She is My Sister Page 2

  “But, I am home, and I did see the email. Start explaining. Is this some horrible practical joke that you are playing on Holly?”

  “No! I wouldn’t do that!” she insisted.

  “Then explain to me why you are pretending to be a man and writing steamy, sexy emails to your sister!” Edmund was close to pulling her off her chair and whaling her bottom, and if he didn’t get some answers fast, he was going to do just that.

  “I’m not trying to trick her, or be mean to Holly,” Stacy insisted with an angry pout. “You know that she has poor self-esteem, and I am trying to build her up.”

  “By lying to her, Stacy Hart?”

  “I’m not exactly lying. I’m creating pretend.”

  “You are lying to your sister.”

  “It’s not like that. I’m trying to make her feel good about herself. I compliment her, encourage her. I even fixed her resume for her, and you know that she wouldn’t have permitted me to change one word on it if she knew it was me. She doesn’t want help from any of us, and yet, she needs help to do the most basic interacting with people… especially men.”

  “Stacy, I am sure Holly would be devastated to find out that this fake Morgan person is not real! How could you do something so dishonest?”

  “It’s painful to see Holly struggling, Edmund. When I found out that she’d joined a gardening message board on line, I decided to join, too, in order to keep an eye on her and protect her from on line creeps. Then I came up with the idea of using the forum to build her up. I would point out how beautiful the pictures of her arrangements are; I would encourage her to enter floral competitions. That is what I have been doing.”

  “Uh huh. You were writing a personal email, young lady.”

  “I did not initiate that, Edmund. Holly wrote to me first. It was a nice email, very sweet. I had to answer her as Morgan so her feelings wouldn’t be hurt. I am very careful not to say anything that could be misinterpreted. I just want Holly to relax and not be so uptight around men.”

  “You are not doing the right thing, young lady, and you know it.”

  “Yes, I am! Holly…”

  “… does not need her sister attempting to control her life!” Edmund cut her off and then finished her sentence, making her angry.

  “That is not true, and how dare you attempt to tell me about my own sister…?! I think I know her a lot better than you do!” She was outraged and made no attempt to hide it from Edmund. He was one of the few people she trusted enough to be herself with and not worry that her on-camera persona would be damaged. She loved Edmund; he was the perfect man for her because he did not see her as a celebrity, but as a woman. He also treated her like his woman, and that meant he spanked her when he felt a spanking would benefit their relationship. She had yet to win an argument with him. He was used to arguing for a living, only his arguments took place in a courtroom and affected his clients lives. Still, she was right about Holly, and she wasn’t going to allow him to dictate to her how to interact with her sisters! “You don’t know a thing about having sisters!”

  “I am well aware that you have sisters and I do not, but I do know it is wrong to mislead anyone and pretend to be someone you aren’t. Holly will be crushed when she learns you have deceived her. If anything, this whole experience will make her even more shy because she will be afraid to trust anyone! You need a good spanking, Stacy Hart.”

  “For what? For trying to help Holly? If not for Morgan, Holly never would have entered that flower show a while back! Do you have any idea how pleased she was to win? And, it improved her business, too. I got to support her as Morgan and as myself. Holly is finally, finally coming out of her shell and starting to believe she is worthwhile as a person. She is finally learning that she does have something she does better than anyone else. If Morgan hadn’t insisted she enter that contest, she would still be sitting back and wishing she could. No, I don’t deserve a spanking for helping Holly!”

  “You deceived Holly; you lied to her. When she finds out, she will be devastated.”

  “She doesn’t need to know.”

  “What is going to happen when she wants to meet Morgan?” Edmund asked, clearly exasperated with Stacy.

  “That won’t happen!”

  “No? What are you going to do? Disappear off the forum; stop answering Holly’s emails? Don’t you think that is going to send the wrong message? Holly will think she said or did something wrong, and you disappeared for that very reason. It will be one more thing to make her self-confidence nose-dive to zero!”

