Benjamin led his pony from the barn, pausing when he saw his father and Nick and several of the Diamond D ranch hands gathered at the corral, talking.

Moving closer, he listened as Hank said, "I think we're about ready to drive the herd up to town to load on the train, Boss."

"How many head do we have ready?" Kevin wanted to know.

"I counted a hundred yesterday," Jenks announced.

"Pa?" Benjamin said, and Kevin turned toward him.

"Just a minute, Benjamin." Kevin turned back to Hank. "I thought we had more than that ready to ship?"

"We did, sir," Robert began. "But there were only a hundred on the last count - Leo and George are out now looking for strays -"

"I want us all out looking," Kevin declared. When none of them moved, he sighed. "What are you waiting for? Let's go! Pedro!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Get my horse saddled. And Nick's."

"Mine?" Nick questioned. In the six months since he'd married Jess, he had only had to help on the ranch a handful of times.

"Well, since you've decided to leave most of the day to day running of the saloon to Jake and Cara - you have time, brother. And we need every pair of eyes we can get."

"Pa?" Benjamin said again.

"Benjamin, we have to go find some missing cattle. Can you please tell your Ma and Aunt Jess that we might be a little late for supper? Thanks, son."

"Can I go too?" Benjamin asked, thinking he he was old enough to help look for cattle.

"Not this time," Kevin called back.

"But -" Benjamin began as Kevin and Nick moved away toward the barn, "I wanted to show you the trick I taught Brownie," he finished even though no one was there to hear him. Sighing, he saw his mother and Aunt Jess on the front porch, and turned to the horse. "Let's show them what you can do, Brownie," he said, leading the animal across the yard. "I know Aunt Jess will be interested."

As he approached, he realized that they weren't alone - his sister Kate was with them. He stood watching as Kate tried to pull herself up using a chair. "She's too young to walk, surely," Jess was saying.

"She's an overachiever like her Aunt Jess," Lily declared, reaching out to take the baby's hands. "She's seven months old, remember." She smiled when she saw her son. "Hello, Benji. Did you see what your sister did?"

"I did." He really didn't understand the excitement over Kate being "close" to walking, though. "Pa and Uncle Nick went out with the hands to look for some missing cows," he told them. "Said they might be late for supper."

"Ma-ma," Kate said, and both women gasped.

"Did she just say -?" Jess asked, and Lily smiled.

"It sounded like it." Picking Kate up, she said, "Say 'Ma-ma'."

"You should see what Brownie can do," Benjamin said, but neither woman heard him as they tried to coax Kate to repeat the word.

Sighing again, Benjamin turned to Brownie and got into the saddle. "Com'on, Brownie," he said to his pony, riding away from the house in the direction that the others had gone. "Maybe we can find some of those cows on our own."

Using the tracking skills that his Pa had been teaching him, Benjamin rode until the main group of riders split, and then went to the north, in the general direction of town, to look for some of the missing cattle. If he found some, then maybe it would prove to his Pa that he was able to help out on the ranch instead of being treated like a kid.

After riding for awhile, he stopped to take a drink from his canteen, and thought he heard something. It was the plaintive bleat of a calf that couldn't find his mother, and Benjamin listened for a minute before heading off toward the sound. He entered a small canyon, surprised to see a boarded up hole in the side of the cliff - only several of the boards were missing.

The calf bawled again, and Benjamin realized that the animal must have stumbled into the hole. He'd been told about the abandoned mines scattered around the ranch, mostly dug by people trying to cash in on John Donager's own gold mine. He had also been told *not* to go into any of them. But the calf had gone in, Benjamin reasoned, so he had no choice but to follow the animal. Climbing off of Brownie, Benjamin entered the old mine, pausing a few minutes to let his eyes adjust to the near total-darkness within. He was glad that he had some matches to be used in case he went fishing and needed to light a fire, and reaching into his pocket, he pulled one out. Striking it on a rough post, he held it out, seeing the calf not too far away.

"There you are," he said, moving closer, dropping the match before it burned his fingers. "Come on, let's get you back to your ma -"

The sound of rumbling sent Benjamin scrambling, but not toward the entrance, since dirt was falling there like a waterfall. Grabbing the calf, he pulled it along with him, finally tripping over a rock in the darkness and falling down. His head hit something as he fell, and his lay there, unconscious.

Startled by the dust and noise as the entrance to the old mine collapsed, Brownie turned and ran back toward the barn - without his rider.

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

"Did you find them?" Lily asked as Kevin and Nick entered the house. Both were tired and covered with dust.

"Most of them. There's one that's missing her calf, but we left her out to see if she would find it on her own."

Jess moved to Nick. "Are you okay?" she asked, ignoring the dust to put her arm around him. It had been six months, but she still worried when he rode a horse for longer than it took to ride into or out of town.

"Never been better, darlin'," he assured her. "Don't tell your brother, but I actually enjoyed eating dust and looking everywhere for those cattle."

"I won't say a word," she told him as Kevin laughed.

"We'll make a ranch hand out of you yet, Nick."

"In your dreams, brother in law," Nick answered. "I'm still better at riding a chair playing cards than I'll ever be at herding cattle." He gave Jess a kiss. "I'm going to go clean up and then we can have some supper -"

"We're still waiting for Benji to come in," Lily told them.

"He's not here?" Kevin asked, frowning, and Lily shook her head.

"No, he left right after the two of you did. We were out on the porch with Kate. I think she said 'mama', but Jess -" she told her husband, and saw his frown. "Why did you ask?"

"His horse is in the barn, still saddled. We thought he was with Daisy -"

"He would have unsaddled Brownie when he got back," Jess told them. "He always does."

"Oh no," Lily said softly. "What could have happened to him?"

Nick and Kevin looked at each other as Lily sat down. "We need to try and follow the pony's tracks before it gets too late," Nick said.

"Let me get changed," Jess decided. "Could you get Midnight saddled for me, Kevin?"

"I'll take care of it," Nick said. To Lily, he said, "We'll find him, Lily Mae."

She managed a wan smile at his use of the old nick-name, and nodded. "He said something about a trick that he'd taught Brownie before he rode off. We were busy with the baby and didn't pay much attention."

Kevin knelt beside her. "Where is Elizabeth?"

"She had supper in town with Thad, remember?"

"I don't want to leave you here alone -"

"She'll be back soon - and Thad will probably be with her. Go find him, Kevin. Please." Cassie entered the room, pausing as she saw the two of them.

"Excuse me - Mariana asked me to tell you that supper was ready."

"Cassie." Kevin stood and faced the young woman. "Can you please stay with Lily?"

"Is something wrong?" Cassie asked, clearly concerned.

"Benji's missing," Lily told her in a quiet voice. "His horse is in the barn -"

"I saw him riding out after the men," Cassie told them.

"He went out after us," Kevin realized as Jess came back into the room. "He wanted to go with us and help find the strays, but I told him no." He sighed. "I should have let him go, but - I -"

"Let's go, Kevin," Jess said. "We're losing the light."

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

The sound of the calf bawling woke Benjamin, and he winced at the noise. "Be quiet," he muttered, sitting up. His left arm hurt as he tried to stand up, so he stayed sitting down, finding another match in his pocket. Using his thumbnail to light it, he saw the calf close by in the small room that he was in. The match flickered, and Benjamin decided that there must be air getting into the room somehow, so he wasn't going to suffocate. Another match let him see that the path back to the entrance was gone - filled with earth and timbers and rock. The calf bawled again, and a few more rocks fell, but there didn't seem to be any danger of a further cave in.

There had to be some way out of the mine, Benjamin thought, finally managing to lever himself to his feet with his good arm. He tucked his injured arm into his shirt, remembering Aunt Elizabeth talking about immobilizing a broken arm if possible. Reaching into his pocket, he counted the matches left there. Three. Three matches between him and total darkness.

Looking up, he finally saw a tiny sliver of light in the roof. "Help!" he called out, hoping someone might be out there. A little more earth fell, so he decided that yelling for help wasn't a good idea. Not unless he knew for sure there was really someone out there to hear him.

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

Outside of the house, word had spread to the hands, and all of them expressed a desire to help find the boy, but Kevin shook his head. "Robert, Jenks, Pedro, you come with us. Hank, you take the rest of them and get those cattle up to the stock pens at the edge of town so they'll be waiting when that train comes in tomorrow afternoon."

"It won't take us that long to get 'em to town, Boss," Hank insisted. "We can leave tomorrow morning -"

"When you get them up there, leave a couple of men to keep an eye on them, then come back out to the west side range. If you don't find him, come back here to the barn," Kevin finished.

Hank nodded. "Let's go boys," he told the hands, who followed him to the southeast, where the cattle were waiting.

"Since we didn't see any sign of Benjamin on the way back in, he must have left the trail," was Nick's comment.

"Still a lot of area for him to be in out here," Robert said.

"We just have to look for Brownie's hoof prints off the trail," Jess suggested. "Nick and Kevin and I will ride on this side, you three ride over there and if you see anything, sing out."

It wasn't long before Pedro spoke up. "I found the prints!"

Jess got down and examined the smaller hoof prints. "Looks like he was coming from that way -" she pointed to the west.

"That was Brownie coming back to the barn," Kevin told them. "He would have taken a direct route. We can back track on these and find where he left Benjamin."

"That's the area where we found the mama looking for her baby," Jenks pointed out. "I was going to check out there tomorrow to see if she found it."

"I should have let him come with us," Kevin said again as they set off along the trail. "He's been wanting to help out with ranch work, but he's still young -"

Jess stopped her horse. "We've hit hard ground," she sighed in frustration. "No tracks."

"If something frightened the pony, he'd keep to a straight line if possible," Nick pointed out.

She nodded, and kicked Midnight to continue straight across the flats, finally smiling. "You were right, Nick. The tracks are here!"

"We're loosing the light," Kevin said, looking up. "At least it's a full moon. That might help."

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

Benjamin realized that it was getting dark, since he was having trouble finding the little hole in the roof. He wondered if anyone was looking for him yet. His eyes were getting heavy, and he almost dozed off a few times before the calf bawled or nudged his sore arm. "Stop it, stupid cow," he said, pushing it away.

The calf bawled again, and Benjamin decided that he was probably hungry. So was Benjamin, for that matter.

Taking out one of the matches, he slowly got to his feet and lit it, moving around. Toward the back of the small room, he found a lantern, and was surprised when the wick took the flame and sent light around the room.

