Careful What You Wish For

Chapters 1-7

by kashkow1

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program "Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.

Chapter 1

The man who now called himself Heath Barkley drew his black Modoc horse to a stop as the cattle he had just chased from the bush joined the herd that they were forming in Potter’s meadow. It was time to move the cattle up to the high country where the grass would stay green and sweet for several more months before the searing heat of the valley summer could turn it brown. He removed his battered tan Stetson and wiped at his brow with his sleeve, then replaced the hat on his sweat-matted blond hair. Here it was early May and already it was hot; that didn’t bode well for the summer. The temperature could easily soar into the hundreds as early as June, and almost certainly would. He squinted into the distance, watching as Nick, his brother Nick, herded a few more cattle into the herd. There was no mistaking that black clad figure.

It was still a surprise to him to look at another man and think that is my brother. Of course as hard as it was for him, he had ample proof that it was even harder for Nick. While the rest of the Barkley family had accepted him wholeheartedly, Nick continued to be…well, Nick. He had made it more than plain that while the rest might accept Heath, and in fact it might even be true that Tom Barkley did sire the boy, he didn’t have to like it. “And boy howdy, Heath thought to himself, “When Nick Barkley don’t like something, everybody is goin’ to know bout it.”

His brother was a force to be reckoned with that was for sure. In fact you could probably say that about all the Barkleys, though Audra and Gene were not yet full-grown and hadn’t come into it as well as the other three. Where Nick was a slashing bowie knife, all out there and ready to shred you at the drop of a hat; Jarrod Barkley was one of those thin little Italian knives that looked so sissified, but that could kill quickly and quietly when in the hand of a skilled knifeman. Subtle and sharp he was. And Mrs. Barkley…..boy howdy but that was a woman! She was like a surgeon’s scalpel. So sharp that just looking at it gave you a cut.

She was perhaps the most dangerous of all to a man who’s own mother had died less than a year ago. He found himself comparing them; the ways they were alike and the ways they were different. He could easily live with Nick’s dislike, he had been disliked for most of his life for something he couldn’t change, and this was no different. He could live with Jarrod’s distance, knowing it was not about him, but just because the man was busy. He wasn’t sure he could live with her…he searched his mind for a term, and could only come up with the awkward ‘motherness’. That she cared deeply for her children was plain to see, that she seemed to be coming to feel some small part of the same for him was a puzzle he could not decipher. Why should this grand lady even look at him with any amount of regard? It was surely a puzzle.

He cast an expert eye at the sun. Still a few hours yet to work then he could go home and soak in that big fancy tub in some cold water. After Nick got done of course. He had been very blunt in his statement of who ruled the roost and who was a just another poor chicken left with the leavings. He didn’t mind though. He often thought about telling Nick that the very things that he, Nick, considered second best, were incredibly precious to Heath. Before coming here he had only used a real bathtub once before.

Once when he was down in New Orleans and had an incredible run of luck at the tables he had sent the major portion to his mother for her use, and had taken a portion of the rest and rented him a room in the finest hotel in the city; the biggest room they had, with a big claw foot porcelain tub like nothing he had ever seen before. The hot water had seemed endless, and he had soaked himself until he had felt like a prune. To be able to use one on a daily basis, even if he had to go second, was a privilege he would not soon get used to. Of course, he thought with a smile, should he tell that to Nick it would take some of the satisfaction away from his older brother. He seemed to be enjoying it so much, why ruin his day?

Heath turned his mare back toward the patch of brush and broken land that he had been assigned to sweep. He was pretty sure that they had found every stray hiding there, but he would check again rather than be caught out by some mossy horn wonderin’ out of some gully somewhere bellowin’ for his harem. Wouldn’t that give Nick something to crow about? He could feel the branches scraping against his chaps as he moved through the dense brush, glad of their protection. He had seen men come out of country like this with their pants torn to shreds and their legs covered in scratches. He had bought the chaps last month with his first pay from the ranch. He had spent only a small fraction of the sum that still sent his head to reeling. If he could have made this much money every month before his mama took sick….he shook off that thought.

He didn’t think any amount of money would have saved his Mama. She had the cancer, the doctor said, and it was eatin’ her up from inside out. It hadn’t seemed fair to Heath. She had taken so much in her life, it seemed as if she should have had a quiet and peaceful death. It wasn’t to be though, and he had learned a lesson about quiet dignity in the face of pain and misfortune from her that he would never forget. It made the hostility he faced daily from Nick, and the men that saw what he did and took up the cause, bearable. Again he shrugged off the thoughts. They weren’t getting him anywhere, and they weren’t gonna change anything. He continued his sweep of the area, whistling softly to himself and the mare.

Nick Barkley glanced up at the sun and estimated the time. It was getting near quitting time. He cast a practiced eye over the herd. Yes, they had gotten most, if not all, of the cows that should have been in the area. He frowned as he watched a lone rider move out of the broken country to the west. He knew who it was, though the figure was only a silhouette against the setting sun. He had assigned that section to…..he couldn’t even think it to himself. He had assigned it to Heath. The man that everyone seemed to think deserved to be called a Barkley. Deserved to have a say in how things were done here, here on the land his father had fought and died for. Here in the place where Nick Barkley was king, and he didn’t intend to share it with anyone but his own sons in time.

Thinking of his own sons made his mind drift for a moment to the woman who had promised to wed him; Maria, dark of hair and eye and so very sweet. But there was spirit in her, spirit that matched his, and pride in her heritage. What would she think about the family bas…he stopped. As time had passed he had strangely found himself disliking that word, and could not bring himself to use it even in connection with this interloper. He snorted to himself, his eyes focusing on the rider coming toward the herd. He could see that the man was pushing one last animal, from the size of it one of the bulls. He had intentionally given Heath the worst part of the job, working the broken areas, and had been given no satisfaction at all. Heath had simply gotten out his chaps and had good-naturedly gone to work that morning. He had stopped for lunch with the rest of the men, sitting by himself until Duke had gone to sit with him.

Nick wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. He had always counted on Duke’s loyalty to the family, and at first it had seemed to him that the man’s seemingly easy acceptance of Heath was a direct slap in the face of that loyalty. As was his way he had faced Duke with his concerns, and had been taken aback by what he had been told. Duke had looked him in the eye and with the familiarity of a man who had known Nick when he was still in diapers, called him a damned fool. He had told Nick how he had met a young man, a young man just come out to California not long before with his young wife. They had been living in a small shack, hardly big enough for themselves and their two sons, four year old, Jarrod and newly born, Nick. Heath was the spitting image of that young man. In fact he was more like Tom Barkley than any of his legitimate children.

Duke had stopped for a moment and looked around him at the ranch, the barns, the house, the fences and corrals. Then he had turned back to Nick and once again met his eyes. “If you can’t find it in yourself to accept that boy, then you’re going against everything you ever said you stood for, this family, this ranch. That boy is a part of this. He should have been a part all along. Why he wasn’t I guess we’ll never know for sure. But he’s got as much of your daddy’s blood in him as you do, and I figure that makes him one hell of a man. A man you can’t afford to dismiss because you got your knickers in a twist about your daddy and what he did over twenty years ago. He was a man Nick, not a saint. He made mistakes, and he paid for most of them. Heath had to pay for one hell of a big one, and it ain’t fair of you to blame him for something that he had no hand in. Now I been taking Barkley money for a long time, and I hope to keep taking it until I fall off my horse dead, but you don’t give me my opinions or my likes and dislikes. He’s a good man, and I’ll treat him as such. What you do is up to you.” With that the man had walked off, and had been true to his word. He had done his best to make Heath welcome, and had taken the sharp edge of his tongue to any man who said a word against him in his presence. Others had followed his example and a small group of the men had started treating Heath just like they would Nick. In fact several had wondered over after Duke when he went to have lunch with Heath and had stayed there, talking companionably.

After lunch Heath had gone back into the bush. He had chased out an amazing number of cows. Nick had been watching surreptitiously. The man seemed to be good at just about anything that Nick set him to, and he did it uncomplainingly. The only time the man had really balked was when Nick tried to get him to take another horse for the round up. That little black mare of his was a good enough horse Nick supposed, though she didn’t seem big enough for much of anything that she did. The horse was fast, and agile, and seemed devoted to her rider. Nick had seen the little mare turn into a squealing, kicking tornado when another of the horses in the remuda had dared to offer his head for a scratch to the blond cowboy. She had charged the larger gelding with no fear, and had driven him off with a fierceness that had faded at the first touch of her master’s hand. When Nick had made the suggestion the day before, it had been out of no other motive than to enforce his control over the other man. Heath had simply looked at him and shook his head. Nick had felt he needed to exert his authority and had ordered the younger man to get another horse. Heath had kept saddling the mare as if he hadn’t heard.

That was when Nick had almost made a big mistake. He had reached up and grabbed at the other man’s shoulder, meaning to spin the slightly smaller man around to face him. Instead the boy had moved like a burst of wind, and had been several feet away and in a semi crouch before Nick’s hand could make contact. The blue eyes, usually shuttered, sparked cold blue fire.

“Keep ya hands to yourself.” He growled, pulling himself back to his full height and coming to stand almost toe-to-toe with Nick. “Ya can tell me where to work, and you can tell me when to work, but I’ll ride the horse I want to ride and I’ll do the work in my own way. Now get your spurs out of me and back the hell off!” Nick had been taken aback by the flare of hostility in the man who had simply ignored his antagonism up until now. Sure they had came to blows several times when Heath had first come to the ranch, but under the disapproving eye of his family Nick had stopped trying to intimidate the younger man with his fists. It hadn’t worked anyway. The boy was fast, whipcord tough, and seemed to enjoy a good fistfight as much as Nick did.

He had let the boy ride the mare with no further argument, and had to admit that for all her size she put some of the other horses to shame, and worked the brush better than a larger horse would have. He had been amazed at the amount of cows the younger man had chased from the brush. He couldn’t argue with the man’s abilities. He looked around the area, seeing that most of the men had moved back to simply keeping the herd in place, knowing no doubt that Nick would soon be calling a halt to the day’s work. Heath looked to be the last of the hands out still collecting. Couldn’t argue with his work ethic either, damn the boy. He could at least try to be a slacker or inept. Make it easy for Nick to hate…. He stopped his train of thought. He didn’t like to think of himself as an unreasonable man, but he just couldn’t bring himself to like the boy, or accept his position as a member of the Barkley family

Shaking off the thoughts that occupied him too often he took off his hat and waved it in the air, turning in the saddle to wave it in every direction, making sure everyone could see. It was the signal that he had told the men to watch for when it was time to quit. The men started gathering together, leaving only two men who had just come out from the ranch to hold the herd. The grass was still green. And the cattle should be content to stay there as long as there was no disturbance. The men would be relieved later, and another pair would finish the night. Tomorrow they would move them up into the higher pasture. That should take most of the day, but they would be finally done, and just in time, at least as far as Nick was concerned. He had received a telegram yesterday saying that Maria and her father would be here the day after tomorrow, to see their rancho for the first time and to meet the rest of the Barkleys. Three months from now he and Maria would walk down the aisle and be man and wife. He couldn’t wait.

All of the men were together now, including his brother who was bringing up the rear, so he turned his horse toward the ranch and started out. He was looking forward to a bath and a drink before dinner. He knew that his mother and sister were deep in preparation for the dinner party that they would be having to welcome Maria and her father, Don Garcia, and that he would have to listen to Audra prattle on about some fool thing or the other like napkin rings or some such thing. As if he cared about that. However he was prepared to indulge his mother and sister as much as necessary to get the whole thing over with.

They rode through the still lush valley, strung out in groups of two and three, talking about those things that men talk about when they had been working for long hours in the sun. Cold beer, women, poker, and what they would do about all of the above when they got paid. A quick glance toward the back of the pack showed Nick that Duke had dropped back and was talking to Heath. The old hand was smiling and shaking his head. Nick found himself almost shocked to see a smile on the face of the blond man as well. He had yet to see more than a half smile, a mere twitch of one side of the mouth. As he watched, Duke pointed off toward the south where the ranch stood, across the fields and the Stockton River that ran trough the pasture. The group was following the road toward the only bridge for miles, after which they would cut across the pastures to the ranch. As Nick continued to watch he saw Heath say something to Duke, who frown and shook his head. One of the men riding nearby leaned over and said something at which Duke threw up a hand and pointed a finger at the man. Both the hand and Heath laughed, and again Nick felt that surprise. He had never heard the man laugh he realized. It didn’t seem right somehow. Heath had been on the ranch for some time now, and he had never heard him laugh or seen him smile. Of course why should he care, he asked himself. It wasn’t as if he liked the man. He looked away from the group and looked around at the rolling hills, telling himself it was all stupid. But, he soon found his eyes drawn back to the back of the group. He was just in time to see Duke reach out a hand and shake Heath’s outstretched one. Almost as soon as the shake was over the young blond cowboy reined his horse around and nudged her into a lope across the field. In a matter of strides the small horse was at a gallop, the blond cowboy stretched out along her neck, his weight balanced in the saddle. Even Nick had to hand it to this newcomer. The boy was a mighty fine rider, and together he and the horse made quite a picture as they moved. Duke had ridden forward and now rode at Nick’s side, watching the younger man ride.

“Man, if I coulda rode like him at that age……” Duke mourned. He looked back at Nick, and saw the puzzlement in his eyes. “We got us a bet. I said that little horse of his had to be plumb tuckered out after working the breaks all day. He begged to differ. Said she could out run the whole lot of us and still be ready for another day’s work. Dale” Duke cast a dark look back at the hand who had spoken to them earlier, “Suggested that maybe he should go overland and see if he could beat us back with enough time to curry and feed the horse before we got there.” Duke shook his head at the cockiness of youth. “I bet him a pitcher of beer that he couldn’t do it.” He turned his eyes back to the rapidly disappearing form and shook his head. “Then again, we don’t get a move on, I think he might just be able to do it. I got a feeling there ain’t too many things that man can’t do if he puts his mind to it. Kinda reminds me of his father that way.” With that final poke at Nick’s continued stubbornness he nudged his horse forward into a lope. The others, taking their cue from the foreman did the same, and Nick found himself having to spur Coco to keep up. He cast a last look to the south and watched as the horse and rider disappeared in the rolling of the land. This might just be interesting.

Chapter 2

The group of men rode into the ranch yard thirty minutes later and dismounted. Ciego, the man who had been in charge of the barns for several years came forward to stand near Nick in case he was wanted to take care of the boss’s horse. It didn’t happen often, usually Nick did the same work his hands did, but occasionally there was something that had to be taken care of and Ciego would unsaddle and curry the horse for him. Tonight Nick shook his head at the Mexican and started leading Coco into the barn, followed by the rest of the men. He had hardly entered the barn when he came to a stop. Heath sat there on a bale of hay, one strand dangling from his mouth as he watched the men push up around the boss to see what was going on. Nick heard a whoop from outside as the men in front called back the sight to those in the rear. It sounded like Dale. Nick looked from his…from Heath to the stall where the mare was situated. Her dark coat was glossy black, and gleamed like a raven’s wing. She looked up from the pile of oats she was munching on as if to enquire about the hubbub, then turned back to her treat. Finally Nick started forward again, and took Coco into his stall. As he unsaddled he watched Duke lead his horse into a stall, and then go to Heath, shaking his head as he went.

