Chapter Twenty Eight
"Timmy!" Nick called out as he sat on top of his horse and looked around. He could see the trees and small sized boulders that dotted the area he was searching, but saw no sign of Timothy. Nick hoped Heath and the others were having better luck then he was. It had been three weeks since Ruth had accepted his proposal of marriage. Everything would have been fine only Victoria was now questioning Ruth's motivation for accepting that proposal and even the reason behind Ruth wanting Timothy to get his inheritance…and the young child and Ruth had the misfortune of walking into the dining room right in the middle of a very heated conversation between Victoria and himself. Afterwards, Timothy had run off. Now Ruth was at home sick with worry while Nick, Heath and Jarrod, along with some of the ranch hands were out looking for the young boy.
"I understand your mother questioning my motives for trying to get Timothy's inheritance and agreeing to marry you. It hurts, but I understand. I might feel the same way if the roles were reversed." Tears were streaming down Ruth's face as she spoke, "Just find Timothy, and help him to see I love him. Sure I think he deserves his inheritance, but if it's a choice between him without the money or him with the money, I'll take him alone any day of the week!" As he continued searching, Nick could hear Ruth's words-spoken to him and his brothers as they mounted their horses. Again he called out Timmy's name, and prayed one of them would find him.
~oOo~
Ruth, who had been sitting on the sofa doing her best to concentrate on mending some of Timothy's clothes, had set the clothes aside and walked over to the window. She knew it wouldn't make anyone come home faster; she was simply too nervous to sit still. Only a few hours before she and Timothy had stepped into the dining room and accidentally interrupted the heated debate Jarrod had told Nick and Ruth that he'd received a wire from the Carson City courthouse; one that told him of Kyle Randall's inquiries into 'this matter'. She was terrified that it meant Kyle Randall now knew everything and was now on his way to California.
"Don't worry about Timmy," Nick looked down from his horse after he'd given her a peck on the cheek and mounted Coco. "We'll find him."
"Listen to Nick," Heath shot her a lopsided grin, after he'd also mounted Charger. "We won't let anything happen to Timmy if we can at all help it."
Ruth was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear Victoria enter the room or see the older woman looking at her, with a look in her eyes that said she was hurting for the young woman. Victoria knew all too well the worry and pain that is one's companion when someone you love is missing; the look in her eyes was also mixed with a look of genuine regret…as Victoria knew it was her words that had frightened and upset the boy bad enough to cause him to run. She had been thinking long and hard when it came to Ruth and Nick. Inwardly she sighed. In spite of her struggles to connect to people, Ruth was a good, honest woman and Victoria knew it. She just hoped Nick and the young woman wouldn't come to regret their decision later. Victoria stepped up alongside Ruth. "All my sons are expert trackers; they'll find Timmy." She said as she took a chance and rested her hand on Ruth's shoulder.
Ruth stiffened as she didn't know what to think of Victoria's gesture. However, that action quickly disappeared as Ruth turned her head and saw a sincere look of compassion and understanding in Nick's mother's eyes. Without half thinking, Ruth found herself turning to Victoria as she, Ruth, had done to her mother while the woman was still alive. Victoria simply pulled the young woman into a motherly embrace and held her the same as she would Audra, as Ruth let her tears flow.
Only after Ruth got control of herself did she pull away from Victoria. "I…I'm sorry." Ruth started to turn away only to find Victoria gently, but firmly, turning her back.
"There's nothing to be sorry for. You're frightened as any sister, or mother, would be." Victoria paused and then gestured towards the sofa. "May we talk?"
A tiny portion of Ruth wanted to decline, but she pushed that aside out of gratitude towards Victoria giving her a shoulder to cry on. "Sure," Ruth answered as she made her way to the sofa; Victoria was right behind her. While the topics they discussed were pretty much the same, there were no loud accusations or questioning motives. No, this time there was simply quiet talking and sincere listening from both sides.
~oOo~
Heath, who had searched a large portion of the North Ridge, started to turn his horse around when he heard the sound of a small child crying. He quickly turned Charger around and headed in the direction the sound was coming from. After passing by a couple of trees, he looked down at a bush and saw a couple of boots barely showing, and the crying was coming from inside the bush. Heath dismounted Charger and knelt in front of the bush.
"Timmy?" He spoke quietly, not wanting to upset the child. "It's me, Heath. Come on out, please." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Timmy flew out of the bush and, wrapping his arms around Heath's neck, practically knocked him down. Heath chuckled to himself and managed to sit back up. "Glad I found you, everyone's worried sick about you."
"Y…our m..m….mother's not. S..sh…he wants my ma..mm…ma off your ranch. …she thinks m…ma..mama's just after my money, a..a..after N..N..Nick's. She thinks mama doesn't really l…l…love me." Timothy sobbed into Heath's shoulder. "It ain't true! Mama's d…one all she can f…or me, ever since I c…an remember! If she has to leave, I'm leaving too!"
Heath shook his head. "You're wrong about Mrs. Barkley." Heath, not knowing of the conversation his stepmother and Ruth were currently having, struggled to find the words he needed to explain Victoria's point of view. "Sometimes people see a picture, but," he shrugged his shoulders, "they simply see the wrong things. As far as Ruth and you go, no one's asking you to go anywhere."
Timothy sniffled and continued to hold onto Heath. He wanted to believe what Heath had said, only Mrs. Barkley had seemed serious when she'd said Nick would wise to break off an engagement with what very well could be a gold digger and finding her another place to stay. "Mama doesn't use people to get things. She never has. I've seen her give things up again and again when it meant taking something would hurt another person." Timothy felt compelled to make sure Heath knew Victoria was wrong.
Heath was assuring Timothy he understood that when he heard footsteps behind them. Before they could turn around, they heard someone pulling back the hammer of a pistol. He and Timothy both froze when a voice spoke up. "Don't make a move or it will be your last."