Chapter One

The graveyard was quiet and peaceful as Robert walk the all too familiar path to his wife’s grave. He laid the flowers he had brought and tidied up the space around the stone. When he was done, he sat on the bench in front and thought of all the years gone by without her. Even though it had been 18 years since that fateful night, he still missed her every day.

“I’m sorry I’ve not been by as much lately, but with work and Gabby, I’ve been busier than normal.”

Even as the words left his mouth he knew he wasn’t been entirely truthful. He had been spending more and more time with Caroline and as the months had passed, he had fallen deeply in love with her. Caroline was beautiful, smart, funny and sensual. He gained as much joy from their conversations and spirited arguments as he did from the hours spent in each other’s arms. Gabriella had passed all her exams and Caroline’s contract would be coming to an end in the next month.

Guilt descended like a dark blanket of cloud obscuring the sun. What would Anne think? Had he just been using Caroline for his own ends? Did she feel the same way about him as he felt about her? They had never spoken of it. It seemed that they had avoided the subject of the future as if speaking about it openly would somehow destroy the special bond that the three of them had formed.

“Truth be told, Anne, I’ve met someone. I love her very much, but I feel so guilty. I’ve done my best to be a good husband and father, but I’ve never really gotten over losing you and I’m sure you’d disapprove. Perhaps it’s best if I just let her go.”

As he sat brooding over what he might have to do, he heard someone approaching along the path. Turning to look he saw Fiona walking towards him.

“I thought I might find you here,” said Fiona.

“I’m sorry, Fiona, but I’m not good company right now,” replied Robert.

“I think the time has come for us to have a chat and for me to give you something I’ve been holding onto since Anne died. You know she loved you and Gabriella very much. You were her whole world and seeing you now, I know she would be very unhappy with you”.

“I know,” said Robert. “I know I’ve let her down.”

“No, you misunderstand me, Robert.”

Reaching into her bag, Fiona drew out an envelope.

“Anne gave this to me just after Gabriella was born and she asked that if anything happened to her, that I would hold onto it until such time as I thought it right to pass it on to you. I’ve watched you over the years and it seemed that you were happy to work hard and take the occasional lover to sate your needs, but otherwise had no plans to ever marry again. I suspect, however, that you are having second thoughts about that but are concerned that Anne would disapprove.”

Fiona placed the envelope into Robert's hands and sat quietly as Robert opened the letter. His wife’s handwriting instantly familiar.

My Dearest Robert,

If you are reading this then I am dead and whatever has happened, I have departed this world and am gone forever. You know that I love you and Gabby more than I can possibly put down in words and I will mourn the time we have had stolen from us even as I journey onto whatever afterlife awaits.

I know you very well my darling and the most important thing to me is that you have someone to love and cherish you as I know you love and cherish me. You are not suited to being alone. You have a deep passion for life and for love and you must leave me behind and move on (not too soon I hope :-)) but move on you must.

The love, life, and passion we have shared have been everything I could ever have hoped for, but life goes on Robert and you must move on with it.

Love and hold Gabby close to your heart forever, but make sure to leave room for another to take my place. When that happens, believe that I share in your happiness. I know you will love me forever, so honor that love by finding another who shares your passions.

All my love, forever and ever,

Anne.

Robert sat staring at the letter. All the years of sadness and loneliness came pouring out of him as great raking sobs escaped him, tears of love and loss dripped and fell on the letter, slightly blurring some of the words. Grabbing onto Fiona, he buried his face in her lap and wept for all that he had lost when Anne was taken from him, all the years of loneliness. When the sodding had subsided, he sat up and wiped his red-rimmed eyes and face with a hand and turned to Fiona.

“Why? Why did you keep this from me for so long?”

“You needed time to move on, but as the years went by you always said that you would never find another like Anne and that any suggestion otherwise was a closed subject. I’ve seen you with other women, but there was never any real prospect of one of those being anything more than a temporary distraction.”

