Author's Note: The Morton house is in fact the 'Italianate' house on Bob Villa's website. I try to stick to period architecture but wanted a style different than the Barkley's house which is southern in inspiration.
Chapter Forty-Three
Heath was sitting at the breakfast table with Victoria, Priscilla, and Jarrod. It had been four days since he had taken Sharon out to the theater. His plan to see her on Sunday, after church had been dashed; he and Nick had to go fix a broken fence line and get cattle rounded up.
The day after their outing he had sent JR a note about getting together. Heath had been secretly gratified when the reply came back from Rufus, on his personal stationery. The note indicated what day would work and hoped that Heath would stay for lunch.
He had given a great deal of thought to Sharon's comment about who was holding the grudge. Further he weighed JR's opinion that his father had mellowed a great deal. When he thought what he was like seven years ago, compared to now, and understood the healing time could cause. One of his mother's favorite bible verses had been from the New Testament – Ecclesiastes – about a time for every season.
"Did I hear that you are going over to the Morton's this morning?" Nick's voice reverberated as he strode into the room. Without missing a beat, he kissed Priscilla fervently, gave Victoria a hug, and then went to get a plate of food. "You do know that we have to move" he went on to detail out how last year's yearlings had to be relocated.
"Visiting the Morton's?" Jarrod looked at Heath with interest. "Friday night you were at the theater. You do seem to be expanding your horizons." He observed with a laugh, raising his orange juice glass in toast.
"I have to say that both the theater, and the Morton's are very out of character for our brother." Nick stated, as he sat down at the table. "I wonder if it is because of Sharon?" There was a gleam in his eyes as he said that.
"I spoke to JR last week, about their mines in Arizona. The Morton's want to increase their safety measures, as well as order more equipment." Heath had seen, on more than one occasion, giving Jarrod or Nick too much information on his private life could backfire. He would admit he was just as guilty in his dealings with them – it was a brother thing.
"Alice and I talked after Sunday services. She was telling us ladies about life in the territory. Pretty sunsets but lots of dust." Priscilla laughed as she made the comment.
"It is very dry down there, and summers are brutal." Heath offered and talked about one of his trips to the area. He was hoping that the story would change the subject from his visit to the Morton's.
"How was the theater? I have heard the show is very good." Jarrod was not changing the subject. "My understanding is that Sharon looked very lovely, and you are much envied."
"Since you will be visiting, would you take something for me? I promised Phoebe and Alice some honey." Priscilla asked Heath, knowing exactly what Jarrod was up to. There had been lots of talk at church about Heath and Sharon.
"I am glad that you are willing to put behind you the past with Rufus." Victoria put her hand on Heath's arm, before turning to look at Jarrod. "Before you leave today, I want to talk to you about my trip to the city next week."
The rest of breakfast passed quickly, with no teasing. Heath had seen the look Victoria had given Jarrod, and he noticed that the subject did not come up again. However, Heath made it a point to eat quickly before anything else was said. Only later would he realize that Priscilla had never given him the honey, which made him wonder if it was just a ruse to change the subject.
A while later he arrived at the Morton's house and paused to study the dwelling. It was two stories, with a cupola on the top, and a verandah on the first floor. The dwelling was cream colored stucco, with trim, shutters, brackets, and roof being a reddish brown. It was as impressive in its way, as the Barkley house was, just very different.
As he walked up the walkway, he noticed the manicured landscaping surrounding the house. The front entrance was flanked by several columns, while the door was an elaborately carved piece of fine grain wood. Heath looked to the left and right and noticed that there were groupings of chairs and tables. He saw a porch swing at the far end, and paid attention to the rugs, and urns of flowers. It looked warm and welcoming, and he wondered if Sharon would do this for his house.
He was shown into the house by an older Latin man named Juan, who said he was the House Manager. Heath took note of the décor, noting it was as grand as the Big House's. He winced when he saw that the woodwork had all been painted white. His opinion was that wood and brick should be in their natural state. It did though, he thought to himself, make the hall very bright.
"Hello Heath. Thank you for coming over." Rufus came into the hall, which surprised Heath. He had expected to be led to where Rufus was holding the meeting. "Juan, can you bring some refreshments into the study?" The man asked before escorting Heath down a hall.
