CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The Commandments

Friday, December 21, 1877

Jarrod knew if he stayed in that house with Brad for another five seconds, he was going to flatten the man. And he didn't want to do that to Caroline. This was Caroline's wedding day, and she deserved to have as calm and peaceful a day as she could.

He slammed the door as he went out, then paced in front of the house. If he knew where to look for Charlie and Caroline, he'd go find them and bring them back to the house. Enough already with the unnecessary repairs! He'd seen the contract, and it clearly stated the farm came "as is." Forcing Charlie and Caroline to work was just Brad exerting control. And Jarrod's patience had expired.

After a brisk walk, Jarrod felt calm enough to go back into the house. He'd at least start packing Caroline's belongings. He walked in without knocking and strode straight to Brad's office.

In front of the fireplace was an old trunk. The lid was open, and inside were letters, journals, photos, even a dress.

Brad glanced up at Jarrod, then picked up a stack of letters. He threw a letter into the flaming fireplace, then readied another.

That was Caroline's mother's trunk! "Stop it!" Jarrod ran over to Brad and jerked the letters out of his hand.

Brad tried to wrestle the letters back. "Back off!" he yelled. "It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't. Those belong to Caroline, not to you, and you are not going to destroy them." Jarrod dropped the letters into the trunk and slammed the lid. He glared at Brad. "Why are you destroying Caroline's things?"

"Those letters are evil!" Brad yelled.

"They aren't yours," Jarrod countered, trying consciously to lower his own voice.

"Caroline doesn't need to read that smut!"

Jarrod worked to keep his voice calm and soothing. "Your mother gave those to her."

"What kind of man are you who would allow your wife to read such vileness?"

"The kind who would trust his wife to make her own decisions," he growled.

Brad's eyes narrowed. "You are not going to marry my sister!"

"I am going to marry your sister, with or without your consent." Jarrod continued to keep his voice calm, but he didn't take his icy eyes off Brad.

"You cannot marry her without my approval!"

"Yes, I can. She is well past the age of consent."

"I will kill both of you before I allow such a thing!"

"I just told you, we don't need you to 'allow' anything."

Brad grabbed the fire poker, wielding it like a sword. He stepped toward Jarrod.

Jarrod took a step back. "You don't want to do that," he said calmly.

Brad took another step toward Jarrod.

"Let's sit down and talk," Jarrod suggested, sliding backwards, his eyes taking a quick glance around to see if there was something he could use to defend himself. His pistol was in his pocket, but it wouldn't be a fast retrieval.

Brad took another step, his elbow going back, getting ready to strike.

With his eyes locked on Brad's eyes, Jarrod stayed where he was, his body on alert.

When Brad attacked, Jarrod sidestepped. As the sharp point soared within two inches of his chest, Jarrod grabbed the poker's staff and threw his weight against it.

Brad's wrist bent back and he gasped, dropping the poker handle.

Jarrod also dropped the rod and swung around. He gathered Brad's shirt in his left hand and smacked him several times. "That's for the bruises on Caroline," he growled as he hit him again, then threw Brad onto the settee. Jarrod took his pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Brad. "Sit there and don't move."

Brad rubbed his crimson face but said nothing.

Jarrod sat in a chair facing Brad. He needed to calm down, get his temper under control. He took long, deep breaths and stayed where he was for several minutes. Brad no longer seemed to want to challenge Jarrod, so he also remained seated and quietly waited for Jarrod to make the next move.

As Jarrod's anger abated, he wondered how he could get from Brad what Caroline and Charlie each needed—without literally beating it out of him. Although that wasn't entirely off the table at this point. Jarrod had taken all he was going to take from this jerk. Still, his logical mind said, it would be better to talk this out. But he had to get past his anger before any conversation could take place. Neither of them moved or spoke for several minutes as Jarrod willed his anger to melt away. And then the thought reached his consciousness: Know what's important to your audience. He smiled slightly. Making sure his voice was calm, he said, "You know the Bible very well."

Brad nodded, his green eyes watching Jarrod's every move.

