Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance (19 page)

“They’re all bad,” Seth replied. “But I
don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Marcus nodded. “Ok. But I’ll always
lend an ear whenever you need it.”

“Thanks, little brother,” Seth said. He
saw Marcus roll his eyes. “You might as well face it. You’ll always
be my little brother as long as I live. It’s not a bad thing. Dean
and I were so excited when we found out that Ma was pregnant with
you.”

“You were?”

“Yep. And even more excited when you
were a boy. We thought of all the adventures we would have together
and we sure have,” Seth said.

Marcus laughed. “Yeah. We’ve done some
dumb stuff, but we always had fun.”

“Yep. So don’t be annoyed when I call
you that. I mean it in a good way,” Seth said.

“As a term of endearment,” Marcus
said.

“Yeah, we’ll go with that,” Seth
responded.

Marcus smiled and shook his head.
“Well, I’d better get back to work before the slave driver shows
up.”

“Good idea,” Seth said and got back to
his own work.

Maddie rode the train wishing it would
go faster. The man she loved was in Montana and she wanted to get
there as quick as was possible. She was making the trip alone but
wasn’t afraid. Geoff had helped her make her travel arrangements
and she knew that she would be fine. Geoff knew this was something
she had to do by herself.

She was traveling light because she
wasn’t going to need all of the material possessions she had. There
had been a time when she would have balked about not taking her
finest gowns and jewelry with her. She’d matured, however, and
realized that what she really needed walked on two feet and wore a
cowboy hat. As long as she had him, he was all she’d ever want or
need.

She arrived at Long’s Mercantile in
Wolfe’s Point and alighted from the carriage. Lance greeted her
with warmth and flirted with her.

“What brings you back to these parts?”
he asked.

Maddie said, “I’m visiting Tessa and
the rest of the family.”

“Well, I hope you have a nice time with
your sister. Can I get you anything?” Lance asked
kindly.

“No, thank you. I’m fine,” Maddie
answered. She anxious to be under way again and waited for the
other carriage that would be taking her to the Samuels’ ranch. When
it arrived, Maddie was surprised to find that the driver was a
woman. Her name was Beth and she was a handsome woman with auburn
hair and blue eyes.

“You ready?” she asked and climbed down
from the seat.

“Yes,” Maddie said and watched as Beth
easily lifted her two bags and put them in the carriage.

“Well then climb aboard and we’ll get
going,” Beth said and climbed back up onto the seat. Her two-horse
team was fresh and ready to run it seemed. The played with their
bits and pawed the ground.

Maddie did as directed and got in. Beth
started the team and soon they were going down the road at a good
clip.

Seth took a break for lunch and sat on
his porch drinking lemonade. He really wanted some beer, but
figured that he’d best wait until the day was done since he still
had some work on the roof to do. He didn’t need to fall off and
break something again because he had a buzz.

Seth smiled as he remembered the night
before when he’d asked Tessa to dance and they had waltzed. The
astonished look on Dean’s face as he whirled around with his wife
was entertaining.

Tessa had said, “Why, Seth, you’re a
wonderful dancer.”

“I don’t know about wonderful, but I’ll
pass I guess,” he said. “Your pa taught me a lot. He danced with
me, you know.”

“Papa danced with you?” Tessa imagined
what that had looked like and laughed. “Who led?”

“We took turns,” Seth said. “They kept
telling me that it was good for my leg, and darned if they weren’t
right.”

Dean said, “I would have paid to see
that.”

“You wanna learn? I’ll teach you,” Seth
offered.

Dean had demurred and said, “Maybe
another time.”

Seth laughed and then set about
teaching Sadie how to waltz.

His smile faded as he remembered how
Maddie and he had danced together. They had learned to move well
together and eventually their steps became second nature. He felt a
twinge of pain in his chest and couldn’t stay still any longer.
Fixing more shingles would help divert his thoughts of Maddie, at
least for a while.

He got up and was walking down the
porch steps when he heard carriage wheels. Two chestnut horses came
into view and Seth recognized Beth’s rig. He’d come across her
several times in different cities and towns and they’d been
friendly.

Beth slowed the carriage and pulled the
horses to a stop. The wheels had barely stopped turning when the
door closest to Seth opened and he watched as Maddie alighted from
the vehicle. He didn’t move a muscle as she walked up to him. He
was afraid he was dreaming and if he said something or moved, he’d
wake up. She wore her hair down and it blew freely in the wind and
Seth thought she’d never looked more beautiful.

Maddie’s heart felt like it was going
to burst right through her chest. Seth’s expression was grim and
forbidding as she got close and her apprehension grew. She tried to
gather her courage but it was hard. What if he rejected her? Would
he forgive her?

Seth found his voice and said, “What
are you doing here?”

Maddie’s eyes met his. “Did you mean
the things you wrote in that letter? Do you still feel that
way?”

Seth didn’t answer her for long
moments. He still loved her and wanted to be with her but he was
scared to put his heart on the line again.

Maddie almost panicked the longer his
silence went on but she managed to hold her ground. She was
prepared to fight for him and would wait him out even if it took
forever.

Seth finally answered. “I meant every
single word and yes, I still feel the same way. I haven’t stopped
loving you, missing you, or wanting you. But what about you? You
know that I’m not leaving here. I would die in the city and you
know it. Are you going to move here for good? I couldn’t take it if
you moved here and then suddenly changed your mind and went back to
Pittsburgh.”

Maddie stepped forward until they were
only a couple of feet apart and looked up into the handsome face
she loved so much. His gaze was guarded as he looked down at her
and she hated the fact that she’d made him so unsure of
her.

