by Linda Bridey
“’Kay. Help, shush,” Mikey said. He went over to Seth and gave him a hug. “Unc Shush.”
Seth hugged him back and kissed his head. “Thanks, buddy. Now go help your mama.”
“’Kay. Mama, me help.” Mikey went to her.
Tessa took his hand. “Let’s go.”
Seth watched them leave and thought how lucky his brother was to have such a wonderful woman for a wife and three beautiful kids. He had a sudden wish for a family of his own and then wondered where it had come from. Seth had never planned to settle down. It just wasn’t his style. He was perfectly happy running the cattle drives and traveling around and that didn’t fit in with having a wife and family.
Maddie came into the room and her beauty mesmerized him again. She was wearing one of the simple dresses like Tessa wore and she’d put her hair in a long braid that she wore over one shoulder. With her hair down like that, her blue eyes seemed even bigger and Seth could well imagine getting lost in them forever.
“’Morning,” Seth said. “Did you sleep all right?”
Maddie wasn’t going to tell Seth that she hadn’t been able to sleep for a long time. The sensation of his kiss on her hand had stayed with her and brought about conflicting feelings. She’d had no contact in that respect with a man ever since the attack and wasn’t sure how she felt about it. On one hand, Maddie had enjoyed it very much, but on the other, it had been unexpected and she hadn’t been prepared for the rush of emotions it invoked inside.
“I slept very well, thank you. How are you today?” she asked.
His face, handsome as it was, showed his fatigue and pain. “About the same. The army is assembling and moving me outside. It’ll be a good change for me.”
Maddie nodded. “Yes. I agree. What can I do?”
“Ask your sister. I’m not sure what they have up their sleeves,” Seth said. “Um, I’m sorry about last night. Not the story; that was too much fun. I’m talking about the other thing. Not sorry I did it exactly, but sorry if it bothered you.”
He watched as her eyes lowered in an indication that she had been affected, but he couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or bad.
Maddie wasn’t sure how to answer him at first. She didn’t want to offend him, but felt that she should be honest. “I was surprised; however, it was also pleasant. That’s the first contact of that sort that I’ve had since…” Her words trailed off because she was too bashful to finish the sentence.
Seth smiled. “I get what you’re saying. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”
Maddie gave him a small, coy look. “I didn’t say that it couldn’t. I’m just asking for patience.”
Joy surged through Seth at her words. “I’m not usually much for patience, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.”
Maddie chuckled. “Thank you.”
Tessa came out of her and Dean’s room lugging some cushions. “Oh, Maddie, can you please help us?”
“Certainly,” she said.
After breakfast, Seth was safely ensconced under the oak tree. They’d sat three chairs in a row and laid cushions on them. Physically moving Seth had been an arduous task, especially for him. However, he’d been determined and was glad that he’d made the effort.
Tessa and Maddie had spread a blanket on the lawn and they played with Mikey. Seth was enjoying the fresh air and watching his niece and nephews run around having fun. The breeze was lazy and kept them from getting too hot. Seth looked around the ranch and realized how much he loved it.
He glanced at the kitchen window and remembered their mother sitting her baking on the wide windowsill to cool. Nostalgia swept over him for the days when their parents had been alive. His pa had taken him and Dean on their first cattle drive when they were sixteen and fifteen respectively. The brothers had been so excited about the trip. Marcus had refused to see them off because he was angry he couldn’t go along. He’d only been eleven and too young to do the arduous work required.
Maddie noticed that Seth had retreated somewhere inside himself and wondered at the cause. He didn’t seem upset; in fact he was smiling. His thoughts must have been pleasant. She was curious and said, “A penny for your thoughts, Seth.”
Seth heard his name and turned his attention back to the world around him instead of the past. “Oh, just reminiscing about when I was younger. I was just remembering my first cattle drive.”
“Really? What was it like?” Maddie asked.
“Nah. You don’t want to hear about that,” Seth said.
