Jarrod rushed down the stairs, hearing his brother bellowing for him. Obviously, Nick didn’t find Heath where he thought he would be.

Behind him the house began to awaken. Sam and Ellen came into the hallway only to see Jarrod running down the stairs. The two older children, Jack and Sarah, peeked out from their bedrooms.

“Mama?”

“Go get dressed you two. Dress the other children, and come down to breakfast.” Ellen looked at Sam with concern on her face. Had something happened to their guests?

“I’ll find out what’s going on,” Sam said, as he returned to his bedroom to get dressed.

Jarrod took the front steps in almost one leap as he watched Nick crouch down on the ground looking at track marks. Marks from what?

“Nick! What’s going on? Where’s Heath?”

“I don’t know, Jarrod, to both questions. But it looks like our brother is in trouble. These scuff marks here,” he pointed, “and here, belong to him. And that mark over there is definitely one that shows someone was dragged.”

Nick paused as he caressed the medallion in his hand. “And I found this, Jarrod.” He didn’t relinquish the medallion, but just held it out for his brother to see.

Jarrod’s worried eyes looked at his brother. He nodded his head in understanding.

“How do you know they’re Heath’s boot prints?” Sam asked.

“Heath’s left boot ended up with a dent on the side of it when he nicked it on a fence post nail last week. It’s a pretty distinctive mark.” Nick explained.

Nick looked up at his older brother. “Someone got one over on him, which isn’t easy to do.”

Jarrod rubbed his chin, and mumbled an assumption. “Mountain men?”

“Mountain men! Jarrod, make sense!”

Sam came down his front steps pulling his suspenders up and over his shoulders. Concern was etched in his face. “Is everything alright?”

“Right now, Sam, nothing is alright. We think Heath might be in some trouble.” Jarrod quickly explained. He kept the found medallion secret for now. Nick followed his lead.

Sam glanced around. “Wasn’t Heath supposed to meet up with Joe this mornin’?”

“He was supposed to meet up with Rich, but it doesn’t look like he made it. Charger is still in the barn.” Nick was worried, but he wasn’t about to panic or ride off in a huff. This wasn’t his neighborhood, and he needed a level head, and help, to find his brother.

Just then, Rich rode up. “Good morning to you all!” The baseball player sported a big smile. He was looking forward to spending time with the cowboy turned baseball player. “Came to get, Heath. Did he sleep in?” As Rich asked his questions, he saw something in the faces before him that told him all was not well.

“What’s wrong?” Rich dismounted, sensing something amiss.

“Well, you just confirmed that Heath is missing. He’s not here, and he’s not with you.” Jarrod’s mind instantly went back to the conversation of last night with his host.

“Rich, did you check the tents? Could he be changing into a uniform?” Nick silently hoped his brother was at the field and just not seen. But Charger was still in the barn….

“I checked them before I rode over here. That’s why I came, thinkin’ that he was just late.”

“Uh, Nick, Jarrod.” Sam hesitated, but then plunged forward. “Heath is a grown man…I know you’re worried, but he could have just wandered off,” Sam offered.

“Yes Sam, that’s true. But I don’t think so. There’s a lot about Heath you don’t know or understand, and he wouldn’t do that. He said he was going to be with Rich this morning. Other than the sunrise, he wouldn’t be anywhere else unless he told Jarrod or myself.”

Nick pointed to the scuff marks still visible in the dry dirt. “And I’m convinced that these marks here were made by several people overpowering our little brother. The marks over here,” he walked a few feet, “definitely show someone being dragged.”

Sam nodded. “If that’s the case, then I’ll send one of my hands to get the Sheriff. Just to be sure, do you think anybody from one of the teams could be involved?”

Rich’s head jerked around. “Being defeated isn’t fun, but I doubt anybody from the Athletics is willing to drag someone away for losing a baseball game.”

“Before you go, Sam, I’d like to talk to you about the Murphy’s….the family who you currently have a land dispute with.” Jarrod’s lawyer instincts took over. If Heath was abducted, then there had to be a reason. And a very angry family who just had their crops squashed by 300 cattle was a more feasible hypothesis than a lost baseball game.

“The Murphy’s?! Oh, no!” Ellen had silently joined the group, wishing to learn what all the fuss was about.

“Ellen, please go back to the house.”

Sarah had come out to the porch. She turned to her brother, Jack. “Something certainly is happening. Care to guess?”

