AT THE ORPHANS BALL

Victoria was pleased. The ball was going better then even she anticipated. The food was excellent, the civic hall was decorated to perfection and the music was lively.

Her children had been ready on time and each one of them looked handsome. The three boys resplendent in their black tuxedos white shirts and highly polished black shoes. And her two daughters, Audra was a vision in lavender satin, with a white sash and bow, and around her neck the string of pearls Victoria had given her. It was Victoria’s mothers wish that the pearls be giving to Victoria’s daughter and Victoria was pleased to honour the wish. Then there was Heather, wearing the lovely ice-blue dress that they had selected on their shopping trip yesterday. The colour brought out the colour in her hair and her eyes. The colour of the sash and bow on Heathers dress was cream. Her hair was held back in place by the hair clasp Tom had given Leah all those years ago. And around Heathers throat was the necklace of sapphires Tom’s mother had given Victoria on the occasion of their first wedding anniversary, again with the wish that they be passed on to Tom’s eldest daughter. Heather had protested saying that they really belong to Audra. Victoria had insisted and Audra had backed her up.

Victoria scanned the room Audra was of course still on the dance floor, this time it appeared with the eldest Stephenson boy. Where did she find the energy Victoria wondered? Audra had hardly left the floor all evening. Jarrod too was on the dance floor his partner was Susanne Coverington the daughter of a neighbour. Nick was by the food table talking to a group of townspeople, he was waving around a chicken drumstick trying to make some point or other. Now where were the twins? Yes she finally spotted the pair of them sitting together almost out of sight behind one of the large potted palms. Heath was still tugging at his bow tie and shirt collar like they were far too tight.

There had been a lot of curious stares and whispers when Victoria had led her family into the hall earlier. Everybody in Stockton knew by now about Heath and the circumstances that led to his arrival at the Barkley ranch, some of them had thought Victoria had done a very courageous and noble thing inviting him to remain. Others thought that she should’ve sent him packing. And now they had to adjust to seeing yet another new faces with the Barkley’s, another of Tom Barkley’s indiscretions.

Both Heath and Heather had felt all the eyes staring at them as they entered the hall. Both had felt the impulse to turn and quickly leave, but sandwiched in between Mother and Jarrod in front of them and Nick and Audra behind them they were left with nowhere to go.

The bandleader announced a slow waltz next. Victoria quickly made a move

“Heath, there you are.” Victoria surprised the pair. “Where you about to ask me to dance with you?”

Heath nodded and mumbled “Yes Mother” Again he was caught with nowhere to go, so he offered Victoria his arm and led to the dance floor.

Nick having seen his mother and brother heading for the floor approached Heather.

“May I request the honour of dancing with you?” He asked his sister formally.

Heather showed, that like Heath she too could blush easily. “Thank-you Sir, I accept,” She answered just as formally. Nick offered her his arm “But Nick you know it won’t be for long”

“I know” Nick replied “But bad back or no bad back I still intend to enjoy this dance with my sister” He smiled that broad Nick Barkley smile at her. Heather smiled back.

Half way through the second song in the bracket Nick felt a light tap on his shoulder; he swung Heather around and found Jarrod standing there.

“Mind if I cut in?”

“Not at all” Nick stepped back and allowed Jarrod to take his place.

He made his way to the sidewall and continued to watch the dancers. Several couples either side of himself and Heather had stared when he and Jarrod had switched.

“Very neat Mother” He thought to himself as he realized just what had happened. By putting a united front on the dance floor Victoria had sent a large signal to the wider community that Heath and Heather were a welcomed part of the Barkley family and nobody had better event think about questioning it.

Sometime after the slow bracket had ended Edward Coverington, Susanne’s father, joined Nick and Heath.

“Nick, Heath, I was wondering if you were interested in buying some more horses to add to that breeding herd of yours?”

“Always Ed why? You got some you want to sell?” Nick knew that Ed had some very good animals on his property.

“Me? Sell horses to you?” Ed joked “Seriously, I ran into a horse trader in town earlier today, showed me some fine looking animals he had, said he was looking to sell them for a group of business men from the east, said he managed their property somewhere up north”

At the words horses, businessmen from the east, and property up north, both brothers instantly became alert.

