Chapter 16: The Test

Cade searched the records at the public library, mostly looking for newspaper articles published on or around the date June 30, 1978, which had been the date his father had been shot and killed. Cade hated asking for assistance, but he had no choice in the matter, because he was puzzled about how to find what he was looking for. The librarian assisted him. He learned that he could print out the articles he found, for a small fee. He felt the fee was well worth it and he promptly paid. He was able to search the records for all related articles about the shooting of his father, and he found his father's obituary. He didn't take time to read the material; he simply paid to have the articles printed so that he could take them with him.

Cade was anxious to get back home. He knew he had left Callie in the lurch and the farm was only about a two hour drive from the city. If he hurried, he could get back before the kids got out of school.

Cade enjoyed the scenic drive from the city, back to the farm, and he was able to clear his mind as he drove. He wanted to rid himself of the ugly images of his mother and the filth of the city. He tried to picture his mother living in the small town that he now lived near, but he found it difficult. The past with Dusty and Walt seemed like another lifetime, one that he could never fully understand or appreciate.

When Cade arrived home, Callie was inside waiting on the couch with tears in her eyes, and as soon as he entered the room she rushed into his arms. Cade embraced her firmly in his arms, "What's the matter babe?"

Callie couldn't bring herself to tell him about the ticket. She was afraid he would threaten to throw her out of the house again. She held onto him for dear life and continued to sob. Cade thought it was a bit much after awhile and it began to irritate him a little. That's when he glanced down and spotted the ticket lying on the couch. "What's this?" He released her and picked up the bright pink slip of paper that had been lying on the couch. He recognized a ticket when he saw one.

Callie backed away from him, "Don't be mad Cade. I was out of cigarettes and I-I d-didn't know when you were coming b-back and well I, um..."

Cade examined the ticket, "Driving without a license. Speeding," he saw that the ticket had been issued only a few hours earlier. "Jesus Callie," he sighed.

"The police officer wanted to tow the truck away and impound it, but I convinced him to let me drive it home," Callie explained proudly. She was attempting to redeem herself in any way possible.

Cade looked at her in disbelief.

"You left me here without any smokes," Callie explained. "I didn't know when you were coming back, if ever," she said looking down.

"You drove into town to buy cigarettes, and you got a ticket?" Cade was a bit shocked.

"Yeah," Callie said with pleading in her eyes. "I did."

"How did you get money for your cigarettes?" His mind was puzzling through all of the angles now.

She knew he was going to ask her that, "I um, well I pawned a couple of things."

Cade sighed. If he had not missed her as much as he had, he would have been angrier with her, but he had missed her and the kids terribly, even though he had only been gone one night, and there was a part of him that understood why she had done what she had done, but he wished she would have waited. "What did you pawn?"

She looked down, "There was a sterling silver picture frame and a gold locket I found in the basement, and I pawned those." She realized that lying to him at this point would be a bad move, so she felt it best just to tell him the truth, and hope for the best.

Cade made a mental note that he would need to go to the pawn shop and find out what it was she had pawned and decide if he wanted to pay to get the items back. He could tell she was terrified of him by the look in her eyes. He reached out to grab her once more and she flinched. "It's OK," he sighed and pulled her close, "I'm sure you have already figured out that I lost my job, but we'll figure out how to survive. We're not going to let Drake Pennington or anyone else step all over us."

She melted in his arms with relief, "Who is Drake Pennington?" She asked.

"I'll tell you later," he mused. "I'm not happy about the ticket," he said sternly and then they heard the kids running up the driveway from where the school bus had dropped them off. "We'll talk some more about it tomorrow when the kids aren't around."

"Daddy!" Jessica burst through the door and rushed into Cade's open arms as did Harley and Ashley. The kids weren't shy about showing affection toward him anymore and telling him that they had missed him. Their responses made him feel good inside.

"Where did you go?" Jessie's question came out sounding more like a demand than an inquiry.

"I had to go to the city to see about a few things," Cade explained. "I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye before I left, but I was in a hurry. I have some bad news; I lost my job. But don't worry, I'll find another one."

The kids didn't understand or care about his job, they were just happy to see him. They jumped up and down, hanging all over him. "I'm starving," he said looking up at Callie as he attempted to cope with the kids jumping on him.

Callie quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes and rushed into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Even though she knew he was not happy with her about the ticket, she was glad he was home. She lit a cigarette as she cooked dinner and after awhile he came into the kitchen and smiled as he watched her smoking. "You better enjoy that cig, considering everything you went through to get it," he cocked his eyebrows at her.

She swallowed nervously and her face went red.

Cade was exhausted, and after dinner he listened to Ashley and Harley read, and then he went upstairs and collapsed into bed. The next morning, the kids got up and went to school, and Cade and Callie were left alone. Callie knew that he was still upset about the ticket, and she paced back and forth anxiously in the kitchen while he ate his breakfast. Cade watched her pace as he finished eating and then he casually smoked a cigarette.

"What are you going to do to me?" She finally asked.

