Heath awoke from a very restless sleep as the sun was beginning to rise in the sky. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and swore. He should have been up an hour ago, so he could get the supplies off the 6:00am train and get back here with them for the work crew to start at eight. Nick would be furious at him for slacking off and delaying the men. Ignoring the stabbing pain in his side he got up and dressed. He made his way out of the house and to the barn. He was hitching up the wagon when he heard a noise coming from the barn loft. He climbed up the loft ladder to investigate. The stabbing pain in his side grew worse with each step he took, but he ignored it. When he reached the top of the ladder he noticed the loft door open and Jenny standing too close to the edge.

"Jenny." Heath spoke quietly so not to spook the girl and cause her to fall.

Jenny slowly turned to face him. When he looked into her dull green eyes a chill ran up his spine. He had seen that look in the eyes of many men during the war especially in Carterson, the look of total despair and hopelessness. Jenny wanted to die and he had to stop her.

"Jenny please come away from that door." He pleaded.

"NO! I have nothing to live for." She cried.

"Think of the baby, Jenny." Heath tried again

"What do you care? The baby isn't yours. They forced me to marry you, but they can't make me love you. My heart belongs only to Mark." She screamed as she stepped closer to the opened door.

"You don't have to love me. Love your baby, his baby. You told me that day by the creek that Mark fought and died for your love. You owe it to him to fight and live for the child you created from that love. Grieve for him Jenny, but don't die for him." Heath pleaded as he inched slowly toward the grief stricken girl.

As Heath neared the girl she stepped back. She screamed as she fell. Instinctively she reached out to stop herself from falling and grabbed the loft floor. Heath drove and grabbed her arm just as her hand lost its grip. He fought against the pain that erupted in his side and threatened to cause him to let go. He held tight to the terrified girl as he prayed that someone would come.

It already seemed like an eternity. Heath did not know how much longer he could hold her. His strength and endurance were failing him. The pain in his side was increasing and he felt nauseous. His head was starting to spin and he feared he would pass out. Then her weight shifted and he felt her slip from his grip just before he black out.

As the men in the bunkhouse began to arise, Jack McCall decided that it was time he had a talk with the new ranch hand, Carl. The nineteen-year-old lad started to work for the Barkleys about a week ago, but he wasn't working out. Jack like the kid. He was hardworking, but trouble followed him like the plague. The harder the boy tried it seemed the more things went wrong. Then yesterday Jack asked the boy to put the new Stallion in his box stall. Carl forgot to lock the stall door and the Stallion escaped. The ranch hands had to spend half a day trying to catch the horse.

Nick was livid. He wanted to fire the boy on the spot, but Heath defended the lad. Heath told his older brother that it was an honest mistake and that they should give the kid a break. The two brothers just about got into a fistfight over the ordeal, but finally Nick agreed to give Carl another chance. Nick had asked Jack to keep an eye on the boy and if there were anymore problems to let him know.

Jack asked Carl to step outside the bunkhouse with him so they could talk in private. He wanted to make it perfectly clear to the boy that no more incidents like yesterday would be tolerated. They exited the bunkhouse and were walking toward the barn when they heard a girl scream. They both looked up. They saw the blond Barkley dive and grab the girl's arm just before she lost her grip on the loft floor.

Jack ran to the barn, entered and climbed the loft ladder. He was almost to the loft door when he saw Heath's muscles go slack. He heard the girl's terror filled scream and knew he was too late. He slowly walked the rest of the way to the barn loft door and forced himself to look over the edge.

Jack McCall had been raised a Catholic and even though he had abandoned the faith years ago he made a sign of the cross as he look at the scene below. Then he turned his attention to the unconscious Barkley beside him.