Damn boy, couldn’t you at least be breathing hard?” he asked the younger man, and got another genuine smile from him. Heath rose to his feet and took Duke’s outstretched hand. They shook.

“I’ll try to fake it for you next time, Duke. Don’t want to be making my elders feel bad now.” Heath said. “I’ll be looking forward to that beer come Saturday.” He said referring to the bet. With a quick glance at Nick he started out the door toward the house. Nick suspected that he was going to get the tub last tonight, but he couldn’t exactly drop what he was doing and charge in to claim it. He wasn’t really sure what that was all about anyway. He had started demanding first dibs on the tub as a way of pointing out the status of the new man in the house, but it had become something else, a type of pitiful and petty way of maintaining a dominance that wasn’t truly his.

As he brushed at Coco’s coat he had a sudden thought. Heath had said something about getting that beer Duke owed him on Saturday. That was two days from now, the day of the dinner party for Maria and her father. Nick’s mind went through the possibilities in that statement. It was possible that no one had bothered to tell Heath what was going on, and he simply didn’t realize that there was a dinner party going on that night. The second possibility was that he knew what was going on, but assumed that he wasn’t invited, and had made other plans. The third possibility was that he knew what was going on but didn’t WANT to attend and so had made other plans. As Nick thought about it, he could not recall mentioning the reason for the dinner party in Heath’s hearing. He knew that the young man was outside the house as much or more than he was, and there was the possibility that no one else had mentioned it either. Thinking back, he couldn’t remember any occasions in the last several months that had resulted in any type of party being held in the house. Heath might just be unaware of the reason for the preparations that were underway. Nick knew that Heath had to have heard Audra’s endless talking about the arrangements, but now that Nick thought about it, her talk had always been about something specific, and not generalities, like when and where the party was to take place. She had simply assumed that everyone knew what was going on.

Of course that brought Nick to the second possibility. That Heath knew what was going on, but assumed that he wasn’t invited. This was just as likely Nick realized. It wasn’t as if they were friendly. If you had to describe what relationship they did have, Nick thought it could best be described as tolerant. They had moved on from the outright hostility of the first month, to a sort of armed stand off. Two equally matched camps just waiting to attack at the first sigh of weakness or aggression. Nick was willing to admit to himself that the boy WAS a match for him when it came to stubborn, maybe even a little more. And Lord knew the boy could hit. He knew just how and when to punch to make his blows count. He had given as good as he got. If Heath did indeed know about the dinner party, Nick knew that he had given this….brother….no reason to believe he was welcome at a party of this sort. And if no one else had asked him, Nick could easily see the other man choosing to spend his time in a more comfortable and at least on Nick’s part, more friendly, atmosphere like the saloon as an alternative to being stuck in his room the whole time.

As he pondered the third possibility he felt his anger, always close to the surface when it came to Heath, starting to rise. What if the boy knew about the party, and just didn’t want to come? What if he couldn’t care less that Nick was getting married? Didn’t want to meet the bride to be and her father? Had disdained the whole thing and decided to spend time with the hands in town, drinking and playing poker instead of supporting the family that had taken him in. Instead of welcoming the woman who would have more right than the to the name Barkley then he did, didn’t want to wish his brother well…..Nick suddenly stopped the train of thought, and froze in mid brush, his mind whirling.

He was actually hurt at the idea that Heath might not want to wish him well! He actually seemed to care what the younger man thought about him, what he thought about his future bride. He was angry at the idea that Heath might turn his nose up at the idea of a family dinner party for his bride to be and her father. One would think that he actually WANTED the boy at the party! He suddenly realized that he had come to a full stop and hastily completed the job of currying Coco and gave him some feed. He started out of the barn, and found himself looking again at the small black mare, now standing hip-shot in her stall, in that odd equine form of sleep. He shook his head. Even Coco was tired after a day like today, and he hadn’t been working the broken lands. He felt an unexpected surge of respect for the little horse and her rider.

He headed toward the house and the bathtub that he longed for. It had been a hot, dusty day, and it would feel good to get all of it off and get that drink. He knew Heath would be done with his bath by now and would have retreated to his room as he did most nights before dinner. Despite urgings from Audra, Jarrod, and their mother, Heath usually did not join them in the study for a drink before dinner, and none of the family had yet forced the issue, though Nick knew his mother was getting to the point where she might. He had seen her unease, the constant glances she had thrown at the doorway as if expecting to see him there. She WANTED him there, and Nick had spent his adult life making sure his mother had what she wanted. The fact it was something he had been sure he DIDN’T want until just the last few minutes was another thing all together.

He entered the mansion and dropped his hat on the table. He didn’t give his usual bellow since he knew that his mother and Audra were not yet back from their weekly visit to the mission, Ciego having mentioned it in the barn. They would be here any time, and Nick wanted to be finished with his bath by the time they returned. He went upstairs, and noted the closed door to the small room at the head of the stairs. He frowned as he suddenly realized something else he had not considered before. The room that had become Heath’s was the smallest in the house. It had been at one time a playroom of sorts for the Barkley children, a place where they could play with their toys. As the children had grown and matured past the need for a separate room for play, it had become a sort of guest room, though only used when the other larger rooms were full. Now it had become Heath’s. Nick wasn’t quite sure why the younger man had chosen that particular room, when he knew his mother had offered Heath the choice of any unoccupied room. Suddenly another mystery to add to the enigma that was his……He just couldn’t do it, he just couldn’t think it.

He went in his own room to get some clean clothes and then went into the bathroom. He started the water running, noting that there seemed to be plenty of hot water coming from the spigot, and feeling an unexpected sense of shame at the times he had run the system out of hot water leaving Heath to take a cold or at best lukewarm bath. With a silent curse he threw his towel across the small room, getting no satisfaction from its soft collision with the wall. What had brought on this sudden attack of realization and self-doubt? It wasn’t him, wasn’t Nick Barkley. He was nothing if not self assured and set in his course. He turned off the water and climbed in the tub, wincing at the heat of the water as he stepped into the steaming pool. He settled down and leaned back against the porcelain side, closing his eyes, and trying to figure out why the man he wanted gone from this ranch was taking up so much of his thoughts all of a sudden. He sank down until only his head was above the water, and tried to let the thoughts fade away, determined to enjoy his bath.

Chapter 3

Jarrod Barkley poured some sherry into a small glass, and a larger amount of scotch in another, then turned and handed the small glass to his mother who was seated on the Settee next to Audra. Jarrod slid into the large leather chair that faced the two ladies and sipped at his drink. It had been a long day. Actually it had been a long couple of months. Aside from the family stress of Heath’s arrival, he had been under a lot of stress on the job. It seemed he finished one case only to have another more urgent one come along. When word had gotten around about his family’s support of the underdog in the fight against the railroad, he had become the focus of many such victim’s pleas. It had kept him very busy.

This was in fact one of the first weekends he would be able to spend at home in several weeks. His mother had made it clear that she expected him to be home for the upcoming dinner party. She was already down one son because of Eugene being at school and in the middle of testing, and she was not going to greet her future daughter-in –law and her father without as much of her family about her as possible. Jarrod could not say that he wasn’t ready for the break. While his focus might be on the law, and his practice took him to Stockton, San Francisco, and beyond, this was where he felt best. This was home, and a big part of that feeling was imbued in the two women sitting across from him.

His younger sister Audra, an angel with golden hair and blue eyes, she seemed to get prettier every time he returned. That her heart was as beautiful as her face no one who knew her would argue. She spent a good portion of her time helping those who were less fortunate, be it the children at the orphanage or anyone needing a helping hand. The local animals benefited as well, as she would take in any cat, dog, or other lost creature. Her innocence and spirit were a refreshing change from the people he was forced to deal with in the course of his job.

Then there was his mother. Victoria Barkley was a force to be reckoned with. As beautiful in her own way as her daughter, the woman radiated graciousness and a type of power. She ruled the house with an iron fist in a velvet glove and things went smoothly or she knew the reason why. She had been the defining force in his life he had come to realize, as he had gotten older. As with most boys he had thought himself a reflection of his father growing up. But as he had grown in his profession, he realized it was his mother who had given him the most precious gifts. His father had been raw power, like a rushing river, and while that power had its place, that place was not in the courtroom. There you needed subtly and wisdom, and those were gifts that Victoria Barkley had in plenty. Jarrod’s contemplation of the women in his life was interrupted by the advent of his younger brother Nick.

If Jarrod had been blessed with the gifts of his mother, Nick had benefited from those of their father. Here was that same forcefulness, the unbridled will and courage to act as needed. Where Jarrod had found his place in the courtroom, Nick had found his on the ranch. The open spaces were suited to his personality, and he loved the land. Four years younger than Jarrod, Nick was often in the position of making decisions that his father would have made if he had been alive, and he did it well. While the ranch business was in theory run by all the Barkley’s with large decisions being made by vote, the day to day running of the massive ranch had fallen on Nick able shoulders. Jarrod suspected there were things that the family never heard about that Nick took care of regardless of the personal stress. The fact that his brother was now taking a wife, seeing to his own needs, made Jarrod happy.

As he watched Nick walk to the Tantalus for a drink, his eye fell on the large picture of Thomas Barkley over the fireplace. It was a good likeness of the man, done only a matter of months before he was killed. It had been both a comfort and the source of a gnawing ache for those left behind. As he contemplated the picture his mind was drawn to the newest member of their family, the one that their mother said resembled a young Thomas Barkley the most. Heath.

If Jarrod regretted anything about his current workload it was perhaps that he had not had a chance to get to know this newest brother of his. The few times he had been home he had been working on cases and other than brief meetings at meals, he had seen little of Heath. Audra and his mother had written to him faithfully letting him know the day to day happenings of the ranch, and their letters had been increasingly filled with reports of Heath and how he and Nick were getting on, or as was the case, how they were not getting on. Victoria Barkley had written that while she felt that Nick had come to respect Heath’s skills at ranching, something unavoidable after the success of the cattle drive south, he still was not willing to treat him like a brother. They worked together, lived in the same house, and ate at the same table, but they might as well have been on different ranches. That is except for the fact that Nick seemed to take every opportunity to remind Heath just who was in charge. Jarrod hoped that Nick’s actions could be put down to a jealous guarding of the family by its self-appointed sentinel, and not to actual hate. He knew that his mother worried about the same thing.

For his part, Jarrod could see nothing to hate about Heath. The young man was a testament to the triumph of the spirit over the physical. Not that his brother was in anyway disabled. In fact if there was anyone who was an equal to Nick in the physical department, it was Heath, just as he was Nick’s equal in ranching skill. What stood out about the young man was that in spite of a childhood of abject poverty, an adolescence of want and privation beyond what any human should be subjected, he had turned out to be a genuinely likable and kind man. Audra’s letters, in contrast to their mother’s were filled with stories of Heath helping her with her rescued animals, doing repairs at the orphanage, taking his own time after working all day on the ranch to help out a neighbor with a broken leg. She had quickly taken to their new brother, perhaps because of their shared coloring, and had found a heart as soft as her own beneath the tough exterior. They had become firm friends, and Jarrod wished he could say the same for himself. Perhaps during this weekend he would get a chance to spend some time with Heath.

Jarrod’s reflections were shattered as Nick threw himself into the other chair facing the ladies. As he looked over at his brother Jarrod realized that that someone was missing, Heath. The few nights that he had been here for the last months Heath had not joined them for the predinner drink. He had thought that by now his newest brother would have conformed to the family tradition. But seeing that the others were not looking toward the doorway in expectation, he suspected that had not taken place. He studied Nick’s brooding face. He suddenly suspected why. He looked at his mother.

“It seems we are missing a brother, should I go up and urge him to join us?” He inquired of her. He saw a spark of pleasure in her hazel eyes at the question. Evidently she had been contemplating the same thing, but had not yet taken the initiative. That she had not indicated to him just how uncomfortable the relationship between Heath and Nick had been for his mother. She had said in her letters that she liked the young man, and he had read between the lines to believe that it was becoming more than that. She had spoken in the letters of early morning talks and rides with the young man to simply watch the sunrise. He took such pleasure in it, and she took pleasure in his pleasure. Victoria Barkley loved her children above all else, and he believed that she was starting to count Heath Barkley as one of her own. Without waiting for a verbal answer he started to rise then stopped as Nick slapped a hand against the arm of the chair. The other Barkley’s all looked at him.

Usually to know Nick was to know how he felt at any given time. He did not hide his emotions. When he was happy everyone knew it, and so it was with his anger. But now, looking at his brother Jarrod could not quite make out what was going on with him. There were certain signs that he was angry, and others that he was ashamed of something, and then there was a certain something else, beneath the other two, almost sorrow. But what could bring such a mix of emotions to his brother on the eve of introducing his bride to be to his family? Luckily, knowing Nick they would not have to wait long for an explanation, He raised and inquiring eyebrow.

“Before you go and try to pry him out of that room, I need to know something.” Nick finally ground out. He stood and drank his drink in one gulp, slamming the now empty glass on a nearby table with no regard for wither the finish of the table or the fragility of the glass. He began pacing back and forth in front of the empty fireplace. Jarrod could see that he was struggling with something. Nick didn’t have the facility with words that Jarrod had inherited form their mother, and sometimes he wasn’t as assured as he could be when it came to expressing his deepest feelings, and Jarrod had no doubt these feeling were deep. The lawyer looked over at his mother who was watching Nick pace, with a puzzled light in her eyes. As if feeling Jarrod’s gaze she turned to look at him for a moment before returning her attention to her second son.

Finally Nick seemed to find the words he wanted, or he simply could not hold it in anymore, and he did the best he could with what he had. “I need to know if any of you have mentioned the dinner party to Heath?” he asked. Jarrod blinked in surprise. This wasn’t anything like what he expected giving the agitation of his younger brother.

“Of course we’ve mentioned it to Heath!” Audra replied quickly, hearing only the question as asked. “We’ve been talking about it for weeks.” It wasn’t the answer that Nick wanted because he frowned. He looked at first Victoria then Jarrod.

“I don’t mean all the stuff about what color table cloth to use and what dress you had to order to go with it,” He snapped finally. “I mean did you talk to him about it?”

“Nicholas!” Victoria said in a voice that they all recognized from their childhood, she wasn’t pleased. “You will not take that tone with your sister. She answered your question as you asked it. Perhaps you could clarify what you want, then we could give you an answer that is more to your liking.” Nick scowled and growled an apology to Audra who nodded, puzzled about the undercurrents she didn’t understand. Nick had kept up his pacing but now came to a standstill in directly in front of the fireplace and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What I want to know is have any of you told Heath what the dinner party is for, and when it is?” he finally came to the point.

Victoria tilted her head in that way she had when considering a question. He wished that his clients would be so careful when answering questions. “As your sister has said we have discussed the preparations in his presence on several occasions, however I do not recall speaking to him about the reason or the timing. I cannot answer for your sister of course.” She answered calmly.

Audra, still looking puzzled, shook her head. ‘I don’t think I mentioned it…exactly.” She said. “But he must know what we are talking about. He never asked anything, so he must know. Mustn’t he?” she finally asked her mother, who had a spark of understanding in her eyes, that Jarrod was sure was in his. There was the possibility that no one had mentioned to Heath exactly what was going on or when. It was incredibly inconsiderate of them all if it had indeed happened. Jarrod was not prepared to excuse himself from the guilt as he had known about the party almost since it’s inception because of his mother’s letters, a source his younger brother did not have.

