Post by catgirl63 on Dec 1, 2010 10:56:36 GMT -4
Chapter 101
Returning back to the hotel, Heath helped his uncle with the rest of the cleanup before seeking out his daughter who was with his aunt Rachel. His search took him to the kitchen and he smiled at the greeting shouted by the small girl as she caught sight of him.
“Papa!” exclaimed Joy dressed in her sleeping gown and holding out her biscuit for her daddy.
“Morn’g Joy,” replied Heath placing a kiss on her golden locks before sitting on the bench. “No, you eat your biscuit…papa will have something later.”
“How are you feeling, Heath?” asked Rachel as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him and then sat on the other side of the table.
“Thanks….I’m fine,” murmured the blond with a shrug, “Just a bit banged up.”
“A bit?” repeated the older woman drawing a lop-sided grin from her adopted nephew.
“Well, maybe more than a bit,” winked Heath before asking. “Have you seen Audra this morning?”
Nodding, Rachel offered as she poured some milk in a cup for Joy, “Yes, she’s fine. I saw her when she came down to make up a tray for her mother.”
“Is Mrs. Barkley alright?” queried Heath, the concern evident in his tone and eyes.
“She’s fine, dear. Audra said they had stayed up late talking.” Explained Rachel, her brown eyes studying the blond’s face as it relaxed with relief. “Your brothers are in the dining room.”
Taking a sip of his coffee, Heath rested his left elbow on the table and lay his cheek on his fist watching as Joy ate her breakfast. He had felt a moment of unsettling concern when he had thought the Barkley matriarch was perhaps ill and he took in a breath, letting it out slowly. He felt a hand touching his arm and he looked over into the emotive eyes across the table.
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Rachel in a low voice.
Shaking his head the blond reached up and carefully rubbed his face before grasping a hold of the coffee cup in both hands, the temperature of the liquid warming his skin through the metal. Rachel Caufield and his mama had been the best of friends along with Hannah and eventually had become the same with his uncle. The trio of friends had stayed in the town together, each separately at one time or another, giving up a chance to move on to another existence. They were friends, steadfast and stalwart, through thick and thin.
“Where’s Hannah?”
Taking a moment to push a blonde curl behind Joy’s ear, Rachel answered, “She’s resting Heath….she’s not as young as she used to be contrary to how she acts.”
“What I decide for me and Joy will affect all of us Aunt Rachel.” Sighed Heath after a minute, again his mind going back and forth like tall grasses blowing in a breeze. “I don’t have the right to ask you, Matt or Hannah to uproot your lives because of what I decide.”
Smiling and reaching over to hold one of his hands between hers, Rachel’s brown eyes shimmered with understanding. “Ah son, we’d do anything for you and for Joy…we just want you to be happy and satisfied. If Leah were here, she’d tell you the same thing only I think she’d also add her wish for you to give your brothers and sister a chance too….Mrs. Barkley too.”
“Yeah, maybe so…” muttered Heath walking to the sink and wetting a cloth. Returning to the table, he wiped the tiny girl’s face and hands.
“I know she would Heath,” offered Rachel firmly, elaborating further as his eyes met hers. “I never knew the name of your father…she never told me but sometimes late at night she’d wonder about what could have been. She loved him very much you know and yet, she had the strength to let him go because she needed to. Their love was full of passion and it was doomed from the start. It was passion that carried it too far and Leah always regretted how her actions in a moment of reckless abandonment hurt you, Heath. She was a good person your mama…a wonderful person and if she were alive, I think you know what she would say and what she would ask of you. I know she wouldn’t want you to forsake any chance at happiness you could find. She’d say what you would have to gain would be worth the risk.”
Taking a deep breath, the blond nodded before offering a hint of a smile. Standing and lifting Joy who was holding her hands upward from her chair, he propped her on his left hip as he round the table and bent to place a kiss on the slightly tanned face of his aunt.
“Thank you Aunt Rachel. I’d best get some clothes on Joy.” Heath said before winking and leaving the kitchen with Joy.
