A month and a half past by the group within a blink of an eye, they found themselves with only three more jobs left, before they had to deal with Brody and Glasses and Garters. Natalie often visited them, and to Tate's dismay, she and Rock would disappear together for a couple hours each time. Tate and Rock didn't speak to each other unless they had to explain details of their tasks to each other. Penny was also a frequent visitor to the cabin, and every time she would ride up unannounced, her and Tate would depart to the upstairs bedroom.
She was visiting that day, as Rose ordered Nick around downstairs. Telling her that she was missing spots on the ground as she scrubbed away. Nick already knew that the old woman eyes were bad, but had discovered that she saw white spots that didn't exist. She didn't argue with her, and would just scrub the area over again.
"You know I was a real looker back in my day." Rose said, as Nick was kneeled down on the wet floor, washing the same spot for the fourth time. "Use to call me Pretty in Pink Rose down at the brothel I worked at."
"You use to work at a brothel?" Nick asked, sitting up on her knees and turning her head to Rose.
"Oh yes, long before I was married to my husband, Thomas. He never went into any of the brothels, but saw me every time I took money to the bank. He worked there." Her wrinkled face lifted in a smile. "Didn't even know what I did until after he already told me of his love."
"He didn't care?"
She chuckled, "Oh, he cared. Cared enough to not speak to me for two years, but every time I went to the bank I could see that he was heart broken."
Nick scooted around on her legs to face the old woman, who was sitting in a chair behind her. "How did you end up getting married?"
"I waited for him after work one day… refused to let him leave until we talked. Made him admit that he really didn't care about my job, and was just too damn proud to tell me he was wrong."
Nick smiled, "And he did?" She watched her nod, "That's so sweet."
"Yes, we were married two days later. He bought the land here, and built this cabin with his own two hands." Rose looked towards the small stairway that lead up to the second floor. "Back in my day, a woman didn't throw herself at a man like a bitch in heat."
Nick followed her line of sight, "You mean Penny?"
She nodded, "Girl needs to have some dignity, like you and me. Course, you don't wear the proper clothing, but at least you act like a lady."
With a smile, Nick looked back at the old woman, "Well, Tate did say he would marry her… in so many words."
She snorted, "Do you know how many men told me that? If I held any of them to it, I would have been married a hundred times over before I met Thomas. A man will say anything in a moment of passion, even if he's paying for it. Some just feel they owe ya… like they done made a woman sin."
"I don't know if Tate feels like way. He seems to have some care for Penny."
Again, Rose snorted, then groaned as she tried to stand. When she was finally on her feet, she shuffled them across the floor to the table across the room. "Least, they aren't performing those sins in my house."
"Sins? You mean sleeping together?" Nick stood up, cloth and bucket in her hands.
"I told Penny that my house isn't a brothel. I'm a woman of God now, ain't none of that happening here."
Placing the cloth and bucket on the table, Nick turned her head to see the stairway. "What are they doing up there then?"
She shrugged, "Talking, I would assume."
"Well, I know Rock and Natalie aren't just talking."
Rose began to laugh, "That they ain't. Course, Natalie ain't doing it under my roof either, so I'll forgive her for it." Slowly, she lowered herself into the wooden chair and let out a sigh of relief. "My back needs a hard surface from time to time."
"I'll scrub the upstairs floor when Tate and Penny come down here." Nick told her, then took a seat across the table from her. She pulled the leather strap from her hair, and allowed her hair to cascade down. Running her wet, wrinkled fingers through it, Nick brushed it back up into a ponytail and retied it.
Rose folded her hands on the table, "You remind me of my daughter, Kristina. Always thought the best and spoke the highly of everyone. Such a trusting soul, she was. Too trusting."
"What happened to her?" Nick had heard her speak of her daughter in past tense.
"As I said, she was too trusting. Married a hardened man and thought she could change him… in the end, he left her with child. After the baby was born, she took her own life. She didn't leave us with why." Rose scratched the back of her hand, before folding her hands again.
"What happen to the baby?"
"My son, Jonathan, moved out east with his family, he took the baby with him. Bless his heart, raised her like she was his own. She's a bit older then you are now, married and a mother. We never had the heart to tell her who her real mother and father were, just best she thinks her parents loved each other."
Nick didn't like that, everyone should know who their real parents are, even if it wasn't pleasant. She couldn't of imagined, her father remarrying after her mother's death, and lying to her about who her mother was. "Doesn't your granddaughter have the right to know? I mean her mother has to have some redeeming qualities. Sadness is a part of life…"
"She'll have more then enough sadness to fill her soul. How would it benefit her to know that her father ran off leaving her mother pregnant, and that her mother killed herself hours after she was born? They both chose to abandon her."
