Episode 16
The Major

He approached the old homestead, reining in his horse to look over the countryside. Hard to believe that he'd spent the first eighteen years of his life here. The small house - simple, with four rooms: a parlor, kitchen, and two bedrooms - was clearly abandoned, but the barn was in good repair, as were the corrals. No doubt they were both being made use of by the Diamond D. Moving closer, he found the two graves behind the house, making note of the date of the last grave: less than a year after the end of the war. Returning to the house, he got off the horse and found what he was looking for.

 

Dust on the horizon told him that others were coming, so he returned to his horse and rode off the way he'd come. There was nothing left for him here, not anymore.

 

====================

 

"This afternoon has been wonderful," Jess said as she and Nick relaxed beside the lake. "I love Caleb, but it's nice to be able to spend some time alone with my favorite fella."

 

"Your only fella, I hope," Nick murmured as he lay with his head in her lap, eyes closed.

 

"Except for Caleb and Cole, you are," she agreed. "We might not get much time alone over the next week or so," she said with a sigh. "With the Major's visit and Founders' Day coming up."

 

"Major Barrett will only be here for one day," he told her. "And there's not much that needs to be done for Founders' Day, from what I've seen." He opened his eyes to look at her. "You're sure that seeing the Major won't be difficult for you?"

 

"Why should it be? He was Tom Scott's commanding officer. He probably doesn't even remember a young private who died in a battle so long ago."

 

"I think you're probably wrong about that. From what most of the officers I've known have told me, they remember the name of every soldier who has died on their watch."

 

"So you think that he would have remembered your name and Sgt. Sorenson's name if you'd died that day at Blue Water Creek?" she wanted to know.

 

"I do."

 

"I'm very glad that you didn't die."

 

He grinned at her. "You know what? So am I," he told her, pulling her head down for a kiss, then said, "As much as I hate the idea, we need to be heading back to the house or Lily's liable to think we've decided to abandon our children into her care."

 

"I suppose you're right. Let's get things ready to go."

 

"In a minute," he said, pulling her down again. "One more kiss," he told her.

 

Three long kisses later, Nick sat up and stood, pulling Jess to her feet as well, and the two of them packed everything into saddlebags. As she climbed in Midnight's saddle, Jess grinned. "Race you back!" and kicked the black horse into a full gallop, leaving Nick no choice but send Spirit after her.

 

Halfway back to the house, a shot rang out, and Jess turned, slowing slightly to ask Nick if he'd heard it - only to wheel Midnight around at the sight of her husband laying on the ground, and Spirit prancing around nervously. "Nick!" she called, leaping from the saddle as she got to him. Kneeling, she turned him over. "Nick?"

 

He moaned, blinking as the sun hit his face. "What the -"

 

"Are you hurt?"

 

"No, I - the shot caused Spirit to rear up and I fell. I think I just - lost my breath for a second."

 

"So it *was* a shot?"

 

"That's what it sounded like -" He slowly got to his feet, and grabbed Spirit's reins, looking the horse over. Finally, he pointed to a spot on the animal's left hip. "He's been shot - grazed, really, but -"

 

Jess frowned as she looked behind them. "I don't see anything back there," she told him. "We can both ride Midnight in if you'd rather not ride Spirit back."

 

He nodded. "Think that Midnight will be okay with the added weight?"

 

"I'm sure of it. Let's get Spirit back to the barn so that Pedro can take care of that wound."

 

=====================

 

"That shot barely missed you, Pa," Cole said later as they looked over the stallion. "It's a good thing that it's only a flesh wound and not more."

 

Nick nodded, running a hand down the animal's hip. Spirit side stepped away. "It's okay, boy," he murmured, moving up to pat his neck. "It's okay."

 

"I was going to ride out and see if I could find any tracks -"

 

"No -"

 

"It's okay," Cole said. "Ma already told me not to go. I wonder who took the shot?"

 

"Probably yet another old enemy trying to settle a grudge."

 

"You're joking about it!"

 

Nick put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "No, son, I'm not joking. But I'm not going to let a single shot rattle me so that I start looking over my shoulder every few minutes, either. Now, we'd better get inside for supper before your Ma comes out here looking for us."

 

==================

 

"He said that he didn't want any kind of celebration of his arrival," Nick told Jess as the Town Council, Sheriff Morgan, Brother Andrew, and several of the town's prominent business leaders stood on the platform as the train pulled into Providence.

 

Ernie stood close by, paper and pencil in hand. "It's not often that Providence gets a visit from a War Hero, Nick."

 

"Major Evan Barrett wasn't a 'war hero', Ernie," Nick told him. "He was just a commanding officer in the Union Army. His letter said that he didn't want a lot of fuss -" He waved at the red white and blue bunting that was hung on the eave of the station. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't object to my reserving the Presidential Suite at the hotel for him and his aide." His attention moved to the rail car as the conductor appeared, followed a moment later by the Major and his aide. Stepping forward, he pulled Jess with him. "Major."

 

Barrett smiled. "Lieutenant." He smiled, shaking his head. "Forgive me. Captain."

 

Nick chuckled. "It's been a long time since I was a Captain, sir. Make it Nick, please."

 

Barrett nodded, looking at Jess. "And this is -?"

 

"My wife, Jess."

 

"A pleasure, Mrs. Everett."

 

"Major."

 

"Excuse me, Major," Ernie said, stepping closer. "Ernest Graves of the Providence Herald, Major. I'd like to interview you for a story in the paper."

 

"Sorry, young man," the Major said. "This isn't an official visit. I only stopped off here for the day to see my former adjutant. I don't give personal interviews as a rule." With that, he turned back to Nick and Jess, summarily dismissing Ernie.

 

Nick spent the next several minutes introducing the man to the council and others on the platform, finally suggesting that they go to the hotel. "Thank you," Barrett said, nodding toward the Sargeant. "This is my aide, Sgt. Hastings. I would like to freshen up - and then, perhaps you and your lovely wife will join me for breakfast?"

 

=================

 

Milly took their order once the Major and Sgt. Hastings joined them. "I'll be right back with the coffee," she told them, smiling at the Major before leaving the table.

 

"You have a friendly town here, Mrs. Everett."

 

"We try, sir," Jess replied.

 

"May I ask why you're on the way to Fort Carson, sir?" Nick asked.

 

"Just a routine inspection of western installations," he explained. "I think it was more to get me out of Washington before my retirement than any other reason."

 

"You're retiring?"

 

"In another six months," Barrett said. To Jess, he said, "You know, the day that this man transferred out of my command, I lost the best adjutant I had for the rest of the war." He sighed, telling Nick, "I should have fought harder to keep you instead of letting them kick you up the ladder."

 

"I'm not sure it was within your ability to do that, sir," Nick told him with a grin.

 

"Still should have tried," Barrett insisted, then frowned as he looked past them through the window. "There seems to be something going on out there," he noted.

 

Jess and Nick turned to look outside, where several people were gathered around a man in front of the law office. "Who is that?" Nick asked.

 

"Excuse me," Jess said, moving to stand up and leave the cafe, crossing the street.

 

The crowd seemed to part for her, giving her access to the man. "Milly?" Nick called, realizing that she was also staring across the street. "Who is that?"

 

"It - it *looks* like Tom Scott," she told him. "But - he's dead. Killed in the war."

 

Nick rose from his chair, forgetting that the Major was there - nothing mattered except following Jess. As he left the cafe, he heard Tom Scott say, "Hello, Jess," and saw her fall into Scott's arms in a dead faint.

 

Joining them, Nick said, "I'll take her," but Scott shook his head.

 

"I've got her."

 

Nick moved past the man to open the office door. "Put her on the sofa," he told Scott, going into Jess' office to get some water on his handkerchief, returning to place it on Jess' face. "Jess, darlin'," he said softly, telling himself that it had just been the shock of seeing her childhood sweetheart back from the dead that had caused her to faint. "Someone get Thad, please," he said to the townspeople who had gathered into the room behind him and Tom Scott. "Can we have some privacy, please?" he asked, and the others began to leave the office, but lingered on the sidewalk outside.

 

Jess' eyes opened, and she blinked. "Nick. What -" She turned her head. "I thought I saw -"

 

"You did see me, Jess," Tom Scott told her, moving closer. It was then that Nick noticed that Scott was limping - favoring his right leg, as if the knee wouldn't bend.

 

She shook her head. "You're dead. I saw the letter that your father got from the War Department - and from Major Barrett."

 

"It was a mistake. And a long story. Are you okay?"

 

"I'm fine," she told him, starting to sit up, but Nick shook his head.

 

"I've sent for Thad, Jess. Why don't we wait -?"

 

"I'm perfectly all right, Nick," she insisted, but let him help her to sit up on the sofa as Thad entered the office - with Doc close on his heels.

 

Thad barely glanced at Tom as he went to Jess. But Doc stopped in his tracks. "Tom? Is that you?"

 

Tom smiled, recognizing the older man, shaking his hand. "Doc Hawkins! How are you?"

 

"A bit - stunned, I'm afraid. When Carl Collins came to get Thad, he told me you were here. How-?"

 

Thad had taken Jess' arm, checking her pulse, and now said, "Excuse me, Uncle - "

 

"Sorry, my boy," Mark Hawkins apologized, and fell silent as Thad completed his examination.

 

"I just fainted," Jess explained. "I don't know what all the fuss is about."

 

"Because you never faint, Jess," Nick reminded her.

 

"It is unusual," Thad agreed. "What happened?"

 

"She saw me," Tom told him. "Back from the dead, for all she knew."

 

Jess looked up at him again, still clearly surprised that he was there. "Dr. Thad Mitchell, this is Tom Scott. He - grew up with Kevin and me."

 

"Our fathers' ranches were next to each other," Tom clarified. "They planned on our getting married some day."

 

Thad glanced at Nick as he heard Tom Scott's statement. "Well, in my professional opinion, I think Jess needs some quiet." Jess started to speak, but he stopped her. "Don't argue with me, Jess. I have to go back and tell Elizabeth what's going on."

 

"Don't upset her, Thad."

 

"I don't plan to. But she heard Mr. Collins talking and was worried about you. And Nick."

 

Jess managed a smile as she reached up to take Nick's hand. "We'll both be okay. Tell her we'll stop by before we leave town."

 

"Elizabeth?" Tom questioned. "As in your sister Elizabeth?"

 

"She's my wife," Thad explained, putting his stethescope back into his bag and standing up. "She's expecting our first child any day now."

 

"I have been gone awhile," Tom said. "The last time I saw her and Amanda, they were pesky little girls with pigtails."

 

"Amanda's married to Andrew Lee and they have a son," Jess told him, and Tom shook his head in amazement.

 

"As I said," Thad stated in a firm, no nonsense tone, "Jess needs peace and quiet. So if we could all clear out -. Except for you, of course, Nick." He nodded at Nick's grateful expression. "Mr. Scott, why don't you come with Uncle Mark and me. I'm sure Elizabeth would be glad to see you - and Aunt Martha has coffee ready."

 

"We'll talk later, Jess," Tom said before following Doc from the office.

 

"Thank you, Thad," Nick finally said, watching the doctor close the door as he left as well.

 

Nick went over and locked the door behind him, staying there, making sure that the shades were all down, trying to figure out what to say.

 

"Nick?" When he didn't respond, Jess said, "Stop fidgeting with those blinds and come over here," she said. "Please." She saw his shoulders lift as he drew a deep breath before turning to cross the room, and she patted the sofa. "Sit down." Once he did, she reached over to take his hand. "I case you're wondering, I love you."

 

"But when you saw him -"

 

"It was a shock. What would you do if suddenly your father were standing in front of you?"

 

He shook his head. "I don't know." He sighed, looking at her. "You planned to marry him. If he'd come back from the war -"

 

"No." Jess forced him to keep looking at her, cupping his cheek with her other hand. "I told you that I had already decided that I couldn't have married Tom because I wasn't *in* love with him. And he agreed. It was only his father who thought that it would happen. Even Pa had privately agreed with me."

 

"I love you. And I want you to be happy, Jess. And if that means -"

 

"I *am* happy," she reminded him. "I love you and I am *in* love with you. You're my husband, the only man I've wanted. I can't imagine my life without you in it. Please, please never doubt that." She punctuated her request with a kiss.

 

"Oh, Jess," he breathed, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. "I'm sorry -"

 

"For what? For being afraid of losing me? There's no chance of that, darlin'," she told him, smiling as she felt his breath catch at the endearment. "Now, isn't the Major still over at the cafe?"

 

Nick released her, frowning. "I'd forgotten all about him. You're coming with me, right?" he asked as they stood up.

 

"Yes, of course. I can talk to Tom later and find out why he was declared dead when he wasn't."

