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Brothers
By : cowgirl65
Category: 1 through F > The Big Valley
Views: 3162 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: i don't own The Big Valley and make no money from this.
Chapter List
- 9
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Heath kept a vigil by Jarrod’s bedside; he owed it to his brother to stay by him. Nick couldn’t keep out of Jarrod’s room either, but he couldn’t just sit there and helped by bringing water and whatever else was needed. Jarrod woke a few times, but the concussion and the painkillers kept him from being completely lucid.
Jarrod developed a fever the next day and Nick immediately fetched Dr. Merar. The doctor examined his restless patient and shook his head.
“It’s too early to say,” he explained as he tucked his stethoscope back in his bag. “He’s likely developing an infection in his leg, but it’s no more swollen than I’d expect from any bad break.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” said Nick. “I mean, you won’t have to…” Nick took a deep breath. “He’ll keep his leg, right?”
“It’s too early,” the doctor repeated. “All you can do right now is try to keep him cool and make sure to give him lots of fluids. If he develops extra heat or any red streaks on that leg…” He sighed. “Call me immediately. Better to lose the leg than his life.”
“Will do, doc, thanks.” Heath turned his attention back to Jarrod as Nick showed Dr. Merar out. “Fight, big brother,” he whispered. “Fight, show me how tough you really are and I’ll do my best to show you how much I care.”

Heath and Nick took turns sitting beside their brother, cooling him with wet cloths and keeping a close eye on his leg. They’d sent a telegram to their mother, but a heavy snowfall was preventing the trains from getting through for a few more days. Jarrod’s fever finally broke and both ranchers, plus the doctor, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as though his life, as well as his leg, was out of danger.
Finally Jarrod was sleeping peacefully and Nick felt like he could leave and see to the work around the ranch.
“You take good care of him,” he ordered Heath before he left and Heath grinned.
“Nothing I’d rather do,” Heath replied. He grabbed a sandwich and took it with him up to Jarrod’s room, along with a bridle that needed mending. Dr. Merar said he’d likely sleep for a while longer after fighting off the fever, but Heath needed to be there when Jarrod woke up.
He’d almost finished stitching the browband securely when he heard rustling from the bed. Looking up, Heath saw Jarrod was awake and trying to sit up. He quickly put down the bridle and grabbed Jarrod’s shoulders.
“Easy, big brother, let me give you a hand.” He helped Jarrod move and propped a couple of pillows behind him to give him support.
Jarrod gave him a small smile and a nod of thanks. “Do you have any water?”
“Right here.” Heath poured a glass of water from the pitcher and gave it to Jarrod, who took it with a hand that shook only slightly. He drank it down and handed the glass back to Heath.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Jarrod leaned back on the pillows before asking, “What happened? The last thing I remember clearly,” and he grimaced, “is you and Nick carrying me upstairs after I proved how much of an idiot I am by trying to break that wild horse.”
Heath wondered if Jarrod remembered their conversation, reckoned he probably didn’t and wondered if he should say anything. “You busted your leg pretty bad, got a bit of a concussion and some broken ribs. You ran a real high fever for the last couple days, but the doc says you’re on the mend.” He reached out and grasped Jarrod’s hand. “You had us pretty worried for a while there.”
Jarrod shifted uncomfortably and Heath readjusted the pillows.
“Guess I proved you boys were right,” he said with a sigh.
Heath tightened his grip on Jarrod’s hand. “Jarrod, all you proved was that you got more guts than a lot of men I know. Anyone can get thrown, not many would get on an unbroken horse when they don’t do it for a living.”
Jarrod gave Heath a small smile of gratitude. “I helped out with the breaking and the ranch work all the time before I went into law, but Nick’s probably right when he says I’m getting soft,” he admitted.
“No shame in that,” Heath told him with a grin. “Reckon that only means we should get you out there more often before someone mistakes you for a real daisy.”
“If I weren’t stuck in this bed, I’d call you out behind the barn,” Jarrod threatened, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
“I can think of better things to do with you behind the barn. And we could definitely prove you aren’t soft.” Then Heath wondered if he should have said that, but Jarrod just chuckled.
“I think it might be a while before I can oblige you.”
But that statement gave Heath an idea, something he could do that was solely for Jarrod. Well not entirely, he’d enjoy it too, but Jarrod would receive the full benefit. “Reckon I can oblige you, though,” he drawled lazily and pulled the covers down slowly.

