Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance Read online

  Besides, he knew there was no time to waste arguing. “Good thing Buster and Nugget are fresh. We should put some hay in here and cover it with blankets. It’ll cushion the ride back for him,” Dean said.

  “Good idea,” Marcus said. He grabbed a pitchfork and began hefting hay into the buckboard wagon.

  Dean went out to the pasture fence and whistled loudly. After a few moments, rumbling hoof beats sounded and the two large draft horses came into view. Nugget nipped playfully at Buster’s rump as they ran. Buster just ignored the younger horse and continued to the pasture gate. Dean opened the gate and let them through. He grabbed Nugget’s halter but didn’t bother with Buster’s because Buster was reliable about going to the barn by himself. Nugget, however, was more apt to take a tour around the property.

  Tessa had finished saddling up and gave Dean a quick kiss before she mounted and urged her horse into a fast canter. Dr. Turner’s place was about ten miles away and she wanted to have him back before the men arrived with Seth. If he was in the middle of seeing other patients, it might be a while before he could leave to come with her. Speed was of the utmost importance.

  Dean and Marcus finished hitching up the team and headed out of the barn. Once they were out on the main road, Dean pushed the team as fast as they could safely go. With every movement of the sun, the brothers’ sense of urgency to reach Seth grew.

  Seth faded in and out of consciousness as he was pulled on the homemade travois that Marty and Ray had built. Marty had been skeptical about it when Ray had first told him his idea, but he had to admit that it was working. It had been slow going because the travois had no kind of shock absorption and Seth’s injuries were sensitive to every bump along the trail and hard jerk of the conveyance. They’d hitched it to Hank.

  Marty rode his horse and led Hank behind him. Seth’s horse wasn’t used to pulling anything, but didn’t make much fuss about it. It was as if he knew that his help was needed to get his master home. Throughout their trip, the little mutt, whom Seth had named Trouble, was never far from him. Seth was surprised to find that it was comforting having his small body next to him on the travois. Jasper came to check on Seth from time to time, but he was needed to help with the herd and therefore, couldn’t visit very long.

  The trail they were traveling intersected halfway between Wolfe’s Point and their ranch. Once they’d reached the main road, Ray had taken off, riding for all he was worth for the Samuels’ place. In the meantime, Marty stayed put with the herd. He didn’t want to try to keep driving the herd and lead Hank at the same time. Even with Jasper’s help, it would have been dangerous to do so. It was better to wait for Ray to return with reinforcements.

  Ray had saddled a fresh horse and caught up with Dean and Marcus. He led them along the trail to the place he had left Marty and Seth. They came up over a rise and saw the herd grazing in the shade of some box elder trees along a stream. Dean wanted to urge the geldings into a faster pace, but didn’t want to spook the herd. He kept them at a steady trot.

  Marty came out to meet them when they were closer and rode alongside the wagon.

  “How is he?” Dean said.

  Marty shook his head. “Not good. He’s hurting really bad. The collarbone is bad enough, but the leg is what’s got me worried. Ray and I fixed it up as best we could, but his thigh and calf bones are broken so it was tough to stabilize it.”

  Marcus jumped off the wagon and ran towards Hank and the travois to which the horse was still hitched. As he came close to his brother, something ran out and bit his boot. Startled, Marcus hollered and kicked at it. He was rewarded by weak laughter.

  Marcus looked up and was shocked by how bad Seth looked even though he was smiling. His face was gray and his eyes a little too bright, most likely because he had a fever.

  “Trouble, come here,” Seth murmured.

  Marcus now realized that the furry critter was actually a dog. It was the ugliest dog he’d ever seen and he wondered how Seth had ended up with it.

  He knelt by his brother. “Hey, Seth. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I was rolled on by a horse. Oh, wait; I was rolled on by a horse,” Seth joked.

  Marcus smiled, happy to see that Seth still had a sense of humor. He looked down at Seth’s leg and sucked in a breath. The entire leg was swollen. They’d had to cut slits in the leg of his pants to accommodate the swelling. He swore just as Dean came over.

