WARNING: mild spanking in this chapter and reference to spanking!

oOoOoOo

Chapter 3

"Put me down this instant, Adam Cartwright!" She demanded, as she kicked at the air.

She felt very foolish as her small frame hung over his arm like a rag doll. As big and strong as Adam was Ali didn't stand a chance. But she kept kicking anyway while he continued walking, completely ignoring her protests. Once he got to where he felt they could have some privacy, he let her drop to the ground in a heap at his feet.

By now her hair had come lose and was hanging in her eyes as she brushed it out of the way and looked up into his angry face.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" she yelled furiously, as she struggled to get to her feet.

"I need to be back there giving support to my marchers, not over here sitting in the dirt arguing with you!"

Alissa finally got to her feet and stood glaring at Adam. She wasn't the only one glaring, as the expression on Adam's face showed he was clearly angry.

"There you go swearing again, Alissa. I guess I need to remind you once more that I will not tolerate that kind of language. But this time I will let my hand do the talking because it doesn't seem to sink in when I keep telling you to control your mouth."

Adam started advancing on Alissa when she quickly apologized.

"Sorry, Adam, sometimes my mouth engages before my brain. I was angry that you stopped me from my march. I will try and watch the swearing, I promise."

Adam's voice was dangerously steady as he said, "Very well, I didn't bring you here to discuss your language anyway."

Then his eyes narrowed in irritation as he came to stand in front of her before he demanded, "What on earth were you doing in the middle of all that?"

Ali started to give a flippant answer, but quickly changed her mind when she saw the flash of anger in his eyes as Adam gripped both her arms in his hands while he froze her to the spot with his angry stare.

"I came into town to get some of the supplies that we ran out of, and I see all these people yelling and fighting in the street. I went over to see what was going on, and who should I see right in the middle of it all—You! Why am I not surprised that you would be in the middle of this mess, Alissa?" Adam exclaimed loudly, as he mentally counted to ten trying to stay calm as he sorted out this situation.

Unfortunately Ali's patience had up and left by now, and her fiery temper surfaced again as she ignored the look in Adam's eyes.

"NOT NOW, ADAM! I NEED TO GO!"

Maneuvering out of Adam's grip she headed for the door to the barn, but Adam quickly grabbed hold of her arm and spun her around facing him.

"RIGHT NOW!" Adam declared, as he bent down in front of Ali and stood up with her over his shoulder.

He gave her three hard swats as he turned and walked over to a bale of hay as she pounded on his back until he set her on top of it. Ali started to get off, but quickly decided against it after she saw the look in his eyes and heard him yell, "SIT!"

"We are going to get to the bottom of this right now. And I do mean bottom!" Adam declared, as he let his eyes glance at her backside while she sat on the bale of hay.

Ali got the jest of his comment as she reached back and rubbed her stinging bottom where Adam had just swatted it. Then she indignantly stated, "Just what do you mean, Mr. Cartwright?"

"I mean, young lady, that nothing would give me more pleasure than to take you over my knee and wallop you good! I can't believe you have gone and gotten yourself in another mess. But this time you have the Sheriff and half the town mad at you!"

Adam started pacing back in forth in front of Alissa. Then he threw down his hat as he turned and looked right at her with an expression that said his patience had almost run out.

"You said you and Amy were going to town for some things for Amy. How on earth did you end up in the middle of all this chaos?"

Ali looked up and saw the look in his eyes and decided to tell him the whole story.

She looked rather uncomfortable as she said barely above a whisper, "I guess that was just a little lie I might have told you… but I can explain."

Ali continued on as she looked over at Adam's angry glare.

"Well, it all started when James Collins came to dinner the other night. He made me so mad with his backward way of thinking about women and politics, that I decided to rally the women of Virginia City into protesting for the right to vote."

Adam had stopped pacing now and was standing right in front of her with his hands on his hips.

"You organized this mess?"

She shook her head, then took a deep breath and continued on as she watched the expression on his face go from anger to exasperation.

"We feel it is important for women to vote… the same as it is for men. After all, they live here too and should have a say about who is the Sheriff. Everything was going fine until that fat toad came over and tried to grab me. Then some guy tried to get his wife to leave the march and the next thing I know, I'm sitting on the ground in a puddle of mud."