Nick agreed for the most part, "I guess it wouldn't do her no good, but to not know who your real mother is, just doesn't sound right is all."
"Her real mother is Jonathan's wife, Emily. She took her in as her daughter, when she already had four sons, one that was only a year older then her. Emily raised her and loved her, taught her how to be a real lady. The woman that gave birth to her gave up her right to be her mother, when she left that baby with no one."
"I suppose. My mother died right after I was born, but it wasn't by choice." Nick leaned back in her chair. "A woman named Teresa took care of me after she married one of the ranch hands, but I still turned out to be more of a son then a daughter." She grinned.
Rose chuckled, "Some of the very things that others forsake us for… well, they just turn out to be our salvation most of the time."
"What do you mean?"
"As a whore, everyone looked down on me, and most people didn't even talk to me unless they were a paying customer. Outside of the brothel, men who would tell me their darkest secrets would pretend not to know me. Soon as their friends and family were gone and we were safe within the brothel walls, then I was their best friend again." She took a moment to cough, not covering her mouth, she lowered her head and coughed into her lap.
When she was done, she looked back up at Nick. "I thank my lucky stars everyday that I did become a whore, because if I hadn't then I would of married Billy Cutler like my pa wanted me too. Bet a pretty gal like you had plenty of suitors back home. Just think if you had grown up like the other girls who would you be now."
Nick nodded her head, "I would probably be married to Avery Devlin or even turned a blind eye when Rock cheated on me."
"See what I mean?"
She smiled, "What others see as our faults, could very well be our strength."
"Exactly. Don't you like who you are? I know that I do."
"Can't think of anyone else that I would rather be." Nick responded with a happy chirp.
Rose leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms across her chest. "Cause you're a strong woman, and that scares men off most of the time. Strong women like us have to go after what we want we can't let it come to us, because it won't."
Nick rose an eyebrow, she was wondering where the old woman was going with this. "I suppose."
"We don't let others tell us that we can't have what we want. My daughter, Kristina, was a strong woman. She just forgot that she was, and that was her downfall. After everyone told her not to marry that boy, she still did it. She went through hell and back with that sonuva bitch. He caused her more pain being here then staying, but in the end she just dang well forgot. Thought she needed someone else in her life to lean on. Truth is… women like us, are for leaning on. And a good man will see that you are a safe place to be, will always come back to that safe place, and won't take it for granted. Even still, sometimes they need to be reminded that you are the rock in their life and not someone else."
"Why do I get the feeling that you are specifically talking to me and not just in general?"
Rose looked at the stairs, "There is a god dang whore trying to steal your man up there. Why the hell are you down here with me?"
Nick gasped, "Rose, please. Tate is not…"
"Don't you play coy with me, little girl. I'm too damn old to be playing games with youngins. Now I asked you a question."
Nick sighed and looked towards the stairs, then back to Rose. "We'd never work. I ain't the type of girl that he is use to having in his life, and he ain't the type of man I need."
Rose laughed, her head rolled back as she howled in laughter. When she was through, she wiped her eyes. "Let me let you in on a secret. Most women won't tell you this until they already got themselves a catch. So, best keep this a secret." She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward, Nick did the same. "Any man can be the right man, but a woman just has to know the correct way to train them to be the right man."
Nick snorted, "I hardly believe that. They are their own people, and have their own minds."
"I didn't say that. Step by step, and little by little, a man can become the perfect one. It don't happen over night. I always said there is no Mister Right, only Mister Could Be Right After Several Years of Training."
She rolled her eyes, "How do you train a man?"
"Well, I'll tell you when it comes to that. Step one though is get them to fall madly in love with you." Rose grinned, "You got all the equipment you need for that."
Nick grinned back, "You are a strange woman, Rose. When I first met you, I thought you had nearly lost your mind."
"I can hardly see a thing, youngin. And I have lost my mind." She looked towards the stairs, "Now, go claim your man from that tramp."
Nick stood up, as she did she picked up her bucket and cloth. "I need more water, I'll be back in a while."
"Coward!" Rose yelled as Nick stepped out onto the porch.
Opening the door for Penny, he gave her a nod. "Good day."
"Remember what we talked about." Penny smiled, "Not going to walk me to my horse?"
He shook his head, "No."
With a sigh, she waved at Rose. "I'll see you tomorrow or the day after."
"Don't come up here so often, I don't want anyone to get suspicious." Tate told her.
She frowned, then grunted. "You don't mind Natalie coming up here everyday."
