Never would he have imagined Caleb would break down weeping right in front of him—and his uncle hadn’t wasted any time when they had gone to check on the stallion in demanding that Seth never speak a word to anyone about it. In fact, that had probably been more on Caleb’s mind than his new racing stock, his expression thunderous and almost threatening.
Seth shrugged, though his hands at his side had tightened into fists.
He always told himself it didn’t matter what his uncle truly thought of him, but deep down, Seth knew it did. A man shouldn’t be judged by things over which he had no control, like his parentage, but his character, integrity, and sense of honor.
Especially now.
The quartet of windows on the second floor that belonged to Kari’s rooms had never brightened, so he knew she slept on from earlier in the day. When he’d returned to the house with his uncle to discuss the upcoming week’s tasks, Sarah had told Caleb that after a hot bath and a meal, Kari said she was exhausted and lay down for a nap.
That report had been hours ago and she’d not awoken, but was that surprising after such a long journey and then the emotional upheaval of discovering that Caleb Walker was her true father?
Seth had seen how pale her face had grown and how her fingers had trembled when she read her mother’s letter, the shock of comprehension reflected in her lovely blue eyes.
He had stood so close to her and wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort her.
To draw her into his arms and assure her that everything would be all right in spite of her life abruptly changing in the blink of an eye.
He felt it now too, the same gripping realization in his gut as when he’d told her that she’d made quite an impression on him…and that if she needed someone to talk to, he was the friend she could turn to.
The realization that he didn’t intend to be just a friend for long. He had always been a man that when he’d made up his mind, he meant it, and he’d settled his mind upon Kari Hagen. He didn’t want her to face any challenges or troubles in life without him.
Sarah had told Caleb, too, that Kari didn’t plan on staying but that she intended to return to her family in Minnesota. Well, if discovering the truth about her father wasn’t enough to make her want to remain in Texas, hopefully some serious courting would change her mind about making a new home in Walker Creek.
As Mrs. Seth Davis…his bride.
“It’s that pretty little filly, isn’t it? Mr. Walker’s newfound daughter.”
Lucius’s query followed by a knowing laugh, Seth glanced at the man he had always trusted as a friend and not just a ranch hand.
“You heard?”
“Heard? You think news like that doesn’t travel like wildfire? The housemaids talking, the hired hands talking, why, soon the whole town will be talking if not already!”
As Lucius gave another gravelly laugh and took a last draw on his smoke, Seth glanced back at the house to see that Caleb’s study window had gone dark.
“See? Your uncle’s gone to bed, and you’d best get some shut-eye, too. You’ve got a hard row to hoe in front of you, Seth, you don’t need me telling you so—and I’m not talking about the hearts you’ll be breaking around the county.” Lucius flicked his cigarette into the dirt beyond the porch, his voice grown sober. “His iron fist is likely to clamp as tightly around her as he controls everything else round these parts, being his daughter and all. Nope, it ain’t going to be easy. Goodnight.”
“Night.”
As Lucius’s boots scraped across the porch, the older man disappearing into the bunkhouse, Seth knew he’d better turn in, too.
He had waited a long time to meet a woman like Kari Hagen, lovely and brave, resilient and yet tenderhearted, the mere touch of her hand making his heart thud in his chest like a schoolboy’s. She hadn’t left his mind since he’d last seen her, and he couldn’t wait to see her again. If this was what falling in love felt like, he was falling, hard.
Seth had never fallen in love before, no, not once no matter the hearts Lucius had claimed he would be breaking, and he’d always treated women with respect. He wasn’t blind to flirtatious glances or ignorant that some entertained the thought of him as a husband, but something had always told him to be patient, the right one would come along. Yet to think he’d almost missed her arrival!
He’d been so focused upon Caleb’s prize stallion that he hadn’t noticed Kari standing on the train platform, until a tiny slip of an elderly woman came up beside him and sighed, “Poor child, she seems a bit lost, doesn’t she? You see, she’s looking this way. Do you think perhaps she might need some gentlemanly assistance?”
Seth had turned from the woman and caught Kari’s eye, tipping his hat to her, but she’d spun around as if in embarrassment. He had taken only a moment to ensure his men had secured the high-strung animal and when he’d looked back, the older woman who had pointed her out to him was gone and Kari still stood all by herself…that is, until Dirk Brodie—
“Nothing like honey to make the flies come buzzing,” Seth said under his breath, his resolve only deepening to stake his claim early and get it out in the open.
The right womanhadcome along, no matter she was Caleb Walker’s daughter.
Seth was an adopted nephew after all, no blood relation between them, and his uncle had never let him forget it. At least in this instance, he was glad for that fact for the first time in his life, though his hands had curled into fists again.
Lucius had been right and Seth knew it, which was why he intended to make his intentions about Kari known first thing to her and then to the strongest ally he had.
His mother, Molly.