Victoria rose to her feet and went to stand in front of Nick, looking up at his face. “Did you tell him Nick?” she asked. He shook his head. She looked at Jarrod who, seeing the question in her eyes, also shook his head. She was about to speak again when a soft voice from the doorway interrupted. They all turned to see the speaker.

‘If you’ll excuse me Mrs. Barkley. But I done told Mr. Heath about when the dinner party was and what it was for. He asked me about it a couple of weeks ago.” It was Silas, the black houseman, who had cooked and cleaned for the family for many years. Jarrod, who had looked back at Nick after the first bit of what Silas said was perhaps the only one that saw the flare of anger again in his brother’s hazel eyes. It was gone in an instant, but it had been there. Jarrod felt a heavy weight form in his stomach. He could only pray that the idea forming in his head was just that, and not fact. Surely Nick would not take his dislike so far? He had to know, and he had to know now.

“Nick, did you plan on excluding Heath from the dinner party?” He asked. “Is that what this is all about?” he marched up to stand next to their mother who had also turned back to Nick. Jarrod saw the flush of color in Nick’s cheeks and felt his own anger start to rise, but his mother was there before him,

“Nicholas. I would like to hear the answer to that myself.” She said, with a flush in her cheeks. It reminded Jarrod that the Barkley temper hadn’t all come from Tom Barkley.

Nick threw up his hands in exasperation. “I haven’t got that far. I just now found out that he knew about it.” He pointed a finger upward in the direction of Heath’s room. “But I can tell you this HE isn’t planning on attending. He as much said so not thirty minutes ago in the yard.” He growled. Victoria placed her hands on her hips and shook her head at Nick.

“That’s not the current question, Nicholas. Did you plan to exclude your brother from the dinner party?” she was not going to be sidetracked from what she obviously felt was the main issue.

‘Well that’s just the thing isn’t it?” He asked “Maybe if he doesn’t want to be there, then I don’t want him there.” He added defiantly. Jarrod shook his head.

“You didn’t answer the question Nick.” He said. “What Heath wants to do is another issue. Right now the question is: Did YOU plan to exclude him from the party?”

“No! I didn’t plan anything, unlike him. It seems he has better things to do in town. I didn’t even think about it until he said something about going into town on Saturday night.” Nick snapped back.

Victoria Barkley nodded her head, satisfied with Nick’s answer. She turned to Jarrod. “Please go upstairs and get your brother. This will be settled now.” She turned back to the settee, her satin skirt swirling around her. She settled down with her usual straight posture and patted the confused Audra on the leg. She picked up her glass and sipped at the sherry. Only the very faintest of tremor disturbed the liquid in the glass as she raised it.

Chapter 4

Jarrod went up the stairs and paused outside the closed door to the room where his newest brother was. Heath had told him in one of the few moments that they had spent together in the last several months that he liked the small room because it was closer to what he was used to than the larger more grandly furnished rooms. It had hurt Jarrod to know that a brother of his had grown up in such abject poverty as they now knew Heath had endured, and he had was glad that Heath would accept what comforts he did. He raised a hand now to knock. There was a delay then a voice from inside bade him enter, which he did. He found Heath sitting on the side of the bed, wearing clean clothes and in stocking feet, a book in his hand, and a puzzled look in his eye as he saw who it was that entered the room.

“Jarrod, I wasn’t expecting it to be you. Figured it was Silas coming to tell me dinner was ready a little early tonight,” he said.

Jarrod smiled at him and walked further into the room. As he did so he realized that there were almost no signs of the room being occupied except for the impression of Heath’s body on the bed and his boots at the side of it. There was a single picture, in a rough frame turned away from the door, and he could see a few pieces of clothing hanging in the closet. Other than that, it could have been an anonymous hotel room or unused guest room. He turned his attention back to Heath who was putting on his boots. Jarrod could not help but notice that they were battered and worn, though they were cleaned of dirt and dust. He also could not help compare them to his own boot or Nick’s. While his own boots saw little work of the kind that had battered Heath’s, Nick’s had, but they were almost new and still shiny, the result of Silas’ continuous care. He wondered why Heath had not gotten a new pair in the months he had been there. Shaking off the speculation he shook his head.

“Sorry, but dinner is still in the future. I have been sent up as an emissary. We would like you to join us in the parlor for a predinner drink.” He said, not wanting to raise the question of the moment here. He found himself suddenly reluctant to continue the line of questioning. If Heath had been reluctant to join the family before this, he was sure that being put to the question would not make him any fonder of the occasion. He saw the hesitation in Heath’s eyes, but finally he nodded and gestured for Jarrod to proceed him. They went down the stairs, and turned toward the parlor. As they entered Jarrod could see that Victoria was once again seated with Audra, but That Nick had refilled his glass and was leaning against the mantle. He looked at Heath.

“Can I get you a whiskey Brother Heath? I can vouch for the quality of the Scotch.” He realized he didn’t really know what his newest brother preferred. It was becoming quite the night for realizations it seemed.

Heath shook his head. “That stuff will clean the rust off a rifle barrel. I think I’ll stick to the bourbon if you don’t mind.” Jarrod shook his head at this lack of taste and poured a bourbon then handed it to Heath. Heath slipped into the chair that Nick had been using. He looked over at the ladies and nodded to them both. “Ma’am, Audra. You sure are looking pretty tonight.” He said with a small smile. Audra beamed back at him. Victoria gave him a small smile and lowered her glass to the small table in front of the settee.

“Heath, while we wish that you would join us on a regular basis, we asked you to do so tonight for a particular reason.” She said. She had the attention of everyone in the room. Heath looked from her to the others in puzzlement, his eyes lingering for a moment longer on Nick. He said nothing as he turned his eyes back to Victoria, waiting for the question.

“Do you know that we are having a dinner party on this Saturday night, and the purpose of that party?” she asked. Jarrod could not but applaud her bluntness. Another woman might have worked her way up to it, but not for Victoria Barkley were such things.

The puzzlement didn’t leave the blue eyes that studied her. He once again looked at the others then back at her. Then he spoke. “I reckon I did hear about it, bein’ this Saturday and all, Silas done told me. If he wasn’t supposed to be mentioning it then you best be blaming me since I asked him and all. It ain’t in him to lie to a body that asks him outright.”

Even Victoria Barkley seemed slightly taken aback at the young man’s answer, blinking rapidly. She recovered quickly though. “Of course there is no reason that Silas should not have told you. The issue is not that you know about it, but if you intend to attend.”

This time he was the one taken aback. He seemed genuinely surprised at the question, and he frowned. “That would be mighty presumptuous of me Ma’am, I wasn’t invited.” He said. “The only reason I asked Silas was so that I could be out of you all’s way come the time. Didn’t want to be walkin’ in on anythin’.” Jarrod could not doubt the sincerity of what his brother had just said. He truly believed that because he hadn’t been specifically invited he wasn’t wanted. He saw his mother close her eyes briefly and shake her head.

“Heath,” he said, moving forward in his chair so that he could turn and look Heath in the eye. “This is a family dinner.” He emphasized the word on purpose. “That means all members of the family are invited, and that very definitely includes you.” As he finished speaking he saw Heath’s eyes shift briefly to Nick, still standing over at the fireplace. They came back to Jarrod, and he knew what was coming even before the words were spoken.

“I don’t think that necessarily follows counselor. I might be a member of the family as you say, but that don’t mean I’m welcome.” Heath said. Jarrod wondered if he was the only one that heard the unspoken part of the statement, the part about this not just being about the dinner party. He quickly got an answer to that when Nick stomped forward to stand in front of the younger man. Heath was almost instantly on his feet and meeting Nick head on.

“I never said that! I never said anything. If you don’t want to come that’s your business, don’t put it on me!” Nick growled, poking a finger in Heath’s chest. Heath knocked his hand away.

“I told you once not to touch me. I’ll tell you just one more time. And you don’t have to say something to get your message across loud and clear.” Heath hissed back at him. Things looked like they were going to escalate and Jarrod was prepared to spring between his brothers when another voice cut through the tension.

“That is enough!” Victoria stood and stomped her foot. Her eyes blazed and color had filled her cheeks. The angry men both turned and looked at her. Once she had their attention she stalked over to stand between them. She should have looked ridiculous, a petite woman separating the two tall, powerful men, but she did not. “This has got to stop NOW. “ She stalked away from them and started pacing in front of the fireplace in a manner not unlike Nick’s when he was agitated.

She finally came to a stop and looked first at Heath. “YOU are expected to be at the dinner party on Saturday. If you have any questions regarding the proper dress please speak with one of your brothers, your sister or myself. Time is short, but we should be able to get you something appropriate. In the future you will join the family before dinner here in the parlor. You ARE part of this family, and being a part means participation, full participation. Is that understood?” Heath, for his part, did not seem intimidated as some men would be before the force of Victoria Barkley, but he nodded in agreement. Victoria then turned on Nick.

“YOU need to stop treating your brother like a stranger,” She held up a hand as Nick started to protest. “Heath had been here over three months, and you work with him daily, if he is a stranger to you that is because you have chosen to leave it that way. You have made it more than clear to everyone your continued disapproval of our family decision regarding Heath’s inclusion into this family. That is coming to an end. It is time to show some of the maturity that I have seen in the past several years since your father died. This is how it is going to be Nick. You need to come to terms with it, and with your brother. Do I make myself clear?”

Nick looked from her to the cold blue eyes of his new brother. He didn’t see any encouragement in those eyes. If he had been reluctant to make any move to get to know Heath, he certainly had not received any help in that quarter from the boy. Heath had not tried to get to know him very well either, and HE wasn’t getting a dressing down from Victoria about it. Didn’t seem quite fair, but Nick knew pointing that out to his mother would not earn him any points.

“I understand what you are saying.” He said. “And I’m doing the best that I can, dam…sorry mother. You can call him my brother; hell I’ll call him my brother. That I can’t change, but that doesn’t mean I have to be friends with him. He gets no more and no less consideration than I give myself when it comes to the work on the ranch. You can’t ask more then that of me.”

Victoria started to speak when Heath cut her off. “He’s right. You can’t make him like me. We get on like we get on and that’s all there is to it. You should just leave it be. I’ll do whatever you tell me to so that I fit in where I’m supposed to, but don’t go forcing him on my account. Just leave it be.”

Victoria stared at him for a moment, and saw something in his eyes that made her nod in acceptance. “Very well, but I will not tolerate a lack of courtesy, we owe each other that, as we owe it to everyone. Likes and dislikes aside.” She looked to the side where Silas had once more appeared in the doorway. He nodded to her questioning look. She held out her hand to Heath. “Dinner is ready. Will you escort me in?” she asked him. He gave her a small smile and a bit of a bow as he held out his arm.

“I’d be honored Ma’am.” He led her toward the dining room.

As they started out of the parlor Jarrod moved over and offered his arm to Audra who had been quiet through the whole thing. She looked at him with a hopeful smile, her thoughts easily seen in her eyes. She was anxious to know if the problem was solved, if those that she loved were going to continue to be at odds. He patted her hand as he tucked it around his arm.

He led her after their mother and brother.

Nick was left standing alone in the parlor. He wasn’t sure exactly what had been settled this evening, other than the inclusion of Heath at the dinner party. He had publicly acknowledged that he knew Heath WAS his brother, but had made it clear that he was not prepared to step past that point, at least not right now. The strange thing was that it had been accepted by his family, and at the urging of Heath himself. He wasn’t sure how to take that particular twist. Of course as he had observed, Heath hadn’t exactly been putting himself forward to make nice with Nick, there was the possibility, one that had just come to him, that maybe Heath didn’t like him very much either. It was a strangely unsettling idea. With a look around at the now empty parlor he went into dinner.

Chapter 5

Saturday afternoon the house was a bustle. Special cleaning women were putting the finishing touches on all of the rooms. The glass in the windows shown crystal clear. The floors were polished, as was the silver. Silas was directing a group of cooks and servers in the kitchens. Everything was in place. Victoria, looking over all the preparations was satisfied, and she started up the steps toward her room to begin dressing. Audra had retreated to her room almost a half-hour before, and she knew that Jarrod was already ready.

She was halfway up the stairs when she heard the front door open then slam closed. She turned, already knowing who would be there. Nick was at the side table taking off his gun belt and hat. He was covered in dust from head to foot, the white powder making his clothes look Gray. She shook her head.

“Nick, Please step outside and dust yourself off. The ladies have done a very nice job cleaning everything and they do not need your dirt tracked in. If your brother is as dirty as you are, please have him do so as well. I assume he is coming in soon.” She left the last as a statement and not a question. She noticed that Nick’s shoulders seemed to tense. If he had been looking at her he would have noticed a narrowing of her eyes. Instead he turned toward her with a smile.

“I’ll go outside right now, mother. Then I’ll be in the bathtub. Shouldn’t be any problem with the dust.” He started for the door, only to be stopped by his mother’s voice.

“Nicholas.” She said in that tone that was guaranteed to stop her children in their tracks. It was effective now. “Where is your brother?” He turned to face her, and just as she had when he was a boy she could read the thoughts on his face. He briefly contemplated answering something like ‘in Berkley’ or ‘in the study, probably’, but discarded the idea when he looked in her eyes. He sighed.

“He’s still out on the East side, they had some problems with one of the pumps and he was taking care of it. I know he sent someone back for some pipe about three hours ago, but other than that….”

Victoria came back down the stairs until she was on a level with her tall son, and looked him in the eye. “And when did you decide that Heath would be the one to handle this job? When exactly did you learn that the pump was out?” she questioned. She didn’t like to suspect that Nick would do something so petty as to send his brother on an overly long job on the day of the party, but then she had not wanted to believe that her husband had sired a son with another woman. She saw the indignation flare in Nick’s eyes.

“Well thank you for that vote of confidence, Mother. To answer the question you didn’t ask, NO, I did not send Heath out on a job I knew was going to take him a long time. We heard bout the pump this morning, and he volunteered to take care to it. I sent along three men to make sure there were plenty of hands on it. If he isn’t here, then it’s not MY fault.” He said. He started to turn around and head out the door when his mother’s voice stopped him again.

“I’m sorry. I know you are trying, and I should have not made assumptions. I apologize.” She said. He nodded and kept going out the door. She sighed and turned to go up to her room. This wasn’t getting any easier, and knowing her son, she suspected that that wasn’t going to change any time soon.

Nick stomped out to the end of the porch and slapped his gloved hand against his clothes until a fine cloud of dust rose from him and drifted off in the faint breeze. As he dusted himself off, he thought about what had just happened. If he was honest with himself he would admit that the thought had crossed his mind that morning when he had watched Heath and the others ride off that it might just turn into an long job. “Of course that didn’t mean that it didn’t need to be taken care of.”, his mind reminded him, looking for absolution.

“Oh but it could have been taken care of by any number of the men, Heath should have been working around the ranch like you were.” Came the little voice of conscience. “You just hoped he’d be late and not show up at all.”

“That ain’t true.” He muttered to himself, and heard a chuckle behind him. He turned to see his older brother standing there in exceptional sartorial splendor, smoking a cigar and smiling.

“Talking to yourself now Brother Nick? I understand that incipient marriage can addle the wits of a man, but I had thought the happy day too far off to have you talking to yourself already.”

