by Pearl
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.
Synopsis: Heath has been with the family for a year
when Victoria starts to despise him which takes the whole family by
surprise. Tragedy strikes before the
family can solve the puzzle. This story
is concurrent with the series except there is no Eugene.
“Well,
Nick my boy, have you got all the fencing completed like you said you’d have?”
Jarrod asked his brother as he gave Heath a wink.
“It just
so happens Jarrod that Heath and I finished them today, no thanks to you I
might add,” Nick said, pretending to be put out.
“Dinner’s
ready,” Audra called, coming into the parlor.
“Uh, you
didn’t cook again by chance did you?” Nick asked Audra while looking at Heath
and rolling his eyes.
“It just
so happens that I did. We’re having
roast duck, potatoes, peas and apple pie,” Audra said proudly.
“Well,
lead the way my fair lady,” Jarrod said taking Audra’s arm before Nick could
say anything. Audra’s cooking skills
did need to be fine tuned, but he didn’t want to see her feelings hurt.
“I hope
it’s edible,” Nick said to Heath under his breath. “Last time...” Nick stopped talking as he heard a carriage pull
up to the house.
Silas was
almost to the door when it opened and in walked Victoria Barkley.
“Mother,”
Audra yelled and wrapped her mother in an embrace.
“You’re
home early; you weren’t due back for a couple more days,” Jarrod said as he
took his turn hugging his mother.
“Am I
glad to see you,” Nick said, “and just in time. Audra’s cooking has just about done me in.”
Nick and
Heath walked up to their Mother at the same time. Victoria returned Nick’s embrace, but when Heath hugged her, she
pulled away without looking at him.
Nick and
Jarrod saw the move and exchanged confused looks. Looking at Heath, they could see pain and confusion evident on
his face.
Audra was
too busy chattering to notice anything amiss.
Jarrod
tried to cover up what had just transpired by taking his mother’s arm and
leading her to the dining room while saying, “Mother you’re just in time for
dinner. I bet you’re famished.”
“Yes, I
am at that, and I want to hear what’s been going on while I’ve been away. Charles and Charlene send their love to you
all.”
Everyone
settled around the table, and Jarrod said grace. Audra started in right away telling her mother about all the
social activities that had occurred in her absence which was fine with the
boys; they were all lost in their own thoughts.
When she
could find a break in Audra’s chattering, Victoria asked Jarrod about his law
business and Nick about the ranch, but not once did she ask Heath anything, and
the one time Heath said something, Victoria pretended she didn’t hear him. Nick and Jarrod exchanged looks again and
Nick shrugged.
After
dinner, instead of joining the family in the parlor, Heath excused himself and
went outside.
“Silas,
will you serve us coffee in the parlor,” Victoria said and got up and walked
out of the dining room and the rest of them followed. After an hour of playing cards with Nick, Audra said, “I wonder
what’s keeping Heath?”
Nick and
Jarrod looked at their mother, but there was no expression on her face.
“I was
hoping he’d come back in time to play cards with me. He always gives me a better game. Not that I haven’t enjoyed playing with you, Nick,” Audra said
with twinkling eyes. She so loved to
tease her brothers especially Nick.
“Yeah,”
Nick said through slanted eyes at Audra and then chuckled.
“Oh well,
I’m going on up to bed. Cooking wears
me out,” Audra said grinning at Nick.
She knew he didn’t much care for her cooking, but she’d get better.
After
they’d said their goodnights to Audra, Jarrod approached his mother, “Mother,
has Heath done something to upset you?”
“If you
mean other than coming here and disrupting our lives and ruining your father’s
good name, then no, I don’t guess he’s done anything,” and with that said, she
rose, said goodnight and went to her room leaving Jarrod and Nick staring
flabbergasted behind her.
Nick was
the first to recover, “What was that all about?”
Jarrod
just shook his head. He was at a loss
for words and kept staring at the staircase while waiting for his mother to
come back down and retract what she’d said or at least explain it. Realizing that wasn’t going to happen,
Jarrod finally said, “I’m going to town early in the morning, and wire Charles
and Charlene. See if anything happened
while Mother was visiting them.”
“Maybe
she’s just exhausted. That was a long
trip,” Nick suggested. He fervently
hoped that was all it was. He and
Jarrod looked at each other. They both
knew that wasn’t the reason.
“Well, we
better turn in. Tomorrow could be a
trying day,” Jarrod said.
“Yeah,
think I should go check on Heath?” Nick asked. He was still in a sort of state
of shock. He couldn’t believe the words
he’d heard spill forth from his mother’s mouth.
“I don’t
know; might be best to leave him alone for now and see what tomorrow brings.”
“I guess
you’re right,” Nick said looking at the door.
“Come
on,” Jarrod softly said as he put his hand on Nick’s arm. Slowly they made their way up the stairs to
their bedrooms.
Nick had
trouble falling asleep. He was worried,
very worried. He wasn’t able to fall
asleep until he heard Heath come in sometime after midnight.
* * * * * * * *
The next
morning Heath woke up, dressed and had breakfast in the kitchen with Silas
before the rest of the family was up.
He didn’t understand his Mother’s reaction to him yesterday, and he
thought it best to avoid her this morning.
Nick and
Jarrod were almost finished with their breakfast when their Mother and Audra
sat down.
“Where’s
Heath?” Audra wanted to know.
“Uh, he’s
already eaten and headed to the north pasture to check the fences,” Nick said
while watching his Mother to see what her reaction would be. Her face looked like stone, and she made no
comment. ‘Things weren’t going to be
better today’ Nick thought.
“Well,”
Jarrod said rising, “I’ve got business in town early this morning, so I’ll see
you lovely ladies later. Nick, I’ll
walk out with you.”
“Huh,
yeah,” Nick said wiping his month and grabbing another biscuit before leaving
the table.
* * * * * * * *
“It
doesn’t look like mother’s attitude towards Heath is any better,” Nick said
after they were out the front door.
“No, it
doesn’t,” Jarrod agreed. “Why don’t you see if you can keep Heath away from the
house until late this evening?”
“I don’t
think that will be a problem. Why do
you think he left early this morning?” Nick asked.
“To avoid
the ice, I’d imagine.”
“Get that
telegram sent, Jarrod,” Nick said, and Jarrod nodded in response.
* * * * * * * *
That
night at dinner there was a lot of tension in the air. Jarrod, Nick and Heath were quiet, not
wanting to say anything for fear of how their mother might react. Jarrod had not heard anything from his telegram
yet.
Audra,
unaware of the reason for the silence between her siblings and her mother,
broke the quietness, “Heath, did you tell mother about that new stallion you
bought while she was away?” .
“I don’t
think Mother wants to hear about some old horse right now, maybe later,” Heath
said barely looking up from his plate to acknowledge Audra.
“How dare
you call me Mother,” Victoria spit out venom.
“I am NOT your Mother. YOUR
mother slept with MY HUSBAND.”
Heath’s
face turned all shades of red, and his jaws clenched tight. He looked at his siblings, said, “Excuse
me,” and quickly left the room.
