Claimed by the Mountain Man (6 page)

“You’re right about that,” he said sharply. “I would have taught you how to shoot it first. How dare you lie about that? You could have gotten yourself killed.”

Her eyes welled up with tears. She looked so pitiful that he had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her. No, she wouldn’t be getting any comfort from him until he’d dressed her down, up, and sideways. He stood and walked a short distance away, gathering his thoughts, and then walked back and stood in front of her with his hands on his hips. Her blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears, which he imagined would be streaking down her face in good time.

“I’m going to ask you again. When was the last time you ate before now? Tell the truth this time.”

She wrung her hands. “I found some gooseberries yesterday, but other than that, I haven’t been able to find anything.” She nibbled on her bottom lip before continuing. “I almost shot a squirrel today, but it was too fast.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “A squirrel? You tried to shoot a squirrel with a musket? Nettie, that gun would blow apart something as small as that.”

“Oh,” she said, looking down.

Jack shook his head slowly. “Unbelievable.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling. “I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself. I feel so… useless.” Her voice trembled.

“Don’t you dare feel sorry for yourself,” he said, raising his voice. “That serves no purpose out here. You’re not useless. You are, however, foolish and dishonest, which I intend to deal with.”

She swiped at her tears and sniffled again. “I can’t remember anything ever hurting as much as the spanking you gave me. I don’t want another one.”

“No, I don’t reckon you do, but that’s what you deserve and it’s my duty to see it through. And you know, I can think of a few things that would hurt more than a spanking. Accidentally shooting yourself, for one.”

She peered up at him. “Why do you feel it’s your duty? I’m not your child to correct.”

“No, you’re a woman who found herself in need of a man’s help. I’ll give it to you, but under the condition that you mind me. There are consequences for doing otherwise.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” she said in a wail of despair.

He pointed a finger at her face. “I didn’t say that. I said you were in need of it, not that you asked for it.”

“Trapper Jack, isn’t it punishment enough that I went hungry for three days?”

“You’re barking at a knot, Nettie.” He rubbed his beard along his jaw. “It’s been my experience that there’s nothing like a spanking to correct bad behavior. Do you think you’ll steal from me again?”

She shook her head emphatically. “No.”

“If I hadn’t found and punished you, do you think you’d still be stealing?”

“Probably, but I-I don’t think it’s fear of punishment that would keep me from stealing now. I just…” She looked down and let out a shuddering breath.

“Just what, Nettie?”

“I just want you to like me.”

Well, damn.
He needed to get this over with before he changed his mind. That last statement almost made him lose his resolve. With a sigh, he sat down and took her arm to guide her over his lap. She didn’t resist. When he had her situated, he wrapped a hand around her slender waist to hold her in position and settled his hand on her trouser-clad bottom. He really didn’t want to punish her and wondered if he should let her off the hook. Then he thought about how she’d lied to him about knowing how to use a gun and resolved once again to go through with it.

“I like you quite a bit, Nettie. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. That’s why I’m going to give your britches a dusting.”

She shifted on his lap. “I thought you didn’t like people though.”

He brought his hand down on her rump, without much force. “I don’t like most people. I don’t like cruel people. Are you cruel?”

“N-no. I try to be nice. Trouble is, people aren’t nice to me.” She let out a pathetic whimper.

He smacked her bottom a little harder. “There you go feeling sorry for yourself again. Haven’t I been nice to you?” He rested his hand on her seat as he waited for an answer.

“Yeah, and I’m mighty grateful. But you’re not being very nice right now.”

He scoffed and gave her another swat. “I beg to differ. This is very nice of me. I’m making sure you don’t put yourself at risk again. You think I’d bother disciplining you if I didn’t care?”

He didn’t wait for her answer. He proceeded to give her ten firm swats over her trousers. The more he thought about how she could have killed herself with his gun, the harder he smacked. She yelped at the fifth and squirmed throughout the rest.

“Are you going to lie to me again, Nettie?” He gave her another hard swat to punctuate his question.

“No, Trapper Jack.”

