by Linda Bridey
Rick watched J.R. stride away. It was obvious that Maddie didn’t want Rick around her son.
“Let’s get something straight, Rick. You might be my brother, but that doesn’t mean that we’re family,” Maddie said in a cool voice.
Rick looked into her blue eyes and said, “You’re right. We don’t know each other well enough, I guess. Although some of your family has made it clear that they’re open to becoming better acquainted. I’d like to get to know you, too.”
Maddie’s mind was in turmoil. “I really don’t want to be seen with you right now.”
“What’s the matter, sis? Ashamed to be seen with your illegitimate brother?” Rick asked with a smile. “C’mon, Maddie. Is it really so horrible? Everything will die down after a while.”
Maddie stepped closer to him, her blue eyes blazing. “I think it was very selfish of you to announce yourself without regard to the blight it would put on our family, especially our parents. And I don’t understand why you waited so long to say anything.”
Rick didn’t back down. “Wouldn’t you want to get to know your father if you were in my shoes? Don’t I deserve to know him and my sisters? I waited until I saw what kind of people you were. Why claim you if you’re not good people?”
“If we weren’t good—never mind. I don’t care what the others do, but I do not wish to associate with you and I don’t want you around our son,” Maddie said.
“I think you’re being a little melodramatic,” Rick said. “What is it you think I’m going to do to J.R.? It seems like he doesn’t have a problem with me being his uncle.”
“He is my son and you will do as I say. Leave him alone,” Maddie said. “And leave me alone, too.”
Rick gave her a half-bow and said, “As milady wishes. Pardon me for my bad behavior. I think you forget where you live now, Maddie. This isn’t Pittsburgh and you are not some high society debutante. You’re married to a rancher in the Midwest and you’re no better than anyone else. You would do well to remember that.” He gave her a sarcastic smile and moved away.
Maddie seethed as she watched him go. How dare he speak to her that way? She knew where she lived and to whom she was married. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t embarrassed and hurt. She turned back to the stage and tried to concentrate on the music.
She loved watching Seth play fiddle and thought him the most handsome man on Earth. She was always fascinated by how his big, strong hands that did hard labor during the day could also nimbly play fiddle with skill and accuracy.
She felt a moment’s shame over her harsh words to Rick, but quickly shoved it aside. She had seen people looking at her and Rick as they’d spoken and their smiles had been slightly cruel. Tears gathered in her eyes as she thought about it. She blinked them away and refocused on her husband. After a few minutes, she began wondering where J.R. had gotten to.
She looked through the crowd, but couldn’t see him. Maddie thought maybe he was with Jake, so she started moving through the tables and people. A man stepped into her path as she was close to entering the bar area.
“Oh, excuse me,” she said and went to step around him.
He blocked her way and said, “Hi. You know, Seth has himself a beautiful wife.”
“That’s very sweet.” Maddie smiled and moved away again, only to be stopped by him once more.
“I was wonderin’ something. Since your pa did a little foolin’ around, maybe the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” he said with a drunken leer.
Maddie backed up but he followed her. “Leave me alone.” She began looking around for Reckless, but couldn’t see her nephew anywhere.
“Aw, c’mon. Let’s have a little fun,” the man said. He wasn’t a bad-looking man, just drunk.
Maddie saw people watching and grew furious. “Listen, you drunken, poor excuse for a man. You had better turn around and get out of my way before my husband comes down off that stage and kicks your can all over this saloon.” Over the years, Maddie had picked up some of the rougher lingo of the area.
He laughed and said, “I like a woman with spunk.”
Rick appeared beside the man. “Yeah, me, too.” He carried two drinks.
The guy said, “See? He thinks you’re beautiful, too.”
“Sure do.”
“Don’t you like it when a woman speaks her mind?” the drunk said.
“Oh, yeah. Both of you stay right there,” Rick said. To the patrons at the table next to him he said, “Do you mind if I borrow this table? You might want to move.”
