CHAPTER TWO

Preparations

"So, it wasn't Tom Kitty having the babies?" Isabella asked at dinner.

Nick chuckled. "No. It was Katty Kitty having the babies. Tom Kitty was sitting in the loft, licking his paw and lookin' darn proud of hisself."

"That sounds about normal," Isabella said dryly.

"What does?" Nick asked.

Isabella glanced at Victoria and shook her head. "Never mind, Nick."

Victoria chuckled.

As soon as dinner was over, Isabella ushered the boys upstairs for their baths. Nick followed them.

"I thought you needed to see McColl," Isabella said.

"I do." Nick pulled her into the hallway and kissed her.

"Mama!" Andy hollered.

Isabella pushed away from Nick. "Go see McColl."

Nick nodded but held onto her.

"Mama!" Andy yelled again.

"I won't be long." Nick gave Isabella a kiss, took a step, then backed up and gave her a longer kiss. "I won't be long at all." He started to walk away, then pulled her back into his arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, but if you don't go talk to McColl, I can't get the boys in the tub, and if I can't get the boys in the tub . . . ."

"Okay, okay. I'm goin'." Nick hesitated.

"Go!"

Nick watched his wife hurry to check on the boys. He sighed. He sure had missed her.

XXXXX

Nick knocked on Duke McColl's door.

"Nick! Come in."

"Hey, Duke. Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, but I wanted to catch you up on some things before tomorrow."

"That's fine, Nick. What's going on?" McColl motioned for Nick to sit, then sat in the upholstered chair.

Liz stuck her head out from the kitchen. "Hi, Nick. You're just in time for dinner."

"Thanks, Liz, but I'll only be a minute." Nick made himself comfortable on the sofa and looked at the foreman. "Heath is staying in Roseville for two more months."

McColl frowned. "What is it about that one-horse town that keeps you Barkleys there so long?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Nick grinned.

"You know it's only two weeks until roundup."

Nick nodded. "I know. Sam Sampson, a hand I got to know while I was in Roseville, is gonna move here next weekend. He'll be a great help."

Duke tilted his head and waited for Nick to continue.

"I'm bringing Sam in to train as a foreman for two months and help take Heath's place. I don't know if he'll stay here or go back to Roseville. It's possible he'll stay here and Heath will stay there, or it's possible they'll both stay here."

Duke nodded.

"Regardless, you'll still be the senior foreman, and if I'm not around, Sam will be answering to you."

"Okay."

"And, of course, when Sam gets here, I'll let him know that too. But I think you'll like Sam. He's a good guy."

Duke smiled slightly. "I'm sure I will."

"Which brings me to the next issue. You know the foreman's cottage the guys got ready for me and Isabella?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna let Sam have it. He has a wife and four kids."

"It's a nice place, but it only has two bedrooms."

Nick nodded. "I wondered if we could put a few men on building another bedroom?"

Duke considered. "Things should still be light this week. We'll just be checking all the fences for the roundup, making sure everything's ready to go."

"You think Pedro will be available? He's about the best builder we have."

Duke nodded. "I'm sure we can pull him out. He works well with Hernandez. And maybe put Johnson and O'Dell with 'em."

"Sounds like a good crew. They'll get the job done."

"They will." Duke scratched his head. "Anything else?"

"Do you know anything about the railroad moving cattle?"

Duke shrugged. "I heard some of the men talking about it. I guess the railroad got some cattle cars and they're trying to get the ranchers interested in sending steers by train instead of going on long drives."

"What do you think about that?"

"I don't know enough about it to have an opinion." He looked at Nick. "I heard Carl Wheeler talking about it. Why don't you talk to him?"

Nick nodded. "Okay. Would you be opposed to giving it a try?"

Duke grinned. "You mean miss out on five or six weeks of sleeping on the hard ground and eating beans? Working fourteen-hour days? Being without my wife? I don't think I'd miss it too much."

Nick stood. "Thanks, Duke. I'll let you get to your dinner."

Duke slapped Nick on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're back, son."

"Me, too." Nick turned to leave. "Oh, yeah, I'll be gone on Friday. I'll be headed to Roseville to help Sam move."

"Okay. See ya in the mornin'."

XXXXX

It felt good to be back out on the ranch. First thing Nick did was get the construction crew working on the foreman's house. He told them what he wanted done.

