"What happened?" Jarrod watched the ranch foreman out of the corner of his eye as the two men stalked down the drive toward the gate.

With the arrival of Duke's news, Jarrod had snatched a firearm from the gun cabinet, beseeched his mother to stay inside, and left the house.

Now, as they stalked down the road toward the gate, he realized it didn't know any details of what had transpired.

Duke rubbed a hand across his stubbly beard as he answered. "Couple of the boys caught him out back, trying to sneak around the house."

"Get anything out of him?"

"Not much. He's stone-drunk and demanding to see Miss Audra."

Setting his jaw, Jarrod quickened his pace, knowing Duke would follow his lead. Maybe I should've let Nick do what he would with that kid…

As they drew closer, a huddle of men came into view. Evan could be heard, cursing the young hand who struggled to restrain him until he was aided. He stilled when he saw Jarrod and the foreman approaching.

Jarrod stopped a few feet from Evan and the two men who kept him confined. An anger and disgust he had no name for surged through his veins.

"What are you doing here?"

Evan squirmed, disconnecting his gaze. "I just, uh, I need to t-talk to Audra."

"I think not."

Licking his lips and blinking rapidly, Evan struggled to lock gazes with Jarrod—just smart enough to know he didn't stand a chance with any of the other men. "Oh, it won't take but a minute. I'm sure she wants to see me—just ask her. Ask her if she don't want to see me."

"I can promise you, Audra does not want to see you. And neither does the rest of my family."

Evan swore, clawing at the hands of restraint holding him at bay. "Don't think I don't know who's to blame for how I'm being treated. I wish—I wish I'd killed him. That filthy b—"

A fist came from nowhere, past Jarrod's ear and landed squarely in the middle of Evan's facial features. Blood spurted; Evan howled.

Jarrod barely caught a glimpse of his brother as the dark-haired cowboy lunged for the bloodied kid, pummeling him with welts.

When Evan lost his unstable footing and slumped to the ground, Nick jerked him up by his shirt. Landing another punch in his face, his stomach, he roughed the boy up. Against the rancher's blinded rage, Evan didn't stand a chance of fighting back.

Jarrod's concern heightened when Nick showed no signs of slowing down. "Nick…"

Evan fell to the ground, his eyes swollen and his face bloodied, too spent to continue resisting. Nick hardly noticed, diving back for the kid, bent on making him pay for what he'd put his family through.

"Nick!" Duke grabbed him from behind, tearing him away from Evan's blubbering form. "Think about what you're doing, son."

Panting and shaking his head, Nick yanked free and stood still for a moment, his arms hanging limp at his sides.

"Someone oughta protect me from that…mad man…" Evan muttered. "My father won't like—"

"Like I care what your father thinks!" Nick bellowed. Gripping the kid by the front of his shirt in one fist, he lifted him off his feet. "Now you listen to me, you little mutt," he spat, and slammed Evan back into the cement pillar. "I better never, never catch you on Barkley land again. And if you so much as cast a dirty look on any member of my family, I'll personally track you down and tear apart your mangy hide. Are we clear?"

Blinking through the glazed over eyes hidden by swollen lids, the delinquent didn't bother answering.

"Get off this property, Evan." Jarrod stepped up beside his brother. "And don't show your face here again."

««««-»»»»

Leaving the kitchen and breakfast preparations in Silas' capable hands, Victoria ascended the staircase to the second story. She was concerned that Jarrod had yet to return from taking care of the matter of Evan's unannounced presence on the ranch. Maybe waking Nick and checking on Heath would successfully distract her until her eldest arrived.

When she opened the door to her stepson's room, Heath was sitting up in bed, doubled over, his good hand holding his opposite arm close against his side. The armchair next to the bed was vacant.

"Heath!" She rushed to him, leaning against the side of the bed and resting her hand on his back. "Are you all right?"

As he moved to look up at her, a drop of blood fell from his chin, landing on his forearm.

