Victoria sat on the end of one of the eight benches that sat on either side of the aisle of the small church; there were four on each side of the aisle that ran down the middle of the room. Heath sat more in the middle of the same bench, resting his arms on the bench in front of them; his hands hung down while he kept his face forward. He had to, as he had an array of emotions going through him, unsure of what to say. The tension in the air was just as thick, if not thicker than it had been with Jarrod. However, Heath managed to control himself, though he kept his face forward. "I'm sorry; I should have at least left you a letter, ma'am."

"Jarrod told me what you said to him when he came here the first time." Victoria took a deep breath, hoping the two of them could discuss things without any sort of explosion. She gazed upon Heath, who automatically tensed up, though he successfully fought it from showing to any great degree. "I too am very sorry. We did indeed cross over the line more than once, but we always meant well. You could have told us how you felt." She wasn't surprised when Heath remained silent for a few moments.

After a moment, Heath shook his head. "I tried to tell you; all of you, more than once how things were. However, no one listened." He was still fighting to control himself. "It was only the fact that I knew all of you meant well that kept me from leaving after Eva passed away and after Jarrod defended Korby. When it comes to Bentell," he turned his face toward Victoria, the controlled fury in his eyes made Victoria flinch slightly. "That was almost too much. I didn't go with him to show any guts," he forced himself not to ground his teeth, knowing his part in the estrangement. "I left the room and packed to get away before I said or did something to you and Jarrod I would be sure to regret later. By the time Mr. Bentell, his wife and I got back, I began to realize I might be losing a part of myself. Then , after Hazard, I just knew I would lose all of me if I continued to stay; I needed to leave." He then went on to admit to her, as he had to Jarrod and Nick, he had handled things badly.

Again, the two fell silent, both unsure of what to say next. Victoria, who had felt the sting of once again being called 'ma'am' by her stepson, wanted to ask him to call her mother again only she didn't know if she dared do that. From what she saw and felt, Heath was nowhere near ready for that one. Still, there had to be something besides 'ma'am'.

The sound of children's laughter drifted in through a partially opened window near Victoria. She found herself standing up and walking over to the window. Looking out, she saw a small family setting up a picnic in the churchyard. It brought back many memories when she and Tom were raising their family. She felt a sharp pain go through her heart; shocked to finally realize just how much she resented that she had not been allowed the opportunity to raise Heath. Then again, why should she have? It was Leah that had borne her blonde haired stepson; it was her right to decide who raised him.

Turning away from the window she looked upon her Heath. "I knew you were Tom's son from the moment you and Nick came into the house that night. I was angry, not at you but at Tom. Still, I took you in because I knew you deserved his name and all that his other children had. Afterwards, I thought I was treating you the same as the others." She took a deep breath and then sighed, "But, I didn't, did I?" It was a question that didn't require an answer to, but she asked it anyway.

Heath felt a small amount of fire inside of him begin to die; after all, he knew how hard it was for Victoria to ask such a question. "No, you didn't." He replied, pain shooting through his heart once more. "Deep down inside, I think you resented my presence, resented all that my being there reminded you of."

Victoria opened her mouth to deny that fact, only to let out a sigh instead. How she hated knowing he had a valid point. Maybe, she had secretly resented having living proof of her husband's infidelity. "It hasn't been the same since you left; I wish you'd give us all a second chance."

Heath sighed as he felt more of the fire inside him die, knowing what it would do to Victoria; only he had to be honest. That is, if there was to be any hope of reconciliation in any form. "It can never be the same." He let out a slow breath. "Jarrod is married with a family, as are Eugene and myself. Audra soon will be, and I have no doubt Nick will follow soon enough." He wasn't surprised by the look of one who knew what was coming appear in Victoria's eyes and yet wanted to stop it with all her heart. For her he was sorry, but he'd not lie to her. "I'm not moving my family back to Stockton."

"Why not?" Victoria walked back to the bench and sat down? "We're still family; we can start fresh. There's plenty of room for you to build a home somewhere on the south part of the ranch, and Nick would love to have you working with him again; we all would. Victoria wondered what she'd said so wrong when the little bit fury that was still in Heath's eyes turned to one of total disbelief.

"There's plenty of room for me to build on the south end of the ranch? I can see she's sincerely sorry for my leaving only has she gone and lost it? I might share part of the blame for this mess only I was right about one thing back then, and I'm right now. Victoria is a good hearted, generous woman, but she can't-for whatever reason-stop telling me what to do, just like she would a small child." Heath silently thought and then shook his head. No, the Barkleys could own ninety percent of California, and Heath knew his home would be in the other ten percent for now…and arguing with Victoria over that fact would do nothing but more harm. Maybe, someday, it would be different. However, for now, he could not change how he felt. "My home is here ma'am, with my wife and son. Yes, sooner or later, we'll have to make monthly trips into the next town for supplies, but this is still home. I like working for Petersons and I like wearing this badge. I intend to wear it for at least the duration of my contract and, please, don't ask how long that is…as it wouldn't matter if it was 3 days, 3 months, or 3 years. I would not break it; I might even extend it. I've been asked to; that is, until the town officially dies. That being the case, I am thinking about it. It doesn't mean we can't write or visit when it's possible, just that my family and me will continue to live here."

Victoria sighed. She had hoped that once the two of them sat down and talked, he'd agree to go back to Stockton with the family. If it wasn't for the fact that she feared he'd shut the door on the family and nail it shut if she continued to press the issue, she might have pushed him. As it was, she had to admit Jarrod and Nick were right. However, that ma'am bit; it had to go. "I told you once I've been a number of things to a number of people, but never ma'am. If you can't get yourself to call me mother, can't we come up with something else for you to call me until you could? And, couldn't I please call you Heath again?"

Heath looked at her for a moment. A large share of him wanted to tell her no; the other half chastised him and told him to stop being so childish. She still might be subconsciously trying to control his choices, but that didn't mean he had to continue to act badly. Besides, he might as well allow each member of the family to refer to him as Heath Barkley. Everyone in town was now fully aware of his true identity. "Fine, Heath it is, but only if you accept what I've said and do not push me, in any way, to move back. However, when it when comes to what I call you, I can only think of three names to call you that would show you the respect you deserve; ma'am, Mrs. Barkley or Victoria. Since you don't wish to be called by the first, which of the other two do you prefer?"