Chapter 10

Jarrod went to the Main house as soon as he got into town the next morning. He didn't expect what he found – Sheriff Madden coming out of the house, looking very unhappy. Jarrod started to fear the worst, but what he heard was even worse than that.

"Jarrod, I'm glad you're here," Sheriff Madden said.

"What's happening, Fred?" Jarrod asked. "Is it Frances?"

"No, thank God, the doctor's here and looking after her. She's still very weak and groggy. What's happening is that Jack Jr. and Randy left the house about an hour ago. I went by the school to check on them, and they never got there."

"What?!" Jarrod blurted.

"I've got deputies checking at places they might have gone, but so far there's nothing."

Jarrod's head started to spin. "Has Frances been told?"

"No, the doc thought it best not to tell her, and she's too foggy to understand anyway. He's hoping we'll find the boys before she wakes up enough to know they were gone. I was hoping the boys were heading out to your place, but you didn't see them on your way in."

"No, I didn't," Jarrod said. "But that doesn't mean they weren't there. They could have ducked out of sight when they heard me coming. They'd have been afraid I'd just bring them back here and if it's their father they want to be with, they'd do whatever they could to get there."

"Let's tell Mrs. Haley and the doctor we're heading back to your place," the sheriff said, "and let's hope like crazy that's where those boys have gone."

The two men went back inside to find the doctor coming out of the bedroom while Mrs. Haley was coming out of the kitchen to talk to him. They both stopped, and for a moment all four people just stood there looking at each other, still too stunned to know what to say.

Dr. Merar finally said, "She's still very weak. She needs a lot of rest. I gave her something to help her sleep, and I'd have given it to her even if the boys were here, but later today she probably will wake up and be more lucid. She'll know what's happened if we don't get those boys back."

"We're thinking they might have headed to my place to see their father and I didn't see them on my way here because they evaded me," Jarrod said. "The sheriff and I are going to head back to the ranch now and we'll look more carefully."

"They left for school an hour and a half ago," Mrs. Haley said. "If they're going to your ranch, they might be getting there now."

"Can you stay here with Mrs. Main today?" the sheriff asked.

"Oh, yes, certainly," Mrs. Haley said. "But what should I tell her if she wakes up and wants her sons?"

"Tell her they're at school for as long as you can get away with it," Dr. Merar said. "I'll be back by three. Maybe you can find the boys by then, Sheriff."

"We're gonna try," Jarrod said, and as he headed for the door with the sheriff, he said, "Fred, keep your deputies looking around town in case they are here somewhere. I'll be moving a bit more slowly back to my place to look harder along the way. You can catch up with me."

"All right," the sheriff said as they got outside.

Jarrod remounted his horse and watched the sheriff hustle off to his office. It was about then Jarrod really began to be worried, even though he was almost certain Jack Jr. and Randy were heading to see their father. That was the only thing that would make them leave home without telling anyone. But two boys alone on the road could get into big trouble anytime, and that's what worried Jarrod as he headed out of town.

He rode slowly, trying to keep his horse quiet. He met several people coming in and asked if they had seen the boys, but no one had. Jarrod didn't know whether to believe that was because the boys were hiding well or because they weren't going this way. He began to doubt his conviction that they were heading to see their father.

The sheriff caught up with him when he was only a mile or two out. They rode quietly and did not speak. At one point the sheriff thought he spotted movement in the brush beside the road and hurried over to take a look, but a rabbit scurried out and across the road.

Jarrod's eyes closed in dismay. They kept going. They made it all the way to the ranch and had found nothing along the way.

"Maybe they're already here," the sheriff offered.

They went inside and found Heath coming down the stairs. He looked startled to see them. They both knew right away from the look on his face that the Main boys were not here.

"Jack's doing pretty good this morning," Heath said. "He can stand up longer and he took one step on that left leg – what's wrong?"

"His sons have disappeared," Jarrod said. "We thought they might be coming here, but we didn't find them on the road. They're not here."

"No, they're not," Heath said.

"Don't tell Jack," Jarrod said. "Not yet, anyway. Their mother is in no shape to know either."

"Can either of you think of somewhere else they might have gone?" the sheriff asked.

Both Barkleys shook their heads. Jarrod said, "We're not gonna find them standing around here. Heath, if they show up, send somebody in town to get us. I'm still hoping against hope that they are coming here and just kept hiding from people on the road so nobody would stop them."

Suddenly, Audra and Victoria came running in from the kitchen. Audra ran right by them and out the front door, while Victoria stopped. "I'm glad you're here. We just spotted the Main boys coming into the yard on foot, alone."

Nearly collapsing with relief, Jarrod and the sheriff followed Audra outside, with Victoria and Heath right behind them.

Audra was already with Jack Jr. and Randy, holding onto both of them, asking why they were here. The sheriff immediately blurted, "Do you boys know the trouble you've caused? Why in the world did you come out here without telling anyone? If your mother finds out, she's gonna fall apart!"

Jarrod raised a hand to quiet him. "Let me guess," he said to the boys. "You didn't tell anyone and you didn't let anyone see you on the road because you didn't want anyone to stop you."

Jack Jr. just said, "We want to see our father."

"It doesn't matter what their mother wants," Heath said. "We can't keep them from their father now. Jack will find out."

"Jack's already found out," Victoria said. She nodded toward the house, looking at the window of the guest room Jack was in.

Jack was standing at the window, looking down on them. In a moment, he disappeared from the window.

Heath went running back into the house, thinking Jack might have fallen, but when he got to the guest room he found Jack sitting on the edge of the bed. Jack looked up at him. He said, quite clearly, "My boys."

Heath nodded. "We'll bring them up."

Jack struggled to ease himself back into bed, and Heath remained to help him do it and get under the blankets. He straightened and turned to go out to fetch Jack Jr. and Randy, but when he turned, they were already there at the door, Victoria and Audra behind them.

"Pa!" Randy blurted.

Jack lifted both arms – the right arm still higher than the left – and the boys went running to him. In a moment they were scrambling into the bed with him.

Heath headed to the door while his mother and sister turned away into the hall. Heath followed them and closed the door behind him. "Best give them some time," Heath said.

"And maybe get something ready for them to eat," Victoria said. "Those boys walked here from town, and they're going to be hungry."

They went back downstairs where Jarrod and the sheriff were waiting in the foyer. "Everything all right up there?" Jarrod asked.

"Everything is fine," Victoria said. "We're going to get some food together. Fred, you'll have a cup of coffee?"

"I could use one," Sheriff Madden said. "Then I'd better get back to town to let Mrs. Haley know the boys are out here so she can reassure Frances if she wakes up before the boys are back home."

"I'll be in later, Fred," Jarrod said. "I'm gonna need to have a long talk with Jack and the boys to sort this whole thing out better."

"Just tell me you'll keep a tight rein on those boys, wherever they are."

"Oh, I will," Jarrod said, giving his mother small grin. "And I'll have a lot of help."