Play It With Finesse, Part 3

by Stacey

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

Chapter 28

Nick was pacing the room again. Both deputies had left the building, but John had given the Barkleys clear instructions to stay inside, “We don’t know what has happened. The last thing we need is for one of those men who thought Nick was killed by Peter to see Nick walking around this depot. For Peter’s sake, just be patient for a bit longer.”

So it was Jarrod who was stationed at the side of the window, trying to catch sight of Peter. Nick kept asking, “Do you see him? What’s going on?”

For perhaps the fifth time, Jarrod said, “No, I don’t see him, Nick.” But this time he added, “All I can see is a group of men in handcuffs who are being taken to the train. Wait, it looks as if Fred and that Marshal Hunter are headed this way.”

Marshal Hunter stepped into the room briskly and gestured to the sheriff to close the door, “I just wanted to let you know that Peter is fine. He pretended to be shot and killed, so it will be a bit longer before we can bring him in. Once we get the prisoners moved out, we’ll signal him to come in. In the mean time, you might hear some talk about one of the criminals trying to make a run for it and being killed. This is just a handy way for us to explain why Peter isn’t going to jail with the rest of the band.”

“But he’s all right,” Nick demanded.

“He’s fine, Nick,” the sheriff said. “I talked with him. He was lying in tall grass, said he was gonna take a nap. Said he had missed a lot of sleep over the last week.”

“Well, damn,” Nick swore. “Here we are, all worrying about him and he’s just kicked back, taking it easy. I bet he didn’t even think about us.”

“Now, Nick, the first thing he asked when I came up to him was whether you had made it to the station all right,” Fred clucked. “I told him you were fine. I didn’t tell him he had a whole big welcoming party sitting at the station waiting on him. I thought it might scare him off. And as far as him kicking back, well he deserves it. You should have seen him. He was really something. Brought that group of riders right between where the marshals were hiding in the rocks. Those men had no idea we were there. And when the boat pulled up at the landing, he got everybody off their horses and down by the boat. Just as they started to hand over the dies to the buyer, Pete lit a cigar and the marshals all knew that that was their signal to open fire. They were being real careful to keep their shots high but close enough to worry the gang, but things were dragging out. Pete suddenly shouted to the gang that he was not gonna stay around and get arrested, so he took off running across the open ground. One of the deputies put a bullet near him and Pete pretended to get shot. That just seemed to take the wind out of the whole gang. They all started giving up.”

“So no one was hurt?” Victoria said softly, remembering John’s stories about Peter’s desire to keep everyone alive, no matter which side of the law they stood on.

“Only that one low down robber who took off,” Marshal Hunter chuckled. “At least that’s what we want the others to think.”

“So what happens now?” Jarrod asked.

“We’ve told the conductor that the bridge is damaged and he needs to back the train up and then take the switch up to Sacramento and then the other route down to Stockton. They’re letting the passengers know that their arrival in Stockton is going to be delayed until this evening. We’ll take the prisoners to Sacramento and question them there and then move them on to San Francisco in a few days. We’re hoping we can find out who the inside man is before he has a chance to find out that their little plan was upset,” the marshal explained.

“And Pete?” Heath posed the question that was on all the Barkleys’ minds.

Marshal Hunter raised an eyebrow and just shrugged his shoulders, “Peter’s job is done. He may go with the other boys to enjoy a night on the town. That’s what they often do when there’s a group of them together after a successful operation. After that, well, Peter will go his own way once again, I suppose.”

“He won’t stay with the marshals?” Gene figured that after the success of this job that Peter would return to his old life. It certainly was an exciting life, something Gene couldn’t have imagined Peter ever wanting to give up. He wondered what better, more exciting life Peter had moved on to.

Marshal Hunter smiled softly, “No, Peter won’t be coming back . . . unfortunately. He’s still the best I’ve ever had work for me.”

At that moment John stepped into the room, “William, the train will be leaving in about five minutes. We’ve got a couple of gentlemen who want to rent horses and ride on to Stockton, and there’s one lady who’s, uhm, who’s in sort of a delicate condition who doesn’t feel up to making the trip to Sacramento and then back. She’s hoping that she can get someone to drive her to town in a buggy.”

Marshal Hunter glanced over at the sheriff, “Can you take care of that, Sheriff Madden?”

“Sure, I’ll see to it,” Fred nodded. “Norton will loan me a buggy.”

“I need to go split up my crew,” the marshal said.

“All taken care of,” John said quickly.

Marshal Hunter frowned slightly, “Well, who died and made you God?”

Nick and Jarrod exchanged a quick look; it was just an off-the-cuff remark. Peter hadn’t meant anything malicious by it. John just grinned, “Saw a void and filled it. Wanted to be sure that some of the boys who rode with Peter had a chance to see him. Sending Evans, Cliff, and some of the newer boys with the train to Sacramento. Told them we’d follow with the horses.”

“All right,” the marshal nodded at his deputy. “Let’s move the train on out.” He turned to face Victoria now, “If you can just be patient a bit more, ma’am, we will see if we can’t quit disturbing the peace of your beautiful valley.”

“It seems as if you had a job to do, Marshal Hunter,” Victoria smiled softly, “and you did it without disturbing very much of our peace.”

“We all thank Peter for that, ma’am,” Marshal Hunter’s eyes twinkled as he reached for the doorknob. “We could never have done it without his help. Now, John, let’s move things on along.”

It seemed much longer than five minutes before the train began to laboriously back up the tracks. Only after it had turned the bend and was completely out of sight did Victoria hear Marshal Hunter tell one of his men, “All right, Adam, whistle him in.”

The shrill whistle cut through the mid-day air. The remaining deputies were standing in the clear area between the depot and the tracks, looking to the east. Victoria decided not to wait for Marshal Hunter to release them from their congenial imprisonment. She opened the door and stepped out onto the shaded porch. As the rest of the family joined her, she noticed that none of the deputies even looked their way. She would have stepped into the sunny yard, but the sound of hoofbeats caused her to hesitate. Her eyes turned toward the noise and her heart skipped a beat.

There he was, her golden boy, riding as he had when he was a boy, standing up in his stirrups, his arms thrown out to his sides, “catching the wind,” he used to tell her when she would gently scold him for being so reckless. Again she started to move forward to greet him, but a shout from one of the deputies stopped her. His hoorah was picked up by the others. The cresendo of the cheers and applause rose as Peter and his mount pounded into the small yard. As he swung gracefully off the horse, Peter was immediately surrounded by his “brothers in arms.” The praise for her son filled her with pride, but when Marshal Hunter chuckled and shouted, “That’s my boy,” Victoria felt something tug at her heart. Peter was her and Tom’s boy, not this man’s, she thought angrily. However, as the marshal made his way through the group surrounding her son and shook his hand and then put an arm around Peter’s shoulders, she knew that the bond between them must be strong, perhaps even stronger than their family ties. As one of his friends literally jumped into Peter’s arms to hug him, she felt Jarrod stir next to her. It was when John strolled across the yard yelling “Hey, you slimy seaman, where the hell have you been” and Peter answered, “Well, Dixie John, I do believe you get uglier with each passing year” and then the two embraced with such obvious affection, that Jarrod murmured, “All I did was shake his hand.”

Nick added angrily, “At least you shook his hand. Hell, he’s gone for 14 years and I don’t even tell him I missed him, I don’t even really shake his hand. No wonder he never bothered coming home; they at least show him that they care about him.”

No one in the family added anything to Nick’s comment; there was nothing to say. They were silent spectators to the scene of celebration as Peter’s hand was shook time and again and his back patted. At one point Marshal Hunter announced loudly, “Well, once again, Peter, you did a good job.”

Peter smiled widely and started to answer, “No, I did great . . . .”

And those around him picked up the rest of the line, yelling, “Because I’m Peter the Great.” And another shout of laughter filled the little yard.

“All right, now, boys,” John’s voice finally rose above the din. “How about we catch up our horses and find us the proper place to really celebrate this little game played out with so much, how does Peter say it, with so much finesse.”

Laughter again and the murmurs of affirmation. But Peter shook his head. “I’m sorry, John, I can’t go with you. I have to . . . ,” he hesitated for a moment and Victoria’s heart jumped with hope, but then plummeted when he continued, “get to San Francisco.” She had thought that he was coming home to them. Once again, the bitter taste of disappointment filled her mouth.

“San Francisco,” John snorted. “You can go to San Francisco later. First you gotta celebrate with us and tell us what you’ve been up to the last five years.”

But Peter’s voice was firm if a little apologetic, “I’m sorry, John, but I really do have to get to Frisco.”

The group of men around him suddenly became subdued. Finally, John said, “Well, it must be something really damn important for you to miss out on all the free drinks you were going to get.”

“It is,” Peter smiled and patted John’s shoulder. “I hate that I can’t go with you, really.”

John nodded his head, “All right. Come on, boys, let’s get mounted up and see if we can find ourselves a good place to spend our evening.”

There were more handshakes and backslaps, and the men began to move to their horses. William, John, and the man who spoke with the accent, however, still stood with Peter. John sent the group of men on, telling them he would catch up shortly. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned and grabbed Peter by his shirt front, “What the hell do you mean you can’t take time to go have a beer with us?”

“I’m sorry, John,” Peter shook his head, seemingly not concerned that the other man had hauled him up on his toes. “This is important. I must get to San Francisco right away.”

John released Peter and began to jab him in the shoulder with his index finger, “Well, Pete, it better be like the most important thing in your life for you to walk away from men who have dodged bullets with you, sweated in hellholes with you, danced with the devil with you.”

“You’ll just have to trust me on this one, John,” Peter said gently.

John studied him for several moments and then murmured, “What was it you told me once? Trust has to be earned.” John looked down and drew a circle in the dirt with the toe of his boot before finally adding, “Well, I guess you’ve earned that much trust from me.”

“Thanks, John, I appreciate your understanding. Try to explain it to the others, will you?” Peter patted his friend’s shoulder and started to move back toward his horse.

It was Nick’s voice that stopped him, “Well, the least you could do is return my gun before you go taking off.”

The smile on Peter’s face was genuine as he turned back and watched Nick step from the shade of the depot and walk toward him. “Well done, Sir Nicholas,” Peter said as he tossed the handgun to his brother. “Nice job of ‘dying.’ And thank you for delivering my message so promptly.”

“Glad to be of service, Pete,” Nick answered Peter’s smile with one he hoped was just as genuine. He watched, however, as Peter’s smile faded a little as his younger brother realized that there were others standing on the depot porch.

Peter’s eyes swept across the group that slowly moved off the porch into the yard. Something like surprise mixed with a little regret settled in his eyes and curved his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he started, but then a single syllable stopped him.

“Sam?” the man with the accent said softly.

“Sam?” Marshal Hunter murmured.

Peter’s eyes shifted past his family to a point behind them. “Sam?” he seemed incredulous.

Audra suddenly remembered the conversation at the orphanage. “Sam?” she said as she and the rest of the family turned to see this Sam. “Your associate Sam?”

“Associate!” the word fairly exploded from the young woman who now stood at the corner of the little depot building. Victoria realized that this must be the woman who was waiting for Sheriff Madden to take her to town. This was the woman that John had described as being in a delicate condition and the condition was very apparent in the swollen abdomen that could not be hidden by the folds of her dress.

Chapter 29

“Associate!” the young woman snapped.

Marshal Hunter and the man with the accent both shifted away from Peter. Peter winced and then muttered out of the corner of his mouth at the two men, “Cowards.” He dropped his head for a moment, but when he raised it, Victoria was surprised by the twinkle in his eyes. He strolled across the yard, past Nick and the rest of the family, directly to the young woman. “Mais oui, but of course, mon amie. You are the associate of all things closest to my heart.” And he reached to take her small hand, placed it over his heart, and then covered it with both his hands.

“Ah,” the woman raised her chin. “And you think that your silver tongue is going to get you out of trouble?”

Peter grinned widely, “It always has before.”

The woman tried to look stern but then a smile tilted the ends of her beautiful mouth, “Ah, yes, well, I guess we have associated some” she patted her large belly and joined his laugh. “Oh, Peter, mon cher, I have missed you so much.”

“Not half as much as I have missed you, mon amie,” he replied and then bent down to catch her lips in a long, deep kiss, holding her as close to him as her condition would allow.

“Well, I’ll be horn-swaggled,” John drawled. “She’s the reason he left the marshals, isn’t she?”

“Yes, they were married five years ago,” William said, almost proudly.

“She’s beautiful,” John said softly.

“As well she should be,” the man with the accent puffed out his chest. “She is my little sister.”

“Well, that explains it,” John said hotly.

“What?” the other man shrugged.

“That shit-eating smirk you get whenever we talk about Peter,” John spat back. “You always acting like you know something the rest of us don’t.”

“Ah, but, I did, didn’t I,” the man grinned broadly.

“So what’d you do, William, trade Peter for Robert,” John looked over at his boss.

“Something like that,” the older gentleman said.

“Well, you got the bad end of the deal,” John snapped.

“Ah, andouille,” Robert reached over and punched John’s arm.

“Fancy pants softie,” John shot back. His eyes went back to the couple who was still kissing, “Well, I guess I can tell the boys that the reason you can’t come to have a drink with us is because of that ring through your nose, Peter.”

Peter raised his head from his wife’s and grinned broadly, but it was the young woman who answered, “Oh, behave yourself, John Riley.”

John’s mouth dropped open, “You know me, ma’am?”

“But of course I know you,” her laughter was light and sweet. “I would know you anywhere.”

“But, how?”

“From Peter’s stories, of course,” and she extended her hand to John. He came forward to gently grasp it, shaking his head. “You must come to see us in New Orleans. Come this fall, after the heat has broken. We’re on St. Charles in the Garden District.”

John grinned broadly, “I just might do that.”

“Oh, there is no ‘might’ about it,” the woman said firmly. “You will come. In October, I think.”

John laughed softly and winked at Peter, “Seems you’ve got a wildcat by the tail.”

Peter just smiled easily and said, “She is a force to be reckoned with.”

“I guess I’ll see you in October,” John patted Peter on the shoulder and then headed toward his horse. “I’m gonna really enjoy telling the boys about how you’ve gotten your wings clipped.”

“Ah, but he loves his captivity,” the woman teased and then stood on her tiptoes to catch another kiss from her husband as John laughed loudly and urged his horse down the road after the other deputies.

“Ah, Sam, how delightful it is to see you again,” William started toward the couple.

“Bon jour, petite seuer,” Robert also stepped forward.

“Stop there. What makes you think that just because I have forgiven Peter that I have also forgiven either one of you?” the young woman shook a finger at them. “You, William, telling me ‘it will only last six weeks, no more, Sam.’ And, you, Robert, promising me that there would be no guns that it would be ‘a game of the mind.’ It has been three months, William, and, Robert, there were enough guns for an arsenal today.”

“Sam, you know things don’t always work out the way we plan,” Marshal Hunter started.

But Robert’s approach was much more inventive, “It is all Peter’s fault. He was incredibly slow in setting up this game.”

“I do not think so, Robert,” Sam said putting one hand on her hip.

“Enough, you two,” Peter shook his head. He hesitated for a moment and then moved his eyes to where his family stood and smiled softly at his mother, “I guess I should introduce my wife to my family. Mother, this is Samantha.”

Peter’s direct approach shook Victoria from her shock. Her eyes shining brightly, she quickly walked to the young woman and touched her cheek with a soft kiss, “Hello, my dear.”

“It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Victoria,” Sam’s eyes twinkled with her delight as she returned the kiss.

The rest of the family still stood in stunned silence. Finally, Jarrod slipped his hands into his pants pockets and murmured, “Well, Peter, I think it would be a good idea to get your wife out of this hot sun.”

