Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance (13 page)

“Oh yes, of course,” Claire said and
scooted a bunch off onto Seth’s plate.

Seth figured she must think his hands
didn’t work because he had an injured leg. “What, no
syrup?”

Claire snatched it and poured a
generous amount of it over the pancakes. “Why would you want to
drive them to California when the Chicago markets would be
closer?”

“Price differences and the time of
year. What happens with the weather the farther west you
go?”

Claire smiled. “It gets warmer, of
course.”

“Bingo. So say we didn’t have a real
good cattle crop for the summer, but we’ve got some that were
coming on towards fall and were nice and fat? We could still get
them out west while the weather was good and sell them for a good
price,” Seth said.

“I never thought of that,” Claire said.
“This is fascinating. Thank you for the insight. I must leave,
though, or I’ll be late and Professor Lynch hates it when students
are late.” She rose and kissed Maureen and Geoffrey’s cheeks then
came back to Seth and kissed his. “Good luck at the doctor today,”
she said and rushed off.

Seth looked back at her parents with a
stunned expression. “Is she always like that?”

“Yes, she’s always been very
entertaining” Maureen said. It was obvious that although Claire
sometimes exasperated her that she loved her daughter very
much.

He grinned. “Good. I hope she doesn’t
change.”

Geoff laughed and put the paper down.
“We should be leaving as well.”

“Where’s Maddie?” Seth
asked.

“You won’t see her up this early,”
Maureen said. “She’s not an early riser as a rule.”

Seth nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that.” He
was disappointed, but didn’t say so. “Tell her I said howdy. Thank
you for breakfast, Maureen,” Seth said and began pushing out of the
dining room into the front hall way.

Maddie came rushing down the stairs.
She knew it was unladylike, but didn’t care. She didn’t want to
miss Seth before he left. “Wait!”

Seth’s face lit up as he saw her and he
turned his chair to face her. “Good morning, good
lookin’.”

Maddie blushed. She had always handled
male compliments with poise, but Seth’s were different. She
surmised that it was his western drawl that drew such a reaction
from her. “Good morning yourself, handsome.”

“So you want a ride? There’s room for
two in this thing,” Seth teased her.

Maddie was almost tempted, but
declined. “No, thank you.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Oh, I’m very fun,” she said
suggestively. “Perhaps one day you’ll see.”

“I hope so,” Seth said. “Did you come
to see me off?”

“I did. I know you’re nervous, but I’m
confident. Flemming is going to be able to help you,” Maddie
said.

Seth took her hand and squeezed it a
little. “You know what would make me feel better?”

“What?”

“A kiss for good luck,” Seth
said.

Maddie’s smile was so beautiful that
Seth’s heart seemed to stop for a moment.

“What am I going to do with you?”
Maddie asked.

Seth gave her a salacious grin. “I have
some ideas.”

“I’m sure you do,” she
replied.

“How about that kiss?” Seth
said.

Maddie pretended to think it over but
she really wanted to jump into Seth’s arms and kiss him senseless.
He looked very dashing in his black suit. She hadn’t known that he
had nice clothes like that, but he said that there were times on
the road when they came in handy. They weren’t cheap either. Seth
might not like wearing them, but he knew good quality suits and
figured that if he was going to wear one, it might as well be made
well.

“I suppose it would be all right since
it’s for luck,” Maddie said.

She leaned down and pressed her soft
lips against his and felt warmth begin to steal along her body.
Maddie had never felt that kind of passion before where all it took
was a look or smile to make her melt. Kissing Seth was highly
intoxicating and she wanted more. What she felt for Seth went
beyond the physical, however. It was something she’d never felt for
any man before him.

He made her laugh and she felt
completely safe with him. Maddie knew that he’d been raised to
respect women and would never harm her. She also admired his
intellect. He might not be book smart but he knew everything there
was to know about raising cattle and cattle markets and even though
she hadn’t understood all of it, she’d enjoyed hearing Seth and his
brothers talk shop during meals.

