Chapter 11

Tolman and Red listened carefully to what Nick had to say. Red had finished helping Tolman eat something, but she stayed close by his side while they listened.

Jarrod laid out a plan for paying the costs. "We've already agreed to split Caldwell's bill for yesterday's work. I suggest we keep that split for whatever work he bills for inspection, up until the mine reopens and he gives us a final report."

"Even today's?" Tolman asked. "You agreed to reopen that, maybe."

Jarrod nodded. "Even today's."

"And Franks?"

"We'll cover Franks 50/50 up til now and for today, but going forward, you'll have to cover his work. It's your mine now. It's what you agreed to when you bought it."

"How long do you think it'll take to get the mine open?" Tolman asked Nick.

"Depends," Nick said. "They haven't put together a plan for reopening yet, but I suspect they'll move the rail from the main tunnel over to the new main tunnel and there won't be much wait, if any, for new material."

"Unless they damage something in the move," Tolman said.

"I'll get a proposed schedule from Franks," Nick said.

"Will you split with us until he gives us that schedule?" Tolman asked Jarrod.

Jarrod said, "We can split Franks's cost up through today's. He'll probably have a tentative schedule together today. But after today, the cost of carrying out the plan is yours. It'll probably be minimal, given that your workers can do the work and the material is already here."

Tolman and Red looked at each other. "We'd better talk to our partners," Tolman said.

Red said, "I can go find them and get them over here."

Jarrod said, "I'll be here. We'll talk and you can give me an answer on my proposal. Do you trust Nick to go with Barbara and explain to your partners what he explained to us?"

Red and Tolman looked at each other again. "All right," Tolman said.

Nick and Red headed out the door together.

Jarrod said to Tolman, "My goal is to work this out fast and clean, without litigation, and get that mine open again."

Tolman nodded his agreement, but he said, "You're not what I expected."

"How's that?" Jarrod asked.

"I expected the Barkleys to say 'this is your problem,' and walk away. After all, the sale was done, the title passed. That's legal and that's what I expected you to lean on. Yet here you are, being pretty reasonable about the project and the cost – and you stayed with me at your own personal risk while I was trapped in there. Is it because of Barbara?"

Jarrod thought about it. Yes, Red was probably the big reason Jarrod stayed with Tolman in the mine, and she was probably part of the reason Jarrod didn't take the Barkleys right into litigation. But Jarrod had to think about what he was going to say. "I do want Barbara to succeed, and she is succeeding. It's true that I don't want to see that disrupted. But it's not like my family would go along with what I want to do just to sooth my feelings. We've been part of this community for fifteen years. True, we're leaving it now, but we don't want to leave it crippled. Just like I didn't want to leave you crippled." Then, with a better smile, he said, "We're not too keen on litigation either, even if it's me doing the litigating. It keeps me from doing other work."

Tolman closed his eyes, relaxed and chuckled. "Thank you for that. For a lawyer, you're all right."

Jarrod snorted.

XXXXX

Nick and Red walked together the few blocks to where her other partners lived. Nick did not know who they were, so he asked as they walked. Red told him that one was a local hotel owner and the other was a prominent member of the legislature. Nick didn't ask for much more than that, but after asking and talking with Red so matter-of-factly, she actually chuckled.

"Why the laugh?" Nick asked.

"Just thinking – about the way you and I are walking and talking like I hadn't once drugged you and tried to shanghai you."

"I haven't forgotten that," Nick said.

"Have you forgiven it?" Red asked.

Nick hesitated. He thought maybe he had, but maybe he wasn't sure. Was he glad she had been acquitted? Yes, he thought he could admit that to himself completely now, but it had been a tangled mess, and some of the tangle remained. Instead of answering her question, he asked his own. "Have you forgiven Jarrod?"

Red hesitated a little too, but not as long. "I was bitter – very bitter – but he got the lawyer for me who got me free, and he testified in a way that got me free. I got a chance I wasn't expecting to get, and it was thanks to him. Over the years – yes, I've forgiven him. I wouldn't be here now, living a good life, owning a silver mine, if it weren't for him. Maybe I'm still sorry it happened, but I'm sorry a lot of things happened. I'm sorry for what I did to you, Nick."

