Hello my pretties. I know it's been FAR too long since I've written anything. My Muse has returned for now and has a good sense of humor as she apparently wants me to write about a show that almost no one has ever heard of and ran for only two seasons in the late 60's. HA! So, if you don't know this show, you can find it on INSPD on Sundays or YouTube every day.

If you are new to my writing, fair warning: Someone WILL BE SPANKED (this time a 15-year-old boy). There's nothing you can do or say to stop this. If you don't like, don't read. This is my one and only warning. If you have read my writing before, you know I'm going to make you work for it. The spanking is coming, I promise.

Ch. 1

The skies had finally cleared after a week of heavy rains. Jason Bolt, who had necessarily delayed his sales trip to Port Angeles, was doling out his last-minute orders to his youngest brother, Jeremy, while their middle brother, Joshua, prepared for his own sales trip to Tacoma.

"You shouldn't have any problems while we're away. The men are filling a regular order; they know what to do. As for you, get to school on time, do your homework and chores, and we'll be back before the end of the week," Jason gently admonished as he fondly clapped Jeremy's shoulder.

Jason and Joshua, who had always staggered their trips away in the past, had finally decided Jeremy was old enough to stay home alone for several days. At the ripe old age of 15, Jeremy felt more than ready. "I already do the majority of the cooking and cleaning around here, and I go days without seeing either of you when there's a lot of work at the camp," he had argued when Jason balked at leaving him alone.

This was not, strictly speaking, true since one or the other of his older brothers would come down from camp to stay in town at least every other night during the school year. And Jeremy spent every Saturday up at the camp working alongside his brothers and learning the business of logging. And Sundays after church they all did chores around the house or went fishing or hunting together. Jason, however, made it clear Jeremy's priority was to be his schoolwork, so until Summer break started this was the schedule the family kept. Jason had only agreed to leaving him alone for such an extended time after Lottie, the local saloon owner and good friend of the family, agreed to check in on Jeremy while they were away.

As for school Jeremy didn't mind it much. His grades were decent, he had a few good friends, and the teacher was nice enough. When he was younger, and after his stutter began, school had been a nightmare. The other kids teased him when Joshua had not been around to defend him. The worst of it though was the school's teacher that year had been a martinet. Mr. Wilson had been determined to humiliate and beat the stutter out of Jeremy. He never said a word to anyone about this, thinking he somehow deserved what he was getting.

It was Joshua who had let their father know what was happening during the school day. Their father quickly confronted the schoolboard over their choice of teacher and refused to allow either of his school age children to return until Mr. Wilson was replaced. During the month they waited for a new teacher to be brought in, Jeremy's brothers took turns teaching him how to fight. He became stronger and more confident. While the stammer remained, it didn't seem quite as prominent by the time Miss Boyd took over at the school.

Sheepishly, Jeremy answered, "I'll be f-fine, Jason. I'll take care of everything." Then teasingly added, "You just mind yourself in Port Angeles. Don't d-drink too much and gamble all your m-money away."

It was Jason's turn to look sheepish as this was exactly the mistake he had made on his last sales trip. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" He asked as he playfully wrapped one arm around his brother's shoulders and jabbed him in the most ticklish part of his ribs with the other hand.

Jeremy, laughing and side-stepping out of the way, answered, "What do you think?"

Any further rough housing was interrupted by Joshua striding in from outside, "I've got the horses ready, Jason." Then, turning concerned eyes on Jeremy asked, "Are you sure leaving him here alone is a good idea?"

Jeremy hated being talked about like he was not even in the room. He was gathering his thoughts and courage to reply when Jason's calm, but authoritative, voice cut in, "Now Josh, we've been over this. Jeremy is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He's a responsible young man. He'll be just fine. Probably won't even notice we're gone."

Jeremy gazed up at Jason gratefully, then shot Joshua a defiant look.

