Chapter 2

As she rode home in the buggy with her husband, Audra thought about Cass Hyatt, and she thought about some other things, too. This husband of hers was such a light in the life of the Barkleys, and he had come out of nowhere and fit in so beautifully. She thought she knew him so well instantly, but there was still something about him that kept her wondering now and then. This business with Cass Hyatt was one of those times.

"You seem so sure Cass Hyatt won't be a problem," Audra said. "Why are you so sure?"

Clarence sighed. "Oh, the way he looked at Jarrod when he realized Jarrod was blind. It was like all the anger washed right out of him, like he felt whatever revenge he wanted he already had."

"That's not all of it, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow, sometimes, you just seem to be so certain of things the rest of us are left wondering about."

"Like what?"

"Like that robbery at the train depot, after Jarrod was blinded." Audra remembered how awful that had been, two men killed and one wounded. Nick and Heath had gone after the Dunigan brothers and brought them back to justice, but there was something else. "Why did you think it would have been Jarrod in that depot if he could see?"

"Well, it seemed logical to me that Jarrod would have been handling it if he'd be able. That kind of sale, that kind of shipment - " He shrugged. "The kind of business transaction Jarrod would have handled, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, but it might not have been him. It might have been Mr. Cole, just like it did turn out. Yet you've always seemed so sure it would have been Jarrod."

Clarence shrugged again. "I don't know. I just really think it would have been Jarrod."

Audra shook her head. "How is it you came here, Clarence?"

"What?" Clarence asked with a laugh.

"Surely you wanted your own practice when you started out, but you came here, and almost instantly you decided you wanted to work with Jarrod."

Clarence shrugged one more time. "It was a great opportunity. I was new at the law. Jarrod was well-known and well respected and I wanted to work with him."

"Specifically," Audra said. "It was like you wanted to work with him specifically, maybe even because he was blind, not in spite of it."

Clarence laughed a little. "Audra, I knew that we were going to be a great team. I knew, because he was blind, that we would be working more closely together than if he weren't blind and I was his assistant. I knew I could learn more and take on more responsibility faster working with Jarrod than with any other lawyer around, and yes, because he's the best lawyer around, and because he's blind. Besides, he's a good man and I like him and I wanted to help him and he had a beautiful sister I wanted to fall in love with."

He gave her a grin and a wink. Audra laughed. "Clarence Robinson, you are full of prunes."

XXXXXX

Jarrod's prediction that Hyatt would get into trouble came true, but not in Stockton. A month later, Jarrod got word from south of Modesto that Hyatt had gone down there, gotten into a fight over a poker game, and ended up being shot dead by one of the other players.

"So Mr. Hyatt is out of our lives for good," Jarrod said after he explained what had happened to the family.

Clarence said, "It seems Hyatt couldn't stay out of trouble if the opportunity were handed to him on a silver platter."

Victoria breathed better. "Did he leave any family?"

"A brother, as I recall," Jarrod said. "I don't know how he feels about it but I don't think you need to concern yourself with him popping up in our lives. I don't think they were particularly close."

"Well, I'd better get back to helping with dinner," Victoria said and went back into the kitchen.

Jarrod went into the living room and poured himself some scotch. Clarence decided he'd have a little, too, and took a glass from Jarrod. They were alone together, Jarrod sitting down in his chair and Clarence in the chair beside him, when Clarence said, "There is something else I probably ought to mention to you. As we were leaving town, I saw MacGregor putting up a sign outside the Gaiety. Julia Saxon is coming to Stockton."

Jarrod paused, holding a swallow of scotch for a moment, being careful not to swallow it until he got over the impulse to choke. He finally swallowed. "Julia Saxon?"

"You remember," Clarence said. "She was a Confederate spy during the war."

"I remember," Jarrod said.

"Mother told me you were in intelligence for the Union Army for a while during the war. Now, I'm not saying anything to anyone, but I thought I ought to let you know she was coming in case her being here is going to bother you."

