Chapter Twenty-Six
Heath opened his eyes and looked around. It took a moment for him to remember what had happened. When his eyes lit upon Nick, who stood with his back to the bed and his face to the window watching rain drops hit the window, the memory of having his daughter crawl onto the bed and Nick's words came back to him full force. With his fever now completely gone, Heath closed his eyes for a moment and thought on the fact that he'd told his half brother that he, Heath, would take his children and leave the ranch once the trouble was over. Could he really do that now? After all, they had not only tended to his wound in their own home, but they'd brought the children back and had them cared for as well. As he thought on it, Heath tried to sit up only to find pain shooting though his wounded shoulder. He let out an involuntary gasp and lay back down.
His gasp reached out and grabbed Nick, whirling the man around faster than the rain that was falling at that moment. "Hey," Nick hurried over to the side of the bed and looked down at Heath. "What do you think you're doing? You're not ready to get out of bed!" Nick snapped, but didn't yell, though that was hard for him not to do. After all, he was concerned the man would push it beyond his limits and injure himself worse. If that happened, not only would he and the family have another battle on their hands, but Leah was sure to give him, Nick, both barrels. The young child hadn't exactly been shy about saying what she thought about her father being hurt in the first place. For that matter, Byron might do the same. The normally quiet boy had succeeded in shocking everyone when he'd joined his sister in her tirade. Only the stern look and voice of Victoria Barkley had shut them up.
"So, my body tells me." Heath replied as he shut his eyes still feeling very tired. For a moment, neither brother said a word. Nick wondering if Heath still meant to take the children and leave, Heath thinking how his new found family had reacted after he'd been shot. It was still hard for him to accept the Barkleys had never once batted an eye when it came to taking care of him or his children. It all seemed too good to be true, only it was and everything in him was telling him so. He knew what he had to do. "Nick." Heath took as deep of a breath as he could and broke the silence, but kept his eyes shut.
"What?" Nick asked as he put one hand on the bed headboard and his other one his hip, half afraid of what he was going to hear.
Heath's crooked smile appeared on his face, though he kept his eyes closed as he said, "That swinging bridge, the one I used last week, it's not strong anymore. It's weakening. If we don't get that thing fixed and someone happens to be on it when it gives way; well, someone, maybe even one of us might wind up in the…" Heath, who had found himself fighting to stay awake, lost the battle to remain conscious. He was fast asleep before he finished his sentence.
"Guess I got to get used to having another brother around." Nick muttered as he grinned and he turned and left to tell the others Heath was going to be staying around.
EPILOGUE
"Stay with him, Heath!" Audra and Jarrod both yelled as they leaned against the corral fence and watched as their half brother worked on breaking in a horse. Neither Jarrod or Audra could hardly believe it had been a year since Heath had woke up for good and told the told the family he'd decided that he and his children would stay on the ranch, even if it meant fighting those who might not want to acknowledge his was a Barkley. That is, if the Barkleys would still willing to acknowledge Tom was his father. It was a statement that had gotten Nick riled, not that anyone had expected a reaction of another kind. The man's exact words were "Acknowledging you ain't the problem now, gettin' to know someone who is so tight lipped is! How can we get to do that, get to know ya, if you take your children and disappear?" Heath had stayed though he'd chosen to remain in the small home he and his children had been living in spite of the family's objection. "We're too used to a home of our own. Maybe later," had been his exact words. They had remained in that house for a solid ten months before Heath had consented to move into the main house.
It hadn't been easy at first. Some of the ranch hands turned on him once the truth came out. As time passed and the bond between the family and Heath grew, especially the bond between him and Nick, the trouble with the ranch hands had eventually stopped. Unfortunately, there was nothing the Barkleys could do about the town's people. While some of them had come around, others were still being as snobbish and ornery as ever.
Jarrod and Audra's thoughts were interrupted as Heath won the fight with the horse, dismounted and walked over. His brother and sister were going to congratulate him, but were stopped in the process as five and a half year old Leah came running out of the house yelling for her father; Nick was right behind her.
"Papa, Uncle Nick is going to town! May I go with him, please?" She reached through the corral fence and took a hold of her father's right hand.
Heath looked at Nick and his famous lopsided grin appeared. His stepmother had been right. Over the past year the bound that had formed between Nick and him was amazing. There were even times Nick found himself apologizing because he'd made a comment along the lines of 'remember when we…' only to remember Heath hadn't always been there. "Sure, go ahead." Heath chuckled as his daughter let go, turned around and ran to Nick, who was standing next to the wagon. His smile was just as big and his dimples were clearly showing.
"I wonder what she'll do the day Nick actually gets married." Audra couldn't help but laugh as she watched her middle brother help Leah up into the wagon and then climb aboard himself.
"I'd say the woman that marries Nick best love children." Jarrod eyes were laughing as his own smiled covered his face.
"Mama always told me blood was thicker than water." Heath gave his brother and sister one of his rare wide smiles. "I'd say his bride better just be able to accept that as fact and get used to the notion that Nick has an extra shadow."
When Audra and Jarrod started laughing, Heath joined in, leaving those who were standing where they could see the three Barkleys, but couldn't hear what was being said, to wonder what was so funny.