I do NOT own The Big Valley, nor do I own any of the original Barkley characters. Thanks again to my Beta Reader, for all the time she spent helping me this story.

Hold on Tight (Part Two of Against the Crooked Sky)

Chapter Twenty-One

Jarrod left the main house and headed for the stable, letting his mind run through the scene from the night before. "I still not understand. Why you go? Why state not find someone else? Peter find you. He kill you." He and Sarah stood in their bedroom once more discussing his upcoming trip to Rockville; genuine fear could be seen in his wife's eyes. It cut Jarrod to the core, knowing there was yet again just cause for anyone to worry about him. Good thing he didn't have the power to bring Brian Miller back from the dead, he'd just have killed him all over again.

Pulling his wife to him, Jarrod held her head against his chest and ran his fingers through her hair. "We don't know that I'll run into him nor do we know that he'll kill me. Nick will be with me too. I've got to go, please understand. Things are finally back to being pretty much normal around here. I can't live the rest of my life never leaving Stockton though. We both know that." Then, out of a mixture of love and the need to shut out the world for a short while, the two had locked the door and ignored everyone but themselves.

By the time Jarrod had finished running the scene through his mind he stood in the doorway watching Nick saddling Coco. Jarrod couldn't help but grin. It might not be absolutely necessary for his brother to go with him; still, it felt good and right. Nick felt his brother's eyes and turned around. "What are you looking at? Did Amelia do something to these clothes when she washed them for me? What did I miss?" He wasn't barking, but he definitely sounded like a man who was confused and didn't like it. Jarrod didn't think the man would ever change, and he wasn't sure he ever wanted him to either.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out," Jarrod teased as he saddled Jingo and led the horse out of the stable. He wasn't surprised when Nick let out a slight 'humph' as he led Coco out of the barn. Neither man was surprised to see Victoria and Sarah waiting for them. Sarah was in Jarrod's arms before anyone could bat an eye. Jarrod held onto her as tightly as she was holding onto him.

"I wanted to make sure you two had everything you needed," Victoria smiled at her sons. It felt good to know that while Peter was out there, somewhere, Jarrod had someone with him, someone who was family and cared about him more than anyone else could even think of.

Jarrod nodded as he gave his wife another hug, and then stepped out from her embrace to give his mother a huge embrace also. At that moment he prayed like mad the trip would prove to be a success, and he could return home to both women; they meant the world to him.

Jarrod and Nick may have been thinking about getting to Rockville and back as fast as they could, but Peter sat on a hill just of out Rockville trying to decide just how badly he wanted to continue sticking around his sister's place. His brother-in-law was driving him up a wall, constantly demanding one thing or another. That is, that's the way Peter saw it. All David was really doing was 'having the nerve to expect Peter to pull his fair share around the ranch'. He had started to slip, and his brother-in-law had simply pointed it out to him

A part of him asked himself why he was sticking around 'this place' anyway. It's not like anyone had told him Jarrod would find himself in Rockville, if Peter waited long enough. No one could guarantee him that. Still, Peter was aware of the past work Jarrod had done involving the Ohlone Indians in the Rockville area. He knew there had been a slight disturbance between the Indians and the white man. That being the case, he was hoping the state would 'give Jarrod a chance' and send him up to talk to the Ohlones.

When he heard footsteps coming Peter hid himself. He was not in the mood to talk to anyone. All he had been looking for when he left his sister's home was a quiet place to think, not a place where others would bother him. By the time the strangers came into view Peter was well hidden though he could see the men just fine. One was approximately five feet seven inches, red haired and as thin as a railing, the other man was, maybe, five feet five inches, dark haired and as round as a wagon wheel. Peter recognized the two men as Henry Staple, the beanpole the bank employed as a clerk, and Adam Little, the overweight barber. Peter would have tried to try to sneak away without being heard except for one simple fact, he heard the Mr. Staple say Jarrod's name.

"They felt they had no choice but to ask him," Henry was speaking, "Mr. Barkley has had a number of occasions to work with the Indians in this area and, from what I hear, he's married to an Apache woman now. Mind you, I don't care for that last part; man should marry into his own kind if you ask me; still, as long as he can get this little misunderstanding about the land cleared up, I say let him at it." Henry was very good at being two faced. Matter of fact his own wife was part Paiute, but she took after her father instead of her mother, so no one was aware of it.

Adam had a small herd and was more concerned about the money he was losing out of his pocket than anything. That being the case, he exclaimed, "Amen to that!" Adam slid his hands into his pocket, "As long as Mr. Barkley doesn't expect me to invite him and his wife into my home, then I say let him have the job." The two continued walking as they discussed the situation; only when the two gentlemen disappeared out of sight did Peter step out from where he was hiding. He was wearing a smile that would have scared the dead back into their graves.