Chapter Seventeen

After Nick had left the front parlor in anger, he had forced himself to calm down as he headed to the nursery. He knew that Priscilla would be there and wanted the company of his wife and children. When he walked into the room, he saw Priscilla sitting at the table with Thomas Henry and Simon, while Alden was on the floor next to her. The sun was fading, but the painted murals were bright, and the general feeling was one of warmth and comfort.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The two younger boys jumped up and ran to hug him. Nick picked them both up and pulled them close to him. They giggled as he lifted them up in the air for a moment, before putting them back down. Simon had stood up also but did not do anything until after the other boys were back on the floor.

"Senor Nick." Simon walked up to him, clicked his heels together and gave a bow, which took Nick aback. He also realized that he had not been formally introduced to the boy, but the child knew who he was. Nick acknowledged the greeting, not sure what to say in response.

"How have you been?" Nick smiled and looked down at the young man, who smiled up at him. The resemblance to Alden was startling, but so was the boy's self-possession. He had to admire how the young man was coping with everything and remembered Priscilla's comments about the boy.

At the thought of his wife, he walked over and gave her a heartfelt kiss, taking in her soft floral essence. Nick noticed that she was wearing one of her lacey tea gowns – cream colored lace over pale blue satin, with blue satin buttons. Her hair was put up, with a blue ribbon threaded in it, and she was wearing the set of aquamarines that he had given her for her birthday. The pale blue stones were accented with pearls and diamonds, which flashed rainbows when the setting sun shining through the windows touched them. One of his favorite times of day was coming home to her, knowing that she was there for him.

"I meant to clean up, but I wanted to see you all." Nick admitted and was relieved when Priscilla laughed and said she was glad to see him too.

"Simon knows how to play backgammon, so he is teaching Thomas Henry." Priscilla indicated the gameboard on the table, and Nick recalled that the boys had been sitting across from each other. Backgammon was not his game of choice, finding the pace too slow and the rules strange, but he was impressed that Simon knew the game.

"So maybe someone can finally beat Jarrod?" Nick asked in a booming voice, and then laughed at the idea of Simon beating Jarrod at his second favorite game, after chess. He sat down to watch, and Alden climbed into his lap, after putting some blocks on the table. The next half hour was spent helping Alden spell words with his alphabet blocks, while listening to Simon, Thomas Henry, and Priscilla.

Nick realized that his wife was using the backgammon game to work on Simon's English, and Thomas Henry's Spanish. He admired yet again, how clever his wife was, to combine a grammar and a math lesson at the same time. Rosalie came into the room and announced that it was time to clean up, for dinner. Nick and Priscilla used that to excuse themselves, promising to come and say goodnight in a while.

He had never given a great deal of thought, before his marriage, to how his life with a family would be. Nick had assumed that they would be together for all meals, but lunch was the only meal – other than Sunday dinner – that they all ate together. Elspeth had been firm that children need a regular schedule for sleep and meals, while Priscilla had her own concerns.

Priscilla had stated that she had seen too many marriages where the wife spent all the time with the children while the husband was off on business. She liked doing things with him and did not want to miss those fun times. Nick had understood what she was staying because she was his favorite person in the world. The upshot was that Priscilla was there for him, both socially and with the family business.

"I think you need a nice bath, Nick; dinner is not for several hours." Priscilla observed as they walked into the suite. Nick felt himself relaxing, as he took in the soothing colors of their room. Victoria had given them the master suite after their marriage, and Nick had left the decorating to Priscilla. He had been willing to go along with anything she wanted, to help her get acclimated to the house and ranch.

Nick had been pleasantly surprised when Priscilla put together a pleasing palette of ivory, gold, beige with touches of black. The furniture had graceful curves, with upholstery of ivory and brown; the wallpaper was magnolias on a tan colored background. The bedding was soft with a golden sheen to the fabric, which was echoed in the curtains at the windows and French doors.

The French doors led out to a balcony where he and Priscilla spent many a late evening. She had put a table and chairs out there, a woven grass cloth rug, and several topiaries to decorate the place. During the spring and summer, floral hanging baskets provided color to the space. Nick had been impressed at how she was able to take such a small space and make it so warm and cozy. The whole effect of the room was soft and comfortable, but without being overly feminine. He had been touched that Priscilla had made sure several of the chairs worked for his height.

"Nicholas, why don't you go pour yourself a hot bath, and I will bring you a glass of whiskey." Priscilla nestled against him, as she whispered in his ear letting her lips lightly tug on his earlobe. Just as he thought he was ready to melt against her, Priscilla moved away and looked at him with concern. "Then you can tell me why you were so upset when you came into the nursery."