“Thank you, Jarrod,” the corners of the young woman’s mouth turned up mischievously, “I should have known you would be the first to be so considerate.”

“You know my name?” Jarrod rocked back on his heels.

“Of course,” she laughed. “I know all your names. Audra, Gene, Heath, Nick and Jarrod.” Her finger unerringly pointed to each member of the family. “Don’t look so surprised. Peter is a masterful storyteller and you all are just as he described you.” Heath raised a skeptical eyebrow, but she just laughed again, “Process of elimination, Heath.”

“Well, for him being such a masterful storyteller, he sure forgot to mention you,” Nick said with just a touch of anger.

“That’s enough, Nicholas,” Victoria said instantly. “Peter will explain his actions later, but Jarrod is right. Samantha doesn’t need to be standing in this hot sun. I think we need to get her to the house.”

“I think going to the house is a very good idea,” Samantha laid one hand on her large belly and pressed the other into the small of her back. “I also think it might be a good idea for, umm, Gene to perhaps ride for the doctor.”

Peter grabbed his wife’s arm and spun her around to face him. His eyes sparked with anger and concern, “Sam?!”

But his wife was absolutely calm in the face of his anger, “Ah, perhaps riding all over the countryside on bumpy trains was not the best of ideas.”

Concern overrode all the other emotions. “Sam, it’s a month early,” Peter’s hand now gently stroked his wife’s arm.

“Only three weeks,” she assured him with a kiss. “Do not worry, mon cher, everything will be all right.”

With a strength that she had almost forgotten she had, Victoria now took over, “Heath, go get the buggy. Peter, you’ll drive you and Samantha. Jarrod will take Peter’s horse and Audra will take Jingo. Audra, you and Heath ride on ahead to the house and help Silas to get Peter’s room ready. I’ll double up with Nick and we’ll come with you. Eugene, you need to find Dr. Merrar . . . .”

“Already on my way, Mother,” the youngest Barkley bolted into action.

The little yard suddenly became a flurry of activity as the family jumped into action. In the center, Peter smiled down at his wife and kissed her again. Heath interrupted the kiss as he brought the buggy up beside them, “Pete, you don’t have time for that. Mother’s given her orders.”

“Yep, little brother, kissing’s probably what got you into the mess to begin with,” Nick said as he swung up onto Coco and then offered a stirrup and his hand to his mother who swung up behind him easily.

It was Samantha who answered, “Ah, I do believe you’re right, brother Nick. I do believe it did start with a kiss.” And she laughed softly as her husband swung her up and deposited her ever so gently into the buggy seat.

Chapter 30

Nick was pacing . . . again. Heath knew it was useless to tell his brother to calm down. Nick just always needed to be moving, especially when he couldn’t be doing anything useful. Heath glanced over at Samantha’s brother. What was his name? Oh, yeah, Robert, only you said it the fancy way like the French did with no “t” on the end. Robert seemed highly amused by Nick’s agitation. Heath started to warn Robert not to say anything that would irritate Nick further, but the stranger beat him to the punch, “Calm down, monsieur. One would think you were the expectant father.”

Nick whipped his head around and gave the stranger his hardest look, “Don’t tell me to calm down. Do you realize what kind of day this had been for us? Hell, the world has been turned upside down and you expect us to be calm!”

Robert did not seem the least intimidated by either Nick’s look or his words delivered at the usual Nick volume of loud, “Ah, monsieur, all will be fine, I assure you. As for your world being turned upside down, well would you have preferred always thinking that your little brother was just a cad, a professional gambler, perhaps a robber?”

“Of course not,” Audra said hotly. “Of course, we’re glad to know the truth, but I still don’t understand why Peter had to be so, so harsh to us. He said and did some very awful things.”

Robert and Marshal Hunter exchanged a look and Robert gave an elaborate shrug, “Who’s to understand why Peter does many of the things that he does? He perhaps wanted to be sure that no one from your family followed him when he left. He would have wanted to be sure that none of you were in danger. He may have been concerned that the men he was riding with would discover that he was staying at this ranch, that he was Peter Barkley and not Peter Andrews. If that happened, he needed to be sure that the community perceived him as a black sheep of the family and not a prodigal son. He may have wanted to spare you a bigger pain, that if things went sour on the job and he was hurt or killed that you would not mourn him.”

“Not mourn him!” surprisingly, it was Jarrod who snapped. “We have mourned our lost brother for 14 years. Did he really think that we wouldn’t mourn him if he got killed today?”

“Perhaps he thought that if you were angry with him you would mourn him less,” Robert shrugged again. He turned his eyes back to the game of solitaire that he was playing.

“Ah, here comes the pappa-to-be,” William gestured toward the entry into the sitting room. “What is the news, Peter?”

“No news,” Peter sounded a little exasperated. “It must be getting close since Sam kicked me out.”

“She doesn’t want you there?” Audra was surprised.

“Ah, Sam pays too much attention to our housekeeper,” Peter shrugged. “Francetta says that if husbands are allowed to be there when their children are born then all families would only have one child.”

“So, do you want a drink, Pete?” Heath offered.

Peter chuckled softly, “No, I don’t think so. I can just hear Sam if I show back up with liquor on my breath. ‘So I’m up here having a baby and you’re down there drinking and smoking. Does that seem fair?’ I think I will avoid that discussion.”

The room gave a soft laugh and then awkward silence fell. Peter wandered over to the fireplace and draped an arm on the mantle and began drumming his fingers. Robert played a couple of cards and then glanced up in irritation, “Peter, calm down. You’re distracting me.”

Peter turned and flashed him an angry look, “This wouldn’t be happening if you’d done what I asked you to do. Sam had no business getting on a train and traveling across country. You were supposed to looking out for her. You should have stopped her.”

Robert snorted, “You, her husband, can’t make Sam do anything. What hope is there that her mere brother can make her do something? She insisted that she wanted me to be there when the game played out to ensure that you were safe and then to hurry you home. It seemed like a reasonable request. How was I to know that she would take the next train out of New Orleans and go to San Francisco herself?”

Peter stared at him a moment and then turned back toward the mantle and resumed his finger drumming. Robert growled, “Peter, please, Sam is going to be fine. In fact, I will wager a large bet with you that everything will be fine.”

Peter whirled around and snapped, “Robert, listen to what you’re saying. You’re asking me to bet against my wife and child.” He reached out and slapped the top of Robert’s head. “Imbecile.” With that Peter stalked out of the room and out onto the front porch.

The glares from all those in the room unnerved Robert, “I was joking! I was just trying to distract Peter. I will go talk to him.”

Nick watched as Robert went out to stand beside Peter. He felt a strange twist in his stomach when Peter allowed the other man to place a hand on his shoulder and then lean over and rest his forehead on Peter’s. Nick had felt the same twist when, on the ride back to the house, Peter had called Robert over to the buggy and they had had a whispered conversation.

After a bit, Peter and Robert came back into the sitting room. Audra offered to have Silas fix them all some supper but all the men declined. In an effort to lighten the mood, Audra decided to try to get Peter to talk. “Marshal Hunter has told us that he’s the one responsible for you and Samantha meeting, but he hasn’t told us the whole story. He says you’re the storyteller,” she pressed him.

Peter smiled a little self consciously, “Oh, there isn’t much to the story. William had assigned me to work a case of bank fraud in New Orleans. We were setting up a trap by using another bank. The goal was to make it seem that there was a weak link in the bank . . . a target for the con man. It was to appear that I was replacing the owner’s son as the ‘heir apparent’ and the son was to appear to be very disgruntled and, therefore, an attractive target.”

“I was the weak link,” Robert interjected.

“It was a slow moving game, one that was taking months to lure the quarry in. Initially, I was bored by the work, but then as time went by I found myself actually liking it a little. Instead of just pretending to enjoy working with Henri at the bank, I was actually finding it interesting,” Peter continued.

William stepped in now, “I went to New Orleans to see how things were progressing. I was to meet Peter at the bank late one evening. I arrived to find Peter and Henri celebrating an acquisition that Peter had engineered. There was Peter, sitting in Henri’s office . . . grinning. And Peter never grins. I suddenly realized that I was in danger of losing my best deputy. Peter and I had a little talk that evening and Peter promised me that he was just having a little fun and that he had no intentions of leaving the marshals.”

Now it was Robert’s turn, “Ah, but Pappa had actually found just the man he wanted as a partner and Pappa, once focused on a prize, was not one easily dissuaded.”

“This didn’t bother you?” Jarrod asked. “Your father looking for a replacement for you?”

Robert turned his twinkling eyes on the oldest brother, “Think now. Would you want to put your money in a bank run by someone who acts like me?”

The barefaced honesty brought an appreciative laugh from the room, so Robert added, “I had been trying to convince Pappa that I was a poor choice as a successor. Peter arriving and his successes just made it so obvious that not even Pappa could deny it.”

“So, you quit and joined the bank,” Gene guessed.

“Nope,” Peter said. “I told William the truth. I had no plans to leave the marshals. I would just finish up this job like I had so many others and go onto the next one.”

“So what happened?” Nick demanded, swept up in the story.

“Ah, Pappa brought out his secret weapon,” Robert grinned broadly.

“It was definitely an unfair maneuver,” William nodded.

“What?” Gene asked eagerly.

“He brought Samantha home from school,” Robert explained.

“And it was love at first sight!” Audra exclaimed.

Robert, William, and Peter all laughed heartily. “Not hardly,” Peter said.

“It was like oil and water,” Robert nodded. “Or, better, kerosene and a match. First, she threw a vase at him.”

“Then, Peter dumped her into a watering trough,” William picked up the story.

“Then Samantha threw another vase at Peter,” Robert nodded.

“And Peter dumped her into a rain barrel,” William concluded.

“We finished the job, I told Henri that I had enjoyed working with him but it was time for me to leave,” Peter explained. “I almost made it out of town, but I went back by Henri’s house and Sam was there, standing on the upper gallery. Something made me go up to her and I kissed her. And when I kissed her I realized that my life had changed. I had lost my heart to her and I knew that the only way I could ever get it back was to spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy. We were married two weeks later.” He looked over at his youngest brother, “Henri died about a year after we married. I am now the president of the bank that he started. Six days a week I put on a suit and go down to the bank and sort through a variety of problems and challenges. On the seventh day, I put on a suit and go to church and try very hard to think of some kind of sin to confess to my priest. So that is my life now, Eugene. Not all that exciting of a life.”

And with a wisdom that none of the family realized he had, Eugene replied, “It sounds like a wonderful life.”

The room was silent for a moment and then Audra said in a soft voice, “That’s a beautiful story.”

“It certainly is,” it was Victoria’s voice that echoed Audra.

Peter spun around to stare at his mother, “Already?”

“Already,” she said with a soft smile.

“Sam?”

“She’s fine.”

“The baby?”

“Beautiful. Go see for yourself,” her smile widened.

Peter let out a long sigh, “Thank you,” placed a gentle kiss on his mother’s forehead, and then dashed out of the room and up the stairs three at a time.

“Ah, Madame Barkley,” Robert stood up. “So, is it a girl or a boy?”

“Oh, I think Peter and Samantha should be the ones who announce that,” she smiled mischievously.

“Mrs. Barkley, you don’t understand. There is a very hefty bet riding on this,” William came to stand beside Robert.

“I think you can wait to settle it,” she chided.

“Ah, here comes the doctor. He will tell us, William,” Robert, with the rest of the family trailing him, caught Dr. Merrar at the foot of the stairs. “So, doctor, what is the good word. A boy or a girl?”

“Hmm,” Howard smiled over at Victoria. They had been given very precise instructions by Samantha not to tell the gender of the child. “As Victoria said, I believe the parents are the ones who wish to announce that. They did, however, tell me that the family is invited up to meet its newest member.”

“Ah, excellent,” Robert took off up the stairs with William on his heels.

Audra and Gene exchanged a look and then both also started up the stairs. Heath studied Nick’s face. He knew his brother was struggling with just how to treat this troublesome little brother, but Heath had already made his decision. Sorting things out could come later, tonight there was a new life to celebrate. “Well, I’m gonna go see who wins the bet,” Heath said. “You coming, Nick?”

“Yeah, um, I guess.”

“C’mon, Nick,” Jarrod patted his brother’s shoulder. “Let’s have a look at this new family member. Mother?”

“Oh, yes, I’m coming,” she smiled widely. “Howard?”

“I know the way out, Victoria,” the doctor smiled. “I don’t expect any problems but if you need me just send one of the boys for me. I’ll be by in a few days to check on mother and child.”

As the Barkleys entered Peter’s old room, they found a tired looking but obviously very happy Samantha propped up in bed with Peter seated on the bed on one side of her and Robert on the other and Marshal Hunter leaning over Robert’s shoulder, all of them ogling the bundle in Samantha’s arms. The family formed a ragged semicircle around the bed. If they were all a little self conscious and quiet, Robert was taking care of the conversation.

“Come now, petite seuer, what is it? You know that William and I have a rather large sum riding on this event,” he pressed his sister but then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Samantha glanced at her husband and then stroked her child’s face with a gentle finger, “It is a girl. You have a niece, Uncle Robert.”

“Ahh,” Robert groaned as Marshal Hunter burst into a laugh.

“Pay up, Robert,” the marshal tapped the other man on the shoulder.

“I’ll pay, I’ll pay,” the other man waved him away. “Samantha, I can’t believe you let me down. I was counting on that money.”

“Like I have some control over this,” Samantha wrinkled her nose at her brother.

“Well, a name? Do you have a name?” he challenged her.

“Yes,” she looked back down at the bundle. “Lisette.”

Robert’s smile was soft and perhaps a little sad, “After Mamma.”

Samantha nodded and then added, “Lisette Victoria,” and raised her head to look directly into Victoria’s eyes.

Victoria gasped softly and then smiled, “You don’t have to do that, dear,” thinking that the girl was trying to thank her for being there to help with the baby’s delivery.

But Samantha was firm, “It is a name that Peter and I picked out years ago for our first daughter.”

Peter’s eyes were sparkling and his smile was so gentle as he looked at his mother and nodded his head in agreement.

The lump in her throat kept Victoria from answering for a moment. This time it was Marshal Hunter who helpfully filled in the silence, “A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.”

“Yes, it is,” Samantha agreed and then turned to look up into her husband’s eyes, “and I think you need to introduce your daughter to her family.”

Peter studied his wife for a moment and then reached to take the baby from her. “Uhh, Pete, be careful,” Nick spoke for the first time. Peter glanced at him and just raised his eyebrows.

As he carefully cradled his child in his arms, Peter said softly, “Well, little Lisette, this is your Uncle Robert and I can tell you right now that you will never ever be allowed to dance with any of his friends.”

Robert pretended to be offended by Peter’s words and the soft laugh that blanketed the room, “Don’t pay any attention to him, Lisette. When Pappa says that pearls are sufficient for your debutante ball, Uncle Robert will buy you diamonds.” He placed a kiss on the tiny child’s forehead.

“And this is Uncle William,” Peter said as he stood. “It is because of him that Mamma and Pappa met, so he has a special place in our hearts. That is, we do when Mamma is speaking to him.”

The marshal chuckled and then said seriously, “You know Henri is busting his buttons, right now, don’t you.”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded, “I’m sure he is.”

“She is beautiful,” the marshal continued, “just like her mamma. However, it amazes me how she has already wrapped both her pappa and her uncle around that tiny little finger.”

“It is amazing,” Peter agreed. And then he stepped toward his mother, “And, Mademoiselle Lisette, unless I miss my guess, you have already met your grandmother. I would think that after the doctor she was the first person to hold you.”

Victoria smiled but tears were in her eyes, “That’s right, we have met but not yet been formally introduced. Hello, my darling Lisette.” She placed a soft kiss on the child’s forehead and gently patted her son’s arm.

