by Catlee
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.
Chapter 1
Heath Barkley was slowly
groaning his way back to consciousness. His head was pounding, his ribs hurt
and so did his hand but for the life of him he couldn’t remember why. He could
hear muffled voices around him and feel a pair of gentle hands, a woman’s hands
doing something to his hand. Must be in my room he mused, as he tried
unsuccessfully to make his eyes obey his commands and open.
Strange he thought what ever he
was lying on certainly didn’t feel like his bed but more like hard ground.
Probably got chucked off that damn stallion again he thought groggily. As the
pounding in his head subsided he could hear the voices more clearly but there
only seemed to be one voice that he recognized. His sisters.
He could hear her begging
somebody for water and bandages. Using every ounce of strength he could muster
he forced his eyes to open and then blinking rapidly sought to focus them on
the sound of her voice.
"Audra?" he asked weakly
as her face swam into view.
"Oh Heath, thank god you’re
awake. I was so worried they’d really hurt you. You’ve been unconscious for
hours."
Who were they he thought trying
to sit up unsuccessfully as he felt a vice like grip descend on his chest.
"Who?" He asked as a
groan left his lips and he slipped back into the welcoming warmth of the
blackness surrounding him.
* * * * * * * *
"What part of NO don’t you
understand Nick?" Heath yelled angrily as he flung open the front door and
stomped across the foyer. "It’s two letters N.O."
"Aw come on Heath, its only
a little contest, should be fun."
Heath turned around at the foot
of the stairs and glared menacingly at his brother.
"NO," he screamed.
The commotion in the foyer brought
the other three occupants of the house running from different rooms. Never
before could they remember having heard their usually quiet blond brother and
son bellowing and that was exactly what he was doing now.
"Nick, Heath what on earth
is all this ruckus for?" Victoria asked coming from the kitchen.
Heath turned ice-cold blue eyes
on his mother and flung his head towards his brother.
"Ask him," he spat out
as he spun on his heels and charged up the stairs not even bothering to
acknowledge his sister who was standing on the landing.
He slammed his door shut with a
resounding thud.
The silence in the foyer that
followed his departure was deafening. Jarrod stood in the doorway to his study
and raised a questioning eyebrow to his mother who only shook her head
non-plused. Both of them turned to look at Nick who was standing by the front
door glaring after his brother.
"Nicholas, just what was
that all about? I don’t think I have ever heard your brother so angry
before."
"It’s nothing Mother, he’ll
calm down soon enough and see that it’s a good idea," Nick replied
half-heartedly.
"What’s a good idea
Nick," Jarrod prodded.
"The contest Jarrod, you
know, the one in town."
"No I don’t know Nick, I
haven’t been into town all week, you know that. Now what contest are we talking
about?"
"The shooting
contest."
"The shoot…" Jarrod
looked quickly towards his mother who shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Nick I think you had better come into the study and tell us exactly what this
contest is about and what you’ve done."
Nick glared at his brother. He’d
heard that tone of voice before. His brother wasn’t asking him he was telling
him. Nick sighed and stomped across the foyer, brushed past Jarrod and threw
himself into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.
Jarrod, Victoria and Audra
followed the disgruntled rancher into the study and stood in front of him
waiting for some sort of explanation to his brother’s behaviour.
"All right Nick, out with
it and start at the beginning please."
"I need a drink."
"Oh no you don’t brother
Nick. Not until you have told us what you have done to make Heath so
angry."
Nick sighed heavily and slumped
further into the chair.
"There’s some guys in town
challenging the ranches to a shooting contest this weekend. So I suggested that
Heath and I enter it. You know he’s the best damn shot around here and I’m
pretty good myself. Couldn’t let the ranch go un-represented.
Jarrod had a bad feeling about
this. "What type of shooting contest, Nick?"
"What do you mean what type
Jarrod. The type with guns and rifles and bullets." Nick growled.
"Specifics please
Nick."
"A distance contest using
rifles. Satisfied Counselor?"
"In other words Nicholas a
sharpshooter contest?" Victoria asked quietly.
"Oh Nick, how could
you?"
"What do you mean sis, how
could I. How could I what."
"Nicholas exactly what did
Heath say when you suggested he take part in this contest?"
Nick looked at his mother and
the strange expression she had on her face. "He said he wasn’t interested,
didn’t need to prove to anybody that he knew how to shoot."
"And then what did you do,
Nick?"
"What is this Counselor, an
inquisition?
"Just answer the
question."
"I guess I put both our
names down and paid the entry fee," he said sheepishly. "Figured once
I’d done it he’d see reason and agree to compete."
"Nick don’t you realize
what you’ve done?" Victoria asked.
"Well, I."
"Nick think about,"
admonished Victoria, "Where did Heath learn his sharp shooting skills
from? Do you really think he wants to be reminded about it all the time? It’s
hard enough for him when he has to use those skills to protect this ranch and
family without having you put him on show."
Nick stared in muted disbelief
as he listened to his mother’s words and the realization of what he’d done sunk
in. "I, oh damn, ah sorry Mother, I hadn’t thought about that. I guess I
got caught up in the idea of the contest and wasn’t really listening to what
Heath was saying."
"Obviously not Nick, now
what are you going to do about?" Jarrod enquired handing his chastened
brother the longed for drink.
"Let him cool down first.
That boy’s liable to take my head off, then apologize," he said ruefully,
"and then ride into town tomorrow and withdraw his name from the contest."
"Well that’s a start. Let’s
just hope brother Heath is so easy at forgiving as you are at forgetting."
* * * * * * * *
"Well Harper, how did it go
today?" asked Ed Fisher as he entered Harper’s hotel room. "Any sign of
this fellow Heath Thompson yet?"
"I don’t know for sure
boss, but I did get a couple of ranchers by the name of Barkley signed
up."
"Barkley you say. Now that
is interesting. They’re the ones that ordered the report on Thompson in the
first place. Maybe the kid works for them."
"Oh it gets better
boss," Harper said with a grin. "The dark haired Barkley, Nick I
think his name was, was very vocal at extolling his brother’s shooting skills
and his brother wasn’t none to happy I can tell you."
"And what has this to do
with anything?"
"Well the brother’s a blue
eyed blond about twenty four I’m guessing and goes by he name of Heath. I don’t
reckon there are too many men by that name around these parts."
Ed Fisher’s face split into a
grin as he thought on his partner’s words.
"I think Harper, we may
have just hit pay dirt. The senator will be pleased, but mind you don’t say
anything until after the contest on Saturday. Let’s just see how good a shot
this Barkley fellow is."
Chapter 2
Heath was dimly aware of his
head resting on something soft as he clawed his way back to consciousness yet
again. At least this time the pounding in his head had stopped and the pain in
his hand was more a dull ache than anything else. It was only when he tried to
take a deep breath and shift his body that he felt a white hot bolt shoot
through his left side. He moaned loudly and took short shallow breaths until
the pain receded somewhat.
He felt a cool cloth being wiped
across his face and willed his eyes to open. His efforts were rewarded with an
encouraging smile from his sister who was leaning over him.
"Welcome back big brother,
how are you feeling now?"
"Thirsty."
Heath felt his sister slip out
from behind him and gently lower his head to the floor. The supine position
made him gasp in pain and clutch his injured side.
"I’m sorry Heath, I didn’t
mean to hurt you but I think you’ve got some broken ribs."
"S’ok sis, ya didn’t hurt
me. You’re right though, ribs are busted."
He stopped talking as Audra
lifted his head and placed a cup to his lips. The cool water felt good as it
slipped down his parched throat.
"Any idea where we are Sis
and who those men are?" He asked as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
"I don’t know who they are
Heath but I do know we’re at the old Simpson ranch."
Heath nodded wearily, "good
that means we’re close to Barkley land. Don’t worry Sis, Nick’ll find us."
He moaned once more as he slipped back into the inviting darkness.
* * * * * * * *
"Dammit Heath, will you
just stop for one damn minute and listen to me. I’m trying to apologize to you
for what I did yesterday."
Heath stopped walking towards
the corral and turned sleep deprived eyes to his brother.
"Fine Nick, you’re sorry,
but don’t you think it’s a little late? You wouldn’t have to apologize if you’d
listened in the first place but then you never listen do ya?"
"That’s not fair Heath, I
do listen to ya all the time."
"Fine Nick, you listen to
me, you’ve apologized now leave me alone, I’ve got work to do."
Nick stared after his brother’s
retreating back as he made his way to the corrals. Damn, he thought to himself
"I’ve really put my foot in it this time."
Nick returned to the house and
sat down at the breakfast table although he didn’t have much of an appetite
anymore.
"Well Nick, did you
apologize?"
"Yeah I said sorry,"
he replied grumpily.
"And?"
"He told me to leave it
alone. Hell Jarrod I’ve really stuffed up this time haven’t I?"
"I’d have to agree with you
there Nick, but don’t worry Heath will come around. I’ve never known him to
hold a grudge."
"I hope your right Jarrod.
Aw hell, I’m not very hungry. Think I’ll go down to the corrals and watch the
boy work that new stallion. Give my apologies to mother will you?"
Nick stood up and left the table
shaking his head, "seems like all I’m doing theses days is saying
sorry."
Nick stepped off the front porch
just in time to see the stallion rear high over his brother.
* * * * * * * *
Heath stalked over to the
corrals and the group of men who usually stood around to watch him work the
horses. Normally he was glad of the audience but this morning he was tired and
wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
Duke McCall watched Heath approaching
with worried eyes. He hoped the boy wasn’t planning on taking his obvious
attitude problem with him into the corral. Duke put out a hand stopping Heath’s
forward movement. The kindly man looked at this youngest son of Tom Barkley.
"Are you all right Heath?
Sure you want to do this, this morning?"
Heath glared at the hand on his
arm and sighed deeply allowing the features of his face to soften.
"I’m fine Duke, really.
Don’t worry."
"All right Heath, but you
be careful in there. That’s one mean horse."
Heath stopped beside the corral
and looked at the horse within. He knew Duke was right. In his present frame of
mind he probably shouldn’t be going in there, but what the hell.
Heath climbed through the rails
as the men around him held their breaths. The horse eyed him warily and snorted
a warning as Heath approached, hand held out.
Nobody knew for sure what
happened next. They did know that the usually quiet blond cowboy was moving
with more speed than he normally did when approaching a wild horse.
Heath wasn’t really
concentrating on the task ahead. Oh he was whispering to the horse and watching
the horse’s reaction but he wasn’t taking note of what he himself was doing.
Instead of the normally small
gracefully steps he took when approaching a horse Heath over extended his
stride. The sudden movement forward was all the incentive the stallion needed
to scream a warning and rear high over the impertinent man that had dared to
enter his domain.
To late Heath realized his
mistake and tried desperately to throw himself backwards and to the left as the
stallions slashing hooves came down on top of him. He was only partly
successful though. His backwards momentum carried him towards the corral
railing but also caused his feet to slip out from under him sending him
crashing into the fence.
Heath felt two pairs of hands
grabbing him as the stallion’s hooves came down on his out flung right arm. He
felt a blow to his forearm from one hoof as the other came down hard on his
upturned hand, the jagged hoof cutting deep into his palm.
* * * * * * * *
Nick took off at a run,
bellowing orders as he went, not that anyone could hear or needed to be told
what to do.
Even as Duke and Pete pulled Heath
back through the rails and to safety several of the other hands had already
jumped into the corral to chase the enraged stallion from his quarry.
Heath was leaning back against
Duke cradling his injured arm as Nick slid to a halt beside him and Jed flew
past on his horse headed for town and Doctor Merar.
"Heath?" Nick asked
worriedly. His brother’s face was almost white and the front of his shirt was
rapidly turning red as the blood from the gash in his hand continued to flow
unabated.
"Heath, let me see."
Nick asked urgently as he gently tried to pry the injured arm away from his
brother’s chest.
"Nick stop, you’re
hurting."
"Sorry Heath, but I need to
get a look at your hand and stop the bleeding."
"Do it … at the
…house."
Nick watched as Heath slumped
back against Duke without uttering a sound. He pulled off his bandana and
gently applied pressure to the long gash no longer worried about hurting his
brother. Duke use your bandana and wrap it tightly around his hand."
"Nick what happened?"
Jarrod asked as he and Victoria hurried across the yard and knelt down beside
the injured blond.
"Stallion got him. Don’t
know whether his arms broken or not but he’s got a bad gash to his hand. Jed’s
gone for the doctor. We should get him up to the house before he comes
around."
* * * * * * * *
Each time Heath woke up he found
Nick sitting beside his bed. On the first two occasions he managed to do little
more that focus his eyes before he felt himself drifting back to sleep. This time
however he was determined that things would be different. Nick, who was lost in
his own thoughts, was unaware of his brother’s scrutiny.
"Thought this was a working
ranch Nick? Seems to me you’re not doing too much work."
Nick turned his head to look at
his brother. The worry lines disappearing to be replaced by a warm smile.
"Yeah, well it seems to me
you’re the one lying around in bed, not me boy," he growled. "How ya
feeling?"
"Tired, thirsty."
