Shattered Silence

Part 7

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.

Laura pulled herself up onto Heath’s lap. She opened her book again and pointed at it, “What’s this word?” He was staring off at nothing in particular and didn’t seem to notice she was there. “Heath, what’s this word?”

“Wh..Oh I’m sorry Laura.” He’d been lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out what was going on in the court room, he hated not knowing. Looking down at her book, he put an arm around Sprite, “How about you try to sound it out.”

“I’ll try.” She furrowed her brow in concentration and it made Heath smile for the first time all day. “p.p.ot.shal..”

“Try it again, I’ll do it with you. P..o..t..en.tial.”

“Potential! Thanks Heath”

“You’re sure welcome Sprite. Now why don’t you back and sit with Daniel and Hannah, I’m going to go check on how your sister’s doing with dinner.” He picked her up and gave her a quick swing around before setting her down and watching her run back into the dining room.

Opening the door to the kitchen, he found Rachel sitting at the kitchen table with tears in her eyes. “Rachel.” He leaned over and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I know, it’s really hard to wait for news, but we’ll win this thing.”

“That’s not..not why I’m crying.” She sniffled at him.

“Oh, well then what’s wrong?”

“I can’t..I can’t cook! I can’t even make soup, it tastes terrible, I’ve ruined dinner!”

“Now it can’t be all that bad!” Going over to the stove he looked into the pot and took a whiff, the smell assaulted his nostrils and he winced uncontrollably.

“See! You made a face, it even smells bad!” Rachel plopped her head on the table.

“I’m sure it tastes a lot better.” Heath took a wooden spoon and dipped it into the pot. He hoped that the taste wouldn’t be nearly as bad. But it was, he swallowed hard and tried to smile. “It’s not bad beef soup, really it isn’t.”

“It’s chicken!”

Heath started laughing, he knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help himself.

“It’s not funny!”

“Sweetheart, what did you do all the time you and Laura were alone?”

“We ate at restaurants and I can cook beans and plain beef.”

“Well then, why don’t you stick to what you know.”

“I wanted to make something special, I guess I was trying to impress you. And I failed miserably.”

He took her hands and pulled her to her feet, “You didn’t fail miserably. It means a lot just that you tried to cook a big meal. Aww honey, you don’t have to be a great cook, it’s okay. ‘Sides I suspect Mrs. Ling will be cooking for us for a very long time so you don’t have to worry about it. Okay?”

After nearly three hours of being questioned be the defense, a sobbing Mrs. Ling stepped off the witness stand. Megan stood up immediately and went to her, trying to give the elder woman some comfort.

“It’s okay Mrs. Ling, what happened up there wasn’t your fault.” Jarrod tried to reassure himself as much as her. The defense had been brutal, attacking and twisting everything that she said. They had reduced her to tears on more than one occasion, ending it by leaving her in a near state of hysteria.

“I did bad, made Rachel look bad.” She sobbed into Megan’s shoulder.

“They’re the ones that are bad.” Nick told her, pointing over at the smug looking lawyers. “Evil, that’s what they are, evil!”

The judge banged his gavel, “Court will recess until 2 o’clock.”

“C’mon Mrs. Ling, why don’t we go see if we can dry up those tears.”

“We’ll meet you all on the front steps and get something to eat. We have a lot of talking to do before we come back here.” David said.

Seated at a small café, across the street from the courthouse, they discussed what would be coming next and how they could repair the damage done by the defense. Jarrod was no longer sure that they had the sympathy of the jury after the young lawyer had finished with Mrs. Ling, they’d become impossible to read and that was a very dangerous thing.

“I think maybe Nick should testify.” Dan said.

“I thought we had decided not to have him testify.” Jarrod replied. “Given the circumstances of how he and Megan met, it could hurt us.”

“But didn’t you tell me he was the only one that went into the mausoleum?”

“Yes, but I’d have to agree with Jarrod here and I apologize if this sounds harsh, Miss O’Rourke, but your employment is going to hurt us enough I’m afraid. If the defense questions Nick on how you two met, it won’t look favorably upon you or us.”

“I’m not offended David, I understand all of it. I did what I had to do to keep food on the table, I’m not ashamed of that.”

Nick grasped her hand and put a light kiss on her cheek. “Let them try to talk to me about how we met, I’ll tell them all about how she had my heart from the moment I first spoke to her and that I have her heart as well. Ya know, come to think of it, the bartender at the Four Clovers, he told me that I was the first man that went upstairs with Megan in a very long time.”

“That might help.” Jarrod said, “What’s his name?”

“Tom..Tom something.” Nick replied.

“Tom Hyde, he’s a good man, has a wife and a brand new baby.” Megan added. “He’s always the first one to jump in when one of the girls gets in trouble.”

David thought for a moment, “You know, if I go to the Four Clovers now, I could be back in less than an hour.”

“Yes, why don’t you do that David.” Dan agreed. “I can’t help but think that this is all my fault. I did a lousy job of things yesterday.”

“But you did a great job today.” Jarrod assured him. “You had an off day yesterday and today, well there was nothing we could do with what the defense did. You raised objections, one after the other, but they all seemed to fall upon deaf ears.”

“So it’s agreed then? When we get back, Nick you’ll take the stand and then this bartender from your saloon Megan and then if it’s not already five by then, we should get in your testimony as well.”

“Alright,” Jarrod started, “Now there are a few other things you might want to cover in your questioning of my brother…”

An hour later, the dark cowboy raised his hand and swore to tell the truth upon the Holy Bible.

“State your full name please.”

“Nicholas Jonathan Barkley.”

“Thank you, you may be seated Mr. Barkley.”

“Mr. Barkley,” Dan began, “You are from Stockton, California, is that correct?”

“Yes it is.”

“And your family is rather shall I say wealthy and well respected are they not?”

“Yes, I’d say that we are.”

“Well what is a well respected Californian rancher doing in Chicago?”

“My brothers and I, we came here to try and help Rachel and Sprite, I mean Laura. They were both in danger.”

“In danger, how?”

“They were both badly abused by that man.” Nick pointed his finger at Simpson.

“Objection.”

Nick’s voice raised, “Rachel to the point that she couldn’t speak, she’s got this ugly scar on her neck.”

“Objection your honor. Has the witness ever seen Rachel or Laura being abused?”

The judge looked down at him, “Well?”

“No sir, never seen her abused, but I seen what she looked like when we found her here in Chicago.”

“Then you can only testify as to what you saw when you found her, not of what you think happened to her.”

“Yessir.”

“Mr. Barkley,” Dan continued. “Let’s go back to March 2^nd of this year, something significant happened, can you tell me about that?”

“Yeah, Simpson he showed up in Stockton. He took Laura from the schoolhouse by force and then two men took Rachel while we were headed back to the ranch. My ranch.”

“And how did they take her? What did they do?”

“They overtook us in the carriage, faster horses. Said that there was a reward for Rachel’s capture. I got shot in the side.”

“At any time, did they identify themselves, these two men.”

“They did not. They only talked of the reward money.”

“So they took Rachel Knight by force and without identifying themselves. And in the course of trying to protect the young woman, you were shot and I understand came close to dying.”

“Yessir, that’s about the gist of it.”

“At that point, how long had you known the young woman and her sister.”

“A few months, January I guess.”

“I see. Thank you. Now let’s come back to here in Chicago. You know the young woman seated there in the front row.” Dan pointed out Megan.

Nick gave her a slight smile. “I do.”

“And tell me about what happened a little over two weeks ago.”

“She disappeared. She never came back from work.”

“And you and your brothers, Rachel and Laura were staying with Miss O’Rourke?”

“Yessir, she took us in, we needed a place where we could keep Rachel and Laura safe from that bastard.”

“Objection!”

“Mr. Barkley, you will watch your language in this courtroom, is that understood?”

“Yessir, sorry your honor.”

“What did you do when she didn’t come back from her job?”

“I went to go look for her. And when I did, I found her carriage still in back of the saloon and I found her shoe and it looked like there had been some kind of struggle. We notified the police immediately.”

“And how long was she missing, before you located her?”

“About a week. The police got a search warrant and searched Simpson’s house but all we came up with was the dress she’d been wearing that day.”

“Where was the dress found?”

“In the basement, in a small room, same place where we had found Rachel all beat up.”

“I see, but you eventually did locate Miss O’Rourke, how and where?”

Nick closed his eyes for just a moment, the picture of when he first saw Megan was burned into his memory and refused to dissipate. “It was because of Rachel that we found her, Heath told her what Simpson said in the courtroom the day he was arraigned and it struck a chord with Rachel I guess. Anyways, she led us to the place, the mausoleum where her parents were put and that’s where we found Megan.”

“What condition was she in when you found her?”

“Bad. It was bad, she was tied up on the floor of the place, her skin was so cold and she was unconscious.”

“Then what happened?”

“We, Heath, Rachel and me, we took her back to the house and tried to get her warm.”

“She eventually regained consciousness?”

“Yessir, as ya can see, she’s sitting right in front, as pretty as can be.”

“What was she wearing when you found her, Mr. Barkley?”

Nick raked his hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable. “Not much, just her undergarments. As I said, we found the dress she’d been wearing in the basement of Simpson’s house.”

“Thank you Mr. Barkley, no further questions.”

Megan gave Nick a wink and he grinned, he then saw the defense attorney rising from his chair and every muscle in his body tensed at the thought of what would happen next.

Just as the youngest defense attorney stood to begin his questioning of Nick Barkley, David came through the courtroom doors with the bartender from the Four Clovers. Nick smiled slightly, now the jury would find out that Nick had been Megan’s only upstairs visitor in quite some time, it couldn’t do anything but help them.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Barkley.” The defense attorney smiled a toothy grin at him.

“Afternoon.”

“I don’t believe that I’ll be keeping you up here for too long. So you can relax just a little.”

He chuckled slightly at the lawyers words. “If ya don’t mind, I think I’ll save the relaxing for when this whole thing is over with.”

“I can understand that. Tell me Mr. Barkley, how long have you known Rachel Knight and Laura Simpson?”

“Close to four months now, I guess.”

“Four months? That’s not a very long time. And tell me, how long was it before your younger brother, Heath I think his name is? How long before he began a relationship with Miss Knight.”

“I don’t know exactly when, none of my business, but I’d say it was a month or so before..”

“Before what?” The lawyer leaned onto the railing in front of Nick.

“Before you could see that they cared for each other.”

“A month, I see. And yet, he’s already proposed to Miss Knight, is that correct?”

“Yeah, they plan on getting married, but haven’t set a date yet.”

“I see so he’s known this girl for four months and been involved with her for three or less months and now they are getting married?”

“That’s right. My brother loves her very much and she loves him.”

“Do things always move that quickly in your family or did Rachel push things on just a little?”

“Objection your honor!” Dan stood up, “He’s asking the witness to speculate on the nature of their relationship.”

“Agreed counselor, move to the next question please.”

Nick shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Mr. Barkley, does your brother fall in love easily.”

“Nope he don’t. Rachel’s special.”

“I see and what about you, Mr. Barkley, do you fall in love easily?” The defense lawyer walked to the jury box, directly in the center so that all the jury member could see both himself and the witness.

“Nope, don’t think I do”

“What about Megan O’Rourke? Do you love her?”

Nick looked directly at Megan when he answered. “Yes I do.”

“How long have you known her?”

“About a month.”

