Star Crossed

Chapters 1-5

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 1

Victoria Barkley allowed a small yawn to escape as she smoothed out the piece of embroidery she was working on. She was a little tired, but she did want to finish this part of the skirt of her granddaughter’s new dress. Smiling softly, she raised her eyes from the handwork and looked across the billiards room. Heath and Audra were at the billiards table, and Heath was patiently giving his little sister pointers. Jarrod sat at the desk and was sorting through some paperwork.

Letting her fingers run over the delicate embroidery, she felt a great deal of contentment. The only thing that would make it better is if she had the whole family here. Nick wasn’t due back in from negotiating the beef contract with the Army until sometime late tomorrow; Eugene had written that he probably wouldn’t make it back from school for at least a month; but Peter had sent word with Heath last week that he might be able to break away from the bank in a couple of weeks and bring his family in for a short holiday at the ranch. That visit was the one that was pushing her to complete the work in her lap. She so wanted to have the tiny dress and bonnet ready when little Lizzy V. arrived with her parents and brothers. It would be just the thing for her granddaughter to wear to church that Sunday morning. Feeling a little pleased with herself, Victoria picked up the dress to admire it.

“Lookin’ pretty,” Heath commented from across the room.

Slightly embarrassed, Victoria murmured, “It’s coming along. I still have all the scalloping that I want to do along the edges. I just hope it fits Lizzy V. all right.”

“Expect it will,” her son smiled. “When I was in Frisco last week, Sam said that now that she’s gone from just barely walking to all out running, Lizzie V. is really going to lose her baby fat chasing after her big brothers.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s fair that you got to be with them for three whole days,” Audra pouted a little.

“Now, Audra,” Victoria scolded, “you have many more opportunities to go see Samantha and Peter than any of your brothers. You’re the one who has chosen to stay home most of the summer. And it isn’t as if Heath was in San Francisco just to visit them; he was there on business.”

“Oh, I know, Mother, but things were so busy getting ready for Emily’s wedding and I really thought that Peter and Samantha would get home a little more often than they have this summer,” her daughter sighed.

Victoria didn’t respond, because she had hoped for much the same. It had been wonderful when early last spring Samantha and the children had spent almost two months at the ranch waiting for their furniture to arrive from New Orleans for their new home in San Francisco. Peter had come down almost every weekend to be with his family. And then he had made time for the family’s annual spring trip to Indian Springs. But since then he had only made it for the town’s annual Fourth of July celebration. Samantha and the children had come down one other time when Jarrod had convinced Peter to let him bring them back for a week. But poor little Lizzie V. had cried herself to sleep every night wanting “me pappa” so Victoria doubted it would be any time soon that Peter would let Samantha and the children come to Stockton without him nor would Samantha particularly want to.

Heath filled in the silence, “Pete’s awful busy at the bank, Sis. Some folks I saw in Frisco said he’s really starting to attract some new big customers. And Sam’s still working getting the house the way she wants it. She also said that they’re either having to go to dinner at somebody’s house or having a business dinner at their house three or four times a week. But Pete did say that they both needed a break from the city, and he was working to keep his calendar clear so that they could come in just a few weeks.”

“Well, they better,” Audra replied hotly. “You know that Lizzie V. has probably changed so much. She was just barely able to walk the last time they were here and now she’s running. I wonder if she’ll even remember us.”

“I think she’ll remember you,” her brother soothed. “She came right to me when I got there, and I hadn’t seen her since the Fourth of July. You’ve seen them since then, when you went to Frisco to pick up your dress for Emily’s wedding.”

“That was just an overnight trip and I was so busy at the dressmaker’s that I hardly got to spend any time with Samantha and the children,” she said. “Why, Lizzie V. was asleep when we got to their house that evening. I only got to see her in the morning before Mother and I had to catch the train back.”

“Well, Audra, in just a few weeks you’ll be able to spoil her rotten,” Jarrod interjected calmly.

“I’m not the one who spoils her,” Audra instantly denied her oldest brother’s claim. “Heavens, her feet probably won’t touch the floor the whole time she’s here with all her uncles wanting to hold her.”

“Oh, I think you might have some time with her,” the oldest brother smiled. “I think Nick is really wanting him and Heath to take Tom and Nicky out to see the cattle again. He got a real kick out of how excited the boys got when they took them around the herd the last time that they were here. I believe he thinks he has a couple of cattlemen.”

Heath chuckled, “Don’t know how Pete will feel about that, but I gotta admit that they sure could hoop and holler like a couple of cowboys – particularly Nicky.”

The whole family laughed at the thought of the especially exuberant younger brother. Victoria picked up her needle again but her thoughts were on her darling grandchildren. Each of the trio was developing an individual personality. Victoria could see Barkley traits in all of them . . . characteristics that they shared with their father, aunt, and uncles; but there was some of Samantha in each of them, too. She stitched for a bit longer but then decided that it was time for her to stop.

“Well, I’m going to set this aside until tomorrow. I don’t want to make a mess of it and then have to take it out tomorrow,” she announced to the room.

“Oh, Mother, I’m sure that would never happen,” Audra teased. “I’ve never known you to have to take out a single stitch.”

Victoria smiled, “Well, I don’t want to start now so I think I’ll stop and head on upstairs to bed.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll go up with you. I’m getting a little tired, too,” her daughter yawned and stretched.

“Well, Sis, if you’re gonna give up I guess I might as well, too,” Heath reached to take the cue from her. “Got a good list of things to take care of tomorrow before Nick gets in or I won’t hear the end of his complainin’ that nothin’ gets done while he’s gone.”

“I’m not giving up; I’m just taking a break. We can continue the lesson tomorrow night,” she laughed. “I need to get good enough that I can beat Gene the next time he comes home.”

“You don’t want to beat Nick?” Jarrod straightened the stack of papers he was working on and stood.

“I think I have about as much chance beating Nick as Nick has of beating Peter,” Audra accepted the arm that Jarrod offered her. “But I think with enough practice I might just be able to best my little brother.”

The four made their way to the foot of the front stairs. Jarrod was just reaching over to turn down the lamp on the table in the entry when a rap on the door made them all jump. Heath and Jarrod exchanged a quick look; neither had heard horses. Perhaps something was wrong in the bunkhouse. Heath didn’t know he was frowning as he reached to unlock the front door and open it, but the frown was quickly replaced with a broad grin as he greeted the group on the porch.

“Well, boy howdy, this is a surprise. We were just talking about you all,” he said as he opened the door wider and motioned the group in.

“Hello, Heath,” Samantha Barkley greeted her brother-in-law softly as she stepped through the doorway, holding her baby daughter on one hip and propelling her oldest son forward with one hand. Victoria was immediately struck with how tired her daughter-in-law sounded. She started down the stairs to help the young woman, but her children reached their sister-in-law first.

“Here, Samantha, let me take Lizzie V. so that you can get out of your cloak and bonnet,” Audra gently took the small girl.

“And, Tom, you look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet. How about you let old Uncle Heath pick you up?” Heath took the sleepy nod as his permission and he scooped the boy up. Tom immediately laid his head on his uncle’s shoulder and closed his heavy-lidded eyes.

Jarrod gave his sister-in-law a quick hug and peck on the cheek and then looked past her to where Peter’s partner, Barton Stievers, was just coming through the doorway with a sound asleep Nicky in his arms, “Sam, this is a wonderful surprise, but you and Pete should have let us know you were coming. We would have met you at the station.”

“There really wasn’t time,” Samantha started and then surrendered herself to the warm hug that Victoria gave her. For a moment, the younger woman could not continue. She allowed herself to draw on the strength that always emanated from her indomitable mother-in-law. “Peter sent us. There’s, there’s been an influenza outbreak in San Francisco, and he’s afraid it might become an epidemic. He knew we would be safer here at the ranch.”

“He’s absolutely right, dear,” Victoria hugged the young woman again. “But why did he have Bart bring you? Why didn’t he come himself?”

Samantha forced herself to look into her mother-in-law’s eyes, “It’s Eugene, Victoria. He’s sick, very sick.”

Victoria’s hand flew to her mouth to stop her soft cry. “The influenza?” she managed to whisper.

Her daughter-in-law nodded her head, “Peter says he’s pretty sure that’s it. The college tried to reach Jarrod first but when they found he wasn’t in the city, they contacted Peter and he went and got Eugene this afternoon. Victoria, he wouldn’t let me see Gene. He was afraid that I might get sick or that I might pass it along to one of the children. But I could tell by looking at Peter’s face that Gene is very ill.”

“Peter should have brought him home,” Jarrod started. “He could have borrowed an extra private car if he was afraid to have you altogether.”

