Never Alone Chapter Eight Maybe

From where Kathleen stood she could see into the living room and hear Heath talking; she'd dozed and gotten some rest, but the child in her arms explained the reason she was up once again. She couldn't help but smile as she listened to Heath talk. Over the years, her brother in law had actually gotten louder. Of course, he'd never be as loud as her Nick. As he talked, her mind wandered not to what had been happening in Lodi, but to what she had been doing during that time.

"Your daughter needs a name; you should consider giving her one." Maria sat on a chair next to Kathleen's bed, pushing her gently to think about the child that their mutual friend, one Carrie Jones, was taking care of down stairs. The birth had been extremely hard on Kathleen and, after four days, she had finally gotten to the point where the family was no longer afraid Nick might come home to find himself a widower and his daughter motherless.

Kathleen said nothing at first. Her future sister-in-law wasn't telling her anything she didn't know. Truth was she still very angry that Nick had not been home for the birth or for her. That anger was getting in the way of being able to come up with a name for the child. "I know that and I'll give her one…just not now." She couldn't help but smile just a little as Maria got an exasperated look upon her face.

Maria made another attempt to get the woman who was fast becoming her best friend to rethink that decision. "The child deserves a name, and the rest of us would like to be able to say something beside 'the child' or 'Nick and Kathleen's daughter' to our extended families and friends."

It didn't do any good as Kathleen only readjusted her pillow and pulled the blankest up to her neck. "And I told you, she'll get a name, eventually." Kathleen knew she was being more bullheaded than necessary, but she just didn't care at the moment.

"Kathleen Barkley!" Maria stood up and barked rather loud herself, "You are just as stubborn and thick headed as that husband of yours!" The young woman then turned around and stormed out of the bedroom, leaving the young wife and mother to close her eyes and turn one thing after another around in her mind. For whatever reason there was, she began thinking about the night her daughter had been conceived.

After dressing, Nick sat on a chair and pulled Kathleen onto his lap. He held her and kissed her once more. "I'd say we've cre…a…ted a bit of a sit..ua…tion, ha..v…en't we? I'm not gonna be able to keep my hands off you now. What would your gr…and…fa..th…er say and do now? Be..si…des shoot me." He was chuckling as he spoke; the idea of loving the woman in his arms yet again was definitely an option in his book. Though, perhaps somewhere a little more secluded this time. Kathleen simply slipped her arm underneath his arm and snuggled in closer. She wasn't worried about her grandfather shooting Nick; he was too far away to do such a thing. No, this man, her cowboy, was her only concern at the moment. "I'd worry more 'bout your family than mine," she said that as she heard footsteps out in the hall.

Nick stiffened as the door opened and he saw Jarrod standing in the doorway. Not knowing what he'd come close to catching them at, Jarrod simply smiled at the sight that met his eyes and asked the two if they realized it was one thirty in the morning and didn't they think they were tempting fate a bit by being up and alone at that time of the night.

"I wouldn't worry 'bout us, Jarrod," Nick answered as he smiled at Kathleen, "I'll not spoil her reputation."

Kathleen felt the tears she'd been fighting start to slip out from under her closed eyelids; soon they were streaming down her face. The moment Jarrod had left Nick had insisted on taking her into town and waking the reverend. The man might not have gone along with it, but Nick had bluntly told him that he, Nick, had no plans to sleeping alone that night.

Kathleen was quickly drawn back from her warm memories, when she heard the door open. She opened her eyes to see Carrie holding her infant daughter and Audra standing by her side. "I brought your daughter to see you. Doc says you might still be able to feed her yourself." Her friend waited until Audra helped Kathleen sit all the way up before she walked over and laid the child into her mother's waiting arms and then left saying she'd be back in a few minutes. Audra, at Kathleen's request, sat down in a nearby chair.

Within minutes, the child had latched onto her mother and pleasantly surprised both women by actually getting the milk the doctor said might or might not be available. Kathleen's had not been able to nurse her baby immediately after birth, but finally the success at feeding her own child helped chase some of her anger towards Nick away, just not enough to give the child a name quite yet.

Now, almost twenty years later, her seventh child's cries brought Kathleen out of her thoughts, and she turned around to take him back to the room to feed him and put him to bed.

As she turned around, a small smile appeared upon Kathleen's face as she heard Heath say to her eldest child, "Yes, your father has always struggled with his patience. He didn't want your Uncle Jarrod searching any part of the Barnes ranch without one of his brothers with him. Needless to say, he was kicking up some serious dust to get to Jarrod and his niece and the men with him that night."

Kathleen might have stayed and listened, but she already knew the story. If her eldest wanted to listen to it again, let her.

Back to Flashback

Heath leaned against the empty fireplace in the McKinley home staring at nothing in particular. He was nervous and uneasy. Jarrod, the ones with him and now Nick and Jules, were taking a huge risk. Though, he was trying to decide if he didn't like it because it was too risky or because he couldn't be with them. Heath was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't hear the Widow McKinley walk into the room until she was looking into the fireplace with him.