Nick uncoiled his body from the
chair and stretched before pouring a glass of water and sitting on the edge of
the bed.
"Slowly Heath, there’s
plenty more where that came from."
Heath sunk back against the
pillows and closed his eyes for a moment.
"How long."
"About six hours."
Heath eyed the towels spread
across his bare chest and the arm and bandaged hand resting in the sling on top
of the towels. He could feel a weight on his arm but wasn’t sure what it was.
"How bad?" he asked
wearily.
"Doc say’s you were lucky.
Didn’t break the arm but that damn stallion left a nice imprint of his hoof on
you just the same. Doc wants us to keep ice on it overnight so it doesn’t
bruise and swell anymore.
Heath nodded, "what about
my hand?"
"You managed to rip that up
pretty good. Doc put about a dozen stitches in the gash. Said you won’t be
using it for a month or so."
"Sorry Nick, my fault,
wasn’t concentr…"
Nick watched as Heath stopped
speaking and his face took on a strange expression. Realizing what was about to
happen he grabbed the empty bowl that his mother had left and thrust it under
his brother’s chin, then waited patiently for the retching to stop. He put
aside the bowl and wiped the sweat from his brother’s face as he sagged back
against the pillows.
"You ok now?" Nick
asked handing Heath another glass of water, "doc said that might happen
because of the anaesthetic he gave you."
Heath wasn’t sure that he wanted
to chance opening his mouth again so he just nodded and waited for the churning
in his stomach to settle.
"Thanks Nick, sorry about
that."
"Aw hell Heath, I’m the one
who’s sorry. If I’d have stopped to think and listened to you yesterday you
wouldn’t have been angry with me today. You weren’t concentrating because of me
and we both know it."
"Maybe Nick, but I’m still
the one that got into the corral with that stallion. Should have known better.
Hell I did know better, just didn’t care. What’d ya do with him anyway?"
"He’s still in the corral.
What do you want us to do with him?"
"Nothing. Wasn’t his fault.
Leave him alone for now. I’ll try him again next week."
Heath looked at Nick with a
slight smirk on his face.
"Suppose this means I won’t
be in the contest on Saturday either."
Chapter 3
This time Heath woke it was with
more clarity. He let his eyes adjust to the dimness of the room they were
locked in before seeking out his sister. His chest didn’t hurt as much this
time either but he knew better than to try and move. He watched as his sister
who was sitting on a nearby crate ate from a battered bowl. At least she didn’t
seem to be hurt
"Audra, you alright? They
haven’t hurt you have they? So help me if they have…"
Audra put down the bowl she was
holding and picked up a second one from the floor before hurrying to her brother’s
side.
"I’m fine Heath, really.
They haven’t touched me. It’s you I’m worried about. Your hands been bleeding
again and you’ve pulled out some of the stitches.’
"Don’t worry about me Sis,
I’m fine," Heath replied offering a weak lop-sided smile before taking a
ragged breath.
"They brought us some food,
do you want some?"
"Just some water Audra,
don’t think there’s much chance of anything I eat right now staying down long
enough to do any good. Maybe later," he added when he saw her worried look
"Sis do you know what they
want with us yet?"
"They, they said they want
you to kill somebody for them and I’m their insurance that you’ll do it."
* * * * * * * *
"Boss we got a problem.
Just heard at the saloon that Heath Barkley had a run in with a stallion two
days ago. The word is his gun hand’s going to be out of action for weeks."
"What," shouted Ed
Fisher as he glared furiously at Harper. "The boss isn’t going to be happy
about that."
"What are we going to do
now?"
"I don’t know yet. Let me
think about it. We’ve still got two days before the contest and we won’t be
seeing the boss again until next week. Mind you keep your mouth shut Harper. No
need getting the boss riled at us," grumbled Fisher as he left the hotel
room. Damn the fool boy, thought Fisher as he walked towards the saloon.
* * * * * * * *
"Heath you ready yet? I
want to get moving."
"I’m coming Nick. What’s
the hurry anyway? You’ve got a couple of hours before the contest starts."
"I know that but I want to
see what sort of competition I’ve got."
Heath rolled his eyes, "I
already told ya Nick, you ain’t got no competition cause I’m not shooting
remember?" retorted Heath good naturedly as he waved his injured hand in
front of his brother’s face.
"Heath Barkley put that arm
back in that sling this minute. Do you hear me?"
"Yes Mother," replied
Heath sheepishly while glaring at the smirk on Nick’s face.
"And Nick," continued
Victoria, "make sure he keeps it there. Do you understand me?"
Now it was Heath’s turn to smirk
as Nick grumbled a "Yes Mother."
"Good, now we will see you
two in an hour. Try and stay out of trouble both of you. Heath while you are in
town let Howard check your hand and arm please. It will save him a trip out
here."
"Yes Mother."
Victoria stood on the porch and
watched as her youngest two sons mounted their horses and rode from the yard.
She shook her head at her youngest’s stubbornness for she hadn’t missed his grunt
of pain when he mounted his horse. Neither it seemed had Nick.
"Heath you ok? You know we
could have taken the wagon." Nick asked as he watched his brother closely.
The swelling in his arm had gone down and in its place was a lovely black hoof
shaped bruise. He also knew Heath couldn’t move his fingers without a great
deal of discomfort.
"I’m fine Nick, I just
knocked my arm when I mounted up and I ain’t riding in any damn wagon."
Heath growled before sending Charger forward at a flat gallop.
"Damn fool," Nick
yelled to his brother’s retreating back before spurring Coco into a run and
giving chase.
* * * * * * * *
Harper tapped Ed Fisher lightly
on the shoulder and indicated the two cowboys riding past them. That’s them
boss. Looks like they were right and the blond won’t be competing. Fisher
studied the blond cowboy as he rode past. He certainly fit the description of
Heath Thomson but he knew there were also plenty of other blue-eyed blond men
roaming the country. Of course not all of them went by the name of Heath.
"Damn," he thought. "Now how were they going to prove who he
was?"
* * * * * * * *
"Gentlemen, the rules are
simple. You have three attempts at each distance. As long as one shot hits the
mark you will proceed to the next distance. The winner will be the last man to
make a clear shot. Any questions?"
Ed Fisher looked along the line
of men waiting to compete in the contest still cursing the bad luck that saw
the blond Barkley not competing.
"All right gentlemen step
up to the firing line and take your first shots, oh and gentlemen please aim
for the targets and not the men marking your shots."
There was a general rumble of
laughter along the line and from the crowd at the words before the first volley
was fired. Heath stood to the side with the rest of the family watching the
proceedings. As expected the first three distances didn’t prove to be a problem
for any of the shooters.
"Well Heath what do you
think are our brother’s chances?" Jarrod asked as another volley of shots
rang out across the firing range.
"I reckon they’re pretty
good Jarrod. The only real opposition is probably Clay Johnson. The rest will
start dropping out from here on in," came the qualified reply.
"Do you wish you were
competing Heath?" Victoria asked quietly.
"Well Mother, I’m not
really sure. I know I could hit the target at a thousand yards no problem and
yeah I guess it would be fun competing but I just don’t see the sense in
letting everybody know that. Only thing that can come of it is trouble."
As Heath predicted men started
dropping out as the distances increased. At the end of seven hundred yards only
Nick, Clay and one other man were left in the contest. As the three men lined
up for the next distance a hush fell over the assembled crowd. The stranger was
the first to go, missing all of his attempts at eight hundred yards. As he
walked away Heath heard him muttering something under his breath about rigged
sights and immediately the blonds eyes narrowed.
Heath watched as Nick’s first
two attempts failed and then sighed in relief as his third shot finally hit the
mark. Clay also passed to the next round on his last shot.
Heath was thoughtful as he
watched the next targets been set up. While he knew his brother didn’t come
close to him in a long distance shooting match he still shouldn’t be having
this much trouble especially with a scope. Remembering the strangers grumbling
Heath walked up to his brother and clapped him on the back.
"One shot should do it
Nick. Clay’s last shot only just hit the mark."
Nick looked at his brother with
obvious pride on his face. "I don’t know how you managed to hit your marks
at over a thousand yards in the war Heath. I know I couldn’t have done it even
with a scope. Damn bullets don’t seem to go where I aim."
Heath studied his brother’s
face. "You sure Nick," he asked warily.
"Course I’m sure Heath. I
do know how to aim you know."
"Mr Barkley if you’d mind
stepping back please, we are ready for the next round."
"Huh, oh yeah, sure,"
replied Heath idly as he wandered over and absently picked up the strangers
rifle, feeling its weight in his hands. Next he lifted the rifle and resting it
on his injured arm squinted down the scope. He stopped, looked up at the target
and then squinted through the scope again. This time a low growl left his lips.
Harper elbowed Fisher in the
ribs and nodded towards Heath. "You want me to stop him boss?"
"No leave him,"
replied Fisher with a smile in his face. Maybe, just maybe he thought hopefully
to himself.
Heath looked up in time to see a
red flag lifted up after Nick’s last shot and silence fell over the area.
" Bad luck gentlemen,
neither of you hit the mark on your last shots, therefore it would appear we
have a tie."
"Not so fast Fisher,"
stated Heath stepping to the front of the crowd. "Nick did you withdraw me
from this contest?"
"No I didn’t Heath but you
know you can’t use that hand. Just what the hell do you think your playing
at?"
Heath ignored his brother and
turned to face Fisher and Harper.
"Seeing as I’m still
registered as a competitor I’d like to take my shots now. This distance will do
I reckon. Any objections?"
"While it is highly
irregular I don’t see a problem if the good people here don’t object. I’m sure
we’d all like to see you shoot Mr Barkley."
A murmur of agreement rumbled
through the crowd and a few raised voices wished Heath good luck. Heath didn’t
acknowledge the crowd instead he turned to his brother and handed him the
rifle.
"Reckon you’d better load
this Nick."
"Are you sure about this
Heath?" Nick asked as he took the rifle from his brother and loaded three
bullets into the chamber.
"No," came the terse
reply.
"Then why do it. A draw’s
not so bad you know."
"It’s got nothing to do
with the draw Nick. I just don’t like cheats."
Nick turned startled eyes to his
brother as Heath took the rifle from him and stepped up to the firing line. He
cursed silently as he pulled his injured arm from its sling as complete silence
fell over the crowd.
Heath took a deep breath and
sighted the distant target through the scope and gently pulled the trigger. He
ignored the disappointed murmurs as the red flag went up.
"Damn," he muttered
under his breath as a searing pain shot up his arm.
"Heath?" Nick was
instantly beside him as he noted his brother’s suddenly pale features.
"Ok Nick," Heath
ground out through gritted teeth.
Taking aim once more but this
time sighting without the scope he again gently pulled the trigger this time
unable to stifle the groan as another wave of agony rolled through his hand and
arm. He swayed slightly and Nick caught his arm as a green flag went up and the
crowd burst into loud clapping and cheering.
Holding up his hands for quiet
Fisher spoke to the assembled crowd.
"Well done Mr Barkley.
Folks we have a winner. Perhaps seeing as Mr Barkley has one more shot left he
would like to take it, just to prove that the last wasn’t a fluke."
"A fluke," bellowed
Nick releasing Heath’s arm and stepping forward. "My brother doesn’t make
fluke shots Fisher and you’d better not forget it."
Heath sighed and reached out
pulling Nick back. "It’s alright Nick, I’ll take the third shot."
Without waiting for a reply from
Nick, Heath stepped back up to the firing line and repeated the actions of his
second shot. He didn’t even hear the roar of the crowd as the green flag went
up again. He had dropped the rifle and slumped to his knees cradling his
injured arm as the bandage around his hand turned red. He felt Nick supporting
him as he took in several ragged breaths trying to quell the nausea in his
stomach. The rest of the family and several of the hands quickly surrounded the
brother’s their concern for the blond cowboy obvious.
Fisher walked up to the group as
Heath unsteadily regained his feet with Nick’s help.
"May I say Mr Barkley that
was some fine shooting. I believe this new rifle is now yours."
Heath made no move to accept the
rifle. Instead he glared menacingly at Fisher.
"I don’t like cheats
Fisher. Those scopes were rigged. If I ever see you again I might just ram that
new rifle down your throat. Now get outta my way."
Leaning heavily on Nick, he
allowed his feet to be guided in the direction of the doctor’s house. His family
and the hands forming a protective barrier between him and a number of towns
people wanting to congratulate him.
Fisher and Harper watched the
retreating back of the blond. A broad smile broke out on Fisher’s face. "I
do believe Harper we have found our man."
"But what about his hand
boss? He doesn’t look non to good at the moment."
"We still have another five
days Harper and he only needs one shot. Now you clean up here while I go back
to the hotel and make my report."
Chapter 4
Heath woke with a start unsure
of where he was for a moment, although the stabbing pain in his side quickly
dispelled his confusion.
"Heath are you all
right?" asked Audra from behind him as she pulled the blanket covering him
higher up his chest.
"Yeah Sis, sorry to wake
ya," he wheezed as his sudden movement caused a coughing fit.
As soon as he had stopped
coughing Audra brought a cup of water to his lips, which he drank gratefully.
