Chapter Thirteen
Nick stood inspecting the Billings' freshly painted barn. Most barns he'd ever seen were red or brown, However, upon Mrs. Billings request, the building now had a fresh coat of gray paint. 'Good thing I won't have to look at it long,' he thought as he turned away only to see Henry Billings approaching him. The elderly gentleman was carrying a book of some sort. Due to the look of concern that was in the man's eyes, Nick feared that Mr. Billings had discovered the truth that Elizabeth and he were hiding. However, he said nothing until the elderly gentleman sat down on a nearby crate.
"What is it? Something wrong?" Nick leaned against one of the poles holding up the awning that was attached to the side of the barn. His question chased the concern in Mr. Billings' eyes away for a few minutes.
"I got a letter this morning. My nephew and his wife will be here within the next couple of weeks." Mr. Billings looked around, many signs that said spring was in the air were beginning to show. "Your aunt and uncle are talking about leaving when they get here."
The way the gentleman began looking at him, Nick just knew what Mr. Billings wanted. "You want my wife and I to stay." He made the comment even though he knew what his answer had to be. That is, if he was right.
"You know what you're doing, and the men listen to you. My nephew could use a foreman like that…even if you do have a habit of getting drunk on a Friday night. It's not like I've had to bail you out of jail every weekend." Henry couldn't stop a grin from spreading over his face.
Nick, who remembered the two 'tumbles' (as Mrs. Billings called the fights) he and another Billings employee had had in town with two separate sets of drifters, chuckled. He remembered very well the damage he and the other men had done in the saloon. Each time, the drifters had been run out of town while Henry had bailed Nick and his other employee out of jail. Though, just because it sounded funny, he quipped, "Just every other weekend," That got a laugh from his employer only the joking quickly evaporated when Nick's smile left his face. "I can't say yes. As you noticed, Uncle Paul and Aunt Bea aren't getting any younger either. My wife and I already promised each other we would travel to Kingsville with them. They shouldn't be traveling alone. Even if I was to change my mind, Elizabeth wouldn't change hers, and I'm not trying to change it for her." One of the many things he'd learned about the woman he'd married was she could be just as stubborn-if not more-than he was. Besides, he wasn't about to go into the fact that staying in California was not an option for them even if they hadn't picked up a set of relatives in their travels.
"I thought you might say that, Jonathon." Henry, who had been more observant than Nick thought, handed him the book in his hands-which turned out to be what appeared to be a journal.
Nick was puzzled when he opened it up to see nothing but blank pages. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He shut the book and started to hand it back to Henry only to find the man pushing it back towards him.
"Write in it. No," he shook his head, "I don't mean an everyday diary. I mean unsent letters…to the person, or persons, that you are estranged from."
The statement had Nick standing rigid. He sure hadn't said anything, and he couldn't see his wife saying a word. However, before he could start arguing, Henry Billings started speaking again. "If you wonder who told me of your past, the answer is no one. I don't know a thing about that. What I do know, from experience, is the look of someone who doesn't have the connection with another person-or more than one person." He sighed as he sat down on a crate, crossed his legs and then set his hands, one on top of the other. "I'm sorry if I'm out of line only I like you, Jonathon. You may be the stubbornest, most obnoxious and opinionated fellow I ever met, but you're a very good man and very trustworthy. Whatever has happened, writing letters-even if you don't send them-will help you. Who knows…maybe someday, like it was with me, they'll actually help you reconnect with the very people you care dearly." He then added to consider it a gift- even an odd gift- from him to Nick.
Nick was silent as he looked at the book in his hands. He couldn't help but silently sigh and chuckle at the same time. Mr. Billings might not know it only Elizabeth was doing exactly what Mr. Billings had suggested, had started doing it a few days after settling in on the Billings ranch. "Thanks," he accepted the book and then excused himself. "It's almost lunchtime. I need be on time or I just might be in trouble with my wife."
Mr. Billings stood up and laughed hard. "From what I can see your wife is as punctual with mealtime as my wife is. We both best get to our houses or we'll go hungry the rest of the day!"
"Exactly," Nick grinned as he headed for the home the Billings had provided any foreman they employed. He always enjoyed a good home cooked meal and, since he had the best cook for a wife-one who was now seeing just as good as she ever had, it meant he was going to thoroughly enjoy his supper.