Miss Talbott

by Vol lady

Nick falls in love with a beautiful wealthy widow who has just moved to Stockton, unaware that both Jarrod and Heath have histories with the lady.

MISS TALBOTT

ONE

Nick Barkley was dumbstruck. He had seen beautiful women before who had made him stop in his tracks and smile like a fool, but this woman almost made him fall down. She was tall, with dark hair and blue eyes and skin like soft marble. She was walking from the bank in Stockton toward one of the residential areas where fashionable houses had been built over the last few years. She was dressed in a soft pink gown and carried a parasol trimmed in white lace in one hand and two boxes in the other. And she had glanced his way and flashed those smiling blue eyes.

"Nick?"

Nick finally heard Tolan, the proprietor of the mercantile, who had been calling his name as they stood together by the wagon Nick had just finished loading. Nick said, "Huh?" absently.

"I want you to check this bill," Tolan said.

Nick watched the woman turn the corner. "Who is that woman there? Do you know her?"

"The one with the parasol? Yeah, she is pretty, isn't she?"

"Pretty isn't the word for it," Nick said.

"Her name is Lillian Talbott. Came here from San Francisco, so I hear."

"Married?"

"No."

Nick's smile grew. "Hang on a minute, Tolan. I'll be right back."

Nick took off down the street, dodging traffic a bit, following Lillian Talbott as she turned the corner and then wondering how he was going to go about meeting her. Then fate intervened and gave him an opening. She dropped one of the boxes.

Nick rushed up before anybody else could and picked the box up. "Here you are, Miss. You dropped this."

She flashed a beautiful smile his way as he gave her the box. "Oh, thank you, Mister – "

"Barkley," Nick said, tipping his hat. "Nick Barkley."

"Oh, yes, I've heard your family name before."

"In a good way, I hope."

"A very good way."

"Here, why don't you let me carry those boxes home for you instead of you having to do all this juggling?"

She happily gave him the boxes. "Thank you. I appreciate the help."

They walked together toward the houses two blocks away. Nick said, "I admit, I've heard your name too, Miss Talbott."

"Oh, well I hope mine was in a good way, too," she said.

"Yes, it was," Nick fudged the truth. He really hadn't heard it as good or bad, since he had only heard it two minutes ago. "I understand you've just come here from San Francisco."

"Yes," she said. "I'm a widow. I was finding San Francisco to be too difficult for a widow of my age and means, so I decided to come to a place a bit quieter."

"How did you come to choose Stockton?"

"Well, it's a growing city, but not too overgrown yet. I thought it might be a good place for me to make a new start. And you – I understand you own a large ranch here."

"Well, it's a family ranch. I run it with my brother, Heath, and my mother and sister live there, too."

"That lawyer whose office I've seen in town – is he a relative?"

"My older brother, Jarrod, yes. He spends most of his time away in San Francisco or Sacremento, but he lives on the ranch with us when he's in town."

"And does running the ranch take up a lot of your time?"

There was a curious and unmistakable invitation in her eyes. Nick liked it. "A lot, but definitely not all of it."

"Well, that's very good," she said.

They reached her front door, and she opened it. She folded her parasol and glanced at the boxes in Nick's hand. "Oh," he said and offered them to her.

"Would you mind setting them on this table just inside the door here?" she asked.

She stepped in, and Nick reached in to set the boxes on the small table by the door. He did not step over the threshold, but he took his hat off as soon as his hands were empty. "I enjoyed our little walk and talk here," he said.

Lillian smiled a very sweet smile. "I did too."

"Perhaps I could – call on you sometime?"

"I would like that," she said.

TWO

And so it started. The family began to notice Nick had more occasions to go into town, and they suspected why. Nick with that almost dumb grin and spending more time in town than out in the field always meant there was a lady he was interested in. But he didn't mention her name or even say that he was seeing anyone.

The most anybody approached him about it was a comment from Heath one late afternoon when Nick left the herd, saying he had business in town. "Is she pretty?" Heath asked.

Nick smiled. "Yes, she is."

After several lunches and afternoon teas, Nick asked Lillian to dinner, and she accepted. Nick was pleased that she seemed perfectly at ease with him in the evening candlelight at the Stockton House. They talked about this and that, and they ate wonderful food, and as the evening meal wound down, Nick took a chance and took her hand in his. She didn't seem to mind at all.

"You know, you are one of the most confident women I've ever met," Nick said.

"Confident?" she said. "How do you mean?"

"You've never seemed uncomfortable with me, not even when I first met you, out there on the street, without a formal introduction."

She laughed. "Well, that may make an ingénue blush, but I haven't been an ingénue in years. I've been married, and I have seen several men socially, both before and after. I think I have a pretty good idea of how to protect myself from the vultures while enjoying the company of the gentlemen. And you are clearly a gentleman, Nick Barkley."

"Well," Nick said. "My mama brought me up right."

Lillian chuckled. "I'm sure she did."

Nick began to get lost in her eyes. "You know, you also have about the bluest eyes I've ever seen."

"Like my mother's," she said.

"I'll be your mother was quite a lady."

Lillian seemed to drift off for a moment. "Yes, she was a sweet woman. We didn't have a lot of money when I was a child, but my mother had a way of making us feel rich. She had a way of making me feel and act like a lady of better means than we really were."

"Did you grow up in San Francisco?"

"No," Lillian said, and that was all she said about it. "And you. Did you grow up on the ranch you run now?"

"I did," Nick said. "My mother and father came here from back east, but I was born and raised right here."

"You don't talk about your parents."

Nick said, "Well, my father died a few years ago. He was a very respected man in the valley. He taught me all I know about running a ranch."

"And your mother? I'll bet she is quite a lady, too."

"Yes. Yes, she is. She taught me how to respect and appreciate a woman like you."