  Stacy cringed. “I never thought of how I would ease out of the friendship,” she admitted. “How could I be so damn stupid!”

  “Because you were focused on your intentions, and you didn’t think past those intentions to the reality of the situation. It is never acceptable to lie and deceive people, Stacy, even when you think it is for their own good. Holly is an adult and she needs to take charge of her own life. You can’t live her life for her.”

  “She hates me!” Stacy shocked Edmund by saying aloud the words that expressed the emotion she’d felt ever since she landed her first job in television.

  “Holly doesn’t hate you, sugar.”

  “Yes, she does. I can feel it. She hates me for being able to talk to complete strangers, when she has trouble talking to family members and close friends!”

  “Holly does not hate you, and you need a spanking for even thinking that might be the case. Really, Stacy, you are not thinking clearly.” He pulled the chair back, and then put his foot on the seat of the chair.

  Stacy gasped when Edmund pulled her closer, picked her up, and then dropped her over his bent knee. She couldn’t touch anything with her hands, and her feet kicked in the air, unable to reach the floor! Stacy felt as though she could fall, and that frightened her. “I’m afraid of falling, Edmund! Please put me down!”

  “I won’t let you fall, sugar,” he promised, wrapping his arm around her to hold her close. “And in a couple of minutes you won’t be thinking about falling, I promise.”

  Stacy cried out in pain when his hand gave her bottom a hard spank. “Owwwww!”

  “You earned this spanking, little lady.”

  He spanked her again and again, while her feet kicked. Her slippers flew off her feet and landed on the other side of the room, but she didn’t even notice. Her poor butt was already on fire, and she knew from experience that Edmund had no intention of stopping for several minutes. The man believed in doing everything well, and that included spanking. Stacy was convinced that if there was any such thing as a spanking school, Edmund could be the professor and teach a class on the best way to redden a bottom.

  The night that she and Edmund met at her sister Jenna’s home, Stacy learned that the lawyer believed in spanking. Edmund offered to take her home that evening, and she gladly accepted his offer, longing for a chance to get to know him better. However, the first thing that happened between them was a heated discussion over whether or not she had to wear her seatbelt. Stacy hated the things and she insisted it was her choice whether to wear a seatbelt or not to wear one. Edmund told her it was the law, and therefore, she would comply. Stacy refused. Edmund promptly reached across her and pulled the seatbelt down and over her and then he fastened it. When she reached for the button to release the belt, Edmund grabbed her hand and held it in his. “Do not unfasten this seatbelt until you are home, little lady, or I will stop the car, pull you outside, bend you over the hood, and turn up your dress and spank you on your panties in front of anyone who cares to watch. Don’t think I wouldn’t dare, Stacy. I never promise something I am not willing to do. Did you hear me?” He waited until she said yes, then he released her hand. He started the car, and then drove to her home, making conversation as if nothing at all had happened. However, as soon as they went inside, he informed her that she was due a sound spanking for being so naughty. Inside the relative safety of her living room, she told him he wouldn’t dare; she spent the next few minutes wishing she
hadn’t dared him! He turned her over his knee and pushed up her dress, and then gave her panty clad bottom a sound spanking! He didn’t stop then when she begged him to, and she knew he wouldn’t stop now, either.

  “Edmund, please stop! I have to work tonight, and those stools we sit on are uncomfortable! Owwwwwww!” Stacy kicked some more, and she cried, another thing she hated to do! “Please stop! I will be on camera, and this is my job we’re talking about.”

  The spanking stopped. “I’ll stop, and I’ll give you two days to make this right with Holly. I expect you to tell her the truth, and I expect you to sort out this nonsense about her hating you. You are going to get the rest of your spanking on Sunday, and that spanking will either be a simple reminder, or a good switching. I suggest you think and pray about this situation, sugar, and you put as much effort into healing this relationship with your sister as you put into making your news stories accurate and interesting to watch.” After one final spank to her sit spots, Edmund put Stacy on her feet. “Go on now and get ready for work.”

