Love's Sweet Surrender (31 page)

Carmen wrapped the little one before she handed the baby to Seth. Just then, the doctor rushed inside the room.

“Carmen? Something’s wrong. It hurts again.”

She sounded frightened, and that terrified Seth.
Victoria never had pain
like this after the other children.

“What’s wrong?” Seth asked when the doctor moved to Lily’s side to examine her. “Doc, what’s wrong?”

“Well, son, I believe your wife is having more than one.”

Lily moaned again, and Seth's heart dropped to his toes. “What? What do you mean more than one?”

“I mean, more than one baby, Seth. Now, you need to move aside, so I can help her deliver the second one.”

Carmen moved in to help as Seth moved away from his wife’s side to make room. He continued to cradle his newborn son in his arms while the baby drifted off to sleep.

A few moments later, Lily screamed again, and the second baby slid from her body into the waiting arms of the doctor.

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“It’s a girl. It seems you have one of each, Poppa.”

Seth stood in stunned silence Not only did he and Lily now have one child together, they had two, a beautiful little boy, and a gorgeous little girl.

He moved to Lily’s side with their little boy in his arms as she sleepily opened her eyes and smiled. “Thank you for such beautiful children. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, closing her eyes again.

“Why don’t you take them out to see their grandparents while I finish up with your wife?”

Seth made his way into the living room with his new little boy in his arms to greet the rest of the family. With tears in his eyes, he said, “We have a boy.”

Edward and Kathleen rushed over to see the new baby as Carmen came out behind Seth. “And we have a new little girl, too.”

“Twins?”

“Yes, twins,” Seth whispered, and he peeked at his son, who lay quietly in his arms. After a moment he moved into the living room, with Carmen right behind him, while his other children stood silently waiting.

“Two babies, Poppa?” Anne asked once he had settled himself

comfortably on the couch.

“Yes, sweetie, two babies. You’ll be a big sister to a little brother and a little sister.” Anne pulled the blanket back so she could see and gently kissed the baby on the head.

Johnny walked over to see his new siblings too, but Jarod held back and Seth saw him sulk in the corner.

“Jarod, don’t you want to see your new brother and sister?”

“No,” he said as Seth watched him fold his arms over his chest and walk out.

Seth’s gaze followed his second child when he left the room, and he wondered why Jarod acted so strangely. He had never been an overly loving child, but he’d never been outright rude.
I'm going have to set him straight
before too long.
The baby began to fuss, so Seth had to give him his full attention.

The doctor came into the room a few moments later and said, “She’s resting now. Everything looks good, Seth—nice healthy babies. You should be very proud.”

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“I am.” Seth smiled at the baby in his arms and then at the little girl Carmen held. “But now, I think they are about ready to eat.”

“I think so too, Mr. Seth.” Carmen stood and headed back down the hall.

“Can we visit our daughter for a few minutes?” The Backmans asked.

“Yes, of course. You didn’t even get to say hello when you arrived, and I’m glad to see your head is all right.”

* * * *

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Lily called out an invitation to enter. Seth pushed the door open slowly and she gave him the most radiant smile, her daughter at her breast.

“I’m going to start supper,” Carmen said, quietly leaving the room.

“I’m so glad you made it for the birth,” she said to her parents when they came into the room behind her husband. “Not by much though.”

Kathleen looked at her with a worried expression wrinkling her brow.

“Very true, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

“A little uncomfortable, but the doctor said that is to be expected. I am told to stay in bed for a couple of days. We didn’t even get to say hello at the train station." She let her gaze sweep over her father before she asked, How is your head?”

“It’s fine. Just a bit of a knot, that’s all,” he replied, touching the tender spot on his scalp.

“I’m glad it’s nothing bad. I was scared to death something terrible had happened when I didn’t see you two come off the train.” She removed her sleeping daughter from her breast and pulled her nightgown together before she held out her arms for her son. “I think it’s my son’s turn now.”

“Well, I think I’ll go back out into the front room, dear. I’ll see you later.”

“I will too, sweetheart,” Kathleen said, moving toward the door.

“Maybe I can help your housekeeper with supper.”

“All right. I’ll see you two after a while then.”

Seth placed the little boy in her arms and moved to put their little girl in her cradle nearby.

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Placing the baby at her other breast, she looked up to see her husband staring at her with a hungry look in his eye and a devilish smile on his lips.

“Stop looking at me like that, Seth. Doctor said no, um… ‘activity’ for a while, and if you don’t stop, you will drive me crazy before then.”

“I can’t help it. There is something erotic about you feeding our children,” he said from the foot of the bed.

“We need to think of names for these two, you know. I don’t think we had even really agreed on any names since they weren’t supposed to be here for a bit yet, and I certainly didn’t expect twins.” She changed the subject, attempting to ignore her husband’s hungry eyes.

“Yes, I guess we do.”

“How about Elizabeth Marie for our little girl? It was my real mother’s name.”

“I think it’s perfect. Can we call the boy Jack?”

“Jack is a good, strong name. How about his middle name being Robert, or Edward? What was your real father’s name?” Her son fell asleep against her, and she took him from her breast and pulled her nightgown back over her chest.

* * * *

Seth burned from the inside out while he watched Lily feed his children.

He loved her breasts anyway, and to watch the children suckle drove him crazy.

When Lily started talking about names, he could hardly keep his mind on her words as desire rippled along his skin, sending shock waves straight to his groin.

“Carl Allen.”

Damn! It is going to be a long while before I can to make love to her
again, and it is already driving me crazy.

“All right, how about Jack Allen? That way, he has both your adopted father’s name and your real father’s name.” She grimaced then wiggled in the bed, trying to get comfortable.

“Are you all right, sweetheart?”

“I’m fine, Seth, just sore and trying to find a comfortable position. So, what do you think about Jack Allen for this little man?” She pulled the Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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blanket around the baby as he slept in her arms. “You will have to make another cradle, and quickly. One won’t be enough now, but they can sleep together for a little while.”

“Jack Allen is perfect. Thank you.” He bent over her and kissed her hair.

“For what?” She tipped her head back and looked into his face.

“For these beautiful babies. They are perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anything more than two healthy children and that you are all right. You scared the hell out of me for a while. I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Seth Sanford. You will just have to put up with me for the rest of your life.”

“A challenge I’m definitely looking forward to, Lily Sanford,” he said, before he gently took her lips with his.

Lily moaned under his mouth. He slipped his tongue between her lips and wrapped his hand in her hair before he tipped her head back so he could deepen the kiss. He continued his assault on her mouth until they were both breathless before he finally pulled away. “I think I’d better sleep on the sofa, otherwise, I might be tempted to the brink of insanity.”

“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.