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Jarrod was heading back to the house to wash up after finishing his chores when he saw the icehouse door ajar. It was only open a crack, but he knew even that could let in the afternoon heat and melt the carefully stored ice. Before closing the door though, the fourteen year old checked inside and saw a vague movement back in the shadows.
"Is someone in here?" he asked. He didn't get an answer and started to close the door when he heard, "No, Jarrod, don't!"
"Nick?" Jarrod pushed the door open wider to let in more light and saw his ten year old brother in a corner with his hand wedged between two blocks of ice. "Are you stuck? Don't worry, I'll get Father or one of the hands and we'll get you out." He turned to go and get help.
"I'm not stuck!" Nick growled and Jarrod turned back.
"Then what are you doing?" he demanded.
Nick scowled at him, but Jarrod didn't back down. His brother could be a pain at times and get him into trouble, but neither of them would turn their back on the other if help were needed. Jarrod had to know which this was before he did anything more. Finally, Nick pulled his hand out from the ice and Jarrod could see the swollen knuckles.
"Dang it, Nick, if Mother finds out you've been fighting again…" Jarrod didn't have to finish. Victoria Barkley had made herself clear on more than one occasion that her sons were not expected to brawl like common cowhands.
"You won't tell, will you, Jarrod?" Nick's expressive hazel eyes held a mixture of pleading and confidence that his brother wouldn't rat him out.
Jarrod sighed, went over to Nick and crouched down to examine the injury. "Will she find out from someone else?"
Nick shook his head vehemently. "Uh uh. Korby picked the fight and you know how those Kyles are. Ain't no way he'll admit I whupped him. And no one else was anywhere near."
Looking at the hand carefully, Jarrod decided to cover for Nick. He understood his mother's point; he already believed that words, not fists or guns, should be the way to solve a dispute. Unfortunately, not everyone was of the same mind and he'd learned the hard way that sometimes you had to resort to physical violence if you wanted to stick around long enough for those words to be heard. "Okay, Nick. Between us, we should be able to come up with some kind of convincing story." Nick grinned, but his face fell a bit when Jarrod raised his hand and said, "But…"
"But what?" Nick asked suspiciously.
"But you learn how to hit someone without breaking your hand," Jarrod finished. "Somehow, I don't think you're gonna stop getting in fights and it'll be hard to be a rancher if you hurt your hand every time you do."
"And how am I gonna do that?" Nick griped. "If Mother found out I was learning to fight, I wouldn't be able to sit for a week."
Jarrod nodded thoughtfully. "Tell you what. We convince Mother you hurt your hand some other way and I'm sure I can talk her into letting us go fishing Saturday. We'll be out of sight and I can give you some pointers." After all, it was only his duty as the older brother.
"You?" Nick scoffed. "You spend your days with your nose in a book. How're you gonna teach me to fight?"
"Oh, c'mon, Nick," Jarrod retorted indignantly. "You're right, I do like to read and since I'm top of my class, the teacher always asks me to do things for her. You don't think I've had to defend myself because some people think I'm a sissy and teacher's pet?"
Nick considered for a moment and then scowled. "Why didn't you tell me? No one calls my brother a sissy and gets away with it!"
"And they didn't," Jarrod reassured his volatile younger brother, but it felt good to know that Nick was willing to stand up for him. "But I didn't almost break my hand." At Nick's quizzical expression, Jarrod elaborated. "Remember old Pete? He found me one day when I was nursing my wounds after being pushed into the mud along with my books. He knew Mother doesn't approve of fighting, so he offered to give me some lessons so I could fight back; that way Father wouldn't have to and get in trouble with her." He gave Nick a stern look. "This is just between us brothers, you got it?"
Again, Nick thought for a moment before he grinned at his older brother. "You got a deal, Jarrod."
They shook on it with Jarrod being careful of Nick's sore right hand.
As they walked back to the house and concocted a story between them, Nick grinned at Jarrod. "Y'know, for a sissy and teacher's pet, you're all right, Jarrod."
Jarrod punched his brother playfully in the shoulder. "And don't you forget it, Nick."