Joshua still did not look convinced as he looked from one brother to the other. It was difficult to let go of his protective instincts where Jeremy was concerned. How many fist fights had he gotten into over the years defending Jeremy against bullies? He'd lost track. Then again, since Joshua had finished school, Jeremy had been holding his own just fine. Joshua broke into a grin, clapped Jeremy on the back, and chuckled, "You're right. You'll do great, Jeremy."

The three brothers headed out the door together, any thought of hard feelings now forgotten. There was another quick round of handshaking, backslapping and well-wishes before they each headed off toward their own destinations.

As Jeremy walked toward the schoolhouse, he listened to his brothers' horses clopping into the distance. It was a gloriously rare sunny May day in Seattle. Jeremy was excited for school to let out for the summer in only three weeks when he would be working full-time with his brothers. Logging was hard work, but spending time with his family working was always better than school.

Besides, this was the first year Jeremy was saving up for something special. Two years ago Jason had brought home a new horse for himself. It had won many high-stakes races in its younger days, but was now retired, and Jason had managed to win it in a game of cards. At 8-years-old it was still a powerful horse, and Jeremy had been immediately been taken with the animal. After two years of Jeremy voluntarily taking care of Jason's horse and learning how to ride the high-strung beast, his oldest brother had finally decided to get himself a new horse and give Thunder to Jeremy. Sure, the horse was a bit older now and not quite as wild as he had once been, but Thunder still held a great deal of power. Most horses Jeremy could ride bare-back, but not this animal, and he was tired of always having to borrow his brothers' saddles. Jeremy figured he should have saved enough for a new saddle of his own by the end of June.

Approaching the tiny schoolhouse, Jeremy sighed. It seemed like a waste to spend such a nice day inside. Not for the first time he envied his brothers' freedom, especially when they left for one of their trips. Someday, he thought, I'll get to go on sales trips of my own. Rolling his eyes, he added to himself, 'If they ever stop treating me like a baby.'

It was early yet, so he decided to wander down to the water's edge to see if there was anything interesting happening. Five minutes later found him alone on a secluded beach tossing pebbles into the water and dreaming of faraway adventures.

Jeremy soon wished, however, that he had paid better attention to his surroundings. Caleb Caron, the biggest, dumbest, meanest boy in school lumbered up behind him, one fist balled and beating a menacing rhythm into the palm of his other hand. Worse yet, following close behind were a couple of smaller, though still larger than Jeremy, boys Caleb had somehow recruited as friends. No, thought Jeremy, not friends…Lackies! Yes, that was the word for them.

"If it isn't J-J-J-Jeremy," Caleb sneered while the other two guffawed at what they clearly thought was a very clever joke. "Where's your big brothers, J-J-Jeremy? No one around to protect you?"

Jeremy turned his back on the trio and tossed another rock into The Sound. He knew he could take Caleb alone. He'd had to prove this more than once. However, he wasn't sure how well he would come out if all three fought him at once. "What do you want, Caleb?" Jeremy demanded. He tensed anticipating the inevitable blow from behind. It came as barely a warning shove, but it was enough. Jeremy whirled around to face his assailant; fists clenched. But as he cocked his arm, a sudden voice from the left halted his punch.

"Three against one? Doesn't seem sporting," challenged Adam Divins, another boy from school. He was a couple of years older than Jeremy and had been closer to Joshua until he had finished school. Adam was in his final year now, and Jeremy noticed he seemed to have taken up the big brother role since Joshua wasn't around as much anymore. Adam wasn't as bossy as his brothers, but he was always up for a good fight.

Jeremy didn't take his eyes off Caleb as he called out, "I can take care of this, Adam," but the relief was evident in his tone.

Adam chuckled, "I know you can. I'm just here to make sure it's a fair fight." Ambling up behind the two smaller boys, he clapped each on a shoulder. "I'll take these two," he glared at them pointedly as they looked timidly up at Adam hovering head and shoulders above them.

In the distance they could hear the school bell tolling the five-minute warning to the start of the school day.

Jabbing a grubby finger into Jeremy's chest, Caleb threatened, "We'll finish this later!" Then to his cronies, "C'mon, let's go."