“Jarrod, you don’t understand,” there were tears in Samantha’s eyes. “Gene is very, very sick. Peter said that his fever was so high that he had a seizure before Peter could get him to our home. Peter said he was afraid to put him on a swaying train, that it might set off another seizure, that, that, it might cause, cause permanent damage.”

Jarrod paled and unconsciously slipped an arm around his mother’s shoulders to support her. Gene was her baby; she loved all her children but her baby had a special place in her heart. Victoria whispered, “Peter was right not to try to move him. The best thing was to make him comfortable in your home and then to send you all on to the ranch. Now, the first thing we need to do is to get these children settled.”

“Mother, why don’t you and Samantha go into the sitting room. Samantha looks about done in,” Audra said softly. “Heath and Bart and I will take the children upstairs and get them in bed.”

Jarrod gently propelled their mother toward the sitting room and put a light hand on Samantha’s back to urge her the same way, “Audra’s right. You both go sit down. I’ll go out and take care of the luggage and get one of the men from the bunkhouse to take care of the carriage.”

“Of course, Jarrod. Samantha, dear, you do need to sit down. You look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet,” Victoria led her to one of the settees. “Now, I’m going to fix us some tea . . . unless you would like something stronger. Sherry? Brandy?”

“No, I’m fine, Victoria, really. I’m just a little tired. You don’t need to fix tea for me,” Samantha protested.

“Actually,” the older woman said softly, “I just need to do something while I get my thoughts straight. This has just caught me by surprise. We just got a letter from Eugene today; he sounded fine.”

“I know,” her daughter-in-law nodded. “He had dinner with us just three days ago. He was fine, cutting up, teasing the children. I couldn’t believe it when Peter told me how sick he was.”

Victoria closed her eyes and tried to marshal her emotions. Everything was going to be all right. Eugene was a strong, healthy boy; he would be able to beat an attack of influenza. And Peter had been smart to get the children out of San Francisco. Here, at the ranch, they would be much less likely to contract the illness. But a flicker of fear burned in her. If Gene was so sick that he had had a seizure, the disease must have a strong hold on him . . . and Samantha look exhausted, could she already be sick? Victoria immediately focused her concerns on the one that she could tend to at this moment.

“Samantha, dear, are you sure you feel all right?” Victoria skimmed an open palm across her daughter-in-law’s cheek. “You don’t feel warm, but you look a little flushed.”

Samantha reached up to grip the hand that touched her face, “I’m fine, really, Victoria. Just tired.”

“Well, I’m going to fix that tea. You get comfortable; I’ll be back in just a few minutes,” Victoria squeezed Samantha’s hand and managed a small smile. As she stepped from the sitting room, however, Victoria leaned her head against the doorjamb and said a silent prayer for the lives of all her family.

Chapter 2

Only the children in the Barkley household slept well that night. Victoria had prevailed and Samantha was shepherded upstairs to bed after sipping only a little of her tea and then letting the cup grow cold. Samantha, however, found herself unable to lie still in the bed that she usually shared with her husband. She moved a chair beside the little bed that had become a fixture in the room and sat beside her tiny daughter, gently stroking the brown ringlets.

Her thoughts were on her husband back in San Francisco. After six years of marriage she knew her husband well and he was clearly afraid. In his travels, Peter had seen the ravages of epidemics. Fear of a yellow fever epidemic was one of the reasons Peter had wanted to leave New Orleans; that and to be closer to his family. And now, well, she guessed you were never safe from sickness no matter where you went. She knew that Peter was right to send the children to the safety of the ranch, but she hated being away from him. She had wanted to send the children to the ranch with their nursemaid and Barton so that she could help nurse Eugene, but Peter had overruled her. He had sent Maria home to her family and then made Samantha leave. She hadn’t even gotten to hug him much less kiss him goodbye; he was too afraid of passing the illness along to her. Even as he had stood across the room from her, coolly giving her instructions, she had seen the fear in his eyes. She knew it wasn’t for himself; he was afraid for Eugene and he was afraid that he might be too late in getting his family out of the city. They both knew that small children were often the victims of epidemics; their little bodies not capable of withstanding the onslaught of such diseases.

Sighing softly, she reached down and picked up her baby girl. Lizzie V. stirred slightly but was immediately calmed by her mother’s gentle rocking and soft humming. She pressed her lips against her daughter’s brow. Good, no sign of fever. Please let it stay that way, Samantha silently prayed.

Although she had insisted that Samantha go to bed, Victoria could not follow suit. Her mind kept turning over what she needed to do. Of course she was going to San Francisco; she had to be with her youngest son. She had already packed her valise. She and Barton would leave on the very first train tomorrow morning. But a part of her wanted to stay with Samantha and the children. She was so concerned that one or more of her grandchildren might contract the disease. After all, they had been playing with Eugene just a few days before. Perhaps they had already been exposed. If they fell ill while she was gone . . . Victoria closed her eyes to try to shut out the vision. She had seen too many small children sicken and die of fever in just a matter of days.

She left her bedroom, considered checking on Samantha again, but then decided instead to look in on her two grandsons, who were sleeping in the bedroom across from Peter and Samantha’s. She smiled to herself as she realized how quickly they all had changed the way they referred to what had been guestrooms for so many years. Peter’s old bedroom, turned into a guestroom some years after he had run away from home, was now Peter and Samantha’s room. And the room directly across from theirs was now considered the “little boys’ room.” Their uncles had done a good job of seeing that there was a wide variety of toys tucked around the room. Victoria didn’t know who was worse about buying for the boys, Nick or Heath. Jarrod only occasionally slipped in a new toy, but Victoria thought that Nick and Heath checked out every new shipment of toys that arrived at the general stores in Stockton. Victoria was used to Nick’s enthusiasm, but what truly touched her was the way Heath’s eyes would twinkle whenever he and Nick would “test out” any of the new toys that they bought for Tom and Nicky. She knew that there had been few toys in Heath’s childhood. She hoped that being able to buy toys for his nephews helped ease that pain a little.

Her smile deepened as she stood beside the bed where her grandsons slept. As could be expected, Nicky had kicked off his covers and was sprawled sideways on the bed. Even in his sleep, Tom was doggedly trying to defend his half of the bed. Victoria couldn’t hold back her grin as she lifted Nicky and moved him over and Tom scooted toward the center of the bed.

There was no doubt that Nicky took after his namesake in many respects. He was loud and impetuous and so loveable as he begged forgiveness for whatever little transgression he might have committed. Tom was an interesting combination of his father and his Uncle Jarrod, Victoria thought. Maybe there was something about being the firstborn that made him seem more mature. Certainly Tom was like Jarrod in that respect, his vocabulary immense for a five year old, and he had this way of calmly studying all that was going on around him and then offering up some rather interesting observations. But he had some of Peter’s devilment in him; and where Jarrod had always just tolerated Nick’s brashness, Tom was more likely to bait and tease Nicky until they were in a scrap and both ended up being punished.

As she placed a kiss on each child’s forehead, she was pleased to feel that both were cool and dry. No sign of any sickness, she thought. She heard the bedroom door open and turned, expecting to see Samantha, but it was Audra who slipped into the room.

“Mother,” Audra slid an arm around her mother’s waist and joined her in looking down at the two little boys. “They’re like two little angels, aren’t they?”

“Hmm,” Victoria smiled, “at least when they’re asleep.”

Her daughter laughed softly, “Oh, they’re even angels when they’re acting up . . . just angels with crooked halos.”

Victoria joined Audra’s laugh and reached down to gently ruffle Nicky’s hair. The boy rewarded her with a sleepy smile. “Mother,” Audra whispered, “I want to go with you to San Francisco to help take care of Gene.”

“No, dear, you need to stay here and help Samantha with the children,” her mother shook her head. She didn’t dare tell Audra the other reason. She was not about to risk any of her other children in San Francisco. One sick child and a second one at risk were enough. “You know how much help you are to her.”

“But, Mother, just you and Peter can’t take care of Gene. It’ll be too much for two people,” the younger woman started to protest.

“Peter and I will do fine,” Victoria guided her daughter toward the door. “I’m sure that Eugene will be much better by the time I get there. We’ll probably be bringing him home in a day or so, dear.”

“Oh, I hope so, Mother,” Audra replied.

The two women walked downstairs in silence. They found Jarrod, Heath, and Barton in the sitting room, talking quietly and sipping their drinks.

“Sam go to bed?” Heath asked.

“I’m not sure she’s actually gone to bed but she did change and promise me that she would lie down soon,” Victoria said as she accepted the sherry that Jarrod poured for her and settled into a chair near the fireplace. She tiredly ran a hand across her eyes.