“And for a week out of that time you say that she was missing, you fell in love with a woman in essentially three weeks then?”

“I guess I did.”

“And exactly, where did you meet her Mr. Barkley?”

“At a place called the Four Clovers.” Nick rubbed his ear nervously.

“At the Four Clovers the saloon, does she clean the place?”

“Clean? No she doesn’t clean it.”

“Ahh, I see, is she a saloon girl at the Four Clovers?”

He hesitated, Nick didn’t want to answer any further questions.

“Mr. Barkley, was she a saloon girl at the Four Clovers when you met her?”

“Yes! Alright?!”

“Alright indeed, so you met this eighteen year old young woman while she was a saloon girl.”

“Eighteen?” Nick’s eyes darted over to Megan, he had thought her older than that. She nodded her head at him and then lowered it.

“And did Megan have an upstairs room? You know one of those places that these saloon girls take their men for some private fun, at a cost?”

“I suppose so.”

“You suppose so.” The lawyer looked over the eyes of the jury. “Isn’t it a fact that after knowing her for one evening, that you went to that upstairs room with her?”

“I umm..yeah I did. But you don’t understand, Megan never takes anyone up there.”

“Oh really, is that what she told you? A nearly virginal girl, woman, that draws you up to her upstairs room? Did you have relations with her that night?”

“Yeah I did, but like I said..”

“Asked and answered.”

“Ya don’t understand!” Nick rose up to his feet despite seeing his brother, Jarrod, motioning for him to sit back down.

“Asked and answered Mr. Barkley!”

“Ya don’t understand!”

“Mr. Barkley, sit down!” The judge demanded.

“But I didn’t finish!”

The judge pointed his gavel down at Nick, “Yes you did.”

Nick slammed his chair back and sat back down.

“Tell me Mr. Barkley, on the night of Megan’s so-called disappearance, were you with her?”

“No, she was at work.”

“At the Four Clovers?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you see the defendant, Alexander Simpson, take her against her will?”

“No, I just told ya she was at work.”

“I see. So then how do you know that she didn’t willingly go with my client?”

“What?!” Nick rose up out of his seat again.

“Mr. Barkley, sit down and this is the last time that I’m going to tell you. The next time you will be escorted to jail, do you understand?”

“Yessir.” He nodded slowly at the judge and sat back down. “Megan would never go with that monster, never!”

“I see and is that because the virtuous saloon girl told you she didn’t?”

Jarrod stood up and shouted it out, forgetting for a moment his current position. “Objection your honor!”

“What?” The judge looked down at the man in the front row.

“I’m sorry your honor,” Dan replied. “He spoke before me, but I am objecting to the counselor’s last question.”

“Very well, but see that your friends keep silent from now on. Objection sustained, move on counselor.”

“You testified earlier Mr. Barkley that you found Megan O’Rourke tied up in a mausoleum, is that correct?”

“Yes it is.”

“Who was with you when you found her?”

“My brother Heath and Rachel.”

“No police were there?”

“Nope.”

“And you said that you found Megan’s dress in the cellar of the Simpson home?”

“Yep.”

“Are you sure that was her dress you found?”

“Yeah, she was wearing it the night that she disappeared.”

“Yes you testified to that, but are you sure that it was her dress and that Megan didn’t actually borrow it from Rachel Knight?”

“Rachel don’t have any clothes that look like that?”

“Think hard Mr. Barkley, because we will hear testimony later that in fact it was Rachel’s dress and one that she often wore to garnish her then lover’s attentions, Mr. Simpson’s attentions.”

“No! It was Megan’s dress!”

“What condition was the dress in when you found it?”

“What?”

“Was it shredded, ripped, were there any bloodstains on it?”

“No, can’t say there were.”

The lawyer turned back to the jury and smiled triumphantly, “Hardly the description of an item of clothing that was ripped off an unwilling participant. Just one more question Mr. Barkley, what happens to Megan O’Rourke when this trial is over and you head back to California?”

“I’m hoping that she and her brother and sister will come back to California with me.”

“Ahh, so the saloon girl nabs her wealthy man and lives out the rest of her days in the lap of luxury…”

“Objection!”

“No further questions.”

The objection was not answered and the defense lawyer sat back down, shaking hands with the two other lawyers seated at the table and one very happy looking Alexander Simpson.

Nick went back to his seat slowly, his shoulders slumped. He’d done more harm than good. He seethed at the lawyers that sat with Simpson, if he had his way, he’d level each of them to the ground with his fists. He couldn’t even bear to look at Megan, but there she was, holding her hand out to him. He sat down and she put her arms around him. “I’m sorry honey. Sorry Jarrod, I really made a mess outta things.”

“Not your fault.” Jarrod replied half-heartedly. “Those bastards do really know how to turn everything around, almost makes me ashamed of my profession.”

“We got Tom Hyde though.” David smiled, “He’ll give credibility to what Nick said about Megan. It’s gonna be okay.”

Dan stood up, “The prosecution calls Thomas Hyde.”

Tom Hyde, the bartender from the Four Clovers Saloon, walked to the witness stand. He put his right hand atop the leather bound Holy Bible and swore in front of the court, to tell the truth. He sat down in the chair and folded his hands together.

“Thank you for coming Mr. Hyde.”

“No trouble at all.” He replied.

“Mr. Hyde,” Dan asked, “Do you know Megan O’Rourke?”

“Yes I do.”

“And how do you know her?”

“She works at the same place I do, the Four Clovers.”

“And do you know Mr. Barkley, Nick Barkley, seated there next to her?”

“Don’t really know him, but I’ve spoken to him before.”

“And when did you have occasion to speak with him, Mr. Hyde?”

“Oh when Megan was missing and he was looking for her.”

“What did you say to him, Mr. Barkley, I mean?”

The bartender looked down then back up at Dan. “I kinda told him that I thought it was strange for Megan not to show up to work, that she was a good girl and always on time.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“Well,” Tom Hyde chuckled a bit. “I kinda told him that Megan hadn’t had anybody upstairs in a very long time, ‘cepting for him.”

“Okay..”

“But..”

Jarrod sat up in his chair, along with David, something struck them as being very horribly wrong.

“But what?” Dan asked.

“But that wasn’t exactly the truth.”

“What?” Dan asked incredulously.

“I tell all the boys that when they come around looking for their favorite girl.”

“Tell them what?” Dan asked.

“I tell all the boys that their girls never go up to the rooms, ‘cept for them. Keeps them all feeling like they’re special.”

Megan tried to cover the gasp by putting her hand over her mouth but she couldn’t hid it. She could feel Nick’s pulse in his fingers and his grasp tightening around her small hand.

“Megan has lots of men upstairs.”

“Your honor, that wasn’t a response to a question, I want that stricken from the records.” Dan demanded.

“I’m sorry counselor, but that was a continuation of his answer and it will not be stricken.”

“Nick, it’s not true.” Megan whispered to him frantically. “It’s not true, I swear it.”

“Don’t honey, you don’t have to say it. I believe you.” He squeezed her hand and leaned his head into hers. He didn’t believe it, Tom Hyde had to have been bought off.

Dan lost his composure for a moment, “No..no further questions.” He retreated back to his seat and sat down.

The young defense lawyer stood up, “Just two questions for this witness your honor. Was Alexander Simpson ever in Megan’s upstairs room that you know of?”

“Why yes he was sir.”

“More than once?”

“Quite often actually.”

Megan shot out of her chair, “Tom, that’s not true, you know it’s not!”

“Young lady!” The judge admonished, “Sit down!”

“Tom, my God, why are you doing this to me?!”

Jarrod informed his brother that he would return to the house later and he walked with David and Michelle, back to the office. Michelle handed him the notes she had taken during the day’s proceedings and the two men sat down to review them. He had to take just a moment to admire Michelle’s abilities in recording the proceedings. Indeed, Jarrod thought with a wry grin, she was as nearly as good at it as he was. However, she greatly surpassed him when it came to penmanship and he thanked her for the work she had done.

“You’re welcome, Mr…Jarrod. It was the least I could do. We are going to win this case aren’t we? We can’t let that man abuse those women all over again by giving him the victory in this.”

“You are so right Michelle, we can’t let him win this and we won’t.”

When Michelle had left the room, David looked up at his colleague. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard her being so cordial to a friend of mine before. Jarrod?”

“Really?” He smiled but for a brief moment and looking back down at the large pile of papers in front of him, the smile dissipated. “Well, let’s get to work now. We’ve got a lot to cover before tomorrow morning.”

Nick returned to the house with Mrs. Ling and Megan. He felt utterly defeated, they had turned around everything that he said and made Megan appear to be nothing more than a harlot. It took every ounce of his strength not to jump from his chair and kill Simpson with his bare hands. Simpson deserved to suffer for what he had done to Megan, to Rachel and to his little Sprite.

Sprite, she was there waiting for him when they returned and she greeted him by nearly jumping onto his back for a piggy back ride. He felt the wetness in his eyes that threatened to fall upon his cheeks, he couldn’t let Sprite see that so he forced them back underneath the surface.

“I missed you today Nick!”

“Ya did?! Well I missed you too Sprite, missed ya a whole lot!” He set her down and gave her a big bear hug, somehow the little girl’s returned hug worked miracles in washing away some of the anger he was feeling inside. But not the pain, the pain reached down to his soul and tore his heart into pieces.

Heath would ask questions later, after the children were asleep. But for now, he need only look into his brother’s hazel eyes to tell that things had not gone well. He looked towards Megan and Mrs. Ling, he saw the trails of tears on their cheeks. No things had definitely not gone well at all.

Rachel had seen it as well and her heart had sank. She shouldered the blame for the day’s events. If only she and Laura had kept to themselves, not made friends with the Barkleys, not fallen in love with one of them; then none of this would be happening. Megan would not have been kidnapped, Nick would’ve never been shot, Heath spent time in jail and now they had to relieve all the horrible events again in the courtroom. She was the cause of their pain and suffering; how much longer would she allow this to continue? Rachel was torn like never before. A part of her wanting to see the trial through and see her step-father behind bars for a very long time. Then there was the part of her that was growing in strength, the part that told her to take Laura and run. If she ran, then the Barkleys involvement and Megan’s would be over, no more courtrooms, no more danger. But then there was Heath, the voice of strength that was always there for her, the man she would always love whether or not she could be with him.

“Rachel?” Heath put his arms about her waist. “Rachel, what are you thinking?”

She slid from his grasp and reached up for some plates from the cabinet. “Oh I was just thinking that I should get dinner on the table, they must be starving!”

“That’s not what you were thinking, c’mon you were a hundred miles away from here.”

“Not now Heath, please.”

“Maybe things didn’t go as badly as it seems. We’ll know more once the kids are all tucked in bed.”

“Oh Heath, you know it was bad. You saw their expressions, you saw the tearstains, I know you did.”

He stopped her from fussing in the kitchen and took both her hands in his. “Whatever it is, no matter how bad things went today, we’ll get through it Rachel. We’ll get through it together.” Pulling her tightly to himself, he pressed his lips to hers and tried to kiss away her pain.

Rachel, despite herself, melted into his embrace. She parted her lips and he slid his tongue inside her warm mouth, tasting and tickling her. Large hands caressed her sliding down, ever so slowly, till they reached her buttocks and Heath playfully gave her a tiny pinch.

She leaned her head back and allowed his lips to find her neck, gently he kissed the tender flesh and nibbled downwards till he reached the hollow and his tongue traced its outline.

