Chapter 6

Audra stood in the stable yard, looking out at the dark road, waiting anxiously for her mother and brothers to return, but they weren't coming. The men milling around and finishing their chores for the day could easily see how worried she was, but nobody knew what to say. Audra just kept trying to think of what to do. They should all be back here by now. Should she send someone else out after them? Should she just wait until morning? Should she talk to McCall and she what he thought?

McCall read her mind and finally came up beside her. "Miss Audra, you'd best get some sleep."

"I'm not sure I can, Mac," Audra said. "They should be here by now."

"That rain may have forced them to get some shelter," McCall said.

"Maybe," Audra said. "Do you think we should send someone out after them tonight?"

"Do you?" McCall asked.

Audra hesitated. It was rare for McCall, or anyone, to ask her a question like that. "Do you think it would be dangerous to send someone?"

McCall said, "Well, I could send three men out as far as Millertown. If they don't find them by there, they can camp for the night and start looking again in the morning."

Audra nodded, satisfied that was the wisest thing to do. "Yes. Thank you, Mac."

McCall smiled. "I'll get them going."

XXXXX

The three men McCall had appointed – Ewell, Perkins and Sloan – rode into Millertown in the middle of the night. Everything was quiet, even the saloon, and as they sat there alone in the street, they looked at each other and remembered McCall's instructions. "We can set up camp right outside of town," Sloan suggested. "And check with the sheriff first thing in the morning."

The other two nodded agreement, and they rode back out of town together, unaware Nick was looking out the window of his hotel room, watching them. He couldn't see who they were, and so he suspected they were Wright's men, but when they turned and left, Nick climbed back into bed.

He hadn't slept at all, even though Jarrod was snoring softly in the bed next to his. Nick was feeling the weight of responsibility for dealing with this. Not that Jarrod was hurt all that bad, but he'd gotten knocked in the head twice, and he'd been carrying the weight ever since the buggy accident. Nick figured that regardless of what he and Heath decided to do, Jarrod should go home with their mother in the morning.

Nick lay there and stared at the ceiling, or at least into the darkness where the ceiling was. He thought back on the time he and Heath met with Wright, and he couldn't make sense of what Jarrod had said about the man. Either Jarrod was wrong, or the doctor in Done In was wrong, or Wright was one heck of a good liar. Right now, Nick couldn't convince himself which was accurate. He sighed and turned over to face the wall. In a while, he did fall asleep, but he kept waking up every half hour or so. When morning light began to creep in, he woke up completely.

Jarrod stirred not long after Nick sat up and began to get himself together for the day. "Morning," Jarrod mumbled through a dry mouth.

"I've thought about things, Jarrod," Nick said. "I want you to take Mother home today."

"Nick – " Jarrod started.

"No arguments. You're going with Mother."

Jarrod didn't argue, not yet anyway. "Are you and Heath coming with us?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't know yet," Nick said. "We might just go pay Dan Wright a visit."

"No," Jarrod said flatly. "Not alone. You need at least two more men with you, and you may very well need a lawyer."

There it was, the argument Nick thought would have come right away. "Jarrod, you've taken two knocks on the head."

"Neither of them very hard. Not even one black eye. Let's go home together, then all three of us can come back with more men," Jarrod said, and he sat up on the edge of his bed.

"Better see if you're up to that," Nick said.

Jarrod yawned. "I'm up to it. Not even a headache this morning."

"I wonder how Mother is."

"Knowing our Mother, she's trying to get up and walk out of that doctor's office on her own. I'll get myself together and get on over there. You and Heath get yourselves together, and then we'll see if she's ready to travel. Okay?"

Nick grunted an agreement.

"And just one other thing, Nick," Jarrod asked.

"What?"

"Once you come back with more men, what do you plan to do? Invade Wright's ranch?"

Nick could hear his older brother, the lawyer, talking. He knew he had to come up with a decent answer. "What with that ambush last night. I'll talk the sheriff of this town into going out there with us to check it out today. With us along to back him up, he might be ready to do that."

"If he's not?"

"What do you think I should do, Jarrod? Forget it?"

Jarrod sighed. "No." He gave it some thought himself. "I know the DA in this county. If the sheriff won't go with us, I can talk to him and get an investigation going. The trouble is, it'll take a lot longer than if the sheriff goes with us."

"Well, then, we better get the sheriff to go with us today, and you – " Nick pointed at him for emphasis. "We aren't gonna need a lawyer today. You're taking Mother home."

"And if we get ambushed again?" Jarrod asked.

Nick sighed. He actually had thought about that, but he didn't think it would happen in the daylight. But was he willing to bet the lives of his mother and brother on it?

Jarrod saw Nick's hesitation and let it be enough for the time being. He got up and headed out the door to the wc.

