Page 53 of Big Daddy Mountain Man

Her little joyride was over.

Sawyer thought he heard a scream but couldn’t be too sure.

He was working on top of a low mountain on his property, checking on the tree line, when the faint sound reached his ears.

He instantly ran to his Bronco, reached into the utility box he carried in the back, and found his binoculars. He then hurried to the edge of the mountain top and looked in the direction of the Collier place. From that high up, he had a good view of the cabin and surrounding valley.

“What the hell?”

He instantly saw the truck was out. Then, once the binoculars were pressed against his eyes, he saw a frantic, running Amber. The distance was too far for him to hear what she was yelling, but he could read lips.

Based on the words she was saying, she was scared.

He hurried to the Bronco, ready to save his babygirl.

“I need a hoe! Or a shovel!” Amber yelled as Sawyer jumped out of his vehicle and ran toward the porch where she was waiting.

“What?” he said. “Honey, are you?—”

“I need something like a rake or something from the barn!” she blurted out frantically. “There’s a snake in the truck! A snake!” She shuddered, rubbing her arms. “But I can’t go in the barn because I guess that’s where the snakes live! Shit!”

“You stay up here,” he said. “And don’t think about disobeying, because you’re in enough trouble as it is, little girl.”

She gulped at the news.

Watching from the porch, hugging Honey and Jazzie, she saw Sawyer run to the barn, emerge with a rake, and then go to the idling pickup.

Another scream found its way out as she saw the long serpent dangling from the end of the rake a moment later. She was shocked when, instead of stomping on the snake or killing it with a hoe or something, Sawyer jogged to where the trees began and released the creepy-crawly critter.

“He’ll come back! He’ll bite me in my sleep!” she protested.

He came back and leaned the rake against the house. “That snake was more afraid of you than you were him. Trust me. It’s a bull snake.” He shrugged. “They’re good to have around. They’ll keep the mice population down.”

“It was a rattlesnake!” she said.

He chuckled. “No. Like I said, a bull snake. No venom. He won’t do anything except hunt rodents.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“How did he get in the truck?”

“Just looking for a place to sleep. That old truck has so many holes in it. He probably slithered in through the engine.” Sawyer’s gaze narrowed. “But the bigger question is, why were you driving?”

Oh crap!Amber thought.Daddy was never supposed to know about that!

“Why was I driving?” she repeated dumbly, stalling for time.

“That’s the question.” His gaze was unrelenting.

“Well, I… just wanted to…” She hung her head and shrugged.

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Sawyer was on the porch swing with her pants and panties down and her body draped over his lap.

“Do you know why I’m spanking you, little girl?” he asked, his voice deep.

She momentarily felt at ease as his hand tenderly rubbed her bottom. But then she remembered what was going on: she was over his knee, exposed, awaiting her punishment.

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