“If I didn’t want to know, I wouldn’t have asked. Now, out with it,” she responded.
Seth thought her stubborn expression was pretty and adorable. He saw the same formidable will in Maddie as in her sister. Some men wanted women who were meek and easily managed, but Seth appreciated women who knew their own minds and weren’t afraid to speak them.
“All right,” he agreed.
Tessa was ecstatic about more possible writing material and could have kissed Maddie for being persistent. She pulled out her small tablet and pencil, which were always in her apron pocket and found some empty pages.
Seth said, “You crack me up, Tessa. It always amazes me what you’re going to find interesting to write about or use in one of your stories.”
“I never know what might be useful, so I just jot down everything that appeals to me,” Tessa said.
Seth recounted their adventure, telling them about sitting around the campfire at night listening to the herd and the wild animals. He and Dean had had to do their share and had gotten a lesson in what a drive entailed. That was when Dean had discovered that he would prefer to stay home on the ranch and Seth had found that he wasn’t ready to go back home. The endless miles seemed to call to him.
“This one day, Pa sent Dean and me up into the mountains after a couple of calves that had gotten separated from the herd,” Seth said. “It’s one of the places along the trail where there are a lot of rock formations all along the mountains. I was tracking one of the calves when I went around one big rock and saw two little cougar cubs. They weren’t very old. I think that their eyes had just opened and they didn’t move very fast.”
Tessa said, “What did they look like?”
Seth said, “They were tan with dark spots all over their little fuzzy bodies. They mewed and growled. I think they were waiting for their mama to come feed them. Me being me, I just had to go play with them. At first, they hissed at me and tried to get away but they were just too little. I picked one up and pet it and then did the same with the other one. They started purring and rubbing my hands and I was having a blast with them.”
Maddie pictured the little cubs and how cute they must have been. She tried to imagine what Seth had looked like as a teenager. He must have had many girls interested in him. Maddie enjoyed watching him talk. His face was expressive and his eyes smiled when he did. His large hands were surprisingly graceful. She could have watched him all day and not been bored.
“So I’m playing with them and I hear this growl behind me. I knew it was their mother and that I was up the creek without a paddle. I didn’t have a gun. Dean had one, though. I’m standing there trying to come up with a way to get out of there without getting hurt or wetting my pants,” Seth said with a chuckle.
Maddie smiled. “I think I would have in that situation. I’ve never faced down such a fierce animal and I don’t think I want to.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t fun at the time,” he agreed.
Tessa urged him to continue. “What did you do?”
“I slowly turned around to face her but kept my eyes averted. If you look them in the eye, they take it as a threat. Then I heard Dean from somewhere above me. He told me to stay still. I told him not to kill her because she had cubs. He couldn’t believe I’d said that, but he did what I asked.”
“But surely with the situation so dire, shooting her would have been the best option,” Maddie said.
“Probably, but I’ve always had a soft spot for
animals, especially the ones who can’t help themselves,” Seth said and picked up Trouble as he ran over to him. He’d been playing with the kids, but was tired out now. Seth settled the dog on his lap and continued.
“I picked up one of the cubs and held it in front of me. His mama didn’t like that a bit and growled and hissed at me. I started backing up, figuring that she wasn’t going to come at me with her cub in danger.”
Maddie laughed. “You used a poor defenseless baby cougar as a shield?”
“Neither of us had a better idea at the time,” Seth said. “So I just kept backing up until I thought I was far enough to make a run for it. I put the cub down and took off. Dean fired a warning shot and she grabbed her baby and ran. I’ve never gone without a gun since.”
“I can understand why,” Tessa said. “I would have liked to have seen you doing that.”
Hoof beats sounded up the drive and they turned to see who was arriving. Seth recognized Dr. Turner’s horse. Jack and Sadie ran over to him. They were fond of the older gentleman, especially because he showed them things about his medical kit. Sadie in particular took great interest in medical matters and Dr. Turner had taught her things that had come in handy when there had been minor injuries.