Carrying his daughter to the staircase, he climbed upward and entered the room where the trunk her mother brought to Strawberry was kept. Leaving the door ajar, he set Joy down and opened the lid, searching for outfit for his girl to wear as Joy sat on the floor, talking to herself and playing with the worn blocks from his childhood. He closed his eyes for a moment at the hint of roses, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth as he brought Riley’s face to his mind.
“Heath?”
The soft voice opened his eyes and he saw the silver haired matriarch peering around the door. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude…I heard Joy…”
“Oh, its okay, Mrs. Barkley,” offered Heath gesturing her further into the room. “I was just looking for something for Joy to wear.”
Smiling at the young man who welcomed her into his realm, she lowered herself to sit on the hard floor beside Joy. Heath took a blue gingham dress from the trunk and held it up, his examination stopping at the sound of laughter coming from Victoria Barkley as she was entertained by Joy. Turning his face, he studied the pair for a moment, his eyes deep in thought.
“Are you okay, Heath?” inquired Victoria at the man who seemed to be staring off into space.
“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” replied Heath sheepishly, a hint of red coursing up his neck from having been caught day dreaming. “Sorry, I was lost in thinking for a moment. How’s Audra after…uh…last night?”
“She’s fine,” assured Victoria, before adding, “Thank you again for what you did, Heath. This is the second time you’ve come to her rescue and I can’t tell you how much it means to me…all of us.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a man if I hadn’t done something,” said Heath as he stood with the dress and a brush in hand. Moving over, he knelt down beside the pair of females in the room. Standing Joy up, he pulled off her sleeping gown and put the dress onto her squirming body. Joy went back to playing with her blocks as he buttoned the back of her dress, offering quietly, “Like I told Nick and Jarrod last night, Mrs. Barkley…”
“Heath, please call me Victoria…”
“Ma’am, I couldn’t...” protested the blond with a shake of his head.
“Please…I insist,” urged the small woman, her hand lightly resting on his arm and smiling before adding teasingly. “Mrs. is too formal and well…it sounds old.”
Chuckling, Heath nodded before continuing, “Like I told the boys…I didn’t know Anders would do something like that and I’m sorry for him being near enough to try….”
“Audra is fine, Heath and if you ask your sister…she doesn’t blame you and neither do I.” Assured Victoria, locking her eyes with his and hesitating for a moment before saying. “I know you want what’s best for Joy’s future and selfishly, I do too. You’re the son of my husband and she’s your little girl. I think of Joy as my grandchild just as much as if she were a child of Nick, Jarrod or Audra’s.”
“Yes, I can see that in your eyes ma’am...um...Victoria,” acknowledged the blond quietly.
“With the way your brothers are going Joy may be the only grandchild I have,” smirked Victoria, enjoying a moment of levity with the blond as he laughed, a moment which felt as if it were as natural in the world.
“Run fast do they?” inquired Heath, his eyes dancing with laughter.
“Faster than a bullet,” confirmed the matriarch with a smile. Reaching over and squeezing his hand, she offered, “You and Joy are part Barkley, Heath….that night when you left the ranch…we were all afraid we’d never see you again. Please….please say you’ll maybe add Stockton to any plans you may make.”
Reaching over and laying his hand over hers, Heath replied, “I hope you understand the only thing I can promise is to keep Stockton in mind. I won’t…can’t give you any more than that.”
“That’s all we can ask, Heath and whatever is to be, I want to help however I can. And Heath when I say you and Joy…I mean your uncle and aunts too….they’re your family which makes them our family too.” Assured the tiny woman, caressing a silky cheek of Joy’s before standing and offering a smile before leaving him with his daughter.
Picking up Joy and sitting on the bed with his daughter in his lap, Heath ran the brush through her hair and stopped. Resting his cheek on the side of his girl’s head, his eyes stared at the door the matriarch departed through as he considered her words. Heaving a deep sigh, he muttered to himself, ‘Boy howdy’.