Nick found himself fondling Lillian's hand, and she seemed to like it very much. "Shall we walk back to my home? I'd like for you to come in a while," she said.

Nick immediately waved at the waiter for the check.

It wasn't long before they were seated together on the sofa in Liliian's very nicely appointed parlor. She made some coffee and they shared it together.

Lillian apologized for not having a servant to do things such as make coffee. "I just haven't found the right person for the job," she said.

"Well, that can take a little while, but I'm sure you'll find someone," Nick said. "It'll make the house a little less empty."

"Oh," Lillian said. "Well, having an empty house can be a blessing in disguise."

Nick saw the invitation in her words and in her eyes. He leaned over, took her chin in his hand, and kissed her. "I hope I've not being too scandalous. Neighbors talk, you know."

"Oh, I know," she said. "But one thing about being a confident woman is that you don't worry too much about what the neighbors talk about."

Nick kissed her again. She drew closer to him.

They didn't talk any more about the neighbors.

THREE

It was only the next morning at breakfast when Nick finally brought Lillian up to his family.

"I think you all realize I've been seeing someone," he said, as if it were a big announcement.

Audra giggled.

Jarrod smiled and said, "Not a big secret, Nick."

"Well," he said. "Her name is Lillian, and I'd like to invite her to dinner here Friday night."

"Tell us a little about her," Victoria said. "Is she new in town?"

"She is," Nick said. "She is a widow from San Francisco."

"What brought her to Stockton?"

"She found San Francisco a bit too challenging for a widow of her age and means. You'll like her. She is very sweet and not taking advantage of me and my naivete."

Jarrod burst into laughter, while Heath turned away from the table and covered his mouth. Audra, again, giggled.

Victoria gave a smile. "Well, we'll be glad to enjoy her company at dinner Friday night. I will write an invitation as soon as we finish breakfast. That is, if your brothers and sister can control themselves long enough to finish eating."

Nick delivered the invitation when he visited Lillian that evening. One thing he never noticed was that his mother was the only person he mentioned her last name to. Things might have gone better in the long run if he had mentioned that detail to his brothers.

On Friday evening, Nick drove to town to escort Lillian back to the ranch. When he helped her out of the buggy at the front door of his home, he sighed with pleasure as he presented the house to her.

"Nick, this is a beautiful home," Lillian said. ""So gracious, lovely."

"My father built it nearly 30 years ago now," Nick said proudly. "And you make it even more beautiful."

Nick took her hand very gently and led her to the door. Then he opened the door and led her in with as much gallantry as he could ever have mustered.

His family was there to greet them at the door and got their first look at her. She was breathtakingly beautiful in a green gown and hat that obviously cost a great deal of money. Her eyes sparkled with breeding and wealth.

Nick saw the almost startled expressions on the faces of his brothers and felt a big sense of pride, as if to say to them, And you thought I was too much a hick to land a woman as beautiful as this.

He couldn't have read their expressions more wrong.

Victoria extended a hand to Lillian and smiled. "Hello, and welcome to the Barkley ranch," she said as Lillian took her hand, releasing Nick's, and came all the way in.

Nick closed the door behind her, and she said, "Thank you very much, Mrs. Barkley. You have a beautiful home."

Victoria let got of her hand and said, "This is my daughter, Audra, and these are my other sons, Jarrod and Heath."

Lillian took Audra's hand very politely, and then took Jarrod's, with a smile that didn't remotely echo the look in his eyes.

"Very pleased to meet you, Miss Talbott," Jarrod said, but the look that passed from him to her was not that of two strangers meeting for the first time.

Lillian nevertheless nodded appreciation and then turned toward Heath.

Heath also took her hand and said politely, "Miss Talbott," but the look that passed between them was just the same as the look she had shared with Jarrod.

Victoria then led her into the parlor, where she sat next to her on the settee. Nick took one of the chairs facing the settee and Audra took the other. Jarrod and Heath remained standing, and they all shared polite conversation and a drink before an exquisite dinner Silas prepared and served.

"Thank you very much," Lillian said to Silas whenever he served another part of the meal, and after dessert she said, "This has been wonderful, Silas. I've never had a better dinner, not even in San Francisco."

"You are most welcome, Miss Talbott," Silas said repeatedly, and he gave Nick a "nice-going" smile at the end of the evening.

After some more polite conversation over coffee, Nick escorted Lillian out to drive her home.

"Well, what did you think of Miss Talbott?" Jarrod asked Heath as they stood together on the porch, watching Nick drive away with her.

"Why don't you go first?" Heath said.

Jarrod looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He understood Heath's expression very well, and he looked very surprised. "This is going to be an interesting conversation."

"I know her, Jarrod," Heath said, and it was clear it was not that happy an acquaintance.

"I gathered," Jarrod said. "How do you know her?"

"Grew up with her in Strawberry," Heath said. "She was always interested in becoming rich and sophisticated, and she really didn't care who she stepped on to get there. She left not long before I did and went to San Francisco."

"Indeed she did," Jarrod said.

Heath looked surprised. "What?"

With a wry grin, Jarrod said, "I know her, too."

Heath stood up straighter. "How?"

"I met her in San Francisco about two years ago," Jarrod said. "She had just lost her very rich husband to a coach accident. Horse got away and the coach overturned. He was thrown out and struck his head on a bootscrape at the curb."

"You're telling me that we both know her."

"Oh, yes," Jarrod said. "Now, since I asked first – what do you think of Miss Talbott?"

Heath took a sigh. "I wish I could say that I liked her, but."

He stopped there, and Jarrod said knowingly, "Uh-huh."

"You don't think much of her either?"

"Well," Jarrod said, "my experience with her was of a different kind, and it was fairly brief, but."

Heath said, "You saw her socially."

