Suzie
Jarrod Barkley made one last futile attempt to move and only broke off when the pain from his trapped leg became absolutely unbearable. He leaned back against the shifting bank of earth and shook the sweat from his eyes. It was bitterly cold, but the effort to free himself had made him sweat profusely. He felt lonely and afraid and another emotion coursed strongly through him too. Bitter fury, all self-directed made him so angry that he trembled and could barely breathe. Stupid, he thought, of all the stupid, stupid things to do! All his life he had criticized his hot-headed brother Nick for his impulsive actions, now I've been a bigger fool than either of my stubborn brothers Nick or Heath could ever be!
**********
“Jarrod, that’s foolishness!” Jarrod had never heard Heath voice his opinion so
forcefully, yet he paid it no heed. Should have listened! Should at least
have heard him out. But, no; after all those years telling Nick to think, I
don’t! Some example I’ve set.
“Heath, I understand,” Jarrod angrily tried to placate him, “but I still think I
need to do this. I’m going.”
Heath
hooked his arm as he turned to leave. “Hold up a minute! I don’t agree with you;
just don’t think you’re going about it right. But I don’t think it’s safe for ya
to go alone, either. I’ll come along with ya.”
“I need to leave now. I can’t wait for you to get ready.”
Heath picked up his saddle bags. “No need to wait; I’m already packed.”
Jarrod had
to smile at his brother’s foresight, though it had shot his excuse to pieces.
“What about Nick? He’s expecting you to take care of the ranch while he’s
gone.”
“He’s due back today. I left a note with Mother at the ranch. He’ll understand.”
“Well, you’ve just ruined all my excuses. I want to go alone. I am going
alone.”
Heath
smirked as only he could. “The only place I’m gonna let you go alone right now
is the latrine, and even then I’ll be guarding the door. Nope; you’re going with
me or not at all. AND I have orders from Mother that I can make sure you do as I
say.”
“And how do you aim to do that, little brother?” Jarrod asked wryly. Heath
leaned back against the desk in Jarrod’s office and put his hand to his chin,
rubbing it thoughtfully.
“Let’s just say that over the years I’ve picked up a few ways to stop a body
without really doin’ any harm, and, yes, Mother knows exactly what I mean.”
The corner
of Jarrod’s mouth turned up. “Alright; I get the picture,” he acquiesced.
Should’ve not gone at all. Why wouldn’t I let him talk some sense into me?
And where is he now? I don’t know and he might not, either. “God, this
hurts!” he cried aloud. Heath wasn’t in great shape when I last saw him. Face
bruised, ribs hurt, back acting up again. And it’s all my fault. What animal am
I to have not fought? Why didn’t I fight?
**********
Stay awake,
man! Think! There’s got to be some way out of this mess. Okay; what do I know?
I’ll be dehydrated soon. God I wish Nick or Heath were here! They’d know what to
do. Or Mother and Audra!
Oh God! Breath, Jarrod, breathe! Deep breaths, yes it hurts me but I must. Slow
deep breaths will calm me down. Alright. Alright. There we go. We? Steady
yourself, man. How did I get here? I obviously have time to spare. Is this a
here, or a there? Is it an anywhere?
**********
“What is it, Nick?”
Victoria
asked concernedly. “What trouble plagues him? You didn’t see Jarrod before,
Nick. He wasn’t thinking clearly. He’s so, so troubled.”
“He’ll be alright, Mother. He’ll come out fine. I know it.”
Victoria
placed her hand over Nick’s on her shoulder and continued to wait.
***********
It was dark now. The day’s heat had vanished and the wind blew in a coldness
that made him shiver and shake. Dawn was nearing again. Frantically Jarrod
twisted about, clutching at anything and everything, but there was nothing,
nothing at all. Not even the sand seemed tangible anymore. His thoughts went
wild.
God, I’m never gonna get out of here! I won’t make it! What’ll they say? Died
of natural causes. HA! That’s the truth––got myself into this, my natural
compulsion to get in and fix things. Now I can’t fix anything. How will they
deal with it? Maybe I’ll even get a statue like the one of Father. Wouldn’t that
be funny? He dies fighting against evil and I die fighting against common sense.
And here I am, always purported to be the sensible one. But do you see Nick like
this? And he goes off half-cock all the time. My senselessness is going
to kill me. This area’s so deserted and I’m so very hot. GOD, it’s so hot! How
did I get myself here?
***********
Jarrod, I
know you care a great deal for Suzie,” Victoria began, “but he is her uncle and
he can take her wherever he wishes. It’s the law.” He knew it was true, but he
would have none of it.
“I can’t let him do it! She’s just a five year old girl––I can’t let that animal
have her! I was her father’s friend. I promised to look after her. I can’t let
this happen.” His tone was angry and determined and somehow both warm and cold,
as if he was bound to do it but it was a privilege. “I’m stopping in town to
pick up supplies and be on my way. Goodbye, Mother.” He kissed her softly on the
cheek and turned to leave.
“Jarrod, at least take someone with you!”
“No. I’m doing this alone.
Well, that idea hadn’t worked; Heath came anyway and off they went, towards the
desert. Heath wouldn’t let them go through it; apparently he was familiar with
the area and kept them just at the edge, It frustrated Jarrod to take the long
route, which he considered a waste of time. Unfortunately for him, his brother
had inherited more Barkley stubbornness than he had. If he hadn’t been so angry
he would have laughed over that tidbit. If I hadn’t been so angry I would’ve
done a lotta things differently.
***********
The fight. He’d been wrong then. That dirty little saloon in that dirty little
town on the edge of that dirty, stinking, prison of a desert that was to be his
funeral pyre, burning him slowly while the buzzards looked greedily on.