“Mother! How could you say something like that to
Heath?” Audra cried.
“HOW? BECAUSE IT’S TRUE, THAT’S HOW.” Victoria
said with her voice full of hate.
Nick
forcefully threw his napkin down on the table, and followed Heath out.
Jarrod
got up, took Heath’s chair and pulled it up close to his mother. “Mother, are you all right?”
“Of
course I am,” she declared looking at Jarrod then Audra. “Why are you both looking at me like that?”
“Because
when you left here, you loved Heath.
Loved him like he was your own son.
What has happened to change how you feel about him?” Jarrod asked taking
his mother’s hand.
“Mother,
you asked Heath to call you Mother. I
don’t understand how you can say such hateful things to him. What’s he done to deserve this? You’ve really hurt him....and us. He’s our brother.” Audra was openly crying
now.
“I have
never loved that...that product of MY husband’s affair.” Victoria spewed
forth. “I’m going upstairs.”
She rose
from her chair and walked out of the room without another word.
Jarrod
sat dumbfounded.
“Jarrod,
what’s happened to Mother? She was so
mean to Heath. I’ve never, ever heard
Mother talk to anyone that way; even people she despises,” Audra said as she
dried her eyes.
“I don’t
know, honey. I just don’t know, but I’m
going to do my best to find out.”
Jarrod came around to Audra’s chair and put his hands on her shoulders. “Why don’t we go see if we can find
Heath? I’m betting he could use us
right now.” And with that, Jarrod and
Audra left the table with dinner barely touched.
* * * * * * * *
Nick
found Heath in the tack room straightening it up; even though, it didn’t need
it. Heath kept that room neat as a pin,
well organized to the point where they never had to look for anything.
He walked
up behind Heath and put his hand on his shoulder. “She didn’t mean that Heath.
I don’t know what’s wrong with Mother, but I do know she didn‘t mean
that.”
Heath
didn’t turn around, but he did nod his head that he heard what Nick said.
Jarrod
and Audra entered about that time, and Audra ran up to Heath, wrapped her arms
around his neck and said, “Oh Heath, I’m so sorry about what Mother said. I know she didn’t mean it. Something’s wrong with her. I’ve never known her to talk like that to
anyone. Did all of you see the look in
her eyes? I’ve never seen that look
before in Mother.”
Audra
waited for her brothers to speak, but no one did.
“Well,
what are we going to do? We’ve got to
help her. Something is terribly wrong,”
Audra cried.
“We know,
Audra. This morning I sent an urgent
telegram to Charles and Charlene to see if anything happened during Mother’s
visit. I expect to hear something from them tomorrow,” Jarrod said.
“I think
Dr. Merar should take a look at Mother,” Audra said looking to all her brothers
for support.
“I think
you’re right, Audra. Heath, want to
ride into town with me right now to ask the doc to come out first thing in the
morning?”
Heath
nodded. His heart was too full of hurt
to say anything. His head knew Victoria
Barkley, the woman he loved and had come to call Mother, probably didn’t mean
it, but a small voice inside of him was saying - what if she did? What if she had changed her mind about him? What if she truly hated him the way it
seemed tonight at dinner? Yes, he’d go
with Nick. He needed the cool night air
ride.
After
Heath and Nick left the tack room, Audra said with her eyes full of tears, “Oh
Jarrod, did you see Heath. He is
hurting so much.”
Jarrod
brought Audra to him and wrapped his arms around her, giving her what little
comfort he could.
* * * * * * * *
Both
Heath and Nick were gone early the next morning before anyone else was up. Nick loved his mother, but he didn’t know
this woman. She wasn’t his mother, and
he was going to stick close to Heath to give him all the support he could.
Jarrod
and Audra waited at the house for Dr. Merar to arrive. They told their mother about the doctor
coming, and of course, she insisted she didn’t need a doctor, but Jarrod was
adamant that she get checked out, citing she hadn’t had a check-up in awhile.
Audra
took the doctor up to Victoria’s room when he arrived, and came back down to
wait with Jarrod. “I sure hope he can
find out what’s wrong with Mother,” Audra said more to herself than Jarrod.
Thirty
minutes later, Dr. Merar made his way down the stairs to where Jarrod and Audra
waited. “Let’s go somewhere private,”
the doctor stated.
Jarrod
motioned the doctor to the library and shut the door after Audra and the doctor
were inside.
“Doctor,
what is it?” Audra immediately asked.
Dr. Merar
looked at these two young people whom he’d known all their lives as he searched
for the words to say. He decided to
just come out with it. “I couldn’t find
anything physically wrong with your mother, but if she’s acting the way Nick
described to me last night, that’s not normal, at least not for your
mother. I did mention Heath to her to
see her reaction, and you’re right. Her
expression changed to one of aggravation and disgust. Something’s not right, but I don’t know what it is. This is beyond me.”
He waited
a minute to let them absorb this information and then continued, “I would
suggest you have Victoria see a psychiatrist.”
He heard Audra gasp. “There
happens to be one in town right now.
He’s here with a young man who was found wandering the streets of San
Francisco. He won’t say anything except
‘Stockton’, so the doctor has brought him here to see if he’ll come out of the
trancelike state he’s in. I could see
if he’d look at your mother while he’s here, if you’d like.”
“A
psychiatrist? Doctor are you sure? I thought maybe she was overtired, or maybe
hit her head while she was away,” Audra said softly with a lost look on her
face. Her insides were all tied up in
knots.
“Doctor,
it wouldn’t hurt to speak with this psychiatrist, see if he could see
Mother. What is his name?” Jarrod
asked.
“Dr.
Jason Phillips,” Dr. Merar answered.
“I’m
sorry Jarrod, Audra, I wish there was more I could do. I know this is a shock for you. It is for me too,” Dr. Merar said; his heart
going out to these two. It’s times like
this he wished he was a storekeeper.
“Thank
you, doctor. I’ll be by your office
tomorrow. Think you’ll have time to
have talked to Dr. Phillips by then?” Jarrod asked. He hated to rush the doctor, but they needed their mother back;
Heath needed her back.
“I’ll
try. Don’t get up, I’ll see myself
out,” he said as he walked out of the room.
“Jarrod,
this is a lot more serious than I thought,” Audra was close to tears. “What has happened to Mother?’
“I wish I
knew, honey,” Jarrod said as he stood looking out the window wondering how they
were going to get through this.
* * * * * * * *
Nick was
calling it a day, and telling the men to load up; they were heading to the
ranch.
Heath
walked up to him and said, “Nick, I think I’ll stay at the line shack tonight.”
“You
don’t have to do that, Heath. I’ll be
beside you, so will Jarrod and Audra.”
“I know,
and thanks, but I think it will be better if I do.”
“Ah
Heath, maybe the doctor has found something out. Why don’t you come on back to
the ranch with me? We’ll face whatever
news the doctor had to say together.”
Heath was
quiet.
“Come on,
Heath,” Nick prodded. He didn’t like
seeing his little brother hurt like this.
Heath
nodded his head slightly and said, “All right, Nick.”
