A BIG thank you to Islaboe for the help. The suggestions on a few things really helped the chapter flow better.
I also wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to review. It makes me feel really good about the story and it makes me want to write more.
DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I still do not own anything of Bonanza.
Warning: Spanking of minors in some chapters. Not your thing, skip it or leave now.
Sunday found Jennifer sitting in church, squirming to find a comfortable sitting position. The only reprieve she got was when Adam got tired of her squirming and sat her in his lap. After service, Adam got her outside, intent on scolding her but was cut short when they were approached by a beautiful lady.
"Good morning, Adam. What a lovely service this morning."
"Good morning, Miss Jones. I must agree, it was a strong message about respect and living by God's word."
Lily smiled and nodded towards Jennifer. "This must be Jennifer. Nice to meet you."
Jennifer smiled at the woman. "Good morning, Miss Jones. It is nice to meet you."
"Well aren't you sweet. I am excited for you to join my class tomorrow. I have heard great things about you."
Jennifer lost her smile and glared at Adam before turning her attention back to the teacher.
"Are you the teacher around here?"
"Yes, I am. You will do great and there are many kids to become friends with."
Jenny huffed. "We'll see about that. Nice meeting you." With that, she spun on her heel and stalked over to where Hoss was waiting with the buckboard.
Adam growled stared after her in disbelief. "I apologize, Miss Jones. That was uncalled for. I will make sure she comes to school tomorrow in a better mood."
"Don't be too upset, Adam. It is a normal reaction. She is just scared, being in a new town without knowing anobody. She will come around and do fine. Will you be bringing her in tomorrow?" Lily was hoping. She didn't get to see Adam near enough for her liking. She just hoped it wasn't obvious.
"Yes ma'am, I will. I will also be remaining in town tomorrow, in case any problems arise."
"Oh I am sure we will be just fine but Jennifer may feel better knowing you are close by. I must bid you good day. I need to ensure everything is ready for the new week. I hope to see you tomorrow."
"Enjoy your day, Miss Jones. We will see you in the morning." He smiled and tipped his hat before he walked away. He couldn't stop his heart from jumping into his, she sure was pretty. If only she felt the same way. Oh well, hr had other things to deal with. He turned and leveled a glare at his daughter. Signalling to his father that he was ready to leave, he headed to the buckboard.
Joe noticed the look on Adam's face first and sent a sympathetic look to his niece. Being on the recieving end of that look often enough, he knew no good came from it.
Adam pulled his daughter out of the wagon and landed a few hard swats before turning her to face him. "Jennifer Anne, you and I will be having a talk when we get home and you better have a good reason for being so disrespectful."
Jennifer nodded and turned away, trying to rub the sting out. She didn't want anyone to see the tears forming in her eyes.
Ben made his way to the wagon, noticing the looks on everyone's faces. Realizing it was best to wait until everyone had calmed down before finding out what happened, he climbed in the driver's seat and quietly set off for home.
Jenny was the first into the house, headed for the sanctuary of her room, hoping her daddy wouldn't follow just yet. She needed more time to sort things out in her mind. Looking out her window, she noticed Ben talking with Adam as they walked toward the house. She sat down on her bed to think about what had happened.
A knock on her door startled her.
"Want some company?"
Jennifer just nodded and scooted over so there would be extra room on the bed. She leaned in to the open arms and cried.
Hoss just rubbed her back and shushed softly. When she finally calmed down, he wiped her eyes gently and kissed her head.
"Feel better?"
"Yessir, some."
"Want to talk about it?"
Jenny nodded, knowing that she could talk to Hoss. He would listen without laughing or anything.
A short time later, Adam decided he was calm enough to go talk to Jennifer. Hoss grabbed Adam before he could make it into the house and pushed him towards the barn. Once the door closed, Adam faced his brother.
"Something on your mind, Hoss?"
"There is something about Little Miss that you need to hear before you go in there with both guns blazing."
Adam listened as his brother gave him the details of the talk Hoss had with Jenny. Adam inwardly sighed. He had a feeling there was a deeper issue his daughter had with school, he just never figured it would be that tough.