Maddie couldn’t imagine what Rick was up to, but she figured since he was a bouncer that there must be a reason for his actions. Maybe she was safer where she was.
The people at the table quickly left.
“Thanks for waiting,” Rick said to them. “Maddie, will you hold these?”
Maddie took the drinks but said nothing.
“Now, you don’t want to let her get away do you?” Rick said to the drunk.
“No. Would you?” the guy asked.
“Well, that’s complicated, because of several different reasons. But she’s married. I wouldn’t mess with her husband,” Rick said.
“Who? Seth? I ain’t afraid of him.”
“Oh. Ok. What about her brother?” Rick asked.
“I’m not afraid of him, either. Hell, I hear his pa didn’t even know anything about him,” the man said.
Maddie looked between the man and Rick and couldn’t move.
“I heard that, too. So you’re really going to go after her, even though she’s married and doesn’t want anything to do with you?” Rick asked.
“Hell, yeah,” the drunk said.
“Before you do that, I’d like you to meet someone,” Rick said.
“Who’s that?”
Rick held out his hand and said, “Me.”
“Oh, nice to meet you… I don’t know your name,” the man said with a laugh as he put his hand in Rick’s.
“I’m so sorry. I should have told you sooner. I’m Rick Westlake, Maddie’s brother,” Rick said.
The guy barely had time to register his mistake before Rick slammed his head into the table with such force that he bounced off it and fell to the floor. Rick grabbed the man’s shirt and hauled him within inches of his face. “You ever bother my sister or any other woman in this bar again and I’ll take your head clean off instead of just giving you a bad headache. Do you understand me?”
The man could do little more than nod his head.
“Now get out of here and tell your friends that anyone who messes with my family will have to deal with me. Got it?” Rick yelled.
The offender scrambled to his feet and walked unsteadily towards the door. Rick turned back to Maddie, who had been too shocked to move, and said, “There you go, sis. All taken care of. I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with anyone. Your son had to use the gents. He’ll be along. Thanks for holding my drinks. Have a good night.”
Maddie had to remind herself to close her mouth as she stared after Rick as he worked his way back to Gina.
She looked at him with humor in her eyes and said, “I see that went well.”
Rick sat down and gave her another drink. “Swimmingly.”
“So that’s what it looks like when you get angry?” Gina asked and took a sip.
“That wasn’t angry. That was merely irritated and having fun at the same time,” Rick answered.
Gina laughed as Reckless sat down at their table. “I thought you were not working tonight?” he asked with a grin.
“I’m not. That was purely recreational,” Rick said. “With a little bit of family business mixed in.”
Reckless kicked his chair. “Yes. How come you did not tell me you are my uncle?”
“Why would I want to lay claim to you? You’re ugly and annoying.”
Rick’s chair was kicked again. “Hey, you’re going to make me spill my drink,” Rick protested.
“I’m sorry, but did you just say that Rick
is your uncle?” Gina asked.
“Yes. Since he is Aunt Maddie’s brother, that makes him my uncle,” Reckless said as if this was a simple conclusion.
“But you … don’t look related to Maddie,” Gina said. She was trying not to offend Reckless.
Reckless grinned at her discomfort. “I am more related on Uncle Seth’s side. Uncle Marcus is my blood uncle, but Uncle Seth is my adopted uncle and so on. See?”
Gina kicked his chair and said, “You’re enjoying this way too much,” in response to his teasing.
Reckless laughed. “You will make a fine aunt. I better get back to work before Joe’s very brave brave becomes his very fired brave.”
Gina laughed as he left. “He’s so funny.” Reckless’ statement about her making a fine aunt suddenly sunk in and she looked wide-eyed at Rick who smiled at her.
“Yes, he is. You know, you could do worse than being married to a bouncer,” Rick said.
“You heard him?” Gina asked. “I didn’t know what he meant at first.”
“On second thought; marrying a bouncer is a terrible idea.”
Gina played along. “It is?”
