Chapter Twenty Six and Epilogue

Nick had been out mending fences all morning. He continued on toward the corrals instead of going back into the house for one reason; his wife had been awfully moody that morning...compliments of the results of the time they'd spent at the lodge. She could no longer hide the fact that she was carrying Nick's child; however, he couldn't help but grin wide he when thought about that. His smiled faded just a little as he caught sight of Gene. Nick's baby brother was sitting in a wheelchair next to the corrals. That was a sight that would forever bring an ache to his heart, no matter what anyone said. Nick had been quite busy since they'd arrived home, and he hadn't had much chance to really talk with Gene. That was something he intended to change before he did anything else.

Gene heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He took a hold of the wheels on his wheelchair and turned it sideways. He smiled wide as Nick walked up and leaned against the fence. However, he could see the small amount of hurt showing in his brother's eyes and so he chastised him. "Get that look out of your eyes. As I told Jarrod while I was in the hospital," he tapped his chair and said, "Life happens; we all take chances. I took mine and I'm not sorry one tiny bit."

"I know that." Nick gave Gene a small smile though he thought to himself. "It's just hard to see you confined to that thing after you did such an amazing job in Wyoming. It's going to take time to get used to it." Then, due to hearing Gene, Jarrod and their mother discuss Gene's schooling, he asked, "I agree with the others. You should go back to school once the semester starts. You can still be a doctor; maybe not a surgeon, but you could practice general medicine." He didn't want to see his baby brother let go of his dream to be a doctor. After all, being in a wheelchair didn't have to stop that one completely.

Gene couldn't help but beam. Jarrod and Heath had both complimented him on the work he had done while tailing Macklin, but Nick had never said a word. It had left him to wondering if, somehow, Nick was disappointed in him. It made him feel as if he was floating on a huge white cloud to now hear Nick's praise. Keeping his eyes on his hot tempered brother, Gene said, "I'll tell you the same thing I told the rest of the family. If you think I'm going to let men like Macklin and Roberts stop me from living my life the way I want to, you have another thing coming. I already contacted Berkley before any of you talked to me. I go back to school next week."

Now Nick really was smiling as he clamped his hand down upon Gene's shoulder. "We should have known better than to worry about you!"

"Yeah, you should have." Gene smiled back as he turned his chair towards the house. As he did so, he asked, "I take it Hannah will have to keep her hair dyed and wear those glasses the rest of her life?" Now it was he who felt bad. He would hate to have to change his appearance in hopes of keeping himself alive.

Nick sighed and nodded his head as the two headed back towards the house. "She and I have talked about it and, yes, we both think it's for the best. Though, let's not worry about that now. It's like everyone else has said; in the long run, we're all winners." He then joked that the family best get used to Laurels, as Hannah had already hung some in the nursery, and still had plenty left over.

Gene started laughing. "Watch her string them throughout the whole house."

"Oh, I doubt she'd do that." Nick said as he reached out and opened the front door, stepping aside to let his baby brother wheel himself in. The moment Gene was inside the foyer he busted up laughing.

"What's so…" Nick started to asked as he too stepped inside the house. His eyes widened and he let out a groan. Various Laurels were hung in the living room and, from the looks of it, the hallway had some hanging on its walls. Nick looked at Gene, let out a low groan and then started laughing with Gene.

"I have a feeling the next six months are going to be very interesting, if that's the word I want to use." Gene said as he looked at Nick…it only served to make the two brothers laugh even harder than ever.

Epilogue

Hannah held five-year-old Chad's right hand while Nick carried their two-year-old daughter, Clarissa, in his arms as they made their way down one of Berkley's many corridors. Jarrod and Eva, who had married shortly after the brothers' return from Wyoming, and their twin girls who were two years-old were already in the auditorium. Heath and his wife of one year, an auburn haired woman by the name of Janice, along with Victoria, were also with them. The only one missing was Audra, and she had no choice but to be absent…she'd married Will Marvin two years before and had just given birth to a baby girl by the name of Mary. Unfortunately, the first time mother had had a difficult birth, and the doctor had confined her to her bed for a few weeks. Soon Nick and his family were making their way into the auditorium and down the long steps that led to the seats the rest of the Barkleys had saved for them.

"We were beginning to think you weren't going to make it." Heath teased Nick as his brother's family found their seats and sat down.

"We wouldn't miss this for a million dollars." Nick grinned as the curtains of the stage opened and Gene, along with his fellow medical students, appeared. However, when Gene took a hold of two dark brown canes with handles plaited in gold (graduation gifts from Jarrod) stood up and walked to accept his diploma Hannah, Nick and the rest of the family clapped louder than anyone in the room.