by Linda Bridey
When Geoff popped his head into the examination room, Seth realized that a nurse must have fetched him. Geoff was surprised to see sheer terror on Seth’s face.
“Seth? What did he say?” Geoff asked. His expression was one of deep concern.
“He’s gonna do the surgery tomorrow. Says we gotta do it right away. Thinks he can fix it pretty good.” Seth’s disjointed statements spoke volumes about his fear.
Geoff sought to ease that fear. He placed a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “You’re not alone, Seth. You have all of us to help you.”
Seth grasped Geoffrey’s hand and said, “I’ll never be able to repay all your kindness, but I’ll sure as hell try.”
That evening there was a small party in Seth’s private room for which Geoffrey had insisted he would pay. The older man knew how annoying staying in one of the wards could be and didn’t want Seth to have to endure that. They all told stories and teased one another and Seth almost forgot that he was having surgery the next day. He’d never been under the knife before and was terrified.
Maddie sat by his side the whole time and when his supper came Claire took the tray and fixed his food, even cutting it for him. Seth watched her with amusement and wondered if she was going to feed it to him. He caught Maddie looking at Claire with annoyance and wondered if she were jealous. The thought tickled him and he smiled at Claire all the more just to get Maddie’s goat.
“Claire, you should be a nurse. You seem to be very good at taking care of people,” Seth remarked.
Claire raised her brows and gave him a disdainful expression. “I should think not. I wouldn’t want to give men bed baths.”
“Claire!” Maureen chastised her. “That is completely…”
Geoff and Seth laughed so loudly that it drowned out her rebuke. “I don’t blame you, Claire,” Seth said. “I wouldn’t want to give men bed baths either.”
That made them all laugh until a nurse came and told them it was time for them to leave. Claire kissed Seth’s cheek and wished him luck and promised to visit him the next day, as they all did. Maddie waited until last. Geoff pulled his wife and Claire from the room and drew them down the hall a little.
“What are you doing, Geoff,” Maureen said.
Geoff cleared his throat and said, “I think they need a little privacy, dear.”
Maureen’s fine blonde brows shot up. “You mean, they, he, she?”
Geoff smiled. “Are there any more pronouns you would like to say? Yes, they, he, she,” he confirmed.
Maureen put her hand to her mouth. She’d wondered but wasn’t sure before now. “Is it serious?”
“I think so,” Geoff said.
“But, he lives in Montana,” she said.
Geoff was married to a very intelligent woman who normally was well spoken even when very upset. To see her sputtering and uttering inane statements was very funny.
“Yes, he does. It stands to reason since he’s Dean’s brother,” Geoff said.
Maureen glanced at him sharply. “This isn’t funny, Geoffrey. I don’t want Maddie to be hurt. I know that Seth is a little loose from what you’ve told me.”
“Relax, Maureen. He and I have reached an understanding about that,” Geoff assured her.
Knowing how protective Geoff was of their children, Maureen didn’t doubt it. She sighed and said to Claire, “We’ll do as your father says. Come with me, Claire.”
Claire was excited at the prospect of a romance between her sister and Seth. “Do you think they’ll get married, Mama? Like Tessa and Dean? I sure do hope we get to attend their wedding.”
Maureen grew teary-eyed at that thought. She was still upset sometimes that she hadn’t even gotten to meet her son-in-law, watch Tessa get married, or be there for the birth of their first grandchild. “If that should come to pass, we’ll be there. Nothing will prevent us,” she promised Claire.
Seth held Maddie close and kissed her forehead. “I’m going to be fine, darlin’,” he said.
Funny how he was the one having the surgery but Maddie was the one who was suddenly nervous. “I know. It’s just that I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Shhh. It’s ok. You’re not getting rid of me any time soon, Maddie,” Seth said.
Maddie looked at him and said, “I better not be.”