“Ha Ha, Jarrod. You’re a regular riot tonight. I see you’re all ready to go. It must be nice to be a gentleman of leisure.”

“Touché, Brother Nick.” Jarrod said puffing on his cigar. He studied his younger brother. He had heard their mother questioning Nick about Heath. He had also seen the _expression on Nick’s face a moment ago. For the last two days he had closely watched his two younger brothers, unobtrusively. He had gone along yesterday on the drive up to the high meadows. It had felt good to be outside on his horse, breathing the fresh air. He had watched as his two brothers worked together, moving the cattle with expert planning and with crews all placed where they were needed. The problem as he saw it, was that they didn’t seem to realize how well they worked together.

Nick was of course in overall charge, he could be nothing less on this ranch, but Jarrod saw how Heath moved to cover those things that Nick just couldn’t do, to fill in for him when he just couldn’t be there, to think of the little things that Nick might have forgotten in planning the big ones. It was a seamless matching of effort to effort, and spoke to Jarrod of a partnership that could be the best thing that ever happened to the Barkley holdings, and these two men who meant so much to him. It was with some interest that he realized that Heath really didn’t seem to grasp the depth of what was happening either. Perhaps he was only being the efficient cowboy that he had proven himself to be, or maybe he was working harder because he realized that the ranch’s success was his success. But Jarrod suspected that there was something more.

He noticed that when the two were not actively fighting that Heath seemed to be studying his older brother, watching what he did, and maneuvering himself to do what was needed. It was as if Heath was trying to impress his older brother, but not in a pushy grandstanding sort of way. Heath’s way seemed to be through doing the best job possible in the shortest amount of time. It seemed to Jarrod that Heath almost desperately wanted to have Nick’s appreciation and approbation, but being the man he was, he was going to earn it on his own merits and without being a boot- licker. With anyone else it would have worked by now, but then Nick was more stubborn than almost anyone Jarrod knew. Of course, the fact that Heath was still trying, even if subconsciously, to make headway with his brother, probably indicated that he too had a good portion of the Barkley stubbornness.

Jarrod wished he could go to Nick and point out what he had seen, what he believed, but he knew that in Nick’s current mood it would be counterproductive. He had a pretty good idea that any suggestion that Heath might be a good partner, and would be happy to be considered so, would not be welcome. However, Jarrod could not help but wonder how long Heath would keep taking the rebuffs. Even the most patient of men could only take so much.

He had also been impressed with this newest brother’s skill with horse and rope. He had heard from Audra, Eugene, and even, grudgingly, Nick, the tales of Heath’s prowess with horses. Watching him on the small black mare, working first the side, then the drag, and then back again, was a treat for Jarrod. Even though he might be more of the city now than of the range, he could still appreciate the beauty of a horse and rider so obviously in tune with one another.

His younger brother handled a rope with the casual ease of a man well acquainted with all its uses, and he noticed that he was using the longer braided rawhide rope that the Mexican wranglers used instead of the shorter hemp ropes that the American cowboys favored. He knew that such ropes required careful tending to remain pliable and obviously from the way that Heath used his, he had tended his well. Another sign of Heath's prowess and skill.

Now standing on the porch watching as his brother finished brushing the last of the dust off his clothing he decided to give Nick the benefit of the doubt. He would not believe that his brother would have intentionally sent Heath out on a job that was likely to keep him away from the party. He had seen no sign of such pettiness in Nick before, and he would not assume it now with any evidence to the contrary. He stepped forward and put a hand on Nick’s shoulder as he started back to the house.

“I’m anxious to meet your lady, Brother Nick. If she was willing to marry you after having known you such a short time then I can tell she is an adventurous woman not unlike our mother. I am sure that you and she will be very happy.”

“Thanks Jarrod.” Nick said, glad that his brother had not pursued the questions their mother had been asking. He wasn’t really sure what his answers would have been. He was happier talking about his intended. “I think you will all like her. She’s beautiful, that’s the first thing you notice about her. Her hair is like a raven’s wing and her eyes are a deep brown. After that you notice the spirit in her. She’s a great horsewoman, been trained since she was a little girl. Rides the sidesaddle, but she’ll pick up the astride style real quick. I watched her sit out a pretty good bucking in one of those funny sidesaddle contraptions though, and I gotta hand it to her, she didn’t budge."

"She’s been to all the fancy boarding schools and a finishing school, whatever that means. She talks as well as you do and can quote all the books like you. You two will have some fine talks I’m sure. She’s been all over the place, Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, England, New York, and Chicago. I think she’ll fit in just fine.”

The two men went in the house and up the stairs, Jarrod following Nick into his room as he started getting things ready for after his bath. Silas had already laid out his suit and put out Nick's best boots, polished to a high shine. Not for Nick the citified shoes, even for an occasion like this. As Nick was digging in his bureau for something he kept talking.

“I figure it works out pretty good with Mother insisting that I take her and father’s room. This will be perfect for me and Maria,” he looked around at the decidedly masculine decor and shrugged. “I guess she’ll want to decorate a little, but I can stand it. Anyway she and Audra can get together and match the drapes to the bedspread or something. That’s another thing that I think will work out well. She and Audra and Mother should get along well. I’m sure the way our sister bats her eyes at every unattached male in this valley it won’t be too long until she’s married and it’ll be just Mother and Maria. Maria can take over some of the running of the place and Mother can relax a little. Enjoy the grandkids.” He poked a suggestive elbow in Jarrod’s ribs and shared a laugh with his brother. He looked at the clock on the mantle. “I gotta get in the tub, mother will have my hide.” He left, with Jarrod straggling behind.

As Nick disappeared into the bathroom, Jarrod started toward the stairs only to almost get run down by a muddy Heath springing up the stairs three at a time. As they grabbed each other’s arms to avoid falling in an undignified heap. Heath looked Jarrod up and down. He let out a low whistle.

“Boy howdy, Jarrod. You sure do set the bar mighty high for us less splendid fellas. How are we supposed to match up to that? You’ll be shining more than the ladies do.” He flicked a finger at the small diamond pin in Jarrod’s ascot. “I seen riverboat gamblers that don’t dude up this well.” He finished. Jarrod could see a twinkle hiding in the depths of the blue eyes.

“Well Brother Heath,” He said in a serious tone, “As the eldest brother I feel that I need to set some standards for you younger men. Of course while no one expects you to meet such high levels, it does give you something to shoot for.”

Heath laughed and shook his head. “Ain’t never goin to get that fancy counselor. You better be putting your money on Nick.” He said and glanced at the closed door of the bathroom. “Reckon he’s already in there?” he asked. At Jarrod’s nod he shrugged. “Natural order of things. Guess I’ll get my things together for when he’s done. I’ll just have to be quick about it. Reckon I can shave in my room. That’ll save some time.” He headed for his room. Jarrod, at loose ends, and finding himself wanting to spend time with this new brother followed. A small smile from his brother gave him welcome to the small room.

Jarrod could see that Silas had been here as well, but the differences were obvious. The suit that was laid out on the bed was new. The product of a late afternoon trip to Stockton the day before after the cattle had been moved. They had been lucky to not only find a shopkeeper willing to stay open, but also who had something appropriate in a size that fit. There had been some small alterations needed, but Audra had taken care of that herself last night. Jarrod remembered with a smile the gentle teasing that had gone on between Audra and Heath as she had pinned and measured the evening before, and was pleased that Heath had felt comfortable enough to tease him earlier.

As he watched Heath got his things ready for when he could use the bath, and then went to the bureau where a pitcher and bowl were. He knew that Silas always kept fresh clean water in the pitchers. He raised an eyebrow as Heath wet his face and then reached down and drew a knife from his boot top.

“You’re kidding.” He said as Heath raised the knife and began running the blade down the side of his face, using a small round mirror that was propped up near the bowl. He paused after the first swipe and looked at Jarrod with a smile.

“You ain’t been on the trail in a long time have you counselor?” he asked.

Jarrod shook his head. “No, I haven’t. But I have been on my share of cattle drives, and not even then would I have used a knife instead of a razor.”

Heath turned back to the mirror and began again. He talked as he worked. “Don’t make no difference if it’s a razor or a knife iffn you take care of your knife the way you’re supposed to. Ask any man that cares for his knives and he’ll tell you they work fine. Don’t need to carry the extra weight of a razor. Hell, I’ve known some mountain men that do this with a Bowie blade, now that’s crazy. Things are like a bayonet.”

Jarrod shook his head in amazement and sat in the one chair in the room watching as his brother deftly shaved with his knife. When he was finished Heath wetted his face again and dried it using the small towel Silas had left. He turned, running his hand over his cheek and chin.

“Smooth as a baby’s bottom. Couldn’t get better in no fancy shaving place for a nickel.” He sniffed at his shirt. “Could use some of that bay rum they splash on ya, I reckon. If Nick don’t get outta that bath, I’m gonna have to sit at the far end of the table.”

“Patience Brother Heath. While you were shaving I believe I heard Nick letting out the water. He should be out soon. We promise not to banish you in any event.” As he finished speaking they could hear Nick coming out of the bathroom and heading to his own room. Heath scooped up his clothes and headed out the door. He winked at Jarrod as he turned at the door.

“Gotta go see if I can primp myself up to your standards Jarrod. Don’t want to reflect badly on your teachings and all.” He gave a lopsided smile and disappeared down the hall.

Jarrod was left sitting in the chair, smiling at the empty doorway. It was there that his mother, having finished dressing, found him moments later as she passed the doorway. She stopped and raised a curious eyebrow at her oldest son. She was well aware that Jarrod would never have entered Heath’s room without permission, and was also sure that Silas would have laid out Heath’s clothes for him as he did with the older Barkley men. She did not see the clothing, so she assumed that Heath had returned and was in the bathroom.

Jarrod rose to his feet and went to take his mother’s hand and bowed over it with a kiss. He stood back at arms length and took in the picture she made in the emerald green silk dress with its full skirt and drop sleeves. “Well Lovely Lady, that appellation has never been more true. You are a vision.”

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “Thank you kind sir. You are looking fine as well. I assume that your brother has come in?” she asked. She started down the stairs.

“Yes, he’s washing up. He should be ready on time. Are you looking forward to tonight?” He asked as he took her arm at the bottom of the stairs and led her toward the parlor. She nodded.

“Yes. I am very excited to be meeting the young woman who stole your brother’s heart. Some mothers might be anxious, or even jealous of a new woman in her son’s life. But I feel that anyone who would so quickly take your brother’s attention must be an exceptional woman.”

“I agree with you mother. This should be very interesting.” He led her to the settee where she sat down and spread her skirts so they would not get wrinkled. Jarrod went and poured himself a scotch, and offered his mother a sherry, which she declined. Jarrod went to sit in one of the leather chairs.

They quietly discussed several business issues for the next few minutes before they heard a heavy tread coming down the stairs. Nick appeared in the doorway. He was wearing his best black suit and his shirt was almost blindingly white. His tie was tied exactly right, and Jarrod detected the expert hand of Silas. Nick strode to the Tantalus and poured himself a whiskey. He sat down in the other chair. Jarrod shot him a questioning look.

“Nerves Brother Nick?” he asked.

Nick snorted and tossed back his whiskey. “Of course I got nerves. There’s a lot of difference in meeting a man over drinks to talk about buying and selling cattle, and sitting down over a meal to introduce him to your family.”

“Are you concerned we won’t measure up?” Jarrod asked, a smile on his face. Nick finished his drink and shook his head.

“No,” he said firmly. “I’m just nervous is all. I want him to think I’m the right man for Maria, and this will be the first time he’s seen me here, like I really am. Maybe I’m afraid I won’t measure up.” He added the last in a slightly lower voice, almost as an aside.

Victoria smiled at him. “You have nothing to be concerned about. If he approved of you before, he’ll approve of you now. You are not a man who hides himself in the situation. You are as you are. It should be enough for any parent to know.” He smiled at her. They all looked toward the doorway as movement there drew their attention.

With his characteristic quietness Heath had come down the stairs and now hovered in the doorway. He was wearing the brown suit that Jarrod had helped him pick out. His tie also showed the ministrations of Silas. While his boots were the same that he used daily, and were not fancy or shiny, they were clean. All in all he presented a fine picture, Victoria thought, pleased with the results of the efforts of the previous day.

The real surprise, given his sudden and quiet appearance was the presence of his sister on his arm. She was in a gown of apricot satin with lace at the décolletage and wrist. Her hair was beautifully styled. Together they made a striking pair, so similar as to leave no doubt as to their relation. They could have been twins if it hadn’t been for the knowledge in Heath’s eyes, knowledge that had been hard won in a life of privation and want. Jarrod rose to his feet and bowed toward the pair.

“It seems that you clean up well Brother Heath.” He acknowledged his younger brother who gave him a small smile, and then turned his attention to their sister. “You, of course, look stunning young miss. I believe you chose wisely in that color, though I’m sure I needn’t mention it.” She bestowed a lovely smile on him, and looked around.

“We all look very nice. I think Nick’s father-in-law to be will be impressed with us. I do so want to make a good impression on him and on Maria since this is the first they will see of us.” She looked over her shoulder. “Should I go and check with Silas to make sure everything is ready, Mother?” she asked.

Victoria shook her head. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Silas would have notified us if there was a problem. I believe we should get ready to greet our guests. I see by the time that they should be arriving.”

The family moved to the foyer, and lined up in a sort of informal receiving line. Nick went to the door and looked out. He could indeed see a closed carriage approaching. It struck him that it was strange that they had not used an open carriage in the clear and pleasant night, but the thought was quickly banished. He stepped forward to open the door as the carriage came to a stop. He offered a hand to the portly woman dressed in black who was seated just inside the door. This was Lucia, a widowed cousin of the Garcia family, and a chaperon to Maria.

The next person to disembark was Maria. She was dressed in white, a lovely lace covered dress, with a white mantilla over her black, beautifully styled hair. Her heart shaped face was flushed with pleasure at seeing Nick, and her dark eyes sparkled at him as he helped her to the ground. He bent over her hand, his lips barely touching her skin. She smiled at him.

“It is so nice to see you Nick. Even though we have written it has been so long.” She said in her pleasant contralto.

He smiled back at her. “It definitely has been too long. Now that you are here we’ll be seeing each other all the time.” He turned from her reluctantly to greet the man that emerged from the carriage. “Don Garcia, good to see you. I hope your trip was pleasant.”

Don Hernando Garcia nodded. “It was at the least, swifter than traveling by road though I have had enough of the sea. Next time I will travel by horse instead of the coastal ship, but one must think of the ladies.” He offered his hand, and Nick shook it firmly.

The man was in his middle sixties and widowed. He was slim and distinguished in a Spanish sort of way Nick supposed. Maria had been a late in life child, the only one Don Garcia and his wife had been able to have. He was a man of vast resources. He owned 3 ranches here in California, including the recently purchased one that shared a border with the Barkley land to the North and had a large rancho in Mexico. He ran over twenty five thousand head of cattle between the ranches, and he was always looking to expand his empire.

Nick waved toward the door to the mansion. “Please, come this way. I’ll introduce you to my family and then we’ll have a drink before dinner.” He almost offered an arm to Maria when his manners kicked in. He offered it instead to the older woman and led the party into the foyer where his family waited.