Nick groaned to himself, realizing that of course she would have seen his mood clearly. Deciding that a hot bath and a glass of whiskey would help the situation he took himself to the bathroom. In less than ten minutes Nick settled himself into the bathtub and sighed as he let the hot water wash over his body. He turned on his side and bent his knees as he immersed himself under the hot water. When he came up Priscilla was there, with an Irish crystal glass filled with two fingers of fine amber colored whiskey. He ran his fingers through his hair before he gratefully accepted the glass as he softly kissed his wife.

"Before you beguile me with kisses Nicholas, I think you have something to tell me?" Priscilla had pulled back and Nick noted her intense stare at him. Her summer sky eyes were narrowed, as they regarded him.

"Oh god I blew it with Heath earlier!" Nick sighed, as he took another sip of the whiskey. He then went onto explain about the scene in the front room with Heath, Jarrod, and Victoria. "Sissi I was so furious about Heath's reaction to the talk that I threw it in his face, about Sarah spending all the time in San Francisco by herself." On more than one occasion he and Priscilla had discussed Sarah's frequent absences when she was in the city. They had both reassured each other that it was a private matter between Heath and Sarah and did not concern them.

"I can see why you reacted like you did." She observed, as she sat down on the chair by the tub. "You know you did Heath a favor, in a roundabout kind of way."

"What do you mean?" Nick was curious as to what she was going to say.

"It looks like Sarah is going to follow through on the divorce, and her mother is going to make sure that Sarah is seen as the victim." Priscilla tilted her head before going on "Heath needs to realize how much harm to his reputation this could cause. And on the off chance that Simon ends up staying in Stockton, what it could do to his future." She sighed softly, her eyebrows puckering, which Nick knew was a sign of worry.

"Do you think there is a chance of Simon staying?" Nick asked with trepidation, having assumed that the grandparents would turn up.

"All we know is that they live in Sweden; we don't know their health or living arrangements. And do they really want to raise a six-year-old boy?" Priscilla threw her hands up in the air, and Nick saw the logic and concerns of her answer.

"What are we going to do about the whole issue, and the talk in town? Nick asked, finishing his whiskey.

"Well let us not worry about Simon yet, but you need to talk to Heath about the damage that Penny is doing. I don't think he understands that the perception of a problem can be as bad as the problem." Priscilla chewed her lower lip. "There is also the issue that Heath's perceived actions could influence the settlement Sarah will get in the divorce. Sarah will want the maximum amount, as well as to hurt Heath as much as possible."

"I need to apologize to Heath anyway; hopefully this weekend I can talk to him privately." Nick knew that Heath had been hurt by his comment about Sarah. At least it would open the door to another conversation, he thought to himself as he rose from the water. Priscilla had a towel waiting for him, which she dried him off with, carefully stroking his body. She led him into the bedroom, and he forgot all about Heath.

"Ok, here we are at the best fishing hole on the ranch." Heath announced, as he brought the wagon to a stop. They were in the south pasture, and this pond was an offshoot of the river; it was in a clearing circled by trees. Nick was sitting next to him on the seat, while Simon, Thomas Henry, and Alden were in the back with the fishing equipment and a picnic basket.

It was early Sunday morning, with the sun just starting to rise above the treetops. Last night at dinner Priscilla had announced that she would not be going to church, or into town for the next couple of months. Heath had then suggested that he and Nick take the boys fishing in the morning, to let her rest. He also had an unspoken reason, which was that he needed to talk to Nick about his situation.

Heath had given the encounter on Friday afternoon with Nick a great deal of thought. At first, he had been upset at his brother's comment about Sarah, but then remembered his other comment about how the letter had turned their lives upside down. Heath was surprised too, that Nick had questioned why he had taken the contents of the letter to be true. His brother was impetuous, but good at hitting the nail on the head. He knew he needed to get things squared away with Nick, both for the relationship with his brother, and for Simon's sake.

"Alden!" Nick's voice broke his thoughts and Heath turned to look at the back of the wagon. Simon and Thomas Henry were already on the ground, but Alden was up on the wagon. He was sitting next to the picnic basket, and there was jam smeared on his face. Clearly, he had found the fruit filled tarts that Silas had packed.

"Did you leave any for us?" Heath walked over and helped the toddler down, before taking a cloth from the basket and cleaning the boy's face. He could not be mad at the boy, who in fact was smiling happily up at him.

