Chapter 2

"Eugene! What the heck took you so long to get here?" Nick was beside his youngest brother as soon as Eugene got down out of the buggy, ready with a bear hug that lifted Eugene off the ground.

Heath offered a handshake when Nick put his brother down. "Welcome home, little brother."

"Thanks, thanks," Eugene said, and then he quickly turned to the other person in the buggy and helped her down.

She was small, very young, blonde and looking very nervous.

"Mary Margaret, this is my brother Nick, and my brother Heath," Eugene said. "Gentlemen, this is my wife, Mary Margaret O'Malley Barkley."

Each of the Barkley brothers took her hand and said hello.

"Why don't you go inside and let us get your bags?" Heath said.

"Good idea," Eugene said and led his wife up to the big front door.

In a moment, they were inside, and his mother and brother Jarrod, and Suzanne and Nancy were there to meet them. Maggie was still on the sofa, holding J.J., while Audra and Carl stayed in the chair they were in, avoiding the rush to the door.

"Oh, Eugene, it's so good to have you home!" Victoria cried and fell into his arms. They seemed bigger and stronger now. "Let me introduce you. This is Suzanne Pearson, Heath's fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Eugene said.

"As of tonight," Victoria said.

Eugene took her hand, saying, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Suzanne said.

"And this is Nick's friend, Nancy Tyler," Victoria said.

"Hello," Eugene said and took her hand.

Nancy sank inside to hear "friend," but she smiled and said hello.

Victoria said, "And this is Eugene's brother Jarrod, and that's Jarrod's wife Maggie and their son J.J. over there on the settee."

Jarrod took Mary Margaret's hand, saying hello as Maggie nodded.

Victoria said, "And back there in the corner are my daughter Audra and her husband, Carl Wheeler."

Audra and Carl got up and approached, and Carl took Mary Margaret's hand as Audra hugged Eugene.

"This is my wife, Mary Margaret O'Malley Barkley," Eugene said proudly.

Nick and Heath came in with the bags from the buggy. "Eugene, we'll take these up to your old room," Nick said as they headed upstairs.

Mary Margaret smiled, but everyone but Eugene could see she was a bit overwhelmed.

"Come, sit down," Victoria said and guided Mary Margaret to the settee, where she sat down beside Maggie. "We were just about to share drinks before dinner. It's a ritual we have around here."

Mary Margaret saw the Christmas tree as they came in. "That's a beautiful tree."

"We just put it up today," Victoria said.

Jarrod said, "Mary Margaret, would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, not just yet," she said. "It's been a busy day, and I'd just like to sit and get my bearings for a while."

Audra and Carl went back to the chair they had vacated, and Nancy and Suzanne sat down in the chairs opposite the settee as Jarrod said to Eugene, "Gene, anything to drink for you?"

"I'll wait a while, too," he said and stood behind his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Well," Victoria said. "I hope your trip west wasn't too trying."

Mary Margaret spoke very softly. "It was long. This was my first trip out of the East. I never realized how big this country was."

"We get the same shock the first time we go east," Jarrod said.

J.J. began to cry. "I think somebody's hungry," Maggie said. She got up and Jarrod excused himself and his family, taking them into the library for some privacy.

"How did you meet Eugene?" Audra asked.

"At a ball in Washington," Mary Margaret said.

When she didn't continue, Eugene took over. "It was a fund raiser for the hospital I'm working in. Mary Margaret's father is the chief administrator for the hospital. I saw her come in with her father, and I knew right away that she was the one for me. But she made me work for it."

"Good for you," Victoria said.

Mary Margaret smiled a more genuine smile than she had since she came in the door. It was obvious to everyone that she was very shy, or very tired, or both.

Victoria said, "We're just monopolizing your time. Would the two of you like to freshen up before dinner?"

Mary Margaret nodded and began to get up. Her husband offered his arm, saying, "Not a bad idea, Mother. We'll be back in a little while."

Eugene and Mary Margaret climbed the stairs, passing Nick and Heath on the way down. Nick and Heath came back into the parlor, each one taking a spot behind his lady. Nick rested his hand on Nancy's shoulder. She reached up and touched his hand, and somehow the action made her feel a bit better.

"She's very quiet," Audra said.

"I imagine she's tired and overwhelmed," Victoria said. "Eugene probably got so caught up with friends in town that she just wore out."

"And we can be a bit overwhelming around here," Heath offered.

"She's very lovely, though," Victoria said. "I'm sure we'll get to know her a lot better over the next few days."

XXXXXX

"You've been almost as quiet as Mary Margaret was tonight," Nick said as he and Nancy strolled around the yard after dinner.

Nancy debated telling him what was bothering her, but decided not to. "I suppose today has been a bit overwhelming for me, too. I love your family, Nick, and I enjoy being with them so much. Sometimes – well, sometimes it just makes me feel like I missed out for a lot of years."

"And sometimes all of us together can be a bit exhausting for someone who's not used to it," Nick said.

Nancy nodded. "That, too."

