Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance

by Linda Bridey

  As much as Seth complained about winter, being stuck on a sofa by day and a bed at night was much worse. Although he was enticing Maddie to come there, his motives were altruistic. He figured that if he could help Maddie get unstuck from the quagmire of grief she’d been living in, then maybe at least she would be able to move forward with her life. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the woman was lovely. Tessa had shown all of them pictures of her family and Maddie’s beauty was mesmerizing.

  Jack came through the parlor and Seth snagged his arm.

  “Hey, buddy. Do your Uncle Seth a favor and go ask your Mama for some paper and a pencil for me?” he said.

  “Sure,” Jack said. “Are you writing another letter?”

  Ten-years-old now, Jack looked even more like Dean. His baby-faced looks had faded some and he was half a foot taller than when Tessa had first come there. He was strong and helped out a lot around the place. Much to Dean’s chagrin, Jack kept saying that he wanted to drive the cattle like Seth instead of keeping the ranch going.

  “I might be. Why do you act so surprised?” Seth asked.

  Jack said, “Because I’ve known you all my life and I’ve never seen you write anything. I wasn’t even sure you knew how.” He yanked his arm from Seth’s grasp and ran laughing from the room.

  “You wait until I can walk again, you little creep!” Seth shouted after him. He chuckled to himself as he realized that Jack had picked up the art of banter from the three older Samuels males.

  Jack came back a few minutes later, but cut a wide path around Seth to make sure his uncle couldn’t reach him. Seth was a wicked tickler and Jack knew what would happen if Seth got ahold of him. He threw the pencil to Seth who caught it easily, but the paper was going to be another matter.

  “C’mon, Jack. Give me that paper,” Seth said. “I promise not to tickle you. Besides, I don’t think my body can take it.”

  Jack decided that Seth was being genuine and gave him the paper. “I’m sorry you’re hurtin’, Uncle Seth. I miss doing stuff with you,” he said.

  “Yeah, I miss doing stuff with you, too. I guess we both just gotta be patient, huh?” Seth smiled. “Trouble is, neither one of us is real good at that.”

  “Nope,” Jack agreed. “Well, you get writing that letter. I’ll draw another picture. This one will be for Grandpa.”

  Seth watched Jack go and smiled. It was funny how attached Jack had become to Geoffrey while he’d been there. Seth could well understand that. He, Dean, and Marcus had all quickly become fond of Tessa’s father. With a pang Seth realized how much he missed his own father. He and Dean were him out and out, but Marcus, with his black hair and gray eyes, looked just like their mother.

  His father’s death had been a hard blow to all three boys, but especially to Seth and his absence was one of the main reasons that he spent a lot of time on the road. It had been compounded when his mother had passed. And then there was the loss of Sarah. Her death had been hard on him, too. She’d been a good friend to him over the years and he’d grieved sorely when she died.

  While the ranch was Dean’s source of comfort, often it was Seth’s source of pain. He sighed and shoved unwanted thoughts from his mind and got on with the business of letter writing.

  Chloe brought Maddie the next letter from Seth. Maddie snatched it from her and pushed her maid out the door quickly. She locked it and then jumped into her bed to read it. She had been going to lay down for a short nap when Chloe had knocked. She settled in to read the letter instead.

  Dear Maddie,

  I understand about needing to get on your feet since I can’t walk yet. I’m chomping at the bit just to be able to walk to the kitchen to get a drink of water or to be able to use the outhouse. I’m sure you understand what I’m saying there. So, take your time and you could always come next year. Winters in Montana and North Dakota tend to start early, so with this being the end of June, you’d want to start no later than the beginning of August. Earlier if you’re intending to come for a short stay and get home again before the weather turns bad.

  Little Mikey is something else. He’s already talking a blue streak and he’s only two. He tries to say my name but comes out something more like “shush”. Dean doesn’t help because he just keeps getting him to call me it. He mainly does it when he doesn’t like something I’m saying. He’ll point at me and say, “Who’s that?” Mikey says, “Shush” and if I start talking again, he’ll keep saying it.

