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When Nicky returned with the coffee, she and Josie took it out back onto the deck. Liam placed Josie’s bags in the guest room then returned to his office with his coffee.
Josie sat silently soaking up the fantastic view spread before her; they sipped their coffee in companionable silence. That was the nice thing about her grandma, she had the ability to relax and de-stress those around her. After a while Josie turned to her with a sigh. “I hope I get this position at the hospital. I really love it up here.”
“It suits us and I for one would love to have you living nearby but only if this is the right place for you both.”
“I’m sure Max is going to love living up here. The peace of the mountains just seems to flow over and right inside you, somehow. I stopped on the highway before I arrived and just breathed in the serenity of the mountains.”
Nicky smiled at her. “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, darling. It certainly isn’t whimsical to be stuck halfway up a mountain range in the dead of frozen winter.”
Josie giggled. “Sometimes you sound so very British still, Grandma!”
Nicky smiled. “You can take the British girl out of Britain but the Englishness remains ingrained.”
“There you go again, so British! You’ll be saying ‘bloody’ next. Do you miss it? England?”
“No. I hate how overcrowded the country has become. Consecutive governments have concreted my country of birth to death with over-building. Last time we went back I swore I would never return and I won’t. Besides, I love it here in Colorado. Be sure to wear lots of moisturizer and sunscreen because the air here is very dry due to the altitude.”
“Did it take long to get used to the fact everyone who lives here is in some sort of spanking relationship?”
“No, it was a relief actually. People became so judgmental and non-accepting of spanking after the seventies, until the ‘Fifty Shades’ book came out, but even that made us all look like a lot of fetishists. Corbin’s Bend allows everyone living here to feel normal and supported in a community that accepts you whatever your lifestyle choice may be.”
“Can I ask you a personal question, Grandma?”
Nicky grinned. “You may, but I reserve the right to not answer.”
“Okay. Did you and Grandpa have a set of rules right from the start of your marriage or did you kinda make it up as you went along?”
Nicky frowned thoughtfully. “We have always lived what is known today as a domestic discipline relationship. Your grandfather told me very early on, when we first met, that to avoid conflict in our marriage he would be the company director and always take the ultimate decisions within our marriage. I could put across my point of view but at the end of the day, if no agreement could be reached between us, we would do what he thought was best. As I explained, this was to avoid conflict, if I continued to argue, I was spanked. It worked for us and it seems to work for a lot of other people, hence Corbin’s Bend.”
“Yeah? What about the Dom/sub relationship that Max and I are into? We only use the dynamic in the bedroom or playing at a club.”
“If that’s what you and Max agreed upon and that’s what works for the pair of you, then you’ll fit in right with the folk of Corbin’s Bend. Nobody here will judge you, Josie, but as with any society, there are a set of rules which we all have to abide by.”
“Okay. Hey, I have the welcome pack that Brent Carmichael’s assistant gave me and guess what’s included? A wooden paddle with the Corbin’s Bend logo carved onto it! Max will love it! Say, what’s with this public paddling thing? Have you ever witnessed one?”
Nicky looked serious. “I have; your grandfather took me as a warning to obey the community rules. Not long after we arrived a girl called Kirsty was paddled for drunken behavior and name-calling, something Brent Carmichael won’t countenance. Believe me, it was a salient lesson in obedience. I would hate to undergo the humiliation of a public paddling. Not to mention the paddle they use is a formidable object!”
Josie was round eyed. “I think I’d better read up on these rules, start to finish, and pretty darned quick!”
“Good idea.” Nicky grinned.
Liam stuck his head around the door. “Hey, my angels, how about lunch out? My treat, fancy some pizza?”
“You bet!” Josie jumped to her feet. Nicky rose more slowly, her older bones cracking as she straightened. She followed Josie inside and Liam swatted her bottom as she walked past him. Pulling the patio door closed, he locked it securely.
Josie noticed the by-play between her grandparents out of the corner of her eye. She hid a smile; her grandparents were cute.
Chapter 2
Nicky O’Donnell watched as her granddaughter finished her pizza, she winked at her and was rewarded with one of Josie’s blindingly beautiful, wide smiles. Her heart lurched at the resemblance to her deceased daughter. Josie was so like Tabitha at the same age but there the resemblance ended. Tabitha had been a seriously shy girl. She had not approved of her parents’ domestic discipline relationship. Josie appeared to take after her grandmother rather than her mother, given her choice of lifestyle.
Josie had surprised them both the previous year by arriving with her new boyfriend, Max, announcing that she’d become his submissive. Nicky had taken the news fully in her stride but Liam had been losing sleep, worrying anxiously about his granddaughter. Now, here she was, ready to settle nearby, a circumstance that both grandparents relished. If things went wrong between her and Max, then at least they would be on hand to support Josie. Not that they knew much about BDSM since their relationship was based on Liam being head of his household and Nicola following his guidance. When she broke one of her husband’s cardinal rules she was spanked. Both she and Liam enjoyed the occasional erotic spanking but Nicola realized that Josie didn’t need to know that about her grandparents. She hoped her granddaughter would be happy living here. First step, she needed to get that nursing job she’d applied for at the medical center.
* * *
Pullingup outside the medical Dome on the following day, Josie checked her face and hair in the car mirror before stepping out to lock her car. She was slightly nervous about how the upcoming interview would go. However, she was confident about her ability to do the job she’d applied for, having achieved good grades in her finals. She had gained some hands on experience while working at the hospital in San Diego during her training, remaining there after she’d qualified. Her references were excellent and she knew from previous feedback that she interviewed well. Her nerves were more than likely due to excitement because she really wanted this position. Being a skilled pediatric nurse she was well qualified.
Walking into the bright and spacious reception area, she gave her name to the lady at the reception station and was about to sit and wait to be called when the man she had pulled out in front of on the highway yesterday walked by. Josie dipped her head, hoping he wouldn’t notice her. No such luck. He stopped and glared at her. “What are you doing here?” he asked rudely.
