Putting It Together

Parts 9-16

by Lily B.

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.

Part 9

He caressed his wife's red hair while she lay with her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder. They would only have a few minutes together before the house would become alive with the hustle and bustle of their daily routines. Only today was different. He'd be leaving Maggie for over a week, he'd never been gone from her for more than a night since they had wed and he began to second guess his decision to make this trip. "Maggie, you awake?"

She stirred slightly and nestled her body closer to his. "Hmmm?"

He spoke slightly louder this time, his voice still coarse from sleep. "You awake?"

Rubbing her eyes, she opened them slowly only to find that it was still dark in their room. "A little awake."

"Do you want me to stay?"

Now she had to wake up more fully and she stretched out her arms and legs like a cat. "Stay? Stay where?"

He chuckled at her sleepiness and rubbed her back. "Stay and not go camping?"

"Nick, you need to go. This trip is just what was needed I think. It's one of the best ideas you've ever had. Well…that and marrying me of course!"

"Of course! But it's just that Thomas doesn't seem all that thrilled with the idea."

"Nick," Maggie sat herself up in the bed and whispered, careful not to wake the baby, "He's probably just a little nervous, not sure what to expect from this trip."

"You really think he'll have a good time?"

"Oh yes, it might take a little time but I think he will. He's never gone on a trip like this before, just the boys; I think it might be just the right way to get him to open up. I'm glad you'll be telling him lots of stories."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Does what?"

"Talking about Jarrod, does it make you sad Maggie?"

"I don't know, sometimes, but mostly no it doesn't. We all miss him Nick, in one way or another. It's the good memories that keep him with all of us. And you?"

He ran his fingers through his tousled hair. "Mostly its good to remember him and sometimes it's, I guess the right word is bittersweet."

"Because of me, you mean."

"Yep."

"I understand, sometimes I've felt it too." Maggie leaned her head on her husband's broad shoulder, resting her hand on his smooth chest.

"It's the cards we were dealt. But there's never a day that I'm not thankful for all that I do have, despite all the circumstances. I'd never trade a minute of my life with you Maggie, not one."

"Neither would I husband."

Kissing the top of her head, he whispered, "Think we got a little time before the children wake up?"

"A little, what's on your mind?"

Strong arms wrapped around her small frame and pulled her close to him. "Oh I was just thinking about being away from you and not sharing a bed with you for over a week."

"You poor dear! I guess we'll just have to make this one good enough to tide you over until you get back."

Nick pulled his wife onto his lap and kissed her passionately.

*****************

Still pitch dark outside, there were faint noises in David and Andrew's bedroom. David wagged his finger at his younger brother, signaling that the coast was clear. They both peeked their heads out the bedroom door then tiptoed down the hall in their bare feet.

"You think Pa will teach me how to fly fish?" Andrew whispered.

"Nah, you're too little still."

"Am not!" Andrew said, his voice carrying down the hall.

"Would you be quiet?!" David nearly blew out the candle he carried with him.

"Sorry." His voice returned to a whisper. "Ain't we gonna get in trouble?"

"This was your idea and now you're worrying about getting in trouble?"

"Well yeah I guess so. You sure you know how to make coffee?"

"Course I do." David opened the door into the kitchen, lit the lamp on the table and started looking for the pot. "I seen them doing it lots of times. We get them coffee and then get Pa out of bed and we'll be on our way in no time flat."

"Can't wait!"

A short time later, Heath draped his arm across Sarah's stomach as they both lay on their sides. He could just barely hear what he thoughts were sounds coming from the kitchen. But he very much wanted to stay in bed for just a few more minutes. Unfortunately, his two eldest boys had other ideas.

A loud rap on the door jarred both parents from their sleep. "Pa! Mama! You awake?" Andrew called out.

Sarah opened her eyes and rolled over to look at Heath. He chuckled and answered, "We are now Andrew."

The boys whispered something to each other that their parents couldn't quite make out. "Boys?" Sarah said.

"Can we come in?"

Kissing his wife on the cheek, he sat up in bed. "Come in."

"Morning Pa, morning Mama!"

"Boy howdy you two are sure up early! What's so special about today?"

"Pa! We're going camping today!" David told him.

"Oh yeah, that's today? Why I plum forgot all about it!" He laughed and his sons joined the both of them on the bed. Heath and Sarah both hugged their boys then began tickling them until their creamy faces were red with laughter.

When the laughter had subsided, David stood up from the bed. "We made you both coffee!" He said, feeling very proud of himself.

"You did? Well why don't you bring us some, your Pa and I could use some this early!"

David and Andrew ran from the bedroom.

"Heath, you think they're a little excited about this trip?"

"Oh I don't know Sarah, kinda hard to tell with those two!" He put his arms around her and kissed her sweetly. "Morning Sarah."

"Good morning Heath."

The boys soon returned to the bedroom with two cups of coffee, leaving a trail of drips behind them on the floor.

"Here ya go Pa!" David handed him a cup while Andrew carefully walked around to the other side of the bed and handed a cup to his mother.

"Well thank you kindly." Heath raised the steaming cup to his lips and took a small sip. He desperately tried not to wince and swallowed the liquid down hard. Heath put his hand up and covered his wife's cup just as she was bringing it to her lips. "Umm, why don't you boys go get dressed and we'll be out shortly."

"Okay Pa, good coffee right?" Andrew asked.

"Mmm, delicious!"

When the boys had left the room he took his hand off of Sarah's cup. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you." He said quietly.

"That bad?"

"Oh yeah."

When they had all dressed and packed up the wagon, Heath got his family on board for the ride over to the main house. Vickie and Jarrod were still half asleep, despite their older brothers talking the entire ride and hitting their father with an endless barrage of questions about the cabin and fishing.

The arrived at the house to find Nick outside, in front of the barn, getting the horses ready. Thomas brought out an armload of fishing gear and set it down on the front porch.

"Morning Thomas!" Heath called as he jumped down from the wagon. "Fine day to start our camping trip!"

"Guess so."

Maggie came out front, holding NJ in her arms and Caitlin following on her heels. Organized chaos ensued while they worked on getting everything put together, loaded up and ready for the trip. It was then time for goodbyes.

Heath kissed his twins while they sat on the floor playing with their Grandmother and Lucy. He kissed his mother's cheek and headed out the front door, holding Sarah's hand.

Nick picked up Catie and put a big noisy kiss on her round face. "You be good while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll be very good!"

He smiled and put her back down again. Next he took NJ from Maggie's arms and held him close. "Bye little fella, don't you start walking while I'm gone you hear me?"

"Nick he's got a while before that happens." Maggie laughed.

"I know that!" He handed NJ over to his mother and walked outside with his arm around his wife.

Standing on the front porch, two husbands said loving goodbyes to their wives.

Heath put his arms around Sarah and drew her close for a kiss; "I'll see you soon. Love you."

