Chapter Five
Previously:
Audra might have been upset only she saw a sparkle in her mother's eyes and heard the way Victoria said the word 'alone'. She couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear-even though she couldn't shake the worry in her heart. "So, what part of the ranch are we going to search?" She kept her eyes on her mother.
"I'll tell you – and Silas- after I see which way the men go. Victoria smiled and hurried out the door. No one had to tell Audra why her mother would talk to Silas. The man wouldn't like it only he wouldn't argue with Victoria…as he'd be grateful to at least know where on the ranch they'd be.
"I hope the roads are dry enough." Leah, who was helping her uncle help Nick into the back of the wagon, said. "The last thing we need is to find ourselves stuck in some mud down the road."
While Nick and Fen had the same concern, they knew staying at the abandoned shack wasn't an option either. "We'll just have to pray for the best." Fen told her as he helped her up onto the wagon, before climbing up himself.
Once they were heading down the road, Nick-who had his back against one side of the wagon and had been thinking about the few things Fen had told him about Carl, along with the boy's family- looked towards the gentleman. He asked how long ago the man's friends moved to Modesto. "You said their last name was Douglas. I go to Modesto frequently, and *it's not that large of a town. I've never even heard that last name when I'm there."
"They only moved there three months ago, and the land they bought actually lies three miles out of town. That and most people don't call Brian by his real name. Over the years, he got stuck with the nickname Bear." Fen answered as the wagon went through a mud puddle. While it came nowhere close to getting stuck, the muddy water still splashed up and hit the side of the wagon. Nick leaned forward in order to minimize the amount of water that got onto him.
Bear! Nick's eyes flew open. "Your friend stands well over six feet and built like an ox?"
Leah whipped around the best she could and stared at Nick. "You've met him?"
Nick grinned wide. "Let's say I'm glad I wasn't the one trying to cheat him during a game of poker." He couldn't keep the laughter out of his eyes as he spoke the words. However, the smile quickly disappeared as he then grew extremely somber. "I don't like this. From what I saw Bear could take care of himself and, from what you've told me, he's a devoted family man."
"He can, his is and…" Fen let out an involuntary growl. "If Carl had the need to send me that message-I fear something has happened to his father. And, no, his wife wouldn't have written us. I said Carl was like kin-I never said his parents were." He quickly added, not wishing Nick to get the wrong idea. "They're good people. We were good enough friends when they were our neighbors only…" he shrugged his shoulders. "For whatever reason, they and I…. we just didn't have the tight bind that Carl and my family had." He might have said more only they'd come to the side road that hooked onto the road they were on- the one that Nick said led to the road that would eventually lead to the Barkley ranch. He knew what Nick had said only Fen again felt a huge tug of war start inside him. He really hated Nick's family having to wait to find where the famous rancher was.
"Don't even think about it." Nick, who feared the wagon wheels might actually get stuck in one of the mud filled ruts in the road-as Fen had already had to push the horses a time or two to get though a couple of potholes. "I told you that I'd wire my family-and I will."
While Fen had no doubt that Nick would do just that, he also had an idea come to him. He stopped the wagon; instantly, Nick was demanding to know what Fen thought he was doing.
"You can still send that wire; however," Fen turned around and pointed to a small box that set within a few inches of Nick. "There is a scrap of paper in there, and I have a small pencil in my suit pocket." As he was talking, Fen was sliding his hand inside his suit jacket. He pulled it out and handed it to Nick-after Nick had retrieved the paper Fen was talking about. "Write what you want, and I can secure it to the fence post there." Fen pointed to a fence post that stood a mere foot from the road. "I know the chances of anyone seeing any note left in such a place is slim only, who knows, they could still find it before we reach Modesto."
Nick thought for sure he was wasting precious time only he quickly wrote out a short note and then handed it to Fen-who had rummaged through another small box in the wagon and retrieved a nail. Soon The note had been nailed to the post and Fen, Nick and Leah were heading down the road again. Had Nick and his new friends known who had would appear on that particular road in the next twenty minutes, they'd never had moved two feet. As it was, they were long out of sight when Victoria and Audra stopped their horses and looked up the road connected to the one Nick had been on shortly before.
"Don't you think we've traveled too far? We're not even on the ranch now, Mother." Audra was uneasy, thinking about the others -and the words that would be exchanged when her brothers found out she and Victoria hadn't exactly stayed home.
"I told you, Audra, many times a mother gets feelings she can't explain. I'm riding up to that other road-why? I have no clue." She spurred her horse forward, and Audra followed. Not three minutes later, Audra was shocked to find her mother removing the note that had been nailed to the post.
"No time to explain. I'll wire later. Please, tell Jarrod and Heath we may need their help. Nick." Victoria read the note out loud. She was grateful Nick had left a note only she still wanted to slap him hard. Not knowing who her son was with, and how urgent they felt it was to get to their destination, she couldn't help but wonder what would have been so wrong with leaving them more information. She said as much.
"We? Who is he with? What are we going to do?" Audra asked once her mother had remounted the horse she was using.
Victoria rolled her eyes as she turned her horse around. She wished she could pretend her daughter hadn't just asked such stupid questions. "Go home and have a talk with your brothers." She replied as she started riding back in the direction they'd just come from.
*According to the internet, in 1884 the population of Modesto had grown to 1,000. However, since this story is set in the 1870's, I'm making it a much smaller community. If I'm wrong, when it comes to what the number of residents would have been…I'll claim writer's liberty.