"Natalie knows how to sneak away." Tate snapped, "I will see you next week." He said, before shoving her out the door.
"Help me up, will you, boy?" Rose asked, when she heard the door shut.
Walking around the table, Tate grabbed her upper arms to help her to her feet. "Why do you put up with that girl, Tate?" Rose asked when she was finally standing.
"None of your business, old woman. Stay out of it." Tate barked, and when he was certain she wouldn't tip over, he headed for the door.
"You make her promises that you have no intention of keeping. Don't you think that is unfair?"
Tate looked out the window to see that Penny still hadn't left, she was speaking with Andy. He looked to be telling her something about her horse. "It gets rid of her."
"So, as long as it easier for you, then it's alright to lie to her?"
He groaned, and turned around to look at her. "Didn't I just tell you to stay out of it?"
Rose folded her arms, "As long as you are here, then I can poke my nose into whatever affairs I want. Besides, Penny's mother was a dear friend of mine, and I don't like seeing you toy with her."
Dropping his head, he sighed, "Look, I ain't making promises to her. All that I say is that I will give her ideas some thought."
Rose began her walk to the softer chair, it was common for her to constantly move between them. When she was in her seat, she turned her eyes back to Tate. He was looking out the window to see if Penny had left.
"You are a grown man hiding from a whore, you realize this, yes?"
He glared at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Nick's out at the water pump getting more water to scrub the floors."
"And you are telling me this, because?"
Rose chuckled, "Because as soon as Penny is out of sight you are going to go find her, like you always do. You feel guilty for spending the last three hours upstairs talking to a woman that you hate, and making the woman you want think you are having relations with the other."
Turning around, he crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "You've been awful quiet since we got here, I wondered what you were doing. Still the eavesdropping, nosey old woman you've always been. Giving out advice to anyone whether they are listening or not."
Stretching out her legs, she smiled. "Known you and Natalie for a long time, even if I don't remember what you look like most of these days. I still can tell when you act different, don't need to eavesdrop for that."
"You can barely see your own hand in front of your face, let alone how I am acting."
"My hearing is still perfect, Tate. You'd be surprise what a person can see when they listen to another's voice. For instance, you are embarrassed and anxious right now. You never liked it when people guessed your true intentions."
He grinned.
"I've already spoken with Natalie on the matter many times."
Tate groaned, "I'm going to kill her." He dropped his face into his hand.
Rose laughed, "Never known you to be shy or scared, Tate. Now, I suggest talking to Nicolette 'bout everything before she starts thinking you belong to Penny. You've already dug yourself a nice deep hole, and you can't dig yourself out of it. Only one way out."
She heard the door open and shut, and knew that Tate left the room. Sighing, she wished that he would announce when he was leaving. She couldn't see that far across the room. The door opened again, and she turned her head towards it.
"Nicolette?" She questioned.
"No, it's Natalie."
Rose chuckled, "Good, I have a story to tell you."
He watched her slender arms fighting with the lever, that just wouldn't pump fast enough under her force. She was biting her lower lip, and he could hear the suckling noises she made whenever she got frustrated.
"Work you blasted contraption!" Nick yelled as she kicked it. She realized her mistake when her foot hit metal, and she fell to the dirt to comfort her foot.
Tate tried not to laugh, but couldn't help but smile.
She held her foot in her hands for a moment longer before standing back up, and limping back over to the pump. "This means war." She mumbled to the water pump, after she spoke Tate couldn't hold in his laughter, and it burst from his lips.
Nick looked up at him, he saw the embarrassment and hurt in her eyes, as he walked out from behind the house. His smile remained on his face, as he walked over to the pump and tried to fill the bucket for her. It still didn't work for him, and Nick put her hands between his own. Her little fingers touched his index fingers, and sent tiny shivers up his hands from the unexpected touch. They both pumped the lever for all it was worth, and finally water began to pour from the spout. When the bucket was full, Nick stood up in victory, placing her fists on her hips.
"I win!" She shouted, and one fist went into the air.
Tate smiled at her silly display, "I think that was only one battle, you haven't won the war yet."
She chuckled, and went to pick the bucket up. Tate grabbed it from her and set it back down, which surprised Nick. She looked up at him curiously, then back down at the bucket. "I need it to scrub floors, does me no good out here."
"We need to talk." Tate told her.
"Tate, I told you, I want to do this. Nothing you can say will stop me. We've already come so far, we are only three more jobs away and…"
He raised his hand, "Not about that. I know there is no stopping you, and I am not going to try anymore." He walked around the pump to stand in front of her. "I wanted to talk to you about…" With a swallowed, he looked down at her, trying to find the words. "about Penny."