Nick pulled off his gloves and cupped Maggie's face in his hands. "I'll miss you. Love you wife." He gave her a sweet kiss, then slowly left her side.

Nick and Thomas mounted their horses, while Heath and his boys climbed up in the wagon for the trip. They hoped to make it to Indian Springs before nightfall. As the entourage left, both husbands turned back to look at their wives again before they were out of sight.

Part 10

The morning had proved to be an easy ride for the Barkley men and boys. They kept up a good pace throughout the morning hours and were approaching the area where they would stop for a while to give the horses a break and open up the picnic baskets that the wives had made for them. A perfect breeze across the land kept the men cool and comfortable. Having started out in the morning with jackets, by the time they stopped for lunch, the jackets had all been removed and tossed haphazardly into the back of the wagon.

Heath pulled on the reins and brought the wagon to a stop next to an ancient large shady tree just off the path. He jumped down from the wagon with the boys while Nick and Thomas dismounted. Once they had taken care of business and washed up in the narrow brook, Nick walked back to the wagon to pull out lunch.

The large woven basket emerged from the back and he jokingly buckled his knees at the weight.

"You're funny Uncle Nick!" Andrew giggled.

"Oh you think that's funny, I'm just getting warmed up kid!"

"You think that's funny," Andrew's father said with a smile, "Wait till you see the fish he catches, now that, Andrew is a REAL hoot!"

"Hey, now wait just a minute!" Nick bellowed back.

"You know what I'm gonna do boys?" Heath ushered his sons close to him and they sat down in front of him with eyes big as saucers. He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed on it slowly, just to build the suspense for them. He noted that even Thomas had started looking at him. "I'm gonna catch Ol' Ben for ya!"

"Now if anyone's gonna catch him, it's gonna be me Heath. I got him hooked last time, 'member?"

"All I remember Nick was a broken line and you yammering on about how you had gotten him. Never did see him on your hook."

"Ol' Ben is a fish?" David asked, entranced by his father's voice.

"Biggest bass you ever seen in your life." Heath looked Thomas dead-on. "You know the only Barkley I ever seen have it on his hook was your Father, Thomas."

"My Father..he caught it?" He could scarcely believe it; he rarely ever saw his Father fishing, much less telling tales about it.

"Yep, almost." Nick added in. "See now, he cast his line out real far, all the way to the center of the lake." He extended his arm for emphasis on the tale and Thomas followed him. "We'd only been sitting there for a few minutes, when BANG!"

The children jumped back all startled by his yell.

Nick and Heath chuckled a little before Nick continued on. "Your Father's line got so tight, we thought it would snap for sure. See if it was me, I probably woulda yanked on the line and broken it for sure. But not Jarrod, nope he was as cool as an autumn breeze. He was determined to wait Ol' Ben out and bring him in, so he would give a little line then bring some in, give a little and bring some in. I say that went on for..how long it go on for you think Heath?"

"Hours and hours, but it was working, Ol' Ben was wearing down. Now, your Uncle Nick here, he kept telling Jarrod to reel him in and after awhile I was doing the same thing. But Jarrod didn't listen to us, seeing as how we'd had no luck with this bass either, he just smiled and kept working on bring that fish in nice and slow." Heath and Nick exchanged a smile as only two expert storytellers could, knowing that they had their listeners hanging on every word they said. "Hey ya know, do think your Mama packed some pickled cucumbers in there, how 'bout getting me some!"

"Oh yeah, hey get me some too David. These the same ones that got her the blue ribbon at the state fair?"

"Uh-huh. She's gonna do it again this year, just wait and see. And I do believe she's entering a pie or two."

"Oh really, well she might have it in the cucumbers, but she best forget the pies."

"Oh yeah, why's that?"

"Cause Maggie's gonna be entering her peach pie in and no one can beat that!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Uncle Nick! Pa!" The boys sang out loudly. "The story?"

"Yeah, come on I want to hear the rest about my father and 'Ol Ben."

"Oh yeah, sorry boys. Where was I Nick?"

David rolled his eyes at his father, "Uncle Jarrod was bringing in the fish real slow!"

"Right, right. Your father was slowly working 'Ol Ben closer to the shore, but there was one little problem, the weeds and cattails were between him and the fish."

"You're father, tried to work Ol' Ben through the maze of reeds and grasses and he was doing a real good job of it. But then it happened."

"What happened?"

"The line got all tangled up in the grasses and SNAP! Ol' Ben was gone."

"Awww." Said the boys.

"Maybe this time we'll catch him." David said, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe me and Thomas will catch him!"

"Maybe." Thomas smiled and it was the first time Nick could remember seeing him grin in quite some time. He had his father's smile too.

Heath looked up at the sun and then pulled out his watch from his pocket. "Boy howdy, we been here a good two hours, we best get going if we're gonna get to Indian Springs 'fore midnight!"

The baskets were returned to the wagon and they made ready to start their trip again.

Thomas walked to his horse and had put his foot in the stirrup when Andrew tugged on the bag of his shirt.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I was thinking that maybe we could learn to fly fish. Maybe your new Pa will teach us how."

His eyes grew dark and the smile disappeared, "My what?"

Andrew looked up at him innocently. "Your new Pa, that's what Andy at school said, Uncle Nick's your new Pa."

Thomas threw his leg up over his horse, nearly kicking Andrew. "I got a Pa already, my Father. My Father! I don't need a new Pa!"

Nick had heard the whole thing and feeling a mixture of anger and hurt, he had started towards Thomas.

Heath put his arm on his brother's shoulder. "Let it go for now Nick. Give it time."

Nick nodded slowly and got on his horse. But he felt like he had just taken a hard kick to his stomach.

Part 11

Heath had been right, it was nearly midnight when they had reached the cabin at Indian Springs. A spring shower had caught them by surprise in the middle of the afternoon. It had packed fierce bolts of lightening that forced them to take shelter for more than an hour while they waited for the storm to pass.

"I bet there's at least an inch of dust in there." Nick whispered to his brother. Both of Heath's boys were fast asleep in the wagon.

"No one's been here since your honeymoon. Nick, tell me you didn't make it too fancy in there when you redid the place."

"Nah, not too bad. But some ladies touches in there now."

"Oh brother."

"Well I just wanted to make it special for Maggie, that's all."

Heath slapped his brother lightly on the back. "Reckon I'd have done the same thing." He got down and pulled David to him, wrapping his son up in his strong arms.

Nick leaned into the wagon and picked up a softly mumbling Andrew, cradling him close to himself.

Nick directed Thomas to get the door and told him where to find the nearest lamp. Once lit, they had a chance to look around. The first thing they all saw was the large bed in the middle of the room.

"so that's the fancy bed you bought?" Heath grinned.

"Yep, sure is. Thomas would you strip those covers off, they're full of dust. We'll just put the boys on the mattress for now and get a blanket from the wagon.

Thomas, sleepy-eyed himself, pulled off the covers and sent a large cloud of dust into the air.