“Hi, Doc,” Sadie said. “How are you?”
“I’m good, young lady. And you?” Dr. Turner said as he dismounted.
“I’m good. Are you here to see Uncle Seth?” she asked.
Dr. Turner said, “I’m here to see all of you, but yes, I’m checking up on my patient, too.”
“Can I look at your hacksaw again?” Jack asked.
“No,” the doctor said. “You’ve seen it enough and last time you looked at it, you tried to saw a limb off a sapling and dulled the blade.”
Jack laughed. “It worked out good, too.”
“Not for me. I had to send for a new blade.”
“Sorry again about that,” Jack said.
“Get out of here and let me do my work,” Dr. Turner said good-naturedly.
He continued on his way until he reached the small group under the tree. He noticed Maddie right away and figured that most men did. He’d thought the same way when he first met Tessa. It appeared that there was more than one beautiful O’Connor woman in the family.
Tessa rose and gave the doctor a kiss on the cheek. “Hello, A.J. It’s always good to see you. This is my sister, Madelyn. Maddie for short.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Beauty seems to run in your family, Tessa,” he said.
“Aren’t you sweet,” Maddie said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, doctor.”
“You have to watch him, Maddie. He’s as big a flirt as Marcus when he wants something,” Tessa teased.
“While I mean every word I said, I could use a glass of lemonade or something cool,” Dr. Turner said.
“See?” Tessa said with a smile to Maddie. “We’ll be back.”
Maddie said, “Would you like more lemonade, Seth?”
“No, thanks,” Seth said.
The women left and Dr. Turner said, “How’re you feeling?”
“Like hell, I don’t mind telling you,” Seth said. “This leg should have been healed more than it is by now, right?”
Doc sighed and nodded. “I was afraid of this.”
Seth steeled himself and said, “Is it going to have to come off?”
“I hope not, but I can’t rule anything out, Seth. I know there’s new technology and with some surgery it might be healed, but we don’t have anything like that around here,” Dr. Turner said.
Seth’s jaw worked as he tried to come to terms with the reality of the situation. “So what do we do about it?”
A.J. had known the family a long time and seeing Seth hurt like this was deeply upsetting both on a personal level and professionally. Not for the first time, he wished that he had access to more modern means of practicing medicine. “I’m not sure more time is the answer. If that leg looks as bad as it did last week, then we’ve got to make a decision soon, son.”
“I’ll save you the time of an exam and tell you that it does, Doc,” Seth said.
“Damn,” Doc swore. “You need to go somewhere and have surgery. Is Mr. O’Connor around?”
Seth’s brow puckered in confusion. “Yeah, but what’s that got to do with it?”
Doc rolled his eyes. “You know, there are times when you’re just not too bright. He’s a big deal in Pittsburgh, right? Does a lot of business with people and so he would probably be familiar with the hospitals there and-“
“No,” Seth said quietly. “No.”
Doc looked into Seth’s eyes. The younger man wore a stubborn expression, one that meant that he was not going to change his mind. Instead of intimidating Doc as it would have many men, it made him angry. He got right down in Seth’s face and said, “Young man, I delivered you. You were your parents’ second baby after your ma lost the first one and they were overjoyed when you born healthy and hearty. Did you ever wonder why your name is Seth? You’re named after Seth in the Bible. He was the third born son of Adam and Eve and they were grateful that God had given them another child after Cain killed Abel and Cain was made to leave.”
As he spoke, he poked Seth’s chest for emphasis. “After your pa passed on, I promised your ma that I would always look out for you boys. So if I don’t do all I can to help this leg heal and not have to cut it off, I will be going back on that promise and A.J. Turner doesn’t ever, ever go back on a promise. So I’m going to go talk to Mr. O’Connor and see what can be done and if I have to put you on that train myself, I will. Now, I hope you understand that I’m not going to stand for you talking back to me. What would your mother think if she was here?”