Nick snorted, then blushed. "There ain't nothing to talk about, Tate. You don't have to explain yourself to me, just like Rock doesn't have to explain Natalie to me. It's none of my business."
"What's going on between me and Penny, ain't nothing like what Natalie and Rock are doing."
She looked down into the dirt, and kicked it gently, "Really, Tate, you don't have to explain anything to me." She thought he meant that they were serious, where Rock and Natalie were only enjoying each other for the short time they would be here.
Ignoring her, he continued. "She comes 'round here to try and talk me into marrying her and moving away with her."
"Alright." Nick responded, she was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"I'm not interested in a woman like her though."
Anywhere else in the world, that's where she wanted to be at that moment. Far, far away from this conversation, it was going to a really awkward place. "Well, as I said, it's really none of my concern. This is between you and Penny. Your love life or lack there of is nothing I need to trouble myself with."
"Just listen to me, will ya?" Tate tried not to snap, "Penny drives a hard bargain, and some of the things she says makes sense. Like it is about time that I settled myself down, and once I get away from all this then maybe I can just become a normal hard working man. You invited me to come with ya'all after all this is over, and be rancher… I can still come, can't I?"
Nick nodded and looked up at him. "Of course, nothing's changed." The kindness and reassurance in her voice took him off guard.
He grinned, "Thought since I fought with Rock that might of changed."
"No, Rock fights with just about everybody. And Penny can even come too, if that's what you want. She ain't that bad, sure she could cook or something."
Tate's grin faded, she just wasn't understanding what he was trying to say. The words he wanted to speak to her, they just didn't feel right to him. He never said anything like that to a woman not when he meant them anyway, and Nick was a whole different kind of woman. He wasn't sure how he should express himself. "This ain't about Penny, coming with us or not."
Nick's heart pounded, she just didn't want to deal with this right now. Not when they were so close to achieving their goal. Nothing could get in here way, reaching down she went to pick up the bucket, but Tate slammed it back down.
"Nick, are ya hearing me?" He watched the worry in her eyes as she looked into the distance, and some of her hair flew into her eyes from the gently breeze blowing. He realized then that she wasn't wearing her hat, and her hair was in a low French braid.
"Yeah, I heard ya, not sure what you are saying, but I heard ya." She spoke nervously, trying not to look at him.
He sighed loudly, "I am trying to say… well… I'm trying… Hell, I have no idea what I am trying to say." With a loud swallow, he took off his hat and ran his hand over his sweaty hair. Placing the hat back on, he looked back down at her, she still wasn't looking at him.
"Well, when you think of it, I'll be upstairs scrubbing the floor." Nick went to grab the bucket, but Tate yanked it back down again. "That's really starting to hurt my arm." She snapped more out of fear of what he was trying to say then actual pain.
"Ya told me that you knew I was sweet on ya when I was hurt, remember?" The words blurted out, he knew that if he didn't say something now then he would never find the courage.
Her head bobbed up and down quickly, and he thought she was about to cry.
"If I don't have a chance in hell, best to tell me now, Nick. I've got to know. I mean I know that I have a shady past, and I know that I've done some terrible things in my life. But I've always been honest with you, and I would never do anything to hurt you… well, there was the pass, but I would never do that again. We didn't start off right, but the more I got to know you, the more I liked ya." He put his hands behind his back, so that she couldn't see they were shaking. "I swear if you just give me a chance, I can prove that I can be an honest man."
Nick looked up at him out of the corner of her eye, "I don't know, Tate. I ain't the kind of gal who…"
"I know, and that's what I like about ya, Nick. You ain't like any girl that I've ever known before or ever will. Nothing has to happen between us, I won't touch ya, and we can just keep on going like we've been."
Her eyes dropped, before she searched the horizon for an answer.
"Just let me prove it, that's all I ask."
"For how long?"
Tate tried to hide his grin, "For as long as it takes you to decide one way or the other. If you just tell me that you will at least let me try, then I'll tell Penny to go away. Won't listen to another word she says. I can be an honest man, I know it, Nick. I just need you to show me how."
She folded her hands in front of her, "Alright." She spoke the words with a firm nod, before looking up into his dark eyes. "You only get one chance to break my heart, Tate, and then it's all over."
Reaching down he picked up the bucket for her, "I said I would never hurt you and I meant it." With that, he spun around to carry the bucket of water into the house for her.
Nick grinned as she walked behind him, both a little pleased and scared at the same time.