There were flecks of gold in the walls, he noted, and a pick axe leaning against the wall. Picking it up, Benjamin realized that he couldn't use it with only one arm. As he sat down, he realized that someone had to have been working the mine - and recently, since there was oil in the lantern. Maybe whoever it was would come back and see the cave in, and dig him out.

That idea caused Benjamin to worry, because whoever had been working the mine had no right to do so, since it was on the Diamond D. And that meant that they wouldn't be happy to find *any* Donager in the mine. Sitting down again, Benjamin bowed his head.

"God, please help bring my Pa to find me and get me out of here, and keep me safe from anyone else who might come. Amen"

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

Hearing noises outside, Lily opened the front door, disappointed to find Elizabeth and Thad coming up the steps. "Oh," she said. "I thought maybe -"

Elizabeth moved to her sister in law. "You've been crying. Lily, what's wrong?"

Thad followed them into the house as Cassie came from the parlor, her eyes red-rimmed as well. "Something wrong with Kate?" he asked, but Lily shook her head.

"Benji -" she began, but started to cry again, and so Cassie spoke up.

"Benjamin's missing," she said.

"Missing?"

Lily managed to stop crying to explain. "He followed Kevin and Nick and the hands out to find some cattle, even though Kevin told him not to. Brownie - Brownie came back alone."

Elizabeth sat down beside Lily, looking up at Thad. "Where is Kate?"

"Sleeping in her room," Lily explained. "Cassie just went to check on her."

"Why don't we go check?" Elizabeth suggested, trying to find a way to get Lily's mind off of her missing son.

"Where is Jess?" Thad asked.

"She went with them," Cassie explained. "Miss Lily and I have been sitting here praying since they left."

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

"What's that?" Pedro asked, pointing to a point of light that seemed to appear out of a hillside.

The six riders paused, looking in that direction. "A light of some kind," Robert told them. "It's up above Rogers Valley."

"Rogers Valley?" Nick asked. "I don't think I've heard of that before -"

"It used to belong to the Rogers family," Kevin explained as they continued to follow the trail in the moon-lit darkness.

"I remember the name from the plaque, but -"

"Mr. Rogers didn't have a family," Jess said. "He had a small gold mine that never amounted to much. He actually lived inside -" She broke off as she looked at her brother. "Kevin, you don't think -?"

"We closed it up after Pa bought the land at auction when Mr. Rogers died," Kevin told her. "Benjamin knows better than to go into a mine, especially one that's been boarded up."

"What makes you think he might be in a mine?" Nick asked.

"The light," Jess answered, nodding toward it as she sped Midnight's gait up. "There was a hole through the top of the mine where a stovepipe used to be. The locals all called it the Stovepipe Mine."

Kevin sent Rusty into a full gallop toward the valley, getting there first- except for the mama cow who was grazing, stopping occasionally to bellow a call to her missing calf. No one paid much attention to her, however, as Kevin leapt off of his horse and moving toward the entrance into the mine, calling "Benjamin?!"

"Two of the boards are gone, Miss Jess," Robert told her as the rest of the search party got there.

"Benjamin!!!" Kevin called again, finding his way blocked as he entered the mine. "There's been a cave in," he said. "No way of telling when -"

"If there's a light coming from the pipe, that means someone is in there," Nick told them.

"The pipe," Jess said.

Kevin nodded, but looked at the side of the hill. "You can't climb that in the dark, Jess."

"He's right, Jess," Nick told her.

"I've done it before," she replied. "But there used to be an old trail up there - If I can find it in the dark, I won't have to climb."

Kevin turned to Robert. "Go back to the ranch and bring back a wagon and shovels and some timbers for shoring this thing up if need be."

Robert nodded. "I'll also bring some lanterns so we can see what we're doing."

"I'll go, Boss," Pedro told him. "I can drive a wagon faster than anyone else. "

"Then go," Kevin told the man, feeling helpless because he couldn't do much with his bare hands. "Benjamin! Can you hear me, son?!"

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

Nick followed Jess around the hill, looking to find a way up other than climbing up the rocks. "Where *is* it?" she fretted. "I know it was here - I remember going up and looking down the hole into the mine a couple of times after Pa boarded it up."

"How come I think that you and Kevin both got into some of the mines scattered around the ranch?"

She smiled at him, her eyes glittering in the moonlight. "We did. Pa tanned both of our hides for it, too." Her smile widened as she examined a spot that inclined upward. "Here it is!"

"Maybe we should wait until Pedro gets back with the lanterns," Nick suggested, holding onto her arm as she would have rushed headlong onto the path.

"We need to let Benjamin know we're here and going to get him out," she said. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"Not for myself," he answered. "I don't want you to get hurt. It's been awhile since you've been up there -"

"I'm going up that trail, Nick," Jess said in a firm tone. "My nephew - *your* godson - is probably down in that mine, and I need to make sure that he's okay."

Nick nodded and took her hand. "Lead the way, darlin'. Just don't let go of my hand."

Slowly, the two of them made their way along the path toward the summit. The path narrowed slightly in one spot, and Jess' foot slipped. "Jess!" Nick said, pulling her back onto the path. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, rounding the next corner to find the light coming from the hole.

"Be careful," Nick warned her. "The ground could give way around that hole."

She made sure their hands were still joined as she leaned forward and looked down into the mine. "Benjamin?!" she called.

"Aunt Jess?" came the reply. "Where are you?"

"Up here," she replied. "Are you okay?"

"I think - I think my left arm's broken, and I hit my head - Can you get me out of here?" he wanted to know, and Jess heard the fear in his voice as he asked the question.

"We're going to get you out," she told him. "Just hang on -" she heard a calf bawling. "What was that?"

"That's why I'm here," he called back. "I followed a stupid calf in here!"

"You sit down and we'll get you out as soon as Pedro gets back with some tools!" Standing up, she called down into the valley, "Kevin, He's ok! He has a broken arm and a bump on the head, but he's alive!"

Below, Kevin sank to his knees. "Thank you, Lord," he said. "Thank you."

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

Thad and the three women looked up as the heard a horse returning, and went through the kitchen to the back door that Mariana had opened upon hearing the sound. "Who is it?" Thad asked.

"Pedro," his wife stated. "He went into the barn."

"I'll go talk to him," Thad told them, and hurried down the path to the barn. Finding Pedro harnessing a horse to one of the wagons, he asked, "Did you find him?"

"Yes," Pedro nodded as he worked. "He's trapped in an old mine in Rogers Valley," he continued. "I have to get some shovels and boards for shoring the entrance and some lanterns."

"Is he badly hurt?"

"I don't know, Doctor. I left before Miss Jess and Mr. Nick got up to the top of the hill to talk to him."

"I'm going with you," Thad informed the man. "If he's injured, I'll be able to start treatment there. I'll get my bag from the buggy and then help you load things up."

"What's going on?" Lily asked as Thad returned to the house, moving through to the front doors.

"They've found him. He's trapped in an old mine in some valley -"

"Rogers Valley?" Elizabeth asked, and Thad nodded as he opened the doors and went outside.

"That was it. We're taking some lanterns and shovels and timbers back out there."

"We?" Elizabeth questioned. "You're going with him?"

"Just in case he's hurt, I'll be able to take care of him immediately." He grabbed his black bag from the buggy, but turned to head around the house. "I told Pedro that I would help him load the wagon."

"You might need some blankets," Elizabeth said. "I'll get them and bring them out."

"Thank you," he said, hurrying back toward the barn.

As she entered the house, Mariana met her, and Elizabeth told them what Thad had relayed to her. "I told him that I would take some blankets out to them."

"Trapped in a mine?" Lily was saying, clearly worried. "Do they know for sure that he's still -?"

"I'll get the blankets, Miss Elizabeth," Mariana offered as Elizabeth knelt beside the chair in which Lily was sitting.

"Thank you, Mariana. Lily, please don't think the worst. Kevin and Jess both played in those mines before Pa boarded them all up."

"If he boarded them up, how did Benji get in there?" Lily wanted to know.

"I don't know. There's only supposed to be one mine still open on the ranch - the Diamond D. All the rest were sealed up as they were found." Mariana returned with a few blankets, and Elizabeth stood up to take them. "I'll be right back," she promised.

Out in the barn, she found the wagon nearly loaded, and held the blankets out. "Here."

"Thank you," Thad said, pausing to take her hand as Pedro spoke.

"That's it, Doctor," he said, launching himself into the seat and grabbing the reins.

Thad gave Elizabeth a quick kiss. "Tell Lily that we'll bring him back," he said, getting into the wagon.

"Be careful," she said as the wagon pulled out, then put a hand to her lips. He'd kissed her. For the first time, he had kissed her. Elizabeth walked back to the house slowly, remembering the feel of his lips against hers.

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

"Do you know how to get out to that valley, Elizabeth?" Lily asked soon after she returned to the house and told them what she knew.

"What? I suppose so. Why do you ask?"

"I want - no, I *have* to go out there," Lily insisted. "I want Benji to know I was there for him." Elizabeth shook her head, about to refuse the request. "Don't you understand, Elizabeth? It's important to me!"

"Lily, you wouldn't be able to do anything but watch, and maybe be in the way -" Kate's cry broke the silence, and gave Elizabeth something else to mention. "What about the baby?"

"I'll watch her," Cassie offered, turning toward the stairs. She paused. "She's right, Miss Elizabeth. She needs to be there." Having said her piece, she continued up the stairs.

Elizabeth sighed. "Okay. We can use Thad's buggy. It's still out front."

Lily grabbed a shawl from the hooks near the door as she led the way outside. "Thank you."

"I just hope I remember the way out there. It's been awhile."

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

"Aunt Jess?" Benjamin called upward.

"I'm still here, Benjamin."

"I'm sleepy."

"He needs to try and stay awake," Nick told her. "If he hit his head hard enough, he could have a concussion -"

"Benjamin, you need to try your best to stay awake," she told the boy. "Stay awake so you can listen when they start digging. Then you can tell them when they're getting close."

"I'll try," he called back to her, and she thought she saw him walking around the small chamber as the calf started to bawl again. "Be quiet. I'm hungry, too. Besides it's all your fault I'm in here."

Jess looked at Nick. "Do you have any jerky or anything in your pockets?"

Thoughtfully, Nick pulled a small, kerchief-wrapped piece of dried meat out of his back pocket. "Here."

Tying the kerchief, Jess called into the hole again. "Benjamin, I'm tossing something down to you. Don't stand right under the hole, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Here you go!" she called out as she tossed the kerchief. "Did you get it?" she asked, worried that it might have gotten caught up in the hole.

"I got it - Jerky! Thanks!" he said, and she smiled at Nick as they both realized he'd said that last with a mouthful of the treat.

