"Heath," Jarrod called as he and Audra came riding up to the corral. "Heath, where's Nick?"
"He just took the horses in with Duke," Heath answered. "We were just coming in for dinner," he eyed the two of them with the distinct impression that something was wrong. "What's wrong Jarrod."
"Get Nick," Jarrod dismounted and pulled Audra down from her own horse. "Tell Duke to take care of our horses too and you two come inside quick. We need to talk."
"Right," Heath headed to the barn and Jarrod and Audra hurried toward the house.
"Mr. Jarrod, Miss Audra," Silas greeted them at the door.
"Silas," Audra seemed surprised to see him.
"Miss Audra," Silas nodded. "Supper is nearly ready, but I haven't seen Mrs. Barkley since lunch time. Is everything ok?"
"Silas, we have a problem," Jarrod told him. "Where were you earlier?"
"When Mr. Jarrod?"
"When," he looked at Audra.
"Around one o'clock. And Jarrod, I know where Silas was. He was out collecting the eggs and feeding the chickens. They must have waited for him to go out."
"Who waited for me to go out," Silas was confused.
"The men who kidnapped mother," Jarrod sighed.
"What," Silas' confusion faded to pure dread. "Mrs. Barkley, she's been taken?"
"That's right," Jarrod finally took off his hat and dropped it on the table.
"What can I do," Silas asked determined to be of some help.
"Nothing," Jarrod shook his head. "Nothing for now. I guess just make sure there is some strong coffee at the ready. It is going to be a long night."
"Jarrod," Nick bellowed as he and Heath appeared in the doorway and took off their hats. "What's going on?"
"Nick," Jarrod's face was still filled with the worry that had let Heath know something was amiss. "You and Heath better sit for this. We have a problem."
"I can stand for anything you've got to say," Nick slammed his hat onto the rack. "Now, suppose you spit it out whatever it might be."
"It's mother," Jarrod answered keeping eye contact with Nick.
"What happened," Heath managed to ask first. "Where is she?"
"She was kidnapped this afternoon," Jarrod turned to Heath.
"What," Nick felt as though he had been kicked in the gut by a wild mustang. "What do you mean kidnapped? By who? From where?"
"From here," Audra broke in. "They took her right out the front door early this afternoon."
"Who," Nick demanded. "Who was it?"
"I don't know," Audra answered. "I didn't recognize any of them."
"How many were there," Heath asked, hanging his own hat.
"Three," Audra told him.
"What do they want," Nick fumed. "What did they ask for?"
"They want money," Jarrod resumed the duty of answering. "$10,000 by noon tomorrow. They want us to leave it at Indian Springs."
"That is fifteen miles from here and there are five miles of springs," Nick protested. "How are we supposed to know where to leave it?"
"They said you would find it," Audra answered sorrowfully. "They said they would make it real clear."
"There is more," Jarrod continued. "They told Audra that they didn't care which of her two brothers brought the money only that whoever did it went alone and was unarmed."
"Two," Nick asked.
"I suppose they haven't been around since Heath has been here," Jarrod concluded.
"Maybe," Heath said.
"What do you mean," Nick's tone was still loud and harsh.
"Think about it," Heath said. "Audra said she didn't recognize them. If they were watching the house before they took her, they could have seen Nick and I leave together this morning. We left together like we always do. If they've been watching the house for more than a day, they may have seen us leave together before."
"But then they would have seen Jarrod leave too," Audra countered. "And they must have been watching because they waited until Silas went out to collect eggs."
"Yes," Heath said. "But they might have seen him ride up last night too. They may think he is a guest or a friend from out of town. I mean, he didn't come home the night before, he stayed in town."
"I hadn't thought of that," Jarrod confessed.
"Well that settles who takes the money," Nick sighed.
"What do you mean," Audra looked at him clearly puzzled.
"There is no way to know whether they know us from before Heath got here or whether they think they know us by watching us."
"So," Jarrod asked.
"So," Nick continued. "Either way, they know that I am one of the two," Nick concluded. "That means that I need to take the money."
"I don't know Nick," Jarrod didn't like the idea of sending the rashest brother on a mission requiring such tact.
"Jarrod," Nick's voice was uncharacteristically low and gruff. "I will not gamble our mother's life on the idea that these men knew us before Heath got here. Not hers, not yours, and not Heath's."
"He has a point," Heath was obviously conceding unhappily. "It is the safest bet to send him in with the money."
"We need a plan no matter what," Audra chimed in. "We cannot take the chance that they will back out. They could hurt mother, we can't let them do that."
"It's too easy to see someone coming around there," Jarrod shook his head. "Even if we went around early, they are likely to be looking for that."
"What if we went out tonight," Audra asked in desperation. "We could walk in and find a place to hunker down and watch ourselves."
"We," Nick asked incredulously. "What is this we business? No matter what the three of us do you are staying here young lady,"
"Nicholas Jonathan Barkley," Audra seethed. "I am not a child. She is my mother too and I am going with you,"
"Audra," Jarrod frowned. "Nick is right. We can't risk you getting hurt, no matter what we decide to do. If we go out there we are already taking a risk that they will see us coming and hurt mother."
"Look, why don't we figure out what we are going to do first," Heath suggested trying to deescalate the situation. "There is no point in fighting with Audra to stay here if we are all staying."
Jarrod nodded, "I suppose you're right."
"Fine," Audra huffed.
"Come on," Jarrod walked past the others to the dining room and sat down. Silas had set a place setting for the whole family. "We might as well sit."
"I don't know about you," Nick took his natural seat next to Jarrod. "But I'm not very hungry just now." He pushed the place setting away from him.
"Here you are," Silas sat the coffee service in the center of the table and took away Nick's dishes.
"Thank you Silas," Jarrod nodded. "I think you should just put dinner in the warmer for now. I think we have all lost our appetite for the moment."
"Yes sir," Silas nodded sadly and collected the dishes.
"It just doesn't seem right," Heath stared at Victoria's chair at the head of the table while Silas cleared the dishes from her place. "It doesn't seem right to be sitting here without her like this."
"No," Audra agreed. "This place always seems pretty empty without her in it."
"Come on now," Jarrod tried to keep his composure. "No need for talk like that. Tomorrow by this time she will be back. She will be back and she will sit right there and have supper with us like always."
"Right," Nick nodded and tried to sound as determined as ever though there was a light crack in his voice at the end.