by Kit Morgan
Seth shrugged. “Unfortunately, nothing I didn’t already know. Those outlaws are long gone by now, Cutty with them.”
Eloise's eyes wandered. “Then we shall never know…”
Seth tucked a finger under her chin, and brought her face around look at him. “Now why the long face, darlin’? It’s not the end of the world, you know.”
“But Seth, they’re still out there. So long as they are, none of us is safe, including you,” she pointed out.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said with a casual air.
“How can you not worry? What if something happens?”
“Darlin’, nothing is gonna happen; you’ll see. Ain’t that right, Wilfred?”
Wilfred popped up from behind the counter. “He’s right… mostly. Them outlaws are long gone by now. I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head about it. Besides, Seth here can take care of ya.”
Eloise twisted her reticule in her hands, and looked from one face to the other. “All right, if you say so. But I’d still feel better if they were behind bars. I’m sure Penelope and Constance would agree.”
“That’s right, I’d best go tell Ryder the sheriff’s back. I doubt he knows,” said Seth.
Eloise put a hand on his chest. “Will he be upset that the sheriff didn’t find them?”
Seth took her hand and held it. “He’ll be disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said.
Eloise closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry they didn’t find them. I know how much this means to your brother.”
Seth raised her hand to his lips, looked her in the eye, and kissed it. “It’s disappointing, but he’s a big boy, he can take it.”
A shiver went up her spine, and she suddenly noticed how large and warm Seth’s hand was. “Yes, I’m sure he can.”
Seth tucked a finger under her chin again to get her attention. She looked at him, her hand still engulfed in his, eyes wide as his face lowered to her own. The kiss was gentle, sweet, and oh so warm. Eloise felt herself melt against him as her body made full contact with his.
The kiss deepened.
“Ahem…”
Seth broke the kiss, and slowly turned to look at Wilfred behind the counter, his arms folded across his chest, a silly grin on his face. “What? Jealous?” Seth asked.
Wilfred waved a hand at them. “You youngins best save that until after your weddin’.”
Seth chuckled as he hugged Eloise close, then kissed the top of her head. “That picnic can’t come fast enough for me, darlin'.”
She looked up at him and smiled, but said nothing.
“Is something the matter?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, it’s just the last few days have been so confusing. I’m not sure what I feel anymore.”
He pushed them apart a few inches. “You’re still wondering if we should get married, aren’t you?”
She shook her head again. “I… I don’t’ know.”
He let her go and took a step back. “Eloise, I want to marry you. But if you need more time…”
“No, Seth… I just…” She looked at him, tears in her eyes. Her emotions had caught up with her again. “Oh, Seth… she said as she closed the distance between them, and stepped into his arms. She shuddered as the first tears fell, and let out a small moan when he held her tighter in response. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she muttered into his chest
Seth rubbed a hand over her back to calm her. “There, there, darlin’. Don’t cry. Everything’s gonna be all right, you’ll see. We’ll get married, settle in at the hotel, and then maybe work on starting us a family.”
She gasped, and pushed away from him. “What?”
He looked down at her, his brows raised in amusement. “You heard me.”
She nodded slowly as she stared at him. “But, so soon?”
“Sure,” he said. “Why not?”
“Oh, my …”
“Besides,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you and your sisters all had babies at the same time?”
Wilfred chuckled behind the counter. “Wouldn’t that be somethin’?”
Eloise glanced between them, a stunned look on her face. Oh, my.”
“Is that all you can say, darlin’?”
Eloise laughed. Her emotions were all over the place, and she couldn’t contain them long enough to think straight. Seth reached out to her and pulled her back into his arms. “Let’s get married,” he whispered into her ear. “And spend the rest of our lives together, just you and me.”
His embrace was strong, safe. She’d never felt this before and it was foreign to her. No wonder she’d seen Penelope and Constance step into their husband’s arms so often. Now she knew what she’d been missing.
“Are you okay, darlin'?” Seth asked, concerned.
She nodded against his chest, and burrowed further into his embrace. “I have a lot to learn,” she said.
He held her tighter. “If you're referring to all this marriage business, then that makes two of us.”
“I refer to that, and a lot of other things as well,” she said.
He looked down at her. “Looks like we’ll be learning together. I’m up for it; are you?”
She gazed into his eyes, then let her own roam his face. She reached up and put her palm against his cheek. His skin was soft yet rough at the same time. She’d never touched a man like this before and it sent a small thrill through her. “If you’re ready, I’m ready.”
He took her hand from his cheek, kissed the soft skin of her wrist, and smiled. “Then say hello to your new husband, darlin’.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Seth crossed the street to the Waller’s home. He knocked on the door and Grandma answered. “I’m here to see my brother.”
“That’s all well and good, but he ain’t here,” she said. “He’s down at the hotel with his wife. I thought you knew.”
Seth shook his head. “No, I’ve been over at the mercantile talking with Wilfred and Eloise.”
“Eloise is in town?”
“She came into town with Harrison to talk with the sheriff, to find out what happened out there.”
“Not a lot, is what I hear.”
“Yeah, pretty disappointing news.”