"Thanks Sis, what about
you. You still ok?"
"I’m fine Heath, they
haven’t hurt me at all."
Heath nodded his head in relief
at her words and closed his eyes for a minute.
"Have they told you anymore
about who I’m suppose to kill and why?"
"No I haven’t seen anyone
since they brought in the food."
"How long we been here
Audra?"
"I don’t know but it must
be close to morning now. I just wish Nick and Jarrod would find us," she
whispered.
"Don’t worry Sis, they
will, " replied Heath bringing his good hand up and patting Audra’s arm.
"Sis, did they search me at
all?"
"No why?"
"Reach down my back and
you’ll find a sheath. With a bit of luck my knife should be in it. I can only
feel the sheath at the moment."
Audra tried but couldn’t reach
it the way Heath was lying.
"Heath you’ll have to sit
up a little for me. I can’t reach it with you lying like this."
Heath nodded and pulled himself
forward drawing in a ragged breath and letting out a loud groan as his broken
ribs ground together. Willing himself to say conscious he waited for Audra to
withdraw the knife before sagging back against her with another groan.
"Hide it Sis, you might
need it later," he whispered as he slipped back into the darkness.
Heath didn’t hear the door open
or the muffled voices but he did feel his sister’s body shift behind him and
heard her startled "YOU."
* * * * * * * *
"Heath are you sure you’re
well enough to go with Audra today," asked Victoria as she gracefully
descended the stairs to the foyer.
"I’m fine Mother, really and
I promise to keep my arm in the sling. Besides we’re taking the buggy and Sis
here’s going to drive so I can sit back and sleep," he replied with a
lop-sided grin before quickly ducking out of the way of his sister’s playful
swipe.
"Very well Heath but please
be careful won’t you?"
"Mother we’re going to the
orphanage. What could possibly happen at the orphanage?"
Victoria rolled her eyes and
looked lovingly at this her youngest son. "With you Heath, anything’s
possible," she laughed as she reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Have a good day both of you.’
"We will Mother,"
replied Audra. "We should be back just after lunch. Big brother wants to
supervise the arrival of those new horses this afternoon."
"Oh he does, does he?"
"Gee thanks Sis, you really
know how to keep a guys confidence don’t ya? If you will excuse me for a moment
I need to speak to Jarrod before we leave."
Without waiting for a reply
Heath strode across the foyer and entered his brother’s study.
"Morning Jarrod, have ya
heard anything about Fisher and Harper yet?"
"Good morning to you to
Brother Heath and to answer your question not yet but I would expect we should
hear something in the next day or so. You know I sent off those wires straight
after the contest. I’ll be heading into town soon and I’ll check then for you
so don’t worry."
Jarrod watched his brother pace
around his study.
"Heath what’s wrong? What’s
troubling you about these two men?"
"I don’t know Jarrod but my
gut tells me they’re trouble."
"Well as far as I know
little brother, they left town the day after the contest."
"Yeah but that doesn’t mean
they’ve left the valley." Heath stopped pacing and grinned at his brother.
"Sorry counselor, guess I was letting my imagination get the better of me.
Better get moving Audra’s waiting."
Jarrod sat back in his chair and
contemplated his brother’s words as the blond disappeared through the study
door. He knew Heath wasn’t one to let his imagination get the better of him.
* * * * * * * *
"Here they come. Now
remember what I told you. Don’t hurt them. The boss won’t take kindly to you if
he finds out you’ve hurt that girl. As for the cowboy, well you’ll know it if
he gets hurt. We need him in one piece."
"What if he fights back? We
gotta do something."
"Fine do something but
nothing excessive or it’ll be the last thing you do. You hear me?"
* * * * * * * *
"Thank you for coming
Heath, the children really enjoyed having you there this morning. They don’t
often get to see you and they so like it when you visit.
"My pleasure Sis, you know
I like going. Maybe I should talk to Nick about going out there one day a month
with you. I’m sure he can get along without me for a day."
"Oh that would be
wonderful."
"Hey Sis, think you can
find your way home if I shut my eyes for awhile?" Heath asked with a
slight grin.
Audra turned quickly to study
her brother. It was only now that she noticed he was cradling his injured arm
close to his body.
"Heath is your hand hurting
you?" she asked worriedly.
Heath sighed, "some but
don’t worry Sis, it’ll be fine," he replied closing his eyes.
Audra’s startled
"Whoa," and the sudden stopping of the buggy brought Heath’s eyes
flying open and he cursed himself for a fool as he eyed the two men sitting on
horses with guns drawn in the middle of the trail.
"What do you want?" he
growled making to stand up.
"Sit down cowboy and
nothing’ll happen to the little lady there. The boss has got a little job for
you and if you do it well you both just might get to live.’
"And just what job would
that be," Heath asked as he watched the men ride towards the buggy.
If he could just get both men on
his side he could jump one of them and give his sister a chance to escape.
Audra was his only concern; his own fate was negligible. Measuring the distance
with his eyes he waited. Hoping Audra wouldn’t hesitate he launched himself at
the second rider and yelled "Go Audra" all in one smooth action. His
lightening fast reflexes held him in good stead and he had knocked the rider
from his horse before anyone had a chance to react.
The first rider spun his horse
around and brought his gun to bare on Audra. "Don’t try it girl or he
dies," he warned her.
Audra looked from the rider to
her brother who was now fighting with the second man. Heath managed two good
left handed punches before he pulled his right arm from the sling and let fly
with a solid right to the man’s stomach. Heath rolled onto his side writhing in
agony as the bandage rapidly turned red.
"Heath," Audra
screamed as the second rider regained his feet and brought his gun butt
crashing down hard on the back of the blond’s head.
Heath heard his sister’s scream
but he was powerless to do anything about it. The blow to the head rendered him
unconscious and he was oblivious to the two well-placed kicks to his ribs.
"That’s enough
Crawford," shouted the other rider. "The boss doesn’t want him hurt.
Little lady if you know what’s good for you you’ll hold that horse real steady
while we load him into the buggy."
Audra only nodded unable to take
her tear filled eyes from her brother’s supine body. There was no way she was
going to leave him alone. He needed her just as much as she needed him. She
reached out to him as the men lifted him into the buggy. The amount of blood on
the bandage worried her.
"Please his hands bleeding.
I need to fix it."
"You’ll have plenty of time
to do that when we get to where we’re going. Now start driving."
With no other choice Audra picked
up the reins and clicked the horse into motion following the lead rider. As she
drove she kept one eye on Heath. She could hear his laboured breathing and
guessed that at least one of his ribs was probably broken from the kicks. "Oh
Heath, why did you have to do that?" she whispered to herself.
* * * * * * * *
"Mother what’s wrong?"
asked Nick when he saw the worried look on her face.
"It’s Audra and Heath, they
aren’t back from the orphanage yet."
"I wouldn’t worry too much
Mother. You know those two, they’re probably having so much fun that they
forgot the time is all."
"You don’t understand Nick,
Heath said he wanted to be back to supervise the arrival of those new horses
this afternoon. The horses arrived two hours ago but your brother and sister
aren’t here."
"Mother are you sure Heath
said that?"
"Of course I am Nick."
Nick pursed his lips and thought
about it. It wasn’t like Heath to forget about a horse delivery. He always made
sure he was available when the new herds came in. A gnawing worry started to
grow in the pit of his stomach.
"I’ll go and look for them
Mother, don’t worry it’s probably something as simple as a broken wheel or a
lame horse. You know Heath can’t do much with that hand of his."
"Thank you Nick, I’ll feel
much better when they’re back here in the house."
Nick kissed his mother lightly
on the cheek and headed back to the front door almost walking into Jarrod who
had just returned from Stockton.
"Ah good Nick, just the man
I wanted to see."
"Later Jarrod, I’ve got to
go and find our brother and sister. Seems they’re missing."
"What, wait a minute while
I change and I’ll come with you. We can talk along the way."
"Make it quick Jarrod,
Mother is getting anxious."
Five minutes later the brothers
and three ranch hands were heading out of the yard in the direction of the
orphanage. As the miles fell behind them with no sign of Audra or Heath the
gnawing in the pit of Nick’s stomach was getting heavier, he was almost certain
now that their mother was right and something had happened to their siblings.
That coupled with the news that the two men Heath had asked Jarrod to
investigate seemed to have no history what so ever was sending danger warnings
to the dark haired rancher.
Nick drew Coco to a stop when he
noticed the buggy tracks suddenly veer off the trail and head across the range.
Dismounting he studied the area carefully noting the signs of a recent fight
and the extra hoof prints from two ridden horses. He stomach did a belly flop
when his eyes spotted several dark patches on the dusty trail. Squatting down
for a better look he prayed it wasn’t what his eyes were telling him it was.
"What is it Nick?"
asked Jarrod watching his brother closely.
Nick looked up at Jarrod.
"Blood."
Jarrod’s face paled, "you
don’t think."
"It’s the boy’s? Yeah I do.
He’s not here Jarrod. What ever happened he put up a fight. You can see the
scuffle marks."
"But Nick his hand."
"I know Jarrod and that’s
what I’m worried about. He’s not dead or who ever has them would have left his
body but I’m guessing he’s hurt. And I swear if they’ve hurt Audra I’ll kill
them with my bare hands. Jed ride into to town and tell Fred Madden what’s
happened. Tell him we’re tracking them now and which way we’ve gone, then you’d
better ride back to the ranch and tell Duke what’s happened and asked him to
tell mother."
"Sure thing boss,"
replied Jed Martin as he spurred his horse across the range towards Stockton.
"Nick shouldn’t we wait for
Fred?"
"You can wait if you like Jarrod,
but I’m going after them now, they’ve already got two or three hours head start
and I don’t aim to let them have anymore," growled Nick as he remounted
and headed off following the clear trail left by the buggy wheels.
Jarrod sighed, he was just as
worried about his missing siblings but there was also mother to think of.
Perhaps he should return to the ranch and stay with mother, but then he put the
thought aside and spurred his horse after his brother and the two remaining
ranch hands. He knew what his mother would expect him to do and that was to
find his brother and sister.
Chapter 5
"YOU"
The word hung suspended in mid
air. Heath blinked open his eyes and stared at the man who had caused the
sudden tension in his sister. The man was big and heavyset with a florid face
and small beady eyes that reminded him of a badger. Heath cudgeled his brain
sure that he should know this man.
"Audra who is he?" he
asked quietly not taking his eyes off the man who was staring in what could
only be described as a dumbfounded look at his sister. It was obvious to Heath
this man had not expected to see Audra here.
When Heath didn’t get an answer
he forced himself to sit up ignoring the explosion of pain in his side and the
newly awakened throbbing of his head.
"Sis who is he? Are you
alright?" Heath asked urgently as he fought to keep his eyes focused on
what was happening in the room.
"Sorry Heath, lie
down," replied Audra as she tried to pull him back against her. "This
is Senator Josiah Williams Heath, he WAS a family friend."
Lifting her chin and throwing
her head back Audra glared coldly through pale blue eyes.
"Why are you doing this?
What do you want with my brother?"
Senator Williams stared in
disbelief at Audra and mouthed the word brother, before turning abruptly and
shouting at the man behind him.
"What have you done you
fool? I told you I wanted Heath Thomson," he thundered.
"But boss this is Heath
Thomson, seems her daddy," pointing at Audra, "had a roll in the hay
with his," now indicating Heath, "mother."
Heath’s head snapped around when
he heard the second man speak. "Fisher," he growled. "Should
have guessed. That whole damn contest was just a set up to get me wasn’t
it?"
Not allowing Fisher time to
respond to Heath, Williams continued in a raised voice, "so why is the
girl here? I didn’t say anything about kidnapping a girl."
"Mills thought they were
together and figured she was sweet on him. He thought we could use her to make
sure he did the job properly."
"Of course she’s sweet on
him you fool. They’re family. Do you realize you have kidnapped two family
members from one of the most prominent and influential families in California?
I can assure you Victoria Barkley and their brothers Nick and Jarrod will leave
no stone unturned until they are found," roared Williams.
Fisher was only now beginning to
realize the enormity of the situation they were in and cowered under the
withering stare of his boss.
With an effort Senator Williams
hauled in his emotions and turned back towards the siblings offering Audra an
ingratiating smile.
"I am so sorry for this
Miss Barkley. I hope you were treated well. It was never my intention to
involve you in any of this."
Audra glared coldly at the
Senator her face set in a determined mask that would have made her mother
proud. "What do you want with my brother?" she asked again. "You
can see he’s hurt and can be of no possible use to you."
"Yes well that was
unfortunate too, however you and your brother won’t have to worry about his injuries
for too much longer, regrettable though it will be."
"And what is that supposed
to mean?"
"It means Sis, they plan on
killing us after I’ve done what they want," Heath ground out between
gritted teeth as he drew in a ragged breath. Feeling Audra tremble behind him
he gently squeezed her hand in reassurance, pleased that she now had his knife
to defend herself with if need be.
Shifting a little to see
Williams better, Heath moaned softly before addressing the man.
"Just who is it I’m supposed
ta kill? Must be someone important or ya wouldn’t have gone to all this
trouble."
