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She shook her head, unable to explain Dan placed his hands on her shoulders, turning and tucking her into his chest Mari dropped her ared his waist He kissed the top of her head, crooning to her softly

God, how could she tell them? This would devastate her men They’d lost their mother to breast cancer Watched her die She knew this would ruin their happiness, completely turn their world upside down They’d been her rock for so long Her men, her life

No, she couldn’t tell them She had to do this on her own

Dan picked up his slight wife, easily carrying her over to the sofa He sat, settling her on his lap, ensuring that her sore bottohs He tucked her head beneath his chin and started rocking her Sobs rocked her body as she continued to cry, breaking his heart

Dan hated causing her pain, hated listening to her cry but he firmly believed that it was better she have a sore butt than think she could risk her safety without consequence If a spanking helped her to remember to look after herself then he was prepared to listen to her pain-filled cries each time

But not this This was different These cries sounded like her heart was breaking and it was tearing him in two

Had he been too hard on her?

Had he bruised her? Harmed her?

“She deserved the spanking,” Jake said cal “She knows better than to climb a ladder If she had fallen, she could have been seriously injured She knew the consequences of what she was doing”

Dan knew his brother was right Mari knew the rules well and had chosen to deliberately disobey the was little consolation as deep shudders rocked her slight body and his t-shirt beca was expected But this was over the top