“Mother,” Jarrod said softly. “You need to get some rest, too.”

“I will, darling, it’s just I’m trying to think of what else I need to do,” she replied. “I’ll rest on the train trip tomorrow.”

Heath and Jarrod exchanged a skeptical look; they knew she would not rest until she had seen Gene. Jarrod cleared his throat and turned to Peter’s partner, “What are you going to do about the bank, Bart?”

“Peter and I talked about that while I was waiting on Sam to get things packed for her and the children,” Barton sipped his scotch. “Well, we talked as best we could considering Peter was trying to take care of Gene and didn’t want me anywhere near him. We agreed that we would keep the bank open but that we were sending all the staff home for a week except for me and one of our clerks.”

“Why you and only one of the clerks?” Audra asked softly.

“Oh,” Barton glanced at her, “neither Will nor I have any family. Peter and I agreed that would be the best. The others need to be home with their families and, well, if something should happen to one of us, well, let’s just say we agreed we were the best ones to take the risk.”

“That’s very courageous of you, Barton,” Victoria said softly.

Barton waved a dismissive hand, “I don’t think there’s anything courageous about it. Peter and I agreed that we had to keep the bank open; people will need access to their funds particularly if they have sick families. We figured that our business clients will understand if we slow down on a few activities . . . they probably don’t want to be out attending business meetings right now. I don’t expect a lot of customers, but we want to be sure that our customers understand that we’re here for them.”

“Well, it’s very admirable,” Jarrod said.

“It’s good business sense,” Barton shrugged, “and just part of being good neighbors.”

Despite her concerns, Victoria smiled softly. She understood why Peter had been so drawn to Barton; he was not only an astute businessman but he also had a fine sense of ethics. She knew that two men worked well as the new president and vice president of the Mercantile Exchange, but they were more than partners – they were friends. She knew that Samantha had a secret plan of trying to get Barton and Audra together but her plan had made no progress.

As her eyes moved from the slender dark-haired young man to her beautiful blonde daughter, she thought they would make a lovely couple. But, Victoria thought, just looking good together meant nothing. Barton, who was almost as old as Jarrod, seemed intent upon maintaining his bachelor status. Samantha said that he was seen socially with any number of young women around San Francisco . . . but never long with any particular one. And Audra still rotated through a long list of admirers, also never settling on one for long. Whenever circumstances threw Audra and Barton together, they were polite and friendly to each other but that was all.

Jarrod’s voice brought Victoria back into the room, “I think we all need to go upstairs and try to get some sleep. I know it will be hard, but we need to try.”

“You’re right, Jarrod,” Barton agreed. “To tell you the truth, I actually think I can catch a few winks . . . it’s been a very long day.”

“We just thank you so much, Bart, for getting our loved ones here safely,” Victoria bestowed a soft smile on the young man which he accepted with a small smile of his own. “Samantha could never have managed without you.”

“Oh, Samantha thought she could handle it by herself,” Barton let her in on a little secret, “but Peter wouldn’t hear of it. He’s just a little protective of Samantha and the children.”

“I’ve noticed,” Victoria’s smile widened as she stood and started from the room. Then, she decided to give Samantha’s secret agenda a little push, “Audra, would you do me a favor and show Bart to his room.”

“Of course,” the dutiful daughter answered immediately.

“Oh, Jarrod,” Barton said as he stood and stretched, “I almost forgot. Peter did ask that I give this note to you.”

Jarrod took the envelope and automatically thanked Barton as the other man left the room with Audra. The oldest brother felt Heath’s eyes on him as he silently studied the envelope. Slowly Jarrod broke the seal and scanned the short message. The words, though few, were powerful and Jarrod rocked back on his heels.

“What is it, Jarrod?” Heath stepped closer. Jarrod surrendered the piece of paper and tucked his hands in his pockets as his mind turned over the import of the message.

Heath silently read Peter’s note, “Jarrod, I know that there will be no stopping Mother from being here with Eugene, but I hope I can convince you, big brother, not to come. I know you want to be with Eugene, but, Jarrod, I have to know that if something should happen to me, that you will be there for my wife and children. I know I am asking for a huge sacrifice on your part, but please consider my request. Your little brother, Pete.”

Heath took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “You were going to Frisco, weren’t you?”

“I hadn’t told Mother yet, but, yes, I was going to go. I just felt like I needed to be there for Gene,” the older brother admitted.

“And now?” Heath asked.

“I can’t, I mean, I’m not sure.”

“Yes, you are, Jarrod,” the younger brother lips curled into a small smile. “You’re going to do the hard thing. Instead of doing what you want to do, you’re going to do what Pete asked. You’re going to watch over his family.”

Jarrod took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “You’re right, of course. I just, I just . . . .”

“It’ll be all right, Jarrod,” Heath reached over to grip his brother’s shoulder, “I’m going to Frisco with Mother.”

“She won’t like this,” his brother smiled a little grimly.

“No, but we’ll just have to convince her it’s the best thing. Between the three of us, we’ll be able to take care of Eugene without any of us getting over tired and risking getting the influenza,” Heath had figured it all out already. He handed Jarrod Peter’s letter.

“Well, we’ll see,” Jarrod murmured. He slowly folded the paper and slipped it in his pocket. “What about the ranch? Nick will be upset that you left.”

“Nick’s due in tomorrow afternoon. We both have been away from the ranch before. I’ll get the men lined up with their assignments early tomorrow morning. Duke’ll see that all is taken care of. Nick’ll understand.”

The older brother slowly nodded his head. Yes, Nick would understand. He finally whispered, “Well, I guess we should see if we both can get some sleep.”

Heath just nodded and patted Jarrod’s shoulder. Together the two Barkley brothers walked upstairs, both of them thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter 3

“But why did Grandmother have to leave so early?” the young voice protested again.

“She and Uncle Heath needed to catch the first train so that they could go help Pappa take care of Uncle Eugene,” Samantha’s voice was gentle, but she sounded tired.

“But I didn’t even get to show her that I had lost a tooth,” the boy was obviously disappointed.

Jarrod moved to the bottom of the stairs so that he could watch his brother’s family descend. Samantha, looking as if she had not slept at all the previous night, had a boy attached to each hand. It was Tom, of course, who was bemoaning his grandmother’s departure.

“Well, Grandmother might not be here, but I would certainly like to see this phenomenon,” Jarrod tried to use his most cheerful voice.

It apparently pleased his nephews because both detached themselves from their mother’s hands and came scampering down the stairs shouting “Uncle Jarrod! Uncle Jarrod!”

He gathered the boys up in a big bear hug which made both of them giggle. Tom proudly displayed the gap in his teeth and explained how the tooth fairy had come and traded the tooth for “a whole quarter.” Jarrod congratulated Tom on his newfound wealth. Then he dutifully checked Nicky’s teeth to make sure that none of them were loose and admired the large scab on his left elbow that the little boy had garnered during some fence climbing. Samantha joined them at the foot of the stairs and smiled gratefully at Jarrod. Grandmother’s absence was being smoothed over nicely.

“Good morning, Sam,” Jarrod leaned over to brush her cheek with a soft kiss and gently squeeze her arm. “Where’s our lovely little lady Lizzie V.?”

“Audra’s being a dear and getting her dressed. They should be down any minute. I told her I would get the boys started on their breakfasts. I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I hurried back from seeing Mother, Heath, and Bart off. I thought you might need some help with the children,” his brilliant blue eyes twinkled.

“Well, thank you. We generally can handle things on our own but it’s wonderful to see you. But I know you have things that you need to be doing so don’t let us get in your way,” she started.

“Right now I have nothing more important to do than to have breakfast with my brother’s family,” he interrupted at her. “Come along, Tom and Nicky. I have it on good authority that we’re going to have blueberry pancakes this morning.”

“Blueberry pancakes? Yea!” Tom dashed toward the dining room followed by a little brother who did his best to out-shout Tom’s “yea.”

Samantha rolled her eyes and looked over at her brother-in-law. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m afraid you’re in for a lot of noise at the breakfast table for a few days. It seems as if both my boys have to start the day shouting.”

“It’s all right,” he offered her his arm. “Believe me when I say that I am very used to it. I’m afraid that trait comes from the Barkley side of their family. I grew up being awaken by Father’s shouting, ‘Daybreak, boys. Time to get up.’ And then there’s Nick.”

Samantha couldn’t help but laugh at Jarrod’s deep sigh. Yes, then there was Nick.