“Good.” He moved his hands to the place where her bottom and thighs met and gave her two sharp swats on each side. “I’m growing quite fond of you. So much so that if you do anything to put yourself in danger again, I’ll take a switch to you.”

She gasped at that piece of information. He gathered a fistful of her short hair in his hand, lifted her head, and pointed it in the direction of a tree. “See that tree over there, the one with yellow leaves?”

“Y-yes.”

“I’ll make you go cut a switch from it and I’ll wear it out on your bare backside. That’ll leave welts and stripes. You want me to do that to you, woman?”

“No!”

“Then you listen to what I say and think twice about lying in the future. Got it?”

“Yes.” She squirmed. He released her hair and let her slide off his lap.

She stood and pouted at him. “Your hand hurts bad enough,” she remarked, rubbing her bottom.

Jack scoffed. “You’re lucky I don’t have time to keep spanking you. I don’t want to waste daylight. It seems I need to teach you how to use that gun, and I also brought you a trap and a fishing rod that I’ll need to show you how to use before I leave.”

Her frown slowly morphed into a smile. “Thanks, Trapper Jack. You believe I can survive out here on my own, don’t you?”

“That remains to be seen, but with the proper supplies, you’ll at least have a chance. There’s lots of fish in that river, so you shouldn’t have to go a day without food.” Jack grabbed the fishing rod. “Come along.” She followed behind him as he maneuvered his way around the brush to the river.

“I brought some flies made from fur and feathers for you to use as bait.” He showed her how to hook them and then threw the line into the river, let it bob at the surface for a moment, then pulled back and recast it near the same spot to mimic a flying insect’s movements. “You try,” he said, and handed the rod to her.

She cast the line awkwardly the first few times, but then she seemed to get the hang of it.

“That’s good. Now when you feel a pull, give the line a good jerk to hook the fish. I’m hoping they’re biting so I can show you how to scale and gut one.”

Nettie fished for some time, and Jack sat nearby observing her and giving tips every once in a while. They spoke easily. Jack admitted to himself that he was starting to have feelings for the plucky little woman. His resolve to get her safely to his cabin was stronger than ever. He didn’t like that he would be leaving her soon to fend for herself once again.

He felt a little better when she caught a perch that was a good size. He demonstrated how to scale it using the knife he’d given her. Placing the fish on a flat rock, he began the task.

“Keep the strokes short and quick,” he instructed. “Avoid pressing too hard and gashing it.” After he’d finished one side, he flipped the fish around and handed her the knife. “Let’s see what you can do.”

Nettie took hold of the knife in her small hands and went about scaling it. Although her movements were far from expert, they were sufficient to complete the task. He felt confident that she would be able to carry it out without his assistance.

“Now for the fun part,” he said, taking the knife from her. “Watch carefully, since I can only show you once and you won’t have a chance to practice.” He held the perch’s head in his left hand and sliced along the bottom, splitting the fish to the base of the gills. He reached inside the fish and pulled out the entrails, which he tossed back into the river. Jack glanced at Nettie, expecting to see a look of disgust on her face, but he only read concentration and interest.
Good girl
, he thought to himself.

In the late afternoon, they sat next to each other by a fire Nettie prepared, which they’d used to cook the fish. She seemed elated when he complimented her on how perfectly she’d arranged the fire pit. Jack swallowed his last bite of perch. “Two more things I need to show you before I leave, and that’s how to set the trap and handle the gun.”

She nodded and stood. He found a place near some rabbit burrows and set the wooden box near them. “Rabbits aren’t picky eaters, and this trap’ll work since it’ll seem like a burrow to a rabbit.” He made a small trail of berries, which he ended at the far corner of the trap. He lifted the door and secured the lever. “That’s all that needs doing. You already know how to skin one.”

Nettie nodded. “I don’t know how to kill it though,” she said with furrowed brow.

“I wish I could show you.” He explained how he did it with the hope that Nettie would be able to carry out the task alone. “Once you trap it, the difficult part is over. Make the death as swift as you can, but it won’t be perfect every time. You’ll learn.”