  “Oh, there’s the other one,” Seth said.

  “You just have to be the center of attention, dontcha?” Dean said as he looked his brother over.

  Seth nodded. “Yeah, that’s me all right. So you came to my rescue, huh?”

  “Naw. We just wanted to see how fast we could make it here,” Dean retorted. “Looks like Hank did a number on you.”

  “Well, this little idiot here was the one who started it,” Seth said petting Trouble who had curled up with him again. He told his brothers the rest of the story and his brothers couldn’t believe what terrible luck had befallen Seth.

  “We’re gonna get you loaded onto the wagon and get you home. Tessa went to get Doc Turner, so he’ll be there to see you when we get back. We cushioned the wagon real well so it’ll be easier traveling for you. You ready?” Dean said.

  “As I’ll ever be,” Seth responded.

  Marcus said, “We can just unhitch the litter and use it to hoist him into the wagon. There’re four of us, so we should be able to lift him on even though he’s gained a lot of weight lately.”

  “You just wait ‘til I can kick your ass again,” Seth said.

  Fifteen minutes later they had Seth loaded and were under way back to the ranch. They had been as careful as possible, but there had still been some jarring and Seth had blacked out again. Dean figured it was for the best. At least if Seth was unconscious he wouldn’t be feeling any pain.

  Dean couldn’t get the horses moving beyond a trot in some places because of deep ruts and pot holes. He steered Buster and Nugget all over the trail sometimes. If anyone had been watching, it would have looked like he was driving drunk.

  It was late June and it stayed light out past six. Dusk was just falling as they turned down the lane leading to the ranch. Tessa flew to meet them. She had been standing out on the porch waiting for them.

  “How is he?” she asked as she walked alongside the wagon.

  Dean just shook his head. His grim expression told Tessa everything she needed to know.

  “Dr. Turner is here. He’ll know what to do, Dean,” she said in an effort to comfort her husband.

  She moved back to see Seth as Dean stopped the wagon in front of the house. She saw how awful his leg looked and swallowed hard to keep from making any comment about it.

  Smiling at Seth she said, “That certainly looks nasty. You’ll do anything to get out of work.”

  Seth saw the shock in her eyes but was grateful that her response was humorous. He needed it right now. If she’d have started crying, he would have, too.

  “We’re going to take care of you. Please don’t worry,” Tessa said. She squeezed his hand and then turned back to Dean. “We have everything set up. We moved Mikey upstairs with Jack and put Seth in the room next to us so that we’re close to him.”

  “Good idea,” Dean said.

  “Is the herd all right?” she asked.

  “Yeah. A few minor bites and cuts, but otherwise they’re fine. Ray and Marty are putting them in the back pasture for now. Let’s get him in the house,” Dean said.

  Dr. Turner came out and walked to the wagon. He climbed up into it. Despite being an older man, he was strong and spry.

  “Evening, Seth,” he said as if they were meeting on the street or at some social occasion.

  “Hi, Doc,” the younger man responded.

  “Let’s take a look see,” Dr. Turner said.

  He started with the collarbone, noting the bruising that had spread across Seth’s chest. It was most likely fractured, but there was no bone protrusion, for whi
ch he was glad. It would heal well in time. Seth’s leg was another matter. He noticed that the bones had been set, but he was going to have to look at the leg closer to determine how good of a job had been done.

  “Those splints look pretty good. Your collarbone’s gonna hurt like the dickens for a while, but it’ll be fine. I’ll be able to tell more about your leg when we get your pants off and such,” he told Seth.

  He hopped down off the wagon and they set about getting him moved. Once he was lying on the bed in what had been the Mikey’s room, he was given laudanum and left to rest for a few minutes to allow the drug to start working. Then Dr. Turner began undoing the splint and cutting away Seth’s pants. He didn’t like what he saw as more of the leg was revealed.

  With sheer determination Seth withstood Dr. Turner’s examination. He saw the concern on Dr. Turner’s face as he worked. Seth winced and gritted his teeth as his leg was turned slightly.