He had to admit they made a nice picture. His mother and sister were beautiful as usual, and his brothers….he paused in his own thoughts as he realized he had just thought of Heath as his brother. It had really happened for the first time earlier when they had turned to find Heath and Audra in the doorway together. For some reason seeing the two blonds there together, all done up in their best clothes, he had realized how much alike they were. And it had clicked into place for him. This was his brother, a man with as much of Tom Barkley’s blood in his veins as he had, as Jarrod or Audra had. It had been a startling realization. He was already nervous about introducing Maria to them, he really didn’t need this right now. He had forced it to the back of his mind, determined to consider it later.

He led Mrs. Garcia to his mother, he realized he really wasn’t sure of her whole name, and was glad when Don Garcia stepped forward as they stopped before Victoria. “Don Hernando Garcia, may I present my mother Victoria Barkley.”

Victoria inclined her head and offered her hand to Don Garcia. He took it gently and bowed over it. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Your son spoke very highly of you, but he did not mention how beautiful you are.”

She smiled, “Thank you Don Garcia. I am so happy to meet you. Nicholas had told us so much about you and your family. We have been anxious to make your acquaintance.”

“Indeed. May I introduce you to my cousin, Lucia Garcia Tocodo. She had honored me by agreeing to act as my daughter’s duenna, chaperon as you say.” The two women exchanged nods. Then Don Garcia drew Maria forward. “And this is my daughter, Maria Patricia Lucinda Garcia Hernandez. Maria, Mrs. Barkley.”

Maria gave a curtsey and smiled at the woman who was to be her mother in law. She could see that Victoria Barkley was everything that Nick had said of her. Refined, beautiful, powerful, in her own way. The gray eyes smiled at her, all the while looking her over critically. Mrs. Barkley turned and indicated a handsome dark haired man that stood at her side. His eyes were a beautiful dark blue.

“Permit me to introduce Nicholas’ brothers and sister. Jarrod, Audra, and Heath.” She indicated each as she spoke their name. Handshakes and nods were exchanged. She then suggested that they go into the parlor. They were soon seated, and Jarrod offered drinks. Don Garcia, and his cousin accepted a sherry, as did Victoria. Nick and Heath helped themselves to a whiskey. Don Garcia shook his head when Jarrod offered a sherry to Maria.

“My daughter does not drink. It would not be proper for a woman of her age and station.” He said. Jarrod, who had been about to offer the same to Audra simply raised an eyebrow and looked at his sister, who shook her head slightly. She looked at Maria.

“Perhaps you would like a lemonade? Silas, our houseman, makes the most wonderful lemonade. It is very refreshing.” Both Jarrod and Audra saw Maria look to her father who nodded, before she nodded herself.

“That sounds very nice. Thank you.”

Once everyone was seated with a drink, the talk became general. They spoke about the Garcia’s travels and the new ranch. About twenty minutes passed before Silas appeared in the doorway to announce that dinner was ready. The moved to the dining room, Victoria on Don Garcia’s arm and Jarrod squiring Lucia. Nick offered his arm to Maria who accepted with a smile. This left Heath and Audra to bring up the rear. With the others on the way out of the room, Heath made an elaborate bow to the solemn Audra who broke into a wide grin and curtsied back at him. They swept regally after the others.

Dinner was perfect. Silas had outdone himself to present a series of perfectly cooked dishes. Everything from the soup to the dessert course was delightful. Heath had never seen so much food in one place at one time. He was already nervous about the new suit, and this formal dinner was not helping his nerves any. He desperately wanted to make sure that he didn’t bring any attention to himself with bad manners or awkward habits. He watched what Jarrod did, and tried to do the same thing. He figured he was making a good show of fitting in, when Don Garcia spoke to him from his right. Don Garcia was sitting at the foot of the table, with Heath on his left and Audra on his right. Audra was currently speaking with Lucia who was seated on her right, so Garcia had turned to Heath.

“You work the ranch with your older brother Mr. Barkley?” He asked.

Heath nodded his head and cast a quick glance at Nick who was seated down the table on the other side of Maria who was at Heath’s left. “Yes, sir. I do.” He figured that the less said about much of anything the better. He just had to make sure he wasn’t rude. He didn’t think that Nick would appreciate that very much, and since his older brother had enough reason to hate him already, he didn’t need to add anything to the fire.

“I know that you handle cattle, but do you also have horses?” Don Garcia asked.

“Yes we have several herds of mustang stock and some fine thoroughbred studs and mares. We’re breeding some fine cutting and riding horses.” Heath said, glad that the older man had started on a subject with which he was familiar and comfortable. They spoke for several minutes about horses, cattle, and the state of the grazing in the valley. Finally they were discussing the breeding programs that the Barkleys had.

“I too have several breeding programs. I do not raise the horses here in California, but on my ranch near Jalisco. I have purebred Arabian horses. They are amazing animals. Strength and beauty, and all passed on in the bloodline. It is a science, to create the result you want.”

Heath considered that. “I’ve seen those Arabians, and they are mighty fine horses, right pretty and fast on a track, but I gotta tell you, I don’t think that you can beat a mustang for sheer endurance and toughness. There ain’t an Arabian that I ever saw that could stand up to a day of herding cattle in broken country, and that’s what we are breeding for. Bloodlines are fine, but if you got a mustang with mixed blood and stamina, and an Arabian with pure blood and no stamina, I’m gonna take the mustang.”

Don Garcia frowned. “I understand your point, but I do not feel that you can discard the value of a bloodline so easily. It is with horses, and even cattle, as it is with we men. We are what our ancestors made us. If the line is pure we are pure, we are correct. If the line is impure, that is when we get the criminals, the useless ones of society that add nothing, and only take.”

Sitting across the table and several chairs down from Heath, Jarrod was chatting with Lucia when he happened to see his younger brother pale slightly. He had noticed that Heath and Don Garcia seemed to be discussing something, and was pleased that his younger brother seemed to be doing well despite his reservations about his manners. He wondered what the subject was that could have caused such a reaction.

Across the table Audra, a veteran of many dinner parties even at her age, also noticed and she turned her attention to what the two men were saying. She had just finished discussing the latest fashion on the continent with Lucia, and had not followed what they had been discussing.

Heath smiled faintly and nodded even though he felt like he had been kicked in the guts. He knew from the older man’s manner that he didn’t have any idea about the circumstances of his birth, and had meant nothing by it. However, Heath knew that continuing the conversation was not in anyone’s best interest. He decided to change the subject. “You have a ranch near Jalisco.” He said. “Is it anywhere near Talequilla?”

Don Garcia raised an eyebrow. “It is not, but I am familiar with the town. A close friend of mine has a rancho there, Don Alejandro Vega. Do you know him?”

Heath nodded. “I know of him, never met him though. I spent some time down that way a few years back.” Heath thought it better not to mention that he hadn’t exactly run in the same crowd as the local patron, and had been busy chasing mustangs in the nearby Sierra Madre Mountains with a band of men who could be considered by some as banditos or even revolutionaries.

Audra picked that moment to ask Don Garcia about his trip to Spain and Heath breathed a sigh of relief and cast his sister a grateful look. She gave him a slight smile and turned her attention to Don Garcia. Maria was speaking with Nick, and Silas had just served the dessert, so he knew that dinner should be over soon. He hoped he could figure out a way to slip off without anyone noticing, but he had a feeling that even the attempt would not be taken well by his family. It seemed they were real big on doing things just right.

The family returned to the parlor after dinner. Jarrod suggested that the men should retire to the study for a cigar and some brandy while the men talked. It was so agreed, and Heath found himself sitting in the study, a bandy and a cigar in his hand, and trying to make himself invisible. Jarrod had traveled in Europe and he and Don Garcia spoke about places that they had both seen. Heath stayed on the edge of the conversation, nodding at the right times, and clutching his brandy with a white knuckled grip. He really wasn't enjoying the aged liqueur or the expensive cigar.

After the cigars they joined the ladies once again. Heath watched as Nick spoke with Maria, and he could not help but wonder about his brother’s choice in women. He wondered if Nick really understood exactly what he was getting himself into there. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty. In fact she was beautiful. He might have made a move himself if she hadn’t been his brother’s girl. But did Nick really know what it was like for a woman from a rich family of Mexico?

He had spent a lot of time in Mexico, and while he didn’t move in the same circles, he had eyes and ears and he heard a lot and saw a lot. The women of the rich were watched at all times. They did not travel anywhere alone, even after they were married. They were very dominated by the head of the family, and were used in much the same way that breeding stock might be. They were married off to whatever other rich family there might be a financial or political reason to have a connection with. Heath could not help but wonder if this marriage, and Don Garcia’s approval of it, was not something along the same lines.

He knew what was in it for Nick, he obviously had fallen for the young woman. Heath knew enough about his older brother to know that he didn’t care if she was rich or not. But he could not say the same for her father. Heath suspected that the reason that Don Garcia had allowed the match so quickly was that he saw the advantages, both politically and financially of having a daughter married to a Barkley.

The money thing was easy to see. The Barkley’s were one of the few families in California that were on the same level as Garcia. And Heath had a suspicion about the political benefit as well. He had heard that the old Spanish land grants were being challenged. That the Spanish families that had held vast acreage of land here for decades were being forced to give up their land. Heath knew Jarrod was a damn fine lawyer, and the papers throughout California had made much of his brother for his stand against the railroads in court, arguing for the landowners rights. He had no doubt that Don Garcia had seen the reports, and there was every possibility that the old fox had decided that having Jarrod Barkley on his side when it came time to defend those ranches that he held in Southern California might be a good idea, and might even be worth the loss of a daughter in marriage.

And Heath had seen enough in Mexico to understand that the girl would go along with it, despite what she might feel, because that was how it was done. The women understood that it was their duty to do what their fathers ordered them to do. Heath figured very few of the woman of Maria’s class actually got to choose who they would marry. Marrying for love was not an option most of the time. He had heard that some of them even married men that they had never even met before the actual wedding.

It had all seemed kind of cold to Heath, though he wasn’t about to criticize something he really didn’t understand. He simply didn’t like any system that took away the free will of another person. It was too much like being in prison, where the guards told you how to do everything from breathing to sleeping.

Of course he might be totally wrong. Old Don Garcia had been in America for quite some time despite his rancho in Mexico. He might have taken on some of the more relaxed manners of the people that surrounded him. Here women were not so much a commodity, even if they were still protected. Why look at Audra. Her brothers, and Heath had to include himself in that count now he realized, took care of her, but she still was allowed to go about pretty much as she pleased, and on her own. She was a superb horsewoman, and she had been almost everywhere on the vast Barkley holding on her own at one time or another. She was good with a rifle, could use a handgun passably, and she chose the men she wished to see on her own. When she married it would be because she loved the man, and…..to be perfectly frank with himself he thought with a small smile, because her brothers had taken his measure and were sure he was the right one for her.

Audra, looking at Heath saw a small smile pass over the solemn face he had assumed since they had come into the parlor. She knew he had wanted to flee the gathering almost as soon as they had risen from the table. She had seen him glancing at the French doors in an almost desperate manner. Her quiet brother was not one for parties she knew. It was one of the things that set him apart from her other brothers. Jarrod was always comfortable in any social situation. He was well read and always up on current events. He could talk on almost any subject for any length of time. Nick, while not as knowledgeable about as many things as Jarrod was always ready to talk. He had an opinion about most things, and was always willing to share it.

It always amused Audra to watch her brothers at any given gathering. She could tell at a glance almost which of her brothers a man would be drawn to. The well-dressed gentleman of substance would be drawn to her brother Jarrod and his quite but penetrating voice. The men of spirit and drive would be drawn toward Nick and his loud voice and boisterous manner. Even her brother Eugene, though not yet a man full grown had a way about him. He combined the two manners of his brothers, slightly boisterous still in his youth, he had Jarrod’s way with words. He wasn’t as smooth as Jarrod, or as magnetic as Nick, but he was learning.

Heath was a different matter all together. She had watched him, at the informal gatherings they had attended together in the last months. Two Saturday night socials and a barn raising had given her occasion to see her brother interact with others. That he was quiet to the point of silence was a given. You noticed it about him at once. There was just something about him that was….comfortable. Comfortable in the way that sitting at the side of a lake was comfortable, or on the top of a mountain. His was a silence that let you think your own thoughts and express them as you would with no criticism or judgment. Heath listened a lot, and truly heard what you said.

His coming here had not been easy she knew, and there where those who shunned him. It had angered her at first, but he had simply patted her arm and smiled at her in that quiet way and told her that they didn’t matter. She knew that they did matter, to him and to her, but she had gone along. She had thought because he was so quiet that she would have to bring people to him to be sure that he would have someone to talk to. But she had underestimated the power of his appeal.

She had noticed that a parade of people seemed to find their way to him in the course of a night. He didn’t seek them out, but they found him. Unlike her brothers they were not in groups however, it was always one on one, with Heath giving what appeared to be his whole attention to the speaker. She had looked over in the course of the evenings and seen him speaking with Father Donnagal, the local priest; Mrs. Luella Pearson, widow and current head of the lending library building committee; Jock Pratt, owner of the largest saloon in Stockton, and a grizzled old timer by the name of Jubal T. Huckmeister who had come down out of the mountains with a donkey load of ore for assaying. He had spent the longest time with Jubal during the last social, and the two had slipped out together, and she suspected had gone to the saloon for a more powerful drink than was being offered at the social. Heath had seemed happy with it all so she had not interfered.

Now she could see that he was much less comfortable in this situation. Perhaps it was the number of people present, or just the situation. She had placed herself at his elbow, clinging to his arm as the others talked, keeping him there in the room. She saw him cast several glances at the open French doors, but he had not tried to leave.

Finally the evening had come to an end. Everyone said his or her good nights, and the Garcia carriage was brought around. Nick went out with the Garcia’s and handed first Lucia and then Maria up into the carriage. He had arranged to see her the next day at their ranch after church services. he would join them for lunch. Don Garcia offered his hand.

“It has been lovely to meet your family Nicholas, and to see your home, and I can see," he said gesturing around at the moonlit ranch yard with the white gleaming barns and fences, “why you are so proud of it. I can also see why you are proud of your family. Your mother and sister are beautiful women. I am surprise that they are not wed. The men of your country must be blind." He smiled.

"Your brother, Jarrod, also impresses me. He speaks well, and I can see what you mean by him being perfect for politics. He would be a good man in the legislature or even the Governor's mansion. I will be honored to introduce him to my friends. They are powerful men, and they are always looking for honest men to represent us in the capitol." He looked around the ranch yard again.

"I also must say that I am impressed by the knowledge of your younger brother. He spoke to me of your horses and your cattle, and I can tell he was well versed for one so young. I must admit that I was confused about him. From your letters I had thought him much younger than you and in school still. Now I see that you have an able right hand man. That will be good when you marry. He will be able to step up and take some of the load. It will be smoother for everyone.” With that cryptic statement he tipped his hat and climbed into the carriage before Nick could react. Don Garcia banged his cane on the floor of the carriage and the driver called to the team. The perfectly matched Grey horses moved out eagerly, wanting to return to their familiar stalls.

Nick stood there looking after the carriage, his mind whirling at what the older man had just said. Nick had intended to use his visit tomorrow to address the issue of his……could he say it?..his brother…. with his future father-in–law. He was not looking forward to airing his family’s dirty laundry in this manner, but it was only a matter of time until someone, somewhere, said something, and then it would all be out. Better he told them now, and let them get used to the idea. After all, he had. But just now he realized that Don Garcia thought Heath was Eugene. Obviously Maria had shared his letters with her father, and they had simply assumed that Heath was the younger brother he had spoken of. Now that he thought of it, he hadn’t really mentioned how old Eugene was, just that he was younger and at Berkley. Obviously while Heath might be younger, there was no way he had been at collage. You only had to hear that drawl to understand that. He could understand the older man’s confusion.