"Oh heavens..." Victoria turned to the dresser, dipping a washcloth in the basin and bringing it to him. "Let me see."

He turned his face up to her, protruding his busted lip. Eyes blinking in slow motion beneath brows tightened in pain searched her face.

Victoria pressed the damp cloth to his mouth and held it in place, concerned by the unexplained blood. She ran her free hand through his hair, pleased when his facial features loosened and relaxed. "What happened, Sweetheart?"

"Bit my 'ip to keep from yelpin'. End up b'eeding like a stuck pig."

His honesty struck her heart and she sighed, sinking to the edge of the bed. "You could've just yelped, Heath. Might've brought someone quicker. And where's Nick, anyway?"

He shook his head, eyes drifting closed. "Didn't want to be a bother."

"Heath…" she warned, reaching for his hand. Didn't he understand? Didn't he see how much apart of them he was? Didn't he know by now how a family operated?

"I know." He snuck a tiny smile in her direction, half his mouth covered by the cloth. "Family 'snot a bother. But still."

"Still nothing." Peeling the stained cloth from his face, Victoria stood. "Let's get you settled." Arranging the pillows and bedding, she then helped him sink back into the space and pulled the blankets up over him.

Once he was comfortably situated, and the bleeding lip was slowing, Victoria settled her harshest gaze upon him.

"Why were you moving around, Heath? Especially alone. You could've hurt yourself."

No answer.

"Heath..." She bent closer, moved back into his line of vision. "If you ever want to get out of this room, I suggest you answer me."

"Is that a threat?"

"Maybe so."

He sighed, shifting to better see her and wincing at the movement. "Nick saw something out the window that concerned him and he tore out of here without a thought. He wouldn't tell me what is going on, but by the look on his face, it has to have something to do with Evan."

Victoria's gaze moved from the armchair to the window—with its view of the gate to the right and the stables to the left—and back to Heath. "You mean he left, too?"

His fingers paused in toying with the edge of the coverlet. "You didn't know?"

"I knew that Evan had dared to show his face around here, and I knew that Jarrod left with Duke to determine what's going on and set things straight. But Nick was asleep in the armchair only minutes ago."

Heath nodded. "That's where he was when I woke up."

Victoria sighed, her concern dipping and wavering. She strode past the armchair and held aside the drapes to peer out. A crowd had certainly formed, but at this distance she could identify nearly him. "Well, I hope they return soon. The situation with Evan…makes me uneasy."

"Yes ma'am."

Halfway across the room, she paused and turned back around. "We're really going to have to do something about that."

"Yes ma'am."

That tiny smirk. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Are you sure you're fine?"

He nodded.

"And you're not going to try this again as soon as I'm out the door?"

Another nod—and half a smile.

"All right, then. I'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you…ma'am."

««««-»»»»

Jarrod and Nick observed as two of the hands shouldered Evan onto his horse, topped their own mounts, and proceeded to escort the semi-conscious kid to the edge of Barkley property.

"If you encounter Wally or any of the Miles's hands, avoid a conflict if you can," Jarrod spoke to the nearest of the two men.

"Yes sir."

The two men and their charge trotted out the gate and down the road.

Now what? Jarrod released a sigh as he turned to his brother. Only Nick wasn't there—he'd already started back toward the house.

Jarrod lengthened his strides to catch up. "Nick, someone caught Evan out by—"

"I know." Nick fumbled with the buckle of his belt as he walked. "I'd just woke up, and I saw him from the bedroom window."

A slight smile came to Jarrod's face—so Nick did keep vigil over Heath yet again. "You can't even see the gate from your room."

No answer. The brothers walked in silence.

"Nick?" Jarrod spoke when Nick paused mid-step, his gait unsure.

"I'm fine."

No…no, he wasn't. Jarrod's eyes remained on his brother's back as they neared the house. Nick walked tall and erect, as if letting go would crumble him to his knees.

Nearing the house, Nick spoke up. "Did you know Heath served during the war?"