Williams looked at the two
Barkley’s and shrugged. It didn’t matter now if they both knew seeing as
neither of them would be alive in a few hours anyway. Pity about the girl
though.
"I want you to kill James
Harrison."
"The Senator, but
why?"
"Because Miss Barkley, he
is becoming far to popular for my liking and he is a thorn in my side. I have
plans for a seat in congress and he is standing in my way."
"So you are just going to
eliminate the opposition. You will never get away with it. My family will see
to that."
"I think not Miss Barkley,
because there won’t be anybody here to tell what happened."
"And just how and when do
ya think I’m going to do this?" growled Heath.
"Later this morning will be
fine. He will be traveling through this very area in a few hours on his way to
Stockton. The fool thought he would seem more approachable to the people if he
traveled across the country on horseback."
Williams turned once more
towards the door but stopped. "I really am sorry Miss Barkley."
"Senator Williams, my
brother’s hand needs re-bandaging. Can you please have someone bring in some
water and more bandages?"
Williams looked at the blond
cowboy and nodded his consent. After all he needed him in good shape for the
job ahead.
The siblings were silent as they
waited for medical supplies to be brought in.
"Sis don’t worry about my
hand, can ya strap my ribs instead? Heath asked quietly.
"Heath your hand needs fixing
as well."
"Not much point, it’s only
going to bleed again when I use it. Audra you have to get outta here as soon as
we leave. You’ve got the knife so don’t be afraid to use it if you have to.
Nick and Jarrod should have found our tracks and will be on our trail by
now."
He stopped speaking and closed
his eyes as Audra tightly bound his ribs.
"Thanks Sis feels better.
Promise me Audra you’ll get away."
"Oh Heath, I don’t want to
leave you."
"Ain’t nothing you can do
for me here but you can send Nick and Jarrod after me when you find them. Don’t
worry I’ll be fine. I’m not planning on dying just yet." He gave her one
of his lop-sided smiles and squeezed her hand again. "Can ya check if my
other knife’s still in my right boot?"
"It is Heath, now let me
look at your hand, I’ve still got some bandage left."
Sighing softly at the futility
of arguing with a Barkley female Heath lay back and closed his eyes thinking
how like their mother his little sister was. "Hurry up brothers, you
have to save Sis," he prayed silently.
* * * * * * * *
Nick it’s nearly dark, we’ll
have to camp and pick up the trail in the morning. Even Heath wouldn’t expect
you to track in the dark."
"Dammit Jarrod, we’ve been
following this trail for the last couple of hours and the only place that I can
think of any where in this area is the old Simpson ranch and that’s still
another couple of hours away. I say we keep going and head straight
there."
"And what if you’re wrong
Nick and they aren’t there. You’re looking at least four hours of back tracking
to pick up the trail. Four hours that they might not have. We can leave at sun
up Nick but we have to stop now. There’s no point in tiring the horses or
walking into a trap."
Nick closed his eyes and sighed
heavily. He knew Jarrod was right but he didn’t have to like it.
"I just want to find them
Jarrod. To know that they are all right. I can’t help thinking that somehow
this is my fault and it has something to do with that damn contest on
Saturday."
"I know Nick, I want to
find them too."
Nick looked around and spied
some trees a short distance ahead. "Might as well camp there for the night
boys," he said pointing to the trees, "but come sun up we hit the
trail again."
Jarrod studied his brooding
brother through the flames of the campfire.
"Nick why do you think that
Heath and Audra’s disappearance has something to do with the contest and how on
earth can it be your fault?"
Nick sat staring into his coffee
cup and didn’t immediately reply. Taking a deep breath he looked across the
fire and into his brothers eyes.
"I don’t know Jarrod, but
thinking back on the contest things just don’t feel right. Especially the way
Fisher made Heath take that third shot. It was almost like he was baiting him
to see how good he really was bad hand or not. He must have known that Heath
had figured out the scopes were rigged but he didn’t seem to care. And how can
two men not have a past Jarrod? That just doesn’t make sense. Both of them are
old enough to have been in the war if nothing else. I reckon little brother is
right and they haven’t left the valley. They’re up to something I can feel it
and our little sister and that fool boy are right in the middle of it. And I’m
the one that entered him in the contest in the first place. If I hadn’t done
that then Fisher wouldn’t have found out how good he is."
"Nick there is nothing to
say that Heath wouldn’t have entered himself on the day. You know how our
little brother loves to compete. I heard him tell Mother that he though it
might be fun even though he didn’t think anything good could come of it."
"Yeah well he was right
there wasn’t he counselor. Nothing good has come of it has it?" growled
Nick throwing the last of his coffee on the flames making them dance wildly for
a few moments.
"I must admit I was a bit
dubious when Heath asked me to investigate those two. Do you know I was
speaking to Heath this morning in the study and he apologized to me for letting
his imagination run wild. The thing is Nick I’ve never known Heath’s
imagination to run wild before. He always has a good reason, at least to him,
for every action he does even if the rest of us don’t always agree. Heath’s gut
was telling him there was something wrong and he acted on it. Now I believe
like you that he was right and Fisher and Harper are up to their necks in it as
well."
"The question is Jarrod
what do they want a sharpshooter for and why Heath in particular?"
"Nick why does anybody ever
want a sharpshooter for?"
"Oh come on Jarrod, Heath’s
not going to kill anybody and you know it."
"I know under normal
circumstances he wouldn’t but what if they were threatening Audra. He would do
anything to protect her. If he thought that was the only way to save her he
could do it."
"Well I’m not going to let that
happen. If he does end up killing somebody and lives it could put him over the
edge. It’d tear him apart and I don’t think all the love in the world would
bring him back to us. We have to find them Jarrod and fast."
The brothers lapsed into silence
both keenly aware of how close to the surface their little brother’s emotions
ran. Oh, he hid them well from everybody, but over the years the family had
learnt to read him and they now all knew when he was hiding something from
them. Heath had a big heart and he usually wore it on his sleeve. He would do
anything to protect his family and that included forfeiting his own life if
need be and that was something that neither of his older brothers was about to
let happen.
Chapter 6
How does it look Nick? Asked
Jarrod as his brother returned to the trees behind of the Simpson Ranch House.
"No guards posted, our
horse and buggy are in the barn. If anybody’s around they’ve got to be in the
house," growled Nick.
"All right then, how do you
want to play it? Wait for them to come out or go in?"
"If we can get in quietly I
say we go in. I don’t want to chance whoever’s got them using our little
brother and sister as human shields. At least we’ll have the advantage of
surprise on our side."
"You know Nick, they may
not even be here. They could have had extra horses waiting and already
left."
"Dammit Jarrod, I know
that. Come on we’ve already wasted enough time, let’s just get this over with
and not waste anymore."
Jarrod watched Nick’s retreating
back with downcast eyes as he sighed deeply, wondering if Nick blamed him for
the waste of time. Nick had been right after all and the tracks had led
directly to the old Simpson Ranch. Should he have allowed Nick to have his way
last night and ridden straight here? God he hoped they would find their
siblings alive and well. If not he didn’t think that he would ever forgive
himself. He knew Nick would never openly apportion blame but the under current
would always be there.
Taking his brother’s lead,
Jarrod moved towards the side of the house noting for the first time that all
the windows were boarded up. At least sneaking up was going to be easier unless
of course someone were to step out onto the front porch.
Both brothers sighed in relief
as they and their two hands reached the safety of the ranch walls without
detection. The men stepped up onto the porch and fanned out on either side of
the door. Making sure the men were in position Nick stepped up to the door and
put his hand on the handle. A look of shock crossed his face as the door was
wrenched open from with in and a blond whirlwind slammed into his chest,
knocking both of them off their feet and into the dust of the yard. A woman’s
cry of despair was intermingled with Nick’s cry of shock.
* * * * * * * *
"Come on Thomson or Barkley
or what ever your name is, time to get up," snarled Mills has he pulled at
Heath’s uninjured left arm, forcefully dragging him out of his sister’s arms
and too his feet. He laughed at the cry of pain and the contorted feature’s of
the blond. "Don’t worry it won’t hurt for much longer," he grinned as
he pushed the staggering blond towards the door.
"Don’t worry Sis,
everything will be ok, remember I’ll always love you." Heath managed to
call over his shoulder as the door was closed behind him.
* * * * * * * *
Audra was powerless to do
anything as Heath was dragged to his feet and pushed through the door.
"I’ll always love you too
Heath," she whispered as the tears ran freely down her face.
Once the sobs that raked her
body had dissipated, Audra resolved to do as Heath had requested. To escape and
find their brothers.
Audra felt the comforting
presence of the knife tucked under her right thigh. Now all she had to do was
wait for her captor to come in and then somehow she would make her escape. The
thought of actually physically using the knife made her stomach churn and sent
an involuntary shiver down her spine.
Closing her eyes she once again
saw and heard her brother’s cry of pain as he was dragged from her arms and she
resolved to do whatever was necessary to help him escape as well. Lifting her
head she stared defiantly at the door. She was a Barkley and the Barkley’s
always looked after their own.
It wasn’t long before she heard
footsteps coming towards her room. Gripping the knife tightly in her right hand
she waited for what she feared was to come.
"Well little lady,"
sneered Crawford, "it seems it’s just you and me left now. What’s say we
have us some fun hey? I ain’t never had no one as pretty as you and if your real
nice to me I might even let you live a little bit longer."
Audra shuddered again and
gripped the knife tighter as Crawford came towards her. She drew her knees up
towards her chest as Crawford squatted down beside her then reached towards
her. With a speed that would have done her blond brother proud Audra plunged
the knife into Crawford’s exposed outer left thigh and using all her strength
she could muster pushed the cursing man onto his back.
Swiftly jumping to her feet, she
rushed from the room avoiding Crawford’s out stretched hand as he made a grab
for her ankle and rushed towards the front door. Without thinking she wrenched
it open and barreled into what felt like a solid wall. Her momentum and Nick’s
raised foot was enough to send them both sprawling in the dust.
Crying out in fear and
frustration she began pummeling the leather clad black chest not realizing who
it was she was hitting.
Taken completely by surprise it took
Nick a moment to realize what was happening and who the little hellcat was
sitting on his chest. Grabbing his sister’s hands he called urgently to her
trying to get her attention.
"Audra, Audra stop it. It’s
me Nick, Sis. Stop it now," he called in a muted bellow afraid his loud
voice would terrify his sister more.
As Nick and Audra grappled in
the dirt, Jarrod and their two hands entered the ranch house as Crawford
staggered from the back room, blood running freely down his leg. Under the
barrels of the three Barkley guns he had no choice but to drop his own weapon
and raise his hands.
Jarrod hurried into the back
room fearful of what he might find. The room was empty except for his brother’s
bloody knife lying on the floor. Jarrod walked over and picked it up. "Heath
where are you little brother? Just hold on we’re coming."
"Ow, Audra stop it,"
yelled Nick louder this time.
"Nick? Oh Nick, I, I,"
Audra choked on her words as tears sprang into her eyes and she collapsed
exhausted onto her brother’s chest.
"Sshh honey, it’s all over.
I’ve got you now, you’re ok." Whispered Nick gently brushing the hair from
her face.
"I was so scared, I…"
Audra stopped speaking and her eyes grew wide. "Heath, Nick they took
Heath this morning, he’s hurt, we have to help him. Please Nick," she
begged as she clambered to her feet quickly followed by Nick who took her into
his arms hugging her gently.
"We’ll find him honey,
don’t worry. Come over here and sit down and tell me everything you know."
Nick led Audra over to the porch
steps and keeping a protective arm around her shoulder made her sit down.
"Is Audra all right
Nick?" Jarrod asked as he stepped back out to the porch, closely followed
by the two hands leading a limping Crawford between them.
"She’s fine Jarrod, Any
sign …?" Nick couldn’t continue as he looked at Jarrod’s solemn face.
"Nothing Nick, the place is
clean."
Nick nodded in understanding
before turning back to Audra.
"Sis can you tell me what
happened, where they’ve taken Heath?"
Audra took a deep breath and
squared her shoulders.
"Heath’s hand was hurting
and he went to sleep in the buggy on the way home from the orphanage. Then two
men, this one," pointing at Crawford, "and another one stopped us.
Heath jumped the other one and yelled for me to get away but I couldn’t. He
fought the one on the ground and then hit him with his bad hand. Oh Nick, the
bandage turned red almost immediately."
Nick closed his eyes and cursed
silently. It was so typical of his brother to try and protect their little
sister.
"Then what happened
Sis?" he asked gently.
Audra took another breath.
"After Heath hit him, he
couldn’t move, he was just lying on the ground. He was in so much pain. The
other one Mills hit him in the back of the head with his gun and then kicked
him at least twice in the ribs."
Both Nick and Jarrod’s faces
paled as they thought of the pain their little brother had endured.
"Honey do you know how
badly Heath’s hurt?" asked Jarrod coming to sit on her other side.
"I don’t know Jarrod,"
Audra sobbed quietly. "He’s got broken ribs and probably a concussion. He
was unconscious for hours after we arrived. His hands swollen, he’s pulled out
all the stitches. I’m not sure but I think it could be broken. They gave me
water and bandages and I dressed it the best I could. I wrapped his ribs too
but he’s in so much pain and I think he was starting to get a fever. He felt
hot."