"Well isn't that just dandy" Nick thought to himself as he kicked a rock viciously across the yard, then scowled at the scuff it left on his good boots. "Somehow this was all HIS fault", that little nasty voice in the back of his head seemed to be saying, and he had no doubt who the voice meant. He knew the misunderstanding was not going to make his discussion with Don Garcia any easier tomorrow. He looked up at the moon-bright sky, and tried to make the voice go away. He would just have to do what he had to do. He caught sight of someone moving across the yard from the back of the house, and even in the shadows thrown by the moonlight he recognized Heath heading toward the barn. He knew the younger man was going out to check on his horse. The boy seemed to get on better with that little black horse than he did with any man on the place. Nick couldn't fault him for his devotion, he felt the same about Coco. He went and leaned against one of the huge pillars supporting the porch. Letting his eyes follow Heath until he was inside the barn.

It wasn’t going to be easy explaining this whole thing to Don Garcia. Hell nothing about the whole situation had been easy, so why should this be any different. He watched as his brother, there that word was again, left the barn and headed back to the kitchen door. Nick waited until he had gone in before he took one last look around the yard, and went back inside. It was time to get some sleep. He was going to need it tomorrow.

Chapter 6

The following day Nick found that nothing seemed to be going as planned. The family was late getting off to church, and on the way home the wheel came off the carriage. It was only due to the fact that they were traveling very slowly over an unexpectedly bumpy part of the road that the carriage was able to remain upright. The other reason that the minor inconvenience didn’t turn into a greater problem was that Heath had been driving, and was able to control the horses. Of course Nick tried to ignore that fact as he swung down from Coco. He really wasn’t prepared to give his brother credit for anything at this moment. He and Jarrod had chosen to ride that morning and had been following the carriage at a distance. They had been discussing a new parcel of land that Nick had been trying to purchase when they heard a cry of alarm from up ahead.

They had looked forward to see the carriage skewing around as the horses shied in alarm at the sudden change behind them. They could see that Heath had risen partly to his feet and was using all his strength to hold the horses in place against their natural urge to run. As they approached, slowly so as not to further excite the team, they could hear him talking to them, and could see that the horses were already calming despite the strangeness of the situation. The boy had a way with him.

Nick went to the head of the horses and grabbed the halter piece of the near horse, then began calming it. He watched Jarrod help the ladies down from the carriage and move them into the shade of a nearby tree. Nick met the pale blue eyes of his newest brother and nodded. Wordlessly Heath let up on the reins and sprung down from the carriage, moving to the head of the other horse. Working together, but with no conversation, they unhitched the team and tied them to a downed tree where they could crop some grass while the men looked at the carriage.

Jarrod joined them at the side of the carriage, reporting that the women had suffered no injury, and were comfortable for the time sitting in the grass under the tree. They were both practical women of the range, and recognized that these things happened, though Jarrod noted that Audra had mentioned that she was not pleased with the idea of getting grass stains on her skirt. He was amused as his brothers rolled their eyes in concert. The men turned their attention to the wheel.

“Axle ain’t broke. Looks like it just made it’s way off when the pin fell out. We should be able to jury rig something to get us back to the ranch, don’t you think?” Heath offered. Jarrod noticed that he addressed the question not to Nick, but to himself. He cast a look at Nick who was scowling. Jarrod frowned as he realized that Nick was about to refuse the suggestion out of hand simply because Heath had made it, and opened his mouth to make a comment of his own. He stopped when he saw Nick take a deep breath, and with visible effort, relax the scowl.

“Looks like he’s right. By the time one of us got to the ranch and back here with a pin and some tools we could be halfway home. Let’s find something to use and get the wheel back on. With the three of us it shouldn’t take long.” Jarrod could have applauded his brother’s attitude, and found himself almost smiling at Heath’s momentary startled look as he listened to Nick’s words. The flash of pleasure that he saw in the pale blue eyes was also telling. Heath had not expected Nick to agree.

The three men discussed what they would need, and spread out to find the proper tools. A rock and a thick limb would provide the necessary swedging tool to get the wheel back into place on the axel, and a longer limb and rock served as a fulcrum and lever to lift the carriage as Heath moved the wheel onto the axle and then pounded it into place. The pin to hold it there proved a bit more of a problem. None of the men felt that a piece of wood would remain in place. They needed a piece of metal that could be bent around after going through the hole in the end of the axle. Anything else would allow the wheel to come loose again.

The ladies settled the answer to that dilemma. They had been watching the whole thing, and when it became obvious that there seemed to be no appropriate solution available in nature, Audra and Victoria had conferred. They had slipped behind a large tree and had emerged to offer a slim piece of metal, about the width of a small finger, and six or seven inches long. Victoria had offered it matter of factly to Jarrod who looked at her in curiosity. He heard a snicker from his youngest brother and cast a glance at the blond who shook his head admiringly.

“Never did rightly know what good them corset stays were, guess now I know.” He said simply and took the metal from Jarrod. He pushed it through the hole and started to bend it into place. Nick stopped him before he could get to far.

“You’ll cut your hands to pieces on that. Let me do it.” He raised a gloved hand. Heath stepped back and watched as Nick bent the metal into a rough twist. They both nodded, thinking it would hold for now. Neither saw the look exchanged between Jarrod and Victoria. It had been the first time that Nick had shown any concern for Heath at all, and both were wondering if it signaled a change in Nick’s attitude.

They proceeded to the ranch, and Nick was dismayed to find that the delay had caused him to be late for his appointment at the Garcia ranch. He changed out of his church going clothes and headed out. He arrived almost an hour after he had been due and was shown into the parlor of the large ranch house. The servant told him that the family had already sat down to dinner, and Nick had requested to wait until they were done. He noticed that the adobe structure had been redone in the manner of a Mexican rancho, with the large wooden furniture, all of it looking old, and with rich colored fabrics. He turned as he heard the sound of someone coming into the room. It was Don Garcia. Nick went forward and took the older man’s offered hand.

“I’m sorry to be late, Don Garcia. I’m afraid there was a small accident on our way home from church that delayed our return to the ranch. It seemed that I could get here as quickly as a message would so I wanted to come myself and apologize.”

“It is of no concern, Nicholas. These things happen. In any event we ran into some friends at church ourselves and they have joined us for dinner. You must join us also. I will not take no for an answer.” He led Nick into the dining room, a huge room with an equally large table. There were eight people already there, and a servant was adding another setting. Nick settled into place and acknowledged the introductions as Don Garcia made them. He found that the friends Don Garcia had spoken of were several of the richest Mexican landowners in the area.

Nick knew them by name, but since thy usually kept to their own, he had not had much chance to get to know them. Maria was seated across the large table from him and he smiled at her, and got a shy smile back in return. He was slightly put out that he had not been allowed to sit next to her where there was an empty chair, so that they could speak. In any other setting he would have forgotten his manners and simply spoke to her anyway across the table, but given the formality that he sensed in her father he thought it best to refrain. He instead talked about grazing with one of the ranchers.

After a very long dinner, at least from Nick’s point of view the men retreated to a masculine study for brandy and cigars. Nick cast a wistful look after Maria as she and the other ladies retreated toward the parlor. She cast him what he hoped was a similar glance. It was almost an hour before Don Garcia signaled that they should rejoin the woman. Normally Nick would not have minded the discussion of horses and cattle. He was after all a rancher, and it was his life. But today he was finding it frustrating that the Garcia’s were so formal as to observe the practice of ladies and men separating after a meal. He had become used to his own family’s practice of gathering after dinner to spend time together. He was sure that Maria would enjoy the change when they married and she came to live at the Barkley mansion.

Unfortunately Nick’s frustration was only to grow over the next several hours. He was in the same room as Maria, but he seldom got to speak to her at any length, and even then they could only speak of things that were not really important. He also noticed that while most of the people present spoke English when talking with him, they reverted to Spanish the rest of the time. His Spanish had been learned on the range and much of his vocabulary consisted of words that he knew would not be appropriate for use in a parlor with ladies present. For the first time that he could recall he felt uncomfortable in a social situation. He hadn’t felt this awkward since his first date with Mary Jane Potsky. He finally came to realize that the unexpected guests were going to be staying a lot longer than he had planned to stay himself, and he made his excuses to Maria and Don Garcia. He knew that for the next several days they would be busy in the orchards checking irrigation and also on the range checking the cattle that were still on the lower grazes. There would be little opportunity to see Maria, and speak to her father, until the following Saturday. He suggested as much to the older man as they shook hands. Don Garcia agreed.

Nick made his way home along the familiar trail leading through the North pasture. He had traveled this route many times, and he didn’t need to pay too much attention as Coco knew it as well as he did. He allowed his thoughts to linger on Maria, the curve of her cheek, the dark hair, and the brown eyes that smiled at him. He wondered if she would agree to attend the upcoming social with him. He would ask her next Saturday, when he expected they would be able to spend some time. He realized with a start that he had never actually spent any amount of time alone with her except for that short time at Don Garcia’s ranch near Los Angeles. They had managed to take some time when they were out riding. The older woman who seemed to be forever hovering had fallen back on her horse, and Nick had had an opportunity to really talk with the lovely young woman, he had been enchanted by her voice, her quick mind, and her spirit. It seemed to be love at first sight. As the days went by he had become more and more enamored, until it seemed natural to be asking for her hand in marriage, even after such a short time.

He was startled out of his thoughts as Coco gave a snort and stopped. Nick looked in the direction that the horse was looking and saw what had caught the big gelding’s attention. He immediately recognized the small black mare, and the slim tan-dressed figure that appeared to be working on the windmill was also recognizable. Nick sat there on the now restive horse and considered his next course of action. It did not appear that his brother-it was getting easier to say that, though he wasn’t sure why-hadn’t seen him, and Nick was sure that Heath would probably not miss him even if he had been spotted. He had noticed that this new brother seemed to prefer working on his own, or at least didn’t mind it.

He wasn’t one to need supervision that was for sure. Even Nick had to admit that the boy did a good job, no matter what he turned his hand to, and if Nick were honest with himself, he had assigned Heath just about every job that there was on the ranch, and his brother had done them all without complaint. Nick leaned forward on his saddle horn and considered the figure from a distance. He really hadn’t thought about that before.

Heath had proven himself more than able, and willing, to take on just about anyone, including Nick himself, when something rubbed him the wrong way. Yet, he had not so much as made a peep about the jobs he had been assigned. It was like working the breaks during the cattle drive, Nick had expected a protest, and had gotten none. The same could be said about a dozen other jobs that the younger man had done since he came. Then there was the whole thing with Wallant and the ranch hands.

Nick still wasn’t sure exactly what to think about that. He had been reluctant, to say the least, to leave the drive in Heath’s hands, but since he was the only Barkley available, even if Nick had been unwilling to consider him so in anything BUT name, it had been the only choice. Then when the whole thing had gone to hell with the general…..It was still a sore spot with Nick. He had gotten the tale from the men, and he believed the story that they told. From Heath there had been little information beyond the bare facts. Not that Nick really had expected more. They weren’t exactly on good terms, and idle chitchat was definitely not something that was going to happen anytime soon.

He finally turned Coco back to the trail and continued on toward the ranch, but now instead of his bride to be, he was thinking about his brother, and how things had been in the last few months. Nick prided himself on being an honest man, and he realized with some embarrassment that he had not been honest with himself in that time. He had been angry, rightfully so he thought, but the problem was who to be angry with. It wasn’t Heath’s fault that he had been born, and the two people who were responsible, Thomas Barkley and Heath’s mother, Leah Thompson, were dead. It didn’t make any sense to be angry with Heath and it didn’t do any good to be angry with his parents. It was all incredibly frustrating. But Nick had NEEDED to have a focus for the anger, and he had chosen Heath, simply due to his being the only one present. Now, riding back to the ranch, Nick resolved to try to let his anger go, and even if he couldn’t bring himself to treat Heath like he treated Jarrod, at least they could reach some kind of working relationship that wasn’t so tense. This resolved he nudged Coco to a run, and the horse gladly stretched out towards home and a Sunday afternoon snooze in his stall.

The weekdays went by quickly, with the regular all consuming work on the ranch. Nick, working on his new resolution, had come to a startling conclusion. If he allowed it to be, Heath would make a hell of a partner. It seemed that the boy had managed to grasp in a few months the things that Nick had taken years getting used to. Some time in those few short months the boy had taken the time to ride over most of the ranch, and had become familiar with the workings and needs of the land. Nick suspected that Duke had been filling Heath in on the production schedules of the various orchards and vineyards, but other than that the boy seemed to posses an intuitive grasp of what had to be done.

Nick startled Heath on Saturday morning by actually asking him what he thought needed to be done that day as they walked out toward the bunk house to hand out assignments. Thinking about it later Nick had to smile at how his newest brother had stopped in his tracks and had looked at him as if he had just proposed riding bareback all day instead of using saddles.

At the time Nick had managed to keep a straight face and after a moment during which Heath studied him closely, his brother had made some very astute suggestions, most of them along the same lines as Nick was thinking, but also including something he hadn’t though of. He had listened with all seriousness, and had simply nodded and then continued on toward the bunkhouse. He had gone several strides in that direction before he realized that Heath was not following along. He had stopped and turned to find his brother staring down at the ground and shaking his head.

“Well are you coming? We don’t have all day. This is a working ranch you know.” He had said, and watched as Heath’s head snapped up and the pale blue eyes met his. Heath had started forward without a word and they had continued to the bunkhouse. Nick had been aware of Heath’s quiet astonishment as he had proceeded to assign the men to the tasks as the younger man had suggested, including the one thing that Nick had missed. Nick had assigned that task to Heath himself, and had received a second strange look.

It was one of the easiest of the jobs being handed out that day. It would mean that Heath would be finished well before midday, and could take advantage of the half day off that most of the hands enjoyed, instead of working all day long just like any other day of the week, as he had been doing since he came. Nick had come to realize that morning that rather than taking advantage of his position with the Barkley family to slack off on the weekend, Heath had if anything put in more hours than even Nick himself, for instance his working on the windmill last Sunday. Nick had also realized that the boy had done it with out pointing out the fact either. It was only when Nick went over in his head the number of things that didn’t have to be done this year that had been done the year before that he realized the scope of what Heath had done.

The boy had sought out and finished many of the small, irritating, chores that took up so much time, using up manpower that could be better utilized elsewhere in the busy spring and early summer. Nick had not had to worry about any of the little details for the last couple of months, and he just now realized why that was. He had been riding with Duke that morning, checking watering holes, and he had turned to the foreman who was making a note in a small notebook that he had carried with him. Nick had frowned at the new addition.

“Since when do you write down stuff?” he had asked of the older man. Duke had looked at him and out up the pad and pencil stub, and had pushed the hat back on his head, and shifted in the saddle so that he could talk to Nick easily without twisting around.

“Since Heath pointed out how good it was to be able to reference back to something time after time. If you got it written down you don’t have to try to recall, you just look back and there it is. I been keeping a tally of how the water stands in each watering hole over the last two months. That way I can see which one is losing water fastest, and which are keeping up. Makes it a lot easier to keep track.”

