Chapter 1
Boy howdy was he thirsty. He'd been on the trail for three weeks, and the summer sun was beating down on him unmercifully. He'd stopped several miles out of town to water the horses and refill his canteen, but all he could think about was getting into Stockton and having a cold beer at Harry's. Then perhaps he'd check in with Jarrod before heading back to the ranch.
Nick was going to be so pleased with the purchases Heath had made. The horse auction was a success and Heath was now traveling back with two fine pieces of horse flesh. Just about the best Heath had seen that had been bred. There was a herd of wild horses running on Barkley property, and most of their stock came from there. But they had discussed finding other avenues of getting horses for breeding and leaving the wild horses to be trained for the army.
Heath loved ranching. Even the "dirty work". The cattle on the Barkley Ranch were the best in the state, at least in Heath's thinking. Nick had done an excellent job with buying good stock. But horses were what Heath really enjoyed. Especially the training. Working with a horse, one on one, gave Heath a sense of peace and contentment. Helping an animal to go from being wild and untamed to docile and doing it in a gentle way brought Heath great satisfaction.
The words wild and untamed brought forth images in Heath's mind and he smiled. Nick was recently married which was why he'd not gone to the auction with Heath. The night before Nick and Abby's wedding, the brothers had gone into town to celebrate. Before they all got roaring drunk, Heath remembered a toast Jarrod had made.
"May you be able to teach your new bride to become wild and untamed...behind closed doors of course!"
They'd all gotten a good laugh out of that one, yet all had gotten his meaning. Abby was as sweet as they came, and Heath had no doubt Nick could bring out the wild side of her.
Heath grimaced. Perhaps this way of thinking was not so good. Images were being brought forth in his mind that he didn't particularly want at this moment. Thankfully, he was now in Stockton and could get that cold beer. He definitely needed it now.
After making sure the horses were secure, Heath walked into the saloon, noting it wasn't very busy. The ever present Harry met him at the bar and without even asking, put a cold beer in front of Heath. He drank it down then asked for another. Thanking the bartender, Heath placed the money he owed in front of him while Harry poured him one more for the road.
"How'd the auction go?" Harry asked.
"Good. But it's good to be home. Anything new going on around here?"
"Paulson's old place was sold finally."
Jeb Paulson was a neighbor of the Barkley's and had suffered a stroke the year before. His family put the fairly good sized ranch up for sale but no one seemed interested.
"Oh? Do you know who bought it?" Heath asked.
"Older man. Sommers. Joe I think someone called him. Jarrod's the one handling the sale so you could ask him. Got a daughter. Right pretty too," Harry said, giving Heath a wink. Heath knew that if you wanted to know any gossip in Stockton, Harry was the man to see.
"Thanks, Harry," Heath said dryly.
Finishing his drink, Heath headed out to find Jarrod. He was almost to his office when he spotted his oldest brother walking down the sidewalk with another gentleman. The man was the same height as Jarrod with salt and pepper hair. Jarrod spotted Heath and motioned for him to join them.
"Jonathon Sommers, I'd like you to meet my brother, Heath Barkley."
"A pleasure!" was the greeting Heath received as Sommers shook Heath's hand. The man was in his 50's, but his eyes showed signs of youthfulness that belied his age. From what Heath could tell, the other man was in top physical form.
"Likewise, Mr. Sommers," Heath replied.
"Oh, call me Jonathon. We're neighbors now." Heath smiled, taking a liking to this man immediately.
"Jonathon it is then."
"Heath is the one who did most of the wood work in the ranch house," Jarrod mentioned.
"You have a good hand, Heath. I'd like to talk to you about doing some more work for me if you could spare the time."
"I'd be happy to help ya," Heath agreed.
"That's great. But I don't want to take you away from your work," Jonathon said.
"Not a problem. I can spare the time, I'm sure."
"Great," Jonathon said, looking back over his shoulder. To Jarrod he said, "I wonder where the girls are?"
"Knowing Audra, she's buying up half the store. They'll be along soon. You should stop by and see her before you head home, Heath," Jarrod suggested. "We're going up to sign the last of the papers. I'll see you at home tonight, Heath," Jarrod said, escorting Jonathon into his office.
Holding onto the horses' reins, Heath led them down the street, past Millie's Dress Shop. Just as he finished tying them to the post, the door opened and a lady stepped through with boxes piled high. Heath could hear her speaking.
"Audra, we don't have to make this all in one trip. I can get my buggy and bring it around."
"No, I'd rather take it all now."
Just as Audra finished talking, the first woman tripped and would have landed in the dust if not for Heath's quick reflexes. He caught the young woman by her waist, easily steadying her to her feet.
"Oh no!" she cried out. "I hope I haven't ruined anything, Audra!"
Heath stared at the young woman, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. The woman in his arms had to be the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Dark brown hair was piled on top of her head, little ringlets falling down around her neck. She stared down at the boxes that had fallen at her feet, clearly upset with herself for being so clumsy. Heath stood mesmerized as brown eyes met his. She smiled, her full pink lips parting to show an even row of white teeth.
"I'm sorry. I didn't thank you for helping me."
