Man of Justice

Chapter Thirty-Five

Nick took a step towards Jarrod only to find his oldest brother turning and fleeing out of the room and out the front door. Nick and Heath looked at each other and then, without a word, hurried to catch up with their older brother.

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Nick and Heath raced their horses as fast as they could, following the tracks Jarrod left. Thank goodness the night rain had not washed the tracks away; the morning sun had dried them out and many were still clear. Not only were the two men grateful for the clear tracks, they were also glad they mother had not pressed them to stop and explain everything when they followed Jarrod outside.

"Nick, stop right there!" Victoria had stepped away from the Michael's buggy greatly alarmed at seeing her oldest bolting out the front door and running towards the stable with Nick and Heath coming out behind him. What on earth was happening now? "What is going on?"

Nick would have told her, as would Heath, except they wanted the Michaels back in Stockton. The couple had to be or their mother might insist on the couple staying and hearing the rest of the story. That was something both knew Jarrod did not want, if he had he would have said something. "It's my fault," Heath yelled over his shoulder, "I'll explain later. Have a safe trip Mr. and Mrs. Michael."

Nick and Heath were almost to the stable when Jarrod rode Jingo through the open doors at full speed. Nick and Heath had moved as fast as they could and were soon on their own horses, doing their best to catch up with Jarrod. Riding over the hills, trees and even crossing a small creek that ran through the ranch, they were amazed at how far ahead of them Jarrod had gotten. It took a half hour for them to even catch a glimpse of him.

"Wish he'd slow down!" Nick barked as he pushed Coco harder, "Maybe we were premature in sayin' we'd work on forgivin' Jacob Michael!"

Heath didn't know what Jarrod was hiding, but he knew the man Jacob Michael deserved to be forgiven. Though, it didn't really matter at the moment; it was Jarrod who needed their support. "I think we best worry more about catching up with our dear brother and gettin' him to talk!" Heath answered as he too pushed Charger harder. His brother didn't argue with that statement as he also pushed Coco to run faster.

By the time they caught up with Jarrod, their brother was sitting on a medium sized boulder, legs crossed…and his shirt and jacket lay on the ground beside him. His back was towards them. Nick and Heath exchanged worried glances as they stopped their horses and dismounted. They tied the horses to a nearby tree, walked over to and in front of their brother and looked down. Both felt like a bolt of lightning had hit them square in the chest when they saw tears streaming down Jarrod's face.

Nick knelt down and put his hand on Jarrod's left arm while Heath laid his on Jarrod's right shoulder. Both wished they could reach inside of their brother and pull out the pain that was in his soul, even if it meant using up every ounce of strength they had. "What is it, Pappy?" Nick's voice was soft and cracked just a little.

Jarrod's tears fell faster and his shoulders began to shake. Years of holding back, years of running from the most intense pain he'd ever known. The young man he had been had pushed it to the farthest corner of his mind, but the grown man that Jarrod had become could no longer outrun it. As he cried uncontrollably, he found himself grateful Nick and Heath just simply held on instead of asking the question again. He couldn't have answered at the moment if his life depended on it.

Nick and Heath were sure a solid hour must have passed before Jarrod's shoulders stopped shaking and his tears slowed down. When Jarrod took a couple of deep breaths and exhaled, Nick ventured to get the man to talk. "What is it, Jarrod? What haven't you told us?" The pain Nick felt for Jarrod could be seen in his eyes and heard in his voice as he tightened his grip on Jarrod's arm, ever so slightly as to avoid actually hurting the man.

"You can talk us." Heath's concern could also be heard and seen as he kept an eye on Jarrod. He hated seeing anyone so anguished as his normally calm brother was now.

Jarrod turned his head slightly and looked at both his brothers and then rested his gaze on Nick. His breathing was still quite labored, making it hard to talk."I…I'm so..rr…y N..ick. The ma…jor..ity of what I've ever told you is true, re…ally," he took another deep breath as a pain filled gasp could be heard escaping his lips, "but…" he closed his eyes for a moment as he got his breathing under control and then opened them up again, "I lied to you when it came to how I got my name, though the story I told you about Raging River's Friend and Sly Fox is true, along with the majority of the chief's speech. There's other things I've never told anyone, not you, not father not even mother."

While it was a bit unsettling to hear Jarrod had lied to him and not told them of all the details of his ordeal, Nick wasn't about to hold it against his oldest brother. Obviously, what he was hiding was an enormous burden, and it had been eating away at him for years. Maybe, whether or not Nick liked it the Michaels' visit was indeed a blessing. If Jarrod had been hiding something this major, it had to come out or it would eventually destroy him. "So," Nick gave his arm a squeeze and smiled at him, "Tell me the truth now. Get it out of your system. Like Heath said, you can talk to us."

Jarrod nodded. He knew that, he'd always known it…he just hadn't listened to the voice inside of him that had told him to do it. Slowly, painfully, he began talking.