Chapter Twenty-Two

"It wouldn't hurt to stop and rest in that place." Nick turned his head slightly. "We still have a long ways to go."

Brian would have argued only he too was feeling the effects of being out in the cold. Why did winter have to hit so early? "Fine, but don't get any ideas!" He barked as he laid his hand on the top of his pistol.

Nick simply wrapped one arm around Elizabeth and took a hold of one of her arms. "Thanks," She smiled at Nick-and then went back to concentrating on walking.

Elizabeth and Nick sat in a rock fireplace watching the flames dance up, down and sideway; they were wrapped in one of two heavy blankets. They'd been shocked to find the bedding folded up and laying on the end of a cot. Their captor was sitting cross legged on the cot with the second blanket wrapped around him. Nick was sure the man would have insisted on using both blankets only he was afraid of losing his guides. Oh, no, the man had never said that in exact words only what he had said as he tossed the one blanket at Elizabeth had definitely sent that message.

Nick, who was keeping one eye on the fire and one on the man holding him and Elizabeth against their will, thought back to when they first arrived at the shack. Nick had wasted no time building a fire-using some kindling he'd found behind the shack, along with one of the small pieces of wood that had been in the pile next to the outside wall. He hadn't argued when he'd found some boards behind the shack, along with a small bucket of nails and a rusty hammer. He insisted on covering some of the larger holes in the place, along with fixing the door, something he was sure had only been allowed to do because the man forcing him and Elizabeth to help him was thinking of his own comfort.

Elizabeth shook her head as she looked at the man on the cot, a rifle was laying across his lap while his hands rested on the top of the firearm. Only thing was, his eyes were closed and he'd begun to snore! "He's asleep. Halfway makes me want to run for it," she kept her voice low, out of fear of waking the man.

Due to the look of one who was torn between wanting one thing only to be held by their ethics, Nick heard what she hadn't said. He took a deep breath and agreed to her silent thoughts. "But, we can't do that. Not only would he freeze to death trying to get out of these mountains, we need to-somehow-alert the law to his whereabouts."

"Exactly." Elizabeth, who was amazed that Nick had sensed her unspoken feelings when it came to leaving their captor behind, shifted her weight and turned just enough to look Nick in the face. "Now, what aren't you saying? I mean, when you came in with the kindling and wood, there was something in your eyes. I mean, there's something bothering you."

Nick thought about his other find behind the shack and hesitated to answer. He might have been tempted to dance around the truth only, when they left the place, she was bound to see it…that or have their captor see it and say something. "There's a grave not that far away from this shack… maybe twenty feet behind it."

Elizabeth's eyebrows turned slightly downwards; Nick looked at the wheels in her mind. That is, he could tell by the look in her eyes. She was deep in thought. After what felt like a solid minute (and it was close to that) she stopped her ponderings. "Was there a cross? Or was it more of headstone?"

"A cross with the years and a first name, no last one. Death date was 1876-just last year." Nick told her.

"Albert." Elizabeth sat up straight, causing her share of the blanket to slip off.

Nick felt shock waves go over him, and he did not attempt to hide his surprise. "You knew him? You knew of this place?" He wasn't sure what to think…until she quickly corrected his wrong assumptions.

"No, I've never step foot in this place, and I never met him. However, Phillip and Jason used to talk about him now and then, said Phillip and his wife tried more than once to get him to move in with them. They told me- 'Albert isn't getting any younger, and he refuses to leave the mountains for any reason'." She took her share of the blanket back-when Nick offered it to her. "You know," she whispered as she wrapped the blanket around her and got comfortable once more. "This shack might be good for more than giving us shelter to warm up. If we stay…" she paused as she looked over at their captor, who had begun to stir a little. She didn't want to chance him hearing anything she and Nick might say. It wasn't until the man stopped stirring and began snoring again that she and Nick went back to talking.

"Why try to stay here?" Nick was confused. "We don't have that much food in the saddlebags and, from what I can see, there's not so much as a can of beans in this place."

"No, but Phillip told Jason and me more than once he knew when Albert was home because he could see the smoke from the fireplace. I don't know how far apart the two places are, but he would still know something was amiss." Elizabeth hoped that was the case.

"Well, if that is the case, we definitely need to keep our voices low." Nick nodded at the sleeping man. "Longer he sleeps the more time Phillip will have to see the smoke and know something is wrong. I mean, you don't expect to see smoke coming from a dead man's shack."

"No, you don't." She then turned the subject to Tabitha. "I hope she got to town okay."

Nick, who could hear the guilt and concern in her voice, pulled her slightly closer and patted her shoulder gently. "I'm sure she's fine. She's a feisty one and knows her mind." He couldn't help but chuckle as he said the last part.

Elizabeth pulled back slightly, her eyes full of a look that shouted 'I wonder if I should ask?' It had him silently laughing very hard. As it was, he confessed to a portion of his and Tabitha's conversation in the cave. "I think she doesn't want you to be alone when she goes to the deaf school."

"She sure likes to push the limit when it comes to what should be considered appropriate conversation." Elizabeth's grin spread from one ear to another as she shook her head. The fact that she wanted to laugh loud could be seen by the amusement in her eyes. "The school is going to have their hands full. I know I have, had my hands full that is." She then grew quiet as her eyes turned downwards.

Nick didn't have to ask what was bothering her. "That young girl will be fine; you've done a fine job with her. She loves you for it." He then ventured to ask how she was as a child. "Besides being brave enough to start caring for a bear," He smiled wide.

"Blasted dimples again" Elizabeth thought as she confessed she'd also been a bit of a handful. "I never did anything that would have even come close to getting me into real trouble, and I did like to pull more than one prank. My smart mouth got me into trouble a time or two as well." Without half thinking, she lay her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Things in my family were fine until my father was killed in a freak accident. Cliff was the oldest and started working more. Cass' grief turned him wild and, with no real backbone, Cliff wasn't able to do much with him. I'm just glad Mama passed away before Cass was arrested. It would have killed her." She shuddered and said even quieter, "I know I said I'd think about allowing you to court me only are you really sure you want to do that? No, you wouldn't have to contact Cass-I sure don't. Only there's still Cliff to deal with-and I can't guarantee what he'll say or do. On top of that, as I've said, your family might have their own objections."

Nick didn't answer at first. He'd been thinking on all those facts since the moment he'd found out she was a Hyatt. A part of him did worry about his family's reaction only he liked Elizabeth. After a few moments of saying nothing, he whispered, "Let's face that bridge when we get to it. For now, I'm hoping Phillip either sees the smoke or that you actually start recognizing the area we're in."

Elizabeth nodded, as she was holding onto the same hope.