“Can you describe him?” Heath asked with interest. Nicks eyes grew dark “What was he like, what did he call himself?”

“What’s wrong?” Ed became suspious. Whenever Nick Barkley’s eyes grew dark you knew something was wrong.

“Nothing yet Ed” Nick replied trying to stay calm. But inside his blood was beginning to boil. They were getting close to finding this ‘Mr Barons’ he just knew it.

“He introduced himself to me as Mr Aarons, he’s about your height Nick, well muscled, black hair and a small black moustache. The thing that struck me the most were his black eyes, you know kinda deep and dangerous.”

With each word coming out of Ed’s mouth the tension level of the brothers grew and grew. This was definitely the Mr Barons they both desperately wanted to get.

“Do you boys know him?”

“Not really” Heath answered.

“But we’d sure like to” Nick added dangerously. “Ed why didn’t you buy the horses?”

“A small matter of cash” Was all Ed replied.

“And a good thing too” Nick said relieved. “You of course heard about Mark McAdams?”

“Yes” The truth was beginning to dawn “ A shame, both him and his wife Laura wasn’t it? I met them once or twice, real knowledgeable about horses he was. And her gardens.”

“Aarons is the one who did it we think” Heath growled through clenched teeth “ Those horses he’s offering are most likely stolen from the McAdams ranch.”

“Any proof?”

“Let us worry about that.” Nick advised “ Can you arrange a met say tomorrow for me and Heath?”

“No problem said he was staying at the Cattlemen’s for a few days. Say you come in at around eleven?”

“WE’ll be there” Nick had that dangerous look in his eyes again.

“Count on it” Heaths look was as equally as dangerous as Nicks.

The brothers thanked Ed and went to find Jarrod.

“Nick no!” Jarrod was adament when his two younger brothers found him and told him of their plan to catch and expose Barons. He grabbed both his brothers by the arms and led them to a quiet corner when none of them could be overheard by the other guests. “ It’s too dangerous, do you really want to expose Heather to that man again? Heath this is your twin we’re talking about”

“Jarrod I know that.” Heath could be just as stubborn and headstrong as Nick “ But there’s no other way.”

“Heather is the only one who can identify Barons and she’s also the only one who can identify any of the horses Barons may bring with him if this works.” Nick pointed out. “ And like Heath said there’s no other way”

“Can you guarantee that Heather will be in no danger?”

“Jarrod, we’ll place our men at all the gates leaving the property, Heath and I will be with her the whole time, Barons will have nowhere to run. We’ll keep them as far apart as possible. All Heather will have to do is id him and read maybe one or two descriptions from that book and then Fred can take him into custody.”

“It will work” Heath assured him

“It still sounds too easy” Jarrod still had reservations about the whole thing.

“That’s the beauty of the whole thing” Nick was confident.

“Just make sure it doesn’t blow up in your faces.”

THE NEXT MORNING

“Nick, Heath you cannot be serious!” Victoria exclaimed when her two sons told of their plan over breakfast. “And you go along with this Jarrod?”

“No Mother I don’t. My reaction was much the same as yours when Nick and Heath told me last night” Jarrod put his knife and fork down and looked at his mother. “I tried talking them out of it”

“May I say something?” This was Heather. The rest of the Barkley family looked toward where Heather was sitting between Jarrod and Audra. “ I just wanted to say that I agree with Nick and Heath, there is no other way. If Barons does bring stolen McAdams stock here and if he has somehow managed to alter the brands then I am the only one who can identify them.”

“But sweetheart it’s too dangerous” Victoria continued with her strong protest. “These are violent men who have killed before and may very well try again.”

“Mother I know that,” Heather’s inherited Barkley temper was raising its head “ But they were my friends, Mark and Laura were good to me, please understand I want to help to bring these thugs to justice.”

In that moment Victoria saw that Heather had also inherited the stubborn and determined Barkley nature that her brothers had. Again Victoria saw the eyes turn from a friendly blue to the more angry green. Nothing she said would deter her new daughter now.

“Alright” Victoria conceded “But young lady there will be conditions. One, you stay close to Nick and Heath at all times”

Heather nodded.