  It’s not funny! I can hear you laughing from here. Well, it’s a little funny. Sadie is becoming a real beauty. She’s fourteen now and I think she has a crush on a boy that lives down the road. I don’t know if Dean has noticed, but I’m not going to say anything about it. He’ll scare the poor kid to death and I don’t even know if Tucker likes her back. Best to keep my mouth shut so Sadie doesn’t become embarrassed by her pa.

  I’m sorry if some of my writing is shaky. It’s not because of my aches and pains, it’s Trouble. He keeps pestering me to pet him. Speaking of him, he can do all of the things you mentioned, plus fetch and speak. Tessa said that when your folks took you to the circus some of the poodles could walk on their front paws and stuff like that.

  I don’t know about doing that, but it’ll be interesting to see what all he can learn. Mikey is here telling me to shush, so I guess that means it’s time for me to quit.

  Seth

  Maddie laughed and put the letter down. It was easy to see it all in her mind, but it wouldn’t be the same as seeing it in person. She rose and looked out her bedroom window onto the street below. Carriages passed beneath her, their passengers lost in their lives, going places. Maddie suddenly felt stifled. In a way, she was as stuck as Seth.

  He was confined to a sofa or bed and she was confined to her home. While she loved her home, it would be nice to leave it sometimes. Maddie remembered the days when she had only been home long enough to prepare for a night out or to sleep. As she looked down on the street and thought about the past, Maddie found that the things she used to enjoy doing seemed meaningless.

  The balls, parties, and dinners had kept her busy, but what had she accomplished other than raising money for various causes? She’d thought herself happy, simply having fun every day. She’d been doing exactly what she’d told Tessa she would do. The night she had been introduced to society, Maddie had said to Tessa that she was having too much fun to settle down and that when she did, it would be with someone exciting and fun.

  She was twenty-one, still young, and should still be having fun. Instead she was cowering in her home, afraid to start attending events and such again because of the very real possibility of encountering Theo. The thought made her shiver and for a moment, she could feel his cruel hands on her flesh, his mouth grinding down on hers.

  Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath had quickened. She needed a distraction before she succumbed to panic. She picked up Seth’s letter and read it until she calmed down. Maddie kept her mind on Seth. His letters were funny and it was obvious that he loved his family.

  Maddie wondered what he looked like and then remembered that her father had told her that all three of the Samuels men were tall and well built. He’d said that Seth and Dean were blond with blue eyes while Marcus had jet black hair and gray eyes. She was surprised that she was thinking about Seth in a slightly romantic sense. Why would that be? Maybe it was because his letters were so personal that it felt as if they were having a conversation instead of just words on paper.

  Had he ever been in love? Maddie had been infatuated, but never in love. She was no angel when it came to the opposite sex. If her parents knew about some of her exploits, they would no doubt be disappointed, but she’d been young and impetuous. She knew what passion was and looking back on it, wasn’t regretful.

  She was wise to the way men thought about women and figured that Seth was no different. Had there been a special woman in his life? Maddie suspected not since he was mainly on the trail. Maddie’s mind was suddenly overflowing with q
uestions about the man and she realized that she had nothing to lose by going to Montana.

  Seeing Tessa would be wonderful and meeting her niece and nephews was an added bonus. Geoffrey said that it was a beautiful, wild land and Maddie was shocked by her unexpected yearning to go there. She would be free of fear there and with people who cared about her. Getting out of Pittsburgh for a time could be the best way to put the awful incident behind her and be happy again.

  Maddie decided to discuss the matter with her parents to get their thoughts on it. She wasn’t asking for permission, she just wanted them to be involved in her plans. No longer interested in a nap, Maddie dressed and went downstairs.

  Chapter Seven

  Tessa paced in the kitchen, looking out the windows every little bit. Seth watched her with a mixture of amusement and irritation from his seat on the sofa. He’d started to be able to do a little walking the past week, but it was not pretty or painless. Doc had brought him some crutches that would fit his tall frame and he’d experimented with them.