“Heath,” She whispered. “Maybe, maybe we shouldn’t wait anymore.”

Heath stopped his kissing and his eyes met hers. “Rachel? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that maybe you and I have waited long enough.”

“You know I want to be with you more than I could ever begin to tell you, but Rachel, I don’t want to chance doing something you might regret. You’ve been through so much.”

“All the more reason Heath. Heath I want to give myself to you, I want to know what its like to give myself to the man I love, to do it freely and to not be forced into it. I need to know that it’ll be so much different with the man I love, the man I intend to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Oh Lord Rachel, you have no idea, are you sure though?”

Her soft arms went up around his neck and she brought his head down for a delicious kiss, this time it was she who parted his lips and sought out the taste of him. When the kiss ended, it was all Heath could do to not scoop her up right then and there and carry her upstairs. But there was a group of people in the next room, a hungry group of people that needed to be fed.

“After dinner?” He asked hopefully.

“And after the children are asleep.” Rachel responded.

Heath took her hand and turned it, kissing the inside of her palm.

During dinner, he could hardly stand the anticipation. Her beautiful eyes continually glanced over at him longingly.

But Heath had no idea of the motives behind her request. She couldn’t help but think that her time with Heath was coming to an end soon. She didn’t want to but her head told her that the trial wasn’t going to end in their favor. That soon, she would be faced with either returning Laura to her stepfather or running. And giving Laura back to him was no option, nor would she take Heath from his family, no matter how much he loved her. Taking him from the home he had found and from his family, his brothers was something she could not do to him. She had told him how much he meant to her and he did mean that much, she would love him always, no matter where she was. Rachel was going to show him now, exactly how much she loved him, to give herself to him would be the last thing that she would give to him before she was forever gone from his life.

The children played games in the parlor while Jarrod discussed the case with the grown-ups. He admitted that things weren’t going as well as he had hoped, but they had to turn around for them, he knew they would. Megan would be taking the stand first thing in the morning and he went over her testimony again before he retired to his room for the evening.

The two couples set about putting the children to bed, they protested greatly before they finally led the way upstairs and went to their room to be tucked in and kissed by first Megan, then Rachel, Nick and Heath.

Once they were back downstairs, Nick took Megan’s hand and led her through the kitchen and out the back door into the moonlit backyard. There were some things he wanted to discuss with her.

“Megan,” He started. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re only eighteen?”

“I don’t know Nick, I guess I thought that if you knew, I would lose you. You would think me a child.”

“Not likely.” He told her, his thumb traced along her jaw line. “You’re more grown up than a lot of women twice your age. And I don’t mean because of what you do for a living, I mean ‘cause of the way you take care of Daniel and Hannah, the way you care for people. You have more heart inside you than any woman I’ve met before. Ya know how many people woulda turned us away when we had no place to hide with Rachel and Laura? Lots woulda, but not you, you let us in and gave us a roof over our heads.”

“What else could I do Nick? I just didn’t see that there was anything else I could do but help.”

“That’s part of why I care for you so much.”

“Nick, on the stand today.”

“I said I love you.”

“Yes, you did. Nick, did you mean that?” Megan gazed up into the clear hazel eyes of her dark cowboy.

“Yep, I did mean it. I love you Megan.”

“I love you too!”

Nick’s mouth plunged onto hers, devouring every bit of her in a delicious lovemaking session in the backyard. He could never get enough of her, he surmised, she never ceased to amaze him. Body and soul, he wanted her near him for the rest of his days.

Heath checked on the children again, for the third time. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found them all sound asleep in their beds. He walked, bootless, to the end of the hall and tapped lightly upon the closed bedroom door. He tried to wait patiently for the door to open, but he rubbed his hands together nervously.

Rachel slowly opened the door and smiled when she saw him. Opening the door wider, Heath entered and walked to the window.

Rachel’s hair was down, that was the first thing he noticed. Her long chestnut hair reached down to her mid back and beckoned to be touched.

“Are they asleep?” She asked in a whisper.

“Yep, off in the land of Nod. Jarrod’s in his room with the door closed and Nick and Megan are in the backyard, have been for awhile now.”

Rachel put her arm around the bedpost and sat down at the end of the bed. She was nervous, her heart was pounding.

Heath moved in front of her and put a finger under her chin, guiding her to look up at him. “You can still change your mind you know.”

“I know Heath, but thank you for saying so. I know this is right, there’s no doubt in my mind about it or about you.”

Tentatively he put his hands on her small waist and drew her to him. He would take things slowly, not allow his own desires to take over. He wanted her to know just what making love was and this was her first time. It didn’t matter what had been done to her before, as far as he was concerned she was still pure and she was willingly giving herself to him. Her gift meant more to him then she could ever imagine.

“Rachel, I love you so, I’m yours forever and a day.”

“And my heart will always be with you.” Rachel replied, then hoped that he wouldn’t realize the full meaning of her words. Her heart would always be with him but not her self.

The tip of his index finger traced her lips slowly, feeling their softness. She had the prettiest smile that he’d ever seen, but now the lips were sensual, parted and begging to be kissed. He gave her lips what they were so wanting of, a kiss that started out softly then became so passionate that she grew weak with her desire.

Moaning his name, Rachel wasn’t exactly sure what to do next, but her heart took matters in hand and she slipped her hands around his back and underneath his vest. She could feel the strong muscles tense beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Every nerve in her body tingled at his touch and the kisses that trailed down her neck and along the outline of her scoop neck blouse.

She trembled slightly at Heath kissing her the top of her breasts, it didn’t make a bit of difference that two layers of fabric separated his mouth from her bare skin, it was still the most incredible sensation.

Feeling her tremble, he stopped. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She replied, her breath coming in short gasps.

The buttons of her blouse were slowly undone and he gently slid her blouse off her shoulders and it fell to the ground behind her. Her camisole was thin and it did nothing to hide what lay underneath it. A thin blue ribbon laced up the camisole in the front and he undid the bow with the tips of his fingers. One arm looped behind her back while the other hand worked on the finely woven ribbon. He kissed the crook of her neck and moved up very slowly, playfully kissing and nibbling at her neck until he reached her earlobe. He took the soft flesh in his mouth and sucked on it, eliciting a gasp from Rachel.

She started working on his shirt buttons, undoing them one by one with some degree of difficulty. When she reached the top of his slacks she pulled out the shirttails from his pants and pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Her hands went to the soft fur on his chest. She’d felt it before, it was billowy soft and Rachel couldn’t resist entwining her fingers in it. Beneath the fur, she felt the hardened muscles of her hard working cowboy.

The blue ribbon was removed and he held it in his hand. He opened the camisole and stopped his kissing to look at her. He gazed at the round breasts that were just perfectly sized and the rose brown nubs that he wanted to kiss. But he also saw three perfectly round cigar burns on her abdomen. Heath knelt down in front of her and gently kissed each scar. It was all that Rachel could do, not to cry at that moment. To have someone love her and touch her so tenderly was almost more than she could bear. His heart ached at the sight of those round marks, never again would she have to feel pain like that. From now on, all she would know was his tender loving care and touch.

Heath scooped her up in his arms and carried her the few steps to the bed. He laid her down on the far side of the bed and then, after removing his boots, he joined her.

Leaning over her, their mouths met again and she felt the nervousness and her fears begin to melt away. She grew bolder with his explorations and started to undo his belt and then unbuttoned his slacks.

When they were completely unclothed, they lay on their sides facing each other. He traced a line with his hand from her his up to her neck. “You are so beautiful, you know that?”

“You make me feel beautiful Heath.”

“You are Rachel, everything that I ever dreamed of and so much more. He laid her down on her back and moved over her, parting her legs with his knee. “You can still stop if you want to.”

“I don’t want to stop, love me Heath.”

When they joined, they became one heart and spirit that moved in perfect rhythm together. Two pieces of a puzzle that had just been made whole. She felt herself moving with him slowly and her passions grew, their movements became more intense and hungry till she was in a whirlwind that exploded around him. “Heat!” She cried out, trying to muffle her voice in his shoulder Feeling the waves of her pleasure surround him, he gave into his own and with one last movement, groaned as he released himself fully.

When he regained his breath, he covered her face with tiny kisses.

“I love you Heath!”

He moved off her and she put her head on his shoulder. Bare skin to bare skin, he held her tightly to himself and vowed to never let go.

“I never knew.” Rachel whispered.

“Never knew what, sweetheart?” He asked as he stroked her hair.

“I never knew it could be like that. You read about it in those books a young lady isn’t supposed to read, but I never believed it could be as wondrous as it described. But it is Heath, it is!”

Heath lovingly kissed her forehead. “And it always will be like that, I promise you. For the rest of our days, even when we’re all gray-haired with dozen grandchildren, it’ll be like that.”

Rachel bit her lip, trying to fight back the tears. “Yes Heath.” Was all she said.

In the early afternoon, a carriage pulled up in front of the house. Before Nick could secure the reins, Megan had jumped down and ran into the house. She headed straight up the stairs, to her room and slammed the door shut. Nick raced up the stairs after her and Jarrod was left to face Heath, Rachel and the three children on his own.

“Hello there Hanna!” Jarrod knelt down in front of his wee angel. “You know I could sure use one of your healing hugs right now.”

Hannah crossed her arms across her chest. “Whatsa matter with my sister?!” She demanded.

“Oh she’s just a little upset right now, but she’ll be fine in a little while.”

“Will she Jarrod?” Heath asked.

“Come on kids let’s get back to the dining room and finish our lunches.” Rachel ushered them from the front hallway to allow the brothers some time to talk.

“What happened Jarrod?” Heath asked once they were alone.

“I came back here to get you, you’re up right after lunch.” Jarrod heaved a heavy sigh and went into the parlor to sit down.

Heath followed. “Already? I thought you said that Megan would be on the stand most of the day.”

“That’s what I thought, I was wrong.”

“Then what happened this morning?”

“I’ll tell ya what happened Heath!” Nick stormed into the room. “Those defense lawyers made Megan look like a dime prostitute and the damned prosecutor didn’t do to stop it! She’s upstairs now, locked in her room and won’t come out.” Nick pointed an accusatory finger in his elder brother’s face. “How the hell could you just sit there and let them treat her like that?! So nice and calm when she was up there being beaten down by that lawyer and when she started to cry, you just sat there Jarrod!”

Jarrod stoop up toe to toe with Nick. “And what would you have me do Nick? Stand up and yell like the devil, nearly get myself thrown in jail, like you did today?!”

“At least I did something big brother! Least I did something!” Nick turned away and stared out the window.

“I spoke with Dan about this morning and told him that I thought his work today was nothing less than appalling. I let him know exactly how I felt about things, Nick.”

“Oh now, well ain’t that something. You had a talk with Dan, I’m very impressed.” Nick’s voice was filled with both agitation and sarcasm.

“I tell you Heath, if Dan continues on his present course; David and I have discussed filing a Lack of Confidence against him.”

“How much longer do you plan on allowing this prosecutor to continue with the case?” Heath asked.

“I don’t know. He was downright incompetent today. I counted at least ten times that I would’ve raised an objection.”

“But he didn’t Jarrod. Not one word, Heath ya shoulda seen it, he just sat back and watched while they twisted every word she said. He just sat there while she cried, just like you did big brother!” Nick’s voice rose again.

“I’m not the lawyer on this case Nick! Why don’t you understand that?!”