"Heath!" Audra cried out in a glad little cry.
Heath went forward to help his sister, reluctant to let go of the beauty he still held in his arms.
"Audra. Your friend was right, you didn't need to get all these things at once," he said gently. He placed a kiss on her cheek before taking a few of the boxes from her. He turned to watch as Audra and her friend picked up the remaining boxes, equally distributing the load between them, making it more manageable.
"I don't think anything was damaged, Ella," Audra said as she examined the boxes in her hands.
"I hope not," Ella replied.
"Oh Heath, this is Ella Sommers. Ella, this is my brother, Heath."
"A pleasure," Ella said, her smile once again capturing Heath's attention.
"Where's your carriage?" Audra asked, before Heath could reply.
"Just over here."
They deposited the packages with Heath's help and made sure they were secure.
"Now," Audra said. "We need to go to Bandy's and pick up the linens Mother asked for. Then I think we'll be free to go home."
"Are those your horses?" Ella asked. It took Heath a moment to realize she was speaking to him.
"Oh, uh...yes."
"Heath is just returning from an auction. He's been gone for a few weeks. It's so good to have you back!" Audra enthused.
"May I take a look at them? I just love horses!" Ella asked, her wide brown eyes sparkling.
"Of course," he replied, though he cautioned, "They're a little skittish. A storm is coming up so be careful."
Ella graced him with a smile before heading over to the horses. She spoke softly to the brown mare who was nuzzling her hand for a carrot or some sugar. Ella laughed, causing Heath to smile as he watched her.
"She's beautiful. Will you be using her for breeding?"
Before Heath could answer, thunder was heard in the distance. The mare whinnied nervously and tossed her head.
"We'd better head back to your place, Ella. We don't want to get caught in that storm," Audra said to her new friend.
"I agree," she said then turned to Heath. "You'll let me know when she has her first foal? I'd love to see it. She's going to be a wonderful brood mare."
With that, the little whirlwind stepped past him, leaving Heath with a huge grin on his face. He gathered the horses reins and headed toward the ranch. He followed behind his sister and Ella for a good bit of the way until they turned off toward the Old Paulson place, which would now be considered the Sommers' place. The girls waved to him as he rode passed and he tipped his hat, making a mental note to visit his newest neighbors soon.
Heath entered the yard of the ranch and noticed the increased activity. One of the hands, Matt, took the reins of the horses from Heath while explaining, "Lightening struck up on the North ridge. A small brush fire has started. Nick and some of the other hands have gone up to help stop it."
"Take these horses to the barn and bed 'em down. I'm going up to help Nick and the others. Once you get that done, you and the others join us up there."
"Yes sir!" the young man said, hurrying off to do Heath's bidding.
Once Heath reached the North Ridge, he could see the fire was raging out of control. Nick and the hands were frantically digging a firebreak in an effort to quell the blaze. It was hoped the rain would start soon to help, but it looked like the storm might pass over without a drop to fall on them.
Some of the men were carting large buckets of water from the stream down the hill, but it was exhausting work and the horses were skittish from the smell of the smoke. Nick and Heath yelled orders to the men which were carried out without question. It looked like things were going their way until one of the horses decided to bolt. Nick reached to grab the reins of the horse but the animal was too frightened to stop. Nick cried out with pain as his shoulder was pulled from its socket. He let go of the reins, allowing the frightened animal to run off.
"Nick!" Heath yelled.
"I'm fine," Nick gritted through clenched teeth. In reality he wasn't, but they had to keep the fire from spreading. "Get back to getting that fire stopped. We'll worry about this later."
"I've gotta pop it back into place, Nick," Heath said, his tone not holding for any argument. Nick nodded and braced himself for what was about to be a most painful moment.
"Hold him down," Heath instructed one of the other hands and together, they managed to put his shoulder back in place. Nick's features paled considerably, but he didn't pass out.
"Pete's gonna take you back to the ranch. The rest of us will stay here and get the fire out."
"No, I should stay," Nick argued, though his protest was weak.
"And what happens if the fire shifts? You could be caught in it. We're wasting time, Nick. Do as I say!"
Nick's anger flared for a moment, but he knew Heath was right. He nodded and allowed Peter to help him mount his horse. Heath watched for just a moment to make sure Nick and Peter would be okay, then he turned to the other men, barking orders.
It was after midnight before Heath made it home. Finally the rain began, but not before they were given another scare. The winds did shift, and the fire stared toward the Sommers place. Heath and the other men worked frantically and if not for the intervention of the Almighty in allowing the rain to pour down on them, the Sommers might now be homeless.
Soot covered and exhausted, Heath entered the house. Jarrod was waiting for him in the parlor.
"How's Nick?" Heath asked, accepting a drink from Jarrod.
"He'll be out of commission for a few days, but the doc says he'll be fine."
"Good. I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm exhausted. Think I'll get a bath and head on up to bed. Audra make it home okay?" Heath asked.
"Oh yes. Well before the rain started. Mother saved some dinner for you in the warmer," Jarrod said.
"Thanks, but right now I want to sleep more than anything. Night, Jarrod."
"Night, Heath."