"What?" Jarrod paused, calculating. "He couldn't have. He'd have only been… what, fourteen or fifteen? At the oldest. No, I think you're mistaken."

Fists clenched, Nick spun around. A step below his brother on the edge of the verandah, Jarrod blinked under Nick's glare.

"He told me he served. And by the look in his eyes, he's relived that hell in his mind ever since."

Jarrod stilled, meeting Nick's gaze, saying nothing. He wanted to ask how Nick knew this, how he got Heath to tell him anything. But he couldn't. For once, words weren't enough.

««««-»»»»

From where she waited in the foyer, Victoria rushed toward her sons as soon as the front door swung open.

Nick entered first, aching frustration scribbled in the lines of his face. Behind him was Jarrod, still burdened by concern and unanswered questions.

"Nick?" she inquired, reaching up to his cheek.

"Everything's alright" was all he said. And he kissed her cheek and eased up the stairs.

Victoria watched him go, knowing he would give her nothing more just now. Knowing where he was going, head hanging low and limbs dragging. He wouldn't return to Heath's room, not while looking a coffin nail short of a funeral.

"Jarrod…" She turned to face her eldest. "What happened?"

Releasing a heavy sigh, he sank to the bottom step and let his arms drop to his knees. "Evan screamed curses and threats. Nick got his hands on him, and…"

Her heart squeezed as he trailed off. Drawing her housecoat around her, she sank to the step next to him and laid her hand on his wrist. "And he would've killed him, but…" She prompted, knowing that no one had died. Her boys were loaded with worry, but there was no grief—or relief—intermingled with their burdens.

Jarrod just shook his head, studying the wood paneling that encased the front door. "I don't know how far he would've gone if Duke hadn't grabbed him."

"How far did he get his last night before you succeeded in changing his mind?"

Suddenly much more awake, Jarrod's head jerked up. "How did you know anything about that?"

"Mother's don't claim to know everything without being pretty darn close, you know." When would he ever learn, this son of hers? "I heard Gene slipping back upstairs, took a peek out toward the stables and saw you and Nick, and put two and two together."

A derisory smile rose to his face. "Well, dear lady, your endless supply of wisdom may never fail to amaze me."

She only smiled and patted his arm. "So. Last night."

"We got to the place along the property boundary where Heath was shot and Nick broke. I didn't think he would go through with it, but I wasn't sure how far he would get before realizing what an idiot he was being." Jarrod sighed, running a hand over his face. "He went back to Heath's room, though, so I doubt he got much decent rest. Cataloguing that boy's every breath would push a saint over the edge."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"Guilty."

"I can't deny it." Victoria released a slow breath, a reminder of the blessings to be found here. "But… he's going to be alright."

"Heath?"

"Mmhm."

Smiling, Jarrod reached over and covered her hand with his. "You love him, don't you?"

"Oh, so much, Jarrod." She clasped her hands around his arm. "I think… I think, whether he were your father's son or not, and showed up here like a stray in need of a good meal, I'd still love him. How could anyone not? His heart is so good."

"I know, Mother. I'm glad he's here."

««««-»»»»

Still seated on the staircase, lost in a million worries and wonders, Jarrod felt his eyelids slip closed in a slow blink. Nope, couldn't let himself fall asleep. He pushed to his feet, intending to head upstairs and change out of these clothes that he'd fallen asleep in after his ride with Nick.

He was aware of Victoria's gaze before he looked up and met her eyes.

"Did you get much sleep, son?"

"Enough."

That was a lie if he'd ever told one.

Walking into the front parlor, Jarrod propped his forearms on the mantle and stared into the dead embers of yesterday's blaze. "I can't figure out for the life of me what Evan thought he could possibly gain from coming here like that. Doesn't he know we'd stand with Heath even if Audra wasn't involved?"

Behind him, Victoria was silent for a long moment. "Maybe he doesn't know. Maybe Heath doesn't either."

Drawing in a deep breath, Jarrod turned to face her. "Then maybe it's high time we made sure."