“Your brother thought so, too. He ain’t happy about it, I can tell you that,” she said.
“He already knows?”
“Yep. Doc ran into the sheriff on his way back from Harvey Brown’s place. He was the first one to hear the news. He then come straight back to the house and told me.”
“Thanks, Grandma,” said Seth. “I’d best go talk with my brother before he does something stupid.”
“You do that,” she said. “And don’t go doing anything stupid with him!”
Seth turned and looked over his shoulder as he stepped off the porch. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I won’t.”
“See that you don’t,” she said with a scowl of warning.
Seth hurried down the boardwalk toward the hotel. This was not going to be pleasant, no matter how he looked at it. Ryder had to be hopping mad that the sheriff came back with nothing. He knew, because he was.
When he reached the hotel he went upstairs to Constance’s room. He stood at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. No sooner did it open, a fist came at him and hit him square in the jaw. Seth stumbled back as he waved his arms to keep balance, and took a swing without thinking. Ryder ducked just in time, and Seth’s fist hit the door jamb. “OW!”
“Ryder!” Constance shrieked. “What are you doing?”
Ryder shook out his fist, and grimaced. “I just needed to hit somethin’.”
“So you hit your brother?” she screeched.
Seth rubbed his jaw. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“I’m sorry,” said Ryder. “I’m just upset.”
“I can tell,” said Seth.
“Ryder,” Constance said, “this is ridiculous! You've got to get a hold of yourself!”
&nbs
p; “It’s not myself I need to get a hold of. It’s Cutty.”
Seth shook his head to clear it. “Save your energy brother; you’re going to need it.”
Ryder studied him. “You thinkin’ what I’ve been thinking?”
Seth nodded. “Yep.”
“When do you want to head out?”
“As soon as you’re able.”
“What are you two talking about?” Constance asked, a worried look on her face.
“I know you’re not gonna like this, sugar, but me and Seth here are going after Cutty.”
“What?!” she gasped.
“You heard him,” said Seth. “It’s got to be done, and we’re the two to do it.”
“What do you mean, you’re the two to do it? The sheriff was just out there, and he didn’t find anything!”
“That’s because we weren’t with him,” said Seth.
“Yeah,” added Ryder. “If we were, we probably would’ve caught them.”
Constance threw her hands in the air. “I don’t believe this! You two are mad! What makes you think you’re good enough to find anything if the sheriff himself couldn’t?”
“Ryder smiled. “Sugar, you got a lot to learn about trackin’ a man down.”
She stared at him, her mouth half-open. “You make it sound as if you’ve done it a lot.”
The two brothers stared at her, but said nothing.
Nine
“Harrison!”
Eloise and Harrison looked up at the same time as Constance ran toward them. “What is it?” asked Eloise.
Constance reached the wagon, and bent over in a very un-ladylike manner to catch her breath. “It… it’s Seth…”
“What about Seth?” Eloise asked, concerned.
“Give her a moment to breathe, cousin.” Harrison told Eloise, then turned to Constance. “What about him?”
“He and Ryder are going after the outlaws!”
“What?!” Harrison exclaimed. “But the sheriff found nothing!”
“Yes, that's why they're determined to go after them,” Constance explained. “They think they can find what the sheriff couldn't.”
“Oh, for the love of…” Harrison lamented. “You two stay here while I go talk some sense into them.” He stomped across the street in the direction of the hotel, leaving Constance and Eloise to stare after him.
“Seth can’t go after those outlaws, he just can't!” Eloise said, her voice desperate.
“Seth?” said Constance. “What about Ryder?”
“I'm… I'm not as worried about your husband.”
“What do you mean you're not as worried?”
“Well… it's just that… Ryder seems more accustomed to racing off across the prairie than his brother.”
“Meaning?”
“What I mean is… Seth is more… civilized and not as experienced as Ryder in these matters.”
Constance put her hands on her hips and stared, mouth agape. “Well, I never! I can't believe you think my husband is uncivilized!”
“I didn’t say Ryder is uncivilized; what I'm saying is that Seth … isn't as good an outdoorsman as his brother.”
Constance stared at her, her hands falling to her sides, as she now understood what Eloise said. “Oh, I see. Well, I must say, Seth doesn't appear to be much of a dandy.”
“He's not a dandy, he just isn’t the type to … oh, I don't know what I'm trying to say.”
“Are you saying he's not as skilled as Ryder?”
“Yes, that's it!”
“How do you know?” Constance asked.
Eloise began to shift from one foot to the other. “Well, any fool can take one look at him and tell.”
“Never judge a book by its cover,” said Constance. “Seems to me you're not giving Seth a chance to prove himself.”
“He doesn't have to prove himself to me, I know what he’s made of,” argued Eloise.
“Oh really?” asked Constance. “Well, if you ask me, if he's aiming to go after those outlaws, then he must know what he's doing. Otherwise, he wouldn't go.”
Now it was Eloise’s turn to stand, hands on hips, and stare at her sister. She had a point, however, “But it’s dangerous!”
“Of course it’s dangerous. They’re going after outlaws!”
