Nick and Heath rode out the next day, Cal and Buddy joining them. They rode along, planning to stop about halfway. On the road out of town, Nick told Heath they would be stopping at the ranch of family friends for dinner. Heath just nodded. He dreaded these things. At best they were at least somewhat awkward, at other times, they were painful.
"Cal, you and Buddy are on your own, but here's some money to go into town for dinner. There's a little town near the ranch," Nick told them. "We'll meet you in the saloon later."
"Suits me," said Cal.
Nick and Heath rode up to the ranch house. It wasn't as grand as the Barkley home, but it was spacious. Nick knocked on the door.
"Nick!" A young woman opened the door. "It's great to see you." She was smiling.
"Hi, Jenny," Nick said. "Great to see you too."
Jenny saw Heath standing there. "Hi, I'm Jenny Hunt," she said.
Nick said, "Jenny, my brother Heath Barkley."
"How do you do?" Heath said politely.
"Very well," Jenny said, smiling at Heath. This new brother of Nick's was very handsome. He looked like Audra, she thought. But a very masculine version. He was tall and lean like Nick, but also broad-shouldered and muscular. She didn't think she had ever seen a more attractive man in her entire life.
"Come on in," Jenny said. "Everyone's in here."
There were more greetings, and Heath felt them all look him over. He sighed inwardly. He had never really enjoyed small talk in the first place; it was even harder with people who had known his father's family a long time.
Jenny sat by him, still smiling. At least she was friendly. Heath found that in his new role in the Barkley family, with family friends, girls were either the best, which happened most often, or the worst. They either liked him immediately, as most girls always had, or they were insufferable snobs. Heath was relieved that this girl seemed to be the former.
"My, you remind me a great deal of Audra," Mrs. Hunt said.
"That's what I thought too, Mother," Jenny said.
There was another sister, Lynn, and the two Hunt brothers, Bobby Jr. and Mike. None of them said much. Mr. Hunt senior was a man of few words; he had never said that much to Nick over the years. Nick was surprised to find the man talkative all of a sudden. "So how is your family, Nick?"
"Uh, fine," Nick said.
"Your mother is well?"
"Yes, Mother is very well. She said to tell you hello."
"And Jarrod still busy with the law?"
"Yeah, he seems to find all sorts of legal papers to push around all day."
"Still no help on the ranch, huh?"
Nick laughed. "It's been a long time since Jarrod was any help on the ranch." He glanced at Heath. "My younger brother here, now, there's not a single thing on the ranch he can't do. He's much more useful than Jarrod in that regard."
"And how is that pretty sister of yours?"
"Audra is doing well too. She does some volunteer work at the orphanage."
"So tell me about your plans, Nick. Heading to the cattle auction, I see. You still have Prince Oxford, of course. Doing more breeding?"
"Yeah, we figure to get some breeding stock," Nick replied.
"You bring us any of that Barkley wine, Nick?"
Nick was beginning to notice that the man was pointedly ignoring Heath, addressing everything just to him. For some reason, for the first time, this made him uncomfortable. It was rude. Heath wasn't exactly Nick's guest, of course, but Nick thought that if Heath was someone he had brought as a guest, he'd be about ready to ask Hunt what his problem was. In fact, even worse, Nick thought, he had made clear Heath was a member of his family, and Hunt wasn't treating him that way.
"Afraid I forgot to pack it, Mr. Hunt," Nick said.
"Nick," Heath said quietly. "There's some in my saddlebag. Mother put it in there as we were getting ready to leave."
"Ah, good," Nick said. "She knows I forget everything."
"Want me to go get it?"
"Yeah, if you would," Nick said, appreciating this gesture of Heath's, though he didn't feel like giving Hunt anything.
Heath stood up to step out and get it. "I'll walk out with you," Jenny said, smiling up at him. He nodded politely.
As Heath followed Jenny out toward the front door, Mr. Hunt said, "Did he say, 'Mother?'"
"Yes, he did," Nick said. "Mother asked him to call her that."
"What about his own mother?"
"She's dead," Nick said, thinking that this really wasn't Hunt's business.
"Some kind of saloon girl or something?"
"No. She was a young widow. Heath came to us after she died." Nick wasn't sure why he was feeling defensive. It was a new feeling for him.
Heath returned with the wine, Jenny chattering to him about the horses. "I see Nick still has Coco," she was saying. "That bay of yours is a fine-looking horse."
"Thank you, I think so too," Heath said in reply. He handed Nick the wine bottle. Something told him not to give it directly to Mr. Hunt. Heath was acutely aware of these things. He sat back down.
"Thanks, Nick," Mr. Hunt said, in a booming voice.
Nick just nodded. He glanced at Heath, who was gazing at the floor. Suddenly he felt bad for his younger brother. Bobby Jr. and Mike began talking about old times. Mike was fairly close to Nick's age. Heath just sat and listened. He often learned things about the family this way.
Jenny was determined not to let Heath just be ignored. She tried to think of something to talk to him about. She asked him a bit more about the horse. Heath said she must have a good eye for a horse. "Do you ride much?" he asked her, trying to join her effort to make conversation.