Seth sighed. “Maddie, I know I’m not the kind of man that you’re used to. You know, all suave and stuff. I’ve never been to a fancy ball or anything like that. I’ve been with a lot of women. I’m being honest with you because you deserve that from me. I’m not perfect. I can be cranky and cuss and tie one on from time to time. I don’t know which fork I’m supposed to use first or bother putting a napkin on my lap. But I know that I’ve never met anyone like you in all my life and I want to be with you, Maddie.”
Maddie said, “I want to be with you, Seth. I don’t care about any of that. I knew what you were like from that first letter because you were honest with me then and you’ve been nothing but honest with me ever since. No one is perfect, Seth. I’m not exactly as pure as the driven snow, you know.”
Seth arched a brow at her. “Are you sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?”
“Yes. I’m not a virgin, Seth. Does that shock you?” Maddie cared what Seth thought of her and knew that there was the expectation that good women waited until they were married. That she hadn’t sometimes made her feel less than worthy, and if her parents knew she could imagine how disappointed they’d be in her.
The lazy smile that he gave her reassured her. “So you think that you having a little bit of she-devil in you bothers me? Hell, no, Maddie, it doesn’t shock me. Who wants to be an angel all the time? Now I really want to get this surgery over with and get better. I want to see that she-devil in action,” he said and kissed her soundly.
Maddie laughed when he released her and pushed away from him. “Stop that. Don’t mess up my hair. My family will know that we were fooling around.”
“Don’t worry, your pa already knows and I’ll bet your ma does by now, too,” Seth said.
Maddie was aghast. “Papa knows? How?”
Seth cleared his throat and looked at her with a sheepish expression. “I think he saw us in the hall this morning. In the carriage he made it very clear that I’d better have only the best intentions towards you.”
Maddie covered her mouth and laughed. “I’m sorry, but I wish I could have seen it.”
“You would have liked watching me get roughed up by your father?” Seth said. “You always seem to surprise me somehow.”
“What did he say? What did you say?” Maddie’s curiosity got the better of her. “You should tell Tessa, too. She could write about it.”
“I’m not gonna tell her and don’t you neither. She really will put it in one of her stories. I know your sister. She’ll make me keep repeating it word for word until she gets it all down. Now, look, I’d love for you to stay here all night, but your parents are gonna be back here soon if you don’t go,” Seth said.
Maddie kissed his forehead and said, “You’re right. Good night, Seth. See you tomorrow.”
Seth snared her hand in his strong grip. “You’re gonna be here when I wake up, right?”
The fear in the big cowboy’s eyes tore at her heart. “I promise. I’ll be right here.”
Seth smiled, kissed her hand and let her go, comforted by her promise.
Chapter Eleven
Marcus rode hell for leather on his mare. He was on his way back to the ranch with a letter from Seth. Dean had made him swear that if there was one at the store in Wolfe’s Point he wouldn’t read it until he got back home. He pushed Rosie as hard as he dared and then pulled her up as he neared Lydia and Charlie’s property.
It would be quicker just to cut across than go by the road. His decision was made in an instant and he clicked to her. She was a pretty little palomino with heart and stamina. Marcus knew she’d do whatever he asked and he set off again. She tore along the land right at the barbed-wir
e fence. If Dean knew that Marcus regularly jumped the fences, he’d skin him for sure. He figured what Dean didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
The mare never hesitated. Her small ears pricked forward and she gathered herself as the barrier neared. Instinctively she knew the right moment to launch them both up and over the fence. As she landed, Marcus let out a war whoop that would have made some of his Indian friends proud.
Lydia and Charlie’s house loomed ahead. Marcus and the mare burst into their yard just as Charlie was crossing to the barn. Chickens scattered before the horse. Marcus yelled at Charlie to get out of the way. Charlie staggered back, keeping upright by grabbing onto one of the wash line poles.
“Sorry, Charlie!” Marcus apologized as his hat went flying. “I’ll get that later!” he hollered and then turned back around.
“Was that Marcus?” Lydia said coming out on the front porch.
“Yeah. He almost ran me down,” Charlie said. “And he lost his hat.”
Lydia laughed. “Wonder what got into him this time.”