"That should hold you over - The hole's too small for me to drop a canteen down to you - but it shouldn't be long now - Pedro's back with the wagon!" She stood up. "Kevin!"

"I hear it!" he called up to her. He barely waited for the wagon to stop before moving toward it. "Thad?" he questioned upon seeing the doctor, taking a shovel from the wagon.

"Thought I might be needed," he said, getting down and grabbing a shovel as well. "Where are Jess and Nick?" he asked, looking around.

"Up on the hill," Nick called down.

"Please tell me that you didn't climb that cliff," Thad said.

"Jess knew about an old path up the hill," Kevin told him, starting to dig as Robert lit several lanterns and placed them around the entrance. "They've been talking to Benjamin."

"Talking to him?"

Jess called down this time. "He thinks his left arm is broken, Thad. And he says he hit his head."

"Is he sleepy?" Thad asked.

"He says he is. I told him to try to stay awake and let us know when he hears digging."

"Good girl," Thad nodded, moving over to dig as Jenks removed the rest of the boards from the entrance.

"You sound concerned about his injuries," Kevin said.

"If he has a concussion, the last thing he needs to do is fall asleep. But I have confidence that Jess - " They all stopped working as they heard sounds of another wagon approaching. "That's my buggy," Thad said.

"Whoa!" Elizabeth said, pulling it to a stop and smiling apologetically at Thad and Kevin. "Lily insisted on coming out here," she explained.

Kevin stopped digging and came over to the buggy to take Lily's hand. Robert, Jenks, and Pedro were still removing earth from the entrance. "He's alive," he told her. "Jess and Nick are up there on hill, talking to him.

"Thank you Lord," she said in a shaky voice. "I'll stay in the buggy until you get him out," she said, touching his cheek. "I told Elizabeth that I would stay out of the way. But I had to come, Kevin. I had to."

He nodded as Jenks called out. "We need to do some shoring, Boss!"

Kevin started pulling a timber from the wagon as Robert hurried over to help.

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

Above, Jess deliberately kept quiet about Lily's arrival. It would be better for the boy to discover his mother's concern once he was out of the mine. "Benjamin?" she called. "Are you listening? They've started digging!"

"I'm listening, Aunt Jess! My arm hurts."

"It won't be long now," she promised him. Turning from the hole, she looked at Nick.

"Be nice if someone would bring us a lantern," he told her. "It would make it easier to get back down that path without breaking our necks."

"You can go get one if you want to," she told him.

"And leave you up here alone? What if you get too close to that hole? That's not a short drop." He shook his head. "Once they get him out, I'll ask one of the men to bring us one."

"I hear them, Aunt Jess!" Benjamin's voice called out, and Jess moved back to her safe spot near the hole.

"It won't be long, Benjamin!" she called back as Nick relayed the information to the valley.

"He says he can hear you digging!"

A cheer went up from below at the news, and the workers redoubled their efforts to free clear the dirt and rocks, shoring the sides and top of the shaft as they went.

Finally, Kevin broke through into the room. "Ben! Son, do you see me?"

"Pa!" Benjamin said, trying to dig a bigger hole with his good arm.

The sound of a calf's bawl caused Kevin to stop digging. "What was that?"

"He's the reason I'm in here," he explained. "He was inside the mine when I found him, and then the entrance collapsed. I tried to move back and fell over a rock."

Kevin had resumed digging as the boy explained, and now had an opening big enough for them to walk though. "Well, let's get you out and taken care of, and then get your friend out."

But before Kevin could move, the sound of a mama cow reached inside the mine, and the calf clambered over the debris to get to her. "I think he had other ideas, Boss," Robert said as they all laughed, watching the calf join his mother and start feeding.

Outside of the mine, Benjamin blinked at the brighter lights and his eyes widened as he saw who was coming toward him. "Ma?"

She came over and gave him a gentle hug, being careful of his injured arm. "Are you okay, Benji?" she asked. "I was so worried."

"I'm fine, Ma," he said, but he buried his face against her shoulder. "I'm fine," he repeated in a muffled voice. She let him stay in her arms for a moment before saying, "Dr. Mitchell is here. He needs to check your arm and head."

He nodded, slowly pulling away to look up at Thad. "I tried not to move my arm," he told the doctor. "I remember Aunt Elizabeth talking about keeping a broken arm from moving too much." He finally saw that lady and blinked a few times. "Aunt Elizabeth. Where are Aunt Jess and Uncle Nick?"

"Coming down the hill, I think," Elizabeth told him. "Robert took a lantern up to them so they wouldn't have to come down in the dark."

As Thad examined him, Benjamin frowned and looked around. "Where's Kate?" he asked his mother.

"Cassie stayed with her," Lily explained. "I wanted to be here for you."

"It'll be good practice for Cassie," Robert said as he returned with Nick and Jess.

"She already had practice taking care of Benji," Lily said, and the did a double-take. "Robert? Are you saying that you and Cassie -?"

"I am. But don't tell her you know. She wanted to be the one to tell you all."

Thad finished putting a splint on Benjamin's arm. "Now, I think this young man needs to be at home so that he can be nursed back to health by his Aunt Elizabeth."

Using the blankets, they made a place for Lily and Benjamin to ride in the back of the wagon, while Thad drove his buggy back with Elizabeth. "Pa?" Benjamin asked.

Riding beside the wagon, Kevin looked at the boy. "Yes?"

"Are you - angry with me?"

"Why would I be angry with you?"

"You told me not to come out looking for the missing cows. I did it anyway."

"Well, you did find the calf," Kevin told him.

"And I went into that mine when you'd told me not to."

"If you hadn't, then the calf probably would have been killed," Kevin pointed out. "He didn't have the sense to run away from the cave-in the way you did." He saw Benjamin consider what he was saying. "Tell you what, we'll have a long discussion about this tomorrow. I think it might be time for you to start helping out on the ranch a little more."

"Really?!"

"After all, you have an investment now -"

"An - investment?"

"You saved that calf. That makes it yours now. So next year, when we take cattle in to ship, you'll make whatever he brings."

"Wow!"

Thad and Elizabeth followed the others into the ranch compound, but he pulled around to the front of the house. The ride back had been a quiet one, and she finally said, "I'm sorry for using your buggy without your permission, but it was the only thing I could use. Lily was -"

He looked around to make sure the others hadn't followed them, and then pulled her into his arms for a proper kiss. "I wanted to do that earlier, but Pedro was waiting and watching."

She smiled at him. "I thought maybe you hadn't realized that you'd kissed me," she said.

"I knew what I was doing. I've been wanting to do it for a long time."

"Why haven't you?"

"Mostly because I thought you were too young to know what you want."

"And you don't think that now?"

"No." He started to kiss her again, then shook his head. "We have a patient to get settled into his bed, nurse. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow." He got out of the buggy and helped her down. "I'll count on you to remind me."

Elizabeth laughed. "Oh, I will."

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

Cassie met them at the back door. "Kate's asleep in her crib," she told Lily before moving over to where Kevin was carrying her former charge in his arms. "Are you okay, Benjamin?"

"I have a broken arm," he told her.

"So I see. I'm glad you're okay."

"If you're happy, why are you crying?" he wanted to know.

"People do cry when they're happy, Ben," Kevin said, ignoring the look his son gave him.

"Is Robert back as well?" she asked Kevin, who nodded.

"He is. They had a buckboard and some horses to take care of."

"I'll be going, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Benjamin. Goodnight."

"Thank you, Cassie," Lily said. "Let's get Benji up to his bed so that Dr. Mitchell can finish his examination, shall we? I'll go turn down the bed," she told Kevin.

Nick and Jess remained in the living room, where Nick poured himself a glass of whiskey. "Care for some?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"No, thank you."

He watched her as he finished the drink quickly, then held out his hand. "Come here." She moved into his arms. "I could have lost you tonight," he whispered. "For a moment on that path -"

She looked up at him. "I knew you'd catch me," she told him. "I was never worried."

"I'm glad *you* weren't." He held her for a few minutes. "It's been a long day."

"And you're not used to spending most of a day in the saddle," she pointed out. "I'm sure that Mariana left something in the kitchen - probably some meat and bread, if you're hungry."

"Well I'm hungry, if he's not," Kevin announced as he returned to the room. "And so is Ben. I told him I'd bring something up to him - Thad's about finished checking him out."

As they prepared a small sandwich for the boy, Nick told Kevin, "You do realize that someone had to have removed those boards from that mine?"

"I've been thinking about that. It wouldn't be first time someone's tried to jump a claim on one of those mines. I'll have it closed up again tomorrow and that should be the end of it. Whoever's been in there will likely think twice when they see that we've blocked access again. Ben said that he found a lantern and pick axe in there."

"Well, that explains how he had the lantern and wasn't in the dark," Jess observed. "So it wasn't a total loss. I'd hate to think of him being in that place alone with no light other than what filtered through the stove pipe." She put the plate with three sandwiches onto a tray, "One for you, one for Lily and one for Ben," she said.

"Thank you, Jess," he said, taking the tray from her. "Night, Nick."

"Kevin," Nick nodded, finishing his own sandwich as Jess picked hers up. "I'll put the bread and ham back into the larder," he offered.

She nodded, her mouth full of food. Finally, she said, "If you'll take care of the lights in here, I'll go check the lamps in the parlor."

"And I'll meet you upstairs," he nodded. "Don't be too long," he told her with a crooked smile.

Thad was coming down the front stairs as Jess started up. "How is he?" she asked.

"I think he'll be fine. Elizabeth's going to keep an eye on him, but I don't think that the bump on his head was too bad. He said he lost consciousness for a few minutes, but he didn't think it was very long. I'll come back and check on him tomorrow."

"Do you want me to -" she turned as if to go back downstairs, but he shook his head.

"I can let myself out. Good night, Jess."

"'Night, Thad." She waited on the stairs until he closed the front door behind him, then continued up the stairs, pausing as Lily and Kevin came out of Ben's room.

"He's almost asleep," Lily said in a quiet voice as she balanced the now empty plate on the tray.

"Do you want me to take that to the kitchen for you?" Jess offered, but Lily shook her head.

"No, I'll do it. You go on to bed."

Jess entered the bedroom to find Nick, stripped down to his underwear, using the basin to wash off some of the grime from the riding he'd done. She stopped and closed the door, turning the key in the lock before moving over to put her arms around him and her head against his back. "Mmm," she sighed.

