Chapter Twenty

Excerpt from Ch 19

"The rest of you keep following the trail." Heath looked at Jarrod. "That is, after you tether my horse and hers to a nearby tree." When Jarrod started to take the paper out of his pocket, Heath shook his head. "Once I get her calmed down, I'll write on the ground, even it means using a stick on the road. That paper isn't big enough to write everything the two of us will be saying to each other."

It was closing in on four in the afternoon by the time Heath and Tabitha rode into town. Heath wasted no time in securing a room with two beds at the local boarding house. Now, as they sat in the town's cafe eating, Heath's mind ran over the past couple of hours in his mind…or more like the first hour, as the rest of the time was simply spent traveling back to town. He still couldn't believe it had taken him a solid ten minutes to get Tabitha to settle down enough to start communicating with her by writing in the ground with a stick.

After asking- and getting- her name, Heath had written "Do you have any other relatives?" He hadn't gotten a reply for a solid minute. He'd began to think that; maybe, Tabitha only knew a few words. Only, she'd finally taken her own stick and replied to his question.

"My deceased father... two sisters and two brothers live East country, not claim me…not like I deaf. They think deaf people stupid." Tabitha had started shaking slightly and then forcibly wrote 'I NOT STUPID!'

The fact that so many people insisted on judging others…for whatever the reason, angered Heath only he said nothing. Instead, he'd quickly wrote, 'I believe you. Calm back down.' He'd then asked about her mother's family.

Tabitha had shrugged her shoulders while she's wrote on the road. "Mama have two brothers. They say I met Uncle Cliff, not remember… Daddy, Mama say they not want me live with him. Not really bad just not great and not know sign language. I never meet other uncle. Daddy and Mama Elizabeth not tell me his name; no one ever tell me his name…think he not good man."

Heath and Tabitha had written back and forth for awhile…he'd learned she was an only child, and that Nick planned on helping her mother get on her feet-as it were-and help get Tabitha the education she deserved. That did not surprised Heath in the least. He would have done the same if he'd been in Nick's shoes. By the time they'd finished communicating and mounted their horses, Tabitha knew he and Jarrod were Nick's brothers, and Heath had promised he'd keep an eye on her until Jarrod and the other men rescued Nick and her stepmother. Though, not knowing that the Uncle Cliff Tabitha had told him about was a Hyatt, Heath was left to wonder about the uncomfortable feeling that was now stirring inside him. Though, before he could dwell on the feeling for any real length of time, Sheriff Anderson was walking up to him. Heath hoped that meant the lawman and the men who had gone with him had captured their man.

That hope-that the first escaped prisoner was once again behind bars-was fulfilled when the sheriff confirmed it. "Caught him fairly easy, really surprised me only I won't look a gift horse in the mouth." He then asked where Jarrod and the others were.

Heath gave him a shortened version of what had happened as the sheriff pulled out the only other chair at the table and sat down on it. "Don't suppose you've met Tabitha or her parents before?" Heath kept one eye on the sheriff and the other on Tabitha-who appeared to be more than uncomfortable. Heath felt badly for her-as he assumed it was because she couldn't hear what was being said.

Sheriff nodded. "I should say I knew Jason well, only met his second wife a few times. She," Sheriff Anderson said glancing at Tabitha, "was barely over six when her father brought her and her stepmother here. I mean, to the mountains that is. I told Jason and Elizabeth the mountains was no place for a young woman and a child, but Miss Elizabeth was willing. There was nothing I could do about. It's not like I had any wanted posters with their faces and names on them."

They stopped talking when the waitress, a young seventeen year-old brunette by the name of Mary Corning walked up and offered to refill Heath's coffee. She offered a cup to the sheriff as well-telling him it was on the house. The sheriff couldn't help but chuckle. Mary was his niece. His brother-in-law and sister owned the café. He knew 'on the house' translated to 'my parents insisted on it'. "Thanks, Mary," the sheriff smiled as he took the offered cup from the young woman. Once his niece had walked away, Sheriff Anderson offered to talk to a few couples in town about watching over Tabitha until 'this mess is over with'. He was surprised when Heath objected, though the blond-haired cowboy didn't know why.

"I told you-I promised her I'd be the one to keep an eye on her." Heath looked at the sheriff as if to dare the man to say he was the one who was deaf and hadn't heard what Heath had said. Of course, Sheriff Anderson couldn't do that.

"Fine," Sheriff Anderson stood up and slid the chair he'd been using, back under the table. "If you change your mind, let me know. As I told you, I know a few families who might be willing to take the child off your hands."

Heath bristled when the lawman said 'off your hands'-even though he felt strongly the sheriff had meant nothing negative. "Thanks," He might have watched the gentleman leave the café only Tabitha was tugging on his sleeve and handing him a piece of paper. He took the note from her and read it. He wasn't surprised to learn she wanted to know if the sheriff had said anything about her mother and Nick.

Heath shook his head before writing 'He and some men caught the other escaped prisoner. Let's finish supper.' She did not argue and began eating her food. Heath did the same, though he ate a tad slower-how could he eat faster when his mind kept playing one scenario after another in his mind. He hoped he'd have something more than 'still looking-letter to follow' to wire to the family by the next evening.