Chapter Nine

Insert from Chapter Eight

The blistering heat from the radiant sun had made the work Nick, Heath, and the ranch hands had been doing all day rather unpleasant, only there had been no complaints. However, there had been plenty of questions when it came to the rumblings that Nick had a wife arriving soon-due to one of the ranch hands overhearing parts of a conversation that had taken place between Mr. Baker and the ticket master at the train station when the Merced attorney had left Stockton. The questions had come to a screeching halt when Nick had turned on them and barked rather sharply, "Her name is Mariah, and you will treat her like a lady...and that is all you need to know for now!"

Mariah sat in the stagecoach, the repeating noise of the wheels constantly turning around on what seemed to be a never-ending trail made it feel as if there was a fifth passenger making the journey with her and the other passengers on the coach. She sat next to her brother; Brian was looking out his window and saying nothing. Across from them sat a young couple who had introduced themselves as Phillip and Eliza Madden, along with a young black-haired woman who had not talked since boarding the coach. Like the Keagans, Phillip and Eliza were traveling to Stockton, their faces were lit with excitement as they talked about their move to Stockton. It was a feeling Mariah could somewhat relate to—even if the feeling was mixed with emotions.

The stagecoach jerked forward as it rolled over a bump, causing Mariah to reach up and hold onto the frame of the open window tightly. Phillip, noticing her discomfort, offered a reassuring smile. "First time on a stagecoach?" he asked kindly.

Mariah shook her head slightly. "No, but out of the extremely few times I've been on one this seems to be a bit rougher."

The young black-haired woman must have agreed because she nodded-as if she agreed. It made Mariah wonder if the stranger was actually a mute.

Eliza grinned slightly as she spoke up. "When I boarded the stagecoach, I heard someone say the driver was fairly new. Maybe the problem isn't just a rough patch of road."

"Eliza," Phillip eyed his wife with a look that asked if 'that was really necessary'.

"Don't Eliza me. I'm not trying to bad mouth the driver, himself. Just saying he's inexperienced, he'll learn." 'I hope' was a thought she kept to herself.

Brian, who had met Sheriff Madden a time or two-when the lawman had been in Merced, turned his head away from the window. "Do you know the sheriff in Stockton?" he asked, his curiosity raised by their last name and their destination.

Phillip's eyes twinkled in delight. "He's my uncle. He's a good man and even-tempered—unless you push it too far or break the law, of course."

Eliza couldn't help but smile wide, her hand resting on her husband's arm. "Uncle Fred is a good man, and he does his best to be fair to everyone-even the men he has to put in jail. As far as we're concerned, the city of Stockton is blessed to have such a man serving as their sheriff. He's also the one who helped find a place for us to live until we can find a place to buy."

Silence fell among the four as Brian turned his attention back to his window and Mariah turned her gaze towards the window next to her. While Eliza and her husband would have loved to continue visiting, they knew when it was time to visit and when it was time to leave things be. The miles kept slipping away as the stagecoach continued moving along the route it was on.

~oOo~

It was barely past one in the afternoon when Nick and Heath entered the house. They could see their mother and Audra sitting on the sofa in the living room. Audra was working an embroidery project as she talked with their mother. At the sound of the two brothers entering the house, both women looked towards the foyer.

Neither brother was surprised to see their mother and Audra, though they wondered about the unhappy look on their mother's face. It's not like Nick and Heath were late for anything. Even if they had been, the fact that they'd had a bit of trouble with one of the cows would have been explanation enough. As it was, there was no need to mention the bit of trouble.

"Is something wrong?" Heath asked as took off hat and looked at them.

"Nothing life threatening, only," Victoria looked at Nick. "I bumped into Emmett Stone on my way home last night." She figured there was no need to point out that he had not gotten home until after midnight the night before-and had left the house earlier than usual that morning—leaving no time for her to corner him sooner.

Nick cringed inside. He had hoped to corner his mother and confess everything to her before she heard anything; after all, she and Audra had made it sound as if they wouldn't be doing anything but going to the new orphanage-built outside of Stockton- using a route other than the one taking them through the city the day before and then home again. Again, they weren't supposed to actually go through Stockton. "Her name is Mariah; she's arriving on the stagecoach tomorrow morning." Nick, who had walked over to the beverage table, filled the shot glass with a bit of sherry-though he wished it was whiskey-and turned around, giving a brief synopsis of what had happened. He wasn't surprised when his mother rolled her eyes.

"So, you're actually going to go through with it?" Audra asked, her eyes widening in shock. "Why can't you simply tell her and her brother what happened?"

Nick wasn't in the mood to have to answer to his baby sister for anything, but knew if he barked at her in front of his mother-whose eyes were asking the same question-the conversation would last far longer than he wanted it to. "I could-probably will, but not before they understand that I'm willing to give it an honest shot if she is." He drank down the sherry and started to say more when a knock came on the door.

"I'll get it." Jarrod, who had just walked up the hallway, said as he headed for the door. He was surprised to see Sheriff Madden standing on the outside porch; the law officer looked more than worried. "Fred, what's wrong?" Jarrod asked as he invited their friend in.

"We received word that the stagecoach that is due in tomorrow never made their stop in *Ripon. I have gathered a number of men willing to help me go in search of the coach and the five passengers it held-two of them being my niece and nephew. They're waiting outside on their horses. I was hoping at least one of you would be able to join us." Fred explained.

Sheriff Madden was shocked when Nick-who had quickly closed the gap between him and Fred-added, "I don't know who the fifth passenger would be, only the other two are my wife, Mariah and her brother, Henry. I'm coming with you."

"So am I," Heath spoke up. "We can put McColl in charge of the ranch hands while we're gone."

"I'll go with you as well." Jarrod said as he looked at his mother and sister. "If the two of you need anything, just tell McColl."

Moments later the three brothers were walking out the door with Sheriff Madden, leaving the women hoping and praying their first meeting with the newest Barkley wouldn't be at a funeral.

A/N According to the internet, Ripon is just barely over 22 miles from Stockton.