"I can take you on home if you like."

They had come from town with Heath and Suzanne. Nancy said, "No, no, I don't want to leave before Heath and Suzanne are ready, and they're still up on Cloud Nine. I'll wind down after a while."

Nick stopped, took Nancy by the shoulders to face him, and kissed her. Nancy enjoyed the kiss as much as she ever did, but she still felt like he was not really with her tonight. He was not really with her anymore. She couldn't help a few tears leaking out.

Nick noticed. "Hey, what's this? Something is wrong."

"No, no," Nancy said. "I'm just tired. Let's go back inside. Maybe a little brandy might be good for me."

"All right," Nick said, certain something was wrong but genuinely clueless about it.

They went back inside and spent a little time enjoying the company of family again, but it wasn't long before Suzanne said, "It's getting a bit late and I think I'd better be getting home, Heath."

"I think I should, too," Nancy said.

Then there were good-byes and "it was nice to meet you"s, and before very long, the surrey was heading back to town. Nick drove, with Nancy beside him and Heath and Suzanne in the back seat. Suzanne rested in Heath's arms in silence, all the way home. About half way there, Nick realized he should have his arm around Nancy, so he drew her close and kissed her forehead.

XXXXXXX

The house was quiet when Victoria came down after getting ready for bed. Nick and Heath weren't back yet, and she just wasn't ready to sleep – too keyed up from all the festivities, she decided, or maybe just awake because they weren't here. She wanted some warm milk and intended to head for the kitchen, but she was astonished to see Jarrod in the living room, standing alone at the fireplace with a drink in his hand. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

She hadn't seen him in that spot in a long time, even before he and Maggie moved to The Grove. He was only there alone when something was troubling him, and here he was now when he should have been in bed with his wife. But these days he had plenty to be troubled about. Victoria wondered if he was keeping things inside of him. She wondered what to say.

She walked quietly over to him. He heard her footfall and looked over his shoulder to her. He smiled a bit and reached to put an arm around her. She let him.

"My lovely lady, I thought you were heading for bed," he said and kissed her on her forehead.

"Thought I'd have a bit of warm milk," Victoria said. "What about you?"

Jarrod raised the glass of scotch he was drinking. "J.J.'s being fussy and Maggie's trying to get him down. I thought I'd have a little warm milk myself."

Victoria chuckled. "It's been a while since I've found you here like this, your favorite thinking spot. Tell me what's troubling you."

"Actually, nothing," Jarrod said. "Really, I'm not troubled – at least not for myself. Life is beautiful. I have a lovely wife and a son who's going to rival his Uncle Nick for rambunctiousness."

"But," Victoria said.

Jarrod pulled her closer. "But I worry a little about some of you." He shrugged. "It's the Pappy in me."

"You always did take your big brother responsibilities very seriously," Victoria said. "Who are you worried about?"

"Oh," Jarrod sighed. "A little about Eugene. Mary Margaret is so quiet, she's almost withdrawn. I find myself wondering if there's something wrong between them. And then there's Nick and Nancy. Something's going on there that uneases me."

"Well, I have to admit, I'm a little uneasy about them all myself. But one thing I've learned as a parent – you can't get any of your children to talk to you about something until they're ready to do it."

"Mmm, do tell? " Jarrod said, knowing full well she was referring to him now.

Victoria said softly, "Yes."

Jarrod gave in to her, as he always did. "I wonder sometimes what will be happening for J.J. when he's a man. Oh, I know he'll have Nick and Heath as father figures, and he couldn't have finer ones but – when I think about Eugene and Mary Margaret and Nick and Nancy – I don't know, somehow I just project out onto J.J.'s life and I wish I could be there for him when he faces things like that."

He looked away, and the sadness Victoria saw come into his eyes made tears come into her own. She didn't know what to say.

He saw her and squeezed her. "I know. You and I haven't talked much about what's happening to me, and I know it's only because I haven't known what to say and neither have you. Please understand something, Mother. I'm making peace with myself. I have a wonderful wife and a beautiful son, and I am happy. It's taken me some time to get to this point, and I still have my moments, but I truly am more concerned with those I leave behind than I am with myself. I love you all so much – and I guess in some stupid selfish way, I like to believe that you won't be able to get along without me."

He chuckled as he said it, and Victoria smiled. "You're entitled to feel selfish, but we will find a way to get along, and I think you'd rather hear me say that."

Jarrod smiled a little sheepishly and gave a nod.

But Victoria's voice had closed on her words, and now she could only say, "Oh, Jarrod, words seem so inadequate."

Jarrod squeezed her again. "Just take care of each other for me."

Victoria fought to get a smile out with her words. "We will. Don't trouble yourself about that. And may I add that I love you? I always will."

"And I will always love you." He wiped her tears away. "Don't fear for me, Mother. I'm one very happy man."

Victoria smiled, fought her tears back and rested her head against his shoulder.

Jarrod kissed her again, smiling. "Well, what do you know? I guess we did know what to say after all."