"Yep," Jarrod said. "In San Francisco. We enjoyed each other's company for about three weeks, and then it ended."

"Why?"

"A richer man who didn't work for a living came along," Jarrod said. "The last time I saw Miss Talbott she bid me a fond farewell and moved on to bigger fish, or at least a fish who would give her the life of complete leisure and attention she wanted."

"What happened to that fella?"

"I have no idea. But I think I'll see about finding out."

"You think we ought to say something to Nick?"

"She acted like we were both strangers. She must have had a reason for that. I'd rather talk to her before I talk to Nick, and I'd rather find out a few things about her before I have my conversation with her. Do you want to talk to Nick?"

"I don't know. Maybe I ought to talk with her first, too."

"Well, if you do it soon, you probably ought not let on that you know that I know her, unless she brings it up first."

Heath sighed, nodding. "It looks like neither one of us trusts her very much."

Jarrod nodded. "And it seems like we have reason not to."

"How about Mother? You think we oughtta talk to her?"

"I think you already did," came a voice from behind them.

They both jumped a little before they turned around and looked. Victoria was standing behind them in the open doorway, and from the look on her face, she had heard a bundle of what they had said to each other. They looked at each other, then at the ground, and Jarrod said, "Hello, Mother."

Victoria came out and stood between them.

"How much did you hear?" Heath asked.

"Everything after the fact that you knew her in Strawberry," Victoria said. "Were you ever in love with her?"

Heath and Jarrod looked at each other, wondering why they were still so surprised when Victoria was perfectly blunt.

"No," Heath said. "It was nothing like that."

"And you, Jarrod," Victoria said to her oldest son. "Were you in love with her?"

Jarrod laughed a little. "I was never quite sure. One minute I was, the next minute I wasn't. When the affair ended I wasn't surprised and I was only a little bit regretful. I don't think I thought of her again until she walked through that door tonight."

Victoria sighed. "Well, I think Nick is going to have to know about all this sooner or later, before he gets hurt."

"Assuming he gets hurt," Heath said. ""She might not be the same woman we knew."

"Heath has a point," Jarrod said. "The Lillian Talbott I knew would not have gotten involved with a rancher, even a wealthy one."

"Are you willing to give her the benefit of the doubt?" Victoria asked.

"Maybe we ought to ask if YOU are," Jarrod said.

Victoria thought about it. "If you two are content to take the time to check into her background, I'll give it a little time, too. But part of that depends on Nick and how involved he gets in this affair, doesn't it?"

Heath and Jarrod looked at each other before they both nodded.

Jarrod said, "I think I'll head for San Francisco in the morning. Give me a few days."

Heath said, "Maybe I'll feel Nick out a little bit and see how head over heals he is, then maybe go to see Lillian."

Victoria nodded. "And I will stay out of it for now, unless Nick comes to me about it. You know how he is when he's in love."

Jarrod nodded. "He will talk to you more frankly about it at some point. Here's hoping he doesn't get out of control."

"Here's hoping something else," Heath said. "That Lillian doesn't say something to Nick about us on that ride into town tonight."

The extent of Nick's conversation about the family with Lillian on the way to her home was, "Do you like my family?"

"Very much," she said. "Do you think they like me?"

"I think they were very impressed."

After that, they had other things to talk about.

FOUR

Nick was astonished to find Jarrod up and almost through breakfast when he arrived. "Morning," he said.

"Morning to you," Jarrod said and took his last bite.

"What's got you up so early?"

"I'm gonna try to catch the early train," Jarrod said. "Did a little work after you left last night and decided I needed to do a little more in San Francisco. What time did you get in?"

"Oh, not too late," Nick said. "House was quiet, though. I didn't realize you were up."

"I probably wasn't," Jarrod said. "Miss Talbott is a fetching woman, isn't she?"

Nick smiled a smitten smile. "Isn't she?"

Jarrod knew from the look on his face that she had not said a thing to Nick about knowing him. "Gonna be seeing her some more?"

"I plan to," Nick said. "The lady is independently wealthy, so you know she's not seeing me for my money."

"Yes, it's nice to know she won't drain your pocketbook dry before she dumps you, as she undoubtedly will." Jarrod said it in a joking manner, even if it was something that worried him.

As Jarrod got up from the table, Nick poked him in the chest. "Just don't go getting any ideas about seeing her yourself if she and I don't gel."

"Well, if she dumps you, all bets are off," Jarrod said.

"She won't be dumping me," Nick said with certainty.

Jarrod gave him a wry grin and left the room. As he reached the staircase, he ran into Heath coming down. All he said, quietly, was, "She didn't say a word, at least about me."

"Good to know," Heath said and headed for the dining room.

Jarrod already had his bag packed and sitting by the door. He picked it up and left for San Francisco.

Heath entered the dining room and gave Nick an earnest, "Good morning."

Nick was seated by then and beginning to eat. "Mornin'," he said. "You gonna be ready to head out for the north range in about ten minutes? We have to go into town later on."

"Sure. You're the one who came home late."

Nick smiled. "Yes. Yes, I did."

"She's a looker," Heath said.

"Yes. Yes, she is."

"Gonna keep seeing her?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Are you always gonna be this agreeable in the morning while you're seeing her?"

Nick smiled even more. "Yes. Yes, I am."

Jarrod reached San Francisco in the afternoon and went first to his office. His secretary there filled him in on the regular business he was conducting in San Francisco. There wasn't anything pressing, so he just set her to drafting responses to some letters and left her to it. She was very able and knew what she was doing.

He then left his office and headed to the office of the "bigger fish" that Lillian Talbott had left him for two years earlier. The man's name was Howard Markham. He was Jarrod's age, a man who did not need to work – owing to the pile of money he inherited – but who kept an office for "business" that was primarily social. Jarrod thought of him as a bit lazy, but he tried not to judge. If the man was lucky enough to drift through life without having to worry about where the next meal was coming from, more power to him.

