Chapter 6

Nick came into the saloon. It wasn't as busy as a Friday night would have been, but it wasn't as quiet as a Tuesday either. Nick looked Harry's way and saw he was getting as nasty a look as Harry had ever given him. Nick went over to the bar.

"Nick, go home," Harry said.

"I need to talk to her, Harry," Nick said.

"You got her in tears as it is, Nick."

"Jarrod came home a lot earlier than anybody expected him to," Nick said.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I knew this was gonna turn out bad."

"It hasn't turned out anything yet. Jarrod's at his office. He just told me he didn't want to stand between me and Amanda."

"Well, I want to stand between you."

"Harry, please, let me go talk to her. If she throws me out, I'll forget the whole thing, but I gotta tell her what Jarrod said. She's gonna feel terrible unless she knows what he said, no matter how things turn out between us."

Harry heaved a sigh. "All right. Third door to the left."

"Yeah," Nick said and went upstairs, two at a time.

When he got to the third door on the left, he knocked softly. It was a moment before Amanda said, "Come in."

Nick went inside. Amanda was just sitting on her bed. Nick was sure she'd been sitting there since he brought her home. She wasn't facing the door, but she could see who it was by his reflection in the mirror, and she wasn't surprised anyway.

"I just saw Jarrod," he said. "He feels really bad about what happened out at the ranch. He was just taken by surprise. We all were."

"What else did he say?" Amanda asked.

Nick sat down beside her. "He said he was sorry. He didn't want to stand between you and me."

"But he's not ready to see us together, is he?"

"No, he's not."

Amanda had been crying. She wiped her eyes. "So I guess that leaves things up to me, doesn't it?"

"Not entirely," Nick said. "The family isn't ready to write us off."

"You don't know that, Nick. You haven't even talked to them about this yet. They sure didn't have much to say to me before we left."

Nick heaved a sigh. "I'll talk to them."

Amanda got up. "Oh, Nick, come on. We both know this is never gonna work."

Nick stood up.

"My brother murdered your brother's wife," Amanda said. "Your brother nearly murdered my brother. How are we ever going to get by that?"

"I don't know," Nick said, taking her by the arms. "I just know I'm not ready to give up yet. Can I at least talk to my family and talk to you again tomorrow?"

Amanda shook her head and, breaking Nick's hold on her arms, threw her hands up in the air. "All right, all right. Talk to your family and talk to me again tomorrow. But Nick – I won't hurt Jarrod. He's been hurt enough."

"So have you," Nick said, and he kissed her, full on the mouth. "Remember that. I'll see you tomorrow."

XXXXXXX

When Nick came into the house, he was surprised to see his family still in the living room. Victoria and Audra had been seated on the settee, Heath in one of the armchairs. They all got up.

"Is she all right, Nick?" Victoria asked.

"Best I can hope for," Nick said.

"We held dinner until you got here," Audra said. "Is Jarrod coming?"

"No," Nick said. "No, he's not."

Victoria slumped. "Oh, Nick, we had no idea he'd be home tonight. Is he all right?"

"He's shook up," Nick said. "Said he wanted to stay in town tonight. He's trying to sort everything out."

"He's got a lot to sort," Heath said. "How about you? You all right?"

"Well, I talked to them both – separately. Jarrod doesn't want to stand between me and Amanda, but he's not ready to be the all-welcoming brother yet, either. I told Amanda what he said. She said she'd let me talk to all of you and then see me again tomorrow. I think she wants to know how you all took what happened tonight before she decides if she wants to see me anymore." Nick ran a weary hand through his hair. "Leave it to me to find the most complicated way to fall in love."

Victoria came over to him and kissed his cheek. "Are you in love, Nick?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been given the chance to find out. Could I love her? I think so. I want to find out, but after tonight, she may not want to."

"Why don't we have dinner?" Victoria said. "Empty stomachs don't make for good decisions."

Victoria put her arm around Nick as they went into the dining room. They did not talk about the elephant in the room while they ate, but after dinner, when they went back into the living room for some coffee, Nick brought the subject back up right away.

"Amanda and I both want to know what you think," he said. "I know you didn't get five minutes with her tonight to figure out what you think of her, and that's not what I'm asking. I only want to know if you think we should try to see each other, to find out what we want."

"I don't know," Victoria said. "It's such a huge hurdle you're facing, Nick."

"Mother's right," Heath said. "What do you think? Was Jarrod sincere when he said he didn't want to stand in your way?"

"I think he was," Nick said. "He was holding his wedding picture when he said it."

"I don't think he'd have lied about his feelings if he was looking at Beth," Audra said.

"Neither do I," Nick said.

"I think I feel the same way Jarrod does," Victoria said. "Maybe I'll always feel the same way Jarrod does about this. But I won't stand in your way either, Nick. I can't say I give this relationship my blessing yet, but I won't stand in your way if you and Amanda want to see where it goes."

Audra nodded.

"Heath?" Nick asked.

Heath nodded, too. "Don't let it drag out too long, though, Nick. I don't think that would be too good for anybody, especially Amanda or Jarrod."

"Heath's right," Victoria said.

Nick nodded. "I agree with you. And if it's all right with you, I'm gonna skip the coffee and get some sleep. Heath, I'm going into town first thing. I told Jarrod I'd check on him, and I want to talk to Amanda some more, too."

"All right, Nick," Heath said.

"Good night," Nick said and he trudged up the stairs.

Victoria sighed as soon as he was out of earshot. "Poor Nick. He always chooses the roughest road to love."

"This one's more like a crossing a raging river with the bridge washed out," Heath said. "But I tell you what, after all this, it would kinda break my heart if it didn't work out for him."

"Mine, too," Audra said.

And Victoria nodded.