Going Home

Chapter Seven

Early Tuesday morning, Nate informed Emily that he was going for a drive and that he'd be back in about an hour.

"Everything all right?" she asked from the sink.

"Fine. I've just got a couple of things to take care of."

"I have to go into town too, but I'll have lunch ready when you get back then."

"Alright."

***

He slowed the truck as he neared the old place. It was infested and overgrown with weeds and unruly bushes that needed a trimming badly. But it looked much the same as it had when he had left it some fifteen years back.

Same small, white house, the paint still chipping off from the weather. The stairs leading to the porch looked just as rickety as they had before. One of the front windows was broken, giving it that empty, abandoned look. It was sad to see his house this way. He had hoped to return to it and find it freshly painted and fixed up nice. He should have known better.

A 'for sale' sign was shoved into the ground, leaning lamely to one side. It looked like it had been there for a long time, the decals beginning to peel off much like the paint on the house.

He turned and looked up the road when he heard the sound of hoof beats pounding in the ground. A horse and rider approached. Nate lifted a hand to shield the morning sun from his eyes.

It was none other than childhood friend, Tommy Barker.

He grinned down at Nate as he rested his arms on the pommel of the saddle, the reins laying slack at his side.

"Thought I'd heard you were back, but I'd have never believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself."

"Well well, if it ain't little Tommy Barker."

Tom jumped down from the horse and approached Nate, his eye level matching Nate's.

"Who you callin' little," he demanded as he shot his hand out to Nate. Nate took it and pulled him in for a brotherly hug.

"How are you doin'," Nate cried with a wide smile as he stepped back to take a look at his long-time friend.

"Just as pesky as I always was," Tom replied with a grin. "And look at you," he mused. "Ain't you a pretty boy now, huh? Bet all those women back in Hollywood take a shinin' to you when you walk by.

"Maybe some, but I don't pay much attention."

"Yeah, right," Tom snorted.

Nate rolled his eyes. "They're not all they're cracked up to be, trust me."

"Well, you can always send 'em my way." He sighed as he stared at Nate. "What are you doin' back here?"

"I needed a break from all the lights and thought I should come back here and check on things," he added as he looked back at the house.

"Yeah," Tom said quietly. "We were all upset when he died. It wasn't pretty. I guess I had always hoped that he'd turn it all around, you know. And I was hopin' you'd come back..."

"I didn't know."

"Sal said he sent you a letter."

"I got it but I never opened it."

Tom looked at the for-sale sign. "You gonna buy the place? It'd be a nice place if it were fixed up right."

"I'm not stayin', Tom. I'm going back to Hollywood in two weeks."

"Oh," Tom mumbled, disappointed. "That Mrs. Conrad is sure a sight to behold, huh," he said suddenly.

Nate laughed at the quick switch of topics. "Yes, she is."

Tom was such a flirt. Always had been. But he was an enduring flirt and, somehow, he always charmed the ladies. But he had a good heart too.

"Don't know how you weaseled your way into her house but I'm mighty proud to call you my friend."

"It's not like that. I needed a place to stay and she needed some work done. We made a deal."

"Interesting," Tom said, cocking his eyebrow up.

"Don't you go startin' rumors, Tommy Barker, or I'll slap you one upside the head."

"Oh, don't you worry, I know better than to mess with you again. Once was enough for me," he replied as he touched his slightly bent nose gingerly, remembering days gone by.

"I should head back, I guess. Emily will be waiting for me," Nate began as he turned for his truck.

"It's nice to have someone waiting, huh," Tommy said wisely.

Nate grinned, taking his meaning. No one waited for him in Hollywood. Everyone was always onto the next best thing. It did feel good to know that Emily was waiting for him, even if it was only for his working hands. "It sure was good to see you again," he said.

"You could at least invite me back with you," Tom suggested.

Nate laughed and shook his head. "Think you can keep up on that thing?" he said, throwing his head towards the horse.

"I should be askin' you the same question. What are you doin' driving in a fancy truck when you should be ridin' a horse in these parts?"

"Nothin' beats a good truck and she does purr nicely," Nate murmured as he laid his hand on the sun-warmed hood.

"Well, what say we have a little race? My horse against your pretty truck?" Tom squinted at Nate through the sunshine and Nate grinned like a little boy about to reach into the candy jar.

"And the stakes are?"

"Hmm." Tom scratched at his head thoughtfully. "You set me up with that Mrs. Conrad."

"You've got to be kidding!" Nate cried in bewilderment.

"A man can dream, can't he?" Tom mused.

"Man, you have grown up," Nate said, shaking his head. "Alright, you're on...but you ain't gonna win."

"See you back at the ranch," Tom called as he mounted his horse and took off.

"Always was a little cheater," Nate muttered as he ran for his truck and drove off after him.