His Name is Heath

McColl had driven out to where Jarrod sat watching over Heath. In no time they loaded up the injured man. Jarrod sat in the back of the wagon with Heath while McColl drove the wagon towards the Barkley home, pushing the horses as fast as he dared. Nick rode alongside the wagon. "Dr. Merar should be at the house by the time we get there." Nick told Jarrod. "Mother sent for him the moment I told her we'd found Thomson."

Jarrod looked from Nick to Heath and then back to Nick. Every man, no matter who he turned out to be, had the right to be shown the respect of being called by his first name. Jarrod would not deny Heath Thomson that respect, especially after what the blonde haired cowboy had done for him. "His name is Heath."

Nick let out a low growl, "What does it matter which name I call him? It's not like Thomson's not his name too."

"It's Heath." Jarrod turned his eyes back to Heath, but his voice grew firmer and took on his 'Pappy' tone. He wasn't surprised when Nick growled again, but said nothing.

"For the record, I think he's telling the truth"…Gene's words rang once more in Jarrod's ears. Jarrod sighed as the road continued to pass under the wheels of the wagon, and a long ago memory came back to him.

"Don't judge him, son." Tom and Jarrod stood outside the sheriff's office watching Lee Haskell, a neighbor of theirs, walking away from them and to his wife; a saint in Jarrod's eyes. Who but a saint would take a 'man like that back'? "No, not all men do what he's done, but some do. Some plan on doing it ahead of time and some are simply caught off guard and don't admit to themselves what's really happening until it's too late. However," he turned and looked Jarrod in the eyes, "a man with any level of integrity will admit his mistake and throw himself at the mercy of the woman he truly loves. Mrs. Haskell's willing to give him a second chance and, wouldn't you say, she's the only one who should decide if she should do that or not?"

Looking back on it now, Jarrod realized his father had had a look of true compassion in his eyes when he spoke. He then let the memory of the period in his life when his father had been absent for a few months and how things had been after Tom had returned. For the first time he wondered if his father had been speaking from experience when he talked about Mr. Haskell. Then again, he frowned slightly; he couldn't see his father turning his back on any child that belonged to him either. 'Unless she never told him' the thought repeated itself in his mind, and Jarrod slowly shook his head. In that moment he had to accept the fact there the chances were extremely high that Heath Thomson had been doing exactly what he had claimed to be doing…telling the truth. Thomas Barkley had fathered a child outside his marriage. "Hang on, Heath. Do you hear me? We've got a lot to talk about still." Jarrod sighed, wondering if the injured man could even hear him.

Nick, who had heard Jarrod's words, fought the anger that raged through him. It didn't help that he wasn't sure who to direct that anger at; his father-if he did indeed sire Heath, or Heath-if he was either intentionally lying or just mistaken. He was literally floored when he heard a voice say…'Don't blame Heath for anything. He does not lie. If he was like that, he never would have showed up to fight with you and Jarrod, and he sure the Sam Hill never would have taken bullets meant for your elder brother'. Nick flipped his head to the side to see who joined them as he could as he swore the voice sounded awfully familiar, only it wasn't quite loud or clear enough for him to make a positive identification; he saw no one new with them.

Nick looked around some more. If he'd been more in tune with things, he'd have seen who had been with Heath from the moment that he, Heath, first came to in the rocks. He would have instantly recognized him and seen the man's eyes declare their connection and the truth of the blonde haired cowboy's words as he looked upon Heath once more. He would have also seen the gentleman begin to speak with the injured man. However, Nick couldn't see the older man and, since the man's words weren't directed at him, Nick didn't hear the words either.

~oOo~
Audra, who was hurrying to change the sheets on the bed in the guestroom, looked up when she heard the door open. She wasn't surprised to see Silas carrying in fresh pillowcases; her mother had said she'd send him up with some when she'd asked Audra to make the bed. "Do you think he's really my brother?" She asked Silas as she took the pillowcases. She might not have asked, but Silas had worked for her parents almost from the beginning of their marriage. Audra figured that, besides her mother and McColl, Silas was the one who would know her father the best.

Silas, who knew more than Audra could even guess, smiled kindly upon the young woman and answered gently, "I think you best be asking your mother that question, not me."

Before Audra could beg him to give her his opinion, which she was thinking of doing, her mother stepped into the room. One glance at the look in her mother's eyes and Audra knew Victoria had heard her question. The young woman waited until Silas, who quickly excused himself, left the room before saying anything to her mother. "I just wanted to know what he thought."

Victoria sighed as she filled the basin next to the bed with water, something Dr. Merar who was in the washroom, had asked her to do. Nick had informed her that it turned out that the bullet had he and Jarrod had thought only creased Heath's arm had actually penetrated as was still inside. For what felt like the thousandth time since hearing Heath and her sons in the living room, Victoria had past memories come back to her. "Yes," Victoria turned and looked her daughter in the eye, "You never saw your father when he was younger, but Heath Thomson bears a strong resemblance to him and," she sighed and shook her head, "your father did spend time in Strawberry once." Due to a look of hurt that appeared in Audra's eyes, her mother quickly added, "Your father was a good man, Audra, he was also very human. He had strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. We sorted all those things out as husband and wife many years ago. Don't allow any mistakes he made to change your feelings towards him. He loved all of us very dearly." She went to say something else only to hear a wagon pulling into the yard. She and Audra hurried to the window. Sure enough, one moment they saw Jarrod climbing out of the wagon, the next moment he and others were carrying Heath Thomason inside the house.