Chapter 6
Nick took Amanda home after dinner. They chatted along the way, but Amanda was more quiet than usual. When they got to her boarding house, Nick leaned in for a kiss that she gave him – but it was a tired kiss. A distracted kiss?
"Did we wear you out tonight?" Nick asked.
"What?" Amanda asked.
"That was not the kiss I'd hoped for."
Amanda smiled, leaned in and gave Nick a deeper, longer kiss.
"Now that's more like it," Nick said. "I hope you did have a good time."
"I did," Amanda said, "but Audra and Eugene can be bundles of energy sometimes."
Something inside told Nick to hesitate to ask this, but he asked it anyway. "What do you think of Jarrod? Did you like him?"
Amanda smiled a little. "I enjoyed watching him with the children."
"You helped with that, I think," Nick said. "They've been having trouble figuring him out. I get the feeling you didn't get the chance to talk to the kids about him this week, but you just being there tonight helped loosen them up."
"No, I didn't get the chance to talk to them," Amanda said. "So I don't know how I helped with how they react to Jarrod."
"Well, they don't remember him. He was gone too long, and it's taking them a while to warm up to him. I think it helped just having you there tonight. Maybe made them feel a little more secure. Thank you."
Amanda went a little limp. "Oh, Nick. That's very sweet of you to say." She leaned in and kissed him again.
This time, just a small peck.
Nick got out of the buggy and helped her down. She gave him another light kiss before she went into her boarding house, saying, "Good night, Nick. Thank you for having me to dinner."
"My pleasure," Nick said and watched her go inside.
But his smile faded and he kept watching for a long minute.
XXXXXX
"I like her," Jarrod said. He was sipping a brandy in the library when Nick got home. "Are you going to see her again?"
Nick realized he hadn't asked her for another date. "I expect so," he said and poured his own brandy.
Victoria was getting the children to bed. Tom was behind the desk, going over some paperwork. "The children like her," he said idly.
"Haven't they always liked their teachers?" Jarrod asked.
"No," Tom said. "They weren't even in school when you went away, but neither one of them liked the first teacher they had. She was pretty strict and never smiled. They called her 'the prune.'"
"What happened to her?" Jarrod asked.
"She married a banker from Sacramento and moved away," Tom said. "Then we had another one for a year or so, before Amanda. A young man who decided teaching wasn't for him. Audra and Gene were neither here nor there about him."
"Well, Amanda seems pretty nice and easy going with the kids," Jarrod said. "Hang onto her, Nick. She might be just the one for you."
Nick had it hit him then, what was wrong when he left Amanda. He saw it in Jarrod's eyes – blue, charming, smiling, warm, handsome. And not younger than Amanda. Older by two years than Amanda.
Did Amanda see Jarrod as a man? Nick wondered if by comparison, she was seeing him as a boy. "Well," he said, "whether I hang onto her or not is partly up to her. I'm not sure she wants me to hang onto her."
"You are still pretty early in your relationship," Tom said. "Sometimes it takes women time to make up their minds."
Especially if there's more than one potential suitor to choose from, Nick thought but did not say.
XXXXXXX
It was the following Monday when Jarrod, studying in the library, didn't hear Silas come in until Silas said, "Excuse me, Mr. Jarrod."
Jarrod looked up. "Certainly, Silas. What can I do for you?"
"Mr. Matt Parker is here to see you," Silas said.
Jarrod straightened. He knew that Silas knew who Matt Parker was, and he knew that Matt was going to arrive in Stockton at any time now. He really didn't expect him to come to the door, though. "Show him back here if you would, Silas," Jarrod said and stood up.
Silas left and returned quickly with Matt Parker in tow. Jarrod looked at his friend, saw the same weariness in his eyes that he had seen at his court martial in Washington, and more. Matt wanted to talk about something, and Jarrod figured he knew what it was.
"Thank you, Silas," Jarrod said and Silas left, closing the door behind him.
Matt looked straight at Jarrod and said, "I thought a lot about everything on my way home. I was too coming apart in Washington to think straight, but I had a lot of time after they cut me loose and you were already gone."
"When did you get here?" Jarrod asked.
"Last night. My father and my brothers wanted to hear everything, so I've been up all night and haven't slept."
"What did you tell them?"
"Everything," Matt said. "Soup to nuts."
Jarrod nodded.
Matt said, "What I couldn't tell them because I don't know and you never said and I was too stupid to ask you – and I have to know. Did you set me up? Did you know Julia Saxon was a spy when you introduced me to her?"
Jarrod shook his head. "No. I didn't know. If I had, I would have turned her in and never introduced you to her. I swear, Matt. I didn't know."
"When did you find out?"
"When you were arrested."
"But you were involved with her before I was, weren't you? You just didn't have the guts to tell me."
Jarrod nodded. "Yes, I was involved with her when I introduced her to you, but I didn't know what she was up to. And she dumped me when she met you. I honestly thought it was because she found you more to her liking. I didn't know why she found you more to her liking, and frankly I was too mad to ask. She'd have lied anyway."
"Are you telling me the truth?"
"The absolute truth, Matt," Jarrod said. "You were right. I just didn't have the guts to tell you. Did she tell you?"
"In her roundabout way. Everything about her was roundabout. It just didn't sink in until I was on my way home and had time to really think about everything." Matt looked away, as if he were thinking some more.
Jarrod could tell his friend was very tired, and still reeling from what had happened to him in Washington. "Matt – whatever I can do for you, I will do."
Matt hesitated. "If you hadn't already kept me out of prison, I'd be knocking your teeth in right now."
"Believe me, Matt. I never would have introduced you to her if I'd known what she was up to. She turned to you because she wasn't getting anything out of me, and I didn't realize that until you were arrested. I swear to God on high I didn't know."
Matt just nodded, turned, and walked out.
Jarrod couldn't even go after him. He was paralyzed – with anger at Julia Saxon and at himself for being such a fool in love with such a manipulative woman that he never realized what she was really up to. And with guilt that Matt had to be the one to pay the price.
Jarrod went to the French door and looked out through the window. He saw Matt ride away. He knew at some point he was going to have to go after him. For what reason, to offer what help, he didn't know.
And what he was going to have to confess and to whom, he didn't know either.