Coming to Terms, Part 1

The First Day

by doreliz

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

This story is a version of the early period of Heath’s life as a Barkley.  Parts 1 and 2 deal entirely with the first 24 hours or so.  Parts 3 and 4 cover the two weeks after the first day, and Parts 5 and 6 are a version of the episodes 40 Rifles and Boots with My Father’s Name.

 

The action begins before the last scene in Palms of Glory [which I haven’t seen for thirty years], and  where it ends in Gail’s story New Beginnings, in the Library – I couldn’t improve on her account of the scene where it’s decided that Heath will be asked to join the family.  However, Gail’s story is written mainly from Heath’s point of view, and this one is not. 

 

In fact this story avoids Heath’s point of view entirely, mostly avoids Nick’s too, and plays down their relationship, partly because they have been written about so much and I wanted to do something different.

My focus is on the other family members, especially Jarrod and Victoria, and the adjustment they have to make to Heath’s arrival.. 

 

I’ve made a few simplifying assumptions that also vary from much fan fiction.  In particular, though Heath’s past has not been easy, it has not been extremely traumatic.  He is as sane and healthy as other people.

 

So what’s left?  A long story, as it turns out.

 

--------------------------

 

 

Tuesday evening

 

The decision had been made, because it was what Victoria wanted.  Heath had been asked to stay.  Jarrod had joined in the decision, believing it was right and necessary, though he hated the necessity.  Now he was thinking about all that would have to be done to make it work.  The bank, the ranchhands, the neighbors – the explanations, the humiliations – he pushed all that to the back of his mind.  The most important thing was to prevent Nick from driving Heath away without giving him a fair chance – Nick, who was swearing now to hold this so-called brother to so high a standard he would not last long on the Barkley Ranch.

 

Jarrod wondered if his youngest brother – yes, youngest was the proper grammar now: what was wrong with him that he was thinking about grammar? – if Gene would be any help in restraining Nick.  It seemed unlikely.  Gene had already had an all too exciting day with his first real gunfight, and now he seemed to waver between enthusiasm and doubt about Heath, ideas sprouting in his fertile brain to be quickly dismissed.  There was no telling which way he would go next.  And anyway, his influence with Nick was hardly worth considering.

 

When the others had gone upstairs, the three of them had remained in the library with a plate of sandwiches, talking about the gunfight at Sample’s farm, who had done what.  Neither Jarrod nor Gene claimed to have hit any of their opponents, though Nick was not so modest.  The older brothers told the youngest that he had done well in his first battle and they were proud of him.  That would have been cause for celebration, any other day, but today Heath’s arrival had taken priority.

 

Once they had satisfied their hunger Jarrod sat at the desk scribbling penciled notes with his injured arm while Nick paced, both of them rather hoping Gene would go to bed too and leave them to talk in private.  Gene poured himself a drink and made it clear he was staying as long as they did.  Having accepted him as their comrade in battle, they could hardly send him away now.

 

Nick broke the silence.  “We’re out of our minds, doin’ this.”

 

Jarrod looked up.  “We’re only recognizing what appear to be the facts,” he said heavily.

 

“I still say, there’s no proof!”

 

“Nick, you only have to look at him.  At least I do.  Once I saw, I couldn’t stop seeing.”

 

“All right, there’s some resemblance.  That’s not proof.”

 

“He had enough evidence, from his mother – ”

 

“A newspaper clipping!” Nick interrupted scornfully.

 

“Not proof, by any means, but enough to bring him here, and not without weight.  He can’t possibly see the resemblance we see.”

 

“Maybe somebody else saw it, and put the idea in his head,” Gene suggested.

 

“Do you think he’s lying to us, then?”

 

“Of course he is!” Nick interjected.

 

“I asked Gene.”

 

“If he is,” Gene said slowly, “he’s a remarkably good liar.”

 

“I agree.  I have some experience with liars, and he doesn’t seem like one to me.  He’d have to be quite an actor to have carried off that scene with the broken bottle, and actors in my experience don’t risk themselves in fights, with fists or guns, as we’ve seen him do. – Nick, you’re jumping to the conclusion you want, as usual, but do you really believe that man is trying to con us?”

 

Nick considered, and admitted reluctantly, “You’ve got a point.  If he was sayin’ anything else – ”

 

“Then, if he’s telling us the truth as he knows it, do you believe his dying mother would’ve lied to him?”

 

“It’s not impossible.”

 

“In my judgment it’s implausible.”

 

They locked eyes.  Nick broke away, shaking his head.

 

Gene broke in with another theory.  “Do you suppose Uncle Jim was Heath’s father?   That’d account for the resemblance.”

 

“No.  Uncle Jim came west in ’58, or was it ‘59? too late, anyway, Heath is older than that. – It’s possible Uncle Jim knows something we don’t, however.  I’ll write and ask him to come.”  Jarrod made another note.  “He’ll want to have a look at Heath, won’t he, when he knows?  We’ll find out if he sees the resemblance too.”

 

“You think Father might’ve told him – ?”

 

“Hm.  If I’d done something I was ashamed of, would I confess to my little brother?”

 

Gene laughed.  “Not likely!  You never have yet!”

 

“Granted, I’d be more likely to tell Nick than you, but Father’s other brothers were all back east, out of reach.  And even though they disagreed a lot, he trusted Uncle Jim in a way he hardly ever trusted other men – ‘Family is family,’ he used to say.  So, it’s worth checking.”

 

Nick lost patience.  “Stop talking nonsense!  I still don’t believe Father did any such thing!”

 

“Nick, even you must admit it’s possible he’s our brother, and if so, that Father – ”

 

“Not that part! – All right, it’s possible he’s Father’s son.  The time and place fit, Father was up there, away from home – something might’ve happened.  But I can’t accept that Father could’ve known about him and didn’t look after him somehow!”

 

“I agree,” Gene chimed in.

 

“I have trouble with that too,” Jarrod admitted.  “It doesn’t shock me particularly that Father, in his younger days, could’ve got involved with another woman for a while.  He was no Puritan; you know that as well as I do. – Well, maybe you don’t, at least not you, Gene!  I saw more than either of you, of how he behaved when Mother wasn’t nearby.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”  Nick loomed over him.

 

“Oh, not women, not when I was around, anyway.  But he liked a drink, and he liked a good time – and he liked women too, just being around them, talking with them.  Yes, that part’s plausible.”

 

“He was married!  He had no right – !”

 

“No, he had no right.  That wouldn’t necessarily stop him. – That doesn’t trouble me so much.   What does – what seems unlike Father as I knew him – is that he never did anything to look after her, or take responsibility for his child.  Maybe he didn’t know about Heath, but Strawberry isn’t that far away, and he should’ve checked back, if he didn’t. – So it’s up to us now to make up for what he failed to do, the best we can.  I think that’s the way Mother sees it.”

 

“Did she tell you so?”

 

“When?  I haven’t had a chance to talk privately with her.  But I think so.”

 

“She believes Heath’s story, anyway,” Gene remarked.  “I wonder if she knows something we don’t, or if she just sees the resemblance clearer because she knew Father when he was a young man.”

 

“I suppose she might’ve felt a difference – maybe nothing she could pin down, or that would make her ask questions, but a difference – when he came home from Strawberry.”

 

Nick took another turn around the room.  “Seems to me he would’ve owned up to her. – Or maybe not.  He’d try to protect her from anything that’d hurt her, whatever seemed like the best way of doin’ that.”

 

“He always did.  Protecting her, and us, was more important than anything to him. – Whatever he felt for Heath’s mother, I can’t believe he wouldn’t’ve wanted to protect Heath.  But Heath doesn’t believe that, not yet.”

 

“We only have his word for what kind of woman she was.”

 

“True.  And he can only speak from his own knowledge. – We don’t know enough of the story yet, to make judgments.  In my experience, when you know the whole of a story it makes sense, but parts of stories often don’t.  Maybe over the next while we’ll find out more – if any of our neighbors knows anything, you can be sure we’ll hear about it. – Meanwhile, I suggest we give her the benefit of the doubt, at least when Heath is listening.”

 

“And just wait  to find out more?” asked Gene.  “It’s not like you to be so passive, Jarrod.”

 

Jarrod stood up suddenly.  “Let me think for a minute.”  In his turn he paced around the room.  Nick, baffled, but respectful of his elder brother’s mental processes, gave him space.

 

After a few minutes, Jarrod sat down and made more notes before he spoke.  “I’ll tell you what we ought to do in the meantime, what we have to do in our own best interest.  As I see it, and I hope I can convince both of you to see it the same way.”

 

Nick snorted.  Gene finished his drink and set the glass aside.  “So, tell us.”

 

“You were right, Nick.  Whether Heath’s our brother or not isn’t proved, either way, by anything we know yet, and maybe it never will be.  I happen to think, on the evidence, it’s very likely, and you happen to think less likely.  That’s not what we should be arguing about now.  Time may bring us more facts to go on, and time will certainly let us know Heath better – and because Mother at least is in no doubt, time is what we have.  But that isn’t my point.”

 

“What is your point?” Nick growled.