Jarrod hadn't seen the man since Lillian had gone off with him, but prior to that they had been socially cordial, though not friends. Jarrod expected that their relationship would be much the same, so he went to the man's office without an appointment and expected Howard would see him. He was right.

The man had grown a bit grey and a bit more stout, but he still had the upper class smile plastered to his face as he stood up from his desk and offered his hand. "Jarrod Barkley, my God, it's been years."

Jarrod took his hand. "It has been a while, hasn't it, Howard? How have you been?"

"I can't complain. I see from the papers you've been up to your usual legal causes."

Jarrod couldn't think of what Howard had seen in the papers, but he had to admit to himself that he didn't follow his own press coverage. On occasion he had read articles that quoted him and he could not remember a thing about the interview or even the case the article was about, but he chalked that up to working too hard. "Well, a man has to keep himself out of trouble somehow."

Jarrod sat down in front of Howard's desk and Howard resumed his seat behind it.

"So what brings you by here today?" Howard asked. "Got a deal you want to talk about?"

"No, it's more a social call," Jarrod said.

Howard looked surprised, then suspicious. "Come now, Lawyer Barkley, you don't pay me social calls."

"This one is a bit different," Jarrod said and tried to figure out how to open a delicate conversation. "I kind of hate to bring up old flames, but the fire has started burning back at the family ranch, and I need to ask your opinion."

Howard understood. "Lillian."

"Lillian."

"Don't tell me you've gone and gotten involved with her again."

Jarrod shook his head. "Not me, but she's moved to Stockton and she might be up to her old – interests."

"She's wheedling her way into the moneyed interests in Stockton," Howard said.

"Maybe," Jarrod replied. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. It's been two years since I've had any idea of what she's been doing. I'm trying to figure out if she's changed."

Howard leaned back in his chair, blew air out of his puffed cheeks and raised his eyebrows. "Jarrod, I'm not much for telling tales out of school."

"You and I have gotten stung by the same bee, Howard," Jarrod said. "Help me out here. What happened between you and Lillian?"

"Same thing as happened between you and Lillian," Howard said with a bit of an embarrassed grin. "We were together for about six months. She lived the high life, we got into arguments over money, and she moved on. I kicked myself for about six more months and then had a few laughs with the fellow she moved on to from me and then dropped for somebody else."

"Who did she move on to?"

"Jack Killaney."

It was Jarrod's turn to raise his eyebrows. Jack Killaney was a notorious gambler. Wealthy, yes. He won more than he lost as a rule. But he hardly seemed Lillian's type.

Howard saw the reaction. "She told me she really loved him, and maybe she did, but it didn't last. I lost track of her after she dropped Killaney, but I guess you're telling me she's moved to Stockton."

Jarrod nodded.

"Seems awfully small town for her."

Jarrod nodded again. "That's what I thought, and I figured there must have been a reason for her leaving San Francisco. Have you got any ideas on that?"

Howard shook his head. "No, but maybe Killaney does. Find a card game he's in and you might be able to get him to talk."

Jarrod nodded.

"You know," Howard said, "Lillian really is quite a woman. Maybe even worth being a fool over."

Jarrod remembered and gave a small smile. "Maybe. Anyway, thanks for seeing me, Howard."

Jarrod stood and reached his hand over the desk. Howard stood up and took it. "My pleasure. Good to see another member of the Liilian Talbott club."

Jarrod chuckled and left.

FIVE

While Jarrod was with Howard Markham in San Francisco, Nick and Heath were in Stockton, picking up some supplies. Tolan, the mercantile owner, had them all loaded and was bring out the bill when he saw Nick, again, was taking off down the street toward Lillian Talbott's house. He sighed. "Well, at least you're still here," he said to Heath and handed him the bill.

Heath gave a laugh. "Nick keeps running out on the bill, huh?"

"Oh, he comes back, after an hour or so. He's pretty smitten, isn't he?"

"Looks like it," Heath said and looked over the bill.

"Uh-huh," Tolan said, oddly.

Heath looked up at him. "What's the problem?"

Tolan hesitated and said, "Nothing."

Heath was very suspicious. "It's something. About Miss Talbott?"

"No, Heath, it's just something I heard."

"From who?"

"Somebody from San Francisco. Forget about it. It's nothing."

Heath noticed he'd have to forget about it. Lillian was coming down the street toward him. "Here's the lady now," he said to Tolan.

And Tolan was all business then. "All right, I'll put this on the monthly bill for the ranch, and you're all set," he said, tipped his hat to the arriving Miss Talbott, and went back inside his shop.

Heath tipped his hat to her, too, as she stopped beside him. "Hello, Lily," he said.

"Hello, Heath," she said. "I was pretty surprised to see you last night."

"Same here," Heath said, and looked around a bit to make sure no one was hearing their conversation.

"I had no idea you were a Barkley," Lillian said.

"Neither did I, until my mother died," Heath said.

"Ah," Lillian said, understanding that his mother or someone else told him then who his father was.

"They're a good family, Lily. They took me in as if I was born there."

She nodded. "That's wonderful. I'm happy you finally found out who your father was and that he was so well off."

"Is that still at the top of your list? Knowing people who are well off?"

She smiled and looked down, then up again. "Not so much since I married well."

"Lily, Nick has gone over to your house looking for you."

"Oh? I guess I'll be going then."

"Wait."

He hadn't touched her, but she stopped.

"Don't hurt him," Heath said. "He's a good man."

"What makes you think I'm going to hurt him?"

"I don't think you're out to do it. You just somehow end up doing it. I know about Jarrod, too."

She looked down again. "Oh."