“So why now?”

“Robert, do you think I’m blind and stupid? You are in love with Caroline. Caroline knows you are in love with her and she is deeply in love with you.”

“How? I’ve never told her.”

“A woman knows. However, she also thinks that you have never fully gotten over Anne’s death and that no matter how much she loves you, she will never be enough. It’s time for you to tell her before it’s too late. Caroline has started looking for another teaching position and she has been talking about going abroad. I think being near to you, but not with you would be too painful for her.”

“I hoped that she loved me as much as I love her, but Anne was my whole world and when she was gone, I wanted to honor her memory by raising Gabby to be smart, successful and confident, just like her mother.”

“You have done the best job you could, but even you must admit that in the months she has been with Caroline, she has settled and matured in ways you could not have imagined.”

“Caroline has been good for both of us, but it adds to my guilt that I have denied Gabby the love and support she so clearly needed.”

“It’s not too late to fix this, Robert.”

“I will, I just need a few days.” Suddenly Robert felt a great weight slip from his shoulders and his smile made him look 10 years younger.

“You know, Fiona, I’m quite put out with you about this.”

“I’m sorry I kept this from you for so long, but I wanted to be sure that you were ready and until now, you haven’t seemed to be.”

“Don’t think you are going to get away that easy.”

“No. I don’t suppose I will.” Fiona laughed. “I’d be terribly disappointed if I did.”

Chapter Two

Caroline was curled up on a chair reading in her room when there was a knock on her door.

“Come in, Gabriella.”

“I must be in trouble.” Gabriella thought. “she never calls me that unless I’m in trouble.”

Over the past months, they had settled into a warm and friendly relationship. A week rarely went by when Gabby wasn’t face down, bottom up for some infraction, but their love had grown and deepened. Gabby had even caught herself calling Caroline mum a couple of times and Caroline had tried very hard to ignore those occasional slips. In truth, Caroline had become the mother Gabriella had never had. Gabby confided in her and her everything that was going on in her life. With her contract coming to a close, it was causing Caroline more pain than she wanted to admit.

“So, what up, Caroline?”

“I’ve been waiting to see your university applications for a week now, it doesn’t take that long.”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that I’m not going.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“Beg all you like, you’re not going to get it. I’ve decided that since you will be gone in a month, my dad will be on his own again and he is going to need me around, even if he won’t admit it.”

“First of all, don’t be cheeky, second, your father has dedicated his life to your happiness. Your future is his first, second and all other numbers to follow priority. University is important, and it would break his heart if you didn’t go, especially because you thought he needed you.”

“What do you care anyway, you’ll be gone onto pastures new soon. Don’t think I haven’t seen the letters you have been receiving from the rich and infamous, all wanting you to work your magic on their brood.”

The words stung Caroline. Yes. She did need to move on. She was in love with Robert and although she knew he loved her, she would always play second fiddle to Anne. There was no way to compete with a ghost. Standing up she walked over to Gabriella.

“How dare you speak to me like that. How dare you invade my privacy by reading my letters. I’ve dedicated every waking hour to you, and while you deserve credit for the hard work you put in passing all your exams with top marks, I at least deserve some measure of respect for all the time I’ve invested teaching you.”

“You forgot to mention all the hours you’ve spent fucking my dad.”

“I’ve told you before that what your dad and I do is none of your business.”

Gabriella turned red and without warning slapped Caroline in the face. Caroline stood totally stunned as Gabriella ran crying from the room. Caroline did not blame Gabriella for the outburst. Her pain was as real and as deep as Caroline’s. While she could not leave the behavior unchallenged, she thought it best to give Gabby some time to calm down.

Caroline spent the next couple of days looking at the various offers she had received and decided to ask Robert to leave her contract early. That evening dinner was a quiet affair. Gabriella sat mute and conversation with Robert was stilted as he seemed distracted.