“Nope,” replied Jack. “But I think it might have to do with your newest love. Everyone’s here but him.”

Sarah’s mouth gaped open. “Oh, no! Mama, Mama, where is Mr. Barkley? Is he okay?” Ellen was climbing the stairs back onto the porch.

“I told you both to watch the children,” she said as he herded her two eldest back into the house. “And we don’t know if anything is wrong. He just isn’t where he was supposed to be.”

Sarah followed her mother and brother back into the house. She chewed on her fingernail as worry took over.

Bud and Ed Murphy rode to the edge of the Henderson ranch and saw the men standing by the corral where they had abducted the blond cowboy less than 2 hours ago. The Sheriff was there. So be it.

They dumped the blond’s boots on the side of the road, with his blue shirt and vest stuffed into them. Bud got down off his horse and put a note into one of the boots.

Bud snorted. He wasn’t a very big man, standing 5’10”, and weighing about 170lbs, but he had a ferocious presence due to his shoulder length unkempt hair, and his long salt and pepper beard. He wasn’t a rich man either. His clothes were on the older side, with a few holes and patches. But that didn’t mean his family wasn’t worth anything. That didn’t mean his money wasn’t as good as anybody else’s. He was tired of being told that the land he and his family legally bought and settled to make themselves a home, was not theirs. He was tired of Sam Henderson’s ranch hands and cattle doing damage to his crops; crops that took he and his family an entire year to cultivate. He bought the land with real money from the state through the Butler Land Company. The land grant paper that was promised to be sent never was. But that didn’t prove anything, Bud thought. Henderson just wanted to stronghold him off land he wished to have. That wasn’t going to happen.

He had asked, and then threatened, Sam Henderson to leave him alone, to no avail.

Desperate measures meant desperate acts.

His first choice was not to hurt anyone, but he would fight against anyone threatening his family. He was desperate to have the Henderson’s leave them alone. He was desperate not to be under constant vigilance of attacks from the Henderson ranch. He would do what needed to be done to protect what was his and his family’s. It had worked perfectly to take someone, not of the Henderson family, and the famous Barkley’s came along at the right time. The young blond cowboy was their ace in the hole.

The Barkley’s would do as he asked to get back one of their own. Then Sam Henderson would get what was coming to him.

The two Murphy’s rode for about 100 yards, stopped and fired their guns. They wanted the blond’s things found….they wanted their note read….they wanted the Henderson’s to leave them alone.

“Sam, let’s go over this again,” Sheriff David Leighton repeated. “The Murphy’s have made threats to you before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nick was pacing. Jarrod was seething. Their brother was in danger because Sam never told the authorities that Bud Murphy and his sons threatened the safety of the Henderson’s several times.

Nick felt ready to explode. If he knew of this information, he certainly would never have allowed any one of them to be left alone; even for such a short time as to view a morning sunrise. Hell, he wouldn’t have set up this weekend.

“I didn’t think he was serious,” Sam defended.

“SERIOUS!?” Nick bellowed. If the windows in the house shook, it was directly due to his powerful voice. Nick stopped pacing to stand before his tall host, hands on his hips, legs slightly apart, yelling for all he was worth. “My little brother is missing, God knows what’s happened to him, and all you can say it you didn’t THINK?!” Nick’s voice was ice.

Jarrod’s voice took command as Nick started pacing again. “Mr. Henderson. From what I remember of last night’s conversation, you said that your lawyer has filed quite a few injunctions to get them off land you claim to be yours?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And that your lawyer cannot find the original land grant from your grandfather?”

“Yes, yes.”

“And that the Murphy’s have a signed bill of sale from some land company in Sacramento?”

“Yes, what are you getting at, Jarrod?”

“Well, I’m certainly not able to go into detail now, but I do believe Mr. Henderson, that my brother’s assault is most likely in direct relation to your land dispute. And if I find out that you are the one at fault, we’ll be bringing charges against you, with my brother as the primary witness.” Jarrod’s voice was steel; his blue eyes flashed the anger he was successfully holding in check.

Sam’s face turned red with both embarrassment and anger. How dare this Barkley kid show him up in front of his town? On his land! Before he could respond to his guest’s tirades, gun fire was heard. The sound reverberated several times as it cascaded toward the house.