* * * * * * * *
Victoria
hadn’t come down from her room since the doctor left. She had Silas bring her lunch up to her, and it looked as though
he would be taking dinner upstairs to her too.
Jarrod
had shared Dr. Merar’s news with Nick and Heath, and they were discussing what
to do when they heard the door to Victoria’s room open. They quieted, and Heath went and stood in
the corner away from the others.
Victoria entered the parlor, smiled and asked everyone about their day
same as she always did...everyone except Heath. Other than leaving Heath out, she was her old self.
“Dinner’s
ready,” Silas announced from the door.
Jarrod
escorted Audra and Victoria to the dining room, and Nick motioned for Heath to
follow. Heath had the look of a deer
ready to bolt.
After
grace was said, everyone started eating, but no one was saying anything. Finally Victoria spoke up, “Jarrod, are you
going into town tomorrow?”
“Yes, I
am, do you need me to pick you up something?” Jarrod asked.
“No, I’d
like to ride in with you, and do a little shopping,” she said.
“Mother,
do you think you should, maybe you should rest another day or two,” said
Audra. She didn’t want her mother going
to town. If she said something against
Heath in town, it would spread like wildfire, and talk had only recently died
down about Heath coming to them in the first place.
“I’m
perfectly fine, Audra. Why do you all
think something is wrong with me?
Because of him?” she said glaring at Heath.
“Mother,
I’ll be glad to have your company tomorrow,” Jarrod said as he tried to get her
attention away from Heath.
“What’s
wrong with all of you? Can’t you see
he’s just living off of us? Ha, he’s
probably not even your father’s son. He
just made the whole thing up. Tom would
never have had an affair, and if he did, he would have sired a child better
than this,” Victoria said pointing to Heath.
Her voice had ridden to a feverish pitch as she spoke.
“MOTHER,
THAT’S ENOUGH!” Nick yelled.
Heath got
up and left the room.
“THAT’S
RIGHT, LEAVE,” Victoria yelled after him.
She stood up from her chair and glared at Heath’s retreating back.
Nick
glared at his mother then followed after his little brother.
“Mother,
how could you?” Audra cried and ran from the room.
Jarrod
stayed in the dining room. He watched
as his mother calmly sat down and ate her dinner. ‘Something had to be done and done now,’ he thought.
* * * * * * * *
“I should
have gone to the line shack,” Heath said as he hit the post on the front porch.
“Heath,
I’m sorry,” Nick said.
“I should
leave,” Heath said.
“NO!”
Nick quickly stated.
“Nick,
she’s hurting. I don’t know what’s
wrong, but something is and seeing me is making her worse,” Heath said turning
to face his brother. “It would be better if I just go.”
“No, it
wouldn’t. You just hang tough little
brother. We need you. I need you.
Mother is not herself, but we’re going to find out what’s wrong with
her. All right?” Nick waited, but Heath
didn’t answer.
“Heath,
promise me you won’t do anything foolish like leaving,” Nick asked.
“All
right for now, Nick,” Heath answered as he stepped off the porch and headed in
the direction of the barn. Nick knew
Charger was going to shine tonight.
Brushing his horse always relaxed Heath.
* * * * * * * *
“Well, my
little plan is working,” Jason Phillips said to himself. “I just got finished talking to Dr.
Merar. I’m going to see Victoria
Barkley tomorrow. Seems she not acting
right. Imagine that,” then Jason Phillips let out a loud wicked laugh.
* * * * * * * *
Jarrod
came riding Jingo at full speed toward Nick and Heath who were repairing a
fence line in the north pasture.
“HEATH!”
Nick yelled at Heath to get his attention, then motioned towards Jarrod.
They
stopped working and wiped the sweat from their eyes, neck and face.
“What is
it, Jarrod?” Nick asked meeting him as he dismounted.
“This
telegram came from Charles and Charlene this morning. They say Mother did not come to see them. They sent their apologies in the delay of
their reply, but they’ve been in Boston for a month, and only arrived home
yesterday.
“WHAT!”
Nick exclaimed.
“Then
where has she been for two weeks?” Heath asked.
“That’s
what we’re going to find out,” Jarrod answered. “Boys, I’m afraid to say it, but I think Mother’s been
brainwashed or possibly drugged.”
“That
would explain her bizarre behavior,” Nick said.
“But who
would do such a thing?” Heath wondered aloud.
“I don’t
know, but I don’t think whoever it is, is out to hurt just her,” Jarrod said.
Nick
looked at Jarrod and said, “You think they’re out to get Heath?”
“I think
this person or persons are out to hurt the whole family,” Jarrod said looking
at both his brothers, “and they’ve succeeded.
The whole family IS hurting.”
* * * * * * * *
Dr.
Phillips arrived at the Barkley home early the next morning. After meeting the three sons and one
daughter, he told them he’d have to examine their mother alone.
“Well,”
Jason Phillips said after closing the door to Victoria’s room, “it’s nice to
see you again.” He held up his pocket
watch, “Now just focus on the watch,” he said as he swung it back and forth
like a pendulum. “Victoria Barkley,
Heath, the bad son who’s living with you is starting to get dangerous. It’s dangerous for him to live with your
real sons and daughter any longer.
You’re going to have to get rid of him before he hurts someone. He’s no good. He’s not even Tom Barkley’s son.
He is a fake. He’s using all of
you until he gets everything he wants, but you aren’t going to let him. You’ll stop him, won’t you?”
“Yes, I
will,” Victoria stated in a voice that didn’t sound like her.
“Good,
now I’m going to go now,” Jason Phillips said and put his watch back up. He gave Victoria something to make her sleep
then left the room.
Meeting
her worried children downstairs, he said, “Your mother has a headache. I gave her something to make her sleep. She seems to be very disturbed, but I can’t
tell how serious it is yet. I’d like to
see her again tomorrow.”
“Doctor,
is there any more you can tell us?” Jarrod wanted to know as the others
listened intently.
“It’s too
soon,” he said. “Are you Heath, the one
that causes her so much agitation?” the doctor asked looking at Heath.
Heath
nodded.
“Well,
you might want to keep your distance from her for awhile, at least until I can
examine her further,” Jason Phillips added.
“All
right,” Heath said.
“I’ll be
back in the morning,” he said, and left without another word.
“Well
that’s just great. We’re no better off
than we were before he came,” Nick quipped.
“Nick,
these things take time,” Jarrod said trying to humor him.
“I sent
some telegrams today to find out where Mother got off the train, when she left
Stockton, and where she boarded it when she returned. I also hired the Pinkerton agency. They’re getting on it immediately,” Jarrod told his
siblings.
“I WANT
YOU OUT OF HERE. YOU HEAR ME. OUT OF HERE. GET OUT NOW!” Victoria shrieked in a voice they’d never heard
before, as she flew by Jarrod and Nick and started pounding Heath’s chest
before anyone knew what was happening.
Heath held his arms up to ward off her blows while Jarrod pulled his
mother off.
“GET OUT
NOW!” she continued to scream and tried to pull out of Jarrod’s hold.
