Chapter 16

Jarrod stood in the doorway of the Barkley dining room and contemplated its vacant interior. He had fully expected his Mother to be sitting at the table, calmly sipping on her first cup of tea of the day as she waited for her family to appear from their various early morning activities. The fact that she wasn't and especially given that the previous evening's dinner had been partaken for the most part by the ranches occupants in their own rooms, he found her absence to be quite perturbing. He and Nick had eaten supper in the kitchen after cleaning up and napping for several hours. Audra had elected to eat and indeed sleep in the nursery with Tommy and Leah as the young girl was feeling overwhelmed from her ordeal, the loss of her grandparents; the injury to her father; the strange house and its occupants. Frank Sawyer had ridden into Stockton to send a wire to his deputy in Spanish Camp and then had eaten with Fred Madden at the Cattleman's and Esmeralda had taken over the care of her husband in his room. And their Mother had been conspicuous by her absence once the unpleasant task of preparing Gyorgy for burial had been completed.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee Mister Jarrod," Silas asked as he walked past carrying a platter of bacon and eggs to the dining table.

"No I can get it thanks Silas," Jarrod followed Silas into the room and headed to the sideboard where a pot of freshly brewed coffee sat surrounded by a dozen bone china cups. Picking up one of the rose patterned white cups Jarrod poured his coffee, added sugar and then turned back to watch Silas rearranging the dining table platters, moving the breakfast steaks to Nick's end of the table and the eggs closer to where his Mother and Audra sat. The fresh biscuits and homemade butter were placed in the middle of the table. "Where is everybody this morning? I expected to see Mother down here already."

Silas paused his rearranging and looked up as Jarrod took his customary seat at the head of the table. "Well Mister Jarrod, I can't rightly say where Miz Barkley is this morning as I haven't seen her yet but perhaps she is looking in on the children or Mister Heath and Miz Esmeralda. Miss Audra sent Master Tommy down to say they would have breakfast in the nursery this morning. Miss Leah is still not fully rested after her ordeal. As for Mister Nick he went over to the bunk house earlier but I's expecting him back momentarily. Mister Nick doesn't miss breakfast if'n he can help it."

Jarrod laughed, "Nick doesn't miss any meal if he can help it."

Silas smiled, "you surely got the rights of that Mister Jarrod. I expect the Marshall should be down soon too. If you don't need me I best get to putting those breakfast trays together for the youngsters and Miz Esmeralda and Mister Heath."

Jarrod fingered the rose cup in his hands contemplatively, perhaps Silas was correct and his Mother was checking on their house guests and would be down shortly. He settled the cup in its saucer and leant back in the chair with a sigh; so why did he have the distinct feeling that his Mother was deliberately avoiding him?

"Mother;" Nick stopped mid stride, the jingling spurs tinkling into silence a moment after the forward motion of their wearer came to a stop. Nick eyed Jarrod sitting at the empty dining table. "Where is everyone, I didn't miss breakfast did I?"

"No Brother Nick, you haven't missed breakfast," Jarrod cast a hand over the laden table, "as you can see, the plates are still full." Jarrod watched silently as his brother poured a cup of coffee at the sideboard and then move to take his seat at the table.

"Well then where is everybody? I'm starving and the foods getting cold."

Jarrod rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his fisted hands. "Good question. I believe Audra is having breakfast in the nursery with Leah and Tommy. Leah had a restless night according to Silas."

Nick grunted, "Poor kid, can't say as I blame her though after what those two animals did to her and her family." Nick sighed and then stabbed a piece of steak with a shrug; "No sense in letting the food go cold." Nick forked eggs and bacon onto his plate next to the steak and then grabbed a biscuit. "Besides this is a working ranch and I've got plenty of work to do."

"Pass the plates Nick, as you say there is no need to allow the food to go cold." Jarrod silently filled his own plate as Nick continued to shovel food into his mouth. "Nick."

"Mmmmm."

Jarrod raised an eyebrow as Nick grabbed another biscuit from the plate, "Do you feel as though Mother is deliberately avoiding us?"

Nick paused, the biscuit halfway to his mouth and swallowed hard before turning his full attention to his brother. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't really know, nothing I can definitely put my finger on, more a gut feeling if you like."

Nick to a bite of the biscuit in his hand, "and what is your gut feeling telling you?"

Jarrod paused between mouthfuls. "Besides the fact that we haven't seen Mother since Howard Merar left yesterday afternoon? Mother told me before I rode out yesterday morning that she would explain everything to me after we rescued Esmeralda and Leah."