  His collarbone had long ago healed and he’d worked a lot of the stiffness out of his shoulder. With help, Seth could get up and stand on his left leg and then swing forward slowly. He couldn’t go very fast because it caused searing pain to run up his leg. Seth was amazed at how quickly going the short distance from the parlor to the kitchen sapped his strength.

  Seth understood how Tessa felt. He was equal parts excited and nervous. Meeting women had never been a problem for him in the past, but that was when he was whole and healthy. Now, he felt like half a man and worried about what Maddie would think when she first met him. Would she see a cripple and pity him? He hoped not, but couldn’t blame her if she did.

  Tessa’s exclamation of joy announced that Dean and Marcus had arrived with her sister. She ran out the door without helping Seth get up and flew up the drive. Maddie hopped down from the wagon before Dean could stop her and hurried to meet Tessa. The two women hugged and laughed and cried, overjoyed to see one another.

  “Let me see you!” Tessa said. “I think you’ve gotten taller.”

  Maddie laughed. “Look at you with your tan skin and hair in a braid. It suits you, Tessa.”

  “Thank you. You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” Tessa said and hugged Maddie again. “I’ve missed you so much!”

  Dean smiled as he watched the two sisters. They couldn’t have been more different. Maddie’s blonde tresses were in stark relief from Tessa’s deep brown hair. While Tessa was a little taller than many women, Maddie was more petite. On the ride to the ranch, he’d discovered that their personalities were different as well.

  Tessa was excited and curious about everything and showed it. Maddie was a little more reserved or maybe she was just a little shy. Dean couldn’t blame her after what she’d experienced and the fact that she was heading into the unknown. It had been a good idea that she hadn’t made the trip to Montana alone, he thought and smiled again.

  He looked back into the wagon and gave a silent nod.

  “What am I? Chopped liver?”

  Tessa whirled around upon hearing the dearly familiar voice of their father. “Papa!” she shrieked when she saw him pop up from inside the wagon.

  Geoffrey had agreed that going to Montana would be good for Madelyn, but there was no way she was going without him. He’d proposed that they all go, but Claire was too busy with school and Maureen had come down with influenza so Geoffrey alone had accompanied Maddie.

  He disembarked from the wagon and was caught up in the whirlwind that was his eldest daughter. Geoff enfolded her in his embrace and lifted her from the ground, something he hadn’t done for a long time. She hung on and laughed. He put her down and held her from him.

  “You look wonderful, daughter,” he said.

  Tessa’s eyes danced. “So do you, Papa. I can’t believe Maddie didn’t tell me you were coming.”

  Maddie chuckled. “It wouldn’t have been a surprise if I did, now would it have?”

  Tessa took her hand. “No. And it’s a wonderful surprise.”

  Marcus stepped over the seat of the wagon and grabbed the reins from Dean. “Go introduce Maddie and Geoffrey to the rest of the family. I’ll take care of the team and the bags,” he said and gave Dean a playful shove off the wagon seat.

  Dean didn’t argue with his brother. He was excited as everyone else and grateful to Marcus for allowing him the opportunity to see the first time that Geoffrey and Maddie would meet Mikey. Sadie came out carrying the little fellow.

  Dean took him from his daughter and held him. “Mikey, this is your Grandpa. Why don’t you go say hello?”

  Geoffrey smiled at Mikey. He saw traces of both Dean and Tessa in his grandson and it was going to be a tossup as to who he would end up looking more like when he was grown.

  His dark hair was wild and his blue eyes alive with curiosity about this new person.

  “Hello, Mikey. I’m very pleased to meet you,” Geoff said and held his hands out in the universal way of asking a child to come to them.

  Mikey gave Geoff a shy smile and leaned towards him. Geoff took him and was surprised by how solid Mikey was. He was obviously well fed. He kissed Mikey’s forehead and pride in this little person blossomed in his chest. Mikey kissed him back and they all laughed.

  “That’s his mother’s training,” Dean said. “He does it to everyone.”

  “It’s splendid,” Geoff said.