"Now Jarrod, he's a bit more resilient to love gone bad than Nick is. But Nick doesn't know about either his relationship with you, or mine. Don't tell him. Let us handle it our way."

Lillian looked up at Heath again. "If I were going to tell him about you, I'd have done it last night, and Jarrod a lot sooner. But I guess I need to ask you not to tell him about me. Let me handle it in my way."

Heath nodded. "I will, but neither Jarrod or I are gonna wait for long. Nick really needs to know before he gets in too deep."

Lillian happened to see Nick coming back down the street, after obviously finding her not at home. "I like him, Heath," she said. "I like him very much."

"But you don't love him," Heath said. "Don't make him think you do."

Lillian looked Nick's way, and smiled and waved. Heath followed her gaze and saw Nick returning. Their conversation was clearly over.

Nick joined them, taking Lillian's hand and kissing it. "Well, I see you've been talking about me behind my back."

"Not really," Lillian said. "We were talking more about the lovely evening at the ranch last night."

"Don't let my brother charm you away from me," Nick said.

"That won't be happening," Lillian said. "I know the Barkley I prefer to be with."

"Well, I'm sorry we haven't had more time to chat," Heath said, "but Nick and I better be getting back to work. Ranches don't run themselves."

"I'll see you tomorrow night?" Nick said to Lillian.

She nodded.

Nick squeezed her hand and let her go, and watched her walk away. "My, my," he said quietly. "She is something."

"She is," Heath agreed, but he was pretty sure his definition of "something" and Nick's were very different.

Jarrod had little trouble finding the card game Jack Killaney was playing in that evening. Somehow, anybody who ever played poker with the man knew where he was playing on any given night. The site of this night's game was the back room of an entertainment hall where several women were singing and dancing. A man needed a well-known name and at least one thousand dollars in cash to get in the door of the back room. Jarrod had both.

"Well, well, the counselor comes to play with the counseled," Jack Killaney said when he saw Jarrod.

There were several tables going, and there was space at Killaney's. Puffing on a cigar, Jarrod said, "Nice to see you too, Jack. It's been a while. May I join you?"

"Well, you did get me out of jail a few times, so have a seat," Killaney said.

He too was puffing on a cigar and drinking something straight, probably scotch. Jarrod sat next to him and asked, "What's the game?"

"Draw, fifty dollar ante, jacks or better to open, no limit," one of the other players said.

Jarrod put his ante into the pot. Killaney had the deal and dealt cards to the five players at the table. Jarrod picked up his cards and saw he had two queens, an ace, a nine and a two. "So, tell me, Jack, how's life treating you?"

"Not bad, not bad," Killaney said. "You? Saved any sinners from the gallows lately?"

"No, it's been more business traffic lately," Jarrod said.

"Sounds boring."

One of the other men at the table opened with fifty dollars. Jarrod and Killaney saw the bet; the other two folded right away. Jarrod and Killaney both took three cards and the man who opened took two.

They chatted idly a bit now and then as the game wore on, but since talk at a serious poker game isn't viewed favorably, Jarrod held his questions about Lillian Talbott until more than an hour had passed. He was about seventy dollars in the black; Killaney was also winning. One man had dropped out from the game but another had taken his place.

"So," Jarrod said as he looked at a new hand. "Guess who just moved to Stockton?"

"Is it anyone I want to know?" Killaney asked.

"I don't know. How does Lillian Talbott strike you?"

Killaney laughed, and one other man at the table did, too. "She strikes me right across the face, every chance she gets," Killaney said. "I didn't know she'd left town, but I'm not surprised."

"Wore out all the eligible men?" Jarrod asked.

"You might say," Killaney said. "Or you might say that all the eligible men began talking to one another."

"So, she never changed any?"

"Not that I heard of. If you had money, she wanted it. Oh, she was gorgeous and looked great on your arm, but you never realized how much you were paying for that until the bank began to dry up."

That was enough for Jarrod to understand that Lillian was still the same woman that she was. A sophisticated gold digger. He wasn't surprised, but in a way he was saddened, for Nick, and for her. What she would be missing by hurting Nick instead of letting him in like a lover really should. She was throwing away the best man Jarrod knew.

He sighed and folded his lousy hand.

SIX

The next evening was warm and beautiful when Nick escorted Lillian to dinner at the Stockton House again, and returned home with her again. They enjoyed coffee, and each other, for a hour or so before Lillian asked, "Have you ever been to Europe, Nick?"

"No," he said. "I never have."

"I have. Paris. Oh, Nick what a wonderful city. The art, the buildings, the cafes. Even San Francisco can't begin to compare. I went there with my husband, right after we were married. So romantic." She looked over at him, smiling. "If I ever go there again, I would like to go with a man as romantic as my husband was."

"Have you never met such a man?" Nick asked.

"No," Lillian said. "Though I think you might be such a man."

Nick was embarrassed, almost to the point of blushing. "I'm not sure I'd be a good fit in Paris. There's too much of the country hick in me."

"You underestimate yourself," Lillian said, and took his chin in her hand and kissed him. "You are a handsome man, and very elegant when you want to be, like that dinner at your house the other night. You could be as beautiful on my arm as you think I am on yours."

"Ah, but there's a difference," Nick said. "You really are beautiful on my arm."

"You underestimate yourself," she said again, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Nick, have you ever thought about marrying?"

"Yes," he said. "But it never came about. Are you proposing?"

Lillian laughed.

Nick realized it was the firs time he had heard her laugh so honestly. Each time before it had seemed planned.

"No, I'm not that forward," she said. "But you should know that you would make the most beautiful woman in the world very happy, and you would look perfectly at home in Paris, or London, or even Rome."

Nick kissed her again. They didn't talk anymore of Europe.

Nick took his mother aside the next morning after breakfast, and she knew right away what he wanted to talk about.

