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A Small Price To Pay	By : cowgirl65 Category: 1 through F > The Big Valley Views: 2767 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Valley and make no money from this.

Chapter List
- 1-ch. 1
- 2-ch. 2
- 3-ch. 3
- 4-ch. 4
- 5-ch. 5
- 6-ch. 6
- 7-ch. 7
- 8-ch. 8
- 9-ch. 9
- 10-ch. 10
- 11-ch. 11
- 12-ch. 12
- 13-ch. 13
- 14-ch. 14
- 15-ch. 15
- 16-ch. 16
- 8
- 9
- 10
Nick strode into Jarrod’s law office. “Hey, Pappy, how about lunch?”
Jarrod tried to mask his anxiety before Nick saw it, but he wasn’t successful. Tossing his hat on Jarrod’s desk, Nick perched on the edge. “What’s the problem?”
Sighing, Jarrod handed over the telegram that had been delivered almost an hour ago. Almost an hour and he hadn’t been able to put it down or throw it away. Even with all their preparations, they weren’t ready and he dreaded what he knew what he had to do.
Nick unfolded it, perused it quickly and his mouth set into a frown. “Jordan?” At Jarrod’s nod, he crumpled the paper and tossed it into the wastebasket. “Why didn’t you throw it out yourself?”
Jarrod sank his head into his hands. “I have to go to him, Nick. We’re not even near to being ready to stand up to him if he tries another land grab.”
Nick got to his feet, planted his hands on the desk and leaned over to get in Jarrod’s face. “Jarrod, you’ve already got five congressmen and two senators on board. All the T’s might not be crossed yet, but that’s enough to get in Jordan’s way. We’ve hired extra men we trust and all of them are on alert for any trouble. All we have to do is tell Mother that there’ve been rumours about trouble from the railroad and we’ll get Gene and Audra to Uncle Jim like we planned before that snake knows what’s going on. You don’t got to do anything.”
Could it really be that easy? Jarrod felt even more shame at how he’d given in to Jordan’s demands in the first place. He should have trusted that he and Nick were strong enough to fight Jordan off if they stood together, inexperienced though they were after their father’s death. “I suppose you’re right.” He was grateful for Nick’s unwavering support and tried to smile. “C’mon, let’s grab some lunch.”
Nick snagged his hat and set it firmly on his head. “It’s about time. I’m starving.”
That made Jarrod chuckle as he retrieved his own hat, but then he had another sobering thought. “Nick, before we go, you have to promise me something.”
“What?” Nick asked, puzzled.
Jarrod took a deep breath. He’d been considering it since the ride home from Snider’s Creek, but there hadn’t been an opportunity to bring it up until now. “I don’t know how Jordan will react. I’m not really worried about what he might do to me, but…” He looked at Nick gravely. “I wouldn’t put it past him to have evidence; witnesses who don’t care, maybe even a photograph. He might try to expose me, Nick, and you know what happens to… sodomites.” He said the last barely above a whisper.
Nick grasped Jarrod’s arm. “Jarrod, you know I’ll back you in whatever you need. I…”
Jarrod cut him off. “That’s just what you can’t do, Nick. If something like that gets out, it won’t only hurt me, it’ll hurt the whole family, the ranch, the businesses, even the farmers.” He shook his head. “If that happens, you have to wash your hands of me and help get Mother to do the same. Cast me out, turn your back and never take a second glance.”
“Jarrod, I could never…” Nick’s face was full of outrage.
“You have to, Nick!” Jarrod practically yelled. He didn’t want to be left alone, to face the disgrace, prison and a possible death sentence, but… “If you don’t, what the devil has any of this been for? I know I was wrong accepting Jordan’s deal in the first place, but dammit, Nick…!”
Reluctantly, Nick nodded. “Yeah, I see your point. But Jarrod…” Nick pulled him into a fierce hug. “Never forget how proud I am to call you brother, even if…” Nick’s voice broke and Jarrod couldn’t fight down tears. “Even if I never get to say it again.”
“Me too, Nick,” Jarrod managed to choke out. They stayed that way until both men regained their composure and pulled apart. “I’ll head to San Francisco after lunch and… let Jordan know.”
“Over my dead body.”
Jarrod raised an eyebrow at Nick’s grim expression.
“Jarrod, you said yourself you don’t what he’ll do,” Nick went on. “That bastard doesn’t even deserve a reply, let alone in person, but if that’s what you feel you have to do, there’s no way I’m gonna let you face him alone.”
