A BBQ Barkley Style – Part Two

The Morton's were making their way over to the Barkley's a little later than planned. One of the horses had bowed a tendon in the middle of working with some cattle. A fresh horse had to be brought out, to finish the work, thus delaying getting everything done. Now though they were on their way, having decided to ride instead of taking the buggy.

Rufus looked at his boys and smiled, glad that things were good between them. When he'd come back to the ranch that evening, the day of the lunch with Emily he had been concerned about what he was going to encounter, with his sons. It had been a relief to see them together in the study, having whiskeys as Zack had JR laughing about his adventures in Colorado.

Nothing was said about the English girl, which Rufus took as a good sign. If JR had been interested in her, he would be talking about her non-stop. His younger son was a talker, as the older man knew all too well. For his part, Rufus had decided to be low key with Zack, in giving his approval of Emily. He didn't want his son to think he was pushing him into matrimony; rather he wanted his son to know that he supported the relationship.

For Zack his father's approval of Emily made him had made him very happy. He wanted Emily to feel welcome at the ranch, and his father's blessing meant that she would be treated properly. Zack was also glad that things were ok with his brother again, and that JR supported the relationship. That would help Emily to feel comfortable when she came to visit, and Zack wanted her to visit a lot.

Zack had wanted to see her the next day, but decided not to for several reasons. The main reason was that he needed to pull his weight on the ranch, to make up for being gone. He was also concerned about scaring her, if he pursued her too quickly. The fear and worry that had been in her eyes, as he had pressed hard against her, showed up in his mind like rebukes for his behavior. Only Emily's good breeding, and self control had kept him from compromising her. As Zack had lain awake in his bed, replaying the scene he still couldn't believe that she'd aroused him as fast as she had. It made him decide that he needed to be very careful in being alone with her.

"Look, everyone else is already here! The place is packed! Of all the days for Sparker to decide to get injured, it had to be this one!" Zack muttered, thinking about the roan horse that caused the delay. JR knew exactly what his brother was concerned about, and it had nothing to do with the horse.

"Zack, don't worry! Emily will be glad to see you. Plus, this way you can swoop in grab her from under all those other fellas' noses!" JR informed his brother, looking forward to seeing that happen. He liked to win, but if he couldn't at least his brother should; either way it was a victory for the Rising M. There were several young men that JR was in particular going to enjoy watching as Zack staked his claim for the English girl.

The party was in full swing when they walked into the courtyard, but Zack saw that dinner had not been served yet. He saw that Macgregor was manning the meat, which meant Nick had still not gotten the recipe from the dour Scotsman. Nick's pursuit of the marinade recipe was well known, and people chuckled that Nick, who was successful in everything else had met his match in Ian Macgregor. The fact that the stern Scotsman adored Nick's wife only added interest to the test of wills.

The Morton's greeted Victoria cordially, and spent some time talking with her. Once the social niceties were out of the way, Zack walked into the courtyard and stopped to look around for Emily. His father and brother were standing just behind him, and exchanged a knowing look. Rufus had finally had the chance to talk to JR earlier that day, being concerned about what kind of mischief he could get up to. It had been a relief to find out his younger son's thoughts on Emily.

"Zack, over there, to the right – in the center of that group of young men." Nick Barkley had seen the Morton's arrive, and wasted no time in coming over. His mother had said to leave the relationship alone, but he didn't see why he couldn't give it a push. He had a cigar in one hand, and a drink in the other. He waved to Pedro, the houseman who was helping out with drinks as he spoke to the men "Let me get you something to drink; Rufus? JR?" A large Cheshire cat grin appeared on Nick's face as Zack ignored his offer, walking toward the group he had indicated.

"Nick, this is going to be good! Now what about that drink? Pa?" JR exclaimed gleefully, looking forward to his brother kicking those other men's butts. Nick and Rufus laughed in agreement, as Pedro passed drinks. After JR had taken two, giving one to his father, he turned to Nick, and commented with a note of pride in his voice "Want to bet on how long it takes my brother to clear away those other fellas?"

"JR, from the look Zack had on his face; it will probably be less than a minute!" Nick retorted, as Rufus laughed in agreement. They clinked glasses before they turned to watch what was going to happen next. The men were cut from the same bolt of cloth – strong, hard, and proud. Their land was everything, and what they had they held tight to them. They could be the best of friends or the worst of enemies; and had in fact been both at various times.

Emily had been very surprised when Zack had not shown up as the party got underway. Catherine took her off to meet several of her friends, including a beautiful Spanish lady, named Maria Valeria. However, it wasn't long before Emily was soon surrounded by several young men, all of whom were eager to get better acquainted. One was the son of the owner of the largest bank in Stockton, one was a rancher similar to Zack and Nick, and two more had major interests in various businesses in the valley and/or northern part of the state.

