Chapter 3

Eugene's reaction when Heath told him what he wanted to do, while they were having drinks before dinner, was immediate. "You've got to be kidding!"

Audra wasn't any more encouraging. "They left. We've been fine without them."

Heath stood by the fireplace, trying to decide what more to say and how to say it. "I know I'm this stranger who came in here and shook everything up, and now I want to shake everything up even more. I'm not suggesting that I bring either of them home to stay or get them more involved in the family – "

"Good!" Eugene said, walking up to Heath. "Because we don't want them!"

Eugene kept on walking. Heath knew his siblings would have less than enthusiastic reactions to what he wanted to do, and he probably should have realized they'd be downright hostile. But he didn't expect Victoria to have made up her mind so fast, and he was surprised when she said, "I think it might be a good idea if Heath tried to find Nick."

Eugene stopped. Both her children looked appalled. "Mother, why in the world would you want either of them back after what they did?" Audra asked. "Nick beat up every man in sight whenever he got the chance, and Jarrod – " Audra couldn't even find the words.

Victoria spoke carefully. "We're not talking about Jarrod yet. No one knows where he is, if he's even still alive. But Nick is, and we know where he was a few months ago. If Sheriff Madden can locate him now, I think Heath ought to go meet him at least. I'd like to know how he is, and if he knows about Jarrod, I'd like to know how he is, too." When her children still looked upset, she shrugged. "They're my children, too. I know how bad it was when they came back after the war – I know the way they were then was all you really know of them."

"I remembered Nick from before the war," Audra said, and it was clear from the tone of her voice that she loved and missed that Nick.

Victoria said, "Of course, I remember them both. The boys who left were not the men who came back. Oh, Nick could be a little rough and tumble, but he loved the both of you and he made you laugh all the time. I know neither of you remember Jarrod, but he was gentle and thoughtful and very – "

"He hit us, Mother," Eugene said. "More than once, for no reason, he hit us."

"I know," Victoria said quietly. "And that's why we had him leave. I wasn't going to tolerate that kind of behavior, no matter where it was coming from, and I wouldn't tolerate it now. But no one seems to know what happened to him. I'd like to know, if it's possible. Nick might know. And Heath needs to at least meet his brothers if he can. It's only right."

"You have your mind made up," Audra said. "You think Heath should try to find them."

Victoria nodded. "But not necessarily bring them back. Heath, if they are still the troubled men who left here, I don't want them back here."

Heath nodded. "I understand, and I agree with you. But if I could tell them you at least want to know how they are? Maybe get them to get in touch? Ten years is a long time. Men change."

"It doesn't sound like Nick has," Audra said.

But Victoria nodded again. "I understand, but I think if Heath can locate Nick or even Jarrod, he should at least meet them and find out how they are."

Audra and Eugene looked at each other, still unhappy. But they each nodded, slowly.

But Eugene said, "They don't live here, ever again, and that's final."

Victoria nodded.

XXXXXXX

Eugene was still sullen the next day, hardly looking at Heath much less speaking to him. As they helped tend the herd, they had little interaction. That stung Heath a bit, but he understood. Things had gone swimmingly since he arrived, but he knew there would be bumps in the road even before he brought Jarrod and Nick up. It wasn't surprising Eugene was shunning him.

Even McCall could see what was happening, though he didn't know why. "Don't fret over it, son," he told Heath. "Kids get moody sometimes."

"It's all right, Mac," Heath said. "I know what's wrong. We'll work it out sooner or later."

But then Eugene's horse stumbled, and Eugene went down. Heath was closest to him and jumped down to help him up. "Are you all right?"

Eugene got up, brushing himself off. "Yeah. How about my horse?"

Heath took the horse by the reins and moved him around a bit. "Seems okay." Heath held onto the reins while Eugene remounted, then let go while Eugene moved the horse around a bit. "Yeah, he looks all right," Heath said.

Eugene looked down at his new brother, then away, almost embarrassed, saying, "Thanks."

Heath just nodded, expecting Eugene to just ride away, but Gene stayed right there. Heath remounted but didn't ride away because Eugene wasn't moving. He got the feeling the boy wanted to talk. "Something else?" Heath asked.

Eugene looked up. "You're determined to go after Jarrod and Nick, aren't you?"

"If I can find them," Heath said. "Mother wants me to. They're her sons."

Eugene's eyes took on an ugly blackness. "You better understand something. I was seven years old when Jarrod came back. I didn't remember him at all. He'd been gone too long. Mother and Father were so excited to see him, but he wasn't anything like I thought he'd be. If I looked at him cross-eyed, he slap me around, and one day I laughed at him when he tripped over his own feet out in the stable yard. He picked me up by the shirt and threw me into the watering trough. I was seven years old. I hit my head on the trough and I was scared and I cried. He picked me up by the shirt again, pulled me out of the trough and threw me down hard on the ground. He yelled something like 'buck up' or 'grow up,' and that's when Father came along and they started yelling at each other and fighting. They told him to leave that night, and in the morning he was gone. I haven't seen him since, and I don't want to."

Heath didn't know what to say. It took him a few moments before he reached over and put his hand on Eugene's shoulder, but Eugene shrugged it off, fast. Heath pulled his hand away. He understood that to Eugene here was another stranger who was a brother. Heath wasn't surprised if remembering Jarrod was making Eugene equate his new brother with his old one.

But Eugene immediately said, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to take Jarrod out on you."

"I don't mean to take him out on you, either," Heath said. "I just need to understand what happened. I'm looking for myself, Gene. Somehow I'm as much a stranger to me as I am to you. I gotta know as much as I can about this family I'm suddenly part of."

Gene nodded. "I can understand that. And if you want to go looking for Nick, I won't stop you. Just – don't hurt Mother, all right?"

"Mother knows she can't expect any kind of joyful reunion to come out of this," Heath said. "She just wants to know what happened to her sons."

Gene nodded again. "Just be gentle about it, okay? From what I already know about you, being gentle shouldn't be too hard for you."

Heath smiled a lop-sided smile. "I wouldn't hurt Mother for the world, Gene. I'll be really careful about this whole thing."

Gene smiled a little, saying, "I'm glad you're calling her that now." Then he kicked his horse into a gallop and headed for the other side of the herd.

XXXXXXX

Late in the afternoon, Heath rode into town to see if the sheriff had come up with anything about Nick's whereabouts. He got the distinct impression, from the look on Sheriff Madden's face, that he had unearthed something, something not good.

"Heath," he said.

"Sheriff," Heath said. "I came to see if you found out anything about Nick."

The sheriff sighed. "I did. He doesn't seem to have changed his ways any. He's in jail in Placerville."

Heath wasn't surprised to hear that. "Do you know the charge?"

"Assault. Simple assault. He got 30 days, and that was twenty-some days ago. If you're gonna go talk to him, you'd better go fast before he gets released and hits the road again."