Nick wrapped his arms tightly
around Audra and pulled her to his chest letting her cry as he looked worriedly
at Jarrod. He didn’t like what he was hearing and knew they were running out of
time to find Heath alive. "Don’t worry Sis, we’ll find him and he’ll be
just fine."
When Audra’s sobs quieted he sat
her up again and continued the questions even though he wished he could spare
her from relieving the ordeal.
"Audra honey, do you know
who’s behind this and why they wanted Heath and you?"
Audra stiffened her body and
nodded.
"Senator Williams."
She spat out.
"Josiah William?"
asked Jarrod incredulously, "but why?"
"He, he wants Heath to kill
James Harrison and they threatened to kill me if he didn’t do it."
"But why does he want to
kill Harrison?"
"Because he’s becoming to
popular and is standing in the way of Williams getting to congress."
"Why that dirty mongrel
snake when I get my hands on him he’ll wish he’d never heard of the word
congress," growled Nick.
"Audra when did they leave
with Heath?" Jarrod asked quietly.
"About an hour ago, I
think."
"Damn," yelled Nick as
he jumped up and started pacing. "We must have only just missed
them."
"Audra do you know which
way they were headed or where they were going?"
Audra shook her head, "no I
don’t. They took Heath and left me locked in the back room. They didn’t say
where they were going but I don’t think it was too far from here."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Williams said
Harrison was riding through this area this morning on his way to
Stockton."
Nick leapt back onto the porch and
grabbed Crawford spinning him around and forcefully pushing him back into the
wall of the house.
"Where were they
headed?" Nick growled as he lifted the man off his feet.
"Why should I tell you
anything?" blustered the man.
"Cause right now my brother’s
still alive but if he dies I swear I’ll take you somewhere where nobody will
ever find you and I’ll kill you so slowly that you’ll wish you’d never heard of
the name Barkley," snarled Nick, his face set in an unreadable mask his
eyes flashing fury.
Crawford looked into Nick
Barkley’s eyes and for the first time in his life felt abject fear. Quickly
weighing up his options he decided to cooperate for the time being. At least it
would give him some breathing space to think of some way out of his predicament.
He was under no illusions that he could expect any help from his boss or
cohorts. He was now on his own.
"They were headed for Bear
Lookout."
"Thank you. See how easy
that was," sneered Nick as he dropped the man to the ground ignoring his
howl of pain when his injured leg buckled underneath him.
"Tie him up securely in the
barn and then we’ll go after our brother," he ordered the two hands as he
pushed Crawford towards them. "Come on Sis, think you can ride double with
me or would you rather stay here with Sam?"
"I’m coming with you. I
don’t want to stay here a minute longer besides Heath needs me."
Nick smiled for the first time
that morning. Yes sir. His sister was all Barkley he thought as he led her
towards the trees and his horse. Bear Lookout was a good hour and a half from
here but if they hurried they may still be in time.
He tied up good and tight Sam? I
don’t want the mongrel getting away."
"Sure is boss, we made sure
he couldn’t move."
"Good then let’s get
mounted and find that brother of ours."
Chapter 7
The violent shove that Mills
gave Heath sent him sprawling on his face in the dust. Heath tried to land on
his left side in an effort to protect his injured hand, but was only partially successful.
Through the fog that clouded his eyes when his injured hand made contact with
the ground Heath watched as Fisher and Williams mounted up and rode away
leaving only Harper and Mills behind. Despite his pain Heath smiled to himself
and prayed that the two men wouldn’t make a re-appearance. Some how he doubted
either of them would. They didn’t seem to be the sort to hang around and get
their hands dirty. In Heath’s book odds of two to one weren’t bad.
Harper dragged Heath to his feet
again and propelled him towards Crawford’s horse where he was roughly assisted
on to its back.
"Don’t think of making a
run for it or that pretty little sister will have a nasty accident."
Heath didn’t have to be told. He
had no intentions of doing anything that would jeopardize Audra’s chances of
making her escape. He would make good his own escape when the opportunity
arose. The one thing he was sure of though was that he wouldn’t be doing the
job that had been assigned to him.
The ride to Bear Lookout took a
heavy toll on Heath’s weakened body. Even with the tight binding job Audra did
to his ribs each step the horse took made him feel as though all his bones were
been shaken loose. The occasional stabs of pain that he had felt at the start
of the ride were now continuous, thunderous waves crashing into him. Each wave
was accompanied by flashes of brilliant white light each one threatening to
topple him from his horse. His breathing came in ragged gulps and he felt so
hot now. He knew that despite Audra’s ministrations his hand was infected and
he’d long ago given up any hope of flexing his fingers. He wondered just how
they expected him to pull the trigger.
It was with some relief that he
saw Bear Lookout appear ahead. If he had been feeling better and not involved
in this life and death struggle to keep his sister and himself alive he would
have better appreciated the sight before him. Bear Lookout was aptly named. It
didn’t seem to matter from which angle you viewed the lookout the rock
formation looked like a bear sitting down surveying his territory. As the
horses started up the trail to the lookout Heath closed his eyes and hung on.
Heath roused himself when he
felt hands pulling him from the saddle. Looking around he noted that the top of
the lookout fanned out into a small tabletop allowing enough room for three or
four horses to be safely tethered out of the way.
"Over there Barkley, reckon
we’ve got about half an hour before Harrison shows up."
Grateful to be off the horse
Heath stumbled over to the rock formation and sank to his knees resting his
left hand on his left thigh to support his upper body, dragging ragged breaths
of air into his lungs.
Heath didn’t know how long he
knelt beside the rocks for, but eventually he felt well enough to ease his body
to a sitting position. Sighing at the small amount of relief the solid rocks
gave him he leaned back and closed his eyes.
A short time later a vicious
kick to his right ankle roused him from a restless sleep. "Time to get
ready," said Harper thrusting a rifle into Heath’s hand. "Oh and
don’t bother thinking about trying to shoot us, it ain’t loaded yet."
Heath took the rifle and blinked
several times to clear the blurriness from his eyes before pushing himself
first to his knees and then to his feet. He staggered over to one of the rocks
that made up the bear’s paw and dropped back to his knees.
From here he could see the trail
along which Harrison would be traveling for some one hundred yards before it
rounded the bend to the left and was lost from sight. Heath’s mind was racing
now as he checked the scope and alignment. He still only had Mills and Harper
to contend with. Of course he couldn’t do anything without a loaded rifle but
then between it and his knife he should be able to deal with both men he hoped
and avoid getting killed in the process.
Turning slowly to face the two
men Heath glared at them with ice-cold blue eyes that sent a chill through
them.
"Unless ya want me to kill him
by throwing this rifle don’t ya think you had better load it for me? I don’t
reckon the Senator would be none to pleased ta hear I missed because you
couldn’t load the gun in time."
Harper snatched the rifle back
and proceeded to load one bullet into the chamber as Mills walked to the edge
of the lookout to watch the trail below.
With both men otherwise occupied
Heath took advantage of the situation and quickly eased his knife from his boot
and hid it behind his back. So far, so good, now all he needed was the rifle
and he’d be in business. Heath looked from Mills to Harper. Harper was the
closest of the two and well within Heath’s throwing range even in his weakened
state and left-handed. That meant he would have to use the rifle on Mills. He
doubted that in his present condition he could handle it well enough to get
both men. Harper’s next word put paid to those thoughts anyway.
"Here you go, but don’t get
any ideas about using this on us. It’s only got one bullet in it so you had
better make it count," sneered Harper handing the rifle back barrel first.
Heath said nothing only glared
back as he took the proffered gun, "Don’t worry, I’ll make it
count," he thought, "bit not the way you intended."
"They’re coming,"
shouted Mills. "I can hear the horses."
As Harper took his eyes off
Heath to glance at Mills, Heath made his move. With a speed that belied his
weakened condition Heath grabbed his knife from his belt and whipped his arm
back and then forwards in one swift flowing motion. As the knife entered
Harper’s chest, Heath swiveled on his knees and brought the rifle to bare on
Mills. What Heath hadn’t been prepared for was Mills’ speed. He felt the impact
of Mills bullet with his right shoulder as his own bullet found its mark and
flung the man over the edge of the lookout.
"Audra," Heath
whispered as first the numbing pain and then shock took control of his body and
he slid soundlessly down the bear’s paw leaving a bloody trail behind him.
* * * * * * * *
With the advantage of knowing
exactly where they were headed the Barkley’s and the two hands made good time
galloping along the trail to Bear Lookout. Audra was such a good horsewoman
that she was able to sit effortlessly on the saddle in front of Nick and not
hinder the horse’s progress.
They had just reached the base
of the lookout when they heard Mills yell followed moments late by two shots
and an ear piercing scream followed by a dull thud as a body hit the ground.
Quickly depositing Audra on the
ground with orders for her to stay with Sam, the brothers rode around the base
of the lookout terror in their hearts at what they might find. The first thing
they noticed was the green shirt, not a blue chambray like their brother always
wore. Sighing with some slight relief they rode closer and confirmed that this
body wasn’t their brother.
"Heath," bellowed Nick
as he spun Coco around and headed back to Audra. "Jarrod stay here and
explain to Harrison what’s happened. We don’t need his men shooting at
us," he yelled over his shoulder.
Even had Jarrod wanted to file a
complaint it was too late for Nick had already disappeared. As worried as he
was about his brother’s possible condition he also knew that Nick was right.
They couldn’t afford for Harrison’s men to start shooting at them either. So he
sat on his horse in the middle of the trail and waited for the Senator and his
entourage to appear.
"Nick what is it?"
shouted Audra as her brother raced past her and headed up the trail to the top
of the lookout. "Sam give me your horse."
"But Miss Barkley, Nick
said for us to stay here."
"I don’t care what Nick
said, my brother’s up there and I’m going to him. Now give me your horse."
"Yes Miss Barkley,"
replied Sam as he dismounted and then helped Audra to mount up. Once seated
Audra kicked the horse into motion and followed Nick. Her one thought was Heath
and she had to get to him.
Nick was off Coco and running to
his brother’s side before the horse had even stopped. He noted in passing that
Harper was dead with Heath’s knife embedded up to the hilt in the man’s chest.
"Damn that boy’s good," he thought before he slid to a halt
beside his comatose brother.
"Heath," he whispered
softly as he squatted beside his brother and felt his neck for a pulse. Letting
out the breath he had unknowingly being holding he sighed when his fingertips
registered a weak pulse.
"Nick is he…?" Audra
sobbed as she brought her own horse to a halt and jumped down.
"No, he’s still a live but
he’s lost a lot of blood." Nick looked up and glared at his sister.
"I thought I told you to stay down there."
"I couldn’t Nick, I had to
come, Heath needs my help," she replied quietly as she sat down beside her
brother and reached out to touch his forehead. She looked up quickly.
"He’s burning up Nick."
"I know Sis. Go and get me
the canteens and the spare bandages we brought. Audra go on now."
Nick pulled out his own knife
and cut off Heath’s shirt exposing the bullet wound high in the fleshy part of
right shoulder thankful that at least the bullet had gone straight through.
Accepting the offered canteen and bandages he washed out the wound and then
taking the folded bandages from Audra placed one over the entry and exit sites
before bandaging the shoulder securely.
"Nick what about his
hand?"
"I don’t want to touch it Audra,
the bleeding seems to have stopped and I don’t want to risk starting it again.
Just wrap another bandage around it and we’ll leave it for the doc. Audra,
honey go and ask Sam to come up here and then get Jarrod we need to get him
back to the ranch and a doctor as soon as possible."
After kissing Heath gently on
the cheek Audra hurried away. Nick eased his brother into his arms and then
rested back against the rocks. "Hold on Heath, we’ll get you home soon,
you hear me boy?" he whispered in his ear.
Ten minutes later Jarrod
appeared at the top of the lookout with Sam and two other men.
"Nick how is he?"
Jarrod asked worriedly as he took in the sight of his two younger brothers.
"This is Dr Jeffries, Senator Harrison’s private physician and Marshall Johnson."
"Not good Jarrod. We have
to get him back to the ranch."
"Not until I’ve had a
chance to examine him Mr Barkley. Why don’t you lie him down so I can see what
we’ve got."
"No way doc, his ribs are
broken and I’m not leaving him."
"All right Mr Barkley have
it your way."
While Dr Jeffries carried out
his examination Nick turned his attention to Sam and the Marshall who was
walking around the area. Nick watched as the Marshall picked up the discarded
rifle and checked the chamber. He looked up startled. "It’s empty. Your
brother took quite a chance taking on two armed men with one bullet and a
knife."
"Yeah well seems to me it
was the only chance he had," growled Nick.
"Yes, I suppose it
was."
The Marshall turned to Sam.
"Help me get this fellow on one of the horses. Might as well take both of
them in with us now. Save us a trip later."
Nick turned back to the doctor
who was just packing up his bag. "Well doc."
Dr Jeffries shook his head.
