The next morning while Ellie was busy packing the rest of her belongings, Heath decided to pay Nick a visit as he wished to get to the bottom of his brother’s alleged antipathy for his girlfriend. He rapped on the door and waited for the usual invitation to let himself in.

“You all packed?”

“Yeah. Ready to go.”

Heath stepped up to the bed where Nick was closing his duffel bag. “Nick I have a question to ask and I’d appreciate an honest answer.”

“Sure. What is it?” Nick frowned with worry at Heath’s solemn expression.

“Do you like Ellie?”

“Is that a trick question?”

“She has this funny notion that you hate her.”

“What?” Nick broke into a nervous laugh. “Wherever did she get that idea?”

“Probably from the evil eye you throw at her.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve got nothing against her.”

Heath breathed out long sigh. “I love her Nick.”

“That’s plain to see, Little Brother,” Nick said with a strained smile and a pat on Heath’s back.

“I’ve loved her for a very long time. Seeing her again brought back old feelings.”

“Was that before or after Mary’s death?” Nick asked bluntly, causing Heath to narrow his eyes in contempt.

“Why do you ask that question?” Heath said accusingly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just…”

“What?” Heath took another step up to his brother to glare at him with a clenched jaw. “She was right. You do resent her?”

“No I don’t!” Nick defended unconvincingly.

“Do us both a favour Nick. Stay here.” Heath spoke with bitter resentment before turning on his heels towards the door and banging it close.

Heath’s scathing tone speared Nick dead center in the heart, leaving it bleeding at the realization that he’d shaken his brother’s trust. How was he to mend the rift between them and at the same time keep a watchful eye on the woman he strongly suspected had unsavoury plans for Heath?

An hour passed before ranch hand Jim Atherton brought the buggy in front of the house. Once the suitcases were tightly secured in the back Heath assisted Ellie into the seat. As he was about to take his place beside her, Nick pulled him aside to apologize for his behaviour. Heath flashed a lopsided grin and with a clap on Nick’s back told him that he’d already forgave him. He knew Nick only had his best interest at heart and that in all good conscience he couldn’t hold that solicitude against him.

“Say Heath will you do me just one favour?”

“Name it.”

“Can you send me a wire every day?”

“Why?”

“Just so I know you’re okay.”

“You’re doing it again Nick,” Heath remarked with a contemptuous edge to his voice.

“Just humour me, Little Brother?”

Heath heaved out a thick sigh and then nodded in agreement. “I’ll be alright. I promise I won’t stay more than a week.”

“We can manage that long.” He placed his hand on top of Heath’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Well have a great time and don’t forget about that wire. I’ll be expecting it.”

“Alright.” Heath climbed aboard the surrey and he and Ellie waved goodbye to the family as they drove away.

At first light the next morning, Nick rode into town to the telegraph office to check the wire from Heath informing him of their time of arrival in Cloverville. Little brother had taken care of leaving Ellie’s boarding house address at the bottom of the message aware that it would ease Nick’s mind to have it handy.

At roughly the same time in Cloverville, Heath slipped on his clothes and snuck out of the house before anyone was up. He carefully selected a few wild flowers growing on the edge of the yard then saddled a horse to ride into town. The streets were nearly deserted as he ambled on to the tiny cemetery to visit Mary’s grave. He dismounted and edged his way to the tombstone where he squatted down and gently laid down the flowers. He then removed his hat and fiddled with the rim. “Hi Mary,” he exhaled in a shuddering breath, tears already stinging his eyes. “Forgive me for having shoved you in the back of my mind. I hurt too much to remember you. When you died, a part of me died with you and to stop from hurting I had to,” he inhaled deeply and let out a shuddering breath, “to lock you away far deep my memory. I’m sorry,” he cried, wiping the tears streaming down his cheeks. He then looked heavenwards and scrunched his eyes together. “God I loved you.” He paused briefly to quell the second wave of tears threatening to drown his eyes before opening them. “I draw a little bit of satisfaction knowing the man who killed you is dead, though sometimes I wonder if I would have liked to gun him down myself.” He brushed off a few speck of dirt and dried leaves on the stone, then traced the letters of her name with his fingers. “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow. There’s so much more I have to tell you.” He put his hat back on his head and pushed his way up. He ambled out of the cemetery with a heavy heart and a head hanging low. He stopped under the arch and glanced back at Mary’s grave one last time before he crossed the street to the telegraph office to send a wire to Nick.