Jarrod caught his breath. He was nude under the covers except for the bandages, likely because it was easier for everyone to take of him while he was unconscious. He glanced down at his wrapped torso and winced at the mottled blue and green he could see on his right leg, but then he gasped when Heath’s mouth wrapped around his cock. “Heath…” The warm heat was exquisite and made his dick start to swell, but injured as he was, he was worried about what Heath’s ultimate intention might be.
Heath sucked a couple more times, bringing his cock to full attention before he moved up to kiss Jarrod’s lips. “As long as I’m not hurting you, Jarrod, let me do this. I reckon you’ve been doing all the giving and I’ve been doing all the taking since we met. It should be more equal and I’m sorry.” He kissed any exposed skin he could find on his way back down to Jarrod’s groin. Then he looked up with a wicked gleam in his eyes that went straight to Jarrod’s cock. “And besides, I can tell how much you want it. This can only be good for you, right?”
Heath turned his attention back to Jarrod’s dick. He took it slow and Jarrod felt a flush of pleasure wash through him. Oh, god, it was just as incredible as he’d imagined. Then he was sure his cock hit the back of Heath’s throat and he gasped. That hurt, the deep breath, not the way Heath was swallowing him, but the twinge of pain was nothing compared to the heaven that was Heath’s mouth. He tried to thrust, but that did send a jolt of agony through his broken leg, so Jarrod just lay still and let Heath take care of him.
One of Heath’s hands started fondling his balls, adding to the pleasure, and then that hand snuck back and a finger worked its way into his ass. “God, Heath, that’s good,” he moaned and Heath just intensified his ministrations. His lips applied more pressure, his finger went deeper to find just the right spot and soon Jarrod’s seed was spurting down Heath’s throat. Heath sucked it down with as much enjoyment as he did when he was doing Heath and Jarrod sunk back into the pillows in satisfaction.
“I take it you liked that?” Heath drawled as he moved up to nestle beside Jarrod.
“Mmm hmm.” Then Jarrod got another surprise when Heath moved the pillows and slid behind him so Jarrod was resting against his chest. Heath wrapped his arms around him and kissed his neck lightly.
“When I saw you lying there in the corral, a part of me died thinking you were gone,” Heath told him softly. “I don’t know what it is about you, Jarrod, but it’s not just the sex. You’ve worked your way into my heart and I don’t know if I could ever be complete again if I lost you.”
Jarrod was stunned at Heath’s words, words he never thought he’d hear. “I’ve wanted you to hold me like this,” he admitted when he got over the shock. “The sex is incredible, but this is something I wanted but didn’t think I could ever have.” He relaxed back into Heath’s arms.
Heath’s hands caressed his chest above the bandage. “I’m sorry if I made you think I didn’t care.”
Jarrod was a bit embarrassed. He was starting to suspect he’d said something when he was feverish, but here in Heath’s arms he was too comfortable to really worry about it.
“The only person who ever really cared about me was my mama, and maybe Rachel and Hannah,” Heath went on. “Reckon I learned not to show it so I wouldn’t get hurt. Not much of an excuse, though.”
Jarrod’s ribs complained when he turned to face Heath, but he needed to do it anyway. “It’s all right, Heath,” he said and gave Heath a soft kiss. “You’re more than just my brother; I’ll always care and I’ll do everything I can to avoid hurting you.” The relieved look on Heath’s face went straight to Jarrod’s heart and he chided himself for making an assumption about Heath’s motives without talking to him. It wouldn’t be easy being lovers and brothers both, but he had faith they could be whatever they wanted. Then he heard a low rumble from his stomach that made Heath chuckle.
“Hungry?”
“A little,” Jarrod admitted with a sheepish grin. Heath careful extracted himself out from behind Jarrod and pulled up the blankets after he got to his feet.
“I’ll go see what there is in the kitchen and be right back.” He went to the door, turned and winked. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Jarrod relaxed back against the pillows when the door closed, more content than he’d been for a while.
Heath came back with some soup that Silas had waiting and they spent an enjoyable half-hour talking, eating and making plans for some time together, just them and with Nick after Jarrod’s leg healed. Heath took the dishes back down to the kitchen and it wasn’t long after he left that Jarrod heard loud strides and the jingle of spurs. He braced himself for the force of nature that was Nick.
“Hey, Jarrod, Heath said you were up,” Nick announced with a big grin as he came into the room. “How’re you feeling?”