“Come on,
Heath,” Nick said needlessly because Heath was already headed out the
door. Nick gave Jarrod a look that said
‘do something’ on his way out.
* * * * * * * *
Nick
found Heath in the barn saddling Charger.
“Nick,
I’ve had enough. I’m leaving until
she’s better. Don’t try to stop me,”
Heath said. Nick could see a depth of
hurt in Heath’s eyes when he turned to look at him and say, “I can’t stand what
I do to her.”
Nick
nodded, “Maybe you’re right, Heath, but I don’t want you at the line
shack. Why don’t you get a room at The
Cattlemen’s? That way we can keep you
posted on the situation here, plus you can help me in finding out what happened
to Mother.”
“Okay,
but I’m not going back in there tonight,” Heath said looking in the direction
of the house.
Nick
nodded, “I’ll go get some of your things.”
* * * * * * * *
Jarrod
left his mother’s room after she fell asleep.
It had taken he and Audra both to calm her down. Audra was going to stay with her
tonight. He saw Nick in Heath’s room as
he was going down the hall and went in.
“Heath’s
leaving?” Jarrod questioned.
“Yeah,
but he’s only going as far as town. I
talked him into taking a room at The Cattlemen’s.” Nick turned to look hard a
Jarrod. “She’s worse than ever, Jarrod. What do we know about this Dr. Jason
Phillips?”
“Nothing
Nick.”
“Well, I
think we’d better check him out. She’s
worse now than before she saw him.”
“You’re
right. You know, I don’t think we
should leave Mother alone,” Jarrod said.
“Why? When Heath’s not around, she’s fine.”
“She was
before, but now I’m not so sure she won’t hunt him down.”
“Jarrod,
do you think mother’s losing her mind?” Nick asked.
“No, at
least I pray she’s not.” Jarrod had
never felt so helpless in his life.
* * * * * * * *
Two days
later they were no closer to finding out where their mother had spent two weeks
of her life than they were before. Dr.
Phillips had been out every morning, and had nothing helpful to tell them
yet. So far, they hadn’t seen another
outburst from her. She hadn’t mentioned
Heath, and neither had they. Heath was
meeting Nick and the men every day to work, and then returning to town at
night. If anyone in town had noticed,
they hadn’t said anything.
This
morning, Jarrod and Nick were at the telegraph office early checking to see
whether or not there was a telegram for them.
“As a
matter of fact, this just came for you,” the clerk said handing the message to
Jarrod.
It was
from the Pinkerton Agency.
Jarrod’s
face paled and his knees weakened as he read it and then handed it to Nick.
“Let’s go
get Heath, and find this scum ball,” Nick snarled.
* * * * * * * *
Nick and
Jarrod were banging on Heath’s hotel room door. “Where could he be?” Nick asked.
“I don’t
know but we don’t have time to look for him.
We’ve got to find Jason Phillips,” Jarrod said it like a bad taste in
his mouth. According to the Pinkerton
Agency, their mother got off the train in San Francisco with Jason Phillips,
who is not a psychiatrist. He is a
well-known con artist from the East Coast.
An hour
later, they were headed to the ranch.
They’d looked everywhere and were about to give up when they ran into
Dr. Merar, and he said he’d met Dr. Phillips on the road. It looked like he was headed to the ranch.
* * * * * * * *
The front
door crashed open as Nick and Jarrod busted in.
“AUDRA!
MOTHER!” they both yelled out.
“You take
the top floor; I’ll check down here,” Jarrod said to Nick who then took the
steps three at a time.
A few
minutes later, Jarrod heard Nick holler out, “JARROD, UP HERE!”
Jarrod
rushed into his mother’s room to find an unconscious Audra lying in Nick’s
arms.
All the
blood drained from Jarrod as fear took control of him, “Is she...” He couldn’t
voice his question.
“No,
she’s out cold, but her pulse is strong.
Audra, Audra,” Nick tried to revive her as he gently patted her
cheeks. “Get a cool cloth, Jarrod. I think she’s coming around.”
Audra
eyes fluttered open. Her vision was
blurred, and her head was hurting.
“How do
you feel, honey?” Jarrod asked as he bathed her face with a cool cloth. He noticed the side of her face was already
starting to turn purple.
Audra’s
moan was the only answer Jarrod got.
“Audra,
can you tell us what happened?” Nick knew she didn’t feel like talking, but
they needed to know. “Where’s mother?”
Suddenly
Audra’s eyes flew wide open.
“Heath,”
she said trying to rise.
“What
about Heath?” Nick urged her as a cold chill ran through him.
“Oh Nick,
it’s awful! We’ve got to find them.
Roger Phillips, Nick, he’s not a doctor.”
Audra was
getting hysterical.
Nick took
a hold of her head, “Audra stop it, and tell us what’s happened,” he demanded.
“Dr.
Phillips came out to see Mother. I
listened to them outside Mother’s door.
I heard Dr. Phillips tell Mother that Heath was very dangerous now, and
she needed to kill him. Kill him now
before he could hurt any of us.”
Fear
gripped Nick’s whole body, and a feeling of doom came over Jarrod.
“I rushed
into the room and saw Dr. Phillips swinging a watch in front of Mother. Mother was just staring at it.”
“Hypnosis,”
Jarrod whispered, “Go on,” he added.
“Dr.
Phillips turned around, hit me, and then everything went black until I woke up
with you.”
“Heath,”
Nick whispered.
“We’ve
got to find him now. He and mother and
let’s hope they’re not together,” Jarrod said.
“Nick, we
didn’t check inside Heath’s room,” Jarrod said.
* * * * * * * *
Heath
read the note that was slid under his door while he was gone to check on
Charger. It read, ‘Come to my room as
soon as you can. I need to talk to you
about your Mother.’ It was signed by Dr. Jason Phillips.
He
dropped the note on the dresser and headed out the door. When he knocked on the door, Dr. Phillips
called for him to come on in. Upon
entering, he saw Dr. Phillips behind his mother with his gun drawn. “Come on in and shut the door,” he
said.
Fearing
for his mother’s life, Heath followed all his commands and the next thing he
knew, Dr. Phillips was telling his mother to kill him. He could see the hate in his mother’s eyes
as she looked at him. He had no double
that she would shoot him.
“What
have you done to her?” he asked Dr. Phillips.
Jason
Phillips’ evil laugh filled the room and sent a chill coursing through
Heath. ‘This man is a lunatic,’ Heath
thought and an even deeper chill went through him.
“What’s
wrong? Can’t believe your want-to-be
Mama doesn’t love you anymore?” he shrieked.
“I guess there’s no harm in telling you, you’re gonna be dead soon. Someone doesn’t like the Barkley’s very
much, and has paid me handsomely to destroy you.”
“Why? Who?” Heath asked.
Jason
Phillips eyes were glazed, and he had a wicked grin as he answered Heath. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me either.
I was paid good; paid in advance.
The reason doesn’t matter any to me.
The money does.”
“What
have you done to her?” Heath asked looking at his mother who seemed to be in a
trance.