“Maybe he found another book to add to his collection and couldn’t wait to get home to read it,” Charlie groused and set off again for the barn. The kid annoyed the heck out of him most of the time. He let Marcus’ hat where it was, not caring if the chickens pecked it full of holes.
“What in the world?” Dean said as he saw Marcus and his mare coming across the back pasture like the hounds of hell were chasing them. “How did he get in there?”
Marcus caught sight of Dean watching and cursed. Now he was going to have to think of a clever lie to tell Dean. He rode up to the paddock gate and dismounted. He almost left the mare where she was until Dean said, “You can’t leave her there like that after runnin’ her that hard. What’s the matter with you?”
Marcus rolled his eyes and quickly divested the mare of her saddle and bridle and let her go. Her sides glistened with sweat and her chest rose and fell rapidly. Marcus opened the paddock gate and she followed him through. Marcus spent the next fifteen minutes cooling her down. Then he retrieved the saddle and bridle and put them where they belonged.
Dean watched him the whole time, knowing that something was up with his little brother. Every movement Marcus made was filled with a barely restrained high energy, which usually signaled that he had something on his mind. And that spelled trouble most of the time.
Once he was finished, Marcus started walking over to the house. Dean asked, “Where are you going?”
“To read the letter Seth sent,” Marcus tossed back over his shoulder.
“What? There’s a letter? Why didn’t you say so?” Dean said and started after Marcus.
Marcus smiled. He wasn’t going to have to lie after all. Dean would just forget all about seeing them coming through the pasture. “You’re always sayin’ that I don’t follow orders. I just wanted to show you that I follow them just fine.”
“I’m gonna kill you,” Dean said.
“You been saying that as long as I can remember and yet I’m still here,” Marcus said.
“I’m gonna kill you and that smart mouth,” Dean said as they entered the kitchen.
Tessa was at the kitchen table coloring with Jack and Mikey. “Why are you killing your brother this time, dear?”
“He waited until he cooled his horse and put everything away before telling me that a letter from Seth came,” Dean said.
“He told me to cool her down. I was just following orders,” Marcus said innocently.
Tessa said, “I don’t care about that. Read the letter, for goodness sake, Marcus.”
Marcus said, “Where’s Sadie? She’ll want to hear it, too.”
Tessa said, “She can read it later. She’s in town at the moment with the Fosters.”
“Ok.” Marcus wasted no time in opening it and beginning to read.
Dear family,
I’m doing fine. The leg’s coming along nicely. Dr. Flemming is happy with it. He says I have to get off my butt now and work on getting it stronger again. They have some kind of thing here called physical therapy. It’s just a fancy way of saying “hard work”, I think. I start that tomorrow so by the time you get this, I’ll be a little ways into it.
The O’Connors and their friends sure are different than what I’m used to. Tessa, you know it’s true, so don’t take offense. I now see why you ran away. I sat through one of your pa’s business dinners last week and if it wasn’t for Claire explaining to me what they were talking about, I wouldn’t have understood half of it. Stuff about shifts in the global markets and whatnot. I think I have a general idea about what it means, but I’m gonna have to have her explain it to me when no one else is around so I don’t look as stupid as I am.
Marcus burst out laughing. “I’d have liked to have seen that,” he said and started reading again.
I can hear you laughing from here, Marcus. Shut your trap. This little sister of Maddie and Tessa’s has more smarts in her little finger than you’ve got in your entire body. I’m not kidding about that. I’ve seen her put some of Geoff’s business partners to shame and these guys have been in business for decades. Tessa, did she used to cut up your food? I swear she thinks I’m an invalid. She’s always serving me, buttering my toast, or coaxing me into eating more. I think I’ve gained ten pounds because I don’t have the heart to tell her no.
Now it was Dean that laughed. “He acts tough, but when it comes to women or kids, he’s all mush inside. Sounds like your little sis has him wrapped around her finger, Tessa.”
“I’m not surprised,” Tessa said. “That was something Papa started with her. She was a finicky eater when she was little and the only way Mama or Papa could get her to eat was if they sat her on their lap and had her cut up their food. Then they would eat a bite and make her take one.”