Ali looked down at her blouse and casually brushed off some dried mud before continuing on.

"Everyone was pushing or hitting someone when all he…heck broke out."

She quickly caught herself before she swore. She hadn't forgotten what Adam had almost done earlier for her swearing. Glancing up at Adam, she smiled slightly as she continued on.

"Anyway, I saw a man grabbing his wife and decided to try and stop him. So I picked up some mud and threw it at him. It wasn't my fault that he ducked at the wrong time and it ended up hitting Sheriff Coffee in the face."

"Of course not," Adam frowned, as he stood there shaking his head.

"What happened to Mr. Collins? By the time I got there, you were yelling and swearing at the poor man. That's when I had seen enough and decided it was time to get you out of there."

"Well, he had the audacity to stand there and applaud while this whole mess was going on! So I had just about all I could take from him and decided to let him have it! That's when I punched him in the eye," Ali reluctantly added.

"You did what?" demanded Adam, as he rubbed his hands through his hair trying to hold on to what little patience he had left.

"I punched him in the eye," Ali shrugged, as she held her breath waiting for the next explosion.

"That man was a very important business associate of ours. I say was because who knows what will happen now. I swear, I have never met a girl who can get herself into so much trouble without even trying. How do you get yourself in the middle of all these messes, Alissa?"

"Lucky I guess," muttered Ali, as she looked over at Adam with a cheeky grin.

This was probably not the best time to give an already angry Adam a saucy comment. But it was enough to send his temper over the edge as he growled in frustration and headed towards her with a look that had made many a grown man shake in his boots.

"That's it, young lady! The time has come for you to get what I have been threatening to do since we met. And when I am done, you will think twice about putting yourself in danger. At least you will every time you sit down, because you won't be able to sit comfortably for a week!"

Just as Adam started to reach for Ali, Sheriff Coffee came storming into the barn yelling for Adam.

"Adam…so this is where your ward is! She is in a lot of trouble after the latest mess she has caused," exclaimed Roy, as he looked at Adam scowling.

"Every time I turn around lately, she and Amy have gotten someone in town upset with them for one thing or another, and I have to go and try to settle the problem. Adam, why can't you keep her under control?"

Adam frowned as he turned and looked over at Sheriff Coffee.

"I try Roy, I really do."

Then Adam looked over at Alissa as his eyebrow rose threateningly.

"Matter of fact, I was just getting ready to have a little discussion with Alissa about her recent behavior right now, Roy. So if you will excuse us, we will continue this little discussion in private."

Adam started to reach for Ali as she scooted further back on the hay bale when Roy put up his hand.

"We don't have time for that now, Adam, I need to get her and the rest of the trouble makers over to the jail. Then we can sort this all out after we get there."

Ali let out a sigh of relief as she muttered, "Saved by good, old Roy."

But it was all she could do not to laugh when she saw some hardened mud still clinging to the Sheriff's face, so she hid her grin behind her hand.

"This little lady is going to jail," Sheriff Coffee declared furiously, as he pointed his finger in her direction.

"She assaulted two people today. Not to mention the mess she stirred up in town!"

"Just who did I assault, sheriff?" Ali asked, as she jumped off the hay bale and came over and stood in front of Roy.

"Me for one… when you threw mud at me. The other one was Mr. Collins… you punched him in the eye!"

"Well, you were an accident…the man I was aiming at ducked. And the arrogant Mr. Collins got what he deserved!" Ali answered, as she turned her chin up in annoyance as her hands settled on her hips.

By now Adam's head was pounding as he looked over at Alissa just daring her to argue further and warned, "Be quiet, I think you have said enough."

Then reaching down to pick up his hat Adam added, "Don't say anymore or you may be in jail for a month!"

Alissa opened her mouth to protest, then quickly closed it before she got in any deeper with Sheriff Coffee.

"Let's git going," ordered Sheriff Coffee, as he pushed Alissa along with Adam walking right behind her.

Just as they started out the door, Adam leaned in by Alissa's ear and whispered, "You got lucky this time, young lady."

oOoOoOoOo

TBC

Poor Ali, she means well. But even the best laid plans can end up badly. Maybe her luck will run out after she gets to the jailhouse.