The Hunt
Chapter 1
Nick's mouth fell open. "I don't believe it. You're actually gonna do it."
"Yes, I am," Jarrod said, wiped his mouth and put his napkin down on his empty plate.
Nick and Heath looked at each other, then back at their brother, while their mother and sister just quietly smirked.
"Are you sure you can still aim a rifle at a six-point buck and actually hit him?" Nick asked. "I mean, I can't remember the last time you went on a hunt with us."
Jarrod smiled. "Nick, I can aim a rifle and hit anything I please, and when I bag my buck before you bag yours, the proof will be right there in front of your face."
"Well, now, I'll put a wager on that," Heath said. "Why don't we each put a twenty in the pot and whoever bags the buck first takes it all."
Jarrod reached for his wallet and plopped a twenty dollar bill onto the table. "You're on, Brother Heath."
Nick did the same and then handed both bills over to Audra. "Sister Dear, you are keeper of the kitty."
Heath saw his wallet was pretty empty. "Looks like I'll have to chip in later, but I've got money upstairs. I'm good for it."
Victoria smiled. "Just don't go getting careless in your eagerness to win. Where are you going, anyway?"
"Up toward the Sierras," Nick said. "Not sure how far we'll end up going, but we each aim to have a buck by the time we get back."
Audra took the money. "So you'll be gone for a couple weeks?"
Victoria smirked.
The men just smiled. "Back in three days, I'll wager," Heath said.
"You're all ready to wager when you don't have any money on you, aren't you?" Nick said.
The men were as happy as little boys, Victoria noted to herself. The three of them hadn't been on a hunting trip together in a long time – Nick and Heath usually went together, but Jarrod was usually out of town or too busy to go. She was glad the three of them would spend some time together, now that it was late autumn and the air was crisp and the deer were easier to spot in the woods. They would come back hale and hardy and happy.
The men all got up from the dinner table. "Well, we'd better get some rest if we're gonna get an early start," Nick said.
One by one they kissed their mother and sister and left to turn in early.
Victoria and Audra were left smiling at each other. "Who do you think will win the bet?" Audra asked.
"That's anyone's guess," Victoria said.
Audra thought she detected some concern in Victoria's expression. "Are you worried about that bet?"
"That they'll get careless? No. I'm not worried about anything. Just happy to see that Jarrod is actually taking the time to go."
Audra understood. Jarrod was always working these days. "He'll come back with his outlook restored."
Victoria smiled. "Well, one thing is for sure. We better be ready to help put up a lot of venison if reality matches their hopes."
XXXXXX
Breakfast was extra early in the morning. The Barkley men wanted to be out the door before the sun came up, so they wolfed down their food and gathered up to go while it was still dark.
"You saddle the horses, Heath," Jarrod said. "Nick, you get the saddlebags together and I'll get the canteens filled."
"Gave yourself the easy work, huh, Pappy?" Nick said.
"Age has its privileges, Brother Nick," Jarrod said, kissed his mother and sister and headed out the front door with Heath.
Nick kissed Victoria and Audra, too. "We'll be back in a few days, buck or no buck."
Silas came hurrying in from the kitchen, bringing bags of food and coffee to the door. "Don't leave without provisions, Mr. Nick."
Nick took them gratefully. "We'll probably forget something, but I don't want it to be the food."
"Do you have the whiskey?" Audra asked.
Nick looked shocked. His mother and sister were not supposed to know they took a bit of liquor along on these trips. But the shock wore off when the women smirked at him. "I have the whiskey," he admitted.
"Be careful out there," Victoria said. "Don't accidentally shoot each other trying to be the first one to bag that buck."
"We'll be fine," Nick said. "See you in a couple days!"
Their horses and pack mule were ready to go just as the sky began to lighten in the east. "Let's get moving before the deer start ducking for cover!" Heath called and headed out first.
Nick and Jarrod were right behind him.
XXXXXX
They rode together almost all day, making their way up into the higher elevations east of home, and they did not see one deer. As they made camp near a small stream, they each moaned and groaned over their beef and beans.
"We'll have better luck tomorrow," Heath said.
"Optimist," Nick said accusingly.
"Doesn't pay to be pessimistic about it," Heath said. "Besides, I plan on bagging the first one I see and winning that bet."
"You dream a lot, too," Jarrod said. "The first one is mine."
"What, you claiming 'age' rights again?" Nick asked.
"With age comes experience, and with experience comes skill."
Nick laughed. "You haven't even been out in years. Your skills are getting pretty rusty."
They continued needling each other until Heath brought up something else. "Did you get a look at that farm we passed?"
"Yeah," Nick said. "What about it?"
"I know it was the farm where the McAdamses lived, but it sure didn't look like it anymore. It looked a little too rough around the edges."
"Maybe they had a bad year," Jarrod said.
"Maybe," Heath said.
"You think the McAdamses sold out?" Nick asked.
"Don't know," Heath said. "Just wonder if maybe we oughtta check in on whoever is in that farm when we're on our way home. Being neighborly, you know?"
"All right," Nick said. "We'll be neighborly."
They talked some more, drank a little of the Irish whiskey Nick had brought along, and then settled in for the night. The sky was beautiful and clear, and the stars were all over the place. Each one of the Barkley brothers stared up in silence, thinking private thoughts, enjoying the night air and the thought of bagging that first buck.