* * * * * * * *

Victoria’s stomach was in a knot as the carriage pulled up in front of Peter and Samantha’s beautiful home. She had truly tried to rest on train trip, but her worries had prevented it. Heath and Bart had been incredibly patient. Neither had tried to engage her in a conversation. Both had napped a little. Or they had at least pretended to nap. As soon as the train pulled into the station, both swung into action. Bart located a carriage, and Heath had seen to getting Peter’s private car unconnected and moved to a siderail. Together they had quickly loaded the valises and supplies that they had brought from the ranch.

Everything was wrong, Victoria thought, as she allowed Heath to help her down from the carriage. Any other time that she had come to Peter’s home, there had been noise, wonderful noise, her grandsons shouting as they rushed from their lookout post on the front porch to greet her, the laughing greeting from her beautiful daughter-in-law holding a happily jabbering baby, and the booming “Mother” from her son who sounded so much like his father that her heart still often skipped a beat when she heard him.

Today, though, everything was silent. Even the birds seemed to have lost their desire to sing. Her heart pounded as she swept past Peter’s neatly lettered sign posted on one of the pillars of the front porch warning of “Influenza.” She did not wait for either Heath or Bart to open the door. Instead, she turned the heavy brass knob, not at all surprised to find it unlocked, and pushed the oak door open. Sunlight from the tall windows lit the beautiful entryway and sitting room to the right. She hesitated now, not sure whether to go upstairs or to search the bottom floor for her two sons. Knowing no other way, she resorted to a Nick tactic and just called out, “Peter? Peter, are you here?”

His voice came from her left, from beyond the second sitting room and the beautiful dining room, “Mother? In here, by the kitchen.”

She rushed across the house toward the kitchen unaware that Heath was right behind her. Her middle son had stepped into the hallway leading to the kitchen. She was immediately struck with how tired he looked, but his voice was strong, “Right on time. I expected you to come on the first train.”

“Good morning, darling,” Victoria did not hesitate to stand on her tiptoes and brush her son’s cheek with a kiss. “How is Eugene?”

“Pretty sick boy. The fever has got a good hold on him. The doctor was by last night and said that all we can do is try to get the fever down and to get liquids down him so that he doesn’t dehydrate. He’s fighting me on the liquids; he’s not real lucid,” Peter gave his mother a quick hug and then looked past her to where Heath stood. “Hello, little brother. I had a feeling that at least one of Gene’s older brothers would also show up.”

“Morning, Pete,” Heath reached out to shake his brother’s hand. “We figured that with three of us taking care of Gene that none of the caregivers would get too tired out and maybe none of us would catch the influenza.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Peter nodded.

Their mother added, “And that means you need to go get some rest now.”

Despite all that was going on, Peter grinned, “I will, I promise, but first I need to talk to Bart. I’m assuming he’s waiting out front.”

“Yep,” Heath replied. “He said you had given him strict orders to go no further than the front entry.”

“Well, I’ve got Gene down here. It seemed easier to keep him downstairs, near the kitchen, near the washroom,” Peter gestured to the two-room suite that had been intended for a live-in servant, but currently all three of their household servants lived away from the house. “I know you want to see him. He’s sort of in and out of it.”

Victoria nodded and then slipped past Peter. Heath hesitated for a moment and looked deep into Peter’s eyes. The worry was evident; Gene was sick, real sick. Heath took a deep breath and followed their mother into the sick room. He smiled softly as he watched her tend her youngest son. He could remember times that she had tended him just this way – the feel of her soft hand as she caressed a fevered brow, the soothing sound of her voice as she tried to coax liquids between dry lips.

“Gene, darling,” Victoria sat on the bed beside the young man. “Mother’s here. You’re going to all right; but you have to try to drink some of this juice for Mother.”

“No,” the boy slurred. “Don’t feel like it. Head hurts. Want to sleep.”

“You can sleep, darling, just as soon as you take a few sips for me,” her voice was gentle but firm. She glanced over her shoulder at Heath, and he automatically moved to the other side of the bed and lifted Gene’s shoulders so that it would be easier for him to take a few sips without getting choked. But Gene turned his head to avoid the spout of the sick cup. “Please, darling, just a sip. Just one sip,” she coaxed.

Gene took a sip and then shook his head from side to side, refusing to take more.

“He’s awful hot, Mother,” Heath had been shocked at the heat that had burned right through his shirt when he had lifted Gene up and rested him on his shoulder.

“I know,” she replied grimly. “Lay him back down and we’ll see if we can’t cool him off some.”

Gene made a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a whimper as Heath eased him back on the pillow. Victoria immediately unbuttoned the nightshirt that covered him and reached for the sponge that Peter had apparently been using to try to cool his younger brother. Just as she had when he was just a baby, Victoria began to hum a soft lullaby as she tended her youngest son. The boy’s head lolled to one side as sleep again overtook him.

* * * * * * * *

Jarrod’s head was bent over the contract he was reviewing so it was a bit before he noticed the little boy standing in the doorway, quietly studying him, “Well, hello there, Tom. What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” the boy worked at making the word sound as dismal as possible.

His uncle had to work equally as hard to keep the smile off his face, “Well, where’s your brother? I would have expected you two to be out playing in your grandmother’s flower garden on such a pretty day.”

“Nicky’s taking his nap,” Tom replied edging into the room a little. “He still has to take naps, but I’m bigger so I don’t have to. Next year, I get to go to school,” he reminded his uncle proudly.

Jarrod pretended to be surprised by the announcement, “Well, that’s right. I had forgotten how old you’re getting to be. So are you looking forward to going to school?”

“Yes, sir,” the boy moved a little closer. “I like books and stuff. Pappa says that parts of school are fun and parts are hard work but that it’s very important that we go to school and learn what our teachers teach us.”

“Your pappa is very right,” his uncle nodded seriously. “School is very important and it can be hard work but I think you’ll have lots of fun, too. I imagine that you will find recess just as fun as your pappa and all your uncles did.”

Tom gave him a wide grin; his pappa had told him all about recess, “I bet you’re right, Uncle Jarrod. Uncle Jarrod, what are you doing?”

“I’m just working on a contract that I’m drawing up for a friend of ours.”

“Oh,” the boy sighed dejectedly.

Jarrod was confused, “What’s wrong, son?”

“I’m not supposed to bother you while you’re working,” Tom explained as he looked down at his toe that began tracing the pattern in the rug.

“You’re not bothering me, Tom,” the man soothed.

“But Mamma said I wasn’t to bother you so I best go,” his nephew then raised his head, his eyes twinkling slightly. “Sometimes, though, sometimes when Pappa is working in his office at home, he lets me sit on his knee and he gives me a pencil and piece of paper to practice my letters on while he works.” The last words came out in a rush and with a tinge of hope.

“He does?” Jarrod pretended to contemplate the idea. “Hmm, do you think we should try that here? I mean, since your pappa isn’t here, maybe you and I could see how that arrangement would work here.”

“Yes, sir,” the boy moved eagerly to his uncle’s side.

“All right, young man, so which knee do you sit on?”

“This one,” Tom pointed to Jarrod’s left knee.

He lifted the boy and deposited him on the correct knee, “And now I think I have some paper in this drawer. Yes, here it is. And here’s a pencil. Do I need to sharpen it some more?”

“Looks all right to me,” his nephew said as he seriously studied the end of the pencil. “I can write my whole big name, Uncle Jarrod.”

“You can?” this truly surprised Jarrod. This seemed like a very big accomplishment for a five year old.

“Want me to show you?”

“Very much so,” the man nodded seriously. He watched in silent wonder as the little boy very carefully and very correctly formed the letters of his full name. Jarrod suddenly doubted that Peter got much work done with Tom sitting on his knee. Surely, his younger brother was just as amazed at the boy literally soaking up knowledge as Jarrod was. It was an incredible phenomenon.

“See, Uncle Jarrod,” Tom proudly showed his work. “I even put the mark by the ‘i’ in Henri that shows you’re supposed to say Henri like they do in France and not Henry because Henri was my grandfather’s name and his pappa was from France.”

“That’s an accent mark,” his uncle nodded.

“Yeah, accent mark,” Tom nodded. “I can write Nicky’s name. Well, just Nicky not his whole big name.”

“Let me see,” Jarrod urged.

Tom very carefully and correctly spelled out Nicky. “Uncle Jarrod,” he then asked, “would you write Nicky’s big name so I can see it.”

“Sure,” the man said quickly and took the pencil that the boy offered. He slowly printed his other nephew’s full name on the paper so that his oldest nephew could see the letters being formed.

The boy smiled, “Boy, there’s lots of letters in Nicholas Robert Barkley. I bet Nicky is gonna have a hard time learning to write his big name.”

“It is a pretty big name; he probably will have to work hard to learn to do all the letters,” Jarrod agreed.