“And Two, once the identification of the horses is over you move out of the line of danger and back to the safety of the back porch. UNDERSTAND?”

“Yes Mother and thank-you” Heathers tone had mellowed but the determination was still etched on her face.

“Not another one” Victoria thought to herself as she selected a slice of bacon from the platter. “Why couldn’t I get a least one placid child?”

At the appointed time of eleven Nick and Heath enter the Cattlemens. Ed Coverington rose to greet them. They all shook hands and Ed led them to a table where another man was sitting.

“Nick and Heath Barkley, this is Mr Aarons, Mr Aarons Nick and Heath Barkley of the Barkley Ranch. I told them about you last night and they’re interested in looking at the horses you have.” Ed made the introductions. “Now if you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I’ll take my leave and allow to get on with the business at hand”

“ Ed there tells us that your selling horses for some gentlemen from the East.” Nick opened with.

“Correct Mr Barkley” Aarons said smoothly.

“How many and what type” Heath asked, hoping that Aarons would answer with Stock horses and Trap Ponies.

“A herd of about twenty-five stock horses, stallions, mare, colts, and fillies. And something very special a small herd of five or six trap ponies, though I not sure a big ranch such as yours would have any use for them.” Aarons turned on the charm. The charm that had gotten him the herds in the beginning “ Flatter the big boys and they’re open to anything” His mind told him.

Nick stole a quick glance at Heath. “Got him” Heaths voice rang in Nick’s head.

“Now I’m not saying that we’ll take them all, but if we like the look of them how much would you be asking?” Nick continued. By now he was just about ready to jump all over ‘Aarons’ and give him the belting he deserved.

“ For the stock horses say twenty-two hundred”

“A bit steep, but if they’re as good as you claim we’ll see.” Heath offered, Nick confirmed with a nod “ What’s say you bring a small sample herd of maybe three or four horses to the ranch in say two hours.”

“Can do gentlemen.”

“Be sure to include maybe one or two of the trap ponies as well, our mother and sisters may decide they’d like one.”

“No problem. Gentlemen I thank-you and I’ll see you in two hours” Aarons grabbed first Nicks hand then Heaths.

Aarons disappeared up the stairs.

As they left the Cattlemen’s Nick looked down at the hand Aarons had shaken in disgust.

“So help me Heath I was this close to reaching out and ripping his throat out in there” He exploded thumping the door frame for emphasis

“Yeah I know Nick so was I” Heath to confided his feelings. “But we have to stick to the plan”

AT THE RANCH

“They’re coming” Was the call from Jarrod who was positioned by the kitchen window. “Everybody ready?”

The three Barkley women nodded. Under her left arm Heather had the ledger that contained the vital information as too whether the horses been driven into the Barkley yard were the stolen ones or not.

Outside Nick and Heath stood together watching as Aarons and two others brought the small herd in through the gate. At various points around the yard about six Barkley hands looked up with passing interest and then went back to whatever they were doing, painting the fence, mending saddles or just hauling hay into the barn, nothing unusual there. Each one of the six had been hand selected to be by Nick, each was waiting for the pre-arranged signal.

“Nice of you to be so punctual” Nick greeted Aarons “ And with such a fine display of animals.”

“They are fine looking animals,” Heath confirmed as he carefully walked around the floating herd.

“Nothing but the best” Aarons oozed confidently.

“And the trap ponies?”

At a signal from Aarons the other two herded the smaller horses to the front.

Inside the house Heather let out a small gasp.

“What?” Jarrod asked concerned. The last thing anybody wanted was for Aarons to smell the trap and run.

“Sorry” Heather apologized “Its just the little horse on the left, the one with the grey-white coat and the black diamond on the forehead?”

Jarrod acknowledged that he had seen the horse.

“That’s Silverfire Lady”

“Are you sure?” That was Victoria.

“Yes Mother” Heather was adamant “I was there when she was born, she pulled my little carriage for over twelve months. And yes Jarrod before you ask she is in the book, horse no T0070872, the date month and year she was born”

Jarrods mouth opened then closed.

Outside Nick and Heath were almost ready.