"I don’t know Mr Barkley, your brother’s lost more blood than a man
rightly should and that hand is badly infected. We need to get him under cover
as soon as possible. There’s not much I can do for him out here. How far away
is your ranch?"
"About five hours
doc."
Jeffries shook his head again.
"He isn’t going to make it that far. Isn’t there somewhere closer?"
"The old Simpson Ranch is
about and hour and half away Doctor Jeffries, but its been abandoned for years.
There’s nothing in the house."
"As long as it has a roof
it will do."
"Doc if he needs a
transfusion both Jarrod and I have given him blood before."
"If he makes it as far as
the Simpson place we’ll look at it then. Now you’re going to have to carry him
down to the wagon, carefully. I’ll ride down and take your horses and send a
couple more men up with a litter to help you."
"Thank you doctor."
"Don’t thank me yet Mr
Barkley, we’ve got a long way to go before your brother is out of the
woods."
The two brothers watched the
doctor leave in silence; each caught up in there own thoughts.
"He’s going to be all right
Jarrod. It’s going to take more than a sore hand and shoulder wound to kill
this boy."
"I’m sure he will be Nick,
after all he is a stubborn Barkley."
"I’ll tell you something
though, I swear once we get back to the ranch and know little brother’s going
to be ok I’m going after Williams and Fisher and make them pay for what they
did." Nick glared at Jarrod. "And don’t try to stop me."
"I wouldn’t dream of
stopping you Nick, because I’ll be riding right beside you."
Nick broke into a grin.
"Glad to hear it big brother."
Chapter 8
"Hold it right there
mister."
"I’m un-armed Marshall,
there’s no need for the gun. My name is Jarrod Barkley."
"Well if it’s all the same to
you Mr Barkley I think I’ll hold this gun for a while longer. Perhaps you would
like to tell me what all the shooting was about."
"Marshall Johnson, what
seems to be the problem? What was all the shooting we heard? Jarrod? Jarrod
Barkley is that you?"
"Hello Senator, good to see
you again."
"Jarrod I hope you didn’t
have anything to do with the shots we heard."
"Not directly Senator but I
think my little brother did. Yesterday some men kidnapped my sister and
youngest brother. We tracked them as far as the old Simpson place where we
found our sister. The kidnappers brought our brother out here with the
intention of having him kill you. Those shots you heard were I hope Heath
taking care of his kidnappers. Senator if you’ll excuse me I really need to be
with my family now."
"Jarrod, Jarrod,"
yelled Audra as she raced down the trail and around the base of the lookout.
"They shot Heath, he’s lost so much blood, Nick wants you to hurry."
Jarrod’s face paled at his
sister’s words and the look of panic on her face. Her body was shaking and
tears ran freely down her cheeks. Jarrod reached over and squeezed her shoulder
as she drew level with him. Looking deeply into her sad eyes, he tried to smile
reassuringly even though his own heart was pounding furiously.
"He’ll be fine honey,
Heath’s strong. He won’t give up that easy."
Taking a deep breath Jarrod
turned back to the senator.
"I really must go to my
brothers. Could you please look after Audra for me."
"No Jarrod, I’m coming with
you."
"Not this time honey."
"It will be my pleasure to
look after your sister Jarrod but I think we can be of more assistance. Please
take my personal physician Stanley Jeffries with you."
"Thank you Senator, I
assure you my family appreciates your kindness."
Jarrod turned back to Audra and
gave her hand a squeeze. "Stay here Sis, we’ll look after Heath."
"Mr Barkley, if you don’t
mind I’ll come too."
"Of course Marshall."
Audra watched quietly as the men
rode back around the base of the lookout. "Please be all right Heath. I
need you big brother."
* * * * * * * *
Nick almost pulled the door off
its hinges in his haste to open it so they could carry Heath into the old ranch
house. Having placed the litter on the floor the brothers with Audra stood back
waited for Dr Jeffries to examine their brother again. Their faces were nearly
as white as Heaths. The two hours it took to get from Bear Lookout to the old
ranch had been a nightmare none of them ever wanted to go through again.
Heath’s temperature was steadily rising and his breathing was extremely
laboured as the bouncing of the wagon caused more pain to his batted body
despite Nick’s best efforts to keep him cushioned in his arms. Twice they had
had to stop because his wild thrashing had caused his shoulder to start
bleeding again.
"Doc how is he?"
Dr Jeffries shook his head and
looked at the three siblings standing before him.
"To be honest I’m surprised
he made it this far. He’s certainly got a powerful will to live but if he’s
going to have any hope of surviving beyond the next few hours he’s going to
need that transfusion. Also I’m going to have to open that hand and drain the
infection that’s causing the fever and close the shoulder wound. His lungs are
becoming congested and those broken ribs need to be rebound again. I just don’t
know if he’s strong enough to handle everything."
"He’s strong doc, he won’t
give up without a fight. I won’t let," replied Nick with determination.
"Miss Barkley do you know
when your brother ate and drank last?"
"He had breakfast yesterday
morning at the ranch and I managed to get him to drink some water each time he
was conscious but he brought some of that up why?"
"I’m trying to determine
how severe his concussion might be. Under the circumstances I don’t think it
would be wise to give him anything for the pain which means."
"You can’t knock him
out," growled Nick, the bile rising in his stomach at the extra pain they
were about to cause Heath.
"I’m afraid so."
"Doctor Jeffries what do
you need us to do?" asked Jarrod not taking his eyes off Heath.
"We need to get a fire
started. I’ll also need plenty of hot and cold water as well as a blood
donor."
"That’ll be me doc."
"Yes somehow I thought it
would be," smiled the doctor as he looked at the dark haired, hazel-eyed
rancher.
As the doctor prepared his
equipment for the tasks ahead, Nick headed to the door and barked orders for
firewood and water to be brought in. Standing by the door he looked across to
Audra and took in her exhausted features as she sat beside Heath wiping down
his face with a wet cloth.
"Jarrod," Nick
motioned quietly with the tilt of his head and then waited for his brother to
join him.
"I think you should head
back to the ranch and bring Mother out here. If anything happens you know she
is going to want to be here."
Jarrod turned to look back at
his two youngest siblings. Heath was tossing restlessly on the litter lost in
his fevered world, mumbling incoherent words. Audra looked to be physically
drained from her ordeal. It was obvious from her words to the doctor she had
sat up all night with their brother tending to his injuries. There were dark
shadows under her eyes and gone was her usually lively step.
Jarrod’s eyes were filled with tears
as he brushed past Nick and stepped out onto the porch. Unable to control the
shaking of his body he slammed his right fist into the wall beside the door
grateful for the physical pain the action caused him as Nick’s words
reverberated in his mind. "If anything happens."
Shutting his eyes he sagged
against the doorframe ignoring the stairs of the men standing quietly in the
yard.
If anything happens. What a
joke! Something already had happened and his brother was fighting for his life
and it was his fault. Counselor Barkley, the man who could always be relied
upon to be the voice of reason had reasoned that they should make camp instead
of riding straight to the ranch. He had gambled with his brothers life and
lost."
Nick stepped silently onto the porch
and put his arm around his brother’s shoulders.
"Jarrod are you all
right?"
Jarrod shrugged out of his
brother’s embrace and walked to the end of the porch aware that Nick was slowly
following him.
"How can you bare to touch
me Nick?"
Nick was taken aback by the
question.
"I don’t understand Jarrod.
What do you mean by that?"
Jarrod waved his hand towards
the house and the occupants within.
"This is all my fault so
why don’t you just come out and say it Nick."
Nick studied his brother and
then shook his head in disbelief at Jarrod’s words.
"I don’t know why you think
it’s your fault and right now I don’t have time for one of your self righteous
speeches. Heath needs our help. Yours and mine Jarrod."
"Don’t you see Nick, Heath
wouldn’t need our help if I had listened to YOU last night. If I hadn’t talked
you out of riding here we could have stopped those men this morning before they
took Heath to that lookout. Before he had to face them on his own. Before they
shot him."
Nick reached out his hand and
squeezed his brother’s shoulder, berating himself for having not seen the
anguish his older brother was feeling. Taking a deep breath he chose his words
carefully.
"Jarrod it’s not your
fault. I agreed with your decision and I know if the roles were reversed and
you and Heath were searching for me Heath would have agreed with you too. You
were right we couldn’t track in the dark. Jarrod none of us expected them to
move so early this morning. I don’t blame you for what happened and I know
Heath doesn’t either and he’d be upset if he knew that you felt this way. You
know that Heath has always accepted that what ever happens is just the way
things are and there’s no point in wishing for a different outcome."
"Mr Barkley, I’m ready for
you now," sounded Doctor Jeffries voice from the door.
"Be right there doc."
Nick squeezed the shoulder he
was still holding again.
"Come on Jarrod, little
brother is waiting and you know how he hates to wait. He needs you Jarrod, I
need you and so does our little sister. We’ll get him through this
together."
Jarrod nodded and turned to face
Nick.
"Well then you had better
not keep little brother waiting. I’ll be in, in a minute."
* * * * * * * *
"I thought I said no one
other than the doc was to come in here," growled Nick as the door opened
slowly.
Nick rose slowly to his feet,
mindful not to move too quickly. He still felt a little light-headed after the
blood transfusion, but the doc had assured him the feeling would pass within a
couple of hours. Stepping over his sleeping siblings his anger rose as the door
continued to open. It had been a long morning for all of them especially Heath.
Doctor Jeffries had cleaned and stitched the shoulder wounds and then drained
the putrid mess in his hand also confirming that it was broken as Audra
suspected. Then it was on to his ribs, which were tightly bound again. Whether
or not Heath was aware of what was happening to him Nick didn’t know but he
never cried out once only emitting a few low groans. The doctor was guardedly
optimistic that Heath had a chance to recover since the transfusion seemed to
be working but he had warned them that there was still along way to go and they
still had to get his temperature down.
"Didn’t you hear what I
just said," Nick rumbled menacingly as he wrenched open the door. His eyes
opened wide in amazement at the small silver haired woman standing in the
doorway.
"Mother?" he croaked
out, taking her into his arms and hugging her gently. "What are you doing
here?"
"After Duke told me what
had happened and which way you were travelling I made arrangements to ride out
here this morning. Jed Martin and I caught up with Fred before they broke camp
and came with them."
Victoria’s eyes roamed around
the room not missing the exhausted slumbering bodies of her oldest son and
daughter. She gave a small gasp as her eyes settled on Heath’s pale features
and raspy breathing.
"Nick, what happened? How
is he?"
Nick took his mother’s arm and
led her over to his brother who was mumbling in his fever-induced sleep.
Squatting down he dipped a cloth in the bucket of water beside the litter and
gently wiped down his brother’s fevered brow.
"They beat him when he
tried to fight back yesterday and broke his ribs and I guess his hand as well
as opened it up again. It got infected which is why he’s got a fever now and
then this morning they shot him when he tried to stop them from carrying out
their plans. The doctor…"
"Doctor?" enquired
Victoria surprised.
"Yes, Senator Harrison’s
personal physician Doctor Jeffries has been looking after him." Nick
changed the cloth and then wiped down those sections of his brother’s chest
that weren’t covered in bandages. "He’d lost so much blood by the time we
got here Doctor Jeffries had to give him a blood transfusion. He opened up his
hand and drained the infection as well as stitching up the bullet wound. Now
all we can do is wait and see if the transfusion works."
Nick looked at his mother who
was now kneeling on the floor beside him.
"He’s got to be all right
Mother, I can’t lose him now."
Victoria reached out and pulled
her big-hearted second son into her arms and let him cry out his fears on her
shoulder, never taking her eyes off her youngest son as his raspy breathing and
mumbled words indicated the fight he was waging to stay with them. How and why
had this happened she wondered and what was that about Senator Harrison?
As she waited for Nick to gain
control of his emotions her eyes settled on her daughter sleeping on the other
side of the litter. She appeared to be unharmed, at least physically. As for
her emotional state that would have to wait until she had a chance to speak to
her. While Victoria ached to take Audra into her arms and comfort her she was
wise enough to know that what her daughter needed most was sleep. The comfort
could wait a little longer.
Victoria was a little surprised
to see Jarrod in such a deep sleep considering the condition of his two
brothers. She was no fool and knew exactly who had given Heath the blood so she
wondered why Nick was sitting with Heath instead of resting.
Feeling Nick move away from her
she turned her attention back to him and watched as he leant back against the
wall with his eyes closed. Her mind seethed with questions but she knew they
would have to wait.
"Nick darling, why don’t
you get some rest. I think it’s my turn to sit with Heath."
Nick shook his head.
"Not until I know he’s
going to be all right," he replied quietly.
Victoria sighed; knowing it was useless
arguing with him in his present state of mind.
"All right Nick, but
promise me you will get some sleep as soon as the doctor checks Heath again.
He’s going to need all your strength and you won’t be able to help him if
you’re exhausted."
"I promise Mother."
"In that case would you
mind telling me exactly what has been happening and who is behind this."
Instead of answering his
mother’s question he rose to his feet and kissed the top of her head.
"I’ll explain everything in
a minute but first I need to speak to the Marshall and Fred about our prisoner.