She was visiting that day, as Rose ordered Nick around downstairs. Telling her that she was missing spots on the ground as she scrubbed away. Nick already knew that the old woman eyes were bad, but had discovered that she saw white spots that didn't exist. She didn't argue with her, and would just scrub the area over again.
"You know I was a real looker back in my day." Rose said, as Nick was kneeled down on the wet floor, washing the same spot for the fourth time. "Use to call me Pretty in Pink Rose down at the brothel I worked at."
"You use to work at a brothel?" Nick asked, sitting up on her knees and turning her head to Rose.
"Oh yes, long before I was married to my husband, Thomas. He never went into any of the brothels, but saw me every time I took money to the bank. He worked there." Her wrinkled face lifted in a smile. "Didn't even know what I did until after he already told me of his love."
"He didn't care?"
She chuckled, "Oh, he cared. Cared enough to not speak to me for two years, but every time I went to the bank I could see that he was heart broken."
Nick scooted around on her legs to face the old woman, who was sitting in a chair behind her. "How did you end up getting married?"
"I waited for him after work one day… refused to let him leave until we talked. Made him admit that he really didn't care about my job, and was just too damn proud to tell me he was wrong."
Nick smiled, "And he did?" She watched her nod, "That's so sweet."
"Yes, we were married two days later. He bought the land here, and built this cabin with his own two hands." Rose looked towards the small stairway that lead up to the second floor. "Back in my day, a woman didn't throw herself at a man like a bitch in heat."
Nick followed her line of sight, "You mean Penny?"
She nodded, "Girl needs to have some dignity, like you and me. Course, you don't wear the proper clothing, but at least you act like a lady."
With a smile, Nick looked back at the old woman, "Well, Tate did say he would marry her… in so many words."
She snorted, "Do you know how many men told me that? If I held any of them to it, I would have been married a hundred times over before I met Thomas. A man will say anything in a moment of passion, even if he's paying for it. Some just feel they owe ya… like they done made a woman sin."
"I don't know if Tate feels like way. He seems to have some care for Penny."
Again, Rose snorted, then groaned as she tried to stand. When she was finally on her feet, she shuffled them across the floor to the table across the room. "Least, they aren't performing those sins in my house."
"Sins? You mean sleeping together?" Nick stood up, cloth and bucket in her hands.
"I told Penny that my house isn't a brothel. I'm a woman of God now, ain't none of that happening here."
Placing the cloth and bucket on the table, Nick turned her head to see the stairway. "What are they doing up there then?"
She shrugged, "Talking, I would assume."
"Well, I know Rock and Natalie aren't just talking."
Rose began to laugh, "That they ain't. Course, Natalie ain't doing it under my roof either, so I'll forgive her for it." Slowly, she lowered herself into the wooden chair and let out a sigh of relief. "My back needs a hard surface from time to time."
"I'll scrub the upstairs floor when Tate and Penny come down here." Nick told her, then took a seat across the table from her. She pulled the leather strap from her hair, and allowed her hair to cascade down. Running her wet, wrinkled fingers through it, Nick brushed it back up into a ponytail and retied it.
Rose folded her hands on the table, "You remind me of my daughter, Kristina. Always thought the best and spoke the highly of everyone. Such a trusting soul, she was. Too trusting."
"What happened to her?" Nick had heard her speak of her daughter in past tense.
"As I said, she was too trusting. Married a hardened man and thought she could change him… in the end, he left her with child. After the baby was born, she took her own life. She didn't leave us with why." Rose scratched the back of her hand, before folding her hands again.
"What happen to the baby?"
"My son, Jonathan, moved out east with his family, he took the baby with him. Bless his heart, raised her like she was his own. She's a bit older then you are now, married and a mother. We never had the heart to tell her who her real mother and father were, just best she thinks her parents loved each other."
Nick didn't like that, everyone should know who their real parents are, even if it wasn't pleasant. She couldn't of imagined, her father remarrying after her mother's death, and lying to her about who her mother was. "Doesn't your granddaughter have the right to know? I mean her mother has to have some redeeming qualities. Sadness is a part of life…"
"She'll have more then enough sadness to fill her soul. How would it benefit her to know that her father ran off leaving her mother pregnant, and that her mother killed herself hours after she was born? They both chose to abandon her."
Nick agreed for the most part, "I guess it wouldn't do her no good, but to not know who your real mother is, just doesn't sound right is all."
"Her real mother is Jonathan's wife, Emily. She took her in as her daughter, when she already had four sons, one that was only a year older then her. Emily raised her and loved her, taught her how to be a real lady. The woman that gave birth to her gave up her right to be her mother, when she left that baby with no one."