Marcus smiled. “That must have been cute.”
Tessa said, “It was. She’s never quite gotten out of the habit. She still likes to cut up others’ food before she’ll eat. It always drove Maddie mad. I can just imagine the look on her face if Seth is letting Claire get away with it,” she said with a grin.
I miss all of you. I miss Montana and can’t wait until I can come home. How’s everyone there? I hope all of you are well. I hope Trouble isn’t giving you a hard time. This is a heck of a predicament to be in. I’ll be glad to get home, but then I’ll be missing everyone here, too. Especially Maddie. I’m not exactly sure what’s going happen there, but I’ll figure it out.
Marcus frowned. “What’s he talking about?”
Dean laughed. “You mean you didn’t notice how close he and Maddie were?”
The confusion in Marcus’ gray eyes was Dean’s answer.
“You know, for someone who’s so smart, you sure can be dumb,” Dean said.
“Seth and Maddie are sweet on each other? Wow. I didn’t see that comin’,” Marcus confessed. Then he smiled. “That’s great.”
Well, hopefully the next time you hear from me, I’ll be telling you I’m on my way home. Give all the kids kisses for me and Marcus give Dean and only Dean the other envelope with this letter. I mean it. Only Dean. I’m asking you as my brother to respect my wishes here, please.
Seth
Marcus looked inside the outer envelope and saw a smaller one. He handed it to Dean without question and folded up Seth’s letter and tucked it back in the envelope and gave it to Tessa. Dean opened the other envelope and read the letter inside. One of his brows quirked up at one point but other than that he never gave anything away.
Tessa’s imagination was in overdrive by the time he was done. “What did he say?”
“I can’t tell you,” Dean said.
“You can’t tell your wife?” Tessa said.
Dean’s expression was regretful. “I’m sorry but I can’t tell anyone. I made a promise to Seth and I intend to keep it.”
Tessa sighed. Dean’s integrity was one of the things she loved most about her husband.
“Of course you have to,” Tessa
said.
Marcus said, “Well, I got some stuff around home to do. I’ll see you all in the morning. I’ll take one of the other horses home and give Rosie a chance to rest up.”
Dean could see that Marcus was upset but trying not to show it. “Marcus, don’t be mad.”
Marcus smiled. “Mad? What do you think I’m mad about?”
“I can’t help it that Seth asked me not to say anything,” Dean said.
“Do I look like I’m still five years old, Dean? Well, despite you and Seth still treating me like I am, I’m not,” Marcus said. “If you can’t tell me, you can’t tell me. I got other things to worry about.”
Dean watched Marcus stride out to the barn. He felt bad that Marcus’ feelings were hurt, but a promise was a promise. He sighed and sat down at the table knowing that being around Marcus the next couple of days was not going to be pleasant.
“Dancing?” Seth asked. “You want me to dance?”
“Yes,” Maddie said. “It’s good exercise.”
Seth let out a laugh of doubt as they stood in the ballroom. He hardly ever sat anymore because it felt so good to be able to stand even if he did have metal rods in his leg. It still hurt but nothing like before the surgery or in the first couple of weeks afterwards. It was a little skinnier than his other leg because it had wasted some, but at least he was mobile.
“Maybe two-stepping is good exercise, but ballroom dancing?” Seth said. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Maddie said, “Well, you’re wrong. Mama, you and Papa show Seth how it’s done and then I’ll show Seth.”
“There really is more to ballroom dancing that you might think, Seth,” Maureen said. Seth’s doubtful expression was amusing.
“Stop talking, wife, and let’s dance,” Geoff said and pulled Maureen with him into the center of the room.
“Waltz?” Maureen asked.
“I’d rather tango, but I don’t think Seth will be up for that for a while yet,” Geoff said. “A waltz it is.”
Seth crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Geoff and Maureen effortlessly glided around the room. They didn’t even need music, he noticed. They seemed to get lost in each other and the music in their heads because their steps became more intricate the longer they danced.