Nick Barkley stormed through the Barkley manor with a purpose, yelling "Audra!" It wasn't that he was upset, it was simply his way. He was always being chastised by his mother for yelling in the house. He quickly approached his sister's room with his long legs making short time of the space and barely knocked on the door before throwing it open. "Audra! Didn't you hear me calling you?"

A splash and a gasp made him frown. Why would his sister be taking a bath in the middle of the day?

"Audra's not here, although I'm fairly certain she heard you in the barn, which is where she said she was going."

Nick saw then that the figure in the bath didn't have his sister flaxen, sun-kissed hair, but darker hair. What's more, he saw her bare shoulders and back as she leaned forward to guard her modesty. He noticed a small mark on her shoulder and stopped himself from moving closer to see what it was.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Charlotte Evans. Who are you?" she glanced over her shoulder at him and reached for the towel that was on a nearby table.

Nick drew himself up and put his hands on his waist. "Nick Barkley."

"Is it your habit, Mr. Barkley, to come unwanted into a woman's bath and stand ogling her?"

"Ogling?!" Nick exclaimed.

"What would you call it? I notice you have not turned away."

He realized that she had a point and turned away. "I beg your pardon, Ms. Evans. I will leave you to your bath," he swung the door open and slammed it behind him. He winced when he realized how hard he'd shut it, but didn't stop to offer any apology. As he walked away, Audra came up the stairs.

"Nick! Were you just coming from my room?"

He growled. "Yes," and stormed by her, completely forgetting the reason he'd been looking for her in the first place.

Audra knocked on her door and entered. When she saw that her friend was still in the tub, her eyes widened. "Nick was in here?!"

Her friend sighed. "I would not have thought he would be your brother in a million years! He's so different from you and Jarrod!"

Audra smiled. "He didn't say anything rude, did he?"

"No," she smiled, rising from the tub with her towel wrapped around her. "He was just brusque. And I think surprised to find someone other than you in here."

Audra laughed. "I'll leave you to get dressed. We'll have tea in the parlor when you're ready. Then you can meet my mother."

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Nick barged into the study, where Jarrod sat working on ranch business, and moved to pour himself a whiskey.

"Little Brother," Jarrod smiled, recognizing his brother's mood.

"Have you met Audra's friend?" he asked, slamming back the drink.

"Yes," he smiled. "She accompanied me from San Francisco."

"She's got sharp tongue, that one."

Jarrod looked surprised. "Charlie?"

Nick frowned. "Who?"

"Charlotte Evans."

"Yeah. Woman told me I was 'ogling' her."

Jarrod's pale blue eyes surveyed his brother with raised eyebrows. "Were you?"

"NO!" he bellowed. "I was just surprised to see a dark-haired woman in a tub in Audra's room instead of our dear fair-haired sister."

Jarrod shook his head. "Nick, I'm not sure we're talking about the same person."

"Charlotte Evans?"

"Yes."

"That's who she said she was, before she accused me of 'ogling' her."

Jarrod shrugged with his face. "Well, Nick, let me ask. When you saw that it was not our fair-haired sister in the room, did you immediately withdraw?"

Nick looked chagrinned. "I told you I was surprised!" he said, defensively.

"Ah." Jarrod smiled. "And you were, of course, quick to apologize for the intrusion."

Nick poured himself another drink and downed it without a word.

Jarrod smiled. "I can see Audra and I will be apologizing for your terrible manners at supper tonight."

Nick spun to face his brother. "Now, look here, Jarrod! Nobody needs to apologize for me!"

"So you'll be doing it yourself?"

Nick slammed the glass he'd been holding down on the table next to the whiskey decanter and stormed out of the room, slamming the study door and not pausing, this time, at the sound it made.

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"I must say, Mrs. Barkley, that your home is just fabulous. I know some women in San Francisco and Richmond who would be absolutely green with envy."

Victoria Barkley, silver-haired matriarch of the Barkley family, smiled at her guest. "Thank you, but I wonder, Ms. Evans, if they would. After all, Richmond and San Francisco are bustling metropolises. Our valley is far from that. It might take away from some of the attraction."

Charlotte Evans, who had been given the nickname "Charlie" by her rambunctious Scots-Irish grandfather, smiled over her tea. "I think its distance adds to the attraction, ma'am. It is not so far from San Francisco that you can't attend a social event or two a season, but far enough away where you don't have to worry about making every event or being gossiped about if you chose not to go."

Both Victoria and Audra nodded in agreement.

"Mother," Audra spoke with a smile. "Will Heath be home for supper? Charlie's met Jarrod and Eugene, and, now, Nick," she glanced at Charlie who smiled ruefully with a shake of her head. "Heath is the only one she hasn't met."

"As far as I know. He was working on some fences in the North Forty, but he should be along."

"I have to thank you, again, Mrs. Barkley, for welcoming me into your home. I have been completely welcomed, as if I were in my mother's own home."

"Completely?" Audra said, again with a twinkle.

Charlie shook her head, with a smile. "You naughty girl! Are you trying, purposely, to get your brother into trouble?"

"That is what siblings do, Ms. Evans, don't you know?" Victoria smiled as she sipped her tea.

"Please, Mrs. Barkley, call me Charlie or, at least, Charlotte. As for siblings, I don't have any of my own, so I am learning from Jarrod and Audra."

"And Nick," Audra said, brightly.

Charlie laughed.

"Did I hear the delightful sound of Charlie Evan's laughter?"

The women turned to see Jarrod enter the parlor. Charlie stood and Jarrod took her hands in his and warmly kissed her cheek. "I take it you're adequately recovered from the trip?" his eyebrows were up while he tilted his head down to examine her face with some concern.