“What I understand Jarrod, is that we wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you!” Nick reached out and put his hand on Jarrod’s chest, giving him just enough of a push to make him step backwards.

“Stop it!” Heath stepped in between the before things got worse. “We’re her now and there ain’t nothing we can do ’bout it. What happens next Jarrod?”

“You’ll go on the stand Heath. I’ve already talked to Dan, he’ll make sure that his questions last the full afternoon. That’ll give us the evening to prepare for facing the defense tomorrow morning. We can talk about today’s testimony on the way there.”

“Awright.”

“We best get going or we’ll be late for court.”

“Lemme just tell Rachel that I’m leaving.” Heath turned away slowly, not sure if he should leave his two brothers by themselves. Nick was pretty hot under the collar and from what Heath had heard of the morning’s events, he had every right to be angry. He just wasn’t sure that Nick was directing his anger onto the right person.

Rachel looked up from the table when she heard Heath come in. She’d heard nearly every angry word that Nick had said in the next room. “You’re leaving now?” She asked Heath.

“Yep, going to testify today.” Heath grasped her shoulders. “Now don’t ya worry. We’re gonna make this right, ya just gotta have some faith honey.”

“I’m trying Heath.”

“I won’t be back late. Ya know I think Megan might need someone to talk to, seems she don’t wanna talk to Nick at the moment.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’ll have Nick come back here and watch the children.”

“Heath?”

“Yeah?”

“…Nothing…I love you.”

With the children watching them, he gave her a brief chaste kiss. “I’ll see ya tonight.”

Rachel passed Nick in the hall and she went upstairs to try and talk with Megan. But she was terrified, at that moment, all she could truly think of was what would they do to her when she got up on the stand? A part of her wanted to run that very night, but she had made a promise to herself while she laid in Heath’s arms last night, a promise to see it through to the end. If they lost, then she and Laura would leave that same night.

Jarrod and Heath pulled up in front of the courthouse.

“Ready?” Jarrod asked.

“S’pose I gotta be. At least today I only gotta talk to someone that’s on our side, right?”

“Right, nothing for you to really worry about Heath.”

The judge banged his gavel and court was called into session for the afternoon.

Dan approached the bench for a quick talk with the judge, when he came back and sat down, he turned around to Heath.

“Nothing to worry about today Heath. We’ll get this guy.”

Heath closed his eyes for a moment, while Dan spoke to Jarrod and David. He was sure, he knew he was. When Dan turned back around and faced the bench, Heath whispered to his brother, anxiously. “Jarrod, it was him!”

“Him? What are you talking about?”

“That night at the mausoleum, those two men that walked by and I was sure I knew one of the voices. It was the prosecutor!”

“Heath…are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yeah, positive Jarrod! We have to get him off this case, he’s blowing it on purpose!”

“Okay Heath, lower your voice. Let me think for a minute.”

“Tell the judge!” Heath whispered again.

“It’s not that simple!”

“What’s going on?” David asked.

“I believe we have a huge problem David. Get Dan’s attention, tell him that Heath is ill, tell him anything, but get this session stopped for the afternoon!”

‘What? Have you lost your mind Jarrod? This had better be good!”

As quietly as possible, Jarrod directed Heath to stand and leave the courtroom with him. Dan turned and saw them leaving, he immediately went to David for an explanation.

“Heath has taken quite ill, I’m afraid he must’ve eaten something bad. Get a continuance until tomorrow.”

“I don’t believe this! He’s an important witness, what if the judge doesn’t go for it.”

“He will, be very descriptive about Heath being sick, vomiting, all of it.”

“I’ll try.” Dan walked to the judge and one of the defense lawyers followed him.

A few minutes later, court was adjourned until the following morning at 9 o’clock.

“Thanks Dan. I’ll see you in the morning, I think I better go check on that witness of ours. “ David left the courtroom, pushing his way past the people in the gallery as they tried to exit. He found Jarrod and Heath standing by the side of the courthouse, talking in anxious whispers. “You two mind telling me why I just got the prosecutor to lie for you?”

Jarrod shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “You remember when they found Megan at the mausoleum?”

“Of course I remember!”

“That night, they nearly got caught. Two men walked by while they were trying to get her. Heath thought he recognized one of the voices he heard. When we were in court, he heard the same voice again.”

“And?”

“It was the prosecutor’s voice I heard.” Heath replied.

David cupped his own face in his hands, his eyes wide as saucers. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah..I’m sure. We need to go tell the judge right away!” Heath said.

“Wait a minute, things don’t work like that.” David scratched his chin. “Anybody else hear that voice? Nick?”

“No, Nick was inside the mausoleum, he didn’t hear them. Rachel was the only other person to hear it.” Heath didn’t like the idea of involving her one bit; he felt she was darn near on her last straw already. One more thing could set her to running away with Laura.

“I think the first order of business is to find the Chief. We’ve got to tell him about this. Then we’ll talk to Rachel with the Chief present. We’ll need to have the both of you if we’ve got any chance of getting Dan thrown out as the prosecutor. David, if the judge will allow it, can you step in?”

“I suppose I can. But I don’t have any experience sitting on that side of the courtroom. “

“You’ll do fine.” Jarrod replied with a grin. “Besides we can’t get much worse off than we are now!”

“Oh thanks Jarrod, your faith is overwhelming.”

Nick sat down at the kitchen table with Megan and Rachel. Thankfully, Rachel had managed to convince Megan to come out of her room. A pot of coffee had been brewed and while the three children worked on the reading assignments given to them; the three adults talked over cups of hot coffee.

“Megan, I know how rough today was for ya. But it’s all over now, you’re done testifying.” Nick put his hand over hers.

“I know that Nick, it was just so hard, I guess I never stopped to really think about what other people thought of me, I did what I did to survive, that’s all.”

“You put Daniel and Hannah first in your life, you were more concerned with putting food on the table and a roof over their heads than what other people thought of you.” Rachel told her.

“She’s right ya know. I’d say that makes you some kind of great woman.” Nick agreed, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Listen, Jarrod was supposed to tell ya this, but it looks like now that business is real good for him in Stockton, he could use a secretary. We both thought you’d be perfect for the job.”

“Nick, are you serious?”

“Yep, sure am. Just think, Daniel will finally have all those wide open spaces that he keeps talking about. We’ll find ya a place in Stockton to live and we can be together, I’ll be able to court ya all proper like.”

“Oh Nick are you sure about this? Is Jarrod sure?”

“Sure as can be. Please say yes Megan, come to California with me.”

“Of course I will, I don’t even have to think about it! Daniel and Hannah will be so happy!” Megan flung her arms around Nick’s neck and plopped a big kiss on him.

Rachel could swear she saw the tough cowboy blushing.

“Rachel, it’s wonderful isn’t it? I’ll be going to Stockton with you!”

“If we win.” She replied glumly.

“What do you mean, if we win?”

Nick had been trying not to think of that, to think of losing his brother forever was too much to consider. “She means that if we lose the trial, Simpson might try to take Laura back and if it happens, Rachel and Heath are going to run with Sprite.”

“No!” Megan was shocked, they couldn’t run away, there had to be something else they could do. “But you and Heath are practically joined at the hip.” She said to Nick. “I know you probably don’t want to admit that, but I’ve seen how much you care about your brothers.”

“Don’t worry Megan, it won’t happen that way.” Rachel spoke up before she had thought her words through. She dropped her head and wished they hadn’t come out at all.

“Whaddya mean? It won’t happen that way.”

“Nothing Nick, it was nothing.” Rachel got up and went to the stove, retrieving the large pot of coffee and poured refills for them.

“It wasn’t nothing.”

“You’re planning on running without Heath aren’t you?” Megan asked her, there was something in Rachel’s face that told her it was so, a melancholy or a sadness that came from deep within.

“What? Nah, Rachel’s not doing that!” Nick denied adamantly. “Ya wanna talk about joined at the hip, its those two, they’re made for one another!”

She put the coffee back on the stove and without thinking, she touched the stove with her bare hand. Crying out slightly, both Nick and Megan jumped from their seats to see what was wrong. Nick took Rachel’s hand and put it under cool water.

“There now, better?” He asked with a grin.

“That is what you’re doing, isn’t it?” Megan asked again, her question had remained unanswered.

Not wanting to answer, she began to walk away but was stopped by two firm hands on her shoulders.

“Tell me that ain’t so! Tell me you don’t plan on leaving him after everything that he’s been through, everything we all been through!” Nick demanded to know, he was angry that she would even consider leaving Heath. Didn’t she understand what that would do to him?! “Tell me!”

She shook her head and bit her lip hard to try and stop the tears, “Its..its not like that..Nick..I love him.”

“Oh yeah that’s how ya show my brother ya love him?!”

Megan put her hand on his arm. “Nick, I don’t think you understand.”

“What? What don’t I understand?” He kept his hands on her shoulders, refusing to release until she explained herself.

“How can I take him away from his home Nick? He’s only had you and Jarrod for three years?!”

Nick’s hands dropped from her shoulders and fell limp at his sides.

“Megan’s right, don’t you think I know that? You and Heath, you’re brothers and you belong together. He loves you and Jarrod and your mother! The ranch, the land, all of it is such a big part of him, how can I take him from that? I can’t let him follow me, what would that do to him?”

“That’s why?” Nick asked softly. His admiration for Rachel had grown tenfold in the last few minutes. He fully realized now exactly how much Rachel loved his brother.

“Yes.”

Nick took Rachel’s hand and led her back to the table. “C’mere, sit down, please.” He waited for both Rachel and Megan to sit down and it gave him a brief moment to think on his words before he spoke. “Ya know,” He started with a grin. “Heath and I, well we’re both pretty damn lucky fellas! To get ourselves two strong and lovely ladies like the both of you, well that’s more than any man can really hope for! “ He was pleased with himself when he made the both of them blush, just slightly. “Thing is, you’re right Rachel, Heath and I well we haven’t known we’re brothers for very long. And he does mean a lot to me, more than a man can really say. But you and Heath, Sprite too, you are a family now. I know you’re not married yet. But ya already make a family, the three of ya together. And ya can’t break that up, ya can’t break up a family.”

“What about your family Nick? What will it do to your Mother, to Jarrod and your sister, to you?”

“Well now, ya know even if we do lose this trial, Jarrod tells me that there’s change on the wind. There’s talk of making laws about child abuse. And don’t forget that lady from the agency that protects animals, she hasn’t testified yet. She’s coming at the end and that’ll set everyone’s minds to thinking about child laws.”

“I had almost forgotten about her. Do you think she’ll really make a difference?”

“I dunno for sure, but seems to me that it worked in New York! Ya read it yourself, so maybe it will work here. Point I’m trying to make Rachel is that if it comes down to ya gotta run than Heath has to go with you. One of these days the laws will change and ya know what? I’ll be waiting back at the ranch to see you all again, I’m not going anywhere. And ya know, I’m expecting to see another Barkley or two with ya when ya do come back! I don‘t care how old Sprite is then, soon as she comes back I‘m giving her a piggy back ride all over the ranch!”

“Oh Nick!” She folded her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Does Heath know how lucky he is to have you for his brother?”

“That’s what I keep telling him!”

A big hug was waiting for Jarrod when he returned to the house. Hannah appeared to no longer be mad with him and she jumped up to greet him as soon as he came through the door.

“Oh thank you!” He said with a large smile, “you don’t know how good that makes me feel!”

