A/N I should have stated this in the story "The River is Wide"; this AU set in 1874/1875
Chapter One
Heath was sure the stagecoach he was riding in had hit every pothole in the road by the time it rolled into Abbottsville. From the look on Nick's face, his hot tempered brother must feel the same way. At least the nice, cool breeze that was blowing through town made up for the rough ride. "Twenty minutes folks," the stagecoach driver, a heavier set gentleman with gray hair, said after he'd stopped the coach and his passengers started climbing out. "I'll be leaving in twenty minutes. If you're going on, be here as I don't wait for anyone."
"Friendly fellow," Nick commented as he and Heath starting walking down the boardwalk. He then glanced at Heath and asked, "How are you doing?"
Heath had only been walking with his prosthetic leg for a couple of months, and this was the first trip he'd taken that involved riding in a stagecoach since he'd been shot at Sample's farm. "I'm fine." Heath gave his brother a lopsided grin. "Now, let's check and see if your Uncle Jim left the horses he promised us at the livery stable."
Nick kept his growl low, knowing Heath was still adjusting to being a Barkley, not Thomson. He also knew that adjustment was being made harder by some of the ranch hands. Though, the majority of those men hadn't done more than verbally harass Heath due to the fact that everyone knew he'd saved Jarrod's life and what it had cost the young man in the long run. The only one to actually try to physically attack Heath had been their ranch hand Barrett…and he'd been promptly fired by Heath. When the man tried to go to Nick and get re-hired Barrett had been stunned to hear Nick tell him to he, Nick, had checked into why Heath had fired Barrett and that he, Barrett, could 'get the hell off my land and stay away from my brother!' "He's your uncle too." Nick looked at Heath.
Heath shrugged his shoulders. He knew Nick meant well; and, he knew technically James "Jim" Barkley was indeed his blood uncle. However, none of that changed the fact that he'd never met the man. If he was still saying 'ma'am' or 'Mrs. Barkley' the majority of the time to Victoria, how could he be expected to call Tom Barkley's brother 'uncle'? "I still don't see why he wanted us to come to Abbottsville." Heath said as he started to cross the street to the livery stable. "From what you all say he knows horses better than you do. He should be able to tell whether or not he's buying good animals or not."
"I told you, he just wants to meet Heath. After all, it's not every day we get a new family member and," Jarrod smiled at Nick, "I think he wants to meet the man who has insisted on continuing to work on a ranch even though he's lost a part of his leg. Not everyone would do that'.Jarrod's words, ones spoken after they'd received the letter from their Uncle Jim, rang in Nick's head. He was sure Jarrod was right, but why speculate on that one at the moment? Heath would probably just bolt if he did. The family had learned quickly that the one of the things his new brother didn't like was an overly amount of attention. That being the case, Nick simply chuckled and said, "He can, but then what excuse would he have to get us down here?" Nick chuckled again as he told Heath of the times Jim had come up with an excuse to get one of the family members to travel o Abbottsville.
Heath shook his head and chuckled also. Though, as he thought on uncles, his smile disappeared as one name always came to mind when he heard the title of uncle…Matthew Simmons. Just the thought of that man's name left a bad tasted in Heath's mouth.
Seeing the change in his brother's countenance, Nick grew alarmed. "What is it? What is wrong? Do you see something?" Nick asked as he looked around, halfway expecting to see some trouble following them.
What was wrong? Heath inwardly shook his head. Men like Matt Simmons and women like Martha were the problem. Always thinking about themselves, and never taking the time to look around them to see who might need help. People like his aunt and uncle who thought nothing about whipping a child over the stupidest things or sending them to the room with no supper and making them stay there for hours on end. "Just thinking," Heath answered as his quickly threw his poker face back into place.
Nick shook his head as the two of them walked through the open livery stable doors. Another thing he had learned since Heath had joined the family was that the man's mouth was as tight as a bear trap and twice as hard to open. How on earth was he going to ever get Heath to open up and talk?
"Hello, Mr. Barkley!" The livery stable owner, Joshua Giles, who was standing near the back of the stable, grinned as he approached Nick. "Who's your friend?"
"This is my brother, Heath." Nick replied, keeping an eye out for any adverse reaction in the livery stable owner's expression.
"Your brother! Since when did you have another brother!" Mr. Giles involuntarily exclaimed and then added, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that." He quickly apologized, though it was mostly because he feared Jim Barkley pulling his business away from the stables. It was a fact that Nick and Heath could both tell simply by reading the man's body language. Nick might have said something, only Heath shot him a looked that asked him to drop it. Something Nick wouldn't have done except he couldn't see ever getting as close to Heath as he was to Jarrod and the others if he ignored his wishes.
"We came for the horses our uncle was supposed to have waiting here for us." Nick said as he looked around the stable.
"Oh, yes," Mr. Giles turned and called for his stable boy to get the horses meant for the Barkleys. He then excused himself, saying he had to get back to work. It didn't take but a few minutes for Nick and Heath to mount the horses and start out for Jim Barkley's place.