I do not own 'The Big Valley' nor any of the original Barkley characters.
Thanks to my Beta Reader, though all mistakes are still my own.
TIME TO HEAL
Chapter Four
Scene Seven
Mrs. Miles stood on the porch still very much appalled. Her husband, Jeffery, 'Cal' and a few others were getting ready to drive some cattle to the outskirts of Genoa, where they had a buyer waiting. "How can you stand there and consent to this, Lynn?" They had a cook that could go with them, a very good one at that, all they had to do was ask him.
"Sue Ellen, stop this. Lorilee? She's a grown woman; I'll be there plus two of her brothers. If she wants to go along and do the cooking for us I'll not be stopping her; besides," he lowered his voice, "she's already seen, and been through, more than any young woman should have to. A cattle drive is gonna seem like a piece of heaven. Besides, it's not going to be that long of a drive."
Sue Ellen cringed inside. She knew full well her husband was right. Lorilee had seen more than her share of troubles, they all had. "I suppose I've got too much to do to worry 'bout it," she hurried back into the house.
Heath, who had been standing closer to the Miles than anyone else actually caught what Lorilee's father said when he lowered his voice. It made him wonder just what had she been through. It wasn't his place to ask though, he said nothing as he mounted Charger while the men mounted their horses and Lorilee climbed onto the chuck wagon.
0000
They'd been on the trail almost two hours when Mr. Miles rode up beside Heath, "I've been meaning to talk to you only I keep letting life get in the way." He'd just finishing getting a wayward cow back with the group.
"What 'bout?" Heath kept his eyes straight ahead.
"The fellow that is buying these here cattle asked me if we had anyone that could break in a horse for him, none of the men here have ever broken one in and I forgot to ask you. I'm supposed to ride into the first town we come to and send him a telegram if we can help him. Have you broken in horses before?"
Sharp pains tore through his muscles as if someone was doing surgery on him, without giving him anything first. "I have," he answered as he tightened his grip on the reins in his hands. It did not go unnoticed by his employer.
"You do not have to do it if you don't wish," Lynn started to move away from him, "Just think about it if you would."
'Stay with him Heath, you've got him..' 'You've got him, can I bring anything from town?" Audra's voice rang in his ears, along with his answer, "Yeah, a nice soft pillow!" He closed his eyes for a split second as he saw Ward landing on the cold hard ground, never to move again.
"Hey," Mr. Miles tapped him on the shoulder, "You with us?" The man's reaction worried him. Maybe, he shouldn't have asked him.
"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll break in the horse for him," Heath spurred Charger forward. He needed his mind on work not the past; he couldn't do anything about it, the past that is.
SCENE EIGHT
Heath sat on a boulder, on the south side of camp, while Jeffery and a couple others took their different positions. The sun had set some time ago. When he heard footsteps coming toward him he turned his head. It was Lorilee. She had brought some food with her.
"You didn't eat supper, and I know I didn't burn the beans," she gave him a soft smile and handed him the plate of food. Heath didn't wish to offend her, nor her brother who he could see stood roughly a hundred yards away.
"Thanks," he took the offered plate and started eating. Lorilee turned around and walked way.
"He could have eaten with the rest of us," Joseph said, with a tad bit of annoyance in his voice, as they headed back to the wagon.
"Could he?" she remembered the five years she lived with her aunt and uncle, the months on end she'd watched, and even helped, the woman with the sick, injured, and even dying soldiers that seemed to find their way to the Hamilton home. She'd only been ten or eleven, but the memories had stuck. "He's been wounded somehow," she turned back and looked at the man that had caught her eye from the moment he and Jeffery had ridden up to her parents home, "and he's been wounded bad."
Joseph wasn't going to argue with her. The Civil War had ended when he was only seven. His father had returned from the war, gathered his family up from the various places they'd been staying due to his absence and the health issues his wife had been having, and moved to Nevada. He might not be able to see the man's wounds, but if his sister said 'Cal' was wounded then he was.
Heath watched as Joseph and Lorilee walked away. He watched them talk, and even laugh a bit. At least, it looked like the two were laughing. He sighed as he made himself eat most of what had been brought to him. They said time healed all things. He wondered how long it would be before he felt whole again.
0000
Heath pushed his horse forward trying to shake the sick feeling that had been gnawing at him for the past couple of days, only it was starting to get the better of him. In spite of his best efforts both Lynn and Joseph noticed, and by the time they stopped to eat a bit of food Mr. Miles was insisting that he lay down inside the wagon for a spell.
"He can't be pushing himself for awhile, Father," Lorilee climbed out of the back of the wagon an hour later, "He's running a fever and has a bit of the chills." She figured the things he'd started muttering were things she did not need to repeat. After all, even if she could separate fact from disillusions, she would still have no business repeating everything he'd said.
"Just what we need," Lynn ran his hand through his hair, "guess, we can't do anything about it. You stay with him," he looked at Lorilee then turned to his son, "You'll have to drive the wagon."