 

"It happened," Nick said. "So many dead and wounded. But *we'll* go talk to him after we finish with Major Barrett."

 

She nodded. "We'll talk to him," she agreed as he unlocked the door. "Why don't we see if he would be willing to talk to Ernie?" she suggested. "I'm sure his story and return would be newsworthy, don't you agree?"

 

"If he hasn't already heard about it, we'll stop in on the way over to the hospital," he agreed.

 

Iris Carter was among those still lingering on the sidewalk, waiting for Jess to appear, and she asked, "Are you okay, Miss Jess?"

 

"I'm fine, Iris," she told the girl. Nick was probably right: the entire town was probably already aware that Tom Scott was alive and back in Providence.

 

==================

 

They entered the Cafe, and Jess was grateful that Milly didn't ask questions as they looked around, not seeing anyone in the room. "Milly," Nick queried, "where are the Major and his aide?"

 

"They went up to their room right after you followed Jess outside. I had their breakfast delivered there. If you still want something-"

 

"No, thank you," Nick said. "We ate before leaving the ranch this morning. We were both only going to have coffee, remember."

 

Milly nodded. "I have to help get lunch ready - I'm glad you're okay, Jess."

 

"Thank you, Milly." Once they were alone, she looked at Nick. "Shall we go up and explain what happened to the Major?" she asked.

 

"No, I think I need to hear what Scott has to say before I tell him that one of the men in his command that he thought was dead somehow miraculously survived."

 

"You think that Tom deserted, don't you?"

 

"He wouldn't have been the first soldier to leave the battlefield that way. But I'll listen to his story first." He took her arm. "Let's go see if Ernie can make some time to go with us."

 

====================

 

As they walked around the corner to the hospital, Jess gave Ernie the background information regarding herself and Tom Scott prior to the War - and the letter from the Army that he had been killed at Brushy Ford. By the time they arrived, Ernie asked, "Are you sure he'll be willing to talk to me?"

 

"If he's not, then you can leave," Jess told him. "But I'll find out why." She opened the door and entered the hospital, going directly toward the kitchen, and then into the sitting room, where everyone was gathered.

 

"Jess!" Elizabeth called out, holding out her hand. "Nick! I'm so glad you're here. Tom refused to tell us anything before he told you."

 

Jess and Nick greeted her before moving to sit on the sofa as Tom looked at Ernie. "Tom," Jess said, "This is Ernest Graves - the editor of the Providence Herald. He'd like to hear your story - and include it in this week's edition of the paper."

 

"With your permission, of course," Ernie added. "I'm sure you realize how your return impacts the entire community, Mr. Scott, and allowing me to print it would make sure that the story was accurate."

 

Tom took a deep breath. "I suppose you're right. It might keep me from having to tell it over and over again."

 

"Thank you," Ernie told him, sitting in a corner of the room.

 

"You want some coffee,?" Ma asked him and Jess and Nick.

 

"Not at the moment, Ma," Ernie told her, opening his notepad and taking out a freshly sharpened pencil.

 

"Maybe later," Jess said. "What happened, Tom?" she asked.

 

"We were in the middle of a battle at a place that was marked on the map as Brushy Ford - it was a heavily wooded area - the rebs were everywhere at once. I'd never seen so many - none of them were in uniform, they were wearing rags and using guns that probably belonged to their grandfathers - but they just kept coming at us. Then somewhere a cannon went off - I was never sure if it was theirs or ours, but it hit close. So close that I was lifted off of my feet. Something hit my knee -" he reached down and put his hand on his right leg, "- and I think I saw someone running away - someone in a blue uniform. I called out for help, but whoever it was paused long enough to stop, turn, and fire his weapon in my direction. The shot hit my shoulder -" he pressed a hand to that area. "That's when another shell hit, and I lost consciousness."

 

"Which direction was the soldier who shot at you running?" Nick asked.

 

"Away from the battle," Tom told him. "Like I said, I can't be sure if it really happened."

 

"What happened when you woke up?" Thad asked.

 

"It's hard to say - I don't really remember that moment. The next thing I remember fully was being in the home of a nearby family - they were southerners, but the fact that I was wearing union blue didn't seem to matter to them. They did the best they could for my leg - the knee was crushed, but I didn't lose the leg - it just healed stiff. I can't bend it."

 

Doc nodded. "That can happen - but you were very blessed that you didn't get an infection."

 

"That's what the man said who took care of me."

 

"Didn't they ask your name or find a way to let anyone know where you were?" Jess asked. "That you weren't dead?"

 

Nick answered. "They were deep in the Confederacy, Jess. Communication with the north was spotty at best. If I recall correctly, Brushy Ford was in Mississippi."

 

Tom nodded, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Nick and said, "And it didn't help that I didn't know my name. I had no idea what had happened to me, didn't remember being in the army- or about my Father - but I kept seeing a red haired woman smiling at me when I would go to sleep," he said, smiling at Jess. He looked at Nick again. "I know you, don't I? I mean, we've met before."

 

"Only in passing," Nick told him. "I was in Maj. Barrett's command, but I was transferred to Washington right after you came in."

 

"No one's introduced you," Jess realized. "Tom, this is Nick Everett. My husband."

 

"Elizabeth told me that you were married," Tom nodded, still looking at Nick. "Everett." He shook his head. "The name -"

 

"I was Lt. Nelson back then," Nick told him.

 

"That's it. I get flashes of faces and names - I still don't remember everything that happened while I was in the war -"

 

"When did your memory start to return?" Doc asked.

 

"Only a few months ago. I saw a newspaper article about Providence and suddenly I realized that it was where I was from." He smiled at Jess again. "And I knew you'd be here, Jess."

 

She ignored the sudden stillness in the room after his comment to ask, "What did you do for those years before your memory came back? How did you live?"

 

"I'm not able to do much ranch work because of my knee, but I worked in a few banks, train and stage depots, even worked as a storekeeper a few times."

 

"I know someone who's going to be glad to find out you're alive," Ernie said, speaking for the first time since Tom had begun his story.

 

"Who's that?" Tom asked.

 

"Major Barrett. Didn't you know he was in town?"

 

"No. I had no idea -" Tom said.

 

"He arrived on the early train," Nick told the other man. "He and his aide were in the Cafe when -"

 

"What a coincidence," Tom noted. "I saw all the people on the platform when I got off the train, but wasn't paying attention to who it was. I probably wouldn't have recognized him anyway. Like I said, my memory of that time is still a little spotty."

 

"Finding out his reaction should be part of the story," Ernie told him. "Since this is technically Army business, maybe he'll actually talk to me."

 

"Possibly," Nick agreed.

 

"I'll get it written up, and let you look it over before I get it printed," Ernie told Tom as he closed the notepad.

 

"Thank you, Mr. Graves."

 

"No, thank you. It was nice to meet you. And welcome home."

 

After Ernie left, Doc asked, "What are your plans, Tom?"

 

"I really haven't thought much about what I'm going to do, Doc," he answered. "Right now, just being back home is enough."

 

"But where will you stay?" Elizabeth wanted to know. "Your father's ranch is part of the Diamond D now -"

 

"There's always the hotel," Tom told her. "But I'll probably ride out and look the place over - if it's okay with you, Jess."

 

"Of course it is. You understand that after your father passed, with you apparently dead, there was no one else to inherit the property -"

 

"And it reverted back to your father," Tom nodded. "I do remember that much. I remember my Father always fretting about how John Donager had grabbed up every bit of land and doled it out to everyone else and making sure he'd get it back eventually. It was part of the reason why he was so set on our getting married." He grinned. "Figured it would ensure that at least part of the Diamond D would end up as Scott property." His grin vanished. "Can we talk, Jess? Privately?"

 

Jess felt every eye in the room turn toward her - and Nick, who took her hand in his. She smiled at him before answering Tom's question. "I'm sure that Thad won't mind our using one of the examination rooms. Squeezing Nick's hand, she told him, "I'll be right back," before leading Tom out of the sitting room and into the first exam room. Once there, she turned to face him. "Okay, what did you want to talk about?"

 

"You know the answer to that, Jess," he said. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

 

"For one thing, we all thought you were dead. And don't you remember that we both agreed that we weren't in love and didn't want to get married?"

 

He shook his head slowly. "No. The only thing that I remember is you. I saw you in my dreams - looked for you. Every time I saw a red haired woman, I'd wonder if it was you, but it wasn't." He moved closer. "Once I realized that you would be here, I expected that you'd be waiting for me -"

 

"For a dead man?" Jess easily evaded his attempt to trap her against a table. "Tom, you need to stop and think about things. Try to remember. We decided that our fathers plans wouldn't work because you weren't in love with me, and I wasn't in love with you."

 

"I'm in love with you now," he told her. "I think I always have been. You're mine, Jess -"

 

"I'm married," she reminded him. "And I'm in love with my husband. Not with you. I'm sorry, Tom, but that's the way it is. I waited a long time for Nick to come along - and he's the only man I've ever wanted to be married to."

 

"You feel that way now, but once I've been home awhile - you'll remember how it was between us," he insisted, reaching out a hand toward her, grabbing her arm and pulling her close to him. "All the time we were growing up, we always knew we were meant to be together -"

 

Jess jerked her arm away, wincing as the fabric of her blouse tore away, revealing her upper arm. "I think we've said all we have to say to each other," she told him. "You'd better go. Now."

 

"I love you, Jess," he told. "I'm sorry - coming home, seeing people that I haven't seen in so long - And finding out that the one person that means more to me deserted me for a stranger -"

 

"Nick's not a stranger," Jess told him. "He's my husband. And I love him."

 

"This isn't over," he assured her, his green eyes narrowing dangerously as he turned and left the room. Jess held her breath until she heard the front door close behind him. Inhaling, she tried to tuck her sleeve back into place, but realized quickly that it was hopeless. Looking up, she saw Nick standing in the doorway.

 

"What the -?"

 

"It was an accident," Jess tried to tell him, quickly moving to grab his arm and stop him from following Tom. "I'm fine. He's - confused right now." She put both hands on his arms. "Give him some time. He'll realize that I'm not in love with him."

 

"What are you going to tell your sister and the others about that?" he asked, nodding toward her torn sleeve.

 

"Just what I told you: it was an accident. And then we'll go back over to the office -"

 

"Why?"

 

"I keep an extra change of clothes over there, remember? I believe I have another blouse to change into. We'll go through the alley so that no one in town has a chance to ask any questions."

 

He nodded, and then pulled her close for a long kiss. "Sorry," he told her.

 

"I'm not," she told him. "Come on. Let's say our goodbyes to Elizabeth and the others."

 

=====================

 

Once Jess had changed into another blouse - which took longer than it might have had Nick not been in the law library with her - they went over to the hotel just as the Major and Sgt. Hastings came down the stairs. "Ah, Nick! There you are."

 

"Major," Nick began, "I want to apologize for abandoning you this morning -"

 

Barrett waved away his words. "No need. That young lady in the cafe explained that the young man had been engaged to your lovely wife before the war. The Sergeant and I were about to go in for lunch - would you care to join us?"

 

"Thank you, Major," Jess said. "And I promise that this time we won't run away."

 

Grace took their order this time, for which Jess was grateful. "That young man," Barrett said once Grace brought the coffee to the table, "what was his name again?"

 

"Tom Scott, sir," Nick supplied. "He was assigned to your command only a few weeks before I left."

 

"I thought I recognized the name," Barrett nodded, sighing. "I recall writing a letter to his father after he was declared lost - I believe it was at Brushy Ford?"

 

Nick looked at Jess, who noted, "You have an excellent memory, Major."

 

Barrett sighed. "I remember the name of each of the young men who lost their lives while in my command, my dear. I see most of their faces when I try to sleep. That battle is one that is indelibly stamped on my brain, I'm afraid. I lost the entirety of my command that day," he told them, his expression sad as he stared at his coffee. "So many fine young men, slaughtered by a rag tag group of rebels who had stolen a union cannon and used it against us. They just kept coming and coming -"

 

"Major," Sgt. Hastings murmured, reaching over to touch Barrett's shoulder to get his attention. "It's over, sir."

 

Barrett drew a deep breath and nodded. He gave Nick and Jess a half-smile. "Forgive me. That battle is why I'm still a Major over ten years after the war ended. The War Department tends to frown on losing one's command, even if it was the fault of the scouts who failed to report about the stolen cannon."

 

The arrival of the food invited a change of subject, and the rest of the meal passed amiably until Barrett asked, "Did young Scott explain what happened that he was considered killed?"

 

Jess relayed Tom's story, telling the Major about his amnesia. "He forgot who he was, and what had happened until recently, when his memory began to return and led him back to Providence."