Won’t be long," he growled quietly.
* * * * * * * *
The Barkley family stood quietly
arm in arm and waited while Doctor Jeffries examined their brother and son
again. He made no comments as he worked only nodding from time to time. Finally
he packed away his instruments and stood up.
"Doctor Jeffries is my son
going to be all right?" Victoria voiced the one question that was on all
their minds.
"I believe so Mrs Barkley.
His pulse is certainly a lot stronger now and his temperature is down to a
manageable level. The shoulder wound shows no signs of infection."
"What about his hand
doc?" Nick asked worriedly.
"I’m afraid it is a bit early
to tell Mr Bark…Nick. Certainly there is no sign of any further infection but
his hand is still quite inflamed. Until the inflammation and swelling goes down
I won’t know for sure how much additional damage has been done. Right now what
he needs is sleep and plenty of it."
"Doctor Jeffries how soon
before we can take him home?"
"Certainly not before
morning Mrs Barkley. If he continues to improve probably around lunch time
tomorrow."
"Thank you Doctor Jeffries
for all your help. This family will be forever in your debt.’
"I’m just glad I was able
to help. Now if you will excuse me I did promise to update the Senator on your
son’s condition Mrs Barkley."
"Doctor please tell Senator
Harrison I would like to speak with him if he is free."
"Of course Mrs
Barkley."
With the departure of the doctor
the air of uncertainty that had hung like a heavy cloak over the family also
seemed to lift. With a whoop of delight Nick hugged his mother and sister
before clapping Jarrod on the back.
"I knew the boy would be
all right," he yelled.
"Nicholas must you yell so.
Your brother is sleeping," admonished Victoria sternly before a smile
graced her strained features.
Chapter 9
After kissing the top of his
mother’s head, Nick stepped out onto the porch and stopped to look at the
slowly setting sun. Come on Heath, you fight boy, we’ve still got a lot of
sunrises to share together," he whispered as he glanced back at the
closed door.
Nick shook his head. Five hours!
That was how long it had been since he last stepped through the door and onto
the porch. That time it had been to comfort his older brother’s perceived guilt
at allowing their younger brother to firstly face his kidnappers alone and then
to get shot by them.
Nick rested his arms on the porch
railing and then buried his face in his hands, partly due to the light-headed
feeling that suddenly came over him and partly in an attempt to understand the
events of the past twenty-four hours. How all of this had come about he didn’t
fully understand but one thing he did understand was that HE was going to put
an end to it.
Nick was so lost in his thoughts
that he didn’t hear Fred and Marshall Johnson approach until he felt Fred’s
hand on his shoulder and heard his quiet words.
"Nick, how’s Heath doing?"
Nick looked up making no attempt
to hide the pain in his eyes and voice.
"He’s still hanging on
Fred. Doc says we’ve gotta wait and see if the transfusion works."
Fred nodded in understanding at
what this was doing to the dark-haired rancher.
"He’s strong Nick, he’ll
pull through you wait and see."
"I hope so Fred, I can’t
imagine the ranch with out him."
Fred squeezed Nick’s shoulder.
"Nick, the Marshall and I
were just discussing what to do with Crawford and his dead cohorts. Come
morning I’ll head back to Stockton with them and…"
"No," growled Nick.
"What do you mean no,
Nick?"
"Just what I said Fred. NO.
Right now Williams doesn’t know whether Harrison’s dead, or Heath or his own
men. I want him to sit and sweat and wonder what’s happening. Who might be
coming after him. You go riding through Stockton parading the prisoner and he’s
going to know he failed and he’ll try to go to ground. I promised my little
brother in there I’d get the scum who did this to him and by god I intend to
keep my promise."
"Now look here Nick."
"Sheriff I believe Mr
Barkley may be right. Until we capture Senator Williams, Senator Harrison as
well as Miss Barkley and Heath will all be in danger. It would be far better to
have our enemy where we can see him."
Fred sighed heavily.
"All right, I don’t like it
but I’ll go along with your plans. What do you want me to do?"
"Go back to town. See if
you can find out where Williams and Fisher have gone if they’ve already left or
just keep an eye on them if they haven’t. Soon as we get the boy settled in his
own bed at the ranch Jarrod and I’ll be in to see you and Williams."
"Now Mr Barkley, I must
protest…"
"LOOK, you worry about
keeping Senator Harrison and my family safe and let me and Jarrod worry about
Williams and Fisher," Nick growled menacingly straightening up to his full
height and glaring at the Marshall.
"Nick was that your mother
I saw riding in a few minutes ago?" asked Senator Harrison as he joined
the men on the porch.
Nick took a deep breath before
turning to face the Senator.
"Yes Senator, she’s inside
with my brother, which is where I should be too."
"How is your brother?
Doctor Jeffries seems a little more hopeful now. He asked me to tell you he’ll
be along in a few minutes to check him again."
"He’s holding his own
thanks Senator. I’d better go in, promised Mother I’d fill her in on what was
happening."
"Nick tell your mother I’d
like to see her when…"
"I will."
Nick turned and disappeared
through the door leaving the three men to watch his retreating back.
* * * * * * * *
Nick sighed in relief as he and
Jarrod finally laid their sleeping brother in his own bed. Thanks to a heavy
dose of laudanum Heath remained oblivious to the afternoons wagon ride back to the
ranch much to the relief of his family.
"Mother, we’ll get him
settled. Why don’t you and Audra go and rest for a while."
Victoria looked lovingly at her
son lying in the bed and nodded in agreement. Even after eighteen months she
knew Heath wasn’t comfortable with her or Audra tending to his needs when he
was sick or injured.
"All right Nick, I’ll be
one hour. Take good care of your brother.’
"Don’t worry Mother we
will."
Taking Audra’s arm in her own
the two women left the room but not before stopping at the door to take one
more look at their brother and son. Heath lay propped up against a mound of
pillows. His face showed only slightly more colour than the white bandages that
covered his hand, chest and shoulder but the fever was gone and his breathing
was easier.
Victoria squeezed Audra’s hand,
"come along sweetheart, you need to get some rest yourself."
"But Mother, I’m fine,
really."
"Now Audra, I know you
think…"
Nick and Jarrod smiled as the
door closed behind the women and the remained of their mother’s reply was lost
to them.
"Ten says Audra loses that
discussion."
"You’re on, Brother Nick.’
Jarrod looked down at Heath,
"but no bets on when little brother here is going to make his feet
again."
"Come on Jarrod, let’s get the
boy out of these clothes and cleaned up while he’s still out of it.’
Working as a team the two
brothers gently relieved Heath of his boots and pants. While Jarrod filled a
basin with warm water, Nick removed Heath’s socks.
"Damn."
"What is it Nick?"
Jarrod asked worriedly.
"Boys got a decent bruise
on his right ankle. Looks like somebody kicked him real hard," he growled
as he felt the ankle for any signs of a break. "Doesn’t feel broken but we
better get the doc up here to look at it when we’re finished. One thing's for
sure he won’t be walking on it any time soon.’
"Nick I don’t think Heath’s
going anywhere for quite a while sore ankle or not.’
"Yeah I know Pappy.’
The brothers were just pulling
the quilt up over Heath when a small moan caught their attention. Nick sat down
on the edge of the bed and took Heath’s uninjured hand in his.
"Come on Heath, wake up for
me boy."
Heath moaned again. He knew who
was with him and he wanted so much to gaze into the hazel eyes again but his
body seemed to be pulling him back into the darkness and away from the
inevitable pain that would come with consciousness.
"Heath, come on, open those
eyes for us. We know you can do it. Come back to us little brother."
Heath turned his head towards
the voice pulling him back and moaned again.
"Jarrod, close the
curtains. If he’s still got a headache the light might hurt his eyes."
"Ok brother Heath, I’ve
closed the curtains now how about you showing us those baby blues of
yours." Jarrod said as he sat in the chair on the other side of the bed
and laid his hand on his brother’s arm.
Even with his eyes closed the
darkness of the room seemed comforting to Heath, as did his brother’s words.
With all the will power he could muster he forced his sleep laden eyes to open
a crack.
"That’s it Heath. Open them
all the way," encouraged Nick enthusiastically.
With an effort Heath blinked a
couple of times and forced his eyelids to open a bit more. His efforts this
time were rewarded with a huge grin from his brother.
"Well that’s more like it
boy,’ Nick whooped delightedly.
"Nick?"
That one word and the effort it
took cost Heath and he closed his eyes groaning.
"Easy Heath, we didn’t say
talk, we just said open your eyes."
"Here Heath take a sip of
this." Heath felt his head being lifted off the pillow as Jarrod pressed
the cup to his lips. "Slowly Heath."
Two sips was all he could manage
before he felt his stomach begin to rebel at the foreign substance. The
brothers waited anxiously as Heath’s breathing quickened in an effort to keep
the much-needed water down. Nick wiped the sweat from Heath’s face as his lids
fluttered open again. Heath looked at Nick and then turned his head towards
Jarrod.
"Audra?" The word was
little more than a whispered croak.
"She’s fine Heath,"
replied Nick grinning. "We didn’t know you were teaching little sister how
to knife fight. She sunk that knife of yours up to the hilt in Crawford’s
thigh."
Heath closed his eyes again and
offered a weak smile at the words. Sis was ok. That was all that mattered.
Opening his eyes again he tried to voice his next question but no sound came
out. Groaning in frustration and pain he closed his eyes again.
Anticipating Heath’s question
Jarrod asked one of his own.
"Did you want to know if
Senator Harrison was all right Heath?"
Heath nodded slightly keeping
his eyes closed. He could feel himself drifting off but he needed an answer. He
needed to know that all this pain was worth it.
Jarrod squeezed his arm gently.
"He’s fine Heath. He’s
going to stay here at the ranch until we get Williams and Fisher."
Heath sighed once as sleep
finally over took his pain racked body.
"Jarrod I’m going to stay
here for a while. Why don’t you go down stairs and send up the doc."
"You know Nick, Audra’s not
the only one who needs some rest. When I come back you’re going to get some
sleep yourself."
"What ever you say
Pappy," Nick replied tiredly.
* * * * * * * *
"…you’re fine darling but
you have been through quite an ordeal and you really should lie down and get
some proper rest," replied Victoria as she led her daughter towards her
bedroom.
"But Mother."
"That’s enough Audra. I
know you’re worried about Heath, we all are but you are not going to help him
by exhausting yourself. Heath is going to need all your help over the next few
days and if he sees you like this it’s only going to make him worry."
Stopping in front of Audra’s
bedroom door, mother and daughter embraced. "All right Mother, I promise
to get some sleep but promise me you will wake me when Heath wakes up. You’re
right he will worry about me until he sees I’m all right."
Victoria smiled lovingly at her
daughter marveling at how much she had grown over the course of twenty-four hours.
Looking at her daughter she thanked god that her children’s kidnappers hadn’t
hurt her physically at least. She knew the time would come when mother and
daughter would have to sit down and discuss the past days happenings but now
was not the time.
"I promise darling, now go
on and get some sleep. I’ll wake you when dinner is ready. In the meantime I
must go and see to our guest."
Audra bent down and kissed her
mother’s cheek. "I love you Mother," she whispered before entering
her room and closing the door.
Victoria stood in the silent
hallway grateful that all her children were once again safely ensconced under
the one roof.
* * * * * * * *
"Please gentleman don’t get
up on my account," said Victoria as she entered her son’s study.
"James I am so pleased that you decided to accept our offer and stay here
until this business with Senator Williams is at an end. We can’t thank you
enough for all that you and Doctor Jeffries have done to help Heath. "
"It is I that should be
thanking you Victoria. If it hadn’t been for your son’s selfless act, well, I
believe I wouldn’t be here right now. I still can’t believe that your son would
put my life ahead of his own the way he did. He certainly is a very special
young man."
"Yes, he is James,"
smiled Victoria, "but it wasn’t only your life he was saving yesterday. He
was thinking of his sister’s life as well and I dare say his own. Heath
believes very firmly in the sanctity of a human life and he won’t knowingly
take another’s with out a very good reason."
"I would have thought
saving his own life would have been reason enough."
‘Then you don’t know my son very
well. If he thought that saving your life was of more benefit to the people of
this country than his own then he would forfeit his own life but not as you
saw, without a fight"
James Harrison shook his head in
disbelief at Victoria’s words. "Your son is a credit to you and Tom,
Victoria."
Victoria sat in the chair
opposite James Harrison and smiled.
"I’m afraid I can’t take
the credit for that. Heath’s mother, rest her soul is solely responsible for
Heath’s morality. She brought him up alone in a mining town."
"I’m sorry Victoria, I
thought, well he looks so much like Tom did."
Victoria smiled again.
"He is Tom’s son, James. He
came to live with us eighteen months ago after his mother died."
"I see. Well all I can say
is that he is a very lucky young man to have found such a loving family to care
for him."
"I think we are the ones
that are lucky James. Heath’s coming has brought a completeness back to the
family that had been missing since Tom’s death. My only regret is that Heath
and Tom never met."
"Tom would have been proud
of him too Victoria."
"Yes I know he would
have."
