Camilla

Chapter One

The day had been extremely hot and the road long and dusty. If that wasn't bad enough, it seemed like one thing after another had gone wrong. At least the cattle drive was over and they were home. Nick dismounted his horse; all he wanted was a warm bath and a hot meal. "Let's see what Silas has cooked up," he said as he grinned at Heath, who was wearing at least two inches of thick brown California dirt. Nick was sure he was wearing just as much of it himself.

"Sounds good to me," Heath gave his brother a crooked smile as they headed for the house.

Once inside the warm bath and hot meal were both quickly forgotten. Both brothers were shocked to see Audra sitting in a chair holding an infant who couldn't be more than a couple months old; Victoria was sitting on the sofa looking rather serious and Jarrod stood by the fireplace with a similar expression as their mother. It was the expressions and the tense atmosphere in the room, not the baby that put Nick and Heath on high alert. "Whose baby is that?" Heath asked as he tossed his hat onto the small coffee table and sat down in the chair closest to the living room entrance.

Nick, who had put his hat down next to Heath's, picked up an apple and bit into it, about choked on the food in his mouth as three sets of eyes turned and looked at him. After quickly swallowing the food, Nick backed up a step. "What is everyone looking at me for? I didn't have anything to do with it."

He was shocked when Jarrod stepped away from the fireplace and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his vest pocket. "According to this," he said as he handed it to Nick frowning slightly, "You have a lot to do with it."

Nick's eyebrows turned down as he took the paper from his older brother and unfolded the paper. His eyes widened as he read: Her name is Camilla. She is two months old. She might look like her mother's side of the family, but her father is Nick. There were no other words on the paper.

Nick was so stunned his knees almost buckled; as it was, he had to hurry and sit down on the only other chair in the room. It was impossible! Wasn't it? He began doing the math to see where he would have been at the time the child would have been conceived.

"Nick, is there a possibility whoever left this note is telling the truth? Could this child be yours?" There was no condemnation in his mother's voice, only a tone that demanded him to answer.

Nick didn't answer at first as he had just barely placed his whereabouts to the period in question. He slowly stood up and took a few steps over to where his sister sat. Audra placed the child into Nick's outstretched arms and then watched as Nick pulled the child to him. He looked over her roundish face and sparkling hazel eyes. A faraway look appeared in his eyes as the seconds seemed to tick painfully by. The uncomfortable silence was broken when he shook his head. "I won't deny having been with a few women, but I can't honestly say yes or no right now."

Victoria shook her head and stood up. "It looks like we have a nursery to get ready. I'll talk to you later, Nicholas." The moment she said Nicholas, Nick cringed. His mother never called him that unless she was furious.

"Here," Audra scowled slightly…she was rather annoyed at Nick not the baby… as she stood up and held out her arms, "She'll be getting hungry soon. I'll take her, get her bottle ready and then feed her. Thank goodness, the baby's bottle and a few diapers were left in the basket that Mother found this morning, placed on our doorstep and abandon, poor little thing. Why Nicholas Barkley, how…ohhh…" Audra left, patting the baby's back all the while throwing another frustrated scowl at her older brother.

Having handed the young infant to Audra, Nick remained where he was standing, still going over the events he'd come up with during the time period. He wanted to deny the child was his, but he couldn't. No, he couldn't deny or confirm it, for he realized that he'd been in the Modesto area at the time and… he lifted his head and rubbed his forehead.

Jarrod would have given his brother a lecture had this happened ten years ago, but now? All he could do was shake his head as he left the parlor; he had work to do in the study and it couldn't wait. Heath watched as Nick found his way to the sofa and sat down; his brother's face showed he was still going over things in his mind. A part of Heath wanted to kid Nick about the child, but he didn't. He figured he could do that later, at a more appropriate time. As it was, Heath would have just stood up and left, but he was too curious as to what his brother had to say and he did have something to say. Heath felt it, so he waited for Nick to talk. With that being the case, the room was filled with silence for a solid fifteen minutes.

The silence was broken when Nick turned his head, looked at Heath and said, "After I have that talk with mother, would you keep an eye on the baby and help mother and Audra while I go down to Modesto?"

Heath's eyebrow raised just a little as he replied slowly, "Is that where you think her mother is?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he sighed. "That's the only place I went during the time that child would have been conceived and, yes, I do know a young lady down there, but…" he shook his head and stood back up. "I have to go get a bath and at least put something into my stomach." He walked out of the room still in shock over what he'd found waiting for him when he arrived home.

After he'd climbed the stairs, Nick headed for the bathroom, now needing not only time to clean and do his best to relax, which wasn't going to be easy, but also time to think about what had just taken place.

*I actually favor Heath, but I can't see him getting himself into a fix like this as he would know how it was and avoid repeating any kind of history.

Thanks to my aunt (Tauna Petit-Strawn) for the help she has given me with this story.