  “Doc?’ Seth said.

  “Yes, son?”

  “Tell me the truth. How bad is it?” Seth asked.

  Dr. Turner let out a sigh. “These breaks are about as bad as I’ve ever seen. I’m glad that there’re no bones poking out, but with the amount of swelling and bruising, I can tell that they’re not clean breaks.”

  Seth swallowed hard. “You’re not gonna amputate,” he stated.

  “No. No amputation. Not unless gangrene would set in. Then that might be the only choice,” Dr. Turner said. His brown eyes were somber as he spoke. He knew that Seth’s future as a cattle driver was on the line and there was no way he could offer any assurances. It was best to be honest with him.

  Seth closed his eyes as many emotions flowed through him. He took several deep breaths and felt a little dizzy. The laudanum was strong and made him sleepy. Before he passed out again, he raised his head and opened his eyes.

  “Fix it the best you can, Doc. We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” he said.

  “You bet,” Doc said and gave a curt nod.

  Seth awoke slowly. Once he was fully conscious, he realized that he was in a world of hurt. Quickly he tried to sit up and realized his mistake too late. More pain seared through his shoulder and chest as his broken collarbone objected to the movements. He felt a calming presence next to him and looked up to see Tessa standing there.

  “Shhh. It’s all right, Seth. Dr. Turner didn’t amputate anything. He did shift some things around quite a bit, however. I have more laudanum to give you,” she said and gave him a dose.

  Relief flowed through Seth that he was home safely with his family and that even as messed up as it was, he still had his leg. Tears rolled slowly from the corners of his eyes. He saw that Tessa was crying with him and it made him break down even more. She sat down then and held his hand until he fell to sleep.

  Chapter Four

  As Geoffrey read his daughter Tessa’s letter, concern grew inside him. She told him about her brother-in-law Seth’s horrible accident six weeks prior and it made him very sad. Having spent some time with Seth when he had tracked Tessa down three years prior, Geoffrey had grown fond of him. Much like himself when he was younger, Seth was a ladies’ man and they had exchanged stories about their wild youths.

  Like his brother Dean, Seth was a hard worker, but he didn’t relish staying home at the ranch the way Dean did. The wide open places were where he preferred to be and it seemed that being confined to bed most of the time wasn’t agreeing with him.

  “You can tell it’s very distressing to her,” Maureen said as they sat in their front parlor that early August night.

  He sighed as he laid the letter down. “Yes. She cares for Seth very much. It’s a very dangerous business driving cattle,” he said. “I can understand why he’s so melancholy. There’s a good possibility that he won’t be able to do that kind of work again, which will be a big blow to him.”

  “I can imagine. I would be devastated if I couldn’t do the work I love,” Maureen said. “Having that combination of purpose and enjoyment denied one is detrimental to the soul.”

  “You’re right, my smart wife. I feel so helpless being so far from them. I wish there was some way to help him. It’s just a good thing they were able to get that herd home safely. They invested a great deal of money in it,” Geoff said.

  Maureen nodded. “I feel helpless all the way around. It seems we’re powerless to help our loved ones in Montana and our poor wounded girl upstairs.”

  “I know.”

  They knew firsthand how even after the physical injuries healed, the emotional ones lingered. Geoffrey reached for Maureen’s hand and they sat that way for a long time, drawing comfort from each other even as they worried about the fate of their daughter.

  “You want me to do what?” Seth asked. “Have you been taking that laudanum?”

  Tessa frowned at Seth. “No, I have not and I don’t think writing some letters would be difficult.”

  “Why would I want to write letters to your sister?” Seth said as he shifted on the sofa in the parlor.

  Tessa turned to the doorway to the kitchen to make sure that no one was around. “What I’m about to tell you must stay completely between us, Seth. Do you swear?”

  He could tell that Tessa wasn’t teasing him. “Yeah, I swear. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “You won’t tell anyone, Seth,” Tessa said as she corrected his grammar.

  “I just said that,” Seth responded.

