Chapter 2

As she stood there wringing her fingers, Nora felt Nick's reassuring hand on her back. He had come to recognize his wife's nervous habits over the last two months and found that a gentle touch would calm her. He knew she was anxious about her sister coming and was glad to feel her muscles relax a bit under his hand. Hearing the train whistle brought a bright smile as she turned to Nick.

"Here she comes!" Nora said excitedly as they waited outside the station and watched the locomotive come in, slowing as it drew near. It was a few moments after it stopped before passengers began disembarking, Nora watching each one's face, hoping it was Gabby.

Seeing her sister through the window had renewed Gabby's eagerness to get on solid ground and hug her younger sibling, but she patiently waited for Mrs. Stanley to exit before her. "Thank you so much for the company, Gabby. Perhaps I will see you around town," the woman said as she set her bag down for a moment and glanced around.

"I will look for you," Gabby responded quickly, before turning toward the red-headed woman yelling her name and waving. Rushing to each other, the sisters embraced, happy to be together again.

"Nice to see you again, Nick," Gabby said to her brother-in-law who leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I have a couple of trunks to be unloaded, I hope you don't mind."

"Don't mind at all. Good to see you again. Nora has been looking forward to showing you around."

"I look forward to that as well, but maybe tomorrow. I've been so restless the last few days, I haven't slept much at all. Can the tour wait a bit, sis?"

"Of course, Gabby. Let's get you home and down for a nap. You will feel much better after a rest and some dinner later," Nora said as Nick walked over to retrieve Gabby's luggage.

"I have a few more clothes than when I left home," Gabby teased with a tired laugh.

"And I can't wait to look through everything and see what I want to borrow," Nora said cheerfully as they headed for the wagon arm in arm, Nick tagging along behind with one heavy trunk.

When everything was loaded, they began their trek to the ranch, Nora pointing out everything as they went along. "And that little cut-off there is where the house is that I lived in before we got married. The Barkleys bought the property from Mr. Henderson a month ago. I can't wait to show it to you."

Gabby took in everything around her. It was a beautiful land, and she could see how Nora had fallen in love with it. She had never seen her sister so vibrant and happy as she was since she had become a Barkley. They had done without all their lives and Gabby wondered how bad it had gotten for Nora in the last year before Judas left. One day they would discuss it, but not right away- Gabby wanted to enjoy their time together without bringing up that sadness.

They had ridden past the gate and Gabby was eager to see the ranch house that Nora had talked so much about. It was a few moments before they got close enough for a glimpse and when they pulled up in front, Gabby was in awe of its splendor.

"Well, here we are," Nora said as Nick stepped out and carefully helped his wife down with a kiss on her forehead before also reaching up to assist Gabby. Before long, two women came through the front door smiling.

"This must be Gabby. I'm Victoria Barkley and this is my daughter Audra."

"So nice to finally meet you, Gabby. Nora talks about you all the time; I feel like I already know you."

"Thank you so much for inviting me to stay in your grand home, Mrs. Barkley. Nice to meet you, Audra."

"If you are hungry, we can fix you something to eat," Audra added.

"No, I'm not hungry, but thank you."

"We are family, please call me Victoria. I'm sure you are tired from your trip, so your room is all prepared for you to get some rest. Nora will show you where to go, and we will see you at dinner where you will meet the rest of the family."

"Thank you again. I am a bit weary." The statement was punctuated with a slight yawn, as Nora led her inside, leaving the others.

"She's a lovely girl," Victoria said as Nick began lifting the trunks out of the wagon.

"She's as dark as Nora is fair. Pretty as she is, I'm surprised she isn't already married, with that dark brown hair and beautiful olive skin," Audra added.

"I'm going to need some help getting these trunks upstairs," Nick said as he looked around. "I'll go see if I can find someone." Whistling as he walked away, Victoria and Audra watched him go.

"I wonder what has him in such a good mood," Audra said bringing a shrug of her mother's shoulders.

"Beats me. Let's go see what Silas has planned for dinner."

###

After Nora left Gabby alone, she wandered around the large room looking at the décor. Nick and another man had brought in her trunks earlier, but she wasn't ready to go through them right now, although she did take out her hairbrush and a dress for dinner. She was trying to settle her thoughts so she could rest.