"Lillian," she said. "Are you falling in love with her?"

"I already fell," Nick said. "She's beautiful, she's intelligent – "

"Is she in love with you?"

"Yes, I think she is."

"Are you going to ask her to marry you?"

Nick hesitated at that. He wasn't even sure why. "Not yet," he said.

"What's preventing you from asking?" Victoria asked.

Nick smiled, embarrassed. "Propriety, I guess. I want to make sure the family would be happy with my choice."

Victoria did not know what to say. Jarrod was still in San Francisco and they hadn't heard from him. Heath had told her about his conversation with Lillian in town and how Lillian "liked" Nick. "Why don't you bring her to dinner again this coming Friday evening? Jarrod should be home by then. Perhaps you'll be more comfortable with whatever decision you make if we all spend more time together."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. But why don't you write the invitation this time? It would mean much more coming from you."

Nick smiled and nodded, then left for the library where the writing materials were kept.

Victoria sighed and talked herself out of worrying. Another Friday evening might be exactly what this relationship needed, however it turned out.

As before, Nick drove into Stockton and brought Lillian out to the ranch. An hour or so of drinks before dinner was full of polite conversation, with only Nick and Audra not knowing about the secrets being carefully concealed. Dinner contained more polite conversation. Nick and Audra never seemed to be aware that anything was being kept from them.

After dessert, Nick announced he would take Lillian back home, and the two of them left the dining room. As Nick helped Lillian put her wrap on, he realized he had left his wallet in his room all evening. He excused himself, ran up to his room, and left Lillian there at the foot of the stairway.

Jarrod had given them what he thought was time to leave before he left the dining room, but he happened to come in from the dining room as Lillian was waiting by the stairs, and suddenly, unexpectedly, the two of them were alone together.

Jarrod saw complete recognition in her eyes. Suddenly there was no pretense that they had never met before.

"Hello, Jarrod." Lillian said.

Jarrod said, "Hello, Lillian. I've been pretty surprised to see you again."

She looked up at him. "I wasn't surprised to see you. I knew that Nick was your brother as soon as I met him."

Jarrod wasn't sure how to approach this, but before he knew it, the thoughts came out. "And you still decided to pursue Nick."

"Pursue? You make me sound like a predator."

"Lillian, I'll be honest with you. I went to San Francisco to check you out, to see if you were still the same woman I knew two years ago."

"Oh," she said. "And what have you decided?"

"What do you want from Nick? The same things you wanted from me? Money, position, the easy life."

"Love?"

Jarrod didn't expect that word. "You could have had that with me, or any of the other men you've been with."

"Really? If that's true, why is it I've never seen it?"

"Perhaps because it's something you're blind to, or perhaps the money and position are more important and you don't want to admit it to yourself."

Lillian's eyes grew hard. "You know, one of the things that made me leave you was this notion you have that you can lecture people on how they should be, rather than accepting them as they are."

"Oh, I could have accepted you, if love were part of the package. But I don't think for you it ever will be. Don't hurt Nick, Lillian."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. Just a request, a favor to an old lover."

"I don't want to hurt Nick," Lillian said, her eyes growing soft again. "I like him. He's just as you described him – passionate, funny, handsome."

"But you can't love him, just as you've never been able to love any man."

Nick came out of his room just as Lillian was asking if Jarrod's words were a threat, just in time to hear the end of their conversation that suddenly threw him for a loop. He stopped on the stairway about five steps above them, and he looked from his brother to his lover and back again.

And anger rolled over his face like a storm cloud. "What the hell is this about?"

Jarrod didn't hear him coming and didn't know how much Nick had heard.

But Nick came closer and told him. "How dare you talk to Lillian that way. A THREAT? You scarcely know her. How dare you treat her like that."

"This is a lot more complicated that you think, Nick," Jarrod said.

Nick didn't even reply. Before Jarrod could think or defend himself, Nick decked him with a hard fist to his jaw. Jarrod hit the back of his head on the banister of the stairway and went down in a heap on the floor. Lillian gasped out loud.

Nick took her hard by the arm and led her out the front door, where the buggy was waiting for them. But he stopped her there, beside the buggy, and twisted her around. "Now, explain something to me. What did Jarrod mean when he said you couldn't love any man and this was more complicated than I think?"

"Nick, listen to me," she said, trying to be soothing, putting both hands on his chest.

"I am listening," he said.

"Jarrod and I knew each other in San Francisco, years ago. We were in love, and I threw it away. I've regretted it ever since."

"And neither of you thought to mention that to me? What is it? Are you still in love with him?"

"No, Nick, no. I'm not in love with Jarrod anymore. Nick, I like you. I like you a lot and I'd never hurt you, and Jarrrod's just concerned about you."

"He's concerned about you and me. Does he have reason to be? Is he right, that you have trouble loving any man? What exactly is happening with us?"

Heath suddenly came out of the house, interrupting them. "Nick – "

"Get out of here, Heath, this doesn't concern you," Nick said.

"Yes, it does," Heath said. "There's more you don't know."

"Oh, there is, is there?"

"Nick, I've known Lilllian before, too," Heath said.

Nick looked dumbstruck. "Oh, now you're telling me that the woman I love has known BOTH of my brothers and nobody thought to tell me that?"

"It's not like that, Nick," Lillian said. "Heath and I grew up together in Strawberry. We were never lovers. We just knew each other."

"And nobody thought to tell me about that, either?"

"Nick, please, you don't understand."

"You're damned right I don't understand."

Audra suddenly came out of the house then, frantic. "Heath! Heath, go get the doctor! Jarrod is hurt!"

They all looked at Audra.

"He hit his head on the bannister," Audra said. "He's bleeding badly and we can't wake him up. Please, go get the doctor."