“Yes, because one of his alter-egos, the deputy, is the jealous type and if he finds out that you married the bouncer, well, it wouldn’t be pretty,” Rick said.
“Hmm. What if I marry the mountie? Oh, sorry; former mountie?”
“Nope. Still jealous.”
Gina pretended to think. “The ferret trainer?”
“Oh, don’t even talk to the deputy about the ferret trainer. He hates him most of all.”
“What about the man who’s very nice to my children? He can’t hate him,” Gina said.
Rick laughed. “You got me there. No, he doesn’t hate him. That might be the only one it would be ok for you to marry.”
“Well, I like all of those alter-egos, but right now, I’m more interested in the dancer alter-ego,” Gina said as the song changed.
“Oh, ok. You’re in luck. He happens to be at home at the moment and he would love to dance,” Rick said as he got up and took her hand.
Other dancers made space for them as they took the floor.
“Ok, now you show me what to do,” Rick said.
Gina’s eyes got big. “What?”
“Show me what to do,” Rick said.
“You don’t know how to dance?” Gina asked.
Rick laughed. “No. I never had a chance to learn Western dancing since I was traveling all over creation and dancing wasn’t included in my mountie training. Then, when I was actually working as a mountie, dancing with wildlife and criminals wasn’t encouraged.”
“But, you’ve been here for a while. You never danced with anyone before?” Gina asked.
“Nope. So teach me,” Rick said.
“But the other night, you were going to dance with me.”
“And I would have had you teach me then, but we were interrupted.”
“Aren’t you worried about being embarrassed when you make mistakes?” Gina said.
“Oh, you’re afraid I’ll be self-conscious. Well, don’t worry; I won’t.” He shook her arms a little. “I thought you wanted to dance?”
“I do,” she said. “I thought you had a dancer alter-ego?”
Rick grinned. “I didn’t say he was a good dancer. I forgot to tell you that he would need some instruction.”
“Are you having fun with me?” Gina asked with a laugh.
“Yes, but I’d have even more fun if you were showing me how to dance,” Rick said with an irritated look.
“No, I mean are you kidding around with me?” Gina said looking into his eyes.
“No. I really can’t dance. Well, I’m sure I can, I just don’t know how. I’m agile, I just lack knowledge,” Rick said.
“I’ve never taught anyone before,” Gina said.
Rick shrugged. “I’ve never danced before, so we’ll try out something new together.”
Gina took a deep breath and began showing him the correct way to hold her and a few simple steps. She taught him how to listen for the beat and to count it if need be. Rick was a quick study and was soon able to dance fairly well after a couple of songs.
He didn’t get angry when he made mistakes and Gina found that he really didn’t care who watched or laughed. Joe had to stop singing during one song because he started laughing when Rick tripped. Instead of being embarrassed, Rick laughed, too, and then went back to learning. Gina laughed more than she had in months and discovered the clown side of Rick.
He walked her over to the edge of the dance floor and told her to wait there. Then he crossed it again and approached the stage. He tapped on Seth’s boot to get him to stop playing. Seth crouched down and Rick said something in his ear. Seth gave him a doubtful look and Rick grinned and nodded. Seth shook his head and Rick said something else to him. Gina wondered what in the world was going on. Seth rolled his eyes and a resigned expression settled on his features.
Seth set his fiddle on the floor well away from Luke and jumped off the stage. He made a signal to Joe and Luke. Joe tapped Ben on the shoulder and said something to him. Then he spoke into Jamie’s ear. Gina watched it all in bewilderment. The song they were playing wrapped up and a waltz began. The couples began swaying to and fro and Gina couldn’t believe what she was seeing when Seth started instructing Rick on how to waltz.
Laughter rippled through the saloon as Seth showed him the proper stance for each of them and where to place his hands. At first Seth was self-conscious about doing it, but then he got involved in what they were doing and forgot about their audience. At one point, the piano stopped playing as Ben ran across the stage to the other piano so he could play and watch what was happening.
