People can Change
Ch. 8
Juliet sat down in the chair next to the bed where Scott lay. Their children were soundly sleeping on the floor. Catalan didn't want to leave her daddy and Scott Jr. hadn't woken up from his nap. Juliet finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Audra opened the door to the guest bedroom and smiled at the sight that greeted her. Scott was still breathing, though still in a coma; and his family was all around him. Dr. Merar had been over a lot the last couple of weeks, but on his last visit had declared that there was nothing more he could do. He left promising that he would be back in about a week to see how Scott was doing. Audra stepped back out of the bedroom and let them sleep.
Meanwhile Scott was trying to get through the fog that he found himself in. He could have sworn that his wife and daughter were speaking to him. He had to find a way back to them and the son he dreamed his wife telling him about. The fog was getting thinner, but he still wasn't in the clear yet.
Some time later Heath and Nick arrived at the guest's bedroom door and saw Juliet looking at her daughter and husband. Catalan was on the bed talking to her dad and Scott Jr. was playing with a rag doll on the floor. Heath was the first to speak, "Supper is ready."
Juliet nodded and picked up her son turning to her daughter, "Come on, Catalan supper is ready."
"I don't want to leave daddy." The four year old pouted. She was afraid if she left, her daddy may disappear again.
Juliet sat down next to Catalan and spoke, "Your daddy will still be after we eat."
"Promise?" Catalan asked.
"I promise, honey. He wouldn't want us to go hungry, would he?" Juliet asked.
"No." Catalan spoke, as she got off the bed, "Come on, mommy."
Juliet, Heath, and Nick chuckled as all of them left the room.
Juliet was taken aback by the large spread the Barkley's had put on for supper and the elegance of the dining room. She seated herself on the other side of Victoria as Jarrod held the chair out for her.
"My goodness," blushed Juliet, "such a large table."
Victoria smiled at the young woman, as she settled her small daughter on the chair next to her.
"Please Juliet, make yourself comfortable. It may look a little big, but once Nick and Heath get washed up, it will get a lot noisier. My youngest son, Eugene,his girl, and her chaperone were due here a couple of days ago, but it seems they have been delayed in getting to Stockton."
"Thank you ma'am, for your hospitality."
They were well into supper when Jarrod asked Juliet how she met Scott. No one knew how she would react to such a personal question.
Juliet knew that question was gonna show up sooner or later. She was just hoping it was going to be asked after Scott woke up; though she knew there was no way to avoid it now it was out there.
"He was a ranch hand out on the ranch my friend Jackie's family runs. I met him when I came out to visit her shortly before her wedding to the town's deputy."
"Scott was a ranch hand?" Nick asked in disbelief.
Juliet chuckled as she replied, "He was and still is. According to Jackie; when he first started out he wasn't a very good hand, but he soon got the knack of it fairly quickly. He didn't talk about his past at all at first; the only thing we got out of him was that he wasn't too pleased with who he had been."
"When did you two marry?" Audra asked.
"It was a little after a year of knowing each other. We run a small horse ranch outside Churchville. Catalan was born not long after we were married."
Victoria perceiving the young women's growing discomfort, spoke up saying it was a time to eat not time to ask questions. She saw the relief on Juliet's face and she got the feeling that Juliet didn't like to be at the center of things.
While they were eating supper, Scott opened his eyes and looked around. He knew right off the bat he was in the Barkley's house and felt uneasy here; after all the trouble he had caused so many years ago. He was hoping and praying that the voices he heard meant that Juliet, Catalan and his son that he'd never met were truly there. He closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.
/
Hank, Slick, Rick, and Mo were caught out in a storm that had just come out of the middle of nowhere. None of them were too happy about it and began looking for a place to take shelter. Rick spotted a cave and pointed it out to them. It didn't take long before they were out of the storm.
After they had taken care of the horse's and bedded down for the night, Rick lay awake. He could hear his momma's words ringing in his head 'Don't do anything that would cause you any shame and pain'. Now there was only one thing to do.
One way or the other Rick was going to leave this group behind and go join up with Tim in Wyoming. Tim had told him he was going to go and work on his brother's ranch and had urges Rick to join him. Now was definitely the time to take his friend up on the offer. With that settled in his mind Rick finally fell to sleep.