“Heath? Heath Thomson is that you?” a woman squealed with delight.

Heath jerked his head up, his eyes swivelling back and forth to find the source of the call. His sight rested on a pretty redhead standing a few feet to his left. “Alice Bailey?”

She nodded enthusiastically before diving ecstatically into his welcoming arms. “Heath, it’s so good to see you again!”

“Same here. Boy Howdy! You look prettier than the last time I saw you.”

“I guess marriage agrees with me,” she enthused, proudly showing him her wedding band.

“Congratulations!” he gushed.

“Thank you. How long have you been in town?”

“Since yesterday.”

“You came to visit Mary’s grave?” she asked on a more solemn tone.

“Among other things.”

“Well what have you been doing? Are you still the lone drifter?”

“Not anymore. Find myself a great family. The Barkleys.”

“The prominent Barkleys from Stockton?”

“That’s them. On her deathbed my mama told me that Tom Barkley was my father. I looked them up. It was a rocky start but I’m now settled and partner in some twenty-thousand-acre ranch. Got me three brothers, a sister and one terrific stepmother. I’m the happiest man alive.”

“It shows,” she said smilingly. “Are you staying at the hotel?”

“No I got a room down at Ellie’s boarding house.”

“Eleanor Rowland?” she confirmed with an edge of fear in her voice.

“That’s right. It’s because of her that I’m here.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. She found out that it was her brother who killed my Mary out of jealousy. A bounty hunter shot him a while ago. When she cleaned out his cabin she found the necklace Mary was wearing on the day of our wedding. She looked me up to tell me the whole story.”

Alice was shocked by this news. “She told you that?”

“Yeah.” He cocked his head and frowned quizzically at Alice’s expression of utter disbelief. “What?”

“Her brother did kill someone that day but it wasn’t Mary. He was in Salt Flats.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. My father was part of the sheriff’s posse when they caught him. He later broke out of jail and hadn’t been seen since.”

Heath was dumbfounded. “Why would she lie to me?”

She gently placed a hand on the shaken man’s arm, tugging at it lightly to bring him out of his bewilderment. “Heath did you know that Eleanor spent the last three years in a mental institution?” Heath shot her a puzzled look. “It happened right after you left. She lost it completely. No one really knew why.”

“She seems alright to me.”

“I guess she must be if they let her out. But I’d advise you to be careful around her, just in case. She may not be all there if you know what I mean.”

“Now I’m beginning to understand why Nick was suspicious of her,” Heath mumbled to himself.

“What did you say?”

“Ah nothing,” Heath replied absentmindedly. “Listen I got to go. “ He clasped both of her hands and gave them an obliging squeeze. “You give my best to your husband.”

“I will. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I’ll try.” With one fluid motion he swung into the saddle and spurred his mount at full tilt towards Ellie’s boarding house.

Once the boarders were served their breakfasts, Ellie retreated to living room where she began wearing a hole in the living room rug wondering where Heath had gone. When he finally arrived she chastised him for going off without leaving word to her. Heath was taken aback by her uncharacteristic exuberance but instead of falling into an argument he apologized for his oversight before taking her by the shoulders to sit her down in front of him. “Ellie, we really need to talk.”

The next two days streamed by without a wire from Heath. On the third day, Nick made another punctual stop by the telegraph office. “Charlie, got anything for me?”

“Still nothing Nick.”

Nick pounded his fist against the wall. “It’s been three days.” He started drumming his fingers distractedly against the counter. His insides were twisting in knots; his brotherly instincts screaming ‘trouble’.

“Nick, he’s with a girl. He probably forgot about it. I would.”

“No. Something’s wrong.” He pulled Heath’s last telegram out of his shirt pocket and unfolded it. “Say I’d like you to send a wire to this address. Just write: ‘Urgent. Nick.’