“You’re welcome!” She replied, but her mood changed when she saw the beautiful young woman come inside behind him. “Who’s that?” She asked.

“This is Michelle, she’s Mr. Travers secretary.”

“Oh.” She watched Michelle come in, then Mr. Travers, Heath and the Chief of Police.

Nick was the first adult to greet them. He stopped when he saw the chief and the young woman with them. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“Where’s Rachel?” Heath inquired.

“She and Megan are fixing dinner.”

“I need to talk to her.” Heath disappeared down the hallway.

“Hey Heath, ya best tell them to make more food, looks like the number for dinner has increased.” Nick yelled after him. Nick followed the small group into the parlor and sat down while Jarrod and David filled him in on the day’s events.

“Rachel.” Heath said as he came into the kitchen. He received more greeting than he had anticipated.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, showering him with small kisses on his face. “Heath, I’m so glad you’re back!”

“You may not feel that way in a minute.” Heath took her small hand in his. “Let’s go out back for a little bit, I need to talk to you.” He truly dreaded telling her of the latest turn of events, but he had to. He just prayed that Dan’s voice had stayed in her memory from the mausoleum, they needed her to remember it.

Heath led her outside to the back yard and they sat down upon a small bench. A clear night, the sky was filled stars and a half moon to light their way. He put an arm around her waist and drew her close.

“Rachel, something happened today and we’re going to need your help.”

She closed her eyes, tightly, what else could happen and when was it going to end, she asked herself. “What happened?”

“Do you remember when we were at the mausoleum and we heard those two men talking?”

“Yes, how could I forget that?! I thought we were caught for sure!” She could feel her heart begin to pound.

“If you heard one of those voices again, do you think you’d recognize it?”

Rachel thought hard for a few moments, “Yes, I think I could. Why do you want to know Heath?”

“Because I heard one of their voices again today. Do you remember how I thought one of the voices was familiar?”

“Yes I do, who’s voice was it Heath?”

He knew the words would come as a blow. “It was Dan’s, the prosecutor on your case. It was his voice we heard.”

“Oh no, are you sure?”

“Yep, I’m sure. But I want you to be as well. Honey, if it was him that we heard, he’ll be thrown off the case.”

Rachel sighed, then looked into Heath’s beautiful blue eyes. “What do you want me to do?”

“The chief needs you to identify the voice. It means that you’ll come to court with me in the morning. It won’t be enough to land criminal charges against him, but Jarrod and David think it’ll be enough to have him thrown off the case.”

“I know that no one thinks he’s been doing a great job of it, but who’ll take the case if he is thrown off?”

“Jarrod and David talked and David is willing to prosecute, if the judge will allow it. David’s secretary is here, her name’s Michelle and she’s going to take a statement from you of what happened that night and especially about the voices that you heard. Then come tomorrow morning, once you go to court and if you recognize his voice, David will ask the judge to meet in chambers where Jarrod said they will raise two things against Dan.”

“What two things?”

“One of them is called a Conflict of Interest, I think and I’m not sure exactly what the other one is called but something to do with a lack of confidence.”

“Well…if that is what needs to be done. But Heath, do you really think we stand a chance?”

“Getting him off the case, yeah I think we do. Look at it this way, it gives us a brand new chance in the trial, Jarrod’s got a lot of faith in David and so do I. Reckon we still got things pretty hard on the defense side, but it can’t do nothing but good for us to have David on the case.”

“I hope you’re right, Heath.”

“Course I am. So, how about you tell me about your afternoon? How’s Megan doing?” Heath pulled her closer and wrapped his other arm around her, kissing her briefly.

“Oh, changing the subject are we?” She finally smiled at Heath and it warmed him to his soul.

“Uh-huh.” He leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

Rachel’s heart pounded for a new reason now, her desires won out over her worries and she melted into his arms.

It took a while for her to regain her composure once he had separated from her. “You sure do know how to change a subject, don’t you?!”

“Hey Rachel, I could use some help in here!” Megan opened the back door and called out to her new friend.

The dining room had less chairs then people and Nick moved the kitchen table into the room, for the children. Jarrod started setting the table and was pleased when Michelle offered her assistance. Megan and Rachel took notice of the way Jarrod was looking at David’s secretary and in the kitchen the two young women mused over the idea of all three Barkley men finding love. Nick and Heath were kept quite busy just trying to get the children to the table and Mrs. Ling was left to relax and laugh at the flurry of activities around the house.

After dinner, the children were all put to bed and the adults gathered in the dining room. Michelle took notes on the discussion. David fired questions at Rachel about the night they found Megan, about the voices they heard and if she thought she would recognize it if she ever heard it again.

Close to midnight, the Chief, David and Michelle left for the evening. They would meet Jarrod at the courthouse at eight in the morning. Heath and Rachel would be joining them and if Rachel remembered the voice, they would see to it that Dan was removed from the case immediately. The whole thing made Jarrod seethe inside, he never understood how a lawyer could sell himself, could think that somehow the law was less important than money.

Jarrod watched as Nick went up the stairs with Megan, they were laughing quietly, sharing some private joke between them. A few minutes later, Heath led Rachel upstairs, holding her hand. The young lawyer returned to the dining room, sat down in front of a pile of notes and lit a thick cigar.

The morning greeted them with a driving rain storm, that soaked all of them to the skin on their way to court. The small covering on the carriage did nothing to protect them from the harsh cold wind while it drove the rain onto their clothes and skin. Rachel was shivering by the time they arrived at the court house and Heath tried his best to keep her warm.

Court was called into session and Dan began to talk to the judge in front of the packed courtroom. Heath and Jarrod both watched Rachel’s face and they both saw her skin grow stark white. He grasped his future’s wife hand tightly.

“Rachel?”

“It was him.”

“Are you sure Rachel, are you very sure?” Jarrod asked her.

“Yes, positive.”

Jarrod nodded to David and taking in a deep breath, he rose to his feet. “Your honor, I must ask for a meeting with you regarding the prosecution in this case. “

“Mr. Travers, this is quite unusual!” The judge exclaimed. “What is this in regards to?”

“Your honor, it has come to my attention that the prosecution may not be representing this case in the best interest of the state of Illinois. I am requesting a meeting with you in chambers.”

“Your honor, this is highly irregular! I must protest this meeting!” The eldest defense lawyer stood and smoothed back his white hair.

“I’m inclined to have this meeting. However, you are free to join us Counselor.” The judge stood up from his desk. “The court is in recess for one hour.”

David and Jarrod stood up simultaneously and buttoned their jackets. Heath stood up and put his arm around Rachel. “Ready?” He whispered.

“I think so.” She didn’t like the fact one bit that they would have to pass by the table where her stepfather sat with his attorneys. He was staring at her, before she even turned to look, she knew it she felt his eyes upon her.

He knew what was going through her mind. Heath caressed her palm with his thumb and led her from the gallery to the front of the court. He could feel Simpson staring at them, it was all he could do not to turn and lunge at him, kill him right there in the court.

As they walked past, Simpson leaned over the table and nearly came out of his seat, moving closer to her. Rachel trembled uncontrollably and was nearly driven to tears. But Heath put his arm around her and walked partially sideways so that he could no longer look at her.

The evidence was presented against Dan and despites Dan’s protestations that their charges were completely ridiculous; the judge continued to listen to what was said. Simpson’s lawyer vehemently denied any knowledge of Dan being in cahoots with Simpson.

After hearing Heath and Rachel. The judge brought his fist to his chin and looked down at the notes in front of him. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take some time to consider the evidence you have given me.”

“But you can’t possibly believe them!” Dan cried out. “Someone like that? You can’t believe them!”

“Silence!” The judge demanded angrily. “Gentleman and Miss Knight, if you will please excuse me. Court will be in recess until one o’clock this afternoon. At that time I will render my decision in this matter. Mr. Travers, are you sure that in the event the prosecutor is removed from this case, you are willing and able to take over?”

“Yes your honor, I am.”

“Very well. Be back here at one.”

They had three hours to pass before one o’clock. David suggested that they return to his office for the long wait. Michelle was in the office when they came in and she set about taking their coats and asked about the morning’s events.

“You know you have a long wait, perhaps we should see about getting something to eat. There’s that café up the street that has sandwiches and soups that I could purchase and bring back.”

“Wonderful idea Michelle, thank you. However, that is a lot for you to carry, perhaps my esteemed colleague might be willing to give you some assistance.” David said with a sly grin.

Jarrod couldn‘t agree more, “Brilliant idea David!” He left immediately with her and was thankful to have a bit of time alone with her. He planned on asking if he might take her to dinner once the trial was over and before they returned to Stockton.

Heath leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “What do you think David? Did we convince the judge? Will the prosecutor be removed?”

“I wish I knew for sure Heath, but there’s no way to tell. I do know that we have a chance, that judge would’ve never given a recess unless he was seriously considering the issue. All we can do now is wait.”

The three hour wait proved to be agonizing for all of them. They continued to speculate off and on as to whether or not the judge had been convinced. But none of them knew the answer and it made all of them anxious in their own ways.

Heath and Rachel had finished their lunch and eventually sat down together on the small loveseat in the corner of David’s expansive office. David retreated to his law books, burying himself chin deep and that left Jarrod to have some time with Michelle.

While they had been out procuring some food for everyone, Jarrod had asked her of her favorite restaurant in Chicago. She had told him of the Fairbanks hotel and the restaurant in the lobby. It was her favorite restaurant in all of Chicago, but it was something she reserved for her birthdays and special occasions as it was quite expensive.

“Perhaps, when the trial has finished, you will allow me to take you there for dinner?” He had asked.

“But won’t you be going back to California?”

“I think we can wait to travel home until after dinner.” He grinned at her and his blue eyes caught the sunlight. She could stare into those brilliant cerulean pools for a lifetime.

“Then yes, I’d be pleased to dine with you.” She told him.

Back at David’s office they had gotten into a discussion regarding books and Jarrod was most delighted to find that they shared a love of many of the same writers: George Eliot, Victor Hugo and even the relatively new author, Mark Twain. They both found themselves forgetting the anxieties of the wait and relaxed together while they talked over their love of the written word.

Rachel put a gentle hand on Heath’s constantly bouncing leg. “Heath, relax.”

“I am relaxed. Rachel, I’m a patient person pretty much but this is horrible. Aren’t you nervous?”

“Incredibly so, but I also know there’s nothing we can do about the wait or the outcome. I guess I’ve just resigned myself to that.”

“I know, that’s what so nerve wracking about all of this I guess.” Heath leaned back against the loveseat and Rachel put her head on his shoulder, her action had the most calming effect on him.

One chime from the large grandfather clock signified the bottom of the hour. Twelve-thirty, time for them to make their way back over to the court house and hear the judge’s ruling.

They made their way to the courthouse and sat down in the front row of the gallery together.

“All rise.” The bailiff called out in a loud voice. “This court is now In session, the Honorable Whittaker Akron presiding.”

The judge emerged from his chambers and sat down at the bench. “You may be seated.” He told the packed room. The judge turned towards the jury and addressed them. “This morning, gentlemen of the jury, I was presented with a request to have the State Prosecutor removed from this case due to his alleged involvement with the defendant, Alexander Simpson. In a trial such as this, if a prosecutor has any relationship, whatsoever, with the defendant - it is called a Conflict of Interest and the prosecutor is removed from the case.” The judge then turned towards the courtroom and his eyes bore down on the prosecutor. “You should be quite thankful, for there is not quite enough evidence in this matter to have you charged with a crime.”