 

"That happened more than once, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of it lasting this long," Barrett told her. "Still, at least his memory has returned and he's found his way home - I do hope that his return doesn't cause problems for the two of you, however."

 

Jess smiled, reaching out to capture Nick's hand as it lay on the table. "It won't. Tom and I were never really more than good friends. It was our fathers who had other plans for our future."

 

"I must say, however, that his claim of having seen a fellow soldier running *away* from the battle seems a bit - far fetched," Barrett told her. "Although, I suppose it could have just been an effect of his head injury -"

 

"He also claims that the other soldier shot him when he called for help," Nick said.

 

"How odd. Does he recall this other man well enough to - identify him if necessary?"

 

Jess shook her head. "He's not entirely sure himself that it actually happened," she told him. "And his memory of that time isn't totally clear."

 

"Too bad. Well, I'm glad that he's alive - and I'll make sure that the War Department is notified of that fact - he'll likely have to report to Fort Carson at some point to explain what happened."

 

==================

 

Kevin saw Cole sitting near the chuck wagon, a cup in his hands, and moved over toward him. "Why the long face?"

 

Cole sighed. "Just wishing I had been able to go with Ma and Pa to meet the Major," he answered. "I still don't understand why I couldn't."

 

"Well, Nick said that Major Barrett didn't want any fuss -"

 

"And you heard Ma tell him last night that the Town Council was going to be there."

 

"The Council meets any important person when they come to town," Kevin pointed out. "So that's not really a fuss, is it?"

 

"I guess not," Cole agreed.

 

One of the hands called out, "Rider comin'!"

 

Cole and Kevin stood, watching the sorrel and rider approach the wagon. As it neared, Kevin started shaking his head. "It can't be," he muttered, moving forward as the rider pulled the horse to a stop. "Tom?" He moved over to the horse, looking up. "It can't be -"

 

"Afraid it is, Kevin," Tom said, getting out of the saddle and offered Kevin his hand. "Back from the dead."

 

"What happened? Why didn't you come home if -?"

 

"It's a long story," Tom told him. "I was wounded and couldn't remember who I was until a little while ago. I was riding back from the old ranch when I caught sight of your men and took a chance that you'd be with them."

 

"About the ranch -"

 

"I know. I saw Jess in town -"

 

"Then you know that she -"

 

"Married someone else?" Tom finished the question. "I know."

 

"How about some coffee? If you're hungry, I think Pedro might still have something left -"

 

"Pedro?" Tom asked, smiling at the older man. "How's Mariana?" he asked.

 

"She's the same as always, Mr. Scott," Pedro said, shaking Tom's hand as well.

 

"Now, Pedro, you know that Mr. Scott was my father. I was always Tom. I'll take some coffee," he said.

 

Kevin turned to Cole. "Cole, would you get a cup for him?"

 

"Sure," Cole said, having listened to the conversation with rapt attention. As he returned with the cup and handed it to Tom, Kevin realized he hadn't introduced the two of them.

 

"Sorry, Cole. This is Tom Scott. He and his father had that ranch just out to the east of here. Tom, this is Cole Everett."

 

Tom's smile dimmed slightly as he extended his hand. "Everett?" he asked.

 

"He's Jess and Nick's older son," Kevin explained. "They have a younger one who's a little over a year old. Caleb."

 

The smile returned, and Tom finished the handshake. "Nice to meet you. You're his son, then?"

 

"Ma and Pa adopted my brother and me, sir," Cole told him.

 

"Thanks for the coffee," Tom said, sitting down on one of the nearby rocks, his bad leg stretched out before him.

 

"You're welcome."

 

"You said you'd been out to the ranch?" Kevin asked.

 

Tom nodded, "Not much left of the house."

 

"We had a big windstorm a couple of years after your father died. The house and barn were pretty heavily damaged. Pa decided that we didn't need the house, but we could use the barn and corrals, so he rebuilt those."

 

"I figured as much. Father always planned to build a new house after -" he glanced in Cole's direction and obviously changed what he had been about to say. "After I got back from the war. But I guess he didn't have any reason to build it once he got that letter."

 

"He never recovered from it," Kevin said, shaking his head. "He just - gave up. Where were you? In a hospital?"

 

"No. I spent almost a year after I was wounded with a local family that took me in and nursed me back to health. Except for the fact that I'd been wearing Union blue, I would have had no way to know that I'd been in the army at all."

 

"Were they southerners?" Cole asked.

 

"Oh, yes. We were deep in Mississippi. But they didn't seem to care that I was a Yankee, only that I was hurt and needed help."

 

"Wow," Cole said.

 

Kevin pointed toward Tom's leg. "That happen when you were wounded?"

 

Tom nodded, rubbing his knee. "I can't bend it. When it healed, it healed wrong, somehow. At least I can walk on it. And it's still my leg."

 

"Does it hurt?" Cole wanted to know.

 

"Not usually. Unless I'm on it for too long at a time or if the weather changes." He finished the coffee. "Well, thank you for the coffee - I need to get the horse back to town and get a room at the hotel."

 

"You'll have to come out to the house and meet my wife and kids," Kevin said, watching as Tom leveraged himself to his feet.

 

"You're married too?"

 

"With two children," Kevin confirmed. "If you can wait a while, my son Ben will be out here - he's spending the afternoon helping."

 

"Sorry, but I need to get back. You might want to ask your sister about my coming out before I do it," Tom told him, glancing again at Cole. "But I'm sure I'll see you around - probably in church this Sunday." He shook Kevin's hand and got back into the saddle of the sorrel.

 

"So you're planning on staying in Providence?"

 

"Of course. It's my home. Where I was born and raised. Later." He nodded at Kevin, then at Cole, before riding back toward town.

 

Cole stood watching him. "Strange," he said, and Kevin turned to look at him.

 

"What?"

 

"He said he'd been coming from his father's old ranch, didn't he?"

 

"Yes."

 

"But he rode up from the direction of town, not from the ranch."

 

"Maybe he was heading back toward town and then caught sight of us out here and turned south."

 

"Maybe," Cole repeated. "What was that about asking Ma about his coming to the house?"

 

"Tom and your Ma were - close before he left to fight in the war," Kevin told him. "Everyone in town thought that they would end up getting married when Tom got home."

 

"So he thought she'd still be here, waiting for him," Cole said.

 

"No, I don't think so. They had both decided that they didn't want to get married before he left."

 

"That's not the way it sounded to me," Cole pointed out. "To hear Mr. Scott talk, he's still in love with her."

 

======================

 

"I wish you'd reconsider coming out to the ranch for supper, Major," Jess said as they returned to the hotel after showing him around the town.

 

"I'm sorry, Mrs. - Jess," he corrected. "But I'm not as young as I once was, and since we'll be leaving on the early train tomorrow, I think that we need to have an early evening. Perhaps, after my retirement I'll come back for a longer visit."

 

"I'll hold you to that, sir," Nick said.

 

"And I won't expect you to see us off tomorrow," Barrett added.

 

"Are you sure?" Jess asked as Nick's attention focused on the road into town.

 

"Quite sure. Thank you for spending so much time with an old man."

 

"It was our pleasure, Major," Jess assured him as Barrett and his aide went into the hotel. Turning, she said, "Nick -" only to stop as she saw what had drawn his attention. Tom was riding in and went to the livery stable. "He probably went out to look at his father's ranch - or what's left of it," she told him, reaching out to take his hand. "Let's go to the office -"

 

"You can't keep us apart forever, Jess," Nick told her. "Especially if he's planning on staying in Providence."

 

She didn't give him a choice, and turned toward the office - her hand still firmly in her grasp. "Come on." Nick didn't resist, and accompanied her into the office, moving to the window and moving the shade aside so that he could look out at the street. Jess sighed, and told him, "I doubt that he'll stay. He told me once that he wanted to travel - to see the world away from here. Once he realizes there's really no reason for him to stay, I'm sure he'll leave again."

 

"But during the time that he's here, what do you plan on doing to keep us from meeting?" he asked. "He didn't go to the hotel," he told her. "He's heading down the street - toward the monument."

 

"That's something that wasn't here before," Jess reminded him. "I'm sure he's curious about it."

 

"You didn't answer my question," he noted, still watching. "It's a small town. And I'm not going to hide every time I come to town and he's on the street. I doubt that he will, either. I've no doubt that he'll be in the saloon one night when I come in to play poker."

 

"Nick, please stop this. You don't need to -"

 

"Who are you trying to protect, Jess?" he asked. "Him or me?" The moment the words were out of his mouth, Nick dropped onto a nearby chair, burying his head in his hands. "Oh dear God," he whispered. "Help me."

 

Jess went to her knees before him, reaching out to pull his hands away from his face so that she could look at him. "Nick."

 

"I'm sorry. Jess. I shouldn't have - I don't know why his being here has had this effect on me. I know you love me -"

 

"And that I don't love him," she finished.

 

He cupped her face. "But he's in love with you," he told her, and when Jess would have denied those words, Nick grinned. "Darlin', trust me. I know the signs. Tom Scott's in love with you."

 

"He might think that he is - but eventually his memory will return to the point where he'll remember what happened before he left and accept that I love you. From the moment I met you over there in front of the Mercantile."

 

The grin morphed into a smile. "You could have fooled me."

 

"I did," she reminded him, moving closer for a kiss. "And I fooled myself, too. It took me a little while before I was able to admit how I felt - why you made me so angry every time I saw you."

 

"I'm glad you finally did. Although, I was enjoying our little skirmishes."

 

"So was I," she admitted. "Now, about our problem -"

 

Nick drew a deep breath. "I think it might be best if you stop trying to keep Scott and I apart, and just - let it happen." He saw the uncertainty on her face. "Jess, this is really between him and me. We need to talk - and we can't do that with you standing between us." He finished by lifting her hands to his lips. "Trust me?"

 

"You know I do," she told him.

 

"Oh, Jess," he sighed, pulling her up into his lap and giving her a kiss.

 

"Let's go home," she said, resting her forehead against his. "It's been a long day, and I want to spend the rest of the day with family."

 

Nick nodded, letting her stand up before standing as well. "Don't forget that blouse. Lily might be able to repair it."

 

"It's in my office," she said. "Let me get it." While she was gone, Nick looked outside to see Tom Scott entering the saloon. "Ready?" she asked when she returned, and he nodded, locking the door behind them before taking her arm as they crossed to the livery stable.

 

=======================

 

"Guess who we saw today, Ma," Cole said as he, Ben and Kevin entered the house. "Tom Scott."

 

"He came out here?" Nick asked.

 

"Not to the house," Kevin clarified. "He showed up out where we were right after lunch. Said he was coming back from his father's old place. He said he'd seen you in town."

 

Jess nodded. "We did. Did he tell you what happened to him?"

 

"Some of it."

 

"He said he was wounded and lost his memory," Cole told her.

 

"I didn't get to see him," Ben sighed. "He left before I got out there. You fought in the war, didn't you, Uncle Nick?"

 

"Both Tom Scott and I served under Major Barrett," Nick confirmed. "But the War Department decided I needed to be in Washington."

 

"So you didn't know Tom Scott," Cole said.

 

"He transferred in just before I left the unit, so I saw him a couple of times, but we never really had a conversation."

 

"But you came out here and married Jess," Lily said, "and now he's back."

 

"And nothing has changed," Jess declared. "Tom and I had realized it wasn't going to work before he left Providence."

 

"Does he remember that?" Cole asked.

 

"He will," Jess assured the young man. "Right now, he's still trying to regain all of his memories."

 

"Did he say something that makes you think otherwise, Cole?" Nick asked, seeing Cole's expression after hearing Jess' explanation.

 

"No, he didn't say anything. It was just - the way he looked a couple of times. I could be wrong."

 

Nick felt Jess' fingers on his hand and looked at her, seeing the reassuring smile on her face, and turned his hand to grasp hers.

 

"What did the Major have to say about Tom Scott's being alive?" Kevin asked.

 

"He was glad to hear it," Nick said. "But since Tom didn't remember the Major, there didn't seem to be any reason for the two of them to meet."

 

"Maybe they'll meet the next time that Major Barrett visits Providence," Jess suggested. "He said he would probably come again for a longer visit after he retires in a few months."

 

==================

 

Jess took Caleb up to his bed, leaving Nick talking with Kevin and Cole. She was surprised to find Nick already in their room when she entered. "I thought you'd still be downstairs," she told him as she began to unbutton her blouse. "What's wrong with your arm?" he asked.

 

She stopped, turning to look at him. "What?"

 

"I saw you wince earlier when you picked Caleb up."

 

"I must have hurt it -"

 

"Jess," he said, coming over to lift her chin with his finger. "Let me see."