“Sure thing.”

“I’ll be up at Jarrod’s office. If you get anything…”

“I’ll send someone to let you know,” Charlie finished the harried man’s thought with a heartening smile, which Nick returned with an appreciative nod of the head.

Nearly two hours later, Nick made another trip to the telegraph office hoping for an answer from Heath

“Still nothing, Nick. He probably didn’t get the wire yet. I’d give him another few hours. I’ll send someone to ranch if I get anything.”

“Much obliged Charlie.”

Nick turned around, tipped his hat to greet two lovely ladies walking by, then mounted Coco and spurred him back to the ranch.

All through the evening Nick remained aloof of the various topics of conversation exchanged between the family members. Sitting stoically at the dinning room table he stared at his plate, prodding distractedly at his food while his mind reviewed a list of nightmarish plights that he suspect may have befallen his brother. The face of the wicked witch Ellie kept taunting him. He knew something was wrong; that Heath was in dire straits. The thought made him queasy. He excused himself from the table to retire for the night. He fibbed about feeling a bit drowsy and apologized to Jarrod for skipping their traditional billiard game.

Once Nick was out of the room, Jarrod spoke up. “He’s worried about Heath. He was supposed to send Nick a daily wire to assure him he was doing fine. He has failed to do so in the past two days. Nick believes he might have run into some serious trouble and to be honest with you Mother, I’m beginning to think he might be right.”

“Being in the company of a beautiful woman I imagine he forgot,” Audra remarked.

“That may be but Nick’s been walking around with this sinking feeling, and we’re all aware that he has this sixth sense when it comes to Heath. His brotherly instincts have never been wrong before.”

“What do you intend to do?” Victoria asked.

I’m not working on any case at the moment. I could propose taking a trip to Cloverville tomorrow. I’m sure Brother Nick would agree it’s a good idea.”

“On the other hand it might make things worse.”

“How do you figure that?” Jarrod asked Audra with a puzzled frown.

“It’s obvious to me Heath left to spend some time alone with Eleanor. How do you think he’ll feel when he sees you two show up there?”

“I’m willing to suffer his wrath if it means knowing that he’s okay.”

“Jarrod is right, Audra. If Nick says he feels Heath might be in need of help, I think you two should go to Cloverville to make certain.”

“I’ll go tell Nick right now.” Jarrod stood from his chair and kissed his mother on the cheek before heading upstairs to Nick’s room. He rapped on the door. “Nick, it’s Jarrod. May I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Jarrod poked his head in first to locate Nick. He was standing by his dresser rummaging through the top drawer. “What are you doing?” Jarrod asked with perplexity.

Nick slammed the drawer shut and walked over to his bed to place the neatly folded shirt inside a duffel bag. “I’m leaving for Cloverville tomorrow morning. I checked the train schedule. There’s one leaving at seven fifteen.”

“You don’t mind if I tag along?”

“Wasn’t it you who tried to convince me I was making a mountain out of a mote hill?”

“I may have been the one overreacting.”

“I specifically asked him to wire me everyday and he did the first two days. Thereafter…nothing. You know how Heath is very thorough and conscientious in everything he does?” He turned his attention back to his packing. “No Jarrod. Something happened to him. And I’ll bet anything it has to do with that witch.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Never mind,” Nick sighed exasperatingly and closed his bag.

“Want to come downstairs for a game of pool?”

“Nah. I don’t feel like it tonight. You don’t mind, do ya?”

Jarrod smiled obligingly and tapped him on the shoulder. “Of course not. I’ll see tomorrow.”

The next day in early afternoon, Jarrod and Nick arrived in Cloverville. After getting their horses from the boxcar and asking direction to Ellie’s boarding house, they rode toward their destination. They tethered their mounts to the hitching post in front of the two-levelled house and entered. The tinkling of the bell told Ellie she had new customers.

“I’ll be right back with your coffee,” she said to two boarders enjoying a late lunch in the dining room. She was slightly taken aback by the two unexpected visitors. “Nick? Jarrod? It’s good to see you again. Won’t you come in,” she invited the rest of the way.

“We’re looking for Heath. Is he here?” Nick asked bluntly.

