"Lee," Nick calls as he tries to steady the shaking frame of his youngest brother against the onslaught of another coughing fit. He watches as the boy pulls his knees up towards his chest and tries to curl in on himself in order to staunch the waves of pains rippling through his body.
"You alright?" Nick asks Lee noticing for the first time the thick layer of soot covering the hand's clothing. He waits for a response before continuing on with his orders, "I need you to head back toward the barn and help Jim and my mother with our three prisoners."
"Yes sir, Nick," Lee coughs as he rises to his feet and takes a quick swig from the canteen before handing it over to Gene.
"Mother's okay?" Audra interrupts, the worry clear in her eyes.
"She's fine, Audra. She's with Jim and I know she will be glad to see you," Nick says as he reaches over and squeezes his sister's hand before turning back to Lee. "Oh, and Lee," Nick starts and then looks down at the boy in his arms. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Nick," Lee confesses. "This was all Miss Audra. If it wasn't for her we never would have found Mr. Barkley," he says to the astonishment of both her brothers, his voice full of respect.
Nick and Gene both turn toward Audra and gaze upon her with a new sense of wonderment, making the soot-covered girl blush and look away.
"Well, I'll be," Nick laughs, "You are full of surprises today, aren't you? I think when this is over I am going to need to spend some time getting to know the very capable young woman my sister has become" he beams, causing her to blush even more.
"Now, do you think you can work your magic on these cuffs?" He points to Heath's wrists and ankles and then meets the now watering eyes of his little sister, who simply nods and pulls a hairpin out of her hair. She inches over, closer to Heath's side, and very gently reaches out to turn the lock on the handcuffs toward her, causing her injured brother to groan and lean further into Nick. Hesitating for a moment a single tear escapes down her cheek as she begins to work the lock free.
"Gene," Nick calls, pulling his brother's attention away from what Audra is doing. "I need you to go get Coco and Jim's horse from the other side of the house and lead them back to the barn where Jim and Mother are. Red packed medical supplies in my saddlebags and once Audra is done I'll bring Heath back there so we can dress his wounds and then get him to a doctor."
They both look down at the sound of a click and see the lock on the cuffs open. Very gently, Audra begins to remove the iron grips holding her brother's hands together. As the cuffs give way and reveal the torn bloody wrists, she is unable to hold in a soft cry as she quickly moves her hands away. Bending down, Gene puts a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder and then takes over for her as she takes in a deep breath and moves to address the manacles on his ankles.
"They left him hanging in the center of the room," Gene angrily chokes out as he throws the offensive iron clamps out into the yard and ever so gently lays the injured limbs on his little brother's lap. Reaching over Gene runs his fingers through the blackened blonde hair and smiles as a sliver of blue can be seen peeking out underneath the heavy eyelid of Heath's one good eye.
Cupping the boy's cheek, Gene can feel the heat coming off of the blonde's body and he watches as Heath's questioning eye moves from him to Audra and then up to Nick whose broad smile sends a feeling of warmth and acceptance through the battered frame. Closing his eye, Heath tries to move forward and sit up, which only causes another round of the wretched coughing to pound his bruised chest. Without thinking he wraps one arm around his waist as the other hand instinctively comes up and grabs hold of Nick's shirt while he buries his head in his brother's chest.
Tightening his hold on the quivering boy, Nick leans down, "I got you, boy," he whispers over and over again until he hears Heath take in a cough free deep breath followed by a choked off a moan.
Gene, who was watching from the side, lifts the canteen to his brother's lips. "Slow sips, Heath," he encourages as he tilts the rim, allowing the water to flow and sooth his brother's scratchy throat. Patting the blonde's knee as he sets the canteen down beside Nick, Gene rises to his feet just as a delighted squeal is heard from Audra.
"Got it!" she yells triumphantly as she slowly removes the iron cuffs from her brother's raw ankles. The sigh that escapes his lips tells her all she needs to know about how painful the shackles had been.
"Alright, then," Nick begins, "Let's get this boy around back, fix'em up a bit and then get him over to the doc. Audra, grab these two horses. Gene…"
"I'm going, Nick. Just be careful of his shoulders and back when you lift him." Gene says as he starts off to where Coco and Jim's horse are waiting.
Watching Gene go, Audra jumps up, picks up the rifle and the canteen from the ground where she left it, and heads over to her borrowed mare and the stallion Lee rode in on. She gathers up their reins and speaks softly in their ears, as she again is careful to keep them far away from the fire still raging in the distance. With ease, she begins to lead them back to barn area where the others are waiting.
"Heath," Nick looks down to the boy in his arms and smiles when he sees the one blue eye looking back at him. "I know you don't like it but I'm going to pick you up and take…," he pauses at the controlled shaking of his brother's head.
