"Good morning sleepyhead."
"Did I oversleep?" asked Heath with a fearful voice.
"Not at all, I've just woke up. Ready for the day."
"Sir, what will be my chores? Yesterday you didn't tell me anything about it."
"First of all I think dressing and washing will be a good start. Do you need help?" Tom asked, then continued, "There's a pitcher of water, I will pour it into the basin so you don't need to go to the bathroom."
"I can dress by myself, thank you sir."
"I need to change myself...give me ten minutes and then we can go downstairs to have some breakfast."
"Yes sir, I will be ready by then."
'First thing after breakfast is the issue of the sir, I want to call me papa, father' he thought while he was changing into cleaner clothes.
When he entered in Heath's room, Tom noticed that his son was struggling to get his boots on.
"Come here, I will help you, it's impossible to put on boots one handed."
After he helped
his son, he started to move when he noticed that Heath had grabbed
his sack.
'Damn, I must do something to make him understand that it's safe
to leave it here.'
"Heath,
you see that dresser drawer? The first drawer you can lock with a
key, you can put your bag there and close it with, and then you can
keep the key. It would be impractical to take with you the bag all
day long."
Heath pondered at the words for some time, then Tom was elated to see him approaching the dresser drawer and putting the bag inside, then Heath locked the drawer and put the key inside his pants pocket.
"Ready for breakfast? I'm starving."
When they arrived in the dining room, the table was already set and as soon as they sat Silas entered carrying their breakfast. Tom noticed that his breakfast was pretty different from Heath's while he had the usual steak and eggs Heath's portion was much smaller, and lacking the steak, with more vegetables and porridge. In the center of the table there were two pitchers of milk and orange juice. 'Smart move Silas so Heath can understand that he can have as much milk and orange juice as he wants,' he thought.
"Mr. Barkley, what I'm supposed to do today?"
"Well I'll ask Silas to prepare something since I'm planning to go fishing with you, today is sunny and still warm enough for fishing."
"Fishing? But what about working?"
"Your work here is to be my son, when Howard will take your cast off, you will have your chores; looking after the dogs, cleaning the stables or hen house and cleaning your room."
Heath looked at Tom, as he had grown a second head, 'But that is not work, what I will do for the rest of the day?' He thought.
"Heath, while I saddle my horse can you help Silas preparing the food for today?"
"Yes, sir."
In the kitchen Heath, helped Silas prepare some sandwiches and filling a bag with fruit, he was happy to find out that Silas had filled a canteen with orange juice.
"Silas, everything is ready? For supper we'll have fish, come on day is wasting and the fishes are waiting for us."
Tom's horse Chaucer was hitched outside the kitchen, he bound the saddle bags, behind the saddle and looked at Heath.
"Let me help you, we will ride double."
"But, I can ride..."
"Bet you can, but right now you can't because of your arm and more important you will need a saddle for your size that right now I don't have."
"A saddle? But I don't need one, I rode bareback in Strawberry, I always walked the horses in the corral of the stable where I worked and I didn't use a saddle."
"I reckon you are a good rider but right now you can use only one arm so you will ride double with me." Concluded Tom.
He felt Heath stiffen when he hauled up the saddle but as soon as the horse started to move he could feel Heath's body relaxing a little bit. The trip to the creek took only thirty minutes during that time, Tom showed Heath different points of interest. When they arrived, he dismounted and helped Heath down then he took the fishing rods and handed one to Heath, only then he noticed the he was trembling.
"Sorry sir...I lied to you."
"You lied to me?"
"I didn't tell you I ain't able to fish...I was afraid you thought I was stupid not to be able to fish."
Tom remained speechless for several seconds he wanted to shake Heath to make him understand that he was wrong, but he knew it would be the wrong approach.
"Heath, you aren't stupid, if you don't know how to do something it doesn't mean that you are stupid, it means that you have to learn how to do it. Now I will teach you how to cast a line, first of all you have is to find some fat worms..."
Heath followed each move and after few minutes father and son were sitting on a log with their rod in hand hoping to catch some fish. One of the reasons that Tom had chosen to go fishing, was the time that waiting for a fish granted some time that he would have spent talking with his son.
"Son, why are you calling me sir or Mr. Barkley? Yesterday I told I was your papa, why don't you call me so?"
"I didn't want to be impolite...I mean I ain't your real kid, so I reckon I don't have the right to call you papa."
"What do you mean, my real kid?" Asked a dumbfound Tom.
"That I'm a bastard, I don't have a real father, that you weren't married with my mama." He blustered out.
