The Christmas
Conversation
by
catgirl63
Disclaimer:
The characters and situations of the TV program "
The dawn’s early light was just
peeking over the horizon when the blond cowboy was riding out the front gates
of the ranch. Unknown to him, a pair of
hazel eyes was watching from a window in the mansion.
‘I wonder where he’s
going’ thought Nick. ‘It’s
Christmas morning and I told him we were not working today!’
Nick quickly finished
getting dressed, ran out to the barn, saddled
As he rode, Heath kept
wondering ‘Can I do this? Maybe I should
wait? There’s no harm in waiting, is
there?’
“Heath Barkley, people
are going to think you’re crazy if they see you talking to yourself.” Said Heath out loud.
As he rode, he couldn’t
help but admire the beauty of the ranch that he had come to love in the short
time he was here. As he stopped at the
top of the hill and climbed down from Charger, he paused outside the gate. While kneeling in front of the tombstone, he
started speaking oblivious to the fact that he had an audience with an ear
tuned to what he was saying.
‘Today, I know I am a
lucky man to have two families love and care for me.’
“Audra, my radiant
little sister can make me laugh at a drop of a hat. Someday she will marry and have little rays
of sunshine of her own. She will be a
wonderful mother to her children and aunt to any future nieces and nephews.”
“Jarrod,
my eldest brother who has a heart of gold and a mind like quicksilver. He has
always been there for me, ready to help with any advice or to act as a sounding
board for ideas and suggestions.”
“Victoria,
my stepmother. She opened
herself and her family to me while knowing this would create a rift in the
family and scandal in the community. Her
generosity and love are without question.
She treats me as one of her own children and has always been there when
I have needed her.”
“Then there is
Nick. He is the most passionate of them
all. Passionate about
the ranch, home, family and friends.
He is the one who took the longest to come to the fact that I was a
brother. He is the one that fought me
the hardest, but, has also been the first to stand by my side.”
“My fight into the
family has been long and arduous, especially with Nick who liked to talk mostly
with his fists in the beginning. There
are still some days when it seems like when we first met, but living together
for eight months has tempered us both. I would have never thought the ranch
would one day be the place I feel honored to call home. Nick and I are more like partners now.”
“Thank you and Merry
Christmas Father” said Heath while wiping the tears from his cheeks. Feeling a hand on his back, Heath stood and
turned around.
“We are brothers first,
partners second,” stated Nick while giving his little brother a hug.
“Father, thank you and
Merry Christmas” said Nick. “Let’s go
home little brother.”
The boys mounted their
horses and rode for home.
‘Yes, indeed’ they both
thought ‘I am lucky’.
THE END