Nick and Heath carefully laid the boys down in the bed and Heath kissed his sons blonde heads.

"Thomas, got two bedrooms, you take the back one. Heath and I will bunk in the front one. Ya get a room all to yourself."

"Okay, can I go to bed now?"

"Sure kid, we'll see you in the morning." Heath ruffled Thomas's hair. "Night Thomas."

"Night Uncle Heath. Uncle Nick." Thomas placed a heavy emphasis on the word uncle for Nick. He walked slowly into his room and shut the door behind him.

"We best get the food inside before the animals have a feast out there." Nick sighed. He trudged outside and while Heath bedded down the horses, he retrieved most of the items from the wagon. When they had finished with their tasks, Nick turned to his brother, "Sleepy?" He asked.

"Not really. How about a campfire outside?" He offered.

"Sounds good. Brought a bit of whiskey, now's as good a time as any to open it up."

"Sounds good."

With some difficulty, they had found enough dry wood to start up a small fire. Nick retrieved the flask of whiskey from his saddlebag and the two men sat down together near the warm glow of the fire.

They both sat quietly for a spell, taking in their surroundings and the sounds of the night. Each brother greatly relished times like these. The flask of whiskey was passed but twice to warm and relax their tired muscles.

Heath leaned back and looked up at the stars, admiringly. He spoke up in a quiet voice, within earshot of the cabin, they didn't want to wake the boys up. "I remember when the three of us sat here one night and we proudly talked about the day we would bring our sons up here. And now, here we are."

"A rite of passage." Nick smiled wistfully to himself, remembering his older brother's words. "But now it's only two of us. And three sons, yours and Jarrod's." Nick tipped a stick into the fire and watched it slowly light up. He studied the small flame, bringing it close to his face before he finally blew it out. "And Thomas hates me."

"He doesn't hate ya Nick!"

"Oh come on Heath! You heard him..you saw the look on his face today. I was just fine and dandy as his Uncle Nick, but now?! Now that I've married his mother, it's all changed. Its like he doesn't think I'm good enough for her."

"Maybe that is how he feels Nick." Heath took his gaze off the stars and looked across the campfire at his distraught brother.

"Oh great!"

Heath stared at his brother and tried to put things in perspective. "Well Nick, can you honestly sit there and tell me that you think there's a man alive that would be good enough for Mother?"

"Hadn't thought about it like that. Thomas did worship his father."

"Much like you did yours!"

"So Heath, any ideas?"

"Why don't ya just work on being Uncle Nick again for now, be his friend, his buddy. Seems ta me it wasn't all that long ago that you two were practically inseparable. I haven't forgotten that you were the one that taught him how to ride and gave him his first horse. Deep down inside, Thomas hasn't forgotten that either."

"You think so? " Nick asked and Heath responded with a nod. "I just wish I knew when it was that I'm supposed to be his buddy and when I'm supposed to be the grown up."

Heath chuckled a little, "Nick, you're never the grown-up!"

"Hey! You've been talkin' to my wife again, haven't ya!"

Part 12

In the cabin, two brothers exchanged a wicked grin. The sun had risen and the ground outside was heavy with early morning dew. The scent of freshly made coffee wafted throughout the cabin and on the table was put large stacks of flap sticks and a mound of hot bacon. Heath silently nodded his agreement and Nick grinned like a school boy. He picked up a large cast iron skillet in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other and loudly banged them together.

"Come on boys! Rise and shine; day's a wasting!"

Heath's boys were the first to rise and they both wiped the sand from their blue eyes while they slowly moved over to the table and sat down. They gave groggy good morning hugs to their Pa and Uncle before Heath loaded up their plates and they hungrily dug in.

Nick banged on Thomas's door several times before it finally opened. Thomas was already dressed and had combed his hair, he moved past his uncle wordlessly and sat down at the table. He grumbled a hello to his cousins and put two slices of bacon on his plate.

"That all you having Thomas?" Heath asked.

"Not real hungry Uncle Heath."

"Thomas is not a big breakfast eater." Nick volunteered to which his comment received a glare from Thomas.

Heath quickly interjected, "Oh, seems ta me that your Father wasn't a big breakfast eater either."

"That's because he didn't work like us all day, right Heath!" He'd made the comment in jest but the look he received from Thomas told him that he had misspoken grievously.

"My Father worked just as hard as you do, maybe even harder! Just because he didn't come home all sweaty and filthy dirty like you do every night, doesn't mean he wasn't working!" Thomas angrily spat the words out at Nick.

Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke again. "You're right Thomas, I'm sorry, he did work real hard everyday. I guess I was just trying to make a little joke is all."

"It wasn't funny."

"No, you're right kid, it wasn't."

"Come on now," Heath smiled at the table of forlorn faces, "Dig in! There's a ton of food here."

Nick sat down at one end of the table and Heath at the other. "Sure looks a mite better than your beans Heath."

"You made breakfast Pa?" David asked, he was used to him making coffee in the morning but it was always Mama that did the work in the kitchen, she usually wouldn't let him in the room when she was cooking.

"Yep, sure did and its way better than beans!"

"And what did you do this morning?" Thomas stared directly at Nick.

The tone of voice the young man used was grating and almost accusatory, both Heath and Nick heard it. Heath jumped in, "Didn't ya hear him this morning? Who do ya think got the chopped the wood and got the fire going?"

"Oh." Was his only reply.

The rest of breakfast passed without so much as another word at the table. Nick was trying so hard not to say anything. It seemed to him that no matter what he said or did, it was the wrong thing in Thomas's eyes. When the meal was finished, the men gathered up the dishes and put them into the sink, a new addition that had been added for Nick's honeymoon, running water in the cabin.

"Aren't you going to wash those?" Thomas asked.

"It can wait for now." Heath said, "Sides, figure since we made breakfast you boys can do the dishes later."

"Aw Pa!" Came Andrew's moan, the precocious seven year old didn't like anything less than working in the kitchen. Let him help his Pa outdoors or in the barn, but the kitchen? He'd rather do homework.

Nick laid the last of the dishes in the sink and Heath put a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "Patience." Nick nodded, but his heart was heavy, filled with sadness. Somehow, he had hoped that all the problems would magically disappear when they got to the cabin. He imagined that Thomas and he would spend long lazy afternoons sitting by the lake, talking and catching fish. He had been so patient when it came to Thomas's mother, why was he having so much trouble with it now, he asked himself.

Heath grinned a lopsided grin, "How about a swim?"

"Yeah!" David and Andrew shouted out happily. "Come on now, last one to the lake has to do the dishes!" He watched his boys happily get up from the table. "That includes you Thomas!"

"C'mon Thomas!" Andrew exclaimed, "You don't wanna do dishes do ya?"

Thomas grinned at his little cousin, "Heck no!"

The three boys raced down the small hillside to the lake, followed closely by the Barkley men. Clothes were tossed off everywhere, on the ground, in the bushes. Once down to their underwear, Thomas was the first to dip his foot in.