Tom studied the words for several moments, “There’s a ‘h’ in Nicholas and a ‘k’ in Nicky. It changes like my big name changes to my short name. See, there’s an ‘h’ in Thomas but there’s no ‘h’ in Tom. Pappa says that happens sometimes with names.”

“Your pappa’s right,” his uncle nodded. “When we go to shorten names, sometimes we switch letters around.”

The boy scrutinized the words on the sheet of paper. He suddenly turned his head to look into the man’s bright blue eyes, eyes so much like his pappa’s eyes. “Uncle Jarrod, what’s your big name?”

Jarrod smiled and offered, “Why don’t I write it and you see if you can figure it out.”

Tom watched as his uncle printed out the letters. Even before he could finish the second name, the boy was exclaiming, “It’s Jarrod Thomas. We both have Thomas in our names, Uncle Jarrod.” He took the pencil from his uncle and drew a line connecting the two Thomases.

“That’s right,” the man couldn’t help hugging the little boy; he was so pleased that the boy had instantly recognized that there was connection between them. “We were both named after the same person.”

“Grandfather Barkley,” his nephew said eagerly.

“That’s absolutely correct, we were both named for Thomas Barkley, my father and your grandfather.”

“If you were named for him, Uncle Jarrod, how come you’ve got Jarrod first?”

His uncle grinned down at the boy, again so pleased with the little man’s inquisitiveness, “Well, that’s one of the things that your grandparents always did when they named their children. They would pick a name that they liked and then they would match it up with a family name. Your grandmother picked my name, Jarrod, and then put it with your grandfather’s name to give me my own special name, Jarrod Thomas.”

“What about Uncle Nick?”

“Well, your grandfather picked out the Nicholas and then they put it with Jonathan which was the name of your grandmother’s father.”

Tom considered the concept that his grandmother had had a father and then grinned, “I knew Uncle Nick’s big name was Nicholas Jonathan ‘cause sometimes Grandmother uses it when she scolds him.”

Jarrod laughed, “That’s true, we do get to hear Uncle Nick’s big name quite often. I bet if I tell you what your Grandfather Barkley’s father’s name was you’ll know who got it.”

“What?” the boy’s eyes twinkled.

“Andrew.”

“Pappa! Pappa’s name is Peter Andrew. He told me that and sometimes, sometimes, Uncle Jarrod, Mamma says his whole name when she’s scolding him.”

“Your mamma scolds your pappa?” Jarrod pretended to be shocked.

“Sometimes,” his nephew confided.

“Well, we don’t hear it very often, but your Aunt Audra’s full name is Audra Elizabeth. The Elizabeth was your grandfather’s mother’s name. And Uncle Eugene gets his full name used occasionally when he misbehaves. He is Eugene Richard. Richard was your grandmother’s favorite uncle.”

“Whew,” Tom shook his head. “That’s a lot of family to remember. What about Uncle Heath?”

His uncle hesitated for just a heartbeat and then explained, “Uncle Heath is Heath Thomson Barkley. Thomson was the last name of someone who was very important to your grandfather.”

“Does Grandmother have a middle name?”

“No, it’s just Victoria,” Jarrod was thankful that Tom didn’t question the lack of a family connection on Heath’s middle name. He had never considered if and when they were going to explain Heath’s background to the children. He wondered if Pete and Heath had ever discussed it.

“What about Grandfather?”

“Well, it was Thomas Alfred but he always hated the Alfred so he quit using it when he was a young man. Everyone just knew him as Thomas Barkley or just plain Tom Barkley,” Jarrod smiled down at the boy.

“Just like me!”

“Just like you,” his uncle agreed.

“Well, Tom Barkley,” the voice from the doorway tried to be stern, “what are you doing in here bothering your Uncle Jarrod after I told you not to?”

“I’m not bothering him, Mamma,” the little boy denied instantly. “I was just practicing my letters like I do with Pappa sometimes.”

“That’s right, Tom’s not bothering me at all. We were just having a discussion about names,” Jarrod smiled at his sister-in-law.

“Well,” she tapped her foot for a moment and then gave in, “Tom, why don’t you see if Nicky’s awake from his nap. If he is, then you boys can have some milk and cookies in the kitchen and then we’ll go out to play in Grandmother’s garden.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the boy laid down his pencil and jumped off of his uncle’s knee. “Thanks for telling me all about our names, Uncle Jarrod.”

“You’re very welcome, Tom,” his uncle smiled. “I enjoyed doing it.”

Samantha waited until Tom was out of the room before she spoke, “Jarrod, please, don’t feel like you have to entertain the boys. They understand that there’s work to be done around the ranch and they have to learn to play by themselves.”

He stood and reached over to hug her, “I promise that I won’t let the boys keep me from doing anything important, but you have to promise to let me enjoy having them here. If I want to make time to be with them, then that’s my choice, right?”

“All right, but please try not to spoil them too much,” she sighed.

“I’ll try,” he solemnly promised. As she left the room with a roll of her eyes, he returned to his desk. His hand lingered over Tom’s page of printing. Smiling to himself, he carefully folded the sheet and slipped it inside the law book that was in front him. He instinctively knew that sometime he would be researching a case and uncover this particular piece of paper and it would give him such a boost. He would never forget the absolute glee in Tom’s voice when he realized that he and his Uncle Jarrod shared a name. The smile stayed on his face as he returned to his work.

Chapter 4

“Mother, Audra, Silas! Where is everybody?” the booming voice fell just short of shaking the chandelier.

The response his shout brought, however, surprised Nick Barkley much more than his shout had startled anyone in the big house.

“Uncle Nick! Uncle Nick!” little Tom came running from the direction of the kitchen and threw himself against his uncle’s legs.

Nick had just enough time to recover his balance when his namesake also sailed into his legs, “Whoa, now, boys, you’re just about to push old Uncle Nick over. When did you two get so strong?” And then he reached down to swing first Tom and then Nicky high over his head and give them a good shake. “This is one heck of a surprise! Where’s your mamma and pappa?”

“Mamma is here but Pappa is in San Francisco,” Tom explained.

“So he let you come down for visit? Well, that’s great,” Nick ruffled his nephew’s hair.

“We had to come ‘cause there’s a, a, ep, a ep,” Tom struggled with the word.

“What, son? Where’s your mamma and your grandmother?”

Nicky piped up, “Grandmother’s gone, so’s Uncle Heath.”

“What?” Nick was thoroughly confused now.

Thankfully, Samantha came into the room then, “Well, hello, Uncle Nick. I thought I heard your sweet voice.”

“Hey, Sam,” Nick bussed her cheek. “What’s going on around here? Tom says Pete’s in Frisco and Nicky says Mother and Heath are gone.”

His sister-in-law didn’t answer him. Instead she directed her sons, “Boys, why don’t you take Uncle Nick’s saddlebags and bedroll up to his room and put them on the table there.”

Nick frowned at her evasiveness but handed the items to his two nephews who immediately began struggling up the stairs with their heavy loads. He barely managed to hold his tongue until the boys were out of earshot. In the few intervening moments, Jarrod had stepped into the entry also. Finally, Nick felt it was safe to loudly whisper, “What the heck is going on around here?”

It was Samantha who started the explanation, “There’s been an influenza outbreak in San Francisco. Peter was afraid it might turn into an epidemic so he sent me and the children here. He thought it would be safer.”

“Epidemic? That’s the word that Tom was trying to remember,” Nick murmured. “But where the heck on Mother and Heath?”

“They’ve gone to San Francisco, Nick,” Jarrod started.

“Frisco? Where there’s an epidemic? What the heck are they thinking of?” his brother interrupted.

“It’s Eugene, Nick,” Samantha said gently. “They’ve gone to help take care of Eugene. He’s sick . . . with the influenza.”

A sickening lump filled Nick’s gut, “Gene’s sick? With the influenza? How bad?”

“Sounds pretty bad, Nick,” Jarrod said softly. “The school sent for Pete. Gene’s fever was so high that he had a seizure before Pete could get him to his house. Pete was afraid to try to bring him here even in the private car.”

The words were like a punch in the stomach. The kid was sick, very sick. And, damn it, now the rest of the family was at risk, Mother and Heath and Pete. And had Pete gotten his family out of town in time? Were Sam or Tom or Nicky or even, God forbid, little Lizzy at risk? Nick had no idea how grim his expression became.

“It’s going to be all right, Nick,” Samantha reached out to touch her brother-in-law’s arm. “Eugene’s strong; we all know that. And your mother and Heath and Peter will be able to take shifts taking care of him so none of them will get over tired. I’m sure that everything is going to be fine. Your mother thinks that they’ll probably be bringing Gene home in just a few days.”