Ann Morris couldn't sleep. She could not stop thinking of how terrified her daughter was when her husband forced the girl to marry that man. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the fear and sense of betrayal that burned in her daughter's eyes as she told the girl she had to stay with her new husband. Ann feared that the child her daughter carried was conceived from force. She feared that they had just made their daughter marry her rapist. But if that true why would the girl lie to protect him. When Ann told her husband that Jenny was pregnant the girl told them that Mark Harrison was the father, but her husband told the girl it was wrong to lie about a dead man to protect her lover. Now Ann wondered if what the girl said was true. She wondered if they had forced an innocent man to marry their daughter. But Steve had caught Jenny and the blond Barkley together by the little creek in the woods two months ago, so he had to be the father. Ann also could not shake the image of the blond man's fiery blue eyes and the anger that burned through them. She feared he would hurt her daughter.

These thoughts and many more raced through Ann's mind as she tried to fall asleep. Realizing that sleep would not come she got up and quietly got dressed. She was careful not to wake her husband. She went to her daughter's room to pack a few of the girl's clothes in a bag. Then she quietly exited the house. She went to the barn. She saddled her horse and headed for the Barkley ranch. She knew her daughter would need a change of clothing, which gave her an excuse to make sure her child was safe.

As Ann rode through the big white gate of the Barkley ranch, she saw the blond bastard holding her daughter out the barn loft door. She watched in horror as he released his hold on her daughter's arm and the girl fell.

Nick was sleeping in due to a late night, a slight hangover and the fact he had trouble going to sleep because of what had happened to his younger brother. A loud scream from the barnyard awoke him. Nick got up and dressed quickly.

Jarrod, who was also sleeping in because he had stayed up late trying to figure out some way to help Heath, was awakened by the loud scream. He bolted out of bed and threw on his clothes.

Victoria, who had just gone to check on Jenny, discovered the girl missing. When she heard the scream she ran from the guestroom where she met her two sons in the hallway, as they exited their rooms. All three of them raced down the stairs leading to the kitchen. They exited the house through the back door and ran to the barnyard. They arrived on the scene just as their ranch hands gently lowered Jenny and the blanket they caught her in to the ground.

When Jack asked him to step outside the bunkhouse so they could talk in private, Carl knew that Jack was going to chew him out for the incident with the stallion. He was surprised yesterday that he had not been sent packing. He also knew the only reason he was not was because Heath had stood up to Nick for him. Carl followed Jack out of the bunkhouse dreading the upcoming lecture he was about to endure. They had just exited the building and were heading toward the barn when the girl screamed. Jack broke into a run toward the barn.

As Jack raced to the barn to help Heath, Carl realized that his blond boss would not be able to hold the girl for very long. He raced back to the bunkhouse grabbed a blanket. He ordered the other men to follow him. The men had reached the barn, pulled the blanket taunt between them seconds before the girl fell. They caught her and gently lowered her to the ground.

"JENNY!" Heath screamed as he regained consciousness. He had to stop her. He had to save her. He fought against the hands that held him down that prevented him from reaching her.

Nick and Jarrod pinned Heath to his bed as they tried to calm him down. They feared that his thrashing against them would cause more damage to his already injured ribs.

"Heath! Stop it you'll hurt yourself." Nick screamed at his younger brother.

Finally Heath stopped fighting them as realized that he was in his room not the barn. The last thing he remembered before passing out was Jenny slipping from his grip.

"Oh God! Jenny, I let her fall. I let her die." Heath cried out in agony at what he believe he allowed to happen.

"Jenny is alive, Heath." Nick told him.

"No! I let her fall. I felt her slip from my grip." Heath gasped in a hoarse voice. He was having a hard time believing that Jenny could have survived.

"Yes, Jenny's is alive. The ranch hands caught her. She is shaken up, but she will be okay." Jarrod tried to assured his younger brother.

"Thank God. I have to see her." Heath said as he tried to sit up, but Nick and Jarrod stopped him.

"I don't think that is a good idea right now. You should stay in bed. Your ribs took quite a beating." Nick said.

"Let me go. I have to see her." Heath pleaded as he struggled against his brothers to free himself from their hold on him. He needed to see the girl to prove to himself that he did not allow her to die.

Realizing that Heath would not calm down until he had seen Jenny, Jarrod and Nick helped him up. Heath unsteadily made his way to Jenny's room with his two brothers following close behind.