Dan breathed a heavy sigh of relief while Jarrod and David exchanged worried looks.

“However, according to the laws of the state Bar Association, in order to have you removed from a case, all that is required is a reasonable doubt. And I would say that there is more than a reasonable doubt regarding your relationship with the defendant.”

“But your honor…you can’t do this to me!” Dan stood from his chair and stammered pathetically at the judge.

“Daniel Whiting, you are hereby removed from this case and pending further investigation, are suspended from your position as prosecutor.”

The front row of the gallery became filled with smiles, shaking hands and even a hug or two.

“Your honor!”

“Bailiff, get this man out of my courtroom and out of my sight!” The judge demanded. He banged his gavel heavily against his bench. “Order in the court!” He called. Once everyone had silenced, he spoke again. “Mr. Travers, do you still agree to take over the prosecution of this case?”

David stood up, smoothing out his jacket. “Yes I do, your honor.”

“Very well. Being that you’ve had little preparation time, court will adjourn until ten o’clock tomorrow morning. That is all.” Again, the gavel came down and the judge left his seat and returned to his chambers.

They stood up together happily, they had finally won their first battle in the courtroom. Heath and Rachel hugged each other tightly, but when she opened her eyes a shiver ran up her spine. She could see him, her stepfather, he was staring at her. Heath felt her tremble and turned around just in time to see Simpson smacking his lips at Rachel. He pushed chair back and started towards the monster, but Jarrod grabbed his arm.

“Don’t Heath.” He said to him.

“Please, that’s exactly what he wants.” Rachel pleaded with him and touched her finger to his cheek. “Let’s just get out of here.”

The fierce anger waned and Heath’s shoulders released their tension. “Gladly, let’s go. We should get to the house, I believe Nick and Megan will be happy with the news.”

Simpson watched them leave the court room, all the while fuming over the events of the day. He turned to the eldest lawyer, a long time friend of his. “I shoulda never trusted that prosecutor, stupid man! And you, this was all supposed to be take care of! Remember?! Nothing to worry about.” He mocked his old friend. “Well lemme tell you something, it just goes to show that if you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself.” Simpson stood up and buttoned his expensive jacket.

“Alexander, what are you planning? Don’t do something stupid while you’re out on bail! The judge will have you in a prison cell in the blink of an eye!”

“It’s only stupid if you get caught and I have no intention of being stupid, my friend.”

Alexander Simpson headed out for a meeting with two of his employees, the very same men that had gone with him to California. He had thought it all out, though of course his plan would have to involve the loss of his daughter’s life as well, but then there wasn’t any other way. The memories of 1871 were only eight years old and still fresh in everyone’s minds, it was something Chicago would never forget. And now he planned on creating his own version of the event, just another damn animal that knocked over a lantern.

The war had not been won yet but still a it felt so good to have a victory in one of the battles. It was a cause for celebration.

“Wait, let’s go by my office first. I want to get or thing or two from my bar to bring over because if I have to drink any more of that rock gut you have, I’m gonna keel over!” David laughed heartily at his own joke and slapped Jarrod on the back. He’d smiled more that afternoon than he had in months and it felt good.

“Michelle, perchance would you consider joining us at the hose for dinner? It’s a bit crowded and noisy occasionally, but never dull.”

“It sounds perfectly wonderful Jarrod, I’d love to.” She replied with a warm smile.

With a few libations tucked underneath the front seat, they all climbed into the carriage. Heath gave the reins a small flick and they were on the way to the house to share their good news.

At Rachel and Laura’s former mansion, Mr. Simpson poured another glass of whiskey for his eager employee.

“Are ya sure ya wanna go with me?” Higgins asked him. “Ya don’t usually like ta get your hands dirty, Misser Simpson.”

“Yes, I’m quite sure that I want to go. As a matter of fact I believe I might rather enjoy the experience of getting my hands dirty.”

“Awright, you’re the boss!”” Higgins slugged down his whiskey in one gulp and banged down the glass on the coffee table.

“So, now tell me how this will work.”

“Pretty simple actually, the bottles get filled up about halfway with lamp oil, ya put a rag inside the bottle like a candle wick. Then ya light the rag and throw it. The glass breaks when it hits and the fire spreads so fast that they never know what hit ‘em.”

Simpson smiled, “Wonderful and that old wooden house will light up faster than a box of matchsticks.”

“They should all be asleep when we get there, we should have one of us take the upstairs windows and one the downstairs. They won’t have a chance ta escape that way.”

“Very good, be back here at ten.”

“Okay Misser Simpson, ten o’clock I won’t be late.”

Alexander Simpson leaned back in his chair and lit a cigar. He had no other choice in the matter, all other efforts had failed. The prosecutor was off the case, the officer on his payroll that was supposed to get rid of his stepdaughter had failed and so had his former marshal, he hadn’t even wounded one of them with his shotgun. It was all rather pathetic, the adage was true that he needed to do it himself in order for it to be done properly.

He was consumed with his hatred for the Barkley brothers. They had meddled in his family affairs and had messed up Rachel and Laura’s minds beyond repair. He was damned if he was going to let Rachel live knowing that one of those men was with her, no one else could have her except himself. Laura would be a casualty of all this and he regretted it somewhat, however he saw no other options. And then poor stupid Higgins, he’d be a casualty as well, but of course Higgins didn’t know that.

When the carriage pulled up to the house they all heard the sounds of Nick’s contagious laughter echoing into the street. They walked in the house to find Nick playing horse to Laura’s cowboy. Heath and Jarrod both busted out laughing.

“Oh, you’re home early!” He edged Laura off his back and quickly stood up. “I was just having a bit of fun with the kids to pass the time.”

“Kids? What kids?” Megan laughed, “The only one I see was just running across the floor on all fours!”

“We have news.” Jarrod said proudly.

“News, what happened? Is he off the case?” Nick asked anxiously.

“Yep.” Heath answered. “Sure is and David here is taking things over from here on out.”

“That is good news!” Megan smiled. She went to Nick’s side and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Ya mean we won?” Laura chimed in.

“No honey, not yet.” Rachel leaned down and kissed the top of her sister’s head. “But it means things are looking much better now for us.”

“Yea!!” Laura cried out happily.

Rachel took Michelle’s arm, “Why don’t the three of us see if we can help Mrs. Ling with dinner or getting the table ready?”

“I would love to help.” Michelle replied, she also welcomed the opportunity to get to know the two women better.

Jarrod watched the three of them head down the hall together and sighed with a grin on his face. “That sure is a sight.”

“Yep, reckon the three prettiest ladies in Chicago are all in this house tonight.” Heath smiled.

“That’s a fact, m’boy. That’s a fact!”

“Well come on David, don’t want to leave that sherry and whiskey unopened all night, do you?” Jarrod chuckled and went to the parlor table and picked up four long cigars, passing them out to the men in the room.

Megan came into the room to find out how the men wanted their meat cooked and she was overcome by the cigar smoke. “Oh pew! Yuck! Gentlemen show some kindness to the fairer sex and open a window please!”

“You’re right Megan, sorry.” Heath opened the front window to allow the smoke to escape.

The men fell into talk of what would come next in the trial and how David planned to recoup the losses they had already taken. He spoke of how he planned on ending with Mrs. Taylor, he felt that ending with the case of Mary Ellen would have a large impact and would stay with the jury throughout the defense’s portion of the trial. David wanted Heath to testify next. Heath would make an excellent witness, he thought, strong and well spoken and fortunately only given to outbursts of anger when he was severely provoked.

In the kitchen, the ladies were having a good giggle, it was the first time that Rachel could remember laughing with other young women. She had kept to herself since she and Laura had run, friendships were a luxury that she couldn’t afford. And when her mother had died, her stepfather had kept her inside and didn’t allow friends. She was nervous at first, fearing that she would say something wrong or act improperly around Megan and Michelle. But she soon found herself at ease and laughing at their stories.

Dinner was lighthearted and easy. The grim pall over the house had lifted, there wasn’t a person in the room who didn’t feel like a new day had begun in the trial, that the tide had finally turned.

Late in the evening, David stood up and announced that he had better get home and get some sleep or he would be worthless the next morning. Michelle would leave with him and he would take her back to her apartment, no doubt that it would be a long day for her tomorrow as well.

“I had such a lovely evening, thank you everyone.” She told them sincerely.

“I’ll walk you both out.” Jarrod stood and escorted them from the house.

David, knowing of the attraction between the two, climbed into the carriage immediately to give Jarrod and Michelle a moment together.

“I’m very glad you came this evening. I hope the children weren’t overwhelming at all.”

“Not at all Jarrod, I love children! I’m glad you invited me here, it was nice to spend some time with you and your family.”

Jarrod took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the top of her slender hand. “Goodnight Michelle.”

“Goodnight Jarrod, see you in the morning.”

Jarrod returned inside and found Heath and Rachel climbing the stairs together. “Goodnight Jarrod.” They both said.

“Goodnight.” Jarrod replied, he turned down the hallway only to be nearly run over by Megan as she ran for the stairs, laughing. Nick soon followed and ran up the stairs after her. “Goodnight!” Jarrod called after them.

Heath stood at Rachel’s doorway, cupping her face in his hands. “We’re gonna win now you know.”

“I’m starting to believe that Heath, I really am. “

“Believe it.” He kissed her tenderly and parted her lips. His hands slid down her back and ran over her bottom. He grasped them both and drew her closer to himself. She felt his growing desire and with one free hand fumbled for the doorknob, pushing her bedroom door open. Rachel stepped backwards into the room, still caught in his kiss.

“Rachel!” A sleepy voice called from her bed.

Heath quickly broke from Rachel and looked into the far end of the room. Laura was curled up in Rachel’s bed, half sitting up and looking at the both of them.

“Can I sleep with you tonight? I had a bad dream yesterday.”

Rachel smiled slightly at Heath and shrugged her shoulders. “Of course you can honey.”

“well now, with the both of you together, makes it all the more easy to give my two favorite girls a goodnight hug!” Heath stroked Rachel’s hair then walked over to the bed to receive a big hug from Laura. He kissed her cheek and mussed her hair, “Goodnight Sprite, sleep tight!”

“I will, g’night Heath!”

“Goodnight Heath.” Rachel said as he placed a small chaste kiss on her cheek.

“Goodnight honey, see ya both in the morning!” Heath closed the door behind him and with a small chuckle, shook his head. He went into the bedroom that he shared with his brothers and sat down on the bed to pull off his boots. He didn’t realize how tired he was until his head hit the pillow and it was only a short time before he fell into a deep sleep.

It was a sound that stirred him at first, he lifted his head up off the pillow and listened. Then the sound of glass cracking and shattering, then another. He jumped out of bed at a scream.

“Heath!” Rachel cried out.

Jarrod had come to bed after Heath had gone to sleep and he had awoken also at the sounds. He smelled it in the air, then saw it seeping through the door frame.

“Fire!” He yelled.

Heath threw open the door and saw the fire lapping up the staircase. There would be no exit that way, the windows and awnings were their only escape route. The suffocating heat of the fire burned at his bare skin, searing the hairs on his chest and arms. Jarrod was right behind him and while Heath ran across the hall to Rachel’s bedroom, he made his way to the children.

Nick was out the door of Megan’s bedroom next, clutching her tightly in his arms.

“Daniel, Hannah!” Megan cried out.

