by Livvie
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program
"
The blond cowboy sighed as he stared into the roaring flames
of the fire in the large fireplace. Being in a room with so many fancy,
intricate, decorations made him uneasy, he just wasn't used to it. Growing up
in Strawberry he and his Mama we're thankful if they
even got a Christmas tree, and even if they did it was puny. It still amazed
him how much his new family could spend on little trinkets that would only be
on display a couple of weeks out of the year, and then stored in boxes the rest
of it.
He supposed he should have been used to it by now, the Barkley's being somewhat
ostentatious and all, but he wasn't. Then again, when he thought about it more,
he didn't really know if he ever would be. But he was lucky to be blessed with
a family that didn't care if he was used to it or not, they just loved him fro
who he was. Which was a lot more than he had ever hoped to
deserve.
***
Jarrod could sense Heath's uneasiness from across the room. The lawyer didn't
really blame him, because he himself was uneasy also, just for a different
reason. It wasn't that he didn't like Heath, quite the contrary, he was proud
to call him brother. He remembered when the cowboy had first announced his
claim to his part of the Barkley holdings. Jarrod shook his head,
looking back it was hard to believe that he had actually tried to buy Heath off
with three-hundred dollars, money he could clearly see that this stranger
needed. However, Heath had refused, and stuffed the cash in a glass of whiskey.
And then, when no one else believed him, he fought alongside his brothers, the
very ones who had refused him. He fought anyway, to protect something that had
been denied him. It was then that Jarrod realized that this man had to be his
brother, because if he wasn't he wouldn't have risked his neck for something
that wasn't his.
No, liking Heath was not the problem, he very much admired him. He just still
couldn't believe that his father had fathered an illegitimate child. Here he
was in the same room with the product of his father's marital unfaithfulness.
But putting his own feelings aside, he knew that
***
Nick's stomach churned. Normally he was the type of man who would eat just
about anything placed in front of him. BUT NOT THOSE COOKIES!!!! He just KNEW
Audra had baked those. He understood and appreciated his little sister's
efforts...but that didn't mean he actually had to EAT them. However, he
couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for poor Heath, he hadn't inquired as to
who had baked the cookies, and then had to pretend that he had enjoyed them.
But then again, after he stayed around the house a little while longer he would
know as well as Nick did that Audra's food just had a certain LOOK about it.
It was still somewhat hard for Nick to admit that Heath was his brother, but at
least now he was past the phase of denying it. Now he could ALSO admit that in
the beginning he had done some not-very-nice things to Heath. Things that probably placed him in a permanent spot on Santa's
naughty list. But now was the time to put that behind him and try to
build a bond with his new little brother.
***
Audra smiled at her two oldest brothers, trying to pretend they weren't staring
at Heath. She knew they were just trying to make sure their new little brother
was enjoying his first Christmas at the ranch. Even she did her part, she made
cookies. Making Heath feel welcome was a new improvement for Nick, considering
he hadn't fully accepted Heath until the Evan Miles incident. She remembered
vividly the pain and fury in his eyes as he awaited news about Heath's
condition after he'd been shot, something Nick didn't usually let people see,
and that he only displayed when the ones he really loved and cared about were
hurt.
She too had had her own reservations about the whole ordeal of Heath becoming a
Barkley. Which was funny, because she was one of the first to
accept him as an equal. Like all her siblings, minus Heath, she had
wanted to believe that her father was perfect, that he cared for everything and
everyone, and never did anything to hurt anyone. But in that very living room
was proof that Tom Barkley was NOT perfect. He may not have ever meant to hurt
Heath, he didn't know him, but nevertheless he had.
But now it didn't matter to Audra what happened a long time ago between her
father and Leah Thomson. What mattered was that Heath was here now, he was her
big brother, and she was his little sister, and she was going to treat him with
all the respect and dignity he deserved.
***
All siblings had their own opinions about Heath,
likewise he had his own opinions about them. They all knew what traits that
they liked or disliked about each other. But they were going to use those
traits to their advantage, to get them through this first Christmas. All of them. They were in this together.
THE END