“I’ve
been hypnotizing her. She’s a very good
pupil,” he answered.
“Was she
with you the whole time she was gone?” Heath asked. He was trying his best to understand this plus stall for
time.
“You’re
pretty bright. Getting her was the
easiest part. I just told her Jarrod was hurt and needed her. She followed me like a trained pup. A mother’s weakness is her children. When
they think one is in trouble, they can’t think straight long enough to question
what is happening until it’s too late,” he said as he ran his fingers along
Victoria’s cheek.
“Get your
hands off of her!” Heath said as he started toward them.
“Back!”
Jason commanded, showing Heath the gun.
Heath
stopped. His mother was still in that
trancelike state. She didn’t seem aware
of anything going on around her.
“Enough
talk, I’m ready to finish this.” Jason said drawing his pocket watch from his
shirt pocket.
“What is
having her kill me going to accomplish?
If you want me dead; you do it,” Heath baited.
That
wicked, insane laugh filled the air again.
“That’s
the beauty of this whole thing. It has to
be you, and it has to be her. You’re
the only one it would be believable that she’d kill. Poor Victoria Barkley, after living with the knowledge of her
husband’s adulteress affair for a year, she finally snapped. She killed you. She’ll either go to an insane asylum, or prison. She won’t remember anything she’s done, but
when she’s free of hypnosis, she’ll likely go insane upon finding out what she
did to you. The rest of the family will
fall apart. Your senseless death at
your mother’s hand on top of losing her will be too much for them, and the
Barkley dynasty will tumble.”
Holding
the gun on Heath, he reached into his pocket and produced another gun. He handed this one to Victoria, and told her
to take it. Heath saw his mother take
the gun without looking at it, or blinking her eyes. Jason Phillips then turned his gun on Victoria where only Heath
could see and bringing his other arm around her, he started swinging his pocket
watch in front of her.
Heath
couldn’t move. The gun that was being
held on his mother was too close. It
wouldn’t miss at this range. Unless
something happened, Heath knew he was facing certain death. He wouldn’t try to save himself as long as
that gun was on his mother.
“Now,
Victoria, it’s time to get rid of Heath.
He’s no good. He’s after your
children. You’ve got to kill him. It’s the only way to save your
children. If you don’t stop him, no one
will and Nick, Jarrod and Audra will be dead.”
Heath
knew his mother was an expert shot, but in her trancelike state, she was
weaving slightly as she watched the watch.
With any luck, if she did fire, her shot would not ring true.
“Shoot
him now.”
She
pulled the trigger, and Heath felt the shot push him back before he felt the
pain.
* * * * * * * *
Nick and
Jarrod rode Coco and Jingo full speed back to town. They found wagon tracks heading toward town from the ranch. They sent a ranch hand to town for Dr. Merar
for Audra. In the meantime, Silas was
with her.
Nick and
Jarrod ran into The Cattlemen’s. “Morning
boys,” the clerk greeted them.
“Tom,
have you seen Heath or Mother today?” Jarrod asked.
“I
haven’t seen Heath, but Mrs. Barkley and Dr. Phillips went up the stairs about
thirty minutes ago.”
Jarrod
and Nick turned and fled up the stairs.
They busted the door open to Heath’s room, but no one was there.
“Wait
Nick, take a look at this,” Jarrod picked up a note off the dresser.
Nick
read, ‘Come to my room as soon as you can. I need to talk to you about your
Mother. Dr. Phillips’.
“Let’s
go,” Nick ran out of the room and down the hall with Jarrod behind him.
“Which
room is his?” Nick asked.
“15,”
Jarrod answered.
They
heard the gunshot seconds before Nick kicked the door in.
* * * * * * * *
The shock
of the door flying off the hinges and splintering into the room, startled Jason
Phillips long enough to give Nick the advantage he needed. He landed a quick right hook to Jason’s jaw,
and then Jarrod held a gun on him.
Nick
turned to his mother then froze. She
stood a few feet from Heath with a gun pointed at him. Heath was holding his arm, and blood was
running through his fingers down his arm.
“Mother,
don’t,” Nick said unsure of what to do.
If he made a grab for her, she might pull the trigger. If he didn’t, she might pull the trigger.
“Mother,
we love Heath. He’s a good man. He’s a part of us.” Nick softly said as he
inched his way toward her.
“No, he’s
going to hurt you, Jarrod and Audra,” she said. Her voice sounded flat and emotionless.
“I would
never hurt them or you,” Heath spoke up. “I love all of you. Do you remember when I had that infection
and was running high fever? You sat
with me all night long. Every time I
woke up, you coaxed me to drink a little, and you bathed my head and body with
cool cloths throughout the night. You didn’t leave until my fever broke.”
Nick
inched a little closer.
Heath
spoke softly to her, “Do you remember our first conversation? You told me that any son of Tom Barkley had
a right to be proud. To live has he
lived, fight as he fought, and no one could deny me my birthright. Your words
gave me the courage to stay here and find a place in your family. I’ve never been happier, and I would never
do anything to hurt anyone in our family. This family means more to me than
life itself.”
Victoria’s
eyes started to water, her lips started to quiver and her hands started to
shake.
In a
raspy voice, she cried, “What have I done?” and dropped the gun.
Nick
grabbed his mother and brought her into an embrace as Heath let out his breath
and picked up the gun.
A large
crowd had gathered in the hall. Fred
Madden pushed his way through. Looking at the scene in front of him, he turned
to Jarrod who looked like he was in shock.
“Let’s get all of you to Dr. Merar’s, and then I want someone to explain
to me what went on in here.”
“I’m not
sure I understand sheriff, at least not the why of it,” Jarrod answered, “but
one thing’s for sure, you need to lock this man up.” Jarrod said pointing to
Jason Phillips.
When Fred
took over Jason Phillips for Jarrod, Jarrod went to his mother’s side. “Let me take her,” he said.
Nick
reluctantly released his mother. He was
at a loss for what to say or do which was a feeling he was not familiar
with. He looked at Heath, “You ok?” he
asked.
Heath
nodded, but Nick could see how pale he was and blood was still running down his
arm. Nick took his bandana off and tied
it around Heath’s arm. “Come on, let’s
get you to the doc,” he said.
“Oh, I
just remembered Fred,” Jarrod spoke up, “we sent for Dr. Merar to go to the
ranch to take care of Audra.”
Heath’s
head shot around to look at Jarrod, “What’s happened to Audra?”
Jarrod
looked at Nick before he answered, “Audra walked in on to Jason Phillips
hypnotizing Mother and telling her to kill you. He hit her hard, knocking her unconscious.” Seeing the stricken look on Heath’s face he
quickly added, “She going to be all right, Heath.” Jarrod looked down at his mother, but she was in her trancelike
state again and didn’t seem to be aware of anything he’d said about Audra.
“Why
don’t we go on out to the ranch, and let Dr. Merar take care of us there?” Nick
suggested and added, “That be all right, Fred?”