"I'd really love to have a bath, but this is going to have to do," he told her, taking a towel from the table and drying his face and arms. "I'll throw this water out - I think there's enough in the pitcher for you to use," he told her, but Jess didn't let him go. "Jess -"

She sighed heavily, releasing him before sitting down to remove her boots and unbutton her blouse. Nick tossed the water outside through a window, then returned the basin to the table. Stripping out of his long johns, he got into bed, watching Jess as she finished undressing and washed up. "You know, I think Kevin should have left someone out there at that mine just in case whoever's been in there comes back."

"He'll probably send someone out there tomorrow," Nick told her.

"And whoever it is will be long gone by that time," she insisted. "If they hadn't gone in there in the first place, then that calf wouldn't have gone in, and Benjamin wouldn't have become trapped. So all of this is his fault, I'd think." She started brushing her hair. "I'd love to find out who it was. I suppose you and I could go back out there -"

"Jess, come to bed," Nick said, but she kept talking.

"And spend the night. That way, if the person does come back, we'd catch him in the act -" Nick tossed aside the bedclothes and moved to pick up his long johns. Jess saw him in the mirror, and turned. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Going back out there," he said.

"On second thought, we should wait until tomorrow," she said, standing up as Nick moved toward her.

"Woman, you're on my last nerve," he said, chasing her around the room. "First you say let's go, then say we're not going -"

"Nick!" she yelped as he finally grabbed her from behind, bending down to whisper in her ear.

"There's a little boy a couple of doors down the hall who really needs his rest, so let's be quiet, shall we?" he suggested, picking her up and tossing her onto the bed before joining her there.

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

The next morning, Kevin carried a breakfast tray into his son's room. "Good morning, Ben!" he said with a smile.

"Thank you. I thought Ma said she was bringing this in," Ben told him, sitting up. "I told her that I could walk downstairs, but she insisted and said I wasn't going to school today."

"She wants to pamper you a little, son. She was pretty frightened yesterday when you went missing."

Ben nodded. "I know." He frowned. "Pa?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you calling me Ben?"

"You think I haven't heard your friends calling you that?"

Ben shrugged. "Benjamin's a baby name," he said. "Ben sounds more - grown up."

"So you don't mind my calling you Ben?"

"No, sir."

"And big boys don't go anywhere without telling someone where they're going, do they?"

"No," Ben agreed. "Did you mean it last night - about letting me help on the ranch?"

"I did. When you're not in school, you can spend time out of the range with me if you want to."

"Sure! I want to learn everything. I already know how to rope and I've branded a few head -" He looked up at Kevin. "Pa, why didn't you want me to go help before?"

"Well," Kevin said, pulling a chair over to the side of the bed and grabbing a slice of bacon, "when I was your age, I didn't have a choice about working the ranch."

"You didn't?"

"Nope. My Pa told me that since one day I'd be taking care of the place, I *had* to learn it all, even cleaning the stables and tackrooms. Whether I wanted to or not."

"You didn't want to learn?"

"What I wanted to be able to go play with my friends - to be a kid for a little longer. That's why I told you no, Ben. Because I wanted you to be able to be a kid for as long as you wanted - not force you to do ranch work. You understand?"

Ben chewed on another piece of bacon, nodding. "I think so. But I want to do ranch work."

"And so you shall."

"You know, sometimes I wonder if I would have liked your Pa," Ben mused. "He sounds like he could be mean."

"He was strict," Kevin nodded. "And he could be mean, but he wanted what he thought was best for me, and for your aunts. He would have loved you."

Ben smiled. "You really think so? Even though- well, even though I'm not 'really' his grandson?"

Kevin shook his head in exasperation. "You are my son. Forever. Are we clear on that?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Now, do you want me to talk to your Ma about calling you 'Benji'?

Ben thoughtfully considered the question. "Well, no. I guess it's alright for *her* to call me that, for a little longer, anyway - as long as it's *just* her who calls me that."

Kevin managed not to laugh as the boy's dithering, but smiled and nodded. "I think that's a very wise decision." He reached out to ruffle Ben's hair. "Now, I'm leaving this afternoon for a few days to get those cattle to market, so you behave yourself, okay? When I get back, we'll see about you going out to the range with me - in a wagon to start, because of your arm."

"I'll be as good as gold, Pa," Ben promised eagerly. "But - I can't do most of my chores -"

"Do what you can, and I'm sure Pedro will be willing to pick up the slack."

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

Nick was in the hallway when Kevin came out of Ben's room. "How is he this morning?" Nick asked.

"Almost himself - except for the splint on his arm. Lily decided to keep him home from school for the day."

"Understandable," Nick agreed, straightening his coat. "Is Jess downstairs?"

"She wasn't down for breakfast when I came up here," Kevin reported. "I thought she might have slept in after everything that happened last night. Are you saying that she didn't?"

"When I woke up, she was gone," Nick said as they entered the dining room. "Mariana -"

"Good morning, Mr. Nick. Your breakfast is ready -"

"Have you seen my wife?" he asked the housekeeper.

"Yes. She was up early - I saw her going toward the barn just after sunrise."

Nick and Kevin exchanged a look. "Why would she have gone out so early?" Kevin asked.

"She was worried last night about leaving that mine open and who might have been in there without permission."

Kevin shook his head. "My sister doesn't need a husband, she needs a keeper," he muttered. "Feel like another ride?" he asked as Lily came into the room, carrying Kate.

"Good morning, Nick," she said.

"Lily. Can you ask Mariana to keep my breakfast warm for a little longer?"

"Of course, but - where are you two going?"

"To find Jess," Kevin told her, giving her a kiss before following Nick from the room.

"I thought you were -" Lily began to say, "-leaving for town," she finished, looking down at Kate. "Now your Aunt Jess is missing," she told the baby. "At least she can take care of herself, even if those two won't admit it."

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

Jess rode past the still-open mine, and moved further up the valley - away from where the rescue party had been, looking for any sign of a single horse coming into or going out of the valley. There was another hard flat just north of the valley, which made it nearly impossible to find any tracks. She rode on to the edge of the flat, then rode along that edge, still searching.

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

"She came this way," Nick told Kevin, pointing to Midnight's hoof prints along the valley. "She's trying to track whoever was taking gold out of that mine and left it open so that the calf and Ben could get inside." He looked at the sun. "You need to get ready for your trip, don't you?"

"The train won't pull out until after two," Kevin answered. "As long as I'm there by then, I'll make it."

"Why don't you go back to the barn and have some of the men come out here to board that place back up - except for the two boards that were down when Ben went inside?"

"Why leave those off?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Jess does have a point. We need to find out who's been out here stealing gold out of that mine."

"I don't care about the gold," Kevin insisted. "We don't need it."

"But whoever it was, he caused what happened last night - and it could have gone badly," Nick pointed out.

"So you think we should set a trap for whoever it is."

"Exactly. You go on back and get ready for your trip. I'll handle the rest - including my wife."

"Just don't forget that she's also *my* sister."

Nick grinned and rode after Jess while Kevin laughed and turned back toward the house.

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

When she didn't find anything after awhile, Jess turned to go back in the other direction, pulling up as she saw Nick sitting on Spirit where the tracks had ended. "Good morning," she said, bringing Midnight close and leaning over to give him a kiss. "It was such a lovely morning, that I decided to go for a ride -"

"I missed breakfast," he told her.

"Really? You could have had it - I'm perfectly fine -"

"I was worried, Jess," he told her. When she opened her mouth, he lifted a hand. "I know, I know, you can take care of yourself. But next time, at leave a note, please. You took the time to bring fresh water up for the basin, but you didn't take time to leave a note."

"And would you have been less worried if I'd left a note saying that I was going out to try to find who's been in that mine?"

Nick pushed his hat back and looked upward, seeking Divine guidance. "Lord, talk to her, please."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I knew you had to be up late tonight, since it's Friday night, so I thought I'd let you sleep in. Especially after the late night *last* night -"

"So you were only thinking of me," Nick mused, clearly not buying her story. "If you'd led off with that line, I might have been okay with it," he told her, pulling her close for another kiss. "Have you found any prints?" he asked at last.

"Not yet. I guess you saw the ones out here to the flats." Nick nodded. "I rode out that way, but didn't find anything. I was going the other direction when I saw you."

"Let's go," he told her. As they rode, he relayed what he'd told Kevin.

"So you want to set up a trap for whoever's been stealing the gold."

"Strangely enough, your brother isn't concerned about the gold -"

"He wouldn't be. I'm not either, really. It's what happened to Ben - that bothers me. Why are you and Kevin suddenly calling him Ben, anyway?"

"You haven't noticed that most of his friends have been calling him that for several months now?"

"Come to think of it, I have, but -"

"He thinks Benjamin is a baby's name, and that Ben is more grown up."

"Ahh," Jess nodded, understanding, still scanning the ground off the flat. "Hang on," she said, jumping to the ground. "There's a horse and a - pack animal. Probably a mule or a donkey."

"There are wild donkeys on the ranch," he pointed out.

She indicated the tracks. "This one was with the horse," she insisted, pointing toward the north. "The tracks go that way."

"And how many areas of flats are up there?" Nick questioned.

She sighed. "Several. And with each one we'd have to ride along the northern edge to find tracks if they don't go straight across."

"Whoever it is will come back to the mine eventually," Nick pointed out. "We're better off having some of the men camp around the side of the hill back there until that happens."

Jess nodded. "You're right."

"So, let's go back to the house and have breakfast, then we can talk to Hank and Robert about -"

"Hank's going with Kevin," she pointed out.

"Then we'll talk to Robert about posting a guard out in the valley," he finished.

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

Jess sat in the bathing room off of the kitchen as Nick used the shower that he'd had added into the corner of the room. "Not sure why we never thought of putting a shower in before," Jess mused. "I mean, there are two out beside the bunkhouse, but -"

"Considering that Kevin and your father were the only two men in the house back then, it made more sense to have a bath. I'm sure they made use of those outside showers, didn't they?"

Jess rose to her feet and moved slowly around the room as they talked. "Sometimes. I like the idea of a shower, though. It's less trouble than a bath."

"You didn't think so when the water was cold during the winter," he pointed out.

"And I've been thinking about how to -" she paused just outside of the wooden door, "heat the water up -" He was rinsing off, his back to the room, and Jess reached over to unlatch the door, only to find herself pulled into the stall with him.

"Nick!" she said as he kissed her.

"You're the one who came in here," he told her. "I hope you remembered to lock the door."

Kate smiled, nodding as she put her arms around his neck. "Of course I did."

"And how are you going to explain why your clothes are wet?" he asked.

"I'll just say that I was washing your back."

"Uh-hmm," he replied as she pulled his head down to hers. "Promise me something."