“Yes, and that being the case, why are you so willing to let your husband ride off into danger?”
“It's not that I'm willing; Ryder will do what Ryder … is going to do, and there's not a lot I can do to stop him!”
Eloise folded her arms across her chest. “Men!”
“Yes, men!” agreed Constance.
Eloise was about to comment further when she saw Harrison approach, with Seth and Ryder right behind him. “Well?” she asked as they reached them. “Tell me you talked some sense into these two.”
“Yes, tell us,” urged Constance. “They can't expect to go riding off after those outlaws by themselves.”
“Oh yes, we certainly can expect, Sugar,” said Ryder.
Constance's mouth fell open as her eyes went wide. “You are not going after those outlaws!”
Ryder looked at Seth and Harrison. “As you can see, my wife likes to speak her mind.”
Seth fixed his gaze on Eloise. “Are you going to speak your mind, too?”
She took a deep breath and glared at him. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.”
“Well before you start,” he said. “It might interest you to know that we’re not going anywhere.”
“You're … you’re not?” she stammered.
“Nope,” said Seth. “You and me are gonna go to a picnic and get married.”
Eloise sighed in relief, turned to Harrison, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“Hey, what about me?” Seth said, annoyed.
Eloise looked at her intended. “That was for talking you out of going.”
“What about us?” asked Constance as she looked at Ryder. “Are we going home now?”
“No, Sugar, we ain’t. We’ll stay at the hotel until after Seth and your sister get married. Then we'll go back to our place.”
“So,” said Harrison. “We’re all in agreement that you two are to stay put? Let the lawmen handle the law?”
Ryder and Seth looked at one another and shrugged. “Fine by us,” said Seth.
“Yeah, I guess there’re more important things than chasin’ after a bunch of silly old outlaws,” added Ryder.
Relieved, Eloise and Constance closed their eyes at the same time. “Thank you,” Constance told her husband. “I don't know what I'd do if… anything happened to you.”
“That goes for me, too,” said Eloise. She took one of Seth's hands and gave it a squeeze. “After all, how fitting would it be for me to lose you before we marry?”
Seth took her in his arms. “Wouldn't be fitting at all,” he said and then, without warning, kissed her.
Constance let out a small gasp. Ryder, on the other hand, laughed and pulled her against him. “I think my brother has the right idea, don’t you, Sugar?” Before she could comment, his lips found hers, and she melted into his arms.
Seth broke his kiss with Eloise, and stared at his brother. “I guess we better stop before we make a spectacle of ourselves in public.” Eloise also glanced at the kissing couple, and giggled. “Is that what we look like?”
“Probably worse.”
Harrison leaned against the wagon and shook his head. “I hate to be the one to break up your … er … sparking party, but I have to get back to the ranch.”
Eloise sighed and looked at Seth. “I guess this means it's time to leave. I wish I could stay.”
He took her other hand and kissed it. “Maybe you can.”
Eloise smiled. “I wish I could, but it is our wedding the women came to plan. I should be there for at least part of it.”
Seth nodded his reluctant agreement. Harrison stepped away from the wagon. “I’m sure the womenfolk will need to come into town tomorrow. You’ll see her the
n.”
Seth gave him a single nod, before he returned his attention to Eloise and took her hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed it again. “Until tomorrow.”
Eloise blushed, not sure how to respond to the look he was giving her. “The women want to decorate the picnic with flowers for our wedding.”
“Land sakes, darlin'; I might have to go pick me some flowers right now!”
His remark elicited a giggle from her, and she blushed again. “I wish I could help you.”
“So do I…”
“Eloise, we need to get back!” Harrison reminded her.
“I understand,” she told him, without taking her eyes from Seth. “But I do so wish I could stay.”
Seth's eyes flicked to Harrison's, but he was answered with a shake of his head. Seth turned back to Eloise. “Sorry, darlin'; looks like you got to go back.
“It's all right,” she said.
“Do you really want to stay?” he whispered.
“Eloise!” Harrison urged.
She ignored him, and continued to gaze at Seth, her mouth curving up into a smile. “It would be nice to spend more time with you before we’re married, but I understand that that's not how things work out here.”
“If this was Oregon City, or someplace like Denver, we might already be married. Heck, we’d have been married as soon as you got off the stage.”
“I, for one, am glad this isn't Oregon City or Denver, and that we’ve had some time to get to know one another first. You have to admit, courting does have its charms.”
“I guess I never thought of it that way,” he said.
“Oh, for the love of …” Harrison groaned. “I say, Cousin, but we really do need to get going. Now!”
Eloise looked between the two men before her eyes settled on Seth. “Goodbye.”
Seth nodded his understanding and let go of her hand. Eloise hugged Constance who had been standing silent at Ryder’s side. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course,” said Constance.
Harrison sighed with relief, helped her up onto the wagon seat, then climbed up and took up the reins. With a slap they were off. Seth, Constance and Ryder watched them go. “Do you think courtin’ would've made a difference for us?” Ryder asked his wife.
“I don't really know,” she answered. “Does it matter if a man and woman get to know each other and then get married? Or get married first, and then get to know each other?”