In those days, it wasn’t uncommon for the men to dance with each other if there were no women around, but that hadn’t been the case in Dawson for a number of years. So Seth and Rick’s dancing lesson was a very entertaining novelty. Once Seth was satisfied, he actually began moving them around the floor.
J.R. and Maddie watched and laughed as hard as anyone else. Maddie remembered when her father had taught Seth to waltz as a form of physical therapy for Seth’s badly injured leg. That was when she and Seth had fallen in love. Amid the laughter, Maddie also had tears in her eyes as she thought about what a wonderful memory it was. It had been so funny to watch Geoff and Seth whirling around the floor together. Now here were her husband and her brother doing the same thing.
My brother. I have a brother, who, despite my angry, spiteful words, came to my rescue and is now dancing with my husband. The shame that Maddie felt earlier came back and she realized how petty she had been towards Rick. Maddie hadn’t thought that part of her still existed. She was dismayed to find out that it did, and yet she couldn’t help herself. Again, Maddie put those thoughts away and watched her husband.
When the dance was over, Seth and Rick bowed to one another and the audience clapped and cheered. Then they shook hands and Seth got back up on stage. Gina was breathless with laughter as Rick came back to her and took her in his arms as another waltz started.
“I can’t believe you did that!” she said.
Rick said, “Reckless said he was a great teacher when it came to waltzing, so I figured he was the man for the job. Not only that, but I just wanted to see if I could get Seth to do it. I told him he owed me for helping Maddie. That did the trick.”
Gina enjoyed the way he held her and said, “I think he is a very good teacher. You’re doing very well, Mr. Dancer alter-ego.”
“Shh! The deputy will hear you,” Rick said. “Not to mention the bouncer and you already know he’s a real hot-head.”
Gina giggled as he spun her and almost stepped on her foot. Gina did a little hop to avoid his boot and he mimicked it.
“You’re not supposed to do that during a waltz,” she said.
“Oh. Sorry. I thought it was some variation of the dance,” Rick said.
Gina saw he was serious and that made it twi
ce as funny to her. It was the best waltz she ever had because he made it funny without even trying. Seth watched him and his shoulders shook with laughter, which made his playing a little off key from time to time.
Rick bowed to Gina when the dance ended and she curtsied. Then he led her over to their table and they sat down.
“You’re too much,” Gina said as she caught her breath and smiled.
Rick said, “I’ve been told that before. Thank you for teaching me how to dance. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be very good at it, but I’ll do it just to be able to hold you.”
“You are so sweet,” she said putting a hand on his forearm.
His hand settled on top of hers. “I mean it. You know, there’s one alter-ego you haven’t met yet.”
“Which one would that be?” Gina asked.
“The passionate lover,” Rick said.
Gina smiled. “I’ve briefly met him a time or two.”
“Well, if you would like a longer visit with him, you just let me know,” Rick said.
Blushing, Gina said, “I don’t know what to say when you say things like that.”
“Sorry. I’ll try to refrain from saying them, but no promises,” Rick said, and changed the subject to other things.
They drove down the lane to the Dwyers’ and Rick pulled the horse to a stop. Turning to Gina, he asked, “Did you have a good time?”
“You know I did,” she said.
Rick smiled. “Me, too. Oh, wait. Passionate Lover would like to tell you something.”
Gina giggled. “All right. He may go ahead.”
Leaning over, Rick brushed his mouth over hers and Gina shivered a little. The air in the carriage became charged with their shared desire. Gina slid her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth harder against hers. He smelled of beer and sweat and she liked the way he tasted. She couldn’t get close enough to him.
Sensing her dilemma, Rick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her across the seat to him. Her soft lips were pliant under his and he gladly deepened the kiss when she urged him to. Rick wanted to take her right there in the carriage, but he also wanted to treat her right and giving in to his passion in the vehicle right outside the house wasn’t the way to do it.
Gina felt him begin to draw back and did the same. She smiled and said, “I enjoyed my little talk with Passionate Lover.”