"Many nights my husband and I stood here, watchin' the fire and thinkin'. He worked his whole life to build this here ranch." The Widow spoke with a faraway look in her eye. Heath understood "that" look, a look that said a person was in the past. For that reason, he said nothing. He knew the woman in his care would continue on soon enough. He had to wait a good five minutes, only he was right; she did.

"Many men have tried in the past to get us ta sell and move, one or two have even tried ta do us physical harm. I'm just sorry this time that type of man not only succeeded in killin' my Jacob, but made it so you and your brothers have been pulled into this trouble. I hope ya know that." The good woman put her hand on Heath's arm.

Heath gave her a lopsided grin. She didn't have to tell him that. He'd seen way too much in his life not to know what she was talking about. The last thing he wanted her to do was feel guilty over the fact that he and Nick had insisted on staying and helping her. "Don't worry 'bout it. No one's blamin' ya." He stepped away from the fireplace and into the kitchen. He needed something to drink.

The Widow McKinley, still feeling guilty from keeping him from his brothers, spoke again, "If ya want to go join your brothers, I won't be holdin' you to your promise. There's plenty of men hidin' around this ranch as it is. No cause for ya to stay."

As tempting as that was, Heath knew he couldn't go breaking his promise. The Widow McKinley was the same caliber of women as his mother, Rachel, Hannah and Mrs. Barkley. All he could do was pray that after everything was said and done Mr. Anderson and his henchmen's reign of terror would be ended. "Thanks, but I'll be stickin' around."

The good widow couldn't help but smile. True, she had been willing to release him from his promise; after all, she knew how much he worried about both his brothers. Still, truth be told, she hadn't really wanted him to go. However, the other men on her land were hidden outside the house. She felt safe with the young Mr. Barkley. With her husband gone, she didn't like the idea of one of Anderson's men breaking into the house while she was inside alone.

While Heath talked with the Widow McKinley, Nick and Julies rode their horses hard. The two men felt too much time had passed as it was. The fact that a cold breeze had started to blow and the stars were starting to disappear told Nick that a storm was on its way. He just hoped it would hold off until they'd reached Jarrod and the ones with him. When they saw a man lying on the road, face down, Nick and Julies pulled back off their reins and jumped off their horse's.'

"He's dead, shot in the back." Nick said as he knelt down beside the slightly heavy, red-headed man. "Do you know who he is?" he looked up at Julies who was still standing.

"Only from a distance, he was talking to the sheriff this morning. They called him Red. It was rumored he might be working both sides of this mess. If that's the case, Anderson probably found out and had him killed." Julies answered. Knowing they had no time to bury the man, Nick threw the corpse onto the back of his horse and secured him into place. He would have to deal with taking him into town first chance he got. Nick then remounted his horse, as Julies mounted his. Once again, the two pushed their horses as fast as they could.

The closer they got to the Barnes' ranch, the more uneasy Nick became. Something was not right; something smelled bad. Horror reached up and gripped both his and Julies' hearts as they rounded the corner; the smell of smoke assailed their nostrils: Fire!

His first thought being for his older brother, Nick screamed, "JARROD!" He and Julies pushed their horses even faster. Even though they had but, maybe, four hundred yards to travel, it felt like a thousand miles. When they drew closer, Nick's heart sunk. The guest home, the one that had not been burnt down the first time the ranch had been hit, was engulfed in flames and the fire was rising!

"JARROD!" Nick screamed again and flew off his horse. He ran towards the blaze only to see two figures stumbling out of the house…the two deputies that had accompanied Jarrod and Whispering Pines to the Barnes Ranch! Both men fell to their knees coughing over and over.

"WHERE'S JARROD!" Nick bellowed as Julies knelt by the men trying see what harm had come to them, besides the smoke they'd inhaled.

Scott coughed and then, with Julies help stood up. He shook his head, "After we planted the fake evidence, Jarrod sent us into the barn to look for real evidence while he and the girl went inside to look. Someone hit us from behind. After we came too and left the barn, the house was on fire. We went inside, but as you can see, we didn't have much luck."

Hugh spoke up, fear in his eyes. "Just before we came out, I thought I saw a couple of people, but I guess it was just the two of you."

Instantly, Nick turned and ran into the burning building. With the smoke and flames all around him it was hard to see, but he managed his way through the front room just in time to see Jarrod stumbling out of the bedroom. Just as a beam went to fall on him, Nick grabbed him and pulled him out of the way. He then hurried to help Jarrod out of the building. In a matter of seconds, Nick had Jarrod away from the house and sitting on a nearby log. Thinking on Whispering Pines, Nick turned around to go back in only to have Jarrod reach up and grab his arm. Before Jarrod could say a word, the burning structure collapsed.