“Seth, I know that I made a terrible
mistake in refusing your proposal. Most people wouldn’t believe how
romantic you can be, but I saw it firsthand, and I can’t believe
that I ruined such a special night. I let fear take over again when
I should have had the courage to accept what you were offering,”
Maddie said. She paused and took a breath. “I love you so much and
I need you and I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.
I promise I won’t change my mind. So if you still want me, I would
be honored to be your wife.”

Hope surged within Seth but he was
still hesitant. “Are you absolutely sure? I mean it, Maddie; I
can’t go through that again, so make sure that you are positive
about this.”

“I promise and I keep my promises, just
like you do. Will you marry me?” she asked.

His love for Maddie overflowed his
heart and he couldn’t hold back any more. She’d convinced him and
elation swept through him. “Yes, Maddie, I’ll marry
you.”

Tears of joy gathered in her eyes. She
took the ring he’d given her from her reticule and held it out to
him. “Then do what you said you’d do with this.”

Seth took the ring and then her left
hand and slowly slipped the ring on her third finger. Maddie was
astonished that it fit perfectly and wondered how he’d known her
ring size. The sunlight caught the diamond and made it shine. Then
Maddie reached up and took his face in her hands and brought him
down so she could kiss him.

With a growl, Seth took her in his arms
and lifted her right off the ground as she kissed him with abandon.
She never protested against having her feet dangling above the
ground. Seth had her and she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen
to her. Neither of them realized that they’d drawn an audience
until they heard clapping.

Seth and Maddie broke apart and looked
at the porch where Tessa, Dean, Marcus, and the children stood.
Beth still hadn’t left and she applauded from up on the driver’s
seat of the carriage. They smiled at the group and then went back
to kissing, not caring if everyone saw.

Dean and Tessa made the kids go inside
despite their protests. Marcus decided that work was over for the
day and went to get his horse so he could go home. Beth turned the
carriage around, grinning ear to ear as the happy couple continued
their embrace.

Eventually Maddie and Seth came up for
air.

Maddie said, “I don’t want to wait long
to get married, do you?”

“No way. I’d do it tomorrow if we
could,” Seth said.

She laughed. “Well, I think we’re going
to need a little more time than that. Mama and Papa would be
furious if they missed another one of their daughters’ weddings.
Besides, I don’t even have a dress.”

“I don’t care what you wear,” Seth
said.

“Well, I do,” Maddie
retorted.

Seth took her hand and led her to his
bunkhouse as they continued to bicker about the wedding.

Maddie and Seth’s wedding was very
different from Tessa and Dean’s. The new church in Dawson County
was much larger than the one Tessa and Dean had been married in and
the decorations much more ornate. Maureen had led the charge on
that score and Maddie had been happy to let her to because her
mother had excellent taste.

Seth was a mess as he waited at the
altar for Maddie to walk down it but he tried to appear calm. He
rocked back and forth on his heels and couldn’t stand still. Dean
got a kick out of watching him. He leaned over and said. “Don’t
worry. It’ll be fine, Seth. There’s nothin’ to it.”

Seth looked at him. “I remember how
nervous you were at both of your weddings, so don’t tell me that
there’s nothing to it.”

Dean’s brows drew down. “Don’t get
testy. That’s exactly what I’m saying. I was all wound up and I
didn’t need to be. You don’t, either. You and Maddie belong
together so it will be easy. You’ll see.”

Marcus looked around Dean and said,
“Yeah. Just don’t mess up your vows and all will be
well.”

“You’re not helping, little brother,”
Seth informed him.

Marcus grinned and then went back to
looking at the other people in the church. Maureen caught his eye
and smiled at him. She’d taken a shine to him it seemed. He made
her laugh and teased her about running away with him. It bothered
Geoff but he tried not to show it. He couldn’t completely hide it,
however, and so Marcus did it all the more.

He returned Maureen’s and gave her a
flirtatious wink. Dean saw and gave him a swift jab with his elbow.
Marcus almost shoved Dean but Seth’s large hand clamped down on his
arm and he gave both of them hard stares. “The dog behaves better
than you two,” he said and looked down at Trouble who sat quietly
at Seth’s feet. Seth had figured that the dog that had sort of
started all of this should be present at the nuptials.

Maureen watched and had a hard time
keeping her laughter silent. Lydia sat beside her and leaned
towards her. “It’s always that way with them and a wedding is no
different. Marcus is an instigator and loves starting trouble and
then sitting back to watch the show, so to speak.”

Maureen looked at the other woman.
“Yes, I can see that. I’m sure their parents had their hands full
with them.”

“Oh, they did. They kept Ralph and
Catherine stepping. They’re rowdy sometimes, but harmless,” she
said.

“You love them very much,” Maureen
stated. “I can see that.”

Lydia nodded. “They’re like the little
brothers I never had. They’re family.”

Just then the music started and the
congregation rose and turned to watch the procession. Sadie and
Mikey came down the aisle. Sadie, dressed in a pretty frock, spread
pink and white rose petals and guided their ring bearer Mikey down
the aisle. He wanted to stop and chat with the people along the way
and everyone laughed when he loudly announced, “Pa, here rings for
Unc Shush!” before he gave his father the rings.

Seth had laughed along with them.
Claire came down the aisle next. Maddie had chosen gowns of pale
lavender for her maid of honor and bridesmaid and the color suited
Claire well. She looked up and beamed at Seth. He smiled back at
her and winked. Marcus watched them with amusement as he remembered
how Claire had run at Seth and jumped into his arms.

Seth had swung her around and planted a
huge kiss on her cheek much the way he did with Sadie. Then Claire
had started talking a blue streak and Marcus was amazed at how
rapidly the girl could talk and how patiently Seth listened to her.
Her reaction to Dean was very positive and Dean was also indulgent
with her. As far as she and Marcus went, it hadn’t taken long until
he and Claire were at odds over all kinds of political and
scientific subjects and it seemed as if they were not going to get
along.