"I suppose. My mother died right after I was born, but it wasn't by choice." Nick leaned back in her chair. "A woman named Teresa took care of me after she married one of the ranch hands, but I still turned out to be more of a son then a daughter." She grinned.
Rose chuckled, "Some of the very things that others forsake us for… well, they just turn out to be our salvation most of the time."
"What do you mean?"
"As a whore, everyone looked down on me, and most people didn't even talk to me unless they were a paying customer. Outside of the brothel, men who would tell me their darkest secrets would pretend not to know me. Soon as their friends and family were gone and we were safe within the brothel walls, then I was their best friend again." She took a moment to cough, not covering her mouth, she lowered her head and coughed into her lap.
When she was done, she looked back up at Nick. "I thank my lucky stars everyday that I did become a whore, because if I hadn't then I would of married Billy Cutler like my pa wanted me too. Bet a pretty gal like you had plenty of suitors back home. Just think if you had grown up like the other girls who would you be now."
Nick nodded her head, "I would probably be married to Avery Devlin or even turned a blind eye when Rock cheated on me."
"See what I mean?"
She smiled, "What others see as our faults, could very well be our strength."
"Exactly. Don't you like who you are? I know that I do."
"Can't think of anyone else that I would rather be." Nick responded with a happy chirp.
Rose leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms across her chest. "Cause you're a strong woman, and that scares men off most of the time. Strong women like us have to go after what we want we can't let it come to us, because it won't."
Nick rose an eyebrow, she was wondering where the old woman was going with this. "I suppose."
"We don't let others tell us that we can't have what we want. My daughter, Kristina, was a strong woman. She just forgot that she was, and that was her downfall. After everyone told her not to marry that boy, she still did it. She went through hell and back with that sonuva bitch. He caused her more pain being here then staying, but in the end she just dang well forgot. Thought she needed someone else in her life to lean on. Truth is… women like us, are for leaning on. And a good man will see that you are a safe place to be, will always come back to that safe place, and won't take it for granted. Even still, sometimes they need to be reminded that you are the rock in their life and not someone else."
"Why do I get the feeling that you are specifically talking to me and not just in general?"
Rose looked at the stairs, "There is a god dang whore trying to steal your man up there. Why the hell are you down here with me?"
Nick gasped, "Rose, please. Tate is not…"
"Don't you play coy with me, little girl. I'm too damn old to be playing games with youngins. Now I asked you a question."
Nick sighed and looked towards the stairs, then back to Rose. "We'd never work. I ain't the type of girl that he is use to having in his life, and he ain't the type of man I need."
Rose laughed, her head rolled back as she howled in laughter. When she was through, she wiped her eyes. "Let me let you in on a secret. Most women won't tell you this until they already got themselves a catch. So, best keep this a secret." She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward, Nick did the same. "Any man can be the right man, but a woman just has to know the correct way to train them to be the right man."
Nick snorted, "I hardly believe that. They are their own people, and have their own minds."
"I didn't say that. Step by step, and little by little, a man can become the perfect one. It don't happen over night. I always said there is no Mister Right, only Mister Could Be Right After Several Years of Training."
She rolled her eyes, "How do you train a man?"
"Well, I'll tell you when it comes to that. Step one though is get them to fall madly in love with you." Rose grinned, "You got all the equipment you need for that."
Nick grinned back, "You are a strange woman, Rose. When I first met you, I thought you had nearly lost your mind."
"I can hardly see a thing, youngin. And I have lost my mind." She looked towards the stairs, "Now, go claim your man from that tramp."
Nick stood up, as she did she picked up her bucket and cloth. "I need more water, I'll be back in a while."
"Coward!" Rose yelled as Nick stepped out onto the porch.
---***---
Trying to stand up, the old woman found that her hips refused to budge, and she knew she would need to wait until someone came along to help her. As if God were answering her prayer, Tate and Penny walked down the stairs. His hat was missing, and his black hair a mess.Opening the door for Penny, he gave her a nod. "Good day."
"Remember what we talked about." Penny smiled, "Not going to walk me to my horse?"
He shook his head, "No."
With a sigh, she waved at Rose. "I'll see you tomorrow or the day after."
"Don't come up here so often, I don't want anyone to get suspicious." Tate told her.
She frowned, then grunted. "You don't mind Natalie coming up here everyday."
"Natalie knows how to sneak away." Tate snapped, "I will see you next week." He said, before shoving her out the door.
"Help me up, will you, boy?" Rose asked, when she heard the door shut.
