Kingfoot

by dcat

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.

Heath and I sat in the wagon and watched the train pull up to the station. We were in town to pick up Jarrod, who was coming home after spending a week in San Francisco. Heath climbed down and went over to the platform to greet his oldest brother. I saw Jarrod step off and the two of them shook hands and greeted each other fondly. Before coming over, I saw them partake in their own private brotherly ritual. I couldn’t suppress my smile. It took me back many years ago and how they had come to play this little game with one another.

Heath had just come to live with us. He was my husband’s son, not mine, but the moment he had arrived, the little 7-year-old blonde stole my heart just as much as he did Tom’s. My husband didn’t even know that he’d had another son. Heath’s mother had kept this secret for nearly eight years, right up until she was about to die from the fever. She didn’t want Heath to be raised by her brother Matt, a despicable man, according to Tom, who had the misfortune of having to meet him, when we went to bring Heath here back to the ranch. The boy had welts and bruises, even some cuts on his rather small and frail body when Tom and I got to Strawberry. Matt tried to explain to Tom that the boy needed a firm hand in order to grow up to be a man. Where Tom found the restraint to keep from doing to him what he’d done to his son I don’t know, but Tom left his hatred there, picked up the boy in his arms and brought him back to the ranch.

He was scared and quiet on the ride back to Stockton. I knew the past months had probably been haunting for him; to see his mother sickened and eventually die, to live with an uncle who beat him and now, to be taken from his home and town to a strange place by someone who told him that he was his father. His blue eyes took it all in. He watched everything and studied it long and hard. He asked no questions of either one of us and only offered, ‘yes ma’am or yes sir or no ma’am or no sir,’ to anything we asked of him. Yet I couldn’t help but study his penetrating eyes as they darted back and forth between Tom and myself or out onto the open range that lay before us. He had much to say, much to ask, but he wasn’t ready to vocalize it just yet. I didn’t know when or where or how that might ever occur. I said a silent prayer that it would though. All of a sudden he turned his head backward, looking back to where we had come from. Ever so softly and gently, he leaned his head against my arm and shoulder, it surprised me. As I myself turned to look at his face, I could only make out half of it, his beautiful eyes were closed and down his cheek, I saw a trickle of tears running down. When he finally turned back around, he again leaned against me and this time I wrapped my arm around him and cuddled him close and he fell asleep for the duration of our journey home.

We hoped that Heath would be able to form a brotherly bond, especially with Nick and Jarrod and in time with our younger children as well.

It didn’t seem hard at all for Jarrod and Heath. They developed almost an instant rapport from the moment we pulled up to the house on our trip from Strawberry.

Little Heath still slept quite soundly. I liked to think that he felt safe, protected and loved by both Tom and I and that he hadn’t probably felt that way since before his own mother had taken ill, so now he gave up to the exhaustion he carried. I’m sure these last months were equally hard on both Heath and Leah, in unique ways. I can’t imagine how she must have felt to have sent the letter to Tom in which she told him about Heath and about her own impending death. I knew we were doing the right thing by bringing him to the ranch, when I read her words. She loved this little boy so much that she didn’t want to hurt us or him in all these years and now she nearly begged us to take him and give him the life he deserved to have rather than be subjected to the cruelness of her own brother. One section in the letter still haunts me, she said, “Tom, I can’t and I won’t make you take him. I tell you this because he is yours and mine. I never wanted to hurt you or your wife or you family, that’s why I haven’t told you until now. I am dying. I can’t leave him with Matt for even a second. All I ask is that you take him and see that he gets a decent home, a place where he can be loved. If that’s not with you, I’ll understand, but please don’t leave him with Matt. I can’t stand the thought that he will grow up and be just like him. I know that you’ll see that he gets a good home.”

When I read that, I cried. She was willing to let Tom take the child and give him to another family, rather than to ask us to take him ourselves, thinking that us taking in this boy would bring shame to our family. I vowed then to make sure Heath would always know what a fine, caring, and loving mother he had. We of course, knew right away that we’d open up our hearts and home to this little boy.

And here he slept. It was nearly 10pm when we pulled up to the house. Jarrod was still up and awake and came outside when he heard us pulling up. We had sat both he and Nick down and told them about Heath and that we’d be bringing him home. They both listened intently and seemed to understand. Neither seemed overjoyed or distraught by what we told them, but first impressions can be deceiving. We’d come to learn that Nick was distraught over it and that Jarrod was pleasantly overjoyed.

“Welcome home, Mother and Father,” Jarrod said quietly as he stepped toward the wagon. He saw his newest brother sleeping and kept his tone low. “Tired him out already huh?”

“It’s been a long day Jarrod,” Tom said to him. He reached for Heath careful not to wake him, and handed him down to Jarrod’s waiting arms.

“I’ve got him,” Jarrod said, as the little blonde instinctively wrapped his arms around brother and kept right on sleeping peacefully. “I’ll be,” Jarrod said with a surprise, “I’ve never been able to keep the other three asleep in all these years. He’s as light as a feather,” he commented.

“Yes, we’ll start working on that tomorrow,” I said to him and stepped down off the wagon. “This little boy needs a nice soft, warm bed right now, tomorrow we’ll start feeding him right.” I was ready to take him inside, but Jarrod insisted on carrying him.