 

“My point is, we should think about what we stand to lose or gain by the way we treat Heath in the immediate future.  He’s here, we have to deal with him one way or another.  At this point we have two ways to go – only two, I think.  It’s already too late to keep all this quiet, save Mother from being hurt, avoid the public embarrassment.”

 

“We might avoid folks knowing, if we could make him leave early tomorrow,” Gene remarked.  “Seems unlikely, though, that we could – even if the three of us agree on it.”

 

“Mother wouldn’t stand for us removing him by force, I’m sure.  Besides, think what folks would say about us if that story got out.  I don’t care to have it said that the Barkleys were so frightened of a scandal, they turned their own blood kin away without giving him a chance.  That’s far worse than them talking about Tom Barkley’s mistakes.” 

 

Gene was quick to surrender his point and nod agreement.  Nick paced again before he admitted, “No, I don’t care to have that said either.”

 

“So, we have two ways to go.  One way, would be to treat him so badly – and I’m looking at you, Nick, because it’s you who’s thinking this way – treat him so badly he leaves on his own and wants no more to do with us, we avoid any further risks, go back almost to where we were, folks forget – at best; that’s the most we can gain.  Mother and Audra wouldn’t be pleased, but they might be more relieved than upset in the long run.”

 

 Gene had another suggestion. “What if we tell folks he’s one of the family, and leave it to them to figure out where he fits in?  He could be a cousin from back East, for all anybody knows – I wonder if he’d mind if we said he was?”

 

“That wouldn’t work,” said Nick.  “He don’t talk like an Easterner, he don’t ride like an Easterner, he sure as hell don’t handle a gun like an Easterner.”

 

“And besides,” Jarrod added, “he’s lived most of his life in California.  People may turn up who knew him as Heath Thomson.  No, the truth is the only safe way – enough truth so the gossips can’t make up something worse.”

 

“You can explain it to folks in town, lawyer,” Nick added.

 

“Yes, I think that had better be my job, tomorrow.  I’ll have to give it some thought. – Yes, it’s too late to keep it quiet.  There’ll be a lot of talk for a while, but it’ll blow over in time.”  He paused for emphasis.  “One thing I hope we aren’t going to have, Nick, is a family fight in public – that’d give the gossips even more joy.  And a family fight we couldn’t resolve would be the worst possible outcome.  Agreed?”

 

Nick chewed on that for a minute, but finally he nodded.  “Reckon you’re right about that.”

 

“So, as I was saying, if we treat him badly, we can only lose.  At best, we only lose a little.  Now,” Jarrod stood up again and placed himself where he could dominate the room, trying to put his case as logically as if he were in a courtroom in spite of all the distractions and side issues, “look at the other side of the coin.  If we treat Heath as fairly and generously as we can, try to make him one of ourselves, assume he’s telling the truth and he’s a good man – however angry he is right now – what do we have to lose?  If it turns out badly, if he decides he’s not staying in spite of our best efforts, even if the facts eventually show his story isn’t true, what do we lose?”

 

“More gossip at our expense,” Gene answered, “for sure.”

 

“He could do us any kind of damage, if he wants,” said Nick.  “Steal from us, murder us in our beds, hurt Audra – ”

 

“Do you think he would choose to do any of those things?”

 

“How can I tell?”

 

“You always claim you’re a good judge of men.”

 

“I’ve been fooled before, and so have you.”

 

“Yes, and so has Mother.  But not often.  I’m prepared to risk what’s mine, on my judgment of Heath’s character.  And on your ability to protect us all, Nick.”

 

Nick snorted again.

 

“You haven’t finished,” said Gene.  “What do we have to gain, if we’re nice to Heath?”

 

“You know the answer, don’t you?”

 

“I think I see what you’re driving at, yes.  I’m not sure I like it, but maybe I will in time.”

 

“What’re you talkin’ about?  College boys!”

 

“What we have to gain, Nick, is a brother.  Somebody who may become as close, as trusted, as we are to one another. – Oh, it’s hard to like the idea now, it may change everything about our family, but he could be worth a lot to us, worth all the risks and embarrassment.  And if we don’t take the chance now, to make him one of us, maybe we’ll never have another chance.  So I’m asking you not to drive him away.  Not before we know.”

 

Nick frowned over it.  “You’re askin’ me to take him on faith?  Me?”  Then he broke into a grin.  “All right.  Reckon I couldn’t stand never knowin’ for sure, either.  Mind, I’m not goin’ to give him an easy ride, but I’ll be as fair as I can.”

 

“Good!  I can talk to the folks in town, but I need to know you’re telling the same story when you talk to the hands, or anybody else.  We have to stand together on this, if we ever had to on anything.”

 

“I’m with you there.  Barkleys stand together.”  Nick was as positive now as he had been obstinate before.  “So what are we goin’ to say?  I won’t say ‘The fact is’, but I don’t mind ‘It seems’.”

 

“Heath might think that was pretty watery,” Gene pointed out.  “How about ‘It turns out’?”

 

“I was thinking more of ‘We have reason to believe’,” said Jarrod.  “That may sound too lawyer-like for you, though.”

 

“It won’t do.”  Nick considered.  “Difference is, you can go and talk to people in town private-like, one at a time.  I gotta tell the hands pretty much all at once, and with him standin’ there.”

 

“First question, then, is what do they already know?  Or guess?  Some of them knew Father; they might see the resemblance too.”

 

“If they do, it’s up to them to say so.”

 

“Some’ll say they did, after you tell them,” Gene predicted lightly.

 

“They know he started workin’ here a couple days ago, then there was a dust-up and he left, he was there with us today and now he’s back….  All right.  I can say he didn’t tell us when he first rode in, but he told us since, he’s Tom Barkley’s son, and the family is acceptin’ that, he’s one of us now.  That do?”

 

“That sounds excellent, and true as well.  One more thing: they’re going to want to know if they’re to obey his orders.”

 

“Yeah.”  Nick paced again.  “I don’t know him yet.  I don’t know what he can do, what his limits are.  You, or Gene, I know how far I can let you run, but him I don’t.  And he don’t know me.”

 

“Then your first order of business is to get to know him.” 

 

“Reckon you’re right. – We’ve got that drive to San Diego lined up, startin’ in a couple of weeks.  By that time I gotta know.” 

 

“You have to know how far you can trust him, and he has to trust you,” Gene nodded.

 

Jarrod warned, “With the best will in the world, he’ll make mistakes.”

 

“Then we have to talk about his mistakes.  Me and him.”

 

“All right. – It’s been a tiring day, gentlemen.  I’m going to bed.”

 

 

--------------

 

 

Victoria had played her part, seen Heath settled into a room and made as comfortable as possible, tried to reassure him.  She considered going back downstairs to speak to Nick, but it seemed like more of an effort than she could face just then.  She would lie down for a few minutes, gather her thoughts….

 

He seemed like such a suspicious young man.  He must have had more than his share of bitterness and disappointments, have learned more about hypocrisy and cruelty than anyone so young ought to know.  Tom was to blame for that….

 

Tom was to blame for so very much, in this.  He had betrayed and deceived her, and their children.  Most likely he had betrayed the other woman, too – what was her name?  Victoria had not yet learned anything about the woman her husband had made love to.  Her flesh crawled as she thought of it, of him returning to her and never telling her.  No, she must not think about that.  Tom was dead, and Heath’s mother was dead, and what mattered now was to do right by this boy who had been, more than anyone, the innocent victim of his parents’ wrongdoing.

 

She ought to speak to Nick.  Nick was angry and hurt enough, he might make it impossible for Heath to stay; he must not be allowed to carry out whatever plans he might be forming.  Dear Nick, so affectionate and kind at heart, but so easily led astray by love or anger, so prone to act before he thought!

 

She rose and gathered up her shawl in the darkness.  But as she came out into the light on the landing she heard Jarrod’s voice saying, “We’ll talk about that tomorrow, Nick.  Good night.”  Her oldest son appeared below, from the direction of the library, and started up the stairs carrying some papers in his left hand.  When he saw her he raised his brows.  “Still up, Mother?”

 

Downstairs Nick could be heard talking about something trivial, presumably to Eugene.  “Did you – ?”  she asked, a motion of her head making her meaning clear.

 

He nodded.  “It’s all right, I think.”

 

“Perhaps I should look at your arm again.”  She preceded him into his room and lit the lamp before he closed the door behind him.  “Tell me.”

 

“Nick has agreed to give Heath a fair chance.  I don’t know just how he’ll interpret that in practice, but I think I’ve made him see the importance of being fair.  And that we stick together.”

 

“Good.”  Victoria inspected his bandage and found no fresh blood.  “Good. – Jarrod, what do you know about his mother?”

 

“Not much.  Her name was Leah Thomson, she died a few weeks ago, in Strawberry, she worked hard to raise him.  He said, or implied, that she wasn’t – what one might assume.”

 

“No.  I would suppose not.  That sort of woman, if she had a claim on your father, would have made it openly.  Leah Thomson didn’t.  There must be a reason for that.”