Jarrod took another sip of scotch. "Why should it bother me?"

"Matt Parker," Clarence said.

The way Clarence was saying things made Jarrod wonder – what else did he know? How did he know it? "You know about Matt Parker."

"I was having a drink at Harry's last week, after I brought you home and but before I went to my place," Clarence said. "I don't know why – I just felt like it. I met Ross and Worth Parker. They told me Matt had been a friend of yours and they told me what had happened during the war, and what happened after. They didn't mention Julia Saxon by name, but when that billboard went up I got curious, and I'm more curious because I saw the Parkers heading for that billboard as we were leaving town today. I get the feeling Julia Saxon had something to do with Matt Parker getting court martialed during the war."

Jarrod just said, "When is she due into town?"

"She's supposed to open on April 29. She'll probably come in a day before that to get settled," Clarence said. Then he carefully said, "Is there anything you think I ought to know about all this? Matt Parker was your friend."

"I defended him at his court martial," Jarrod said.

"So Ross told me," Clarence said.

Jarrod drank more of his scotch. "You probably know everything you need to know, or you've figured it out."

"What does the family know?"

"Nothing," Jarrod said, "and I'd just as soon keep it that way."

"They'll know soon enough she's coming into town."

Jarrod finished off his scotch. "I'm sure I won't be having anything to do with her."

"You did know her during the war and they don't know anything about that, am I right?"

"Yes, you're right," Jarrod said. "And I don't want you saying anything about it, not even to Audra. The past is the past."

"All right," Clarence said.

Nick and Heath came in not long afterward, Nick his usual blustering self only more so. "Did you two know anything about Julia Saxon coming to town?" he asked even as he entered the living room.

"Clarence saw the billboard," Jarrod said. "He just told me a few minutes ago."

"Why in the world would she come here?"

"I don't know, Nick," Jarrod said. "I'm not privy to the lady's thinking."

"Heath, I don't think we ever told you the story about Matt Parker, Ross and Worth's brother," Nick said.

Jarrod quickly butted in. "Matt was a friend of mine who became involved with Julia Saxon during the war and he wasn't aware she was a spy. He got court martialed, I defended him, he was acquitted but he never got over it and five years ago he shot himself to death. Some say it was an accident. Some say it wasn't."

"What do you think?" Heath asked.

"I know he drank too much. I know he never got over the court martial, and I think he was so in love with Julia Saxon that he never got over her either," Jarrod said.

"Then you gotta wonder why she's coming here," Heath said. "It can't just be to sing. She can do that anywhere."

"And you can bet it's not to apologize to Ross and Worth," Nick said.

Clarence got up. "If you boys will excuse me, I have a wife at home who is going to have a baby, and when a woman is going to have a baby, there's no telling how she's going to react if her man is even ten minutes late. Jarrod, I'll pick you up in the morning, as usual."

"All right, Clarence," Jarrod said. "Love to Audra."

"Gentlemen," Clarence said to Nick and Heath, and then he left.

Nick continued to mutter. "I wouldn't be surprised if they ran Julia Saxon out of town on a rail."

"Maybe it's time to quit fighting the war, Nick," Heath said. "You wanted me to get over my bad feeling toward Matt Bentell. Maybe you oughtta ease up on Julia Saxon."

Nick was caught now. The family had been a bit rough on Heath when Matt Bentell – who ran the prison camp where Heath had been held during the war – came to work for them under another name. "Well," Nick said, relenting a bit. "Maybe I can, but I'll bet you money Ross and Worth won't."

"Well, she's come here for some reason," Heath said. "Maybe we oughtta just let her sing and leave, and if she has something else in mind, we deal with that if it's any of our business."

Jarrod didn't say anything. He knew in his heart of hearts why Julia Saxon was here, and he didn't want to deal with that. Ever, if he could get away with it. He suspected he wouldn't get away with it, but for now, he was going to stay quiet.