“I’ve got them.” Jarrod yelled above the loud hissing of the flames.

Heath threw open the door to Rachel’s bedroom and found himself separated from her by a wall of fire. The bedroom window was shattered and flames danced across the floor. Rachel was standing up on the bed, holding Laura in her arms. “Heath!” She cried. Rachel climbed down from the bed and when she was close enough, she lifted Laura as high as she could and he took the child from her.

“Rachel, jump over, you can do it.” He called to her.

But her fear of the fire in front of her pushed her away and back towards the wall.

“Rachel, c’mon, you can do it.”

She coughed from the smoke that was filling up her lungs and then nodded back to him. She closed her eyes and took a few short steps then jumped over the low line of fire, the flames licked upwards and touched her nightgown. They danced across the bottom of her nightgown, burning her ankles and starting towards her calves. She screamed and Heath grabbed her, pushing her to the ground and burning both his hands as he put out the fire before it harmed her any further.

The all quickly gathered together in the hall, the children clinging to the adults. Hannah’s arms were wrapped so tightly around Jarrod’s neck that he could hardly breathe.

“Those stairs are gonna go at any minute!” Heath said in a loud voice.

Nick pointed toward the children’s bedroom. “Out their window, roof slopes down low.” His two brothers nodded in agreement.

They started towards the room when one realized that not all were present and accounted for.

“Mrs. Ling!” Rachel shouted and before Heath could stop her, she was heading down the fiery staircase, dodging the flames that shot after her.

“Rachel!” Heath turned to the group. “Go, get outta here!” He shouted and disappeared down the stairs.

“Heath!” Nick shouted and went for him, but Jarrod put a firm arm on his shoulder.

“The children need us right now. Heath will be okay.”

Nick’s head dropped and he looked at Megan then to the three terrified little faces that stared up at him. “C’mon, lets go!” He picked Sprite up and carried her into the bedroom. Nick threw open the window and made his way out onto the roof. “Megan, you come out here. I’ll help ya down and then me and Jarrod will hand the kids down to ya.”

With a nod she started out the bedroom window. Suddenly the house rocked as the staircase exploded in flames, taking part of the second floor with it. Megan’s balance was lost and she tumbled on the roof, starting to slide down past Nick.

“No!” Nick shot out his hand and caught her arm, stopping her from tumbling over the side. “You okay?”

“Yeah, think so.”

Grasping both her arms, he slid her over the edge of the roof till her feet were but a few feet from the ground and he let go.

“Okay!” Megan shouted.

Jarrod looked back to see the fire inching its way into the bedroom. “Hurry!” He shouted and helped Laura get out the bedroom and into Nick’s waiting arms.

Downstairs, Heath caught up with Rachel and together they tried to make it to the first floor bedroom where Mrs. Ling slept. The door was closed and Rachel went to open it. But she cried out and grasped her hand. Heath saw she had burned her hand on the doorknob. He reached out and touched the door, red hot.

“Get back Rachel.” He commanded. Kicking the door open, he was nearly thrown to the ground by the force of the flames that exploded from the engulfed bedroom and spread rapidly over their heads and to the walls around them.

“Mrs. Ling! Rachel cried out and started towards the room.

Heath caught her and held her tight. “No honey!”

“No, Mrs. Ling, we can’t leave her!”

“Rachel, no, we can’t help her anymore. I’m sorry.” He told her, his heart aching. She leaned her head onto his shoulders and he heard the small sob. “C’mon, we gotta get outta here now!”

The couple turned towards the door and they came face to face with her stepfather. Rachel screamed.

“Where’s Laura?!” Simpson demanded.

“You!” Heath’s blood began to boil over in a white hot fury. “You did this!” He lunged and Simpson and threw the large man to the ground.

“Heath! No!” Rachel shouted.

“Go Rachel, go! Tell Nick and Jarrod!” He briefly turned his head to look at her and it gave Simpson the opportunity to plant his fist on Heath’s face. Blood spurted out from Heath’s nose and streamed down his chin onto Simpson’s shirt. “Rachel go now!” He demanded. “PLEASE!”

This time she listened and finding the front door blocked, she ran back through the kitchen and out the back door. “Nick! Jarrod! My stepfather’s in there, he’s gonna kill Heath! Help him!”

The brothers ran to the back door, but before they could open it, the roof overhead gave way and came crashing down. Nick pulled Jarrod out of the way just in time. Their path inside the house was now blocked by a wall of fire and wood.

“The front door’s blocked!” Rachel shouted. She picked up her sobbing sister and held onto her tight.

“Stay there!” Nick yelled back to them. “Jarrod, the windows!” They split up, each going to the windows and if they weren’t already broken the brothers smashed them and called inside for their brother.

Nick smashed a window and thought he could hear Heath. He started climbing up inside when the window beside him smashed from the inside and he made out the soot covered form of his brother crawling out.

“Heath!” Nick went to him and helped his brother out the window. Nick grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket and held it to his nose, trying to stop the flow of blood. Looking up at the house, there wasn’t any time. He half carried Heath to the back yard just as the full roof caved in and the house came down in a large crash.

Rachel put Laura down and they both ran to him, soon followed by Jarrod.

“Heath! Oh no, are you alright?” Rachel took the handkerchief and was relieved to find that the flow of blood had slowed down to a trickle.

“I’m okay honey.” He gave a small lopsided grin to her.

“She said Simpson was in there.” Nick said, “What happened, where is he?”

“I think he’s dead. The ceiling caved in and I got separated from him. I think the fire got him.”

The Chicago Fire Department arrived on the scene, but there was nothing left of the house for them to save. They poured water upon the blaze to keep the fire from spreading elsewhere.

The brothers, their ladies and the children sat in the backyard and watched numbly as the fire soon died out and all that was left was a pile of burnt wood, stone and smoke.

By dawn, the news had spread and David had arrived with Michelle and the Chief of police. They found the tired and dirty group huddled together and looking extremely worn.

“Simpson did it.” Heath told them.

“He did? Are you sure about that? Where is he?”

Nick pointed towards the remains of the house. “Didn’t make it out I think, good riddance.”

“We better wait to say good riddance until we recover the body.”

“Bodies,” Rachel corrected, “Mrs. Ling didn’t make it out.”

“Oh, I am so sorry.” David said sincerely.

Michelle reached out and Jarrod took her hand. She stayed with him silently as they waited. It would be several more hours before the embers had cooled enough for them to search. Enough time for David to head back to town and return with some fresh clothes for all of them. HE had guessed at all the sizes of men’s shirts and children’s clothing, but it didn’t matter much to any of them, right then it was all that they had.

Finally, by noon, the remains of the building were approachable and the three brothers walked with the fireman, David and the Chief to find the bodies of Mrs. Ling and Simpson.

Nick found Mrs. Ling first and he took the offered covering from one of the fireman, the white sheet stood out starkly from the blackened wood around them.

A few minutes later, one of the fireman called out and pointed to another white sheet that covered the form of the second body.

“Simpson?” Heath asked.

The fireman handed something to the chief and once he saw what it was, he brought it over and placed it in Rachel’s hand. “I think you’ll be going home to California soon.” The chief told her.

Rachel looked down at the pair of soot covered cufflinks. Picking them up, she brushed them off with her fingertips and saw the engraving. ABS. She looked up at Heath with tears in her eyes. “It’s him Heath, these were his.”

Nick, Heath and Megan came over to them to see what was going on.

“Ya mean it’s over?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, he’s dead.” Heath replied. He put his arms around Rachel and pulled her tightly to himself.

“Heath, its over? We can go home?” She asked in a whisper, almost afraid to say the words.

“It’s over honey. Oh thank God, it’s over!”

There was unfinished business that required attention before they could return to Stockton; Simpson’s estate had to be taken care of and Mrs. Ling’s funeral. They had one last visit to pay in the courthouse before it would all be over. But for Jarrod Barkley and David Travers, the fight was just beginning.

David had found what he didn’t know was missing, his heart and soul, his cause. As his father before him, he’d entered the law practice out of the love for money and the desire to live in the higher echelons of society. He was an excellent lawyer, but somehow the majority of his victories in the past had seemed somewhat hollow. Now he had a fight to take on, the fight for laws against child abuse would not end with Simpson’s death, it was only the first baby step. He had a long way to go, but he would get there eventually with the help of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Mrs. Taylor, his secretary who now had come to admire him and with the help of his good friend, Jarrod Barkley.

Jarrod had found the law again, his love for it he thought had died when his wife had been murdered. But he was back, feeling like his self again and with a battle to wage. He’d never felt more alive. He had already written himself a list of things to do and places to go when he got back to California. After things settled down at home, he planned a trip to Sacramento and the large law library at the University. He would pour through book after book and take copious amounts of notes, then with his legal ammunition in hand, he planned on a letter campaign as his first assault on the lack of child protection laws.

They had returned to the Royale Hotel, where the brothers had first began their journey in Chicago. It seemed a lifetime ago. As soon as the last visit to the courtroom had been finished and adjourned, Heath went to the telegraph office with Rachel to wire home.

Mother

It’s over. We’re coming home. Missed you. Better get ready for a wedding, maybe two. Will explain later. Get all the guestrooms ready lots of guests.

Love

Heath

He paid the operator and grinned to himself. He could just imagine the reaction that telegram would receive. Maybe they ought to let Mother throw the big wedding that she wanted; the absence of all her sons and not knowing had to have been hard on her.

“You know Heath, I was just thinking.” Rachel linked her arm in his. “Perhaps we should have a big wedding.”

He blinked several times, more than a little surprised they had been thinking of the same thing. “You were just thinking about that?”

“Yes, well we’ve all been through so much together. Maybe a big wedding, a grand party is exactly what we all need. What do you think?”

Kissing her cheek, he smiled, “I think its just what the doctor ordered!”

The next morning, the men dressed in suits and met the ladies and the children in the lobby. Rachel, dressed in black went to Heath and hugged him tightly. Megan was having a difficult time, she didn’t want to go, just thinking about that place made her tremble. But, she would not miss Mrs. Ling’s funeral and she could appreciate why Rachel had chosen that spot.

Mrs. Ling was laid to rest that morning, in a shaded spot next to the mausoleum where Megan had been found. It was the final resting place of Rachel and Laura’s mother and Rachel’s father. David came, along with Michelle and the Chief of Police. A short but poignant service and at the end, Rachel had chosen to say a few words that had left not a dry eye in the group.

As they were leaving, David asked Jarrod, Heath and Rachel to meet him at his office at 5 o’clock, they had to discuss the business of Simpson’s estate.

Arriving at the office, promptly at five, Jarrod found himself in Michelle’s welcoming embrace. “It was a beautiful service this morning, all of you. I am just so glad that it’s over now.”

Forgetting for a moment that they were not alone, Jarrod took both her hands in his. “I believe my calendar is free this evening and I did promise you a lovely dinner.”

“Yes you did and my calendar is open as well. Perhaps you can meet me at seven?” Michelle wrote down her address and handed it to him.

“Seven it is.”

“I’m surrounded by lovebirds!” David sighed in exasperation. “Could we talk business now?”

“Oh yes, David I’m sorry.” Michelle unlocked her gaze from Jarrod’s and gathered together the file on Alexander Simpson’s estate. She handed it to her boss and they went into his office.

As Rachel sat down, she addressed David. “I should tell you David that whatever money there is, my sister and I aren’t very interested in that. However, there are some things in the house that belonged to my mother and father, I would like to have them.”

