Chapter Four
Jarrod and Heath sat under the makeshift lean-to they'd thrown together when an unexpected storm had hit; it had made it so they'd been stopped in their tracks. The rain was still coming down only not near as hard as it had been. They had been searching for almost two weeks. Both were growing tired, and frustrated. Heath, who had been studying Jarrod-who was looking at nothing in particular, recalled the question he'd asked when Jarrod first arrived home. *"What is it, Jarrod? Do you know something?" "What is it, Jarrod? What do you think you might know?" Heath broke the silence, wanting an answer. No, needing an answer. "I'd like to know before we reach Triton." Triton was the next, and only other town, the two brothers could see Nick stopping in.
Jarrod rubbed his chin with his thumb as the far away look in his eye deepened. Finally, he came out of it and spoke quietly. "Jason Tydell."
Heath frowned slightly. Mr. Tydell's name was the last thing he'd expected to hear. "The man you're prosecuting? What about him?"
Again, Jarrod saw himself walking into the courtroom and the reaction Mr. Tydell had given him. "He seemed to be surprised to see me when I walked into the courtroom the morning after I got back. At the time, I brushed it off." He turned to face Heath and surprised the blonde haired cowboy by telling him that Nick and Jarrod had-unintentionally-met up with each other. "Due to various reasons, we wound up swapping the last bit of our 'chores'-as it were."
Heath sucked in his breath and he quickly caught onto what Jarrod was thinking. "You think Nick's in trouble, and you fear it might be because you the two of you swapped places. If that's the case, whoever else is involved, can't have ever laid eyes on you. I mean, sure, you and Nick look like brothers only there's no way the two of you can be mistaken for twins."
"Tell me about it." Jarrod allowed himself a quick smile and then grew somber once more. "I hope we can find Nick, and he can tell me I'm wrong."
Nothing more was said as Jarrod and Heath, both now lost in their thoughts, waited for the rain to completely stop…something that couldn't happen fast enough now since Jarrod's concerns had actually been voiced out loud.
~oOo~
"How are they?" Nick, who was sitting on a chair on Cassie's porch asked as she removed the bandages off his hands.
Cassie couldn't help but smile as she turned his hands in order to make it so she could look at his palms. "There's scarring, but not so much to make it a problem. At least, in my opinion that's the case. Guess, if you disagree, you can always wear a pair of gloves when in town. Now, let's get those bandages off your face."
While wearing gloves would be nothing new, Nick felt his heart pounding. He'd had hours on end to think about his eyes, and the area around them. Would he able to see? Would there be any scars and, if so, how bad would they be? Naturally, those questions had turned to the laws in far too many cities that Jarrod and others had opposed-as they thought it cruel and unkind to push someone out of the public eye simply because they'd had the misfortune of being hurt badly in one way or another. Sadly, that was one fight that Jarrod and his friends had not won. Well, not over all they hadn't. True, some cities did not have the laws only far too many places supported them. "Well?" Nick asked once the majority of bandages were off. When she did not answer quickly, he feared the worst.
"There is no scarring where little acid hit, which is why I didn't continue wrapping the majority of your face as the doctor did." She paused, and then admitted she hadn't answered right off the bat because her mind at been on his eyes and the area around them. "As you know, the majority of that liquid hit there. I need to take off the rest of the bandages before I can tell you anything more." She then told him to keep his eyes shut when she took the bandages off. "That is, you'll have to place your hand just above your eyes and then open them slowly. Hopefully, you'll be able to see just fine."
Nick found himself holding his breath as Cassie removed the remaining bandages. However, he kept his hands down and his eyes closed. "How is it?" He asked, no more like demanded. Though, he quickly apologized for his loud tone of voice. "I just want to know up front how bad it is."
Cassie gazed upon Nick. He had to be the handsomest man she'd ever seen…even if there was scarring around his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. "It's not as bad as it could be. Though, you might want to consider wearing a pair of *sunglasses. I know they're not readily available here in the states only I happen to have a pair in storage. Before my father passed away; may he rest in peace, he used them after the war." She saw no reason to state why her father chose to do that-as she figured Nick could reason that one out for himself.
"Sunglasses?" Nick asked, vaguely remembering having heard about such things only, for the life of him, he couldn't remember what had been said.
"You have them on your face-to protect your eyes from the sun or, in some cases, to hide what one does not want seen. They were actually invented in China in the twelfth century. However," she sighed, "They're not that easy to come by here in America. Well, not out west they aren't. Who knows, maybe – when the twentieth century rolls around- things will change. Anyway, Father had connections though and was able to get a pair."
Nick sighed. A good portion of him fought the idea, wanted to believe he didn't need them. However, Cassie had already proven what kind of person she was; that being the case, he knew she was very serious. 'Mother would probably tell me to be grateful for small miracles.' Nick thought as he slowly raised his hand and placed it above his eyes. Then, just as slowly he opened his eyes.
A/N When it comes to sunglasses- they weren't produced cheaply – or in mass productions-until 1929. However, they were invented in China in the 12th century. You can research it on the internet. Every time I try to copy and paste the link it won't copy and paste the whole address.