by Catgirl63
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program
"Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and
have been used without permission. No
copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.
“Nick..pick up…your part!” snarled Heath, his voice
strained and huffing.
“Hey, I only got one arm for pete’s sake!” groaned Nick
before a loud thump sounded in the parlor.
“Dammit, Nick!”
“Sorry, little brother.”
“Don’t little brother me, mister let’s trim the Christmas
tree inside.” snapped Heath sarcastically.
“There’s no need to get smart, boy!” shot Nick back
loudly.
A second loud thump rang through the lower level of the
mansion followed by a low growl, “Ya’d best not call me boy again or ya might
find ya’self with two sprained arms!”
Rolling his eyes and looking up towards the ceiling,
Jarrod let out a huff of annoyance at the continued bickering back and forth
before deciding to take pity on his slightly disabled brothers. Walking into
the parlor, the first born glared at both his brothers squared off on either
side of the pine tree. The innocent tree was acting as the line drawn in the
sand between the two opposing sides.
Shaking his head at the two battered men, he knew neither
of his rancher brothers was in any shape to try to even place a toe across the
line. Taking a breath, he saw with surprise the rest of the parlor had been
cleaned of the debris from the earlier unexpected indoor squirrel hunt.
Neither brother noticed his entry and Jarrod clapped his
hands several times before calling out, “Children! Children! Now, remember this
is supposed to be a joyous season full of giving and brotherly love.”
Snapping their mouths shut, both ranchers had the decency
to turn crimson at their big brother’s chiding reminder of the holiday season.
Quick as a bolt of lightning across the sky, Nick’s mind flashed a reminder of
the turmoil which accompanied last Christmas. The near tragedy of last year
that could’ve easily ended his new brother’s life started them down the path
side by side and gave both men a new beginning. Heath glanced over the tree to
his brother and saw the regret he felt in Nick’s hazel eyes.
“Sorry, Heath.” stated Nick sincerely.
“No, I’m sorry, Nick.” replied Heath with a sigh of
regret. “I’m kinda grouchy cause of this killer headache.”
Jarrod stood with his thumbs tucked in his vests and
smiled at his two brothers playing nicely before walking closer. Taking a look
at the tree with a practiced eye and deducing the two men had finally been able
to trim the tree to size, the attorney looked at the two ranchers.
“Perhaps we’ll be able to decorate tonight after all
gentlemen.” announced Jarrod with a fond grin before taking a hold of the fresh
smelling tree using his strength to help his brothers manhandle the greenery
into the stand.
Heath knelt down and crawled under the low lying branches
to tighten the screws in the base while Nick limped back to scrutinize the
perpendicular placement. After ensuring the full tree was tightly encased in
the base, the three brothers stood back and smiled in accomplishment, all three
able to see the tree decked out in their minds.
“Now, all that’s left is to explain to Mother what
happened to her end table.” suggested Jarrod, the smiles immediately leaving
his brothers’ faces at having to face the petite woman they called mother.
“Don’t look so grim boys.” smirked Jarrod. “After all it
is Christmas and miracles do happen. You might get lucky and maybe escape
mother’s wrath.”
Frowning, Heath took a seat on the settee and leaned his
aching head back watching Nick limp over to the nearest chair to plop himself
down. Jarrod crossed over to the fireplace and grinned at the two men whose
expressions looked as if they were getting ready to walk up the steps to the
gallows.
“Course, I think perhaps Mother will be extremely relieved
neither of you was seriously hurt in your…holiday adventure.” informed Jarrod
turning both sets of eyes to him.
“Ya’ think so, Jarrod?” queried Heath with a loud sigh.
“I’d sure hate for Mother to be upset over the table. I can make her a new one
to replace it.”
“We can make her a new one.” corrected Nick in a low
voice, wincing as he shifted to ease his paining leg and arm.
Heath grinned at his ranch partner’s words before his face
grimaced at the pain the smile caused. Jarrod smiled to himself as he studied
the two men who had grown closer over the past year. Starting to speak, he held
his words when his mother and the two youngest siblings entered the house.
An hour later with the telling of the story and the
administering of liniment doled out, Victoria nodded in approval as Gene and
Jarrod carried the last of the boxes down from the attic. Heath and Nick sat
where their mother left them, neither really wanting to move and relieved when
the tree decorating was put off until the next night.
Gene wiped his hands on his pant legs and took a seat on
the settee beside Heath, openly grinning at his two usually surefooted
brothers. Victoria spotted her daughter carefully carrying in a silver tray
filled with cookies and eggnog. Closing the box she had opened, the tiny
matriarch smiled at her sons ribbing each other as she started across the room
to help Audra.
“Hey, which one of you caught the squirrel?” asked Gene.
“You didn’t say.”
Heath and Nick stared at him for a moment in puzzlement
before glancing at Jarrod with wide eyes. Realization hit about the same time a
falsetto shriek sounded from their sister and a screech was heard from their
mother. Jumping up from their chairs, all four men stared as their mother
slowly turned, her silver hair no longer visible due to the eggnog dripping
down her face and splattering her blue satin dress.
“Can ya’ run, Nick?” whispered Heath, fingers grabbing
wildly for his brother’s sleeve.
“Damn right I can.”
THE END