Chapter Eight

A/N In "Court Martial" they never gave Macklin a first name (I looked up the credits on you tube and other areas on the internet) and all it ever said was Macklin. That being the case, when Nick talks about him I've taken writer's liberty and given the character a first name.

~oOo~

The light from the dancing flames of the campfire gave warmth to Nick, Heath and the men that sat around, or near, the fire pit. The cattle had all been moved, and the men were happy to be heading home. Though, many of them were talking about taking a detour into Stockton in order to stop at the saloon; after a two-week drive, drinks and women sure looked good to them.

"Too bad you'll miss out on the fun." One of the men-a red headed long time employee, Bryan Staples, near Nick laughed and teased his boss. "That woman of yours will be expecting you home." Some of the men laughed, some of them waited to see if Nick would laugh first.

When it came to Nick, he simply smiled. "I wouldn't worry about me." Nick chuckled and threw Bryan a smile. "You'll have enough to worry about when you go into the saloon and try to get one of the waitresses to notice your ugly mug." That got a laugh from all the men, including Bryan.

Heath started to join in the conversation only to sit straight up. He could see a rider coming towards the camp; and the man was riding pretty hard. Noticing Heath's posture change and following his gaze, Nick quit laughing and turned to see what his brother was looking at. When he did that, Nick was on his feet faster than lightening. It was Ciego.

"You men stay here; I'll go see what's up." Nick said as he started walking briskly towards the rider. Everyone but Heath stayed where they were at; Heath was soon by Nick's side.

"You don't listen very well." Nick teased through a wide grin.

"As good as you do," Heath shot back which, of course, got a laugh out of Nick. Minutes later Ciego had stopped his horse in front of Nick and Heath.

"What's up? Why are you riding like your tail's on fire?" Nick asked, concerned something was wrong with the family back at home.

"I'm not sure, Senor Barkley, but your wife sent me."

Nick's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. He braced himself and asked, "What is wrong? Did something happen at the house?"

"Not that I know of Senor, but she insisted that I come and tell you that the wolf will be in town tomorrow." Naturally, not understanding the message, Ciego added, "It makes no sense to me."

"The wolf?" Heath turned his face towards his brother. "What is she talking about? What is going on?"

It was all Nick could do not to start yelling. "Idiot wasn't supposed to be out west for another few months, and then it was supposed to be in Sacramento, not here." After a few intense moments of silence, Nick told Ciego to go home. "But don't repeat what you told me. Please,"

"Senora Hannah, she ask the same thing. I trust you, Senor Barkley. I will say nothing." Ciego turned his horse and rode away, though at slower pace than before.

One Ciego was gone, Nick turned to Heath, who had a puzzled look in his eyes, and let out a long drawn out sigh. If Macklin was making an appearance in town, Nick knew he and Hannah needed to open up to his family. "We need to talk, but not near the men." Nick headed for one of the few trees in the area; Heath followed. Soon Nick was sitting at the base of the tree with his eyes closed while Heath sat a couple of feet away, waiting patiently for his brother to start speaking.

When Nick talked, Heath felt lightning shoot through him. "The wolf is a name Hannah and her late cousin call *Tyler Macklin."

` Heath's eyes widened and he felt an undeniable anger rise up in him. "Did he pull you into something like he did Jarrod and insist you keep the family in the dark again? Doesn't he ever stop and think about people's feelings? For that matter," Heath glared at Nick, "after what happened last time, why didn't you think about our feelings?"

"Macklin didn't ask me to get into anything." Nick fought to hold his own frustration and anger in, not easy with his nature being what it was. "But, his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to Hannah's sister is what led up to it. Look, I know it would have been nice if I had come home, sat down and told everyone everything from the start…especially after the way I acted after what we all went through when Macklin pulled Jarrod into that elaborate trick of his." Nick lifted his hands up and rubbed his eyes before continuing. "I just didn't know how to do that. Not only has Hannah had to deal with more grief that should have ever existed, there's more stress ahead of her. Even if that wasn't the case, I promised a dying man I'd say nothing-not even my own family- and do all I could to protect Hannah and Chad… at all cost. That is, unless circumstances flat out demanded it."

Heath's eyebrows turned downward and asked, "What stress? Protect them from whom?"

Nick nodded. "It's a long story Heath. However, you might as well be told up front our third cousin, Jeremiah Barkley, was Chad's father. And, no, none of the family ever met him but me, and that was only twice. He lived in Tennessee before moving to Wyoming. I met him during the war; once at Shiloh and once in a small skirmish when our units fought side by side."

Heath stared. "He's hasn't been dead all that long from what I hear. Isn't it kind of soon for his widow to remarry, and why give Jarrod the paper you did if Chad's last name is already Barkley."

"Hannah wasn't Jeremiah's wife. He and the woman he was with never married and never agreed to be married. That woman was Hannah's sister. That made him illegitimate and robbed of the Barkley name. " Nick took a deep breath and then said, "She, her cousin, her sister and Jeremiah were all supposed to testify against Charles Crown in a few months in Sacramento. Hannah's still planning on doing that. However, as far as Macklin and anyone else involved are concerned she's disappeared, and no one knows where she, or her nephew, are."

"If Macklin's going to be in town tomorrow, he's going to be talking to Jarrod. You know he is. He'll find out she's on the ranch or see in her town." Then, almost in an afterthought, Heath, who felt his heart go out even more to Chad, asked, "Is Hannah really your wife?"

Nick took a deep breath and then said, "Yes, she's Mrs. Nicolas Barkley. Chad deserves the Barkley name; it would have been his if Jeremiah and Hannah's sister had a bit more sense. "He wasn't surprised when his brother, who had heard what Nick wasn't saying, shook his head and said nothing. Nick continued, "With Macklin coming, we'll need to tell you everything. I won't have any of you left in the dark if he's going to be around, not even for a minute. Would you go to town with the men, cover the cost of their drinks? I'll head straight home and talk to Hannah. Once you get home," he said as he rubbed the sides of his head, "we'll tell the whole ugly story." The fact that he was beginning to hope there would be more to his marriage in the future Nick saw no reason to discuss.

Heath didn't know what the family was going to hear, but he could see how stressed his brother was. Standing up, he put his hand on Nick's shoulder and said, "I told you once I'd be here for you. I still mean it; no matter what the story is. I'll go talk to the men; you go home."

Nick didn't have to be told a second time.