"Explain what?"

"I don't know Nick but I think Mother knows more about Heath Thomson than she has let on."

"Like what exactly?"

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "If I knew that we wouldn't be having this conversation Nick."

Nick placed his fork on his plate with a sigh and leant back in his chair and wiped his mouth with his table napkin. "Yeah, I get the same feeling. There's just something about Thomson, he feels so familiar, like I've known him all my life, yet I know I'd never met him before we tangled the other day." Nick pointed his finger at Jarrod, "And I'll tell you another thing, I reckon McCall knows who Thomson really is too."

Jarrod narrowed his eyes and studied his brother across the table. "What makes you say that Nick?"

Nick shrugged, "Just something he said while we were out their following Thomson as he tracked the rustlers. I was complaining about how blasted stubborn that boy was and he said he was no different to any other Barkley he'd ever met."

"Did you ask him what he meant?"

Nick shook his head, "Didn't have time, it was about then that we found the rustlers and then we got busy. To be honest I forgot about it until just now." Nick threw his napkin on the table and pushed back his chair, "But I think I might just go and ask him right now."

Jarrod dropped his own napkin on the table and pushed back his chair, "And I think I might just join you."

Movement on the stairs caught the brother's eyes as they headed to the front door and Jarrod was the first to acknowledge the new comer. "Morning Frank, sleep well?"

"Best night's sleep I've had in a long while thanks Jarrod. Didn't realize I had overslept breakfast though."

"You haven't, not really," Nick replied "But this is a working ranch and I have work to do. Better get in there and eat while the food is still warm. Just ask Silas to heat anything up that is cold."

"You mean you didn't eat it all Nick?" Frank asked with a laugh as he joined the two men at the foot of the stairs.

"Funny," grumbled Nick as headed for the door. "Coming, Jarrod?"

"Be right there Nick." Jarrod turned back to Frank. "Sorry I can't join you for breakfast Frank but we'll catch up at lunch."

Frank nodded, "Nick seems in a hurry about something."

Jarrod looked at Nick who was standing impatiently at the door, "we need to catch McCall before he heads out with the men. Hopefully he can solve a mystery for us."

Frank watched Jarrod stride across the foyer to join his brother, a suspicious knot forming in the pity of his stomach. He had a fair idea of what mystery the brothers hoped to solve, one he too would like answers to.

Nick glared at Jarrod, "Well it's about time." He yanked the heavy oak door open and stepped through the threshold, coming to an abrupt halt when he walked into the body standing on the other side of the door. "Gene!"

BV

Victoria gently placed the mother of pearl inlaid hairbrush, a gift from her husband on their thirtieth wedding anniversary, on her dresser and then took one final look at her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied that the light dusting of powder she had applied to her face covered the tell-tale signs of the sleepless night she had just endured, she rose from the seat in front of the dresser and walked purposefully towards her bed and the side table. Taking a deep breath she picked up the items stacked in a neat pile on the table. Heath's bible, the letters from Tom and Leah, the daguerreotype of Leah and Heath and the small album of pictures of her and her husband Tom and…Heath's father. Fingering the two letters nestled in their envelopes, almost reverently, she closed her eyes and offered a silent promise to their authors; I promise to do right by your, no OUR son and his family. Taking a deep breath and cradling the items in the crook of her right arm, Victoria opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the empty hallway. She paused at the nursery door and smiled at the sounds of laughter of her grandchildren coming from within. Grandchildren. Oh how she had longed for grandchildren and now they had been gifted to her, not by her own maternal children but by the son of her husband that she hoped to soon claim as her own. After listening to the sounds of the children for a few more precious moments she continued on down the hall to the door at the top of the stairs, the door that held so much promise and yet also so much heart ache, lies and hidden promises behind its strong timber façade.

Silas was on his second trip up the stairs with a breakfast tray for Heath and Esmeralda, having already delivered the first one to the nursery for the children and Audra when he caught sight of Victoria making her way down the hall from her room. "Morning, Miz Barkley."

"Good morning Silas," Victoria answered as she stopped in front of the door to the room Heath and Esmeralda were staying in. "Is that for Esmeralda and Heath?"

"Surely is Miz Barkley."

"If you don't mind Silas, I'll take that." Victoria said with just a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Silas eyed the items nestled in Victoria's arm and smiled knowingly. "It'll all work out; you'll see Miz Barkley and those young'uns will be a permanent feature in this house. Why don't you make a little room on the tray so you can put those things you're carrying on it too."