"Oh Good Lord, that is cold!" He said, retreating from the water's edge.

"Bawk, bawk!" Andrew put his hands in his armpits and flapped them like wings.

He couldn't help but laugh, "Oh yeah?"

In the meantime, Nick and Heath had already made it to the water, stripped off their clothes and dove into the water. "Ha!" Nick said, "Looks like you Barkley boys are doing the dishes!"

"No fair, you tricked us!" David yelled out and went running into the water, coming up shivering. "It's cold Pa!"

"Just give it a minute, you'll be okay." Heath looked up towards the water's edge and the old tree with branches that hung out over the water.

"It's still there Nick."

Nick looked up to see the long rope dangling from the tree and smiled. He remembered the one night both he and Heath had drank just a little too much whiskey in front of the fire. In a full moon, at midnight, Jarrod had stood with his mouth dropped wide open while his two brothers had stripped off all their clothes, climbed up the tree and used the rope to swing themselves into the water. After a great deal of encouragement and heckling from them, Jarrod had stripped off his clothes and dove into the water for a midnight swim. Nick remembered joking that if his wife could see him, she'd send him off to the doctor for sure. Jarrod's wife, Maggie. Now his wife. He stared up at the rope and wondered if the old thing could still hold his weight.

A few minutes later, Heath took a look around, "Where'd your Uncle Nick go?"

The boys looked around but couldn't find him anywhere.

"Up here!" Nick bellowed. They all looked up to see Nick standing on a branch and holding onto the old rope. "Look out below!" He yelled, grabbing hold of the rope.

"Nick, I don't think.." Heath started.

"Yee hawwww!" He yelled and swung out on the rope, diving into the water. He came up laughing a deep belly laugh.

"Pa, can I try! Please Pa!"

"Me too!" Thomas grinned.

Heath shook his head, he was right, Nick was never the grown up.

Part 13

The morning swim had lasted until nearly noontime. The lake as cool and clear, fed by a mountain stream and the water always had a slight chill to it. As the sun began to warm the air, the boys no longer felt the chill in the water. After Nick and Heath had taken their one big swing into the water, they had allowed the boys to do the same. David seemed the most thrilled with it, taking many turns swinging and whooping into the water. Thomas had gone up the tree twice, each time coming down with a whoop and a holler as he splashed into the water. They were all being quite boisterous and having themselves a great time.

Nick hadn't realized until he saw Thomas laughing, just how long it had been since he saw Thomas seeming so happy and at ease. He enjoyed the sounds of his laughter and hollering and wondered just when it was that Thomas had become so serious.

Ravenously hungry, they all emerged from the lake and went back up the small hillside to the cabin. The boys made it inside first and headed straight for the baskets of food they had brought.

Heath and Nick burst out laughing when they came inside, Andrew looked just like an ostrich. He had leaned so far over into the basket that his head was no longer visible. He playfully grabbed his son around the waist and picked him up.

"Whaddya think you're doing Andrew?"

"I'm starving Pa!"

"You boy are always hungry, you're gonna outgrow your clothes again real soon, I can tell!"

The men shooed the boys away from the food and set about picking things out of the baskets for lunch. As soon as they could get a plate of food upon the table, the boys were gobbling it up. Nick shook his head, not remembering how he had eaten his parents out of house and home when he was that age and occasionally still did.

"Growing boys Nick." Heath grinned proudly.

"We best start catching some fish soon, the way they're eating we'll be through both of these baskets before nightfall!"

The Barkley men took seats at either end of the table and feasted on the bountiful food their wives had prepared for them.

"We're gonna have to remember to thank them when we gat back." Nick told all of them.

"I helped Mama with our basket, so did Andrew." David volunteered.

"Than you both then!"

"Thomas did ya help Aunt Maggie with your food?" David asked his cousin.

"Nope, too busy."

"Doing what?!"

"Just too busy, that's all. Sides Angus was probably the one that fixed our food. Mother doesn't have time now that the baby's here." Thomas spoke without raising his head to look at anyone. His Mother didn't have time for anything but the baby.

This time, Nick just couldn't hold his tongue. "You're right on one account, babies do take up a lot of time. Never really knew just how much time they took until NJ was born. But you're wrong about the food Thomas. Your Mother stayed up way past midnight working in the kitchen so that we could enjoy her fine cooking. You know, I bet you didn't know that she makes your lunch everyday and mine too."

"I didn't know that. I thought Angus did that stuff."

"Nope, that's your mother kid. She likes doing those things for you."

Thomas returned to eating his lunch but he continued to contemplate what Uncle Nick had told him. She hadn't forgotten he still existed after all.

Their bellies filled, Heath had the boys get started on doing the dishes. Heath and Nick's promise to go fishing as soon as they had finished cleaning and putting them away spurred them on. But they had better do a good job, the men admonished, or they'd have to be done all over again.

Soon, with a warm afternoon sun shining down upon them, they headed back to the lake for a lazy afternoon of fishing. Heath carried his own gear and Andrew's down to the lake, while the older boys carried their own. Nick pointed out a large tree with a lot of shade, close to the lake, one that they had used many times before while fishing. The men carefully crouched down and unrolled two pieces of felt. The boys watched in awe as they unveiled the flies they had brought with them.

Both men saw fly-fishing and making the flies as an art form. An art that Nick had learned from the skillful hands of his father and had, many years ago, shared his expertise with his younger brother. The three boys had watched them on a few occasions spend an entire evening designing and constructing flies for their next fishing adventure. Nick and Heath rarely had the time anymore for a day, or even an afternoon, of leisurely fishing. But when the time was found, it was something they both deeply relished.

The first order of business was getting David and Andrew set up with their rods and reels. Their father put a bit of cork on each of their lines and after baiting both their hooks, he stepped back to watch David. His brow furrowed in concentration, David brought back his pole and cast into the water.

"Not bad, David. Not bad at all."

Heath leaned over behind Andrew and wrapped his hands around his son's on the pole and helped him make his first cast into the lake.

"Looks like you got some real pros there Heath!" Nick grinned at them. "You need help Thomas?"

"No, I've got it I think." After several minutes; he cast his line several yards into the water.

"Good cast kid! I'm impressed." Nick said in all seriousness.

Once the boys were settled in, the brothers readied their own fly-fishing rods. The flies were looked over carefully before they made their selection. Heath chose a small bass bug and Nick a small bass frog, ones that they had made only a few days before the trip.

"Mighty fine day for fishing." Heath commented. The weather couldn't be better nor could the company.

Heath and then Nick, didn't get much time to do their fly-fishing. It wasn't very long before the boys began to keep them both quite busy. It was Andrew who yelled out first when his cork dipped underneath the water. Heath had put his own rod down and went to help him.

Andrew could hardly contain his excitement. "I got one Pa, I got one! Maybe it's Ol' Ben, ya think its him Pa? How big is it? Where is it?" He was talking so fast that he let go of the rod, luckily Heath had one hand on it.