Ann Morris sat on the edge of the bed gently stroking her daughter's hair as she tried to get Jenny to talk to her. The girl had not responded to anyone or anything around her since the ranch hands lowered to the ground. Jenny had completely withdrawn inside of herself and just stared into space. Ann was worried about her child; she wished the doctor would come.

As Victoria sat on the opposite side of the bed from Ann she wondered why Jenny and Heath where in the barn loft. She wondered how the girl ended up falling. Jenny's refusal to respond since the fall scared Victoria. She was also very worried about Heath, who now lay in his room unconscious with his brother's looking after him. She had wanted to go check on Heath, but felt it necessary that she stay with Ann and the girl. She too wished the doctor would arrive soon. She was surprised when the bedroom door opened and Heath walked in followed by Jarrod and Nick.

As soon as Heath, Nick and Jarrod entered Jenny's room Ann jumped to her feet. "Get that monster you call a brother away from my daughter." She screeched.

"My brother saved you daughter's life." Nick yelled.

Ann ignored Nick as she stepped protectively between Heath and her child. She could only think of one explanation for what she had witnessed today. She believed that this man had tried to kill her daughter. As soon as Jenny was safely on the ground Ann had had wanted to take girl home with her. She wanted to get her daughter away from this man, but Victoria convinced her that Jenny should be check over by the doctor to make sure the girl wasn't hurt in the fall before she was moved very far. Ann had reluctantly agreed to allow the ranch hands to help her daughter into the Barkley house and this room. Now as she stood face to face with the man that she believed tried to hurt her daughter she wished that she would have taken Jenny out of here.

"I'll make sure you rot in jail for what you tried to do to my daughter." She spat

Heath did not respond or look at Ann his gaze never left the pale face of Jenny. He saw the empty hollow look in the young girl's eyes as she stared unblinking into space. He felt the same chill down his spine he felt in the barn. He had to try to reach her.

Heath pushed past Mrs. Morris who tried to stop him. Nick grabbed the concerned mother to prevent her from stopping Heath. Nick knew his brother felt a need to confirm that Jenny was all right. He was not going to allow this woman to interfere. He was furious at this woman for the way she was treating Heath. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but he figured he would only be wasting his breath.

Heath walked over and eased himself down to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Mrs. Morris was screaming at him to leave her daughter alone, but he ignored her. He reached over, grabbed Jenny's chin and forced the girl to look at him.

"You are right Jenny they can't make you love me and I don't care. What I care about and what terrifies me is I can't make you want to live. You have to find that will in yourself. I know that right now the pain and grief you feel over the death of Mark is so overwhelming that death seems easier than life. But you have to fight to live. Mark would want you to. He loved you and he would not want you to hurt yourself." Heath pleaded as he desperately tried to reach the girl. Every person in the room had their attention focused on the blond man and Jenny.

"Why did he have to die?" Jenny screamed the first words she had spoken since she fell from the loft.

"I don't know Sweet heart." Heath answered as he started to gently stroke his child bride’s check.

"We were supposed to get married. We were supposed to be happy, but he left me. How can I live without him?" She cried.

"By facing each day as it comes with the help of family and friends. You are not alone Jenny. You don't have to pretend anymore that everything is all right while you slowly die inside. Let your family help you." Heath said as he continued to gently stoke her check.

"My family thinks I am a liar and a tramp. They don't care about me. They don't want me. They don't love me." She screamed as she turned away from Heath to bury her face in the pillow.

Jenny's words were like a slap across Ann's face. She broke free from Nick's grip on her, ran to her daughter's side and gathered the girl in her arms. "Oh Jenny! I love you and nothing you could do will stop me from loving you."

As she cradled her daughter in her arms she looked at the young man still sitting on the edge of her daughter's bed. "Are you the father of the baby?"

He lifted his head and looked at her. When she looked into his eyes there was no anger burning through them only fear and concern for her daughter. She could also so see that he was fighting to control the pain he was in. She realized she had misjudged this man.