"What I still don’t
understand is why Josiah wanted Heath to kill me."
"Heath was a member of
McConnell’s Sharpshooter Unit during the war. And from the little we know he
was one of the best shooters the army had. Of course Heath rarely speaks about
that time and we know very little about it."
"The war! But Victoria he
couldn’t have been old enough."
"He wasn’t. He was too
young for the war, for its aftermath and for the scars he carries. Not just the
physical ones either."
"I wondered about the scars
on his back, Mrs Barkley, but one look at Nick and I knew better than to
ask."
"Yes Nicholas is very
protective of Heath and especially when he isn’t in a position to help
himself."
"So I noticed. It was like
having a grizzly bear breathing down my neck while I was treating Heath. One
wrong move on my part and I’m sure I would have been ripped to pieces."
"I can assure you Doctor
Jeffries Nick wouldn’t have gone that far. He was just worried about Heath.
Those two enjoy a very close relationship. They really are like two sides of the
same coin. Each compliments the other but woe behold anybody who gets between
them, like Josiah Williams."
"Speaking of Josiah
Williams do you have any idea what Nick and Jarrod have planned for him?"
"No I don’t James. Jarrod
just promised me that they wouldn’t do anything illegal unless Williams forced
their hand but I have no doubt in my mind that they are going to make Josiah
pay for what he did to Heath and Audra."
"Barkley vengeance
Victoria?"
"Barkley justice
James."
* * * * * * * *
"Well Fisher, any news
yet?"
"Nothing boss. The sheriff
hasn’t returned yet and there still isn’t any sign of Harrison or the
Barkley’s. Mills, Harper and Crawford haven’t shown up either."
"I don’t like it Fisher.
Something must have gone wrong."
"Well boss if Harrison
hasn’t arrived yet don’t you think that means that Barkley got him. If Harper
and Mills killed the bastard they may be on the run from the Marshall’s and
Barkley’s family."
"Possibly Fisher but then
where is Crawford? Damn it Fisher I need to know what is happening. Ride back
out there and see what you can find out."
"Ok boss. What do you want
me to do if I come across any of them?"
Williams stood by
the window of the hotel room and peered from behind the curtains down into the
busy Stockton street. "Kill them of course. I can’t take chances on
somebody finding out I was behind the killing."
Chapter 10
"Nick how long have you
being sitting here for?"
At his mother’s words Nick rose
from the seat beside his brother’s bed.
"Not long Mother, I just
needed to be with him for a while. Let him know he’s not alone."
Victoria patted Nick’s arm as
she sat in the chair and watched him take a seat on his brother’s bed.
"I know how you feel
darling and Heath knows he’s not alone. How did he sleep."
"Restlessly. He’s still in
a lot of pain despite the laudanum."
Nick let his gaze roam over his
brother’s battered body, his eyes narrowing when a low moan escaped Heath’s
lips as he shifted position slightly. Nick gripped the bed sheets tightly as
his brother moaned again.
"If only I could take away
the pain," he mumbled to himself. "God I hate to see him like
this," he said louder.
Victoria sat quietly watching
Nick’s reaction to his brother’s pain. She placed her hand on top of her son’s
clenched fist.
"Nick talk to me. What are
you feeling and what are you going to do?"
Nick’s fist relaxed under the
gentle touch of his mother’s hand. He took in a deep breath and looked once
again at his blond brother before turning haunted eyes on his mother.
"How do I feel? I feel
responsible Mother. That’s how I feel. This all started because of some stupid
contest. Heath has had to endure so much in his life and then I have to go and
add to it by trying to prove that the Barkley’s are the best at everything. The
only thing I proved was that I’m the best at putting my family in danger."
"Oh Nick, this isn’t your
fault anymore that it was Jarrod’s or the contest. This started along time before
the contest. Josiah was determined to find Heath one way or another. The
contest was only a means to an end."
Victoria saw the surprised look
in her son’s eyes and smiled despite herself.
"Yes Nick, Jarrod told me
he felt guilty about Heath being shot because he made you make camp. I believe
your words to him were that "Heath would be upset if he knew that you
were blaming yourself," well I ‘m going to tell you the exact same thing.
Heath doesn’t blame you and you shouldn’t either. Nick as good as you are you
can’t control the choices that other men, including your brother make. Heath
chose to compete in that contest and he chose to take on those men alone at the
lookout. He knew the danger he was in but it was an acceptable risk to him
because it meant saving his sister’s life as well as Senator Harrison’s and his
own. I don’t for one minute believe he regrets the choice he made yesterday
morning."
"It still isn’t right.
Heath shouldn’t have been forced to make that choice because of Williams’
ambitions."
"Nick not all choices in
life are fair. We have to make the best of the choices we are given. Just like
your brother did yesterday. Let us just be thankful that Heath survived and
will recover from his injuries."
"I know Mother and I am
believe me but I promise you I’m going to stop Williams one way or another and
make him pay for what he did to Heath and Audra."
"What are you going to do
Nick?"
"I don’t know Mother but
somehow we have to prove that Williams was behind the kidnapping and attempt on
Senator Harrison life.
"Why don’t you just let the
law handle it Nick? Don’t you think there has already being enough blood
shed," Victoria asked looking pointedly at Heath.
"The law? You want Heath
and Audra to testify and be paraded in the courts so Heath’s past can be flung
back in his face again. And believe me Mother it will be." Nick’s voice to
started to rise as he glared at his mother.
"Nicholas please keep you
voice down and I don’t think here is the appropriate place to be discussing it
either."
Nick sighed and nodded in
agreement.
"I’m sorry, it’s just, I
care so damn much about him."
"I know you do
darling," replied Victoria. "Heath’s not going to wake for another couple
of hours so why don’t you come down stairs to the study. There is a lot to
discuss and remember it doesn’t only involve Heath and Audra. We also have Jim
Harrison to consider. I’ll send Silas up to sit with Heath for a while."
Victoria stood and bent over the
bed placing a gently kiss on the top of Heath’s forehead before squeezing
Nick’s hand and leaving the room.
"I’ll be down in a minute
Mother."
Nick sat down in the chair once
again and studied his brother’s pale features.
"What do you want me to do
little brother? What do you want to do?"
Nick shook his head in
frustration wishing that Heath would wake up and tell him what to do. He knew
how much Heath hated being in the public eye and especially if it was to do
with his past. If they allowed the law to handle it and the case made it to
court that was exactly what would happen. Assuming of course that his little
brother and sister actually made it to court. Nick wasn’t about to believe for
one minute that Williams would meekly allow himself to be lead into a court of
law or allow the only two witnesses to his involvement in the murder attempt to
live long enough to testify.
Nick abruptly rose from the
chair and bent over the bed close to his brother’s ear.
"Don’t worry little brother
I won’t let anybody near you or Sis. You rest easy and let big brother take
care of everything. You hear me boy? Nick whispered before striding from the
room unaware of a pair of blue eyes watching his departure.
"I hear ya Nick. Thanks big
brother." Heath whispered back before his eyes closed again and he drifted
back to sleep.
* * * * * * * *
"What do you mean he’s
missing?" roared Nick at a flustered Fred Madden. "I thought you were
supposed to be watching them. How the hell did you let him get away?"
"Nicholas please watch your
language and keep your voice down."
"Sorry Mother," Nick
replied as he continued to glower at Fred.
"Nick I’m sorry. He must
have been watching for my deputies to change shifts and he slipped out in the
change over."
"Well that’s just great
isn’t it? Is Williams still in his room or did you lose him too?"
"As far as we know he’s
still there Nick."
"As far as you know. What’s
that supposed to mean? What sort of a law office are you running Fred?"
Fred Madden sighed heavily and
looked around the faces seated in the parlour of the Barkley mansion. It was
never a good idea to rile Nick Barkley and especially when one of the family;
Heath in particular was injured due to an outsiders hand. While the other faces
in the room weren’t exactly hostile, he knew his news hadn’t sat well with any
of them. Fred Madden wasn’t a man to back down but right now under the
withering stare of the dark haired rancher he wished he were anywhere but here.
"Nobody has seen Williams
since he returned to the hotel yesterday, but food has been regularly delivered
to his room."
"But I bet you didn’t
bother to check who it was being delivered to did you Fred?" Nick yelled.
"For all you know it could be some saloon girl sitting up there."
Nick stepped forward so he was standing almost toe to toe with the sheriff.
"Nick you were the one who
told me not to approach him, just to keep an eye on his movements and that’s
what I’ve been doing. He hasn’t bought a stage, rail or boat passage nor has he
rented a horse or buggy. Unless he plans on leaving Stockton on foot he is
still at the hotel."
Nick let his cold hazel eyes
rest on Fred for a minute. "Did you ever consider…"
"That will be enough,"
stated Victoria firmly as she stepped between her son and the sheriff.
"Both of you sit down now and start acting like grown men. Fred nobody is
blaming you for Fisher’s disappearance."
"Aren’t we?"
"Nicholas if you can’t be
quiet then you can leave this room. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
Nick stared at his mother’s
steely-eyed gaze for a few seconds before visibly reeling in his emotions and
uttering a barely audible, "Yes Mother, sorry Fred."
Fred took a deep breath of his
own. He couldn’t blame any of the Barkley’s for their current emotions. Nearly
losing two members of the family was liable to make anybody a little touchy.
"It’s all right Nick, I
understand how you feel and I’m sorry I had to bring you more bad news."
Nick pursed his lips and considered
the apology before walking over to the drinks trolley and pouring two drinks
one of which he handed to Fred before downing his own in one swallow.
Jarrod motioned for Fred to take
an empty seat. "I guess Fred we should be asking what do we do now?"
"Well Jarrod I was hoping
to borrow Nick and several of his men to form a posse and see if we can find
Fisher although I don’t really
hold out much hope of finding him. I reckon it’s got too hot and he’s long
gone. If Marshall Johnson can wire the Marshall’s Office we can get some wanted
posters out on him and maybe somebody might find him eventually. I’ve already
wired all the towns within one hundred miles of Stockton to be on the look out
for him."
"Well brother Nick, does
that suggestion meet with your approval?" asked Jarrod.
"What, huh? Oh yeah,
whatever you think."
"Nick were you listening to
what we were saying?"
"Yes Jarrod, I was just
thinking. I reckon Fisher’s still around here though, probably watching the
ranch as we speak."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Williams still
doesn’t know what’s happening Jarrod. Outside of Fred’s deputies, the people in
this room and several of our hands, nobody knows that the Senator, Heath and
Audra are still alive or that his own men are dead. I bet that fat pompous
mongrel is sweating buckets not knowing what’s happening. My guess is he sent
Fisher to see if he could find out anything."
"What about Crawford Nick?
I thought he was still alive."
"He is Fred, Marshall
Johnson has a couple of men guarding him in the old feed room."
"All right Nick, let’s hear
it. What have you got planned? Just remember I don’t like surprises."
All the faces in the parlour
watched as Nick paced restlessly around the room before he took his customary
place beside one end of the hearth before looking towards the other end of the
well worn piece of timber that framed the fireplace. The end where his youngest
brother usually took up residence when there was a family discussion. Without
warning Nick slammed his fist into the unyielding wood with a resounding echo
that made the occupants of the room wince. Welcoming and then ignoring the
sudden flare of pain Nick turned and looked at the faces around him. His eyes
burnt with a fierceness that none of them had seen before and the set of the
jaw told all those watching that there would be no arguing with him tonight. It
was his voice though that gave away his true feelings.
"Well now, I’ll just tell
you what I’M going to do Fred. I’m going out there to find Fisher before he realizes
what’s happened and can report back to that low life skunk you say is still
held up in the hotel. And then I’m going after that low life skunk before he
gets it into his head to come after Heath and Audra. Is that plain enough for
you Fred?"
Both Victoria and Audra drew in
a sharp breath at his words.
"Nick you don’t really
think Josiah will come after Heath and Audra do you?" asked Victoria as
she gently squeezed her daughter’s hand.
"Yes Mother I do. Think
about it. Heath and Audra are the only ones that can place Williams at the
Simpson’s ranch outside of his own men and two of them are already dead. He’s
not going to want to leave any witnesses."
"Nick exactly what do you
plan on doing with Fisher if…when you find him. You know I won’t stand around
and let you take the law into your own hands."
"Oh don’t worry Fred. I
won’t take the law into my own hands. I’ll let Fisher call the tune and we’ll
just see how well he can dance. It’ll be his choice not mine as to how it ends
up."
Victoria knew to whom the last
few words were directed and she nodded her headed in acknowledgement of his
declaration. All of her sons lived by the choices they made in their lives
everyday and this would be no different. She knew Nick was hurting right now
but she also knew he would make the right choices. Both her sons would for she
had no doubt that Jarrod would be joining Nick.
Jarrod stood up and walked over
to his brother placing his hand on Nick’s shoulder.
"When do we leave
Nick?"
For just a fleeting moment Nick
let his body relaxed under his brother’s touch as he gazed at the light blue
eyes.
"Sun up Counselor. Be
ready."
As far as Nick was concerned
this discussion was finished and he strode from the room headed towards the
stairs leaving nobody in any doubt as to where he was going.