Peter continued around the room, “And, Lisette, this is your Uncle Gene. And the wonderful thing about Uncle Gene is that he will be delighted to answer all your “why” questions and if he doesn’t know the answer, which won’t be too often, he will lead you on a wonderful search for the answer because he has this magnificent inquisitive nature.”

Gene blushed slightly at the compliment but then raised his head and looked directly into his brother’s eyes, “Thanks, Pete. It will be my pleasure to be little Lisette’s always uncle and sometimes tutor.”

“Thank you, Gene,” Peter smiled, then took a step toward Audra. “And this is your Aunt Audra, Lisette. She is going to be very important to you, especially when you are having to make that oh so difficult transition from the hellacious tomboy that, knowing your mamma, you will be to the princess who will dance at a hundred balls and break so many hearts. Aunt Audra will be able to help you through this because she has done it so beautifully herself.”

“Oh, Peter,” Audra’s voice was wet with tears. “Oh, she’s so beautiful.”

“Yes, she is,” Peter said simply and moved toward Heath. “Ah, Lisette, this is your Uncle Heath. When you are horse crazy, like all young girls are at that certain age, Uncle Heath will good naturedly tolerate you tagging after him. But what will be so special about the times that you spend with him is that he will teach you to find joy in the simplest things of life, to see beauty all around you, to quietly revel in all the wonder of the world.”

Heath cocked his head slightly, totally overwhelmed by Peter’s words. They had spent only a few days together; what had he said and done to make Peter feel this way about him. Finally, he managed to say, “Guess I best start looking for just the right filly to gentle for our little Lisette.”

“Hmm, I think we have some time, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep your eye out for the right one,” Peter said with a gentle smile as he shifted toward Jarrod. “And, this Lisette, is your Uncle Jarrod. And, you need to know that after Pappa he is the man you should go to for help and advice because Uncle Jarrod will never steer you wrong. He has a special wisdom and an innate understanding of what is right that will always be your best guideposts.”

“I will always be here for her, Peter,” Jarrod said as he reached out to gently stroke the tiny curled up fist.

“As you have for all of us,” Peter replied. Then he took one final step. “And, Lisette, here is your Uncle Nick. Now, I need to tell you a few things about Uncle Nick. Everyone will tell you his bark is much worse than his bite, which is very true, but you also need to know that he has a heart as big as all the outdoors and he will let you into it with absolutely no reservation. And, this is very important for you to know, Lisette, if you are ever lost, you need to only find the tallest tree and sit beside it and Uncle Nick will find you. He won’t stop looking until he does.”

Nick sucked in a sharp breath as his mind reared up with the vivid memory of an eight-year-old boy telling his six-year-old brother just those words. It took him a moment to get the words out, “She’s something else, Peter. You’re one lucky man.”

“Actually, I’m blessed,” Peter said, shaking his head, “and only God knows why. I’ve certainly never done anything to deserve all this.”

“Oh, mon cher,” Samantha said softly, “never question God’s way; He knows what is best for us all.”

“Well, I supposed you want your daughter back now that she has met her family,” he teased her softly.

“Yes, please,” she eagerly accepted the bundle that he handed to her and then settled against her husband as he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. “Is she not so beautiful, Peter?”

“Beautiful,” he echoed.

Victoria’s heart has been filled as she heard Peter’s words to each of his siblings. She wondered if they all realized what Peter had done. He was offering to let his daughter be a part of all their futures. And if he was offering this child that he so obviously already adored then he must also be offering himself. The wonder of it all touched her. It did not erase the past, it did not remove the pain, but it did give her hope. As much as Victoria loved the tableau of her first grandchild being cradled by both her parents, she knew that Samantha needed to get some rest, “We’re going to leave you alone now, Samantha, you need to try to get some sleep. I’ll check back on you in just a bit. Peter, do you want me to bring you something to eat?”

“I think I’ll be all right for tonight, Mother,” Peter shook his head.

“All right, let’s all say good night to Samantha and little Lisette,” Victoria directed the group.

There were softly murmured good nights, and the group began to move toward the doorway. Robert kissed his sister’s forehead again and started to stand. Samantha’s voice stopped him, “We have a favor to ask of you, Robert.”

“Anything,” he said instantly.

“We need you to go to San Francisco and pick up the things I left there and bring them here,” she explained.

“Uh, Sam, one of us could go to Frisco for you,” Nick said hesitantly, a little hurt that Peter hadn’t asked one of his brothers to make this trip.

“That is kind of you, Nick,” Samantha smiled at him, “but I left my maid in San Francisco. She knows Robert, of course, so she’ll be comfortable travelling with him.”

“I will take care of it, Sam,” Robert said solemnly.

“Just telegraph us when you’re coming back in and one of us will meet you at the station,” Jarrod offered.

“Of course,” Robert nodded and then bent down to kiss first his sister and then the tiny baby. He laid a hand on Peter’s shoulder and whispered, “God bless.”

And with that, the family slipped out of the room.

Chapter 31

Victoria hesitated outside Peter’s door early the next morning and signaled Silas to wait for a moment. She had checked on Peter and his little family several times during the night and all had seemed fine. It had been several hours since the last time she had gotten up and gone into the room. Now she didn’t want to disturb them if Samantha and the baby were sleeping, but she thought Peter might like to take a break from caring for his family. She gently rapped on the door and was surprised when it was her daughter-in-law who softly said, “Come in.”

“Good morning,” Victoria said as she stepped into the room and then stopped in surprise. Peter had finally given up the rocking chair that he had sat in all night and was now stretched out face down beside his wife, fully clothed, on top of the covers, with one arm thrown across her lap. Samantha had propped herself up with some pillows and was gently examining the baby that lay next to her. “Are you all right?”

“Uh huh,” Samantha smiled. “I’m fine. I got Peter to lie down the last time he gave me Lisette to feed and he’s been asleep ever since. I’ve just been enjoying getting acquainted with my daughter. I knew you would be checking on us soon.”

“How did you sleep, dear?” Victoria came across the room and gently caressed the girl’s cheek with her palm.

“Good,” Samantha said honestly. “Peter woke me up a couple of times to feed the baby but I think I slept the rest of the time.”

“Well, you don’t have any fever, so that’s good. Silas is right outside with some tea. Would you like some?”

“Oh, yes,” the younger woman said eagerly. “In fact, I would probably let someone else hold my baby while I sipped my tea.”

Victoria laughed softly and smiled widely. She stepped to the door and motioned Silas in and came back over to gather up the baby, who was wide awake and frowning at the shaft of light that was coming in the window. As Silas poured and served Samantha a cup of tea, Victoria took the baby over to the washstand to change her diaper and gown, “I’m so glad we still had a few of Gene’s old gowns tucked away in a trunk. It was so smart of you, Silas, to wash them out yesterday afternoon.”

“Oh, you must think I’m a terrible mother,” Samantha sipped her tea. “Coming all this way and not bringing any clothes for my baby.”

“Oh, heavens, you weren’t expecting little Lisette to make an early arrival,” Victoria dismissed the girl’s concern. “We can take care of getting clothes for her. Audra was upset that these gowns were so plain. She doesn’t think they are at all proper for a little girl. I think she’s going into town with Jarrod this morning to pick up some things in pink and with ribbons. We’ll let her know if there’s anything else that you need.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of her.”

“Miss Audra loves her shopping,” Silas joked. “Having Miss Lisette here just gives her another excuse. Now, Miss Samantha, would you like Silas to bring you some breakfast?”

“Oh, that would be wonderful. I’m so hungry.”

“Well, what would you like?”

“Oh, whatever you have fixed. Peter says you always fixed the best breakfasts.”

“Mr. Peter says that?” Silas was unaccountably pleased.

“Yes, he does, all the time,” she smiled at him.

“Well, I’ll just fix you up a tray with a little bit of everything and then you can tell me what you like and then I’ll know what to fix for you each day. I’ll be back in just a minute,” Silas slipped from the room.

When little Lisette gave a small cry as Victoria was sponging her off, Peter roused and mumbled, “Baby?”

Victoria turned to watch Samantha calmly pat her son’s shoulder and soothe, “Shh, the baby’s fine. Go back to sleep, Peter.”

“Hmm,” Peter murmured and buried his face against his wife’s side. Samantha left her hand on his shoulder and gently stroked as she continued to sip her tea.

Victoria smiled to herself, enjoying the obvious affection this woman had for her son. She wrapped the baby up and came over to sit in the rocking chair beside the bed and happily cuddled her granddaughter, “She is so beautiful, Samantha.”

“I know,” the other woman agreed unabashedly and then added in a more solemn tone. “You don’t think she’s going to have any problems because she’s early, do you?”

“Now, you know Dr. Merrar has already told you that while Lisette is small she is perfect. Just look how pink she is and she’s so alert already.”

“I know, but I still worry.”

“Of course you do,” Victoria soothed, “you’re a mother. You just always worry about your children.”

Samantha bit her lip, knowing that Victoria was thinking of Peter, of all the years she had worried about him, not knowing where he was, how he was, if he was even alive. Victoria saw the pain in the other woman’s eyes. “It’s all right, dear,” she said quickly. “Right now, all any of us wants to do is enjoy getting to know you and little Lisette.” She wanted to say something more, to say that all that had happened before didn’t matter, but she couldn’t lie. Thankfully, a voice in the hallway saved her.

“Here, Silas, let me get that door for you,” Nick said with considerable bravado.

“Thank you, Mr. Nick. Here you go, Miss Samantha. You just eat what you want and if there’s something you’d like some more of, you just tell Silas,” he carefully set the tray on the bed beside Samantha.

“Thank you, Silas. It all looks wonderful.”

“It sure does, Silas,” Nick observed. “I don’t think we had all those choices for breakfast this morning.”

“Now, Mr. Nick, we’re just making sure that there’s something on the tray that Miss Samantha will like,” Silas winked at Mr. Peter’s wife and then slipped from the room.

“Uh huh,” Nick scoffed, knowing that Samantha was getting special treatment. “So how’s everybody doing this morning?”

“Good,” Samantha grinned at him.

Nick grinned back at her thinking that Peter sure had picked a spirited one and then bent down to peer at the baby that Victoria held, “And how’s the little one?”

“She’s just as beautiful as she was last night,” Victoria said proudly. “And such a good little girl.”

Nick started to say something when Audra’s voice interrupted him, “Nick, don’t scare the baby.”

Nick swung around and gave his sister an exasperated look, “I’m not scaring the baby. I’m just looking at her.”

“Oh, she’s so beautiful,” Audra cooed as she bent down to more closely view the baby.

“Would you like to hold her?” Samantha offered.

Audra looked up quickly, her eyes rounded in surprise and sparkling with excitement, “Would it be all right?”

“Mai oui, but of course,” Samantha replied. “After all, you are her only aunt.”

Nick frowned with concern as Victoria stood and a little reluctantly transferred the baby to Audra’s arms and guided her daughter to sit in the rocking chair. It was fine for someone like Mother to take care of a newborn baby but Audra didn’t know anything about handling such a little one. He crossed his arms across his chest and waited for the baby to start crying but little Lisette did not seem a bit concerned about the change.

After a moment, Audra relaxed into the back of the rocker and took her eyes off the baby to look at her sister-in-law, “So you don’t have any sisters?”

“No, it’s just me and Robert.”

“And Robert isn’t married,” Audra asked.

Samantha started to answer but was interrupted by a snort from Peter. She glanced down at her husband’s face but his eyes were still closed, “I thought you were asleep.”

“I am,” he mumbled. “But the thought of some poor woman married to Robert invaded my dreams. Now that could almost be classified a nightmare.”

She slapped his shoulder gently, “Behave, Peter. I know that Robert isn’t ready to settle down now but some day he might make the right woman a perfect husband.”

“I do not believe that God has made a woman with enough patience to put up with Robert,” Peter murmured.

“Hmm,” Samantha took another bite of her breakfast before she answered. “I think the same was said about you, my husband.”

“I was not as bad as Robert,” Peter grumbled.

She didn’t bother replying but did raise a skeptical eyebrow when she smiled at Audra and Victoria. Any reply she was going to make was cut off by Heath’s soft drawl, “Thought this might be where you slipped off to, Nick.”

“I didn’t slip off,” Nick huffed. “I just thought I could help Silas with the tray for Sam and just see how everything went last night.”

“Uh huh, you weren’t the least interested in getting another look at our little niece,” it was Jarrod who continued the conversation as both the brothers stepped into the room.

“I didn’t say that, but I sure didn’t slip off like Heath said,” Nick snapped back.

“Audra,” Jarrod ignored Nick’s weak protests and turned his attention to the girl who was gently rocking the baby, “are you about ready to go to town with me?”

“Oh,” she was clearly torn. “I hate to have to give up holding Lisette; she’s just such a little miracle, so tiny, so absolutely perfect down to her tiny little fingernails.”

“You can hold her again later,” Samantha promised.

Audra sighed softly and stood to hand the baby back to Victoria. Again, Nick watched the exchange in concern. He still wasn’t that comfortable with Audra holding such a tiny baby. Victoria started to sit back down in the rocker when Eugene’s cheerful voice caused her to hesitate.

“Hey look what I found and what Silas helped me get cleaned up and all ready for little Lisette,” the boy was grinning from ear to ear as he walked into the room carrying a cradle. “I figured that Lisette couldn’t be held all the time.”

He proudly set the cradle next to the bed thoroughly pleased that he was the one who had thought of this. There were tears in Victoria’s eyes as she kissed his cheek and leaned down to place her granddaughter in the old cradle. She answered the question in Samantha’s eyes, “This is the cradle that Tom made before Jarrod was born. It’s the one we used for all our babies.”

“Oh,” now there were tears in Samantha’s eyes. “Oh, look, Peter, it’s so beautiful.” she nudged her husband.

Peter roused up and opened one eye to look over at the cradle. He rested his head on his hand and chuckled softly.

“What are you laughing at?” Samantha challenged him.

“Oh, I was just remembering when it was Gene who was sleeping in that cradle,” he grinned.

Gene flushed in embarrassment thinking he was going to get some ribbing about being the baby of the family. Sure enough, Peter looked over at Nick when he added, “Remember when we used to rock Gene in that cradle?”

Now Nick started to laugh, “Oh, yeah.”

Victoria frowned at her two middle sons, “You two rocked Eugene?”

“Yep,” Nick started the story, “I would stand on one side and Pete would stand on the other. I’d push the cradle real hard and he’d catch it just before it hit the floor and then he’d push it and I’d catch it.”

Peter picked up the story, “Yeah, Gene would roll from side to side in the cradle, bloop, bloop, bloop.” He used his finger to draw circles in the air to illustrate Gene’s travels across the cradle.

“Hey,” Gene protested.

“Ah, don’t get all huffy, runt,” Nick patted the boy’s shoulder. “You loved it.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed, “you’d laugh so hard that you’d start hiccuping.”

“Is that why he always had the hiccups?” Victoria looked from Nick to Peter and back. “Good heavens, I took him to the doctor because I was afraid there was something wrong with him. Nicholas Jonathan, Peter Andrew, he could have been hurt.”

“Well, we hadn’t thought about that, Mother,” Nick shrugged. “I mean, you and Father had told us we always had to be gentle and careful with Audra because she was a little girl. We figured since Gene was a boy we could be rough with him.”

“Heavens,” Victoria rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you two. Jarrod, did you know about this?”

“No,” Jarrod instantly proclaimed his innocence. “No, I swear I didn’t. And if I had, I would have stopped them immediately.”

Victoria was suddenly suspicious, “Gene’s hiccups stopped suddenly. What happened?”

Peter and Nick exchanged a guilty look and then Nick shrugged, “Well, one time we were rocking Gene.”