“Yeah,
all right, I’ll come out later this afternoon and get statements from all of
you,” Fred said as he ushered a handcuffed Jason Phillips out the door. “All right folks, clear out and go on about
your business,” Fred said trying to disperse the large crowd now gathered in
the hall. He shut the door to the room
to give the Barkleys some privacy until the people cleared out. Before the door closed, he turned back and
said, “I’ll have a carriage sent to the hotel for you.”
“Thanks,
Fred. Would have them hitch Jingo and
Coco to the carriage and tie Charger to the back?” Jarrod asked.
Fred
nodded, then left. After the door was
closed, and they were alone, no one said anything. Jarrod sat down with his mother on the side of the bed with his
arm still holding her tight. She looked
small and frail in her trancelike state.
Nick went
to stand by the window to watch out for the carriage, and Heath sat down in a
chair near the bed.
About
fifteen minutes later, the carriage arrived.
“It’s here,” Nick said turning from the window.
“I think
it’s best if I stay here,” Heath spoke up.
His eyes were glued on his mother.
“I’ll be fine until Dr. Merar gets back. “The bleeding’s stopped.”
Nick
looked down at Heath’s arm. The
bleeding had stopped, but Heath was paler and the bullet was still in his
arm. He went and stood in front of
Heath. Determined hazel eyes met pain
filled blue ones head on. “This family,
the whole family, is going home. Now
that we know what we’re dealing with, we’ll get through it. We are going to heal together, understand?”
Heath
gave Nick a weak lopsided grin and a slight nod.
Nick’s
eyes softened. He put his arm around Heath, and they followed Jarrod and their
mother out the door.
* * * * * * * *
After
Jarrod and Nick finished telling Sheriff Fred Madden everything that had been
going on prior to the shooting, Heath walked into the room.
“What’d
the doc say?” Nick wanted to know.
“He said
I could go back to work tomorrow,” Heath said without blinking an eye.
“Don’t
give me that, boy,” Nick threw back.
“The arm
will be fine after a few days rest, Nick,” Heath returned with a smile. He just loved to rile Nick. “Doc’s in now with Mother and Audra.”
Fred
broke the banter, “Do any of you have any ideal who’s behind this?” he asked.
“No, did
Phillips say anything after you got him locked up?” Jarrod inquired.
“Not a
word. I’m going to do some checking on
his patient when I get back to town,” Fred said as he rose and added, “You know
boys, I haven’t seen a stranger in town, and every time I saw Dr. Phil...er
Jason Phillips, he was alone. Have
either one of you seen this patient of his?”
After the
Barkley brothers shook their heads, he said, “Well, we’ll know soon
enough. Give my best to your mother and
Audra, and I’m sorry this had to happen, but I’m glad everything seems to have
worked out all right.”
“Thanks,
Fred,” said Jarrod.
“Yeah,
thanks Fred,” added Nick as Heath nodded his thanks.
“I’ll let
myself out. Heath, take care of that
arm,” he said as he turned and walked out.
When Fred
had gone, Jarrod turned to his desk, sat down, and running his hands through
his hair, he let out a long sigh.
Nick
walked over to Heath and picked at the bandage on his arm, “You sure you told
me the truth. I’ll find out, you know.”
Heath
gave him a lopsided smile, “I know,” and after a few seconds added, “The bullet
missed the bone and didn’t do much damage to the muscle.”
A rush of
relief went throughout Jarrod’s body as he watched his brothers. ‘Things could have so very easily turned out
different,’ he thought.
“Well, in
that case,” Nick boomed turning around to wink at Jarrod, “I’ll just save that
fence around the entire south meadow for you.”
“Now
Nick, I don’t think I should be over doing it,” Heath responded.
“Oh, you
won’t, it’ll be good exercise. Whip
that arm in shape in no time, little brother,” Nick baited him as he poured
them all a drink.
They
froze when they heard an upstairs door shut, and looked at each other. Within a few minutes, Dr. Merar came into
the room.
“How is
she, doc?” Heath asked right off.
“I think
I’ll have one of those too, Nick,” he said as Nick was putting the top on the
decanter.
Nick
looked at his brothers with a ‘that bad of news’ look, and poured another glass
and handed it to the doc.
After taking
a drink, Dr. Merar said, “I left them both resting. Audra has a mild concussion, and bad bruising. With a lot of rest, she’ll be fine. If she has any fainting spells, I need to
know though.”
“All
right doc,” Jarrod said, “and Mother?”
He looked
at her three sons and saw the deep concern in their eyes. “Boys, I wish I had more I could tell you,
but the truth is, I know very little about hypnosis. But your mother is resting peacefully now, and she seemed to be
back to her old self before she drifted off.”
Looking
at Heath, Dr. Merar added, “There is one thing good I can tell you. When I mentioned your name to her, I didn’t
see any hostility and aggravation like before.
That’s a good sign to me.”
Heath
nodded slightly and gave the doc a small smile.
“I’m
going to wire a few doctors I know who may be able to tell us more. In the meantime, go on as you’ve always
gone. She may not remember anything as
far back as before the hypnosis started.
I don’t think I’d tell her anything just yet if she has forgotten it,
but use your own judgment there. Tell
her as much as you feel she’s ready to hear.”
“Doctor,
is there anything we need to look for?” Jarrod asked.
“Nothing
I know of. I wouldn’t leave her alone
yet until we know she’s not going to slip back into that trancelike state. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out
anything more,” the doc said as he put his glass down.
“I’ll be
back to check on her tomorrow afternoon,” he said as he walked toward the door
with Nick following him out.
“All
right, doc,” Nick said. “I’ll walk out
with you.”
When Nick
returned, Jarrod said, “I don’t think we should tell Mother anything.”
Nick
nodded, but Heath asked, “What do I tell her happened to my arm?”
“You came
off a bronco sounds reasonable to me,” Nick answered. “I’ll help you clean it, and she’ll never know it’s a bullet
hole.”
“I’ll go
tell Audra before she has a chance to tell Mother anything,” Jarrod said as he
quickly left the room leaving Heath and Nick in the room deep with their own thoughts.
* * * * * * * *
“FOR
CRYING OUT LOUD, FRED, HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?” Nick was livid. He knew it wasn’t Fred’s fault, but he needed someone to
blame. With this latest event, his
family was in danger more than ever.
The best chance they had to find out who was after his family hung
himself in the jail without ever revealing anything. It turned out Jason Phillips’ patient was nothing more than a
cover. There was no patient; at least
none was seen by anyone in town including Dr. Merar who admitted Jason Phillips
had only told him about his patient, but he’d never actually seen him.
“Now,
Nick, I understand how you feel, but how was I to know he’d tear his sheet in
strips and tie them together to make a rope to hang himself with?” Fred was
being patient with Nick. He knew how
much his family meant to him. The
stress of the last few weeks was showing in Nick’s face and his temperament.
“I know,
Fred. I didn’t mean anything by
it. Huh, I’ll see you later.” Nick left
the sheriff’s office to go meet Heath at the general store. Heath was coming out as Nick got there.
“I could
use a beer,” Nick said, “and yeah, I’m buying before you ask.”
