Then as if I hadn't been shocked enough already, Barbara declared, "so Dan, there is Just Ted to spank you now and then your punishment will be over"...."What!", I screamed. Even Ted looked confused. "Yes, I think that's only fair and I think that you should thank Ted for every smack on your bottom", said Janet. With less enthusiasm than the girl's had shown Ted sat down on the chair just vacated by Barbara and said to her, "is this what you want baby?". "Ooh yes, this is going to be delicious",. We next hauled on the rope and soon had my wife hanging upsidedown like a carcass in an abatoir, suspended from the iron loop which I'd installed on the ceiling.Barry opened the bag which he'd brought with him. He took out a short handled leather lash which had twelve thin leather strips of about 18" length. I noticed a glint of shiny metal at the ends of the leather strips, and taking a closer look I noticed that a couple of small, barbed, fish hooks had been pushed through the ends of each of. I'm liable to shoot you now just because it's bad luck to let you hang around me after I've already given you two warning shots." That will be fine with me. I never asked to come up here and work for nothing anyway. I'll miss the horses though. You've got some nice horses." At least the boy recognized good horse flesh when he saw it. Gardner's Ranch had the best horses for a hundred miles around."Which one you figure's the best of the herd?" Hell, I wanted to find out if he knew what he was. "I do know," he said, softly. "You have to wall out the hopes that things could ever be better. Because if you didn't, the longing could tear you apart."She nodded against his chest. "Oh, Scott," was all she said, and her fingers kneaded the flesh of his sides as she let out a long sigh that trembled just a little. He shut his eyes tight, because if he remained able to feel her warmth and softness in his arms, and to smell the delicate scent of her skin, almost close enough to taste, and to see.