“Heath left three days ago,” she informed.

Nick and Jarrod exchanged a baffled look. “He left?” Nick confirmed.

“Yes. Said he had to be back to help you on the ranch.” Ellie’s eyes darted between the two confused brothers. “What’s the matter?”

“Heath never showed up,” Jarrod said dejectedly.

“Oh no. Do you think something might have happened to him?”

“That’d be my guess. Did he take the train back?” Nick asked.

“No. He told me he was going to ride his horse instead. I packed him some food for his journey so he wouldn’t go hungry. I also gave me a warm blanket and plenty of water.”

Nick’s nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists in a mixture of panic and fury. “Did he take the main road out of town?”

“Yes I believe he did.”

Nick turned to Jarrod. “Let’s pick up his trail before dark. I just hope we’re not too late.” Nick headed for the door without so much of a glance back at Ellie.

Jarrod put his hat back on his head and tipped the rim. “Much obliged Miss Rowland.”

“I hope you find him.”

“We will.”

From the living room window, Ellie watched the two brothers mount their respective horse and head out at a full gallop. A Machiavellian grin crossed her face as she returned to her guests.

Once the two boarders were satiated they left for town, leaving Ellie alone in the house. She prepared a meagre tray of food and headed out back to the cellar. She lifted the trapdoor and climbed down the stairs. She glanced at her prisoner sitting on the cold timbered floor, hands and feet bound and tied to a beam.

“Are you hungry?”

“Ellie let me go please. I won’t say anything. I promise.”

She picked up a slice of bacon and walked over to him to dangle it teasingly inches from his nose. “Open wide.”

Heath snatched the piece with his teeth and chewed on it.

“My! We are mighty hungry today.” She ambled back to the tray and sat at the table in front of him. “I’d be willing to serve you bigger portions if you were to say just two little words.”

“Never.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Heath. You said you loved me,” Ellie taunted maliciously.

“That was before I knew what you were. Crazy.”

“I AM NOT CRAZY!” She shouted, bolting upright. Her seething eyes bore a hole into Heath who countered with a similar leer. She took a few deep breaths to recover her composure before edging up to her prisoner and squatting before him. “Heath I love you. I don’t want to hurt you but you give me no choice,”

“Nick was right about you.”

She slapped him hard on the cheek. “That no good brother of yours. He poisoned your mind against me. Well I sent him back where he belongs.”

“What did you do?”

“He was just here with Jarrod looking for you. I told them you left three days ago. They rode back to pick up your trail. They’ll be out there for a very, very long time. Long enough for you to come to your senses and agree to marry me.” Heath tossed his head sideways in disgust when she began stroking his bruised cheek. “Don’t you see Heath darling, there’s no other woman who will love you the way I do. Not even Mary.”

Heath jerked his head back and glared into her devil eyes. “Mary?”

Ellie grinned and stood to return to the table. “Yes Mary. I told her she wasn’t right for you but she wouldn’t listen.”

It took a few seconds for Heath to measure the weight of her words and come up with the ghoulish answer. “Oh my God! It was you. You killed her.”

“I had no intention of hurting her, you must believe me,” Ellie emoted on an imploring tone with an almost genuine sympathy. “But she kept threatening to tell you. I couldn’t let her do that. That would have ruined our chances to be together. She pushed me aside and ran away. I chased after her, grabbed her by the arm and,” her eyes took on a machiavellian look as she picked the knife off the table, clenched it tightly in her fist and raised her arm to mimic the stabbing, “plunged the knife in her chest. But she was still alive, trying to escape. I stabbed her again and again until she no longer moved.”

The dagger came down on Heath and slashed his heart to shreds. He winced at the vision of her Mary being in death throes at the hands of this lunatic. Horror, pain and anger churned his stomach; the fury of emotions was consuming him. He pulled on his ropes in a fit of rage and struggled to loosen his bonds but only succeeded in slicing his wrists.

Ellie ambled up to him and straddled his lap. She delicately traced the line of his clenched jaw with the blade. “Don’t you see, my love, I had to do it. For us. It was the only way we could be together.” She ran a lecherous hand over his chest and as she leaned forward to kiss him…

“Hold it right there!” the scathing voice ordered from behind.