  Stacy was so upset that it came through on the newscast that night. Her sisters called her to see what was bothering her. She lied and told all of them that she was on her period and cramping. She knew that if Edmund heard about that he would spank her again for lying, but she really needed some time to think of the best way to approach Holly. She loved her sister and really wouldn’t hurt her for anything. Thankfully, she had the weekend off, and didn’t need to go to work until late afternoon on Monday. Holly worked hard on Saturdays; weddings, banquets, and other parties. They also had floral orders for Sundays that had to be arranged so that they could be delivered. Stacy hoped that her sister wasn’t the one making those Sunday deliveries this week.

  Edmund worked Saturday morning, and the first thing he asked about when he got home was whether or not she’d talked to Holly and apologized. Stacy knew better than to show her temper; it would only earn her a serious spanking, and she didn’t want that. She told Edmund that Holly was working, and it was her busiest day of the week. He’d accepted her explanation, and he was pleased to learn that Stacy had invited Holly to come for brunch on Sunday.

  “That is a wonderful idea, sugar. Do you want me to be here for support, or would you rather I disappear and give you privacy?”

  “I expected you would be here, honey.” The look in her soft brown eyes convinced him that Stacy was sincere.

  “I’ll be here, sugar. What have we got for lunch today? I am starving. And, do you want to go out tonight or stay in?” He wanted to know before he made an assumption that wasn’t true.

  “I have lunch ready, and I thought we would stay in tonight, honey. I have steaks marinating in the fridge, and I was hoping you felt like manning the grill…?”

  “That sounds wonderful, sugar. I’m so glad that neither of us has any commitments for this evening. We don’t get to enjoy a Saturday at home very often. They enjoyed their day together, and made love several times. Edmund almost proposed, but decided to wait until the situation with Holly was cleared up. Stacy would feel more like enjoying the engagement and planning their wedding once she was happy with herself and with her sister.

  Stacy was nervous as could be the next morning. She made several hot dishes, and had so many sides that there was enough food to feed twelve people instead of three. She made the table pretty with fresh flowers and brightly colored dishes. Holly came early, and Stacy hugged her tightly.

  “What is wrong, Stacy? You are as upset now as you were on the news Friday night. Don’t shake your head ‘no’; I can see that something is wrong. Please tell me.”

  Stacy intended to wait until after they ate to talk to Holly, but the words came tumbling out. “I did something terrible and I don’t want you to hate me, Holly. My intentions were so good, but Edmund made me look at it from another point of view, and I am afraid you won’t believe that I was only trying to help.”

  “You need to take a deep breath, Stacy, and tell me what you are talking about. I’m sure that if you did something terrible that concerned me, I would know about it by now.”

  “Oh, Holly, sit down and I’ll get us some coffee… and then confess.” Stacy fixed their mugs of coffee, and then sat beside her sister on the sofa. “I’m just going to say it straight out… I am Morgan on Floral Delights.” Stacy waited for Holly’s reaction.

  Holly looked at Stacy, and then burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh Stacy, I knew all along it was you! You have a very distinctive writing style, and when I checked the IP address against yours, it matched.”

  “You aren’t mad at me?”

  “Heavens no…! But, I would like to know why you couldn’t tell me all those things to my face. I would have loved to know that you thought I could compete in a floral show and win it. You are the one who gave me the courage I needed to fill out that entry form. Why did you need Morgan?”

  “You never seem to believe me when I tell you that you are good.”

  “You never tell me that I am good unless there is a group of people around, and I always feel like you are performing for an audience.”

  “What?” Stacy was shocked… and devastated. “I wasn’t performing, honey. Honest, I wasn’t.”

  “I figured that out when Morgan tried too hard to give me the confidence to believe in myself. I honestly think you were more excited than I was when I was named the winner.”

  Edmund joined them and Holly said, “Can you believe that Stacy was all nervous and upset and felt like she had to confess to being a guy I know on the flower forum I belong to?”

