Bonnie's Tale Chapter Twelve
Previously:
… Nick then changed subjects and asked if Mary had eaten lunch. When she replied in the negative, he invited her to have lunch with him. Something she was glad to do-even as her mind turned to Jarrod, Heath and Fred. She sure hoped that, by some miracle, they would be able to nail Sheriff Reed for all the things she just knew he was guilty of.
There was still a good hour of daylight left when Jarrod followed George Miller into the woods while Fred, Heath and Wayne Jensen entered through another direction. "I hope Sheriff Reed believes the message you had delivered to his office."
"It had your name on it; he'll believe it." George told him as they stopped under one of the many large, and extremely tall, trees that made up the woods. He then turned and let out a high whistle.
Jarrod watched in amazement as four men-along with Heath, Fred and Wayne all revealed themselves. "We really need the additional men?" His eyes asked 'where did you get the extra help?'
"If the sheriff is alone, I would say no. On the other hand, he could bring help. With that man, like many, we just don't know. I'd rather have too much help than to find myself wishing for more men." George explained.
Jarrod couldn't argue there-as he'd had past experiences with both situations -even if, somehow, he knew that this time it would not be necessary. "Hide yourselves again." The Stockton attorney looked at all the men until they were out of sight. "What about you?" He looked at George who was still standing in front of him.
"I'm gone...sort of." The undercover lawman quickly hid himself while Jarrod sat on a boulder than looked very much out of place. All there was to do now was to wait.
When Nick, who was up in the loft, heard the door open, he looked down to see it was his mother entering the barn. Since she'd told him the night before she was going to the orphanage the night before, he was surprised to see her. "I thought you would be gone longer." He descended the ladder and walked over to his mother.
"I was going to only Dr. Merar sent word that there's sickness at the orphanage...serious enough that he's put them under quarantine." Victoria's eyes clearly showed how concerned she was.
"Does he think it will spread?" Nick shuttered to think what might happen if the sickness spread to other places.
"So far, it hasn't, and the good doctor hopes it will stay that way." She sat down on a bale of hay and smiled at Nick. It made him nervous -as it almost appeared he'd done something and she'd found out. Only thing was, as far as he knew, he had done absolutely nothing to be on the receiving end of the silent message.
"What is it?" Nick leaned against a nearby post and put his hand on his hip. The last thing he wanted was to find himself in trouble with his mother...or anyone else for that matter.
"You sing great lullabies." Victoria couldn't help but allow her grin to spread across her face as the scene she'd witnessed in the middle of the night played itself over in her mind. Her statement earned her the privilege of watching a somewhat embarrassed-but pleased-look appear on Nick's face.
"Well, Bonnie was crying and Mary had already fed and been up with her for awhile." Nick flicked his wrist through the air. "I was awake anyway. She's a cute one. I sure hope Jarrod will be able to adopt her without any problem." It was the most honest statement he'd ever made.
"And what about Mary?" Victoria, who had been watching and listening to Nick and Mary, knew Nick liked her. She also knew how fast Nick was known to be. Even if Mary was nothing like the women he'd met in the past, the Barkley matriarch was still concerned her son might push things too fast.
Nick, who pretty much knew what his mother was thinking, still balked at the question. He was far too old to account for that part of his life to anyone. "I like her." Nick turned and headed for the loft once more. He'd only come down to find out what was going on with his mother. If he was to get everything that he needed done for the day, he had to get back to work. "Let's leave it at that for now. Okay?" He was already ascending the ladder as he asked the question.
Victoria frowned slightly. Maybe she had misread things. Maybe Nick wasn't looking at Mary the way she thought he had was. After all, he wasn't exactly quiet when it came to being attracted to a woman. Still, there was something. She could feel it but couldn't put her finger on it. That part was driving her up a wall. That part wanted to go up and demand Nick give her another answer-one with a lot more detail. However, the other part knew that- as loud as Nick could be-he still had a part that would dig in his heels and fight back if pressed for something he did not want to give. Slowly, she stood up and walked out of the barn.
Once he heard the barn door shut, Nick walked over to the loft doors and opened them up. He could see Mary sitting on a blanket underneath a tree that grew maybe forty feet from the fence. She had a light coat on and was reading a book. 'What's wrong with me?" he silently asked himself. He did like Mary, and liked her a lot. So...why was he-for the first time in his life-holding back? It made no sense to him...and it bothered him. He shut the loft doors, finished what he was doing and then headed for his horse. Daylight was burning, and he needed to keep moving. 'Hope you're successful in Lodi and get home soon, dear brothers."