his hand on the young man's bottom and
waited for him to relax a bit. Once he felt the tension leave Brett he patted
his bottom in warning and then raised his hand and smacked it back down on the
center of the youthful bottom with mild force. He wasn't quite sure just how
hard to spank and didn't want to do it too hard and leave bruises. He only
wanted it to sting good. He watched as a pink handprint appeared on the pale
mounds.

*****

Brett jumped slightly at the first swat. It stung some, but wasn't too bad. He
thought to himself that maybe this spanking wasn't going to be as bad as he had
feared it would be at first.

*****

Jalen gradually increased the strength of the swats, watching carefully what
color the skin was turning under his hand. When he was through the young
outlaw's bottom was going to be red hot, just like Brett himself. He continued
to spank and he could feel Brett's beginning to react to the spanking as his
hips began to twitch and he gasped and yelped occasionally at a particularly
sharp smack on the steadily reddening bottom.

*****

Brett felt tears escaping his eyes and began to wriggle a bit. He tried to stay
still and take this quietly, but he just couldn't help yelping when his bottom
was stung in a place already stinging and the heat kept building and building.
He began to rethink his earlier thought that this spanking wasn't going to be as
bad as he had thought; it was going to be worse.

*****

The Sheriff spanked until the bottom before him was bright red and glowing. The
young man had begun to writhe and gave little kicks now and then as Jalen's hand
found a particularly tender spot. He loosened his grip a bit and tipped the
young outlaw forward until the tender under curves and sit spots were revealed
to good advantage and he began to spank there, slow, steady and hard. Even
though the sting would pass the ache would last a bit longer and that was what
he wanted Brett to experience each time he sat down for a while. Something that
would remind him of his poor choices. Jalen had been silent up to this point and
he began to scold now. "You will take your probation seriously; I'm here to help
you to become the man I know you can be."

*****

Brett had been fighting back tears which kept falling and had begun to writhe
and kick a bit. When he felt himself being tipped forward he knew exactly what
that meant and wasn't disappointed when a sharp spank exploded on the tender
area setting a new fire. He couldn't help but moan. He yelped, "Ouch!" When
Jalen continued to spank the tenderest part of his backside. "Oww!" he yelped
again as another spank landed. He realized Jalen was spanking differently here,
slow, but harder and it hurt more, even though he didn't think it could.

When Jalen began to scold, his words hit Brett's heart and he began to cry in
ernest. He wanted the bad part of his life to go away, he had been grateful for
another chance and then he had practically thrown that chance to the wind.

*****

Jalen continued spanking and moved further down to where the crease was and
continuing to spankin the same manner scolded, "I care about what happens to you
Brett Ashton Montgomery and I'm goin' to do everythin' in my power to see to it
that you make it through this probation even if it means we have to do this
every day!" He smacked a bit harder.

*****

Brett was kicking more now and the harder spanks had him sobbing and begging.
"P-please! Oww! N—not so hard! Oww! N-not there!"

*****

Bret heard the cries that were familiar to his own ears, having uttered those
many times himself. He continued with his task. He was biting his own lip. He
had had to harden his heart to the cries. He had never expected this to be so
hard and had a new appreciation for what he had put Dallas through each time he
had to put him over his knee.

Jalen saw that the sensitive sit spots and under curves were glowing a very nice
shade of red now too and as he made another couple of circuits reigniting every
inch of skin as he went scolded, "You will be respectful, do you assignments,
keep the rules of probation and stop swearin' or this will be the consequence
every time. I care enough about you to do this because I want to see you
succeed."

*****

Brett didn't think his bottom could burn any hotter or hurt so much. He wondered
if he'd ever be able to sit again. The words Jalen said cut into him like little
knives and he cried harder. Strangely he felt loved and cared for and he hadn't
felt like that for a very long time. He finally just lay limp over Jalen's lap,
giving into whatever the man would do.

*****

Jalen when he felt Brett go limp knew it was time to wrap up the spanking.
Dallas had always added a few extra spanks to the sensitive sitting area before
stopping, then he'd cuddle him and he fully intended to do that for Brett. He
landed a half dozen more spanks right where Jalen knew they'd do the most good
and then stopped. He let Brett gain his breath and rubbed circles on his back.

