Chapter Eleven

Nick, who had been looking over some of his uncle's book work for Jim, looked out the window and saw Heath and Timothy painting the picket fence surrounding Jim Barkley's home. Ruth was sitting on the porch, once again patching some clothes-only this time it was clothes belonging to some of the ranch hands. Not wanting to go into town, the men had asked Ruth if they could pay her to mend their clothes for them. Nick sighed as he leaned back in the chair he was using and pulled out the telegram that had delivered to him roughly ten minutes before his brother and their new friends had returned.

Reading the telegram once more time, Nick was quite irritated at finding himself in quite this spot. Though he was more irritated to realize that at any other time he'd be plowing straight ahead and demanding answers not caring about the consequences, but not now. Now, for whatever reason existed, he had actually stopped to realize that if he simply plowed ahead and did as he'd done in the past, Jim's niece would most likely take Timothy and disappear. Silently Nick cursed and asked himself why on earth he cared. It was a question that he repeated to himself as he stood up and reminded himself that he, Heath and their Uncle Jim wanted to help Jim's niece…not chase her away. Soon he was standing on the porch looking at Jim's niece, who was wearing a beautiful turquoise dress, along with matching earrings and a necklace that her uncle had bought her the day before. She also had her hair hanging loose for a change; it hung clear to her waist. Nick silently swore again. The young woman was ten times more beautiful than even he had realized. It made it extremely difficult to keep his mind focused on the matter at hand.

Hearing the door open and hearing the sound of Nick's spurs hitting the porch, Ruth looked up. She was instantly on the defensive as she saw a look of a man torn in two in Nick's eyes. What on earth was the matter? "May I help you?" she asked cautiously.

Thinking on the telegram in his pocket, Nick nodded. "I was hoping we could go for a walk." If she bolted at the discussion he wished to have with him, Nick wanted a chance to catch her before she could grab Timothy and run. After all, no one could help her if she up and disappeared.

Ruth couldn't help but stare. What on earth did Nick want from her? Surely he wasn't interested in a woman who had another man's child to care for. Though, as she looked upon him dressed head to foot in his dark leather outfit, Ruth was shocked to realize she wouldn't mind it if he was interested in her. It was a thought she quickly pushed aside.

Nick, who could basically guess what she was thinking, smiled and said without thinking, "Would it make a difference if I told you I once studied for the ministry?"

Ruth couldn't help it; she busted up laughing and laughed hard. In between what her Uncle Jim had said; words that had been backed up by the things she'd heard Nick say to Joe, Ruth knew the words 'ministry' and 'Nick Barkley' didn't exactly go hand in hand. That is, not if one was talking about preachers, churches and congregations. "You're crazy." She answered as she laid down the mending and stood up.

Nick couldn't help but chuckle as he nodded in agreement. "I've been told that before. Well, not in those words, but the idea has always been the same."

Ruth turned and looked towards Timothy and Heath. "I can't just up and leave Timothy with Heath without asking if your brother minds watching the boy."

"Heath!" Nick bellowed, causing Ruth to take a step backwards and Heath, along with Timothy, to look his way. "Ruth and I are going for a walk. Do you think you and Timothy can find things to do while we're gone?"

Heath looked at Timothy-who was staring at his mother and Nick- and chuckled. He guessed Ruth hadn't had exactly seen a lot of men and it surprised Timothy. "We'll be fine!" Heath gave Timothy a lopsided grin as he answered Nick. "Won't we?" He asked the lad, who had quickly turned away from Ruth, embarrassed by his reaction.

"Sure we will," Timothy answered as he went back to painting.

"Come on," Nick looked at Ruth and then turned and headed for the steps that set off to the side of the porch. Before long, he and Ruth were walking around the house and down a path that led to a small creek that ran through Jim's back yard.

"What did you want?" Ruth, who knew just how loud Nick could be-she'd heard him with some of her uncle's ranch hands-felt more than uneasy as Nick was now quiet, too quiet. The fact that a troubled look was in his eyes didn't help the feeling any. Finally, Nick stopped a few feet from the creek and turned to face Ruth.

"I served in a few places during the war and saw a number of battles." He wasn't surprised when Ruth stiffened slightly. It's not like a woman would expect a man she barely knew to start talking about the war. "I was wounded once and found myself in a make shift hospital inside Tennessee; one hidden inside of a church, one that the Confederate armies didn't know existed. If they had, there would have been many northern soldiers die right then and there."

Ruth's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the days and months before her mother died. She remembered as a small girl helping her mother in a make shift hospital, and they weren't allowed to talk about it. "Why tell me this?" She forced herself to ask, as she kept her face forward, not daring to look Nick in the face-even as the memory she'd had while fishing with Heath and Timothy came back to her.

Nick kicked the dirt under his feet with the toe of his right boot as he put his hands on his hips. "I want to help you, we all do. But," He turned and, taking a deep breath, went ahead and said the one thing he knew would either get answers or make it so he had to start chasing the young woman before him. "None of us can do that unless you're totally honest with us…Anna Randall."