The small crowd turned in unison as they heard the bullet echoes. Nick didn’t hesitate as he jumped onto Rich’s horse and took off down the road to where he surmised the gun shots came from. Sheriff Leighton, and some other ranch hands, quickly followed the Barkley heir down the path. The impromptu posse stopped short when they saw Nick pull up his horse along the road’s edge. The dark cowboy’s heart fell when he saw a familiar set of boots sitting in open view.

The rancher jumped off the horse without waiting for the animal to come to a complete stop. Nick knelt down and gently picked up his brother’s tan boots. His calloused hands tenderly held the precious bundle for a brief second as his mind tumbled through a year’s worth of memories.

Visions of a vibrant younger brother riding beside him in a cattle drive;
Visions of a younger brother giving him a lop-sided grin;
Visions of a younger brother crying silent tears after a nightmare;
Visions of a younger brother providing stoic support when Nick was bit by the wolf.

“Nick! What did you find?” Sheriff Leighton asked as he inched his mount closer to where Nick crouched down.

Nick swallowed hard as he answered the question posed, but didn’t turn his body as he spoke. “My brother’s boots.”

He stood up, and then only realized that there was a piece of paper stuck between the blue chambray material and leather vest. His hands started to tremble as his mind slipped into slow motion, stringing together thoughts on what that piece of paper could represent.

Demands. Kidnapped. Ransom.

“Nick? You okay?”

Turning on his heel, and without waiting to read to the note or answer the Sheriff, Nick leapt effortlessly back onto the waiting horse and thundered back to the corral. The Stewartsville law officer and the other mounted ranch hands had no choice but to follow Nick down the road.

“Jarrod! Jarrod, take a look at these! They’re Heath’s!” Nick yelled for his brother before he even dismounted. He held onto his brother’s boots as he handed the piece of paper to his older brother. “And there’s a note!” Nick was shaking slightly.

The Sheriff walked over to the brothers and elbowed his way through the crowd that had formed. Henderson barked orders for the still mounted ranch hands to circle the area to find who had left the clothing tidbits behind. Hoof beats thundered as Henderson’s help started their search.

As Jarrod unfolded the delivered message, Nick removed Heath’s shirt and vest from the worn footwear. He turned the shirt over in his hands and saw the knife marks that had been made to cut the shirt off Heath’s body….fine lines of red criss crossed across the blue material. Nick’s hands squeezed down on his brother’s discarded clothing and his gut clenched. Heath…..

Finished reading, Jarrod turned and nudged his brother’s arm, handing him the note. The Sheriff read over the rancher’s shoulder.

“Gentlemen, we have ourselves a kidnapping.” The Sheriff looked up at the Barkley’s. “We’ll do our best to find him. I promise you boys.” He tried to convey confidence, even though he felt very unsure of his resources at the moment.

“The Murphy’s?” Jarrod asked. Nick looked at him with scrutinizing eyes. Damn!

The Sheriff gave a slight nod. “From this note, it certainly looks like it.”

Nick looked at Jarrod. Hazel eyes locked onto dark blue ones. Nick’s hard gaze turned to Sam. And if looks could kill, Nick would have been arrested for murder.

Nobody, but NOBODY, messed with his family. He dismissed Sam Henderson without another thought.

“C’mon, Jarrod. We have a little brother to find.”

The sun was rising and the cabin started to get sticky with the day’s heat. Heath opened his eyes slowly. He was fearful to move, afraid to wake up the screaming agony that was his whole body. His feet burned; his back throbbed; his shoulder ached; his body was fevered, yet he shivered cold. The onset of fever was causing his thirst to increase.

He wasn’t up against the post anymore. The men had untied him and let him fall to the side. The blindfold was gone but the leather collar was still around his neck. If it had a chain or rope on it, he didn’t know. His hands were not bound. Those men, what were their names? Pa and Ed? They must have thought he couldn’t escape with his battered body and bloody feet, so they didn’t even bother to keep him tied up.

He felt a flicker of hope. His hands weren’t tied….

But he couldn’t move. He didn’t have the energy; he felt so defeated, drained.

The last time he felt like this, he was where?.......Carterson.

No! No! He forced himself to think beyond that. Heath knew if he allowed Carterson memories to resurface, he would be lost. He closed his eyes and felt…..what?