 

Sighing, Jess slipped out of the blouse, revealing a bruise on the upper part of her left arm. "It's just a bruise," she told him. "It will heal quickly. There's no reason to -"

 

But Nick was clearly not listening as he turned away from her toward the door. "Stay here," he told her.

 

"Nick -" she said again, hastily pulling her blouse back on and fastening buttons as she followed him into the hallway, where Cole was coming toward his room.

 

"Ma? What's going on?" he asked, continuing toward her. "Did I just see -"

 

"He's going to talk to Tom Scott," she said. "I have to stop him."

 

"Why's he going now?"

 

"When Tom and I talked today, he grabbed my arm - I jerked away, and my blouse tore - I don't think he meant to hurt me, but I have a bruise on my arm -"

 

"And Pa saw the bruise, so he's going to talk to Mr. Scott," Cole realized. The sound of a horse being ridden away reached them, and Jess started toward the stairs.

 

"I'll get the horses saddled," he told her. "You need to go tell Aunt Lily where we're going."

 

"We?"

 

"I'm going with you," Cole informed her, leaving her at the bottom of the back stairs to head outside.

 

=================

 

By the time Nick reached Providence, it was after ten. He went to the desk, looking at the register to find that Tom Scott was staying in Room 8. The hallway was dark, and as Nick approached the door to Room 8 opened and someone ran out, almost knocking Nick down in his haste to reach the stairs.

 

Frowning, Nick entered the now open room, moving to the bed, stopping as he saw the glint of moonlight through the window as it reflected off of the golden-tipped hilt of the knife that had been thrust through Tom Scott's chest.

 

"What the devil's going on down here?"

 

Nick turned to see Sgt. Hastings standing in the doorway, still pulling the suspenders up over his undershirt. "Someone stabbed Tom Scott, Sergeant. Would you mind going across the street and ask Sheriff Morgan to come over here?"

 

"Sure."

 

Nick lit a lamp, looking around the room as other guests appeared in the hallway - as well as Harry Collins. Nick explained what he'd found and Harry told him, "The knife belonged to Mr. Scott. He asked for his supper in his room, and I saw it when I brought the tray up here. The scabbard for it is over there on the dresser." He shook his head. "I need to go tell Father about this."

 

"You go on and do that, Harry," Lucas said as he entered the room. "But first get everyone else back to their rooms and tell them not to leave before I talk to them."

 

"Yes, sir, Sheriff," Harry nodded, turning to the crowd gathered in the hallway. "Okay, everyone. You heard the sheriff. Back to your rooms."

 

Lucas studied Tom's body before turning to ask Nick, "What were you doing here at this time of night? I didn't see you when I went past the saloon a little while ago."

 

"I wanted to have a talk with him," Nick said, indicating Tom.

 

"What about?"

 

Ernie appeared in the still open doorway. "What's happened?" he asked, looking from Lucas, to Nick, and then to the bed. "Oh my. Is he -?"

 

"Dead," Lucas confirmed. "I sent the Major's aide to get Thad to confirm it officially, though."

 

"Nick?" Ernie asked. "You didn't -"

 

"No," Nick answered firmly. "He was dead when I got here," he stated, looking at Lucas. "But I think I saw his killer. Someone came out of this room and ran past me toward the stairs. It was too dark to see who it was."

 

"You haven't told me why you came to see him," Lucas reminded him.

 

"Look, Lucas, I'll tell you, but right now - Ernie, can you go tell Jess -"

 

"Tell Jess what?" that lady asked as she entered the room.

 

Nick moved toward her, wanting to block her view of the bed, but he was too late. She pushed past him. "Tom?"

 

"I'm sorry, Jess," Nick said, and saw her look up at him, confused. "Oh, no, I didn't -"

 

"I didn't think you had," she said. Taking a deep breath, she turned toward Lucas. "So who did kill him?"

 

"Right now, Nick's the prime suspect," the sheriff told her. "The Major's aide, Sgt. Hastings said he found Nick in the room right after it happened."

 

Thad joined the growing crowd in the room. Cole appeared, but Jess managed to keep him from the room, telling him, "There are too many people in here already. Would you mind taking our horses over to the livery? And then you might as well head on over to the office. I think we're going to be here for a little while."

 

"Sure, Ma," he said, managing to get a glimpse of Nick before heading back down the corridor.

 

"You didn't need me to tell you that he's dead, Lucas," Thad announced. "He was stabbed through the heart."

 

"Thanks, Doc," Lucas said. "I just needed your declaration for the record. Can you wake up Jodie or his father to get someone up here to take care of the body?"

 

"Don't tell Elizabeth about this, Thad," Jess said as Thad started back out of the room.

 

"I won't lie to her, Jess. She'll be okay. She was more worried about Nick than she was Tom after your visit today. If you need anything -"

 

Jess nodded. "Thank you."

 

"Why don't we go over to my office to talk?" Lucas suggested. "Uh - not you, Ernie."

 

"Sheriff," Ernie objected, "I have a right to -"

 

"You'll get your story after I question the suspect. Nick - I guess you'll say that you're his attorney, Jess?"

 

"No," Nick said, but Jess spoke at the same time.

 

"Yes, I am."

 

Lucas shook his head. "Let's go. Ernie, if you want to, you can stay here and make sure everyone stays out of the room until Jodie gets here for the body."

 

"Will do."

 

=====================

 

Once across the street, Nick told Lucas why he had come into town to talk to Tom Scott, and exactly what had happened upon his arrival at the hotel as Jess stood at the front window, listening.

 

"Did you hear anything before you saw this man leave Tom's room?"

 

"No. I was maybe two doors away when the door opened and the man ran out, almost knocking me against the wall. The door was still open and I went in."

 

"And found the body."

 

"I wasn't going to kill him, Lucas," Nick said. "All I wanted to do was talk to him and make sure that he understood that he'd hurt Jess' arm and that if he ever touched her again I would -"

 

"You would what?" Lucas prompted.

 

"I don't know. Made sure everyone in town knew what he'd done, maybe. Or escorted him out of town. I wouldn't have killed him."

 

"Lucas," Jess said, "It's late. And I'd like a chance to talk to Nick - to my client - before you ask him anymore questions, if you don't mind."

 

Lucas nodded. "I'm going to have to hold you, Nick, on suspicion of murder. I'll need your guns."

 

Nick handed over his side arm and hold gun as Jess said, "Lucas, he's not going anywhere. Surely -"

 

"And you know that if I don't hold him for this, there are likely to be some in town who aren't happy with Tom's suspected murderer being allowed to walk around town.

 

"It's okay, Jess," Nick told her. "He's right. Tom was a native. He grew up here. I'm just an outsider who married into the Donager family and the town took under their wing."

 

"That's not true, and you know it, Nick," Jess declared hotly. "No one thinks about you that way."

 

Lucas handed Jess the keys to the cell area. "Your weapons, Jess?" he asked, and she sullenly put them on the desk as well before turning to lead Nick to the cell area door and opening it.

 

"I'm not sure you need to try to handle this case, Jess. You can't be -"

 

"I don't have to be," she told him, unlocking the cell.

 

"I didn't kill him, Jess," he said.

 

She fell into his arms. "I know that. I never thought you had." She looked up at him. "What's going on, though? Why did his putting a bruise on my arm send you back to talk to him?"

 

Jess felt Nick's deep sigh as he moved to look out of the window. "Haven't you ever wondered why I've refused to forgive my father? Why I never went back?"

 

"You wanted to live your own life," she said. "He refused to accept that."

 

"That was just part of it," he told her, sitting on the cot. "Just before the war began, I came home for a visit after I finished college. Father was still convinced that I would stay there and start working with him. I went into Mother's room because Father told me that she wasn't feeling well - she had a bruise on her arm - I might not have seen it if she hadn't raised her arms to hug my neck."

 

"Are you saying that -?"

 

He nodded, his expression grim. "She tried to tell me that she'd fallen, but wasn't able to give me any details, and when I said I'd ask the servants, she begged me not to ask questions, that it would only cause trouble. But I did ask the questions, and the servants confirmed what I suspected: my father had been hitting my mother for several years."

 

"Oh, Nick," Jess said, sitting down beside him. "Pa once said that a man who would hit a woman wasn't really a man."

 

"Something else we would have agreed on," Nick told her, taking her hand in his.

 

"Did you talk to your father about it?"

 

"I did. I told him that I knew what he was doing, and that if he ever raised his hand to her again, I'd let the entire city know about it, and take Mother as far away from him as I could."

 

"I'm surprised that you didn't do that last part anyway."

 

"I wanted to," he confessed. "But Mother insisted that she would stay, and promised to let me know if he hit her again. When the war began, I almost didn't join the Army, but she told me to go." He sighed. "I was considering going to get her so that she could travel with me, but before I could do it, I got word that she had passed."

 

"Do you know if he -"

 

"I asked the servants about it when I went back after his death, and they all assured me that he barely spent any time with her at all after I left for the war. And when he did, they weren't alone."

 

"I wish you had told me about this before," Jess said.

 

He sighed again. "I couldn't. I've never told another living soul. And I thought I was past it - but seeing that bruise on your arm brought it all back."

 

"I don't think he meant to do that," Jess told him.

 

"I know. But I wanted *him* to know about it - and that if he ever did anything like that again, I'd see that he regretted it. I was just going to talk to him." Shaking his head, he told her, "I don't think any of this will help with our current situation."

 

"No," she agreed. "It won't. But at least *I* understand why you came in to see him now."

 

"I never had the chance to talk to him. From what I could see, he was obviously sleeping when whoever killed him entered that room. If he woke at all, he had no time to react and protect himself."

 

The metal door from the office opened slowly, and Lucas entered. "Sorry, Jess, but I'm going to have to kick you out. You can talk to him tomorrow."

 

"Okay, Lucas," she told him, rising from the cot. Nick took her hand and kissed it. "I love you," she told him.

 

"I bet you say that to all your clients," he replied, managing a grin.

 

"Only handsome gamblers," she told him. "Try to get some sleep. I need to go find Cole."

 

"Why is he in town?" Nick wanted to know.

 

"He didn't want me to ride into town alone," she explained. "And I didn't feel like arguing with him."

 

"I love you," he said as she left the cell and Lucas came over to turn the key in the lock.

 

=====================

 

After finding the office still locked, Jess continued down the street, seeing that the lights were still on inside the newspaper office. She tapped on the door, and Ernie called. "Who is it?"

 

"Jess," she told him, and then heard the key being turned in the lock and the door opened for her.

 

"Come on in."

 

"Is Cole here, by chance?" she wanted to know.

 

"I'm here, Ma," Cole told her.

 

"I told you to wait at the office -"

 

"I suggested he come down here," Ernie explained. "How's Nick?"

 

"In jail," she said.

 

"The sheriff doesn't really think that he -" Cole began, and Jess put her hand on his arm.

 

"Of course not. But Nick was found in the room alone right after it probably happened. Lucas will investigate, and I'm sure he'll release Nick soon. Now, I want you to go back to the ranch -"

 

"Aren't you coming with me?"

 

"I'll need to be here -"

 

"I think you need to go home," Cole pointed out. "I doubt Lucas will let you see him again tonight."

 

"No, probably not."

 

"So why not go home and get some sleep?"

 

"You think that *he'll* sleep tonight?" she asked him.

 

"Maybe not. But you should try. If you're going to be there for him, you'll need your rest."

 

Jess saw Ernie's grin as she asked, "Are you sure that you don't want to be an attorney? You sound like one right now."

 

"No, thank you. But I've learned a lot by spending time with two of the best."

 

"Take her home, Cole," Ernie said.

 

Jess looked around. "Where's Iris?" she asked him.

 

"Sleeping. I was down here writing when I heard a horse come in and looked out to see the white stallion of Nick's tied in front of the hotel."

 

"I take it that Iris is a heavy sleeper?"

 

"Like a log, once she's out," Ernie nodded with another grin. "But don't tell her that I told you that. Especially you, young man," he told Cole.

 

"My lips are sealed," Cole assured him.

 

"Ernie, would you please send a wire to Judge Maxwell for me tomorrow morning?"

 

"Sure, what do you want it to say?"

 

Jess grabbed a pencil and a loose scrap of paper, quickly writing out the message. "There you go. Thank you. I'd do it tonight, but Lou's probably already asleep."

 

======================

 

As they entered the livery stable, Jess studied the sorrell in the stall next to Spirit. "We'll leave Spirit here for the night. Hopefully Lucas will find something to clear Nick tomorrow - that's a nice looking sorrell. I wonder who it belongs to?"

