Love's Sweet Surrender

by Love's Sweet Surrender (lit)

  “I’m sure you’ll remember next time to raise your hand and wait for me to call on you before you speak.” Lily looked at him over her shoulder.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Seth stared at the remarkable woman sitting next to him while he listened to her talk to his son. Johnny had always had a bit of a wild streak in him ever since he was little. Lily managed to get him to speak respectfully and listen to what she had to say, and it was quite extraordinary. Even Victoria hadn’t been able to completely tame their son’s wild spirit, yet this little bit of a woman managed to curtail his willful nature in such a short time.

  What else does she have up her sleeve for my children? How has she so easily managed to infiltrate my life that I'm taking her out to my house? She treats the children wonderfully, that is obvious, but lately it seems a day doesn't go by when I'm not thinking of her in some way.

  Chapter Ten

  Lily bumped along on the seat of the wagon, fully aware of the man next to her. She’d never really gotten to talk to Kathleen in depth about things between a man and a woman. The feelings Seth aroused confused her more each day.

  He seemed to be completely still in love with Victoria and her memory, but Lily knew that he was attracted to her, or at least that's the way it seemed. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, when the house came into view.

  The boys were off the back of the wagon before it had come to a complete stop and ran for the house as Carmen came out of the door.

  “Ah! Mr. Seth, you have brought company?” Carmen smiled when she saw Lily in the wagon with Seth. “Nice to see you again, ma'am”

  Seth stopped the wagon, hopped down and walked around the other side to help Lily down.

  The exchange between Carmen and Seth made her wonder if there was a problem. “Nice to see you too, Carmen.”

  “Will you be staying for supper?”

  The question vanished from Lily's mind when Seth reached up and swung her down from the wagon seat. She stared into his eyes for a moment, lost in the feelings that zipped across her heart.

  Seth dropped his hands from around her waist, where they lingered just a bit too long for propriety’s sake. “I… uh… have a target set up near the barn. Come with me, and I’ll show you where.”

  “Of course.” She smoothed her skirts in an attempt to calm her shaking hands.

  The two of them walked together in the direction of the barn, and she could see the whole area around the large building was fenced off.

  She wanted to keep the conversation light, so she figured horses and cattle were a safe subject. “Do you raise a lot of cattle and horses out here?”

  “I run probably a thousand head of cattle a year. It keeps us eating and gives us a roof over our heads, you could say. It certainly won't make me rich by any means. I do break horses, too, and sell them to some of the local folks. I guess you could say ranching is in the blood, so to speak, even though my real father didn’t teach me. I consider Jack my father.”

  Curiosity pushed her to ask while she studied the man in front of her. “What about your adoptive family? Are they still around here?”

  “Jack and Jennifer still live in the area. They have some land on the other side of town, although Jack doesn’t do much ranching anymore. He hurt his leg pretty bad some years ago and now can’t walk very well. They hire out for most of the work these days. Maybe someday I’ll take you to meet them. They are really amazing folks.”

  “That would be nice. I would like to get to know more people around here if I plan to stay for a while.”

  The shirt stretched across the muscles of his back when he set a couple more bales of hay behind the target for her to shoot at. She had to fight the urge to smooth her hands over the tempting flesh.

  “Are you?”

  “Am I what?” She was confused. His broad chest under his shirt was doing nothing to fix the situation either.

  “Are you planning to stay on here?”

  “Well, I’m not quite sure yet. Would you like me to?” Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. “Never mind. I really shouldn’t have asked. That was totally inappropriate for me…”

  She didn’t quite finish before Seth’s response tripped across her heart, and her breath caught in her throat.

  “Yes.” Seth looked at her for a second and then turned his back to her to finish setting up the target.

  “Yes?”

  One shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “Yes, I’d like for you to stay.”

  “Well then, maybe I will.” Lily said, blushing at her confession. “Shall we get started with the lessons?”

  * * * *

  When Seth turned back around, his thoughts scattered to the wind. She stood in front of him so prim and proper in her dress, but when she moved, he could see the outline of her long legs under her skirts. He sucked in an unsteady breath in a fleeting attempt to curtail the raging desire running rapid through his veins.

  Clearing his throat in case his voice came out in a squeak, he instructed her, “Move over here in front of the target. I’m going to get behind you so I can show you how to hold the pistol.”

  Seth handed her his gun, and she almost dropped it on the ground because of the weight of the firearm.

  “My goodness. I didn’t realize they were that heavy.”

  “They can be heavy if you're holding a six-shooter, which is what that one is. There are smaller guns for ladies you can hold in the palm of your hand. That might be an option for you, but if you want to get off more than one shot, you need something bigger.”

  Their fingers brushed when he took it from her. Her touch sent tingles of electricity crawling up his arm and settling in his chest. Stepping behind her, he tried to take a calming breath before he moved to put his arms around her.

  “Now, turn toward the target. Take the pistol in both hands. Raise it so you can look down the barrel of the gun and sight your target.”

  His hands shook when he slipped them around her waist and placed them over hers so he could steady her grip with his.

