Shelter from the Storms Chapter 31
Previously:
…. Nick quit talking as his mind wandered to Heath and the letter he'd written to his blonde-haired brother. He knew the shock his brother would feel once he opened the letter. Nick knew he was going to have to write another one the moment he and Elizabeth arrived in Rice Junction. If he had anything to do with it, Heath was not going to be left in the dark on any of the choices Nick made. At the thought, Nick couldn't help groaning just a little. His family would know all his plans whether he liked it or not-with what he'd done with the ranch, and the fact he'd not asked Heath to keep quiet again-how could they not know?
While Heath usually enjoyed the smell of freshly fallen rain, he found no pleasure it as he leaned against the corral fence. After Nick and Elizabeth had fled Hayden, Jarrod, he and Victoria had talked. Actually, more like Jarrod and Victoria had talked while Heath listened. The only time he'd spoken up was when Victoria and Jarrod debated on whether or not to go to Fremont. He might have kept quiet only the part about 'talking some sense into Nick' had prompted Heath to point out Victoria had already slammed the door shut when she'd told Nick to think again and forbade him to be near Elizabeth. "What are you trying to do? Get a grown man to lock the door?" It was a question that had silenced them both and sent the three of them back to Stockton. Now, looking at the letter in his hands, Heath wondered if that door was not only shut, but sealed as well.
"Nick?" Jarrod, who had doing a lot of hard thinking-and asking himself some pretty sharp questions, walked up beside Heath and looked at the paper in the blonde-haired cowboy's hands.
Heath's only answer was to hand his oldest brother a page of the letter-the one concerning the ownership of the land. He figured reading everything in Nick's own handwriting would be better than anything he could say.
Jarrod, who had felt sure Nick would be home shortly…after all, how long does it take to get a deaf child enrolled in school and find the child's mother employment and housing either near the school or in Stockton… took the letter and began reading.
The more he read, the more his eyes widened as the shock waves rolled over him. "H…he's turned his back on the ranch?" His face was full of disbelief as his eyes went from the letter to Heath. He'd never expected for Nick to do such a thing, not after all of the years the hot-tempered rancher had put into the place.
"For now, says he'll write more to me later." Heath took the first part of the letter back when Jarrod held out the paper to him. "However, know this…even if I am named legal owner of the ranch….in my eyes, Nick is still the owner. I'll take my name off the deed without the slightest sign of a fight."
"You think you can get him to come home?" Jarrod looked questionably at Heath.
"Not right away…I don't know where he's at. He doesn't say where they're going-only that they're not staying in Fremont. However, as I said, he'll be writing more later. In time; maybe…" Heath paused and then added, "if you and Mother can get past the fact that Cass and Cliff are her brothers, stop holding them against her. If we don't push Nick anymore than he's been pushed…who knows?"
"I wasn't really holding anything against her in the first place." Jarrod blew out a long breath as he leaned against the corral. "I just let my fear that Cass would find a way-even from prison-to hurt, maybe even kill, someone I loved get to me. Mother's admitted it's the same boat she's in. Cliff is also a great concern to us." He went on to say it really didn't matter anyway- as Elizabeth hated him and wondered out loud if she'd had anything to do with getting Nick to give away the ranch.
Now it was Heath's turn to widen his eyes. "Hate? She's never hated you. If anyone was the subject of that emotion, it was Cass." He handed the second page of the letter to Jarrod. "When it comes to getting Nick to give me this place …you know him better than me. He wouldn't let anyone outside this family keep him from the ranch. The way I see it, the blame for that lays entirely on two things. One…your and Mother's fear pushed him closer to her; and two, the distrust that was unintentionally implied when he was – in essence- told he really hadn't thought things through well enough." Heath wasn't surprised by the slight cringe that came from Jarrod when he heard the blonde-haired cowboy's conclusion.
'She will not communicate with Cass, and seldom calls him by name. She's hated him since the day she sat in the court…' Jarrod read the words, and wondered why hadn't thought about that possibility. He handed the second page back to Heath and looked towards the window. He could see his mother standing behind the glass. Even from where he stood, he could see the huge amount of guilt emulating from her eyes. He turned back to Heath and, with sincere remorse in his voice, told Heath, "When you hear from him, Heath, tell him we're sorry and that Elizabeth is more than welcome-in Stockton, on the ranch and in our home." He turned and started to walk away only to have Heath stop him.
"You'll need this." Heath handed Jarrod the letter. "I won't have a chance of getting Nick to listen if we haven't respected his wishes…even if we don't agree with him. Mother needs to understand that as well."
Jarrod nodded slowly and took the paper. "Agreed, and don't worry about Mother. She might not like it only she'll understand when I tell her everything we've discussed." He walked away, hoping for the best.
As for Heath, he hung around the corral a few minutes longer; he couldn't help but just how long it would be before they saw Nick again.