The contrast between the study, and what he had seen in the rest of house was startling. This room was all paneling, heavy wood, and leather furniture, with brown velvet drapes. The rug was a dark red, of Indian design; there was a deer head over the fireplace, and horse pictures on the wall. The only things not brown or red was the gold fringe trim on the drapes.
"After Zack and Phoebe married, I let her redecorate the house, with the exception of my bedroom and the study." Rufus smiled knowingly, and Heath realized the man had been studying him.
"The hall felt very welcoming, but I will say that I prefer this." He indicated the room "the wood is well done."
"Yes, it is. I have heard that you do a bit of woodworking yourself." Rufus indicated a chair over by the fire. There was another chair opposite it that he sat down on.
"I like working with wood; in fact, I did a great deal of the woodwork on my house." Heath said with pride, thinking about his place.
"When my late wife and I came to the Valley, I built the first house we lived in. It was just a one room cabin, not well built." Rufus shook his head ruefully. "If my wife had not loved me so much she would have gone back to her family. Luckily, the second house I built was better."
Just then Juan came into the room with a coffee service, small sandwiches, and some cookies. The man laid it all out on the table opposite the chairs, and then looked over at Rufus.
"Thank you so much Juan. We will be set for a while but let us know when Mr. JR arrives." Rufus smiled at the man, who bowed in acquiescence.
While Juan had been setting up the coffee service, Heath had inwardly been taken aback at his welcome. Rufus had greeted him in the hall, and then shared family memories with him. Juan's bowing brought him back to the moment, as it reminded him of Simon.
"Would you like some coffee?" Rufus indicated the table, that held a coffee service; Heath took a cup of coffee, but declined food, saying he had just had breakfast.
"JR will join us shortly, but I wanted to talk to you alone." The older man paused and took a sip of his coffee. "Heath, I want to apologize to you, for my attitude to you all these years. I was judgmental and prejudiced. In fact, over the last twenty years I have seen how, on many occasions, I have acted that way."
"It was nothing I had not seen before." Heath replied, and then asked cautiously "what caused you to change your mind?" In fact, he was very curious about the difference.
"Right after the war, there was a fever epidemic here in the Valley. I lost my wife and daughter." Rufus stood up and walked over to his desk and picked up a picture frame. "This is Diana, and our daughter Melissa." He passed the picture to Heath, who looked at it with interest.
The photo had been hand colored, which Heath knew was an expensive and time-consuming process. The woman, and the girl who looked to be around ten years old, both had red hair. The woman had hers put up, but the girl had hers loosely pulled back with a big bow.
"I can tell that this is a very special photograph." Heath commented, as he gave the picture back to Rufus.
"Yes, it is. There was a photographer in town, before and after the war. At the time Diana and Melissa did not see the need to do the picture, but I insisted." Rufus sighed softly. "I have always been glad they did it, because the fever epidemic struck a few months later."
"Your wife was very beautiful, and I'm sure your daughter would have been a beauty also. She is very pretty." Heath said, with kindness in his voice. He had heard heartache in Rufus' voice, and he remembered Sharon's comment that the man was still in love with his wife.
"After they died, I was so angry – angry at the doctor, angry at God, angry at the fever. It hardened me, and I built a wall around myself. I convinced myself that it was my fault that they had died, and if I'd been more religious it would not have happened." Rufus had set down his coffee cup and put his hands on his knees.
"I found solace in religion, but not true religion. Rather I became like the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Bible – all about the law, judgement, and rules. It was when Noah came into my life, along with an old friend of my wife's, that I started to see the error of my ways. You know about Noah?" Rufus regarded Heath questionly.
"Yes, the young man whose father was killed at Little Big Horn. My brother Jarrod is still very close to Noah, and my mother had him to tea several times. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but from what Priscilla and Jarrod have said he sounds like an admirable young man." He left out the part of how the boy's living situation, and who his grandmother was had caused a huge row between Nick and Jarrod.
"It was spending time with him, and visiting with my wife's old friend, that I realized how unhappy I was, and how unhappy I was making everyone around me. In my quest to try to atone for my perceived sins, I was dragging everyone along with me." Rufus bowed his head and clasped his hands together.