"Do you remember what Jesus said in the book of Matthew? About what was the most important commandment?"

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," Brad replied.

"And what did Jesus say after that?" Jarrod prompted.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Jarrod nodded. "When Jesus said thou shalt love thy neighbor, to whom was he referring?"

Brad stared at Jarrod.

"Brad, who did Jesus mean when he said to love your neighbor?"

"Everyone."

Jarrod nodded again. "You proclaim to be a man of God, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe your actions are in line with Jesus' words?"

Brad didn't respond. He simply glared at Jarrod.

"A few minutes ago, you threatened to kill both me and your sister. 'Thou shalt not kill' is one of the Ten Commandments."

Still no reply.

"Yet, yesterday, you gave us your approval to marry—even said you'd perform the wedding ceremony. Now, today, simply because I didn't allow you to destroy Caroline's property, you threatened to kill us both." Jarrod's large blue eyes seared into Brad's green ones. "For the simple reason that you didn't get your own way," he said quietly, emphasizing each word.

Brad chewed his lip.

"Do you believe that's the way a Christian should act?"

No answer.

Jarrod again raised the pistol and pointed it at Brad. He cocked the gun. "Answer me."

"No, it is not."

"What is the Eighth Commandment?"

"Thou shalt not steal."

Jarrod nodded. "What does that mean?"

"Isn't that self-evident?"

"Is it?" Jarrod asked. "It doesn't specify what you shalt not steal, but, at its root, I assume it means you shouldn't take or destroy someone else's property. If your mother gave that chest and all its contents to Caroline and you pilfer it, is that not stealing?"

Brad sighed loudly. "Yes."

"If your parents left a will that stated the proceeds of this farm should be divided equally between the three of you, do you plan to share those proceeds with Charlie and Caroline?"

"If Caroline gets married, she doesn't get a share!"

Jarrod grinned although his eyes remained cold. "You're right. And that's why you were in such a hurry for her to marry, isn't it?"

Brad again glowered at Jarrod.

"And now, since I stopped you from breaking one of the Commandments, you don't want her to get married?"

The front door opened. Jarrod kept his eyes and his gun on Brad.

Brad started to stand but after a glance at Jarrod's eyes, he dropped back into the settee.

"We're in the study," Jarrod yelled.

Caroline and Charlie strolled in. They looked from Brad to Jarrod. Neither spoke.

"Brad and I were just having a little chat. Why don't you sit down and join us?"

Charlie nodded at the only other chair, and Caroline sat in it. Charlie stood behind Caroline with his elbows propped on the back of her chair.

"I caught Brad trying to destroy the contents of the chest your mother left to Caroline," Jarrod explained. "He attacked me with the fire poker, and he threatened to kill both Caroline and me if we married against his will. That didn't work out well for him, so now we're chatting about the Commandments." His eyebrow rose. "We're discussing Number Eight right now, thou shalt not steal." Jarrod glanced at Charlie. "He evidently is quite aware of the will your parents left. But now, the question is, would he be stealing if he withheld the share due to Charlie?"

"Of course he would!" Caroline answered.

Jarrod pierced Brad with his eyes. "What do you think, Brad?"

Brad slumped back into the settee, defeated. "Yes. It would be stealing."

"What if you withheld the contents of the hidden family vault?" Jarrod asked.

Brad flinched at the mention of the vault. Then he sighed. "Yes. That would be stealing."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Jarrod kept his attention on Brad.

"Charlie, you know where the vault is," Brad said, his voice flat. "The combination is 14-58-22. Would you bring the contents here?"

Charlie nodded. He was gone for several minutes, then returned carrying a box. He sat cross-legged in the center of the group and dumped the contents of the box. A stack of paper money and several gold coins comprised the majority of the contents. Also inside were a man's gold pocket watch and a few pieces of jewelry, including a man's gold ring and money clip and their mother's wedding rings.

Jarrod returned his eyes to Brad. "How much are you getting for the sale of this property?"