"Alright Andrew, hold on now, we'll bring it in together. Okay?" His son nodded and Heath helped him bring in the fish. A small-mouth, no bigger than four inches, dangled from his line.

"I caught one! Uncle Nick, look I caught one!"

"Whoo, you sure did Andy, good job!" Nick grinned from ear to ear.

"Uncle Nick, Pa, I got one too I think!" Came David's shout.

With Heath tied up with Andrew, Nick went over to help David with his line.

Heath pulled the small fish of off his son's hook. "You know, I was thinking, how about we let this little guy go for now and in a year or two we can come back and catch him when he's all grown up."

"Can we Pa? Can we come back here?"

"Course we can, your Uncle Nick and I reckon we should do this at least once a year, dontcha think?"

"Okay Pa! But don't nobody else try and catch him, he's mine when he come back."

Heath handed the fish to Andrew and he put it back in the water, giving it a little wave as it swam away. "You okay there Nick?" Heath asked.

"Yep, we're doing fine. Do believe David's got himself a good-sized one." Nick showed the boy how to reel the fish in without breaking his line and David followed his directions carefully and brought his large-mouth onto the shore.

"Oh boy David, that's a plateful! Good job son!" Heath grinned with pride at the meal sized fish he had caught. He finished getting Andrew's line ready and helped him cast back in then went to David.

Nick finished pulling out the hook and handed the fish, by the mouth, to the boy. He held it up proudly, with the same lopsided grin on his face as his father.

"Umm, Uncle Heath, Uncle Nick?" Thomas said quietly, but when it was obvious they hadn't heard him. He stood up as his line took another dive into the water. "Hello! I think I've got a big one here!" He was quickly surrounded by his cousins and uncles.

Nick looked up at the pole, bending from the weight on it and then he looked at Heath. "Ya don't think?!"

"I was just thinking the same thing." Heath turned to his nephew. "Bring your line real tight, slowly and then move up your pole. Let's see if we can get a look."

Nobody made a sound while Thomas did exactly as his Uncle told him to. Nick held his breath and waited. A ripple in the water where Thomas's line was and then it showed itself.

"By God," Nick breathed out loudly, "It is Ol' Ben!"

"Pa, did you see it! He's huge! It's 'Ol Ben!"

"It sure is boys, now why don't you step back a little bit and give your cousin some breathing room."

"Okay Thomas." Nick spoke quietly. "Your father had it right. Remember the story we told about this fish and how your father almost brought it in?"

"I remember."

"Just do the same thing he did, nice and easy. Only this time, I'll help you look out for the weeds and stuff." Nick rubbed the boys back, "relax your shoulders a bit, this could take awhile. You're doing great son, really great."

His Uncle's large hands stayed on his shoulders and he didn't try to move away from them this time. He thought about the story, how his Father had been so patient trying to get this fish and right now he wanted to catch him real bad.

He would let Ol' Ben take some line and then he would slowly take it back. All of them encouraged him on, Uncle Nick stayed very close to him. "I think he's getting tired Uncle Nick."

"I think you're right. Why don't you see if you can't take more line back this time, bring him close to shore."

"Okay." He didn't take his eyes off of the line or the fish as it came into view again. "He's really something." Then it happened, underneath the water, Ol' Ben managed to lodge himself into a fallen log and it happened.

SNAP!! The barren line flung backwards out of the water.

"Oh no! Not again!" Nick threw up his arms.

Thomas continued to stare at the broken line. "Almost got him."

"You did a real good job Thomas, real good job. Things like that happen." Nick put his arm around the young man.

"I know they do, just really wanted him."

"Well we got five more days, plenty of time for you to catch him kid."

"I'm sorry Thomas." David said. "But now maybe I'll catch him."

"Oh like heck you will!" Thomas grinned and ruffled David's blonde hair.

"Hey, umm Uncle Nick, you wanna help me fix my line up so I can cast again?"

His heart leapt up and he told himself, patience, patience. "Sure thing Thomas, be glad to."

Returning later to the cabin, they entered the front door with a half dozen good sized fish to feast on for dinner. They polished off every single one of them. Nick leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "Nothing like fresh fish for dinner!"

"Yep, you're right about that!" Heath agreed.

Andrew was asleep soon after dinner and Heath picked him up and put the youngster into the large bed. David wanted to stay up late but his eyes grew heavy and at his father's suggestion, he was soon crawling up into the bed and falling fast asleep.

Thomas sat on the sofa, with book in hand, he pretended to read but was focused intently on the checker game his two Uncles were playing. Soon, all the day's activities began to take their toll and he was hiding yawns behind his hand.

"I think I'm gonna retire for the night." Thomas said as he stood up. "Can we go fishing before breakfast tomorrow?"

"Sure kid, want to try and get Ol' Ben, dontcha?" Nick grinned up at him.

"Yep and I'm gonna get him."

"Night Thomas." Heath said.

Nick looked up at Thomas as he went to his bedroom door, "Hey Thomas? It was a good day, wasn't it?" He asked hopefully.

Thomas paused and looked directly at him. "Yeah, it was a good day." He smiled and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Part 14

The next few days passed easily and comfortably. Though there had been no further sightings of Ol' Ben, it didn't seem to matter much to Thomas or anyone else. They spent the next few days fishing lazily, swimming and feasting on the wide variety of fish and small game that the lush area provided them with. By mid-week, they all felt as if they were several pounds heavier than when they had arrived.

Heath had the idea of a brisk ride up to the hilltops where there were wide open areas for the children to run and play. He also carried with him something that his wife had purchased from a catalog for the children. He'd heard of them before, read about Ben Franklin and others using them for experiments, but this was the first time he'd ever seen it as something fun and hoped that the children would find it interesting.

He pulled it from a large sack tied to his saddle horn and carefully opened it up.

David looked at the strange item shaped like a large diamond with several bows flapping beneath it. "What is it Pa?"

"It's a kite, your mother thought we might get a chance to try it out while we were up here and this does look like the best spot."

"I thought these were just for scientists."

"Used to be, but they're for fun now too." Heath, following what Sarah had told him, ran with it for a bit and let it go, the cool hillside breeze grabbed onto it and set it off dancing in the sky above.

"Wow! Can I try Papa, please?" Andrew exclaimed with delight.

"Come here son, we'll do it together, that wind sure puts some real tugs on this thing."

Andrew happily ran to his father's side and took hold of the spindle with his father, carefully allowing the kite to soar higher and higher above them.

"That sure is something?" Thomas said, shading his eyes as he looked up at it.

"Yep, it sure is. Never really seen one in action before. Can you imagine ol' Ben Franklin sending one of those things up in a storm, that must've been really something!"

"Yeah, but you'd never get me to do that Uncle Nick! No way, no how!"

"Me either!" Nick laughed. "Hey how's Lighting doing? Sure looks like you're taking mighty good care of him."