Next Jack led the way to a clearing, where he set up some sticks and leaves as targets. Situating themselves a good distance away, he tore a cartridge open with his teeth, then spat out the piece that had been torn. As he poured the gunpowder and bullet into the barrel, he shook his head. “This is a lot to learn in one day, Nettie.” He drew out the gun’s rammer.

“I already know how to load the gun, though, Trapper Jack,” she assured him. “I watched my husband do it a thousand times.”

This didn’t provide Jack with much relief. He grunted. “Watching and doing are two different things.”

“Yes, but you heard me shoot it earlier. I obviously loaded it right.”

“True.” Jack rammed the cartridge into the base of the barrel. After drawing the rammer out and clicking it back in place, he handed the loaded gun to Nettie. “Prime the cap only after you’re ready to shoot.”

Nettie nodded and flicked it. Jack took in a sharp breath, nervous that the inexperienced woman was holding such a big, loaded weapon in her small hands.

He helped her position the butt of the gun against her shoulder and moved her arms and hands into the right position. “Are you looking through the sight?” he asked, noticing that she’d closed one eye.

“Yep,” she said.

“Good. How it is now, you can aim for animals that are within a hundred yards, like your target there.” Jack reached out and flipped up a leaf. “That sight is for firing at a distance of three hundred yards,” he explained, then flipped up the other leaf. “And that’s for five hundred yards. Understand?”

She nodded.

He turned both leaves down again and told her to go ahead and shoot. She did, and hit the edge of the target. The kickback no doubt bruised her shoulder, but she made no complaints.

“Good,” he said.

She looked over and beamed at him, clearly happy about his praise.

He frowned at her. “It’ll be harder when the target is moving, Nettie.”

Her smile disappeared and she nodded solemnly. She carefully placed the butt of the rifle onto the ground and grasped the barrel. “I understand, Trapper Jack.”

He reached out and pushed aside some of her tangled red hair from her face. She looked pale and fragile, and he hated to leave her. “I need to go now if I’m going to get back before dark. I want you to come with me. I can keep teaching you things if I have you near to where I work and trap.”

Her posture became noticeably stiffer. “I’ll be fine on my own now, Trapper Jack. I ain’t afraid, and you don’t need to come again to teach me things.”

He scowled. “There’s more to learn. A lot more.”

“I can teach myself. Did you have someone showing you how to do everything when you first moved out here?”

“No, but I’m a man. As a boy I learned these things from my pa growing up. I reckon you learned about sewing and cooking growing up.”

He could tell by the way she set her jaw and avoided eye contact that he was right about her education growing up. Frustration built again. This woman sent his heart racing for multiple reasons. Again he resisted the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to his cabin. Tying her to the bed didn’t seem like a bad idea either.

Instead, he sighed. “I’ll be going then, Nettie.”

Her expression softened. “Goodbye, Trapper Jack. Thanks for coming. I’m real grateful.”

Jack called out to Cager, and his faithful canine companion bounded out from the trees and trotted by his side as he journeyed home.

Chapter Six: On Her Own

Nettie thought about her day with Trapper Jack. He was a brute who didn’t hesitate to light her bottom on fire, but it was obvious he genuinely cared about her. She was sorry to see him go and felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. She brushed that feeling aside when she realized that Jack probably would return before not too long. He would check to make sure she was doing all right. Why he felt compelled to do so, she didn’t know. It confused her. She’d stolen from him and had offered nothing in the way of physical repayment.

A thought struck her then. What if Trapper Jack didn’t find her attractive enough to want her physical attentions? It was a vain concern that took her by surprise, since she hadn’t worried about her looks for months. Her concern about the sheen of her hair and the softness of her skin had waned as her concern about when and what she would eat grew. In that moment, however, it felt very important to her that Trapper Jack find her attractive.

She ran her fingers through her short hair that she’d sheared off before escaping to the woods. It was impractical to carry a hairbrush along to maintain it, so she’d easily made the decision to cut it, even though her hair had been one of her finest features. It had been long and wavy down to her waist. The color was something men seemed to love, since it set her apart from other women. She felt regretful that Trapper Jack wouldn’t see her looking her best.