After dinner, she told Gabriella that she would like to speak with her later. She had not mentioned the slap to Robert and wanted to straighten things out.

She asked Robert if they could have a chat in his study. Sitting on the couch, she summoned up her courage.

“Robert. This has been a wonderful experience for me and I have learned so much about myself, but it’s time for me to move on and I would like you to consider letting me out of my contract early.”

“I’m afraid that leaving early would not be convenient as we still need to get Gabriella’s university applications in and I need you to go with her to visit her top three picks. That said, I would also like to ask you to extend your time with us."

“For how long”

Robert sat looking pensive. He wondered if he was letting his own needs cloud his judgment, but remembering Fiona’s words, he took a deep breath and plunged ahead.

“Caroline, you have changed both my life and Gabby’s in ways I would not have thought possible a few months ago. I had hoped that I’d have a few more days to prepare, but I see now that I have waited too long as it is. I’ve been a selfish, self-pitying fool in more ways than I can count.”

Robert got up, went to his desk and took out a small box. Returning to the couch, he placed the box on the small table in front and got down on one knee and took Caroline’s hand in his. With tears filling his eyes, he mentally set aside the formal proposal he had planned and spoke from his heart.

“I love you more than you can possibly know, you have filled a void in my heart and in my life that I didn’t want to acknowledge was there. I’ve allowed my past and a twisted sense of loyalty to cloud my judgment. You have taken us heart and made us a proper family again. I’m so sorry for any pain I have caused you.”

Caroline eyed the small box, hope, and fear leaping in her heart. Opening the box to reveal an exquisite diamond engagement ring, he took her hand once again.

Caroline Louise Parker, will you marry me?”

Caroline was lost for words. She looked into Roberts' face and saw nothing but love.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. You are everything I love and desire. More than that.”

Caroline burst into tears and hugged Robert close. “I love you so much, Robert, yes, I’ll marry you.”

They held to each other for several minutes, crying tears of happiness. They kissed deeply, holding nothing back, each knowing that they had found a love that would last an eternity.

“We should tell Gabriella,” said Robert, wiping his eyes.

Caroline thought about what had happened a couple of days ago.

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, but Gabriella and I had an argument a couple of days ago and she slapped me,”

“She what?”

“I think she was feeling angry and upset that I was leaving soon and let her emotions get the better of her.”

“That is no excuse. I raised her better than that. I’ll deal with her.”

“I agree that she needs to be punished, but it would be better if I handle it.”

Robert crossed the room, opened the door and called out to Gabriella.

Chapter Three

A few minutes later she appeared. Entering the study, she noticed immediately that Robert and Caroline had both been crying.

“What’s up? Has something happened?”

“What has happened is that you were rude and disrespectful to Caroline.”

Gabriella hung her head a bit and mumbled an apology. If this was coming from dad, then she knew she was really in for it.

“How dare you slap your mother.”

Gabriella’s head came up immediately and looked at her father.

“Mother, but Caroline’s not my.”

It was then that she looked at Caroline and noticed the ring. In spite of being angry with her, Robert smiled and nodded. Gabriella gasped, ran to Caroline and hugged her, tears spilling down her cheeks, her head buried in Caroline’s chest, saying mum, over and over. When she had calmed down, she asked, “How, When?”

Robert looked at both of them and said. “We almost lost her Gabby, but your dad came to his senses before it was too late.”

Robert walked over to the two of them and hugged them both.

“Gabriella, we still need to deal with your bad behavior. I can’t let that slide.”

“I know mum, I’m really sorry. It’s just that I love you so much and didn’t want you to go.”

“I know, and I love you very much too. Now, go to your room and get ready for bed, I’ll be up shortly.”

Gabriella left the room and Robert poured them both a drink. They sat cuddled close together and just enjoyed the sense of closeness.

“You know, Caroline, you shouldn’t have kept that slap from me.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll want to speak to me about it. At length.” Caroline smiled.

“Once you are finished with Gabby, come back here and we can discuss it.”

