Chapter Three

"Jarrod! Heath!" Victoria smiled as she descended the staircase. Her sons had been gone for almost ten days; she was happy to see her oldest and her stepson, though she began looking behind them. No one had to tell Jarrod or Heath who she was looking for.

"He stayed behind." Jarrod repeated what Nick had said and then added, "We ourselves got sided tracked on our way home; so, he will be here for supper."

"It will be good to have everyone at the table tonight, been quiet with just Audra and I here." their mother smiled as she hugged each one of them. "So, did your business go well?" She asked as she followed Jarrod and Heath into the living room.

"As well as we could hope for," Jarrod beamed as he poured them all a drink. "Where's Eugene?" He had expected to see his baby brother, not hear that his mother and sister had been alone.

"He had to go back to Berkeley. He had a chance to test out of the last class he is required to take, said his professor thought he already knew more than enough and could almost guarantee that Eugene pass any test the college might hand him." Victoria smiled wide as she thought how Eugene had surprised everyone by doubling up his study time and passing tests right and left. She was eager to see him in the graduation ceremony her youngest would soon be participating in.

"Jarrod! Heath!" Audra, who had been in the kitchen with Silas, cried out in delight as she entered the living room. "Where's Nick?" She looked around, and Jarrod repeated what he'd just told Victoria.

"I, for one, am ready for a bath and a good cigar." Jarrod added as he finished explaining to his sister what their hot tempered brother had planned.

The family might have said more only a knock sounded on the door. Since he was the closest, Heath went back into the foyer and opened the front door. He, along with the rest of the family, was shocked to see McColl standing on the other side.

"What's wrong?" Jarrod asked; he didn't like the concern in their foreman's eyes. "Did Nick go and lose his temper with one of the men or something?" There was a slight curve to his mouth when he asked the question, betraying the fact that he wanted to laugh. Though, any temptation to laugh on his part-or on the part of any of the Barkleys-vanished when confusion appeared in McColl's eyes.

"Some of the men have been a bit rowdy today. When I saw the front door shut behind Heath, I hoped that meant Nick was here as well. I was going to apologize for having to drag him out of the house the moment he got home." The fact that the foreman was concerned to find his boss not home could be seen clearly in his eyes.

Each and every one of the Barkleys' eyes widened as they felt shock waves roll over them faster than rain running down a window during a bad storm. "Nick's not with you?" Jarrod took a step towards McColl.

"No, I haven't seen him since you all left. None of us have," McColl nodded towards the window; since there were men around the corral, the Barkleys figured their foreman was talking about the hired help.

"I don't like this." Heath spoke up. "Like we said, with our own delay, we all three should have arrived today. He said he was going straight to work and wouldn't be at the house until supper."

Victoria felt concern only it was just past noon. "There's plenty of day left. I don't think we should worry too much unless he doesn't show up by dinner time." She then suggested Heath go talk to the men who were causing problems for McColl. "They all respect you." She pointed out once she'd made the suggestion.

"Sure thing," Heath gave his stepmother a small, lopsided smile and followed McColl out of the living room while Victoria and Jarrod found themselves telling Audra, who was allowing her fear to show, to calm down.

"Like Mother just said," Jarrod laid his hand on Audra's shoulder. "The day is still young. Let's not worry until it's necessary." Even as he said the words, he felt a tingle in his gut. He made himself suggest Audra go outside and get some fresh air.

"Good idea, think I'll go riding." Audra smiled and hurried out of the room.

The minute the door shut, Victoria-who had been eyeing her oldest closely, demanded that Jarrod tell her what was wrong. "And don't tell me nothing. I can tell there's something bothering you.

Why did she have to have that ability? The ability to read him so well? Though, he didn't know why he asked such a question. She'd been doing that for as long as he could remember. 'Mother's Intuition' was what Jarrod had often it called. "Nothing I can put my finger on and, to be honest, everything might be fine." Jarrod moved to the window and looked out. He didn't like feeling strongly something was off and not knowing what it was. "After all, in spite of all the times Nick teases me, I'm not right every time."

Victoria walked up beside her oldest. Of course he wasn't right all the time; he was human. Still, he'd been right more times than he'd been wrong…especially when it came to his siblings. Maybe it was a side product of having to step in and help her raise Audra and Gene after Tom was killed, or maybe it was just a natural gift he had. Either way, she knew worrying before it was necessary would do neither one of them any good. "There's plenty of things to do today. Let's not insist on worrying unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm sure he simply changed his mind and decided to go into Stockton before coming to the ranch."

Jarrod could easily seeing Nick doing such a thing if he hadn't already said he would go help McColl. Nick never changed his mind when it came to when and where he would be on the ranch. Making himself smile, he nodded slightly. "He does like patronizing the saloon after a long trip. Think I'll go take that bath and get a cigar." He then walked out of the room.

For Victoria's part, she stayed by the window gazing towards the road for a few more minutes before leaving the living room.