What was clear was that any of them were desirable 'catches' and all seemed to be willing to have her grab them, so to speak. Emily had been brought up to be charming and polite, so she made a good impression on all the young men. Each one was sure that he was the one she really preferred, and the one who she would eat dinner with. The young men were getting eager to see who she would pick, as they noticed the food was going to be served soon.

Even as she was smiling on the outside, she was rather downhearted inside, wishing Zack was here. She tried to tell herself that he had just been kept busy because of his ranch, but really worried that he had decided not to come. Emily was afraid that her behavior by the stream had shocked him, because a well bred young lady would never do what she had done, with a man she wasn't married to. Mentally she was scolding herself, so she didn't notice the change in the demeanor of the men standing with her.

Zack Morton and his brother JR had always cut a large swath in town, or anywhere else. Their family had numerous business interests, besides their ranch. Rufus was formidable figure in anything that was happening in Northern California, and anyone who was anyone knew it. It was also not lost on the available young ladies, and their mothers, that Zack and JR's grandfather was a millionaire several times over.

The fact that Zack and JR carried themselves with a confident swagger that gave Nick Barkley a run for his money, only caused the girls to twitter even more. More than one bachelor had said private prayers of thanksgiving when the Barkley ranching heir had been hogtied in wedlock to the Russian woman with the land grant.

Now though, the young men surrounding Emily Tisdale, watched with trepidation as Zack Morton bore down on them, with fire and purpose in his eyes. None of them wanted to deal with the oldest Morton son who was extremely fast with a gun, and full of hot pride at his position. Emily didn't at first understand why the young men next to her suddenly excused themselves, with extremely lame excuses.

"Emily, I'm sorry I'm late! We had some problems with a horse." Zack was standing in front of her, and reached over to take her hand. She took in how tall and strong he looked, as his warm strong hand enclosed hers. It was hard to breathe, as he stood next to her, almost over whelming her with his masculinity. At the back of her mind she wanted to giggle at how those other men had folded their tents so fast. Her father would have had them for breakfast, if they'd been under his command, but she was pretty sure that Major General Andrew Tisdale, V.C., would have thoroughly approved of Zack.

"You look beautiful! Will you eat dinner with me?" Zack loved how the purple flowers on her dress echoed her purple pansy eyes, with their dark eyelashes. The pretty dress clung perfectly to her figure, and her creamy skin glowed in the low light. It was taking every bit of self-control not to take her in his arms. The fact that those other men had fallen away only reinforced what he was feeling, that she was his.

When Nick had pointed out Emily to him, it was like everyone else just disappeared from view. His plan had been to play it slow, and not monopolize her right away. She was new to the valley, and deserved the chance to get to know other people. Even as JR was goading him, out of ear shot of their father, to get on with it, Zack was rationalizing in his mind that he needed to go slow. Emily was young, innocent, and had already been put in a bad situation because of a man's desire for her.

The minute he saw her though, looking like a bouquet of spring flowers, with those other men around her all his logical thoughts went out the window. Zack suddenly felt very possessive, as a hot wave of jealousy over took his mind and body. He didn't want anyone but him standing close to her, and without a second thought he strode fiercely and confidently over to where she was standing. Emily was his damn it, and those other men needed to understand that, he said to himself.

Nick, JR, and Rufus all watched with great enjoyment as the other men fell away, when Zack strode into the group. Jarrod had seen the three men together, and wondered what was the cause of their merriment? When he joined the group, he saw the tail end of Zack holding Emily's hand, while the other men faded sadly into the background.

"Thank goodness he took my advice!" JR declared, and the group looked at him in stupefaction. The thought of the young man offering any kind of sound advice, other than maybe about livestock, was hard to fathom. He saw the disbelief on their faces, so he explained. "I told him not to beat around the bush with her, and to get on with it. He's a Morton after all, and we don't know the meaning of the word lose!" His laughter was raucous, and the Barkley's saw Rufus look at his younger son with pride.

It was after dinner, when the dancing started that JR finally had his chance to make things right with Emily. He had already told Zack what he was going to do, wanting to clear it with his brother first. Zack was touched that JR wanted to make the effort, and told him so. Now, the younger Morton was waiting for his chance to dance with the English girl.

The men that Zack had chased away before dinner came back, to try to redeem themselves and their chances. It was hard for Zack to watch, but he could not dance every dance with Emily. He was obligated to dance with his hostess, which he took to be Victoria and Catherine. There was also Maria Thompson, the wife of the Reverend to dance with, because of his father's position on the board of the church. That had also entailed a dance with Susannah, the wife of the assistant pastor that he had started to get friendly with. For good measure he danced with several women who had been contemporaries of his mother, as well as Maria Valeria, his friend Javier's wife.

