Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance (11 page)

Seth put up his hands to interrupt the
flow of water. “Knock it off! Are you trying to drown
me?”

Marcus laughed. “Nah. I’d have gotten a
bucket if I was trying to do you in.”

“You’re an ass, Marcus,” Seth said.
“Sorry for the language, ladies.”

Tessa and Maddie laughed, not offended
in the least.

“What are you doing down there?” Marcus
asked.

“Taking a nap. What’s it look like? I
fell off the chairs. Are you gonna get me up or what?” Seth
said.

“All right. Let’s get to it,” Marcus
said.

Between Marcus and the sisters, they
were able to get Seth up and seated on one of the chairs. His
breath was ragged from the effort he’d put forth and he sat still,
catching his breath. He closed his eyes and concentrated on slowing
his breathing. One of the chairs next to him creaked and he opened
his eyes to see Geoffrey sitting there.

“So I understand you’re coming to
Pittsburgh,” he said.

“Like hell I am,” Seth said. “I don’t
have that kind of money, Geoff. I know you mean well, but it’s not
going to happen.”

“The way I see it, you have three
choices; have your leg cut off because it’s turning gangrenous,
have it heal incorrectly and be crippled, or come to Pittsburgh,
have surgery and make a full recovery.” Geoffrey looked Seth in the
eye. “You’re a smart man, Seth. I trust you’ll make the right
decision.”

Dean sat down on the chair on the other
side of him. “Seth, you don’t gotta worry about the money. We’ll
sell some steer and that should cover it.” He turned and put a hand
on Seth’s shoulder. “Please, Seth, don’t be stubborn about this. I
want you to get better. Besides, who else can drive the cattle like
you? I need you around here. I’m tired of doing your work,” Dean
joked.

Seth gave his brother a sideways
glance. “Do you think we can get that kind of cash
quick?”

Dean smiled. He knew then that Seth was
giving it serious consideration. “You just watch me. You’ll have
that money by the end of the week.”

Seth looked up to see Doc standing a
short ways from him. The older man’s bushy gray eyebrows were drawn
down in a stern expression.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go have the surgery
done,” he said.

Tessa clapped and Geoffrey and Dean
both slapped him on the back.

“Your Ma would be happy, Seth,” Doc
said.

Seth swallowed the tears that
threatened and said, “Thanks, Doc.”

“Let’s get you in the house,” Dean said
and they began moving him.

Two weeks later, Seth watched the
changing countryside as the train rolled along. Geoffrey had
secured a private car for Seth so he wouldn’t be jostled around.
The train did that enough without other passengers bumping into
him. Seth was thankful for Geoffrey’s thoughtfulness.

He was anxious about going to
Pittsburgh and staying with the O’Connors. It wasn’t the city
itself that worried him; he’d been to big cities before and had had
a good time. It was because he was going to stand out like a sore
thumb, not only because of his injuries, but because he was not
like them. He wasn’t polished or sophisticated and Seth didn’t want
to embarrass the O’Connors, especially Maddie.

As he looked over at her now, Seth
couldn’t believe that she had decided to come back to Pittsburgh.
The memory of that conversation came back to him.

They’d sat in the parlor late one
night. Seth hadn’t been able to sleep yet again because he was
fretting over the upcoming trip and Maddie had been wrestling with
the decision of whether to stay in Montana or return to Pittsburgh
with her father and Seth.

She’d come into the parlor and Seth had
smiled up at her. “I had a feeling you might be along.”

Maddie sat down in the chair closest to
him and took his hand. She turned it over, tracing the calloused
palm and his long fingers. She became fascinated by how small her
hands looked next to his. When Seth’s hand closed around Maddie’s,
she wasn’t frightened. As large and strong as his hands were, she
instinctively knew that he would never use them to hurt any woman.
She had nothing to fear from him.

Seth watched her as she looked at his
hand and he enjoyed her soft touch. He let her carry on until he
couldn’t resist the urge to hold her hand. “What is it,
Maddie?”