  Tessa let it go. “Dean is the only other person here that knows this. This is a subject of a highly sensitive nature,” Tessa said.

  Seth said, “I understand.”

  “Several months ago, Maddie was attacked by a young man she thought was her friend. I know him personally and never would I have thought he would have acted this way. He beat her very badly and would have, um, violated her further had not some passersby stopped him,” Tessa said.

  As a man who had been taught to respect and protect women, Seth grew increasingly angry as Tessa continued telling him all that had happened since and about her sister’s ensuing depression. It was a good thing that he didn’t live in Pittsburgh because if he ever ran into the guy, he’d work him over good.

  “So I’ve been trying to convince her to come here. I think it would be something positive. Getting her out of that environment where she might see him again, would be a relief to her, don’t you think?” Tessa asked.

  “I think you’re right about that. She’s gotta get out of that room and start living again. From what you’ve told us, she was feisty and fun,” Seth said. “Do you really think if I write her letters that she’ll write back?”

  Tessa shrugged. “I don’t know, but at this point we’re all ready to try anything. Will you please try? It’s not like you have anything else to do and it might be good for you to focus on something else, too.”

  Seth regarded her silently for a moment before saying, “No one stands a chance of winning when they argue with you do they?”

  “I get that from my father,” Tessa said with a smile. “He’s one of the toughest negotiators in Pittsburgh and can convince almost anyone of anything.”

  “I can believe it,” Seth said.

  He thought about writing Maddie. Tessa was right about him having a lot of free time. His leg had healed some and his collarbone was a lot better, but he was still going to be laid up for a while. There was no telling how long it was going to take for him to heal. Seth felt bad for Maddie. No one should have to go through something like that and she needed help. Seth agreed with his sister-in-law in that Maddie would benefit from a change of scenery.

  Tessa didn’t say anything while Seth considered what she’d said. She knew that although you could convince Seth, he was not the kind of man who could be pushed to do something.

  Seth came back from wherever his mind had gone. “I’ll do it. It can’t hurt to try.”

  Tessa rose and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  Seth smiled
. “I figure I owe you for taking such good care of me.”

  “I think we’re even then,” Tessa said.

  “Ok. How about you get me some paper and stuff? Might as well start right away,” Seth said.

  Tessa hurried off to get the supplies. Hope rose inside her that Seth would be able to do what she and the rest of her family had not been able to do. Besides, it was a start to the match-making plan that she and Dean had hatched a couple of years ago.

  Chapter Five

  “You have a letter,” Maureen told Maddie.

  “Oh,” Maddie said. She couldn’t care less. “Did Tessa write me yet another cheerful letter?”

  “No. It’s not from her,” Maureen said. She sounded slightly cross, but couldn’t help it. She was growing increasingly frustrated with her daughter.

  Maddie looked up at Maureen from her bed. There were dark smudges under her eyes and her complexion was pale. She’d lost weight but didn’t care if her clothes were altered or not since she rarely got dressed anymore.

  “Then who sent it?” she asked.

  Maureen dropped it onto Maddie’s dressing table. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” she said and left the room.

  Maddie let her head drop back on the pillow and closed her eyes. She intended to slip back into sleep where she could dream about the times before the attack. Sleep didn’t come, however, because the question of who had written the letter kept niggling at her. Deciding that she couldn’t rest until she’d satisfied her curiosity, Maddie rose from the bed and went to the dressing table. She sat in the chair but avoided looking at herself in the mirror. Maddie knew she looked horrible and didn’t need to and have it confirmed.

  She picked up the envelope and recognized it as one of Tessa’s but the writing on the front was bold and block-like. It was nothing like Tessa’s flowing hand. Her interest grew and she opened the letter.

  Dear Maddie,

  I hope you don’t mind if I use your nickname. It’s just that I hear Tessa say it all the time. I’m not very good at writing and such, but I’m asking you to hang in there with me and I’ll do my best. I’m Seth, Dean’s older brother. Tessa might have mentioned me at some point, so maybe I won’t be totally strange to you.