Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) (2 page)

“Constance?” Seth began. “You gonna be okay?”

She looked at him, nodded, and stepped into the arms of her sister. Eloise gave him one last look, then guided Constance off the porch to the street and, together with Wilfred started for the hotel. Seth watched them go, took a deep breath, and went into the house.

* * *

“Ryder,” Seth said as he sat in a chair next to the bed. “What happened?” Gone was the gentle tone he’d used with Eloise, the bumbling demeanor he put on for the townsfolk. Seth Jones was not the man everyone thought, and that’s how he liked it. It was how he and Ryder had survived all these years.

“Hey there, brother. How ya doin’?”

“Ryder,
what
happened?”

“No
w don’t go gettin’ all riled up. You know what happens when you do. Them scoundrels are long gone, and there ain’t nothin’ either of us can do about it.”

“Who did this to you?”

Ryder swallowed. “I don’t rightly know who they were. But they put a rattler under my bed.”

Seth stood, his hands balled into fists.

“Promise me you won’t go after ‘em. Not without me.”

“You’re in no shape to track.”

“Not yet, I ain’t, but I will be. I want them as bad as you do.”

“No one hurts my family and gets away with it.”

“I know, but that’s not the only reason we need to work together on this and go get
‘em.”

“Looks to me like they tried to kill you
; that’s reason enough for me.”

“They took Cutty with them.”

“What?! What do they want with that old coot?”

“I dunno, b
ut they done dragged him off, left me to die from a snake bite, and took poor Constance out to the barn, tied her up, and left her.”

“They took
Cutty
, instead of your
wife
?”

“Yeah
, I know; I can’t make no sense of it either.”

Seth sat again
, and rubbed both hands through his short hair. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt, black vest, pants, and boots. He was clean cut, and well, just clean, period. Ryder on the other hand, often let his hair grow long, was just as often unshaven, at times dirty, and didn’t possess the same eloquence of speech Seth had mastered over the years. They were like night and day, but shared the same fierceness; a trait they each did their best to hide. They’d learned it during their time with the Indians, taken in as lads when their parents died coming west. As boys, they’d witnessed savagery, hatred, betrayal and lust, the likes of which no man, or boy, for that matter, ought to see. And all of it at the hands of white men who’d raided the peaceful Indians with whom Seth and Ryder lived.

Seth
stared at his brother. “The snake bit you at your place? How long did it take you to get here?”

Ryder smiled. “Don’t as
k me none of that; it’s a plumb miracle I’m alive. I owe my life to my wife and Doc Waller. That’s all I have to say on it. I’m more interested in finding out why those men took Cutty instead of Constance.”

“It is strange. Doc Drake told me they were getting a posse together. Think we should ride with them?”

“What about yer weddin’? Ain’t ya gettin’ married soon?”

“Not with this going on. We need to tend to it
; you know that.”

“Yeah, I guess so
; but it don’t seem right, you about to get married and all. But if you’re set on it, talk to the sheriff, find out when that posse’s leavin’. Let ‘em know we want to go with ‘em.”

“I will.” Seth stood, then bent to the bed and hugged his brother. “It’s a good thing you’re still
alive; or I might have had to kill somebody.”

“Seth, hold your temper now. This
ain’t the Calvary, and it ain’t doin’ what we used to do back in Texas. I want a normal life. We’re still young, and we’ve found ourselves a nice place to settle. Each of us has a family now. I don’t know about you, but I’m done trackin’ outlaws and huntin’ ‘em down. Two years of that was enough for me.”

Seth straightened. “It should have been enough for me
, too, but this sets my blood to boiling.”

“Promise me somethin’,”

Seth sighed. “What?”

“If you get to go with the posse and I can’t, don’t kill
‘em. Bring ‘em in.”

“That’s a tall order, little brother.”

“I mean it, Seth. I want to know why they took Cutty. Poor coot’s probably dead by now, but I still want to know.”

Seth sighed again. “I’ll do my best.”

* * *

“There. If you need more hot water, just yell. I’ll bring it right in, honey.” Sally Upton set down now another empty bucket. She and Eloise worked together to fill one of the large tubs in the bathing room of the hotel. Constance stared at it with tired eyes, and began to undress.

“Thank you
, Mrs. Upton,” said Eloise. “I’m sure Constance will feel better once she’s cleaned up.”

“Being clean is fine, but not if she’s gonna have to put on those smelly buckskins again.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Eloise said. “You’re quite right.” She paced to and fro as Constance moaned, and eased herself into the tub. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything she can wear? Just for tonight?”

Sally beamed. “Sure do, honey! But you might have to dig
through the dress to find your sister in the morning! I’m a might bigger than she is!”

Eloise couldn’t help but smile. Sally
Upton did, indeed, have a generous build, but also a generous heart to go along with it. She was mistress of the hotel, as much as Mr. Van Cleet was owner, and ran a tight ship. Seth had told her stories of Sally and her sisters, Edith and Marybeth, during their afternoon tea that afternoon. “Whatever you have will be fine. Anything’s better than those disgusting buckskins!”

Constance grimaced
, got comfortable, and then eyed her sister. “Those buckskins helped me save my husband. I think they’re my new favorite item of clothing.”

“Save him?” Eloise asked. “How did these disgusting things
help you save him?”

“I could never have ridden into town in a d
ress. Well, perhaps I could, but my skirts would have impeded my getting here in time.”

“We’re plumb glad you did!
” said Sally. “Get here in time, that is. So is that handsome husband of yours. Now, I’ll go see what I can dig up for you to wear.”

Constance smiled, closed her eyes, and groaned again.

Eloise sat in a nearby chair, and leaned toward her sister. “Was it horrible? Did they harm you in any way? You were so concerned about Ryder earlier, I didn’t ask.”

“They tied me to a post in the barn
; that was it.”

Eloise gasped. “However did you manage to escape?”

“Ryder cut me loose.”

“What? How did
he
manage to escape?”

“He busted up the chair they tied him to. Eloise, please, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“I apologize; I shan’t upset you again. It must have been a horrible experience. Oh, but when I think what it must have been like to be rescued by your husband … how romantic!”

Constance opened one eye, glared accordingly at the dreamy expression on her sister’s face, and then closed it. “I suppose I’ll
come to see it that way one day.”

Eloise bit her bottom lip. She had so many questions! She tried to imagine what it would
be like if she’d been the one tied to a post, her husband trussed up in the house with a snake bite, his life draining away, and then, to suddenly be rescued by him! Oh, the heroics!

She
then thought of Seth, and the softness of his voice as he spoke to her during tea. It was their first time being alone, (save for the presence of Sally hovering nearby as chaperone) and she found him to be quite the gentleman. In fact, other than his country speech, which she found quite charming, he could almost pass for a
real
gentleman. Almost.

“Are you hungry? Mrs. Upton is making you something.”

Constance opened her eyes. “I’m not sure I can eat, but I’ll try. Right now this bath is all I want.”

Eloise nodded and glanced around the room.
She felt excited, relieved, frightened, all at the same time. “Do you think Colin and Harrison will ride with the posse?”

“I have no idea. Why would they?”

“I heard Doc Drake telling Doc Waller that the sheriff was gathering men, and mentioned Colin and Harrison.”

Constance scooted up in the tub enough to look at Eloise. “They use the locals? What if Ryder goes?”

“Or Seth?”

Constance shook her head. “I don’t think you’ve any worries on that score
; I can’t see Seth going.”

“What do you mean? He’s a man
, isn’t he? Why shouldn’t he go?”

“Don’t
get the idea that I think any less of him if he doesn’t. He’s just the right sort for you; he should stay.”

Eloise stared at her
sister, mouth half-open. The right
sort?
Was she saying her betrothed wasn’t man enough to go? He wasn’t some dandy after all … was he? Her mind went back over the last couple of weeks, all the way back to the day she first spied him sitting behind the hotel’s front counter. He was always clean, he smelled nice, and his hair was never out of place. He was a bit clumsy when it came to communicating sometimes, but all in all he was …
oh dear
… just dandy?

Two

Colin fetched Eloise from the hotel, made sure Constance was settled in her room, and then drove her home. She sat next to him and chewed her bottom lip, as she fretted over her sister’s words.
He’s just the right sort for you …

The Duke of Stantham made the
match himself, and thought she and Seth would suit. Was she happy with his decision? Of course she was. Seth Jones was as close to home as she could get in Clear Creek. The hotel was magnificent and would be their home, and she would have beautifully appointed rooms to live in after they married, so what was the problem? Why was her stomach in knots?

“Are you and Harrison going to accompany the posse?”
she suddenly blurted.

“Not this time,” Colin said. “If they come back, and the men are too tired to go out agai
n, we might take a turn at it. But by then, those blasted outlaws would be long gone. The real question is, will they come back?”

“Come back
?!”

He looked at her. “I’m afraid so. It’s happened before.”

“Oh, dear me!” she said, a hand to her heart.

“Don’t worry,
Cousin. Harrison and I will see you’re kept safe. In fact, I’ll talk to Ryder about staying in town for a few days, just until the posse gets back.”

“Really? Oh, that would be wonderful!”

Colin smiled at the sound of delight in her voice. “They’ll head out at first light. Too dark see anything tonight. By the time they got to Ryder’s place, it would be night-fall.”

“Are you goi
ng back into town tomorrow?”

“Yes.” He glanced at her. “I suppo
se this means you want to go?”

She nodded.

“I say, is someone wanting another spot of tea with her betrothed?”

She blushed. “If I happen to see him in passing, it would brighten my day. But I want to see Constance, and find out how Ryder is doing.”

“I’ll not keep you from them. Belle and the rest of the family will probably come
, too. Besides, you have a wedding dress to sew.”

“Yes, don’t remind me.”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you want to get married?”

“Oh, I do! But it’s the sewing part
; I … well … if only I were better at it.”

Colin laughed. “You’ll get there. I’d practice my cooking
, if I were you.”

“Whatever for?”

“Well, you
are
going to be married,” he pointed out.

“Colin, I hardly see the logic
in learning to cook. I’ll have Mrs. Upton at my disposal, and what am I going to do with that enormous kitchen? I’ll get lost in it!”

Colin threw his head back and laughed. “Let me share something with you
, Cousin. Men like it when their women cook for them. What better place to learn, especially when you
do
have Sally Upton at your disposal.”

“I suppose you’re right, but it would be nice if she did the cooking and I did … oh
, dear;
what am
I going to do in that place?”

“Help run it
, what else?”

“Yes, but what does that entail, I wonder?”