*****

Bret yelped. "Oww!" at the last of the spanks and then lay there limp over
Jalen's lap for a moment before it registered the spanking was over and the man
was rubbing circles on his back and that it felt good. He lay there for a few
moments before he realized what he was doing and tried to lever off Jalen's lap.

*****

The sheriff said quietly as Brett struggled to be free, "Whoa there, where do
you think you're goin' young man?" He easily flipped Brett upright and was
holding him in his lap, his sore butt not touching anything.

Brett surprised to be upright so quickly and finding himself being held and
cuddled in Jalen's lap tried to struggle out of his embrace.

The Sheriff was having none of it and continued to hold the young man, stroking
his back and the soft black curls.

The young outlaw sat stiffly under the ministrations of the older man and asked,
"Uhm…it's done now ain't it?"

Jalen said as he cuddled Brett to him, not quite, the punishment is over, yes,
but now there's the comfortin' part."

"Comfortin' part?" Brett asked a bit bemused, beginning to relax under the
soothing touch of the bigger man.

"Yes, haven't you ever been comforted after a spankin'?" Jalen asked curiously.
He himself had known no other way than that which Dallas had taught him. He had
grown up on the streets and had been beaten a few times when he he had been
caught stealing. His mother had been a whore and he was her illegitimate child.
He had lived at the madam's house until he was about ten when his mother died
and they kicked him out to fend for himself. He had heard bad things about the
orphanages and had hid from anyone he thought could take him there until he had
grown big enough to be taken for a grown young man and had worked ranches and
drifted until he had landed up at the Smoking K. There he met Dallas Kincaid and
his life changed.

Jalen shook himself mentally and placed his attention back on the young man he
held in his arms. He continued the soothing touch, pulled a clean handkerchief
out of his pocket and wiped the tears and then handed it to Brett to blow his
nose.

Brett took the handkerchief from Jalen and used it, then, not knowing what to do
with it, handed it back to the Sheriff.

Jalen smiled, taking it and tucked it away into a pocket to go into the laundry
later. He continued to talk to Brett and said, "I want you to know Brett that as
far as I'm concerned this is over and done with. You made a mistake, it's been
corrected and hopefully you'll make better choices in the future. I won't bring
it up again unless you do and need or want to talk more about it."

Brett listened to Jalen as he spoke to him. He felt safe and warm in the older
man's arms and strangely content. He liked to feel the vibration of his chest as
he spoke and the rumble of his voice. It had a calming effect on the young
outlaw.

Jalen smiled down at Brett as he saw the younger man relax more and said
quietly, "You've been forgiven for your transgressions. We can start new now."

Brett stirred himself a bit at these words. "We can?" He asked feeling some hope
inside that maybe…just maybe things would get better like Jalen had been telling
him.

"Yes. We can. We can start with you finishin' your writin' assignment after we
rest for a while."

Brett groaned inwardly at this announcement, but nodded. He was feeling sleepy
and instinctively cuddled closer to Jalen.

Jalen said, "Let's get you inside where you're goin' to be more comfortable."

Brett nodded and began to slide off the Sheriff's lap only to find himself
scooped up in strong arms and Jalen kicking open the woodshed door, striding
quickly to the back door of the jail. Brett reached out and opened the door and
Jalen carried him into the bedroom and gently laid him face down on the bed. He
quickly pulled off the young man's boots, britches and underpants. He then
gently pulled the sheet and quilt over him. "Stay put. I'll be right back."
Jalen said. He left the room going back outside.

*****

Brett let out a little squeak as he found himself being carried off and was
grateful when the Sheriff laid him face down on the bed and removed his clothes
and basically tucked him in. He snuggled down into the bed, hugging his pillow.

*****

Jalen went and closed the woodshed door that was standing open, checked on the
horses and retrieved his rifle. He came back inside, closing the back door, went
and replaced the rifle in the rack and stepped back into the bedroom. Being it
wasn't even noon yet, he knew anyone could come looking for him. He wanted to
continue to provide comfort to the young outlaw. He pulled off his own boots and
climbed onto the bed, still fully clothed and gently turning Brett onto his side
snuggled up close, fitting himself to the young outlaw's back. His bottom was
still quite warm and fit just in the right place and Jalen smiled. "Go to sleep
Brett." He told the younger man.

Brett without thought snuggled back into the warm hard body at his back and
murmured sleepily, "Yes Sir."

It didn't take long and the two slept spooned together.

TBC. . .