He felt detached. He didn’t want to feel this way; he battled too long to move beyond that feeling of abandonment; of despair. Did he still have faith? Could he still hope? Hope could be used against him. It had been used against him so many times in his past. Hope, and the playing on it, and the slow, unrelenting destruction on it.

He tried again to feel; feel something beyond the physical pain. The will to fight; to willingness to get up one more time and make an effort to survive. God, he hurt so bad. And he was so tired.

The worst part of his current situation was that he didn’t even know why he had been attacked and brutalized. Who were these people? What did they want? An enemy with no face. Tortured for what purpose?

As he looked around the cabin as best he could without moving his head, Heath saw the water pitcher on the floor about six feet in front of him. Six feet seemed like a mile. He reached out with his hands carefully, and when no pain surged through him, he reached out a little more.

Slowly, slowly, he inched his way toward the water pitcher.

It seemed like hours when his fingertips finally hit the side of the pitcher. He reminded himself to be careful…careful not to spill any of the life giving liquid that he could not waste.

As he pushed himself up to give him an angle of which to drink, his back and shoulder sent several white streaks of pain through his body. He closed his eyes tight and gasped, and willed himself not to be sick. He waited until the pain-induced nausea wore off, and tried once again to lift the pitcher.

On his third attempt, he was successful. His shaky hand held the pitcher for only a short period of time, but it was enough. The water felt heavenly as it slid down his throat. He felt the refreshing liquid fall into his empty stomach. The collar hindered his drinking, but it didn’t stop him. He would deal with that later.

He felt both hot and cold at the same time. He continued to shiver. His bare skin tingled with the sweat his fever was producing. The fact that he didn’t have a shirt wasn’t going to be good when the cool of the night crept in.

After drinking, Heath lay down, totally exhausted from his six foot trek. He let himself relax for a moment to recall the prior day’s events. He had felt so safe in the presence of his doting siblings…something that he had originally fought hard against, and now longed intensely for. Brothers. He had always wanted one, and now he was blessed with two. Two fine men to work and play with, to lean on and be leaned on, to grow and prosper with. They were both intelligent and compassionate men; and he neither felt envy nor jealousy at their accomplishments. He only felt pride and gratitude that he was taken into the family circle.

Please, brothers, please find me.

Heath’s feet were starting to throb. The fever was climbing. His thoughts became jumbled as he started to drift.

Small tears formed in his eyes, causing his vision to blur. He felt a single tear spill across his cheek, and watched as it hit the floor with an eerie fascination.

Nick…..where are you?.....where am I?......

He closed his eyes and withdrew into himself. He would survive….he just didn’t know how at the moment.

As Nick and Jarrod turned away from the corral and the circle of men, Rich jogged up to them and caught their arms to stop.

“Nick, Jarrod. If you need any help, I’m with you. And the team, too. Heath’s a good kid. I know I can speak for them when I say that if you need us, we’ll be here.”

Nick clapped his hand on Rich’s arm. “Thanks, Rich. We’ll take you up on that offer. Can you ride back to where the team is staying, and ask for volunteers? I want to organize search parties as soon as possible. In order for them to drop off his clothes and boots so quickly, they can’t be holding him too far from here.”

He paused. “Let’s hope anyway.”

Rich nodded. “I’ll ride fast and be back.”

“Thanks, Rich,” Jarrod called out.

Sheriff Leighton walked over to the two Barkley brothers after Rich departed. He needed to establish his command of the situation. “Mr. Barkley, you can’t organize anything without me. This is my jurisdiction, and I will be handling any rescue operation.”

“Now wait a minute, Sheriff,” the tall rancher began, but he was cut off by the level voice of his brother.

“Nick, hold on.” Jarrod put his hand on his brother’s arm to indicate him to remain quiet. Nick rolled his eyes and audibly grunted.

“Sheriff, by all means, put together whatever posse or search parties you want. But know that this is our brother who’s in trouble. We won’t back down an inch until he’s found.” Jarrod’s stance, in itself, told the Sheriff he would have a fight on his hands if he tried to command these men too much.

The Sheriff made a quick decision and shook his head in agreement. Better to have these men as allies than enemies. “Okay. Actually, I could use the help. But let’s work together, alright? I don’t need any vigilantes on my hands. Our objective is to find your brother and capture the men who took him.”

“You mean the Murphy’s!” exclaimed Nick.