"Anything," Jess replied.

"Promise me that you won't go out to that mine without me."

She drew back, meeting his gaze. "Nick -"

"I know that you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you. Now, promise."

"I -" He captured her lips and pressed her against the side of the stall. When the kiss ended, she stood there, her eyes closed for a moment before smiling up at him. "I promise," she said dreamily.

"Thank you," he said, kissing her on the nose before taking her arms from his neck. "Now, let me finish my shower, please."

Jess nodded, stepping back out of the stall and grabbing a towel to dry her clothes as best she could, still in a daze until the wooden door opened again and she held out the towel. "Here."

"Thank you."

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

As they stepped from the room, Lily was in the kitchen talking to Mariana. The housekeeper grinned and ducked her head as she stirred something on the stove.

Seeing their looks, Jess wiped at her damp clothes. "I - I was washing Nick's back, and I guess I got a little wet," she explained, not sure why she felt so embarrassed.

"You really should keep a robe in there - in case you need it," was Lily's comment. "That's what I do," she added, smiling as Nick guided Jess up the back stairs.

Inside their room, Jess turned to Nick - "Did you hear -? Do you think she meant that she and Kevin -" she covered her cheeks as they turned even redder. "Oh my."

Nick started to laugh. "Oh, Jess, darlin'. Even after the last six months, you're still a babe in the woods. Do you really think that we're the only husband and wife who - enjoy each other's company?" he pulled her into his arms again. "I love you."

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

"You didn't have to come into town," Nick told her as they rode into Providence. "Or was it to keep from being tempted to go out to the mine?" he asked.

"I promised you that I wouldn't do that," she replied. "I wanted to talk to Jody Baker about repainting the sign on my office."

"The sign?"

She nodded. "As you pointed out, it's been six months. I think that it's time."

"Sorry, darlin', I'm still not following you."

Jess nodded toward the office. "Read it."

"Jess Donager, Attorney-at-Law," he read.

"I'm not Jess Donager anymore."

"You mean - you're going to change it to Everett?"

"I am. You don't think that I should?"

"I don't have a problem with it - but your law degree hanging in that office still says 'Jess Donager'," he pointed out. "I didn't think that you would want to -"

"I suppose that I could - hyphenate it: Donager-Everett," she mused, then shook her head. "No. I'm not Jess Donager-Everett. I'm Jess Everett. And that's what will go on that glass."

"Are you staying in town long, Miss Jess?" Niles Bradford asked as he took their horses.

"At least until after an early supper, Mr. Bradford," she told him.

"I'll leave him saddled, then."

"Thank you," Nick said, taking Jess' arm as they moved down the walkway. "I need to go to the saloon -"

"After I talk to Jody, I'm going to go see Amanda and baby Jonathan," she told him. "And then over to have a cup of coffee with Ma."

"Remind her that it's only a few weeks before the wedding."

"I somehow don't think she needs to be reminded of that. She's still disappointed that Micah and Thomas said they couldn't leave the mine unprotected and come down to attend."

"I know. If I had the time, I'd go up there -"

"And do what?" she asked. "They'd break you in half from what I remember."

Nick chuckled as they arrived at the saloon. "You're probably right." He gave her a kiss. "Tell Amanda I said hello. Same for Ma."

"I will. Morning, Jake!" she called out to the bartender as he watched them.

"Morning, Miss Jess!" he called back and waved.

"Busy this week?" Nick asked, tossing his hat onto the coat rack.

"Nothing to brag about," Jake said. "Leroy got back into town yesterday and was here. I think he was disappointed that you weren't here."

"The man is always eager to lose money, isn't he?"

"Plays til he doesn't have anymore money, then finds more and loses it," Jake nodded. "It's a crazy cycle."

"You're right," Nick nodded in agreement. "Crazy."

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

"He's so sweet," Jess told Amanda as she held her five month old nephew. "Looks like his eyes are going to be blue."

"I hope so. Mother Lee still thinks that they might go darker, but I don't think so."

"Where is -?" Jess asked, looking around for Mrs. Lee.

"Having lunch with some of the widows. It's something new that she's started doing. They all gather at one of their homes and prepare the meal together."

"That's nice."

"Do you want me to take him?" she asked.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind."

"You don't get enough of holding a baby with Kate in the house?"

"Oh, I hold her, too. She pulled up on a chair yesterday!"

"She did? Lily must be so pleased. Didn't you say once that Elizabeth started walking before I did?"

"Yes. About a month before. We some excitement last night," Jess said. "Ben went missing."

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

Thad and Elizabeth had gone on rounds early after he had checked in on Ben, and had shared lunch with Ma and Doc upon their return to town. She was in one of the new examination rooms when Thad entered and stood watching her.

"You've been quiet today," he observed. "Are you feeling okay?"

She nodded, smoothing the pillow on the exam table. "I'm fine."

Thad closed the door and moved toward her. "Elizabeth - what's wrong?" When she didn't answer, he placed a hand on her arm and turned her around. "I thought you were supposed to remind me about something -?"

"I - didn't want to seem - too - forward," she said.

"I told you to remind me," he told her, lifting her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "So how could I think you were being forward?" He bent to give her a gentle kiss. "If you don't want me to -" he was surprised when she suddenly threw herself into his arms and returned his kiss. "I'm too old for you," he said, not for the first time.

"No, you're not. You're just right," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I think Mrs. Garnett will be here any minute -" he said with regret. "So I think we'll wait until we're on the way back to the ranch this evening to continue this discussion - if you don't mind."

"No. No, I don't mind."

"And don't worry - this time you won't have to remind me."

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

"Boss!" Eban said, stopping as he entered the saloon. "It's good to see ya -you here!"

Nick smiled at the younger man. "Hello, Eban."

"You want to look at the books? It's been a week since -"

"I'm sure they're in order," Nick replied. "I haven't seen you since your trip up to Sutton's Creek. How are things up there?"

"You wouldn't recognize the place," Eban told him. "People ev'rywhere. Must be like it was before Pa lost the vein in the mine afore I was born," he said, looking around at the early customers.

"Looking for their own gold strike, I'd wager," Nick said, followed Eban's gaze as it found and followed one of the girls as she talked to a young man that Nick had never seen before.

"Yep. That's one reason why my brothers refused to leave and come down here for Ma's weddin'."

Nick turned to Jake. "Who is that with Rose?"

"A drummer, I think, Boss. Came in on the morning train a few days ago. Him and another man -" Jake looked around. "Don't see the other one right now - but I think they know each other, but have never said a word to each other."

"Then why do you think they know each other?"

"You'll see when the other one shows up. They always sit where they can keep an eye on the other."

Rose came over with an empty glass. "Henry wants another beer, Jake," she said.

"Hi, R-Rose," Eban said.

"Hello, Eban. You look very handsome today." She smiled at him as Nick gave Jake an inquiring look. Jake nodded in the affirmative as he handed the glass back to the hostess.

As she moved away, Nick watched as Eban continued to follow her. "Eban, -"

Eban sighed and nodded. "I know. You don't hafta say it. Ma wouldn't approve." He sighed again, more heavily this time. "But she's so beautiful. I also know that she'll never see me as more than a friend. So it don't matter about Ma, does it?"

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

Nick wandered across the street to where Jess was watching Jody Baker as he repainted the sign on her office window. Others had stopped as well, and the moved on after being told what was happening. "You're going to be the talk of the town this evening, you know," Nick whispered in Jess' ear.

"I know," she agreed. "I wonder how many of them thought I wouldn't do this?" She slipped her arm through his. "Including you."

"I'm not questioning it," he assured her. "I'll just consider it my present for our six month anniversary."

"And you didn't get me anything," she said.

"You're sure of that?" he asked.

"I was only joking. I don't expect -"

"I know," he told her. "Let's go have supper, shall we?"

"We'll be at the Cafe, Jody," she called. "Let me know when you finish."

"I will, Jess."

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

"He's good at sign painting," Nick said as they sat down in front of the windows so that they could watch him work.

"Jody's always been good at things like that," Jess nodded. "Back in school, he drew pictures of people for a fundraiser."

"I may ask him to do a new sign for the saloon."

"Why would you need a new sign?"

"Lily and I were discussing it the other day. What do you think of Providence Saloon?"

"Lily agreed to change it from 'Lily's Place'?"

"She's never there anymore, so we agreed that her name needs to come off. She'll still be a half owner."

"It's your decision and hers. I don't see a problem with it."

Grace came over to the table. "Evenin'," she said. "What can I get ya t'drink?"

"Coffee for both of us," Nick told the girl.

"Special's pork steaks, potatoes and green beans."

Nick look at Jess, who nodded. "Two of those."

"Be right back."

"You know, it's funny -"

"What?"

"Eban's made a real effort to talk - as he says - 'properly'. But Grace -"

"Still sounds like she did when they first came here," Jess nodded. "Ma does the same thing, though."

"Ah, but Ma's is deliberate," Nick said.

"You mean she -"

"While I was over there recovering, we talked a lot. I've heard her lose that accent and sound like you or me - then suddenly she's back to sounding like she just got here. It's like she prefers to let people think that she's not as smart as she really is."

"That could be."

"Speaking of Eban - he's infatuated with Rose."

"Really? Oh, my. Ma -"

"He knows that. But he also knows that Rose doesn't see him in that way, so he's not concerned about what his Ma thinks."

"Poor Eban," Jess sighed.

"Maybe not. According to Jake, the lady might just be slightly interested in Eban."

"Ohh. I'm glad that I didn't know about this when I stopped in to see Ma."

"Jess -"

"Oh, don't worry. I won't say a word to her about it. But I don't think she's going to be happy the first time Eban brings Rose to Sunday dinner."

"She might just surprise us all," Nick said as Grace returned with their coffee. Once Grace was gone, he smiled. "She seems happy."

"Ma said that she's very happy. Oh, by the way, Ma told me to let you know that she does *not* need to be reminded that she's only a few weeks away from being married."

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

Once the sign was finished, Nick walked Jess to the livery stable so that she could get Midnight. "I could stay here in town," she told him, toying with the watch chain across his chest. "And we could ride back together."

"I'd rather you get home earlier - you were up early -"

"So were you," she pointed out.

"Not as early as you were. Get some sleep."

"You'll wake me when you get home?"

"Don't I always," he asked her, giving her another kiss. "Be careful going home."

"You too." She let him help her into the saddle, then rode out of town.

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

Not far from the house, Thad pulled the buggy to the side of the road before turning to look at Elizabeth. "First things first: I'm in love with you."