“Trying to kill me,” Gene interrupted.

“Just having some fun with you, runt,” Nick corrected. “And we didn’t hear you and Father come back into the house until you were already right outside your bedroom door. I reached out to grab the cradle to stop it. The cradle stopped fine, but Gene didn’t.”

“Oh, my goodness,” Victoria put her hands on her hips.

“Yep,” Peter was grinning widely, “Gene came rolling right out of the cradle. Luckily, even then I had incredible reflexes and I caught him.”

Nick scoffed, “You just caught him instinctively and you had a look of pure panic on your face.”

“Hey, at least I was the one who came up with the story when Mother and Father walked into the room,” Peter challenged. “I was the one who told them that Gene was crying and we were just trying to calm him down.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think Father believed you given that Gene was laughing up a storm,” Nick replied.

“But we didn’t get in trouble,” Peter reminded him.

“You two are awful,” Audra scolded her brothers. “Mother, I don’t think you should let either one of them around Lisette.”

“Ah, Audra, Lisette is my daughter,” Peter pointed out.

“Well, still,” she said, “I’m not sure you can be trusted with caring for a small baby. Samantha, you need to watch him closely and I don’t think we should leave Lisette alone with him and Nick.”

“We’ll keep an eye on them,” Samantha promised and then laughed. “Oh, Victoria, I feel sorry for you. Having to raise both Nick and Peter. There must have been something always going on.”

“It was,” Victoria hesitated searching for an appropriate word, “interesting every day. Actually things haven’t changed much. All right, all of you need to get to your jobs, I’m sure. Samantha, you need to finish your breakfast. Peter, are you going to want some breakfast?”

“Nah,” he shook his head, “I think I’ll go back to sleep. This was the first sleep that I’d had since Saturday night.” He dropped his head back onto his pillow.

“Well, you rest then and I’ll watch after Samantha and Lisette,” Victoria began to herd the family out of the room. “Audra, you go on with Jarrod and pick up things for Lisette and Samantha. Is there anything in particular that you want, Samantha?”

“A dress with a waist,” Samantha said dryly. “I really don’t want to put one of my shapeless monstrosities back on when I get out of this bed.”

“I’ll see what I can find for you,” Audra promised as she turned to follow Jarrod and Eugene out of the room.

“Thank you,” Samantha called after her and then glanced down at her husband. “Peter, you have a bruise on your chin.”

“Nick hit me,” Peter mumbled.

“Umm, Sam” Nick, the last one leaving, looked back in concern. He had heard about her temper and quickly cast an eye around to see if there were any vases within her reach. He started to try to explain, but Samantha cut him off.

“Well, Peter, what did you do to provoke him?” she sighed.

Peter did not raise his head. Instead he just waved a hand and murmured, “A multitude of things.”

“Tell him you’re sorry,” she directed.

“Sorry, Nick,” Peter mumbled.

“That doesn’t sound very sincere,” Samantha said sternly.

“I’m sincerely sorry, Nick, that I made you hit me,” Peter tried again.

“Well, I’m sincerely sorry that I made you pull a knife on me,” Nick teased back.

“You pulled a knife on your brother!” Samantha’s eyes flashed in anger.

“Oh,” Peter groaned and pulled a pillow over his head.

“Peter,” Samantha snatched the pillow off. “I want to know exactly what happened here.”

“Ah, Sam, I’m tired,” he pleaded. “I was being careful. I wasn’t going to hurt him. Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired.”

“Now,” she said.

“Um, I think I’ll see you all later,” Nick ducked out of the room. on Heath’s heels.

Victoria turned to follow him, “And I think I’ll leave you two alone for a little while.”

She quickly closed the door as she stepped from the room but not before she could hear Samantha storm, “Do you realize that you could have hurt your brother? What were you thinking?”

Victoria had a feeling that Peter was going to get a very strong scolding. A part of her would have liked to have heard Peter’s explanation, but she felt she owed Samantha and Peter a little privacy. Perhaps later she would ask him about his actions. Perhaps.

Chapter 32

Nick was slightly perturbed. He understood that Pete wanted to spend time with his wife and child. God, Pete hadn’t seen his wife in three months and now they had this perfect little girl. Sure, Pete would want to be with Samantha and Lisette, but did he have to spend every waking hour with them? Darn, Pete had hardly left his bedroom since Lisette had been born; he ate all his meals with Samantha; he sat beside his bed rocking Lisette even when Samantha was asleep. Nick would like to have just a few minutes with his little brother, now that he knew that Peter wasn’t a complete jerk . . . even though he had acted like one most of the time that he had been with them. The way that the men who worked with Pete had treated him made you think he had to be an all right guy. Shoot, Nick had even almost forgiven Pete for pulling the knife on him. He understood that Pete had only wanted to discourage Nick from following him, and Nick now knew he hadn’t been in any real danger. It was just a bluff, albeit one that had frightened and angered the family. Nick figured that Sam had taken care of explaining to Peter his poor choice for a bluff. What Nick didn’t understand was why Pete had said all those things about Father, all those things that were so upsetting to Mother, well, to them all.

It was probably this not understanding, this need to talk with his little brother, that was keeping Nick awake. And, naturally, his hearing was attuned to the noises from his little brother’s room across the hall. He’d heard the baby crying softly and then the soft creak as the door to Pete’s room opened and closed. Nick waited for a bit, thinking Peter may have gone to get Mother to help with the baby, but then he heard the creak of the third stair from the bottom. Maybe his brother was going to ask Silas for help. Concerned, Nick slipped out of bed and put on his shirt and pants and went in search of Peter.

He didn’t have to go far. Pete was in the softly lit sitting room, standing by the fireplace, swaying gently from side to side and humming ever so softly to his baby daughter. Nick forced himself to whisper, “Pete?”

Pete looked up and Nick was struck by what a beautiful smile his brother had. He looked so at peace, Nick thought. He hesitated before he whispered, “Is everything all right?”

Pete nodded and spoke in a normal tone, “Yeah, everything’s fine. Lisette just has her days and nights a little mixed up and she’s wanting to be social right now. I didn’t want her to wake Sam while she’s trying to get a few good hours of sleep so I decided we’d come down here and visit.”

“Visit?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, we’re having a little father-daughter talk. I’m telling her about how beautiful her mother is and how she’s going to grow up to look just like her,” Pete looked back down at his daughter who was regarding him with an almost quizzical look.

“Oh, all right,” Nick shifted uneasily. “I guess I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Nah, that’s all right,” Peter opened the door. “Lisette isn’t doing a very good job of holding up her end of the conversation. A little company might be nice.”

Nick walked through the door cautiously, “All right. I guess I can keep you company for a bit although I gotta get up early tomorrow.”

“I know,” Peter smiled, “this is a working ranch. I’m sure our presence here has thrown your schedules off a little.”

“Nah, that’s not what I meant,” Nick said swiftly. “It’s been good. Really something special for Mother, to have her first grandchild born here. So Heath’s not gonna make that horse auction. There’ll be other auctions.”

“Heath’s not going to an auction?” Peter seemed surprised.

“Yep, said he hated to go out of town while you and Sam and Lisette were here so I told him not to.”

“Ohh,” Peter drew the word out.

Nick was suddenly a little embarrassed, “Well, I figured he just wanted to have a chance to get to know you . . . since you’re brothers and all. Of course, it’s been a little hard what with you spending all your time with Sam and Lisette.”

“Sorry about that, Nick, it’s just that Sam and I have been apart for three months and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Peter started and then stopped when his brother raised both eyebrows. “Jeez, not that, Nick. She just had a baby, my God. We have a lot of talking we needed to do is all. Besides, I can’t very well dump the care of Sam and Lisette on Mother.”

Nick snorted, “Like Mother would mind.”

“Well, it still wouldn’t be right. They’re my wife and daughter, and Mother never even met Sam before yesterday.”

The baby flailed a little fist into the air and let out a small cry. “What’s wrong, Lisette?” Peter looked back down at his daughter. “Are we not paying enough attention to you?” He gently rocked her in his arms for a few moments and then looked up at Nick. This brother was totally focused on the little baby, a small smile on his lips. Peter decided to make the offer, “Would you like to hold her?”

Nick sucked in a breath and his eyes rounded, “Gee, I don’t know, Pete. She’s awful small and you know my hands are pretty big and rough and all. I sure wouldn’t want to do anything that would hurt her or upset her or anything.”

“Oh, I expect my hands are about as big as yours and she’s got a blanket around her. I don’t think you’re gonna hurt her and I promise you, that unlike most women, she won’t try to jump out of your arms.”

Nick shot his brother an aggravated look but then swallowed hard and bit his lip, “All right, if you’re sure it’s okay.”

“Sure, it’ll be fine. Here, just let her head rest right there in the crook of your elbow. See, she fits just right,” Peter carefully transferred his daughter to Nick’s arms.

For several moments, Nick was overwhelmed by feeling so complex he couldn’t begin to explain them. He knew instinctively that he loved this little girl and that he already had placed her among those he was compelled to always protect. But there was something more, an almost awe at the miracle of her existence. She represented the next generation, the continuation of the family, the promise of the future. “She’s so little, Pete,” he finally managed to whisper.

“Yep, I was a little afraid because she was early, but the doctor and Mother and Sam keep telling me that she’s small but perfectly healthy.”

Nick was mesmerized by the wide dark eyes that seemed to be studying him intently. Suddenly, the baby let out a small cry and Nick panicked, “Here you better take her back. I must be hurting her.”

But Peter just crossed his arms and smiled, “You’re not hurting her. She’s just being sure she has your attention. Just sorta rock back and forth a little and talk to her.”

Nick obediently began to shift his weight stiffly back and forth, “Talk to her. What about?”

“Oh, just about anything. It’s just the sound of your voice that she wants to hear.”

“Um, ah, well, Lisette, I tell you, you were a big surprise to us all. Never would have figured your father to be the marrying kind given all the skirt chasing that he did as a boy.”

“Uh, you’re not suppose to disparage her father,” Peter pretended to be offended.

“Just telling her the truth. Yep, it sure is a good thing that you take after your mother ‘cause your father’s such an ugly thing.”

“Nick,” Peter grumbled.

Nick grinned at him and started to speak when Lisette let out another small cry. “Ah, I don’t think this is working. You better take her.”

“You just got to rock a little easier,” Peter soothed. “Sway like you do when you’re dancing with your best girl and you’re slowing things down just before you’re gonna kiss her.”

Nick grinned a little self consciously but his rocking being smoother which seemed to content Lisette, “Hey, it worked. Good way to describe how to do it.”

“You know where we learned that, don’t you?” Peter said softly. When Nick raised a questioning eyebrow, he continued, “From watching Mother and Father, dancing in this very room late at night when they thought we were all in bed. They’d open her music box and dance so slowly to the music and he would always end up kissing her.”

“I had forgotten that,” Nick replied, a little surprised.

Peter was silent for several moments and then he almost whispered, “It seems so strange for him not to be here, in this house.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Nick said it brusquely as he tried to hide the familiar twinge of pain. But then he, too, softened his tone, “You don’t know how many times I’ve regretted going off to war. He didn’t want me to go, made me wait until I was 18 and then still argued with me about it. I thought it was going to be a grand adventure. I sure learned different. But what I really hate about it is that I lost those years with him. If I had known that he was going to be killed just a year after I got back, I would have never gone.”

Peter started to answer his brother when a movement in the entry to the sitting room caught his eye. He smiled broadly, “Well, hello, brother Gene.”

“Hi,” Gene, fully dressed and clutching his boots in one hand, stepped into the room cautiously.

Nick regarded him with a stern look, “Going somewhere, runt?”

Gene immediately defended himself with a tumble of words, “I heard voices down here and the baby crying and I was afraid she might be sick and I might need to ride for the doctor.”

Peter started to reply but was cut off by Nick’s curt, “Lisette’s fine. She’s just got her days and nights backwards and has decided she needed some extra attention right now. Pete didn’t want her to wake up Sam, so we brought her down here.”

“Oh,” Gene said softly. He shifted from foot to foot as he tried to decide what to do.

Peter rescued him, “Would you like to hold her?”

Peter wasn’t sure who looked more surprised, Gene or Nick. Gene recovered quickly, however, “Could I? I mean, would it be all right?”

“Sure,” Peter shrugged. “Of course, you’re going to have to talk Nick into giving her up.”

“C’mon, Nick, please,” Gene turned his eyes to the older brother.

Nick remembered the feeling he had had just a few moments ago when he’d gotten to actually hold Lisette. It seemed only fair that Gene should get to have the same feeling, “Sure, runt, but just don’t drop her. See, you need to support her head in the crook of her elbow. Peter says she won’t jump out of your arms but I gotta warn you she does like to move around a little.” He carefully transferred the baby to Gene’s waiting arms. “Now, kinda rock side to side real soft and easy, like you’re dancing real slow. She likes that a lot.”

“All right,” Gene eyes shown with his excitement. “Gosh, she so little. She hardly weights anything.”

“Yep, she’s a little one, all right,” Peter agreed. “It’s because she came a little early, but the doctor says she’s fine, strong and healthy and she’ll grow fast.”

“You can tell she’s healthy,” Gene agreed. “She’s got a glow about her and her eyes are so shiny.”

“Oh, so you’re a doctor now,” Nick scoffed.

“Well, not yet, but I’m thinking about maybe becoming one,” there he had said it; finally, after months and months, he’d gotten it out.

Nick only looked slightly surprised, “Hmm, might be a good thing for you to consider. You’ve always been interested in books and science and stuff. It might be something you’d be real good at.”

Gene looked startled. He’d just gotten Nick’s blessing; well as much of a blessing as anyone ever got from Nick. He looked back down at the sweet baby in his arms. Someday, maybe, someday he would be the one who would take care of such sweet little things. It had to be an incredible feeling, delivering a baby. Unconsciously, he began to hum to Lisette; he missed the smile that his older brothers exchanged. They recognized the tune he was humming; they’d heard their mother hum it many a time to their younger brother and sister when she would rock them to sleep. Of course, Nick and Peter didn’t realize that their memory of that tune actually extended much further back, to when Victoria had soothed both of them with this same tune.

“Well, boy howdy, having a party down here and don’t invite the whole family. Now ain’t that something,” Heath’s soft drawl teased.

“Hey, Heath,” Peter greeted his newest brother. “Nick and Gene have been kind enough to keep me company while I tried to keep Lisette from waking up the whole house.”

“Oh, I don’t think anything as little as Lisette could make enough noise to wake up this whole house,” Heath grinned.

“Well, she hasn’t quite figured out the power of her lungs yet, but I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be so lucky,” Peter shook his head.

“Say, Heath,” Gene turned toward his brother, “would you like to hold Lisette?”

Heath looked startled, “Um, well, I guess . . . if it’s all right with Pete.”

“Fine with me,” Peter shrugged. “If Gene’s ready to pass her on along.”

“I’ll share,” Gene said cheerfully, “but you better let me hold her again soon.”

“Sure, Gene,” Peter was secretly delighted by his youngest brother’s enthusiasm. He was impressed with how easily Gene shifted Lisette to Heath’s arm. What was surprising, however, was how confidently Heath cradled the baby in his arms and resumed the soft swaying that kept her contented.

Nick was also surprised, “Hey, Heath, you do that pretty good. Have you had practice?”

“Oh, I’ve held a few little ones through the years,” Heath smiled over at Nick.

“Yeah?? When?? Where??” Nick demanded.

“Let’s just say here and there and don’t worry, none of them were mine,” Heath teased.

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Nick huffed. “I was just surprised at how you already knew how to hold her and everything. Say, do you know how to change a diaper?”

“Why? You want me to show you how?” Heath drawled.