Knowing what an active man he was and
how much it would hurt him if he couldn’t return to his way of
life, Maddie hoped and prayed that the surgeons would be able to
heal him.

Seth cupped the back of her head and
deepened the kiss. She tasted sweet and smelled like lilacs. It was
a heady combination and clouded his senses to all else but Maddie.
He made a sound of protest as she drew away. Maddie wanted the kiss
to go on, but knew that it was only a matter of time before someone
came along.

She straightened and smiled at Seth.
His blue eyes were a darker, smoldering shade that mirrored the
same desire she felt. “Good luck,” she said as she traced the line
of his jaw with her fingertips.

“Thanks,” he answered. His voice was
husky and it gave Maddie goose bumps.

She gave Seth a final kiss on the cheek
and then headed towards the dining room. Seth watched the
mesmerizing swish of her skirts as they swayed to and fro as she
left him.

Geoffrey had been coming out of his
office, which was off the main foyer, as Maddie had kissed Seth’s
cheek and gone on her way. He quickly ducked back into the office
and waited a few moments. He was well versed in the romantic
relationships between men and women and had seen the attraction
Maddie and Seth shared, but he hadn’t realized that it had
progressed.

Conflicting emotions swirled inside
Geoff’s mind. He liked and respected Seth very much. All of the
Samuels brothers were hard working, ambitious men and Dean had
already shown what a good provider he was for Tessa and his
children. Seth was a bit of a wild card, however. His roaming ways
and stories of casual relationships with women had been funny
before, but now looking at them through the eyes of a father whose
daughter might fall in love with such a man, Geoff didn’t quite
know if he could approve of a romantic relationship between Seth
and Maddie.

He knew that Maddie was a grown woman,
but she was also vulnerable after her ordeal, and he would protect
his girl at all costs. He took a couple of deep breaths and then
stepped out of his office.

Seth smiled at him. “I’m all set,” he
said.

Geoff gave him a curt nod and said,
“Good,” and strode towards the back of the house.

Seth turned the chair around and
followed him, wondering why the other man seemed distant with him.
He didn’t have to wonder very long. No sooner had Geoff closed the
carriage door behind him than he grabbed the front of Seth’s suit
and hauled him closer. Seth was so shocked that he didn’t
resist.

“I love my daughter with all my heart,
Seth and should you hurt her in any way, shape, or form, I’ll kill
you,” he said.

Seth’s face was mere inches from
Geoff’s and he could almost feel the hot anger coming off the man.
Geoff’s dark eyes bore into his with deadly intensity and Seth knew
that he meant what he said. Seth could believe he’d do it, too.
Geoff might look the polished gentleman, but inside there were
parts of him that were still the hard-fisted Irishman who’d had to
fight for his life to escape to the States and make a better life
for himself. He and Geoff were kindred spirits in their way of
thinking and Seth respected Geoffrey for his blunt
words.

“Have I made myself understood,
laddie?” Geoff said. The Irish brogue sometimes slipped out when he
was feeling intense emotions.

Seth barely kept from smiling, but knew
he’d better not or Geoffrey was going to kick the crap out of him.
He was in no shape to fight off an angry father like Geoffrey.
“Loud and clear, sir.”

“Good.” Geoffrey saw the honesty in
Seth’s eyes and relented. He smoothed down Seth’s suit and sat
down. “I’m glad I got my point across.”

“Aye, to be sure ye have, Geoff, me
lad,” Seth said with a wide grin.

Geoff swore and said, “It’s impossible
to stay angry with someone who can almost sound as Irish as I
am.”

Seth sobered. “Geoff, you need to know
that I respect Maddie and the last thing I want to do is cause her
any pain. I know what you’re thinking and it’s nothing I haven’t
thought about myself. I’m the equivalent to tumbleweeds that roll
here and there depending on which way the wind blows.” Seth looked
down at his leg. “At least I used to be and maybe I won’t ever be
that way again.” He looked Geoff in the eyes then and said, “Or
maybe I don’t really
want
to be any more, even if this guy
can fix my leg. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I do, Seth, and I’m glad to hear it,”
Geoff said.