Nick's head was reeling. Everything was happening sofast, and he had hurt his brother badly enough to need a doctor.

Heath took Lillian by the arm. "Get in, Lillian. I'll take you home and fetch the doctor."

Nick turned to protest.

"Nick, get back in the house," Heath said. "See if you can help with Jarrod."

Lillian got into the buggy as Heath pushed her that way, then he climbed in behind her and took off.

Heath said only one thing to her during the whole trip, and he said it right away. "Lillian, you better think twice before you have anything more to do with Nick or anyone else in this family, do you understand?"

She did not reply.

SEVEN

Nick was left standing by the house, looking stunned, with Audra beside him. Audra took his arm and brought him back to his senses.

"Nick, we need help getting Jarrod upstairs," she said. "Go get one of the hands and come help us, please."

Audra went back into the house then, and Nick stumbled. Then, his head getting more straight, he went to the barn to get the hand there.

In a couple minutes, Nick hurried back into the house with the hand who took care of the horses in the barn. He stopped just inside the door, taking in what he was seeing, and feeling immeasurably guilty.

Jarrod lay crumpled at the bottom of the stairs where Nick had left him, but now Victoria had his head cradled in her lap and was taking a towel that looked like it was full of ice from Silas. She placed it under Jarrod's head, and in that moment Nick saw that his mother's lap was red with Jarrod's blood. She looked up at him briefly, then simply said, "We need to get Jarrod to the guest room."

As Nick and the ranch hand lifted Jarrod from either side, Victoria tried to keep the ice pack under his head, but it was really too difficult. Jarrod was like a wet rag, totally limp, although he gave a slight groan as they lifted him. Carefully, they carried him up to the guest room – the closest room to the bottom of the stairs – and put him to bed there.

Victoria put the ice pack back under his head, letting it do the dual job of stopping the bleeding and reducing the swelling. She sat on the edge of the bed with him and told Audra, who had followed them in, to get more towels.

"What can I do?" Nick asked.

Victoria looked up at him. Her anger made him shiver with guilt. She only said, "Go downstairs and wait for the doctor."

Nick did as he was told and sent the ranch hand back to the barn. Then, completely alone at the bottom of the bloody stairs, he sat down and grabbed the sides of his head, hardly able to bear up under the guilt and all the other events of the evening that were crushing him down.

He didn't even notice when Silas came in from the kitchen and began to try to clean up the blood on the stairs.

Heath delivered Lillian to her home in Stockton, without saying a word or looking at her. She did not get out of the buggy, though. Instead, she put her hand on his arm. "I'm not a monster, Heath, even if it seems like I am."

Heath said, "Go on inside, Lillian. I have to get the doctor right away."

Lillian climbed out of the buggy and watched Heath drive it away. It was long out of sight before she turned and went into her home.

Not an hour later, Heath arrived home with the doctor, and he told Heath and Nick to stay downstairs while he hurried up to the guest room. Both brothers looked up after him, and then they were left with each other.

Heath looked at Nick while Nick kept his gaze upstairs. Heath felt for his brother – it was easy to see that the guilt of what he'd done was killing him, and the confusion about Lillian was turning him around in circles. But at the same time Heath was furious with him for hitting Jarrod, and furious with himself for not telling Nick earlier about his own past with Lillian.

"This isn't all your fault," was all Heath could think to say.

"Isn't it?" Nick said. "I'm the one who hit him."

"Maybe we had it coming."

Nick shook his head. "Not this. Not this."

"You want to talk about Lillian?"

"No," Nick said, turning and going into the living room.

He sat on one of the chairs near the fireplace and held his head in his hands. Heath followed him in there and sat down on the settee.

Heath just kept talking. "We wanted to tell you sooner, but Jarrod wanted to talk to some people in San Francisco first."

"About Lillian?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. We both had reason not to trust her, but at the same time we wanted to be sure we weren't wrong about her. When I knew her, she was the kind of woman who would do anything, manipulate anybody, to move herself up in society. She just wanted out of Strawberry and she wanted a man who could give her everything. Jarrod was one of the men she ran across in San Francisco. Problem with Lillian was that no man was ever what she wanted. No man could give her what she thought she wanted. She left Jarrod for someone else, and then she left him, and on and on it went. Jarrod went to San Francisco to see if she had changed, but she hadn't. She just wore out San Francisco and then came here."

"Why here, Heath? Why here? Did she just want to try Jarrod again and I got in the way?"

Heath shook his head. "I don't know."

Nick just shook his head and hung it, agony written all over him.

Heath didn't know how to console him. They just sat there together for a long time.

Until finally, Audra came down. She looked exhausted. She did not look happy. They stood up.

"He's still unconscious," she said. "The doctor thinks he might have a concussion. You hit him, didn't you, Nick?"

Nick didn't know what to say. "Audra – "

"Over Lillian. Mother told me."

"She knew, too? Am I the only one who didn't know?"

"Only because we didn't want to misjudge Lillian, and because we didn't know how to tell you," Heath said.

"So you let me find out out of the blue when I found Lillian and Jarrod together!"

"You threw the punch, Nick," Heath said.

"Stop it!" Audra said. "None of that matters now! Everybody knows everything and the only thing that matters now is Jarrod!"

Nick closed his eyes and sank down into the chair again. Audra rubbed his shoulders. When she did, Heath patted Nick's knee before he sat back down on the settee. It was the first sense Nick had that there might be some forgiveness for him for what had happened, but it wouldn't be any good unless Jarrod was going to be all right.

The doctor came down soon, alone. They went to intercept him at the bottom of the stairs.

He looked very tired. He said, "He's still not awake. I'll know more tomorrow, but there's not much more I can do tonight."

"Will he be all right?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," the doctor sighed. "Head injuries are nasty. Unpredictable. We'll see tomorrow. For now I suggest you all get some rest."