Walking around the table, Tate grabbed her upper arms to help her to her feet. "Why do you put up with that girl, Tate?" Rose asked when she was finally standing.
"None of your business, old woman. Stay out of it." Tate barked, and when he was certain she wouldn't tip over, he headed for the door.
"You make her promises that you have no intention of keeping. Don't you think that is unfair?"
Tate looked out the window to see that Penny still hadn't left, she was speaking with Andy. He looked to be telling her something about her horse. "It gets rid of her."
"So, as long as it easier for you, then it's alright to lie to her?"
He groaned, and turned around to look at her. "Didn't I just tell you to stay out of it?"
Rose folded her arms, "As long as you are here, then I can poke my nose into whatever affairs I want. Besides, Penny's mother was a dear friend of mine, and I don't like seeing you toy with her."
Dropping his head, he sighed, "Look, I ain't making promises to her. All that I say is that I will give her ideas some thought."
Rose began her walk to the softer chair, it was common for her to constantly move between them. When she was in her seat, she turned her eyes back to Tate. He was looking out the window to see if Penny had left.
"You are a grown man hiding from a whore, you realize this, yes?"
He glared at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Nick's out at the water pump getting more water to scrub the floors."
"And you are telling me this, because?"
Rose chuckled, "Because as soon as Penny is out of sight you are going to go find her, like you always do. You feel guilty for spending the last three hours upstairs talking to a woman that you hate, and making the woman you want think you are having relations with the other."
Turning around, he crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "You've been awful quiet since we got here, I wondered what you were doing. Still the eavesdropping, nosey old woman you've always been. Giving out advice to anyone whether they are listening or not."
Stretching out her legs, she smiled. "Known you and Natalie for a long time, even if I don't remember what you look like most of these days. I still can tell when you act different, don't need to eavesdrop for that."
"You can barely see your own hand in front of your face, let alone how I am acting."
"My hearing is still perfect, Tate. You'd be surprise what a person can see when they listen to another's voice. For instance, you are embarrassed and anxious right now. You never liked it when people guessed your true intentions."
He grinned.
"I've already spoken with Natalie on the matter many times."
Tate groaned, "I'm going to kill her." He dropped his face into his hand.
Rose laughed, "Never known you to be shy or scared, Tate. Now, I suggest talking to Nicolette 'bout everything before she starts thinking you belong to Penny. You've already dug yourself a nice deep hole, and you can't dig yourself out of it. Only one way out."
She heard the door open and shut, and knew that Tate left the room. Sighing, she wished that he would announce when he was leaving. She couldn't see that far across the room. The door opened again, and she turned her head towards it.
"Nicolette?" She questioned.
"No, it's Natalie."
Rose chuckled, "Good, I have a story to tell you."
---***---
Tate walked around the cabin after speaking with Natalie and Rock for a brief moment on the porch. Before he turned the corner, he peeked around it. Nick was standing by the water pump, desperately trying to get it to work. It was always difficult, and even Rock had a hard time trying to pump water. Half the time, they would just run down to the creek to fill up their buckets.He watched her slender arms fighting with the lever, that just wouldn't pump fast enough under her force. She was biting her lower lip, and he could hear the suckling noises she made whenever she got frustrated.
"Work you blasted contraption!" Nick yelled as she kicked it. She realized her mistake when her foot hit metal, and she fell to the dirt to comfort her foot.
Tate tried not to laugh, but couldn't help but smile.
She held her foot in her hands for a moment longer before standing back up, and limping back over to the pump. "This means war." She mumbled to the water pump, after she spoke Tate couldn't hold in his laughter, and it burst from his lips.
Nick looked up at him, he saw the embarrassment and hurt in her eyes, as he walked out from behind the house. His smile remained on his face, as he walked over to the pump and tried to fill the bucket for her. It still didn't work for him, and Nick put her hands between his own. Her little fingers touched his index fingers, and sent tiny shivers up his hands from the unexpected touch. They both pumped the lever for all it was worth, and finally water began to pour from the spout. When the bucket was full, Nick stood up in victory, placing her fists on her hips.
"I win!" She shouted, and one fist went into the air.
Tate smiled at her silly display, "I think that was only one battle, you haven't won the war yet."
She chuckled, and went to pick the bucket up. Tate grabbed it from her and set it back down, which surprised Nick. She looked up at him curiously, then back down at the bucket. "I need it to scrub floors, does me no good out here."
"We need to talk." Tate told her.
"Tate, I told you, I want to do this. Nothing you can say will stop me. We've already come so far, we are only three more jobs away and…"
He raised his hand, "Not about that. I know there is no stopping you, and I am not going to try anymore." He walked around the pump to stand in front of her. "I wanted to talk to you about…" With a swallowed, he looked down at her, trying to find the words. "about Penny."