"I do my best, great horse Uncle Nick, the best!" Thomas looked over at his beloved Spanish Mustang. He'd had Lighting for a few years now and he remembered the first time he'd seen him. A cremello, Thomas had thought he was the color of lightning in a spring storm and had named him that.

Then he remembered something else, Uncle Nick had been the one to give him Lightning. His first horse of his very own and he thought about all the times he'd gone riding with Uncle Nick. From the very first times, when he would put Thomas up on the saddle with Coco and sit behind him, holding him firmly about the waist. To the very first time, Nick had put a long tether on the bridle and guided Thomas around the ring, in the saddle all by himself.

Uncle Nick had always been there. He remembered wrestling with his Uncle, pillow fights, horseback riding, daring to race him and Amigo and knowing that Uncle Nick had allowed him to win. When his baby sister was born, he was there. When his mother had lost the baby, he was there. At his father's funeral and wake, Uncle Nick had never left his side. Even the night before, he had come out when Thomas couldn't bear to go inside and they had camped out next to the barn under the stars.

"He kid, ya in there?" Nick waved his hand in front of Thomas.

"What..oh yeah sorry. I was just thinking about things."

Nick took a seat on the ground next to him and stretched out his legs. "Anything ya wanna talk about Thomas?"

"Nothing really." Thomas fumbled.

After a silent pause, Nick began to stand up.

"Umm, Uncle Nick, I was wondering I brought a chess board with me."

"And?"

"And I was wondering if maybe you'd like to play a game with me tonight, I mean I know you like checkers and all but if you'd like…"

"I'd love to Thomas. Fact is, I'm a bit rusty on chess, I could use a good player to help me bone up again!"

"Really?"

"Really. But we might get kind of a late start, your Uncle Heath is planning a few ghost stories for around the campfire later."

"You going to tell some too?" Thomas asked hopefully.

"Oh I don't know, maybe I can remember one or two that your Grandfather told to me when I was your age."

"Good, I like your stories."

"Really?" Nick asked, a smile beginning to spread across his face.

"Really Uncle Nick."

Part 15

Once their bellies were filled to the brim and the supper dishes had all been cleaned and put away, Heath went outside to build a small campfire. He'd been looking forward to this for weeks and had even tried out a few of the stories on his wife before he'd left. The story he planned tonight was one that Sarah had shared with him that night. In his mind, he was a decent storyteller, but he couldn't hold a candle to Sarah. She could hold you spellbound by her stories whether you were five or fifty, didn't matter. Sarah and Maggie both hailed from New Orleans and that city was filled with ghost stories, voodoo and legends galore. Seemed that his dark-eyed wife never ran out of stories to tell about her hometown. Heath pulled a match from his shirt pocket and the campfire sprung to life sending a flurry of small firefly like sparks up into the sky.

"Uncle Nick, can I have a piggy back ride?" Andrew asked as they started out the door towards the campfire.

"Sure can!" Nick leaned down and said, "Climb aboard!" He jostled Andrew all the way across the porch then down to where the campfire was going. Thomas and David followed behind him, wondering what tale the two men would weave around the campfire.

Heath spoke just above a whisper, "Gather round now, real close, and I'll tell you the tale of the lost drummer."

David promptly pulled himself as close to his father as he possibly could. David and Thomas sat close to Uncle Nick who was leaning against a fallen log ready to provide sound effects as needed. Clouds covered the moon and there were no stars to be seen on this night, the campfire and a lantern in the cabin afforded them their only light.

Nick shook his head, trying to hide the slight grin, "Good story Heath, but I dunno, you think the boys can handle this one?"

"Hmmm," He replied with a scratch of his blonde head. "Reckon you may be right. Whaddya think boys, can ya handle it?"

"Yeah Pa, course we can handle it! Please tell us the story!" David cried out on their behalf. Three pairs of boys' eyes stared intently at Heath and a pair of hazel eyes glinted with delight. They were all hooked.

"Alright, if ya say ya can handle it then I'll take your word for it." Heath took a sip of coffee and glared at each of the boys individually. "This story begins right in the middle of the war, before any of you boys were even born or thought of. And it's about a boy, ohhhhh I think he was about the age Thomas is now, wouldn't ya say so Nick?"

"Yep, sure would, but I think he looked more like David, don't ya think?"

Heath looked at his son appraisingly, "You know, I do believe you're right, he did look like David." He watched the children watching him and began again. "Now there was this family, in the South that had four children, all of them boys."

"Ya mean they were Confederates!" David said proudly, having recently talked about it in school.

"Right, Confederate. The three oldest boys volunteered to fight in the war right away as soldiers. But the youngest, Alan, well he was a little young to be a soldier. So one day, Alan left home and went to enlist as a drummer for the soldiers. Now Alan was a brave young man and he wanted to follow in his older brothers footsteps. He was proud to march and carry the drum for the regiment he had been assigned to. And all the soldiers liked him and tried to look out for him and Alan liked all of them. He liked them so much that he would often play songs on the drum for them after they had made camp. The soldiers would sit around for hours and listen to the rat-a-tat-tat of his drum.

"One day, Alan's regiment got sent on a detail across the Bayou. Near to where your Mother is from boys. Anyways, it was a really nasty day that day. It was cold and damp, the fog was so thick that you could shoot through it and leave a trail where your bullet had been. Alan marched with his drum, rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat.." Heath smiled as Nick drummed against the old log for emphasis. The poor boy was concentrating so much on his drumming that he didn't notice the sound of the soldier's footsteps growing further and further away till finally….there was no sound from them at all, only the sound of Alan's drum.

Through the thick fog, the soldiers searched for the young drummer. They searched through the bayou, into the deepest parts where the water reached their chests. They went past alligators and poisonous snakes calling Alan's name over and over. Close to midnight, several soldiers heard Alan's drum repeating the same rhythm over and over again. Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat! They raced towards the sound, going through muck and moss. One of the soldiers yelled, over there!" Heath raised his hand to his mouth and yelled out at the top of his lungs.

"There on the shoreline lay Alan's drum and drumsticks. But where was Alan? They searched the rest of the night and the next day, but never found him. The sergeant on duty that night later decided that Alan must have gotten stuck in quicksand, drowned or perhaps, even eaten by an alligator. No one knows for sure. But it's said that if you're down by the bayou late at night and you listen real close, you can still hear the sound of his drum. They say that Alan's ghost wanders the earth to this day still looking for the regiment that he lost in the fog….rat-a-tat-tat. RAT-A-TAT-TAT!!"

Andrew nearly jumped into his father's lap at the last sound he made of the drums; his eyes were wide as saucers.

The story finished, Heath looked over his completely captivated audience with a lopsided grin. Nick, without being noticed by the two youngest boys, picked up a stick and hit it against the log; mimicking the sound of the drum.

Andrew grabbed hold of Heath's arm and refused to let go.

"Was that THE drum?" David asked.

"Nah!" Thomas guffawed, "That was Uncle Nick!"