Nick took a deep breath and forced his tone to be light, “Well, if Mother says it then I’m sure it’s true.”

Samantha’s smile was a little weak as she accepted her brother-in-law’s words, “Well, I’m going to go check on the boys and make sure they’re just putting your things in your room and not bouncing on your bed or something.” She instinctively knew that the two oldest brothers needed to talk.

Nick’s eyes followed her up the stairs, frowning slight at how tired she had looked. He, however, waited until she had disappeared on the second floor before asking Jarrod, “I’m surprised you’re not in Frisco with Mother, Jarrod.”

Despite all his worries, a small smile pulled at Jarrod’s lips; it was just like Nick to know exactly what was bothering Jarrod the most and to shoot straight at the heart of the matter immediately, “I was going to go, but Pete sent me a note. He said that he knew that I would want to be with Gene but that he needed to know that I was here to look after his family . . . especially if something happened.”

His brother’s mouth was set in a grim line, “God, nothing better happen to Pete. That would be, well, damn it, Jarrod, Pete shouldn’t be the one risking getting sick taking care of Gene. Pete’s got Sam and the little ones. Maybe I should head for Frisco and send Pete here.”

“I think it’s too late for that, Nick,” Jarrod shook his head. “If Samantha and the children haven’t already been exposed, there would be the possibility that Pete might bring the illness here. And I don’t think we should risk any more of the family unless there’s a need.”

“Sam and the kids exposed? Do you think that’s a possibility?” Nick had tried to push that thought aside.

“I’m concerned,” the older brother acknowledged. “Sam has looked exhausted since she got here. I’m hoping that it’s just her worrying about her children, Pete, Eugene. But I think we need to keep a close eye on her.”

“Well, when are we gonna find out how things are in Frisco?”

“Bart is going to telegraph us once a day with an update on everyone.”

“Bart?” Nick raised his eyebrows.

“Bart was the one who brought Sam and the children here. You know how protective Pete is of them. He wasn’t about to let them take the train by themselves. Pete and Bart sent everyone home from the bank except for one bachelor clerk. He and Bart are going to keep the bank open. They don’t expect much business with the epidemic threat. Bart is going to check on the family each evening and morning and send us a telegram on his way to the bank.”

Nick nodded, “That’s a good idea. At least we’ll have an idea how things are going and if one of us needs to go to help out.”

“Heath was hoping that with the three of them there to care for Gene that none of them would get too tired and maybe they wouldn’t catch the influenza,” Jarrod said as he led Nick into the sitting room and poured them both a drink.

“I hope he’s right,” Nick shook his head and tossed back the drink. He wasn’t too confident about Heath’s optimistic prediction. And he was more than just a little concerned about sending Heath into the middle of an influenza epidemic. That boy could catch a sickness at the drop of a hat. For somebody who looked healthy most of the time, it didn’t take anything to knock him flat on his back with a cough. But he decided to just keep his concerns to himself and hope that Bart’s telegrams would alert them soon enough if there were additional problems in Frisco.

* * * * * * * *

Heath brushed a hand across Gene’s brow. Damn, the fever was still there. Nothing they were doing seemed to be helping. At least the boy was sleeping peacefully now. That was better than the writhing and moaning that he had been doing earlier and the dry cough that he had developed that had put another wrinkle in Mother’s frown. He re-dampened the compress they were using for Gene’s forehead, wiped his brother’s face, and then replaced the cloth. Heath stood and stretched. He walked to the doorway that separated the bedroom from the sitting room. He smiled softly as he looked upon his mother’s gentle repose. She had finally given into her exhaustion and fallen asleep on the settee. He walked over and carefully spread the light throw across her; she never stirred.

He glanced back in at Gene and ascertained that his little brother was still resting quietly. Heath walked to the window that looked out onto the back of Peter’s property. The breeze was cool and smelled a little of the ocean. A red glow to his right caught his attention. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness and then he realized that his brother was sitting enjoying a cigar.

“Hey, Pete,” Heath pushed open the screen and leaned out.

“Hey, there, Heath. Everything all right?”

“Yep, both Mother and Gene are sleeping.”

“Just let me finish this cigar and I’ll come in and relieve you so that you can get some rest,” Peter replied.

“No hurry; I’m doing fine,” the younger brother said and then added conversationally, “You always sit out in the dark when you’re smoking?”

“Nah,” he took another draw on the cigar. “I was just sitting out here and looking at the stars for a few minutes.”

“Never thought that a banker would be much of a star-gazer. What do you do? Look for signs in the stars on how to invest? Bet your customers wouldn’t like to hear that one,” the other man teased.

“Ah, Sam and I have this thing that we do when we’re apart,” Peter admitted, slightly embarrassed.

“Uh huh,” Heath looked over at his brother completely clueless as to what Peter was referring to.

“It, um, began on our honeymoon,” his brother started.

“Whoa, I’m not sure you should be sharing this,” the younger brother blushed.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” Peter threw his brother an irritated look. “When we were aboard ship, we’d go out on the deck in the evenings and I would tell Sam the stories about the different constellations. When you spend as much time as I did on the ocean, you get to learn a lot about the stars. Sam loved the stories and she learned a bunch of the constellations. She really liked the story about Orion, the hunter. It’s an easy constellation to pick out of the sky. We made an agreement that any time that we were apart that we would each take the time to find Orion in the sky each night and just take a few minutes to think about the other one.”

“Sounds pretty romantic,” Heath teased.

“Ah, I guess it is kinda sappy, but I have to admit it always puts me at ease, knowing that maybe while I’m looking up at Orion Sam is doing the same thing. That even though we’re apart that we still connected in some way.”

“I don’t think it’s sappy,” Heath murmured. “I think what you and Sam have is pretty darn special. You two just seem to really be what they say in the wedding ceremonies, you know, joined together, forever.”

His older brother did not reply for a bit, just sat looking up in the sky. When he did speak, his words were curious, “You know, Heath, I’ve been with lots of women, certainly a lot more than I would ever want either Mother or Sam to know about.”

“Except for Gene, I expect we’re all that way.”

Peter snorted, “Ah, don’t kid yourself about our baby brother. He is working to make up for lost time. You know how, much to Sam’s disgust, I gave each of you an evening at Madame Doucet’s as an early Christmas present.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I told Gene that given it was his first opportunity to sample that side of life that he could go as often as he wanted during your visit as long as Mother didn’t find out. That little rat went every night that you all were there.”

“Whoa,” Heath laughed.

“It’s worse than that; on his next to the last night in New Orleans he had three different girls.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No, I’m not. I about had a heart attack when Madame Doucet handed me my bill. She just laughed, told me I was a fool for giving the whole cookie jar to a boy who’d never tasted a macaroon before. All I could think was how upset Nick and Jarrod would be, much less Mother and Sam, if they ever found out.”

“Well, I think both Nick and Jarrod have come to terms with Gene not being a boy any more, and he knows what his big brothers do and he’s not about to miss out on some of the finer things in life,” Heath soothed.

“You see, that’s the thing,” Peter murmured, “I had lots and lots of women and well, you know, it’s always good when you’re with a woman, no matter who the woman is, no matter where you are, how long you take, it’s just always good for a man. Like you said, having a woman is one of the finer things in life. But the thing is, it’s different with Sam. From the first time that I was with her, it’s been different. It’s like it’s ten times better than the best I ever had before. It’s like I never really knew how good it could really be until I was with her.”

“Guess that’s part of being in love,” his brother smiled.

“The strange thing is now I can see another woman, a beautiful woman, and I can appreciate her beauty and even think about what she would look like without her clothes but I never think about what it would be like to bed her. It’s like since I’ve been with Sam I just don’t want another woman that way.

“I guess that’s what they mean by being content, Pete,” Heath replied.

“I’ve always thought that this was the way Father felt about Mother,” Peter began.

He saw his brother shift suddenly and even though he couldn’t see it he knew that the muscle in Heath’s jaw had tightened, “I’m saying this all wrong, Heath. What I’m trying to say is that I know how Father felt about Mother because I feel that way about Sam. The decision he made in Strawberry he didn’t make lightly, I’m just sure of it. And I know that your mother must have been a very, very special woman for Father to have opened his heart up to her the way he did.”

When his younger brother didn’t answer him, Peter feared he had completely alienated Heath. His mind desperately tried to come up with something to relieve the tension. It was Heath’s voice, however, that broke the awkward silence as he said softly, “She was, she was very special.”

“I had already figured she had to be, to have raised such a fine son on her own.”

He could just make out Heath nodding his head, “I guess every boy thinks his mama is special, but she was really something. So good, so kind, so loving. Even when things were bad for us, she could always make me feel better. Just having her there always helped. I always like to think. I mean since I found out that he didn’t know about me, I like to think that maybe he did really care for her some.”