 

"Mr. Bradford, I guess," Cole said, giving her a hand up into Midnight's saddle. "Tom Scott was riding the sorrell when he came out to the ranch earlier."

 

"I've never seen her before," Jess told him, glancing once more at the animal. "I guess Mr. Bradford bought a new horse. Com'on. Let's go."

 

=======================

 

Jess spent most of the remainder of the night praying and pacing the room before the sun peeked above the horizon. Heading downstairs, she joined Kevin and Cole for an early breakfast. "Did you get any sleep, Ma?" Cole asked. "I heard you pacing early this morning."

 

"To be honest, no, I didn't," she confessed. "I spent most of the night praying when I wasn't pacing."

 

"I did a lot of that, too," Cole told her. "Praying."

 

"I keep thinking that I missed something - something that might help."

 

"You said last night he'd been stabbed?" Kevin asked.

 

"Yes."

 

"Who's knife was it?" he wondered.

 

"Harry Collins said it was Tom's," she told him, "and that he'd seen it when he delivered supper to Tom's room. The scabbard was on the dresser -" her voice trailed off. "The scabbard. It was simple buckskin with fringe."

 

"That's what he kept that knife in that he always carried," Kevin recalled.

 

"And the knife - I didn't really look at it, but I do recall that it had a polished golden tip on the hilt -"

 

"He carried a knife?" Cole asked.

 

"Tom's father refused to buy him a handgun. He had a rifle - and Tom was good with that, but with a knife - He got the knife from another childhood friend - Running Pony."

 

Cole's eyes widened. "An Indian?"

 

"Pueblo Indian," Jess told him. "When they were moved to a reservation, Running Pony gave Tom the knife as a token of friendship."

 

"But he didn't take the knife with him," Kevin told her. "Tom was afraid that the Army would take it away from him, so he said he was going to leave it here -"

 

"That's right. He said he was going to hide it and a few other things so his father wouldn't lose or get rid of them."

 

"Why would he hide stuff from his own father?" Cole wondered.

 

"You have to realize that Tom and his father didn't get along very well."

 

"But for him to have to hide his things -" Cole said, shaking his head.

 

"Do you know where he might have hidden them, Jess?"

 

"Somewhere on his father's ranch, I'm sure. Most likely close to the house -"

 

"It's a starting place, anyway," Kevin agreed. "I guess he went to get the things yesterday -"

 

"He didn't have a knife with him that I saw, Uncle Kevin. But I guess it could have been in his saddlebag."

 

"You said last night that he was at the chuckwagon after lunch?"

 

"We were just finishing our coffee when he rode up," Cole told her, giving her a sheepish grin at his admission of having had coffee.

 

"He left town just before we went in to lunch with the Major," Jess told them. "There's no way he went to the Scott place and then out to meet you."

 

"He wasn't in town before yesterday morning," Kevin pointed out. "So he had to have gone then."

 

"I know," Jess sighed. "He arrived on the same train as the Major. It might not be the same knife. Like I said, I only got a quick look."

 

"I'll get our horses saddled and we can go," Cole told her.

 

"No, I'll go. You need to go help your Uncle Kevin."

 

"You're sure?"

 

"Quite. But you can saddle Midnight for me."

 

He finished the glass of milk in front of him, then stood up. "I'll go take care of that, then. You want me to saddle Rusty?" he asked Kevin.

 

"I'm sure that Pedro already has it taken care of. Thanks for the offer."

 

Alone with his sister, he studied her face before asking. "Are you sure you're okay?"

 

"I grieved for Tom Scott when Mr. Scott received that letter, Kevin. He wasn't back long enough to me to get to know the man he was now. He was a stranger."

 

"And don't take me to task for asking, but are you sure it's a good idea for you to try and defend Nick? I thought there was something about not representing family or something?"

 

"Who else is there?" she wanted to know. "I'm not about to trust Nick's life to a stranger who doesn't know him."

 

Kevin lifted his hands defensively. "Okay, okay. Forget I asked. If I get a chance today, I might ride over to the old Scott place and look around."

 

"I'll tell Lucas - he might want to join you. *If* it's the same knife."

 

=================

 

As Jess rode into town, she saw the Major and Sgt. Hastings on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. The first whistle warning of the approach had sounded, and she could see the train nearing the town. Tying Midnight to the rail before the station, she climbed onto the platform. "You're leaving?" she asked the Major. "Sgt. Hastings will have to give a statement -"

 

"He did that this morning," Maj. Barrett told her. "We both did. And if he's needed to testify in court, I'll send him back. But we have to be at Fort Carson today. I spoke to Nick, and told him that if there's anything that I can do to help, to contact the Fort and they'll be able to reach me."

 

"Surely they can do without you for a few days," Jess insisted, raising her voice over the din of the steam engine's roar. "I'd like to talk to the Sergeant about what happened - if he saw anyone else - or -"

 

"The Sheriff has both of our statements," Barrett assured her, already moving toward the passenger car, Hastings right behind him. "Now, if you'll excuse us -"

 

Jess stood there on the platform, watching as the two or three passengers got off the train, sighing with frustration as the Major and his aide stepped up, greeting the conductor. She noticed Paul Grover standing in the doorway to the station as he took the sack of mail from another conductor. Moving closer to him, she waited for him to finish signing for the mail. "Not many passengers today," she said.

 

"Two out, two in. Yesterday it was only the two in," he told her.

 

"Two?" she asked. "Not three?"

 

"The Major and his aide were the only ones that came in on the early train," he confirmed.

 

"But - I thought - Tom Scott said he'd come in on that train," she said.

 

"I heard that, too," Paul said. "But as hard as it might be to believe, I keep an eye on how many get on and off every train. Tom wasn't on the train." He looked at her. "How's Nick doing?"

 

"I'm on my way over to see him. I'm hoping that he got some sleep last night."

 

"I bet that you didn't either," Paul told her.

 

"You'd win that bet," she nodded.

 

"It'll work out," he said. "Tell Nick that we've been praying for him."

 

"I will. He'll appreciate that."

 

====================

 

From the station, Jess took Midnight over to the stable and handed the reins to Niles Bradford. "He'll probably be here all day," she told him. "I'm sure you noticed that I left Nick's horse overnight -"

 

"No problem. That stall has Spirit's name on it," he told her with a quick smile.

 

Jess moved over to the next stall. "This is a nice looking sorrell. Where did you get her?"

 

"She's not mine," Niles told her as he set about loosening Midnight's saddle cinch. "Might be, though, since he never paid me for feed or keep yesterday."

 

"He?" Jess asked.

 

"Tom Scott. He rode her in yesterday morning, according to what Gene told me. Came in while I was over welcoming the Major to town. Told Gene that he was getting some money later in the day and he'd be in to make a deposit on the bill for boarding the horse."

 

"But - he told us that he came in on the train," she insisted.

 

"I know. I'd heard that, too. But he rode the sorrell in, and took her out for a while late yesterday morning." He put the saddle onto the rail, then turned to Jess. "He wasn't the same man. The Tom Scott I remember was always laughing and making everyone else laugh. Rebecca Lee used to talk about how you were the class prankster, but Tom was the class joker. I don't think I saw that man smile once yesterday."

 

"He went through a lot during the war, Mr. Bradford," Jess told him. "There are things you don't know about -"

 

"I'm taking that into account, Jess. I don't think a person changes that much. Your Uncle Charles was the same way, remember? Joking, laughing. And even after all the things he went through, when he came back, he still liked to talk and tell those stories."

 

"I suppose you're right," Jess said. "Tom was always a gentle soul - even if he did carry that knife with him."

 

"He was wearing it when he got back to town yesterday afternoon," Niles informed her. "Wasn't when he left out, though."

 

"Where's his saddle?" she asked.

 

"Over there on that rail. It's seen better days, so I'm not sure that I could sell it for much. Maybe enough to pay the feed and hay bill. Probably sell the sorrell, too. I don't need another horse for hire."

 

"I might be interested," Jess said, moving over to examine the saddle. "Mr. Bradford, did he have a rifle in this boot?"

 

"What?" Niles responded, coming over to her. "Oh, come to think of it, yes, he did. Nice one, too. Guess he took it to his room at the hotel along with his saddlebags. You serious about the sorrell?"

 

"Can I let you know later? I need to go talk to Nick."

 

"Sure. I'll just put her feed bill on the Diamond D's."

 

Jess nodded, leaving the stable and crossing the street as Ernie called her name. "Jess!"

 

She turned in his direction, wondering if she was ever going to get over to the jail. "What is it, Ernie?"

 

"I have a reply to that wire I sent for you."

 

"Thank you," she said, taking the paper that he held out and reading it aloud. "Will be there as soon as possible. Stop. Keep the faith. Stop. Otis"

 

"You know that if this makes it to a trial, he won't be able to hear the case - he's too close to you and Nick."

 

"I know that, but how did you -?"

 

"I covered a few trials back when I was working for my father. They'll appoint someone else to oversee the case - and to prosecute."

 

"I wonder if Uncle Otis would be willing to take a step backward and help with the defense," Jess speculated.

 

"There's an idea."

 

Jess shook her head. "I'm finding out some things that don't add up, Ernie. I'm starting to wonder how much of what Tom told us yesterday was truth and how much was fiction."

 

"Now, you know that, as a newspaper man, I can't let that go, Jess. What's up?"

 

"Let me talk to Nick first," she said. "Can we meet for lunch? And Iris, of course."

 

"She's been making lunch at home - why don't you join us?"

 

"Are you sure that won't be too much trouble?"

 

"She'll be delighted to see you. She's worried about you with all that's happened."

 

"I'll see you both around noon, then."

 

===================

 

Lucas looked up as Jess entered the office. "Here's the key," he told her, "Give me your guns, please."

 

Jess handed over her side arm and derringer and moved toward the cells as Lucas opened the outer door. "Where are you going?"

 

"To get my breakfast. I'll bring his back when I finish."

 

"You take my guns, give me the keys to the cell, and then leave - you're very trusting, Lucas."

 

"Is there a reason I shouldn't trust you or Nick?" he wanted to know.

 

Jess smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. Lucas - do you have the knife that -?"

 

"The murder weapon?" he asked, and moved over to his desk, opening a drawer to take the knife out. "Here." He laid it on the desk.

 

"Don't you recognize it, Lucas?"

 

"It looks familiar, but -"

 

"It was Tom's."

 

"Harry Collins told us that -"

 

"No, I mean it's the knife he carried before he left to fight in the war."

 

"The one that Indian boy gave him?"

 

Jess nodded. "Running Pony. He told Kevin that he was going to hide it so that his father couldn't lose it. Where are the things from his room at hotel?"

 

"Still in the room. I had Carl lock it up until I finish the investigation. Why all the questions about the knife? He probably got it when he went out to the old place yesterday."

 

"On *his* horse," Jess said. "While you're out, you might want to talk to Mr. Grover and Mr. Bradford about Tom's arrival in Providence."

 

"Tell Nick I'll send someone over with his breakfast," Lucas told her before leaving the office.

 

Jess entered the cell area, seeing Nick sitting on the cot. Hearing the door opened, he looked up, and then stood as he saw Jess. She quickly unlocked the cell and went inside, sighing as his arms went around her. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here sooner," she apologized. "But -"

 

"Shh," he admonished, capturing her lips with his. "I think I'm addicted to your kisses," he told her. "Lucas said he was going to breakfast -"

 

"After I talked to him, he had other places to go first. He told me to let you know that he'd send someone over with yours."

 

"I'm not really hungry - what did you tell him?"

 

Jess filled him in on what she had discovered about the knife, and the fact that Tom hadn't arrived on the train, but on horseback. "I don't think that Tom had time to go out to his father's place before seeing Cole and Kevin yesterday - not when we saw him riding back into town right after lunch."

 

"So - when *did* he go out there and get that knife?"

 

"There's no way to tell. But that means he was here before the Major arrived - just not in town. Now, I have some other people to talk to - Greg March, for one."

 

"Greg? What's he got to do with this?"

 

"Niles Bradford told me that Tom was talking about getting some money yesterday. Maybe he got it from the bank."

 

"Jess, let Lucas handle the investigation," Nick said. "Please?"

 

"Why?"

 

"Don't you think you have enough to do with trying to defend someone who -"

 

"Stop. And I should tell you that Uncle Otis is on his way - since he probably won't be able to try the case - I'm sure he'll agree to help represent you *if* we don't clear you of the charges before the trial."

 

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "You're not going to listen to me, are you? You'll forge ahead, risking your life if necessary -"

 

"Nick, I'll do whatever it takes to clear you of this. Oh, Paul Grover told me to let you know that they're praying for you. So far, I haven't talked to anyone who thinks you did this."

 

"And how many people have you talked to since it happened?"