"No Ma'am. I am not the baby's father. Jenny's Fiancée is the baby's father. He asked her to marry him the night before he died in the shoot out with the railroad." He answered Jenny's mother's question.

"But Steve caught you and Jenny together in the woods." The confused mother said. Now she knew that another man was the father of the baby. She needed to know why Jenny was in the arms of this man at the creek two months ago. Now she feared that her daughter had two lovers.

"That was a week after the shoot out with the railroad. When I went to the creek for lunch I found her there. She was alone and grieving for the man she loved. She needed someone to talk to so I listened and I put my arms around her to comfort her. That was the first time I met your daughter and the last time seen her until last night." Heath explained

"So you two are practically strangers." Ann gasped as she realized that they had forced their daughter to marry a man that she hardly knew.

"My God! Heath you look worse than something the cat dragged in." Dr. Meyers said as he entered the room and saw Heath sitting on the edge of the bed. "I told you last night that you had to stay in bed. I don't just give orders to hear myself talk son. Now get back to bed."

Heath wanted nothing more than to comply with the doctor's order. He was tired and his ribs where on fire with pain, but he wasn't sure he had the energy to get up. As Heath tried to stand he gasped out in pain and clutched his side.

"Nick, Jarrod will you help your brother back to bed. As soon as I have checked Jenny over I will come have a look at those ribs. You can try to give him some of that painkiller I left here last night. Now maybe he will be more cooperative in taking it." The doctor ordered. At the doctor's reference to the medicine Heath's face turned beet red as he remembered his behavior the night before.

Jarrod and Nick helped their younger brother to his feet. Then they started toward the door.

"Heath, wait! What happened today? Why did my daughter fall from the barn loft?" Mrs. Morris called after them. She needed to hear with her ears what she feared to be true in her heart.

Heath stopped and slowly turned to face her. "Jenny tried to kill herself ma'am and she almost succeeded. Now if you will excuse me I really need to lie down."

Nick helped Heath back to his room while Jarrod went to the kitchen to get the painkiller the doctor left the night before. Nick had Heath settled in bed by the time that Jarrod entered the room. Jarrod poured some of the medicine in a glass and gave to Heath, who gladly took it.

"Heath, if you knew who the baby's father was why you didn’t tell us last night." Jarrod asked when Heath had finished the medicine.

"It would have made no difference. No one would have believed me." Heath answered as he closed his eyes. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep, but Jarrod wasn't about to let that happen.

"Dam it Heath! Mother Nick and I believed the child isn't yours. I resent the fact that you accused us that we believed them over you. Why wouldn't you trust me? Why would chose to marry Jenny over trying to prove your innocents?" Jarrod snapped.

"I couldn't go to jail." Heath answered

"Heath I could have got you out on bail. Then we would have had time to prove that the child wasn't yours." Jarrod told him.

"If Jenny and her family continued to claim I was the child's father no one would have believed me. Although you believe me it would not matter. How could I prove that I was not the father? It would have been my word against theirs and they would have won. I could not take the chance of ending up in a prison again." Heath explained

"PRISON! When where you in prison?" Both Jarrod and Nick asked at the same time.

"I was in Carterson at the end of the war." Heath answered. The painkiller Jarrod gave him along with the strain his body had taken was making him very sleepy. He also did not want to talk about Carterson.

"If you don't mind I like to go to sleep." He snapped as he turned his head away from his brothers and closed his eyes.

Nick and Jarrod both stared at Heath in shock. They could not believe what their blond brother just told them. Heath couldn't have been more than fifteen at the end of the war. He would have been too young to be in the war, but he just told them he was Carterson, a prison of war camp. Both brothers had a hundred questions they wanted to ask, but they realized that Heath did not want to discuss it further. It would have to wait for another time when their new brother felt ready to share it.

Heath was almost asleep when the doctor came to examine him. The doctor carefully checked Heath's ribs and re-bandaged them. Once again the doctor told his patient that he had to remain in bed for a few days and rest.