“I mean the men who abducted him,” the Sheriff insisted. “We assume it’s the Murphy’s, but nothing is for sure yet. Like I said, I don’t need any vigilantes. Getting your brother back is the first priority.”

“Who else could it be?!”

“Nick, the Sheriff is right. Let’s concentrate on finding Heath. We can deal with who actually took him later.”

“Then let’s get goin’! Where are your men, Sheriff? Too much time has already been wasted.” Nick’s impatience was quickly growing.

“First, I sent for volunteers from town. Ten men for sure will be here, hopefully more. Second, I’m sending out two of my deputies to the Murphy homestead. I’m hoping that the entire family isn’t in on this, and maybe they can give us a lead as to where Bud may have taken your brother.”

“I thought you just said that you’re not sure the Murphy’s and the people who wrote the note are the same?” Nick was getting exasperated.

“It’s my job not to jump to unwarranted conclusions. But from the outside, it’s pretty obvious that Bud and his sons probably have taken the boy. He has three sons, Ed, Noah and Zachary. This dispute between Bud and Sam seems to have escalated very quickly in the last few weeks.”

Nick did some quick calculating. “All together, with your people, and the team volunteers, we should be able to put at least half-dozen search parties together.” He paused. “I’m going to get my gear and be ready to go as soon as everyone arrives.”

“Alright. I’ll get a map of the area so we can determine the best routes to take,” commented the Sheriff.

“Jarrod, come with me,” gestures Nick, as he headed towards the house.

Jarrod’s stride matched his brother’s. “Nick, while you and the Sheriff start making up search parties, I need to get into Stewartsville.”

“What for?”

They walked up the stairs to the guest bedroom, and closed the door gently behind them.

Jarrod’s voice was soft. He didn’t want to be overhead. “First off, I need to talk to the District Attorney. This is the weekend Nick, and the courts aren’t open. The ransom note is demanding a legal document demonstrating proof of ownership of the disputed land to this alleged Bud Murphy. I’m going to need help to research this. The kidnappers only give us until noon tomorrow. I don’t have much time.”

“Jarrod, what if we can’t find Heath before tomorrow? What if you can’t find proof that the land was legally purchased by the Murphy’s?” Nick talked as he dressed; vest, spurs, gun belt, hat, gloves.

“I have a gut feeling about this, Nick.” Jarrod continued to speak softly. “I spoke to Henderson for quite a while last night about this disagreement. He seemed to be asking for legal advice even though he has his own attorney. I didn’t think anything of it, obviously until now.”

Jarrod was also getting ready. Vest, gun belt, hat. He continued. “From what he told me, I do believe the land legally belongs to the Murphy’s. Although they purchased the land through some land company, that still is inconsequential. They squatted on it for the last two years, and the fact that the government never removed them, gives them the legal right to stay. The land grant they purchased was more of a formality than anything.”

“Then why,” Nick started to say loudly, until Jarrod used a hand gesture to get him to lower this voice.

“Then why is Henderson saying that he owned the land previously from his grandfather?”

”I’m not sure. But whatever the reason, it seems to be a good motive for lying.”

Nick’s face was set. “You’ll find it.”

A soft knock came from the door. Jarrod crossed the room to open it.

“Mr. Barkley, may I come in?” Sarah asked timidly. Her voice was soft, wary.

“Certainly, my dear. What can we do for you?” Sarah stepped in and quickly closed the door behind her, making sure the door shut quietly.

“Your brother…Mama told us that…..he’s missing?”

“Yes,” Nick said. “We’re on our way to find him now.”

“Where are you going to look?” Nick and Jarrod exchanged glances; Jarrod’s eyebrow rose in question.

“The Sheriff is getting a map together to organize the search parties. Why do you ask?”

“Well, there are a few line shacks and cabins along the river that are probably not on any map. My father put them up within the last few months. Maybe…” she hesitated.

“Maybe what, Sarah?”

“Maybe you should check those. It’s just an idea.” The girl was scared. Her father would be livid if he knew she was revealing this information.

“Well, we can use all the help we can get. Thanks.”

“Papa put up four line shacks and two small cabins, about 25 miles apart, along the east side of the river, starting at the cross roads area. Do you know where that is?”

“No,” answered Nick. “But I’m sure the Sheriff does.”

“Why are you telling us this, Sarah?” Jarrod asked.

“I want to help. I don’t want to see your brother hurt. He’s too nice for that. But you know that already.” Her face was flushed.

