Chapter 7

Nick, Heath, Bromley and the sheriff rode as fast as they could but it was still many precious minutes before they got lucky. Corell and Mason had misjudged everything. They didn't expect anyone to be coming this way, and they didn't expect it to happen this fast if anyone did. They sure didn't expect, when they heard the horses coming up behind them, that it would be the Barkley brothers, Bromley and the sheriff, but suddenly they were there.

Corell and Mason tried to speed up and get away but Nick was in full gear now, caught up to them, and tackled the first one he could off of his horse. Right behind him, Heath snared the other one.

Nick had grabbed the first one he could grab. It happened to be skinny Corell, easy to yank around. Nick pulled him by the shirt front and snarled into his face. "Where is he?! What did you do with him?! You better pray he's all right because if he's not I'm gonna twist that ugly head of yours off!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Corell said. "Where's who?"

Nick grabbed the man by the hair and twisted, hard.

"All right! All right!" Corell yelled. "Down by the river!"

"Where down by the river?" Nick yelled.

"Down that sideroad, back toward your place!"

"Go find him," Sheriff Madden said quickly and pulled Corell away from Nick.

Bromley and Heath were already on horseback and taking off, but as Nick started to his horse, Mason got up and started to run away. Nick caught up with him fast, tackled him, and knocked him silly. By that point, Sheriff Madden had cuffed Corell and pushed him to the ground. He quickly took Mason off Nick's hands, pinned him to the ground and tied his hands behind his back with the man's own neckerchief.

"Go," Sheriff Madden said. "I've got them. My men won't be far behind me."

Nick mounted up and took off fast. When he got to the main road, he saw the sheriff's men coming, Ciego already pointing them down the road that went west. "The sheriff's got them but not Jarrod!" Nick yelled. "Go help Fred!"

Heath and Bromley were already near the side road when Nick got to them. They all turned off onto it as soon as they could. They were fearing the same thing – Jarrod left in a place he did not know, near a river. He could have fallen in. Worse yet, they did not know exactly where he might be. He could be wandering into danger right now.

"Jarrod!" Heath and Nick started calling as soon as he caught sight of the river.

Bromley joined them. They called and they listened – and heard nothing. "Have you heard him?" Nick asked.

"No," Heath said. "We better split up."

They divided the area up – Heath going upstream, Nick going downstream and Bromley sticking to the road as it turned back into the woods further on. They kept calling. They could hear each other, but they could also hear that there was no answer.

Until finally, Bromley got an answer. Just a faint, "Here!"

"Jarrod!" Bromley tried again, got the same answer and heard where it was coming from. "Nick! Heath! Over here, by the road!" He yelled, and he traveled more slowly up the road, still calling Jarrod's name.

And then he found him, sitting on a rock beside the road.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Bromley yelled, dismounted and hurried to where Jarrod sat.

Jarrod groped for him, shaking and not just with nerves. He was soaking wet. "I fell in the river – " he said, groping and shaking.

Bromley took his coat off and put it around him. "Nick and Heath are with me. We got Corell and Mason. The sheriff has them. You're all right now. You're all right."

Jarrod let Bromley put his coat over his shoulders, but would not let go of his arms. He held tight, eyes wide with terror. He didn't say anything, he just trembled.

Nick and Heath arrived and jumped off their horses. "Jarrod!" Nick yelled and ran to him. He took his older brother into his arms and Bromley moved away. "Jarrod, are you all right?"

Jarrod could only say, "I don't know where I am."

"We've got you," Nick said. "It's all right. We've got you."

Jarrod started shaking more, groping. Nick grabbed his arm and he grabbed back. Nick looked up at Heath and Bromley standing beside them, his eyes a mixture of grief and fury.

"I'll go back and let the sheriff know where we are," Bromley said.

Bromley remounted as Heath stooped down with his brothers. He and Nick held Jarrod to calm him, to let him know he was safe again. Bromley watched for a moment, and his anger boiled up inside him fast. He took off and in only a few minutes was back where Sheriff Madden had Corell and Mason helpless on the ground. His men and Ciego were with him now.

"Did you find him?" Sheriff Madden asked.

Bromley dismounted, nodding. "Yes, he's just wet and scared, he fell in the river, and you better keep these two away from me or I'm gonna kill them."