As the three bullies retreated toward the school, Jeremy called after them, "Sure, Caleb. Whenever you're ready." Then grinning up at Adam, "Thanks for the help! Hey, we b-better get m-moving too." And he headed toward town.

To Jeremy's surprise, Adam remained rooted on the shore. He looked back at the older boy with concern and was confused to see a broad grin cross Adam's face. "It's too nice to go to school. I know a great fishing spot. Why don't you come with me?"

Jeremy shuffled his feet and bit his lip. Ditch school? He'd never ditched before, mostly because he knew Jason would kill him if he did. But it was the first nice day they'd had in months. His brothers would never find out. But it was wrong. But he really wanted to. But he shouldn't.

Adam watched his young friend fight this internal battle, and when he sensed he was about to lose his would-be fishing companion, added, "Jason and Josh get to take a break now and then. Why shouldn't you? Look, in three more weeks school lets out, then it's three months of hard labor up at the camp before you go right back to school. No fun sales trips for you! Just work, work, work. You deserve to take a break now and then. Just one day." He could tell he was winning Jeremy over, so he tossed in his final argument, "Who will know? You have all week to make up the work before your brothers get home."

That did it. Jeremy was convinced. Besides, the final bell was ringing. If he went to school now, he'd be late, and didn't Jason just warn him this morning to get to school on time? That wasn't even a possibility now. May as well get a good start tomorrow after a relaxing day of fishing. Jeremy broke into a mischievous grin and nodded his assent.

The boys decided to meet up at a nearby lake after running home for their fishing gear. Jeremy took a well-worn path through the woods that would take him to the lake. On the way he was nudged with guilty thoughts: 'I promised Jason I would go to school. If he finds out, he'll never trust me again.' Then Adam's voice reminded him: 'He'll never find out.' Then another guilty thought: 'Do I really never get a break? Jason and Josh always make sure I have time to relax with my friends, even in the summer.' Then Adam: 'It's just one day. You'll have time to make up the work.'

And then he was at the lake. Adam was already baiting his line. Jeremy hurried over, got his gear set up, and didn't think again about guilt or consequences. The sun was warm on his skin and the fish were biting. What was there to worry about?

The day passed quickly, and by the time the boys parted for their homes, the sun was already starting to set. While they fished, they had come up with a story to explain their absence to Miss Boyd. They knew Caleb had probably told her they weren't sick, so they decided to tell her that Adam's parents had needed help on their farm after the cows kicked down the fence. They would tell her that after retrieving and securing the cows, they spent the rest of the day mending the fence. It was a plausible enough story. Things like this happened all the time, right?

Both boys knew Jeremy would never be able to convince anyone of this. He was a terrible liar. So, Adam agreed to do the talking, and Jeremy would just have to work on maintaining eye contact. Even the thought of this made Jeremy a bit queasy, but he would have to try.

As he wound his way back through the woods toward the family cabin, he considered how he would prepare his trout. He was starving, not having eaten more than a few berries they'd scavenged on the shore of the lake since breakfast.

Ambling purposefully the last few yards to the cabin, Jeremy froze. There was a dim light emanating from the windows and smoke billowing from the chimney. With a gulp, he walked on silent feet toward the front door. Depositing his gear and fish on the porch and grabbing a nearby axe, he slowly inched open the door.

Peering inside, Jeremy was horrified to find Jason sitting at the table talking with Miss Boyd. He was tempted to slam the door and run back into the woods, but at that moment Jason looked up and notice the young man skulking just outside.

"Jeremy," Jason resolutely declared, "You're just in time to explain why you weren't in school today."

Jeremy gulped, walked inside and assessed the situation before him. Both adults were observing him with mild but expectant expressions. They would believe him if he stuck to the story he and Adam created. But could he be convincing? Eye contact! That was the key. OK…the story…What was the story? Jeremy was already breathing heavily, and he hadn't even opened his mouth yet.