“Let’s not keep shuffling him around, it looks as though he can use the sleep.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” We both walked into the house together.

“I’ll take him up, Mother, I’m sure you and Father are tired yourselves after the trip. We’ll be just fine, I promise,” Jarrod said.

“Yes, you’re right Jarrod, I know I’m tired. Thank you for taking care of him.”

“Anytime Mother,” he hugged the little boy closer and stroked the back of his head. I heard him whisper to him, “I got you now, little brother Heath. You’re home, safe and sound, forever.” And with that they went up the stairs.

Later on, I went to check on all of the children and when I went to Heath’s room, Jarrod was still there, he had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed and now Heath had woken up and was trying to wake up Jarrod. I stood and watched both of them.

Heath tried clearing his throat, whispering and even shaking Jarrod’s knee. But Jarrod was a deep sleeper and couldn’t be aroused easily. Finally Heath, bold as anyone could be, took his finger and thumb and thumped Jarrod’s cheek. That did it. Jarrod sat upright and opened his eyes to see the grinning 7-year-old staring back at him.

“Well, hello there,” Jarrod said.

“Hi, who are you?” Heath asked.

“I’m Jarrod.”

“I’m Heath.”

Jarrod chuckled, “yeah I knew that.”

“Is this home?”

“Yep, and this is your room,” Jarrod explained.

Heath looked around the semi-darkened surroundings, “all this?” he asked out loud, “it’s bigger than the whole house we had.”

“You’ll get used to it soon enough, and then you’ll think it’s not big enough.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever think that,” he said in all honesty. “How’d I get here?”

“I carried you inside, from the wagon,” Jarrod said.

“I don’t remember that.”

“Nope, you were sleeping pretty soundly.”

“Just like you were just now,” Heath remarked.

I could tell Jarrod was grinning, “Yes I suppose I was at that. It is pretty late, we both should be sleeping.”

Heath looked to be wide-awake now, I thought that they were both in for a long night. “Are you one of my brothers?”

“Yes I am, I’m the oldest,” Jarrod explained.

“I never had a brother before.”

“Now you’ll have three and a sister too,” Jarrod offered.

“I don’t like girls too much,” Heath started, “The ones at school giggle all the time and tell me I’m cute. I hate that.”

Jarrod laughed out loud, “Trust me, there’ll come a day when you won’t hate that at all.”

“You know a lot.”

“Not really.”

“I think you do. Do you know what a thousand plus a thousand is?”

“Yeah, two thousand.”

Heath nodded and said, “See not everyone knows that, you do know a lot. Wanna know how I know it?”

“Sure.”

“It’s actually pretty easy, when you have all those zero’s, you just need to add the other numbers, and say a thousand after it. See like 1 plus 1 equals 2, and you just say thousand on the end, so the answer is 2 thousand.”

“I’d say you’re a pretty smart kid yourself.”

Heath kicked off the covers, “wanna play king foot?”

“What’s that?”

Heath jumped out of bed and stood up, “You gotta stand up,” he told Jarrod.

Jarrod stood up and towered over him. “Now what?”

“Put your foot here, right against mine, like this, yep. Now grab my arm here, and I grab yours. Now you pull as hard and as fast as you can to get the other person to move their foot, without you moving yours. Ready? Go!” And Heath started pulling something fierce, but couldn’t budge the bigger and stronger Jarrod. “I think you’re strong too,” Heath said pulling and pushing with all his might. Jarrod didn’t seem to be playing, he just was not giving in to Heath’s playfulness. “You gotta try Jarrod, come on,” the blonde egged him to try. “Please? It’s ok if you win, you’re about six sizes bigger than me I reckon. And it’s just a game.” Heath explained.

Jarrod smiled at him and with minimal effort he tugged and jarred Heath loose from the spot he tried to hold. He pulled him into his arms and into a hug, tickling him in the stomach as he held him. Heath let out a peal of laughter. Jarrod chuckled. Heath pulled away, “So you’re king foot for the day now, or until we play again.”

“Well then I as king foot, think it’s time for you to get back in bed and get some more sleep.” Jarrod picked him up effortlessly and tossed him into the bed, I nearly gasped as I saw it, for I thought Heath was going to slide right into the headboard, but Jarrod held onto him long enough to give a thrill, yet safely enough so he wouldn’t get injured.

“You’re fun too! Smart, strong and funny,” Heath said, climbing under the covers that Jarrod held open.

“The same goes for you brother Heath,” Jarrod pulled up the blanket and tucked him in.

Heath giggled that wonderful little boy giggle. “Can we play again in the morning?”

“You bet we can.”

“Can we play everyday?”

“Let’s take it one day at a time, ok?”

“Ok, that’s fair enough, and someday I’ll be just as big as you are and then maybe I’ll win.”

“Maybe someday, but I won’t give up easily,” Jarrod issued the challenge.

“I don’t expect you will,” the witty 7 year old replied, “but I won’t either.”

Jarrod chuckled again. I closed the door softly and let them say goodnight to each other in private.

Now as they stood by the train depot, they grabbed each other’s arms and lined up their feet in this nearly daily ritual. Today was Heath’s day to win. He pulled Jarrod off his mark. As they walked toward me in the waiting buggy, I heard Heath say to him as he put his arm around his big brother’s shoulder, “I guess I’m king foot for the day, till tomorrow anyway.”

THE END