“Maybe you should, at least for tonight. I’ll probably be up several times feeding the babies during the night anyway.” Hungry passion reflected bright in her eyes, and pride swelled in his chest knowing this beautiful woman belonged only to him.
“Would you like something to eat?” He stepped back, picked up the baby and placed him next to his sister in the cradle.
“That would be nice. I am rather hungry.”
He dropped his gaze to his feet and shuffled them for a moment, wanting to stay with her but knowing she needed to rest. “Let me see what Carmen has ready. You rest for a while.”
“Seth?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” he answered, turning back in her direction.
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Now rest. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He gave her one last lingering look before he slipped out into the hall and softly closed the door behind him.
Chapter Nineteen
The days were spent visiting with Edward and Kathleen, watching the babies grow and observing the other children come to love their siblings, except Jarod. He kept to himself much of the time these days, completely avoiding any contact with the babies, and Lily was worried.
When the babies were several weeks old, Lily approached Seth about her concern for Jarod.
“Seth, Jarod seems so distant these days. He doesn’t want anything to do with the babies, and he’s become very quiet.”
“I know, sweetheart, I’m worried too. He’s even lost interest in playing with Johnny. The schoolteacher who is working with them since you’ve been out, said he’s very quiet at school too. He’s never been a really talkative boy, but he was never this quiet and withdrawn. I’ve tried talking with him, and he just says there isn’t anything wrong.”
She rested her cheek on the enticing muscles of his chest while she traced little circles through the springy curls and listened to his heartbeat. “I just wish I knew what was bothering him.”
“Me too.”
Her warm breath skipped across the skin of his belly, and she saw his manhood fill and harden.
“Seth,” she whispered before she kissed his chest.
“Yes?” he said, groaning softly, attempting to beat down the desire raging through him.
She smiled against his skin and asked, “Do you think it’s too soon?”
“I sure as hell hope not, because I can’t take it anymore.” He flipped her on her back and locked his lips over hers. His tongue slipped inside her mouth as a groan rumbled in her chest.
His lips blazed a trail across her cheek then down her neck. He sucked her straining, puckered nipple into his mouth as her back arched toward him and she whispered, “I can’t take it anymore either.”
* * * *
Early summer came, and the townspeople decided to have a meeting. The train robberies had continued unabated, and something needed to be done. The meeting was set for right after church on Sunday.
The church filled to capacity. Everyone wanted to know what would be done about the robberies and how they were going to go about stopping them.
The mayor called out to the waiting crowd over the rumble of voices. “Ladies and gentlemen, please. Quiet down now, so we can discuss this growing problem and try to find a solution.”
“What can we do?” the owner of the livery spoke up. “They are doing this at will now, Harland. Even the federal marshals haven’t been able to stop them.”
Seth and Lily sat in the back of the church with the children, listening to the talk around them.
“Yeah, what can we do?” Seth heard another say.
“I’m not sure, folks. We need to think of something though. Maybe we can put someone on the trains, from here to Houston, so we can keep the folks safe, at least that far,” the mayor said.
“Who is going to do that? We don’t have a sheriff anymore,” replied the owner of the grocery store.
“Wait! Seth saw them before. He saw them the day he came back in town on the same train his wife took,” said another, and all eyes turned to Seth.
“Folks, listen.” Seth stood. “I really didn’t see much. There were a couple of them killed that day, but the leader got away even though I believe he was wounded.”
“Why don’t you ride the train for a while, Seth? You’re good with that pistol of yours. Maybe just having a presence on the train will scare them off when they hear. Perhaps they will move onto somewhere else,” someone suggested.
Lily swung her terrified eyes to him and put a hand on his arm. He shook his head when he looked at her, attempting to reassure her he wasn't considering riding the train.
“Folks, that’s impossible. I can’t leave Lily alone here to handle the new babies and our other three, too.”
“We’ll be there to help her, won’t we folks,” one woman suggested, standing up to try to convince Seth to help. Several of the other women in town chimed in their agreement.
“It wouldn’t be for very long, I’m sure,” Harland said.
“I have to discuss this with Lily before any decisions are made.” He began to mull over the proposition as he sat back down next to his wife.
“You can’t possibly be considering this, Seth?” Lily whispered in his ear.
“We have to do something, sweetheart. Remember, Edward was pistol-whipped, and Kathleen could have been killed. The conductor was killed, and we knew him,” he whispered back to her. “We can discuss this more when we get home.”
When they returned home and lay side-by-side in their bed, he told her of his decision.
“What happens to us if you are killed or hurt?”
“Nothing is going to happen to me, sweetheart. I know how these men work. I’ve seen them in action, remember? I won’t underestimate them in the least, and I really think I can stop this whole thing. Besides, I’ll have help. I’m not doing this alone. There will be a couple of us on those trains with each trip. I’ll just be in charge, so to speak.” He stroked her arm while she snuggled closer to his side.