The look of panic on his younger brother's face alarmed Jason. He stood quickly and went to him, "Easy now, Jeremy." Placing one hand on a shoulder, he reached down and pried the axe out of his brother's hand. "Easy," he directed again with a gentle shake of the shoulder he had ahold of. He waited until his breathing slowed a bit, then continued, "Now, what happened, Jeremy?"

This was it. Jeremy had to decide which way to go with his explanation. Even as he started to talk, he wasn't sure what he was going to say, "J-J-Jason, I, th-th-that is t-to say, Adam and I…" He suddenly remembered the plan to make eye contact and raised his lowered eyes up to Jason's, and immediately regretted this decision. Telling the lie was now completely out of the question. Somehow this was a relief. Jeremy took a deep breath and started again more slowly, "I s-skipped school and went fishing with Adam instead. I th-thought I would b-be able to make up the work before you got b-back." And dropping his eyes to the floor, concluded, "I'm sorry, Jason."

Jason stood at his full height, arms crossed, considering his youngest brother's words. He wasn't happy about Jeremy's decision to skip school, but he hadn't lied about it at least. And hadn't he, Jason, skipped school often enough when he was Jeremy's age? Especially on days like this. And when their father had caught him, he had tried to talk his way out of punishment. It was a testament to Jeremy's character that he had simply told the truth. With a heavy sigh, he ushered the young man to the table and gestured for him to sit next to Miss Boyd.

With an embarrassed nod to his teacher, Jeremy apologized, "I'm sorry for skipping s-school today, Miss Boyd."

The pretty young teacher asserted, "While I am disappointed in you, Jeremy, the truth is you do more harm to yourself than to me when you miss out on school."

Jeremy couldn't hold her gaze and dropped his eyes to the table as he mumbled, "Yes, ma'am."

Jason had taken a seat across the table from the young man, "Well, Jeremy, what do you think we should do about this?"

For his part Jeremy had no idea how to answer that. He simply folded his hands in his lap and kept his eyes on the table in front of Jason.

It was Miss Boyd who offered up, "May I suggest Jeremy spend an hour after school every day until he makes up the work he missed today?"

"Jeremy?" Jason questioned.

The young man nodded his head, "Th-that seems f-fair."

"Then it's settled." Jason concluded, "You'll stay after school every day until you're caught up. And Jeremy," he waited for eye contact, "Until I get confirmation from Miss Boyd that you've completed everything, you're grounded. You'll come directly home from school, do any extra chores I give you, and be in bed an hour early."

Jeremy took this all in and nodded his understanding. It was honestly less than he thought he deserved.

Rising from her seat, Miss Boyd stated, "I'll see you tomorrow, Jeremy." Then, smiling warmly at Jason, "Walk me out?"

Jason, who had risen with the attractive teacher, offered his arm. As she took it, he led the way out the door and onto the porch, "It was a pleasure seeing you this evening, Miss Boyd. I hope the next time will be under more pleasant circumstances."

Closing the door behind them, she quietly offered, "You know, Mr. Bolt, you're very good with him. He's a good boy generally, but he has his moments of impetuousness. It's not every man who would have the patience you show him."

"Ah, you flatter me, Miss Boyd. I'm lucky to have a brother like Jeremy. I'm afraid I was much more rambunctious at his age." Jason laughed.

Miss Boyd giggled, "Were you now? Well, I hope your father was as understanding with you as you are with Jeremy."

"Understanding?" Jason raised an eyebrow in thought, then answered, "Yes, he seemed to always know what I needed. But Jeremy is perhaps more…" he took a moment to consider the right word, "…sensitive than I at that age. I find a heavy hand, like the one our father used with me at times, makes Jeremy shut everyone out, and when he's isolated, he thinks too much, and his thoughts can become very dark."

"Well, Mr. Bolt, it sounds to me like your entire family is quite blessed. I'll bid you a good evening now as I plan to have an early conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Divins tomorrow. I expect Jeremy will not be spending his time after school alone.

"A good evening to you then," Jason watched as Miss Boyd walked out of sight before he headed back to the cabin. He grabbed up Jeremy's fish before he went inside.

Chapter 2 coming soon. Please review! I love to hear from you!