Heroes Rising

The first thing Heath said when he came in the door of the house was, "Boy howdy, I need a bath," and he was up the stairs before his mother and brothers could stop laughing.

Nick gave Jarrod a slap on the back. "Brother of mine, I had my doubts that you and Heath were doing the right thing putting TJ on the stand, but you did a masterful job with him, and I will be the one eating crow tonight."

Jarrod chuckled. "I'll gladly let you have it, Nick."

"You must be exhausted," Victoria said.

Jarrod nodded. "A bit tired, but I think a long walk would do me good." He undid his tie and headed for the door.

Nick watched him go. "I'm not sure who this case was harder on, Heath or Jarrod."

"Trials are never easy on either the defendant or the lawyer, and considering the risk they took, it's no wonder they both want some time to themselves."

Nick glanced upstairs toward the place Heath had gone. "Heath wanted to know the truth. There was no changing his mind on it. If Jarrod hadn't been able to get TJ to tell the truth – "

"Let's not even discuss that possibility," Victoria said. "It's over. They'll both need some time to relax, and I need some time to see to dinner."

Nick said, "I'd better check with McCall and make sure everything is all right out on the ranch."

As he headed upstairs to change his clothes, Victoria called, "Will you be home for dinner?"

"Absolutely! It's a good night for a victory celebration!"

XXXXXXXX

Heath scrubbed and soaked for a long, long time, not wanting to give up the wonderful feel of warm water on his skin. His mind wandered a lot, but mostly settled on Charlie White Horse and how much he was going to miss that little man. No, little wasn't the right word. Charlie was a bigger man than anybody in Stockton knew, and Stockton was going to be a poorer place without him. He wished somebody was going to pay for what they did to him, but at least wanted posters were going out on that itinerant dentist Tully, and that dandy Vandiver who called himself a land speculator was already in jail for his part in killing his partner Atlas and then lying in order to put the blame on Heath. Someday soon, they would pay for that, at least.

Heath gave his bath some more hot water more than once, and his mind drifted off to all his brother had done for him today. He knew he was risking his life by asking Jarrod to find the truth, no matter what it was, and he was more grateful than he could say that Jarrod did that for him. It was a terrible risk to take –

To ask Jarrod to take. Suddenly, Heath saw things from another angle, Jarrod's angle. He was taking a big personal risk, too, one that Heath hadn't even considered until this moment while he soaked in the tub. If Jarrod had lost the case, if Heath had been sentenced to hang, Jarrod would have blamed himself for failing Heath. It would have shattered his life. It really would have shattered his life.

Heath finished his bath, shaved and changed into clean clothes, then headed downstairs. There was no one around in the parlor. He went to the library to see if anyone was there, but no one was. He found Victoria in the kitchen finally, where she and Silas were preparing dinner.

"Where'd everybody go?" Heath asked.

"Nick went out to check with McCall, and Jarrod took off on a long walk," Victoria said without looking up from her work.

"Did Jarrod say where he was going?"

"No, but he should be coming back in soon. You know how he is – after a difficult trial he likes to be by himself for a while."

"I really want to talk to him," Heath said. "Think I'll look around outside."

Heath went outside and walked all over the grounds near the house, but he didn't see Jarrod anywhere. His horse wasn't gone, so he had to be on foot. Where could he have gone on foot?

Nick came riding back in while Heath was out there. He pulled up near the stables and handed his horse off to the stable hand. "You take a hot bath, get all cleaned up and then come out here in the dirt and dust again?"

"I was looking for Jarrod," Heath said. "He hasn't come back yet."

"He'll be along," Nick said. "Come on inside. Let's have a drink before dinner."

"Everything all right with McCall?" Heath asked as they went into the house.

"Yeah, fine, fine," Nick said. He took his hat and gloves off and left them on a table in the foyer, wasting no time in heading for the whiskey in the parlor. He poured one for himself and one for Heath.

They drank together and Nick plopped down in one of the chairs near the fireplace.

"It's a good thing we're back, though," Nick said. "Got some coyote bothering the herd on the north ridge. We might have to go hunting if they don't disappear in the next day or so."

Heath kept looking toward the front door.

Nick noticed. "Don't worry about him. He does this after every big trial. I'm surprised he didn't saddle up and take off. He's been known to do that, too."

"I was really hoping to talk to him before dinner," Heath said and sat down on the chair beside Nick.

Nick looked at him closely for the first time. "You ought to look a lot happier than you do. What's the matter?"

"Nothing important, really. I just – haven't really thanked him for getting me out of this scrape."

"You'll have time for that. He'll be coming in any time now."

Victoria came in from the kitchen, saying, "Silas has dinner well in hand now. Nick, would you please pour me a glass of sherry?"