 

“You have no doubt that Heath is Father’s son?”

 

“As soon as I had a good look at him, no doubt at all.  He’s very like – more than any of you.”  She was making an effort to speak calmly, but her voice sounded bleak and bitter in her own ears.

 

Jarrod put his good arm around her shoulders.  “Mother.  You are a most remarkable woman.”

 

She held on to him.  “I can’t help thinking, how much of our life together was a lie?”

 

“We’ll find out the answers in time.  We need time.”  He patted her back.  “Mother, I know Father loved you very much.  Whatever happened, back then, he loved you.”

 

“So I thought.”  She detached herself and stood back.  “Thank you, dear.”

 

“I remember Father being away at Strawberry,” he said carefully when she was composed again, “but I was so young, I’m not sure of much.  He was gone for quite a while, wasn’t he?”

 

“About two months.  Longer than we’d expected – I was worrying – but everything was so primitive then, there was no telegraph, the mail wasn’t reliable, I had no one I could send after him.  There was nothing I could do but go on looking after things here. – When he came home, he didn’t say much.  He’d been injured, I remember that, he still had a bad arm.  His left – he could have written, but he hadn’t.”

 

“Did you feel he was – different, in any way?”

 

“If I did, I found reasons for it.  We had – we had quarreled before he went away.  It wasn’t long after little Muriel died, and that had somehow come between us.  But now I know about this – I don’t understand, Jarrod, I just don’t understand!”  She felt perilously near breaking down.  If she could let herself do that with any of her children, it would be Jarrod, her closest confidant – but he was near enough to the edge himself tonight, she must not make it worse for him.  She put up her hand.  “I’ll be all right, I need time, that’s all.  I’ll say goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.”  He stood at his door and watched as she went along the hall to her own room. 

 

The lights downstairs had been extinguished, all but the little lamp by the front door, so Nick and Gene must have come up as well.  She wondered if she should still visit Nick, but decided not; if Jarrod was satisfied, that would have to be enough for now.

 

She undressed and got into bed in the dark, and lay with her eyes closed.  It was a long time before she fell asleep.

 

 

---------------

 

 

Wednesday

 

Audra had endured a long day of worrying and waiting, with her mother refusing to talk about anything that mattered and her brothers gone to risk their lives.  Then they had come back safe, and Heath with them.  The scene that followed had shocked and confused her.  Struggling with her own anger at her father, she could only imagine what her mother was feeling.  As for Heath, she had been drawn to him from the first, dared to trust him, and felt for him all the more as Nick attacked him, but she could not help thinking that his presence in the family would make a great difference to them all.  She had not hesitated to cast her vote in his favor, but she did not wonder at Nick’s opposition.

 

Surprisingly, she fell asleep almost at once and slept soundly until dawn.  She was aroused by the sound of a door closing softly, then a floorboard creaking.  Was Heath leaving after all?  Had they been so frightening?  Had something happened during the night?

 

She sprang out of bed and scrambled into her chore clothes.  In a few minutes she was creeping down the back stairs and out the door.  It was just light enough to see her way.

 

She ran to the stable and peered around inside to see where Heath’s horse had been put.  There, yes.  Then she saw Heath, brushing the horse, stopping to stare at her.

 

“Good morning,” she said, feeling a little foolish.  Here she was in old clothes and her hair in its overnight pigtails – what would he think of her?

 

“Mornin’,” he answered.  After a pause he added, “You always get up this early?”

 

“No.  I was awake and heard you go out.  I – I wondered if you’d changed your mind.”

 

“What if I did?”  He went back to working on the horse.

 

“If Nick – Nick sometimes says things he doesn’t really mean.  Give him time, he’ll come around.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yes!  He’s upset, well, we all are, but –  I mean, we’ll get over it, and so will he.”

 

“Upset,” he repeated flatly.

 

“It’s not your fault – it’s Father’s – I’m so angry at Father! – That’s why Nick says he doesn’t believe you – he can’t stand to have anything said against Father.  Remember that, if he’s hard on you – it’s not you he’s angry at, not really.”

 

He stopped work again and looked at her.  “You want I should stay?”

 

“Yes, I do.  Truly.  We need to know you, and you need to know us.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because – because if you don’t stay, we’ll always wonder – and so will you.  None of us will have any peace.”

 

“Peace.”  He tried the word experimentally.  “You think we could have peace?”

 

“If we don’t, it won’t be my fault.  I want to be your friend, as well as your sister.  I can help you – tell you things you need to know.”

 

The horse turned her head to nudge him, and he went back to grooming.  “Steady there, gal.  Take it easy.”

 

“That’s the horse that beat the train?  I wish I’d seen it!”

 

“Stupid thing to try.  Shouldn’t a done it.”

 

“Would she mind if I pet her?”

 

“Dunno.  I seen her bite.  Best you stay clear.”

 

“Well.  I can groom my own.”  She picked up a brush and went into her own mare’s stall.  After a little she asked, “Do you always get up this early?”

 

“Mostly.  Best time o’ the day.”

 

“It is, I know, but I don’t often manage it. – You’ll think I’m pampered and lazy.”  He did not respond to that, and presently she amended, “That was a silly thing for me to say.  Of course I’m pampered compared to you – even compared to Gene, or lots of girls my age – I’m not so stupid I don’t know that.  I always have been – spoiled, as they say, but I can pitch in if I’m needed, or do without things – I’m not completely useless.”

 

“Didn’t say you are.”

 

“No.  Nick says so sometimes.  But other times he pampers me as much as anybody.”

 

After a while he asked, “What’s Nick got planned for today, do you know?”

 

“I don’t know.  He might want to check the fences, with all the trouble lately.”

 

“Which way?”  He was saddling his horse.  She remembered that he had first come to the ranch as a hired hand, so perhaps he knew where the different pastures lay.

 

“Oh – the south pasture, most likely; it’s nearest where the fighting was.”

 

“Down past the corral that way, right?”

 

“Yes – are you going to do it?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Should I tell Nick?”

 

“Don’t bother.” 

 

“Breakfast will be in about two hours.  You should be here.”

 

“Thanks.”  He headed out, leaving her puzzled and frustrated, but determined to understand him better.

 

When she finished with her horse, she went back to her room and brushed out her hair, sitting by the window where she could look out over part of the south pasture.  Once she caught a glimpse of Heath on his horse.

 

 

As it began to grow light, she thought of Silas and wondered how much he knew of events overnight.  She would tell him, she could spare her mother that much.  Changing to suitable clothes, she went down the stairs again and found Silas starting his morning work.

 

“Mornin’, Miz Audra,” he said, sounding pleasantly surprised.  “You up early.”

 

“Good morning, Silas.  Can I help?”  She put on an apron and found work to do.  Though she did not work in the kitchen as regularly as her mother thought she should, she was there often enough to know what needed to be done and how to do it.  “Silas, I came to see you because I’m not sure anybody told you last night.  There’s a young man in the east room – who slept in the east room last night, I mean.”

 

“Miz Barkley, she tell me private, yesterday mornin’, to make up the bed in that room.  She say somebody maybe comin’ to stay.”

 

“Oh.  She didn’t say anything to me about it. – She didn’t tell you who?  No, of course she didn’t.  Well, the young man’s name is Heath – Heath Barkley.  He’s my brother, or rather my half-brother – at least we think he is.”

 

“Your brother, Miz Audra?  I never heard of no Heath before.”

 

“It seems he’s Father’s son, his mother lived in a mining camp up in the mountains, and she never told him, or anybody – at least if Father knew, he kept it quiet – and Heath just found out after she died, a little while back.  So now he’s going to live here and be one of the family, at least for a while.”  How many times had she repeated those words, “at least”? she must sound as if she wasn’t sure of anything!

 

 “Well, I never did!”  Silas sounded concerned as well as astonished.  “Miz Barkley, how she about it?”

 

“I think she – I don’t really know.  She wants him to stay, and so do I – but Nick isn’t so happy about it.”  Silas would soon know anyway, it wasn’t like telling family secrets to an outsider. He asked no more questions, but she told him a little more as they worked together.  “He rode in two days back and asked for a job.  I suppose he wanted to have a look at us before he told us who he was.  But then Nick was suspicious, and went after him, and it all came out….  Nick and Jarrod didn’t believe him at first, but Jarrod changed his mind yesterday, after Heath joined them in the fight.…  So they brought him back with them last night, and we all talked it over, and he’s staying.”

 

Of course she knew that while all that was happening, Silas had been in the kitchen, or in his own little room behind it, and he must have heard much and seen something of what was going on.  He never let them know how much he knew, however, so it was possible to tell him as if he knew nothing at all. – She would soon have to tell other people, outsiders who would shake their heads and tut-tut and say they felt sorry for her mother. 

 

 

Victoria came down the stairs, dressed for the day.  Audra greeted her with a hug, and saw dark circles under her eyes.  “Good morning, Mother.  Did you sleep well?”

 

“Well enough.  I did lie awake for a while, thinking it all over.  And you?”

 

“I woke up early. – I’ve been telling Silas about Heath.”

