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she’d want to get out of her punishment. He’d had his mouth washed out with soap more than once in his youth and he could still remember the awful taste that seemed to stay with him for days.
    No, Rafe wasn’t going to be deterred from the chosen punishment; it certainly fit the crime. And he wouldn’t abide a woman cussing. Not in his home and not ever. And most certainly not this woman, whom he was already thinking of as his.
    Rafe crossed the room to where she stood and took her by the hand. But when he tried to lead her over to a corner of the kitchen, she dug in her heels and pulled in the other direction.
    “Please–please–please,” she begged almost frantically. “Please, Rafe, I promise I’ll never say those words ever again!” Wasn’t being sorry enough? Why did he always have to punish her?
    Rafe turned a deaf ear to her and simply picked her up and carried her over to his chosen corner, dropping her down and turning her to face him.
    “Open your mouth,” he ordered sternly. Annie kept her mouth shut tight. Rafe had had just about enough of this nonsense. “Open your mouth now, or I’ll spank your backside until its red and then you’ll still get your mouth washed out. You’re just adding to your punishment by defying me.”
    Annie looked up at him with resignation in her eyes, and then she took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Rafe pushed the bar of soap in, told her to bite down on it to keep it in place and then turned her around so that she faced the corner. He leaned forward until his mouth was right next to her ear. “That soap stays right where it is until I take it out and you don’t move from this spot until I say so.” Rafe then set about fixing another meal to replace the one that was ruined. He purposely didn’t make too much more than what he would consume since he was fairly certain Annie wouldn’t want to eat.
    Silent tears streamed down Annie’s face, as she stood rooted to the spot Rafe had placed her in the corner. The urge to run coursed through every fiber of her. It was what she always did and it was exactly what she wanted to do right now. So why didn’t she? The snow had stopped. Rafe had mentioned earlier in the day that they may very well be able to head out to Tom and Jenny’s in the morning. She could probably get away right now then, if she really wanted to.
    Instead she stood very still in the corner and cried silently with a bar of soap lodged in her mouth. Annie didn’t even understand herself anymore.
    “Dinner’s just about ready.” Rafe came up behind her, took her shoulders and turned her around. “Open,” he ordered, and Annie did as she was told. Rafe took the soap from her mouth and used his handkerchief to dry her eyes. He then fetched a glass of water for her so she could rinse her mouth out.
    When she was done, he turned her face toward his with his thumb and forefinger on her chin. “I hope I never hear those words or any like them come from your mouth again.” Rafe was solemn and serious. “Your punishment will be much harsher if that ever happens.” He released her chin and set to serving the food he had prepared.
    Annie glared at his back. “I’m not hungry,” Annie said, no louder than a whisper.
    “You’ll sit for the meal all the same, even if you don’t want to eat.” Rafe wasn’t letting her off that easy. He knew that she wanted to turn away from him and he was determined to prevent her from doing just that. Annie did as she was told and sat, gingerly, at the table, staring down at her plate. As always, Rafe found himself surprised when she didn’t give him any argument.
    “Weather’s cleared quite a bit. I was thinkin’ that we could get you back to Tom’s ranch tomorrow morning. Tom and Jenny should be getting back from their trip tomorrow too.”
    He was halfway through his supper when he realized that Annie was still crying, even harder than she had been when she first sat down. She was doing it so quietly