"As hard as it was to apologize to the Lord, it was even harder to apologize to my sons, for my behavior all those years." He looked up at Heath directly. "Reverend Peterson helped me so much, in coming to terms with everything that had happened. Luckily, my sons still loved me and forgave me."
"Rufus, I have seen on more than one occasion a man loses his mind because of loss, but then find it again. My mama always spoke about the Lord's Grace, but I did not understand it for so long." Heath shifted his feet, as he talked to Rufus, thinking of Jarrod after Beth had died. He had never imagined having this conservation with Rufus, but it came to him that when they had first met both had been angry at life.
"When I arrived in the Valley, I was angry at everyone! I will say that I had given up on religion after the war, because of what I had seen." Heath offered and he saw Rufus' eyes widen in surprise. "The Barkley's though, they took me in – lock, stock, and bad attitude. Over the years I have seen the Grace they extend to all peoples, and each other. It has made me realize that the Lord is all in favor of second chances." He smiled reassuringly at the older man, who smiled back.
"Thank you for coming and talking to me as you have. I know you would have come anyway, because of how important mining reform is to you." Rufus paused and looked at him appraisingly. "I think we can both admit that we have come far?"
"I have something I have to ask you about, since we are talking on personal terms." Heath decided he wanted an answer to something that had always bothered him. "When Sarah and her mother came to town, you made it a point to exclude them as much as possible. Can I ask why?" He was not going bring up how the man had fallen all over Priscilla a year later, remembering Sharon's comments.
"Are you asking because you are still interested in your ex-wife?" Rufus looked him directly in the eye which took Heath aback.
"No, I am not interested in my ex-wife. She has married and moved on with her life. I have also moved on with my life." He left it at that, pretty sure that Rufus had heard about his outing with Sharon.
"Good to hear!" Rufus smiled happily. "My issue with Sarah was more about her parents than her. A good friend of mine had invested heavily with Wilton Rose, Sarah's father. When he went to get his money, because of a family emergency the man had told him that he would need a week to get it together."
Heath nodded his head, being aware of the financial scheme Wilton Rose had engineered. When it all came crashing down the man had killed himself, leaving a bereft widow and child. He said as much to Rufus.
"The day after my friend had gone to ask for his money, Wilton and his wife hosted an elaborate Mardi Gras Ball. It was lavish beyond words, and still the talk of St. Louis." Rufus paused and looked at Heath. "It was later determined that Wilton could have paid off some of his creditors, but instead had let his wife host a grand ball to try to reel in more investors."
"You don't think Penny was the innocent party she pretends to be?" Heath was more intrigued than he wanted to let on. His mother-in-law's treatment of him, and Sarah's behavior had given him a whole different insight on the women.
"All I know is that Wilton killed himself two days later, and my friend lost everything. He died while cleaning his gun." Rufus made the statement, and Heath could read between the lines. Before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door.
"JR, come on in." Rufus stood up and opened the door. "Heath and I were clearing some things up." The man gave Heath a smile that he returned.
"I brought some documents relating to the mines, so you can see what we already have in place." JR was holding some rolled papers, and two leather books. He spread them out on the desk, and Heath and Rufus came to join him.
The next two hours were spent reviewing the documents and putting a plan into place for the new safety and equipment upgrades. Heath was impressed with JR's knowledge of mining. Clearly the young man was a hands-on manager, and not just the wealthy owner. Heath preferred dealing with the former, rather than the latter.
Lunch was served in the dining room, which reminded Heath of the one at the Big House. It was lavish with brocade, lace curtains, silver, and flowers. The food though was hearty, and very delicious. After lunch Heath said his goodbyes, and JR escorted him to the front door.
"Listen Heath, This Sunday Alice and I are having a fete after church. We have been meaning to have a party for our friends since we came back from the territory." He paused and looked at Heath, who nodded his head.
"I will have Alice send you an invitation today. I know that Nick and Priscilla are coming, and I know that Sharon was invited to the event." JR left it at that and opened the door.
Heath said he would look forward to the party and said his goodbyes. After retrieving his mount from the stable he rode away, with a great deal on his mind. He decided he would send Sharon a note when he arrived home, about this Sunday. His preference would have been to go into town and talk to her personally, but he knew Nick was counting on his help with the work.