by Linda Bridey
Now, as she played with Mikey and talked with the others, she turned to look at the house and saw the most handsome man she’d ever seen. She knew that he must be Seth, especially since he leaned on crutches. He had blond hair like Dean, but his eyes were a lighter shade of blue than Dean’s. His broad shoulders and powerful arms conveyed the fact that he was a man who performed hard work.
She’d heard of women swooning and had never given any credence to the notion, but when she looked into Seth’s eyes, Maddie had to admit that she felt her knees get a little weak. It rattled her to find that she found a man romantically attractive after what she’d been through, but she felt that she knew Seth because they had exchanged letters. Maddie had come to like him and instinctively trusted him.
She called on her skills as successful debutante who was skilled in covering her feelings and acting as society dictated. Breaking away from Tessa and the other men, Maddie strode towards him with confidence. As she closed the distance between them, she saw Seth straighten and grimace slightly. He was trying to hide it, but standing there was causing him a great deal of pain.
He smiled at her and Maddie again felt that slight twinge of weakness in her legs. She smiled back as he said, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss O’Connor. You’re even prettier than I’d imagined.”
Maddie laughed. “The pleasure is mutual, Mr. Samuels. You know just how to flatter a lady.”
“No, ma’am. Just telling the truth,” Seth said. “Come on in and we’ll get you something cool to drink. I’m sure you’re in need of some refreshments. Your sister was busy preparing some today.”
Seth carefully backed away from the door. He didn’t want to fall over backwards and embarrass himself. Not to mention that he would probably pass out from the pain it would cause. Trouble came bouncing out to the kitchen then and barked at Maddie.
Maddie knelt down to pet the little guy. He was very cute and obviously friendly. He tried to kiss her face and his little tail was a blur of movement as he greeted her. Maddie could see that Tessa had done a good job in cleaning him up. His gray fur was silky soft but he needed trimmed properly. She decided that she would take care of that the next day.
“This must be Trouble. What a handsome dog you are,” she said as she pet him.
Trouble loved the attention and whined with happiness.
Maddie rose. “I can see why you couldn’t turn him away. He’s very lovable.”
Seth looked down at Trouble and grunted. “Yeah. Let’s go sit in the parlor where we can be comfortable.”
“That sounds lovely,” Maddie said.
She was nonchalant as Seth slowly made his way into the room. She didn’t want to call attention to his slow movements. Marcus was there.
“I got it all ready for you, Seth,” he said.
Seth was in too much pain to argue or to be too proud at the moment. Standing for so long had taken a toll on him. “Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate it.” To Maddie he said, “Please sit wherever you would be most comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said.
She waited until Marcus had gotten Seth settled on the sofa before sitting in one of the other chairs that faced the sofa. That way they would be able to converse easily.
“Sorry about all the huffing and puffing. I just started working with these crutches and it hasn’t been easy,” Seth told her.
“I’ll bet not,” Maddie said. “Seth, I know that we’ve just formally met, but I do feel as though I know you somewhat and I don’t want you to think that you have to hide your pain from me. I understand how serious your accident was and that I realize that you’ve suffered a great deal.” She smiled at him then. “I know how you men are about that sort of thing. Even though you’re hurting and somewhat weak at the moment, it’s apparent that you’re still a strong man and you’ll improve with time.”
Seth was touched by her sympathy and honesty. “Thank you. Same goes for you, except you’re not a man.”
“I should hope not!” Maddie laughed.
Seth chuckled. “That didn’t come out right.”
“It’s all right. I knew what you meant,” Maddie said.
Everyone else came in the house at that moment. Dean introduced Maddie to Sadie and Jack, who had come running from the barn to greet the new arrivals. Tessa checked on Seth in motherly fashion and Maddie was amused to see that side of her. Then Tessa and Sadie began setting out snacks and drinks.
Dean had Jack help him bring the kitchen chairs into the parlor so they could all sit together and visit. Once they were all seated, Tessa said, “It’s so good to have you here, Papa and Maddie. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” Maddie replied. “It’s not the same around the house without you there to fight against attending parties and the like.”
Tessa chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure that it’s a lot more peaceful.”
Maddie looked around the room at those gathered there and said, “Tessa hated going to balls and dinners and got out of them in a lot of creative ways. She was a rebel. While most eligible young women were living it up and enjoying their debut, Tessa would rather read or go to smaller gatherings with her closest friends and do God knows what.”
“Yes, Maddie, playing cards and other games was wildly inappropriate,” Tessa quipped. “I’m sorry, Papa, but it was much more fun than dancing with men I didn’t like. Not to mention, sitting around gossiping about other people. It was very tiresome.”
Geoffrey smiled. “We should have heeded a little more I suppose, but I think things worked out the way they were supposed to.”
“They sure did,” Dean agreed as he gave his wife a look filled with love.
Sadie said, “Yeah. We’re very lucky to have Mama.”
Tessa leaned over and patted Sadie’s knee. “I’m lucky to have all of you. Now, who’s ready for more lemonade?”
