Page 36 of Christmas Secrets

“Cripes, ye brat,” he growled. “Ye are going to regret biting me.”

The next thing Ainsley knew, her backside exploded with pain and burning heat right through her jeans and long underwear. Not just once or twice, but several teeth gritting blows that were taking her dancing on the tips of her toes. “Stop it,” she ordered, the pain blazing through her defenseless posterior like a wildfire.

Dal didn’t miss a spank. “Not until ye apologize and mean it,” he snapped.

Ainsley’s smacked his hard thigh with her fists, the agonizing pain trying to steal her breath away, but her stubborn nature wouldn’t allow her to give in.

Yet.

“I can keep this up all night. Can ye take it that long, brat?” The full arm swats went on relentlessly.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” she finally blurted through her pain. “Now let me up.”

“Nay, ye aren’t sorry, ye just want me to stop. Ye haven’t learned yer lesson yet.”

“I apologized the other day and ye never accepted it,” she yelled. “Why should I apologize again?” She was having a hard time controlling the urge to burst into tears. She couldn’t let him win though.

He paused for a moment and rubbed his palm over her stinging buttocks. “I did accept it; I just didn’t intend to let ye treat me like a low-class worker and ye were the lady of the manor anymore. Ye are the one accusing me of things I didn’t do, and I’m tired of yer bratty attitude. Ye deserve a good hiding.”

When he began his merciless barrage again, Ainsley finally broke. “Dal, I’m sorry. Maybe ye didn’t know about the pool. If so, I’m truly sorry,” she squealed trying to hold back the tears. Her body wouldn’t cooperate and the sobs finally burst from her chest. “Please let me go.”

He pulled her up then and she tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “That’s better. I’m sorry ye were embarrassed by the pool, but I didn’t know anything about it.”

She nodded and kept her gaze down at his chest as the tears trickled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry if I was rude to ye. But I already have a boyfriend in Boston and I didn’t want ye to get any ideas.”

“So, ye really aren’t interested then,” Dal commented, still holding her arms.

She shook her head. “Nay, I’m not, but I didn’t have to be rude either, in spite of the pool. I just thought ye were in on it and playing me fer sport over the holidays.”

He lifted her chin with one finger and she finally gazed up at him. His expression was odd. A mixture of acceptance and regret? At least he didn’t look like his eyes were made of ice anymore.

“Then I’ll just bid ye a Merry Christmas, Ainsley, and good wishes fer ye and yer man. Since I missed the mistletoe in the house, this will have to do.” He dug in his pocket with one hand and held the sprig over her head and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. Then he laid it in her hand and closed her fist over it. “Goodbye, Ainsley.”

She watched him walk away with a lump in her throat. A chorus of feelings was racing through her. Of course it was goodbye, she had Thomas waiting for her. At least they had parted on good terms, right? Her lips still tingled where his mouth had touched hers. Thomas’s kisses had never left her tingling. Not anywhere on her body. Why was that?

Slowly she put her hat and coat on and then made her way back to the house. There weren’t too many people left, but she didn’t feel like talking to anyone. Her eyes swept the house for Dal but he must have gone straight to his truck and joined the caravan of vehicles headed out the fir-tree lined lane of Neamh.

As she passed Lucerne and Darro saying goodbye to guests, Lucerne touched her arm. “Are ye all right, Ainsley? Ye look upset.”

“I’m fine,” she assured her sister-in-law. Then she pulled away, completely missing the concerned looks Darro and Lucerne gave each other.

In her room she took off her coat and cap and lay down on the bed. She winced and turned to her side and tried to picture Thomas. He was waiting for her and it was only a few more days before she could return.

What was wrong with her then? She should be happy.

But she wasn’t.

***

“Yer sister looks likeshe’s been crying,” Lucerne remarked quietly to Darro after he closed the front door on their last guest.

Poppy and Angus were in the kitchen helping with clean-up. Jamie and Pauley had also gone back to the city ahead of the snow since Pauley was on Christmas Eve duty the next day.

The guests had pitched in and helped take down card tables to be returned to storage and gathered up what was left of the items they had brought. That took care of a lot of the food. Colorful paper plates had been used instead of China, so that clean-up had been easy.

The living room was back to a semblance of its normal order and Christmas music videos were softly playing on the big screen instead of sports.

Even the buffet table had been wiped down and put away, leaving only what was left in the kitchen to sort out.

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