  “Yes, I can believe it. I found out a few days ago. So, have you settled all of this?”

  “We are trying,” Stacy said.

  “What else is there?” Holly asked. “I’ve already told you that I knew it was you… and I’m not upset. You pretended because you wanted to give me confidence… It worked, too. I never would have entered the flower show competition if not for the wonderful things you said, Stacy.”

  “Stacy Hart, do you need some encouragement to be honest with Holly?” Edmund asked, and she knew that it wouldn’t embarrass him at all to turn her over his knee in front of her sister.

  “I need to know why you hate me, Holly?” Stacy blurted the words and then felt tears fill her eyes and suddenly she was crying. “I love you, and I don’t know what I did to make you hate me!”

  “I don’t hate you, Stacy. I love you; admire you so much, and I am a bit jealous at how easily you walk into a room and make friends of everyone there. I wish I had just a bit of your outgoing nature. I am always sure you are embarrassed to have me for your sister!”

  “Noooooo! Oh, no, Holly! I am so proud of you! Look how you started a business and turned it into a success! Look at how you started eating healthier and lost all that weight! I felt as though you hated me because I don’t have to struggle with people. Everything seems to come to me so easily… But, you are my sister, and I could never be embarrassed by you. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Stacy. I love that you created Morgan to see to it that I was safe online; and to give me so much confidence in myself and my creativity. You are my sister, and I love you.” Holly got to her feet and gave her sister a big hug.

  Edmund had tears in his eyes as the two women hugged and made things right between them. He was proud of them both, and he knew that the spanking he gave Stacy that evening would be accompanied with a scolding about talking things out instead of allowing them to fester.

  Chapter Three: Holly

  “Hello.”

  OMG, the man was handsome! Holly couldn’t help staring into his blue eyes fringed with black eyelashes. She’d never seen a man who could hold a candle to this one who was looking at her quizzically. “I’m so sorry. I was woolgathering. What can I do to help you?”

  “My name is Quince Andrews, and I am desperate. I am in charge of a dinner auction my workplace is sponsoring for charity, and I’ve been working so hard on getting items to auction off that I for
got to order centerpieces for the tables. Our guests have paid an outrageous amount for their dinner, knowing the profits will go to charity, but this event is supposed to be classy. I’ve ordered a fancy dinner that will be served, but I forgot to order flowers to make the tables look spectacular. Is there any way you can possibly help me?” he asked, his blue eyes imploring her to come to his aide.

  “When is the banquet?” Holly asked.

  “Tonight,” he admitted, his face red as could be. “I know it is a great imposition, but I would be eternally grateful.”

  Holly looked at him, feeling dazed. “How many table arrangements do you need?”

  “There are thirty tables for the guests to sit at and eat their dinner, and the auction will take place after the meal. Some of the items will be located on the stage so they can be seen, and the smaller things, like gift certificates and store shopping cards, will be listed on a handout. I think we’ll need flowers in front of the podium on the stage, and maybe a few others throughout the room for decorating purposes.”

  “As long as I can use the stock I have on hand, I can do it. If you want certain flowers, I wouldn’t be able to pull it off with such short notice.”

  “You can use whatever flowers you want to use. Believe me, I appreciate this more than you can possibly know. You are literally saving my job. My boss expects the company to put a best foot forward, and forgetting even one detail could mean my job. This dinner and auction are for charity, but he warned me to make sure these people get their money’s worth… that the dinner better be worth the outrageous sum we’re asking. You are a lifesaver…? I don’t know your name?” he asked with a big smile for the flustered Holly.

  “Holly Hart,” she answered.

  “I think I love you, Holly Hart.” Her eyes grew huge, and he smiled again. “You aren’t wearing a ring…? Is it safe to assume you are single and unattached?”

  “I’m single,” she whispered.

  “Good. I’ll see you later, and I would love it if you would be my guest tonight…?”