“You read
my mind,” Heath replied.
The
saloon was empty except for the two Baker brothers sitting at a table nursing a
bottle and a couple of men at the bar.
“Sam, two
beers,” Nick said tossing his money on the bar.
“Well, it
IS true,” Jake Baker said loud enough for anyone in the room to hear, “he
didn’t die. I can’t imagine what took
Mrs. Barkley so long to try to get rid of him.”
“Looks
like she would’ve tried long before now,” Willie Baker added to his older
brother’s comment.
The men
at the bar moved as far down the bar away from Nick and Heath as they could
get.
“I always
knew he was bad news for the Barkleys.
He’s as sorry as they come,” Jake Baker started in again.
Nick’s
muscles in his jaws were flexing. He
made a move to turn around when Heath put his hand on his arm. “Let it slide, Nick. They’re only baiting us. It doesn’t bother me, don’t let it bother
you. What they have to say doesn’t
matter.”
The Baker
brothers got up and started walking to the bar. Willie Baker, not one to let his brother get the last word in,
piped up, “I always knew there was something wrong with the high and mighty
lady, taking him in in the first place.
Now it’s proven, she’s a real lunatic.”
“Nick,”
Heath said through gritted teeth.
“Yeah,
Heath,” he answered.
“Forget
what I just said,” Heath said as he turned and landed a powerful right hook
into Willie’s face.
Nick was
on Jake in a flash. Holding in his
temper for all those comments on top of being furious that Jason Phillips had
hung himself, only added power to Nick’s punch, and Jake Baker lay unconscious
on the bar room floor after taking only one punch.
Nick
caught Willie as he was propelled backwards from one of Heath’s punches, turned
him around and said, “You don’t talk about our family like that and not pay the
price. Now get your brother and get out
of our sight.”
Willie
took one look at Nick’s eyes and decided not to argue. He pulled Jake up and dragged him out the
door.
“You
know, Heath,” Nick said on their ride home, “we’re going to have to keep Mother
away from town as long as talk like that is still going on.”
“You’re
right, but she’s already been asking to go to town and to the orphanage,” Heath
added, “I don’t know how much longer we’re gonna be able to protect her.”
Nick was
quiet the rest of the way home. It had
been two weeks since she’d shot Heath.
She had recovered from her hypnosis as far as they could tell. Dr. Merar told them that after consulting
with several doctors, the best medicine for Mother was lots of rest. With time, she’ll make a full recovery and
the effects from the hypnosis will all be gone. And they were, she hadn’t been in another trancelike state. She’d had several headaches the first two
days, but they were gone now. She was
her old self again, except she couldn’t remember what had happened. She didn’t remember taking the trip
even. They hadn’t told her anything. So
far, they’d been successful at keeping her from town, and the friends who came
to call knew not to say anything. They
knew they’d have to tell her soon, but they were going to wait awhile longer.
Heath was
deep in thought too on the way home.
Except for Victoria, they were all living on the edge. Whoever had paid Jason to destroy them was
still out there, and he was quite sure they were still in danger. Audra was fully recovered and sticking close
to their mother. Jarrod was doing most
of his law work at the ranch, so between Audra and Jarrod, Nick and Heath were
able to return to working the ranch.
Heath’s arm was healing, and was just a little stiff. Those punches to Willie made it smart quite
a bit and he’d been flexing it while on the way home.
Heath
looked over at Nick. He knew Nick and
especially Jarrod were ready to tell their mother what had happened, but he
wasn’t. As far as he was concerned, he
never wanted her to know.
The boys
were so lost in their thoughts, they were riding through the gates before they
realized they were home.
* * * * * * * *
Having
been a welcomed guest in this mansion, he had no trouble finding the princess’
bedroom. ‘Oh, she looked so lovely,
sleeping in a world of wonderful dreams,’ he thought as he lowered his hands to
her face.
Audra’s
eyes flew open as a rag was stuffed in her mouth, and her hands were being held
and tied. It was too dark in her room
to see who stood above her. She let out
a muffled scream as she was roughly jerked to her feet and pushed toward the
door. “Don’t make a sound, or you’re
dead,” a voice said. She’d heard that
voice before but couldn’t place it.
They made
their way down the hall and noiselessly down the stairs. She was pushed into a chair and felt her
feet being tied to the chair legs and her waist was secured to the chair’s
back. In the moonlight coming through
the window, she could only make out a few features of her assailant. He was a large man, and though she couldn’t
get a good look at his face; his form looked familiar. He lit a lamp, and when he turned toward
her, she gasped, “You,” she tried to say in spite of her gag. He smiled at the shocked look on her
face. Still looking at her and smiling,
he picked up a vase and threw it to the floor, sending jagged pieces
flying. He then walked to stand behind
her with a gun pointed at her head and waited.
Nick was
down the staircase first with Heath following close behind. Jarrod and Victoria were only seconds behind
them. They all froze at the bottom of
the stairs as they took in the scene before them.
“Matt
Bentell,” Nick snarled through gritted teeth.
“Come
in. Have a seat. All except you, Mrs. Barkley,” he said.
When no
one moved, he cocked his gun and moved it closer to Audra’s head. Heath, Jarrod and Nick reluctantly moved
into the parlor and sat down.
“Mrs.
Barkley, take those three pieces of rope on the table and tie your sons’ hands
behind their backs. Tie them secure, or
your daughter will pay the price.” Matt
Bentell’s eyes were cold and unfeeling as he looked at the Barkleys.
After
they were secured, he held Victoria Barkley to him as he walked around and
checked to see how well they were tied.
He then tied Victoria’s hands behind her back and shoved her on the sofa
beside Jarrod.
“My, my,
look at the high and mighty Barkleys now. Do-gooders like all of you make my
stomach turn. Oh, you thought you were
so smart making Heath come to the lumber camp to protect me. It was such a noble thing to do. That’s why you all have to die now, and not
just him.” Bentell said pointing to Heath.
Turning
back to look at Victoria and Jarrod he continued, “You made me feel like you were doing me a favor by letting me
stay on. I don’t like being made to
feel that way.”
Looking
right at Jarrod and Victoria, he snorted, “A lot you care for that boy. You don’t know what I did to him do
you? No, I don’t think he told you, or
not all of it anyway. I tried to kill
him in Carterson, BUT YOU JUST WOULDN’T DIE BOY,” Bentell yelled as he whirled
around to look at Heath, “I promise you this, I would have succeeded had the
war not ended when it did, and now I am going to succeed.”
He walked
over to Heath. “There wasn’t much left
of you after my beatings and holding food from you, was there boy?”
He walked
away and looked at the rest of the family.
“And his family made him protect me,” he let out a blood-curdling
laugh. When he stopped laughing, he
looked at Heath with what little kindness he was capable of and said, “I can’t
stand you boy, but even I felt sorry for you then.”
Jarrod
and Nick stole a glance at Heath. He
was staring at Bentell with eyes that were blazed with hate. Guilt was running through the whole family
as the implication of what they did to Heath was revealed.