“And what had this tallying told you?” Nick enquired, seeing the surprise in Duke's face when he didn’t disregard the practice simply because Heath had something to do with it. Nick was becoming quite ashamed of his actions in the past months.

“That we’ve got too many head on the East side. The water’s dropping faster there than anywhere else, and the two holes on the west are getting almost no use. Seems we might want to move a few head around a little early. We can split the bunch on the East and move em over there. We got the prime stuff moved up to the high meadows last week, this group will take to their leavings like it was prime feed. They’re a lot tougher bunch.” He said. The cattle now running on the eastern grazes were some hearty longhorn cross breed that seemed to flourish where other cows would become skin and bone.

Nick nodded. It seemed like a good plan. It was a better use of the water resources and the graze on both sides would benefit from not having the whole herd on it at once. Nick looked at Duke with narrowed eyes. “That your idea?” he asked.

Duke looked back at him defiantly, “No, as a matter of fact it isn’t my idea. Does it matter?”

Nick lowered his head as if considering it then looked back at Duke with a smile. “No, I guess it doesn’t.” he said. “Let’s do it. We’ll start Monday.” That earned him a startled look from Duke then a grin of approval. The older man guided his horse up along side Coco and slapped him on the back.

“You just might make your daddy proud yet, boy.” He said as he swung the horse around and headed back toward the ranch. Nick smiled after him, feeling good that he had finally gotten back in his foreman’s good graces.

Later that afternoon Nick made the trip back to the Garcia’s ranch. He had taken time to clean up and put on a new shirt, and was looking forward to seeing Maria. He rode into the yard and handed off Coco’s reins to the hostler that popped out of the barn at the sound of the horse approaching. Would that Ciego was that prompt. He went up to the big metal bound wooden doors, and was not surprised to see the housekeeper standing there waiting for him. She let him in with a small bow and then led him toward the study where Don Garcia sat behind a large desk made form a heavy dark wood. It was bigger than the one Jarrod used back at the Barkley home, and looked to be quite old.

“Sit down, Nicholas. It is a pleasure to see you. How have you been?” the Don asked, reseating himself after rising to his feet to shake Nick’s hand.

“I’m fine. It’s been a busy week, getting the ranch ready for summer, and with this early heat, we’ve been moving the herds early.” Nick replied and sat in one of the large leather chairs in front of the desk. The housekeeper appeared again with a pitcher and two glasses, and Don Garcia waved her towards the edge of the desk.

“Ah, Hortencia, good timing.” He said and motioned her to pour. To Nick he said, “You have to try Hortencia’s sangria. The angels cry for such things in heaven.” The housekeeper gave a glass to Nick and he tasted the sweet wine and fruit concoction. It was cold, and tasted good on his dry throat.

“It’s very good. I could get used to that in the afternoon. Beats lemonade all to…” He stopped with a look at the woman. Don Garcia laughed and waved the housekeeper out of the room.

“Always we must consider the delicate ears of the women. Now it is only we men, and yes it is better than the lemonade.” He sipped at his own glass. “I am sorry that we did not have time to speak on Sunday.”

Nick shook his head. “No need to be sorry. There was nothing that could not wait. We do have several things to discuss I know, not the least of which is the wedding.” He looked around. “I uh…kind of expected Maria to be here.” He noted.

“She will join us later. I had hoped that I could pursued you to join us for supper, there will be plenty of time for you two to talk then.”

Nick was disappointed that evidently he was not going to get a chance to speak with Maria is person, at least not right away, but he didn’t allow it to show. He sipped at his drink again, and then sat forward in his chair. No time like the present to get to the real reason he needed to speak to Garcia. “Don Garcia, “ he started, “I have to speak to you about something that I think you should know. I don’t want you hearing about this from another source…” he was saying when the door flew open and Philippe Constanza, Don Garcia’s foreman, came into the study.

“Don Garcia,” He cried out, and started speaking in a torrent of Spanish too fast for Nick to catch everything. He understood enough to know that something had gotten out of its pen, and among the cows of a neighboring ranch. From the furor that it seemed to be producing, he assumed it was probably a bull that had gotten loose. He had heard that the older man had some fine pure blood bulls, and assumed it was one of those.

Don Garcia had risen to his feet at the opening of the door, and now strode around the desk, giving rapid orders in Spanish, which caused the foreman to nod and run back out. Garcia looked at Nick. “I am sorry my young friend, but there is a problem with the stock, if you do not mind....” he indicated the door. Nick stood and shook his head.

“No, of course not. If you don’t mind I’ll come along with you. I’ve heard about the quality of your stock, and would be pleased to see it, and if there is any way that I can help just let me know.” Nick answered and followed Garcia out the door. They went across the ranch yard to one of the barns. Constanza was there leading out Don Garcia’s horse, and when he saw Nick following he yelled at the ranch hand to get Coco.

They were soon riding to the East, the closest border the ranch had with another. The Nick knew that they had almost reached their destination when he saw a group of men standing near what appeared to be a downed section of fence. As they got closer he could recognize George Peterson, the owner of the neighboring ranch, several of his hands, and several of the Don’s hands. The two groups were standing apart, and seemed to be glaring at each other. They came to a stop nearby and dismounted.

Don Garcia approached his men and waved for one of the men that was there to come forward. Nick was pretty sure that the man was the Segundo, the straw boss, of the ranch. Nick saw that one of Don Garcia’s hands was holding the halter of a large bull. It didn’t take a cattleman’s eye to see that the bull was the highest quality. It wasn’t a breed that Nick was familiar with, but he suspected that whatever breed it was, this was one of the best. He tried to follow the rapid Spanish but got lost pretty quick. The best he could do was pick out a word here and there. Finally the Segundo finished and Don Garcia nodded. He indicated that the bull should be led back onto his land, and he started toward Peterson and his men. He came to a stop about five feet away. He gave a small bow.

“Senor I regret that this has happened again, those responsible will be punished, and we will of course repair the fence.” He said formally. Peterson scowled and shook his head.

“And what about my cows?” he asked. He waved toward a group of cows that were grazing nearby. Nick knew Peterson was proud of his cows, a special breed he had brought in from Texas. They, like the longhorns, seemed to thrive in the hot dry climate, though they seemed to Nick not to be anywhere near as good in bulking up for market. Peterson had been following a breeding program for years trying to find the right combination to get a hardy cow with good beef value. Nick thought it a foolish attempt given the stock he was using, but kept his mouth shut about it for the most part.

“That red monstrosity bred them all, I’ll bet. I’ll loose the calf crop for a season on all of them. I had plans, now they are all shot to hell." Peterson ranted. "This is the third time that bull‘s been on my land trying to get at my cows, and this time he made it. If you can’t handle your stock any better than that you need to get some new men. ” Nick was suddenly reminded why he wasn’t too fond of Peterson.

Don Garcia nodded slowly. “I understand the seriousness of this occurrence. You have my personal assurances that it will not happen again.”

Peterson made a slashing motion with his hand. “I had your personal assurance last time. That don’t get me squat, and my cows are still useless for a season.” He growled. Don Garcia took it a lot more calmly then Nick would have taken that tone had it been addressed to him. He did see Don Garcia’s lips thin. The older man spun on his heel and spoke rapidly to his foreman in Spanish, holding out his hand and snapping his fingers. The man argued for a moment, but a snapped order from Garcia got him moving toward his horse where he pulled a rifle out of the sheath.

Nick almost absently noted that the rifle was just like Heath’s, no doubt from Mexico also. He wondered what the Don was planning to do with a rifle and he was soon to get his answer. The Don grabbed the rifle from the foreman’s hands and stalked toward the bull. Everyone there suddenly knew what he was going to do, and the shock of it kept them all from moving as the Don lifted the rifle, sighted, and fired all in one smooth motion. The shot range out, making almost everyone jump. The bull slumped to his knees and then to his side, to lay unmoving. The other men stood there, shocked into a type of paralysis. They had just seen a man kill a bull worth more money than most of them would ever see in one place, as casually as a man might shoot a diseased range cow. They could not believe it. Don Garcia, seemingly unmoved by his act, tossed the rifle back to Constanza, and came back to stand before Peterson.

“Now there will be no question Senor. I understand the value of bloodlines. It cannot be allowed. You will have no more trouble from my stock. If you will prepare an accounting of the cost of the animals you will be reimbursed. Present the bill to my man of business in town. He will see that you are paid a fair market value.” With that, he spun back around and marched to his horse. Nick cast a last look at the dead bull, and mounted Coco. He had to spur the gelding to catch up with Don Garcia. If he expected the man to be angry at the loss of the bull, he was wrong. Don Garcia rode swiftly, but he didn’t seem angry. Finally Nick couldn’t hold back the question.

“Wasn’t that kind of a radical solution to the problem, Don Garcia. I mean that bull must have cost a pretty penny. It seems kind of an expensive gesture. Peterson would have been happy with getting the money for the cows.” He observed as he rode beside the older man.

Don Garcia shook his head. “No my young friend, you do not understand. I did him a great disservice. The bull had bred his cows, and the bloodlines were contaminated. Any offspring would have been worthless, as will the cows from now on. As to the bull, it makes no matter. He was the means to an end, a pure bloodline to be sure, but here are others to be had. It could not be allowed. The bloodline, that is what matters, it must remain pure.” They rode in silence for several seconds, then the older man continued.

“This is why it is a good thing that you and my daughter are marrying. The line of Garcia has been pure for ten generations, since records were kept. It is easy to tell by seeing you, by seeing your family that your blood runs pure, that your family is above reproach. You children will be of pure blood, true to their ancestors.”

Nick had listened to the old man in disbelief as he rattled on about bloodlines, and keeping them pure. What the hell did that have to do with shooting an expensive bull for no apparent reason? The bull had simply done what bulls did, it was unfortunate that the cows had happened to be Peterson’s breeders, but that could have been solved with a few dollars for each cow, and everyone could have gotten on with life. And what was all this about contaminated bloodlines?

“Wait a minute”, Came that little voice in his head again, “What did he say about the Barkley bloodline being pure? Well that wasn’t exactly completely true now is it?” He almost pulled Coco to a halt as he realized the sudden implications of what had gone on, and the attitude that the Don was exhibiting. There was no way that Nick could broach the subject of Heath’s parentage now. His mind was whirling as he handed off Coco to the hostler at the Garcia’s ranch and followed the older man back inside the house. He was mollified a little to see Maria there waiting for them. She was dressed in a simple pale pink dress that did wonderful things for her skin. He bowed over her hand as he had seen Jarrod do. They went into the parlor and sat down. Garcia looked at Nick.

“Before we were interrupted you were about to tell me something. Please, continue now.” He said.

Nick stared at him, unsure as to what he should do. He knew this wasn’t the time to bring up Heath and the circumstances of his birth, but he knew there had to be a time, and soon. He thought quickly. “Well, I was going to say that there was a social next weekend in town, and I would like to take Maria if that would be alright with you. I thought it would be a good way for her to meet the people here, and a way for us to spend some time together.” He really wanted to spend some time with her alone, but he was beginning to realize that it didn’t seem that was going to happen. “My sister will be there, and my brothers.” He added trying to make things appear better when he saw the doubt in the older man’s eyes. He glanced at Maria who was looking at her father, waiting for his decision. It was somewhat disturbing to Nick that she didn’t seem to really have an opinion about it herself, but instead was content to wait for her father to decide.

Finally the old Don spoke. “Very well. I will allow it. I am sure that if your sister is going your mother will also be in attendance. I could not ask for a better chaperone than she.”

Nick gave a forced smile, and wondered how he was going to convince his mother to go along to the social. He knew she did not regularly like to attend, feeling they were more for the young people in the community. Nick was sure that she would go if he explained the reason, but he had a feeling of trepidation growing in his guts. He looked over at Maria, and smiled genuinely at her.

“My mother wanted me to ask you if there was anything she could do to help you with the planning of the wedding. She and Audra would love to give you a hand making any arrangements, and want me to find out what colors you were thinking about. I guess they want to get busy shopping.” He wasn’t really sure exactly what all was involved here, but his mother and sister talked as if the six months before the wedding were not anywhere near enough time to plan. As far as he was concerned they could just show up at the church in their Sunday best and have the priest marry them. It didn’t need any planning beyond making sure that the father was on hand. Evidently that wasn’t going to happen.

“I would be happy to benefit from your mother’s advice. Papa does not understand the needs of a woman to make her wedding as perfect as possible, and it would be nice to speak to another woman. Please tell her that cousin Lucia and I will call during the week to see her. ” Maria said, with a smile in her father’s direction.

“Well, good.” Nick said not really happy with the inclusion of the older woman. Maybe they could get some time alone when Maria came over to speak to his mother. He thought he could convince his mother and Audra to keep the older woman busy while he showed Maria the rose garden. He looked around the room, searching for another topic. Anything to keep from the topic he had come to broach.

“I have to say that you’ve done wonders with this old place Don Garcia. I didn’t get a chance to tell you last week. I know what it looked like before you bought it, and I wasn’t sure it might not have been better to just tear it down and start over. It’s a shame that Maria’s going to have so little time to get used to it.” He said cheerily. He looked at her “Of course you’ll be comfortable at the ranch. I figure there’s some redecorating that you’ll want to do, but Mother and Audra will be there to help with that.”

Don Garcia was frowning. “I do not understand.” He said. He looked from Maria to Nick,. “You will be living here once you have married. That is why I have had the house done in such a way. You will take over the running of this and the other ranches near Los Angeles. I will return to my rancho near Jalisco, and leave it all in your hands. This is the wisest plan, surely you can see that?”

Nick could only stare at the older man for several moments, hoping he didn’t look as flummoxed as he felt. It had never occurred to him that the man would expect him to come here. He finally found his voice. “I’m sorry Don Garcia, but that isn’t part of the plan. I mean I’ll be happy to help you with running the ranches as much as possible, but I HAVE a ranch to run, and a home to bring my wife to, and that’s the Barkley ranch.” He stated leaving firmly, meeting Don Garcia’s eyes head on. Don Garcia did not look away, and the two men may have continued to stare at each other for an hour if Maria had not risen to her feet, and stepped between them.

“I am sure that this is something that can be discussed at a later time. There is plenty of time before the wedding. Juanita has just come to say that supper is ready.” She said indicating a servant who had appeared in the doorway. “Let us go in and eat before it grows cold.” She looked from one man to the other, and she could see that neither was prepared to back down at that time. Finally her father nodded.

“As you say, it can be discussed at a later time. Let us enjoy supper.” He indicated that Maria and Nick should preceded him to the dining room.

Nick offered his arm to Maria who took it. As they went toward the dining room, Nick could not help but think that the day had pretty much gone to hell. He had not accomplished what he had come to do, he had seen that his future father in law was almost certainly not going to approve of his family’s acceptance of Heath, and he had learned that he had been expected, at least by Don Garcia, to leave the ranch he had helped build and for which his family had sacrificed, and live here. He wasn’t really sure which of these revelations was the worst, but all of them together made him wonder if he could eat anything at all. He also had a feeling that the dinner conversation was not going to be particularly lively. It was going to be a long meal.