“Frankly, it’s a good thing you aren’t interested in money Rachel. There isn’t any. All that’s left is the house and contents.”

“I thought Simpson was quite wealthy.” Jarrod said perplexed by his friend’s statement.

“He was, but oddly enough, he closed out his bank account and liquidated most of his assets the afternoon before the fire. No one seems to know what happened to all that money.”

“That’s okay by us.” Heath stated. “Rachel and Laura aren’t gonna have to worry about that.” He took Rachel’s hand and squeezed it.

“The house belongs to you now Rachel, the title on it was never changed from your parents names. The house, the land and all its contents, plus the five horses. They are yours.”

“I understand, thank you. The house will remain empty but I won’t sell it, not with my parents buried on that land. And as I said, there are things that belonged to my parents that I would like to have shipped out to Stockton.”

“Of course.” He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a key. “You might want to go there soon, it’s going to take you a few days to go through everything in that huge place.”

“Thank you David, for everything.” She stood up and went around to his side of the desk, leaning over she kissed his cheek. “I’m quite proud to know you.”

“I am the one that’s honored Rachel. You and your sister and all the Barkleys, you’ve all taught me quite a bit in these last few weeks and I’ve been changed because of it.” David stood up and buttoned his blazer, “So when do you plan on leaving for Stockton?”

“On Friday.” Heath replied.

Jarrod caught Michelle’s saddened expression. Two days, they only had two days. He did his best to hide his disappointment as well. He’d be on guard this time, no more whirlwind romances just as it had been with Beth. The distance from Chicago to Stockton would make it that much easier to stay guarded, they would have to keep to letters between them and see how things progressed from there.

Back at the hotel, he made ready to take Michelle to dinner while Heath and Nick had their hands quite full with the children as they waited for their ladies to change for dinner.

“Hey, c’mere!” Nick bellowed down the hallway. “We don’t have time for hide and seek!”

Heath just laughed and went off down the hall chasing Sprite. He loved seeing the children like this, they had hope again and were surrounded by people that loved them. It was the perfect mix for happy children that were so full of life.

Nick heard footsteps behind him and swung around just in time to catch Daniel coming around the corner. “Ha! Got ya!” He easily picked up the preteen boy by the waist of his slacks. “I got one of ‘em Heath!”

Heath started down the hall, with Laura getting a piggy back ride from him and giggling all the way. “Yep, got one too!”

“Now, where is that Hannah! Hannah!”

Megan emerged from the bedroom and turned around in front of Rachel. “What do you think?” Her long auburn hair was swept up into a loose bun and she wore a deep evergreen dress that fit down to her waist like a second skin and the skirt billowed around her as she twirled.

“Megan, you look beautiful!” Rachel smiled at her. “It fits you just perfectly.”

“I’ve never had such a nice dress before. Ya think Nick will like it?”

“He’s going to love it. How could he not, you’re wearing it! I wish I could wear dark colors like that, but then I look like a ghost.”

“Ya gotta be joking, I always wanted to wear your colors. That lavender is so pretty on you. Heath ain’t gonna be able to take his eyes off you all night.”

Rachel smiled and twirled in front of the mirror. “Now let’s hope that Jarrod can’t take his eyes off Michelle all night.”

“Oh I know, I was thinking the same thing. Wouldn’t that be something?!” Megan laughed.

Rachel opened the door at Heath’s knock.

“Umm, is Hannah in here?” He asked.

“No, why?”

“Nick and I can’t seem to find her. We were playing hide and seek and we can’t find her.”

“Oh Hannah’s very good at hide and seek I’m sure she’s just hiding too well for you to find her! C’mon I’ll help you look for her.” Megan grabbed her wrap and followed the brothers out the door, she caught Nick staring at her. “That good?” She asked with a sly grin.

“Uh..huh. That good.” Was his reply.

A feeling started to grow in the pit of her stomach and it wasn’t a good one. Noticing immediately that she had grown pale, Heath put his arm around her waist.

“Don’t worry, like Megan said she’s just hiding too well for us to find her right now!”

“I suppose so.”

“It’s all over now Rachel, it’s over.” With a kiss on her cheek and a squeeze of her hand, Heath led the way to tracking down Hannah. They started down the staircase, while Nick and Megan stayed on the floor.

“Surprise! I win!” Hannah ran out in front of them as they made it to the bottom of the stairs. Rachel nearly jumped out of her skin and Heath laughed uproariously.

“Ya sure do Hannah!” He swooped down and lifted her high in the air. “We were about to send the army out looking for ya! Remind me not to play hide and seek with you again, you’re just too good!”

With the last child found and gathered up with the group they finished getting ready for supper and it gave two brothers a chance to rib their elder one.

Nick knocked on Jarrod’s door loudly. “Hey Jarrod, you’re taking longer than the ladies did to get ready!” He chortled.

After a long pause, Jarrod opened up the door clad in a brilliant blue suit that perfectly matched the color of his eyes.

Heath whistled. “Boy howdy, if that Michelle don’t take to ya tonight, half the ladies in Chicago will.”

“Thank you Heath, but I’m only interested in that one ladies attentions.” He took one last look in the mirror, adjusted his tie and put on his hat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a date this evening and I believe the two of you have your families to attend to.”

“Before ya go, can I show the both of you something?” Heath asked.

“Sure, what ya got?” Nick watched his brother pull a piece of paper from his back pocket and carefully unfold it.

He showed it to both of his brothers and they looked at it long and hard.

“Whaddya think?”

The handwriting in the bottom corner read: OUR HOME. And on the page was a detailed drawing of a two-story house with a large porch that wrapped around the entire structure.

“It’s marvelous Heath. What does Rachel think of it?” Jarrod asked.

“She doesn’t know, figured I surprise her with this as kind of a wedding present. See I figure we can build it on the old rental property, tear down the old structure and put this up in its place. It’s got four bedrooms, Sprite will finally have her own room. Course we may have to add on more bedrooms in a while, but for now it’s just right, dontcha think?”

“Wait a minute Heath, a wedding present?” Nick folded his arms. “Just when do ya plan on getting married?”

“Well we kinda figured in about two months.”

“TWO MONTHS!?! And you want this to be built by then? Sure I get it you’re gonna take half the men of round-up and use them to build this dang house, ain’t ya?!”

“We’re not that busy that time of year Nick, I don’t think it would be too much trouble.”

Nick sighed overly loudly. “The things I do for you boy! The things I do!” Nick broke into a wide smile and slapped Heath on the back. “It’s gonna be a beauty of a house, she’s gonna just love it, Sprite too!”

At breakfast the next morning, Jarrod was the last to join them at the table. He was a bit bleary eyed and took long drinks of his coffee.

“Late night Jarrod?” Heath said with a lopsided grin.

“A bit, yes.”

“How was your evening with Michelle?” Rachel asked hopefully and gave Megan a small nudge.

“It was lovely, thank you for asking. The meal was sumptuous and the company..exhilarating. I lost complete track of the time.”

“Ya up to our last bit of work to be done here ’fore we head home?”

“Yes, Rachel do you think it’ll take all day?”

“Oh I don’t know, I suppose it could. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve asked Michelle to join all of us for dinner, if you all don’t object.”

“Of course we don’t object!” Megan grinned. “The more the merrier!”

Megan opted to stay at the hotel with the children for the day. It was one of the last places she wanted to visit. She would never forget the basement of that house or what had happened to her in that small room. It was also the last place that Rachel ever wanted Laura to see again.

Rachel wasn’t too keen on going there herself, but she tried to push back the bad memories of the house and remember all the good things. Her father reading to her at night, standing in the kitchen and talking to her mother while she baked, the tree swing her father had hung from the large oak in the backyard. These were the memories she tried to focus on.

He held her hand and didn’t let go, Heath knew just how hard this was for her to do. When they arrived at the house, he lifted her up out of the wagon and didn’t take his hands off her waist. “You okay?”

“Yes, I think I will be, but don’t venture too far away from me.” She smiled slightly.

“I won’t leave your side for a minute.”

The couple led the way inside the house with Nick and Jarrod following closely behind. Heath heard her take in her breath sharply when the door closed behind them.

“Most of the things are in the attic.” She led the way up to the second floor and then through a narrow door up to the attic.

Heath lit a lantern and looked around, the place was packed with crates, chests and furniture covered in years of dust. One particular piece caught his eye immediately. A dresser sat in the corner, it had a large oval mirror in the center and elaborate carvings around it. The drawers had handles made of thin spiral wrought iron work. He’d never seen a piece of its equal.

“Rachel, that dresser is incredible. Where did your parents get that?” He asked and walked over to it. His brothers also were admiring the fine workmanship on it.

“We didn’t get it. My father made it for my mother on their tenth wedding anniversary. I used to sit for hours in the barn and watch him work on it, he was so meticulous in whatever he did. It was a miracle that mother never found it before their anniversary. Oh but I do remember that she cried when he told her he had made it.”

“I think it’ll be a perfect dresser for us, what do you think?”

“Oh yes Heath, I’m so glad you like it!” She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him in front of Jarrod and Nick. At hearing Nick clear his throat, Rachel pulled away and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I guess we had better get to work.”

By the end of the day, they had filled the wagon with the dresser, a few small pieces of furniture and crates of things to ship to Stockton. Amongst the things was one article of clothing she hadn’t shown to Heath. A wedding gown that her mother had worn when she had married her father. A few minor alterations, she thought, and the dress would be perfect for her wedding. She wished to herself that her parents would be there to see her marry Heath, Rachel just knew that they would’ve adored him.

The few bags they had were packed and ready to go. The items from the mansion were on their way to Stockton and everyone had gathered at the train station. The chief of police was there, David Travers and also, Michelle. Jarrod proved to be the only one not anxious to leave Chicago. He took Michelle’s hand and led her away from the crowd.

“Now where,” He started, “Am I going to find such an engaging person to discuss books with?” Jarrod smiled and his blue eyes glinted as he looked at her.

“And who am I going to talk poetry with until nearly dawn?” She returned.

Jarrod wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close. He leaned in close and watched her dark eyes close. His lips brushed hers in the most tender of kisses and at her response, the kiss grew deeper.

“I am going to miss you.” He whispered in her ear.

“As I will you. Will you write to me?” Michelle asked.

“Of course, you’ll get so many letters that you may grow bored with me.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Goodbye Michelle.”

“Goodbye Jarrod, have a safe journey.”

He squeezed her hands and he left her side, but not without looking back at her.

The goodbyes all said, the all aboard called, the group gathered together and slowly made their way onto the Pullman car. Rachel moved to a window to watch the train as it slowly made its way out of the station.

“We’re going home.” Heat came up behind her and put his arms around her.

“Ya know, as soon as we tell mother that we changed our minds and we’re gonna have a big wedding, she’s gonna keep us busy from dawn to dusk!”

“I don’t mind one bit Heath. Not even a little.”

“Boy howdy, ya know I didn’t tell mother that you were talking now!” Heath slapped his own forehead. “Is she ever gonna be in for a surprise!”

“I know, no more silence.”

“No more secrets, no more silence about anything my sweet lady. It’s a whole new life out there for you and me and Sprite too.”

The city line slowly moved away and they watched together as Chicago faded off into the distance. He hugged her tightly and turned her around. Looking into her bright hazel eyes, he wiped away a good tear from her cheek with his lips.

“I love you Rachel.”

THE END