The Perfumed Letter
Chapter 1
Heath thumbed through the mail as he and Nick came into the house, Nick bellowing as usual, their mother coming down the stairs and stopping in exasperation.
"Nick, must you always start hollering the minute you come in the door?" Victoria asked for the millionth time.
"All right, where do you want me to start hollering?" Nick asked.
Heath found the letter addressed to him. He had caught the scent even before he found the letter and smiled inside as he ran it under his nose for more.
Audra came running down the stairs in a bathrobe, her hair tied up in a towel. "Is there anything for me?"
"No," Heath said as he handed Victoria all the letters except the one that was for him. That one he opened and began reading.
"Odd, there's nothing from Jarrod," Victoria said. "He said he'd write as soon as he got to Rockville."
"There's probably only one stage from Rockville every week," Heath said. He read on in his letter, smiling.
"Well, I'll get you some lunch," Victoria said.
"No, no, we'll eat at the chuck wagon," Nick said, giving Heath a slap on the arm and heading for the door.
Heath put the letter in his shirt pocket and followed Nick.
XXXXXXXX
Things derailed for a few days then. Jarrod had not reached Rockville, and no one knew where he was. Nick and Heath went looking for him, and except for the occasional scent that drift up from his pocket, Heath forgot about the letter.
It was a tough time, but eventually Nick and Heath found their brother living with the family he had gone to Rockville to see. He had been injured in a fall from his horse and lost all memory of who he was or why he was there. Nick and Heath found him and, after fighting and tears and relief and struggling to get through the fog of a damaged memory, Nick and Heath helped Jarrod find himself. They left Rockville with their older brother in tow.
Going home wasn't really all that smooth at first. Jarrod was silent, seemed almost brooding when his brothers thought he should have been happier about remembering things again. When they camped that first night, Jarrod was even silent while they ate and shared coffee before turning in.
Nick finally found his worry overtaking his relief. "Jarrod, are you doing all right?"
"Yeah, Nick," Jarrod said quietly. "Just still sorting things out in my head."
"How so?"
Jarrod looked up at Heath. "I didn't know who you were until I saw your gun. The eagle on your gun – somehow it made me remember."
Heath nodded. "You're all right now."
"Sort of."
Nick and Heath looked at each other. "What do you mean?" Heath asked.
"I think I still have some holes in my head."
"What kind of holes?" Nick asked.
Jarrod ran a hand through his hair. "Things missing. I can't picture where I live. Nothing comes to mind. I can't – I can't see who I live with. I think I live with you and Nick but I can't picture anybody else, even though I think there is someone else."
Nick and Heath looked at each other, worried. "Well, you live part time with us and part time in San Francisco, alone. No wonder you can't get it straight yet."
"It'll come to you, just like when you looked at the gun," Heath said. "When we get home, it'll come to you, if not before."
Jarrod's blue eyes looked uncertain. "You sound sure."
"I am sure. Here, let's try something."
He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the letter he had received just before he and Nick left home. He ran it under his nose – he wanted to relish the scent again himself - then handed it to Jarrod.
"I got this letter just before we left to come look for you," Heath said. "Do you recognize that scent?"
Jarrod ran the letter under his nose. The scent did seem familiar somehow – something stirred. In the darkness, his eyes took on a faraway look, like he was seeing something that only he could see, a piece of a memory trying to come back.
He suddenly smiled. "Melanie Palmer," he said and took a whiff of the scent again.
Heath smiled. "Once I caught this scent, I had to open the letter right up."
Jarrod said, "What does she say?" as he handed the letter back to Heath.
"Well, she says she wants to see me in Stockton, a few days from now. Do you remember her at all, or just this scent?"
"Oh, I remember her. Brunette, dark brown eyes, not more than five foot two if she's that tall. Sweet, sweet young lady – much too young for me, of course, but perfect for you. I remember – I remember the two of you dancing together in a parlor – our parlor! I remember it! There was some party. Nick, you weren't there, you were off on a trip to one of the mines or somewhere. I'll bet you would have fought Heath for her attention if you'd been there."
Heath laughed. "See, I told you things would come back to you."
"You're right," Jarrod said. "Amazing, what the fragrance from one letter can – well, wake up in a man."
"Yeah, Big Brother, just remember, you said she was much too young for you but perfect for me."
"Are you going to see her?" Jarrod asked Heath.
"Oh, yeah," Heath said, smiling. "I just hope she's not coming to tell me she's getting married or something."
"I kinda doubt she'd send a letter that smells like that if she was coming to tell you she's getting married," Nick said. "I'm looking forward to meeting this girl myself."
Heath gave Nick a warning glance, and Nick grinned.
"It's a lovely fragrance," Jarrod said, his smile growing. "Makes me remember – a few other young women – that you two don't know anything about."
Heath and Nick laughed. "I'm not about to go prying into your love life, Jarrod, not even to help you remember it," Heath said. "You're on your own with that."
Jarrod's eyes got the old twinkle back. "I suspect you'll be too busy with Miss Palmer to concern yourself with me."
XXXXXXXXX
There were tears of worry and relief waiting for them when they got home, and Heath was right. Jarrod remembered his mother and sister as soon as he saw them. Once they settled Jarrod back into his real life and finished the explanations about what had happened in Rockville, everyone was more relaxed and comfortable.
"I'm just happy to have you home safe and sound," Victoria said. "I was worried sick."
"No need to worry," Jarrod said. "Everything is fine."
Jarrod knew he still had some holes in his memory, but he did not mention that to his family. He let any great concern about him close out as Victoria said, "Oh, Heath, a telegram came for you while you were gone. It's on the table near the bottom of the stairs."
Heath left his family in the parlor and went for the telegram. Nick and Jarrod exchanged knowing smiles that Victoria did not miss. She took a guess that the telegram was from a woman, but she did not ask questions.
Audra, however, did. "Who's it from?" she asked as Heath opened it and came back into the parlor.
"Oh – " Heath said, hesitating as he wondered whether to leave the question unanswered, but then deciding not to. "It's from Melanie Palmer."
Audra's eyes lit up. "Melanie Palmer?!"
Another memory popped into Jarrod's head, and into Heath's and Victoria's – Audra and Melanie with their heads together in the parlor, their eyes on Heath, their smiles for Heath. Jarrod couldn't remember if Heath noticed that part or not.
Victoria remembered. Heath did notice. Victoria remembered how he and Melanie danced together very frequently at the party. She remembered what a charming young lady Melanie was. "I didn't know you were still in touch with her," she said to Heath.
"I haven't been," Heath said. "Got this letter before we went up after Jarrod, but other than that, I haven't been in touch with her."
"What does the wire say?" Audra asked.
Victoria put her hand on Audra's arm. "Audra, there's no call to go prying into Heath's affairs."
Heath smiled. "Well, it won't stay a secret anyway. She's arriving the day after tomorrow on the train from Carson City."
Nick had watched all of this and smiled. "Well, good, I've been looking forward to meeting this mysterious lady."
"There's nothing mysterious," Audra said. "She's from Baltimore. Visited us a few months ago, while you were out on a tour of the mines. We had a dance while she was here. She and Heath shared practically every dance together."
"So don't go getting ideas," Heath said to Nick.
"At least not until Heath's had another crack at her," Jarrod said.
The lawyer's blue eyes twinkled.
