something,” he scolded softly. “You’re sitting here boohooing over Ross being gone. Don’t I count for anything?”
Marina blew her nose, then sniffed. “’Course you count. But I’m used to you being gone. It’s always awful quiet when Ross is away.”
Seth patted the woman’s shoulder. “The days will pass before you notice. Besides, I’ll try to give you as much trouble as I can so you’ll think Ross is still around.”
Marina snorted, then chuckled, then looked at him and smiled. “I didn’t know you could make a joke.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said as he walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “I guess that’s my fault though. I should have been coming back home on a regular basis.”
“You have important work to do, Seth. We understand that. And we’re all very proud of you.”
Seth turned a grateful eye her way. “I know. But sometimes I miss being around my family.”
Twisting her head around, Marina leveled a stern look on him. “You’ve lived alone too long. If your mother was still alive, she’d be very unhappy about that.”
Seth grimaced. “Don’t go using that tactic on me, Marina. Mother always understood the choices I made. Much more than Dad ever did. She knew that I would never marry just for the sake of having a wife or kids. If there is such a thing as love, I want to find it. I don’t want things to be—” He broke off, uncertain about how much he could say to this woman without upsetting her. Even though he had a feeling that Marina knew private things about his parents’ marriage, she’d never spoken of the problems between Tucker and Amelia. Probably because she had loved both of them equally. Just as Seth had. “I don’t want things to be forced,” he finally finished. “I’d rather be alone than live that way.”
Rising from her chair, Marina began to gather the dirty dishes from the table. “Sometimes it’s not meant for a person to find love. Sometimes a person has to settle for less.”
“Not me.” He tossed back the last of his coffee and placed his cup in the sink just as Marina approached with an armload of plates. “I’m going to drive up to the Double X this morning, Marina. But I’ll be back by lunch. I was wondering if you could fix a few snacks for my saddlebags. I’m taking Aaron and another boy riding this afternoon. They might get hungry.”
Always glad to be needed, she gave him a bright smile. “I’ll fix ’em right up. No little boys will ever go hungry around here,” she said, then her eyes narrowed on him. “What you going up to the Double X for? That’s an hour away from here.”
“I’m going to talk to James, see if he’d been in touch with Noah at any time before he was killed. I’m sure they were once friends. James purchased a lot of cattle from Dad during those days that Noah was foreman.”
“Why don’t you just call him?” Marina suggested.
One corner of Seth’s mouth lifted as he shook his head. “You can’t question a person over the phone, Marina. You have to look them in the eye, watch their reactions to see if they’re telling the truth or if anything else is going on with them.”
She dropped the plates into the soapy water. “Well, you’ve went a little loco if you suspect James Miller of killing Noah! That man is a—well, he’s a saint!”
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