Charlie smiled up at him. "Oh, yes! Thank you, Jarrod, for bringing me."

"And have you recovered from your run-in with my obstinate little brother?" his face relaxed into a smile.

Charlie's eyebrows rose. "For such a big house, news travels fast, doesn't it? And your 'little brother', as you call him, didn't seem so little to me."

"But then you were looking up at him from the bath," Audra furnished, eagerly.

Victoria looked interested. "From the bath?"

Charlie's pale skin pinked slightly. "I was taking a bath in Audra's room and Mr. Nick Barkley barged in. I think he was surprised that I was not Audra and it took him a moment to recover."

Jarrod and Audra smiled.

Jarrod released Charlie's hands to kiss his mother and sister. "That is one of Charlotte Evans' great qualities, Mother: her diplomacy."

Nick Barkley heard laughter in the parlor and peeked in. Standing in the middle of the room, holding hands with Jarrod, was a charming red-haired creature that stood no taller than Jarrod's chin. Her smile was captivating as she spoke animatedly with Jarrod, Victoria and Audra. He frowned thinking that this could not be the wretched woman who'd accused him of 'ogling'. Instead of dark hair, her hair was red. Not orange-red but a deep auburn red like the late evening lights of sunset reflected in the shadows of the trees. He moved closer to get a better look, when his mother called out to him.

"Nick, don't stand like a specter at the door. Come in and greet our guest," Victoria called to him.

He moved in cautiously and the woman turned to look at him, her smile wavering slightly.

"You've met Ms. Evans?" Victoria continued.

Nick understood now why Jarrod had been confused earlier. When he'd seen her before, her hair was darkened by water. Now he felt embarrassed by his earlier behavior, but embarrassment made him more disagreeable than was usual. "Miss Evans," he nodded, slowly walking closer.

Her eyes were blue-green, Nick decided when she looked up at him, framed with thick dark eyelashes, over which arched eyebrows that were slightly darker than her upswept hair, but the red was still visible there. Her skin was the porcelain that would be expected from someone of San Francisco's social circles, with a tinge of color to her cheeks. Her full, blush lips were pressed together in a small smile as she nodded to him and offered her hand.

"Mr. Barkley."

He cautiously took her hand and gently squeezed it.

"I'm afraid we may have gotten off to a poor start, Mr. Barkley. I would like to apologize if I left you with a bad impression or if I behaved offensively."

He regarded her suspiciously for a moment but saw only sincere hope in her eyes and nodded. "Oh, well, I think we were both out of sorts," he pulled his lips back into a smile. "Why don't we just forget it and start over?"

She nodded with a broad smile. "Hello, my name is Charlotte Evans, but my friends call me 'Charlie'. I'm a school friend of your sister Audra's and just arrived from San Francisco with your brother, Jarrod. How are you?"

He kept her hand in his through this re-introduction. He bowed over it at her conclusion and smiled. "Nick Barkley, ma'am. Welcome to our home," then he kissed her knuckle.

Victoria, Audra and Jarrod exchanged amused looks around them at Nick's uncharacteristically chivalrous behavior.

When he rose and met her eyes again, her cheeks seemed a little more flushed and her breathing a little quicker.

"Wonderful!" Victoria pronounced. "We were having tea, gentlemen, would you care to join us?"

At that point, a quiet presence entered the room, dusting his britches with his hat as Silas, the Barkley majordomo, arrived to take it.

"Heath!" Audra exclaimed, happily. She took Charlie by the hand and walked over to Heath. "Charlie, this is only brother you haven't met. Heath, this is an old friend of mine, Charlotte Evans."

His speech had more of a drawl to it as he spoke through a half smile. "Audra, it doesn't seem like you're old enough to have 'old' friends. And, Miss Evans, you don't seem to be much older than Audra, if you don't mind me sayin'."

Charlie smiled, widely. "I don't mind, at all, Mr. Barkley."

"Call me Heath."

"Then you must call me Charlie."

He nodded. "I'm covered with trail dust. If you'll excuse me, Mother," he said acknowledging the older woman who still sat behind them. "I'll go wash up for dinner."

Audra took Charlie's hand, "Would you like to freshen up before dinner, too?"

Charlie leaned toward her friend. "Is that your way of hinting you want to pick my brain for impressions?" she said, softly, with a wink.

Audra laughed. "Yes! Mother, you will excuse us?"

Victoria smiled. "Of course."

"Nick, Jarrod," Audra acknowledged her brothers.

Charlie turned to her hosts. "Excuse us, please," then laughed as Audra pulled her up the stairs.

When they reached Audra's room, Charlie plopped down in a chair, breathlessly.

"Are you okay?" Audra asked, her blue eyes filled with concern.

Charlie smiled at her friend. "I haven't felt this good in a long time. I think the doctors were right about the countryside being good for my health."

Audra sat on her bed. "Tomorrow, I'll show you part of the valley. You'll love it, I'm sure. And the fresh air will rejuvenate you."

Charlie nodded. "I can't wait."

"Now, tell me what you think of my family," Audra said, eagerly.

Charlie laughed. "Your mother is the most regal woman I've ever met. She's so beautiful! I can see where you get your looks…"

"What about my brothers?"

Charlie shook her head. "You really are a naughty girl," she laughed. "What do you want me to say? Heath and Nick are very different from Jarrod and Eugene - like they're four points on a compass. I'm certain your mother is the rose in the middle."

"And me?"

"You're the sun, Audra," Charlie smiled widely, holding her hand out. "Thank you for insisting that I come with Jarrod."

Audra took her hand and smiled back at her. "I'm so glad you did."