Heath sat at the dining table and once again swallowed hard. His appetite of late had been lacking, something that didn't go by unnoticed by his family. Nick and Jarrod had come to the conclusion that Heath was pining for Maria. Victoria was worried that he was coming down with a sickness from working himself too hard. Audra thought that her brother was maybe just not that hungry, as she herself felt quite often. Little did she know that a man's metabolism was very different to that of a woman, especially with the workload of her brother.

Heath sighed, the food was tasteless, and it irritated his sore throat. He drank his water hoping to soothe the rawness of his throat. Drinking his second cup of water, Jarrod commented. "You seem to be awfully thirsty brother Heath."

Heath put his cup down and cleared his throat before speaking. "I guess I am. Throat's a bit sore."

"I hope you're not coming down with anything." Victoria stated with concern.

"I doubt it. Just one of those things I'd suggest…..Nothing to worry about." With that Heath went back to concentrating on his meal. He knew now that attention had been drawn to him that he better make a bigger effort with his meal, as hard and forced as it was. He really had no appetite. He frowned and wondered if Victoria was right. Maybe he was coming down with something.

Nick watched his brother from the corner of his eye. He saw the frown and knew that Heath was contemplating his mother's words. His thoughts were interrupted by a pounding on the door. Silas came into the room with a telegram. Jarrod opened it, Nick looked over his shoulder, and Heath remained seated watching the reactions of his brothers as they read the telegram.

Nick was the first to react. "Well that's just great…We need to do something straight away otherwise we might lose the whole mine." He put his hands on his hips and looked at Jarrod for answers.

Jarrod folded the telegram slowly. "It's one of our smaller mines in Scott Valley. The pump has broken down and it's flooding fast….They need a new pump immediately, bigger than the current one they have. Our man Tanner was injured….They need one of us to go up there and take charge."

Jarrod handed the telegram to Heath. He read between the lines. "They're desperate…..I'll go…..as long as we're able to order and deliver the new pump in the next few days. Otherwise forget it."

"That's a very profitable little mine we have there…..We can't let that happen." Nick stated.

"If we don't get that pump going….and the mine floods….it will take nitro to clear it….and that's risky." Heath told his family. His knowledge of mining always astounded his family since, especially learning that Heath really didn't like mines all that much. "Jarrod….it could be that there's a bigger problem….There was already a pump in the mine and it broke down even though it wasn't that old." Heath replied, grimly.

"Alright….Heath how about you leave first thing in the morning for the mine. We'll order the pump and telegram you its delivery. After accessing the mine you should be able to tell us whether the pump will fix the problem." Jarrod told his brother.

Nick sighed. "You might be right Heath. All the more reason for you to get up there as quick as possible to check it out."

"I agree." Jarrod added.

Heath nodded. Victoria watched her sons take their seats back at the table. "With that settled lets finish our meal." Victoria insisted.

Heath moved the food around on his plate only eating a small amount. He refrained from drinking anymore water even though his throat screamed for it. When the family retired to the sitting room Heath had a brandy as opposed to his usual whiskey. The brandy settled his stomach but burned his throat. He followed it up with water but drank it out of sight in the kitchen.

"You know Mister Heath my mama said gargling water with a touch of salt dissolved in it does wonders for a sore throat." Silas told his friend with concern.

"You know Silas my mama used to do the exact same thing." Silas smiled.

"Perhaps you should try it?" Silas said thoughtfully. He handed Heath a glass with the salty water. Heath smiled and stood over the sink and gargled.

Heath walked back into the sitting room. "I'm going to call it a night. Night all." He bent over and kissed Victoria. "Goodnight mother."

Victoria took his hand. "I'll get Silas to pack you a lunch for the trip."

"Thank you mother….and don't worry….I'll be careful." Heath told her, squeezing her hand.

"Just make sure you get that mine going again. She's a real gem and we were hoping to keep the overheads down." Nick told his brother.

"I'll do my best Nick." Heath replied.

The family watched him climb the stairs. "Is it my imagination or is Heath losing weight?" Victoria asked.

"I think you're right mother. He does look somewhat thinner now that you mention it." Jarrod answered his mother. He frowned and looked at Nick for confirmation.

"He looks the same to me." Nick said bewilderedly. "Heath's fine. He's been working hard since…you know…Maria left."

Jarrod looked at his mother with unease. He had been in San Francisco but his mother had written to him and told him about Don Alfredo's attitude towards Heath. "Just the same we should make sure we keep in contact with Heath while he's up at the mine." Jarrod reiterated.

"Maybe we should send someone with him." Audra suggested.

"Who?" Nick asked annoyed with his sister's suggestion. "There's no one else on the ranch that knows anything about mines."

"Well maybe we should think about hiring someone who's worked in mines and on a ranch so that Heath doesn't have to go alone all the time. Just someone who has some idea about mines." Audra suggested, not being put off by Nick's annoyance.

"You know that's not such a bad idea." Victoria injected.

"Huh! Easier said than done. Heath's one in a million you know." Nick countered.

Jarrod smiled at Nick's admission. "Well all the more reason we need to keep an eye on that brother of ours." Jarrod slapped his brother's back.

"Yeah well….he means more to me than just his knowledge on mining and ranching. I miss him when he's gone…miss not having him around." Nick admitted causing both Audra and Victoria to smile.

"We all miss him Nick and I know he misses us…his family." Victoria proclaimed.