"Uncle Nick, you scared me!"

"Aww, sorry David! Just having a little fun is all."

Heath patted his knee and picked up Andrew in his arms, "Do believe that its time for you two to go to bed." He told his sons.

"One more story?" David asked.

"Tomorrow night, more stories then. Maybe you're Uncle Nick will tell ya one."

"Will ya Uncle Nick, do you know a ghost story?"

Nick stood up and planted his fists on his hips. "Do I know a ghost story? Kid, I know some stories that will curl your toes! Now go on and git in bed, we're gonna do some more fishing tomorrow bright and early!"

David started to follow his father and Andrew inside the cabin but stopped when he saw that Thomas wasn't following. "You coming cousin?"

"In a little while." He replied.

"Well c'mon kid, if we wanna play a game of chess we best get inside!"

Fidgeting with his hands, he asked if they could stay outside for a while.

"Sure, everything okay Thomas?" Nick sat back down and toyed with the stick he had used to make the drum sound.

Thomas sat down a few feet away and looked into the fire. Nick waited patiently for the boy to speak again.

"Uncle Nick, what was my Father like when he was my age?"

What was he like? Nick thought, he was staring at Jarrod or Jarrod's image. Didn't Thomas realize that? "Well, just look in the mirror Thomas and you'll have your answer."

"I know I look like him, I hear it ALL the time. But am I like him? Do I think like he did? Am I as smart as he was? When exactly did he decide to go into law? What did your Father say about it? What did Grandmother say?"

"Whoa kid, that's a lot of questions!"

"I want to know Uncle Nick!" He kicked the dirt in front of him. "I need to know, I miss him so much!"

"I know you do Thomas, believe me I know." Putting the stick into the fire he watched it begin to slowly burn. "Lemme see, where do I start? I guess he was about the same age you are now when he decided to be a lawyer. But he didn't tell our parents for a while, only told me. I remember I got angry with him about it."

"Why?"

"I was only ten at the time when he told me and I just followed him around everywhere like a little puppy. He was my only brother back then, didn't know about your Uncle Heath. And I guess I thought that Jarrod and I would be riding around on the ranch and working side by side our whole lives. Never even considered that might not be the way things would end up. I didn't talk to him for days, I was so mad! Your grandmother and grandfather tried to get us to tell them what was going on, but even though I was made at Jarrod, I had promised to keep it a secret and I didn't tell them."

"Why'd you stop being mad at him? What happened?" Thomas asked, drinking in every word from his Uncle and committing it to memory.

"Late one night, your Father snuck into my room after our parents had gone to sleep. I almost woke them up and Audra, who was just a baby at the time. I was fit to be tied that he woke me up. But when I calmed down, he told me how he wanted to be a lawyer right there in Stockton and how he would still live in the house. And, the most important part of all was that he told me that no matter what he did, he'd always be my big brother. He'd always be there for me."

"He was wrong." The young man's brilliant blue eyes filled with tears. "He's not there for you or for me!"

"Oh kid! I know, but that's not his fault! If he could have his way, he'd still be here with you and me and your Mother and Caitlin." Nick drew him into his arms without any objections from Thomas. Thomas cried softly, soaking Nick's shirt with his tears. Nick said nothing, but continued to hold him and brush his black hair until the tears subsided.

"I..I'm sorry Uncle Nick"

"Don't be, don't be kid. There's nothing for you to say you're sorry for." He handed Thomas his handkerchief to dry his eyes.

"I just miss him so much sometimes!"

"So do I, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. But you know, he's still with us. He's in our memories, in our hearts and ya know every time I look at you…you look and act so much like him."

"Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?"

"That I look so much like him, does seeing me make it hurt?"

"Thomas don't you know? It makes me smile. I am so proud of you! You're doing even better in school then your father did, you ride like someone twice your age and how good you are to your baby sister! All those things and so much more, it makes me feel very proud Thomas. Very proud indeed!" Nick kept his arm about him and his heart leapt for joy when Thomas looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks Uncle Nick! That means a lot!"

"Anytime kid. But…and ya know with me there's always a but! You gotta promise me that you're not gonna skip school anymore, you're way to smart to being doing stuff like that!"

"Alright, I promise." They fell into a comfortable silence, watching the flames of the campfire as they slowly began to dwindle.

"Uncle Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you call my father Pappy sometimes?"

"Oh, it was back after my Father died, your grandfather. Your father kind of got stuck with being the man of the house, the one we all looked to. He was a mite young for the job at the time, but that's how things played out. You know, I think it was your Aunt Audra that called him that first and it just stuck. He wasn't Father and he was much more than the big brother, so he became Pappy. Name suited him, dontcha think?"

"Yeah," He smiled, "It did suit him…Campfire's about dead."

"Yep, sure is. What say we go inside and hit the hay for the night? We’ll get up at dawn and have ourselves another go at Ol' Ben."

"Sounds good." They both made sure the campfire was doused and out then headed back into the cabin.

"Goodnight Uncle Nick and thanks."

"You're welcome, now go get some sleep!"

"Yessir."

Part 16

It was the perfect morning, with the sun shining down and a cool breeze blowing through the massive pines that provided them with just the right amount of shade. A perfect day for a long and relaxing ride.

"Race You!" Thomas yelled out to Nick and spurred Lightning on as fast as he would go down the trail.

"To the cabin!" Nick called back, he pushed his hat down on his head, gave Amigo a quick pat and off he went in hot pursuit of the boy.

Heath just smiled a little and stayed put. With Andrew in the saddle with him, he could hardly be a participant in this race. And he admitted to himself, that he was rather enjoying the slow and easy ride back to the cabin. He looked at his boys and they were enjoying it just as much as he was. David was studying his surroundings so intently, as though he were trying to commit each plant and creature to memory on their last day at Indian Springs.

The ride was a time of reflection for Heath; time to think about this past week. Tomorrow, at first light, they would be heading back to the ranch and he wondered if all the headway that had been made between Nick and Heath would stay intact once their lives returned to the normal routine. Making this trip had been a great idea; just what was needed and his brother deserved the full credit for it. Thomas and Nick had grown so much closer this past week and Heath silently prayed that their relationship would continue to grow over the coming weeks and years.

Three days ago, Nick and Thomas had started a chess game together after an evening of storytelling by the campfire. On their last day there, they were still embroiled in the very same game and were going to take it up again once they got to the cabin.

He had heard people say about his brother, that Nick was an impatient man, but those were people that didn't know him very well. When things really came down to it, if you looked past the bellowing and his antics, there were few people more patient than Nick. When he had first come to the ranch, he could out wrangle most of the men there, shod horses, train them, outride the other hands, but there was so much about the business of actually running the ranch that he didn't know. Nick and Jarrod had stayed with him every step of the way, guiding him and teaching him all about the goings on of the ranch. He'd made many mistakes, plenty of them, but neither brother gave up on him; not once.

