Chapter Seven

Steve brushed off some dust from his pants as he led his horse through the side gate. He'd helped McColl move some of the Barkley's cattle. Unfortunately, his horse had thrown a shoe shortly afterwards. McColl had told him to go take care of the problem before he did anything else. As the gate shut behind him, Steve saw Heath walking towards him.

"What happened?" Heath asked as he looked at Steve's horse.

Explaining what happened, Steve told him what McColl had said.

"McColl's right, take care of it." Heath answered, "Everything you need is in the barn." Heath, who liked how hard of a worker Steve was proving to be, answered. He started to walk away and then turned back. "Oh, Barret and I need your help mending some fences tomorrow afternoon; I'll be expecting you at the bunkhouse by one in the afternoon. He wanted you to start tomorrow morning, but I figured you needed some time to put in on the house."

Steve smiled. He couldn't deny he could use all the time he could get on that one. It had been a week since he and his wife had moved in and, while he had fixed the steps, the roof and the floor, there was still plenty of work to be done…even if Lily was downright insisting to help where she could too. "Thanks, I'll be there." He headed for the barn.

~oOo~

As Heath approached the house he was surprised to see Jarrod, who was supposed to be in court, standing near the corner of the house. He could tell his older brother was watching Steve head for the barn. "Something wrong?" Heath asked as he stopped next to Jarrod.

Jarrod turned his head and glanced at the house, and then back at Heath. "I hope we haven't made a mistake, having the Brightons fix up the old home and move in."

Up to that moment, Heath had never really thought there was something more than sentimental value when it came to letting the Barkley's first home stand. Now, with the look in Jarrod's eyes when he glanced at the house, Heath wondered if he was wrong. "And why would it be a mistake?" Heath asked, and the added with a bit of unusual force in his voice, "Just what haven't I been told?"

"Leave me alone!" Nine-year-old Jarrod snapped as Nick and Tommy began running circles around him. Jarrod was reading and didn't like the fact that the two younger children were making so much noise he was sure the people in China wanted to tell them to lower their voices.

"Jarrod?" Heath asked again as he was shocked to see pain enter Jarrod's eyes.

"Remember, after you joined the family, I told you I once had another brother?" Jarrod sighed as he turned and made his way to a chair that sat on the front porch. Heath followed and then leaned his back against one of the pillars that stood in front of the house.

"I remember, but you said not to ask about him. That it upset your mother." Heath replied.

"His name was Nicolas Jonathon Barkley. He was four years younger than me. I'm sure in time we would have been the best of friends, but at nine years old? I thought a five-year-old was more a pest than anything." He continued on telling Heath all about Nick, along with all he knew about Nick's best friend, Tommy Alders.

Jarrod stopped talking, getting a faraway look in his eyes. Heath felt bad for him, figuring he was reliving old memories. After a few minutes of silence, Heath asked quietly, "What happened?"

"I…I got angry at them because they were playing near me while I was reading, told them to go away and find another place to play." Jarrod bent his head and covered his face with his hands. "In fact I yelled at them and said things I never should have. They left; we never saw them again." he said as he lowered his hands and turned to look at Heath. His blonde haired brother felt his heart go out to his brother when Jarrod's eyes filled with a haunting expression of self-incrimination.

"You were only nine-years-old Jarrod." Heath reached out and laid his hand upon Jarrod's shoulder. He then asked, "Is that why your father moved you into this house?"

Jarrod straightened up and shook his head. "No, but he would have if he could have. It was in the process of being built, but wasn't quite livable. However, as soon as he and mother could, we did. After a few years, after he'd accepted the fact that the mountains had claimed Nick and Tommy, Father wanted to tear the old house down. Mother wouldn't hear of it. Kept hoping for a miracle, kept hoping Nick and Tommy would come back; she said she wanted it standing for them if they did." Jarrod finished speaking and stood up. "I was going to town. I don't even know what made me stop and watch you and Steve talk, except to say I found myself thinking about Nick and Tommy. "

Heath gave his brother a sympathetic smile. One didn't need to be a scientist to figure that one out. "I don't think Nick or his friend Tommy would be upset if they knew you let someone else live there. Probably be happy to know it's being fixed up and lived in,"

Jarrod gave Heath a small smile and nodded. "I suppose so. The two were both loud and a handful for mother and Mrs. Alders, but from what little I remember," he paused and then said, "they had hearts of gold." He then stepped off the porch and headed towards his buggy; Ciego had hitched the horses to it and had it ready for him.

Heath watched Jarrod walk away and then disappeared inside the house; he was hungry and needed to get a bite to eat before he had to go back to work.