Chapter Three
Previously:
Seeing her uncle's struggle, Leah spoke up. "Nick, my 'cousin' is one very responsible, twelve-year-old boy. He wouldn't send that message as a joke."
Nick's eyes widened even as his heart skipped a beat. "As I said, you have no dilemma." He spoke with a tone that screamed he was serious. "Once this storm is over, we head to Modesto without a second thought."
At Nick's insistence, Fen and Leah had helped the hot-tempered rancher move to a crate that set next to the window. 'Might not be the most comfortable place to sit only I'd like to watch the rain' had been Nick's exact words. His injured ankle resting on a chair that Leah had moved from one end of the shack to the other-not hard to do as the place was smaller than Nick had remembered.
"You okay?" Leah walked over to Nick- who seemed to be a million miles away- and handed him a cup of coffee-a luxury they only had because someone had left a can of coffee grounds on a shelf. Had to have been an accident, they were sure of that. After all, who would purposely leave such an item behind?
"I'm wondering what sort of trouble awaits you in Modesto, and I'm worried for the boy you call Carl." Nick glanced at his wrapped ankle and foot.
"We'll face whatever it is once we get there. Though, with any luck at all, you'll be with your family long before then." Leah, who still didn't like the idea of the Barkleys being uninformed, stressed the last part of her sentence.
"We'll see." Nick rested his arm on the windowsill while he sipped at his coffee; the whole time he was looking at Leah.
No one had to tell her what else was bothering Nick. 'I love that woman, and I still could slap her' Leah thought as she pulled the only sturdy chair in the place over and sat down on it. She then surprised-but not shocked- Nick when she told him rather bluntly, "I'm Leah Miller, not Layla Johnson … and don't tell me that's who you thought I was when you first saw me. "
"I won't. I didn't know she had a twin." Even as he said the words, Nick had to admit there was a lot about Layla he hadn't known-still didn't. He admitted as much.
"Not surprising, Layla does have a way of turning heads without a body half thinking about it." The words came out with a small sound of resentment…. something Leah quickly explained "I know how I sounded just then only jealousy is not the reason for the struggle I have inside me. There are simply days I have to remind myself that one cannot make another person's choices for them. All we can do is work on ourselves. It would appear I need to have another talk with myself and remind myself how old I really am."
While Nick couldn't argue with her on what she'd said, he couldn't keep from asking, "And you don't turn heads?" He could hardly believe that one.
Leah couldn't keep laughter out of her eyes, even as she chuckled when she heard Nick's question. "It's like Uncle Fen says -one might think I'm on the quiet side- and to a degree I am. That is, until I finally open my mouth?" Her eyes started laughing again. "After that? Mmm Nope, I say what I mean no matter what. I'm not always right mind you, but I do speak my mind…especially to people who have the mentality of 'you look like your twin so must be just like her in every way.' Land sakes, we may be twins; still, that doesn't make us the same person!"
"Of course, you're not." Nick agreed then, with some hesitation, asked if she knew how Layla was.
Because Layla had written to her about Nick and all that had transpired, Leah wasn't surprised by the question. "She and that husband of hers are living in Wyoming. From what she wrote, he's keeping his promise, and they're expecting their first child. Now, do you mind if we switch subjects. I'm far more concerned about Carl and the situation we have here."
A deaf man would have been able to hear the disdain in Leah's voice when she said 'that husband of hers'. It made Nick wonder what the man was really like. However, that was another story. Leah was right. A twelve-year-old boy and whatever was going on in Modesto was a far more important matter.
"All right, but only if you promise to tell me more about you and your family sometime. As I just admitted," Nick gave her a smile, "I really know very little."
"Deal." Leah promised-even as she watched her uncle-who had fallen asleep on the only cot in the place, began mumbling in his sleep. He even called out Carl's name once.
Nick, who had slightly startled when the gentleman called out his 'nephew's' name, couldn't help but frown again. He didn't like the idea of any twelve-year-old child being so afraid that he'd send a coded message to another person. The more he thought about it, the more Nick was sure that -if his brothers or one of their employees, did cross their paths, he wasn't going home. Mr. Miller looked to be in his late fifties…if not early sixties. While Leah seemed capable enough, Nick was sure he didn't want her finding herself a part of any fight. That is, if it could at all be avoided. Of course, he didn't know how much good he'd do with his injured ankle either. 'Sure hope Coco has made it home,' Nick's thoughts turned to his family and his horse as he went back to gazing out the shack's window-the rain had finally slowed down. It was sure to stop within the next hour. Anyway, Nick hoped that would be the case.