"I... can... walk," Heath whispers, his voice is weak and raspy. Shifting slightly, he begins to try and rise out of Nick's arms but the pain in his shoulders, chest, and back causes him to cry out which leads to another round of coughing. Laying his head back on Nick's shoulder, he feels his arm tighten around him and he feeds off his brother's strength.
"I know you can little brother," Nick encourages in a soft voice filled with the type of kindness only his family knows he possesses. He can see the determination in the blonde's eyes and realizes it is probably this type of grit that has kept this boy alive all these years. "But how about you let your big brother do the work for now. You're not alone anymore, Heath. Lean on us for a little bit."
Nick watches as confusion spreads across Heath's face as he stares up into the hazel eyes trying to decipher if the sincerity he hears is real. Heath knows in this pain-filled fevered state he is vulnerable to the desires of his heart, the desire for this family to really want him, he just doesn't know if he should take the chance. Regardless, he realizes he is not going anywhere on his own so he gives Nick a small nod. A moment later he feels an arm slide under his knees as the one across his back very gently wraps around the side of his chest before he feels himself being lifted into the air. Relaxing into his brother's arms he decides to try and trust this man, his big brother.
"I can't believe it was Molly!" Fred shakes his head as he quickly dismounts and walks over to where Frank is standing. "And you really think Buddy, Buddy Tyrone, was responsible for all these murders?"
Franks nods his head as he looks over to the other lawman. They have just arrived at the spot where Alpha and Jarrod parted ways with Nick and Jim last night and decided to let the horses rest before figuring out which way to go from here. As they started to slow their pace, Frank had begun to fill Fred in on all that happened while he was in Sacramento.
"Yep and something else that happened over three years ago, around the same time Thomas Barkley was murdered." Frank walks over to examine the tracks on the ground. He can see two sets of tracks leading away from the main group, headed toward the ranch and then he notices two sets of tracks coming toward them. He walks over to get a better look.
"Nooo, I just can't believe it. I mean Buddy was such a good kid and the Barkleys are like family to him." Fred stops in his tracks. Noticing what Frank is looking at, he keeps his distance not wanting to disturb the story the ground has to tell.
"Well, you better start believing it cuz I'm telling you he's the one responsible for all of these killings. I just can't figure out why." Frank answers as he stands up and looks in the opposite direction of the ranch. Walking back to the area where the men had camped last night, he sees the signs of the ambush Fred told him about and then he walks over to the outer rim of the campsite.
Alpha, who has been standing back not wanting to get in the way of the experienced lawmen, leads the horses over to a good patch of grass where they can graze as the two officers talk. Looking up toward the sky he sends a silent prayer to the heavens that they are not too late to save Heath or the other Barkleys from the apparent madman in their midst. Bringing his head back down he looks out toward the horizon and notices a shadow reaching up toward the sky. As the shadow grows, alarms start sounding off in his head and he quickly runs over to the two more experienced older men.
"Uh, Frank, Fred," he calls to them getting their attention, "Do you all see that black cloud over yonder? Looks like it could be smoke."
Looking up from the ground, both men follow Alpha's gaze over to the cloud rising in the sky.
"What's over there?" Frank asks Fred as he looks down at the tracks below him and begins walking out in the direction of the smoke. "From the looks of these tracks, someone came riding in hard this morning and then a group followed not long after that. Then just a couple of hours or so ago, two more horses headed off in that direction."
"Millers farm," Fred answers and then quickly adds, "It's been abandoned for five years and it would be a good place to hide out."
"Well, gentlemen," Frank yells running over to his horse. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
'Well, well, well, what did I tell you, Jarrod!" Buddy looks over at the scowling gagged and bound man beside him. "I just knew those two were useless. Look at the mess they made!" He laughs and then laughs harder as he sees the piercing look glaring out at him.
The two had arrived just a few moments ago and witnessed Nick gently carrying Heath back to meet the others over near the barn. From his vantage point, he can see the Simmons and one Haskin brother kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. From what he can make out it looks like Matt Simmons has been shot in the shoulder, not a huge loss considering his ineptness. The one good news for him and the task he was sent here to complete is that all of the Barkleys are present and are nicely preoccupied with caring for their bastard.
Ducking back down behind the shrubs that have them hidden, he looks over at the highly agitated Jarrod and reaches up and pats him on the cheek. He knows he has very little time to complete the job he has been paid for as the fire basically sent up a huge black smoke flare calling out to anyone in the vicinity to hurry to them. Regardless, he knows that he has to have all of them together in order to get what he came for before he kills them. In the end, it just looks like he will have to kill a few extra folks, a proposition he doesn't mind one bit.
Grabbing Jarrod underneath his arm, he roughly pulls the man onto his feet and places his Colt up against the lawyer's temple.
"Alright Jarrod, it's time for you to do your part and maybe you'll be able to save your family," he lies.