“NO!” Nick shouted and the other brothers all shushed him. He lowered his voice and continued, “I was just wondering how much experience you had with being around a baby.”

“Enough if its mama wasn’t around I could change a diaper and warm up a bottle of milk,” Heath replied.

“A man of many talents,” Peter inclined his head toward Heath.

“Thank you,” Heath grinned.

“Well, well,” Jarrod’s voice made them all turn toward the entry to the sitting room. “I’m not sure how Audra’s going to feel about you four taking care of little Miss Lisette. I think she has some real doubts about your trustworthiness as caregivers.”

“Well, if she was awake, she’d see that we do just pretty good,” Heath shot back. “Lisette seems pretty happy.”

“Yes, she does,” Jarrod agreed as he came to stand with his younger brothers. He smiled down at the little girl tucked so securely in Heath’s arms.

“Hey, we’ve all gotten to hold her. I guess it’s your turn, Jarrod,” Gene informed him.

“All of you?” he raised an eyebrow. “Even Nick?”

“Yep, I was the first,” Nick puffed out his chest. “She and I got a long just fine. Just ask Gene, he saw.”

“Yeah, she didn’t look too worried about Nick holding her,” Gene said, but then added mischievously, “but she did sorta sigh with relief when he handed her off to me.”

“Hey,” Nick bristled.

“Oh, really,” Jarrod was proud of the boy’s cleverness. He was beginning to learn how to hold his own with his older brothers.

“So, Jarrod,” Heath extended the bundle toward him, “do you want to hold her?”

“I would be honored,” Jarrod carefully took Lisette and settled her comfortably in his arms. Her wide dark eyes seemed to study him with thoughtful inquisitiveness. He gently stroked her soft cheek with his fingertip. He thought she might have started to smile but then rewarded him with a large yawn. She took a deep breath and closed this big eyes. In just a heartbeat she had fallen asleep.

“Huh,” Nick teased, “you would figure that the lawyer would be the one to put her to sleep. He has that effect on lots of women.”

“I think she’s finally found one of us that she doesn’t have to keep an eye on,” Jarrod countered.

“Hey, she was perfectly content with me,” Nick said. After a moment he went on to add, “And with Gene. And with Heath.”

“I think,” Peter said softly, “that Miss Lisette has been to her first cotillion and has danced with her pappa and her uncles and is now all tired out and ready to have sweet dreams.”

“Hey, it was sorta like we all danced with her, wasn’t it,” Gene said in quiet wonderment.

“Yep,” Peter nodded. “And she is a very lucky girl to have such good uncles to be her dance partners.”

“Well, little brother, if Lisette is going to sleep then so am I. I’ll see you in the morning,” Nick stretched and yawned. “C’mon, runt, let’s go to bed.”

“All right,” Gene was a little disappointed but he was also pretty tired.

“I’m coming, too,” Heath patted Peter’s shoulder. “If she gets a second wind and you need help taming her, just give me a holler, brother.”

“Will do,” Peter grinned at Heath.

“Well, I guess I can hand this little lady back to you now,” Jarrod studied the sweetly sleeping baby.

“Early day tomorrow?” Peter asked.

“Not really,” Jarrod replied. “I wasn’t planning on going into town.”

“Why don’t you sit up with me for a bit then?” Peter’s eyes were gentle. “I could use the company. I thought I would stay down here until Lisette wakes up hungry.”

“Sure, I’ll sit with you,” Jarrod smiled.

“Well, in that case, goodnight, brothers,” Nick clapped Heath and Gene on their shoulders. “We’ll let the men of leisure stay up all night. Us working men need to get our rest.”

Both Peter and Jarrod shot him a dirty look, but he just gave them his wolfish grin as he headed out of the room. As he started up the stairs, he glanced back and saw that Pete and Jarrod had sat down across from each other. He was struck by the gentle look on Pete’s face, but what surprised him more was when he heard Peter ask softly, “Tell me about Beth, Jarrod.”

Nick held his breath; Jarrod rarely talked about Beth. The pain was still too fresh for his brother. His older brother’s face had taken on its usual stony expression when he was trying to mask this pain, but then Jarrod looked down at the baby sleeping in his arms. His face softened and he bit his lip. “She was incredibly sweet,” he started. Nick nodded approvingly. This would be good, he knew instinctively. Peter and Lisette might just be able to help Jarrod better than any of the rest of them. Knowing that, he was content to go on upstairs to bed.

Chapter 33

“You’re just wanting to go back to the house for lunch ‘cause you think you might get a chance to hold Lisette again,” Heath teased Nick as they rode toward the house.

“That ain’t it,” Nick lied. “You know Mother likes to have all of us for lunch any time that it’s convenient for us to ride back in. Pete might come down for lunch if we’re there. Don’t you want to get to know him better?”

Heath didn’t answer for a long moment. He liked Pete, wasn’t really sure why. Certainly, it would make more sense if he didn’t. Pete had walked away, worse than that, had purposely stayed away, from just what Heath had wanted – a family. But Heath had seen the regret in Pete’s eyes, in the yard at Norton’s, when Pete had been prepared to ride away again. He hadn’t wanted to go, Heath had known it instantly, but he had to, Sam was in Frisco and he had to get to her. Heath had privately wondered if Pete would have come back, would have brought Sam to Stockton, if Sam hadn’t come on her own. It was apparent that while Sam loved Pete as much as he loved her, she had a temper and did not hesitate to let Pete know what she thought. Heath suspected that she had tried to get Pete to contact his family before but had obviously not been successful. He wondered if they had fought about it or if Sam had allowed Pete this one bit of personal pigheadedness. And he had seen something else in Pete’s eyes, something he had seen in his own eyes on occasion. He had seen shame. And he wondered just where it came from.

Nick misunderstood Heath’s long moment of silence, “Look, Heath, I hadn’t thought about how hard this has gotta be on you, us all talking about when we were kids. Mother saying that they used the cradle for all their children. I’m sorry about that, really. You gotta know that Pete being here doesn’t change any of our feelings about you. You’re still my partner.”

Heath shook his head and reached over and clapped Nick’s shoulder, “Nick, don’t be foolish. You can’t not talk about your past, about your childhoods, just because I wasn’t here. You gotta understand I don’t begrudge you a single memory. If you and Pete have good memories, then you need to share them. The thing is, Nick, you and Pete only have memories of when you was boys. I got memories of us doing things as men, good memories, special moments. I figure I’m about two years ahead of Pete on those memories and, since he lives in New Orleans and I live here, I also figure that I’m always gonna stay ahead of him there. And, the thing is, I probably know better than anybody else in this family that learning to love a new person don’t change the love you have for someone else. Learning to love Mother didn’t lessen the love I have for my mama. Me coming into your life didn’t change your feelings toward Jarrod or Gene or, even, Pete. Pete coming back here, you forgiving him, ain’t gonna change how you feel about me.”

“Not sure I’m ready to forgive him,” Nick grumbled in order to hide how deeply he was touched by Heath’s words. “He ain’t really explained himself yet, you know. I mean, it’s great about Sam and Lisette and he’s been talking about happy memories and he’s called Father ‘Father’ and not ‘the old man,’ but none of that explains why he stayed away for so long.”

“I know, Nick,” Heath nodded, knowing that still troubled the whole family. “Thing is, Nick, I think it’s bothering him, too. Sometimes I see something in his eyes, something I sometimes see in my own eyes when I’m trying to decide whether to tell you things about my past. It’s kinda hard, sometimes, to let people know about your, your bad times, when you might not have been at your best. I don’t know if Pete will be able to explain it or not, but try not to push him, Nick. Right now, try just to enjoy what he’s given you so far, himself, his wife, his daughter, for now and for the future. Let the past come as he’s ready to give it to you.”

“You know I ain’t a very patient man,” Nick said as they rode into the yard.

“I know, Nick, but try,” Heath sighed as he swung off his horse. He hoped he could keep things cool and calm between Nick and Pete.

Just as they were walking up to the front porch, the door was pulled open. Victoria stepped out, her arms full of pillows.

“What’s going on?” Nick demanded. He caught his breath as a bad thought crossed his mind. What if Sam was sick? What if they were having to take her to town to the doctor and the pillows were for the carriage?

But Victoria was cheery, “Well, hello, you two. What a nice surprise. Heath, sweetheart, please move that chair into the shade and slide that footstool in front of it.”

As Heath immediately obeyed, Nick crossed his arms in irritation and repeated, “What’s going on?”

Then he heard Sam’s laugh, “Quit pretending I weigh that much, Peter. You know I’ve already lost a lot of the weight from the baby and, besides, you know you can lift hundreds of pounds with no problems.”

“I don’t know, Sam, you’re awful heavy. I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to lug you back upstairs later,” Peter groaned. “Especially if you eat as big a meal as you’ve been eating since Lisette was born.”

“I’m a nursing mother,” she replied as Peter carried her through the door, “I need my nourishment. Just ask your mother.”

Behind them, Audra’s voice came floating down the stairs, “Gene, be careful. Don’t you dare drop that cradle.”

“Hey, you just be careful and don’t drop our niece,” Gene shot back.

“I’m being careful. I would never do anything to hurt Lisette,” Audra said as they came out onto the porch.

“Here you go, Samantha,” Victoria had arranged the pillows on the chair that Heath had moved for her. “Peter, set her down here.”

Peter carefully deposited his wife on the chair, and Victoria spread a light throw across Samantha’s legs. Peter straightened back up, grumbling about his poor back, which earned him a swat on the leg from his wife.

“Where do you want the cradle, Sam?” Gene asked.

“Um, here, I think, thank you, Gene,” Samantha gestured to a spot beside her chair.

Jarrod came out of the doors that led to his office, “Well, look who’s out and about.”

Nick felt that he was being totally ignored. He jabbed his fists onto his hips, “What’s the doctor going to say about you bringing Sam and Lisette outside?”

Samantha was the one who answered him, “He’s going to say, ‘Oh, Sam, what a smart thing, insisting that you and Lisette needed some nice fresh air on this beautiful day.’”

Nick recrossed his arms and rocked on his heels, “Oh, really.”

“Oh, really,” she responded calmly with a twinkle in her eye.

“Watch it, Nick,” Peter warned. “She gives as good as she gets.”

“Hmm,” Nick decided to not test that right this minute.

“Samantha was getting a little tired of being confined to her and Peter’s room,” Victoria explained. “We decided it would be nice for her to sit out on the porch for a bit. Silas is going to set out lunch on the buffet and we’re going to fix our plates and all eat out here. I’m so glad you came in to join us.”

“Well, if I knew we were going to eat outside, I wouldn’t have bothered riding all the way back in,” Nick pretended to be annoyed.

“Well, you can always leave,” Audra turned after she had placed Lisette in her cradle and wrinkled her nose.

“Nah, I’ll stay,” he grumbled. Then he looked over at Gene, “What are you doing here, runt? I thought I told you to drive into town and pick up Sam’s brother and maid at the station.”

“I was going to, Nick,” Gene said quickly, “but Pete sent Ciego.”

“I still don’t understand why you did that, Peter,” Victoria straightened up from carefully adjusting the covers over her granddaughter. “Robert will think we aren’t pleased that he’s coming back.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” Peter drawled, garnering himself another swat on the leg from his wife. He just grinned down at her.

“They should be here just any time . . . if the train was running on time,” Jarrod said.

“We’re going to hold lunch until they get here,” Victoria explained.

“Hold lunch?” Nick grumbled.

“Nicholas,” she warned him.

“Hey, it’s all right, Nick,” Heath rescued him. “I think I see the carriage coming now.”

“Good,” Nick replied. “Can we start to eat now?”

“No, Nicholas,” Victoria sighed. “It’s not even set out yet. Now, you just be patient.”

Heath had been studying the carriage coming down the road. “Ah, Sam,” he drawled. “Is your brother given to drinking when he’s riding on the train?”

“Um, I don’t know. Why, Heath?” she replied.

“Well, he looks to be driving and the carriage is weaving back and forth on the road,” Heath said. He narrowed his eyes and studied the carriage. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he turned to look at Sam and Pete. They both just smiled at him.

“Well,” Nick grumbled, “do we have to unload the carriage before we eat?”

“Yes, Nicholas,” Victoria rolled her eyes. “It’ll go quickly, if all you boys help out.”

“All right, all right,” Nick held up a hand and looked over at Heath for help. But Heath was continuing to look at the carriage coming down the road, acting like he’d never seen a carriage before. Nick glanced over his shoulder toward the road . . . and did a double take. He, too, looked over at Pete and Sam. Pete had knelt down beside Sam and was holding her hand. As Nick watched them, Sam touched his cheek with her other hand and whispered, “Go.”

Peter stood up and walked into the yard just as the carriage came to a stop. Automatically, Nick stepped into the yard, watching his brother’s face. Peter’s small grin began to widen. The voice seemed to be a cue to his brother; Pete crouched down.

“Pappa, Pappa,” the sweet voice called out as soon as the carriage stopped. The little boy leapt out of the vehicle on his own and came flying across the ranch yard into his father’s arms.

Peter let the boy’s momentum push him over onto his back, “Look at you. You’ve gotten so strong you just knocked me over.”

“I missed you, Pappa. I missed you so much,” the boy buried his face into his father’s neck.

“I missed you, too, big boy,” Peter kissed the blond hair. “So very, very much. Now, go see your mamma up on the porch. She has someone to introduce to you.”

“My new sister,” the boy raised his head.

“That’s right,” Peter set the boy on his feet and pointed him toward the porch.

The little boy started toward the porch and then turned back to his father and said proudly, “Uncle Robert let me drive the carriage almost all the way from town.”

As the little boy trotted up the steps directly to his mother, a second piping voice shouted, “Me, too. Me, too.”

“Ah, there’s my Mister Me Too,” Peter remained on his back so that the second, smaller boy whom Robert had swung down to the ground and sent running toward Peter could crawl right up on his chest.

“Pappa, Pappa, Pappa!” the dark haired little boy wrapped his little arms around Peter’s neck.

Peter hugged the boy to him and kissed the dark curls, “Ah, that’s my boy.” He lifted the boy up, dangling him over his chest, sending him into a fit of giggles. “Let’s go see Mamma.”

Peter clambered to his feet and placed the boy on his shoulder. He grinned at Nick’s open mouth stare. “What are you so shocked about, Nick? We have been married five years,” he patted his brother’s shoulder and walked up onto the porch.

The older boy had gotten a hug and kiss from his mother and was now examining his new sister in the cradle. Peter set the younger boy down so that he could also get a hug and a kiss. Victoria had given into her sudden weak knees and slowly sat down in the chair beside Samantha as she realized just what the “things” were that Robert had been sent to San Francisco to retrieve. She looked from Samantha to Peter and back in shock. Samantha laughed softly and tried to explain, “I asked Peter and Robert and William not to say anything. It just seemed that we had sprung enough surprises on you in one day.”

“Well, boy howdy, Sam,” Heath murmured. “Do you and Pete have any other surprises you need to tell us about?”

“Can’t really think of any other,” Samantha smiled up at him.

“Well,” Victoria couldn’t take her eyes off the two little boys who were standing beside the old cradle, “this explains a few things. You did so well delivering Lisette that I thought, perhaps, she wasn’t your first. I was afraid that you and Peter had had some, some, some disappointments.”

Samantha reached over to squeeze her hand, “No, there has only been joy.”

“Mamma?” the older boy turned his beautiful blue eyes to his mother. “What is our sister’s name?”

“Your Uncle Robert didn’t tell you?” Samantha glanced up at her brother who had stepped to the porch.

“He said he didn’t remember,” the boy replied. “But I think he was teasing us. You know how Uncle Robert is.”

“Yes, I know,” Samantha made a face at her brother and then answered her son, “Her name is Lisette Victoria.”