“I think he cared for her very much,” Peter said firmly. “I was raised by him, I lived in his house, I know how he loved his wife. I know because I love my wife the same way. When he chose to be with your mother, it wasn’t some daliance, it was because he loved her. And I think the reason he never went back to see her was because he loved her so much that he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to leave again. I also know that if he had ever known about you that nothing would have kept him from trying to take care of you.”

Heath turned his head to look at his brother, the brother he hardly knew but whom he was very much wanting to trust, “You think so?” I mean, you really think he cared about her?”

“I’m sure of it,” Peter stated. “Heath, don’t ever doubt that your parents loved each other even though they weren’t able to be together.”

“And you’re all right with that, the idea that your father loved someone other than your mother?”

“I’ve accepted it,” he shrugged. “I’ve decided it didn’t lessen the love he had for Mother; maybe it even made him realize how very much he loved her. Like the rest of the family, I just wished that he had known about you so that he could have made your life easier, that we might have gotten to know you when we were all young.”

“Well, can’t go changing the past,” Heath fell back on his standard reply.

“No, you can’t, but that doesn’t stop us from having a few regrets,” his older brother stood and stretched. “Look, go upstairs and get some rest. I’m caught up on my sleep; I’ll watch Gene.”

“All right,” Heath hesitated for a heartbeat, “big brother.”

“Night, little brother,” came the gentle reply.

Chapter 5

“Sam?” Nick had wandered out of the billiards room to enjoy the Indian summer night air and was surprised to see his sister-in-law sitting on the floor of the porch, looking up in the sky. “Didn’t expect to find you out here. Little ones all right?”

“Uh huh,” she murmured. “I made the rounds and they’re all down for the night, I think.”

“Guess you’re glad not to have Lizzie waking you up every night,” he settled next to her.

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Samantha smiled softly. “You get where you don’t even have to really wake up to take care of your baby. I can diaper, change a gown, nurse a baby, and put it back to bed without really opening my eyes.”

“Ah,” Nick scoffed. “I know Pete said he didn’t get a full night’s sleep for about a year after each of the kids was born.”

It was Samantha’s turn to snort, “Oh, heavens, don’t listen to him. He can sleep through a baby screaming at the top of its lungs. If our babies had to wait for their father to pick them up at night, they’d all have spent their first year wet and hungry every night.”

“Think he might be faking sleeping just so he doesn’t have to get up?”

She laughed, “Well, that would be pretty devious . . . and it sounds just like something Peter Barkley would do.”

Nick joined her laugh, “So what are you doing out here, girl?”

“Oh, looking at the stars, thinking about Peter.”

“Now, I’m sure everything’s all right,” he said quickly. “I expect it’s just like Mother said. Gene’s probably already better and they’ll be home in just a few days.”

“Hope so,” she murmured. “Actually, I wasn’t thinking about what was going on in San Francisco now. I was thinking about other times with Peter.”

“Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t ask what times,” Nick teased. “Might burn my ears.”

“Oh, I was actually thinking of some pretty tame times,” Samantha smiled. “Do you know the constellation Orion?”

“Not really. I like the stars but never got much into learning the constellations.”

“Peter loves the stars; he says that it’s because of all the years he spent aboard ship. He knows all the constellations and the stories behind them. Look there, see that line of three stars? That’s Orion’s belt. Orion was this great hunter. He was loved by a goddess, but she was tricked into killing him. She felt so awful that she placed him in the heavens so that he would always be hunting. Orion reminds me of Peter. For so long, he was hunting for something.”

“I think he found it when he found you.”

“I think he found it when he finally made it back here. You have no idea how many stories he told me about this place, about you all. But I never could get him to contact you. He just kept telling me that he had forfeited his right to this family,” she answered.

“Damn hardheaded fool,” he murmured. “Sure glad his ‘little game’ brought him here. Now that we have both him and Heath here, it’s like our family is finally complete.”

“He feels that way, too.”

“You know, he was always hardheaded. Did he ever tell you about the time he broke his arm?” Nick asked.

“Broke his arm? No, I know about when he cut his knee open but not about him breaking an arm.”

“You know about his knee?” he was thoroughly shocked. “How’d you find out about that? I mean, he said he didn’t remember that.”

“Oh, he remembers,” Samantha glanced over at her brother-in-law. “I asked him about the scar the first time we took a bath together.”

“Bath together?” Nick blushed.

“Yes, Nick,” she said patiently. “We are married and we do occasionally share a bath. It’s very romantic.” She had to tease him just a little.

Sure enough, his color deepened as he blustered, “Well, I’m sure it is. So Pete really remembers splitting open his knee?”

“I remember him telling me how ‘my big brother Nicky wrapped my knee up with his shirt and then he carried me all the way to the house on his back.’ I remember the sound of his voice, he was so in awe of his big brother, the things his big brother could do.”

“I actually didn’t carry him all the way to the house. Duke saw us and came out to get Pete. He’s really the one who carried Pete into the house, to Father and Mother.”

“Well, what Peter remembers best is you carrying him. So, how did he break his arm?” she prompted.

“Oh, umm, it was the first year that both Pete and I worked round up. Jarrod was off at college and Father had made a big issue about how he was shorthanded and needed both of us on roundup. Mother thought Pete was too young, but Father prevailed and pulled us both out of school to work. Things went fine the first week. We helped get most of the cattle out of the hills and onto the flats. We were starting to move them to the main gathering spot when Pete’s horse lost its footing and went down. I knew Pete was hurt because he didn’t bounce right back up. I rode over and saw that he was cradling his right arm. I caught up his horse and he managed to mount. I was all for finding Father or taking him back to the house to Mother, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Said Father was shorthanded and didn’t need to be pulled away from the herd and Mother had Audra and Gene to take care of. He said he would go to town by himself and get the doc to fix his arm.”

Samantha slapped her forehead, “That sounds just like him. Has to do everything for himself. He doesn’t even like it when I do things for him.”

“Well, I was smart enough to know that I’d catch all sorts of trouble if I let him ride off on his own with a broken arm. So we rode into town to the doc’s together. Doc didn’t want to set the arm without either Mother or Father being there, but Pete insisted it would be all right. Doc had me hold Pete steady while he set the arm. Only took a minute but I thought I was gonna be sick for sure. Pete just let out one little cry and that was it. Doc wanted him to stay at his place and for me to go get Mother and a buggy to take him home in, but Pete informed us that he could ride just fine. Doc then tried to get him to ride in his buggy, but Pete refused. He just went out and got on his horse and started for home. I followed him, and Doc followed both of us.”

“Good heavens, why?” Samantha laughed.

“I think Doc was a little concerned with how especially Mother was going to react when Peter showed up with a splinted arm. I think he was a little afraid that Mother was really going to be angry with him that he set the arm without either her or Father there.”

“So, what happened?” she wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned forward in anticipation.

“Well, we arrived just in time for supper. Father greeted us with a shout as soon as we came in the door, wanting to know where the heck we had been. As we came into the dining room, all hell broke lose. Mother was all upset and trying to fuss over Pete. Father was just as concerned but he was shooting questions at me faster than I could answer. Pete was trying to get Mother to quit fretting over him, and I was trying to tell Father what had happened. Then Doc arrived and sure enough Mother flew into him about setting Pete’s arm without first getting her. And then when Doc said that Pete was just as hardheaded as the rest of the family and had even ridden home on his horse, she really got upset. She wanted Father to carry Pete upstairs so that she could put him to bed and then Doc to check him again.”

“And Peter was what? 12? I’m sure the last thing he wanted was his father carrying him upstairs and his mother putting him to bed.”

Nick chuckled, “Yep, you know Pete pretty good. He informed all of us that he was hungry and wanted to just eat supper and then he would put himself to bed.”

“How did that go over?”

“Actually, it sorta stunned us all. Mother and Father exchanged a look and then Mother asked Doc if he wanted to stay for supper. I think he figured this was a good time to leave to avoid getting another tongue lashing from Mother, so he took off after telling them that Pete should be fine but if his arm got to hurting him too much or if his fever suddenly went up to send for him.”

“So you all just sat down for supper?”

“Yep,” Nick nodded. “Pete couldn’t cut his meat so Father cut it for him, but he ate his supper like nothing had happened . . . well, except, that he had to use his left hand to hold his fork. Mother and Father kept sending looks up and down the table. When Father asked me again what had happened, it was Pete who spoke up and explained everything. After supper, Mother tried to get Pete to go upstairs to bed, but he said he had to do his evening chores. Mother gave Father another exasperated look but Father just got me to the side and told me to make sure Pete didn’t do too much with his hurt arm.”