Sitting down at the vanity, she stared in the mirror. Sleepy green eyes looked back at her framed by her tanned skin and brown hair. Whereas Nora's eyes resembled an emerald, Gabby's was paler, more of an icy green.

Confident and outgoing onstage, Gabby was less sure of herself when she wasn't performing, unlike Nora who was the gregarious one of the two. Most people had a hard time believing that since Gabby was an entertainer, but it was true. She had never been comfortable in her own skin, but when she performed, she became someone else- Iris Rose.

As she began to brush through her hair, she thought of how different the two of them really were. Nora resembled their mother, and Gabby was more like their father. While Nora's hair was wild and tightly curled, Gabby's was silky and shiny with loose curls, chocolate brown in color. She had always been jealous of her sister's locks, but over the years, and so many compliments of her thick, dark, tresses, Gabby had learned to love what she had. They both wore their hair long- past their waists- but Nora now tended to style hers up on her head instead of letting it lay tousled over her shoulders. At least the two times she had seen her recently, that was the case.

She wondered what else may have changed in the months since they had seen each other.

Nora's marriage, of course, but she also seemed much more settled. Gabby was certain that Nick was to be credited for that. Watching him unaware as he looked at her sister made Gabby happy that Nora had found such a loving, attentive man to marry. Of course, Gabby had no such plans. She liked her independence and didn't want to rely on anyone else.

A yawn escaped her lips as she sat there pondering, and Gabby realized that she really needed to try to catch a few minutes' sleep. Walking over to the bed, she lay down and curled up, falling fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

###

"Need some help there?"

Jarrod looked up as Heath spoke, nodding his head. "I think I've done about all I can do alone with these railings. If you could lift that end, it would make this job a little easier."

His day was mostly done, but Heath was glad to lend a hand. Jarrod had worked up quite a sweat, so they would both need some cleaning up before dinner or their mother would have their heads. Heath had missed seeing Nora's sister when she arrived and wondered how much like Nora she was, if at all. Sometimes siblings had similarities but often they were complete opposites. Other than both being hard workers, Heath thought of him and Nick as complementary, with differing personalities. He and Jarrod were more alike in many ways.

"Did you happen to see Miss Steele come in?" Heath enquired as they worked.

"No, I've been busy all day. I saw them leave to pick her up, but they must have returned when I was out back. You know I've met her before."

"Oh?" Heath said curiously, nailing the wood into place.

"My last trip to San Francisco, right before..." Although it had been close to a year, Jarrod still had trouble talking about Seth's unfortunate demise. "Anyway, I went to the theatre with an attorney friend one night, John Schaefer. With her using the stage name of Iris Rose, of course, I didn't put two and two together when I met Nora. Quite the talented lady, as I recall. And very attractive. Schaefer was smitten and asked her over for a drink after her performance, which she declined. He was totally despondent over her rejection that night," Jarrod said with a laugh.

"What about you? Were you smitten too?"

"As I said, she is a beautiful woman, so perhaps I was, a little. An amazing singer and pianist as well."

"I look forward to meeting her tonight," Heath replied as they finished the job. "I've more than earned that bath," he said as they walked toward the house dusting off their clothes.

"That's where I was headed, but you go on; I'm going to go back and chat with Demarco until I can get in there. He has become a good listener and rarely judges me for the things I tell him," Jarrod said as he turned around.

Laughing as he went inside, Heath mounted the stairs quickly, looking forward to soaking in a hot tub of water.

###

Waking up confused, Gabby looked around the room until her faculties returned.

The Barkley ranch.

She didn't feel rested and looking at the clock told her she hadn't been sleeping long. As she closed her eyes to try to return to dreamland, her stomach growled. Just great, Gabby thought, knowing that she needed to eat a snack before she would ever be able to get back to sleep.

Standing up, Gabby smoothed her dress and checked the mirror. Dragging her fingers through her hair, she decided it was good enough to run downstairs and grab something quick. Exiting her room, she quietly closed the door behind her, not knowing if anyone else might be napping this afternoon, and hurried down the steps to find the kitchen.

Wandering about for a bit and not seeing anyone, she finally found it and entered.

"May I help you?" a friendly dark-skinned man asked.

"I'm Nora's sister. You must be Silas. Gabby Steele," she said, introducing herself and shaking hands with the man.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Steele. Is there something I can get for you?"

