Chapter 8

September 1868

Jarrod opened with, "You're probably not going to like this." Not the best way to begin this discussion, he knew, but at least it was direct and honest and after all these years, his family was probably used to the surprises Jarrod tended to bring to them.

But Tom Barkley glared at him, and even Nick got up from his seat on the edge of the desk. The two of them stood before Jarrod, waiting for the rest.

Victoria sat on the sofa, watching them all. "What aren't we going to like?" she finally asked.

Jarrod's gaze was on his father. "The firm I worked with in San Francisco has offered me a position."

"No," Tom Barkley said flatly.

"It's an excellent opportunity," Jarrod said. "Please, Father, hear me out. Let me explain why I think it would be good for all of us."

"We need you here," Tom Barkley said. "We sent you to law school to do our work."

"And I'll be doing our work. Father, you know the railroad plans to build a line down through the valley."

"So?"

"Father, they will start taking land by eminent domain. They will come after the ranchers, claiming they have easements when they don't have them, meaning they can virtually steal the land. The compensation will be nothing compared to the land's real value. And worse yet, there are plenty of farms the railroad has claimed they leased to the farmers, not sold, and they plan to take it back if the farmers can't buy them out. Working with the firm in San Francisco, I'll be able to fight the railroad and maybe even be able to get the railroad rerouted to a less damaging route."

"How is this good for us?" Nick asked, and he was sincere with the question, not flippant.

"If the railroad is allowed to take whatever farms and ranches it wants, the production of crops and cattle in this valley will be reduced. They may not come after us directly, they may not try to take any of our land, but they might. And even if they don't, they'll affect production in this valley to the extent that it will affect all of us here. There's no stopping the railroad, but working with this firm in San Francisco, I might be able to minimize the disruption."

Tom Barkley backed away. Jarrod was making sense, even to him. Jarrod's work and connections were making him see something that Tom hadn't seen yet – trouble coming. Big trouble.

"I'll be doing things like lobbying the legislature for better protection," Jarrod went on. "I'll be fighting in court for better compensation for the farmers and less damaging routes for the railroad line and keeping the railroad from claiming for compensation for land they already sold. Father, it may not be a serious problem now, but if it keeps up it will be serious in another year or so."

Tom Barkley stopped by the fireplace and turned around. He looked toward his wife, then toward Nick, trying to read their thoughts. Then he looked at Jarrod. "Jarrod, could this turn into a shooting war at some point?"

"Yes, it could," Jarrod said. "And I don't know if it's already too late to stop it, but I want to try. I have to try."

Tom looked at Victoria and Nick again. "If this affects all of us – we all should be deciding about whether to let Jarrod go or not."

"Are you going to be able to keep up with the regular work around here – the contracts and land agreements and such?" Nick asked.

"Maybe after a while, but at first you'd have to go back to an attorney in town," Jarrod said.

"We're talking about you making a personal investment in your own future, as well as ours, aren't we?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," Jarrod said. "This will be good for me personally, but I'm being sincere when I say that my main reason for wanting to take the position is because I see so much trouble coming to all of us here in the valley. I can't do much about it if I'm only doing the family work here. I can do something about it if I take this job."

"When will you need to leave?" his father asked.

"Tomorrow," Jarrod said.

Tom looked at Victoria and Nick again. They each nodded slightly. "I want the same understanding that we had when you took the job with the District Attorney. If I feel we need you here, you have to be willing to quit and come back, no questions asked."

Jarrod mulled it over. "Just one caveat."

"No caveats."

"Just one," Jarrod insisted. "If I'm in the middle of something I can't turn over to someone else – especially something involving the railroad – I need to be able to finish it up to the point I can leave it. If I'm before the legislature arguing to keep the railroad from devastating this valley, I have to finish it."

Tom looked at Victoria and Nick again.

"It's that important, Father," Jarrod said.

Victoria and Nick nodded.

"All right," Tom said. "Come home when you can."

Jarrod did not feel comfortable with his father's demeanor. Tom Barkley was still not convinced Jarrod needed to go. "I'll go pack," Jarrod said and left the library.

Tom watched the door close behind him. Nick said, "Do you think he's right about the threat from the railroad?"

"He may be," Tom said. "They have gotten grabby on land east of here, but they've never taken land in an area as fertile and important to agriculture as this. I'd like to think they had the brains to recognize that, but once men get the kind of power these men have – you never know what they're going to do."

Jarrod made his way upstairs to his room and began to pack, thinking ahead to living in San Francisco, wondering how to find a place to live, how much it was going to cost, all the mundane things involved with moving. He didn't even realize someone had come into his room behind him until he turned and saw her there.

Audra was going on eleven years old now, and no slouch. She understood more than her brothers and her parents gave her credit for. She knew right away what was going on, by the amount of clothing Jarrod was starting to pack. "You're going away again."

In the time Jarrod had been home, he had grown much closer to his youngest siblings, especially Audra. He had consciously spent a lot of time with them, to make up for all those years he was gone. He had read them bedtime stories and he had dried their tears when the world had been mean to them. He'd even spoiled them with a bit of candy now and then when no one was looking. He'd really come to love them, and they loved him.

And now he was going to leave them again. "Not all that far," Jarrod said, turning and coming toward her. "And I'll be back now and then."

"It won't be like it was when you went to war."

Jarrod smiled and took her by the shoulders. "No, it won't be like that."

She put her arms around his midsection. "Did you argue with Father again?"

"Only a little bit," Jarrod said.

"And Nick and Mother?"

"Not so much."

"When you came back from the war, I didn't even know who you were."

"I know," Jarrod said. "You were too little when I went away."

"Do you have to go away now?"

"Yes, I do. There's important work I need to do."

"That's what you said when you went away to the war."

Jarrod was surprised. "You remember that?"

"I don't remember much, but I remember that."

"Well, I promise you, I won't be gone more than a few weeks at a time. I'll come back as much as I can."

"Nick isn't going, is he?"

"No, no, Nick isn't going. Nick runs the ranch and everything else with Father now. He's too important here to go away."

"You're important, too."

"I know, but the work I need to do isn't here. It's in San Francisco and Sacramento."

Audra sighed a big sigh. "If you have to go, all right, but don't forget us."

Jarrod laughed and kissed her hair. "How could I forget you? Even when I was far away at war, I never forgot you. Don't worry. I'll never forget you."

Audra just held him, and he held her for a long time. She made him ache about going, but he knew he was doing the right thing, for himself, for his family, for the valley. He only hoped what he was going to do would make some kind of difference.

He only hoped it was not already too late.