Nick got up as Victoria sat down on the settee.

"Jarrod isn't back yet?" she said.

"Don't know why you're all so worried about Jarrod," Nick said as he poured the sherry and brought it to his mother. "He's not doing anything unusual."

"I'm not worried," Victoria said. "I just thought he'd be back by now."

As if on cue, Jarrod came in the front door and left his hat on the table in the foyer. "Am I running that late?" he asked.

"No, not at all," Victoria said as Nick sat back down in the chair he had just left. "We're just now enjoying drinks before dinner. Did you enjoy your walk?"

Jarrod poured himself some scotch. "Got a little lost in my thoughts and wandered around longer than I intended to." He raised his glass. "A toast – to Heath Barkley, a man who puts the truth above all else."

"Here, here," Nick said.

Heath looked a little sheepish as they all drank to him. "I think it's Jarrod we ought to be drinking to. He's the one who made this day come out right."

"Here, here," Nick said again, and they drank to Jarrod.

They enjoyed drinks and a relaxing dinner together. When they finished and left the dining room, it wasn't long before Jarrod disappeared again. Heath looked baffled as they gathered for after dinner coffee in the parlor.

"Where's he gone now?" he asked of no one in particular.

"Library, maybe," Nick said. "Quit worrying about him. He does this all the time."

"I know. I'm not worried," Heath said. "I just want to talk to him"

Heath headed for the library, and Nick and Victoria looked at each other.

"I think Heath just wants a private word with him," Victoria said. "Maybe to thank him."

"Yeah, I guess so," Nick said. "It isn't every day your brother saves your life."

"No," Victoria said.

Heath did find Jarrod alone in the library. He was nursing another glass of scotch, standing by the fireplace and staring into it. He looked around when he heard Heath come in.

"You keep disappearing on me before I can thank you," Heath said.

Jarrod smiled. "No need for thanks, Heath. You're the one who pulled this one off."

"No, no," Heath said. "You're the one who got TJ to tell the truth, and I'm grateful for that."

"I'm grateful you're home," Jarrod said.

"I owe you an apology, too,"

Jarrod looked surprised. "An apology? What for?"

"For being so selfish."

"Selfish? What have you been selfish about?"

"When I asked you to find the truth, I wasn't thinking about what it was gonna do to you, if the truth was that I had murdered Atlas."

Jarrod shook his head. "Me? I wasn't at risk, Heath. You were."

"No, you were at risk. If TJ had lied, if he had backed up Vandiver and Tully, I'd have just hung. My problems would have been over. Yours would have just been starting."

Jarrod shook his head again. "Heath – "

"I know what you risked for me, Jarrod. I was about to be found innocent, but I made you open up the possibility that I was guilty, and if you had lost my case, I know what life would have been like for you. I know you'd never have forgiven yourself. God knows what – "

"No," Jarrod said quickly. "You've read it all wrong. I wasn't risking anything, because I knew I could make TJ talk, and I knew he'd exonerate you."

"How could you be so sure?"

Jarrod smiled. "Because I know you. You'd never kill anyone in cold blood. Like I said, you're not made that way, and I know that because we both know, I AM made that way."

Heath turned completely cold. His mind flashed back six months earlier to Rimfire, to pulling Jarrod off Cass Hyatt as he was killing him. He hadn't even given any of that a thought, certainly not when he told Jarrod that he could have murdered Atlas. "Jarrod – "

"I know what's inside a murderer, Heath," Jarrod said. "It's not in you, ever. I never doubted that, but you did. I risked nothing of myself in proving that to you. Now we both know, it's not in you."

Heath hung his head. "I'm sorry, Jarrod. I never even thought about any of that."

"No reason you should have," Jarrod said, finishing off his scotch and leaving the glass on the mantle. "You had bigger things on your mind. Just believe me now, will you? You aren't made that way. You just aren't."

Heath gave up the argument with a nod. "I still owe you a lot of thanks, Jarrod. I can never repay you."

Heath held his hand out. Jarrod took it. "You already paid me, Heath."

Heath looked confused.

"You made me take hard look at myself – I've been taking a lot of hard looks at myself lately – but this was a good one. You made me remember that even if I'm not a saint, I do have principles that are important to me. You made me find the truth. You made me remember an important principle I had forgotten I had. So, you see, you already paid me anything you think might owe. And you never owed me anything to begin with. There are no debts between brothers."

Heath grinned. "You know, every time I turn around, either you or Nick is teaching me another lesson about being a brother."

With a laugh, Jarrod put a hand on the back of Heath's neck and steered him out of the room, toward the parlor. "Little brother, that's what big brothers are for."

THE END