"Heath, first of all I don't want to hear that word anymore and I said yesterday I'm your papa, I wasn't married to your mama, but I'm still your father, you are real as my other kids, I would be honored and happy if you would call me papa."
"Really? You won't be upset or ashamed?"
"No, why should I? You are my son and I'm proud of it."
Heath stared at the water thinking about the words his papa had just said, 'He said I can call him papa, maybe I can try, he's different from uncle he gave me a bed and a room...' his thoughts were interrupted by a tug of the line...
"Papa...I think a catched a fish!" he said excited.
"Well done son, let me help you."
At first neither of them realized that for the first time Heath had called Tom papa, when they realized Heath started to tense up, but the big smile on Tom's face made him realized that he didn't do anything wrong, the fish was forgotten when Tom engulfed Heath in a hug, happy that Heath was starting to trust him.
"Papa...I think the fish is gone." Said Heath hesitating
"It doesn't matter, there are plenty of them."
"Sir...I mean papa I have question?"
"Yes?"
"Before you said that you have kids...are you married?"
"Yes, my wife's name is Victoria and she's the mother of four of my children."
"Won't she mad with me?" He asked fearfully.
"No she won't, she will be angry with me but not with you."
"Even, if I'm your bastar.."
"Heath, what did I say about that word?"
"Kid?" He continued.
"No it's not your fault."
"And your other kids, will they like me?"
"I'm sure, after all you are their brother. Let me tell you about them. Jarrod is the eldest and soon he will go to the college, he will be a lawyer."
"College? What is it?" asked a perplexed Heath.
"Its a school you go if you want to be a lawyer."
"He must be pretty smart."
"Each of my five children are smart," remarked Tom, "then there's Nick, he's twelve and pretty stubborn, he loves horses and he keeps on saying that soon he will help me run the ranch. I think you will spend a lot of time with him, and going to and fro from school."
"School?" Asked Heath, 'I will go to school?' he thought.
"I reckon you don't like school too much, I tell you a secret when I was you age I simply hated it, but I met my best friends back then." Replied Tom totally misunderstanding Heath's shocked expression.
"Then they're the twins; Audra and Gene they are six and I think you will get pretty close with them since they are only two years younger than you."
"Where are they now?"
"They are visiting Victoria's brother, they will arrive in a couple of days."
At noon they ate their meal and then they resumed their fishing, when finally they caught enough fish for supper, they headed back. Tom noticed that now Heath was more relaxed and barely flinched when he hauled him up to the saddle, when they arrived home they headed to the kitchen and handed the fish to Silas.
"Mr. Silas, I catched two fishes by myself!" said an excited Heath while he handed the fish over to Silas.
"That's good, and to celebrate your catch what about some pie?"
"Really? Thank you."
After he ate his pie, Heath went to search his papa, and he found him in the study where he was doing some paperwork. "Did you like your pie?"
"Yes...papa this was the bestest day in my life...thank you!"
"You don't need to thank me, I'm happy that I spent the day with you. Heath, right now I'm doing some boring paperwork, if you want you can take one book and stay here with me?"
Heath didn't reply, he simply stood with
a strange expression on his face, 'Papa
will think I'm stupid if he know that I can't read.'
"Or
maybe, you prefer going in the kitchen and help Silas?" 'Maybe
he prefer do something rather than simply sitting and reading, Nick
is the same,'
He thought.
"Mr. Silas papa, I mean Mr. Barkley say that I can help you."
Silas smiled at Heath's slip, he was happy that Heath was starting to accept Tom as his father
"Let's see, right now I was going to prepare a chocolate cake, maybe you can help?"
For the next hour, Heath helped Silas in preparing the cake and doing little chores around the kitchen while Silas was preparing the supper. When Silas took the cake from the oven he applied the icing and then, to his great pleasure Silas let him lick the spoon and eat the icing that was left.
"Mr. Heath, you have been a great help, now go upstairs to clean, supper will be ready shortly."
"Mr. Silas why do you call me mister...I ain't no mister."
"You are the son of my employee and it's my deference to call you so "
The rest of the evening was uneventful, Tom and Heath ate the fishes they caught, and after the dessert Tom accompanied Heath to his room and tucked him into bed..
"Papa, what I'm going to do tomorrow? Are we going fishing."
"Sorry, but tomorrow I must stay at the ranch, maybe you can play, you can use your brothers' toys."
"But I ain't a kid, I want to help you around the ranch."
"Let's say you can help me by playing, maybe after you played, you can help Silas, he told me that tomorrow he wants to bake some cookies, but right now it's time for sleep. Goodnight Heath." He said after he kissed his son's forehead.
"Goodnight papa."