He had even asked Lily to dance, but had been turned down by her. It had been with some trepidation that he'd approached her and Heath in the first place. Zack remembered all the thoughts he'd had about her, before leaving for Colorado. Those thoughts had affected his behavior with Heath, someone that he'd never been close to. The circumstances of the man's birth had been a large part of the coolness, as well as the Morton pride.

Rufus had drummed it into his boys about whom and what they were, with their land and position in the valley. That included setting a good example of being God fearing men – everyone knew that God helps those who help themselves. The senior Morton was proud that he had raised his boys to be tough and skilled, with no fear in them. His Diana had supported him along the way, while being a wonderful mother and wife. Rufus believed in God's commandants about marriage, and that a godly woman kept herself pure.

It was this problem with Heath that he had discussed in great detail with his sons. Everyone understood that men had needs, and that was why there were certain kinds of women out there. Fallen women couldn't help themselves, and had lost sight of their holy and sacred value before God. They didn't count, so it didn't matter what a man did with them. The fact that a supposedly good woman had born a child to Thomas Barkley, was proof that she really wasn't pure. A child of such a union was branded a bastard for good reason.

He had bowed his head in admiration for how Victoria had handled the issue – the woman was a Christian woman incarnate. Her children's reactions had also met with his approval, because families had to stand together; loyalty was everything in Rufus' mind.

This was the background that Zack had approached with Heath with, and after having to rescue the bastard's wife had only enforced what his father had preached. Lily had told Zack a great deal about her relations with Heath, and he had felt sympathy for the pretty woman who'd been sent out riding by herself. What he was told had only aroused in Zack even stronger feelings than what he was feeling anyway. He had enjoyed escorting the pretty girl into the Barkley house, under her husband's nose.

Zack was furious, because he wanted a wife like Lily, and he knew exactly how he would have treated her. Even after San Francisco Zack still had not felt comfortable with Heath, but now it was more the feelings he was having for the man's wife. He was relieved now to see that none of them occurred as he talked to her. While taking note of her pretty features, and reddish gold hair, he noticed a sharpness about her face that he had not seen before. The eyes, interesting with their changing colors, seemed rather sad, while her voice had tenseness to it.

He also harkened back to everything that Lily had told him, on the ride back to the Barkley ranch. At the time he had felt flattered that she was confiding in him, but now, with his feelings about Emily he saw it very differently. Lily had told him about matters that Zack considered to be private family issues. He was finally able to visualize being married to Emily, and bringing her into his family's house. Zack knew that he would not want Emily sharing the kind of details that Lily shared with an outsider.

Of course though he would treat Emily very differently than Heath had treated Lily. Zack was also pretty sure that Emily wouldn't be one to broadcast her feelings to the first person who was kind to her. He remembered her reticence in talking about her aunt's husband, even as the man was the cause of her being on the train. There was also the issue of her concern about his relationship with JR, and how she didn't want to come between them. Zack admired her honor and integrity in how she had handled everything that had been thrown at her.

Zack now understood what Maisie had asked him, about whether it was Lily he wanted, or what she represented. He wanted companionship, and someone to stand beside him as he conquered the world. His wife would have to share his dreams, and passion – horses, land, and family. The fact that Lily was not the person for him was brought home to him as he talked to the couple, about a horse sale that had taken place while he was gone. Heath was describing the two horses he'd bought for the small barn, by the house they had just built.

He'd turned to ask Lily her thoughts on them, and if one of them was for her. She had looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about, and it brought home to Zack how little he'd had in common with the woman. Lily demurred when asked about dancing, saying she wasn't in the mood. Zack excused himself, and went to find Emily, while saying a silent prayer of thanks that she had come into his life.

Walking over to the edge of the dance floor he saw JR dancing with her, and could tell they were talking. He had kept tabs on who else she'd danced with, and had always been pleased to see space between them. Even now, with JR, there was space and he knew his brother was behaving appropriately. He also saw the friendship developing between the two, and it moved him greatly. JR always had his back, no matter what and he was glad that Emily had respected the relationship.

Zack could also admit that his wife being friends with his brother would make life at the ranch easier. Even as he thought it, he wasn't sure how he had made the leap, in the space of two hours, of thinking of her as his wife. Or maybe he had started back on the train, with the porter addressing her as Mrs. Morton. Zack sighed, wondering if it all had been pre-ordained.

Emily had danced first with Zack, liking how he held her very close while whispering in her ear. They had eaten dinner with Nick and Catherine, along with Javier and Maria Valeria. She picked up that the men had all grown up together, being close in age to each other. They had told funny stories about their childhoods, and had the ladies laughing. When Zack had first approached her, she had felt like no one else was around. Her brain stopped working, while her heart beat fast and her body almost throbbed with anticipation.