She swung her leg off Heath’s lap and turned to see Jarrod and Nick poised ready to shoot. “How…how did you find me?” she stammered with rage, her eyes blazing murderously.

“We followed you,” Jarrod informed composedly.

“Yeah. That story you fed us about Heath leaving was crap. He would have wired us in the first place to tell us he was coming back. That was your first mistake, lady,” he sneered. “Second was Heath’s hat. I spotted it on a chair in your living room.”

“Drop the knife, nice and easy,” Jarrod instructed calmly, keeping a sharp eye on any sudden move.

Her face lit up with triumph as she slowly lowered her arm to the floor. Inches from it she made a sudden whirl to position herself behind Heath. She slapped one hand on his forehead to hold his head back while she thrust the knife under his chin with the other. “Now, you drop your guns gentlemen or I slit his throat,” she warned sadistically. Upon the brothers’ refusal to accede to her demand, she pressed the tip of the blade against the skin, breaking it slightly but enough to make Heath cry out in pain.

“Alright! Alright!” Nick shouted. He held his hands up and beckoned Jarrod to follow instructions. Keeping their eyes fastened on Ellie, they laid their weapons on the floor.

“Good. Now you head out of here and leave us alone. Heath and I are going to be married and no one is going to stand in the way of our love.” She cocked her head to the side and smiled lovingly at Heath. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” She kissed his cheek without lifting her eyes off the two brothers standing rooted to the spot.

“Never!” Heath spewed out between gritted teeth. “You killed Mary. I can never love a murderer.”

Jarrod and Nick turned to each other in shock at the startling revelation.

“I killed her out of love for you, my darling. In time you will come to view it as a blessing. We were meant to be together.”

“Never!” Heath continued.

Ellie’s heart quailed at the word, making her tighten her grip on the dagger. “If I can have you in life, then I’ll have you in death.” Without any warning she plunged the knife in Heath’s chest.

“Nooooooooooooo!” Nick shouted in horror and lunged at the woman just as she prepared to stab his brother once more. They briefly struggled for the knife until she managed to knock the wind off him with an elbow to the stomach. She pushed him off her and clenched the knife tighter. As she stood over his kneeling form ready to drive the weapon into his back, Jarrod shot her in the lower back. Her body barely jerked at the impact of the bullet exiting through her intestinal track. With glassy eyes popping out of their sockets, she turned and brandished the knife in Jarrod’s direction. She pounced at him but lost her balance when he bounced out of her way. She fell face down on the floor.

He bent down to check her pulse while Nick crawled over to his brother and after quickly releasing him of his bonds, he caught his lump form as it slumped sideways and cradled it in his arms. Nick pulled at his neck cloth, balled it up and applied it to the stabbing wound to stem the profuse blood flow, causing Heath to wince in pain.

“Sorry.”

“S’okay,” Heath gasped out. “You….you wer…were right ‘bout her, N…Nick. Sh…sh...should have bel…believed yaaaaaaaaaaa,” Heath stuttered feverishly.

“Shuuuuuuuuuu, don’t talk. Save you strength. We’ll get you out of here. The doc will fix you up real good and then we’ll go home.”

A glimmer of a smile flickered on Heath’s lips, his eyes welling up with tears at the word that caressed his soul. “Hooooooome,” he whispered smilingly.

The serene look on Heath’s face pushed Nick’s panic button. “Heath, hang on. Don’t you dare leave me. Don’t let that girl win, you hear me?” he scolded harshly to his semi-conscious brother staring at him with a vacant look. “Heath, you hear me?”

Jarrod knelt by his two brothers and reached for Heath’s neck to find a pulse.

“Heath!” Nick continued to goad his lethargic brother into responding to his voice. “Come on! Give me a sign here. Heath!”

“Nick.”

“Heath, come on.” Nick tapped Heath’s clammy cheeks in a frenzy.

“Nick. He’s dead,” Jarrod sighed woefully with pained eyes.

