Chapter Twenty Three

Jeremiah-the gentleman who Nick and Heath were almost positive was their brother- had been transported to the medical office as fast as possible. Now, Jeremiah lay in a bed that the doctor used for his most critical patients. Nick, who had refused to leave Jeremiah's side, turned his head when he heard the door open. He wasn't surprised to see Heath enter the room. His blonde haired brother had hurried over to the telegraph office after the doctor had removed the bullet that had hit Jeremiah in his right side.

"You were gone long enough." Nick snapped unintentionally, and then quickly apologized. "I didn't think you'd be gone that long."

"I wouldn't have been, but I talked to Macklin after I sent the wire." Heath walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down on the only other chair in the room.

"And?" Nick, who had thought Macklin had left with the rest of the agents when they'd hauled off Sanders' and Alderson's corpses, did his best not to snap this time.

Heath shook his head. "It seems Jeremiah told him before we came here he was quitting this business, told Macklin he had enough other investments and wanted to start using his law degree more. He told Macklin he was tired of keeping track of names that weren't his. The man seemed to think you and I could, and would, talk Jeremiah out of doing such a thing."

"Why?" Nick asked in disbelief. "Even if I was inclined to do such a thing-which I'm not-what makes Macklin think we could talk someone we only met a month ago out of changing careers?"

Heath shrugged his shoulders. "That's what I asked him; he couldn't answer me." Heath then told Nick he'd been surprised to receive a reply to his telegram already. "Mother must have been in the telegraph office-or close to it. She, La'akea and Audra-she got home early-will catch the first available stagecoach and be here as soon as they can."

Nick started to reply only to have Jeremiah-who had started running a fever, another reason Nick had refused to leave the gentleman's side, started muttering. "No, don't hate Father-good man, desperate man, forgive him…. No solid proof, circumstantial evidence... Barkleys will want solid proof…always wanted brothers." Jeremiah turned his head back and forth as he continued muttering about how truly good men sometimes act out of sheer desperation and how he doubted the Barkleys would believe his name had originally been Jarrod Thomas Barkley-especially since he had no intention of changing his name-as he'd used too many identities due to his undercover work.

Heath, who had stood up and retrieved the washcloth that set next to a bowl of water-both items sat on a small brown nightstand that stood against the same wall as the bed's headboard-soaked the cloth and put it on Jeremiah's forehead. As he did so, he looked at Nick. He wasn't surprised by the ray of emotions in the hot tempered rancher's face. He figured Nick was feeling the same amount of shock that he, himself, felt upon hearing Jeremiah's unintended confession.

"He knew all along." Nick said in uncharacteristically low tone of voice. His eyes moving from Jeremiah up to Heath. The tone of his voice then changed to one of frustration. "While I think it would be nice if he took either the name of Jarrod or Barkley back, I wouldn't fight him over it." When Heath raised an eyebrow, Nick couldn't help but let out a very small chuckle and admitted that he would have in the past. "But not now," Nick shook his head. "I wouldn't press the issue now, but why is he rambling on about the desperate acts of desperate men and asking us to forgive his 'father'?" Nick held up his hands and flicked his fingers as he said the word 'father'.

Heath, who was just as confused, shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He looked away from Nick and watched as Jeremiah stopped talking and slipped back total unconsciousness. He inwardly sighed as, not knowing the actual circumstances that had surrounded the disappearance of Tom's and Victoria's oldest son, he dared not speculate on what had really happened so many years ago. "Let's just hope he's willing to discuss everything when his fever breaks, and he regains consciousness."

'If he pulls through,' was a thought Heath wasn't about to voice out loud. Why should he when he could already see a similar thought appear in his hot tempered brother's eyes.

While Nick and Heath were keeping a constant virgil by their brother's side, Victoria, Audra and La'akea were doing their best to be patient with the stagecoach driver-as the man was driving the horses as fast as he could without endangering the horses or his passengers. He might not have been driving as fast as he was, only both Victoria and La'akea had promised him a large tip if he could get them to Townsville as fast as possible. Since he had no other passengers to deal with, he accepted their offer-after insisting they needed to lower it a bit as he wasn't out to 'take them for all they were worth'. It didn't matter if they didn't see it that way. "I have my conscience to live with and I like sleeping at nights" had been his exact words.

Birds could be seeing flying through the air and more than one animal darted out from in front of the stagecoach racing down the road. However, they were of very little concern to Victoria, Audra and La'akea.

"He'll be fine." Audra, who had been ecstatic to learn her oldest brother was actually with Nick and Heath, did her best to assure La'akea. Her sister-in-law's eyes were continuing to look from the book in her hands to the window off to her right.

"I'm not worried if he'll survive or not, he will. I feel it." La'akea sighed and shut the book. "I'm just concerned how he'll feel once he finds out I told your mother most of 'his story'."

Victoria, who was sitting next to her daughter-in-law, patted La'akea's hand and smiled. "You're a good woman. If he's angry at all, he'd be crazy not to forgive you. Also, right or wrong, I'll tell him as much if he reacts negatively."

La'akea chuckled-even as she held onto her seat, as the coach had hit a bump hard enough to get the driver hollering down an apology. After assuring the driver they were fine, La'akea returned her mother-in-law's smile. She didn't doubt for a minute, Victoria Barkley would speak her mind.