She smiled at him. "I'm in love with you, too."

"Being a doctor's wife isn't easy."

"I know -"

He stopped her, taking her hands in his. "Let me finish, please. You can't count on having meals on time - or getting a full night's sleep -, now, since you're also a nurse, you'll be able to help me take care of patients whenever and wherever - but that's not always easy. Your time isn't really your own." He brought her hands up to his mouth. "I love you, Elizabeth Donager. And I would consider it an honor if you would agree to become my wife and share that life with me." When she didn't respond, he sighed. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"You told me to let you finish," she replied.

"I'm finished," he told her.

"I think you know my answer."

"I'd like to hear it anyway."

"Yes. I would be happy to marry you, Thad."

He pulled her close and gave her a kiss. "I pray that you won't ever have cause to regret it."

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

Back at the saloon, Nick noticed another new face - this one sitting across from Henry so that each could watch the other. "See what I mean, Boss?" Jake asked. "They never speak or acknowledge each other, but -"

"How much has Henry had?"

"He's only drinking beer - he's had four, but he's been nursing the last one for at least an hour or more.

"And his friend?"

"You mean Charlie? He came in around fifteen minutes ago. He's had two glasses of whiskey."

"In fifteen minutes?" Jake shrugged. "Keep an eye on him. Probably need to cut him off after a third, since we don't know him."

"Nick!" Leroy declared as he came in the front door. "Finally! Someone who knows how to play poker!"

Nick shook his head, smiling. "Deal the cards, Leroy, I'll be right over."

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

Sitting in the corner under the stairs, Nick kept a watch on the room as he played cards. As he won his second hand, he saw Charlie lift his empty whiskey glass. "Hey, honey, I need another drink!"

The woman he was talking to happened to be Rose, who was still sitting with Henry. Rose would have stood, but he grabbed her wrist. "You stay here with me, Rose."

"Henry, please -" she said, but he shook his head.

"Com'on, Rosie! I need a drink!"

Cara moved to his table. "I can get you a drink, sir. Rose is busy -"

"Not with anything important," he growled. "I don't want you to get me a drink, I want her to do it!"

Rose tried to free her wrist, but Henry tightened his grip. "She's not going anywhere, Charlie!"

"Why you -" Charlie yelled, standing up and pulling his gun from its holster. Henry quickly released Rose' wrist and stood as well, his hand on his gun.

Jake grabbed the shotgun from behind the bar, and Nick stood up, his own gun at the ready. "Okay, gentlemen. I think it's time for you to both leave. If you refuse, I'll send Jake to get the Sheriff and you can both spend the night in jail."

Charlie put up his gun. "I wasn't gonna shoot him," he insisted, looking slightly unsteady on his feet.

Jake put the shotgun back and removed his apron. "I'll take 'em over to the hotel, Boss," he announced.

"Excitement's over," Nick called as Jake pulled Henry and Charlie out of the saloon. Sitting down again, he picked up the cards. "Third hand, gentlemen?" he suggested as though nothing had happened.

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

Cassie brought a tray with coffee and two cups into the parlor, placing it on the table in front of the sofa. "Robert told me that he let it slip about - that I'm going to have a baby," she told them.

"I hope you weren't too angry with him about it," Lily said.

"I wasn't. I do want you both to know that I plan to keep working as much as I can - even after the baby comes."

"That's entirely your decision, Cassie," Jess told her. "We're very happy for you."

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go help Mariana finish up in the kitchen."

"Did Ben tell you that he taught Brownie a trick and that he wanted to show us all, but we were all too busy?" Jess asked as Lily handed her a cup.

"He did. He wouldn't tell me what the trick is, though. Did he tell you?"

"No," Jess answered. "He said it would wait until he was able to show all of us - so I guess we'll just have to wait until Kevin gets back."

"I suppose so. I - um - I think I owe you an apology, by the way."

"An apology? For what?"

"Well, I think that I might have - embarrassed you this morning."

Jess stirred her coffee, not looking at her sister in law. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"When you and Nick came out of the bath. I made a comment that I probably shouldn't have made -"

"Oh, that," Jess said, shaking her head. "I hadn't even thought about it." She took a sip of her coffee. "But I do intend to put one of my robes in there," she admitted, finally looking at Lily."

"That's probably a good idea. Mariana knows to put mine in there after doing the wash, I'm sure she would do the same for you."

"I'm not sure I could ask her -"

"Would you like for me to do it? It's no problem."

Jess sighed. "I wish I could be as - casual about these things as you are."

"Some of it comes from having been married before," Lily pointed out. "And some of it comes from spending so much time around - " she paused, looking for the right words before continuing, "- women who are even *more* 'casual' about such things."

"Do you think that - after Nick and I are married for awhile, I'll be less likely to turn red at the drop of a hat?"

"Hard to say. But I think that Nick won't care either way. He loves you."

"And I love him. I just wish it hadn't taken so long for us to find each other."

"The important thing is that you *did* find each other."

"Today was our six month anniversary," Jess said. "I had the sign on my office repainted."

Lily put her cup on the tray, sitting forward. "Repainted?"

"It now reads 'Jess Everett, Attorney-at-Law."

"I don't believe it. I owe your brother - well, let's just say that he won the bet."

Jess blinked. "You and Kevin bet on whether or not I would -?"

"I really didn't expect you to do it, at least not this soon. But I'm glad you did."

"So am I," Jess told her, smiling. "What was the bet?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you. I don't want to embarrass you again." She laughed softly as Jess' cheeks reddened slightly.

Jess was relieved when she heard the sound of a buggy outside. "I think Elizabeth is home."

The youngest Donager daughter entered the house, and Jess knew. Even before she said a word, Jess knew what she was going to say.

"Thad asked me to marry him," Elizabeth announced, and Thad gave both women a smile.

"And she said yes," he told them.

"That's wonderful!" Lily said, giving each of them a hug. "Have you set a date?"

"Not yet," Elizabeth said, looking at Jess. "You're quiet. Don't you approve?"

"You know I do. It's just - I - I'm not sure what to say."

"That you're happy for us?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Of course I am." She hugged Elizabeth, then Thad. "Don't wait too long to set a date."

"I don't think we will," Thad assured her. "It's just difficult to plan things when you're a doctor - especially one who's marrying his nurse."

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

Nick watched as Leroy left, turning to Jake with a grin. "So did you get our two 'friends' to their rooms?"

"I did. Turns out they're *both* drummers for competing shoe companies. Henry made more sales in town than Charlie did. They said this happens all the time."

"I hope they move on to the next town soon."

"I think they're leaving tomorrow. You were kinda hard on Leroy tonight, weren't you?"

"Can I help it that I was on a hot streak?"

"Not like you to not let him win at least one hand, Boss." Nick shrugged. "At this rate, he's going to have to go dig up some more money before long."

"That's what I'm counting on, Jake. Thanks for tonight. Night, Cara!" he called, knowing that she was somewhere close by. "See you both tomorrow."

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

Nick entered the house quietly via the kitchen door, his boots in hand, crossing to take the back stairs. Leaving the boots in the hallway beside the bedroom door, he carefully opened the door and went inside. Locking the door, he removed his clothes and washed up with the water in the basin. Glancing behind him, he could see that Jess was sleeping soundly, and hesitated about waking her as he usually did.

He picked up his coat, pulling something from the watch pocket. Smiling, he weighed it in his hand as he moved to the bed. Lifting the covers, he slid under them, moving to kiss Jess' bare shoulder.

"Mmm," she murmured as he kissed her again and opened his hand to let the item fall in front of her eyes when she opened them. "What's that?" she asked.

"Your six month anniversary present, darlin'," he told her.

Jess sat up in the bed, and Nick took the opportunity to fasten the gold chain around her neck, allowing the heavy gem fall onto her skin. "What is it?" she asked, holding the gem in her hand. "I can't see it in the dark."

"It's an emerald," he told her. "It's the same color as the dress you were wearing the day we first met in town." He traced the line of the chain. "I know it's not practical like the other gifts that I've given you, but -"

Jess' lips captured his words as her arms went around his neck, pulling him back down into the bed...

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

Jess dressed quietly so not to wake Nick, leaving the bright green gemstone on a fine gold chain around her neck. She entered the dining room to find Elizabeth and Lily talking to Ben. "Good morning, Ben!" she said. "I'm glad you're feeling well enough to join us for breakfast."

"Thank you, Aunt Jess," he said before taking a drink of milk. His plate was empty, and as he finished the milk, he looked at Lily. "May I go out to the barn, Ma?"

"Well -"

"I promise not to get into trouble," he said. "I just want to give Brownie some carrots. And I need to see if I can do some of my chores."

"Okay. But stay close."

"I will. Thank you," he said, getting out of his chair and heading toward the kitchen door. The women all smiled as they heard Mariana telling him to be careful as he left the house.

"That's a lovely pendant," Elizabeth told Jess. "I don't think I've seen it before."

Jess lifted the gem. "Oh, this? Nick gave it to me for our anniversary. It's an emerald."

"Anniversary?" Elizabeth questioned. "You haven't been married year - only six months."

Lily and Jess grinned and Lily said, "You'll discover after you're married, Elizabeth, that sometimes a couple celebrates more often than once a year."

"I didn't remember you and Kevin -"

"We did," Lily told her. "But it was a - private celebration."

Elizabeth nodded, seeming to understand what Lily was saying, and Jess sighed. "Why aren't you embarrassed by that, Elizabeth?"

Her youngest sister smiled. "Medical books, dear sister. I have very few illusions left, I'm afraid."

"Maybe you should let Jess borrow some of those books," Lily suggested, and laughed softly as Jess glared at her.

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

"Elizabeth and Thad are officially engaged to be married," Jess told Nick later as he saddled Spirit.

"About time," Nick told her. "Set a date yet?"

"No." She rubbed Spirit's white neck as she watched her husband lift the saddle onto the animal's back. "Thank you again for the necklace," she told him as he tightened the cinch.

He looked at her, then reached over to slide a hand behind her neck and pull her to him. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?"

"Promise? Oh, no, I won't go out there."

"Thank you. Elizabeth asked me to invite Ma, Doc and Thad to dinner tomorrow while I'm in town. Oh, and you might mention to Robert that you and I will take over the watch after church tomorrow."

"After church?"

"I asked Mariana to pack us a picnic lunch to take out there."

"You sound as though you're expecting something to happen."

"Possibly."

"What do you expect to happen?" she wanted to know.

"I don't want to say until it happens."