She crossed to the implement cabinet and selected a mid-weight strap. “I think this should get the message across, that slapping someone isn’t acceptable.”

Gabriella took a quick shower and changed into her comfy flannel PJs. She was on cloud nine, even with what was almost certain to be a very painful punishment to come, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

Caroline knocked and entered Gabby’s room and Gabriella jumped up and hugged her once again. Caroline pulled out what had become known as the spanking chair and sat down. Gabby obediently stood at her side waiting. Caroline reached over and pulled the PJ bottom and knickers down and pulled Gabby over her knee. Caroline placed her palm on one cheek and felt Gabby relaxing over her knee.

“Right then, Gabriella, you know how your dad and I feel about this kind of behavior. I’m going to give you a hard spanking and then 12 strokes of the strap.”

Raising her hand, Caroline began to spank Gabby’s bottom slowly and methodically, building up the strength of the smacks and bringing Gabby’s bottom up to a nice pink glow. Gabby wriggled a bit, but secretly was loving every spank. In her mind, this was the first time her “mum” had spanked her. She knew that she deserved it.

Stopping for a moment, Caroline said: “Right, now you are warmed up, the real spanking can begin.”

Raising her hand again, Caroline peppered Gabby’s reddening bottom with hard smacks, making her wriggle and cry out. Tears of pain and joy mingling as her bottom got hotter and hotter, the pain and heat penetrating right through her. Finally, Gabriella collapsed over Caroline’s knee sobbing her heart out.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“I know you are, darling. Now go to the corner, hands on your head. Think about what you did and what is to come.”

Gabriella shuffled to the corner as Caroline arranged a few pillows at the bottom of Gabby’s bed and patiently waited while Gabriella sniffed and sniveled in the corner. After 10 minutes, Caroline called Gabby over.

“Right then Gabriella, 12 strokes to come and you’ll count each one. Bend over and keep your bottom out.”

Caroline laid the strap on Gabriella's bottom and adjusting her stance, she raised the strap and brought it whistling down hard

Thwack. Gabriella cried out and clutched her bottom. “One, thank you, mum,” she cried.

Thwack. Squirming and crying, Gabriella gasped out “Two, thank you, mum.”

Thwack. “Three, thank you, mum.”

Thwack. “four, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “five, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “six, thank you, mum."

Caroline paused for a moment and rubbed Gabby’s bottom a little to sooth it before lining the strap up again.

Thwack. “seven, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “eight, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “nine, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “ten, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “eleven, thank you, mum."

Thwack. “Twelve, thank you, mum."

Again, Caroline rubbed Gabby bottom to ease the sting a bit. “Right then, Gabriella, back in the corner. You can stay there for the next 10 minutes."

While Gabriella was in the corner, Caroline re-arranged the bed once again and placed a few pillows at the head of the bed and then sat on the bed. After 10 minutes, she called to Gabby.

“You can pull your knickers and PJs back up now, come and join me on the bed.”

Gabriella pulled her knickers and PJs gingerly over her very sore bottom and came to the bed. She snuggled up against Caroline and lay her head in her lap. Caroline stroked her hair and her face. Although her bottom was on fire, Gabriella felt totally at peace. With Caroline softly caressing her, she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Once she was asleep, Caroline pulled the duvet over her and made her way back to her apartment. Once there, she stripped and showered and took extra time picking out just the right underwear, not that she expected to be wearing it for long. She pulled on light silk pajamas and walked slowly towards the study.

Note to the reader - It’s been a few years since I visited this story. I was never really happy with part six and wanted to think on it for a while. I didn’t realize it would be years.  I hope the fans of this story will enjoy new parts that will follow this one and I apologize for the long preamble before you get to the action in this part, but I wanted to explore the central theme of this story. It was always intended to be a love story. One of love lost and love found. Of passion and desire. I’m not now nor will never be a great wordsmith, but I hope that you will indulge me a little.