“Oh, my god, why does he have to be so stubborn!” Samantha raised her eyes heavenward.

“Family trait, I’m afraid,” he replied. “The thing was it didn’t end there. The next morning he was up and at the breakfast table, saying he was ready to help move the cattle down to the holding pens. Mother was so upset; you could see the sparks in her eyes. Father tried to reason with him and finally just told Pete that he could only help if he could saddle his horse by himself. I guess he figured that there was no way that Pete could do that with only one arm . . . but dang if he didn’t do it. I think Father was just so stunned that Pete did it that he couldn’t figure out what to do next. Pete spent all day in the saddle. I knew he was hurting, he was getting paler and paler, but he wouldn’t admit it. Mother was fit to be tied when we rode in late that afternoon. I think she had been expecting Father to bring Pete back all day. She tried to make Pete go to bed and he refused. Said he just wanted to eat his supper and do his evening chores and then he would go to bed. He didn’t do so well with eating his supper; you could tell that he was hurting. I tried to help him with his evening chores but he wouldn’t let me.”

“Stubborn even with his big brother, huh?”

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it. After chores, he went straight up to bed. After a bit I went up to check on him. I was surprised to see Father standing just outside his door. He signaled me to be quiet. I slipped up to stand beside Father. We could hear Mother talking to Pete, soothing him actually. He was hurting so bad that he was crying but he wouldn’t tell her what she could do for him. He just kept saying, ‘Don’t let Father and Nicky know I cried.’ Father bit his lip; I know he felt just about as low as I did. Here Pete was, hurting, and all he could think was he didn’t want to disappoint either of us. Mother came out then . . . you could tell she was really put out with the men in our family. She sent me out to get some ice so that she could pack Pete’s arm, it was really swollen, I guess. She didn’t wait until I was out of earshot before she laid into Father, telling him that it was his fault that her baby was hurting so badly. If he didn’t expect boys to act like men, if he had just put his foot down and insisted Pete stay at home, then he wouldn’t be in so much pain. I don’t think Father replied.”

“Oh, I feel so sorry for him. He couldn’t help it because he had a bunch of hardheaded sons,” she reached over to squeeze her brother-in-law’s arm.

“Well, that’s not the way Mother saw it. She was hot. When I brought the ice back up, she told me that I had better never ever say anything to Pete about crying. If I did, she would see to it that I felt her wooden spoon across my backside.”

Samantha couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh, Nick, you were what? Fourteen? I imagine you stood head and shoulders over your mother.”

“Yes, I did, but that didn’t mean anything. I knew I would be in so much trouble if I even breathed a word to Pete. I just ‘yes, ma’amed’ her and headed for my bedroom.”

“So that was it?” she asked.

“Well, not quite. Pete wasn’t quite done with showing how mule-headed he could be.”

“Oh, you’re joking!”

“Nope, next morning, Mother came flying downstairs saying Pete wasn’t in his room. Father just stared at her for a moment and then he threw down his napkin and headed out of the house with me on his heels. We found Pete out at the corral. He already had his horse saddled.

“Oh, no,” Samantha cried.

“Oh, yes,” Nick nodded his head, a mouth set in a grim smile. “Don’t have a clue how long it took him to do it, but he’d done it. The funny thing, though, Father just about had a mutiny on his hands. Duke told him that all the men were angry with him for making the boy work with a broken arm. Father was just flabbergasted, just started sputtering he hadn’t made Pete work, that it was Pete’s idea, that he’d never expected the boy to get the horse saddled.”

“Oh, your poor father. Getting it from his wife and his men,” she laughed again.

“Well, it all ended pretty quick. Pete was trying to mount and he just didn’t have the strength to jump up to get his foot in the stirrup. The second time I guess he tried to use his broken arm and it just hurt him too much and he passed out. Luckily, Father was right there and caught him before he hit the ground. I remember Father cradling him against his chest and saying, ‘Well, the spirit was willing but the body was weak. At least now his mother may be able to keep him in bed,’” Nick sighed. “Actually, he ended up spending a full week in bed. Doc had to come back out and reset the arm. He had a bad fever and the arm swelled up something fierce.”

“I wonder why Peter never told me this story,” Samantha asked.

“Probably because he didn’t want you to know how mule-headed he could be,” her brother-in-law laughed. “Might have scared you off . . . or at least made you think twice about having his children. You know, there’s a good chance that they’re gonna be just as bad.”

“A good chance? Oh, I’m already seeing it,” she sighed. “I actually think Lizzie V. is going to be the worst one of the group.”

“Our sweet little lady? Never!” Nick pretended to be horrified, knowing full well that Audra was just as stubborn as any of her brothers.

“You just watch,” Samantha rolled her eyes. “And the problem will be that Peter will never be able to put his foot down with her. It’ll all fall on me.”

“Well, I think we’ve all got a while before we have to worry too much about her. I don’t see her cutting too wide of a path too soon,” he patted her shoulder and stood. “Look, I’m heading on upstairs to bed. This is a working ranch and with Heath gone I’m going to be extra busy. You gonna stay out here much longer?”

“No, I’m ready to go on up,” she sighed again and took one last look at Orion and thought of her own Orion. She sent up a silent prayer that he and Heath and Victoria were all still well and that Gene was improving.

* * * * * * * *

The scream woke Heath from his sound sleep. He never remembered jumping to his feet. By the time he was fully awake he was halfway down the upstairs hallway, headed for the stairs. Before he reached the suite where Gene was, he could hear both Mother and Peter trying to calm the boy; but it was doing no good. Gene was continuing to scream, “Get them off of me. Please get them off of me.”

As Heath entered the bedroom, he found Pete practically lying on Gene, trying to hold him still. Mother was at Gene’s head trying to bathe his face with the cold compress but the boy was twisting to avoid her hand and he was continuing to scream in terror.

“C’mon on, Gene, just calm down. It’s a dream, just a dream,” Peter tried to soothe the boy.

“Gene, darling, it’s all right. Mother’s here. Nothing’s going to hurt you. Mother’s here,” Victoria’s voice mingled with Peter’s.

But Heath understood about fever-induced nightmares. Reasoning didn’t help. “What is it, Gene? What’s wrong, little brother?” he said loudly.

Somewhere, in the murkiness of his brain, Gene heard the familiar voice. He was able to focus, “Snakes! There’re snakes! Please get them off of me!”

“Where, Gene? Here?” Heath jumped into action and began pretending to clear snakes off the bed. “Am I getting them, Gene? Did I get them all?”

Peter looked over his shoulder at Heath, thinking that perhaps Heath had also fallen victim to the influenza. But his younger brother’s blue eyes were clear.

“Did I get them, Gene?” Heath repeated. “Are they all gone now?”

“Yeah,” Gene panted. “Yeah, they’re gone. All gone.” He quit fighting against Pete’s hold and his mother’s ministrations. “All gone,” he mumbled.

Peter slowly released the boy and stood. He ran a shaky hand through his hair as he watched his mother gently wipe Gene’s face and chest with the cold compress. “Sorry, he woke you up, Heath. I know you didn’t get much sleep, but I’m sure glad you figured out a way to calm him down.”

“Doesn’t do any good to reason with someone who’s having a nightmare like his. Just go along with it and figure out what you can do to change it,” Heath managed a crooked smile. He stepped over to touch Gene’s forehead, “Damn, he’s still so hot.”

“I know, nothing seems to be helping,” Peter shook his head.

“Maybe we should try a cold bath?” Heath turned to look into the older brother’s eyes.

“We could try it,” he agreed.

“I’m not sure, boys,” Victoria continued to sponge off her youngest son and then tried to get him to take a few sips of juice. “I’m afraid it’ll be too much of a shock for his body. He’s awful weak and his cough is getting worse.”

Heath and Peter exchange a long look. “All right,” Peter finally said, “we’ll wait a little longer and see if the sponge bath helps. Why don’t you go try to get some more sleep, Heath.” Before Heath could protest, Peter jerked his head toward the door. The younger brother nodded and they both walked out of the suite and up the hallway.

“What do you think?” Heath asked.

“I think he’s getting worse. I think I should get Bart to try to get the doctor to come back by,” his brother replied.

“We’ll be lucky to get a doctor back in to see him,” Heath shook his head.

Peter grinned slightly, “Bart can be pretty persuasive.”

“Well, I expect we’ll see just how persuasive he can be. I’ll go try to get a little more sleep. See if you can’t get Mother to lie down again soon. She didn’t get much sleep.”

“I will,” Peter promised and patted his brother’s shoulder. “Go on, we’ll talk later.”

Continued…