Chapter Six

Previously:

Nick started laughing at his friend's reaction and then quickly grew serious once more. "My wife and I have a matter that we need your help with." His eyes added the word 'desperately' to his sentence.

"Come into my office." Damion stepped aside and let his long time friend and his wife walk by him. After telling his secretary to take any messages while he was busy, Damion also entered the office and shut the door.

Damion sat behind his solid oak desk-something he only had because he'd inherited it from his father. There were four row of shelves…one under another with six inch gap between each shelf. A large safe box sat in the far north corner of the room. Elizabeth and Nick sat on two sturdy brown chairs that sat in front of Damion's desk. The man was staring at Nick. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"You want me to help fake your deaths and then be the one to notify your sheriff in Stockton?" Damion leaned slightly forward. "What on earth did you go and do?"

While the couple had expected such a reaction, they couldn't help but start laughing. After all, the man's widened eyes and look of utter disbelief-along with the astonished tone in his voice-was simply too comical not to laugh. Once Nick was able to stop laughing, and Elizabeth was simply chuckling softly, he assured Damion no laws had been broken. "Look, I don't really wish to go into all the details only it's imperative that people are led to believe we died. I'll be sending a coded telegram to my brother, Heath. Hopefully, he or my brother Jarrod will be able to figure out what I'm telling them."

If Damion hadn't known Nick so long, and known him as well as he did, he would have doubted what he'd just been told. As it was, all he could do was shake his head. "So, I will assume you will want me to telegraph your sheriff a few hours after you send your message. That way – you hope – your family will get your telegram before the law gets mine."

"You assume correctly." Nick pulled out his wallet. "I know you said it was you who owed me only I'm asking a lot of you-especially since I am hoping you will agree to be the driver of the stagecoach we'll be in…..one that will have no other passengers on it." He then shocked his friend by handing him a hundred dollars. "You'll lose business by driving just us out of this town, and you'll have to replace your stagecoach. I don't know how you'll explain the horses not being hurt bad enough to have to be put down only," Nick's voice grew firm. "I don't want the animals injured."

If it wasn't for the fact that Nick was right about the lost business and the stagecoach, Damion would have told his friend to keep the money. As it was, he took the money and told Nick and Elizabeth not to fret over the matter. "I have two old horses I have been thinking to give to some friends. That is, they're too old for this line of work-but not so old that they're on their last leg. If we do this, your rig will have to be picked up by someone in your family-and you'll need transportation. The horses can 'perish' with you in the ocean." He leaned back in his chair and looked at Nick and Elizabeth as if to say 'Do I dare say what I'm thinking?'. It made Nick and Elizabeth both a bit leery.

"What is it?" Nick finally asked when it became apparent Damion wasn't going to continue speaking.

"Have you thought about the fact that, if you go through the trouble of faking your deaths, you really should leave California as well?" Damion hated pointing that out only the Barkley family was simply too well known.

Nick stiffened. He'd come to terms with the fact that, if he wanted to protect his family and court Elizabeth without the fear of Cass doing anything, they needed to fake their deaths. However, he'd only thought to temporarily move to another part of the State – not leave all together.

However, before either one could make any sort of reply, Damion's son knocked on the door and told his father he was wanted outside for a moment. The moment Mr. Harvey had disappeared out of the room, and shut the door, Elizabeth turned to Nick. "You don't have to do this, Nick. I know how much your family means to you. You can still go home. I'm sure any 'broken fences' could be mended easily enough. You can go to the nearest judge and ask for an annulment. I'll sign anything you want me too."

Nick listened to every word Elizabeth said only he also heard what she had not said. "With Tabitha in the blind school, and Cliff in Blythe Junction, you would still leave California-for me?" The shock he felt could be heard in his voice.

Elizabeth began feeling more than guilty. She did want to get to know Nick better. There was something about him. She didn't exactly know what. Only she couldn't; no, she wouldn't pressure him to leave the state for something that might or might not work out. "Look," she took a hold of the ring on her finger. "Neither one of us truly realized what sacrifices you'd be making to court me. As I just said, you can talk to a judge…" she began taking the ring off her finger only to have Nick reach over and slide it back down on her finger.

"Look me in the eyes." Nick, who again noticed she'd only spoke about him, took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Tell me you're not interested in me. Tell me I heard the wrong message in what you just said to me, and I'll take the ring back. I'll do everything you suggested and go home and tell my mother she was right, again. Only, you have to be able to look me right in the eyes and tell me you really want that."

Elizabeth never felt so torn in her life. She couldn't deny the attraction she felt towards Nick. She couldn't deny she liked being around him only… "Nick, I…." Before she could finish her sentence, Damion was entering the room. Once the door was shut, he looked at Nick-as if he was waiting to hear Nick had changed his mind only to find out different.

Nick smiled at Elizabeth and patted her hand. "We've come this far, might as well give it an honest shot." He then looked at Damion. "Let's get on with it."