  Then Mikey spotted Maddie and he leaned towards her without being coaxed. Maddie stepped forward and took the little boy who instantly began playing with her silky blonde hair.

  “Michael, don’t mess up your Aunt Maddie’s hair,” Tessa scolded.

  Maddie said, “Oh leave him be. You are a handsome little man, aren’t you?”

  Mikey kissed her. Marcus came by them carrying a couple of suitcases. “Can’t say I blame him,” he said casting a wicked smile Maddie’s way.

  “You’re a flirt,” Maddie said.

  “Guilty,” Marcus said and kept on going.

  He entered the house and went into the parlor. Seth blocked his path with one of his crutches.

  “Help me up,” Seth whispered.

  “What?”

  “Help me up. Put the damn suitcases down and help me up,” Seth growled.

  Marcus’ dark brows drew together in annoyance. “How about you say ‘please’?”

  “How about you just do as I’m asking and I won’t kill you?” Seth countered.

  Marcus sighed and put the bags down. He wasn’t afraid of Seth; it was just that it was sometimes easier to do what his big brother wanted and get it over with because Seth didn’t let things go easily.

  Call it silly, but Seth wanted to be on his feet when Maddie saw him for the first time. It would make him feel a little more confident. He didn’t remember ever being this nervous about meeting a woman before.

  Marcus got up under Seth’s right arm. Seth held one of the crutches in his left hand and prepared to use it to pull himself up.

  “Ready?” Marcus said.

  “Yeah,” Seth replied.

  Grunts from Marcus as he took on most of Seth’s weight and creative expletives from Seth filled the room. Finally the job was completed and Seth stood upright even though his leg throbbed. Marcus frowned as he watched Seth’s face become pale.

  “You ok? Maybe you should sit back down. That’d be better than falling down,” he said.

  Seth closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths as he fought to stay conscious. Finally the fog cleared and some of the pain subsided. “I’m fine. How do I look?”

  “Like you’re going to fall over,” Marcus said.

  “Don’t be an ass,” Seth said.

  “I wasn’t,” Marcus responded. “I was being truthful.”

  “Same thing.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  Seth said, “You’re supposed to tell me I look great, handsome, something to give me some confidence, you idiot.”

&
nbsp; “Oh, so you mean lie to you. Ok. In that case, you look, um, determined. Stubborn. And clean. At least you’re clean,” Marcus joked.

  Seth threw Marcus a disgusted look and began moving towards the kitchen. He got to the doorway and looked out. He recognized Geoffrey and smiled as he remembered Maddie swearing him to secrecy that he would be coming with her. It was good to see him again. Geoffrey moved and Seth caught sight of Maddie wondered if he was hallucinating again like the time he’d gotten too much laudanum.

  Her long, platinum blonde hair was pinned up in an intricate style that Seth had seen mainly in the larger cities they’d passed through on the way to Texas or in Chicago. Big blue eyes framed with long, dark lashes held a luminosity that was entrancing. Seth’s eyes stopped at her mouth, which was full and pink. He had a strong urge to kiss those lovely lips.

  She was a few inches shorter than Tessa, and a little more voluptuous. Hers was a true hourglass figure and Seth wondered what it would be like to hold her in his arms. He squelched such thoughts as she turned in his direction and honed in on him with those extraordinary eyes. Suddenly he was nervous again, hoping to measure up to whatever expectations she’d had. Seth hated feeling self-conscious and gathered his courage. He was not about to give in to such doubts.

  When Maddie had met Dean and Marcus, she was immediately struck by how handsome they both were. At first it was hard to think that they were related because they looked so different. Dean had blond good looks while Marcus was darkly attractive. No wonder her sister had fallen for Dean and she wondered if Seth was as good-looking as his brothers.

  As they made the trip from Wolfe’s Point to Dawson County, Maddie discovered that it was much more than Dean’s looks that had attracted Tessa. He was kind, considerate, and funny. Marcus was a natural clown and made good-natured fun of everyone. Both men were intelligent and Marcus was very educated. By the time they reached the ranch, she was very comfortable around both men and was enjoying their company very much.