 

“Good.” Victoria turned to Silas.  “Good morning, Silas.  I’m sorry I didn’t explain to you yesterday.”

 

“Miz Audra, she tell me now.”

 

“I asked him to stay, Silas.  I hope we’ll all get along, I hope he’ll stay a long time.”

 

“Yes’m.  I better set ‘nother place at the table.”

 

“Yes, please. – Silas, if it makes too much extra work for you, we can see about getting more help.  We’ll talk about that in a week or two, if that’s all right.”

 

“Yes’m.”  Silas went into the dining room to rearrange cutlery, leaving the two women alone.

 

Audra asked boldly, “Do you have any doubts, Mother, that we’re doing the right thing?”  She could not face another day of not talking about it.

 

Victoria answered, slowly and thoughtfully, “I have some doubts, yes.  I don’t know how it will turn out – I don’t know Heath at all, yet, really; I don’t know if he and Nick can learn to work together.  But I’m sure it’s right to try – I don’t think I could have slept at all if we’d turned him away last night.  My conscience is clear, but my heart is still troubled.”

 

“That’s a good start, to have a clear conscience.”  Audra hugged her again.  “I agree, we wouldn’t live at peace with ourselves if we didn’t try. – I’m going to try my best to make friends with him, make him feel welcome.” 

 

“Good. – I think you might have more success, or sooner, than the rest of us.”

 

“In fact, I heard him get up early this morning – almost before it was light – and I followed him out to the stable and talked to him there.  He rode out to the south pasture – I hope it’s all right.”

 

“We’re bound to have some misunderstandings and mistakes at first.”

 

“I’m so afraid Nick will do something that can’t be undone – ”

 

“He might.  As time passes, he’ll get used to Heath, but it won’t be easy at first.”

 

Silas returned, and they talked of ordinary things.

 

 

----------------

 

 

The extraordinary, awkward, comical breakfast ended.  They had shared a moment of laughter; that was a beginning.  Jarrod laid down his napkin and looked from one family member to another, and last at Heath.

 

“Heath, I should tell you, we have a sort of family rule.  No matter how much we disagree amongst ourselves in private, we try to stand together in public.  That applies to dealings in town, with our neighbors, and especially to dealing with the ranchhands.  Because of that, though Nick still has some private objections to your being here at all, he’s agreed to present you to the hands as our brother, and treat you as such in their presence.  We hope you’ll respect the rule at least to the extent of keeping private any arguments you may have with Nick, or any of us.  Fair enough?”

 

Heath looked him in the eye.  “Fair enough.”

 

“Nick, are you ready?”

 

“I said I’ll do it.  No time like the present, I reckon.”

 

“Want any of the rest of us there?”

 

“Suit yourself.”

 

“Then you don’t mind if I stand by?  Let ‘em see we’re together on this.”

 

“Me too,” offered Gene.

 

Nick set down his cup.  “Just don’t let ‘em think you’re pushin’ me into it.”

 

Heath raised an eyebrow.   “They ain’t?”

 

“I agreed to give you a fair chance,” said Nick.  “That means I expect you to work as hard as I do.”

 

“I can do that.”

 

“And, you remember I’m the boss of this ranch.  On the ranch, Jarrod takes my orders, Gene takes my orders, you take my orders.”

 

Heath answered deliberately, “I agree to that.  I’ll take your orders like they do.”

 

Gene said, “More often, maybe!  Yes, Jarrod and I take Nick’s orders on the ranch, if he thinks he needs to give us orders, but we don’t do it every day.”

 

Jarrod added, “And we hope to do it less often in the future, thanks to you, Heath. – Once you learn your way around, of course, we might agree on something different, but for now, it seems to make most sense that you work with Nick – and Nick knows what has to be done, so he’s the boss.”

 

“That’s your plan, is it?  Heath does the work instead of you?”  Nick glared at his elder brother.

 

“You should be the gainer by that arrangement.  Heath says he can work as hard as you do.  I never undertook to do that, and I don’t remember that Gene did either.”

 

“We’ll see.”  Nick turned back to Heath.  “I aim to keep you under my eye for a few days, to find out what you can do.  After that, we’ll see.”

 

Victoria, who had been very quiet, intervened at last.  “I have a suggestion.  Eugene will be going back to college in a couple of weeks, so he won’t have as much chance as the rest of us to get to know Heath.  If you have a suitable job, Nick, put the two of them to work together for a while.”

 

Nick considered.  “All right.  Good idea.  Fixin’ that bridge’ll do for today.”

 

“Today and tomorrow are all right for me,” said Gene.  “Friday and Saturday, I have to go to Sacramento.”

 

Audra made a face at him.  “Oh, your important plans that can’t be put off!”

 

Jarrod turned to Nick again.  “Before I go to town I’d like to speak privately with Mother and you.  We have some arrangements to make.”

 

“Arrangements?” Audra queried.

 

“Heath’s arrival is going to require me to do some paperwork.  With the bank, for instance.”  

 

Heath looked at him sharply.  “I ain’t askin’ for money.”

 

“No.  But you will need to have some.  We’ll discuss all that, this evening perhaps, before we actually do anything.  About Friday you can come into town and I’ll introduce you around.”

 

Nick frowned.  “You reckon everyone’ll’ve heard the story by then?”

 

“I’ll tell a few people myself, just to get it started in a form that’s not too garbled. – You’ll be a bit of a nine days’ wonder, Heath, but they’ll get used to you soon enough.”

 

“Before you will, maybe,” said Heath.

 

“A year from now, with any luck, it’ll be as if you’ve always been here.”

 

“That what you want?”

 

“Yes.  I think I do.”  Jarrod sounded a little surprised at himself.

 

 

All four men went out together to where the ranchhands, finished their own breakfast, relaxed while waiting for the day’s orders.  There were over thirty hands on the payroll at present, a mixed bunch that included men born in California and men from the East, a number of old soldiers from both sides of the Civil War, several Mexicans, some very young men and some old timers, a few who had worked on the ranch in Tom Barkley’s time, but some hired on just for the upcoming cattle drive.  All of them gathered near the gate, curious to know what brought out Jarrod and Gene, and even more curious when they recognized the young man who had been one of them for a short time and then disappeared overnight.

 

Nick’s loud voice was easily heard.  “Mornin’, boys.”  A murmur of greetings in reply.  “Some o’ you met Heath here the other day.  When I hired him, he didn’t tell me his story, but since then he has.  Turns out he’s our long-lost brother.”  Another murmur, louder this time, in which could be heard expressions of disbelief.  Nick’s voice bore them down.  “Like I said, we’re acceptin’ him as our brother, from here on.  Heath Barkley, that’s his name.  If you don’t believe it, or you don’t like it, too bad.  That’s our family business, and not yours.”

 

Someone shouted, “Is he gonna give us orders?”

 

“He’s new here,” said Nick.  “He’ll be workin’ mostly with me for now, till he learns his way around, so he won’t be givin’ a lot of orders right off.  But when he does give you any, I expect you to do what he says, same as if it was Jarrod or Gene.  That plain enough?” 

 

Apparently it was.  There were more murmurs, but no signs of defiance.  McColl, the foreman, came forward somewhat reluctantly to shake hands with Heath, and a few others followed, though the majority did not.  Old Sam Williams shook hands and declared loudly, “Young fella, you’s the spittin’ image o’ your old man!”

 

“Is that so,” said Heath flatly.  Perhaps he, like Gene, had expected someone would claim to see a resemblance whether it was real or not.

 

Nick did not let the scene go on long.  “All right, boys, this is a working ranch and we got work to do today!”  He rapped out a series of orders, leaving no necessary work undone and no man with nothing to do – and, thought the watchful Jarrod, impressing Heath at last.  When the hands had scattered to their assignments, he turned back to his brothers.  “Gene, Heath, we got a bridge to fix.  You two get the wagon loaded up.  I’ll be back by the time you’re ready to go.”  He stalked back to the house in Jarrod’s company.

 

Gene looked after him.  “I might’ve known he’d leave the loading to us.  What do we need to fix the bridge, I wonder?”

 

“Where’s the wagon?” asked Heath.

 

 

In the house, Victoria and Audra had watched from the window.  “Should we have gone out too?” Audra wondered.

 

“Nick will do what he promised,” said Victoria.  “The men will see soon enough where you and I stand with respect to Heath.”

 

When Jarrod and Nick returned, Jarrod said, “Audra, if you don’t mind, we have estate business to discuss.”

 

“No little girls wanted?”  She pouted playfully.  “All right, I’ll go help Silas.”

 

“So,” Nick demanded when she had gone, “what’s this about estate business?”

 

“We’ll have to arrange something for Heath, won’t we?  Or do you think he should live in this house on a ranchhand’s pay?”

 

“Is he worth more?”

 

“Is Gene?  He gets quite a lot more than a ranchhand.”

 

“I can rely on Gene for some things a ranchhand can’t do – he’s not the best roper or rider, but I know he can think on his feet.  I don’t know yet what Heath is worth.”

 

“What is he doing today?” asked Victoria.