His voice was rough and deep and yet
gentle. As Maddie looked up at him, his eyes were filled with a
soft, concerned light. She swallowed hard against her suddenly
constricted throat.

She took a breath and said, “I’m going
back to Pittsburgh with you and Papa.”

“Maddie, you don’t have to do that.
You’re visiting your sister and getting to know everyone here.
There’s no reason to cut your visit short,” Seth said.

Maddie’s hands tightened around his.
“Yes, I do. I’ve had a wonderful visit and I love it here and would
like to return to visit again one day, but it’s time that I face
down my fear. You’re facing yours. I know you have to be worried
about the possible outcomes of surgery. We can face our fears
together, Seth. If you help me, I’ll help you,” she
said.

Seth quickly realized that he would
never be able to refuse this beautiful, brave woman anything when
she looked at him like that. “Ok, Maddie. It’s a deal.”

He might have a bum leg, but the rest
of him was strong. He pulled Maddie up out of the chair and onto
his lap as if she weighed nothing. She was so shocked that she
couldn’t say anything. Seth grinned at the expression of disbelief
on her face and laughed softly.

“Seth! What are you doing? This is
inappropriate,” Maddie said. Her heart was beating a wild rhythm as
her body responded to the close contact with his.

Seth chuckled. “Well, I’m sure you
figured out by now, I don’t always act very appropriately. You
better get used to it.”

Maddie couldn’t help smiling at him.
“You must have been incorrigible as a boy.”

“I have no idea what that means, but it
sounds like something good,” Seth said.

Maddie laughed and placed her hands on
his hard chest. She could feel the heat of him through his thin
cotton shirt. “It means that it must have been hard to resist
giving you what you wanted.”

Seth nodded. “That sounds about
right.”

“You’re terrible,” Maddie said with a
swat to his shoulder.

Seth caught her hand and kissed her
palm. The sensation of his warm lips on her soft flesh sent a
shiver along Maddie’s spine. Seth felt her reaction and placed her
hand back on his chest. He cupped her face and looked deep into her
eyes.

“I want to kiss you, Maddie. If you
don’t want me to, just say so and I won’t, but I sure as heck want
to,” Seth said.

More than anything at that moment,
Maddie wanted Seth to kiss her. She knew she was completely safe in
his arms. She didn’t pull away. Her eyes lowered to look at his
mouth and Seth had his answer. Slowly he drew her to him and rose
up to meet her. As their lips first touched, Seth inhaled her sweet
scent and it flamed his desire.

He kissed her soundly, growling as she
pressed closer against him and kissed him back. Seth was known in
parts as the good-time cowboy who rolled into town, loving and
leaving women along the way. He’d had his share of beautiful women,
but none had ever affected him like Maddie and he knew it went
deeper than physical attraction.

Maddie had first been attracted to Seth
through his letters and that attraction had deepened when they met.
He was easy to be around and certainly easy on the eyes. Maddie
knew many women who would have loved to be with him. It amazed her
that she craved this closeness with him after her terrible ordeal
and knew that it was the man himself who eased her
fears.

Maddie ran her hand up his neck and
through his blond hair. Their kissing grew more passionate and Seth
felt like he drowning in a sensual sea. Reason began seeping into
his brain even though he tried to ignore it. He ended the kiss and
leaned his forehead against hers.

“Good lord, woman,” he said.

Maddie giggled and said, “I feel the
same way.”

“Much as I would like to take this
farther, it’s not private here and I have too much respect for you
to take advantage of you,” Seth said.

Maddie arched a fine brow at him. “Who
says you’re taking advantage of me? I’m a grown woman and I know
what I want, Seth Samuels. You remember that.” She kissed him again
and then scooted off his lap.

Her legs felt a little weak. “I’m going
home with you and Papa and that’s the end of the conversation. Are
we agreed?”