Cade didn't give her an answer, and that made her nervous. She was rattled as she cleaned the kitchen. Having Cade around was a new experience because she was used to him going to work almost every day. Cade looked outside the window at the sunshine and was glad to see the weather was warming up. "We should grow a garden," he suggested.

Callie shifted her weight from side to side, wishing he would just get it over with and punish her already. She knew he was upset with her.

"Come on," Cade finally said and he pulled her by the wrist out the back door. She stopped only long enough to put on her sweater and Cade put his arm around her as they walked out into the backyard together. The yard was more like a huge field, overgrown with weeds, than it was a yard. Cade had not taken a casual walk with Callie in a long time.

"I'm sorry about the ticket Cade," she lamented as they walked.

Cade nodded, "I know," and he led her through a grove of nearby trees and looked around. "I think the border of our property is over there," he said and she watched him examining the area for a property marker. She couldn't figure out why he was attempting to figure out where the property line was and she was beginning to wonder if perhaps he didn't intend to punish her after all. "Why are you looking for the property line?" She finally asked.

"I'm trying to figure out why anyone would want this land and how big the land actually is," Cade informed her. He had not told her about Drake Pennington and Pennington's role in his losing his job.

"Well if you don't mind, I want to go back up to the house and read," she said and she slowly turned around, as if to leave.

"Callie," Cade said, and she whirled around to face him. "Come here," he said.

She slowly edged her way over to him and looked warily up into his eyes. She sensed the time for her comeuppance was near. He glanced at the tree next to him. "Which branch do you want me to cut off?"

"What?" She pretended she had no idea what he was talking about.

Cade reached in his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife and cut off a small thin branch from the tree next to him. The branch was thin and flexible. "I like this one, now you pick one," he instructed and handed her the knife.

She frowned warily and cut off a branch about the same size as the one he had chosen, and then slowly handed it to him. He took his knife and shaved off the leaves and twigs from both branches, stripping them until they were smooth. "Let's go," he said and he took her by the arm, leading her to the garage.

"No Cade," she pleaded as he pushed her inside the garage. He pretended he hadn't heard her protest as he moved an old bench into the middle of the garage, making certain he had plenty of room on either side. He then instructed her to bend over and grab onto the end of the bench, and pull down her pants. He waited patiently, whipping the thin branches through the air to get feel for them. "C'mon, what are you waiting for?"

"No Cade," her voice caught in her throat.

"You drove the truck without knowing how to drive. You endangered your own life and the lives of the other drivers," he said in a stern tone. "I can't allow you to that. Plus you took property that didn't belong to you and pawned it for cigarette money and to top it off, you managed to get a ticket. I'm pretty sure the ticket is going to cost me plenty of money."

Callie looked down, "I know, but do you have to punish me?"

"Oh yeah," Cade said with a note of satisfaction.

"Those branches are going to hurt," she whined nervously, "Just like a switch."

"I'm sure you'll let me know if they hurt; one way or another." He nudged her forward, "C'mon, bend over and bare your bottom. I don't want to have to tell you again."

Callie thought she was going to die, but she felt there was no choice. She wiggled nervously out of her tight jeans and panties, and pushed them down to her knees with trembling hands. She hated this. She closed her eyes and swallowed as she gripped the bench. Cade took one of the thin branches firmly in his hand and brought it down with precision across the top of the back of her thighs. It made a swishing noise in the air and a solid thwack as it landed. WHOOSH! THWACK! She jumped from the sting. "Ouch!"

Cade nodded, "So what's the verdict, does it hurt?"

Tears stung her eyes, "Yes."

Cade proceeded to use the switch repeatedly, targeting the back of her upper thighs and her lower bottom. She jumped, winced, and screamed, as each stroke landed. He did not go easy on her.

"Don't you ever drive that truck again without having a driver's license, or without my permission," he warned. "I don't want you to ever put yourself in that kind of danger again, just for a lousy cigarette," he whipped her a few more times for emphasis. "And when I find out how much this ticket is going to cost, we might be doing this all over again."

She cringed and sobbed profusely. After awhile, the backs of her thighs and her bottom were raw from the stripes left from the wicked tree branch. The first branch didn't break, so he didn't have a need to use the second one. Callie whined and cried from the burning sting she felt in her bottom and upper thighs. "You didn't have to be so mean," she sobbed.

Cade broke the sticks into several different pieces and threw them away in the trash bin so that the kids wouldn't find them, and figure out what he had used them for. He then pulled Callie up into his arms and held her as she continued to rub her sore bottom and bawl. He planted a gentle kiss on her lips and then he reached down and yanked up her panties. She protested as they scraped across her swollen flesh, "It hurts."

"I know it does," he said, ignoring her protests and yanking up her tight jeans next. She screamed in agony. He then picked her gently up in his arms and carried her inside the house and up to their bedroom, placing her on the bed. He then pulled her pants off, along with her panties, and stripped off her shirt and bra. He watched her lying naked on the bed, sobbing and caressing her sore bottom with her hands. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you," he said quietly.