Diamond S Ranch

21-A Really Long Weekend (part 2)

Jake sat down at the dinner table and first thing he noticed was Elle wasn't there.

"Where's Elle?" he asked.

"She said she wasn't hungry?" Jordan answered, "And after having dealt with her all day, I wasn't going to argue with her anymore." He simply stated as he continued to cut his pork chop and take a bite.

Jake's chair scraped across the wooden floor. No one asked where was he going, they didn't need to, they knew.

Her door to her room was open, "Elleana," he said as he walked in, "it's time to eat. You need to come down for dinner."

She was laying on her stomach across her bed and appeared to be drawing. He walked over and picked up a few of her discarded drawings.

"Did you draw these?" He asked as he held a drawing of a cat curled up by what Jake thought was the side of the barn.

"Yes,"

"I didn't know you could draw. These are really good." He said genuinely impressed, she really did apparently have a talent. He admired them for a moment, then laid the drawings back down on the bed.

"But it is time for dinner, so come on." He said.

"I'm not hungry." Elle said, not looking up and not moving.

"Well, fine but you can still come down and join your family for dinner. So, let's go."

Elle slowly rolled over and pushed herself to the edge of the bed and just sat there.

Jake attempting to keep his exasperation at a minimum, waited.

"Elle?" He finally said.

"It hurts to sit on that stupid bench." She finally said.

He gave a half smile as he reached down and helped her to her feet, "I know it does." He answered.

"It's supposed to hurt."

She looked up at him with her saddest eyes and asked, "Can I at least bring a pillow to sit on."

He chuckled, "No, that would defeat the purpose, now come on." He said as he led he towards the door.

She started walking, her feet dragging, her head hanging low, you would have thought she was on her way to the gallows, Jake shook his head in a slight amusement. "Come on now, no one has ever died from a spanking, or from having to sit on a hard bench from one." He said as they started down the hallway.

Elle somehow doubted it, if they haven't yet, she was sure tonight might be the first night it did happen and she was sure it was going to happen to her.

They arrived back down into the kitchen dining area to sounds of Gage and Zach arguing. Elle looked around the long table to find a place to sit, when Kaison called her over to the far side and had her join him. She cut a quick glance to find Jordan watching her as he was eating, she looked away and went to sit down. She really tried not to make a face as she lowered herself down but she still groaned when her tender butt made contact with that unyielding wooden bench. She swears she saw the corner of Jordan's mouth lift when she did it, she glared back, he ignored her.

"Fine Gage," she heard Zach say, "go ahead and ask Jake then."

"Ask Jake what?" Jake said as he slid into his seat at the head of the table.

"Some of the guys are..."

"No." Jake interrupted.

"You didn't even give me a chance to finish." Gage snapped back. Zach did not even try to hide his told-you-so smirk.