Nick snorted, then blushed. "There ain't nothing to talk about, Tate. You don't have to explain yourself to me, just like Rock doesn't have to explain Natalie to me. It's none of my business."
"What's going on between me and Penny, ain't nothing like what Natalie and Rock are doing."
She looked down into the dirt, and kicked it gently, "Really, Tate, you don't have to explain anything to me." She thought he meant that they were serious, where Rock and Natalie were only enjoying each other for the short time they would be here.
Ignoring her, he continued. "She comes 'round here to try and talk me into marrying her and moving away with her."
"Alright." Nick responded, she was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"I'm not interested in a woman like her though."
Anywhere else in the world, that's where she wanted to be at that moment. Far, far away from this conversation, it was going to a really awkward place. "Well, as I said, it's really none of my concern. This is between you and Penny. Your love life or lack there of is nothing I need to trouble myself with."
"Just listen to me, will ya?" Tate tried not to snap, "Penny drives a hard bargain, and some of the things she says makes sense. Like it is about time that I settled myself down, and once I get away from all this then maybe I can just become a normal hard working man. You invited me to come with ya'all after all this is over, and be rancher… I can still come, can't I?"
Nick nodded and looked up at him. "Of course, nothing's changed." The kindness and reassurance in her voice took him off guard.
He grinned, "Thought since I fought with Rock that might of changed."
"No, Rock fights with just about everybody. And Penny can even come too, if that's what you want. She ain't that bad, sure she could cook or something."
Tate's grin faded, she just wasn't understanding what he was trying to say. The words he wanted to speak to her, they just didn't feel right to him. He never said anything like that to a woman not when he meant them anyway, and Nick was a whole different kind of woman. He wasn't sure how he should express himself. "This ain't about Penny, coming with us or not."
Nick's heart pounded, she just didn't want to deal with this right now. Not when they were so close to achieving their goal. Nothing could get in here way, reaching down she went to pick up the bucket, but Tate slammed it back down.
"Nick, are ya hearing me?" He watched the worry in her eyes as she looked into the distance, and some of her hair flew into her eyes from the gently breeze blowing. He realized then that she wasn't wearing her hat, and her hair was in a low French braid.
"Yeah, I heard ya, not sure what you are saying, but I heard ya." She spoke nervously, trying not to look at him.
He sighed loudly, "I am trying to say… well… I'm trying… Hell, I have no idea what I am trying to say." With a loud swallow, he took off his hat and ran his hand over his sweaty hair. Placing the hat back on, he looked back down at her, she still wasn't looking at him.
"Well, when you think of it, I'll be upstairs scrubbing the floor." Nick went to grab the bucket, but Tate yanked it back down again. "That's really starting to hurt my arm." She snapped more out of fear of what he was trying to say then actual pain.
"Ya told me that you knew I was sweet on ya when I was hurt, remember?" The words blurted out, he knew that if he didn't say something now then he would never find the courage.
Her head bobbed up and down quickly, and he thought she was about to cry.
"If I don't have a chance in hell, best to tell me now, Nick. I've got to know. I mean I know that I have a shady past, and I know that I've done some terrible things in my life. But I've always been honest with you, and I would never do anything to hurt you… well, there was the pass, but I would never do that again. We didn't start off right, but the more I got to know you, the more I liked ya." He put his hands behind his back, so that she couldn't see they were shaking. "I swear if you just give me a chance, I can prove that I can be an honest man."
Nick looked up at him out of the corner of her eye, "I don't know, Tate. I ain't the kind of gal who…"
"I know, and that's what I like about ya, Nick. You ain't like any girl that I've ever known before or ever will. Nothing has to happen between us, I won't touch ya, and we can just keep on going like we've been."
Her eyes dropped, before she searched the horizon for an answer.
"Just let me prove it, that's all I ask."
"For how long?"
Tate tried to hide his grin, "For as long as it takes you to decide one way or the other. If you just tell me that you will at least let me try, then I'll tell Penny to go away. Won't listen to another word she says. I can be an honest man, I know it, Nick. I just need you to show me how."
She folded her hands in front of her, "Alright." She spoke the words with a firm nod, before looking up into his dark eyes. "You only get one chance to break my heart, Tate, and then it's all over."
Reaching down he picked up the bucket for her, "I said I would never hurt you and I meant it." With that, he spun around to carry the bucket of water into the house for her.
Nick grinned as she walked behind him, both a little pleased and scared at the same time.