"How is Jenny?" Heath asked as the doctor turned to leave.

"She is resting." The doctor answered. Something in the way the doctor said this concerned Heath.

"How is she?" He asked again.

"I told you." The doctor answered.

"No, you told me she is resting. How is she?" Heath snapped as he tried to sit up.

The doctor gently pushed his patient to a laying position. He had wanted to wait until the young man had rested to tell him, but he realized he could not keep it from him. "She lost the baby."

"She lost the baby because she fell; because I let her fall." Heath said as he tried to sit up, but the doctor held him down.

"For crying out loud, you past out. You couldn't help it that you lost your grip on Jenny." Nick yelled at his guilt-ridden brother.

"Nick is right Heath and you are lucky you did not drive one of those broken ribs through your lungs or you would be dead." The doctor said.

"I should have stopped her. If only I reached her before she fell then she wouldn't have lost the baby. She has been through so much she didn't deserve that." Heath cried.

"Heath you can't blame yourself for what Jenny did. You tried to reach her, but she wouldn't listen." Jarrod said trying to convince his brother that what happened wasn't his fault.

"I should have tried harder." Heath yelled as he sat up. The movement caused him to yelp out in pain.

The doctor gently pushed his patient back down. "Hurting yourself son won't change what happened. You have to let those ribs heal." He scolded.

"Besides even if Jenny didn't fall she still might have lost the baby. She hasn't been taking proper care of herself for the last two months. When I check her over in my office I was concerned at her lack of appetite. She is underweight. Then there is the stress she has been under. Being forced by her family to marry a man she hardly knew couldn't have helped either." The doctor tried to convince his young patient that what happen wasn't his fault. While he was examining Jenny, Victoria had explained to him everything that had happened. He was appalled when he heard what Jenny's family did to her and Heath. If anyone was to be blamed for what happened, it was Jenny's family not this young man.

"And the fall didn't help did it?" Heath asked

"No, it didn't help." The doctor answered realizing nothing he or anyone else said was going to help. Heath was determined to blame himself.

"How did Jenny take it?" Heath asked.

"She blames herself. There seems to be a lot of that going around." The doctor answered. "I gave her some sleeping powered to claim her down. Now you have to stop worrying about her and start worrying about yourself. You need to rest and let those ribs heal. Would you like something to help you sleep?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Just leave me alone." Heath answered as he turned his head toward the wall and closed his eyes.

"Okay. Get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow to check on you and Jenny." The doctor said. Then he left followed by Nick and Jarrod.

After Jenny had fallen asleep Victoria left Ann alone with the girl. She wanted to see how Heath was doing. She knocked lightly on his door, but there was no answer, so she opened the door and peeked in. He looked like he was sleeping, so she closed the door, and then went to find her other two sons. They were just seeing the doctor to the door.

"How is Heath?" Victoria asked after the doctor had left. They all went to the sitting room.

"Luckily he didn't do anymore damage to the ribs. He will be sore for a few days and needs to rest, but he should heal fine." Jarrod answered his concerned mother as he poured her a sherry and Nick a glass of whiskey.

"Good. I am relieved to hear that Heath will be fine. We will just have to make sure he doesn't do anything that could jeopardize his recovery." Victoria said. She took the drink that Jarrod handed her.

"Yeah! Physically he'll be fine, but what about emotionally. He is lying upstairs blaming himself for Jenny losing the baby because he let her fall. He seems to be forgetting the fact that he past out." Nick spat. He downed the whiskey Jarrod had poured him in one gulp. Boy did he need that.

"He knows. I asked the doctor not to tell him." Victoria had wanted to wait until tomorrow to tell Heath about Jenny losing the baby. She was angry that the doctor went against her wishes.

"Don't blame Dr. Meyer mother. Heath asked how Jenny was. The doctor tried to avoid telling him, but Heath could tell the doctor was hiding something. He insisted that he be told." Jarrod defended the doctor.

"Maybe I should go talk to Heath." Victoria said.