As much as Nick’s offer meant to him, Jarrod couldn’t put his brother in the line of Jordan’s fire any more than he already was by just being a Barkley. And if he did go to Jordan and something did happen, he knew Nick would never forgive himself. “You’ve got a point, Nick. But instead of going for lunch, let’s head home. I’ll feel better if we alert everyone that Jordan might be gunning for us before he knows about my refusal.”
Nick nodded. “C’mon. The sooner we get home, the sooner we can eat.” He grinned and Jarrod appreciated how he was trying to lighten the mood. But Jordan wouldn’t give up easily and that knowledge sat heavily on his mind all the way home.
Jarrod shifted quietly as he eased a cramp in his shoulder. Some of the hands reported hearing a couple strangers making inquiries and a bit of discreet checking linked those men to an associate of Hannibal Jordan’s. So after discussing the situation with their mother, Jarrod and Nick came up with a plan to set up a situation where they had at least some control. Audra and Gene were safely with their Uncle Jim and they were fairly certain it had been done quickly and quietly enough that Jordan hadn’t realized. Jim was aware of the situation as well, so they knew their youngest siblings would be well guarded.
They made a point of making plans in public for Jarrod to join Nick for a few days with most of the hands on roundup, with a mention that their mother would home alone while they were gone. So after leaving with the crew, the brothers and a couple other men split off, took roundabout ways back to the house and settled in to wait.
Jarrod heard a faint rustle behind him and instinctively knew it was Nick.
“Jake just told me those two men left their horses not far away and are making their way here on foot,” he muttered in Jarrod’s ear.
Jarrod nodded. He took a glance to the parlour doors where a lone lamp was lit and the shadows suggested that their mother was reading a book by the fire. Suggestion only, since Victoria Barkley was sitting there, not with a book, but with a shotgun across her lap and a pistol by her hand. They hadn’t even tried to dissuade her; she was an expert shot and her sons knew they wouldn’t be able to get her to sit back and let others take risks for her.
The crunch of gravel put both men back on alert. Jordan’s men were good, Jarrod had to admit as he saw the darker shadows slip closer to the house, but not good enough. He heard the click as Nick readied his pistol and Jarrod quietly pulled his own.
A hand reached for the door latch and Nick’s voice suddenly boomed out. “Hold it right there.”
The figure spun and Jarrod recognized the half-lit face. They had decided earlier that at least one of the would-be kidnappers or assassins should be left alive to report back to their master, but the memory of that same face leering at him before his cock was shoved down Jarrod’s throat drove that consideration from his mind. His aim was true and the man fell back, a bullet hole in the centre of his forehead. He didn’t hesitate to fire a second shot that caught the other man right in the chest and he fell without a sound as well.
“Well, so much for messengers,” he heard Nick say, but it was as if his brother was at the other end of a long tunnel. There was a loud buzzing in his ears, he couldn’t quite focus and he didn’t even notice when his gun fell out of his hand.
“Jarrod?”
The sound of his mother’s voice and the soft touch of her hand on his arm broke through the fog.
“Jarrod, are you all right?”
He suddenly realized he was shaking and tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, Mother,” he said quietly as he reached down to retrieve his pistol and reholstered it. “Just relieved is all.” Glancing over at Nick, he could tell his brother didn’t quite believe him. “I suppose we should send for Harry.”
Nick called to one of the men rushing over. “Jake, head into town and let Sheriff Lyman know we had to shoot a couple intruders.”
The cowboy nodded. “Will do, boss.”
“Cody, make sure these bodies aren’t disturbed,” Nick told the other man. “Jarrod and I are gonna take our mother inside.”
“You got it, boss.”
Nick poured them all drinks while they waited. Jarrod was glad no one seemed inclined to talk, although Nick paced restlessly around the room and his mother kept giving him concerned glances.
Well, he was concerned too. If he’d been asked earlier in the day, Jarrod would have said he didn’t believe in violence as a form of revenge, but that night’s events proved otherwise. He had enough time to aim and only injure, but he’d deliberately chosen to kill both men because of things that had been done to him.
At that moment, he made a choice. Maybe he did have some of the ruthlessness that defined Hannibal Jordan, but he didn’t have to let it define him and vowed to himself that he wouldn’t let it happen again.
- 8
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A Small Price To Pay