Pedro surveyed the house and took a tour of the inside. Nick went in with him. "We just added the bathroom and updated the kitchen." He showed Nick their handiwork.

"Looks good." Nick ran a hand over the cabinetry in the kitchen. "Nice job." He walked outside. "Now we want to add a bedroom. Probably larger than the two bedrooms here now."

Pedro walked around the exterior of the house. "I'd suggest adding it on this side of the house," he said, motioning towards the western side. "The other bedrooms are on the eastern side, and we'd have to build a hallway or something to add to the house from that side. On this side, all we need to do is add a doorway from the living room."

Nick nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

"How big do you want it?" Pedro measured off several feet. "That's about twelve feet right there."

"Make it fifteen," Nick said.

Pedro added three feet and sunk a marker into the ground. He walked north. "How far back this way are you wanting it?"

"About halfway?"

Pedro looked at Nick. "It would be just about as easy to add another room back here."

"Tell you what," Nick said. "Make it sixteen feet wide. Then, come out about this far," he went to about twenty feet, "and then build a wall. Take the rest of this space and make a bathroom on the side towards the house and a nursery on the other side. That would make them both what? About eight by twelve?"

"You'd have to allow space for the walls, so closer to seven by eleven."

Nick slapped a spiderweb off the corner. "Can you have it done by Sunday?"

Pedro shook his head. "I don't think so, boss. We got to make sure we have a solid foundation, and I got to figure out the plumbing, and we got to order a bathtub."

"Where did you get the other one?"

"Mr. Jarrod had it sent from San Francisco."

"Would having more men help?"

"Yes," Pedro answered. "That way I could run two shifts. Maybe three more men?"

"You got it."

"I'll work both shifts to keep an eye on things." Pedro looked at his feet. "But, boss, I dunno. We can't install the bathtub until it gets here, and we can't paint until after all the walls is up."

"Just do your best, Pedro."

"I will, boss."

"I know you will. And you'll find a bonus in your pay this week." Nick shook hands with the man. "I'm making you supervisor of this project, and I'll let the men know they're answering to you."

"Thanks, boss."

"And, Pedro—I want this to look as nice as the rest of the house."

"Yes, sir. We will do our best."

Nick realized they'd also need furniture. He went back inside the house and checked all the furniture. The bedroom furniture was fine, and new mattresses and linens had been put on the beds. The living room furniture was a bit worn, but if Sam decided to stay, Nick would let Jeannie pick out the furniture for that room. But they definitely needed bedroom furniture for the new bedroom, and maybe for the nursery. He took out his notepad and made a list.

Nick spent the rest of the morning just visiting with the men, going around to each work area and chatting. Everyone wanted to know where he'd been. Some even asked if he'd been in jail. Nick laughed at them and simply said he was seeing how other ranches worked and had brought back some ideas they'd be working on after the fall drive. He went home for lunch so he could see his family, then returned to the field.

After dinner, Nick rode over to Carl Wheeler's ranch. Carl was working with a new horse. "Hey, Nick," he said. "Take a look at this beaut."

Nick examined the young stallion. "Very nice. Where'd you get him?"

"At the horse auction in Modesto last week."

"He's gonna be a good breeder."

Carl nodded. "You back to stay now?"

"I think so. I hope so. Heath is in Roseville now. Hopefully, he'll be home in two months or so."

"Good. Things will get back to normal."

Nick grinned. "At least to a new normal." His eyes sparkled. "Isabella is expecting, and I adopted her two boys."

Carl gripped Nick's arm. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you, Nick."

"Hey, do you know anything about the railroad transporting cattle?"

Carl shrugged. "I've been asking around. Seems like they now have several cattle cars and are offering pretty good rates. Of course, they'll probably raise them later, but right now, they're trying to get ranchers to try them out."

"Are you?"

"Wasn't planning on it. They won't take 'em out of Stockton. You gotta drive your herd to either San Francisco or Sacramento."

"How do you find out about it?"

"I think you have to go to the rail office in whichever city you want to leave from and make reservations."

Nick nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be going through Sacramento this weekend. I'll stop in."

"So I won't see you in town Friday night?"

Nick grinned. "You know I'm still a newlywed, right?"

Carl laughed. "Okay, then. Maybe I'll see you over the holidays."

"Maybe," Nick said, and headed for home.

XXXXX