“Sore and foolish.” Jarrod sighed.
Nick plopped down in the chair by the bed. “Jarrod, whatever made you do such a damn fool thing? You almost broke your neck!”
Jarrod shook his head. “It’s not important.”
“Not important?” Nick ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “When you almost kill yourself, you damned well better believe it’s important. You better talk to me, Pappy, and now.”
“Like you talked to me when you almost died after being bit by that wolf?” Jarrod retorted bitterly and then wished he could take it back. He’d made an uneasy peace with the fact that Nick didn’t tell him he was dying and he didn’t really want to drag all that up now.
Nick was visibly taken aback. “Jarrod, I told you, I didn’t want you all to have to watch me die.”
“You didn’t want us to watch you die.” Jarrod snorted in disbelief. He may have made some kind of peace with his own feelings, but Nick had hurt everyone else as well. “That’s one of the most selfish things I’ve ever heard. What about what you put Mother and Audra through, not knowing if you were alive or dead? What about Heath, knowing the hell they were going through and not being able to say anything? You don’t think the worry was slowly killing them anyway?”
“Jarrod…” Nick reached out to him, but Jarrod didn’t want to say anything else. He’d already said more than he’d intended and closed his eyes.
“My head’s hurting again, I’m going to take a rest.” And with that he turned away.

Heath went out to the barn with a lighter heart. Jarrod was going to be okay and it was a weight off his mind that he’d told his brother how he felt. He smiled as he remembered Jarrod’s words, I’ll always care. Brother and lover weren’t two things easily reconciled, but Heath was determined to make it work. It wouldn’t have been the same if they’d grown up together, but they hadn’t and something more had happened between them.
Replacing the repaired bridle with the other tack, Heath started checking to see if anything else needed mending. He heard the jingle of spurs and turned to find Nick standing behind him with an uncomfortable look on his face.
“Hey,” his brother greeted.
Heath eyed his uneasy expression. “Hey, Nick, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Heath knew there was something, but he also knew the best way to get Nick to open up was to keep quiet. “Whatever you say, Nick.” He turned back to the tack.
“Heath, do you think I’m selfish?”
Heath didn’t know what he’d expected to hear, but that wasn’t it. He kept his eyes on the harnesses as he asked, “Why’re you asking?” Stubborn and prideful, yes, but selfish wasn’t a word he normally associated with Nick Barkley.
“I dunno, something Jarrod said, I guess.” There was a long pause. “I hurt everyone when I went off to Silver Springs, didn’t I?”
Heath thought back to those weeks, to the silence around the dinner table and the pain he saw in Jarrod every time their eyes met. Their nightly encounters were harsh and almost desperate, Jarrod trying not to ask and Heath unable to alleviate his family’s or his brother’s suffering due to his promise to Nick. He remembered what else Jarrod had said, that Nick didn’t have the privilege of not letting them share whatever trouble he was in. He recalled the look on Jarrod’s face when he admitted he knew where Nick was and realized it wasn’t only that Nick had gone away that hurt their oldest brother, it was also that Nick hadn’t confided in him, in the man he called Pappy.
“Yes, Nick, you did,” Heath told his brother bluntly. “If there’s one thing I know about family, it’s that they help each other and you took that away from all of us.”
There was pain in Nick’s eyes that was akin to that in Jarrod’s over those weeks as he sat down heavily on a bale of straw. “I’m sorry, Heath. I realize now I had no right to ask you not to tell the family. I hurt you and I’m sorry.”
“It’s the rest of the family you should be apologizing to, not me,” Heath said. “I knew what I was doing when I made that promise, but you had no right not to let them help you. And asking that of me hurt Jarrod a whole lot more than anyone else.” Nick looked up at him questioningly. “He’s been your brother your whole life,” Heath explained quietly. “He’s told me how close you were growing up and about when you were trapped in that mine. He’s had your back more times than I know about and you just shut him out, just walked away to die without a word.” Heath shook his head. “No, you owe Jarrod that apology, Nick, not me.”
Nick didn’t say anything and Heath decided to leave him alone with his thoughts. If Nick didn’t like what he said, then so be it. He could take his satisfaction later if he wanted to, but Heath was done with staying silent and hurting those he cared for. He hoped Nick would see it that way too as he left the barn.
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Brothers	By : cowgirl65 Category: 1 through F > The Big Valley Views: 3162 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: i don't own The Big Valley and make no money from this.

Brothers