"I'm a little hungry and was hoping for a snack."

"I've got some fresh bread and sliced cheese if you like," he said, placing some on a plate.

"That sounds wonderful, thank you," Gabby said with a smile and a nod, taking the dish and turning to go back to her room, eating the food as she went. She had always been a fast eater and by the time she arrived upstairs, she was finished and placed the plate on a corner table. A yawn escaped her lips as she looked one way, and then the other.

"Was it left, or right?" she questioned softly, not remembering which direction to turn when she got upstairs. "Definitely left," she finally decided as she walked to the nearest room and turned the knob.

As she opened the door, her eyes were stunned by the sight in front of her and her jaw dropped.

This was absolutely not her room.

She had made a critical error and was now in the bathroom with a man standing in a tub, completely naked and dripping with water.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Excuse me!" Quickly closing the door behind her, Gabby stood in the hallway stunned. What had she done?

Glancing around once more, she finally recognized the small table that stood outside her room and hastily entered, shutting the door, and leaning against it, fanning her hot cheeks that must be a bright shade of red by now.

Gabby caught her breath and went to splash her face with water, hoping to cool her cheeks. As she patted them dry, she sat on the edge of the bed and thought about what she had beheld.

She had never seen a naked man before, so Gabby was shocked by the sight. Then she noticed the surprise on the man's face as he made eye contact with her. His eyes were blue, and he had dark blonde hair. But what astonished her the most was his attitude. He had obviously recently finished his bathing, but there was no shame on his face as he stood there in all his glory reaching for a towel. In fact, in those couple of seconds, Gabby noticed that his stunned look soon turned to amusement as he slightly smiled at her. A crooked smile that was embedded in her mind as much as his physique was. He never tried to hide himself from her in the awkward situation.

"Oh, Gabby. You've done it now," she said as her head dropped into her hands, realizing that he had to be a family member if he was taking a bath in the house, perhaps one of Nick's brothers. How would she ever be able to face him after that incident? And how dare he stand there and smile at her, as if he was proud of himself? He should have had the decency to be embarrassed about it. `

The more she contemplated, Gabby knew that she hadn't done anything immoral- simply walked into the wrong room. And she made a decision- she wouldn't share with anyone about the happening, not even Nora. Hopefully, he wouldn't either, she thought as she wondered once more exactly who she had walked in on.

Whoever he was, one thing was for sure- he was exceedingly handsome in every way.

###

As Heath pulled on his shirt, he thought about what had just happened. He was cleaning up for dinner to make a good impression on Nora's sister and had stood up to grab his towel when she walked in on him. At least he assumed it was her.

Some way to impress, standing there stark-naked soaking wet.

He only had a couple of seconds to scrutinize her, and he was quite pleased with what he saw. Clear green eyes still a bit glazed over with sleep, long brown hair hanging over her shoulders, a perfect nose, and plump lips. And a great figure.

As quickly as she had opened the door, she immediately took her bottom lip in between her teeth, an act that was quite alluring. It was at that moment that he smiled at her, wanting to ease her embarrassment, knowing that she was mortified.

Everything happened so fast, it never occurred to him to try and cover himself; he had never understood the shame of the human body anyway. But the way her face quickly reddened, she must have been humiliated. He would try his best to make amends however he could, even though he hadn't done anything wrong- other than forgetting to lock the door, that is. And he would certainly not tell anyone about his carelessness, as that would only cause more discomfort to the lady.

Heath had to admit, he was interested in getting to know her better and hoped that this indiscretion didn't hamper his efforts.

Because as pretty as Nora was, Gabrielle Steele far outshone her.

###

Tossing and turning on the bed, Gabby realized that any more sleep for her this afternoon wasn't to be had. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw- him- the naked man in the bathtub. Sitting up to punch her pillow once more, she lay her head down and repositioned it.

"Oh fiddlesticks!" she finally said as she stood and walked over to the vanity, deciding to clean up and change her clothes for dinner. Then perhaps she could go look for Nora and spend some time with her before they ate.

She wasn't sure what she would do when she saw the man again, but hoped to pretend that what had happened, hadn't. Maybe he would do the same.

If not, it would be a very uncomfortable stay at the Barkley home.