Twenty Four

Excerpt from Ch 23

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."

~oOo~

The sun pushed through the glass window and pried open Jeremiah's eyes. He let out a slight groan as he opened and closed his eyes a couple of times. His reaction made La'akea, who had arrived a mere hour before, lean forward; she was using the chair that Nick had used up until the time she walked into the room. Nick, who was standing near the window, quickly moved to the side of the bed. When it came to Heath, he- along with Victoria and Audra, was out in the waiting room. The family and La'akea had agreed that each of the family members would take turns being in the room with La'akea while she watched over her husband.

"'Bout time you woke up sleepyhead," La'akea smiled as Jeremiah's eyes opened for good.

At first Jeremiah was confused, seeing her by his side had him thinking he was back on the ranch. Only the confusion quickly left as he remembered being shot. He had to have been pretty bad off for his wife to be next to him now. "Yeah, guess it is," he smiled at his wife, and then looked at Nick. "How long have I been out? Alderson, Sanders…"

When Jeremiah quit speaking, but kept his eyes on Nick, the Stockton rancher shook his head. "Four days, and those two were dead before they hit the floor."

Four days? Jeremiah glanced at his wife. No wonder she was by him now. He then looked back. He could see something had the gentleman unsettled. "Guess you're going to say I was running a fever and talked. Just what did I say?" He asked the question, and then braced himself for the answer. However, Nick had no chance to reply as Victoria opened the door and stepped inside.

Jeremiah frowned slightly. La'akea coming to Townsville he could understand, but Victoria Barkley?

"We've been taking turns helping La'akea." Nick told him, and then excused himself…after assuring Jarrod that La'akea and Victoria could answer any questions he might have concerning anything said in his fevered state of mind. He would have done otherwise, but he'd already agreed to let his mother and sister-in-law be the first to discuss 'that' subject.

Jeremiah waited until Nick had shut the door before turning his attention to his wife and Victoria. The nervous look in his wife's eyes and the uneasy one in Victoria's jumped out and visibly shook him. He silently groaned just knowing-in general-what he must have been said. "You know everything?" He looked at Victoria.

Victoria, who had quickly decided it would be best to focus on what her son had muttered and not on what La'akea had told her-that confession could wait until another day, nodded. "I know; we all do. However," she quickly added as she walked over and stood beside La'akea, putting her hand on her daughter-in-law's shoulder, "like I've told your wife, the past is the past. I am working on forgiving Matthew Shaw for keeping you from us once he knew the truth. After all, the addition of La'akea to the family is a blessing." She sighed and then continued. "Both your fathers were, overall, very good men. Sadly, even good men make serious mistakes." She then asked him why he hadn't spoken up. "The confession and the journal weren't the only proof you had." Victoria looked at him in loving rebuke. "Without all that extra hair you bear a striking resemblance to many of your relatives on my side of the family. I'm actually surprised I didn't see though it anyway and see the truth before now."

"Not everyone would see it that way. That is, the part that-overall- Matthew was a very good man." Jeremiah sighed after a moment. "I've known many people who drag another man's name through the mud; that is, they seem to forget all the good about him and only focus on the bad. Eventually, they make him out to be nothing but bad."

"And you didn't want that for Matthew Shaw any more than I've wanted it for my late husband. She held herself erect as she talked about Tom and the fact he'd fathered Heath with another woman. "Both your fathers were very good men; they were also very human. Neither one belong on a pedestal, and no one should make them out to be cold-hearted and downright selfish either." She paused and then continued. "The doctor said that, once you woke up, it would probably be at least a week before you were fit enough to travel. We'd all like you to consider sticking around for a while. We want the opportunity to get to know you even more." She hesitated a split second before adding, "Afterwards, we'd like you to at least consider coming and visiting often. The house you've been using will always be there for you to use when you do."

Jeremiah didn't say anything at first. Then, slowly, he asked, "Are you expecting me to take the Barkley name back?"

Victoria kept the portion of her heart that felt like it was breaking all over again hidden as she shook her head. "What name you go by is your business, not mine. With that said and done, you're still my biological son and welcome in our home anytime you wish to be there." She went on to say how happy she was that he'd turned out to be such a fine man. "You still look awfully tired. I'll go tell the others you're fine and to give you some space and time to rest. Later, when you're up to it, the whole family would like to talk to you as well." She turned to leave only to have Jeremiah stop her.

"Thanks, thanks for understanding." Jeremiah smiled, as did Victoria, and then watched as the Barkley matriarch left the room. Once she was gone, he looked at his wife. Her eyes betrayed her feelings. "You think I should change my name back to Jarrod Thomas Barkley, don't you?"

La'akea bit her lower lip. "Not exactly,"

Jeremiah's eyebrows turned downward and confusion. "What do you mean, not exactly? You do want me to change my name; I can see that in your eyes. What else would I change to?"

"Would you seriously consider it if I told you?" La'akea laid her hand on his as she looked him in the eye.

"I'll listen." Jeremiah glanced towards the door, thought on his brothers whom he had a healthy dose of respect for, his biological mother and the two siblings he had yet to meet. "And then, I'll think about it. Now," he said as shifted his position-with his wife's help-"Start talking,"