Seth rested his head back against the sofa. He was tired and was waiting for Dean to come help him into bed. The physical exhaustion was bad enough, but the combination of mental fatigue and restlessness was the worst part of his condition. At night he had dreams of being out on the range, the wind ruffling Hank’s mane and the sound of the cattle moving about playing through his mind.
When he woke, reality slammed down on him in the form of deep throbbing pain in his leg brought about by the inflammation and movement during sleep. He was tired of lying around day after day with not much to do. Sometimes they played cards at night, which was a diversion, but during the day the rest of the family was busy and though they took good care of him, there wasn’t a lot of socializing and he was bored.
Seth was glad for Trouble’s company and some days he was the only thing keeping Seth sane. He worked with his eager canine pupil and had taught him a few things. Even the appeal of that faded after so long and he desperately turned to the books with which Tessa and Marcus supplied him hoping they would help him shut out the pain and boredom. They didn’t.
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. He looked up to see Maddie leaning over him slightly with a concerned expression on her lovely face. Although he searched through his memory to find anything that he’d ever seen that was as beautiful as Maddie, he found nothing that compared. A smile spread slowly across his face.
“Hi. I thought you went to bed,” he said.
Maddie sighed. “I did, but I couldn’t sleep. I think I’m still excited and my brain doesn’t understand that it’s time to go to sleep.”
Seth shifted a little bit. “Yeah, I understand that. Have a seat.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said. She let her eyes roam around the room but also watched Seth as she did so. His chiseled features were partly in shadow, only half of his face lit by the kerosene lantern that hung in the center of the room. She been around many handsome men but Seth was as different from them as the desert from the arctic.
In his casual clothing, Seth’s muscles were well defined and stubble roughened his jaw. His hair
was messy from countless rakings with his fingers and his hands were calloused from years of hard labor. There was nothing suave or debonair about him at the moment but Maddie couldn’t ever remember being more attracted to a man.
“It’s so peaceful here and they’re so many wonderful smells. I can see why Tessa loves it here,” Maddie said. “She always wanted excitement and adventure and our social class’ activities didn’t provide enough.”
Seth chuckled as Maddie sat down and arranged her blue silk robe around her. “Your sister sure does enjoy her adventure. She’s had her share of it, too.”
The prospect of hearing some juicy tidbits about Tessa was too good to pass up. Forgetting manners, Maddie tucked her feet up under her in an unladylike fashion and leaned forward.
“Tell me!” she said.
Seth smiled at the eagerness in her face. “Tell you what? About the time she was sitting in the pasture writing and lost track of time.”
Maddie frowned. “That doesn’t sound very adventurous.”
Tessa isn’t the only one who can spin a yarn, Seth thought. He hid his amusement over Maddie’s disappointment. “Well, it wasn’t really. That is until sun down came and the shadows got long.”
Maddie’s interest returned.
“See, Tessa hadn’t been here all that long and didn’t understand that there are different kinds of creatures around here,” Seth said.
Trouble whined as if afraid and Seth could have kissed the dog for unconsciously playing along with him.
Maddie became enthralled. “Creatures? What kind of creatures?”
The pain in Seth’s leg began to fade as he warmed to his story. “There’re all kinds: wild cats, cougars, wolves, coyotes, and bears. Those are the more common, but there are some others that I’m not sure are ever seen anywhere else.”
“Like what?”
“Like the one that crept up on Tessa that night. It was so quiet that she never heard it until it was almost too late,” Seth said.
Maddie had always loved stories and their father had told them many scary stories as girls. They had shrieked and laughed through them and then piled in Tessa’s bed because they were all too frightened to be alone. It seemed as if she hadn’t changed, Maddie realized.
Seth loved the way her attention was riveted on him. She looked cute and sexy all at once and he could have told stories to her all night just to know he was pleasing her.
“It came up on her slowly, moving one huge foot at a time, putting it down so quietly that it didn’t even make the grass rustle. It was big with a hump on its shoulders and black as onyx. Dead skunk smells better than its breath.”
Maddie wrinkled her nose as she imagined what that would be like.
Seth lowered his voice. “It was only a few inches away when Tessa felt that stinky breath on the back of her neck. She went to turn around to see what was there, but she wasn’t fast enough. It grabbed her hair!” he said loudly.
Maddie jumped and made a little squeaking sound.
Seth leaned forward a little. “It started dragging your sister away, trying to take her back to its lair. She started screaming and hitting at it, but it was way too powerful.”
“How did she get away?” Maddie asked.
“She remembered she had her pencil and stuck it up its nose. It roared with fury and leaped back letting go of her. Then it thundered away, back where it had come,” he said.
“My sister fought off a monster with a pencil?” Maddie said.
“A monster?” Seth shook his head. “Nope. Just a Texas longhorn bull.”
“A bull?” Maddie was confused for a moment before realizing that he’d pulled a fast one on her. She would have hit him if it wasn’t so funny. “You said it was some creature that’s not seen everywhere, not a bull!”
Seth laughed. “Not just any bull. How many people do you personally know that have seen a Texas longhorn?”