 

"Paul Grover, Niles Bradford. The Major. I tried to get him to stay longer, but he insisted that he had to get to the Fort today."

 

"He stopped in to see me," Nick confirmed, "and explained why he was going. I understood. He's under orders to inspect the Fort, starting today. He left Fort Davis a day early to stop over here en route."

 

"Did he ever talk to Tom yesterday?"

 

"No. He said that if he had, he might have had to arrest him for desertion."

 

"Desertion? Tom was wounded and lost his memory."

 

"Yes, but he had a duty to notify the Army once he recovered any part of his memory. He failed to do that. The Major didn't think that arresting the man here on the heels of his return to his hometown would have been the prudent thing to do. So he said that he would have done *his* duty and informed the Army about Tom Scott's change of status and let them make the decision about what happened from there."

 

"It doesn't matter now, does it? He said that he and the Sergeant both made statements about what happened last night."

 

"Lucas has them, I'm sure."

 

"I'll go find them," Jess said, moving toward the door, but Nick stopped her.

 

"Uh uh," he said. "I spent the entire night away from you - you're not going anywhere, Mrs. Everett, except right here." He sat down and patted the cot next to him.

 

Jess sat down beside him. "I think we'd shock poor Lucas if he came back and -"

 

"Lucas is a peace officer," Nick pointed out, putting his arms around her. "He's probably seen it all. But all I want right now is to hold you, and tell you how much I love you." But instead of talking, he kissed her.

 

Jess didn't fight when he gently pushed her onto the bed to continue the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Sighing as the kiss ended, she said, "I told you that it was dangerous for us to be alone, remember?"

 

"Hello?"

 

Hearing a woman's voice from the office, Jess quickly sat up, smoothing her hair as she called back. "In here!"

 

The door opened to reveal Milly, a tray in one hand that she quickly steadied with her other hand when she got inside. By this time, Jess was on her feet, and hoped that the other woman wouldn't notice that her cheeks were red, and that Nick's hair was hopelessly tousled. "Lucas asked me to bring some breakfast over to Nick before he went to talk to Mr. Grover."

 

Jess opened the cell door to take the tray. "Thank you, Milly," she said, and knew from the smile on Milly's face that she knew exactly what she had interrupted. Jess felt the warmth on her cheeks and quickly turned to put the tray on the bed beside Nick. "I was wondering, did you have a chance to talk to Tom after he came back to town?"

 

"I did. He came into the cafe after he checked in to ask if we could take him a tray up to his room for supper." Milly shook her head. "I know he'd been gone for awhile, but it was like talking to a stranger. You know how he was, Jess," she said. "Always wanting people around him - I always thought it was because he spent his time at home with just him and his Pa."

 

Nodding, Jess told her, "I always thought the same thing. Mr. Scott wasn't much of a talker. And Tom loved to talk."

 

"Well, I told him we could bring a tray up around five, I asked him why he didn't want to come into the cafe to have his meal. And he said that he didn't want people staring at him, and coming over to talk to him. That he was still trying to get his bearings." She shrugged. "That might have been the truth, but well, it just didn't sound like Tom."

 

"Did he go back to his room after you talked to him?" Jess asked as Nick began to eat the breakfast that Milly had brought.

 

"Not right away. He went to the bank, then came back to the hotel and paid Jason for a week's stay in advance."

 

Jess turned to give Nick a look. "Thank you, Milly."

 

"Anything I can do to help. I know that Tom Scott was a native of Providence, but, well, I always felt that if he'd had a choice, he would have been out of here as soon as possible. Nick, now, he seems more than happy to stay on."

 

"For as long as possible," Nick confirmed. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, Milly."

 

"We all waited a long time for Jess to find the right man," she told him. "I knew the first time I saw the two of you together that you were him." She reached over and covered Jess' hand. "I'll be back later to get the tray - or you can bring it back over later, Jess. I have to get back to the cafe to help. People are already starting to come into town for the Founders' Day celebration."

 

"Thanks again, Milly," Jess said. Alone once again, she turned to look at her husband. "You see? That's what I'm hearing every time I talk to someone. And apparently I was right about needing to talk to Greg over at the bank."

 

Nick picked up the tray and placed it onto a stool. "Later," he said. "We're alone -"

 

"Anyone here?"

 

Jess smothered a laugh as Nick sighed in frustration. "We're in here," she called out, and a moment later Andrew appeared in the doorway. "Andrew."

 

"I thought maybe I could talk to Nick," he said. "But if you're busy -"

 

"No, we've just been talking," Jess told him. "I do need to go talk to Amanda and Elizabeth - would you mind staying with Nick until either Lucas or I get back?"

 

"Jess," Nick said, but she ignored him.

 

"I'll try not to be too long," she said, giving him a brief kiss. She started out of the cell, then stopped and held out the keys toward Andrew. "You might want to take these, just in case Lucas gets back before I do."

 

"I doubt that will happen," Andrew told her. "I saw him riding out of town toward the ranch as I was coming up the street."

 

"Jess," Nick said again.

 

"I'll be right back," she insisted.

 

He grabbed the tray. "I was just going to suggest that you take this back over to the cafe."

 

"Of course. Thank you, Andrew."

 

"Seems to be in a hurry, doesn't she?" Andrew asked once she was gone.

 

"Always. Jess lives in a veritable whirlwind."

 

"So I've noticed," Andrew told him with a smile. "Now, I thought we could start by saying a prayer."

 

====================

 

As Jess came out of the Bank fifteen minutes later, she went down the street to the newspaper office, smiling when Iris and Matt, both setting type, smiled and greeted her. Iris grabbed a cloth and wiped her hands in an attempt to remove the ink as she came over to Jess. "Is Ernie here, Iris?"

 

"No, he went out - I think he went over to the hotel to try to get into Tom Scott's room."

 

"Lucas had them lock it up," Jess told her.

 

"I told him that was probably the case," Iris said, "but he said that it was his duty to try to get in there. Can I help you?"

 

"No, I needed to talk to Ernie. Maybe I can catch up to him at the hotel."

 

"Are you still coming over for lunch?"

 

"I plan to," Jess told her. "You have ink on your right cheek," she said.

 

"One of the hazards of being married to a newspaper man," she told Jess as she went to a mirror and wiped at the ink.

 

"And you love it," Jess said.

 

"I wouldn't trade it for anything," Iris confirmed with a smile.

 

================

 

Jess didn't see Ernie in the cafe or the desk area of the hotel, so she took advantage of the fact that there was no one at the desk to go upstairs. With no one in the corridor, Jess went to Room 8, wondering how she was going to unlock the door.

 

Footsteps on the stairs told her that someone was about to find her there, and in desperation she grabbed the doorknob and turned it, falling into the room when the door opened. Jess sat up as Ernie closed the door behind her and held a finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet.

 

The footsteps moved in the opposite direction, and Ernie held out a hand to assist Jess back to her feet. "What are you doing in here?" Jess asked, keeping her voice low.

 

"The same thing you are, I think," he told her. "Only I have a key," he said, holding up a skeleton key that he put into the door and turned. "Now, we shouldn't have to worry about someone else dropping in."

 

"You mean falling in, don't you? Did you find anything?" she wanted to know.

 

"Such as?"

 

"Money. Greg March told me that Tom picked up a thousand dollars yesterday that was wired to him from Denver."

 

Ernie sighed. "I found an empty wallet - and a stash of gold coins."

 

"Gold?"

 

"Twenty dollar gold pieces," he told her, opening a drawer in the dresser to reveal a piece of oil-cloth wrapped around the coins, which Jess counted.

 

"There are ten coins - Were they in this when you found them?" she asked, picking up the cloth.

 

"They were. I found more of the fabric, too. And what was wrapped in it was interesting." He moved over to pull something from behind the armoire. Laying it on the unused side of the bed, he opened the cloth to reveal a rifle with a scope fixed to the top.

 

"Wow," Jess said, "I don't think I've ever seen one like this -"

 

"They're pretty rare. Used mostly by the Army. Some Union snipers used them to pick off targets that would ordinarily be out of range. That's a ten power scope."

 

"Tom wasn't a sharpshooter in the war -"

 

"Some of the guns were stolen after the war - maybe during the war. Nick probably knows about that."

 

"How do you know about it?"

 

"I'm a newspaper man, remember? We got an alert about the stolen and missing weapons before the war ended."

 

"It doesn't make sense," Jess said.

 

"What?"

 

"This cloth, those coins - and that knife that he was killed with. Most likely he dug them up at his family's old ranch house -" she sighed. "But the rifle wouldn't have been there. Not if he got it during or right after the war."

 

"Maybe he got it during the war - and brought it with him."

 

"He was riding his own horse - and he could have wrapped the gun to try to keep it hidden from - someone else."

 

"Maybe the same someone that the money came from that Tom got from the bank?"

 

"Greg said that he would try to track down where the draft came from, but he wasn't sure that he would be successful."

 

"We need to get out of here before Lucas comes back. I saw him ride out just before I came up here."

 

"Andrew told me the same thing. He probably rode out to check the old Scott place. Let's go. I need to talk to Nick."

 

====================

 

"There's someone else here," Cole told Kevin as they neared the ruins of the old Scott house.

 

Kevin nodded toward the end of the house as they dismounted. "Go around that way and I'll go this way. Be careful."

 

Cole nodded, staying close to what was left of the wall. At the back corner, he heard what sounded like someone muttering and peered around the corner to find a man kneeling beside what had once been the back porch of the house. Glancing up, he saw Kevin come around the corner, but missed seeing Kevin's attempt to stop him as he stepped out and said, "Freeze," his hand on his gun.

 

"You'd better not have pulled the gun on me, Cole," a familiar voice warned, and Cole looked back toward Kevin, seeing the amused grin on his uncle's face.

 

"I don't know, Lucas," Kevin said, folding his arms. "You *are* trespassing on Diamond D property -"

 

Lucas stood up, shaking his head, turning to look at Cole, who had relaxed his stance. "One of these days you're going to make the mistake of starting to drawn down on the wrong person, young man."

 

"Sorry, Sheriff," Cole apologized. "We just didn't expect to find anyone here."

 

"After talking to Jess and a few other people, I thought it might be a good idea for me to come out here and see what I could find."

 

"What did you expect to find, Lucas?" Kevin wanted to know.

 

"Evidence that Tom Scott was out here and dug up some things that he probably buried before he left town."

 

"Such as his knife?" Kevin asked.

 

Lucas nodded. "Do you know what else he might have buried? You and Jess were closest to him - did he ever mention what things he would have wanted to keep out of his father's hands?"

 

"The knife is the only thing that I remember - maybe some money - you know what Mr. Scott was like."

 

"Yeah. Stingy as all get out with a dollar."

 

"You mean he wouldn't give his son any money?" Cole questioned. "Didn't Tom work around the ranch?"

 

"He did," Kevin replied. "But Mr. Scott wouldn't pay him for working on the ranch because he said that one day, it would all belong to Tom."

 

"Wow," Cole said. "So how did Tom get any money?"

 

"I could never prove it," Lucas told them, "but I suspected that he was selling cattle from the ranch - one at a time, so his father wouldn't miss them. The one time I talked to him after seeing him with a buyer, he told me that his father had asked him to sell the cow. That was just before he left."

 

"Did you ever talk to Mr. Scott about it?" Kevin asked.

 

"I did. He said that Tom had told me the truth, but I got the impression that Mr. Scott knew nothing about that sale until I told him about it." He pointed to a small area of earth that had recently been disturbed. "Someone was digging here. Looks just about big enough to hold that knife and a few small things." He looked at Kevin. "You know of any other place he might have buried something?"

 

"No. I didn't even know exactly where this one was. I just remembered this morning that he had talked about hiding some things from his father so they would still be here when he got home."

 

"You don't really believe that Pa killed him, do you, Lucas?" Cole asked.

 

Lucas shook his head. "Of course I don't, Cole. But as an officer of the court, I have to investigate the crime, and detain the most likely suspect."

 

"But -"

 

Lucas held up a hand to forestall the boy's attempt to defend Nick. "Even though I know Nick didn't do it, he *was* found in the dead man's room beside the body, and he admits that he was angry with Tom Scott - and maybe just a little bit jealous." He reached out and put a hand on Cole's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get it figured out. If I can keep your Ma from getting in my way, that is." Turning toward the horse that was tied to a nearby bush, he said, "And on that note, I need to get back to town to see what she's been up to. See you boys later."

 

=====================

 

"A sniper's rifle?" Nick questioned. "Tom Scott had a sniper's rifle?"

 

"It's over in his room," she confirmed. "Mr. Bradford saw it in the rifle boot on Tom's saddle."