Sheriff Madden almost slumped in relief, and turned to his men. "Get them on their horses. We'll get them back to town, Mark. Take Jarrod home and I'll send Dr. Merar out, just in case."

"I will ride ahead to the ranch and tell Senora Barkley what's happened," Ciego said and took off.

Bromley nodded, remounted, and headed back to where he had left the Barkley brothers. He found them still on the ground, Nick and Heath huddled around a still shivering Jarrod. "The sheriff and his men are taking Corell and Mason to jail. He said to take Jarrod home and he'd send the doctor out to the ranch. What can I do?"

Nick said, "Let's get Jarrod up on your horse with you and get him outta here. Jarrod? Jarrod, Mark Bromley is here. You're gonna ride double with him. We'll get you home and dry."

Jarrod still could only say, "I don't know where I am."

"With us, that's where," Nick said, and he and Heath helped him stand.

Bromley was the biggest man of the four of them and rode the biggest horse. He shifted back in the saddle and helped Nick and Heath to get Jarrod up in front of him. Bromley kept hold of the reins and kept his arms around his boss. "Here we go, Jarrod. Hang on," he said.

Jarrod managed a slight nod to that, and he held on. They took him home.

XXXXXX

Nick, Heath and Bromley were waiting in the foyer for longer than they liked. Nick paced. Heath sat on the stairs. Bromley just stood near the foot of the stairs. Silas brought them coffee and put it in the living room, but none of them wanted any.

The doctor had arrived soon after Nick and Heath got their older brother out of his wet clothes and into a pair of pajamas, and put him to bed. Nick tried to get him to drink some brandy, but Jarrod wouldn't take it. He didn't talk. He didn't move on his own. They did everything for him.

Now they waited to hear what the doctor had to say. Victoria and Audra were upstairs with him now. The waiting was getting awful and Nick was just about to head upstairs when the knock came at the door. Silas was there to open it right away. Sheriff Madden came in.

"How is he?" the sheriff asked anyone who would answer.

"We don't know yet," Nick said.

"Was he hurt?"

"No, he didn't seem to be, but he was pretty shaken up."

"He'd fallen in the river," Heath said.

"Thank God he didn't drown," the sheriff said. "I have Corell and Mason locked up. Looks like they're gonna face two charges for assaulting Jarrod now."

"Assuming he can testify," Bromley said.

The other men looked at him.

Bromley said, "He was too shaken up to talk. If he can't talk – well, I don't have a witness for anything if he can't talk."

"You have Corell telling us where Jarrod was today," the sheriff said. "I'll testify to that."

"And the rest of us heard him," Heath said.

"That might not be enough to convict them of putting him there," Bromley said. "If it's all I have, I'll go with it, but if we can get Jarrod back with us enough to testify to both assaults, it's a lot better."

"You'll have him," Victoria's voice came from further up the stairs.

Audra was with her, but not the doctor.

"The doctor is talking with him now," Victoria said. "He's badly shaken up, but the doctor gave him something to calm him down and he's beginning to settle in again. The doctor is getting him to talk. He knows where he is. He knows he's safe. Mark – " Victoria looked at Bromley. "He's asked for you."

Bromley didn't quite understand – why him?

Victoria said, "You should go up right away. I think he'll fall asleep in a few minutes. Last room at the end of the hall. The door is open."

Bromley nodded and hurried up the steps. In a moment he was in Jarrod's room, saw him in bed, saw the doctor beside him. Dr. Merar turned, saying, "I think he wants to talk privately with the prosecuting attorney," and he went out.

Jarrod reached up. "Mark?"

His voice was weak, but his hand was quite strong when Bromley took it. "I'm right here. How are you doing?"

"Weary," Jarrod said softly, "and a little – disoriented. But I want you to know – I know what happened, and I know it was Corell and Mason, or at least Mason. Now that I'm getting myself back together, I realize I could smell that pomade of his."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Jarrod said. "The same pomade I smelled right in this room Friday night. I'm gonna testify my head off for you."

Bromley had to chuckle. "Boss, you're about the most courageous man I ever knew."

"No," Jarrod said softly, and with a slight smile said, "just the most angry – and stubborn."