 

“Fixin’ the bridge.  He and Gene are loadin’ the wagon, and the three of us’ll work together.”

 

“Then you’ll begin to find out.  We don’t have to decide that now, but Jarrod must have some questions for us. – It’s plain Heath needs money for new clothes, if nothing else.”

 

“He has cowhand’s clothes – not new, well enough looked after but likely only one clean shirt,” observed Jarrod.  “He’ll need more, enough to change in the evening, and a good suit or two at least.”

 

“Let him figure that out – don’t go tellin’ him,” said Nick.  “He’s got lots to learn, he can’t do it all in one day.”  This was the most sympathetic he had sounded yet, and he knew it; he went on, “If he’s to be any help to us, it’ll have to be mainly with ranch work – we know he can do that.  Don’t get ideas that he’s gonna turn into somethin’ he’s not.”

 

Jarrod said reflectively, “He may or may not feel right about taking more than he feels he earns.  We’ll have to hear his views on that, maybe tonight.  Meanwhile, the other questions we have to discuss are, do we let him pledge the ranch credit in town, and do we let him draw on the ranch account?”

 

“If we don’t,” Victoria said, “we’ll be telling the community, and him, that we don’t really consider him as one of the family, no matter what we say.  So I think we have to.  We have to trust him, or he will never trust us.”

 

Nick frowned.  “Even if all he says is true, he’s a stranger to us.  He’s been poor all his life.  He can’t be sure of a permanency here no matter how well he behaves.  There’s enough in the ranch account to be a pretty powerful temptation.”

 

“You’re both right,” Jarrod said.  “We have to make the gesture of trust – real trust – if we want him to be one of us, but we can’t be sure at this time that he won’t abuse it.  So, if he would, better we find out sooner, than later.”

 

“Throw temptation in his way?”

 

“There may be some precautions we can take, to limit the damage he could do us.”

 

Victoria put her small hand on his arm.  “There is no limit to our responsibility.  Do what you think best for Heath, Jarrod.  Whatever the cost.”

 

Nick’s eyes met Jarrod’s over her head.  Each knew the other was thinking, if she’s made up her mind, that’s how it will be.

 

Jarrod said, “I’m willing to believe he’s an honest man.  All the same, he’s got a fair-sized chip on his shoulder.  A lot of anger inside, you might say.  Understandable, but not helpful.”

 

“Yes.”  Victoria turned away from them to face the window.  “If he finds himself accepted here, if – maybe he can start to put that away, or outgrow it.  If not – Oh, boys, I don’t want this to end in a tragedy!”

 

“Now we’ve taken the plunge, it’s up to us to stand by him. – What would you say to having us all sign a document that we recognize him as one of the family?”

 

“What would that mean?” asked Nick suspiciously.

 

“Depends.  It could be a contract of sorts: we recognize him as a Barkley and promise him share and share alike – if that’s what we’re going to do – and he undertakes to act as one of us and treat our interests as his own.  I’ll think about possible terms. – It would need all our signatures, Gene’s and Audra’s too.”

 

“Now wait a minute!  We never talked about share and share alike!  Do you mean an equal share of the whole estate when it’s divided?  That’s a lot to promise someone who’s still a stranger!”

 

“Nick, you know we’ve always agreed among ourselves that the shares on division won’t necessarily be equal, only equitable.  And there’s enough to go around us all with plenty to spare, you know that too.”

 

“Never mind your lawyer language!  I say, we don’t promise him anything of the kind!”

 

“All right, I’ll drop it for now, and suggest it again after a month or two, when we know him better.  After the cattle drive, maybe.  We’ll see how you feel then.  Keep in mind, Heath should have a reason to treat our interests as his own.”

 

Victoria said, “There’s the wagon loaded.”

 

“Fast work!” Jarrod noted.

 

“Not bad,” Nick conceded.  “I’ll be goin’, then.  See you tonight.  Mother.”  He kissed her cheek, and went his way.

 

Jarrod turned back as he was about to follow.  “He’s cooled down considerably since last night.  So has Heath.”

 

“Yes.  That’s good.”

 

“Do you have plans for today?”

 

“I was thinking I’ll make some pies. Write some letters, maybe. – And I need to have a talk with Audra.” 

 

 

----------------

 

 

Nick put their lunch into the loaded wagon, not bothering to inspect it.  If the lumber was poorly secured, or if they didn’t have what they needed, it would be Heath’s fault, or perhaps Gene’s.  “Go ahead.  I’ll get Coco and catch up to you.”

 

“That way, right?”  Heath pointed.

 

“Gene knows the way.”  He stalked toward the stable.

 

Gene picked up the reins and started the team into motion. He knew it was his opportunity to make an impression on Heath that would survive his absence most of the year, and he thought about how to begin. 

 

Bright and good-natured, Gene had all his life been in the shadow of the stronger personalities of his older brothers and his adorable little sister.  Growing up as the most diffident member of an active and noisy family, not quite fitting in on the ranch, he had followed Jarrod in turning to school and books for his deepest satisfactions, though he was still not sure of himself and where he was going.  Now he judged Heath to be uncertain like himself, and anticipated that he too would find it difficult to fit in.  Wanting Heath to think well of him, his natural choice today was to be helpful and encouraging.

 

“You might not think it,” he observed, “but Nick’s coming around.  Look how far he’s come already.”

 

“Just a bit behind the rest of you, is that his way?”

 

“You could say that.  Nick goes to extremes, loves you or hates you, and he’s not happy in the middle ground.  Once he comes round, you couldn’t have a better friend, but it’ll take him a little while.”

 

“What if he don’t make it all the way round?”

 

“He – ” Gene stopped himself and started again.  “I’d better not make promises for Nick that he’s not ready to make for himself.  But I wouldn’t worry.  Mind getting the gate?”

 

Heath jumped down to open the pasture gate and close it again when Gene had driven through.  A little farther along, Gene pointed out a modest house by a grove of oak trees.  “See the house there?  That’s where we lived before the big house was built, when I was little – I only remember dimly.  Now it’s used if we have a married foreman, or anyone like that.  Empty right now, though; the only married hands live in the cabins over that way.”

 

“So you were born there.  All of you?”

 

“Not Jarrod.  When he was born they were living in a little cabin down nearer the river, that way, that Father built himself when they first got here in ’43.  It burned down long ago; you can’t see where it was unless you’re right on top of it.”

 

“So they were here before the gold rush.”

 

“Want the whole family history?”

 

“If you like.”

 

“Well, the short version.  Father’s folks were farmers in Pennsylvania, they had a big family and not enough land, so he left home pretty young, worked here and there – same as you, I suppose – never had any real prospects there, and wasn’t satisfied to be a hired hand all his life.  Mother’s family were in mining, but her parents died before she was grown up, she was separated from her sisters and lived with another family for a while – they saw she got a good education, and she was fond of them, but it wasn’t like her own family.  Then she taught school a year or two before she met Father.  Anyway, they got married and agreed to come west, and never regretted it.”

 

Heath did not comment, and presently Gene continued, “They came by the California Trail in its early days, with a team and a wagon and a couple of cows, and not much else.  Mother says, as soon as they saw this valley they knew it was what they wanted, and Father was able to get a bit of land, this bit right here.  And – well, he went on from there.  By the time I was born he was rich, and a leader of the community – and went on being that as long as he lived.”

 

“Real respectable.”

 

“I’m not saying he was perfect.  But when he was killed I was too young to judge him – you should ask Jarrod about his faults.”

 

“Maybe I will.”

 

They drove in silence for a while, except when Gene pointed out landmarks.  After a while Heath said, “Did I hear right, you’re goin’ back to college soon?”

 

“Two weeks from next Monday, yes.  A special summer course for two months – there’s a visiting professor I want to hear, from Indiana, knows all about preventing animal diseases – then in the fall I go back for my last year, unless I go on.”

 

“Mm. – That’s at Berkeley, ain’t it?”

 

“That’s right.  Barkley at Berkeley.  No connection.” 

 

“So you can get back and forth on the train.”

 

“That’s right.  Afternoon train, or overnight, whichever’s convenient; coming back I mostly come overnight, but there’s a morning train too.  I do keep a horse there during term – it’s a long walk to the San Francisco ferry, and sometimes I want to go somewhere else.”

 

“What you studyin’ there?” 

 

“Mostly natural science and agriculture.  I’d like to go on to study medicine next year, I don’t know if I will yet – have to get good marks, and get the family to agree to it.  Nick wants me to come back to the ranch instead.”  Gene suddenly grinned.  “Hey, I just thought, maybe if you stay here he won’t mind as much if I don’t.”

 

“Mm. – Nick go to college too?”

 

“Nick?  No, he just went to school in Stockton.  Jarrod went, of course – Berkeley, and then he went East for law school.”

 

“You aimin’ to go East too?”

 

“Maybe.  Easier now, with the railroad.  That comes after, do I get to go at all.”

 

“Mind if I ask how old you are?”

 

“I’ll be twenty-one in November. – You’re twenty-four, did you say?”

 

“Yep. – And Nick?”