"I like to," she said brightly.
Heath noticed there was a copy of Pride and Prejudice on the end table. Why girls loved this book so much, he wasn't entirely sure, but they all seemed to. "Is that your book?" he asked her.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I just guessed it probably doesn't belong to one of your brothers," Heath said, smiling at her.
Jenny started giggling. "No, you're right, it definitely would not belong to my brothers." She smiled at him. "Are you familiar with it?"
"I've heard about it," Heath said. "Girls seem to like it."
"Well, it's a romance," Jenny said, still giggling. "Men never seem to like those as much." She smiled at him. "Do you have a favorite book?"
"I always liked Robinson Crusoe," Heath answered. "I liked it as a kid, and I read it again recently, just for fun. It was as good as I remembered."
"Oh, that's a good one too." Jenny's smile was sparkling. Her father had heard her giggling and noticed her smile.
"Jenny, go help your mother," Mr. Hunt said.
"Yes, Father," she said reluctantly. She looked back at Heath as she left the room.
Nick took in all of this. He started to hope this meal would go quickly. At least Jenny was being nice. Girls were usually nice to Heath. He knew Mr. Hunt wouldn't have dared to be so rude if Mother were here. Fortunately, dinner was announced.
Lynn told Nick and Heath where to sit, and Jenny said, "I'll sit here," placing herself by Heath. He turned to her in gentlemanly fashion to help her sit. Mr. Hunt started to say something, but Mrs. Hunt jumped in and spoke, saying, "That's fine, Jenny." Lynn gave Jenny a scornful look. Mrs. Hunt frowned at her other daughter.
Mrs. Hunt was hoping that her husband's rudeness didn't get back to Victoria Barkley. The young man certainly seemed nice enough, quiet and well-mannered, and there was no doubt he was Tom Barkley's son. One good look at him had told her that. She also saw that he felt uncomfortable, that he hadn't missed Bob Sr.'s dismissiveness one bit.
This saddened her. It was hardly the young man's fault that he was here. She thought Victoria Barkley had done a fine thing to take him in. Everyone needed a family, she felt. She'd caught a glimpse of hurt in his eyes before he resumed the very contained look he'd worn so far. If he were her boy, she would hug him close. She could picture Victoria feeling the same way.
Jenny asked Heath if he knew anything about Audra's volunteer work at the orphanage. "I've been with her a couple of times," he said. "She needs help when she wants to take supplies out there, and she knows I'll do it." He smiled. "I like going with her. It's good what they're trying to do, to help those children."
"They don't have family members to take them?" Lynn asked.
Nick watched Heath swallow hard, then saw his jaw set the same way their father's had. He also took a deep breath. Nick knew he wouldn't say anything.
Jenny did it for him. "Not every child is that fortunate, Lynn," she said. "Not everyone is as lucky as we are to have brothers and sisters. Or they lose everyone, with something horrible like cholera."
Bobby Jr. said, "Well, the Barkleys don't seem to have that problem. They gain 'em instead of losing 'em." He laughed.
Now Nick was thoroughly offended. "What's your point, Bobby?" he demanded.
"Well, nothing at all, Nick. Sounds like you were mighty lucky getting more help around your ranch. That's good for you."
It came back to Nick in a flash, what Jarrod had said about not treating Heath like the help. He saw that Heath was looking down at his plate, studying the roast beef on it like it was something he had never seen before.
"Heath isn't just our help," Nick said.
"Why, I don't think I said he was," Bobby Jr. said. "You're kind of testy there, Nicholas."
Nick remembered he had never liked Bobby Jr. that much.
Finally, the meal was over. Nick saw some of the tension ease out of Heath's jaw and shoulders. He glanced at Heath's plate and noticed he hadn't eaten much. Heath could never eat when he was nervous or upset, Nick had observed.
"How about some coffee, gentlemen?" Mrs. Hunt asked.
"We need to get going, Mrs. Hunt, meeting a couple of our men in town," Nick said. "But thank you." Normally he would have stayed for coffee and dessert, but he was certain Heath was more than ready to get out of there, and now, he was too.
"Pleasure to meet you all," Heath said formally. "Thank you for dinner, ma'am," he addressed Mrs. Hunt. "Sir." He gave a nod in Mr. Hunt's direction. Nick noted that one word was the entire extent of any conversation between Hunt and Heath.
"Why of course, so glad you joined us," Mrs. Hunt said cordially, trying to make up even a small amount for some of her family.
The young man nodded at her politely.
As they walked out, Heath walking behind Nick, Jenny came to him and took his arm. "I'm sorry about my father and my brother and my sister," she said quietly. "They're just rude."
Heath smiled at her. "I enjoyed talking to you," he said. "If you're ever at the Barkley ranch, you'll have to tell me how your book turned out." Heath already knew the plot of the book – a girlfriend of his had told him about it in excruciating detail and even gotten him to read a chapter aloud for her amusement, but Jenny wouldn't know that. He gave her another smile, the one he always gave pretty girls. She bestowed a radiant smile on him in return.