Weeping Willow

*For those who read "Chapter Six"…you might want to go reread it. I'm sorry, Chapters Six and Seven (on my end) got switched around and I didn't realize it until now.

Chapter Seven

The old worn out barn door creaked as the aging farmer shut it. Cody Hammer might not be considered old, but at fifty-five he wasn't exactly in his prime either. His once black hair was now streaked with gray and it was thinning out fast. He and his wife Elizabeth had lived and worked the land for most of their thirty-five years of marriage. He headed for the house knowing his dear wife would have lunch waiting for him. He was almost to the house when he saw the rider coming. His wife must have heard it too, as she stepped out onto the porch, drying her hands on her apron.

Cody hurried over up the stairs and joined her. Both then gasped as the rider got closer. It was their son-in-law, Kyle Hannifin. "Something's not right," Elizabeth said as she looked at her husband, "Rebecca and Scott, they're not with him." She didn't like it and it showed in her worried eyes.

Her husband wasn't blind; he could see that. He too had a bad feeling about Kyle from the moment he'd met him, but hadn't been able to find anything to back it up. That same bad feeling was back and it was strong. "Elizabeth, let me do the talkin'."

Only when his son-in-law stopped his horse did Mr. Hammer speak. He kept a smile on his face and his eyes twinkled; he'd learned to be a good actor around many folks. It helped him get the truth on many occasions. "Hello, Kyle, been a long time. What brings you out this way? Where's Rebecca and that fine grandson of mine?"

Kyle's eyebrows rose and he started slightly. He was sure his wife had taken their son and fled to the home of her parents when he had failed to find her at home after he hurried home to grab his family before fleeing the law. If she wasn't here…shock took hold of his heart. Had she been the one to go to the law after all? Would she really have done that, after what he'd told her he'd do? He forced a smile, an extremely fake one if you were to ask Mr. Hammer and his wife, as he answered, "They're at home doing fine. I had some business to take care of and hoped to stay here for awhile."

That bad feeling Mr. Hammer had, one he now shared with his wife, grew. He didn't know why, but his instincts told him not to let the man stay. He knew he couldn't have this son-in-law in his home. Once that internal acceptance came, he was shocked beyond measure to suddenly hear his daughter's voice in his head, pleading for him to get rid of the man. He had never experienced something like that before except on- when he was a small boy after the death of his own beloved grandfather. The memory gave him goose bumps and a feeling of dread he had never felt before, washed over his entire being. It took every ounce of strength he had in him to remain composed, as he now feared greatly what hearing his daughter meant. "I'm sorry. Matt, Jack and their families should be here soon and they're staying for a couple of weeks. You know what kind of crew they have between the two of them." Mr. Hammer leaned on the railing, adding only to himself "Heaven forgive my lie. Those boys aren't due in for at least three days!"

Kyle growled inside. He wasn't going to sit around and sleep in house that would be filled with people from wall to wall. He wasn't going to sleep in the barn either. "No thanks, I'll just press on towards the next town. I'll tell Rebecca and the boy hello when I get home." He rode away from the house leaving a relieved Cody to explain his lie to his wife.

0000

"What happened?" Jarrod asked as he stepped into the jail. He didn't know whether to be upset or not. Ever since they'd buried Audra, his blond haired brother had been more than a handful. Not that he'd blamed him; hadn't he thrown himself into his work as a way to deal with his own grief? Hadn't he spent countless hours awake at night talking to his father and baby sister? And Nick, hadn't he thrown himself into the work on the ranch? Still…

Fred gave him a sympathetic smile. "He had a few too many beers at the saloon. Unfortunately, after he was pretty well drunk, one of the new barmaids came in and one of the fellows started harassing her a bit. Might not have been so bad, but her name…" he hesitated and cringed slightly almost afraid to say it.

Jarrod's eyes widened, and then shook his head as his shoulders sagged slightly. "Her name is Audra." He didn't need the lawman to give him a vocal answer as the man was already reverently nodding his head in the affirmative.

"I'm sorry, Jarrod, I really am. If I could change things, I would." Fred's voice held its own volume of pain. He had admired Audra immensely, especially her work with the orphans.

"I know, Fred, I know." Jarrod felt the anguish shoot through his heart, but kept a smile on his face. "Here's the bail money." He handed the money he'd brought with him over to the sheriff and followed him to the back of the office. The lawman opened the door to the cells and led Jarrod to the one where Heath lay on a thin cot with his eyes closed.

Heath recognized the footsteps coming down the short passage. Jarrod's gait was unmistakable. He didn't want to open his eyes. It would be easier to deal with Nick's blustering admonishments than to deal with looking into Jarrod's eyes; they were nearly as hard as his mother's eyes to look at. Why, Jarrod had, amongst all of his own grief, had managed to help keep order to their still empty lives. No, he didn't want to open his eyes, but he did; he owed his oldest brother that.

When he heard the footsteps stop outside his cell, Heath looked into Jarrod's emphatic eyes and closed his eyes once more. Not that it stopped the pain from residing in his tortured soul. If anything, he felt guilty for having made it necessary for Jarrod to leave his work and come bail him out. "Come on, Heath. I've paid your bail and promised mother I'd bring you home." Jarrod stepped back from the door as Fred unlocked the cell.

"It feels so hollow, so useless." Heath again opened his eyes, stood up and slowly made his way out of the cell, his head still pounding. Jarrod didn't have to ask what he meant; he knew And his well educated mind added several more adjectives, like empty, meaningless, unfulfilled and….

"She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself, Heath." He told himself as much as his younger hurting brother. "I mean, grieving is natural; we're all doing it," He laid his hand on his brother's shoulder, "But don't let it destroy you. That's not the way to show how much you cared for our sister. We are together in this. Come on home, Heath. Besides, Nick can't run that ranch without you, and we both know it." He grinned as he put his hand on his blonde brother's shoulder and winked at him, hoping to get a smile out of Heath.

Heath gave him the tiniest of smiles and nodded. His head knew what Jarrod said about Audra was true and slightly chuckled over the comment about Nick; still, his heart had needed to forget the night before. He said nothing more as he followed Jarrod out the door and towards the livery stable.