“No,” Nick quavered, his gaze fastened on the blank expression staring back at him. He gingerly raked his fingers though the blond hair, his hand trembling, his body racked with sobs. Tears clouded his eyes as he slowly lowered his head to lay on top of his brother’s. “I’m sorry, Heath,” he cried in a gentle whisper. “I should have come with you. Dammit! Why didn’t you let me come with you?” he scolded, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He sat there, rocking his dead brother in his arms without so much of a glance up at Jarrod whose knees were rooted to the floor.

Jarrod was feeling strangely disembodied as if in a dream. He shut his eyes hoping for the nightmare to dissolve. When he pried open his eyelids he shrunk back at the murderous look in Nick’s dark eyes narrowed in a thin line. The veins were throbbing at his temples and spasms of irritation could be seen crossing his face.

Nick gently laid the listless body on the floor before he staggered to his feet and bend down to pick up his gun. Jarrod studied his every move with a baffled expression until he realized what Nick had in mind. He sprung to his feet and bolted to his brother aiming his gun at the woman’s head.

“Nick!” Jarrod slapped Nick’s hand down. “What are you doing?”

“I wanna make sure she’s dead,” he seethed.

“She is, believe me. I checked. She’s dead. It won’t be considered self-defence if you riddle her body with bullets. It’ll be murder. You don’t want to go to jail on account of her, do you?”

Nick pondered Jarrod’s words as he stood over the woman’s body sprawled at his feet. His conscience was waging war between his consuming rage needling him to tear that woman’s body apart, and his better judgment to stay clear of a likely murder charge that would indubitably keep him away from his family. Of the two choices, the latter was by far the sensible decision. With a heavy sigh he slowly slid his gun back in its holster. He wiped the foam dripping at his mouth and chuffed out the last puff of anger simmering beneath the surface before turning to the lifeless form on the floor. With leaden steps he edged over to his brother, crouched down and lifted the empty shell in his arms. “Come on, Little Brother. We’re going home.”

Jarrod picked up Ellie’s body and followed a stoic Nick out to the boarding house. While his big brother busied himself swathing both deceased in blankets, Nick hitched a team of horses to a wagon and cleared the back to make room for the two bodies. Minutes later they were on their way into town to drop Ellie at the undertaker and purchase a wooden casket for Heath’s trip back to Stockton.

“I can’t take either bodies until Dr. Mayer pronounces them officially dead,” the undertaker stated coldly.

“Where’s the doctor’s office?” Jarrod asked.

“Three blocks down the street,” he motioned with his head, “across from the livery stables.

“Thank you.” Jarrod plucked at Nick’s sleeve to rouse him out of his daze. “Hey! You okay?”

“No. I’m not okay.” Nick heaved a long drawn-out sigh to dam up the tears threatening to his eyes.

“Want don’t you go down to the saloon and tie one on. I’ll handle it by myself.”

Nick shook his head. “No. I can’t get drunk. Not now. I won’t leave him. I’m going with you.”

Nick hopped in the front and drove the wagon a few blocks down the street while Jarrod followed on foot. Arrived at their destination, Nick lifted Heath off the wagon and Jarrod handled the woman. They entered the doctor’s office where they were instructed to lay both bodies on separate tables. The doctor kindly asked the brothers to wait in the outer room during the examination.

Nick sat prostrated with grief, his head propped in both hands. “Jarrod tell me this is a nightmare,” he mumbled between both hands over his face. “I’m gonna wake up soon. This isn’t real. It can’t be. It all happened so fast.”

Jarrod’s face crumpled with pain at the emotional martyr his brother was subjected to. He sat by him on the settee and wrapped a consoling arm around the quivering shoulders. “I wish it was Brother Nick. I wish to God it was so I could wake up as well.”

Both heads jerked up at the sound of the curtain being drawn. The doctor beckoned the two brothers inside the examining room.

“You say the man is your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Gentlemen, he’s not dead. The woman is, but not him.”

Jarrod and Nick exchanged a baffled stare before exclaiming in unison, “What?”