Adam growled. "If I ever get my hands on Crane, he will be begging to go to prison."
Hoss nodded. "I am with ya, Adam. That little girl was dealt an awful hand from that man. Best thing to remember, though, is she has all of us now to love and protect her. She won't have problems at school."
Adam shook his head
"Famous last words, Hoss." With that, Adam went to speak with Jenny.
Jennifer eyed Adam as he walked in and placed something on her dresser but she didn't much care about what it was, she was too busy watching him. Adam sat down and pulled her into his lap.
"Want to talk about it?"
Jenny shook her head. "What for? Bet you know all what I said. Uncle Hoss has a big mouth."
"Maybe, but it's something that needed to be told. I need to know when things bother you or make you uncomfortable so I can help. Grandpa, Uncle Hoss, Uncle Joe, and me; we all want to help."
Jenny sat quiet for awhile. Adam thought she had fallen asleep until she started talking.
"After Mama died, I tried getting people to believe me about what Crane did but everyone kept saying what a gentleman he was and I was just a little liar. When I went to school, the kids would all make fun of me and call me Liar the Crier. Lots of times they would throw things at me or do something bad and say I did it. The teacher would whip me with her switch for everything, she was always sore at me cause she's Crane's sister. I had to leave school one day when I got in a fight with Sean, that's the teacher's son. The teacher told everyone I was dangerous and bad and I should be locked up somewhere."
"Did your Grandpa do anything about it?"
"No, cause everytime I was in trouble the teacher would tell him a big story about something I did to earn it. One time, grandpa talked to the teacher and she said that I tried to push a kid down the outhouse hole and tied the door shut so he couldn't get out."
"Why would your grandpa believe those things the teacher said?"
Jennifer squirmed and played with her hands. "Cause I wasn't really nice to anyone then. I got in lots of trouble at home too. That's how come I got sent out here. Grandpa said I was too much to handle anymore and needed a change."
Adam just sat in shock. He had a hard time believing that people could be so cruel to a kid, his kid. She may be a handful but she had a good heart.
He hugged her tight. "I am sorry that happened but I promise you it won't happen here. For one thing, nobody knows about what happened but us. This is a fresh start for you and it will be a lot better here. You will see. You won't have any problems, but if you do, Miss Jones will take care of it."
Jennifer didn't believe him at all but didn't have another argument.
Noticing that she stayed quiet, he turned to the reason that sparked today's discussion.
"Regardless of your reasoning, your attitude towards Miss Jones today was unacceptable. It was extremely rude and you know better."
Jennifer refused to meet his eyes. She felt fully justified in her attitude, although her "we'll see about that" comment could have been a little over the top.
Realizing she wasn't going to say anything, he continued.
"Regardless of your feelings, you need to be respectful to adults, even if you don't agree with them. You can come to us for anything, but you need to speak in a respectful manner."
Jennifer nodded and looked up at Adam. "Are you going to spank me?"
Adam had given that a lot of thought to her punishment, even talked with Ben over it.
Not this time. What you will do is write a letter apologizing to MIss Jones for your attitude and you will be going to bed after dinner every night this week. Do you understand?"
Jenny nodded, relieved for the reprieve. She wasn't sure she could handle another spanking after last night, the smack from earlier only suceeded in igniting the burn. She was figuring out what Adam didn't like. Running off, jokes, and disrespect were major no-no's. She still had no intention of going to school but now was not the time to bring it up.
Adam stood up to leave. You get started on that letter, I brought you a pencil and some paper." Adam motioned to her dresser. "You will be going to bed after dinner so make sure that letter is done before then. I will be reading it before you take it to her tomorrow to ensure it is proper. If this happens again, you will not be sitting comfortably for awhile."
With that, Adam kissed her head and walked out.
Jenny got started on the letter, she would write what she was supposed to, that wouldn't take long. She could use the extra time to figure out the best way to not go to school without getting in trouble.
Author's Note: Up next: Jennifer's first day of school!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review. All comments and suggestions are taken into account. If anyone has any ideas they think would make the story better, I am all for it, any help is appreciated. I really appreciate you all taking the time out to let me know how it is going.