"Forty-three thousand, three hundred and eighty dollars."

"Charlie, will you count the cash here?"

Charlie nodded. He put the money in stacks of one hundred dollars, then counted it aloud. "Thirty-one thousand, two hundred and forty-four dollars," he reported.

Jarrod nodded. "Brad, would you be willing to give that money to Charlie? In exchange, you can have one hundred percent of the proceeds of the sale of this property."

Brad considered for a few long minutes. Finally, he met Jarrod's eyes. "I don't think that would be fair to my siblings."

"Caroline and I are marrying today, and she will want for nothing. Charlie, do you think that trade would be fair to you?"

Charlie nodded. "More than fair."

"Then everyone is in agreement that Brad gets the proceeds from the sale of the farm, Charlie gets the cash from the vault, and Caroline gets her mother's chest and its contents, right?"

All three siblings nodded.

"That leaves the jewelry and the watch. I suggest Caroline receive her mother's jewelry."

Charlie and Brad both nodded.

Jarrod moved the jewelry towards Caroline and the cash towards Charlie. "That leaves this watch, money clip, and ring." He leaned back. "I'd guess the watch would be worth slightly more than the money clip and ring combined."

The siblings all nodded.

Jarrod looked at Brad. "You're the oldest, Brad, so you should have first choice. Do you want the watch or the clip and ring?"

Brad looked at Charlie. "Which do you want?"

"I'd like the watch," Charlie said quietly, "But I will gladly abide by your decision."

"Then the watch is yours," Brad said.

Jarrod moved the watch to Charlie and the other items to Brad. He met Brad's eyes. "Thank you for being reasonable and honest."

Brad nodded slightly.

"Caroline and I still intend to marry today," Jarrod stated, glancing at Caroline and getting her nod of approval, "But, frankly, Brad, I'm not comfortable having you perform the ceremony. I talked to a justice of the peace this morning, and Caroline and I have an appointment for two p.m." He shrugged. "However, you are more than welcome to attend the ceremony."

Brad shook his head. "I think it's best if I don't."

Jarrod nodded. "Suit yourself. Charlie, do you want to go to Stockton with Caroline and me?"

Charlie looked at Brad. "Would you mind if I did?"

"No, Charlie," Brad answered, his voice flat and his eyes focused on something in the distance. "You need to do what's best for you."

Charlie looked at Jarrod. "Yes, I would like to go to Stockton. I can take the next train, though."

Jarrod shook his head. "That won't be necessary. We have a private car."

"But if I'm there with you, it isn't very private."

Jarrod chuckled. "Charlie, why don't you get your own sleeping berth, and then you can have lunch with us and visit until dinner time each day? That way, we can balance the privacy Caroline and I would like to have with the opportunity to enjoy some time with you."

Charlie nodded. Caroline released a quiet sigh of relief. But no one spoke.

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Caroline, you and Charlie need to pack and move your belongings to the buckboard parked out front." He looked apologetically at Caroline. "I know you don't have a lot of time to get ready, and I know it's not tradition, but if you could go ahead and dress, that would be great."

Caroline nodded. She and Charlie left to pack.

Jarrod remained in the study with Brad. They didn't speak for several minutes. "I'm proud of you, Brad," Jarrod finally broke the silence. "What you just did here wasn't easy."

"I have a lot of soul-searching to do before I think about becoming a minister," Brad replied, his tone still flat.

Jarrod nodded.

Brad met Jarrod's eyes. "Do you think they will forgive me?"

"Yes." He smiled. "Brothers and sisters don't hold grudges. They talk it out, they fight it out, they figure it out in whatever way they can, but they have a bond that follows them all the days of their lives."

"Thanks, Jarrod."

Jarrod was pleased with the turn of events—especially that Brad's face would be one solid bruise by morning. Yet, he had a strong suspicion that Brad's "good behavior" was contingent upon the gun pointed at him. He just hoped he and Caroline could get married and, along with Charlie, soon get as far away from Brad as possible. He wouldn't breathe easy until that train was well down the tracks.

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