Maddie realized that he was right. She doubted that many in her social circles would have any reason to visit the Midwest, much less have anything to do with a Texas longhorn. The thought of some of her friends meeting one was amusing.
“You’re right, of course. I don’t see them strolling along in a pasture where they could possibly be trampled,” Maddie said.
Seth chuckled. “Thanks for not getting mad at me for having a little fun with you.”
“You may have grown up with brothers, but you have no idea what havoc three sisters can wreak on each other. Ask Papa, he’ll tell you,” Maddie said. “On that note, I’ll bid you goodnight. Thank you for the story and the company.”
Seth inclined his head. “Likewise, Miss O’Connor.”
As she rose, Maddie found that she didn’t want to leave him. She worried about how he was going to get to bed, but then figured that they must have an arrangement worked out. They had been doing this ever since Seth had been hurt, after all.
Maddie was an intelligent woman and though she was all for having fun and dreaming about an exciting and wonderful future, she wasn’t quite as fanciful as Tessa. Inside, however, she felt that a connection had been made with Seth as surely as she stood in a beautiful, rustic house in Montana. It had started with that first letter Seth sent. That letter was the beginning of Maddie’s healing process and though she had a ways to go, at least she wasn’t still lying in bed buried under the covers.
She owed Seth a debt of gratitude and intended to repay it somehow. As these deep emotions moved through her, tears came into Maddie’s eyes. She moved closer to Seth and held out a hand. Seth looked up at her with a quizzical expression. Their eyes met then and she gave him a small nod and a smile and he understood. Sometimes saying thanks was hard, especially when so many feelings were attached.
Seth took her hand and shook it as he gave her a smile and a nod back. Her skin was smooth and warm in his large hand. It had been a while since he’d felt a woman’s touch, but it was Maddie that ignited a hunger that hit him out of nowhere. Before he knew what he was doing, Seth brought her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips against the back of it.
Maddie gave a small involuntary gasp of surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that gallant gesture from Seth and she had never been as affected by a man kissing her hand as she was by Seth’s kiss. His lips were surprisingly soft and his touch was gentle. Then he pulled back and released her hand.
“Goodnight, Maddie. Sleep well,” Seth said.
Maddie looked into Seth’s eyes and saw the same storm of emotions mirrored in them. It scared her and she stepped back. She gave him a brief smile. “Goodnight,” she said and left the room.
Chapter Eight
“I want to go outside,” Seth said to Dean the next morning. “I’m tired of being inside. Bring over one of my chairs from my bunkhouse and put it on the flat part of the yard under the oak tree.” He remembered Marcus’ admonishment from the previous day about asking nicely and said, “Please?”
Dean blinked once or twice. Seth must want to go outside very badly if he was being polite. He usually barked orders, which Marcus tended to obey and Dean usually ignored or responded to with a sarcastic remark. That dynamic had been started when they were kids. Seth and Dean had given the orders and Marcus had grown up following them. They weren’t cruel but did expect him to do what they said.
As they grew older, Marcus figured out that he had a different type of intellect than his siblings and began to use it. He started pitting them against one another or using his sharper sense of humor to make them forget what they’d wanted him to do in the first place. It became apparent to Dean and Seth that Marcus was better at scholarly pursuits than they were.
Their different personalities and skills blended well and helped them to keep the ranch going. Over the last year they were starting to turn real profits which they intended to reinvest in their operation. The Holsteins were one such investment.
“All right. We can to that,” Dean said.
Geoffrey came into the parlor. “Top o’ the morning, l
ads,” he said. When he was in a good mood, Geoffrey sometimes let his Irish brogue loose. When he’d first come to the United States, it had been thick but he’d lost it some over the years.
Seth laughed. “Aye and a fine one it ‘tis.”
Geoffrey smiled. “Not bad, not bad.”
“Thanks.”
“So what are you doing?” Geoff asked.
“Moving this guy outside for some fresh air. Might blow some of the stink off him,” Dean answered.
“I’ll help. Just tell me what you want me to do,” Geoff offered.
“All right. I’ll take you up on that offer since Marcus isn’t here yet.” Dean frowned. “He was probably up reading all night again and slept late.”
“Don’t worry about him right now,” Seth said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Geoff laughed. “Is he always this cranky?”
“Yup. Ok, Geoff, follow me, please,” Dean said.
“We’ll fix you up. Not to worry,” Geoff told Seth and left with Dean.
Tessa came in the house, Mikey in tow. Trouble followed them and jumped up with Seth.
“Seth, my husband informs me that you’re going to sit outside for a while,” she said.
“Yeah. I’m going crazy in here, Tessa. I’m not used to this,” he said.
Tessa had come to know her brother-in-law as the rugged outdoorsman who would sleep out in the open as long as the weather was nice. Like Dean, he was used to being in constant motion during the day and playing hard at night. She knew his reputation with women around the area, but also knew that he was a good man. Her heart went out to him. She couldn’t imagine how hard this must be for him.
“Well then, you’re going to need a few cushions to put on those chairs they’re bringing over from your bunkhouse. Come, Mikey, and help your Mama, ok? We’re going to help Uncle Seth.”