“After our grandmothers,” the boy said quickly.

“That’s right, cherie,” she smiled at him.

His eyes returned to the baby, whom he studied for several moments before he looked back up, “That is a very big name for such a little baby, Mamma.”

“Oh, we’re calling her Lisette. But don’t worry, she’ll grow to her name,” Samantha promised her eldest.

The little boy resumed his study of the baby and then shook his head, “She should be Lizzie V.”

“No, Lisette, dear,” his mother corrected gently.

Robert chuckled, “I do not think so. I believe you will find that he will prevail.”

The boy turned to his younger brother and repeated, “Lizzie V.”

The dark-haired boy looked up at his older brother and then back down at the baby and then solemnly nodded his head. “Liddy B,” he lisped.

“Peter,” Samantha entreated, but her husband just shrugged his shoulders.

The older boy reached out to stroke the baby’s hand and then told his little brother, “You can touch her but soft, like with a kitten.”

The younger boy followed his brother’s directions and also reached over the edge of the cradle to touch his sister. When she stirred, he jumped back and then laughed.

Samantha allowed her sons another moment with their sister but she knew very important introductions were needed. “Darling,” she addressed her older son. “You need to introduce yourself to your grandmother.”

“Yes, Mamma,” the little boy obediently went to stand in front of Victoria.

His younger brother looked over, obviously not sure what to do. He slipped over to lean against his father, curling an arm around his father’s leg. “You suddenly get shy?” Peter reached down to ruffle the boy’s brown curls. When the boy nodded, Peter crouched down so that the little one could stand between his knees.

Victoria’s heart was beating wildly as she looked into the face of her oldest grandchild, her first grandson. His eyes and hair were Peter’s and he favored his father a good deal but she could see Samantha in the shape of his beautiful smile. The little boy tucked his left arm behind his back and then extended his right hand toward Victoria. “It works best if I hold your hand,” he stage whispered to her when she hesitated.

“Oh, of course,” she held back a laugh and quickly placed her hand in his. She glanced at the faces of the family that had gathered around them. They were all smiling, just as captivated by the boys as she was. Her eyes went back to Peter’s son and she gently squeezed the hand that held hers in order to encourage him.

The boy needed little encouragement. He carefully cleared his throat and then spoke very distinctly, “Hello, Grandmother. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Thomas Henri Barkley. I was named for both my grandfathers because they were the two finest men that my pappa has ever known.”

Victoria knew she should say something to the boy, but for a moment she was just too shocked. A grandson named for Tom, something she had dreamed of for years. Her eyes moved from the boy’s face to Peter who was still kneeling behind his sons. He was smiling the smallest of smiles, looking a little embarrassed. Then he shrugged and winked at her.

The boy tugged her hand to get her attention, “May I kiss your cheek, Grandmother?”

“Of course, you may,” she leaned forward to accept his soft kiss. He did not resist as she slipped her arms around him and hugged him close and kissed his cheek. When she let him step back, the smile he gave her lit up his whole face.

“You need to introduce your brother,” Samantha prompted the boy.

The boy turned back and offered his hand to his little brother. The smaller boy took it and moved to stand in front of Victoria.

“This is my baby brot . . .”

A swift kick and an angry voice stopped him, “Not a baby!”

Peter ignored the smothered laughs and gently scolded the older boy, “You know he doesn’t like being called a baby.”

The boy made a face and then started again, “This is my little . . .”

The younger boy’s head spun around and he glared at his brother.

“This is my younger brother,” he amended his introduction once more. “His name is Nicholas Robert Barkley. He is my brother so it is, it is app, app . . .” He turned to his father. “Pappa?”

“Appropriate,” Peter supplied the word.

The boy nodded, “It is appropriate that he is named for Mamma’s brother and one of Pappa’s brothers.”

Peter looked up at Nick, strangely pleased to see the look of shock and, what was it, pride perhaps, on Nick’s face. He grinned at his brother and winked.

Victoria smiled gently at the smaller boy. He had Samantha’s darker coloring, but his smile, the shy smile, that was Peter’s. The boy raised his arms to her, “Up?”

“Would you like to sit on my lap, Nicholas Robert?” she asked quickly. When he nodded, she reached down to lift him to her lap and then kissed his soft cheek, loving the way his dark curls tickled her face.

“We just call him Nicky,” the older boy explained.

“Well, what do we call you, darling?” she reached out to cup his chin.

He seemed surprised by her question, “Well, Tom, of course.”

She knew that there were tears in her eyes as she looked again at Peter. He just gave her another small smile and shrug. She found her voice, “Well, if I know little boys, I bet you’re hungry. Why don’t we go inside and wash your hands and then I’ll fix you both some lunch. All right?”

“Yes, Grandmother,” Tom said eagerly. “Uncle Robert said we would eat when we got here.”

“Well, let’s go,” Victoria stood easily, shifting Nicky to her hip and extending a hand to Tom.

As they went into the house, Peter and Samantha exchanged a look and then started to laugh. After a moment, the rest of the family joined in.

Chapter 34

Victoria gently rocked little Lisette in her arms. “Lizzy V.,” she silently corrected herself. Robert had been right; little Tom’s pronouncement had become the baby’s accepted moniker now. Tom had just calmly corrected anyone when they used the baby’s proper name until the whole family had fallen in line. She smiled at the power that a four-year-old boy could have over a group of adults. It looked as if he had inherited his Grandfather Barkley’s powers of persuasion, she chuckled softly. Once again, she wished that Tom could have been here to share the joy of hugging their grandsons, of holding their tiny granddaughter, of learning so quickly to love their new daughter.

It had been a glorious week and a half, she thought, as she walked to the window of Peter’s bedroom and looked out toward the barn. It was so hard to believe how things had changed so much in less than three weeks. Where once there had been a terrible feeling of emptiness whenever she thought of Peter, now her heart was filled to overflowing as the thought of Peter was supplemented with precious images of Samantha, Tom, Nicky, and Lizzy V. She smiled as Audra, Gene, Peter, and the two little boys came out of the barn. Peter was allowing his younger brother and sister to take his sons on a Saturday picnic. Victoria had been a little concerned about whether Audra and Gene would be able to properly watch over her two lively grandsons, but Peter did not seem the least worried, and Samantha had just laughed and said, “And this will cure both of them of thinking about getting married and having children for a very long time.”

Victoria smiled at her new daughter’s wry humor, but she doubted that would be the case. The whole family had fallen in love with the boys. They were lively, yes, and little Nicky had been properly named. Many times his father would gently scold, “Inside voice, Nicky, inside voice, please.” But they were little darlings, too. A tear leapt to her eye as she remembered Thursday evening when she had held Nicky on her lap and Tom had squeezed next to her in the rocking chair as she read to them from the old fairy tale book. As her two grandsons had both snuggled against her, she had been almost overcome with a memory of when she had read this same book to her three oldest and it was the blond-haired little boy who had sat on her lap and the dark-haired little boy beside her with their older brother lying on his stomach at her feet engrossed in his own book.

“Hmm, spoiling her some more,” the gentle voice was only slightly accusatory.

“Yes, I am,” Victoria turned to smile at her beautiful daughter-in-law. “It is a grandmother’s prerogative, you know.”

“So I’ve been told,” Samantha came to stand beside Victoria and put an arm around her mother-in-law’s waist. “But, it’s interesting that I only hear that from a grandmother.”

“Well, given that it will be such a long time before I see our little darling again, I have to make the most of the few days I have left,” Victoria smiled down at the baby.

“You are planning on coming to New Orleans for Christmas,” Samantha said quickly.

“Of course, dear. I know Nick keeps mumbling things about not being able to be away from the ranch, but he’ll be the first on the train when we get ready to leave,” Victoria assured her daughter-in-law. “I just know how much all three of my grandchildren are going to change in seven months, and dear little Lizzie V. won’t remember us at all.”

“I’m sorry,” the younger woman said softly.

“Oh, Sam,” Victoria replied swiftly, “you have nothing to be sorry for. I understand that your and Peter’s home is in New Orleans. Goodness, I raised my children without their ever being able to see their grandparents. It’s been so wonderful to have you and Peter and the children here. I count each day as just an added blessing. We’re going to come see you at Christmas, and I know Peter’s brothers are working on him to come back next spring. But, because we’ll only be able to see you a few times a year, I’m afraid that you’re just going to have to accept that we will want to spoil you all for the few days that we have you.”

“I understand,” Samantha hugged her mother-in-law and then changed the subject. “Oh, it looks as if the picnic expedition is almost ready to head off.”

In the yard below, Peter had already swung Nicky high above his head and then deposited him in front of his Uncle Gene. He was now lifting Tom to sit behind his Aunt Audra. Both boys were grinning widely and turned and waved happily as the horses moved slowly out of the yard. Victoria sighed softly, “Oh, I do hope everything goes all right. I know Audra and Gene adore Tom and Nicky, but two small boys are an awful lot of responsibility.”

“Just look at it this way,” her daughter-in-law said “We’ll be able to enjoy a quiet house for at least a few hours.”

“I love the noise,” Victoria said firmly. “There’s nothing sweeter than children’s voices. They just make a house feel so much happier. I remember . . . .” Victoria stopped.

“What?” Samantha prompted after a few moments.

“Oh, I was just remembering something Tom said many years ago.”

“What?” the younger woman pressed.

“Oh, it was one Sunday afternoon. It was perhaps four years after Peter had left. Nick and Jarrod were both back East, fighting in the war. Audra had gone to a friend’s after church so it was just Tom and Gene and I for Sunday dinner. I had come upstairs to change from my church clothes after Sunday dinner and found Tom sitting in here, on Peter’s bed. He was just sitting, staring off into space. I asked him what was wrong and he said, ‘It’s so quiet, Victoria.’ I came over and sat beside him. It was several minutes before he could go on, ‘I was just remembering how it used to be on Sundays. Nick and Peter would be arguing over something like they always did and getting louder and louder and Jarrod’s voice would start getting louder and louder as he would try to quiet the two of them down. And Audra and Gene would be squabbling over some toy. And I would shout at them all and tell them to quiet down, that I deserved one day of peace and quiet around this house. Oh, God, Victoria, I so miss all that noise. I swear if I could have them all here again I would never yell at them to be quiet.’ I couldn’t think of anything to say to him so I just reached over and held his hand and laid my head on his shoulder. We sat here for a very long time and then Tom got up and told me he was taking Gene fishing. That became their Sunday afternoon ritual; I just think Tom couldn’t stand being in this house without it being filled with his children’s voices. I know he would have loved having your children here, loved having all that noise again.”

Victoria gently caressed her granddaughter’s cheek with her finger as both women stood silently for several moments. It was Samantha who broke the silence, “Let’s go on downstairs. Peter will be back in shortly and Jarrod is already there. I know Nick and Heath said that they were coming back for lunch. We can have a nice grownup lunch.”

“All right,” Victoria agreed easily, “but let’s take Lizzie V. down with us. You carry the basket and I’ll carry her . . . if you don’t mind.”

Samantha chuckled softly as she swung the wicker basket onto her hip, “That’s all right, Victoria. I’ll let you carry Lizzie V. all you want right now. I’ll have plenty of Lizzie V. time after we leave here Monday.”

Victoria smiled at her daughter-in-law. As she walked down the stairs she remembered the scene just two days ago in the entry below her. Thursday, Dr. Merrar had stopped by to check on Samantha and Lizzie V. and pronounced them both ready to travel. Peter had immediately headed off to town to make arrangements to have their private car added to the Friday morning train. Victoria had managed to keep a bright smile on her face as she had helped Samantha and Jacqueline to organize things to pack. She had just gone downstairs to check on dinner plans with Silas when Audra had come in with Tom and Nicky, who had spent most of the afternoon playing in the barn with the latest litter of kittens. When she had told Audra that Peter and his family would be leaving the next day, she had seen tears jump into her daughter’s eyes.

“I know they have to go back to New Orleans, Mother,” Audra had whispered. “It’s just I thought we would have a few days’ warning before they left . . . just so that we would have time to get use to the idea.”

When Nick and Heath had come in just a few minutes later, Nick had seen their sad faces and immediately demanded, “What’s wrong? Are Sam and Lizzie V. all right?”

Victoria had assured them that both mother and child were fine but that Dr. Merrar had released them to travel. When she had added that Peter had gone to town to make arrangements for them to leave the next morning, Nick’s face had dropped and a dejected sigh slipped out. “Ah, well,” he had tried to cover up his disappointment, “I guess Pete needs to get back home to his bank. I know it’s been bothering him, being away for so long. It’s like me being away from the ranch for too long.”

Victoria didn’t know whether Samantha had heard their exchange or whether her daughter-in-law had just been able to deduce the reason behind the family’s subdued attitude, but she did get to see a little exchange between Peter and Samantha in the entry that afternoon that made her love her daughter-in-law even more. Samantha had met her husband just as he entered the house. “Peter?” she had said sweetly as she came to stand in front of him and put her small hands on his broad chest.

Victoria had almost laughed out loud when Peter had put his arms around his wife and answered with a very suspicious tone, “Uh-huh.”

“Darling, do we have to leave tomorrow?”

“Doctor said you and Lizzie V. can travel and I figured you’d want to be getting her home and settled.”

“Oh, I do, it’s just that Monday is such a better day to start a trip than Friday,” Samantha had swayed gently in her husband’s arms. “The few more days will just give me and Lizzie V. a chance to get that much stronger. I know that you took the boys to Mass at the mission last Sunday, but if we stayed until Monday then we could take all the children to church with your family.”

“Uh huh,” Peter had studied his wife’s face for a moment and it was all Victoria could do to hold back her laughter as Samantha had managed an incredibly innocent expression. Her son had kept a straight face as he bent down and kissed his wife’s nose. “Honey, you should know by now not to try to manipulate a manipulator.”

“Why, Peter,” Samantha had feigned shock. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Umm,” Peter had murmured and kissed his wife once more and then turned to pick up the hat he’d laid on the entry table.

“Where are you going?” Samantha had asked, a little cautiously.

“Back to town to tell them not to hook our car up tomorrow. That we won’t be leaving until Monday,” Peter had turned back to wink at her.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him with obvious love.

At that moment Nick had stuck his head out of the gun room and asked, “Where you going, Peter?”

“Back to town to change my arrangements. My wife has informed me that Monday is a much better day to start at trip than Friday, so it looks as if you’ll be stuck with us a few more days,” Peter had wiggled an eyebrow at Samantha but she had just smiled back.

“Oh, really,” Nick had tried to keep the happy note out of his voice but he had failed miserably. Giving up any attempt to tease his brother about freeloading, Nick just asked, “You want company?”

Peter had grinned, “Sure. Are you buying the beer when we get there?”

“Hell, you sound as bad as Heath,” Nick had snorted and reached for his own hat. “If I’m gonna buy for you I might as well buy for him, too. Hey, Heath, you wanna go to town with me and Pete.”

Heath had stepped out of the gunroom, smiling broadly, “Did I hear you say you were buying the beer?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nick had run a hand through his hair and put his hat on. He had started toward the door but then had glanced back at Peter who was looking up the stairs at Gene who had just finished cleaning up after another hot, dusty day of work. Nick’s eyes went to Gene’s eager eyes and then back to Peter’s face. Peter raised an eyebrow, and Nick gave in easy. “C’mon, runt, might as well buy you a beer, too.”

“All right,” Gene had practically jumped the rest of the way down the stairs.

Peter had still hesitated and had then called out, “Hey, Jarrod.”

It had only been a few moments before the oldest brother made his way from his office to the entry. “Peter,” Jarrod had scolded, “have you still not learned it isn’t necessary to stand in the middle of the house and shout to get someone’s attention. You are as bad as Nick.”

