Chapter Six

Heath, who had talked with his brother before Nick and Jim had gone to look at horses, hammered yet another nail into the fence that stood in Jim Barkley's backyard. Heath was fixing the fence for his uncle. The white picket fence surrounded the home; front, sides and the back. There were also two gates, one in front of the house and one in back of it. Heath caught the sight of Timothy standing on the back porch watching him.

"How about coming and helping me?" Heath straightened up and looked at the young boy. If Jim Barkley wanted Heath to befriend the boy, there was no time like the present to do it.

Timothy hesitated. What on earth could he do? Only when Heath beckoned to him again did the young boy make his way off the porch and over to the fence. He made his doubts loud and clear…even if he said only one word. "What?" Since the boy was fully aware that his eyes held a look in that added the words 'there's nothing I can do for you', he saw no reason to say anymore out loud.

Heath couldn't help but wonder if Ruth, with all good intentions, had coddled the young boy just a tad too much. He pointed to a small slat of wood that lay near Timothy's feet. "Hand me that board, please." Heath said, as he picked up another nail off the tree stump where the nails lay.

Again, hesitantly, Timothy took a few steps, using his crutch. Bending over, he picked up the wood and, turning around, managed to carry the wood a few steps and handed it to Heath.

"Thanks," Heath said as he put slat of wood into place and began hammering the nail in. Heath then asked Timothy to move the boards closer to the tree stump where the nails were. In all reality, the boards were close enough, but Heath knew having the boy move them was one way to get Timothy involved in the job. He then asked the boy what he thought of California.

Timothy, whose first impulse was to disappear into the house, decided against it. His mother would only ask why he had come back in and, when she found out, she'd insist that he go back and help Mr. Barkley. However, that didn't mean he had to give long answers to the man's questions, or answer them verbally. Picking up a board, Timothy simply shrugged his shoulders after Heath looked at him for an answer. 'And Nick thinks I'm quiet' Heath couldn't help but think as he continued working on the fence.

From where she stood in the washroom, Jim's niece watched as Timothy made his way off the porch and over to Heath. She then watched in amazement as Heath succeeded in getting Timothy to start helping him. She could tell that Heath hadn't had to do a lot of persuading, and that amazed her even more. Ever since Timothy was born he'd been a quiet one. The accident that had crippled his leg hadn't helped any. She continued watching Heath and Timothy for a good fifteen minutes. She was astounded to see Timothy finish one job, only for Heath to turn around and find him another one. Then, like Heath, she began wondering if she had, unconsciously, been sabotaging her own efforts to get Timothy to see he had the possibility of being more than a 'poor cripple' all his life. Her mind turned back to the day Timothy had been hurt. While she had not lied to her uncle when she said Timothy had taken a bad fall, she hadn't told her uncle just took place seconds before that bad fall, or what had caused the fall.

"I thought that was you I saw in town!" Mr. Horace Lee-her friend's father-stood on back of the small one room cabin she and Timothy were living in; he'd seen her and followed her from a distance. "I don't care that you left, but you stole money from me when you did and I'm making sure you pay!"

"I never stole from you!" she shocked the man by reaching in the open door and pulling a rifle away from the wall. "I took what money I earned and left! Now get away from Timothy and from me!"

Mr. Lee took a step forward only to find a bullet whizzing though his ear. "I told you to leave!" she wasted no time in getting ready to shoot again. Mr. Lee, who had grabbed his ear, cursed, turned and left…but not before literally grabbing Timothy and throwing him off the porch. Needing to hurry and tend to the young child, all she could do was watch as Mr. Lee disappeared out of sight. Not knowing a thing about setting broken bones, not having very much money on her and fearing Mr. Lee was going for the law with his lies, she'd grabbed Timothy, along with a few items out of the cabin, and then fled on the only horse they owned.

She turned away from the window and looked around. "Uncle Jim and his nephews seem nice enough." She said only to herself. "If only I knew for sure…" she sighed as her voice trailed off and she went back to folding some of her uncle's shirts. 'If only's' weren't going to help her or Timothy. No, the only choice she was convinced the two of them had at the moment was to behave themselves while she learned to sew good enough to set up a dress shop and continue teaching Timothy at home. Not that she liked that, she didn't. She'd rather be at teacher and have Timothy is school, but people looked into a teacher's past. They wanted more information on the women they hired to teach their children, and she couldn't give them what they needed. That is, not without giving away the secrets she and Timothy were keeping from everyone. No, she would do what she needed to when it came to the dress shop and provide for Timothy that way. Though, she did promise herself to start making sure she wasn't handing Timothy any excuse not to believe in his abilities.