Audra saw the doctor to the door, and Nick immediately went upstairs. Heath did not try to stop him.

Nick quietly entered the guest room and saw his mother sitting on a chair next to the bed. Jarrod lay perfectly still, a bandage around his head now. Victoria was just staring at him.

Nick almost turned around and went out. He felt worse than he'd ever felt in his life and did not know what he was going to say to his mother, but she said quietly, "Come in, Nick."

Nick quietly came and stood beside her. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"Uncertain," Victoria said. "The doctor isn't too worried unless he doesn't wake up by tomorrow morning."

"Mother, I don't know what to say – "

Victoria raised a hand, stopping him. "Don't say anything, Nick. You shouldn't have hit him, but there were things we shouldn't have done, either. Secrets and deceits always end up badly for someone. These fell on Jarrod."

"I am sorry, Mother, sorrier than I'll ever be able to say."

"We'll talk about it some more in the morning. Maybe Jarrod will be better by then. It will be easier to talk."

"Why don't you let me sit up with him? You need the rest."

Victoria sighed and got up. Facing Nick, she gave him a sad smile and brushed the hair out of his face. Nick did all he could do to keep from bursting into tears.

"Promise you'll wake me if he wakes up," Victoria said.

"I'll wake you," Nick promised.

Victoria kissed his cheek then and left the room.

With a heavy sigh that kept the tears back, Nick sat down in the chair Victoria had vacated and leaned on his elbows on the bed. For a long time he looked at his brother. Jarrod was breathing softly and evenly, but otherwise he looked like death itself.

Nick finally let it go. "Pappy, I'm sorry," he whispered, hanging his head. "Please, wake up. I can't – "

He didn't know how to finish the sentence. There were so many things he "couldn't." He let his forehead fall on his folded hands and stayed that way for a long time.

He thought he heard Jarrod call his name, but it must have been in a dream. Then he felt something on his arm and he woke up.

Jarrod's hand was on his arm. "Jarrod?" Nick asked. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Jarrod said through dry lips. "Are you?"

Nick smiled, deeply relieved. "I am now. Look at me."

Jarrod opened his eyes and looked at Nick. "You need a shave," he said.

Nick took hold of Jarrod's hand in both of his. "Jarrod, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you – "

"No," Jarrod interrupted. "I shouldn't have kept things from you. You hit me – I had it coming."

"You didn't have this coming."

"I'm all right. Everything seems to be intact. I just have a headache. Listen – Nick – I knew Lillian years ago in San Francisco."

"I know. I know everything."

"I'm sorry, Nick. I should have told you but I didn't have any idea how Lillian was now. I didn't want to be unfair to her. If there was a chance for the two of you, I wanted you to have it."

Nick heard the door open behind him. "We'll talk about it later."

Heath had come in and was walking quietly up behind Nick. "Jarrod's awake?"

"Jarrod's awake," Jarrod said. "Jarrod could use a little water."

Heath fetched a glass of water from the dresser nearby and brought it over. He handed it to Nick, who helped Jarrod lift his head enough to take a small sip.

"How do you feel?" Heath asked.

"Head hurts," Jarrod said. "Otherwise, I just feel like apologizing."

"Me, too," Heath said. "We're all sorry, Nick."

"Forget it," Nick said. "I'm the one who threw the punch."

"And you made it a good one," Jarrod said. And then he said, "Good morning, Mother, Audra."

Nick and Heath looked behind them. Their mother and sister were standing in the doorway, smiling. They came in, and Victoria said, "Good morning, Jarrod. Have you been awake long?"

"A couple minutes."

"How do you feel?"

"Head hurts," he said, "but otherwise, everything is fine. Everything."

Victoria said, "Good."

EIGHT

Later in the afternoon, Nick rapped on Lillian's door. He wasn't sure whether she was in or not, or whether she would let him in if she was, but it was important to him that he see her, so he was prepared to try over and over if he had to.

He didn't. She opened the door. She let her gaze fall when she saw it was him. He took off his hat and asked, "Is it all right if I come in?

"Yes, of course," she said and opened the door wider.

Nick came in and put his hat on the small table by the door. This house that had seemed so warm and welcoming only a few nights before now seemed cold and aloof, but that didn't surprise him. It was never going to seem the same.

"How is Jarrod?" Lillian asked. "Is he going to be all right?"

"He'll be fine," Nick said and left it at that.

Lillian said, "I'm really very sorry about what happened last night. I never intended to hurt you or Jarrod or anybody else in your family."

"But it seems you hurt us all," Nick said. "And because you've kept such a big secret from me, I hurt my brother badly."

"You said he would be all right."

"He will be, but it happened. A lot of things happened."

Lillian came toward him. "You didn't need to come. I know we're over."

"I don't know why I came," Nick said.

"You have some things to say."

"Yes." He hesitated but finally said it. "I loved you, Lillian. We could have had such a life together. Even Europe. I was ready to give it all to you. If only you had loved me."

"I do love you, in a way."

"But not the way I want. Jarrod and Heath had that right."

Lillian shook her head. "Nick, I'm not sure I ever really loved Jarrod or any man. I don't know if it's in me. Oh, I say the words, and I play the game, but somehow – Jarrod is right. Love is never really there. I don't know why."

"I think it's because you love yourself too much to let anybody else in. I am sorry, Lillian. It could have been beautiful."

Lillian went back to the door and opened it. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I couldn't love you the way you loved me. I'm sorry for all of it."

Nick went to the door and picked up his hat, preparing to go. But before he did, he put his fingers under Lillian's chin, lifted it, and kissed her. "Good-bye, Lillian," he said and went out.

She watched him go, like she had watched so many other men go, and knew inside that it would never be any different.