CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nick Goes to Roseville

Nick hopped off the early train at Sacramento. He had explained to the conductor that if he wasn't back before the Barkley car was linked to the train heading towards Roseville and it left the station, he'd catch the next train and to just leave the Barkley car sidetracked at Roseville. Nick hurriedly found the manager and asked about transporting cattle via the rail. The manager explained how it worked, but said they were booked up.

"We have a small herd this year," Nick said. "Does anyone else have a small herd we could join?"

The manager opened his scheduling book.

Nick immediately saw Heath's name. "There! Heath Barkley! That's my brother. Can we join his herd?"

"I'll need a signed paper saying that's fine with him. Will you be back this way?"

"On Sunday."

"I won't be in on Sunday, but you can leave the signed paper and this signed contract—" He pulled a pre-ready contract from his desk and handed it to Nick. "And that will be fine. We will bill the ranch and expect payment in full before your departure."

"Thank you!" Nick grabbed the papers and ran for the Barkley car. He made it just as the train was leaving.

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Finally, after riding all over JR's ranch, Nick spotted Heath working with a crew fixing fences. He rode up and hopped off the horse.

"Hey, Jonathan!" Harris waved at Nick and hurried over to him. "Did you come back to work?"

"No," Nick answered, and leaned forward to shake his hand.

Benjamin stopped and also ran over to see Nick. "Jonathan, what're you doing here?"

"Just came to see my . . . ." Nick stopped. "My old boss."

George moseyed over. Just as he was about to speak, Heath turned around. "Y'all can get back to work."

Benjamin rolled his eyes, but they all turned back to the work.

Heath walked over to Nick and led him away from the workers. "I didn't expect you this early."

Nick scowled. "Sorry to disturb you and your men."

"You know I didn't mean it that way."

"Would it've hurt for me to greet the men I worked next to for five months?"

Heath sighed. "Sorry." He stepped back and looked at Nick. "I've gotta babysit these guys every minute. Guess I'm just used to riding 'em."

"They're gonna beg JR to bring back Mulligan." Nick gave an involuntary shudder. "Anyway, thought I'd stop by before I went to help Sam. I saw you're using the railroad to move cattle."

Heath glowered. "So you came out here just to chew me out?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Chew you out?"

"How the hell did you find out?"

Nick stared at his brother. "Find out what?"

"That I was using the railroad to move JR's cattle."

Nick's brow crinkled. "I just asked the railroad manager to see his schedule."

"Seriously, Nick?" Heath shook his head in disbelief. "Why would you even think to do that? Huh? Did somebody tell you? Did Sam find out?" He turned away and rubbed his jaw. "I can't believe you'd go to that length to—"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Nick stared at his brother, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

Heath swung around and faced Nick. "You got no right to tell me what to do!" He poked Nick in the chest. "It ain't none of your business."

Nick took a step back. "Boy, I don't know what your problem is, but you best settle your britches."

"I didn't do it to aggravate you!" Heath stepped towards Nick. "It just made good sense. And I don't need you comin' here and tellin' me how to do my job!"

"I ain't trying to tell you how to do job!" Nick shook his head in frustration. "Damn, boy, I just wanted to see if we could put our herd on your train."

Heath glared at him.

Nick stared back.

"You wanna do what?" Heath asked, his tone much softer.

"We got a small herd this year too. It makes sense to let the railroad take 'em. But they didn't have no openings. So, I looked at the schedule to see if anyone had a small herd we could share the holding area with, and I saw your name." Nick's brow crinkled. "What do you think I'm doing here?"

Heath rubbed his neck. "I thought you were all dead set against using the railroad."

"No."

"Remember? Last year? I suggested we check into it, and you jumped all over me about not letting those murdering SOBs get one more penny than necessary."

Nick scowled. "I think that's your problem."

"What?"

"You got too good of a memory." Nick shook his head. "That was last year. I might want to try it this year."

"You gotta talk to the station manager in Sacramento."

"I already did. He said they were full up."

"Oh."

"I asked him if there was another small herd we might join with, and, lo and behold, I saw your name on the schedule."

Heath smiled. "I don't wait until the last minute."

"Un-huh. He said we could join your herd if I got signed permission from you."

"I'll have to think about that."

Nick glared at him. "You damn well better think fast."