By the time Dr. Flemming finished his
exam, Seth’s leg was on fire. He’d been poked, prodded, and twisted
and if the doctor hadn’t stopped when he did, Seth most likely
would have socked him in the kisser.

Dr. Flemming helped Seth get dressed
and back in the wheelchair and then looked at him with a brooding
expression. The man’s mud brown eyes were serious in his slightly
droopy face as he regarded his patient.

“Well? What do you think, doc? Can you
fix it?” Seth asked. “Just spit it out. I’ll deal with whatever you
tell me.”

“I think that you should have come here
as soon as it happened, but with living so far away, that was
impossible. I also think your Dr. Turner did as fine a job as I’ve
seen without more modern techniques available. The bones seem to
have started to knit, but I think there is soft tissue and ligament
damage, too,” Dr. Flemming said.

Seth felt his stomach drop at the
doctor’s pronouncement. “Ok, but can you help me?”

Dr. Flemming nodded. “It’s going to
take some doing and hard work on your part with physical therapy
after a proper recovery time, but I think it can be done. Of
course, I won’t know for certain until I get in there.”

Hope surged through Seth. “I know it
might not be a full recovery, but will I at least be able to ride a
horse again?” he asked and thought of Hank. He missed his horse and
thought of all the good times they’d had together.

Dr. Flemming nodded and scratched his
forehead. “Yes. You’ll be able to ride a horse again.”

Seth could have hugged the man he was
so happy. “When do we do it?”

“Tomorrow. You’ll be admitted to the
hospital today so that we can do the surgery at first light,” Dr.
Flemming said.

Seth was shocked. “Tomorrow? So
soon?”

“Young man, there’s no time to waste,”
Dr. Flemming told him and then excused himself from the
room.

When Geoff popped his head into the
examination room, Seth realized that a nurse must have fetched him.
Geoff was surprised to see sheer terror on Seth’s face.

“Seth? What did he say?” Geoff asked.
His expression was one of deep concern.

“He’s gonna do the surgery tomorrow.
Says we gotta do it right away. Thinks he can fix it pretty good.”
Seth’s disjointed statements spoke volumes about his
fear.

Geoff sought to ease that fear. He
placed a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “You’re not alone, Seth. You have
all of us to help you.”

Seth grasped Geoffrey’s hand and said,
“I’ll never be able to repay all your kindness, but I’ll sure as
hell try.”

That evening there was a small party in
Seth’s private room for which Geoffrey had insisted he would pay.
The older man knew how annoying staying in one of the wards could
be and didn’t want Seth to have to endure that. They all told
stories and teased one another and Seth almost forgot that he was
having surgery the next day. He’d never been under the knife before
and was terrified.

Maddie sat by his side the whole time
and when his supper came Claire took the tray and fixed his food,
even cutting it for him. Seth watched her with amusement and
wondered if she was going to feed it to him. He caught Maddie
looking at Claire with annoyance and wondered if she were jealous.
The thought tickled him and he smiled at Claire all the more just
to get Maddie’s goat.

“Claire, you should be a nurse. You
seem to be very good at taking care of people,” Seth
remarked.

Claire raised her brows and gave him a
disdainful expression. “I should think not. I wouldn’t want to give
men bed baths.”

“Claire!” Maureen chastised her. “That
is completely…”

Geoff and Seth laughed so loudly that
it drowned out her rebuke. “I don’t blame you, Claire,” Seth said.
“I wouldn’t want to give men bed baths either.”

That made them all laugh until a nurse
came and told them it was time for them to leave. Claire kissed
Seth’s cheek and wished him luck and promised to visit him the next
day, as they all did. Maddie waited until last. Geoff pulled his
wife and Claire from the room and drew them down the hall a
little.