"We told him not to open the basket, but he didn't listen to us." Thomas Henry looked at Simon, who nodded his head. Heath was not sure how much Simon understood but had seen that the boy was very quick at picking up certain words and phrases. He was looking forward to spending time with Simon, wanting to get to know him better.

Heath had been surprised to come into the stable yard yesterday and see Simon having a riding lesson with Nick and his sons. He had meant to get home for lunch, but a reluctant steer had made him late. His plan had been to take Simon out riding that afternoon, but it did not happen. Instead, he watched as Nick maneuvered the lunge line, while Simon concentrated on keeping his balance on the bay pony.

It had surprised him to learn that Simon did not know how to ride, but then as Heath thought about what his life at the Inn had been, he understood. Simon would have no reason to ride anywhere, living in town; it sounded like the boy had stayed close to the Inn, if he were being schooled there by a visiting monk.

He tried not to be sad that Nick was teaching him to ride; Heath felt like it should be his responsibility as Simon was his son. However, he had noted that the boy had bonded with Nick and his boys. Heath was sure that it was a new experience for Simon to have companionship close to his age, even if Thomas Henry and Alden were younger. Heath kept his sadness to himself, and instead bearing in mind Victoria's comment about part of being a parent is setting aside your own feelings and wants.

"Hmph, you won't be so happy Heath when there is no dessert for you." Nick observed, giving Alden a stern look. "And young man, you have already had dessert, so none for you the rest of the day." He added as he turned to unload the wagon.

"Silas said we are having bread pudding after dinner; Alden won't be happy." Thomas Henry observed with a mischievous smile and a satisfied note in his voice. "Simon that means more for us."

"I don't know about that you two." Nick observed as he handed them fishing poles. "However, if Simon beats Jarrod at backgammon after dinner, I will have Silas serve ice cream as a treat." He roared with laughter, while the two older boys smiled happily; Alden looked like he was going to cry. Heath felt bad for the boy, but knew it was not his place to step in.

Heath did not understand the backgammon reference but made a mental note to ask Simon about the game. Maybe this evening he could spend time with Simon, even if it were just walking around the grounds of the house. Having decided that he brought his mind back to the present, helping get the boys set up with their rods and bait.

"Nick, I want to say again that if I'd had anywhere else to take Simon I would've." Heath started in a low voice, once he and Nick had seated themselves slightly apart from the boys. They were busy fishing, or in Alden's case dangling his feet in the water. The men were close enough if something happened, but out of earshot. "I appreciate everything you, Priscilla and the boys are doing for Simon." He wanted his brother to know how much it meant to him.

"Heath we are family; and I will say that Simon is great to have around." Nick's voice was honest, and Heath was glad that his brother had taken to the boy. "About our conversation on Friday."

"I need to apologize for what I've done to the family." Heath did not let Nick finish. "I didn't question Magda's letter, because I knew in my heart that I'd been with her. No matter what she said the morning after, and how easily I went along with it, deep down I knew." His voice had a somber and serious note in it as he told the story.

"I still should not have made the comment about Sarah that I did." Nick offered, looking Heath directly in the eye. He knew that his brother did not always apologize so Heath smiled in acquiesce.

"It is what everyone else has been saying and is true, so you weren't in the wrong." Heath reflected on his marriage to Sarah. "I only ever wanted her to be happy. I knew she didn't like living in the country, but I kept on hoping we would have children." His voice trailed off, but then he looked over at Simon with a smile.

"Heath it isn't really my place to tell you what to do, but don't you think you should go to San Francisco and try to reconcile with Sarah? And can you talk to Penny?" Nick furrowed his brows as he asked the questions. "Her behavior, and the talk they are stirring up could cause a great deal of harm to you and Simon. Not to mention if Sarah follows through on the divorce, she could use it leverage a large settlement."

"No Nick, I am not going after Sarah." Heath stated firmly. "The talk will blow over, and as far as the divorce I will give Sarah the house in San Francisco. She will be quite happy to be able to stay in the city all the time." In his heart he felt a weightlift off his chest, at not having to pretend about his marriage anymore. Heath was sure too that Sarah, once she got over her anger about Simon, would be glad to be out of the marriage. In a way Simon's coming was the best thing that could have happened, he decided.

Just then Simon pulled a fish out of the pond, and its silvery body showed rainbow scales in the sun. Heath and Nick went over to help him, as they congratulated the boy. Heath took it as another good omen, at how his life was going to improve.