 

Gene looked over his shoulder.  Nick was a mile or so behind the wagon.  “Nick’s twenty-eight.  Jarrod’s thirty-two, and Audra’s eighteen.   Mother never says exactly how old she is, but she was married in ‘43. – And Father was born in 1813.”

 

“My Mama was born in 1831.”

 

“So she was younger.”  Nearly twenty years younger, not much more than half Tom Barkley’s age when they were together, not much older than Audra now.  Gene felt dismay.

 

“Yeah.”  After a pause, Heath added, “When I was twenty, I was decidin’ things for myself.”

 

Gene looked at him in surprise before he understood.  “Good for you! – But when you’re part of a family, you can’t just ignore what they want.  You’ll find that out, if you stay.”

 

“Mm.”  Another pause.

 

“Heath, are you staying?”

 

“Not sure how long you’ll want me.”

 

“Well, suppose we do want you, we keep on wanting you.  Will you stay?”

 

“Have to see how it works out.” 

 

“I hope you stay.”

 

“Thanks.”  They drove in silence for a few minutes.  Heath looked as if something bothered him more and more.  Finally he blurted, “This is stupid, but I ain’t sure I got your name right.”

 

“Oh!  I should’ve thought of that, it is a bit of a problem.  See, my name is really Eugene, but Mother’s the only one calls me that, most of the time.  The rest call me Gene.”  He spelled it.  “I know, spell it with a J and it’s a girl’s name, so no wonder if you were confused. – Any other introductions we didn’t do right?”

 

“Reckon I’ll pick it up all right.  Gene. – Well, I wasn’t introduced to the cook.”

 

“Oh, Silas – his name’s Silas Jackson, but everybody just calls him Silas.  He’s the cook, or the butler, or whatever you like to call him.  Looks after us all, been with us since I was a baby.  A couple of the ranchhands’ wives come in to help with the laundry and the cleaning, but Silas and Mother do the cooking for the house – with a little help from Audra, when she feels like it. – I’ll introduce you properly when we get back.”

 

They came in sight of the broken bridge just as Nick caught up to them.

 

 

Nick chose to use the opportunity to test Heath’s abilities.  “Where would you say we should start?”

 

Heath made his way down into the bed of the creek and looked over both ends of the ruins before he made some suggestions.

 

Nick objected,  “You can’t do that without ten or twelve twenty-foot timbers.” 

 

“In the wagon.”

 

“Where’d you get ‘em?”

 

“Pile back o’ the stables.”

 

“I was gonna use those to enlarge the stables, come fall.”

 

Heath crossed his arms.  “You want this bridge fixed today, or not?”

 

“All right, all right, I reckon we can get more timber for the stables.  You bring ten-inch nails?  Let’s get to work!”

 

In spite of preconceptions, they worked well together, anticipating each other’s moves and agreeing what was good enough and what was not.  Gene stood back and watched most of the time, pitching in only enough to avoid looking useless; he knew he had neither the strength nor the skill to compete with the other two.

 

Silas had filled a jam pail with thick sandwiches neatly wrapped in waxed paper and a small jar of pickles.  They filled their canteens upstream from the bridge, and Gene made coffee over a fire where the creek had left a bank of dry stones.

 

“Creek’s low,” Nick observed.  “We could be in for a dry season.”

 

“Got enough for the stock?”

 

“I hope so.  Seen it pretty tight, other years, and this is as dry a summer as I ever saw.”  That led to a lecture on exactly where water might be found in a dry year.  Gene already knew most of the details, but he listened with interest to how Nick laid it out for Heath, and noted that Heath followed the explanation with only a few questions.  Yes, he told himself, Nick was coming around.

 

 

Nick explained, because it was his ranch and he loved to talk about it, and because if this Heath was really here to stay, he might be more useful if he knew these things.  And as he talked, and saw Heath take in the information and understand it, he came to think better of the man.  He wasn’t stupid, even if he didn’t talk well and might never have read a book in his life.  Not his fault, if he’d never had a chance to improve himself, if he was nothing like Jarrod or Gene.

 

Jarrod was right, Heath believed his own story.  There was no insincerity about him – he wasn’t overly eager to please, he really didn’t care much about the money, he just wanted to belong.  Would he ever belong?  In a year, in five years?  Would Jarrod be right about that too?

 

They were finishing lunch:  Gene put the waxed paper back in the jam pail for use another day, and Heath brought his hat full of water from the creek to douse the fire.  Something about the way he did it, or the way his hair fell over his forehead as he bent down, suddenly reminded Nick so forcibly of his father that he gasped.  While he coughed to cover himself, he was thinking, so it is true!  I see it now!

 

Last night, when Jarrod spoke of the resemblance he perceived, Nick had seen only that Heath was not unlike their father, and conceded a possibility.  Many men were tall and well built, many men had blue eyes and fair hair, it proved nothing.  But what he had seen in that moment, a nuance of gesture -- something Heath could not possibly have learned  by observation – that was more like proof!

 

Proof of their kinship, and proof of his father’s misconduct.  He still rejected that idea.  Maybe there was another explanation, maybe he had imagined the resemblance – he couldn’t really see it now he looked again.

 

They went back to work on the bridge.

 

 

----------------

 

 

Once the men were out of the way and the breakfast dishes put away, Victoria asked Audra to help her pick strawberries in the kitchen garden.  They put on old shoes and wide-brimmed hats with their chore clothes, and carried baskets already decorated with many colourful stains.  The garden was beyond some shrubbery a little way from the house, a quiet and private place.  The strawberry patch had been trained to be about four feet wide and twenty feet long, with a clear path along each side, so that the two pickers could move in parallel.

 

Victoria picked in silence, waiting for Audra to speak what was on her mind.  What she said was, “Mother, are you very angry at Father?”

 

“Yes, of course I am.  I’m angry at myself, too; if I had said or done other than I did, things might have turned out differently.  That’s impossible to know.  But there is no doubt your father was at fault.”

 

Audra picked strawberries while two tears trickled down her cheeks.  “I think it’s – what he did – it’s disgusting!”

 

“Oh, my darling!”  Victoria wondered what she could say, without exposing more of her own heartache than she had courage for.  After a little she said carefully, “Her name was Leah Thomson.  I suppose she loved him – I don’t know what happened, to bring them together, or why she took the risks she did.  I don’t know why she never let him know, afterwards, that she had his child – if she really didn’t.  She’s dead now, and we can’t ask her.  We can’t judge her, either, at least I can’t.”

 

“He ruined her life, didn’t he?”

 

“No doubt Heath thinks so.  But it’s possible she saw it differently.”

 

“How could he, Mother?  How could he?  He loved you!”

 

“I wasn’t there.  She was.”

 

Audra looked up at her.  “Are men really like that?  Even Father?”

 

“In my experience, chastity is harder for men than for women.  As well as less necessary, less important.”

 

Audra blushed.  “Nick and Jarrod – do you think they – ?”

 

“I would not ask them – either of them.”

 

“Mother!”  She was shocked and dismayed.  “Would you – you wouldn’t – approve of – !”

 

“Darling, listen.  I told each of your brothers, long ago – not so long, in Eugene’s case – ”

 

“Gene!  Not Gene!”

 

“He’s twenty – he’s old enough, Audra. – I told them that I never wanted to hear of them injuring an innocent girl, or leading a respectable woman astray.  And I never have.  I – I didn’t feel I could demand more.  I couldn’t forbid them to find their – pleasures – with women who have already consented to that sort of life.  If I tried to do that, they would disobey me, or they would resent my interference so much, I would lose all the influence I have over them.  Men – men are like that.  I don’t approve, but I can pretend not to know – I can really not know the details.”

 

“Details!”

 

“Don’t even think about the details, Audra.  Don’t ever ask.  They’d be upset to think of you knowing about such things.”

 

“Why?  If they can – !”

 

“It’s different, for women.  It’s different, you have to understand that, it’s a fact of life. – A man can father a child out of wedlock, and never even know it, by what seems to him a casual act he can soon forget.  A woman – if she has a child out of wedlock, it affects everything – her health, her reputation, her chances of marriage – her whole life.  That’s why you have to be more careful than your brothers.”

 

Audra thought that over.  Finally she asked rebelliously, “Do you want me to be like – like Letty Shepherd, or Pauline Travis – so shy and quiet and prim and proper, and thinking all the time about how they look and what people think of them?”

 

“Do they really? – I’ve never wanted you to be afraid of the world, Audra.  I want you to feel free and strong.  But there are limits, there are always limits, and the limits are stricter for girls.  That’s just a fact of life; it may not be fair, but it’s a fact of life.”

 

“If I had a baby before I was married, what would you do to me?”

 

Victoria was taken aback.  She answered slowly, “It would depend on the circumstances, to some extent.  If you were deceived – or forced, that can happen too if you aren’t careful – if it wasn’t your own free choice, of course I’d look after you and protect you all I could, whatever it cost me.  So would the boys, I’m sure, once they got used to the idea. – If – when you’re a little older – you made a free choice, with your eyes open, would you want to be protected from yourself?  Or from the man you loved?”

 

“If I were like Heath’s mother – what did you say her name was?”

