The only important thing for him to know was that Seth had saved her life, which she hoped would make him hold his nephew in much higher esteem. Perhaps now Caleb wouldn’t object to Seth’s courtship of her after all!
Cheered by that thought, Kari shifted in the bed, even the slightest movement still causing her to grimace in pain. She’d never suffered a sprained ankle before, and it wasn’t pleasant at all. Dr. Davis had said she must have bed rest for at least a week and not attempt to get up unless she had someone to help her to keep the weight off her right foot.
To think all the while Seth was holding her in his strong arms, she hadn’t felt any pain in her ankle at all. No, not even when he had grabbed her legs to drag her backwards out of danger. She must have been too much in shock, the vivid memory of him embracing her bringing her a sense of comfort even now, unlike anything she’d ever known.
She’d felt his heartbeat pounding against her breast, and wondered now if he’d felt hers, too. How could he not when they had held each other so fiercely? When he’d lifted his head to look at her, she’d seen both agony and wonder in his eyes as if he couldn’t quite believe she still lived and breathed.
Dark blue eyes welled with tears, his handsome face wet when she’d reached up to touch his cheek…and then Seth had bent his head to kiss her—oh, how she had wanted him to kiss her!
Kari sighed and touched her fingertips to her lips, wondering what his lips would have felt like pressed against hers.
She’d never been kissed before, no, and never been courted, either. She had always been so busy, never looking up from earning a living for herself and her siblings.
Seth was her first suitor, her heart beginning to race at the thought that he would be her last, too, if all went well and he soon became her husband…
“Kari Hagen, what’s come over you?” she murmured in amazement, never having considered such a thing before.
Yet why shouldn’t she? Courting usually led to marriage, didn’t it? Wasn’t that the way of things? If she’d had any fear that Seth might have been wooing her to spite his uncle, it had been dispelled altogether by how Seth had held her and how he had looked at her, the memory making her heart flutter all over again.
Was this what it felt like to fall in love? And so quickly, too, but who could foresee these things?
Kari closed her eyes, longing more desperately to see him. Even if it was only for a moment, just to feel him squeeze her hand again and to look at her as he had earlier that day…oh, Seth, where are you?
“I’m going to kill him.”
Kari gasped at the sight of Caleb standing in the doorway, no, swaying, and he caught himself on the doorjamb to steady himself. His speech slurred, he was clearly drunk, just as Seth had said he might be, which shocked her. Dear Lord, what had he meant he was going to kill someone?
“I told Seth to drive you straight home from Mrs. McMaster’s, not squire you around visiting my sister and God-knows-where.”
Realizing with an icy chill that Caleb had been talking about Seth, Kari watched wide-eyed as he staggered further into the room. “We didn’t go anywhere else, just to his parents’ house and then to the ranch. Please, Caleb, I’m fine. It looks worse than it is, just a sprained ankle and a few bruises—”
“You might have broken your neck! I’d charged him to protect you! He should have seen that rattler before it spooked the horses. Blast it all, I’m going to string up that half-breed as soon as he comes back from inspecting the fences—or at least that’s where he told the hands he was going! I should have known I couldn’t trust him around you—”
“Seth saved my life!” Kari cried, wincing as she sat bolt upright in bed. “Please leave my room, you’re frightening me!”
Caleb reeled backward at her outburst as if she’d struck him, a look of remorse crossing his reddened face. “F-forgive me, Kari,” he stammered, his speech growing more slurred. “Forgive me, I should never have disturbed you. Good night…good night…”
Caleb wasn’t the only one who had heard her outcry, Sarah appearing at the door as well as several menservants. Without a word, the housekeeper gestured for each man to take up a position on either side of Caleb and drape his arms over their shoulders, supporting his weight as they slowly wheeled him around.
Kari had the distinct feeling that they had done this many times before, Caleb not protesting at all but allowing them to half-carry him from the room. Heaving a sigh, Sarah met her eyes.
“We didn’t catch him in time, miss, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize he’d come home. How the man rides in that condition and survives it, I’ll never know. I’ll be bringing you up a supper tray as soon as we get him to bed.”
Kari had no time to reply as Sarah abruptly closed the door, leaving her alone and so stunned she fell back against the pillows, groaning at the pain it cost her.
She stared blindly at the ceiling, Caleb’s drunken behavior truly shocking, she couldn’t deny it, but it was what he’d said about Seth that left her so dismayed.
He wasn’t anywhere near the house at all, but out somewhere inspecting fences!
Kari had no idea what such a job might entail, but Seth had told her that Walker Creek Ranch was one of the largest in the county so there must be miles of barbed wire. It might take days, maybe even longer…and he’d said nothing to her about it, not one word! How could he have left for so long without even a goodbye?
Another thought struck Kari that made her feel even more disheartened.
If Seth wasn’t here, then he wouldn’t be talking to Caleb in the morning about courting her, and his parents no doubt wouldn’t be driving out to the ranch, either.
Surely Seth had told his father to share with Molly that he wouldn’t be around for days, postponing their plan. Or had he abandoned it altogether? It was all so confusing…and yet so clear, too. Why else hadn’t Seth come to see how she was faring? For some inexplicable reason, he must have changed his mind about wanting to court her.
Kari fought against the tears threatening to fall, never having felt so foolish in all her life. Here she had been daydreaming about Seth kissing her and falling in love and marriage…oh, she didn’t want to think about him anymore!
