Chapter One

The lush green yard that lay in front of the Barkley mansion was filled the chatter of both adults and young children. The Barkley family had gathered to celebrate the birth of Nick and Jenny's daughter, Amanda Rae Barkley. The infant girl had been welcomed into the world by her parents and two year old brother, Nicolas Jonathon Jr a short two weeks ago. However, while he was happy for his brother and sister-in-law, Jarrod walked away from the festivities. When he'd seen his five year old daughter, Charity, practically flee the scene and disappear through the barn's open door and into the building what else could he do? Something was wrong, and he was determined to find out just what the problem was.

"Charity!" Jarrod called out as he stepped into the barn and looked around. There were the normal boxes, bales of hay and a workbench in the rather spacious area. Various tools hung from nails that had been pounded into the thick brown wood that made up the barn walls. However, he could not see his daughter.

"CHARITY!" He called out a bit louder and he stepped farther into the barn. It was then he heard it, the muffled sound of a young child crying; the crying was coming from the loft. Jarrod sighed as he headed for the ladder. He should have known his five-year old daughter would be hiding in the loft; she had loved the privacy the loft gave her from the moment her brother had taught her how to get up to it.

When Charity heard her father calling her, she thought about hiding behind some boxes. Then again, it wasn't her father that had upset her, and he did have a way of comforting her when she needed it.

"I'm up here, Daddy!" Charity wiped her tears away as she called out to her father. Soon the footsteps she'd heard crossing the barn floor make their presence known on the rungs of the ladder. She then watched as her father appeared at the top of the ladder and then stepped into the loft.

Jarrod made his way over to the far left hand corner of the barn where his daughter sat, her knees bent and her arms wrapped around her legs. The moment he sat down, his young daughter climbed onto his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, laid her head on his shoulder and hung on tight. "What is it, Charity? What is wrong?" Jarrod returned the embrace and he looked at the head of the small child on his lap.

Charity shook her head the best she could and started sobbing again. Naturally, Jarrod grew even more concerned. He would have repeated his question only he heard someone else enter the barn. Recognizing the sound of his son's walk, Jarrod called out for him to come up to the loft. "And don't waste your time!" Jarrod added, knowing that if his son had anything to do with his sister's odd behavior-or had any knowledge as to what the problem was-the child would want to drag his feet. A few minutes later, Thomas stood in the middle of the loft. However, instead of having a look of someone who had just been caught, the child looked more than upset himself. What on earth had happened?

"Why don't one of you," Jarrod said as he gently pulled Charity away from his shoulder, turned her sideways on his lap and held out his free arm towards his son, "tell me what on earth is wrong. This is a day for celebrating, not a day for tears."

Thomas hesitated and then found his way over to his father and sat down next to his father. Once Jarrod's arm was around Thomas, the young boy asked quietly, "What was our mother like? I mean, we know what she looks like from the picture on the fireplace mantle, but no one really says much about her." He went on to say that he and Charity had heard people talking about their Aunt Jenny, their Aunt Audra and the fact that the only Barkley daughter was finally engaged to be married, along with the recent marriage of Heath to Brydie Hanrahan had them thinking on their own mother and what she might have been like. "And…" the child glanced over at his sister, paused and then admitted, "That couple with the clothes that don't match? They said something else, but sis won't let me repeat it."

Jarrod, who had stiffened slightly, let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. When it came to Jessie, his son was right. Other than to a passing mention of his late wife's name, that topic had been pretty much avoided around the children. Why that had been the case was something he really couldn't explain-except; maybe, it had hurt too much. He knew for his children's sake he needed to only, first he was going to find out what Charity had heard. "What did the Hardins say?" He let go of his son and gently took a hold of his daughter's chin as he thought of the couple who, ironically, could not differentiate between many colors…hence the reason for the odd looking outfits they often wore.

Charity sniffled and shook her head as she looked up at Jarrod. "I want to know what my mother was like first, please." The plea in her eyes and in both children's eyes tore at Jarrod's heart. He pulled Charity a bit closer as he once again wrapped his free arm around his son. "Jessica Sawyer Barkley was a very beautiful, kind, selfless woman who was fiercely loyal to her family and friends." Jarrod answered quietly as he allowed various memories to run through his mind. "She loved music and horseback riding especially." He couldn't help but chuckle. "She also loved a good laugh now and then. But most of all," he smiled on the two small faces looking up at him. "She loved the idea of bringing more than one life into this world at one time. Her exact words were 'Can you imagine the fun they'll have? They'll never lack for someone to turn to or talk to." Jarrod couldn't help but smile as Thomas reached out and put his small hand on top of his sister's.

"It's like I told you, no matter what they said, I need you." Thomas spoke in such a serious tone, and with such urgency it made Jarrod sit up straight.

"What did they say?" Jarrod spoke firm enough that his children would know he wanted an answer, but not so loud as to scare them.

It worked; Charity, who had laid her head against the front of his shoulder, whispered, "They said it would have been better for a child if the mother had lived and an extra child had died, said a child needed a mother worse than they needed a sibling."

"They were looking my way when they said a child needed a mother." Thomas spoke up. "Sis thinks they were saying, because she was so weak, she should have been the one to die instead of our mother."

Shock waves ran through Jarrod and his heart skipped a beat. It was all he could do not to explode. Only, for the sake of his children, he didn't. "They are wrong; absolutely wrong." Jarrod pulled the children as close to him as he could get. For a moment he could see Jessie lying in their bed and could hear her praying. "Your mother wanted you to live very badly. I don't think she ever prayed as hard as she did the moment she heard both her daughters were expected to leave this earth." He paused as he fought to control his voice. "I think she knew how badly you two needed each other and, I guess," his voice softened, "I guess someone up there needed her. I was blessed to have her in my life for the small amount of time we had together. Besides," Jarrod's voice firm again as he added, "It's like she told me just before she talked with your Uncle Heath and then passed away. 'I'll never be that far away. I'll be the angel on your shoulder when you need one'."

Thomas and Charity eyebrows turned down as if they were deep in thought and then both, without even trying, asked at the same time, "The one the preacher says whispers in your ear when you're tempted to do wrong and encourages you to do right instead?'

"Hey, you copied me!" Thomas tried to snap at his sister, as if he was upset only she saw through him.

"No, I didn't. You copied me!" She reached over and poked him in the upper arm, but not too hard. She didn't want to hurt her brother.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that the two of you know neither your late mother or I would change anything; you're both loved and desperately needed here." Jarrod kissed the children's head and then stood up. "Now, the two of you need to go play with Nicolas like you promised your Aunt Jenny."

"Yes, Daddy," Thomas and Charity, who was now beaming, hugged their father's legs and then hurried towards the ladder. Due to their eagerness to go to their Aunt Jenny and their cousin, they didn't see the fire like look that had appeared in Jarrod's eyes. He had some guests to talk to.