  This is a big mistake. The lavender scent he would forever associate with her drifted to his nose while the hair that had come loose from its pins tickled softly along his jaw.

  Clearing his throat, he murmured, “Steady the gun with both hands, aim at the center of the target and pull the trigger.”

  The gun barked, and she jerked back against his chest. Screaming, she dropped it on the ground, causing the gun to go off again. She swung around wide-eyed and frightened.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it would be that loud.”

  “It’s all right. Scared the daylights out of me the first time I shot one, too.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really, now let’s try again. Your muscles will be very sore tonight. You’ll have sore spots where you didn’t even know you had muscles by the time we’re done.”

  Seth stood behind her and braced her arms while he held onto her hands tightly with his to steady the gun. “Remember the kick. Aim at the target, and pull the trigger lightly. You don’t have to pull it very hard.”

  The gun barked again, but this time she was more prepared. She didn’t hit the target at all, but the bullet didn’t go completely wild.

  “Better,” he praised, taking the gun from her hands.

  “But I didn’t even hit the target. I think I hit the side of the barn and scared the heck out of the chickens.” The gorgeous smile gracing her mouth when she spun around drove the blood straight from his brain to his groin.

  A small sheen of perspiration gathered on his top lip, and he had to stifle a groan threatening to slip from his mouth.

  “For the most part, sweetheart, you aren’t here to learn to kill anyone. You’re here to learn how to defend yourself if someone breaks into your house, correct?” The endearment rolled so easily from his lips, he had to bite back the urge to correct himself and bring her attention to it.

  “I… uh… yes.”

  “Shall we tr
y it again?” He felt her shiver, and he asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I’m fine. My ears are just ringing a bit I guess from the noise.”

  “It can do that to you if you aren’t used to it. Now hold your arms straight out, bend your elbows just slightly to absorb the recoil, sight down the barrel at your target and slowly pull the trigger.”

  Fighting the desire rushing through his blood, he attempted to give her instructions even though his mind was wrapped in the woman in his arms. He found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the target and not on the smell of her skin, the softness of her hair or how perfectly she fit against him.

  The gun barked a third time, and he knew Lily was completely stunned to see she had hit the target.

  “I did it!” she squealed, twirling around in his arms and with a self-satisfied smile on her pretty mouth, she threw her arms around his neck.

  Not quite sure what else to do, he held on tight, making sure he took the gun from her fingers first.

  “That was perfect,” he whispered, inhaling her scent, letting it swirl around in his head.

  “Supper is ready, Mr. Seth.” Carmen smirked with an I-told-you-so look while her eyes danced with mirth.

  He smiled and held out his arm. “Shall we?”

  “Thank you, sir,” Lily answered with a wide smile as she took his arm and they headed into the house.

  He held out her chair, and tried desperately to rein in his raging desire before everyone in the room knew where his thoughts centered.

  “How’d she do, Pop?” Johnny asked from his place at the table.

  “Very well for a woman,” Seth replied, waiting for the reaction he was sure would come, and he wasn’t disappointed.

  “A woman!”

  He gave her a wide grin, and she smiled in return when she realized he was teasing.

  Lord, how she can make my heart pound. He sucked in a ragged breath and took his own seat next to her.

  “Johnny, would you care to say grace for us?” Lily asked, and Johnny began a small prayer that gave thanks for the food they were about to share, to their new teacher for coming here to help them, to his pop for taking care of them all and finally, to his momma, “May she rest in peace.”

  The smile that had graced Lily’s lips after Seth’s teasing was now gone.

  * * * *

  The sobering prayer made Lily think of her own mother, the one she didn't know but would hopefully someday find.

  The rest of the evening passed quickly while she joined the family in some games around the living room. When the evening sun started to set behind the hills, she found herself reading a story to the children before they were to head off to bed. Daylight came early for the ranch, and the children were no exception to the early rise.

  Seth tucked them all into bed, and when he entered the living room, Lily sat in one of the large wingback chairs. “I have a request from one of the children for you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, Anne would like for you to tuck her in.”

  “Really? I’m surprised, but of course I will. I would never let those children down.” She rose and asked Seth to show her which room belonged to Anne.

  Lily walked silently into the room, where Seth had left the lamp burning on the bedside table, and approached the bed. The little girl was all snuggled under the covers pulled clear up to her chin.

  “Anne, your father said you want me to tuck you in. Is that correct?” Lily asked, sitting on the bed next to the little girl.

  Anne just shook her head with a quick nod as her big blue eyes looked straight into Lily’s soul.

  “All right, then. Let me get these covers tucked around you so you’ll stay nice and warm tonight.” Lily bent down to kiss her softly on the forehead before she turned to go. “Sweet dreams, princess.”

  “Can you be our new mommy?”

  The words the little girl whispered reached her ears, and shock rippled down Lily's back. “What did you say?”

  “Can you be our new mommy? We need a mommy real bad, and then maybe Poppa won’t be so sad all the time.”

