Chapter Ten

Previously:

"Maybe; someday, we'll be more than friends." Nick thought as he followed Rachel back into the cabin.

"We'll put him in the guest room." Nick said as McColl, another ranch hand and Heath carried their visitor in on a stretcher. The dark haired rancher had talked long and hard to convince their guest to allow them to move him to the main house after Dr. Merar okayed the move. Rachel was behind them.

Victoria walked around the corner of the hallway just in time to see what was happening. "Why don't you come and relax in the living room." She smiled at Rachel.

"Thank you, Mrs. Barkley." Rachel said-after her grandfather spoke up and told her not to even think of refusing the offer.

Once she was seated on the sofa, Victoria offered her a drink only to be turned down politely. "Never have cared much for any type of alcohol, but I'm sure once grandfather is up and about he'll be more than happy to take you up on such an offer."

Victoria figured she was going to find out more about Miss Anderson. She might not have made that decision only she'd seen the way Rachel and Nick had looked at each other a time or two. "Nick says you're the only one left in your family. That is, your parents and siblings are all dead."

"They are." Rachel glanced towards the foyer and the staircase that led up to the rooms on the second floor. "I have second cousins and such, but mother's side is mostly in Ireland, and my father's side?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "What few they are? I couldn't rightly say at the moment, haven't heard from many of them since the Civil War ended. It's just me and grandfather…if he will listen to the doctor, he might just be around a few more years." 'The high fever lasted too long and weakened his heart. He'll have to take it easy and follow my instructions once you get him to your house.' The good doctor's words rang in Rachel's ears as she replied to the Barkley matriarch.

Victoria didn't have to ask if the young woman's family had been torn apart by the Civil War. The statement Miss Anderson had just made, along with the far away look in her eyes, gave Victoria the answer to that question. She also hoped Mr. Londrach would listen to Dr. Merar. She continued questioning the young woman-without coming across as interrogating her.

While Victoria and Rachel visited Nick and Heath were making sure Conner Londrach was comfortable in the bed he'd been laid in. Once the two brothers had done that, Heath left the room. Once his brother shut the door, Nick looked at Conner Londrach and told him, "Doc is going to come out and look you over tomorrow. However, I think you'll be up and around in a week, if not less. Depends on that heart of yours," Nick paused, a more than serious look appeared in his eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, he continued. "I wanted to ask you to stay here, with us. If this Clark Welch does show up in Stockton-or on this ranch, we'll be here to help you. Before you say you won't live off charity, you wouldn't have to. Doc's okayed you fixing harnesses and doing other light work once you're out of bed. Rachel has told me more than once how much she enjoys cooking, sewing and other chores that are done around a home. We were just getting ready to look for part time help in the kitchen-for when Silas needs to go away. Also we need a new housekeeper. Miss Hansen, our regular one, gave us notice she's moving back to Texas-to help take care of an ailing mother."

Conner Londrach, who had been starting to get uptight, relaxed. He'd fled Missouri the moment he'd found out Mr. Welch was looking for him. His whole focus had been to make sure Rachel wasn't alone when he was killed, and he was convinced he wouldn't be long for this world once Mr. Welch and he crossed paths. Then, due to the fact that he-like Victoria-had seen the way Nick had looked at Rachel-asked very bluntly, "Just what be your intentions towards my granddaughter, Mr. Barkley."

Nick chuckled inside. He should have known that question was coming sooner or later. "First off," he smiled, "The name is Nick. Second," He grasped the top of the bed's footboard and grew serious. "If she'll let me, and you have no objection, I want to court her." He glanced towards the slightly open bedroom door, and lowered his voice, "She's the best cook in California aside from Mother, but don't tell Silas I said that. There's nothing wrong with his cooking either."

Mr. Londrach couldn't help it; he started laughing. "Aye lad, no honest man on this earth could walk away from Rachel's dinin' room and rightly say he was still hungry!" However, his smile and laughter quickly disappeared as his thoughts turned to the other matter at hand. "I don't wish to bring any trouble to your door; lad, only it will come if I stay. Take my word for it, do you really want to deal with it?"

"My family and I are more than happy to stand beside you only, I admit, it would be nice to know what this is all about." Nick let go of the footboard and walked towards the head of the bed.

"I heard you and your blonde haired brother talkin' on the way back here. He was tellin' you more about Carterson, the guards and Commander Bentall and how I'd help the younger prisoners." Conner sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened his eyes back up and looked at Nick, his eyes asking the dark haired rancher to confirm what Conner had just said.

"He did." Nick pulled a chair over and sat down. "Said that, aside from some of the other prisoners, you were an extremely bright light to an otherwise very dark place. He also said everyone there-on both sides-were extremely grateful the day you went from being a soldier to a doctor."

Conner got a far away look in his eye, "After my commander became aware of my desire to become a doctor, he gave me two choices….go train under a Southern doctor in a Confederate hospital or wait until after the war was over-knowing he'd pay for most of my training. It was a generous offer and I almost took it-feeling that; maybe, I should continue fighting alongside my comrades. In the end, I chose the former. Such a small thing in my eyes…what did it matter which I did. Either way I was in the service of the South."

"Something happened that made Mr. Welch think differently, and he blames you for not being there to help stop it." Nick looked at him as if to ask not only if he was correct, but to ask-if that was the case- why Mr. Welch hadn't done anything when the two men lived in the same town.

"First, there's something Heath couldn't tell you because he didn't know, and something the Pinkertons missed. Before you ask, how I know that they missed it…think."

Nick didn't have to think long before he had the answer to that one. "If they hadn't, Jarrod would have told us something different."

Conner fidgeted and asked Nick to help adjust the pillows behind him, something Nick gladly did. Once Conner was more comfortable, he let out a tired sigh. "Mr. Welch made threats against me more than once while at Carterson, and again when we found ourselves in the same town, but never actually tried to carry the threats out. I thought he had actually gotten over it until I found out he was looking for me."

"And just what is 'it'?" Nick asked, doing his best to rein in his impatient side. "Just what happened that made this Clark Welch hate you so bad, and what did the Pinkertons miss?"