Chapter 7

Three nights later Nick Barkley sat up in his bed not sure if he had cried out or if that had been only in his dream. Hr raised a slightly shaking hand to his brow and wiped away the sweat he found there. The images from the dream had followed him into the waking world, and they were as disturbing now as they had been in the dream. He had been back at the boundary of the two ranches, the other men had been there, and the confrontation had been much the same, though with that strange perspective that dreams gave you. But at one crucial point the dream ceased to echo the true happenings of that day. In his dream the Don had the rifle, and he had brought it to his shoulder and fired, but it hadn’t been the bull that stood there, that had taken the bullet fired from that rifle, sometimes it was his father, sometimes it was a woman who Nick understood after some consideration had come to be Heath’s mother Leah, and sometimes, as tonight, it was Heath. It seemed every time he closed his eyes the dream was there. Sometimes it changed in more ways than just the victim.

Sometimes Maria was there, looking on with approval. Sometimes the rest of his family was there, demanding that he do something to stop it. Sometimes his father spoke to him, urging him to act. Leah never spoke to him, probably because his mind could not come up with what she might say. One thing that had not happened was Heath asking him to intervene. In the dreams Heath simply looked at him and then looked away, facing his killer with head held high, and eyes blazing with a cold fire, not unlike that which Nick had seen over the last several months as the two had butted heads over just about anything. No matter what form they took however, the dreams were always disturbing. He looked toward the window and saw that the sun was just starting to light the sky. Might as well go ahead and get up.

He rose and got dressed, leaving off his boots as he headed down the stairs with them in hand. The house was quiet at this time, with no one else yet up. He wondered through the empty dining room headed for the kitchen, and stopped at the door as he realized that there was a light on there, and voices coming from within. He approached the swinging door on his stocking feet, and listened to the low voices.

“I’m telling ya Silas. You’re the second best biscuit maker that I ever knew.” Nick heard, and immediately identified the speaker as Heath.

“Now iffn you gonna say your mama was a better cook than me Heath, then I ain’t gonna be able to argue with you none. You can’t tell a man that his mama ain’t the best cook in the world, even iffn it ain’t true.” That voice was Silas. Nick noted that the houseman had dropped the ‘mister’ that he had used with Nick, Jarrod, and Eugene since he could remember. Nick was jolted from the significance of that point when he heard a sound that he realized he had not heard before. He heard his newest brother laugh. It was deep, and hearty, and it reminded Nick so much of his father’s laugh that he had to lean against the wall as his legs seemed to become weak.

“My God” he said to himself, “Why didn’t I realize that before?” he asked himself. The little voice in the back of his head chose that moment to answer him. “Because you never gave him anything to laugh about.” He shook his head to make the vice go away and listened to the voices from the kitchen again.

“Now Silas, I ain’t saying that my mama WASN’T a good cook, but when it came to biscuits my Aunt Hannah could make a biscuit that would just about float off the plate if you wasn’t watching them careful like. Yours are pretty darn close to bein’ that good.”

“You done said that that Hannah was a black woman didn’t you, Heath?” Silas asked. Heath must have nodded because Silas continued. “Bet her mama taught her just like my mama taught me. Once you learn how you don’t never forget, and I know my mama could cook like nothin' you ever seen. She could make more with less than anyone I ever knowed.” Silas’s voice was fond with memories.

“My mama was the same way. I swear she could take a little piece of gristly meat and make it last two or three days in a pot of stew, or some fine soup. Not that we got meat all that often, but when we did she could make it last. I recall she used to say that iffn you got a bowl of stew with a piece of meat in it that meant you was extra lucky that day. Took me a long time to realize that she never found that piece of meat in her bowl. It always seemed to be in mine.” Heath said reflectively. Nick felt his stomach turn at the implications of that statement. That was another thing he had not really thought about. He had known that Heath and his mother had not had anything like what he had benefited from growing up, but he hadn’t realized…his train of thoughts was interrupted again by the voices.

“Not havin’ sure makes a body grateful for the havin’, now don’t it.” Silas observed. Nick heard that so familiar laugh again.

“Yeah, but the havin’ makes the possibility of not havin’ a hard thing to face. I’m comin' to think that the not havin’ just might be better in the end. You can’t miss what you never had.” Heath said.

“What you figurin' to loose?” Silas asked.

“Nothin’ Silas. Just runnin' my mouth some.” Nick heard a chair squeak against the wood floor of the kitchen. “I best get to it. Day’s awasting. Thanks for the biscuits Silas, even if they wasn’t quite up to snuff they sure will take the edge off until breakfast.” Nick heard a thump and then running footsteps followed by the back door opening.

“You best be runnin’ boy.” He heard Silas call quietly. “Don’t know what makes you think you be getting’ any breakfast outta me though” The deep laugh came again and the door closed. He could hear Silas chuckling to himself, and going about his preparations for the family breakfast.

Nick moved back from the door and sat down in one of the chairs in the dining room. He pulled on his boots, then leaned his elbow on the table and propped his head on his hand. He wasn’t a man that really believed in things happening by chance. Things happened because they were supposed to happen, or more often with him, because he had made them happen. Now, he was faced with one thing after the other that he was pretty sure he hadn’t made happen. He sure hadn’t wanted to have another brother show up out of the blue. And he hadn’t wanted his bride to be to have a father who thought he could plan out Nick’s future with no input from him, and he hadn’t planned to start feeling something for his newest brother….He stopped his train of thought and rose to his feet. He made sure that he made plenty of noise as he headed toward the kitchen again. As he pushed through he door Silas looked around from where he was stirring something in a bowl.

“Mornin' Mr. Nick.” He said. “You is up early this mornin’”

“Couldn’t sleep Silas, figured I would get a few things done before breakfast. Can I get something to eat to tide me over?” Nick asked, trying not to think about the conversation he had overheard.

Silas offered napkin-covered basket of biscuits, and indicated a small bowl of butter on the small table in the center of the kitchen. “Help yourself, Mr. Nick.” Nick did so, and sat there at the table eating his biscuits. While he ate, Silas kept working , humming quietly to himself, Nick couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous of the rapport that the houseman had seemed to have formed with his brother. Nick couldn’t remember a time that Silas had not addressed him in the same formal way that he did now. Even when he was a less than well-behaved boy, Silas had always been the model of propriety. How had the two men become such fast friends?

Nick finished his biscuits, thanked Silas, and went out the back door. The sun was just coming over the eastern horizon as he stepped out. He moved his gaze from the spectacle that he didn’t often see, and looked toward the barn. He knew that Heath often did work there in the morning before breakfast. Nick had heard his mother tell Heath again and again that no one expected him to work before breakfast, but the boy kept doing it anyway. Up until now Nick had simply viewed it as an act of defiance by the younger man. Kind of like throwing it in Nick’s face that he was up and working while Nick slept in, though it was only until seven. Nick had considered getting up early himself, but he had discarded the idea because he was sure that Heath would take it as a victory.

Nick started toward the barn, figuring he would find something to keep him busy until breakfast then stopped when he saw a slim figure leaning on the fence watching the sunrise. As he watched, the sun finally made it’s way all the way over the horizon, and the younger man turned his head to look at Nick. Even from a distance Nick could see the smile that had been on Heath’s face fade and be replaced by the flat noncommittal mask that he had worn for the last several months, at least with Nick. Nick started forward again and came to stand near his brother. He felt an almost overwhelming urge to hear that familiar/unfamiliar laugh again, but he fought it down.

“Morning.” He said with a nod, and leaned against the fence not too far from Heath. On his part Heath looked him over with suspicion and then nodded back.

“Mornin’”

“Nice sunrise wasn’t it.” Nick said, looking back to the east. A simple “Yep” was the only reply he got. He sighed in frustration. He stood away from the fence and started toward the barn, sensing that Heath was following along behind him. He hadn’t really realized how quietly the man moved. Suddenly Nick felt a wave of curiosity overcome him. He wanted to know more about this man that was his brother. He knew everything about Jarrod. His likes, dislikes, abilities, desires. About Heath he knew nothing. Of course that was his own fault. He bet himself that he could go to Audra and find out more in five minutes about Heath than he had learned on his own in the last several months. It was a slightly disturbing thought.

Once they were inside the barn Heath went to the stall where his mare was. He picked up a currycomb and started brushing her down, speaking softly to her as he did. He seemed to be ignoring Nick completely. Nick grumbled to himself and went into the tack room. Nick had noticed that there had been some wear on the trace lines of the heavy work team’s tack when they had unhitched the evening before. They had sent the heavy freight wagon into town the previous evening to get a load of feed, and Nick had noticed the wear when he had helped to untack the horses. He found the set and started in patching the trace. He head someone moving around over head, up in the loft, and realized that Heath was up there throwing down food to the horses. After a while he heard rhythmic thumps and he figured that Heath was moving the bagged feed from where it had been left just inside the loft door to it’s regular place against the wall. The bags were one hundred pounds each, and awkward, but the sound of the stacking was regular as clockwork. The boy might be thin for his frame, but the muscle he had was whipcord tough, Nick could vouch for that himself. He finished with the trace and looked at his pocket watch, still another half hour until breakfast. He looked up at the loft floor above him. There had to be over a hundred of the bags, and he knew heath could not have moved the whole lot yet. He climbed up the ladder, and soon was standing near the dwindling stack at the loft door. Heath looked at him in curiosity.

“I’ll hand them to you and you stack em.” Nick offered. It’ll save a step and get the job done faster. Heath seemed to consider the offer, and then gave a single nod in agreement. There wasn’t going to be any chitchat it seemed. Nick and Heath worked for the next twenty minutes in silence, and had the bags neatly stacked. Nick stood up straight after he handed off the last bag to Heath and stretched his back. He watched as Heath did the same after he placed the last bag. The light blue eyes met his, and seemed to be trying see into his soul. Nick, still uncomfortable with this man, brother or not, looked away, making a show of pulling out his watch.

“We better get in and clean up. Mother will have our hides if we’re late to the table.” He said, and saw a spark of humor in the pale eyes. H suspected there was a smart Alec comeback in there somewhere, but Heath said nothing, just nodding his agreement. Nick led the way down and out of the barn. They were halfway to the house when they heard the sound of a rider coming in. Nick recognized Constanza, Don Garcia’s foreman. The man drew his horse to a stop and spotting Nick dismounted and tied it to a fence. He came up to the two ranchers, his large rowled spurs jingling as he walked. Nick noticed that the man’s dark gaze kept going to Heath who was standing about three feet behind him, and wondered what was going on.

Constanza came to a stop facing Nick. “Don Garcia wishes to talk to you senor,” his eyes wondered to Heath again, then back to Nick. “Immediately. It is very important.”

Nick glanced back at Heath, who was watching the Mexican hand with an expressionless face. Nick nodded his head. He didn’t bother questioning the foreman, knowing that even if the man knew what Don Garcia wanted Constanza wouldn’t take it upon himself to say what it was. “Let Don Garcia know that I’ll be over as soon as I finish breakfast.” He said to the man.

Constanza frowned. “Don Garcia said....”he started

Nick cut him off . “I said after breakfast, and I meant it. You can wait here and go back with me, or you can go back and tell Don Garcia that I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Nick started toward the house, seeing Heath start to follow him out of the corner of his eye. He really didn’t care which the foreman chose to do. He had taken about three strides when he heard Constanza say something in rapid Spanish, evidently aimed at Heath. Nick didn’t understand the words, but he did understand the tone. He looked at Heath, and saw that the pale blue eyes had changed to pale ice. Before Nick could make a move Heath unleashed a fist that took the Mexican man by complete surprise. He stumbled backward and landed on his rear end in the dust. Heath moved to stand over him, and said something to him in Spanish as rapid and fluent as the other man’s had been.

The men from the bunkhouse had noticed the commotion in the yard, and several of them had come to stand nearby. The foreman rubbed his chin and gave a resentful look at the men, then a grim look at Heath who spun on his heel and walked toward the house. Nick gave one last glance to the man in the dust, then caught Duke’s eye. He jerked his head toward Constanza’s horse, and Duke nodded in understanding. Heath made a beeline for the front door, walking fast and not looking in either direction. Nick followed on his heels. Heath entered the house and started for the stairs without a word. Nick reached out and grabbed his right arm. It was like grabbing an angry bear. Heath spun and threw off his hand, then followed through to push Nick away with a quick shove in the chest.

“I done told you to keep your hands to yourself.” He ground out. His eyes had thawed from the ice Nick had seen in the yard, and now shot blue fire. Nick stomped down his own flare of anger, and stepped back up to stand toe to toe with his brother.

“What did he say out there?” he said in a low voice, his eyes locked on Heath’s. Whatever had wound up his brother had to have something to do with that, and Nick intended to know what it was. Heath looked away but his eyes snapped back around when Nick reached out and grabbed his arm. At the flash of fire Nick released the arm and held up his hands hoping that the boy would not lash out again. “What did he say?” he demanded again. The blue fire slowly faded until the pale eyes only appeared to be washed-out, tired and ….sad. Finally a humorless smile quirked his lips on one side.

“Nothing that ain’t been said before and won’t be said again.” He said,

Nick shook his head. “What does that mean? What did he say?”

The humorless smile quirked again. “It don’t matter. Let it be.” He turned away and started up the stairs. Nick would have pursued and pressed for an answer, though he already had a pretty good idea what had been said, but he heard the light swish of his mother’s skirts come from the dining room.

“Nicholas, are you coming into breakfast?” She asked, coming to put a hand on his back. He looked down at her and bent to drop a kiss on her cheek.

“I have to clean up then I’ll be in. Sorry I’m late.” He said simply. She nodded, her sharp gray eyes searching his.

“Have you seen Heath? He hasn’t come in either.” She asked.

Nick glanced up the stairs, then back at her. He shook his head. “I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

“You know I do not approve of you boys going out to work without a hearty breakfast.” She said sternly.

“He got something from Silas earlier, and I’ll make sure he stops for lunch, even if it’s a sandwich on the range, okay?” Nick said. She nodded reluctantly, her gaze also straying toward the staircase.

“Very well. I’ll count on you to take care of your brother. Get washed up and come in to breakfast yourself. We’ll wait for you.” She swept away back into the dining room. Nick watched her until she was gone, then looked back up the stairs. His mind was whirling again.

He suspected he knew exactly what the Mexican vaquero had said, and as Heath indicated it probably wasn’t anything that hadn’t been said before, possibly by Nick himself. Recently Nick had begun to understand just what it was like for someone who was born out of wedlock. The things that were thought, the things that were said, the things that were done: all cruel and no doubt incredibly hurtful. His gut twisted at the thought that he had indulged in that same thing, and had hurt his brother badly. Was there a way to apologize for something like that? He didn’t know.

Also in his mind was the summons to Don Garcia’s ranch. If Constanza knew about Heath, there was little doubt that Don Garcia didn’t. He imagined that little bit of news had not gone over well. He was not looking forward to finding out. Breakfast had little appeal, but he knew that his mother was already put out about Heath not showing, and he would not make it worse by not going himself. He wanted to keep this to himself for now. Maybe Garcia would surprise him and have an open mind about the subject. Nick snorted to himself as he washed his hands and ran a comb through his hair. That didn’t seem likely, not with the way his luck was running of late. With one last look in the mirror he headed downstairs to face his family. He couldn’t help but look at the closed door to the small room at the head of the stairs, and wonder what was going through the boy’s mind right then. He suspected Heath’s thoughts weren’t any more pleasing than his own.

Continued...