Seth saw the determination in her eyes
and saw that she looked a little like Tessa when she gave Dean the
same kind of expression. He knew there was no sense arguing with
her. Besides, he wanted her to come with them. “Agreed.”

“Good. Goodnight, Seth,” Maddie said
and left before she gave in to the impulse to kiss him
again.

Unbeknownst to Seth and Maddie, Dean
had been coming out of his room to help get Seth to bed when he
caught sight of Maddie and his brother in a passionate embrace. He
was surprised at first, but then thought that he shouldn’t have
been. Their attraction to each other had been apparent to him. He
backed away quietly so he wouldn’t disturb them and went back into
their room.

Tessa looked at him as she continued
brushing her long dark hair. “I thought you were helping
Seth.”

Dean gave her a wide smile that still
had the power to melt her heart and make her heartbeat skitter.
“Uh, he was a little busy.”

“Busy? With what?” Tessa
asked.

“Your sister,” Dean said.

Tessa’s eyes went wide when she caught
his meaning. She shot up off the bed. “No,” she said with
disbelief. She headed for the door but Dean caught her and turned
her around.

“Now just leave them be, wife. They’re
fine. They were just kissing, honey,” Dean told her.

“I don’t believe it,” Tessa said.
“Really? I want to see,” she said with a giggle.

“No! You wouldn’t want people watching
us kiss, would you?” Dean said.

Tessa paused. “I guess not. I mean, not
passionately anyway.”

“Then leave ‘em to it.” Dean saw worry
flicker across her pretty face. “Tessa, you know she’s safe with
Seth. He would never do anything to hurt her. It appeared that she
was, um, enjoying herself.”

Tessa giggled again. “I have a
confession to make.”

“Uh oh,” Dean said. He knew Tessa had a
penchant for wild plots. “What now?”

“Well, when I suggested to Seth that he
write letters to Maddie, I did hope that maybe something might
develop, but I didn’t really think anything would come of it,” she
said.

Dean wrapped his arms around Tessa and
hugged her close. “What am I going to do with you, you little
schemer!”

Tessa gave him a saucy look. “I have
some ideas, but I’m not the only schemer, remember?”

Dean remembered back to the day when
they’d taken Geoff back to Long’s to catch the coach to the train
station. “That’s right. How could I have forgotten that? Hmm. What
do you know? Looks like we might be match makers after all. Now
about these ideas,” Dean said and pulled her close
again.

There was a scratch at the door. Dean
sighed and released Tessa. It was Trouble signaling that Seth was
ready to go to bed.

Seth was pulled back to the present as
Maddie laid her hand on his arm.

“Are you all right?” she
asked.

Seth leaned close to her and said,
“Yeah. I was just remembering that night. You know what I’m talking
about, right?”

Maddie colored and she was glad that
her father wasn’t in the compartment with them at the moment. He’d
gone to play cards with a couple of men he’d met on the train.
“Yes. I remember. How could I forget?”

Seth threw a look at the door to their
compartment. “That door locks you know.”

“Seth! You’re awful. My father could
come back at any time,” she reminded him.

“You’re killin’ me, you know,” he
said.

Maddie laughed. “If it’s any
consolation, you’re not the only one who’s frustrated.”

“Misery loves company, so yeah, it
helps,” Seth said. He grew serious. “What if they do the surgery
and it doesn’t work or it makes it worse? What if I wake up without
my leg because they couldn’t do anything else for it?”

“Seth, these doctors are the best in
Pittsburgh and they’ve performed many successful surgeries,” Maddie
said.

“I know, but am I going to be able to
ride a horse again or go on drives? I miss riding so much,” Seth
said. “Damn it, I hate feeling so helpless. I’m not used to
it.”

Maddie gave his hand a strong squeeze.
“We’re not helpless, Seth. Helpless is having no options, no choice
in the matter. It’s taken me some time, but I’ve come to realize
that I’m not helpless and that I do have options. I can either let
him rob me of my life, or I can take my life back.”