“I’m scared, Seth. I just have a really bad feeling about this.”
“It will be all right, Lily, just wait and see.”
The next day Seth rode into town with Lily to tell the mayor he would ride the train for several weeks. He dropped her off at the school and headed to the mayor’s office.
“Thanks, Seth. I knew you’d come through for us,” the mayor replied, shaking his hand.
“Just know one thing, Harland. I’m doing this to help protect my family, too. It’s not safe for anyone on those trains right now. We all know this. I just hope we can convince these men to move onto somewhere else before someone else is hurt or killed.”
“I know, Seth, I know,” the mayor replied with a shake of his head. “Are you going to start this afternoon?”
“No, tomorrow. I just wanted you to know, so plans can be made to make sure someone is there to help Lily.” They stepped out of the mayor’s office into the morning sun. Seth looked around the town he had been born and raised in, wondering if anyone they knew might be involved. He dreaded the thought, but he couldn't be too careful.
“I’ll take care of it, don’t you worry.”
“Thanks, Harland.”
“You are welcome, Seth. Thank you for helping us with this problem. I’ll make sure everything is in place.”
* * * *
For several days afterwards, Seth rode the train, disguised as one of the passengers, along with another man. Obviously the robbers knew they were there, because all was quiet. No robberies were even attempted, and Seth became frustrated and angry.
“Damn it,” he exclaimed one night while he paced the living room of their home, running his hands through his hair.
Lily stopped in front of him, placed her hands on his chest and then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ve been neglecting you lately, I know,” he whispered in her hair when she rested her head on his shoulder.
“No, it’s not that, Seth. I just wish I could help. I know this is driving you crazy. I don’t understand how these men know you're on the train. They avoid doing anything while you're there.”
“It’s something I’ve thought about quite a bit over the last few days. It’s obvious to me, they are aware of everything we do. I wish I knew how they were getting the information.”
“It’s almost as if they have a hideout close by and can hear the plans while they are being discussed.”
“That’s got to be it! Maybe someone here in Parkville is leaking information to them so they know when and where we’ll be. That way they avoid us, but who? Who could be involved?”
“I don’t know. I wish I did, so this would all be over. I’m scared.” She sank down on the sofa.
He walked over and sat beside her. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I know, sweetheart, I’m afraid for all of you. I don’t want anything to happen to any of my family.”
“Well, nothing should happen as long as we avoid the trains.”
“True, very true.”
“Are you going out again tomorrow?”
“Yes. I will be on the eleven o’clock train.”
“Well, at least we have tonight, then, before you must leave.” She turned her head so she could look into his eyes to give him her most seductive smile.
He took her lips with his, kissing her until she was breathless. He stood and pulled her up with him before he bent down and swept her up in his arms, carrying her toward their bedroom.
* * * *
Seth made an unscheduled trip on one of the trains the next afternoon. No one knew of his trip, except Lily. He’d boarded the train as the final passenger, settling himself in the last passenger car in the last row of seats. He felt the robbers would possibly attempt a heist that afternoon, since there wasn’t any talk of him being a passenger. He was right.
He sat bolt upright in his seat, where he’d been pretending to rest, when he heard female screams coming from the front of the train. Pulling his pistol, he slowly made his way toward the front, keeping a keen eye on the doorway between the cars. It didn’t take long for the robbers to make their way toward the back of the train while they looted each passenger for any money and jewelry.
Seth now sat in the front of the train car, with his pistol in his hand, listening to them shouting and moving toward the car where he was positioned.
The first man slipped the car door open, and Seth grabbed his arm, pulling him into the car while the door slid shut behind him. He wrapped an arm around the man’s neck and put his pistol to his head as the bag of loot scattered across the floor.
“Don’t move, or I’ll blow your brains all over the wall,” he hissed in the man’s ear.
“I won’t,” whispered the man in return, his hands gripping Seth’s arm where it lay tight against his throat.
“Where’s your boss?”
“In front,” the man replied as he struggled to breathe.
“Shall we go say hello?”
“He’ll kill you,” the man growled in return when Seth pushed him toward the front of the train. When they met one of his accomplices in the next car, that man took a shot at Seth. The bullet hit the first man Seth had captured, and Seth was able to return fire.
People screamed and ducked behind seats as bullets began to fly in all directions, hitting windows and walls within the train. Seth pushed the man he’d held in front of him to the ground and dove behind a row of seats when a bullet whizzed by his head.
The masked bandit, who had fired at Seth, retreated to the car behind him and slammed the door between cars.
The next thing Seth heard was a man shouting orders, and then the robbers jumped from the train, rolled in the grasses growing along the tracks and disappeared into the brush.
He jumped up and contemplated going after the men, when suddenly spots began to form in front of his eyes, and his head began to spin. He raised his hand to the left side of his head and faintly heard a voice beside him say, “Mister, you best sit down. You’ve been shot.”
Seth looked at the man standing next to him with a blank look before he moved his hand and saw blood. The room went dark as he slowly sank to the floor.
