I do NOT own The Big Valley or any of the original Barkley characters. Thanks to my Beta Reader, though all mistakes are my own.

Blindsided

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nick and Heath were standing on the porch watching Audra feeding the chickens when Brigham made his way out onto the porch. It was the first time he'd been out of bed and figured he might as well face what he pretty well knew was coming. Just because these two brothers had agreed to help him, Brigham didn't figure that let him off the hook with either one of them.

"I see you're up and around." Nick kept his voice level. While he was grateful for the protection Brigham had given his sister, along with the respect he'd shown her, Nick was still pretty upset with the man. Why had he allowed himself to panic, thus putting Audra into the situation in the first place?

"Nick." Heath knew that tone and didn't think it would be wise to start any case of discussion at the moment, especially with Audra so close and the need to find the guns becoming pressing.

Brigham smiled at Heath; he knew what the blond cowboy was trying to convey to his dark haired brother. He also knew the three of them couldn't start any kind of job together unless the man called Nick let things out; it would only get in the way. "It's all right, Heath." Heath had already told Brigham quite plainly there was no need for formalities with him. "Yes, Mr. Barkley," Brigham said as he looked back at Nick, "I'm very much up and around. Whatever you have to say to me, or do to me, say or do it now because we'll need all our energy concentrated on the job when we get to it. We don't need to have any unfinished business getting in the way." He figured anything handed to him by Nick was overdue in coming.

Heath stepped back and the uneasiness he felt could be seen in his eyes. He could see Audra still feeding the chickens. The last thing he wanted was to have another fight erupt, especially in front of Audra. Nick saw Heath's movement and followed the path his brother's eyes were making. For a split second he was back by the river standing next to Jarrod and she was riding away. His family may be right, maybe the first time wasn't his fault, but if he did anything stupid now, especially with Brigham being such a good man, idiotic once in a great while, but still good; she would disappear out of their lives for good and it would be his doing. Besides, the man was still dealing with an injured rib.

He turned back to Brigham and shook his head slightly. "The name's Nick. I'll say this once and once only. I guess, I can work on forgiving you this incident since Audra obviously loves you very much and you've done right by her so far." Nick's voice then grew hard as his eyes turned to steel. "However; when the you two marry you ever so much as lay a finger on her to hurt her in any manner so help me," Nick warned him, "despite what Heath told her, there won't be enough of you left for him and Jarrod to deal with once I get through with you."

Brigham started grinning from ear to ear as he caught Nick's words 'when the two of you marry'; he felt as if a huge weight had just been taken off his shoulders. "Nick," Brigham said as he started laughing as much as he could, his rib still talking to him, "I'll give you a year supply of bullets to put in storage for the mere fact that, if I ever go that far left, I want to be put out of my misery!" Nick and Heath busted up laughing hard, and Brigham continued laughing as much as he could.

By the time the three got their laughter under control, Audra had finished feeding the chickens and walked back to the house. She was happy to see her brothers and Brigham getting along. She had dreaded the thought of having to choose between her family and Brigham. How she wished she could freeze time and make it stand still; as it was, she climbed the stairs and stood next to Brigham. "So," she asked as she looked at her brothers and Brigham, "when do you leave?"

One look at the worried look in her eyes made Brigham want to take her in his arms and assure her everything would be all right, as did Nick and Heath. Each one of them would have walked a thousand miles if it would give her the peace of mind she needed. "Not until later tonight." Nick spoke up, a slight grin on his face as Brigham wasn't doing a very good job of keeping his eyes off Audra. "From what that man of yours says, the cave they're holding the guns in is only a few miles away and they only have two men guarding them." Personally, he was thinking there had to at least be a third man somewhere. After all, from the sounds of it, they had a good number of guns stored up.

"I don't know about you, Nick," Heath said as he headed towards the barn, "but I'm going to go check on Charger." Audra couldn't help but grin. She knew full well Heath was only finding a polite way to tell Nick that they should leave her and Brigham alone.

A slow smile spread across Nick's face. "When the two of you actually marry," Nick teased as he stepped off the porch, "you might want to consider a house that is at least a tiny bit larger than this one." That only served to earn him a playful slap from his sister and a laugh from Brigham.

Once Nick and Heath were out of sight, Brigham took Audra in his arms. "Mrs. McCallister," he spoke soft and low, "does have a nice ring to it doesn't it? Marry me, Audra. Once this is over, marry me for real."

Audra nodded and laid her head against Brigham's chest. "I'll do just that, but you and my brothers just remember; you're all under orders to get out of this thing alive!" She held on tight.

Any doubts he had of giving up bounty hunting and traipsing from California to the Mississippi flew out the window as he held Audra in his arms. Come hell or high water, he and her brothers would get those guns, and get the men guarding them! Then, no matter what, he'd walk away from everything but private investigating; even then, he'd make sure he didn't go outside California; that is, if he could possibly help it. Silently, he couldn't help but chuckle as his mother's words from years ago came back to him full force. "You're wrong son; you need someone. You may not know it, but you do. Someone will capture your heart someday, even if love has to blindside you for you to admit it." He had vehemently denied it back then, now he just savored having Audra in his arms.