"It won't do any good. We tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, but he would not listen. I don't think he feels like talking to anyone right now. It is probably best if we just leave him alone and let him get some rest." Jarrod answered.

"Now if you will excuse me I think I will ride over to the Morris." Jarrod said as he turned to leave.

"Now you are talking big brother. I'll go get some of the men. We'll show them not to mess with a Barkley." Nick said as he turned to follow his older brother.

"Nick, I am just going to go talk to Mr. Morris and his sons. Jenny is their daughter and sister they have a right to know what happened here today. Also I think that they maybe wondering about where Mrs. Morris is. I really don't want them showing up here looking for her." Jarrod rebuked his younger brother.

"Fine, but I am going with you. I am not letting another one of my brothers face them alone." Nick informed Jarrod.

Both brothers left to go over to the Morris. Nick wanted to make them pay for what they put his younger brother through, but Jarrod only wanted to talk.

Jarrod and Nick found Mr. Morris with his son's fixing a section of their fence line. The Morris stopped what they were doing as they watched the two Barkley brothers ride up to them. Jarrod dismounted and walked up to Mr. Morris, but Nick remained on his horse with his hand hovering over his gun. He did not like the odds that Jarrod insist that they ride into.

"What do you want Barkley?" Mr. Morris spat.

"I thought you would like to know that your daughter just told us that another man not Heath was the father of he baby. You had no right to force Heath to marry her." Jarrod said.

"That's a lie she made up to protect your bastard brother. She told us that Mark Harrison; a dead ranch hand was the father. Pretty smart on her part to pick a man that could not defend himself don't you think, but I didn't buy it." Mr. Morris hissed.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Jarrod screamed as he threw a punch knocking Mr. Morris to the ground.

As Mr. Morris sons went to attack Jarrod, Nick pulled his gun and shot the ground in front of them. "Stay out of it boys or the next bullet goes though you."

Jarrod stood over where Mr. Morris lay on the ground. "What you did to my brother is wrong, but what you did to your daughter was worse. Your daughter has been grieving for the last two months over the death of her Finance. When she finally tells you the truth you tell her she is a liar and force her to marry a man she just met once; a man that only offered her friendship when she need a friend."

"That's a lie. Your brother and she were in each other's arms. He is the baby's father." Mr. Morris yelled at Jarrod. He tried to get up but Jarrod kicked him hard in the ribs. The Morris brothers wanted to go help their father, but with Nick pointing a gun at them from the back of his horse they did not dare. They knew that Nick was angry enough to carry though with his threat.

Jarrod was furious with this man; not only for what he did to Heath but what he had put Jenny through. At that moment he wanted nothing more that beat this man until he pleaded for mercy, but he knew that would not solve anything.

"For your information Jenny was so full of grief for Mark that she tried to kill herself this morning by jumping out of the barn loft. My brother risked his own life to save her. Even though he could have driven one of his broken ribs, which your sons gave him, though a lung he didn't think twice about grabbing her and preventing her from falling. He past out from the pain, but he held her long enough for our ranch hands to get a blanket under her to catch her in. You are lucky your daughter did not die. If it weren't for my brother she would have." Jarrod spat at the man at his feet.

When Mr. Morris found out that Jenny was with child, he was angry. When Jenny told him that the father was Mark Harrison he believed her, but he wanted a father for the baby. Since a dead man could not provide that, he planned on making the Barkley bastard marry her. Because he wanted to scare the girl into silence he told her she should not lie about a dead man and threatened to take his belt to her if she said it again. At the Barkley's when his daughter started to refuse to marry the man he feared that she would tell everyone in the room the truth. He called her a tramp and threatened to throw her out of his house if she did not go through with the marriage. He loved his daughter and he would not have carried through with the threat, but he knew without a father for the child people would treat his daughter like dirt. He wanted to protect her from that, so he forced her to marry the blond Barkley.

As Mr. Morris stared up at Jarrod in shocked disbelief at what he had just been told, he realized that in trying to protect his child from the cruel world he had ignored her pain and caused her more.