The mention of his mother made him lower his eyes as shame stole over him. He could well imagine his mother’s disapproval and if there was one thing in the world he hadn’t been able to stand growing up was disappointing her in any way.
“There was a baby before me?” Seth asked. “I didn’t know. No one ever said anything about it.”
“It hurt your mother too much and she didn’t want it spoken of. I’m only telling you now because you need to understand why I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do. You’re not going to stop me because I swore an oath to Catherine. You got it?” Doc said and stomped off.
Seth tried to grab the older man, reached too far and lost his balance. He did a slow roll off the chairs onto the blanket, landing with a jar. Trouble had jumped clear and now ran around Seth, barking at him as if urging him to get up.
Pain flared in his leg and burned all the way down it, stealing his breath. “Crap! Trouble, go get Marcus. Get Marcus.”
Trouble had learned names and this was a game that Seth played with him often. Seth only hoped that Trouble would carry out the command correctly.
The poodle tore off, first heading to the house to see if Marcus was there. He found Tessa and Maddie in the kitchen. He barked at them and turned several circles and then ran out the door barking furiously as he made for the barn.
The sisters looked at each other in surprise.
“What was that all about,” Maddie asked as she laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog do that.”
Tessa’s expression was quizzical. “It usually means that something is happening. He gets very excited about things, but he doesn’t act that way over nothing. It usually has to do with Seth.”
“Oh, my God! Seth!” Maddie was out the door in swish of skirts as she ran down the lawn.
She saw that the chairs were empty and ran harder. She found Seth lying on the blankets. She knelt down by Seth and took his hand. “Are you all right?”
“Never better,” Seth croaked as he squeezed her hand back. He felt a little better as he looked up into her lovely face. “You’re as pretty as an angel,” he told her.
Maddie blushed and said, “That’s the pain talking.”
Seth shook his head and said, “Nope. I mean it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen s
uch a beautiful woman.”
“Stop it. Even in pain you’re flirting with me,” Maddie said.
“Yep. I can’t help it. I sent Trouble to go get Marcus. I have no idea where Dean is,” Seth said. “I’d sure like to kiss you sometime, Miss Madelyn,” he blurted.
Maddie laughed. “How do you go from one thing to another so quickly?”
“I don’t know. Jack’s the same way. We get it from Ma,” Seth responded and his sight faded into gray.
Trouble tore into the barn. He’d picked up Marcus’ scent and was hot on the man’s trail. He skidded to a stop and looked around. The dog knew Marcus was there, but the trail stopped at the ladder leading into the hayloft. There were rustling noises coming from the loft. Looking up, Trouble saw Marcus and started barking for all he was worth.
Marcus heard the dog and looked down over the edge of the loft. Trouble was turning circles and then standing up, planting his front paws on the bottom rung of the ladder.
“What’s the matter with you? I don’t have time to play right now, Trouble. I’m busy,” Marcus said.
Trouble didn’t let up. He became more agitated and ran to the barn door and back again. Marcus had seen the dog act that way about various things and knew that it usually meant something was amiss.
“Oh boy,” he said and began climbing down the ladder. He hit the barn floor and Trouble ran out the door.
Marcus started after the dog and followed him to the main house and down the lawn. He saw Seth lying on the blanket Tessa and Maddie had been sitting on. Maddie and Tessa were by his side trying to revive him.
“What happened?” Marcus said as he neared them.
“I’m not sure,” Maddie said. “Trouble came and was very upset so I followed him and found Seth like this. He passed out from the pain.”
Marcus’ gray eyes held concern and humor at the same time. “I’ll be right back.”
He ran up to the house and got a water picture and filled it from the kitchen pump. He took it back down to where Seth lay and began pouring it on his face. Seth sputtered and came to life as the cold water hit him. Marcus kept pouring.
Seth put up his hands to interrupt the flow of water. “Knock it off! Are you trying to drown me?”