Victoria took the laden tray from Silas with a grateful smile. "Will you ask Jarrod and Nick not to stray too far from the house please Silas? I will want to talk to them after I speak with Heath and Esmeralda."

"I'll do it right away Miz Barkley, before Mister Jarrod and Mister Nick head out for the day." Silas turned deep brown eyes to Victoria and offered her a reassuring smile. "Everything will work out just fine. You wait and see. Mister Heath and Miz Esmeralda and those two youngsters, they be part of your family soon enough."

"Oh, I hope so. Thank you Silas, for your support and wisdom." Victoria watched Silas disappear down the stairs before she turned back to the door; taking a deep breath she knocked softly and waited.

BV

Heath blinked tiredly, the room was still in the early morning darkness and he couldn't hear any unfamiliar noises that warned of pending danger to warrant his early waking. Muffled sounds of distant bawling cattle and the occasional snort of a horse wafted through the open, curtained window. A soft sigh and shift in the weight resting on his good arm caused him to look lovingly at his wife as she snuggled closer to his body. Heath couldn't help but take comfort in the feel of his beautiful Essie safe in his arms once more. He closed his eyes and sent a short prayer of thanks to God and his …brothers for the safe return of not only Essie but also for his twins Leah and Tommy.

His brothers, Nick and Jarrod… Heath was not too prideful to admit that without their help and indeed also the caring shown to him by Misses Barkley and his sister Audra, the outcome of saving his family and himself would have ended very differently. Heath leant back against the pillows and let his mind drift back to the prior day's activities. It had felt right, having Nick and Jarrod…his brothers… riding with him as they searched for his family. There was no denying that family was very important to him. Until he had met Essie and Gyorgy and Rosetta and become a father in his own right, he had only had his Mama and her two friends, Hannah and Rachel to call family. After his Mama's and Rachel's deaths, two deaths that he was powerless to prevent he had promised Essie that he would protect them all until his dying day. A promise, like so many other promises, that was only accomplished by betrayal and…his brothers.

Heath looked down at his wife in the lightening gloom of early morning and gently brushed a stray tress of hair off her face. She was here because of his brothers. He was here because of the care shown to him by his father's widowed wife. His children were safe and in the care of his sister. His family! The family he had never wanted to have a relationship with other than that of neighbours and now? Now it seemed Victoria Barkley knew who he was, who his father was and instead of turning away from them, a right he truly believed she had and he deserved, had claimed his children as her grandchildren and welcomed them all into her family. Heath closed his eyes; I'm sorry Mama for betraying my promise to you by coming here. I know it was wrong of me to want to meet my brothers and sister and I promise I had no intentions of revealing my true identity to them but…Mama, perhaps we were wrong to ask for and keep that promise. If it wasn't for my brother's help then Essie and Leah would be lost to me now. I need my family beside me and my family needs their uncles and aunt and…grandmother. Essie tells me that Victoria Barkley has claimed my children, her grandchildren and welcomed us to the family. What should I do Mama?" Heath sighed as he felt a soft breeze caress his cheek as the curtain covering the open window fluttered into stillness.

The room had lightened enough for Esmeralda to see the frown marring the features of her husband. She pushed up from Heath and turned so she was fully facing him. "Heath are you alright, do you need the pain medicine?"

Heath's frown disappeared into a smile as his eyes settled on the beautiful face, framed by long dark sleep rumpled tresses sitting before him. "I'm fine Essie love, just thinking."

"What about, Heath?"

"How lucky I am to have my family here with me."

"Is that all?" Essie prodded gently.

Heath sighed, "You know me too well Misses Thomson." Heath leant over and placed a gently kiss on the top of his wife's head. "I was also thinking about how right it felt to be riding with my brothers, with Nick and Jarrod." Heath looked at Essie. "Is that wrong? I promised Mama but… but maybe that was wrong, to promise her not to contact my family. It feels so right and yet so wrong."

Essie reached out and took hold of Heath's good hand. "I think, that if your Mama really didn't want you to make contact with your family at some time in the future, she would never have told you who your father was or given you her bible and the letters. I believe she realized that with her death you would need your family."

"But I have my family, you and Tommy and Leah and this little one." Heath gently patted his wife's stomach.

Essie gripped Heath's hand, "and you'll always have us but you also have siblings of your own. How many times have you wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters? Well now you have the chance to find out."

Heath sighed, "I don't know Essie love; I can't deny it felt right riding with Nick and Jarrod at my back but…but what if they don't want to know me. What I represent to them about their father…"

"Oh Heath, love, I don't believe that will happen. It might take them a while to accept what Tom Barkley did but I truly believe they will accept you and us just as their mother has. Take the chance love, to embrace your family."