 

"You think that he's the one who fired that shot the other day -"

 

"It's possible," Jess insisted. "Isn't it?"

 

"I suppose so, but - we can't prove it, darlin'. And if a jury hears that there's a possibility that Tom tried to kill me, it will give them that much more reason to think that I would have wanted to pay him back for that."

 

"I'm curious as to how he got it."

 

"Some of those rifles disappeared near the end of the war - but as for how Tom got his hands on it - I have no idea."

 

"Ok, so what about the money?"

 

"Now that could be important, but unless we can find out who sent it and why -"

 

"You're being deliberately obstructive!" she accused.

 

Nick pulled her close. "No, I'm just being realistic."

 

"I don't like it when a client fights me," she told him. "You're supposed to listen to my advice."

 

"Ah, but what would be the fun in that?" he asked. "I thought you were going to see your sisters?" he asked.

 

"I will after lunch. Speaking of - what time is it?"

 

He sighed and took out his pocketwatch. "Almost noon."

 

"I have to go, then," she told him. "Ernie said that it would be ready at noon." Nick kept his arms around her, dropping a kiss on her lips. "Nick," she said. Another kiss. "Nick, please." Another kiss, and this time her tone changed. "Please, Nick," she whispered.

 

After a longer kiss, he reluctantly let her go. "Make sure you go see Amanda and Elizabeth. Andrew said that Elizabeth's really fretting over all of this, and thinks that you can get her calmed down."

 

"The only thing that will do that is seeing you, I think."

 

"Tell her I'll be over to see her as soon as Lucas lets me out of this cell."

 

==================

 

"Iris is upstairs," Ernie told Jess when she entered the office. "I should tell you," he said as he followed her up the stairs, "She -"

 

"Ernie I told you not to bother Jess about it," Iris said as she finished setting the table.

 

It was clear from Iris's red eyes that she had been crying, and Jess frowned. "What's wrong?"

 

"I told her about the rifle we found," Ernie said. "And what it was used for."

 

"I don't understand," Jess said, looking at Iris.

 

"It's nothing," Iris insisted. "Why don't we have lunch?"

 

Ernie seated his wife, and then Jess, before sitting down. "Her first husband was a sniper," he told Jess.

 

"Oh. I didn't know that."

 

"No one did," Iris sighed. "Poor Ernie probably thought I was crazy, bursting into tears the way I did."

 

"Not at all," he assured her, reaching over to take her hand. "Let's bless the food, and then we can talk."

 

==================

 

"Jess!" Elizabeth said, holding out her hand for Jess to take. "How is Nick? Have you seen him? Of course you have. He didn't do it, Jess. I know he didn't."

 

"Nick is okay," Jess answered, taking her questions in order. "Yes, I've seen him. And I agree. He didn't do it. Now, he told me to tell you to stop worrying about him, and that he'll see you as soon as he can."

 

"I never told you this, but - I fell a little bit in love with Nick when he first arrived in Providence."

 

"Is that so?"

 

"If I hadn't seen that he was in love with you, I might have set my cap for him," she confided. "Of course, I'm glad that things worked out the way they did. But he's still special to me."

 

"I would never have guessed," Jess told her. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

 

"Ma says it could be anytime now." She ran a hand over her abdomen. "I'll be glad when it happens. I feel huge! Was my mother this big?"

 

"She was big, but she had two of you in there, remember?"

 

"I asked Ma if I could be having twins - she said it could be possible, but that usually it skips a generation."

 

"That's what I've always heard," Jess nodded as Amanda came into the room, giving Jess a hug.

 

"How are you doing?" she asked, and Jess smiled.

 

"I'm fine. Really. Thank you for asking."

 

========================

 

Jess wasn't surprised to find Lucas back in his office when she returned. "Did you find anything interesting in Tom's room at the hotel?" he asked as she came through the door.

 

"You mean other than 10 twenty dollar gold pieces and a sniper's rifle?" she wanted to know. Suddenly realizing that he'd trapped her into an admission that she'd been in that hotel room. "How did you find out -?"

 

"Nick told me. He thought you had my permission to go in there and look around."

 

"Oh, well -"

 

Lucas sighed and shook his head. "Don't trouble yourself. But next time - ask first. If you had, I would have gone with you."

 

"What did *you* find out at the old Scott homestead?"

 

"Nothing except a place where someone - most likely Tom - had dug something up. No way to be sure when he did it - but the hole was about the size of that knife - and since those coins you mentioned were wrapped in oil cloth, they were probably there as well."

 

"Where did Tom get those coins?" she wondered. "Mr. Scott wouldn't have given them to him."

 

Lucas told her about his suspicions regarding Tom's selling cattle from his father's herd, and Mr. Scott's reaction to the news. "In a way, Tom had a right to sell the cattle, since his father always said they were partners, but most partners don't sell without talking to their partner."

 

"There's also a wired bank draft that Tom collected for a thousand dollars, Lucas - Greg is trying to find out who sent it from Denver."

 

"Speaking of someone sending something -" he reached behind him to take an envelope off of his desk. "Paul Grover brought this over for you - said it arrived in this morning's mail."

 

Jess examined the envelope, studying the address. "There's no return address."

 

"You might as well open it and find out who sent it," Lucas suggested.

 

Inside was another envelope, this one with "To be Opened in the Event of my death," with Tom Scott's name.

 

"He's dead," Lucas pointed out, "so I think you can open it."

 

There were two pages, neatly written in the same hand as the address and writing on the envelopes. As she read, Jess sat down in one of the chairs in front of Lucas' desk. "Lucas, can you bring Nick out here, please?" she asked without looking away from the words on the page.

 

Lucas picked up the keys and went to get Nick while Jess finished the letter. She turned to look at Nick before handing him the papers and asking Lucas, "Where are the witness statements? Specifically those of the Major and Sergeant Hastings and the hotel guests on either side of Tom's room."

 

Lucas opened a drawer and pulled out those four statements. "The only reason Hastings was down there was because the Major heard someone cry out from their room above Tom's, and was concerned enough to ask Hastings to go see if the person in the room needed any assistance."

 

Jess read through that statement and Hastings', then scanned the other two statements as Nick finished reading the letter and said, "Jess - there's no way -"

 

"Lucas, I know who killed Tom. But it's going to require a trip to Fort Carson."

 

=====================

 

"I still can't believe it," Nick sighed as the wagon pulled up in front of the Headquarters at the Fort.

 

"We'll know for sure soon," Jess told him, letting him help her from the wagon as Lucas followed.

 

"We need to get into the office before someone sees us," he reminded them.

 

Jess entered the office as the young clerk, someone that she thought looked far too young to be in the Army, looked up to greet them. "Can I help you?" he asked.

 

"We would like to see Major Blair," she told him.

 

"The Major is very busy, ma'am -"

 

"Tell him that Jess Donager-Everett is here. I'm sure he'll see me."

 

The private disappeared into the inner office, and returned quickly, holding the door open for them. "The Major will see you, Mrs. Everett."

 

Major Leander Blair rose to his feet as Jess and her companions entered his office, coming around to take Jess' hand. "Hello, Jess."

 

"Lee," she acknowledged, glancing at Nick.

 

"You look as beautiful as ever."

 

"Thank you. You know Sheriff Morgan, I believe -"

 

"Sheriff," Blair said, shaking Lucas' hand.

 

"And this is my husband, Nick Everett."

 

"You're a very lucky man, Mr. Everett," Lee told him.

 

"I agree, Major," Nick said as Jess sat down.

 

Blair returned to his own chair. "Now, what can I do for you?" he asked Jess.

 

"Is Major Barrett still here?"

 

"Yes. He's due to leave tomorrow for his next inspection."

 

"Could you please ask him and his aide to join us?" she asked.

 

"May I ask the reason for the request?"

 

==========================

 

Half an hour later, the private opened the door and announced, "Major Barrett and Sgt. Hastings, sir."

 

The two men entered and Hastings went to attention before he saw who else was in the room. Barrett barely missed a beat as he smiled at Nick and said, "Well, this is a surprise! Since you're here, I hope that means everything is resolved about young Scott's death?" He turned to Blair. "I reported about the change of status regarding Private Tom Scott, Major."

 

"Yes, you did," Blair agreed. "However, you failed to report that Tom Scott was blackmailing you."

 

Barrett looked shocked. "Blackmail? What reason would he have had to blackmail me?"

 

Blair held out the letter. "This. It's a confession written by Tom Scott, stating that once he began to recover his memory, he realized that the soldier that he saw running away from the battle, the soldier who shot him when he cried out for help - was his commanding officer, Major Evan Barrett."

 

"Nonsense!" Barrett declared. "I led my men into that battle -"

 

"And all of them were killed," Nick said. "When you realized that you were outmanned and outgunned, and that the rebels had taken over a cannon, you ran, Major. And the one soldier who survived, who was wounded in the battle - you tried to kill so that he couldn't tell anyone else about your cowardice."

 

"Cowardice? The enemy - they were everywhere! That blasted cannon kept firing, killing those poor boys. I knew that I needed to escape, to report back about the loss of the cannon and the rifle -"

 

"The rifle?" Jess asked.

 

"Scott was assigned to assist our unit sniper - he was carrying the ammunition - but the cannon was lost so quickly - they didn't have a chance. I thought that the enemy had found the rifle after I got away. I had to report that loss -"

 

"You had a duty to see to the safety of your men, Major," Blair told him. "Not to cold-bloodily shoot one of them."

 

Hastings had been silent, but now he spoke. "Major, sir, perhaps it's time to speak the truth?"

 

Barrett seemed to collapse inward. "I thought I had gotten away - and then about ten years ago, I received a letter from Tom Scott, telling me that if I wanted to keep my secret, I would pay him a thousand dollars via bank draft to whatever bank was named in the next telegram. I knew that I could report him for desertion, but he would have told everyone about me. I did some research and found out that he was from Providence. Finding out that I would be passing through Providence seemed to be - well, providential, and I made my plans to end his blackmail. I'm sorry, Nick, that I involved you. I hadn't planned to, but when Hastings found you in the room, it seemed like the best idea. I'm sorry."

 

"What happened to the money?" Lucas wanted to know.

 

"It's in my quarters," Barrett told him. "Hastings can show you where it is."

 

"Sheriff," Blair said, "Charges for cowardice will take precedence over your civilian charge of murder, so we'll hold Major Barrett here at the Fort."

 

"I understand," Lucas said.

 

"We have the rifle that Tom Scott kept with him after the battle," Nick informed Blair. "Apparently he took it with him and kept it. It's in the wagon."

 

"I'll have one of my men retrieve it. Private Sutton!" he called out.

 

"Yes sir?" Sutton asked as he came into the room.

 

"Escort Major Barrett to the stockade, and Sergeant Hastings to their quarters, and then to the stockade as well."

 

"Sir?" Sutton questioned, obviously shocked by the request.

 

"Do I need to repeat my order, Private?"

 

"N-no, Major Blair," Sutton said, snapping to attention before turning to Barrett and Hastings. "Major. Sergeant."

 

After they were gone, Blair picked up the letter again. "This is all - extraordinary. That a voice from the grave would have resolved so many mysteries - Major Barrett's cowardice, the loss of the rifle, Private Scott's death and return - and death. I am sorry about that last part, Jess."

 

"His return was the surprise, Lee," Jess told him. "He could have come back to Providence when he regained his memory, but he didn't. It was his choice, and he made it."

 

"Well, I hope that I can convince the three of you to join me for lunch in the officers' mess -"

 

"We'd like to, Major," Nick said, "but we have a train to catch."

 

"I understand," Blair nodded.

 

===================

 

"Don't think that you've heard the last of this," Nick said quietly in Jess' ear as they sat down in the passenger car.

 

"Last of what?" she asked.

 

"You look as beautiful as ever," he said, and Jess smiled.

 

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

 

"Uh huh," he nodded, putting his arm on the back of the seat while Lucas sat across from them, pretending to sleep. "We should have taken a few minutes to stop and see if Minnie was working so you could meet her."

"Would've missed the train," Lucas said. "Now shush so I can get some shut-eye."

 

=====================

 

"Now, about Leander Blair," Nick said as they were out by the corral after supper.

 

"Lee? He's old friend."

 

"An old friend who couldn't resist remarking on how beautiful you are," he pointed out.

 

"He came calling a few times after I got back from the east," she told him. "He'd just been posted to the Fort. He was a Captain then. After the war, the Apaches starting causing problems again, so he came to the ranch to see Pa occasionally."

 

"I thought your Pa got along with the Apaches?"

 

"He did. But the Army kept trying to complicate things. I think Lee hoped that I would plead his case to Pa, and when he realized that my sympathies were with Pa, he moved on."