XXXXXX

Jarrod was up, dressed and heading for the doctor's office before his brothers were ready to eat some breakfast, but on his way over there, Jarrod spotted the three Barkley ranch hands coming out of the sheriff's office. Jarrod detoured over there, yelling, "Perkins! Ewell! Sloan!"

The three men spotted him, and they met just outside the sheriff's office.

"We were just coming to get you," Sloan said. "The sheriff told us what happened."

"Nick and Heath are still at the hotel," Jarrod said, "rooms 3 and 4. I'm headed to check on our mother. Why don't all of you get something to eat and I'll meet you at the café after I see how Mother is?"

The men nodded and headed for the hotel, while Jarrod went on to the doctor's office. He wasn't sure he wasn't going there too early, but he took a chance. The doctor's door was unlocked, and Jarrod went in.

"Doctor?" he asked quietly.

The doctor came in from his treatment room and motioned Jarrod to the recovery room. "She woke up a little while ago. I think she wants out of here."

Jarrod smiled. Obviously, Victoria was feeling better.

"Oh, Jarrod!" she said and reached for him as he came into the recovery room.

Jarrod took her hand. "Feeling better, Mother?"

"Much," she said. "Please get me out of here and take me home."

Jarrod looked at the doctor, who nodded. "As long as you take her home flat in that wagon you came in on and take it easy. See your family doctor as soon as you get home."

Jarrod nodded. "Nick and Heath are still getting ready, and I just ran into three of our hands out in the street, come looking for us."

Victoria looked uneasy. "You're going to see this Wright fellow, aren't you?"

"We'll have to do something about him, Mother. I'm not sure when. The only thing I'm sure of is that we will get you home today."

Victoria sighed and smiled. "I'll take my victories where I can find them."

XXXXX

Nick answered the knock on his door, expecting Heath, but finding Sloan, Ewell and Perkins. He was surprised but, "I am glad to see you fellows."

Heath came up behind them, saying, "Looks like we got some of that army we need, Nick."

"What army?" Ewell asked.

"Let's get some food and talk about it," Nick said.

They were getting settled in the café when Jarrod came back and sat down with them. "Mother is ready to go as soon as I get her some food," he said.

"Good," Nick said. "Now, all we have to decide is what we do now."

"Go ahead, Nick," Jarrod said. "Tell me what you want to do."

Nick was a little surprised Jarrod was letting him talk first, but he took advantage of it. "If we send Ewell home with you and Mother, Jarrod, the rest of us can talk to the sheriff and see if we can get him to go visit Wright with us."

"Visit who?" Sloan asked.

Nick took the time to explain about Wright and his outfit while they ordered breakfast and ate. Nick was somewhat astonished that Jarrod wasn't protesting about going home and not being in on the action at Wright's, but he figured the argument was yet to come, any minute now.

When Nick was finished, Heath said, "What if we can't get the sheriff to go with us?"

"Then we all go home and Jarrod gets in touch with his DA friend in this county," Nick said.

"We could just go ourselves," Sloan said.

Nick shook his head. "If that man's got an army, four of us aren't gonna have much of a chance with him, and knowing my lawyer brother here, he's gonna insist we have the law with us."

"Without some kind of law, you're not gonna have any chance," Jarrod said. "Wright can just tell you to get lost, and you'd have no choice but get out or get shot for trespassing."

Nick said, "The sheriff will go with us. When we file a complaint, he'll have to."

Heath heaved a sigh. "All right, but let's talk to the sheriff before we send Mother on her way home, 'cause if we can't get the sheriff with us, we'll all be going home anyway."

Nods went around the table, but Nick didn't look happy about it.

Jarrod finished his food fast and called the waitress over. "I want an order of eggs and toast and coffee to take to the doctor's office," he told her.

She nodded and went after it. Jarrod finished his coffee and left the other men finishing up when the food for Victoria came.

Nick watched him head out the door. "Jarrod needs to go home with Mother, Heath," Nick said quietly.

"We could send Perkins and Ewell with Mother, and take Jarrod and Sloan with us."

Nick eyed him. "If Wright gives us trouble, do we need all three of us getting shot up out there?"

"We've risked that before, Nick," Heath said. "If Jarrod wants to stay with us, I think we ought to let him."

Sloan, Perkins and Ewell stayed out the discussion, knowing better than to get in on family issues, but Nick eyed them anyway, and he asked. "What do you think?"

Sloan looked at the other two and then sighed. "I think that decision's up to you and your brothers," he said.

"And Mother," Heath offered.

Nick looked unhappy about that.

Heath shrugged. "If she wants one of us with her, we're arguing over nothing. Since you and I got the best look at Wright's men, we should stay and Jarrod should go. If she doesn't care who takes her home and Jarrod wants to stay, then I think we should let him."

Nick had to admit, Heath's idea was a fair compromise between him wanting Jarrod to go and Jarrod wanting to stay. "All right. We'll see if Jarrod will go for it. First things first, though. Let's go see the sheriff."