“Thank you, Sarah. We feel he’s very special, too. And thanks for the information. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.”

“You’re welcome. I hope to hear good news very soon.” Sarah slipped out of the room, cautiously looking both ways in the hallway before tip toeing back to her bedroom.

“Now, what do you make of that?” asked Jarrod as he absently rubbed his chin in thought.

“I can’t think of it now,” Nick said. He stepped into the hallway, with his brother following close behind. “Hopefully all the men have gathered and are ready to ride.”

Stewartsville was not a big town. It boasted a population of 246, and that was with the latest two babies born in the previous month. The town had several features that Jarrod held in high esteem; a doctor’s office and a local newspaper. Because of its size, Stewartsville had to share its circuit court judge with the neighboring towns of Pleasantville and Mine Hill. Jarrod crossed his fingers that the judge resided in town.

As Jarrod looked for the District Attorney’s office, he noticed the town seemed to be situated based on two main cross streets, with four major businesses on each corner; bank, Sheriff’s office, newspaper, and hotel.

As he rode down the first main street, he caught sight of the shingle marked Physician/Surgery. It was only a few doors away from his first destination, the DA’s office. Upon impulse, he stopped at the healer’s place first, hitching up his borrowed mount to the rail post.

Jarrod knocked on the door and received no answer. He waited several minutes, left a note explaining who he was and where he could be found, and walked down to the DA’s door.

Because it was the weekend, Jarrod didn’t expect anyone to be in, but he took a chance anyway. Again, no one answered.

Next stop – the local mercantile shop. He hoped that someone would direct him to the circuit court judge’s house, if hopefully, he did reside in town.

The owner of the store offered up quite a bit of information. The most interesting part was the fact that Sam Henderson had been trying to buy the land the Murphy’s squatted on for the last several years.

“Do you know why he wanted to purchase that land? Any specific reason?” Jarrod inquired.

“Oh, well, there was some speculation that there was silver in the back hills of those parcels of land, but that was never fully established. I know of a few men who tried their hand at prospectin’ up by those brooks, but it didn’t make any sense to. The government owned the land, and if silver was found, they certainly wouldn’t give it up.”

“How did those men fair? Did they ever find anything?”

“Not as far as I know, but then again, they never came back to town after buyin’ their supplies.” The owner chuckled out loud. “They were probably discouraged at findin’ nothing and moved on.”

Jarrod’s suspicions about Sam Henderson were growing, and a hypothesis was forming in the lawyer’s head.

“You out there with the people trying to hit a ball with a stick?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am.”

The man rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. Hitting a ball with a stick….what is the world coming to?

Jarrod tipped his hat in appreciation and extended his hand in gratitude. “Thank you kindly for the information. I’m fortunate that you were open for business today.”

The store owner smiled. “The baseball men come into town quite a bit on the weekends, so I thought I’d try my hand at operatin’ on my day off.” He leaned toward Jarrod as if to tell him a secret. “Y’know, on account of it’s Sunday.”

The lawyer kept his laugh in check as he exited the store.

He headed down the street and passed by an open door. Jarrod was pleasantly surprised to find someone attending the office. He walked in and introduced himself.

“My name is Jarrod Barkley, and I’m an attorney, practicing in Stockton. I was hoping that you could answer a few questions for me.”

The newspaper man came around his desk, and extended his hand in greeting. “Nice to meet ya! I’m Herb McKay, editor of the Stewartsville Times.” The men shook hands. Herb raised his hand to his chin in thought as he returned to this desk. Instead of sitting behind it, he sat on the edge of the desk, and indicated for Jarrod to take a seat.

“Y’know, I’ve heard of a Jarrod Barkley practicing law in San Francisco. That you?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Jarrod walked over to the offered seat and sat down. “I’m very pleased to see that you’re in your office today, Mr. McKay.”

“I’m not usually in the office today.” He paused, and leaned forward as if to tell Jarrod a secret. “Y’know, on account of it’s Sunday.”

Jarrod nodded. “Yes, I’ve been told.”

“I don’t have any family to really speak of. The newspaper is my life.” His curiosity was overwhelming, but he was itching for a story. Better to play it slow.

“Well, what can I do for you? Big case here in town?” Herb inquired. He tried to look innocently curious.

“No, nothing like that at the moment. I’m here with my brothers, playing a little baseball, out at the Henderson ranch.”