By this time, they had reached the first house they were going to visit. Nick said, "I'm just glad you got a better life, Red. It's not every day you really get to see things get better."

"But can you forgive me?"

Nick thought, and nodded. "Yes. I can."

XXXXX

Nick met both of the other partners who now owned the mine. He made the same explanation he made to Tolman, and he explained what Jarrod had in mind for a settlement. The other partners agreed to come to Tolman later in the day, and they'd discuss the situation and the proposed terms for dealing with it.

It was early afternoon when they arrived, and Jarrod and Nick were both ready for some food, so they went to Red's saloon and gave some business her way. Jarrod wrote some things down on the pad he always carried. It was small and what he wrote amounted to a settlement agreement spread out over several little pages. "Not the first time I've written a formal agreement informally," he told Nick.

When they went back to Tolman's, the partners had all agreed to Jarrod's approach. He read the little pages out loud to them. They all signed, and Jarrod signed for the Barkleys. "I'll go see Easton this afternoon and have him type it up with copies for me and for the partnership."

"I can sign for the partnership," Tolman said. "Red – will you go to the bank and get the money to advance to Franks and Caldwell?"

"We can go over together, and I'll get the Barkley share," Jarrod said. "The reverend was back while you were gone, Barbara, and he let us know he already has members of the congregation lined up to stay here and help Dwight for the next three days."

"He's working on the longer term," Tolman said. "I want to thank all of you for your help, too. In taking care of me and in working this mine situation out."

"Nick and I will stay over tonight at the hotel, but if all is under control by tomorrow morning, we'll head back to Stockton," Jarrod said.

"I guess we've worked things out as well as we can," Red said, and she looked at Jarrod, then Nick, then back to Jarrod. She didn't mean just the mine situation.

Jarrod and Nick both smiled, understanding what she meant.

The other partners left, and when two of the church members showed up to stay with Tolman, Jarrod, Nick and Red left together too. "I'm gonna check back at the mine and let them know what we've agreed to," Nick said.

Jarrod said, "Barbara and I will go see Easton and get this agreement typed up. Tell Franks and Caldwell we'll have money for them tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Nick said. "I'll see you back at the hotel later."

Nick went off to his horse, leaving Jarrod and Red alone together.

And wondering what to say to one another. "We made a lot of progress today," Jarrod ended up saying. "With any luck, we'll have the mine back up and running before too long, and we won't be suing each other."

Red laughed a little. "I'm glad we're not going to sue each other."

"So am I," Jarrod said.

"So, you expect you'll go home tomorrow," Red said.

"Yes," Jarrod said. "I don't know how likely it is we'll ever see each other again."

"Nor do I," Red said. "I talked with Nick. He's forgiven me for what happened in Stockton. Can you forgive me?"

"I think for us, the question is more can you forgive me?" Jarrod said.

"I think I already did, some time ago. I remember telling you the day I was acquitted, that I wished what happened between us had been real."

"I remember," Jarrod said.

"And thinking about how you stayed with Dwight in the mine, how you said you thought what he's offering me is real – well, I have to see if he feels the same way as he recovers, if he recovers."

"He'll recover," Jarrod said. "And I'm certain he'll feel the same way."

"Jarrod, maybe what I can do for you that's best is hope that someday, you'll find something real for you, too."

Jarrod tried not to cringe. Barbara didn't know about Beth, and Jarrod wasn't going to tell her. He said, "Thank you, Barbara. That's a pretty good way of telling me you forgive me."

"Do you forgive me for what I did to Nick?"

"Yes, I do," Jarrod said. "Let's consider the slate clean and count ourselves lucky that we've made it so."

She smiled. "I like that way of putting it."

XXXXXX

Everything from there went the way they had planned it. The mine was back in operation pretty quickly, without any of the Barkleys having to go back to Carson City about it. That news came a few months later, when Jarrod received a letter from Carson City.

The letter also described how well Tolman had recovered from his injuries and was walking with crutches that he would probably be giving up before very long. He had used the crutches when walking down the aisle of the church.

The letter was from Barbara Tolman. It made both Nick and Jarrod smile.

The End