Chapter Eight

Excerpt from Ch Seven

… "If she doesn't believe you're my brother, tell her I'm not the only one to fall down mine shafts. No," he quickly added, "You've never fallen down a literal one only a few of your girlfriends during your teenage years…"

"Oh, be quiet." Jarrod waved his hand through the air and chuckled. "As if you had any better luck." He then grew serious. "One of the things I want to do is convince her to move into one of our line shacks. We can't have anyone knowing she's here yet only we can't have her five miles away either."…

Jarrod, who had wasted no time in covering the distance from the Barkley ranch and the old, abandoned home Nick had told him about, called out. "My name is Jarrod Barkley, Nick's brother! I would like to talk to you, Miss Williams!" He would have simply called her Jerusha only, since he'd never met her, he figured he'd best stick with the more formal title of Miss and the last name Nick had given the night he'd first told Jarrod everything.
When there as no answer, he tried one more time. Just as he started to turn Jingo away from the house, he heard the door creek slightly open. "Miss Williams?" He asked as he nudge Jingo to move slightly forward.
"Name is Jerusha," The young woman stepped out of the house.

Jarrod wasn't surprised by the black veil attached to a black hat…nor was he surprised by the black dress. Nick had told him the young woman chose to dress in the attire of a widow…as 'it keeps people from asking me to remove the veil'. "May I come in?" Jarrod leaned forward in his saddle.

"I was getting ready to leave. We can talk out here, though you may- if you wish – come sit on the porch." Jerusha told him as she sat in a chair that set off to the side of the front door; another chair sat in the corner of the porch.

Jarrod wasted no time in dismounting, tethering his horse to the wood fence and making his way to the spare chair. "I was hoping to get you to move into one of our line shacks; that is, after you told me what brought you here."

"Why? I told your brother everything. Why repeat it or move onto your ranch?" Jerusha was uncomfortable, and it showed in the way she fidgeted slightly in her chair and then clasped her hands-to keep from rubbing them together.

"To make sure Nick gave me the facts straight. Don't get me wrong. Nick does not lie; he just gets ahead of himself at times and has a tendency to forget minor details at times. When it comes to moving into one our line shacks goes…there's not a very likely chance of anyone coming along and disturbing you. After all, we do have a say over who comes and goes when it comes to the buildings on our land. Besides, Nick or I may need to talk to you again. Five miles to do that is just too much. Now, will you remove the hat and veil as we talk? I promise, no matter how bad the scarring is, I won't think less of you."

"I don't…" Jerusha started to speak only to stop. 'You're a beautiful woman in spite of those scars.' Nick's words rang in her ears. His compliment had thrown her off-as she'd never heard them since the fire that had left her scarred. Would his brother be repulsed in spite of his words or would he be as kind as his brother had been? Finally, she slowly removed the hat and veil…revealing her brown eyes, black hair and a partially scarred face.

While Jarrod felt bad for her- like Nick-he could see how beautiful she must have been once…and still was if one looked past the scars. 'Nick was right when he said you were breathtakingly beautiful in spite of those scars." He wasn't surprised when Jerusha stiffened slightly. He thanked her for removing the veil. "Now, please, tell me what you told my brother."

Jerusha closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them back up. "As I told Nick, if one was to look into Theresa Brighton's past, they would find that she seems to have had only one marriage…a marriage that took place when she was a mere fifteen years old and one that ended eighteen months after her marriage took place. Her husband, one Adam Brighton, died in a fire that broke out in the small boarding home he was staying at while working in a neighboring city. The cause of the fire was said to be started when a strong gust of wind blew through a window that had been accidentally left open, knocking a lamp over."

Jarrod nodded, remembering the story that Theresa had shared with the family when Nick first started courting her. "But you don't believe it was accident."

"Not if what I suspect is true," Jerusha looked from Jarrod to the veiled hat in her hands and then back to Jarrod. "I will go ahead and tell you why I suspect Mrs. Brighton has been married more than once and why I think she may very well have had a hand in her husbands' deaths only, know right now, I could very well be horribly wrong…after all, I'm only ninety percent sure Theresa Brighton is the woman I knew for a few short years while living in Bodie. I also have friends that moved to Bodie from Carson City, Nevada shortly after the fire in which I was scarred took place. They may very well have known her under a different name. However, the small doubt that exists is the reason I did not go directly to your home to talk to confront her after seeing their engagement picture and upcoming wedding announcement in the San Francisco newspaper. That's why I simply told Nick my fears and urged him to get someone he trusted to look into my concerns before marrying her."

"And he did," Jarrod sat straight up. "Though, as I said, I would like you to tell me everything as well and agree to move to our land. Once you are settled in, I'll go to Brodie and do some more investigating up there. I have someone else taking care of the Carson City part."

Jerusha relaxed. "It started five years ago; my brother met a woman named Mary Ann Keaton. At least, that's the name she gave everyone. She and my brother starting see each other almost from the moment they met. They married within the year. There was also something about her that didn't feel right only I said nothing. How could I? I had nothing but a feeling, and no way to back it up." She took a deep breath and sighed as then then talked about the fire that had killed her brother and left her scarred for life.