Maggie was by far the best example of just how patient he could be. How many years had he loved her and no one else? If need be, Heath was sure that Nick would've have waited till his dying day to be with her.

And now, finally, Nick's relationship with Thomas was blossoming once again. Thomas, who was a picture of his father in every way and was now planning on following in his father's footsteps and wanted to become a lawyer.

Heath thought about last night and how he had watched Thomas and Nick playing chess long after his two boys had gone to bed. The three of them had fallen into comfortable conversation. Then the subject had gotten around to girls, both Nick and Heath had noticed that he had yet to take any interest in the girls at school. It was then that Thomas confided that there was indeed a special girl, one that took both men by surprise. Thomas was still actively corresponding with Jenny Morton. Her Mother had taken her away from Stockton after her brother Pete was in jail and her father had been killed. It was a time that none of them would ever forget. Nick had said that he never saw any letters from her and Thomas had admitted that he was picking them up from the post office himself and hiding them in his room, not wanting to get teased by anyone. Then Nick had done a wonderful thing, he had turned to him and said that they had been planning a trip to Modesto in the near future to look at stock and invited Thomas to go with the two of them. Heath broke into a wide grin just thinking about the expression on Thomas's face; first shock, then surprise, then the biggest smile he'd ever seen from the boy.

Heath saw the cabin coming up and put his focus back on the end of the ride. Once inside, they would have lunch, Thomas and Nick would play a little more chess and then it was back down to the lake again for their last day of fishing and swimming.

After an hour of chess and they appeared to still be no closer to finishing the game then when they had started. They decided to give up for the afternoon and not waste the rest of the day inside. Gathering together their fishing gear, they headed back down to the lake for their last afternoon of fishing before they left.

For the first two hours, there was not even a nibble on any of their lines. Absolutely nothing. Heath's boys were just beginning to grow quite restless when Thomas felt a tug on his line.

"I think I've got something!"

"Well at least someone does!" Nick replied.

Thomas felt the tug again, only this time much stronger than the last one. His reel began to spin, taking out more and more line as the fish went deeper and further away from him. Thomas brought some line back slowly, only to have the fish steal away more.

'Could it be?' Thomas's eyes became big as saucers. "I..I think it's Ol' Ben!"

"Nah, couldn't be, could it?" Nick shook his head not quite believing that Thomas would have him on his line twice during the same trip. He rose up and went to Thomas, followed quickly by Heath and his sons.

Thomas remembered their words from the last time he'd hooked Ol' Ben and he slowly guided the fish to bring it up the surface for a look. The water crested where his line was and there he was.

"Boy howdy! It is Ol' Ben! I don't believe it!"

Nick's hat came off and he slapped his leg with it, "You sure got some luck kid! Alright now, this time you're bringing him in, I've got a good feeling about this!"

For the rest of the afternoon, Thomas was engaged in a fight to the finish with Ol' Ben. There was no way that Thomas was going to let a big old fish outwit him again, this time he was bringing him in.

Ol' Ben made it to the shallows and now came the most difficult part. Guiding the giant bass around the weeds without allowing the line to become tangled. His hands were sweating and he was afraid he would lose his grip on his pole. As if reading his mind, Nick pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and kept one hand on the rod while Thomas dried off one palm, then the other. He patted Thomas on the back and smiled warmly. Thomas nodded, too afraid to even speak and stared back at his pole and the taut line.

Thomas followed both the older Barkleys instructions to the letter. Up here, over, tighten your line. His cousins were cheering him on continuously and so was Uncle Nick. Finally, it happened. With one last small tug, Ol' Ben was his. He was up lying on the shore with Thomas's hook firmly planted in the corner of his mouth.

Everyone wanted a closer look at the largemouth bass that had become a legend in the Barkley family. Ol' Ben required two hands to lift him up and even then Thomas struggled somewhat. The giant fish was easily over twenty pounds; a record for any of them.

Nick stood behind Thomas and grasped him firmly by the shoulders. "Ya did it Thomas, you really did it. I'm so proud of you kid!"

Thomas slowly turned around to look up at him. "Did it with your help, yours and Uncle Heath's. Thanks."

Ol'Ben lay on the ground, flopping helplessly in the dirt. His mouth slowly opened and closed; along with his gills. Thomas bent down tentatively and pulled the hook from his mouth, careful not to tear into the fish's mouth. The legend, he had caught the legend. The one that had always gotten away and had even eluded his father too.

"Well boy, looks like Ol' Ben could feed all of us tonight."

Thomas stood watching it, it's life slowly fading before his eyes. "Can we let him go?"

Nick couldn't hide his shock. "Let him go? Why do you want to do that?"

"I dunno, maybe cause he's a legend. Maybe cause I want him to stay a legend and not be just a memory."

It didn't take long for Nick to understand. The boys were another story, they voiced their feelings about letting him go loud and clear but they were quickly silenced with a stern glance from their father.

"I think that's a great idea Thomas. Heck, maybe next year I can come out here and catch him. Or maybe you'll catch him again. Go on, son, let him go."

Thomas lifted up Ol' Ben and waded into the water, past the weeds.

Heath came to Nick's side, "This is a good thing." He said quietly.

"Yep. Sure wish Pappy was here to see this."

"Oh I dunno Nick, I kinda think he is seeing this."

Gently, Thomas eased the giant bass into the water and once Ol' Ben started fighting him, Thomas let him go. He watched him until he disappeared into the deep water. When he returned to shore, Nick caught the surprised young man in a bear hug.

"Ya know, I don't think I could be any prouder of you than I am at this very moment. You're really something, Thomas."

Later, after they had gone for a swim and Heath's boys had been put to bed. Nick and Thomas sat down in front of the chessboard, determined to finish the game. When the clock on the wall struck one in the morning, Nick turned to look at Heath and found his brother sound asleep in the overstuffed chair.

"Looks like your Uncle can't keep up with us!" He smirked at Thomas.

"Nope," Thomas laughed quietly, "He sure can't!"

Both of their attentions were focused back onto the game board. It was Nick's turn and he studied it from every angle, at first when he saw it, he was sure he was seeing things. Thomas was an excellent player; he couldn't believe he would leave himself wide open like that. He studied some more and saw something else. He opted to make the second move he had seen.

"Check." He said with a grin.

Thomas looked and looked. It didn't take him very long to figure out what had just happened. Thomas moved his queen and took Nick's knight.

"Check mate."

"Ahhh, good game, good game."

"You let me win." Thomas grinned and pointed his finger at Nick.

"Who me? Nah, nope, must just be getting tired kid."

"Right, I'm sure that's what it was. Well I think we had both better get some sleep, don’t you?"

"Yep, we're getting up tomorrow at the crack of dawn. Miss your Mother?"

"Yeah, I do. And Catie and even NJ."

"Goodnight Thomas, sleep well." Nick gave him a quick hug.

Thomas started towards the bedroom door and looked back at Nick with a warm smile. "Goodnight…Pappy."

THE END