Heartfield Ranch (Communities of Discipline Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

my charge, and if you need anything just come to me.”
    Her new hosts, Randy and Lynette Wickham, were kind and hospitable, and made sure Karen was well-fed before being shown to a tidy, sparsely decorated room in their cabin. By now she’d gotten used to being called Betty and was automatically responding to it, which put her more at ease. It was, she decided, a fine bit of acting on her part, but not as good as her acting with Clay Sanders. It had taken all her resolve not to bristle at his casual admission that spanking of women was commonplace in Heartfield; the implication that she could be subject to the same treatment had incensed her. But somehow she’d managed to put on a poker face and was nervously anxious about finding a quiet place where she could contact Jarvis or Clemmons. She was eager to tell them that the rumors were true - that women were abused at Heartfield. Busting this place up was now a personal mission for her.
    “Is it OK for me to take a walk?” Karen asked Lynette after dinner.
    “Sure,” her hostess replied. “Nothing is really off limits. Just don’t get lost and try to be back before dark if you can. We put the baby down early and if you come back in late and wake him I’ll be up all night.
    Karen looked over at the child, plump and red-haired like his mother. The couple also had a daughter.
    “Is this a good place to raise kids?” Karen tried to keep her voice casual.
    “The best.” Lynette pulled a loaf of bread out of the oven, the warm smell of yeast wafting through the kitchen as she did. “Our values here are pretty basic, and a lot different than in the larger world.”
    “I gathered that already,” said Karen. “Clay said this is a law-and-order kind of place…”
    “It is,” Lynette said. “But everyone is happy.”
    “Are all the women happy?”
    Lynette eyed Karen curiously. “Of course,” she said. “I mean, like everyone else we have our bad days, but overall I’d say the women here are probably a lot happier than in the outside world.”
    Karen paused for a moment, careful of how to word her next question. “Clay said the husbands here are considered the authority over their wives. Does that ever bother you? Do you ever wish you had a job or your own money, an equal say?”
    The baby had begun to fret now and Lynette rushed to pick him up. “No,” she said. “But I can understand why you might think we would be. Most people don’t understand how liberating it is to a woman who wants to live like this to actually be able to have the opportunity. Outside of Heartfield, I’d be labeled a doormat for my choice to submit to my husband. I’d be labeled a loser for choosing to live as a farmer, for eschewing a lot of material possessions. In order to be accepted, I’d have to submit to a lot of expectations I don’t want any part of. Here I choose to submit to the rules I agree with and to people I respect. Are there consequences here? Yes. And not just for me, but for anyone. It’s fair here, and it’s that fairness that makes me feel more respected as a human than I ever felt living outside of this place.”
    She sat down in the chair beside Karen’s, bouncing her son on her knee. “But I don’t expect you to understand that. You probably think I’m a doormat, but that’s OK with me.  I can’t do anything about other people’s perceptions. I can only be true to myself and hope other people will respect my choices.”
    Karen felt a sudden twinge of guilt. Lynette seemed both articulate and intelligent, and the words she had spoken carried no hint of anger or defensiveness. And there was truth in what she said; Karen had been thinking that this woman was a doormat and a loser. Now she wasn’t entirely sure.
    She stood up, suddenly feeling tired and uncertain. “I don’t think I’ll go for that walk after all,” she said.
    But Karen did wait until she was sure everyone was asleep before calling Clemmons, leaving him just one short message: