by Linda Bridey
“Unc Shush. You home,” Mikey said and put his arms around Seth’s neck.
Seth hugged him back and then sat him down. There was someone else he wanted to see. He put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. A loud whinny sounded and Hank came into view as he ran through the pasture and up to the gate leading into the paddock. He pawed at the gate, frustrated that he couldn’t get to Seth. Seth slipped through the fence and opened the gate.
The big gelding banged into Seth almost knocking him over and nudged him with his head. He made low whickering noises of happiness. Seth stroked his sleek coat and crooned to his friend.
Dean was in the house sitting at the kitchen table going over some figures. He heard a whistle that he’d know anywhere. Like a shot, he was up off the chair and out of the house. His eyes scanned the yard and then he saw Seth in the paddock with Hank. Dean could hardly believe his eyes. There was his brother standing tall and strong as he played with Hank.
Dean took off at a run and jumped over the paddock fence. He came to stand in front of Seth and the two brothers looked at each other before they embraced each other with manly slaps on each other’s backs and much laughter.
“Damn, look at you! Last time I saw you, you could barely get around on crutches and now you’re good as new,” Dean said.
“Yeah, that doctor fixed me up good, all right,” Seth agreed. “He was worth every penny we paid him. Thanks for helping with that, by the way.”
Dean shrugged. “It’s as much your money as mine. It’s so good to have you home.”
“It’s good to be home,” Seth said as he pushed Hank away. The horse had been playing with Seth’s hair and it tickled.
Dean saw sadness in Seth’s eyes even as he smiled. “What about Maddie?”
The smile disappeared and Seth’s face tightened. A stabbing pain hit his chest and he shook his head. He couldn’t get the words past the sudden tightness in his throat. Tessa was close enough to hear the exchange and her heart went out to both Seth and Maddie. She wondered what had happened between them, but didn’t ask because she could see how badly Seth was hurting and didn’t want to cause him more grief.
“I’m sorry,” Dean said and laid a hand on Seth’s shoulder.
Seth could only nod.
“Uncle Seth!” Jack yelled as he ran through the yard. Sadie was following him. Both kids were soon on him, asking him questions and trying to tell him about things that had happened while he’d been gone.
Tessa stopped them. “Now, now. Let Uncle Seth get settled a little. There’ll be plenty of time for catching up. Now go on and finish your chores,” she said.
“But, Mama!” Jack protested.
Tessa gave him a stern look. “If you don’t finish your work, there won’t be any cookies.”
She knew that food was the best incentive to Jack, especially cookies. Jack frowned and would have said something when Dean said, “Jack, don’t talk back to your Mama. Do as she says.”
Jack gave them a mutinous look, but did as directed. Sadie gave Seth a last kiss and hurried back to the garden where she’d been weeding.
“Where’s our little brother?” Seth asked.
Dean made a face and said, “At home. He’s been a pain in the ass ever since you sent that last letter. He didn’t take it too kindly that you swore me to secrecy. It hurt his feelings and he’s been sulking. There are days when I’m glad he stays home, honestly.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Oh, boy. I’ll go talk to him. C’mon, Hank.”
“You’re going now? You just got here,” Dean said.
Seth said, “If he doesn’t know I’m back right away he’ll be even more hurt. I need to explain to him why I did it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He led Hank to the barn and saddled him. As he climbed aboard Hank, joy filled Seth as he remembered how happy he was when he was riding his horse. He clicked his tongue to Hank and they tore out of the barn and raced down the drive to the main road. Seth let out a cry of glee as he gave Hank his head and the gelding picked up speed.
After a bit, Seth pulled Hank back into a trot. He didn’t want to tire Hank out quickly. As he neared Marcus’ property, he could hear whistling and he smiled. Marcus was a talented whistler and Seth realized how much he’d missed hearing it.
Marcus sat on his porch whittling on a piece of wood. He was making a ballerina figurine for a little girl who lived a few miles away. Her father had commissioned the piece from Marcus. It was going to be a birthday present. He was intent on his work and didn’t hear the hoof beats right away, but Roscoe did and began barking.
Startled Marcus looked up and thought he was dreaming. Seth came riding Hank right up to the porch.
“Hey, little brother,” Seth said.
Marcus sat in stunned silence for a few moments before jumping out of the rocking chair and practically dragging Seth off the horse.
“Holy hell, Seth. I’m so happy to see you! When did you get here?” Marcus asked as he embraced his brother.
“Just a little bit ago. I had to come see you right away,” Seth told him.
“Well, this deserves a drink. Sit down and I’ll be right back.
Seth said, “All right.”
Marcus went into his house and got a bottle of whisky down from a shelf and poured some into two tin cups. He’d never seen a reason to invest in good dishes. Then he took the cups out to the porch and gave one to Seth. Once he was seated in the chair next to Seth he raised his cup.
“To homecomings and healed legs,” he said.
Seth said, “I’ll drink to that.”
They touched their cups together and downed the whiskey. Seth enjoyed the fire that spread down his torso and into his stomach.
“How’s your leg feel? It seems like it’s doing good,” Marcus said and reached out to experimentally squeeze Seth’s leg.
“Yep. It won’t ever be quite the same, but it’s pretty close.” Seth let Marcus examine his leg for a few moments before swatting his hand away.
“I’m glad,” Marcus said.
Seth gave him a sideways glance. “I hear you’re being a pain in the ass.”
Marcus’ jaw jutted out a little and he looked Seth in the eye. His gray eyes were stormy with anger. “Yeah. You wanna know why?”
Seth nodded. “Shoot.”
“You wrote that letter to Dean and he’s not supposed to tell us what’s going on? I’m just tired of being shut out by you two. It’s always been that way. You and Dean are close; I get that, but sometimes it’s like I’m on the outside looking in. I’m not a kid anymore, Seth and I’m sick of being treated like one. Dean orders me around like I’m some greenhorn who doesn’t know what to do. It’s insulting and I’m not going to put up with it anymore.”
Seth frowned. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I bet Dean doesn’t either.” Seth sighed as he looked back on things and saw Marcus’ point. “You’re right, Marcus. You’re a man now and should be treated like one. But you gotta admit you still act like a kid sometimes,” Seth said with a smile.
“Just because I like to have fun doesn’t mean I’m acting like a kid. You two are just too serious sometimes,” Marcus said.
“All right. No more leaving you out and ordering you around,” Seth said. “Now, about that letter to Dean. I asked him to send me money so I could buy an engagement ring for Maddie. I didn’t want anyone else to know because I was gonna be embarrassed as all get out if she said no.”
Marcus grinned. “Really? Wow. I didn’t think you’d ever get married. You’ve always been footloose and fancy free. Pardon the cliché, but it fits.”
Seth nodded. “People change sometimes, Marcus.”
“So when’s the wedding?” Marcus asked.
Seth dropped his head. “There’s not going to be one. She turned me down.”
Marcus’ face fell. “She said no? Why?”
“She said she couldn’t live here. She wouldn’t be able to adjust to this kind of
life and handle me away on drives and such. And she didn’t want to leave her family. I tried to make her see that she has a family here, but she wouldn’t budge. I love her, Marcus. I’ve never loved anyone before and I know she loves me. God, it hurts, Marcus.”
Seth couldn’t hold the sorrow back anymore and he let the tears come. Marcus had never seen Seth cry before and it struck him hard. He put an arm around Seth as his brother’s big shoulders shook as his grief poured forth. Tears filled Marcus’ eyes, too. Out of the three brothers, Marcus was the most sensitive wasn’t ashamed to let his feelings show. Seeing Seth in this much pain made his heart ache for him.
After a time, Seth’s tears slowed and he wiped them away. “If you tell Dean about this, I’ll make you regret it, Marcus.”
Marcus said, “You’re secret is safe with me. I’m so sorry, Seth.”
“Thanks,” Seth replied and heaved a sigh. “I think I needed that.”
“There’s nothing wrong with crying sometimes, Seth. It’s cathartic.”
Seth frowned. “Can’t you just talk normal?”
“It means that it’s a release, like it helps wash away the hurt a little,” Marcus said.
Seth said, “Maybe it will. It’s going to be a long time before it goes away, if it ever does.”
Marcus didn’t know what to say that so he just sat with Seth and offered comfort just by being there. Seth sat quietly for a little and then got up. “Thanks, Marcus. It’s good to be home. You gonna be at the ranch tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there,” Marcus said.
“Good. And as far as Dean ordering you around? Don’t feel bad. He orders me around, too. I just ignore him and eventually he goes away,” Seth said.
“I’ll try that,” Marcus said.
“All right. See you tomorrow.” Seth mounted Hank and turned him towards the road and took off at a trot.
Marcus watched Seth ride away. He felt sympathy for his brother’s situation and hoped that Seth would eventually find peace.
Chapter Fourteen
The sun was warm as Seth worked at nailing shingles onto the roof of his bunkhouse. They’d had some bad storms with high winds that had ripped some of them loose. He sweated as he hammered the nails home and secured the shingles in place.
Since he’d gotten home, he worked like a fiend. He couldn’t stand being still because he had time to think and remember and that was sheer torture. He dreaded the night when things were still and the memories came no matter how hard he tried to stop them. His bruised heart just wasn’t healing and Seth wondered if it ever would. There were times when he was short with his brothers but they just let it go because they knew that he wasn’t really angry with them.
Dean couldn’t imagine how he’d have felt if Tessa had refused his proposal and he sympathized with Seth. It was hard for him to watch Seth go through this knowing that he couldn’t do very much to help him.
As he hammered, Seth felt fury begin to build inside and he began pounding the nails so hard that they almost went completely through the shingles. The anger overtook him and needed release. Seth threw the hammer as hard as could and it almost hit Marcus as he came out of the barn.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?” Marcus yelled at him.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were there,” Seth said.
Marcus picked up the hammer and lobbed it back to Seth who caught it with ease.
“Thanks.”
Marcus gave Seth a speculative look. “Bad day?”
“They’re all bad,” Seth replied. “But I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Marcus nodded. “Ok. But I’ll always lend an ear whenever you need it.”
“Thanks, little brother,” Seth said. He saw Marcus roll his eyes. “You might as well face it. You’ll always be my little brother as long as I live. It’s not a bad thing. Dean and I were so excited when we found out that Ma was pregnant with you.”
“You were?”
“Yep. And even more excited when you were a boy. We thought of all the adventures we would have together and we sure have,” Seth said.
Marcus laughed. “Yeah. We’ve done some dumb stuff, but we always had fun.”
“Yep. So don’t be annoyed when I call you that. I mean it in a good way,” Seth said.
“As a term of endearment,” Marcus said.
“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” Seth responded.
Marcus smiled and shook his head. “Well, I’d better get back to work before the slave driver shows up.”
“Good idea,” Seth said and got back to his own work.
Maddie rode the train wishing it would go faster. The man she loved was in Montana and she wanted to get there as quick as was possible. She was making the trip alone but wasn’t afraid. Geoff had helped her make her travel arrangements and she knew that she would be fine. Geoff knew this was something she had to do by herself.
She was traveling light because she wasn’t going to need all of the material possessions she had. There had been a time when she would have balked about not taking her finest gowns and jewelry with her. She’d matured, however, and realized that what she really needed walked on two feet and wore a cowboy hat. As long as she had him, he was all she’d ever want or need.
She arrived at Long’s Mercantile in Wolfe’s Point and alighted from the carriage. Lance greeted her with warmth and flirted with her.
“What brings you back to these parts?” he asked.
Maddie said, “I’m visiting Tessa and the rest of the family.”
“Well, I hope you have a nice time with your sister. Can I get you anything?” Lance asked kindly.