  Lily pushed the curls from Anne's forehead and smoothed her fingers down her cheek. “Sweetheart, I’m so glad you’ve decided to talk to me, but let’s see what happens in the future, all right? No one can tell what the future brings.”

  “I can’t talk to anyone else. I’m scared that if I do, they will go away too, like my mommy did,” the little girl whispered, terror lacing her words.

  “Oh, sweetheart, they won’t go away if you talk to them, but for now, we’ll keep this our little secret, all right?” Lily assured her before she bent to kiss her forehead again. “Now, you get some sleep, and I promise, I won’t tell anyone.”

  “All right,” Anne whispered sleepily. “I love you.”

  Lily stood and looked down at the precious little girl. She was so frightened and alone, and to have her give her love so freely brought tears to Lily's eyes.

  “I love you too, sweetheart. Everything will be all right, you’ll see.” Please Lord, don't let this angel get her heart broken.

  * * * *

  When Lily returned to the living room, Seth was concerned by the look in her eyes. “Everything all right?”

  She took a chair opposite him. “Yes, everything is fine. Why do you ask?”

  “The look on your face is a bit strange, that’s all. Is there something wrong with Anne?”

  “No. I just told her good night and kissed her on the forehead, that’s all. She really is a sweetheart, Seth. You should be very proud of her.”

  “I am tremendously proud. She’s smart as a whip, and she looks exactly like her mother.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up memories that you aren’t willing to share.” Lily stood and said, “It’s getting rather late, so I suppose you should take me home now.”

  “Yes, of course. Let me get your shawl.” He grabbed her shawl from the hook and swept open the door. “Shall we?”

  He grabbed her firmly around the waist and lifted her onto the wagon seat before he went around and jumped up himself. Grabbing the reins in his hands, he snapped them over the horses’ rumps, and Lily clutched the side of the seat.

  “Sorry. I guess I should have told you to hang on. This wagon ain’t quite the smooth ride of a smaller buggy like you had the other day.” Seth slowed the horses to a walk.

  “It’s quite all right, really. I should have thought to hold on, that’s all.”

  “Are you sure you are all right? You seemed preoccupied?”

  “No. I’m fine. Thank you for teaching me how to shoot today. It doesn’t seem to be all that hard.”

  “You do realize that it will take more than one lesson for you to become proficient.” Why did I say that? It means she'll need me longer, and I'll have to spend more time with her.

  “Really?” Lily answered, surprised. “I thought I did quite well today.”

  “You did very well for someone who has never held a pistol before, but if you want to be able to hit whatever you are shooting at, you need to practice. I don’t think the townspeople would be too pleased if you went around shooting at the side of saloons or the livery, just so you could practice with a gun. Somehow I don’t think their teacher, packing a pistol strapped to her thigh, would give them a very big sense of security.” He grinned, amused at the thought.

  “Why do you strap yours to your thigh?”

  That sounded an awful lot like she had been paying attention to him a little more than she wanted to. “It makes it easier for me to draw quickly if I need to, like on the train.”

  “Ah yes, the train. I do want to thank you for helping me. I had truly forgotten about the whole incident until now.”

  “You’re welcome. I really do have a problem with people taking what doesn’t belong to them, if you hadn’t noticed. For a bunch of lowlife, gun-toting scum to accost innocent people who are traveling from one place to another, or a nice schoolteacher going to
her first job, it just doesn’t sit right with me.” Anger reverberated through him.

  “I suppose the feeling probably stems from what happened before.”

  “No, not really. I’ve always felt that way, even before Victoria was killed.”

  “Maybe you should run for sheriff,” she replied half jokingly.

  “No. Too much dealing with drunks and people acting like children for me. I’ll stick to ranching. At least with cows you know they ain’t that smart and will only do what nature tells them to do. People have a brain. They just don’t use it all the time.”

  “That’s very true.” They hit a large rut in the road, nearly bouncing her off the seat, but Seth grabbed her hand to steady her.

  “Sorry. I didn’t see that one.”

  Their banter kept his thoughts from how warm her body felt next to his on the wagon seat, but now he looked scared. The pulse beat rapidly at the base of her throat while she held onto the wagon seat with one hand and held onto his arm with the other. He pulled his gaze from the slim column of her throat and the pulse beating like a wild bird in a cage to refocus on the road. A few moments later, they rolled into town and headed toward her small house.

  “Here we are.” He stated the obvious, stopping the wagon in front of her house and wrapping the reins around the brake. He jumped down and made his way around the other side of the wagon to help Lily. Taking her hand, he pulled it from the death grip she had on the wagon seat. When he looked up into those pools of green, he almost lost himself in the desire reflected in her gaze. Chastising himself for his thoughts and knowing she had probably never been with a man before, he couldn’t bring himself to pursue things further with her. She doesn't know what she's doing to me with the looks she keeps giving me.

  “You need to stop looking at me like that,” he said, grasping her around the waist and swinging her down from the wagon seat.

  “I’m sorry?”

  He let her go once her feet were solidly on the ground.

  “You need to stop looking at me like that,” he repeated, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm, grabbing the basket from the back of the wagon and escorting her to the door.