“We’re going to town so that I can now tell the stationmaster NOT to hook our car to tomorrow morning’s train. Nick’s buying the beers. Why don’t you come with us?” Peter had chosen to ignore the scolding.

Jarrod had hesitated for only a moment and then he had smiled and nodded his head, “It does seem that you boys might be in need of some big brother supervision. Let me go get my hat.”

By the time Jarrod had returned, Heath had pointed out that they would be getting back pretty late for supper and Nick had suggested that Peter could part with some of his gambling winnings and buy them all supper at the Cattlemen’s. So Victoria had gotten to read to her two grandsons and put them to bed that evening and she and Audra and Samantha had had a wonderful dinner together. Audra and Samantha had decided that each was the other’s long-awaited sister and chattered all evening long about things that interested young women, the latest styles in clothes and hats, the music and dances that they liked, young men. Audra envied Samantha finding and marrying her true love at such a young age; and Samantha envied Audra for all the freedom she had had as a girl and all the fun she had had dating different men. Victoria realized that they were going to be closer than sisters; they were going to be good friends.

Now as she heard the voices just outside the front windows, she realized that her four older sons were all together.

“Nick, they’ll be fine, trust me,” Peter’s voice was edged with exasperation.

“I know you think we treat Gene like a kid, but he is a kid, and he’s awful young to responsible for two small boys,” Nick was trying to be patient.

“Besides,” Heath’s gentle draw was a nice counterpoint to his brother’s sharp tones, “Nick wanted to have lunch with boys. He likes to be around somebody who’s more childlike than he is.”

“Heath,” Nick snapped as Jarrod interjected, “I don’t know, Heath, Tom’s pretty mature.”

“Yeah, but Nicky still acts pretty young,” Heath acknowledged.

“Ah, you two are funny, real funny,” Nick growled as he opened the front door. “Having lunch with you two will be a real riot, I’m sure.”

As they stepped into the house, Victoria smiled at her four oldest sons. It made her feel so complete to see them together.

“Hello, lovely lady,” Jarrod smiled at her and then reached out to stroke Lizzy V.’s cheek, “and little lovely lady.”

“Are you boys ready for lunch?” she smiled at them. “We’re going to put Lizzy V. in her basket and keep her with us. She’s sleeping so well right now. She’s such a good baby.”

“Actually,” Peter’s eyes swept across the group, “I was wondering if I could have a few words with you before we eat lunch.”

She knew by looking in his eyes that the time had come. Peter was going to explain his actions to them. Hugging the baby a little more securely, she tried to be calm as she nodded and then turned to lead the family into the billiards room.

Chapter 35

The family ranged itself around the room. As much as she had wanted to continue to hold sweet little Lizzie V., Victoria had laid the sleeping baby in the basket and then taken a seat. Jarrod had also sat down but both Heath and Nick remained on their feet, Nick leaning against the billiards table. Samantha sat down directly across from Victoria, and Peter stood next to his wife, one hand resting on the back of her chair.

“Well, Peter,” Nick tried to lighten the mood, “this is your party and you’re holding up my lunch.”

Peter took a deep breath and glanced down at his wife, “First, I want to thank you for being so kind to us, for letting us stay here, for being so good to my wife and children.”

“Shoot, Pete,” Nick continued to joke. “We all really like the kids and Sam is starting to grow on us. We figure that we just have to tolerate you in order to be with them.”

Peter let a small smile slip out and he shook his head ruefully, “I have a feeling that there’s a lot of truth to that.”

Nick flushed guiltily, “Ah, I was just teasing, Pete. Really, we’re all glad that all of you are here.”

“Well,” Peter countered, “I know it wasn’t always that way and I want to thank you for saying that now. It is important to me. I know I need to answer your question about why I never wrote you, never let you know I was fine, never told you about my beautiful wife, my wonderful children. It’s a bit of a story and I hope you’ll bear with me as I try to explain it to you. I want you to understand that I’m not making excuses. I know that what I did was inexcusable but I will try to give you an explanation. And, when I’m done, I hope you’ll see it in your hearts to forgive me.”

“It started about four months after I’d run off. We were anchored off an island in the Pacific. I did something that angered the first mate. The captain was off the ship, so the mate decided to make an example of me. He had me strung up on the mast and he took a cat-o-nine-tails to me,” Peter started.

Victoria’s hand flew to her mouth to stop the cry. Her baby, beaten. No, this couldn’t be.

Peter avoided her eyes as he tried to tell the story calmly, truthfully, “When the first lash came, my only thought was that Father sure wasn’t trying to hurt us when he whipped us. Obviously, he was just trying to get our attention. His belt felt like love taps compared to that whip. You’re supposed to count out the lashes. If you don’t, you get extra lashes. I think I made it to about five and I could go no further. My knees had buckled and it felt like my arms were being pulled out of their sockets by the weight of my body. When they threw saltwater on my back, you should have been able to hear my scream back here.”

Peter glanced around the room. Nick’s head was down, but Peter could see the fury turning his face red. Jarrod sat with his lips pressed tightly together as if holding back his own scream. Only Heath’s face was calm. And Peter used that calmness to push ahead. “The captain came back on board and discovered me still strung up. He came over and gave me a drink of water and then wiped some of the dirt and sweat off my face. He told me, he told me that he was sorry that I had been disciplined but that, that if I would go with him to his cabin and not fight him then he would see to it that I was never beaten again. A ship is a small place, I’d learned what he did to his cabin boy. I knew what he was asking of me.”

Peter hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t look directly at Victoria, he knew he wouldn’t be able to go on if he looked into her eyes, if he saw the awful pain that his words were causing her. But he did allow his eyes to move from Jarrod’s face to Nick’s. Neither could hide their shock. Finally his eyes went to Heath’s face. And it was there that he found what he needed. Heath had on a pretty good poker face, a lot like the one that Peter often wore. But his eyes were gentle and then he gave Peter a small smile of support and a slight nod of encouragement. Heath understood, Peter knew. He understood how terribly hard this was; how Peter would just as soon leave it all buried in the past. But Heath had told him last night, when they had talked down by the corral, that the family needed this, that maybe Peter needed this, too. From Heath, Peter found the strength to go on.

“Somewhere, somewhere I managed to pull enough righteous indignation together to, to spit into his face,” Peter saw the look of pride sweep across Nick’s face. God, how he hated to do this. His voice settled into a vague monotone, “He wiped the spit of his face and then he ordered me cut down and taken to his cabin.” The look of pride disappeared into a stare of open pain and perhaps disappointment. Peter tried to ease the pain, he accepted the disappointment, “I tried to fight him. But I was hurt from the whipping and he was much bigger and stronger than I was. He beat me with his fists until I couldn’t get off the deck and then he did what he wanted to do.”

Victoria’s cry of pain made him stop. His eyes went to hers even as he tried to stop them. Oh, God, he was putting her through hell. He felt the hot prick of tears in his own eyes and he forced them closed and drew a ragged breath. Then he felt the strong hand on his shoulder. “Go on, Pete, tell it all,” Heath whispered. “Just tell it this once and then I promise you that you will never have to again.”

Peter looked into his younger brother’s calm blue eyes. He drew on Heath’s incredible reserve of courage. He squared his jaw and continued, “He was angry with me. I’d managed to land a few pretty good blows during the struggle. His eyes were just as black as mine. He decided to teach me a lesson so he ordered me strung up again and given ten more lashes.”

“Oh, God, no,” Victoria’s voice broke and she couldn’t stop the sob. Jarrod immediately moved to stand beside her and placed a strong hand on her shoulder. Blindly, she reached up to grasp it. She wanted this to stop. She didn’t want to hear these awful things. None of it mattered now. All that mattered were Peter and Samantha and the little boys and Lizzie V. now.

But Jarrod’s calm strong voice encouraged his little brother, “Go on, Pete.”

“It was different this time,” Peter’s words were strangely detached, as if he were telling the story about someone else. “This time I stayed on my feet, this time I counted every lash. This time when they threw the sea water on me I didn’t murmur a sound. You see, somewhere in all the shame I was feeling I had also discovered two very powerful allies. I had learned hate, hate that sits in your gut, that blackens your heart. And I had learned revenge, revenge that controls you mind, that gives you a single purpose for living when all you really want to do is die from the shame.”

“You had no shame,” Nick barked. All eyes turned to him. His face was livid with his anger. He shouted at his younger brother, “You had no shame. You were a boy, already beaten and hurting. You tried to stand up to him. You said it, he was bigger and stronger than you. You had no shame.”

“Oh, yes, I did, Nick,” Peter replied angrily and then forced his voice to a lower level. “I had so much shame because I knew that neither one of my older brothers would have ever let someone do that to them.”

“You don’t know that, Peter,” Jarrod said instantly. “You don’t know what we would have done had we been beaten like that.”

“I knew, I knew that my big brothers would have fought him until he either gave up or killed them.”

“You don’t know that,” Nick echoed Jarrod’s words.

“Yes, I did, Nick. Remember, I was 14; I knew everything,” Peter smiled but it was a sad, grim smile. He took a deep breath and then continued his story, “So hate and revenge became my only companions. They say, the men I sailed with on that ship, that I changed that day. That when they cut me down from the mast and I walked through the crowd of them and just took up my job that I frightened them all. They said that the hate was the only thing that you could see in my eyes. They say I frightened even the captain. I do know that he never did anything to me again. He even avoided me but, strangely, I would seek him out, just to stare at him. My hate, apparently, unnerved him. On two occasions, he sent men to kill me. I killed them instead.”

The words were said so calmly that for a moment Jarrod almost missed their import. He knew that the sad realization that the captain had not only stolen his brother’s innocence but had also turned him into a killer showed in his eyes. Peter acknowledged Jarrod’s assessment, “Not yet 15 and already a killer.”

The room was silent for several moments as the words sank in. Jarrod felt Victoria tremble under his hand. Maybe it was time to stop, but Peter’s face told him differently. The tale was far from over. “Revenge is a good companion. It keeps your mind busy. I knew I had to wait. If I had any chance at all, I had to be stronger. So, I waited. I let the sea air and the hard work make me stronger. I bided my time, I did my work on the ship, I took notice of the many ports we stopped in. I waited for my chance. It came in Madagascar. The captain was giving us all a chance to go ashore. He wasn’t quite so afraid of me, I guess. After all, eighteen months had passed since that day he had won. But he was a fool. I was 16 now. I was tall and strong and I was ready. I followed him that evening, just waiting. I was only about 25 yards from him when I saw him grab the kid. He was just a little kid, couldn’t have been over 11 or 12. Just a street urchin. He grabbed him and pulled him into the alley way. He had the boy pushed over a box. He was too interested in the boy to hear me come up behind him. I grabbed his hair and put my knife to his throat. He was too scared to scream. I whispered in his ear, ‘Just know it was me.’ And I cut his throat from ear to ear.”

“Oh, Peter,” Victoria whispered. She wanted so badly to hold him, to tell him none of this mattered – but it all mattered.

“The boy was in shock. The captain’s blood was all over him. He looked up at me with these huge brown eyes. I just smiled at him, sheathed my knife, and walked away. The authorities found the captain’s body the next morning. The boy was still sitting there. He told them that a sailor had killed the captain. They rounded us all up and made us stand in ranks while this little boy in bloodstained clothes walked past. I was so calm; I didn’t really care. I had gotten my revenge. Not yet 17 and I was ready to die. But the boy walked right past me. I think I was the only one who saw his eyes flicker. He knew me, but he wasn’t going to turn me in.”

Peter took a deep breath and forced it out slowly. So much more to say. In the same low monotone, he continued, “So, we got back on our ship and sailed away. Only I had made a very strategic error. I killed the captain before we had gone around the Cape of Good Hope. He was the only one who had experience going around the cape. The first mate was a good sailor, but he just didn’t have the experience. We lost the ship. I figured that it was God’s way of punishing me for my sins. But, the thing was, 15 other men died and I didn’t. No, my sleeve caught on the stave of a barrel and it kept my head above water even after I passed out and I eventually washed up on land. Those of us who made it buried the dead with the help of some villagers. As I stood beside their graves, I realized that 15 good men had died because of me.”

“Now wait a minute, Pete,” Nick had had enough. The boy was tearing himself down with this story. This wasn’t necessary. Suddenly, Nick had no need to know why his little brother had stayed away so long. None of that mattered now. Certainly it didn’t require Pete to go through this. “I don’t imagine you were steering that ship. There ain’t no way that shipwreck was your fault.”

“Yes, it was,” Peter said with calm certainty. “If I hadn’t killed the captain, then we would have made it around the cape and those men would all be alive.”

Jarrod shook his head at his brother’s logic, “Peter, you don’t know any of that. The ship could have gone down anyway.”

Peter shook his head, “No, it was my fault. Remember, I was 16 years old; I still knew pretty much everything. So after we buried the dead, we all wandered off to try to find work. It was pretty much the way I described it to Gene. I worked my way up the west coast of Africa on little hops. What I didn’t tell him were all the fights in bars. What I didn’t tell him were all the days and nights lost in a bottle. Now that revenge was gone, I had found that whiskey was a very good companion for shame and hate and, now, guilt. The drink let me forget for just a little while and the pain of the hangover, well, I just figured I deserved all the pain that I received.”

“I kept waiting for the knife fight that would end it all, but it never came. I was always just a little bit better, a little bit faster than the men who fought me. Maybe I picked weak opponents, I don’t know. Maybe I just had really bad luck. Anyway, I just kept drifting, trying to forget who I had been. I had quit using his name. I didn’t figure I had the right. He would have been ashamed of me, of the things I had done. Generally, I just went by Peter. If that wasn’t enough, I’d use . . .”

Nick’s voice interrupted him, “Peter Andrews?”

Peter shook his head, “No, that was too close to Peter Andrew and that reminded me too much of Mother and Father, of them scolding me for this or that little thing. I didn’t like anyone calling me Pete either because that reminded me of you and Jarrod. No, Peter Smith seemed to work fine for most folks. Eventually, I ended up in Spain, crewing on a ship sailing through the straits to northern France. There was a priest on the ship, going back for a rest in a monastery in central France. He befriended me, or rather he tried to befriend me. I tried to ignore him but he was persistent. When he pressed, I told him not to waste his time, that I knew exactly where I was going when I died and I’d just as soon it be sooner rather than later.”

Peter took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “He was an amazing man. He wouldn’t give up on me. He just kept chipping away at me. Later he told me he had never seen such a lost soul. Anyway, by the time we reached his port, he’d convinced me to get off with him and go to the monastery. He said I needed a rest, too. So I went with him and I spent the next six months there, learning how to pray, learning how to ask God for forgiveness, trying to learn how to forgive myself. Even after I quit living at the monastery, I continued to go back to talk with him. I got a job running a ferry between England and France and would layover occasionally and travel out to see him. He was the one who told me I had to go back to America.”

“So, I caught a good run to New York. You sorta know the rest. I had intended to work my way across the country, to eventually get here, to somehow figure out a way to ask for your forgiveness. But William offered me a job. There was something almost humorous about it, me, a killer, working as a deputy federal marshal. But, a part of me thought that being a lawman might make it easier to face Father. So I took the job and I found that I was good at it. When William asked me my name, I managed to tell him Peter Barkley. I figured I was taking pretty good steps toward coming home. The next two years were great; William said that I was a natural. I didn’t have a heart to tell him that I was just play acting like Nick and I had so many years ago. I would just smile and nod and go onto the next job.”