Jarrod didn’t know the exact details of the fight, but he thought it involved a
man trying to take liberties with the little senorita barkeep. Heath could’ve
handled that fine -- saddle-weary and all -- except that evil likes company. He
still managed to get them both, but not without damage. His lip and knuckles
were bleeding, his face was gaining new colors, his ribs hurt like the dickens,
and he’d been in the unfortunate position of being shoved into the wall,
aggravating an old back injury. And while all this was happening, Jarrod was
counting the shots to bottled, blissful unawares –– scotch, if one could call it
that. Heath straightened up gingerly, grabbed his beer, and walked over to
Jarrod’s table in the dark back corner but didn’t say a word. That was worse
than the chewing out Jarrod had expected. Not even a mention of it; just moving
on, accepting that where Nick would’ve stepped in and evened the odds, Jarrod
had sat there. And not only did Heath not talk about it, he acted as if it was a
non-issue.
“Damn it, Heath!” he said in an angry whisper, “can’t you yell at me or punch me
or something?”
“Why?”
Jarrod was
incredulous. “The man asks why. Ha! You just took on two men alone while I sat
here and let you do it. Nick wouldn’ta done that and I shouldn’t have, either.”
“Oh,” came the thoughtful reply.
“Why don’t you yell at me?”
Heath was
silent for a long moment. “Well, I guess I understand what you’re going
through.”
“How could you?”
“I was a very angry man for a couple years, Jarrod, and not for too different a
reason.”
“Father.”
“Yes; he was part of it.
“The other part?”
“Let’s just say I understand both you and little Suzie’s positions right now.”
His uncle.
“I didn’t rea––”
“Don’t bother with that. What’s important now is little Suzie. How about we head
over to the inn an’ leave in the mornin’?”
“Suits me.” He got up and started to walk when he noticed Heath hadn’t left his
chair. Jarrod extended his arm wordlessly and Heath pulled himself up with a
grimace, nodding his thanks before they walked out. Inside the room, Jarrod
tried to convince Heath to sleep on one of the cots with its thin mattress, but
lost the battle, with his brother insisting the floor was better if he wanted to
be able to mount a horse the next day. Heath’s back didn’t improve much over
night and Jarrod rode out towards the desert without him. No more skirting the
edges; he was going straight through.
**********
He didn’t remember how he got there, but his leg was pinned beneath a rock and
no one was around. Heath would look, but sand tracks don’t stick when the wind
blows.
Jarrod started to feel a sensation of coldness. The winds were still, the sun
still shone, his throat still parched, yet he was cooler. Is this how you die
in the desert? Thank God for small mercies. Baked and cooled before being eaten.
I tried, Suzie; I did. But it wasn’t enough. Not enough. Never enough. I hope
someone helps you sometime. Wish it could be me.......
His eyes closed and he welcomed the sleep that came to him. And he rested
in the cool, dark peace.
***********
“His
fever’s broken!”
Victoria
exclaimed aloud though she was the only other one in the room. Nick came
bursting through the door.
“What is it, Mother?!”
“Jarrod––his fever broke!” Nick picked Victoria up like a rag doll and swung her
around before putting her upright and on the ground abruptly. “Sorry, Mother.”
“That’s fine. Now, go wash up. Supper will be ready soon and we’ll let him
sleep.”
***********
He opened
his eyes and slowly turned his head, taking in his surroundings.
“You’re awake!” Heath said cheerily.
Jarrod was surprised to find himself in his bedroom. “H-how’d I get here?”
Heath grinned from the chair next to the bed. “I broughtcha, silly. Don’t you r’member?”
Jarrod
shook his head. “Thought I was dead.”
“Did ya then. Well, you’re not, though you were tottering at the crossroads for
a while there.”
“Huh? Never mind. I, uh, I’m...”
“A little confused? Like what happened an’ what didn’t? I gotcha. Hold on a
minute and we’ll see what we can do about that.”
Jarrod noticed the slight stiffness in Heath’s movement as he left the room. Was
that from.....?
Heath peaked his head in the door. “Jarrod, would you mind sitting up? Here, let
me help.” He walked in. “How about a shave? I’ll do it.”
Jarrod was
completely bewildered. “Can I trust you?”
“Probably not, but whatever I do to your face I promised not to slit your
throat.”
Jarrod
smiled his consent and Heath did a fairly decent job shaving him, too. “Hey,
lets get you in your robe or something. I’ll get it. Now, you just sit tight and
I’ll take care of it.”
“How did I get here?”
“I answered...Oh, you mean from your world of delirium to your bedroom? Working
too hard. I’d say that fever’s been buildin’ in ya for a while. Shouldn’ta gone
takin’ off like that.”
“What day is it?”
“Wednesday.”
Jarrod did
a mental calculation. “How’d we get back so soon?”
“Ya know, you’re great in the courtroom, but you don’t pay too close attention
to directions when you’re preoccupied.” Jarrod smiled knowingly at Heath. “Now,
you just wait here and I’ve got some people who’d like to see you.” Heath left
and returned with Victoria, Nick and Audra. “Look who’s up,” he told them.
“I guess I should offer an apology. I was way outta line––”
“Enough of that, Jarrod,”
Victoria
bristled. “We all understood, not to mention that you were overworking yourself.
But that can wait. You’ve got some rest coming up and I have a playmate for
you.”
Heath, who
had disappeared, came into the room again with a six-year old red-head holding
his hand. “We’ve started filling out guardianship papers for you for––”
“Suzie! Come here, girlie!” She ran to his bed and they embraced.
*****End*****
Our authors appreciate comments on their stories. If you would like to send comments on this story to the author, click on the author’s name at the top of this page.