“No, thank you. I’m fine,” Maddie answered. She anxious to be under way again and waited for the other carriage that would be taking her to the Samuels’ ranch. When it arrived, Maddie was surprised to find that the driver was a woman. Her name was Beth and she was a handsome woman with auburn hair and blue eyes.
“You ready?” she asked and climbed down from the seat.
“Yes,” Maddie said and watched as Beth easily lifted her two bags and put them in the carriage.
“Well then climb aboard and we’ll get going,” Beth said and climbed back up onto the seat. Her two-horse team was fresh and ready to run it seemed. The played with their bits and pawed the ground.
Maddie did as directed and got in. Beth started the team and soon they were going down the road at a good clip.
Seth took a break for lunch and sat on his porch drinking lemonade. He really wanted some beer, but figured that he’d best wait until the day was done since he still had some work on the roof to do. He didn’t need to fall off and break something again because he had a buzz.
Seth smiled as he remembered the night before when he’d asked Tessa to dance and they had waltzed. The astonished look on Dean’s face as he whirled around with his wife was entertaining.
Tessa had said, “Why, Seth, you’re a wonderful dancer.”
“I don’t know about wonderful, but I’ll pass I guess,” he said. “Your pa taught me a lot. He danced with me, you know.”
“Papa danced with you?” Tessa imagined what that had looked like and laughed. “Who led?”
“We took turns,” Seth said. “They kept telling me that it was good for my leg, and darned if they weren’t right.”
Dean said, “I would have paid to see that.”
“You wanna learn? I’ll teach you,” Seth offered.
Dean had demurred and said, “Maybe another time.”
Seth laughed and then set about teaching Sadie how to waltz.
His smile faded as he remembered how Maddie and he had danced together. They had learned to move well together and eventually their steps became second nature. He felt a twinge of pain in his chest and couldn’t stay still any longer. Fixing more shingles would help divert his thoughts of Maddie, at least for a while.
He got up and was walking down the porch steps when he heard carriage wheels. Two c
hestnut horses came into view and Seth recognized Beth’s rig. He’d come across her several times in different cities and towns and they’d been friendly.
Beth slowed the carriage and pulled the horses to a stop. The wheels had barely stopped turning when the door closest to Seth opened and he watched as Maddie alighted from the vehicle. He didn’t move a muscle as she walked up to him. He was afraid he was dreaming and if he said something or moved, he’d wake up. She wore her hair down and it blew freely in the wind and Seth thought she’d never looked more beautiful.
Maddie’s heart felt like it was going to burst right through her chest. Seth’s expression was grim and forbidding as she got close and her apprehension grew. She tried to gather her courage but it was hard. What if he rejected her? Would he forgive her?
Seth found his voice and said, “What are you doing here?”
Maddie’s eyes met his. “Did you mean the things you wrote in that letter? Do you still feel that way?”
Seth didn’t answer her for long moments. He still loved her and wanted to be with her but he was scared to put his heart on the line again.
Maddie almost panicked the longer his silence went on but she managed to hold her ground. She was prepared to fight for him and would wait him out even if it took forever.
Seth finally answered. “I meant every single word and yes, I still feel the same way. I haven’t stopped loving you, missing you, or wanting you. But what about you? You know that I’m not leaving here. I would die in the city and you know it. Are you going to move here for good? I couldn’t take it if you moved here and then suddenly changed your mind and went back to Pittsburgh.”
Maddie stepped forward until they were only a couple of feet apart and looked up into the handsome face she loved so much. His gaze was guarded as he looked down at her and she hated the fact that she’d made him so unsure of her.
“Seth, I know that I made a terrible mistake in refusing your proposal. Most people wouldn’t believe how romantic you can be, but I saw it firsthand, and I can’t believe that I ruined such a special night. I let fear take over again when I should have had the courage to accept what you were offering,” Maddie said. She paused and took a breath. “I love you so much and I need you and I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together. I promise I won’t change my mind. So if you still want me, I would be honored to be your wife.”
