Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance (18 page)

She watched him striding towards her
with the long, rolling strides she’d remembered. There was just the
slightest hitch as he walked, but other than that he looked healthy
and happiness for his excellent recovery filled her
heart.

“Seth!” she said and ran to
him.

He folded her in his embrace and
laughed. “Hey, Tessa. How the heck are you? You look as good as
ever.”

Seth was truly happy to see his
sister-in-law and hugged her close. He looked around the ranch as
he did so and was hit hard with how much he’d missed his home.
Tessa drew away.

“You look wonderful,” she told him.
“You’d hardly ever know anything ever happened to you.”

The next thing they knew a little ball
of fur flew to them and stating leaping up at Seth.

“Hey, mutt, come here,” Seth said and
picked up Trouble and was promptly covered in wet kisses. “Ok, ok,
knock it off,” Seth said through his laughter.

Trouble wiggled and his little tail was
a blur as he welcomed his master home. Seth put him down and
Trouble ran excited circles around them. Then he picked Mikey up
and threw him in the air.

“Look at you! I think you grew a foot
while I was gone,” Seth said.

“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.

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?”