Worried
"Jarrod – "
"Yes?"
"Audra."
"What?"
"I worry."
"Why?"
"She's all alone."
"Huh?"
"There's no one."
"Where?"
"In her life. Audra ought to have a husband."
"Whoa, now, wait a minute. Don't you think whether Audra has a husband or not ought to be left up to Audra?"
"Indeed, I do, but she's been picking all the wrong type of man to become interested in, and that's why none of them marry her."
"What do you think is the wrong kind of man?"
"She picks one who appeals to her wild side and then discovers they're too wild themselves – like Lloyd Garner, remember him? And she was even attracted to Evan Miles before it became clear he was such a troubled young man."
"Of course I remember them. But Mother, she's grown. She's been more settled with her beaux lately, like Carl Wheeler and even Eric Mercer. They were both good men."
"But they haven't worked out for her either. Jarrod, Audra is 22 years old now. I was 19 when I married your father and 20 when you were born."
"Mother, you came from a different environment than Audra comes from. You weren't from a wealthy family. You and your family didn't have to be concerned that a man wanted you for your money."
"Which brings me to another reason she hasn't found the right man. Her brothers."
"What?"
"Any man who shows an interest in Audra has to pass muster with three strong and influential men, and you tend to be very protective."
"Oh, all right, now I see. You're not really talking about Audra. You're talking about me and Nick and Heath."
"Yes, in part, I am."
"Mother, you had it right the first way around. Audra tends to pick men who are not the best men for her – sometimes they're not even good men. Of course her brothers are going to be protective."
"But even you've said she's more settled now. Don't you think you ought to talk to your brothers about easing up?"
"Hmm. Mother, is there some young man in Audra's life right now you're not telling me about?"
"Well – "
XXXXXX
"Nick – "
"What?"
"Audra."
"What about her?"
"I worry."
"Why?"
"She's gotten involved."
"What?"
"There's someone."
"Where?"
"In her life. Audra's found herself a man."
"A man? Somebody we know? Heath, if it's somebody we need pay attention to, tell me about him."
"Well, I can't say I know much. His name is Peter O'Connor. He came into town about a month ago from New York."
"New York? You worried he's not on the up and up?"
"No, I got no information that he's in trouble with the law anywhere or ever has been."
"What information do you have that worries you? Is he mean to her or something?"
"Not that I've heard. It's just that she's actually seeing him and hasn't said a thing to any of us about him."
"Any of us? What do you want to bet she has said something to Mother about him?"
"Well, that's possible. She's getting to the age where she's gonna rather sidestep her brothers when it comes to her beaux."
"Huh. I suppose you're right. But she's not gonna sidestep me for long."
"Look, Nick, I didn't mean to make you all angry about this."
"I'm not angry. I'm just worried she's in with the wrong man again."
"Maybe we ought to talk to Jarrod, see what he knows."
"Yeah."
XXXXX
"Jarrod – "
"Yes?"
"Audra."
"What?"
"We're worried."
"Why?"
"She's got a man."
"Oh."
"There's someone."
"Yes."
"In her life. Audra's found another fella."
"Well, you're not worried alone. I was talking to Mother about Audra and she never said a word about Audra being involved with anyone. What she was worried about was that the three of us are still too protective."
"She knows about this guy."
"I'm sure she does."
"Peter O'Connor. Do you know him?"
"Yes, I do. He's with the railroad."
"Uh-oh."
"Indeed, but that doesn't mean he's crooked like men like Crown and Jordan. Their day has passed. I don't know much about this O'Connor. I sure didn't know Audra was seeing him."
"Maybe you ought to have Pinkerton look into him."
"Maybe we ought to have a conversation with Mother first."
XXXX
"Mother – "
"Yes?"
"Audra."
"Oh."
"We're worried."
"Why?"
"You already know."
"Oh."
"There's someone – "
"Yes."
"In her life."
"Yes."
"And nobody's told her brothers."
"Well, I didn't mention it to you before, Jarrod, because I think it's up to Audra to decide when to tell you."
"Has it gotten that serious and we didn't know?"
"I think she was concerned how you'd react. She really likes this young man. In fact, I think it's become more than that. Now you, Jarrod, you're going to want to check him out with Pinkerton and Nick, you're going to want to sit him down with a beer and loosen him up while Heath, you just listen and assess and try to keep Nick from punching him in the mouth."
"Mother – "
"Listen to me, boys. No, gentlemen. Before you do anything about Peter O'Connor, you should talk to Audra. She's ready for you to talk to her."
"Then why hasn't she come to us?"
"Because you worry her. She's not sure how you'll react and she's afraid you will overreact."
"I promise, we won't."
"Then talk to her. She's out in the garden now. Go on."
XXXXX
"Audra – "
"Hi!"
"Listen – "
"What?"
"We're worried."
"Why?"
"Peter O'Connor."
"Oh."
"There's someone – "
"Yes."
"In your life. And you didn't say a word."
"No. I didn't know how."
"Well, tell us now."
"You've met him, Jarrod. I saw him in the bank and he introduced himself to me because he'd met you. I saw him again when he was going into the Stockton House café."
"And you followed him."
"Yes, I did. He was eating alone. He invited me to join him. We talked. We talked for a long time. And he invited me to dinner."
"And you kept us from finding that out?"
"I didn't 'keep you from finding that out'! I didn't hide it in any way. Jarrod, you were in Sacramento at the time, and Nick and Heath, you were on roundup the first time we had dinner together."
"How many times have you seen him?"
"Enough to know he's a good man. He's kind, he's gentle, and he treats me like a lady. And he has plenty of money of his own, so you needn't worry he's after mine. I think he's going to ask me to marry him."
"It's that serious?!"
"Yes, it is, and you can evaluate all you want after you meet him here at the house because I'm inviting him to dinner Saturday night. Will that make you happy?"
"Happier, maybe. But we'll have to see."
XXXXXX
"Jarrod – "
"What?"
"Audra."
"Audra?"
"I'm worried."
"Why?"
"She's leaving us."
"No."
"There's a husband – "
"Yes."
"In her life."
"And he's replacing her brothers as her protector. But he's a good man, Nick, and he's gonna make her a good husband. I mean, look at him, standing there with Heath. There's not a doubt in his mind, and not a doubt in Heath's. I'm going to escort Audra down that aisle and if Peter doesn't burst at the seams with happiness, I'll be surprised."
"But they're going to New York."
"And we're going to miss her. Maybe Heath will miss her more than you do – and maybe I will miss her more than either of you. After all, I'm her Pappy and I have been her father almost as long as our father actually was. Mother will miss her the most, but look at Mother sitting down there. She may burst with more happiness than the rest of us put together. She likes Peter. She loves him. He's the one for her daughter."
"Yeah, I know."
"So – "
"So – "
"So I'm not worried. Are you, really?"
"No. I'm not worried. Not anymore."
The End