"Is she okay?" He stammered.

"She is grieving for the man she loves and she is feeling guilty because she lost the child. You tell me how she is." Jarrod yelled.

"She lost the child?" The concerned father asked.

"Yes. Your wife is with her." Jarrod said. Then he turned, walked to his horse and mounted. "By the way tomorrow morning I am going to go talk to Judge Parker and see about having this marriage ended. I suggest you be there and tell him exactly what you did. Then maybe I won't bring assault charges against you and your boys."

With that Jarrod turned his horse and rode away with Nick right behind him.

It was mid-morning the next morning as Ann sat by her daughter's bed at the Barkley ranch. The girl was awake, but refused to talk to her. Her daughter would flinch every time Ann went to hug or touch her. There was a light knock on the bedroom door, so she got up to see who it was. When she opened the door she found Heath standing there. He looked so lost.

"I just wanted to see how Jenny was this morning." He said.

"Please come in." Ann said. This young man had reached her daughter the night before maybe he could help now.

Ann watched as Heath entered the room and walked over to the bed where her daughter lay. She noticed that he was in a great deal of pain as he lowered himself into the chair by the bed.

"How are you this morning Jenny?" Heath asked.

"I lost the baby." Jenny replied.

"I know. I am so sorry."

"When the doctor told me I was with child I wanted it to go away. Then I made it go away. Does that make me an evil person?" She asked as she turned to face him. She expected him to judge her and condemn her for what she had done, but all she saw in his eyes was concern and understanding.

"No sweetheart, it makes you a little girl that made a huge mistake and was forced to grow up way too soon." He answered as he reached out and stroked her hair.

She remembered how kind he had been to her that day at the creek. He did not know who she was, but he had been concerned about her. "Why did you help me that day?" She asked.

"Because, you seemed so hurt and alone. I could tell you needed someone to talk to." He answered

"Why would you care, you did not even know me?" She asked.

"Because I know what it is like to be hurting and alone with no one to turn to." He answered.

Jenny saw him grimace in pain as he moved slightly trying to find a comfortable position. "I am sorry for what my brothers and father did to you. I tried to tell them that Mark was the father not you, but they would not believe me. Does it hurt?"

"No." He lied. "I have been beaten up worse than this and survived so don't worry about it."

Heath sat by Jenny's bed the rest of the morning as he listened to the girl talk. She told of how she first met Mark. Of how she used to sneak out of the house at night to meet him in the barn. She told of how her world crashed the day he died. How she wished that she had died too. She also talked about the times she had spent at the Barkley ranch playing with Audra pretending that she was a princess. She told Heath how she wished that she could go back to that time when she was young and innocent, but knew now nothing would be same again.

As Ann watched the blond man listen to her daughter ramble on, she saw the quiet, gentle soul he possessed. The young man was in obvious pain and really should be in bed resting, but instead he ignored his pain to help Jenny. When she had realized that this young Barkley had ignored his own injuries to save her daughter life yesterday, Ann was embarrassed by the way she had treated him. She wished she could take back the words she had spoken to him, but knew she could not.

"Heath Barkley! You should be in bed." Victoria scolded her blond son as she entered the room interrupting Ann's thoughts and Jenny conversation with Heath.

Victoria had gone to the Mission that morning to deliver some supplies that she had picked up in town. It was just after one when she returned home. She went to check on Heath and found that he was not in his room. She was furious that he was ignoring the doctor's orders. She went to find him and found him in Jenny's room.

"I guess that my plan of riding out to the south pasture to check fence line this afternoon is out of the question." Heath teased as he turned slowly and gave his mother a sheepish look.

"The only place you are going is back to bed." Victoria ordered. She hated it when any of her sons where hurt or sick. They always seemed to ignore what was good for them.

"I must take leave of you my lady as you see my dungeon a waits." Heath said to Jenny, in reference to her story of pretending to be a princess, as he slowly got to his feet. Jenny smiled slightly.

"Heath! Get to bed now." Victoria ordered again.

