Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance (20 page)

Claire took her place at the altar and
Seth looked back up the aisle and was instantly mesmerized by the
sight of Maddie in her sparkling white wedding dress. The dress
molded perfectly to her body and yet was demure. The veil was
fairly sheer and their eyes met.

Geoff not only walked Maddie, but Tessa
as well. He’d asked for Seth and Maddie’s permission to do so since
he hadn’t gotten to do it for Tessa’s wedding. They’d both happily
agreed. Maureen dabbed at her eyes as she watched her girls walk
down the aisle with their father. She could see the tears in her
husband’s eyes as he looked at first one and then the
other.

When they stopped in front of the altar
he kissed Tessa and let her go stand by Claire. Then he turned with
Maddie to Seth and Seth stared at his beautiful bride.

Pastor John said, “Who gives this woman
to be married?”

Geoffrey’s voice was a little thick as
he said, “Her mother and I do.”

“Give her hand to Seth,
please.”

Geoff held onto Maddie’s hand for a
moment and looked Seth in the eye. A silent understanding passed
between them and Seth gave Geoff a curt nod. He thought back to
Pittsburgh and Geoff’s warning to him in their carriage. Geoff
nodded back and smiled. He gave Maddie a kiss on the cheek and then
placed her hand in Seth’s. He sat by Maureen who took his hand and
squeezed. They exchanged happy smiles.

Despite Marcus’ teasing about messing
up the vows, Seth made no mistakes. Dean had been right. Once they
had started and he looked into Maddie’s eyes, everything fell into
place. Maddie said her vows with reverence and joy as a tear or two
escaped her eyes. She was marrying the man of her dreams and she
intended to make sure he never doubted her love for him or that she
would follow him anywhere.

The ring exchange was performed and
Pastor John smiled as he pronounced them man and wife thinking it
was a highly unusual family dynamic. That Dean’s brother had wed
Tessa’s sister was not something that happened often, but it was
obvious that the couple were very much in love. He had no idea that
a few strings had been pulled behind the scenes.

As Maddie kissed her new husband, she
tried to be mindful of the fact that her family was there so they
didn’t get carried away, but it was difficult and Seth didn’t seem
to have any such worries. She pinched his side a little and he
started laughing. Cheering met them as they turned and faced the
congregation.

They were swept up in a tide of
well-wishers and taken to the community hall that had been built
the year before. Dawson County was starting to grow and as it did,
new establishments popped up. The reception was raucous and
touching. The dinner was delicious, but Maddie was too excited to
eat much. Seth noticed and was concerned until she reassured him
that all was well.

When dinner had been cleared away, the
music began. The first dance was for the bride and groom and Seth
relished the thought of dancing with his wife and showing off his
moves. Maddie went willingly to the dance floor with Seth. He bowed
to her and she curtsied to him.

Seth smiled at her and said, “Here goes
nothin’.”

“Hush, dear husband, and dance with
me,” Maddie said.

She reveled in the feel of his arms
around her, holding her close as they waltzed around the room. When
she’d first read his first letter, she’d never dreamed that she
would end up married to Seth. It was remarkable that one letter
could have so much power. Seth was so many things to her; savior,
friend, lover, and now husband.

As they circled the room, she pictured
their children and smiled. She hoped that they had at least one son
who was just like Seth. Maddie knew from watching Seth with Dean
and Tessa’s children that Seth was going to make a wonderful
father.

Seth could think of nothing except the
woman in his arms. With her help, he’d faced the unknown and made
it through and he knew that even if his leg hadn’t healed so well,
he could have dealt with it as long as he had her by his side.
Before her, he’d not given serious thought to having a wife and
children and now it was all he could think about. It was a good
thing they’d already begun building another house on another part
of the property because he planned to fill it with kids.

He joked with Dean that he had to catch
up to him in that department. They made fun of Marcus and told him
that he wasn’t even in the running. He’d just grinned at them and
then said that of course they should have the kids first since they
were so old.

As the dance finished, Maddie began
inviting the others on the floor and was then swept up again by
Seth as the band began playing the next song. She loved dancing
with him and looked forward to dancing through life with
him.

As Tessa and Dean danced she looked up
at Dean and said, “Two down and two to go,” and then motioned with
her chin at Marcus and Claire. Instead of dancing they sat at a
table where they were facing off in a fierce debate about
something. It had been like that from their first meeting. They
were both very opinionated about a lot of things and seemed to
constantly argue about everything.

Dean frowned a little. “I think that
one’s going to be a little harder, Tessa.”

Marcus apparently had had enough and
got up and left the table. Not one to surrender, Claire went right
after him.

“Perhaps, but I think we’re up to the
challenge,” Tessa answered and then turned her attention back to
the happy couple. “I think we have a pretty good
average.”

Maddie and Seth slipped away a while
later. They were staying at the Dawson Hotel and although they’d
had a magical evening, they were ready for some alone time. As they
walked down the street, Seth put an arm around Maddie and pulled
her close.

“You know, when all of you got the idea
to teach me to dance I thought you were crazy,” he said to Maddie.
“But I think my leg wouldn’t have healed up as good if you hadn’t.
It’s funny. I had to go east to get better so I could come back
west.”

Maddie leaned into him and said, “It
was Papa’s idea, so you have him to thank for that. It seems to me
like we both had to do that and we had to do it together. Well,
most of it. I still regret that I didn’t accept your
proposal.”

“It all worked out, just like the
dancing. I make a move, then you do and then sometimes you move
together. That’s what it was like with us,” he said with a
reassuring squeeze of her arm.

“You know, most types of dances have
names so I think ours should, too,” Maddie said.

“Our dance?”

Maddie nodded. “Yes. That’s how I think
of our courtship; a dance.”

Seth liked the idea. “It wasn’t the
usual kind of courtship, but I’m not complaining any. So what would
you call it?”

Maddie thought about how she’d gone
back and forth from east to west, west to east, and back to the
west for good. “I think it should be called the Westward
Dance.”

“I like it. The Westward Dance it is,
then,” Seth said.

Maddie noticed that his steps were
becoming faster and he was trying to get her to speed up, too.
“Seth, what are you doing?”

“Darlin’, I’ll never forget our wedding
day and heaven knows I loved dancin’ with you like that, but right
now, there’s a different kind of dancing I’m interested in,” he
replied as they neared the hotel.

Maddie gasped as his meaning sunk in.
“Seth!”She pulled back on his hand and he stopped.

“What? It ain’t like you weren’t
thinking the same thing,” he said.

Looking at Seth’s fine physique and
handsome face, Maddie couldn’t deny it. She said, “I’ll race you!”
and took off at a run. Seth stood there a moment smiling as he let
her get a head start and then ran after her.

The End

Thank you for reading and supporting my
book and I hope you enjoyed it.

Please will you do me a favor and
review “Westward Dance” so I’ll know whether you liked it or
not.

Other Books By Linda
Bridey

Westward winds (Montana Mail Order
brides Book 1)

Westward Bound (Montana Mail Order
brides Book 3)

Westward Destiny (Montana Mail Order
brides Book 4)

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Bridey

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