 

"Moved on?"

 

"He married a young woman from Mesa City."

 

"He's married?"

 

"No. She died a few years ago."

 

"Ah." He reached out to pull her into his arms. "Still, I have to admire his powers of observation. You *are* beautiful."

 

"Tell me again," she said, putting her arms around his neck.

 

"You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever known."

 

"Do you remember what tomorrow is?" she asked.

 

He narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Let me think for a minute." Suddenly he smiled. "Our anniversary?"

 

"Yes. And you knew it."

 

"Two years," he said. "Any regrets?"

 

"None," she assured him. "Now stop talking and kiss me."

 

"Yes, ma'am," he said, obliging her.

 

====================

 

"Why are we going into the office?" Jess asked as they dodged several people who were in town for Founders Day, moving Caleb from one arm to the other.

 

"So I can give you your present," he told her.

 

"Present? At the office?"

 

He took out the key. "Close your eyes," he said, taking Caleb from her.

 

"What?"

 

"Close your eyes." When she still stared at him, he added, "Please."

 

Taking a deep breath, Jess closed her eyes and let him lead her into the office, then to her office, where he stopped her.

 

"Keep them closed while I put Caleb into his pen." He lowered the boy into the pen in the corner of Jess' office, then went back to her and led her to the small room between the two offices that they called the law library.

 

"Can I open them now?" she asked.

 

"Okay."

 

Jess opened her eyes and gasped. "Law books?" The shelves were full, instead of half full - of brand new books. Moving forward, she ran her fingers over the bindings before turning and throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"

 

"They're really for both of us, but -"

 

"I don't care. Pa offered to buy me a full, new set of law books, but I told him that since I was only going to handle ranch business, I didn't need them. Then, after he died and I started taking criminal cases, I borrowed volumes from Uncle Otis. I never thought I'd have a full set -" she hugged him again, and gave him a long kiss. "Your present's at the house. I was going to give it to you this evening."

 

"I can wait," he assured her, giving her another kiss. "Happy Anniversary."

 

===================

 

Nick spoke as soon as he stepped into the sitting room and saw Elizabeth's sullen expression upon seeing him. "You have every right to be angry with me, Elizabeth," he said, getting onto one knee beside the chaise where she was sitting. "I know that Jess promised that I'd be here as soon as I was released, but by the time we got back from Mesa City, all I could think about was getting home and seeing Caleb. Can you forgive me?"

 

She sighed. "I suppose. At least all of that mess got straightened out - I am sorry that the Major was involved."

 

"So was I," he told her. "Now, how are you doing?" he asked, moving to pull a chair closer so he could sit down properly as Ma, carrying a tray, entered the room.

 

Jess stood and took it from her. "Let me have that, Ma. Why don't you sit down and I'll serve everyone?"

 

"Won't argue with ya," Ma told her, looking at Nick. "She'll be havin' that baby any minute now, if I'm any judge."

 

"I'm just upset that now I'm having to miss Founder's Day," she told Nick.

 

"There'll be another Founders' Day next year," he told her.

 

She reached for the newspaper that she had been reading upon their entrance. "Did you read Mr. Graves' articles and Tom's return and his murder?"

 

"I haven't really had time, but I will."

 

"I haven't finished it," she confessed, "but the story about his return is excellent. Poor Tom went through so much - wounded by cannon-fire, shot, amnesia - Thad said that it was a miracle that he survived all of that, much less made it back to Providence - only to end up being stabbed with his own knife." Another sigh. "So sad."

 

"He's at peace now, Elizabeth," Jess assured her sister.

 

"Amanda told me that the funeral is tomorrow after church?"

 

"That's right."

 

"Why are they burying him out at the old ranch instead of here in town?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

 

"Because his parents are out there, and I think that that's where Tom would prefer to be buried. The graves are all well-marked, and we'll maintain his like we've done with the other two."

 

"Family should be t'gether," Ma told her, "if possible."

 

"You know that Pa wanted to be buried up on the Ridge," Jess reminded Elizabeth, "but we convinced him that he should be buried here in town with our mothers."

 

"I'd forgotten about that," she said, wincing and placing a hand to her stomach. "Ouch."

 

"What's wrong?" Jess asked.

 

"A pain -" she looked at Ma. "Could it be -?"

 

"Let's wait and see if it happens again," Ma told her, but her hawk-like gaze was focused on her patient.

 

"Where are Thad and Doc?" Jess asked, looking around.

 

"Out on rounds," Ma told her as Elizabeth winced again. "Another one?" she asked, and Elizabeth nodded.

 

"I think so."

 

"Is there anything we can do to help, Ma?" Jess wanted to know.

 

"Nick, would you mind carrying her into the first examining room?"

 

"Not at all," he said, picking Elizabeth up and carrying her from the sitting room.

 

"Jess, you want to go get some water heating on the stove? I'll get some clean towels."

 

As Nick laid Elizabeth onto the examination table, she grabbed his hand. "I'm scared, Nick."

 

"Hey, how many babies have you helped bring into this world?" he asked her.

 

"That's part of the problem. I know all of the things that can go wrong."

 

"Ain't nuthin' going to go wrong, girl," Ma stated as she entered, her arms full of clean, white towels. "Nick, we likely got time, since this is her first, but would you mind going out and seeing if you can't track down Thad and let him know what's happenin'?"

 

"Which direction did they go in, and how long ago?"

 

"They should be due north by now," Elizabeth told him, gritting her teeth with a stronger pain and she squeezed Nick's hand.

 

He waited for the pain to ease before gently removing his hand from hers. "I have to go and get Thad." Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her damp forehead. "I'll be right back."

 

"Promise?" she asked.

 

"I promise." Jess was in the reception area when he came out. "I'm going to get Thad and Doc."

 

"They could be anywhere -"

 

"Elizabeth's sure that they're on the northern portion of their rounds, so I'll start out that way. You might want to go in and reassure her. She's finding out that a little knowledge can be frightening."

 

She gave him a kiss. "Be careful."

 

As he approached the corner, Nick saw Cole and Jaycee about to enter the gunshop. "Cole!"

 

"Yes, Pa?"

 

"Would you mind finding your Aunt Amanda and Uncle Kevin and let them know that Elizabeth might be about to have her baby?"

 

"Really? Sure! Jaycee, would you find my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lily and tell them?"

 

"On my way," Jaycee said, taking off down Front Street.

 

As Cole turned toward the parsonage, he paused. "Where are you going, Pa?"

 

"To find Thad," Nick explained. "He's out on rounds."

 

======================

 

After saddling Spirit, Nick rode out of town, turning to the north as soon as possible, keeping an eye out for signs of dust thrown by a buggy in the distance. It took longer than he expected, but finally he saw the buggy and spurred Spirit into a hard gallop, silently apologizing as he did so.

 

As soon as he was close enough, he called out. "Thad! Doc! Stop!"

 

The buggy stopped and Thad's head appeared around the side. "Nick! What on -"

 

"You need to get back to town," Nick told them as he pulled Spirit to a stop.

 

"Elizabeth?"

 

Nick nodded. "Ma thinks it's time."

 

"We're right behind you," Thad said, turning the buggy as Nick gave Spirit his head once more.

 

===================

 

"You're doin' fine, Elizabeth," Ma said in a soothing voice while Jess held her sister's hand. "Pains are gettin' closer. Shouldn't be too long now."

 

"Where is Thad?" Elizabeth asked. "Nick promised -"

 

"They'll be here," Jess reassured the young woman, wiping away the sweat from her face. "Has Nick ever not kept a promise?"

 

"No."

 

"Well, he's not about to start now."

 

"Amanda!" Ma called out, and the other Donager sister appeared in the doorway.

 

"Yes, Ma?"

 

"Why don't you give Jess a rest? I'm sure her hand could use it."

 

"I'm fine," Jess told her, not moving. "I'll stay until Thad and Doc get back." Amanda nodded, but remained in the room near the door as Elizabeth groaned again and Jess almost regretted her statement as her hand was squeezed ever-so-tightly.

 

"I want Thad," Elizabeth said as the pain began to ease and Jess wiggled her fingers in an attempt to restore the circulation.

 

"He'll be here soon," Jess said.

 

"I'm here now," Thad said as he came into the room with Doc close behind him. Jess stepped aside, joining Amanda as the young doctor grabbed his wife's hand, glancing at Ma. "How is she, Ma?"

 

"Pains are getting closer."

 

Thad grabbed a towel and wiped her face. "I love you."

 

"Love you," she replied, gritting her teeth again.

 

Doc moved to help Ma, glancing back at the two sisters. "Why don't you two go on out and let the others know that it shouldn't be much longer?"

 

Jess considered refusing to go, but Amanda pulled her from the room, where Nick took her arm. "Thank you," she told him.

 

"How are things going in there?" Lily asked.

 

Amanda answered as Andrew held her hand. "Ma says it won't be long."

 

"Where are Caleb and Lily?" Jess asked, looking around. She and Nick had left Caleb with Amanda before coming to see Elizabeth.

 

"Mother is watching them," Andrew told her.

 

"All three?"

 

"Ben and Cole are there helping," Kevin said. "I suggested that he and Ben go and enjoy the celebration, but they both insisted that they would help with the little ones."

 

"Andrew, would mind - saying a prayer?" Jess asked.

 

======================

 

It was another hour of waiting, hearing Elizabeth cry out in pain every few minutes, before they heard the sound of a baby crying. Jess turned as the door opened and Doc appeared. "It's a boy. He and Elizabeth are fine. Give us a few minutes and you can come in to see them."

 

"Another grandson," Jess said. "That makes five."

 

"What name did they decide on for a boy?" Lily asked.

 

"Joshua, wasn't it, Jess?" Amanda said.

 

"I think so. That was Thad's grandfather's name. He lived with Thad and his mother. Passed on when Thad was around ten, I think."

 

"Someone needs to go let the kids know," Amanda said, and Andrew gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll do that. And probably send Cole and Ben out to spread the word."

 

"I should be home soon," Amanda assured him.

 

"Take your time. I think Mother and I can handle three little ones for a while."

 

====================

 

"Poor Kate," Nick said later as he watched Jess get ready for bed.

 

"Why 'poor' Kate?" she asked.

 

"She's the only granddaughter - with five boy cousins. That's almost as bad a being the only girl in a big family of boys."

 

"Well, two of the cousins are younger than she is," Jess pointed out, taking a small package out of her dressing table and bringing it with her to the bed.

 

"Not that much younger," he said as she held out the package. "What's this?"

 

"Your anniversary present, of course," she reminded him. "Well, take it."

 

Nick sat up and took the package, opening it with deliberate slowness as Jess began to fidget. He glanced up to see her frustration with his taking his time and just managed to hide his grin. Her fingers moved as though she might grab the package from him and tear it open herself. "Patience, darlin'," he murmured as he finally opened the small white box to reveal a gold watch chain with a tear-drop shaped golden fob at the end. The fob was engraved with four dates from the top to the bottom. "The dates?"

 

Jess pointed to the first date. "The date we met. Then this one is our wedding date. Then Cole's birthday, and -"

 

"And Caleb's," Nick nodded. "Now I have no excuse if I forget a date, do I?"

 

"That's not why I had it made," she told him.

 

"Who made it?" he asked.

 

"Mr. Garnett."

 

"I didn't think he was doing any jewelry work these days."

 

"It was a special favor. He used some of the gold from one of the mines on the ranch."

 

"It's very good work. Excellent, in fact. I'll have to keep him in mind the next time I need something made instead of sending away for it."

 

"So you really like it?" she asked.

 

"I love it," he told her. "Almost as much as I love the woman who gave it to me, darlin," he said, pulling her into his arms for a kiss. "Thank you."

 

Sometime later, Jess lay in Nick's arms, feeling his heartbeat returning to normal. "Nick?"

 

"Hmm?"

 

"You told Elizabeth that you were surprised about the Major being a deserter - but that wasn't true, was it?"

 

His hand stilled in her hair. "You're right. I keep thinking about how he ordered the soldiers in his command to keep firing even though he knew that two of his men could be caught in the cross-fire. His lack of concern for either of us has always bothered me. I just never let it back out of its box until he admitted having deserted his men at Brushy Ford and had taken a shot at Tom Scott."

 

"I'm angry that he allowed you to be blamed for Tom's death," she said.

 

"Jess, darlin' -" he interrupted.

 

"Putting you through that after he'd almost gotten you killed during the war -"

 

"Jess?"

 

"What?"

 

"Why don't you stop talking - and kiss me," he told her, pulling her closer.

 

"Gladly," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

 

The End

Jess, Nick and the rest will return in the next installment of "The Donager Saga".