"Nick -" he kissed her, ignoring the fact that Pedro had just come into the barn - and that Ben was with him. After the kiss, Nick smiled and put his arm around her, leading both Jess and Spirit out of the barn, winking at Pedro's wide grin. Getting into the saddle, he leaned down to touch her cheek. "I'll see you tonight, darlin'. Love you."

"Love you," she told him, watching and waving as he rode away.

"You goin' for a ride, Miss Jess?" Pedro asked.

"No, not right now, Pedro," she answered. Turning, she smiled at her nephew. "Are you sure you don't want to show me the trick you've taught Brownie?" she asked Ben.

He shook his head. "Sorry, Aunt Jess. But it's our secret - Brownie's and mine."

"Well, then do you want to see Midnight do a few of his tricks?"

"Sure!"

Jess whistled, and Midnight whinnied, opening his stall to join them outside. "Good boy," she said, rubbing his neck. "Ben, could you go get some carrots please? Don't run. I don't think your Ma would be happy with me if you fall and get hurt again."

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

Leroy folded his hand and sighed. "That's it. I'm tapped out."

Even with Nick backing off two hands, the gambler's heavy bets had left him without any chips in front of him. "Sorry, Leroy -"

"Not your fault. Just the game. Sometimes the cards come my way, sometimes they don't."

"When you get some more money, I'll be here."

"Yeah. Good thing tomorrow's Sunday."

"See you at church," Nick said, gathering the cards.

"Sure. Night," Leroy said, pushing his chair back and leaving.

Nick watched him go as he shuffled the cards, glancing at the remaining players as he dealt around the table. "Jacks or better to open, gentlemen, nothing wild."

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

As the family arrived for church the next morning, Nick helped the ladies from the surrey, then moved to lift Ben down after Lily warned him not to jump to the ground. "Aw, Ma," he muttered. "Thanks, Uncle Nick," he said as Pete and some of his other friends ran over.

"Don't be late for church, Benji," Lily called after her son, shaking her head. "I'm going inside," she said as Eban approached them.

"Could I speak to you for a minute, Boss?" he asked, nodding at Jess. "Mornin', Miss Jess."

"Good morning, Eban," Jess replied, moving off to greet Thad, Ma and Doc and confirm that they were indeed coming out to the ranch for dinner - after Ma commented on the emerald necklace that Jess was wearing.

Nick finished talking to Eban as Leroy rode up and tied his horse to the hitching post around the monument circle. "Good morning, Leroy."

Leroy nodded, removing his hat. "Nick." He smiled as Jess moved back over to Nick. "Miss Jess. Excuse me. I'd better find me a place to sit."

Jess watched as Nick's gaze followed Leroy into the building. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Going on?"

"You and Eban talking, greeting Leroy - I don't think I've ever seen you speak to him on a Sunday morning."

"We'd better go inside," Nick told her, taking her arm. "Don't want to be late for the service, do we?"

"Nick -"

"I'll explain it all after church, darlin'," he assured her. "Trust me."

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

When they arrived back at the ranch, Jess and Nick went upstairs to change into riding clothes. "Are you going to explain what's going on now?" she asked.

"I thought we could have that conversation during our picnic," he told her, taking her gunbelt and gun from the hook where it was kept after putting on his own. "Here."

Jess frowned. "You *are* expecting something to happen," she realized. Taking the weapon, she fastened it around her hips, then took her derringer from the drawer. "I suppose I should take this as well."

"Might not hurt," he agreed. "We ready?"

They took the back stairs down to the kitchen, where Mariana gave Nick a small hamper with the food she had prepared. Pedro had their horses saddled and ready, and watched as Nick helped Jess up and gave her the hamper before getting into Spirit's saddle.

"We might be late getting back, Pedro," he said.

They relieved Jenks at the mine, freeing him to head for the bunkhouse and some sleep. "Ain't seen a thing out here but a couple of rabbits and some lizards," he told them. "I don't think anyone's comin' back to that mine."

"You could be right, Jenks," Nick agreed. "Thank you. Go get some rest."

The campsite was to the south of the valley, just around the hill from the mine itself, but out of sight should anyone approach from the north. "We can't see anyone from here, either," Jess fretted. "It would be better if we went up the hill to wait -"

"Maybe later," he told her. "Right now," he said, opening the hamper, "let's have dinner and I'll try to explain what I think is going on."

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

"I still think you're crazy," Jess told him later as they sat halfway up the hill path, watching the northern approach to the valley. "Why would he decide to reopen *this* mine? There are others all over the place - a few closer to town than this one."

"That's something I haven't figured out. I just figure there's a reason that we're not aware of. But the fact that he's always leaving and coming back with money -"

"He's told people that he has a mine on his property -"

"You ever been out to his property?"

"Not in years. It's out northeast of town -"

"How many mines are out that way?"

"None that *I* know about, but doesn't mean there aren't any."

Nick nodded in agreement. "You could be right. Like I said, it's just a theory, and right now, it's all we've got."

"I suppose so," she said, standing up. "I'm going down to the horses and get the canteen."

"I'll go with you - I want to check in front of the mine again - check for any new prints."

"Someone's been here ever since Friday morning," she told him as they went down the path - which was much easier during the daylight than it had been at night.

"I need to stretch my legs," he told her. "I'll be right back."

The sound of a donkey's bray stopped Nick in his tracks, and he motioned for Jess to stay out of sight as he stepped close to the edge of the hill and peered into the valley.

"Come on, you stupid animal, we haven't got all day."

Nick shook his head as he recognized the horse and rider that appeared at the north entrance to the valley. Flattening himself against the rock face, he waited until he heard the animals stop. "What are these boards doing down? I thought we put them all back up - "

It was enough, and Nick stepped out. "Hello, Leroy."

Leroy stopped mid-dismount, then slowly finished the movement. "Nick, old buddy. What a surprise - finding you out here."

"The question is - *why* are you out here?"

"Just out for a ride, that's all. Going for a ride after church -"

"With a donkey?"

"She needed some exercise -"

"You know, I thought you'd be working your mine to get some more money after last night."

"Oh, I did. Spent most of the night digging -"

"Really? Then your mine is inside your cabin?"

"What?"

"You didn't leave your cabin all night until church this morning, Leroy."

"Did you follow me - No, you would have had someone else do that - You had no right -"

"How long have you been working this mine, Leroy?"

"This mine? It's boarded up and probably tapped out. Looks pretty old -"

"But someone's been in there recently, digging out the gold. He left a lantern and pick-axe in there - and two boards loose that came off. A young calf became lost in there, and a little boy followed him inside. There was a cave-in -"

Leroy's eyes started to widen, and he was shaking his head. "No, I didn't, I mean, I fastened those boards back at the top so it would look like it was still closed up - "

"Luckily, the boy just had a broken arm, but it took six of us to dig him out and most of a night."

"The Donager boy? Benjamin?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. It was Ben."

"He's okay, though. He was at church this morning. I saw him. Look, Nick, I'll leave Providence. Won't ever come back, just -" He started to go for his handgun, but a shot hit the ground in front of him before Nick could draw his own weapon.

Jess stepped out, her gun drawn. "The next one won't be in the dirt, Leroy," she told him.

"Drop the gun," Nick said. "And your derringer, as well."

Leroy did as he was told. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking -"

"Why this mine?" Jess asked. "Of all the mines on the Diamond D, why *this* one?"

He sighed deeply. "It was my father's mine," he told them.

Jess shook her head. "Slim Baker never had a family," she said.

"He got married to my mother and then ran away. Never knew about me, I guess. But I have my mother's Bible that names him as my father. And I have some letters he wrote to her, asking her to join him out here. None of them mention me, so I guess if she wrote back, she never told him that he had a son."

"Your mother -?"

"She took in other people's sewing and washing to support us when I was growing up. She died when I was eighteen, and I started hanging out in saloons making whatever I could til I learned to play poker. I finally found her Bible one day and the letters fell out - He talked about his gold mine, how he would build her a big house and they'd live like kings if she would come out here. So I thought he'd share some of it with me, once he found out I was his son."

"Then you got here and found out that he was dead," Nick realized.

Leroy nodded. "Yeah. And that the land his mine was on had been bought by John Donager." He hit the wood support at the entrance to the mine with the side of his fist. "It should have been mine. I rode out here one night and looked around - discovered that it wasn't tapped out - there was still a lot of gold in the place, so I started taking some of it, coming at night or on Sundays when I figured everyone would be having dinner or just relaxing. I honestly never thought anyone would be hurt by what I was doing. I've talked to the boy in town - I like him. He's a good boy."

Nick saw the look on Jess' face and knew what was coming, but he shook his head anyway. "Jess -"

She returned her gun to its holster. "You say that you have proof that Slim Baker was your father?"

"Jess, what -"

"That wasn't his given name," Leroy told her. "I know, it's what's on his headstone, but -"

"That's what most people around here called him - But I think there might be a few still left who would know that name. I'd rather you tell them so that they could confirm it -"

Nick decided to try once more. "Jess, darlin', what are you doing?"

"Trying to help Leroy," she told him.

"Must I remind you that he just pulled a gun on me -"

"I wouldn't have shot you, Nick," Leroy said.

"See?"

"And he's been stealing gold from a mine that your family owns -"

"And from which we haven't taken any gold, because we don't need it," she explained.

"What about causing Ben's accident? He broke his arm -"

"That wasn't really Leroy's fault, was it? The calf went inside, Ben went in to rescue him, and got trapped when the mine caved in."

At this point, Nick wasn't really surprised by her change of attitude. "If he hadn't left those boards loose -"

Jess sighed. "So we'll leave it up to Lily and Ben."

"What about Kevin? Doesn't he get a say? I really think he'll have something to say about this," Nick insisted - to himself - as Jess walked over to Leroy to talk further. "I give up," he sighed. "I can't win."

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

"Of course I knew Slim Baker's Christian name," Doc confirmed after having heard Leroy's story. "Matthew Lee and I - and your father, Jess, only the three of us knew it, so we decided to put Slim on his headstone so that people would remember who he was when they looked at it. But he never mentioned a son. He was disappointed that his wife never replied to any of his letters apologizing for abandoning her to come West and begging her to join him here."

"His name was Simon," Leroy said, and Doc nodded.

"That's the name." He studied Leroy for a moment. "Now that I know, I can see it. You look a bit like him, especially around the eyes."

"That's not enough for a court of law," Nick murmured, but Jess shook her head.

"We won't have to go to court if things work out," Jess told him. "Lily, it's really up to you and Ben-"

"And Kevin," Nick interjected.

