Chapter Eleven
Jarrod, who now sat on a hill overlooking the Van Slyck's small farm, felt a wave of emotions run through him. "I can't promise anything." Mr. Borden's words rang in Jarrod's ears. "Only you seem to be describing the young man my wife and I found near the river close to two months ago." Mr. Borden had continued speaking, telling Jarrod just how serious Heath's injuries had been. He told Jarrod that, the last time that he, visited the Van Slyck's, the blonde haired man was not reacting to anything or anyone. "Mind you, I don't know what the current situation is. I haven't been able to make it out to their place for a solid two weeks due to one thing or another." Mr. Borden stood at the bottom of the brown, wooden steps that led up to the Borden's small porch.
Jarrod came out of his thoughts when he saw a red headed gentleman dressed in a suit and carrying doctor's bag walk out of the house; Jarrod assumed it was the doctor. He might have pushed Jingo forward, only the doctor-if Jarrod was right-had been followed out by a and middle ages gentleman and a dishwater blonde haired woman who looked to be in her late thirties. From the descriptions handed to him by Mr. Borden, Jarrod assumed-he was looking at Johan Van Slyck and his widowed daughter, Norah. He grew concerned when he heard the woman raising her voice and waving her one hand through the air. While he couldn't understand what she was saying, he guessed the doctor had said something with which she did not agree with. Only, when the doctor had shook his head, climbed into the wagon and drove away did Jarrod start down the hill.
"Ve have company, Fader." Norah, who was indeed disgusted with the doctor, glanced towards her father and then turned to her attention to the stranger approaching their home. "Been a long time since I have seen such a handsome man, but I best not voice that one out loud. Fader vill get the v'ong idea, maybe even threaten to pull a shotgun out." Norah thought as she watched Jarrod stop his horse and dismount.
When it came to Jarrod, if it weren't for the business that had brought him to the Van Slyck's home, he might have taken a longer look at the beautiful widow. As it was, he silently acknowledged it had been a long time since he'd seen anyone who could turn his head even once, when Mr. Van Slcyk asked who he was and how could they help him.
"My name is Jarrod Barkley. I'm from Stockton." Jarrod answered as young Robert ran around the house and almost plowed into him, startling Jingo as he did so. Jarrod was able to grab the reins though, keeping the animal from galloping off.
"Robert! Vatch vhere you are going!" Norah was appalled that her son had almost knocked Mr. Barkley over and made it so they had a horse to chase.
"I'm fine, ma'am." Jarrod smiled at Robert, who had quickly backed up and had a more than embarrassed look on his face. The young boy reminded him of Nick, when it came to plowing ahead without looking at times. Jarrod's anxious eyes then turned to Mr. Van Slyck. "I just came from the Borden home." Jarrod proceeded to give a short account of the events that had taken place two months previous. "With the exception of Nick and Heath's wife, the rest of us had accepted that Heath had been killed." Jarrod paused, noting the shock and surprise that had appeared on the Van Slcyk's faces. Jarrod gave another short explanation as to what he was doing in the area. "I was hoping I could see the gentleman in your care." He found himself holding his breath as Mr. Van Slyck looked at his daughter and then back at him.
After all the time he, his wife, his daughter and even his grandsons had invested in taking care of the stranger inside their home, Mr. Van Slyck only felt like granting Jarrod's request if the attorney didn't share the same attitude the doctor had just showed them. "That depends," He kept his eyes on Jarrod, to watch for any subtle negative body language.
"On what?" Jarrod, who had an uneasy feeling of concern roll over him, wondered what was coming.
"Your attitude," Mr. Van Slcyk answered bluntly. "That young man in there shouldn't have lived, but he did. According to the doctor, he should be a complete vegetable, not respondin' to anyone or anythin', but the young man is very aware of his surroundin's around him, he just can't talk at the moment nor can he do anything by himself. That is, except sitting up. Ve have to do help him vith everythin' else. However, ve can ask him questions and he vill blink his eyes once for yes and twice for no. Ve believe, someday, somehow, he vill function on his own. Ve can't explain it, ve don't have any 'real' evidence-as the doctor put it-but ve still know it. Ve, my vife, my daughter here, and me, ve have been able to get him out of bed and sit him in a chair in the living room, but he takes all of us to do it. He cannot valk on his own; doctor doesn't know vhy, and neither do ve. But, if you agree vith the doctor, that ve should just give up vorkin' vith the gentleman in our home, that ve should just 'accept vhat is' and you vant ta put him into some asylum, then you can turn around and pretend you never came here." Again, Johan Van Slyck looked for any body language that would tell him that Jarrod had the same attitude the doctor had just shown.
Jarrod felt his heart breaking for the gentleman in the Van Slcyk's care…whether or not it was Heath, he didn't care. From what he'd just heard, the road the gentleman was on was a hard one. "If he's my brother, I'm not going to turn my back on him; no one in my family will. Please, let me see the man you are caring for."
Mr. Van Slyck glanced towards his daughter again.
"As long as you don't speak negatively around the gentleman, I have no reason to object." Norah turned and headed for the front door. Jarrod followed behind Mr. Van Slcyk, who was walking behind his daughter. Moments later he was standing in the living room and feeling his heart skip a beat. Heath was sitting in chair that had been placed in between the door and the window; his face forward, and he didn't appear to be looking at anything in particular.
"Vell?" Norah and her father looked at Jarrod. By a look of intense pain in Jarrod's eyes, the two couldn't help but wonder if their visitor had been right; was the young man in the chair his brother? They got their answer when Jarrod spoke quietly.
"Hello, Heath, good to see you again." Jarrod took a step forward and then felt his heart ache, while the Van Slyck's hearts skipped a beat, as the three of them watched a single tear escaped Heath's face as he turned his head towards the sound of Jarrod's voice.
