Already his men had boarded the wagon, the stallion tied to the back and impatiently tossing its head. Seth’s own horse, a big muscular bay he called Henry, stood tethered nearby. One sharp glance from Seth made his three ranch hands quickly rearrange themselves, leaving the driver’s seat empty.
Excusing himself for a moment from Kari’s side, Seth handed her satchel to one of the men while another climbed out of the wagon and mounted Henry to ride him home. Stunned by how much he missed the gentle pressure of her hand on his arm, Seth turned back to her and gestured to the driver’s seat.
“It’s not elegant, but the ride out to my uncle’s place is a pretty one. Have you been to Texas before, Miss Hagen?”
She shook her head no, a rosy blush firing her cheeks as she glanced from him to the wagon as if anticipating he was going to have to lift her onto the seat.
And lift her, he did, without another moment’s hesitation, his hands easily spanning her waist and his heart skipping a beat at her startled gasp to find herself swept from her feet. To Seth, she felt lighter than air, the soft swoosh of her petticoat and the faintest scent of lilac overwhelming his senses as he settled her gently on the seat.
The wagon creaked beneath his own weight as he took his place beside her and unhooked the reins, clucking his tongue to the two packhorses. Kari gasped again when they jolted into motion, and he slipped his arm through hers to steady her.
“The road’s bumpy, Miss Hagen. Do you mind me holding onto you?”
Chapter 2
Mind? Kari had never felt more protected in her life, Seth Davis’s solicitous attention more than she would have ever expected from a rough-and-tumble cowboy.
She wondered what he must think that she would trust him so implicitly, considering she had only just met him, but she did. She murmured, “I don’t mind at all,” and then quickly looked away, her face growing flushed again.
Why, her cheeks hadn’t stopped burning since she’d first laid her hand on his arm. An arm steely with muscle—oh, my goodness, no wonder he’d so easily felled that other man with one punch!
In truth, she felt her heart racing, which had never happened to her before. If she didn’t know better, she might think the warm day had affected her, Texas weather in early May so different than back home.
Yes, the grass was green again in Faribault and daffodils blooming, yet the air had still been cool when she’d left a week ago, muddy patches of snow melting in ditches beside the roads.
In Walker Creek, the sun shone brightly in a cloudless blue sky, and she wished she’d thought to bring a parasol with her. The small bonnet she wore gave her little protection, and she knew that soon her face would be sunburned. With her free hand, she untied her shawl and let it slip from her shoulders to the seat.
“It’s a warm day, to be sure. Reckon this summer’s going to be a hot one. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
“Oh, I’m not going to be here very long,” she blurted, feeling a sudden tension in Seth’s arm. “I’ve two younger sisters and a brother back home who need me. As soon as I deliver my letter to Mr. Walker and earn enough money doing some sewing for my train fare, I’ll be heading right back to Faribault.”
Seth said nothing in response to her outburst, instead flicking the reins as the wagon rumbled along a dirt road that appeared to skirt the town. She glanced up at him, but he seemed deep in thought, a furrow between his dark brows.
His hair was dark, too, not black or brown, but somewhere in between, and brushed the collar of his shirt. Truly, she’d never seen anyone that looked like him before, and certainly no man as handsome.
She knew she was staring, but she couldn’t seem to help herself, Kari studying him from his deeply tanned skin and strong profile to the angular cut of his jaw. She inhaled in surprise when he met her eyes, his arm looped through hers drawing her a little bit closer.
“Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed to hear that, Miss Hagen. You’ve made quite an impression on me…if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Oh, dear, sheshouldmind, no man had ever spoken so forthrightly to her before—ever! Yet his deep voice had been so sincere she did not doubt for a moment that he meant it.
Suddenly Kari felt tongue-tied and foolish, transfixed by his dark blue eyes that stared so directly into her own. He appeared about to say something else when a sharp whinny cut through the air, the stallion beginning to buck behind the wagon.
At once Seth pulled up on the reins and jumped down to calm the skittish animal, his two men following suit. That gave Kari a few moments to compose herself, and when Seth once more climbed up beside her, she was determined not to be caught staring at him again.
Instead of a more leisurely pace as when they first set out, Seth urged the packhorses into a trot, which made the ride even bumpier than before. Kari was certain she would have bounced right off the seat if she hadn’t grabbed his arm this time and held on tight. She would have loved to ask him questions about the surrounding area and the town they had left behind, but he seemed focused now on getting the stallion out to his uncle’s ranch as quickly as possible.
At least she would soon meet the stranger her mother had once loved…or perhaps had loved still to have sent Kari upon such a mission.
She really didn’t want to think about her mother caring for someone other than her father, and had always looked upon her parents’ marriage as one to emulate. She knew her father had dearly loved her mother, and Lara had openly grieved at her husband’s untimely death. Arne had been out in the fields plowing when the draft horse became spooked, dragging him into a dry creek bed where he hit his head on a rock.
Kari closed her eyes tightly, remembering how she and her siblings had gone looking for him only to come upon such a terrible scene. Her father still and lifeless, the plow upended, the draft horse’s front leg broken—
“Miss Hagen, are you all right?”
Seth had slowed the wagon and looked at her with concern, while Kari self-consciously swept a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
“Forgive me, I was going too fast,” he said more urgently. “I didn’t mean to frighten you—”