Heath chuckled. "Why don't we go to the big house and I'll pull my paperwork?"

"That's better."

Heath hollered at his men to keep working on the fences and he'd be back shortly. The brothers mounted their horses and headed towards the big house. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, he moved his horse closer to Nick's. "I'll tell ya, you can't take your eyes off these men. Gotta watch 'em every minute." He shook his head. "As long as I'm right there with 'em, they work, but as soon as I turn my head, they're standing around again."

Nick frowned. "Sounds like you might need a new batch of men."

"I warned them again yesterday that I was three men over and I was gonna start getting rid of the deadweight. I was spending two hours with each group, but now I've been spot checking a lot more. As small as this ranch is, I can get from one group to another pretty quick." He tapped his pocket. "And whenever I see someone goofing off, I put their name, date, and time in my notebook. Three times and they're out of here."

Nick started to say he wouldn't have that problem with Sam, but he stopped himself.

They tied their horses out front. Nick followed Heath inside, feeling a bit weird about not knocking first. But then, Heath lived here.

JR was in the office. "Good morning, Heath. Nick! What brings you here?" He stood and shook Nick's hand.

"I'm in town to help Sam move."

"That's right. I guess it is Friday already."

Heath glanced around JR's desk. "Do you have that paperwork for the railroad contract?"

"I mailed a check on Monday."

"Okay. Thanks." Heath stepped back. "Nick has a small herd and wants to put it on the same train as we're using. We'll keep the herds separated, of course, and the railroad will allow us to share the staging area. It won't mean anything to us, but since our cattle will be near each other, they want us to sign off that it's okay for us to share the staging area with them."

JR's steel blue eyes darted around the room as he assessed the situation. "Of course," he said. "That's fine."

"I appreciate that." Nick took out the paperwork he'd been given. "Is this the same contract you got?"

JR looked it over. "Yes." He handed it to Heath.

Heath also reviewed it. "I didn't like the statement about no refund or compensation for weather issues or other emergencies, but they wouldn't budge on it."

Nick glanced at the pen and inkwell on JR's desk. "Do you mind if—"

JR stood and offered Nick his chair. "Of course not. Go right ahead."

Nick filled out the missing information and signed the contract. He set it aside for a minute to dry and moved out of JR's work area.

JR returned to his seat. "There's no form for the sharing issue?"

"No. The station manager said to just write a letter."

JR pulled out a sheet of letterhead stationery. He wrote the date at the top, then wrote a brief letter stating permission was given to share the staging area. He signed it.

"Thank you," Nick said.

"Need anything else?" JR asked.

"When we're camped that close to a town," Nick stated, "we like to treat the men to dinner and breakfast. We'll go ahead and include your men on that."

JR nodded. "Just let me know our share and I'll send you a check."

"We will cover it," Nick said. "It's the least we can do."

"Do you need any help with moving Sam this weekend?" JR asked.

"Jarrod was planning to come with me, but something came up and he couldn't make it. I'm not sure how much Sam is planning on taking. It seems that the furniture belongs to the house, so it should just be their personal effects." Nick slapped Heath's gut. "You're still planning to help, right?"

"I'll be over tonight as soon as I get off work."

Nick glanced at JR. "I think that should give us plenty of manpower, but if we need more, I'll let you know. I appreciate the offer."

"If you have a full day in today, it's going to be difficult for Jeannie to cook tonight. Why don't you and Sam's family meet us at the Roseville Hotel restaurant for dinner?"

Nick looked at Heath.

Heath nodded.

"Okay. What time?"

"Heath will probably want to get cleaned up before we leave. What if we meet you there at six-thirty?"

"Sure. Thank you." Nick remembered how that restaurant wasn't the best for children, so he made a note to himself to pick up some trinkets to keep Sam's kids entertained. "See you there."

As Nick and Heath walked out of the office, Margaret stepped into the foyer. She wore a day dress that actually covered her cleavage yet nicely accented her figure. And the girl certainly had a figure. She smiled at Nick and Heath.

For the first time, Nick noticed how nice of a smile she had. She was a beautiful woman. He took off his hat and nodded to her.

Heath stepped away from the office door and gave Margaret a kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight."

Nick noticed his blush and Margaret's hand on her cheek where he'd kissed her. He might get a new sister-in-law after all.

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