“I was in Omaha when I turned 21. I figured it was time for me to come here, to try to make amends, I was a grown man now, a grown man should be able to face his past. I was good at poker, had a great poker face, so I figured I could bluff my way through a meeting with Father, tell him I was sorry for running away, tell him I had a good life, I was an honest upright citizen, after all I was a deputy federal marshal, and he would never see the shame, he would never know what I had done. After the game played out, I told William I needed some time off. He let me have it. I didn’t come directly here, however, I stopped in Denver at Uncle Jim’s and Aunt Martha’s. I thought I could get the lay of the land before I got here, that way I would be able to deal with any changes. The only thing was that Uncle Jim and Aunt Martha weren’t home. Their maid told me that they’d gone to California, to help out Uncle Jim’s dead brother’s family. She was a chatterbox; she told me everything that I needed to know – how Father had been murdered the year before by hired guns from the railroad, how Jarrod and Nick were struggling to keep things going, how Audra was heartbroken and they didn’t know if she would ever snap out of her melancholy, how Gene was starting to get into some trouble in school and that Uncle Jim wanted to bring him back to Colorado to raise. I listened and then told her thank you and then left.

“I rode up into the mountains and camped by myself for two weeks. I spent the whole time cursing myself for leaving home, for not going back as soon as I got back to America, for allowing myself to waste time playing at being a deputy marshal. In the end, I just settled on blaming myself for his death. If I had been here, I could have made things different, I could have stopped those men from killing him.”

“Hold it right there, Peter,” Nick shook an angry finger at him. “You don’t get to carry that guilt. Jarrod and I both have already tried to shoulder that guilt. We were at least here. You were clear across the country. There’s no way you can say that it was your fault.”

“But I knew that I should have been there, Nick,” Peter said quietly. “Remember, I was 21 and I knew most everything and I knew that had I been here then he would never have been killed.”

“Peter,” Jarrod’s tone was firm but a little brittle, like his nerves had been stretched to their limit. “I realized a long time ago, and I think that Nick has, too, that if any or all of us had been with Father that day it would not have kept him from being killed. It would only have meant that Mother would have been burying sons beside her husband.”

“Well, brother Jarrod, you were always a much wiser boy than I was, so I guess you just grew into a wiser man,” Peter replied. “I didn’t see it that way. And, so now I had the guilt of my father’s death to carry. I decided it was just too much. At the end of the two weeks, I went back to William and I went back to work, but my heart had changed again. I began doing foolish things, taking incredible chances.” He ducked his head and allowed himself a grim smile, “It was during this time that the legend of Peter the Great began to grow. Funny, though, even though I took huge risks, I never got hurt. Sam says I must have had a guardian angel.”

Victoria spoke for the first time, her voice trembled and she had no idea how that tore at her son’s heart. He was the one responsible for this. “But John said you always preferred it when no one was hurt,” she whispered. “The stories he told about working with you were wonderful.”

“He only told you about the good times,” Peter replied tersely. “He didn’t tell you about the times he would haul me up by my shirt front and scream at me for trying to get myself killed. He didn’t tell you about all the times he had to hunt me down in saloons and whorehouses and sober me up so that I could work again. And, remember, John wasn’t always with me.”

He continued in a less hostile voice, “So the legend continued to grow. It was true; I didn’t want anyone else to be hurt. I didn’t want anyone else to suffer for what I should be punished for. I only wanted myself to be killed. William could see what I was doing. He tried to talk with me, but I just walked away from him. William knew it was only going to be a matter of time before I got my wish. That’s when he assigned me the job in New Orleans.”

For the first time, Peter glanced down into his wife’s face. Samantha had sat silently throughout Peter’s description of his life, her eyes focused on his face. Now she smiled at him and silently offered him her strength. “It was a sleeper of a job,” Peter’s voice was soft as he began this chapter. “William had given me a job where I wasn’t to pretend to be a bad guy; I was to be a respectable banker. I wasn’t to be the weak link to attract the con man; I was to be the quiet, confident businessman who looked as if he could really some day take over the operations of a bank. There were no guns, there were no dangerous situations. I was at the bank during the day and I was to not get into any trouble in the evenings, because, really, how would that reflect on the bank. I was to go to church every Sunday so that the good citizens . . . and the target . . . would see that I was this fine Christian who would always do what was right and ethical.”

“At first, I hated the game. It was boring, it was moving too slowly. But, bit by bit, Henri pulled me into the operations of the bank. As I watched him handle negotiations, as I watched him bring together financiers and visionaries, I realized what he was doing. He wasn’t just handling money; he was making dreams come true. I began to respect him and then I began to emulate him. One day, as I was completing the last of some paperwork on a large warehouse project, I realized that I was no longer playing at being a banker . . . I was a banker. I had found something that I was good at that didn’t involve killing and it felt so good. There was no longer any concern that I would get into trouble in the evenings because I spent my evenings with Henri at his home. We’d talk late into the night. Sometimes I would even fall asleep on the sofa in his sitting room. He would just cover me up and leave me there until the next morning. I told myself it was to make sure that the game played out perfectly, but it was really because I couldn’t get enough of what he had to tell me about his business, about his experiences. Of course, I denied it when William asked me if I was considering leaving the marshals. Then, Henri played his trump card and brought Sam home from school. Well, you pretty much know that story. Sam made me believe that I could have a better life and, truthfully, I was getting tired of living on hate, even if it was self hate.”

He smiled at his wife again and then took another deep breath to finish the story, “Henri sent us off to Europe for our honeymoon. We were to stay a year, but, after six months, we got a cable from his secretary that said we needed to come home, that Henri was sick. I took over running the bank as soon as we got back. I think Henri knew he was sick even before we were married. I think that’s why he let Sam and I get married so quickly and why he sent us away. Henri was stubborn, though, he was determined that he would live to see our baby born. He was so proud the day that I brought Tom to his room and he got to hold his grandson. He just beamed when I told him Tom’s name. Six weeks later he was dead.”

“So now comes the very hard part. Why didn’t I at least write you then? I had this wonderful wife, a job I loved, a beautiful son who was followed two years later by another beautiful son. I could have written you such happy things, but I didn’t. Oh, it wasn’t that I didn’t try. Sam was always after me to write you. I would start the letter and end up throwing it away. She threatened to dig the letter out of the trash and send it anyway, but she knew that I really had to be the one to take the step. She tried to get me to come out here to see you but I’d tell her I was too busy at the bank. The truth was that I had convinced myself that I had hurt this family so much that I no longer deserved to be a part of it. I convinced myself that all the family I needed was Sam and our children.”

“But I did start doing things like picking up the San Francisco paper and scanning it for news of you. I would read about Mrs. Tom Barkley being on a committee for this or that charity; about Jarrod Barkley, respective attorney at law, winning some case or arguing some issue before the legislature; about Nick Barkley, the head of the Barkley Ranch, being in town for a sale or an auction. Occasionally there would be a little society note about Miss Audra Barkley from Stockton attending some party. And, once or twice, a mention of Eugene Barkley also attending some function. Then, about two years ago, another name started to appear. Heath Barkley was now with Nick Barkley. It concerned me so I asked a friend to contact Pinkertons’ and get me a little background information. When I got the file, I was stunned. I knew how much Father loved Mother. Then I decided that maybe it was a good thing. Maybe Heath was meant to replace me.”

“Peter,” Victoria’s voice was stronger this time. “You know that could never be true. You have children; you know you cannot replace one child with another.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said softly. “I knew I couldn’t replace one of my boys if, God forbid, I lost one of them. But I hadn’t been lost; I ran away. So I thought maybe this was the way it was meant to be. I did offer my services to William because I thought I could ensure that there wouldn’t be another bloodbath like there was last year. When the game keep pulling me further and further west, I was nervous but figured the chances of running into any of you would be minimal and I didn’t think anyone else would recognize me. When the game brought me to Stockton, I still thought I would be all right. I would stay at the saloons along the waterfront. It was unlikely that my lawyer brother or my cattleman brother would ever be there. But then Jarrod was on the riverboat.”

“I tried so hard not to come back here with him, to not involve any of you. I know that once I was here I did things that hurt you all. I could tell you that acting up at the dance and at church was to maintain my cover. If it got back to the gang I was riding with that I was Peter Barkley and living at the Barkley Ranch, they’d also hear that I was a scoundrel. I could tell you that the things I did at the house, pretending I didn’t remember growing up here, that my only memories of Father were bad ones, that all Nick and I ever did was fight, were to keep you all from following me when I went to finish out the game, to keep you safe. I know I crossed the line when I pulled the knife on Nick, but the truth is, I think I wanted you to throw me out. When the game was all over, I wanted to go back to Sam in New Orleans and tell her that I had caused this family too much pain to ever be part of it again. That you didn’t need or want me.”

“But that’s not what happened,” Jarrod said softly.

“Nope,” Peter smiled now. “You wouldn’t give up on me. That day, at Norton’s station, when you all were there, I knew that I was the one giving up on you. I’m not sure what I would have done if Sam hadn’t been there that day. I would like to think I would have come back to face you, to tell you this story, but I’m not sure. It’s not something I really wanted to do, but I know I owed it to you all. My only regret is that I never got to tell Father how very sorry I was for hurting him so.”

“I know what he would have done,” Nick walked to his younger brother. “He would have done the same thing that he did when both Jarrod and I came home from the war, a war he did not want us to fight in. He would have shaken your hand.” Nick extended his hand to his brother and Peter took it cautiously. Nick continued, “And then he would have said, ‘Boy, you’re turning me into an old man’ and he would have pulled you into his arms and before he would let you got he would whisper in your ear, ‘I love you, son.’” And Nick pulled his brother into his arms and whispered, “I love you, Petey.”

Jarrod came over to replace Nick, “Nick’s absolutely right about what Father would have done. You know I love you, Pete. And you know that Father loved you, too. He only wanted to know that you were all right and he would have done anything to help you if you were in trouble.”

“Actually, I did learn that, this past winter, from Tom,” he smiled slightly at the look of puzzlement on both Jarrod’s and Nick’s faces. “He and Nicky were both sick with the croup. Nothing worse than to have your child sick, especially at night. Sam and I were having a time with them. We’d just get them asleep and then one would start coughing and wake the other one up. I had taken Tom downstairs, was holding him in my lap, trying to get him to go back to sleep. Tom was feverish and he was rambling along, talking about this and that. I was pretty tired, this was our third night to be up with them, so I was just sorta responding with an occasional ‘uh-huh.’ He started talking about his name; he really likes his name.”

Jarrod nodded and smiled, “I’ve noticed. His little chest puffs out just a little when he says it.”

“Yep,” Peter’s eyes twinkled. “He was saying ‘I’m Thomas Henri Barkley. I was named for my grandfathers, the finest men my pappa ever knew. Henri was my mamma’s pappa. That’s right, isn’t it, Pappa?’ And I answered, ‘Uh-huh.’ And after a moment he went on, ‘And Thomas was your pappa like you’re my pappa, right, Pappa?’ And I said, ‘Uh-huh.’ And then he went on, ‘And he loved you just like you love me, right, Pappa?’ What he said just hit me. I knew he was absolutely right. I couldn’t answer him at first. He kept asking, ‘Right, Pappa? Right?’ Finally, I said, ‘You’re right, Tom, your grandfather Tom loved me just like I love you.’ And I knew it was true. I had seen the look in his eyes too many times. He loved me; he loved all of us. And I knew how I loved my Tom, that no matter what he did, no matter how angry he might make me, that I would never stop loving him. I realized that I could have come back at any time and Father would have seen the bad things I had done, the shame that I felt, and he would have loved me anyway. He would have moved mountains to help me because I was his son. So, you see, at 14 I knew everything and would listen to no one; at 27, I realized that I knew very little and that I should listen to my three-year-old son.”

“So, Mother,” Peter now turned back to face Victoria. “I know it’s not much, but I do want to tell you that I am sorry, so very sorry for all the pain I caused you.”

She stood and walked to him. She gently cupped his face with one hand and managed to smile through her tears, “I love you, darling,” she said simply and drew his head down so that she could kiss his cheek. He hugged her tightly and rested his head on her shoulder.

It was Samantha’s voice who broke the quiet moment, “Peter, tell her.”

He turned to look at his wife, “What?”

“Tell her why you were first whipped on the ship, what you did to make the first mate angry.”

“Aw, Sam,” he started, but then bit off his response when his wife’s eyes became stern. “All right. What happened was that there was another ship anchored not far from us. I learned it was coming back to San Francisco. I tried to jump ship and got caught. I was so homesick. All I wanted to do was come home to you.”

“Oh, Peter,” tears rose in Victoria’s eyes and spilled down her face. “Oh, my baby,” she sobbed into his chest.

“Dang it, Sam,” Peter hissed. “Now Nick is gonna beat the crap out of me for making Mother cry.”

“No, he’s not,” Samantha stood and calmly walked to his side. “Nick knows these are tears of happiness.”

“Happiness?” Peter was a little skeptical.

“You boys go on to lunch,” Samantha took Victoria out of Peter’s arms and into her own. “I’ll take care of your mother. We’ll be out in a minute.”

“All right,” Peter wasn’t sure about this at all. He looked to Jarrod, who shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head toward the door.

As soon as the four slipped out of the room, Samantha whispered to Victoria, “It’s all right, Victoria.”

“Oh, my poor baby,” Victoria continued to sob.

“It’s all right, Victoria,” Samantha repeated and gently patted her mother-in-law’s back. “He was always coming home to you, Victoria. Your boy was always coming home, it just took him a very long time to get here.”

Victoria managed to gasp through her sobs, “He was, wasn’t he. He wanted to come home.”

“Yes, he did, dear,” Samantha whispered. “I only wish that his father could have known that, too.”

“Oh, but he does,” Victoria pulled herself from Samantha’s hug and looked straight into her new daughter’s eyes. “Don’t you realize who Peter’s guardian angel was?”

“I think you may be right,” Samantha smiled gently and hugged Victoria close again.

Outside the billiards room, the four brothers had stopped in the entry way and now stood eyeing their boots, trying to figure out what to do next.

“One thing, Pete,” Jarrod suddenly asked. “What really made you run away?”

Peter hung is head for a moment and then started shaking it, “This is really, really stupid.”

“I can believe that,” Nick said.

“Nick!” Heath punched Nick’s arm. Pete had been through the wringer; there was no reason to make things any harder on him.

But, surprisingly, Peter chuckled and shook his head again, “Nick’s right, this is stupid.”

After a moment of silence, Nick prompted, “Well?”

“Well,” Peter took a deep breath, “the girl I was with so late that night, that night that Father got so upset with me. Well, she was this close to giving it up.” He held his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.

The other three men all allowed guilty grins to slip out and Heath blushed slightly.

Peter shook his head again, “Remember, Father took my horse away for the next week and I was stuck here on the ranch.” Nick and Jarrod both nodded, so Peter continued, “Well, the minute I got the horse back I took off to her house. She was real upset with me for not coming to see her sooner, given what all she’d let me do that evening. I tried to explain it to her, but she told me that, that she didn’t have time for boys who were under their fathers’ thumbs. That she already had a new boyfriend, a grown man. And she told me never to bother her again.”

“Ow,” Nick winced. “That had to hurt.”

“Yep, it did. I decided right then that I would show her. I would show her I was every bit as much a man as whomever she’d been with. So that’s when I made my plans to run off to sea,” Peter sighed again. “I sure showed her. I told you it was really stupid.”

Heath shook his head and commiserated, “A woman, huh.”

Jarrod placed a gentle hand on his brother’s shoulder and shook his head sadly, “Oh, Peter, Peter. I’m sorry, Pete. I wasn’t a very good big brother. I should have told you that you had to watch out for women.”

“Yep, squirt, women can turn your life upside down,” Nick patted the other shoulder.

“Yes, they can,” Peter agreed, but as the door to the billiards room opened and Mother and Sam stepped out, the two women he loved above all else, he added, “and sometimes they can save your soul.”

THE END