 

“Leah Thomson.”

 

“Leah Thomson.  If I loved a man who was already married – ?”

 

“She chose to risk everything.  I don’t know why.  I don’t know if she knew at the time that he was married.  If she hoped to attach him that way – she made a bad decision.”

 

Audra’s face shadowed with another dark thought.  “Mother, if Father forced her – that would be worse than anything!”

 

“No, Audra!  I can’t believe that of him! – He may have deceived her, he may not have told her he had a wife and family – that’s bad enough – ! but he wouldn’t have forced her! – That is – that is treating a woman as if she’s just a thing, to be used, and he never did that! – I was married to him for twenty-seven years, dear, I ought to know.”

 

Audra picked strawberries.  After a while she asked, “Is that what happens to saloon girls?”

 

“Do you mean at the start, or every day?”

 

“Both.”

 

“I believe some of them fall into that way of life as a result of being badly treated or abandoned by a man – forced, possibly.  Others may do it for the money, or the excitement they think it offers.  Every day? – well, not in the normal course of their business, I suppose, but I think they are badly treated from time to time.  Some men aren’t satisfied without – being rough.”

 

“Can they leave if they want to?”

 

“If they want to leave, usually they can.  Sometimes they need help.”

 

“Have you ever helped any?”

 

“I contribute to the Homes of Refuge, of course.  Personally, a couple of times.  No, I won’t tell you details.  Stay with the orphans, dear; you can do good there without undue risks.”

 

“It seems to me,” Audra went on after a pause, “that sort of life would be so – I mean, it would be so hard to have any self-respect.”

 

“Yes, I should think so.”

 

“Was Heath’s mother like that?”

 

Victoria took her time over that.  “From what little we know about her, I would think not.  A woman without self-respect would’ve been after your father for money, as soon as she had any sort of hold over him.  It seems she wasn’t like that.”

 

“But if she wasn’t a saloon girl – ?”

 

“That comes back to what we don’t know.  We may find out, in due course.”

 

“Heath knows – at least, he knows more than we do.”

 

“Yes.  I think, though, dear, it’s best to let him tell us in his own time.  He’s so angry now, he’s been through so much pain – I don’t want to force him to relive it.  I hope when he’s been here a while, if all goes well, he’ll be able to put that behind him.”

 

“I hope so.”

 

They reached the end of the strawberry patch.

 

“It’s getting rather warm, isn’t it?  I’m glad we did this early in the day.  Now we’ll go back and clean up a little, and then you can prepare the fruit, dear, and I’ll get on with the pastry.”

 

 

----------------

 

 

Jarrod tossed a quarter to the boy at the livery stable who regularly unhitched and cared for his horse.  “Morning, Ezra.  Anything new in town?”

 

Ezra tucked the coin in his pocket and bent to unfasten the traces.  “Mornin’, Mr. Barkley.  Some fights last night, but nobody hurt bad.  Real quiet this mornin’.”

 

“Glad to hear it. – Can you bring the rig around for me about five if I don’t come sooner?”

 

“Sure thing, Mr. Barkley.”

 

Jarrod picked up his briefcase and headed for his office, in the next street a couple of blocks along.  He would have to tell his story at the livery too, but not first thing: there were others entitled to hear it earlier.

 

The courthouse clock was striking nine as he opened the office door.  He was not the first to arrive, of course.  Mr. Trim, his elderly clerk, always came at eight to have everything ready for the day.  Mr. Trim was a shadowy little man no one noticed much, but he knew more of the law than a clerk usually did, and more of Stockton affairs than most of its citizens suspected.  Jarrod relied on his skills and trusted him as much as he trusted anyone outside the family.  So, where better to start?

 

He glanced through the mail from yesterday and this morning, finding nothing particularly urgent.  Coastal & Western had not taken any new legal steps, apparently, so he could afford to spend time on family business.

 

“Mr. Trim, may I see you for a few minutes?  Please, sit down.”

 

Mr. Trim sat in his usual discreet spot with his pencil and notepad poised to take dictation.

 

“Not a letter.  I have something to tell you.  There’s been an addition to my family.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“My half-brother has come to join us.  His name’s Heath – Heath Barkley.”

 

“I must say I was not aware of the existence of this half-brother.”

 

“Well, to tell you the truth, neither were we.  I don’t know whether my father knew or not – I’m inclined to think not.  However, there seems to be no doubt of the relationship.”

 

“I see.  Do you wish to investigate his claims?”  There was nothing Mr. Trim enjoyed more than ferreting out the truth of long-past events.

 

“If I do,” Jarrod said quietly, “I’ll do it in person.”  Lying awake last night, he had considered calling in Pinkerton’s.  But it went against the grain to have his brother’s past – and even more, his father’s – pried into by cold-eyed professionals.  And it would be against his own argument last night, that the potential benefits of trusting Heath outweighed the risk.  He went on, speaking decisively, “Heath is one of the family until further notice, and I want him treated accordingly. I expect we’re in for a bit of a scandal, but we can ride it out.  I told you because you ought to know before people start talking.”

 

“Yes, sir.  Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Barkley.”

 

They went over the work that had to be done immediately and made plans for the rest of the week.  Jarrod dictated two letters on matters unconnected with Heath, and dismissed Mr. Trim to reproduce them in his best legal hand.  Alone, he opened a heavy tome to refresh his memory on the law of illegitimacy, but he found nothing useful.  There was nothing the family could do; there was very little, of a legal nature, his father could have done when he was alive, if he had known.  It was unlikely, for instance, that he could have taken Heath from his mother without her consent, supposing he had thought of doing so.

 

Jarrod replaced the book with a thunk.  If Tom Barkley had known about Heath, and wanted Heath to know him, he would have found a way, and no legal considerations would have prevented him.  Though he might – Jarrod paused to consider – he might have been stopped by a determined woman, much more by two.  No, his own mother had not known, and his father would surely have felt it necessary to consult her, even though not compelled by law to do so.  More and more, as he thought it through, he believed his father had not known.  Yet why hadn’t he?

 

He finished what he had to do, and went out into the town.

 

 

His first stop was at the sheriff’s office.  Sheriff Lyman was writing a report, not his favorite duty, and he was happy to put it aside for gossip.

 

“Morning, Sheriff.  Everything peaceful today?”

 

“So far.  Got too many men in jail from yesterday.  Take a look – anybody you want to bail out, ten dollars and you’ve got him.”

 

 Jarrod strolled into the back of the building and inspected the men in the two cells.  Most were hung over, no doubt involved in the fights Ezra had mentioned.  None were Barkley employees, allies, or friends.  He strolled back.  “Sorry, I don’t want any of them.  Town riff-raff, or railroad men – none of them stood with us yesterday.”  He poured coffee for both of them and sat down.

 

Lyman studied him for a minute.  “That ain’t why you’re here.  What can I do for you?”

 

“You know everything, Sheriff.  You tell me.”

 

“Young fellow that did stand with you yesterday – big fair-haired man, stranger to me.  I hear he left there with you and your brothers, like you had things to talk about.  Who is he?”

 

“Interesting you would know about that.”  The Sheriff had not, officially, been present.

 

“Ain’t it?  Who is he?”

 

“My half-brother.”  Jarrod watched for a reaction, and added, “You aren’t surprised.”

 

“Saw him in town earlier.  Somethin’ made me wonder. – You believe him?”

 

“I believe what I see with my own eyes.  Like you.  You know any reason we shouldn’t believe him?”

 

“Only that he might have a lot to gain by claimin’ Barkley blood.  What’s his name and where’s he from?”  Jarrod told him.  “Heath – unusual name.  Seems to me I heard it somewhere….Frank Sawyer, that was it!”

 

“The marshal at Jubilee?  What about him?”

 

“Last time I saw him, you know we lawmen like to yarn amongst ourselves same as you lawyers do, he was tellin’ me ‘bout a young deputy he had a while back – oh, a few years, maybe – name of Heath, or was it Hatch? – I think it was Heath.  Said he was the best deputy a marshal could hope for.  Could be the same.”

 

“Could be.  I’ll ask him if he was ever a lawman.”

 

“So he’s stayin’ around?”

 

“What would you do?”  He could not cut off the Sheriff’s concern as he had Mr. Trim’s.  “Seems to us, Father should’ve done something and didn’t – for whatever reason, we don’t know – and now it’s up to us to try to make it right.  So we’re asking him to stay and be one of the family.  We don’t know how well it’ll work, but we mean to try, and we hope our neighbors will welcome him.”

 

“Bound to be some who don’t.  Or who hold it against him.  Could be trouble.”

 

“I know that, and I think Heath knows it too.”

 

“How does your mother feel about it?”

 

That was too prying a question; not even the Sheriff had a right to ask.  Jarrod rose.  “Do you think we’d be doing anything against her wishes?”

 

The Sheriff winked at him.  “I know darn well you wouldn’t!”

 

 

Jarrod remembered his promise to his mother and went to Dr. Merar’s office, where the good doctor inspected his arm and told him not to use it more than he had to for a few days.

