Chapter 12

Jarrod didn't sleep well. With his headache and his gut caved in for a second night, he couldn't get comfortable. But the next morning he got up, shaved, dressed in his work clothes despite the spots of Don Gordon's blood on the front, and rode out to the property on the other side of the river. It was still early when he got there, but Libby and Danny were up. Coffee was all they could make because all the other kitchen utensils were packed to go.

As Libby poured Jarrod a cup of coffee, she saw his face and the front of his shirt. She said, "You've been hurt again."

Jarrod said, "It's all right. It's straightened out and it won't be happening again."

"Was it about this property?" she asked.

"No, actually, it turned out it wasn't," Jarrod said. "Just a personal grudge someone I knew had."

She didn't ask anything else. Jarrod finished his coffee, and Libby washed the pot while Danny loaded a few more crates onto the wagon. He came in, announcing, "We're gonna have to make one more trip with the beds and the table and chairs, and a few more boxes."

"We'll do it," Jarrod said.

They heard a horse coming up into the yard. Danny looked out the window. "It's my boss!"

"Just in time for us to be ready to go," Jarrod said. He gave Libby a smile, knowing she wouldn't be coming back for the second load. She would be unpacking at the new place. She would be walking out the door here for the last time, this time.

Libby said, "I never did get really attached to this place, not like Stone Creek. I won't miss it."

"Let's go start you a new home," Jarrod said. "Hopefully, a better one."

The day went as planned. It took a while to get to the new house and unload. As soon as Jarrod, Danny and Danny's boss got the furniture and boxes inside, Libby suddenly seemed frozen. "Oh, Lord, there's so much to unpack."

Jarrod chuckled a little. "We tried to label the boxes with a pencil. I'd try to unload the kitchen things first."

"My God, we need to eat!" she suddenly realized.

Jarrod laughed even more. "I worked it out with the hotel café. They'll be bringing food over in – " He checked his pocket watch. "Oh, in about fifteen minutes! In that case, I think we'll wait to go back for the next load until we get something to eat. Let's unpack the coffee and you can get some on while I unpack dishes and knives and forks and the like."

They went into the kitchen together. The stove was a wood stove, and as Libby was checking it out, Danny brought some firewood in from the back. "Whoever was here last left us some," Danny said, "but I'll have to get more."

Danny's boss had gone back to the livery after they unloaded the wagon, but Jarrod said, "Talk to your boss about that. He can probably get it delivered to you here in town. You won't have to go out fetching it anymore."

"The price might be high," Libby noted.

"But you don't have a mortgage payment, Libby," Jarrod reminded her.

"But I will want to buy your share of the house out," she said.

Jarrod shook his head. "There's no hurry, and you don't have to do it at all if you don't want to. Let's just leave that decision for another time and get this stove started up. I sure could use some coffee."

The food arrived before the stove was hot enough to make coffee, but fortunately, the hotel café had thought to bring a pot of coffee along. They didn't have a table and chairs to sit down on yet, but the day was nice and they decided to sit on the porch to eat. People who walked by said hello. Neighbors stopped to introduce themselves. Jarrod had to explain once or twice that he wasn't Libby's husband, he was just helping out and would not be living here with Libby and Danny. In a way, it gave him a funny little twinge to say that. He was sorry in a way that he would not be staying.

A look in Libby's eyes told him she was sorry too, but neither one of them was going to revive those old feelings, and non-feelings. They were both well aware of the reality of their relationship, and even if it did feel awkward, they were each accepting of it. They were friends – very close friends, but friends.

The early afternoon sent Jarrod and Danny back to the old house, where they finished up packing the wagon with furniture and boxes. Danny gave a last look at the house he and his mother had been living in, but like Libby, he never really considered it home. Leaving it behind was only a touch sad. They drove back to the new house and found Danny's boss there helping Libby to unpack. As they unloaded the wagon, Libby's boss, Mr. Luce came down the street toward them. He was carrying a large basket.

"Afternoon, Mr. Luce," Jarrod said. "What have you got there?"

"A little housewarming present," he said. "Some food, some flowers – some things Libby and Danny will need and some just to brighten up the new place."

Libby came out onto the porch at that point and was surprised to see her boss there. "Mr. Luce!"

He brought the basket up to her. "Lots of canned goods here, a good smoked ham, and some vegetables and flowers from Mrs. Carson's garden."

Mrs. Carson was a regular customer who was always happy to have Libby talk her into buying some things she really didn't need. Libby smiled and took the basket. "This is really nice, Mr. Luce. Thank Mrs. Carson for me. And I'll be back in tomorrow, I promise. I won't have to travel as far to get there anymore, either."