“That’s some news around here! Baseball in Stewartsville! I haven’t been able to see them myself, but my reporter has been out to the field a few times and interviewed some of the players.”

Jarrod turned on his charm. He needed information, but he didn’t want to divulge any information about Heath’s disappearance just yet. He recognized the editor’s put-on naivety and used it to his advantage.

“We’d be glad to give the newspaper an interview too, Mr. McKay.”

Jarrod stood up and started slowly walking around the office. “Mr. Henderson, uh, Sam, mentioned something that I thought I could help with. He talked about some squatters down by the river, residing on land that is adjacent to his property.”

Herb snickered. “That land was the biggest story in my paper in over a year.”

Jarrod pressed, but kept his voice friendly and light. “I guess the lawyer in me was just curious as to owned that land that they settled. Sam says it’s his, a legacy from his grandfather.”

“Yeah, those squatters have been there quite awhile. I think over two years now. But they’re not squatters anymore. They actually purchased that land. Bought it fair and square from the state government a few months ago.”

Jarrod stopped his slow walk and turned back to the editor.

“Is that so?”

“Yup. He must have tried to buy that land a dozen times from the state of California, but they never wanted to sell. It’s a sad piece of property if you ask me. Long and narrow with irrigation only accomplished through hard work on a man’s back. The only good thing about the land is the river, which is really just a big brook.”

Herb looked at Jarrod and decided to be a little more aggressive. It was a slow news month. Maybe he could get a story from this visiting attorney.

“Has Mr. Henderson mentioned anything about the silver that was supposedly found there?”

Heath had slept for only a short time when he awoke from a disturbing dream. In the dream, he and his brothers were fishing by a lake; the water was cool and inviting. He longed to throw himself into the still water, and as he started to walk down to the water’s edge, he saw one of the baseball players come up behind Nick with his bat raised. Just as the bat was ready to hit his brother’s unprotected head, Heath woke up with a start. His blue eyes flew open. He was shivering. The fever was climbing too high.

He couldn’t remember what happened. Why was he here? Why was he hurting? Where were his brothers?

Nick! Nick was in trouble. He had to help him. He had to move!

He felt drunk as he struggled to sit up. The pain in his back was almost crippling, but he set his face and worked through the pain. He needed to find his brothers.

On his hands and knees, Heath started crawling toward the door. His perspiration began to drip off of him and hit the floor in little droplets. In his trance-like state, he thought it was funny that it was raining inside the cabin.

He only crawled a few feet when he sagged, due to the pain in his shoulder. Again, the blond set his sights on the door and struggled to pull himself to freedom. The heat in the little one-room house was stifling, both due to the day’s heat and Heath’s own body temperature.

He sang a mantra in his head to keep himself motivated. Nick’s in trouble….Nick’s in trouble….gotta get out….gotta get out.

He reached the door and reaching up with his uninjured arm, found the door unlocked. Hope surged through him….but he squashed it. He wasn’t outside yet. He wasn’t free yet.

He pushed up the wooden hook which unlatched the door. The blond felt the outside air rush into the cabin and refreshed his sweltering body. He felt his eyes closing as fatigue started to set in already, but he pushed it down. No! No! He had to keep moving.

The door needed to swing in, so Heath crawled sideways until he could open the door fully. Still on his hands and knees, he slowly crawled out of the cabin. The porch was two steps down and he almost tumbled down if he hadn’t stopped himself with this arms. His shoulder screamed in protest and he moaned in response. He paused to catch his breath.

The sunlight was bright, and he had to squint his eyes to see. Where was he? He felt sick; his whole body revolted at these small movements. He tried to think, but the fever caused his thoughts to remain unfocused. All he knew was that he had to find Nick. Nick needed help.

He started crawling again down the two stairs and cried out in pain as his foot hit one of the stair edges. Reality made its way into his brain for just a moment. Where was he going to go? He didn’t even know where he was.

He willed himself to just keep going. Maybe Nick wasn’t too far away. Maybe he could find that lake. Maybe….Maybe…..

Boy, it sure would feel nice to dip into that cool water for just a moment.

As Heath crawled away from the house, horses approached from the back. He actually made it into the cover of the forest canopy before he passed out from pain and fatigue. He lay hidden in the brush, shivering and fevered, silently saying his prayer of motivation.

...Continued