 

“I can write, can’t I?  It doesn’t hurt much.”

 

“Heal faster if you don’t, but I suppose it won’t kill you. – Nick and Gene got through yesterday without a scratch?”

 

“Yes.  And Heath. – I have to tell you about Heath.”  He explained again.

 

“Another one!” exclaimed the doctor.  He seemed to find the addition to the family amusing.  “I hope he’s not as prone to getting hurt as the rest of you boys – I spend too much time at the Barkley ranch as it is.”

 

“Don’t know yet,” said Jarrod, putting his coat on again, “but I expect we’ll find out.”

 

 

He hesitated, looking across the street at the offices of the Stockton Eagle.  Martin Erskine was an old friend of the family, but he was a newsman first, and he would not be dictated to.  He might choose to ignore Heath’s arrival entirely, or he might make a story of it, but he would not print anything he knew to be a lie.  “Mr. Heath Barkley has returned to his family after a lengthy absence” or “We are happy to welcome Mr. Heath Barkley to our midst” – no, nothing like that would do for the Eagle.

 

Jarrod walked on.

 

 

He turned down a side street to Wallace’s Grain Merchants to see Mayor Dave Wallace, an old friend of his father, and told his story again.  Wallace heaved his considerable bulk out of his chair to pace around his office while he took it in.  “A natural son! – Never had any idea of such a thing! – Don’t sound like Tom, to shab off on somethin’ like that – maybe he didn’t know.”

 

“That’s what I think, Mr. Wallace.  Surely if he’d known, he’d have done what he could.  He wasn’t hard to find, if Heath’s mother had chosen to let him know. – Still, he should’ve made it his business to know.  We have an obligation to Heath.”

 

“Yes, yes, I see that.  If you’re sure?”

 

“My mother is sure.  I think it very likely myself, and I trust her judgment.”

 

“Hm, yes.  If Victoria says it’s so, no use anyone sayin’ any different. – I’ll stand by you, Jarrod.  Tom Barkley was my friend, no matter what he done.”

 

“Should I go to see Mrs. Wallace as well, sir?”  Sophie Wallace was one of his mother’s most valued friends.

 

“No, no, I’ll tell her about it.  She’ll stand by Victoria, you can count on that.”

 

Jarrod felt better.  If the Wallaces and others like them had been unsympathetic, the path ahead would have looked much more difficult.

 

 

He went on to call on Everett Gibbons and two or three other leading citizens who had been his parents’ friends; none of them had anything to say more helpful than expressions of surprise and dismay.  He left instructions at the post office that any mail for Heath Thomson should go to the Barkley ranch.  He stopped to speak to several storekeepers and some of their customers, trying to tell them enough to prevent speculation without revealing too much.  He shook his head and said he didn’t understand what had really happened, until he began to feel foolish. 

 

 

He walked into the dry goods emporium, and very nearly turned around and walked out again.  Mrs. Jeremiah Travis was at the counter, choosing a dress length and fussing over how it was cut.  Mrs. Travis was built like a battleship and had a voice to match, she was the president of the Stockton Ladies’ Aid and influential in the Community Church, and she never hesitated to speak her opinion on any subject.  Moreover, she had three attractive daughters, one of whom Jarrod had come to know quite well and hoped to know better yet.  It was too late for him to escape: rumor was already flying, and she had seen him.

 

“Jarrod Barkley!  What is this ridiculous story going around town?  Is there any truth in it?”

 

He smiled falsely at her.  “Well, Mrs. Travis, if you have heard that my brother Heath has come to join our family, it’s quite true.”

 

“Brother indeed!  It’s no such thing, as I know very well!  Half-brother, I suppose he claims to be.  I thought better of your father, I declare I did.”

 

So did I, he thought but did not say.  “We don’t know all the details of what happened, but there is no doubt about the main fact.  Heath is certainly my father’s son.  We consider him one of the family, and we hope our friends will do so as well.”

 

“I must tell you that I for one will not welcome him under my roof.  My heart goes out to your poor mother, Jarrod.  It must be a great blow to her.”

 

“I know how grateful she’ll be for your sympathy, Mrs. Travis.”  Not at all, he thought.  But he had managed to get through the encounter without saying anything he would regret.

 

 

At the courthouse he found his friend Jim Scanlon in his office preparing a case for the following week.  “I’ll buy you a meal,” he offered, “in return for some rational conversation.”

 

“How could I lose on a deal like that?”  Scanlon put his papers neatly back into their file and locked the file in his desk.

 

While they waited for their food in the dining room of the Cattlemen’s Hotel, they talked about a case the previous week in which they had been on opposite sides, and over the meal discussed the latest news from Washington and Sacramento.  When they had finished eating and were sitting back to enjoy coffee and cigars, Jarrod said, “Thank you, Jim, you’ve more than fulfilled your side of the contract.  I’ve spent the morning repeating myself up and down the street, until I started to hate the sound of my own voice.  Now I’d better repeat my news to you as well, unless you happen to have heard it already.”

 

“I heard you were in a gunfight yesterday.  A bad business, and you mustn’t expect me to approve of your proceedings, but let’s hope nothing worse comes of it.  None of your family hurt, I hope?”

 

“I have a sore arm, nothing worse of that sort.  However, we’ve had – a surprise, of a different sort, not coming out of the gunfight exactly but linked with it.  You haven’t heard any of the rumors I started this morning about a scandal in the Barkley family?”

 

“I presume if I had, I’d know what you’re talking about.  Afraid I don’t.”  

 

“Day before yesterday, a young man arrived at the ranch looking for a job, and Nick hired him.  Later it came out, he was claiming to be our half-brother – our father’s son, born and raised in a mining camp.”

 

Scanlon’s brows lifted in surprise.  “He have any evidence?”

 

“None that’d stand up in court.  His mother told him something just before she died.  And we know Father was at that particular mining camp for a while, about the right time.  However, we’ve decided to believe him, and to offer him a place in the family.”

 

Scanlon’s lips shaped a soundless whistle.  “You didn’t take much time to investigate.”

 

“No.  That was where the gunfight came in.  He was there, standing with us, like an honest man. – And when I glanced across at him, more than once, he had such a look of my father – !”

 

“You all see this resemblance?  You all believe him?”

 

“Nick’s holding out – going along with the family decision, but he’s not convinced, or says he isn’t.  Mother says she knew from the first time she had a good look at him.”

 

“So she’s made up her mind to take him in?”

 

Jarrod smiled.  “You know her.”

 

“This young man – what’s his name?”

 

“Heath.  Heath Thomson, he was, but now he’ll be Heath Barkley.”

 

“And how old is he? – Younger than you and Nick, I presume; both of you were born before the gold rush.”

 

“That’s right.  Twenty-four, I think he said.  It was a disturbed time – all sorts of things happened.  I wonder how she came to be there?”

 

“You could ask him.”

 

“Yes.  But not yet.  The important thing now, as I see it, is for us to establish a relationship of trust with him.”

 

“Is he on trial?”

 

“Of course it may not work out.  He’ll have to make some adjustments, so will we, and there may turn out to be some we aren’t willing to make.  But we’re not calling it a trial or putting a term on it – at least, we haven’t yet.”

 

Scanlon thought it over.  “All this only happened in the last two days.  You might think about it.  Or think about making some investigations.”

 

Jarrod reconsidered that, because he respected his friend’s judgment.  “I don’t think so.  I think trust and respect are what we need, not trials or investigations.”

 

“Your business.  I hope you’re not disappointed. – What sort of life has he had?”

 

“Varied, I gather.  Hard and lonely.  Unsettled.”

 

“Itchy feet?  He may get restless again, leave on his own.  Or are you going to make it too sweet to leave?”

 

“Depends on him.  We’ll give him some responsibility and see how he handles it.”

 

“Is he a gunman?”

 

“He wears a gun, and he proved yesterday he knows how to use it.  More than that I don’t know.  I sometimes wear one myself, and Nick pretty often.”

 

“Mm.  You’re taking a risk, Jarrod.  You know that, don’t you?”

 

“I know that.”  Jarrod stubbed out his cigar.  “We’re trying to put things right, but it may not be so simple.”

 

When Jarrod had signed the bill they walked slowly back to the courthouse.  Scanlon said, “I didn’t know your father.  Does the story seem credible as far as he’s concerned?”

 

“In part.  Father did whatever he was doing with great energy and determination – lived a full life, you might say.  Bright, quick-tempered, charming, sometimes hasty.  I can imagine that when he and Mother were apart for a while, he might get involved with another woman.  What troubles me is that he left her and apparently never checked back.”

 

“Have you always checked back?”

 

“I’ve asked myself that.  I’m not sure how to answer.”

 

“So.  You’re not hiding, at least, and neither was he. – Thanks for telling me before I heard the gossip.  How much am I free to pass on?”

 

“I leave that to your judgment.  As I said, I’ve been telling people all over town – not all I’ve told you, maybe, but close enough.”

 

“Trying to forestall speculation?”

 

“Wouldn’t you?  It seems the wisest course.  But I haven’t enjoyed it.”

 

 

 

 

Continued …