“Just one minute please Mr Aarons I’ll just get the rest of our family”

That was the cue for Jarrod Victoria, Audra and Heather to come out. Together Mother, Son and Daughter walked side-by-side effectively shielding Heather from Aarons till the last possible moment. She was to be the surprise. Thank-fully Aarons was a little shorter than either Nick or Heath, so unless he was looking at the ground and noticed the pair of shoes behind the brothers Heather was safe.

“Allow my to present my Mother, my sister Audra, and my brother Jarrod.” Nick boomed.

The words ‘my brother Jarrod’ was the cue the ranch hands had been waiting for. Before Aarons and his two accomplices could react they were grabbed and held onto firmly.

“Mr Barkley I must protest” Aarons began “What is this all about?”

Before Nick could even get a word in a voice said.

“Hello Mr Barons, remember me?”

Barons looked straight into the cold green eyes of Heather Thomson Barkley.

“You!” He seethed and he jet black eyes almost glowed with anger and hatred. He saw all his plans suddenly go up in smoke and the only future he had was in a prison cell followed by the gallows.

“When you killed Mark, Laura, Pedro and Miguel you forgot about me, but I didn’t forget you.”

“Did I forget to introduce our sister Heather to you?” Nick was all innocence laced with sarcasm.

Barons struggled and cursed but it did him not one bit of good. He was being held too firmly.

“Nick lets check the horses” Heath suggested wanting to get Heather as far away from Barons, as quickly as possible.

Nick nodded and walked to the first stock horse. He looked inside the left ear. Just as Heather described there was the number tattoo.

“S dash Q 0080872” He read out.

“S dash Q 0080872” Jarrod repeated opening the ledger that Heather had handed to him. Flicking through the pages he quickly found the one he was after. “A Bay colt, 16 hands high, black mane and tail. Distinguishing marks- black dot on the back of the front left leg just above the hoof.”

Heath carefully patted the horse, then gently lifted the leg in question. Everybody looked. Yes there was indeed a black dot on the back of the leg just above the hoof, Heath gave the area a quick rub just to mark sure the marking was not a fake. His hand came away clean.

“One more just to be certain” Jarrod suggested

This time Nick approached the trap ponies.

“ T0070872”

Jarrod once again repeated the number while flicking through the ledger.

“ A grey-white filly, 14 hands high. Distinguishing marks-black diamond with silver flame like hairs in middle of it”

Yes, again the little horse had the markings just as described.

“So that’s why you called her Silverfire Lady” Jarrod whispered to Heather “Clever”

Heather nodded “Thank-you”

“Your horse stealing and killing days are over mister” Nick growled at Barons “And its going to be my brothers and my pleasure to personally hand you over to the Sheriff and watch him throw your sorry behind in a jail cell for what you have done”

Before anybody could react Barons shrugged of his guards, drew his gun from its holster and grabbed Heather by the waist. He held the gun to her neck.

“Back off loudmouth and that goes for you too Blondie unless you want your sisters blood seeping into the ground at your feet.”

Nick and Heath were faced with little choice but to do what Barons wanted, “Damn” Nick cursed to himself “This is what Mother and Jarrod wanted to avoid”

“Oh and one more thing loudmouth goodbye” He pointed the gun directly at Nick and pulled the trigger.

Heath was the first to react. He saw the danger his older brother was in and made his move, diving across Nick he managed to push his brother out of the bullets path. Victoria closed her eyes in fear. Audra screamed and hid her face in her mother’s blouse.

“Nick” Heather cried and took a swing at Barons; a slap across the face was her reward.

In the confusion Barons managed to catch his own horse, swing onto it and pull Heather up in front of him. Still holding her by the waist and with the other hand full of reins he dug his heels into the unfortunate animal and it sped off.

For the life of him Nick couldn’t figure out what the weight on top of him was, then the memory of the past few seconds came back to him. Barons, Heather being grabbed, the gun, then the shot and finally Heath crashing into him. There was blood on his shirt but he felt no pain.

“Heath!” He yelled and tried to scramble into a sitting position. He felt Heaths weight being lifted off him and one of the ranch hands helping him to sit up. “ Heath, where and how bad?”

...Continued