Heath wrapped his good arm around Essie and pulled her close to his chest, kissing the top of her head. "Have I told you I love you?"

"Mmmmm not in the last eight hours you haven't." Essie laughed lightly as Heath bent down and captured her lips with his. She allowed herself to melt into his arms, enjoying the tender moment before pushing Heath off. "Patience husband, somebody might come in."

"Let them." Heath breathed as he tried to nuzzle his wife again.

Esmeralda pushed away from Heath and rose from the bed, snatching up the soft pale green silk robe Victoria had left for her the evening before, remarking that her own brightly patterned wool robe that she had recovered from her trunk would be far too warm in the current climate. And besides, Victoria had said, the soft green colouring of the robe would accentuate her beautiful emerald green eyes and dark hair. Slipping into the robe and tying it snugly around her waist she smoothed the soft material over her baby bump. Heath watched Essie move around the bed to the window and draw back the curtains allowing the first rays of the new day to shine on her long dark tresses. There was still a slight breeze blowing through the open window, but the clear blue sky promised of another hot day to come. Essie smiled as she turned back toward the bed. "It's going to be another hot one today."

"It's already scorching in here," Heath replied with a lopsided smile.

Any response Esmeralda was going to make was interrupted by the soft knock on the door. Essie moved across the room and opened the door to see Victoria Barkley standing in the hall with a laden tray in her arms. "Misses Barkley, please come in," Essie stepped back allowing Victoria entry to the room.

BV

"What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Nick." Gene replied as he stepped past his brother and entered the house. "Jarrod," Gene acknowledged as he dropped his bag on the floor. "And to answer your question Nick, I was hoping you could tell me." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Nick. "I received this from Mother yesterday afternoon, so after I cleared it with my professors I caught the last train into Stockton last night. Stayed at the Cattleman's as it was so late when the train got in last night and here I am."

Nick read the missive and then handed it to Jarrod who read it and raised an eyebrow.

Eugene Barkely

Berkley CA

You are needed at home immediately.

Family is safe.

Important news and discussion on your arrival.

Love Mother

"Duke, can wait," Nick growled, turning around and heading back towards the dining room followed by his two brothers. "Mother has some explaining to do."

Gene followed his brothers, only to stop when he caught sight of Frank who was still standing at the base of the stairs.

"Gene, this is Marshall Frank Sawyer, Marshall our younger brother Eugene." Jarrod made the introductions as they followed Nick into the dining room. "Have you eaten yet Gene?"

"No, left as soon as the livery opened. Can somebody tell me what is going on and why there is a Marshall here?"

"Take a seat Gene. I'll get Silas to heat some of this up. Frank, you may as well join us while we fill Gene in on what has been happening and perhaps you can fill us in on a few more of those missing details that seem to be eluding Nick and myself." Jarrod gestured towards an empty chair and waited for Frank to take the proffered seat before turning to find Silas coming towards him from the staircase. "Ah Silas just the man I wanted to see. Can you heat up some of this for Gene and Frank, please?"

"I's surely can Mister Jarrod. Won't take but a few moments Mister Gene, Marshall. Sure is good to see you home Mister Gene. Miz Barkley will be pleased to know you have arrived. Mister Nick, your Mother asked me to tell you not to go too far this morning. She wants to talk to you and Mister Jarrod and Mister Gene when she done finished talking to Mister Heath and Miz Esmeralda."

"And just what does Mother want to talk to us about Silas?" Nick demanded.

Silas gathered the cold plates of bacon and eggs and steak, balancing them on one arm before he picked up the plate of biscuits. "That's not for me to say Mister Nick." Silas turned from the table and headed to the kitchen. "I'll bring back a fresh pot of coffee in a minute."

Nick harrumphed, "Why do I get the feeling that Silas knows what's going on around here as well."

"Now Nick," Gene quipped, "You know Silas knows everything that happens around here, even before it happens."

Jarrod turned to Frank, who had studiously been studying the floral pattern of the lace tablecloth. "Would you care to enlighten us as to what is going on around here, Frank?"

Frank Sawyer sighed; this was not where he wanted to be. Right now he would rather be facing a band of outlaws than the three Barkley men sitting around him. "I'm sorry Jarrod, but I can't tell you any more than you already know. Anything else that you want to know will have to come from your mother."

"Will somebody please tell me what is going on?" Gene demanded in frustration.