Seeing
rage in Heath, and the tortured look of guilt on the rest of them, Bentell
continued, “Did he ever tell you about the time he tried to help a fallen
inmate? He tried to give him a drink.”
He walked
over to Heath. “You disobeyed me boy,”
he sneered and struck Heath across the face.
“Why
you,” Nick growled, and started to get up, but Jarrod warned him to stay put.
Bentell
was so engrossed with his tale, he failed to notice Nick’s reaction. He was back at Carterson.
“I
ordered him tied outside for twenty-four hours with no food or water.” He was back in Heath’s face again. “The sun about baked you, didn’t it boy?”
Heath
fixed Bentell with a cold stare and remained quiet.
Bentell
walked away and stood in front of Jarrod and Victoria. “And then his family, who supposedly loved
him, told him to prove what he had of his father in him. To rid himself of
hate. Ah, I loved it, loved it I tell you.
I was standing outside the door.
I heard it all.”
He got
down in Heath’s face once more. “You
had to protect me, knowing what I did to you, knowing I hated you and given the
chance, I’d see you dead. I would have
let you die in that explosion up at the lumber camp, but I didn’t know who
might be watching. I knew I’d get
another chance. I thought Jason
Phillips would succeed.”
Seeing
the surprise on their faces at this revelation, he added, “That’s right. I paid the man five thousand dollars to do
what he did. When he failed, I decided
to finish the job. Oh, by the way, it
was your money I paid him with. You
paid me good for running your lumber camp.
And what you didn’t pay, I took.”
Walking
to Victoria he lifted her chin with his pistol and said, “I wanted you around
to know what was happening, Victoria Barkley, so I waited until you were well
before making this move.”
Seeing
the puzzled look on Victoria’s face, he said, “What? You don’t know what you
did Victoria?”
“Don’t,”
Nick said. He’d held back as long as he
could.
“You shot
Heath. You tried to kill him. If your aim had been better, he’d be dead,
but as it was, you only hit his right arm.”
“No,”
Victoria said shaking her head, “You’re lying, I wouldn’t hurt Heath.” Her voice was breaking.
“Shut up,
Bentell,” Heath growled. Until now,
Heath had been quiet, but seeing the pain on his mother’s face, he couldn’t
keep quiet any longer.
Ignoring
Heath, he laughed, “Oh, but you did Victoria.
You wanted him dead. YOU POINTED A GUN AT HIM AND PULLED THE TRIGGER,”
Bentell yelled. He delighted in seeing
the tormented look consuming Victoria’s normally composed face.
He didn’t
see Heath coming until his head caught him full in the chest, and both men hit
the floor. Nick and Jarrod were up in a
flash. The force of Heath’s hit had
knocked the gun out of Bentell’s hands.
Jarrod kicked the gun into the next room while Nick kept Bentell busy
fending off his kicks.
Being on
the floor gave Heath the advantage of being able to pick up a piece of glass
from the vase Bentell broke. He hurried
worked to cut the ropes binding his hands.
When he was free, he checked to see how Nick was faring before he ran to
get a gun.
In the
meantime, Bentell managed to grab Nick’s feet and pull them out from under him
sending Nick to the floor, but that’s as far as he got.
“Hold it
Bentell,” Heath said pointing a gun at him.
He approached Bentell with a cold, steely look in his eye. Keeping the gun on Bentell, he helped Nick
to his feet then untied his hands with his eyes never leaving Bentell.
Nick
untied the rest of the family while Heath kept his gun aimed at Bentell.
“Go on
boy, pull the trigger. I know you want
to kill me. Well, go on. DO IT!
If you don’t, I’ll try again to kill you and your family. None of you will be safe until I’m dead.”
Nick
looked around. Heath was standing four
feet from Bentell with his gun pointed at him.
“Heath,”
Jarrod said.
“Maybe
I’ll even break that little sister of yours in,” Bentell added.
Heath
pulled the hammer back.
Nick
walked over to Heath. He’d never seen
such hate in his little brother’s eyes, and he knew Heath was dangerously close
to pulling that trigger. Not that he
blamed him; he wanted Bentell dead too.
But as much as he wanted Bentell dead, he wasn’t about to lose his
little brother in the process.
“Heath,
don’t pull that trigger. I need you,
little brother. I want you with me by
my side for the rest of our lives. Let
the law deal with this scum. He’s not
worth a noose around your neck.” Nick
tried again, “Don’t you see, that’s what he wants. If you kill him, your life is over too, and then he’s gotten what
he wanted. He’s won.”
Nick saw
the tension in Heath’s hands relax and knew he had reached his little
brother.
“YOU COWARD!” Bentell yelled. He felt
Nick’s fist before he saw it.
Standing
over Bentell, Nick picked him up by the front of his shirt and stated, “Heath’s
got more courage in his little finger that you’ve had in your entire body your
whole life.”
* * * * * * * *
Jarrod
found Silas in his room bound and gagged.
He was shaken up, but unharmed.
One of the hands went to town for the sheriff. After getting statements from everyone, Fred
and a couple of his deputies left with Bentell. Silas went back to bed at Victoria’s insistence.
When the
family was alone again, Victoria walked over to Heath and taking his right arm
in her hands she tried to roll up his sleeve.
“Don’t,” Heath said gently moving his arm out of her grasp.
“Did I
shoot you, Heath?” Victoria asked with a quivering voice and with eyes that
were filling with tears. Inside her
heart was breaking for she knew the answer before she asked. Little flashes of shooting Heath had been
coming to her mind since hearing Bentell’s words.
Taking
her face between his hands, he looked into her eyes and prayed she’d see the
truth in his eyes which were threatening to spill over with tears. Quietly and with a depth of feeling he said,
“No, you didn’t. It wasn’t you.”
“Oh
Heath,” she cried, and he pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
* * * * * * * *
It was
dawn before the Barkley family made their way back to bed. They’d shared with their mother everything
that had happened. Then, Victoria, Jarrod, Nick and Audra each asked Heath to
forgive them for what they’d forced him to do in protecting Matt Bentell. Heath had told them there was nothing to
forgive; after all, he hadn’t shared with them the extent of his treatment at
the hands of the deranged man.
* * * * * * * *
A month
later, Victoria Barkley was watching her children from her bedroom window. Heath was breaking a wild stallion, and
Nick, Jarrod, Audra, and the hands were cheering him on from the fence. Life on the Barkley ranch had gradually
returned to normal. It took some doing
to talk Nick into letting her finally go to town. She understood him wanting to protect her, but she told him if
Heath could weather all the remarks he’d had to in his short life, she could
certainly stand the few remarks directed at her. There had been a few, but they died out pretty quick. She
shuddered as she thought about Matt Bentell and how close he came to destroying
everything she held near and dear. He’d
been found guilty of six counts of attempted murder, and sentenced to serve
fifty years in San Quentin. Victoria
shook her head to clear her mind of thoughts of the man, and focused again on
the scene below.
Looking
at her children now, you’d never guess the ordeal they’d been through, but
Victoria knew all of them were stronger because of it. She turned from the
window and went below to join her family.