"And Kevin," Jess added. "He was only working his father's legacy to him. Admittedly, if he had told us about it when he got to Providence, we would have granted access to the mine, but now that we *do* know -"

Lily looked at Leroy. "You came to town right after I bought the saloon, Leroy -"

"And I should have told Miss Jess and Kevin and Mr. Donager who I was, but - I guess I thought they would refuse to give me what I thought was mine -" He shook his head. "I never meant to hurt your son. If I'd thought that he would have found the mine or gone inside -"

She considered his words. "I can't make the decision without talking to my husband," she told him. "If it was up to me, I'd say that it's okay. Once Kevin gets back -"

Leroy nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Miss Lily."

"Yo're lucky ya live in Providence, young man," Ma told him. "If this had happened in Sutton's Creek, you'd be hangin' from a tree."

"I know that, ma'am," was Leroy's response.

"I'll bet that you didn't have anything for dinner," Elizabeth said.

"No. After church, I went home and changed my clothes and got Josie - My donkey," he explained.

"I'm sure there's something left in the kitchen," Elizabeth told him. "Come on, I'll get you a plate."

Nick saw Thad's look of confusion, and shook his head. "Don't question it, Thad. Just accept that you're marrying into a family of crazy women."

"That's not true," Jess replied. "Amanda's not crazy."

"No, but you and your sister are, darlin'," he told her as the room erupted into laughter.

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

Nick pulled Jess aside as the others headed toward the dining room. "You do realize that he's likely to just take off before Kevin gets back, don't you?"

"I doubt that will happen. He's been here for quite a few years. As much as he would deny it, I think he's put down some roots -"

"Oh, Jess, darlin' - He's a gambler. His kind doesn't -" Nick stopped as he realized what he was saying.

"Really?" Jess's eyes had narrowed, and she was watching him.

"Okay, okay. Forget I said anything."

Jess gave him a kiss and slipped her arm through his. "Come on. Let's join the others in the dining room."

As they entered, Leroy was talking. "I still don't know how Mother's Bible opened the way it did that day. I'd put it away after she died, and hadn't thought about it. But as I was going through her things for something that I might be able to sell for a little money, I guess it slipped out of my hands, and fell onto the floor. The letters fell out and scattered. She'd never told me that my father had written to her - or that he had a gold mine."

"She probably thought he was just telling her that in the hope that she would come out here," Ma said. "Sometimes it ain't easy fer a woman t'trust a man once he's took off."

"That's true, Martha," Doc nodded. "But Leroy, trust me when I say that if your father had known about you, he would have done more than send letters. He would have sent money - and I think he would have gone to get you and your mother to bring you back to Providence."

"Thank you for saying that, Doc. From what I've managed to get out of people around here, they thought he was a gold-crazy old hermit that they only saw when he came into town for supplies. Did he really live out in that mine?"

"He did," Jess told him. "That's why there's a hole in the roof - he ran a stovepipe up there to keep the place warm in the winter. The locals all called it Stovepipe Mine." She took a deep breath. "Leroy, I'm going to need your word that you won't try to run off before Kevin gets back into town. I'd hate to involve the Sheriff in this -"

"Don't worry, Miss Jess. I figure my running days are over - no matter what your brother decides. Something about this place - It's made me think that my dropping that Bible was a sign that I needed God's Providence when I got here and started going to church on Sundays. I hadn't set foot in a church for a long time before that. I started going because I didn't want to stand out, since just about everyone else in town went to the services. After awhile, I discovered that I *wanted* to go. Does that make sense?" he wondered, and was surprised when Nick dropped a hand on his shoulder before answering.

"Makes a lot of sense, Leroy."

"Besides, Father's name is on that plaque in town - so I guess that makes me part of those 'Founding Families', doesn't it?"

"Does indeed, Leroy," Ma told him with a big smile. "Does indeed."

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

Jess and Nick watched as Leroy rode away from the house with Josie, just behind Doc and Ma. Thad was inside with Elizabeth and Lily, finally discussing the wedding. "I still think he would have shot me," Nick told her. "If for no other reason than to cover up that he was the one who'd been coming out to that mine."

"I don't. But if he had, it wouldn't have mattered," she said, turning to face him. "Because if he had, he would have been dead."

"You *are* crazy," Nick told her, putting his arms around her.

"About you." The conversation reminded him of one that they had had at the beginning of their courtship, and he smiled. "Do you really think Kevin will agree to what you're planning on doing?"

"And what exactly, do you think that might be?"

"To give him access to the mine - but keep the land around it for the ranch."

"You're right about the first part - but I think he should get the land back - but with a proviso that he rents back to the ranch for a dollar a month in perpetuity."

"Okay. Again - do you really think that Kevin will agree to that?"

"Hard to say - he was pretty upset about Ben getting hurt. But by the time he gets home, some of that anger will have dissipated, so I think he'll agree." She smiled at him. "It's a nice night."

"Hmm," he murmured. "Yes, it is. Why don't we take a walk?"

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

Kevin entered the house two weeks later, pulling Lily into his arms the moment he saw her. "Oh, I missed you," he said, giving her a kiss.

"I missed you, as well," Lily told him, returning his kiss. "Did things go well?"

"Got top dollar for the herd," he replied as they went into the parlor. "How are Ben and Katie?"

"Ben's back to himself except for the splint on his arm. Katie's closer to walking, I think."

"Robert was saying something about Jess and Nick finding out who had been working that mine-?"

"They did. But I think you need to talk to Jess about it. Nick was out late last night at the saloon, so I guess they're both still in bed -"

"Lily, sweetheart, what's going on?"

"Pa!" Ben yelled from the top of the stairs, and Lily drew a sigh of relief at the reprieve that quickly changed to concern as she watched the boy start to charge down the steps.

"Slow down, son," Kevin told the boy, moving to the stairs just in case. He picked Ben up and gave him a hug, being careful not to jostle his broken arm. "How's the wing?" he asked.

"Still hurts a little, but it's getting better."

"Shouldn't you be in school today?"

"I was just coming down so Pedro could take me in the buggy," Ben explained, leaning in to whisper. "Ma still won't let me try to ride Brownie."

"I don't blame her. I'm sure Dr. Thad will tell you when he thinks you're ready for that." Ben looked disappointed that his pa wasn't going to back him up.

"Well, since he's going to be my uncle, maybe I can ask him very nicely -"

Kevin turned to look at Lily, who was already shooing her son out of the door. "I think I hear the wagon, Benji. You'd better go or you'll be late for school."

"See you later, Pa!" Ben called out, opening the door and leaving.

"Sounds like a lot's happened since I left two weeks ago," Kevin said. "What's this about Thad?"

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

"So how much has Leroy taken out of the mine?" Kevin asked Jess.

Nick spoke up. "According to his records - and he did keep records - close to a million dollars worth of gold. And it would have been more, but he lives pretty simply - that small cabin and one horse and a donkey."

"And nightly poker games," Kevin reminded him, shaking his head. "You're sure that he's Slim Baker's son?"

"We've seen the Bible that his mother made the entry about his birth in, and it names Simon Baker as his father. And then the letters Mr. Baker sent to her - they're definitely from him, Kevin."

"What about his having left the mine open?"

"He says that he didn't intend to. He removed the lower nails, but left the top nails - apparently they came loose after he left the mine and that's when the calf wandered in and became disoriented. He's really sorry about what happened to Ben."

"Do you believe him, Lily?" he asked his wife.

"I do."

"Leroy didn't cause the cave in, Kevin," Jess pointed out. "He couldn't have expected it to happen - or that Ben would be in there when it did happen."

"So what are you suggesting that we do?" he asked his sister.

"Here we go," Nick sighed, watching as Jess went to work. He'd seen her work a jury a few times over the last couple of years, but he wasn't as sure that she could convince her brother about her plan.

"If Mr. Baker had known about Leroy, he would have left the mine to him, am I right?"

"Of course."

"If Leroy had come to Pa and told him who he was when he first arrived in town, what do you think that Pa's reaction would have been?"

"Hard to say. He never liked that little island of land out there on the western range that wasn't part of the Diamond D. He'd only bought it five years earlier - I suppose he might have given the mine to Leroy - I know Pa never planned on reopening the place - you and I both know that he didn't like the idea of so many mines - the only reason he kept the original mine open was to help the town."

Nick was already shaking his head as Jess continued.

"So - Leroy has agreed to lease the land back to the ranch for as long as we need it - as long as he's allowed to work the mine. He said that he would shore the entire thing back up and make it safer - and put some kind of door on the entrance so that he could lock it and keep everyone else out."

"How much would he ask for this - lease?"

"We discussed a - dollar a month."

Kevin gave her a look of surprise. "I'd like to talk to Leroy before I give my final word," Kevin told her. "But as of right now, I think I could accept that plan."

"I take it back," Nick said as the three of them looked in his direction. "You're all crazy."

Smiling, Jess came over and looked up at him. "What does that say about you, since you married me?" she asked.

Nick pulled her into his arms. "I plead the fifth, darlin'," he said as his lips found hers.

Kevin grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her close. "Kevin," she said, but he just grinned.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he said as he kissed her as well.

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

"Okay, Ben," Jess called. "We're ready!"

"Does anyone know what this trick is that he's taught Brownie?" Kevin wondered, but the adults all shook their heads.

"No idea," Nick answered.

"He refused to tell me," Jess said.

"He told me that he'd wanted to show us the day that he got caught in the mine," Lily explained as she handed Kate over to him, "but we were all too busy - and -"

"And I told him that he couldn't go with us to look for those strays," Kevin nodded. "I remember."

His arm still in a splint, Ben appeared from the barn with Brownie following behind him. He was wearing a brand new straw hat - since his old one had been damaged in the mine, and smiled at the adults as they watched him. "Okay, Brownie. Take it!"

Brownie nodded his head a couple of times before grasping the brim of the hat between his teeth.

"Toss it, Brownie!"

The horse nodded his head once, then threw the hat into the air. Once it fell to the ground, Ben led the horse over to the hat, giving the horse a piece of carrot. "Pick it up, Brownie!"

Brownie bent down and gently grabbed the hat - again using his teeth, and put it back onto Ben's head - only slightly crooked. Ben gave the rest of the carrot to the horse. "Good boy, Brownie!" he declared as the others joined them.

"Good job, son," Kevin said.

"That's something I've never tried to teach to Midnight," Jess told her nephew. "You're going to have to show me how you did it."

"Only if you show me how you trained Midnight to rear up on command," Ben told her.

"I think we have a deal," Jess agreed, shaking his good hand.

The End

Jess, Nick and the rest will return in the next installment of "The Donager Saga".