Jarrod smiled to see Libby beaming, holding the basket. He paused for a moment before grabbing another box off the wagon, and he looked around, and he felt good. His midsection still hurt, but the headache was gone, and the joy of having everything working out was erasing any bad feeling over having lost a friend in Don Gordon. Overall, this whole thing had turned out better – and quicker – than he thought it would have when Danny came to get him. He felt like he had done some very good things for friends who had taken care of him when he needed someone to.

Sometimes he didn't feel very good about himself, not since he had to face the horrible man who blasted out of him and shattered who he thought he was after his wife was murdered. But now, watching Libby smiling, watching her life improve and knowing he had helped make it happen – he not only felt good for her and for Danny, he also felt better about himself. Funny, but a few days being Dakota had made him feel more like Jarrod Barkley than he had felt in too long a while. It was a very good feeling.

XXXXXXXXX

"Ah, I knew you'd get into trouble," was the first thing Nick said when he picked Jarrod up at the train station and got a look at his face. "What happened?"

Jarrod's midsection still hurt when he laughed, but he laughed anyway at Nick's reaction to his appearance. "Nothing I couldn't handle all by myself, Brother Nick. It was an excellent trip. I got Libby and Danny straightened out financially, got them into town into a smaller house with no mortgage, got her a fair price on her old place and made myself a few dollars and half an interest in Libby's house in the bargain. All in all, nice result for only a few days' work."

Nick had brought a buggy. Jarrod put his bag and briefcase into the back and climbed in beside his brother. "That is a lot for how short a time you were gone. So that money we sent you was for an investment that paid off, but who beat you up?"

"Don Gordon," Jarrod said.

Nick knew Don Gordon in passing. He knew Gordon was Jarrod's friend. His eyes went wide. "Don Gordon?"

"Nick, brother mine," Jarrod said, "not everyone is as blessed to have brothers like you and I have. My investment activities got me into the middle of a family feud, and I'll leave it at that. Don and his brother Ben have some things to work out that they probably never will."

Nick flicked the reins and the buggy moved forward. "So, when do you have to go back up there?"

"Next week, for settlement on Libby's new house," Jarrod said.

"You and Libby – owning a house together – " Nick said it with a lot of suspicion in his voice.

"It's not like that," Jarrod said. "It'a just a financial arrangement. She wants to buy me out, but that's a discussion for a lot later. In the meantime, I'm just on the deed because I helped pay for the house."

"And you still made money overall on the deal?"

"Libby's old house was prime real estate in an area Ben Gordon wanted for commercial development. I bought Libby out and then I got some real fine money out of Ben for it. Libby and I split the profits."

Nick shook his head. "Somehow, Big Brother, you often seem to come out of these things looking like something the cat drug in but with a big smile on your face."

Jarrod laughed again. "Costs and benefits of my profession, my boy."

XXXXXXX

Epilogue

Settlement on Libby's new house went smoothly, and Jarrod spent a lovely evening with Libby and Danny in their new home. Libby was beaming, completely recovered from her pneumonia and happy to be in town. And she had something to tell Jarrod.

"I have a new job, at the dress shop," she said. "It actually pays a little more money because I'm going to be doing alterations as well as waiting on customers."

Jarrod was surprised. "That must be breaking Mr. Luce's heart."

But Libby smiled. "Well, not exactly. Now that I'm not working for him, Martin Luce has asked to see me socially," she said.

Jarrod's eyes lit up.

Libby nodded and smiled.

Jarrod's heart lifted straight up into the air. It looked like that search for a better life Libby had told him she'd always search for might pay off. "I think that's marvelous," Jarrod said.

Several months later, at home in Stockton, Jarrod came in from his office in town with an even bigger smile on his face and a letter in his hand. His mother saw both. "Good news?"

"Great news," Jarrod said, and he read, "'You are cordially invited to the wedding of Elizabeth Mathews and Martin Luce – "

"Oh, Jarrod!" Victoria gushed and hugged him.

Jarrod laughed. "Whoever would have thought me getting knocked off my horse and wandering around in a fog for a week would lead to this kind of joy for someone?"

"We just never know what kind of turn the world is going to take, do we?" Victoria said.

"Sometimes hard times can lead right to good times," Jarrod said and kissed his mother. "I'd like to offer them the lodge for a honeymoon, if it's all right."

"It's perfect," Victoria said.

Jarrod looked at the invitation again. "Yes, it is. Perfect."

The End