"Alright. All right I am going. Boy howdy, you know I have not spent this much time in bed, since I was four." He mumbled as he walked past his mother and exited the room. He actually was tired and knew he needed to lie down.

Victoria shook her head and rolled her eyes as she followed her blond son out of the room. Once he was settled in bed she poured some of the medicine the doctor left for him into a glass and handed it to him. He was going to refuse it but the determined look on her face let him know arguing was not a good idea. He took the glass and drank the contents. After she left his room, he fell asleep.

Heath was awake when Nick knocked on his bedroom door. Heath told his older brother to come in.

"How are you doing?" Nick asked as he entered his younger brother's room.

"Dying of boredom." Heath replied.

"Well boy, I can fix that how about a game of poker? Care to lose some money?" Nick asked.

"I don't mind if I win some." Heath shot back.

Heath and Nick engaged in a friendly game of poker. They were playing their third hand when Jarrod followed by Victoria entered the room. Jarrod walked over and sat on the edge of the bed while Victoria remained standing.

"Heath my boy you are one signature away from being a free man." Jarrod crowed as he handed Heath a piece of paper.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Heath asked as he took the paper from Jarrod.

"I talked to Mr. Morris yesterday. He agreed to go with me this morning to meet with Judge Parker. After I explained to the judge everything that happened here yesterday and with Mr. Morris consent the Judge agreed to annul the marriage. It will be like you were never married. All you have to do is sign the papers. Since Jenny is under age Mr. Morris signed for her." Jarrod informed his younger brother.

"Let me get this straight. Mr. Morris and sons bust into our home, hold you and mother at gunpoint while they beat me up. They tell me I can either marry Jenny or go to jail. Now you are telling me that Mr. Morris has willing agreed to help you end the marriage. Why Jarrod?" Heath asked.

"After I told him what happened he realized that you were not the father of the baby. He agreed what he did was wrong." Jarrod answered.

"Nice try Jarrod, but he knew before he ever forced me to marry Jenny that I wasn't the father. Jenny told me she told him the truth. He did not care about what was right or wrong all he cared about was getting a father for the baby. The only reason he agreed to help you is because Jenny lost the baby. An innocent child whose only crime was being conceived out of wedlock will never have a chance at life and every one rejoices, because it solves everything." Heath spat.

"Heath Barkley! No one is rejoicing over this tragedy." Victoria yelled at her angry blond son.

"What happens if I don't sign them, Jarrod?" Heath asked ignoring what Victoria had said.

"Then you and Jenny will remain married." Jarrod answered confused as to why his brother would hesitate to sign the papers.

Heath stared intently at the papers he held in his hands, but he did not see them. Instead he saw the image of how terrified Jenny was the night her father called her a lying tramp and threatened to throw her out penniless and pregnant to fend for herself if she refused to marry him. He saw her cold empty eyes staring at him as he tried to talk her out of jumping out of the loft. He remembered the terror he felt when he knew he let her fall. He saw the tiny spark of hope rekindle in her eyes as he talked to her in her room after the fall.

Heath remembered the conversation he had with Jenny this morning after she lost the baby. He had seen how weak that tiny spark of hope was. He realized that he was her lifeline and this time he could not let her fall.

"I will not sign them." Heath said as he handed the papers back to Jarrod.

"Heath! Staying in this marriage out of some ill conceived feelings of guilt over Jenny losing the child is wrong." Victoria exclaimed.

"That night I was forced to marry Jenny I was given a choice. I chose to marry her and by doing so I claimed her child as my own. That night after the doctor left I thought long and hard on what happened. I vowed to God and myself that I would raise and love the child as my own. I promised to protect this child and provide it with everything I never had. Starting with a father and a name. I also promised to protect and provide for its mother. To use the death of this child as means to get out of this marriage and turn my back on my responsibility to Jenny is wrong. Jenny is my wife and I will protect her." Heath explained.

"I raised you two dollars. Do you call or fold?" Heath said as he picked up the hand of cards and turned to Nick indicating to everyone in the room that the subject was closed.

...Continued