* * * *
A rider galloped into the yard, sliding to a stop mere inches from the front porch. He scrambled off his horse yelling for Lily or Carmen before he’d even dismounted.
“My goodness! What’s wrong?” Carmen asked.
“It’s Seth. Where’s Lily?”
“What about Seth? Oh God! Don’t tell me.” Lily felt the blood drain from her face.
“He’s been shot,” the man replied, and Lily leaned heavily against the doorframe.
“Where is he?”
“He’s at the doc’s place.”
“Is he…?”
“He is alive, Lily, but he’s hurt pretty bad. You need to come now,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“I’ll have Johnny hitch the wagon. He’ll be fine, missus, don’t you worry,” Carmen reassured Lily before she went to find the boy and tend to the twins.
“I…” Lily started to say, she but couldn’t finish. Thoughts of losing her husband swam in her brain and she almost fainted.
Johnny came running from the house a few minutes after Carmen summoned him. Lily watched him scramble to the barn for the horses and wagon. After he had hitched the team, Lily walked over like she was prepared to drive.
“No, Mother. I’ll drive.” He directed her to the passenger side of the wagon and helped her up.
Tears welled up in Lily’s eyes when she heard him call her mother. He had never done that before, and it touched her heart.
He had hitched the team in record time, and, before another minute went by, they were on their way to town.
The wagon rolled up to the doctor’s place a short while later, and when they approached, he stepped out of the door with blood on his hands. He wiped it off on an apron he wore, and her heart sank.
God, please don’t let him be dead. He has to be all right. I can’t live without him.
“Lily,” the doc said.
“Seth?” she whispered as Johnny helped her down.
“He’ll be all right, Lily. He needs to rest though. The bullet grazed his temple, and he lost a lot of blood,” the doctor said, trying to reassure her when she stepped onto the porch.
“Can I see him?”
“Of course, come with me. He’s resting in one of the empty bedrooms upstairs. I’ve given him something to help him rest, and I’d rather he stayed here tonight so I can watch him.”
She and the doctor walked up the stairs to the bedroom where Seth rested, with Johnny close behind. The doctor opened the door and Lily nearly fainted, when she saw her husband lying in the bed with a bandage around his head. His eyes were closed, and he looked very pale. The even rise and fall of his chest with each breath reassured her he was alive.
Stepping to the side of the bed, she took his hand in hers while she sank in the chair the doctor had placed there.
“Seth?” Her tearful whisper slipped from between her lips while she watched his face, waiting for him to open his eyes and to smile at her like he always did.
“Lily,” he whispered, opening his eyes to her voice. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You are at the doctor’s place. You were shot on the train, and the bullet grazed your head. You’ve lost a lot of blood, so you’ll have to rest for a while. No more chasing after bad guys for now.” She held his hand to her face, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. His free hand moved toward the bandage on his head, and he winced as his fingers probed where the bullet had cut a path.
“Aw, sweetheart, don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.”
“Sorry,” she said, wiping the tears on her cheeks. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I have a hell of a lot more years to love you ahead of me,” he said with that sexy smile but grim
aced when pain shot through his head.
“Will you stop trying to be such a man?”
“Why do I feel like I’m drunk? Not that it would be a bad thing, mind you, with this pain in my head, but it means I can’t take you in my arms and make love to you like I want to.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “There will be none of that for a while, Seth. You're feeling drunk because I gave you something to help you rest.”
“Pop, are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine, son. You’ll just have to take care of things for a bit while I recover, that’s all.”
“No problem, Pop. I’ve got it.” Lily watched him square his shoulders and he seemed to grow a few years older right before her eyes.
“I’m going to have to sleep for a while now. I don’t know what you gave me, doc, but it’s making me really tired. I love you, sweetheart,” Seth said in a sleepy voice. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” His eyes drifted shut when the medication took hold again. The trio left the room as the soft snores reached their ears, and they knew he was asleep.
“Is there anything I can do?” Lily asked as they walked back down the stairs to the parlor.
“No, he just needs to rest. You can take him home tomorrow, I think, but he’ll still have to rest there. No gallivanting around after train robbers for a few weeks anyway.” She saw the doctor give her a conspiratorial wink when he faced her.
“I understand, doctor. I’ll make sure he doesn’t run off, trust me.” They made their way back out the front door to the wagon so they could head for home. “Take care of him tonight for me, will you? I can’t imagine my life without that stubborn man.”
“I’ve got his best interest at heart, Lily, don’t you worry.” He helped her board the wagon, and Johnny turned it toward home.
The sun had begun to set in the afternoon sky when Lily and Johnny made their way back to the ranch house.
Johnny kept a keen eye on the road ahead while they traveled, but he wasn’t prepared when several men wearing masks over their noses and mouths moved out of the woods. They stopped in front of the wagon, making it impossible for them to pass.
Love's Sweet Surrender Page 23
