Chapter 2

Heath leaned on the horn of this saddle, looking out at all the cattle in the valley below. "So, what's this girl got that's so special?" he asked.

Beside him, Nick said, "I don't know. She's a bit mysterious, you know, and Harry was even more mysterious about her."

"Better be careful, Nick. You don't have such a good record with mysterious women."

Nick was insulted. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Layle, for starters," Heath said.

Nick shrugged. "All right, Layle."

"And there was that girl last year, what was her name? Anita something."

"Anita something was just a fling. I was never serious about her."

"I guess not. You can't even remember her last name."

"Well, I wish I could find out Amanda's last name, but she won't tell me."

"Maybe she's just trying to tell you she's not interested, Nick."

Nick huffed. "Maybe. Or maybe her last name is Booth or something."

Heath chuckled. "Then you'd better not get any closer."

"It would be a shame if she did have some murderous relative and she was just having to take the heat for it for the rest of her life."

"I agree," Heath said. "But people being the way they are, I wouldn't get involved with John Wilkes Booth's little sister if I were you."

Heath kicked his horse and went galloping down to the herd. Nick decided Heath was right, it was time to get back to work. There was no way Amanda was John Wilkes Booth's little sister. She just probably wasn't interested. And given how protective Harry was planning to be, it was probably just as well.

XXXXX

The next time Nick was in Harry's saloon, it was a Saturday night, and Heath was with him. Nick scanned the room as soon as they came in, and there she was, that petite brunette. She was watching a poker game at a table near the back, her arm around one of the players that Nick did not know.

Heath followed Nick's gaze. "That's her, huh?"

"What?" Nick asked.

"That little dark-haired girl at the poker game near the back. I'll bet you money that's Amanda."

"Yeah, that's Amanda," Nick said.

Amanda gave a laugh at something and then came over to the bar. Nick decided he would take the time to say hello, maybe get a better idea if she was interested or not. Heath smiled as Nick headed straight for her, and just to be irritating, he followed along.

"Hello," Nick said, coming up beside her.

Amanda had ordered a round of beer for the poker table. She looked around. "Oh – hello, Nick."

She at least had a smile for him. Nick returned it. "Full house tonight."

"Yes, we've been very busy." She spotted Heath. "Who's your blond friend there?"

"Oh, that's my little brother Heath," Nick said, and Heath raised an eyebrow. "You know how little brothers are – tend to follow you around whether you want them to or not."

Amanda laughed. "I don't have any little brothers, so I don't really know. Hello, Heath, I'm Amanda."

Heath touched his hat. "Pleased to meet you."

Amanda's beers came up on the tray in front of her. "Well, I need to get back to work. Nice to see you, Nick. Come by some time when I'm not working so hard."

She took the tray and went back to the poker table. Nick watched as she delivered the beer. One of the players got up as soon as his beer appeared and made his way over to the bar. Nick saw him pocketing some money – he had cashed out. "Think I'll play some poker," Nick said and went straight to that table.

Heath laughed to himself. There was nothing subtle about Nick's moves when he spotted a girl he liked. Heath turned toward the bar. "Can I have a beer, Harry?"

Harry poured a beer for Heath and gave it to him, but Heath noticed that Harry did not have a pleasant look on his face.

"Problem, Harry?" Heath asked.

"Your brother doesn't take friendly advice very well, does he?" Harry said, staring at Nick.

Heath looked over toward the poker table. He didn't see anything untoward happening. In fact, Amanda was not even standing near Nick, at least not yet. "What advice is that?" Heath asked.

Harry loosened up. "He really shouldn't be sallying up to Amanda, Heath. Nick and Amanda – it would never work. Just trust me on that and talk him into leaving her alone."

"Can you give me a little more detail on that recommendation?" Heath asked.

"No, I can't," Harry said. "Believe me, you don't want the details, but for Nick's sake and your family's sake and Amanda's sake, get him to leave her alone."

"Nick's got a mind of his own, Harry. Have you talked to him about this?"

Harry nodded. "I haven't pulled out the 'for the sake of our friendship' speech yet, but that's coming next, and I'll even ban him from the bar if that's what it takes."

Now Heath was getting disturbed. "Harry, why are you so het up about this? Is she troublesome or something?"

"Not troublesome. She's a real nice girl. It's not like I think Nick is out to hurt her, but just believe me, Heath. If you don't want your family torn apart, get Nick to leave her alone."

That was the line that really got to Heath. "Why would the family get torn apart over Amanda?"

Harry leveled his gaze at Heath for the first time. "Like everybody else, she has a history, Heath. Let's just say, her history will collide with yours if Nick gets more involved with her."

"You're not gonna tell me any more than that, are you?"

"I can't. Just remember, we've known each other for quite a while. I'm telling you, for the good of Nick and your family, get him to leave her alone."

Heath sipped his beer and looked back toward the poker table. Amanda had moved around to Nick's side, and he was grinning like he'd just won the biggest pot in the world. Heath looked up at Harry, but he was moving on to another customer.

Heath thought back to his talk with Nick about Amanda out on the range, how Nick found her to be attractive because she was so mysterious. He thought back on Layle and other women Nick had gotten hurt over, other mysterious women. He understood the attraction, but it had never worked out well for Nick when he became involved with women like that. Heath sipped his beer and watched his brother, and waited to see what was going to happen, but made up his mind he was going to have a long talk with Nick as soon as he got the chance.

XXXXXXX

The chance came as they rode home in the dark. It was always easier to discuss hard subjects honestly in the dark, Heath decided. That way, you could be very, very honest, because you couldn't see the reaction you were producing, and if you couldn't see the reaction, it couldn't affect what you said. About a mile out of town, Heath said, "Harry said a few things to me about you and Amanda."

"I know just what he said," Nick said. "He wants me to stay away from her."

"Yeah, he was pretty adamant about it, too. Told me flat out, that if you and Amanda got too friendly, it would end up tearing the family apart."

"The family?" Nick said. "What the heck does the family have to do with it?"

"I don't really know. He wouldn't say. But he did say if push came to shove, he'd remind you how long the two of you have been friends, and after that he'd ban you from the saloon."

Now Nick was beginning to burn up. "What the - ? Ban me from the saloon?"

"He's real protective of that girl, Nick."

"I get that, but banning me from the bar? That's ridiculous. What the hell is he trying to pull?"

"Maybe you ought to try talking to him some more before you get more involved with Amanda. Tearing up the family is a pretty good thing for you to avoid, you know what I mean?"

Nick knew, but he couldn't imagine how him seeing Amanda could hurt the family. Maybe he did need to try to get the whole story out of Harry. These piecemeal threats were just getting under Nick's skin, and making a mysterious lady seem even more mysterious.