“His pulse and heartbeat are extremely weak; barely palpable. His respiration’s practically non-existent. Only a thorough examination with a stethoscope could discern the glimmer of life still flickering in your brother’s body. He’s hanging on. Lucky for him you kept the cloth over the wound to stem the haemorrhage. From the entry angle of the blade I’d say he has a chance of surviving this wound providing we give him a blood transfusion as soon as possible.”

“I’m ready, Doc,” Nick jumped in, already rolling up his sleeves.

“Okay. You go wash your hands and forearms over there,” he pointed to the bowl of water sitting on the counter. “Use plenty of soap.”

“Do you need me for anything, Doctor?” Jarrod asked, eager to be of assistance.

“You could sit close and watch you brother for any sign of light-headedness during the procedure, while I tend to the shoulder to ascertain the severity of the wound.”

“I will.”

Nick kept a watchful eye on his brother’s chest during the transfusion. He dared not blink for fear of Heath’s heart skipping a beat while he wasn’t looking. He studied the chest’s steady rhythm, mentally counting each rise and fall, measuring the length between breaths. Both respiration rates coming in perfect synchronization. So concentrated was he that he barely felt the needle being taken out of his arm. The doctor jarred him out of his daze when he tried to assist him to his feet.

“I would like you to lie down a bit to allow your body to recuperate. I’ve sent your brother for some light refreshment and crackers to nibble on.”

“No.” Nick wiggled his arm free from the doctor’s grip. “I want to be with him when he comes t……” his voice trailed off in mid sentence as dizziness overcame him. Dr. Mayer hooked Nick’s arm before he hit the floor and assisted him to a nearby cot.

“Your brother is not ready to regain consciousness just yet. You have plenty of time to rest for a spell. I promise to get you if there’s any change.”

The emotionally-drained Nick complied grudgingly with the doctor’s orders and lay down on the daybed. His harried expression turned to his brother’s form on the examining table. He would allow himself to rest but refused to shut his eyes.

Two hours wore on before Heath showed any sign of responsiveness. The doctor rushed to the patient’s side the second Nick picked up a faint moan. He egged the careworn brother on to coax his young sibling back to the surface. Heath would groan his annoyance at Nick’s urges but the dairhaired mule was unrelenting. He kept goading and prodding the sluggish blond in the shoulder until two glassy blue eyes peeking out a narrow opening between heavy eyelids finally rewarded his efforts.

“C…c..can’t beeeeeeee de..deeeead. You’re n…noooooooo angeeeeeeel,” Heath drawled out in a strained whisper.

“Oh well thanks a lot,” Nick replied with feigned indignation. A grateful smile crossed his face at the faint lopsided grin hanging on his brother’s lips. “How ya feeling?”

Heath licked his parched lips and swallowed hard. “I feel peachy. Can’t you tell?” he asked with a teasing sarcasm.

“Stupid question, huh?”

“Huh um,” Heath breathed out with a smirk. “I…I remember a knife.”

“Yeah. She stabbed you in the upper chest. Luckily Doc says no major artery or nothing important was cut.”

“You were right about her. Shou…should have list…listened to yaaaaaaaaa.”

Nick placed a soothing hand on his repentant brother’s shoulder. “Hey, let’s not talk about it. Plenty of times I’m wrong and you’re right. We even each other out.”

“Jarrod. Where….”

“He went to wire home to let Mother know will be here another day or two until Doc says it’s okay for you to travel.”

Heath shut his eyes and heaved a shuddering breath to quell the wave of emotions threatening to overtake him. He felt Nick’s hand lightly squeeze his shoulder and heard him whisper in his ear, “You rest now, Little Brother. It’s all over. We’re going back home.”

Home. The word played softly on his mind and caressed his soul, lulling him into a sense of security. He soon drifted off into a peaceful and restorative sleep.

Four days later Dr. Mayer deemed Heath’s condition satisfactory enough to allow him to travel back to Stockton. Before leaving for the train station, Heath asked to make a brief stop by the town cemetery to bid a last farewell to his darling Mary. He could sense her presence as his mind evoked blissful moments they once shared. He promised to tuck those treasured memories in a deep corner of his heart; a special place where he can find shelter from the sorrow and pain he will most likely encounter on his long winding journey towards his destiny.