Page 83 of Giddy Up, Daddy

Sam was half-owner of their spread, and had been since before they were married. It had been easier then, because he’d been the one in charge of all the business decisions. Charlie hadn’t liked it much, but she’d had to accept it.

The terms of her father’s will had changed that. Once Charlie got married, she became a full partner, with an equal say legally. And they didn’t always agree on how things should be done.

As her Daddy, he could still overrule her, but it was complicated. Juggling their D/s dynamic and their business relationship, and keeping both healthy, meant that he couldn’t just lay down the law all the time.

He still had the final say, but he didn’t like to use his veto without them talking things out first. He’d promised her that much when she went back to school. And she was learning a lot of new and useful things that could be applied to the ranch, so it was worth listening.

But too much change, too quickly, could throw everything out of balance. So when she wanted to rush ahead, he often had to hold her back. Moving slower, cautiously, when implementing new things was more his style.

Which is why, now and then, Charlie would go around him and present a situation after it was too late for him to do much about it. It didn’t always turn out badly, but that wasn’t the point. As his sub and wife, she shouldn’t be sneaking around him like that, and as his business partner… it was just plain rude.

It had been a while since she’d done something like that. He’d taken a switch to her after the last time, making his displeasure about being blindsided known. She’d felt it every time she sat down for a day or two after, but that didn’t mean it would never happen again.

It left Sam frazzled and worried about what she might have done this time.

Of course, for all he knew, it had nothing to do with the ranch at all. His gorgeous wife was perfectly capable of finding trouble pretty much anywhere she looked.

“Suppose you already considered putting her over your knee and spanking it out of her?” Nick’s mouth tilted up at one side, not quite a grin.

“Oh, believe me, I’ve thought about it.” Sam sighed. “I called her on it this morning, when I got tired of her acting shifty. And…”

“And?” Nick waited.

“She admitted to having a secret, but swears it’s nothing bad. It’s a ‘surprise’.” He used air quotes around the last word. Surprises were not his favorite things. “And it’s come down to whether or not I trust her.”

That was the part that had him gritting his teeth, because normally he would just spank her ass until she confessed, but he’d feel like an ass if he did that over something completely innocent.

“Ahhh. So, if you rush in all Domly and force a confession, you’ll show you don’t trust her, and she’ll be hurt. But if you don’t… you’re going to drive yourself nuts worrying about what she’s got cooking?”

“Yep.” That was basically the problem in a nutshell.

Before they could say anything else, two ranch hands strolled in through the open barn doors. One was pushing a wheelbarrow— soon to be full of soiled hay and manure. The other had a pitchfork slung over her shoulder as they went to clean out the stalls.

Seeing the foreman and the owner together, looking tense, their laughter and teasing trailed off. They went quiet, picking up the pace and getting the heck out of Dodge before whatever was going on had a chance to spill over onto them.

Smart.

Nick smirked and straightened. “We should take this to the office. Otherwise the work won’t get done, because they’ll all be hiding.”

Despite his mood, Sam had to laugh. He remembered what it was like, being a regular ranch hand and trying to stay out of the boss’s sight when it seemed like he was grouchy. “Fair enough.”

Nick led the way, which still felt weird to Sam. The office had been his domain for so many years. Turning it over to Nick and getting used to working up at the house had been an adjustment. He wasn’t entirely sure he preferred it, though there were a lot fewer interruptions.

He entered the small office just after Nick, and closed the door behind them. Out of habit he started to move around to the boss side of the desk. He stopped himself, snorted, and dropped into the guest seat instead.

“You know I don’t care which chair you sit in, right?” A grin tilted his mouth up at one side, having seen the sudden jerk and change of direction. “You’re still the boss anyway.”

“I’m the owner. It’s best if the hands are clear that you’re the one to listen to. I don’t want any confusion.”

Nick shrugged with his usual elegance and took his seat. He looked like a rough cowboy, but he’d always been uncommonly graceful in his movements, like some large predator. “If you say so.”

Sam had no interest in being led into a debate. He knew Nick couldn’t care less about protocol and formalities. But Nick was also new to being foreman, and didn’t yet grasp how complicated it could be when cowboys weren’t sure who to look to. He’d learn.

When Nick realized that Sam wasn’t going to reply, he swung his legs up on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and returned to the previous topic. “You know, we’ve got V-day coming up soon, and then your birthday after that. Maybe she’s just working on a present for you.”

The fact that Nick even knew his birthday was a shock. “I thought about that. It’s another reason not to push her to confess. I’m just going to have to wait and see how it plays out, but meantime… I’m stressed.”

“I can see that.” Nick started to say something and then stopped and shook his head. “So, this have anything to do with why you came down here to freeze your ass off, instead of staying home where it was warm like a sane man?”

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