He had held her hand as they talked, and then sat close to her all during dinner. Their thighs touching had sent tingles through her body, making it hard to eat. When dinner was done, Zack had put his arm around her waist as they sat talking with the other couples. She liked how affectionate Zack was, not cold, and stiff like the English officers she was used to. It also confirmed the very public statement Zack was making, about his feelings for her.

She had not wanted their dance to end, but knew the rules of society. Emily danced with Jarrod, Nick, and even Heath who turned out to be a good dancer. She had noticed that he'd spent most of the evening staying close to Lily, like a devoted husband. Unfortunately, his conversational abilities did not match his dancing, and Emily was pleased when the dance finally ended. She endured the single men who all wanted to dance with her, having to work to keep them at arm's length.

Her last partner had been the foppishly dressed son of the bank owner, and she was ready to sit down and maybe have some lemonade. When JR appeared in front of her, she groaned inwardly, but put a smile on her face. Emily had noticed that he had not approached her all evening, which she thought strange after his intense flirting with her when she'd visited his ranch.

"Emily, I want to apologize for my behavior the other day, and would like to start all over. Could we be friends?" JR swung her around carefully, keeping a respectful distance between them. He had seen how Zack had regarded those other men, with jealousy, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a Morton being jealous.

"JR, where is this coming from?" Emily was puzzled as to what he was doing, and why. It seemed to be such an abrupt about face for the young man. She was aware of how carefully he was holding her as they danced, very respectfully. He would not have been like that if it had been the first time they meant, and she wondered what had happened in the ensuing two days.

"Look, when you came to the ranch the other day, I didn't realize how much my brother likes you." JR answered, not wanting to say too much. He had no idea if Zack had declared his feelings to Emily yet, and didn't want to muck it up. "Emily, I would never have flirted like I had, if I'd known ahead of time. Zack and I are very close, and care about each other." JR hoped that she heard the sincerity in his voice.

This had been so much easier in his mind, when he wasn't holding the beautiful woman, catching whiffs of her floral scent. Her large eyes were like pansies, and he thought once again about seeing her with hair down. His brother was one lucky bastard, that this luscious English flower was his for the taking. He then thought about what Zack had gone through, earlier in the year, and remembered how kind Emily had seemed to be, at lunch. She had taken the time to listen to their father with deference, even as he was asking his probing questions.

His older brother needed someone to be kind to him, JR realized, as he thought about how Zack had always looked out for him. After their mother had passed, Zack had comforted JR, who was beside himself with grief. There had been no one to comfort Zack though, the younger man saw for the first time. Emily though, with her soft voice and gentle ways would take care of Zack. He also realized that the Rising M needed the softness that she would bring with her.

Emily could tell that apologizing, and talking about feelings was not JR's strong suit. The fact that he was doing it brought home how much he loved his brother. She decided to put him out of his misery. "JR, I would like to be your friend." Emily told him simply, regarding him with understanding. He saw how she was looking at him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you! I appreciate that a lot, Emily." JR realized that she had seen how hard it was for him, and he was grateful that she had helped him out. He suddenly saw that not only was she kind, she was also considerate, and smart. They finished the dance, with JR telling her some funny stories about his brother. "Zack is a lucky man that is all I have to say!" JR informed her, as the dance ended. He escorted her over to his older brother, who had been watching them dance with hawk like intensity.

"Zack, I think Emily would like you to dance with her now." JR faced his brother, a conspiratorial smile on his face. He leaned over and whispered in his brother's ear "you are one lucky bastard, and if I were you, I would propose tonight!" The young man then turned to Emily and thanked her for the dance in a very proper manner, before he walked off, laughing as he did so.

Emily was curious about what JR had said in his brother's ear, and the laughter that he walked off making. Zack for his part was both relieved that things were fine between JR and Emily, but starting to wish that his brother was not so determined to give him advice. Coupled with what he was already feeling, it was like adding fuel to a hot burning fire.

"Would you like to dance, Emily?" Zack asked her, but started to get worried when she shook her head. However, the words she said next made him feel better.

"Honestly Zack, could we get some lemonade and sit down? I've been dancing non-stop." She replied, wanting to rest more than anything else. Having Zack to keep her company would only make it better, and he seemed very happy to be with her. She still couldn't believe how easy it was to be with a man, and how her body was more than ready to have Zack's attentions. Emily brought her mother's picture to her mind, even as she snuggled against him.

"I think that is an excellent idea, my dear! Let's go." Zack agreed, putting his hand on the small of her back as he escorted her through the crowds. He felt her softly snuggle against his touch, and felt a stirring of desire that she always created in him. He knew that JR was correct, about getting on with it. The only issue was that he would never hear the end of his brother being right, but if meant having Emily, he was more than happy to put up with JR crowing.