Increasing the Herd
Ben Maverick couldn't believe it. His son Beau was going to be a father; he would be a grandfather. He'd given up all hope of that ever happening when Beau married Georgia Mayfield in Montana, who was quite a bit older than his son. Then when Georgia passed away several years later, Beau swore he'd never marry again. Yet here he was with a new bride of a little over a year, and now a child on the way into the world. And Beauregard Jackson Maverick, only son of Bentley Jonathan Maverick, was at this exact moment heaving his insides out into the chamber pot.
The man his son was named for, Ben's older brother Beauregard, had been here earlier this afternoon to try and lend support. Beau had almost jumped for joy when his Uncle Beauregard left; the only thing that could make him more nervous than becoming a father was having his Uncle Beau around when it happened. Beau was the only one of the three boys raised as brothers that didn't pace the room when nervous or worried; instead he fidgeted. Finally Beauregard could stand the nervous twitches no longer and went back to his hotel, where his own two sons were entrenched. They weren't inclined to make Beau any more anxious than he already was.
Neither one of them was married, although Cousin Bart had been once, and it looked like Beau's child might end up being the only fourth generation youngster of this branch of the family tree. Beauregard had encouraged both his sons to wait until they were approaching forty before settling down, and with neither one of them anywhere near that they'd taken him at his word.
Ben hurried across the room to comfort his son and see if there was anything he could do to ease Beau's misery. Abigail's blue eyes looked up at him and Ben was momentarily startled. He'd forgotten just how much Beau looked like his mother. The rest of the Maverick clan was dark eyed and dark haired, while Beau was a blue-eyed blonde. Ben wondered if Beau would pass along his mother's coloring to the little one trying to be born.
"How you doin', boy?" Ben asked, and the only thing he got in reply was a strangled sound. At the rate this child was coming into the world, there was going to be nothing left of his father. Ben chuckled inwardly at that thought, that this newest Maverick would, of course, be a boy, and wondered if Beau and Dani had settled on a name.
"Pa, why is this happenin'? I've been lookin' forward to this for months. Why am I . . . " and the poor boy was once again bent over the chamber pot.
"That's the reason, son. You been so happy about all this that you ain't taken no time to worry. And now that it's actually here, your system just done revolted in sheer terror. That's your child in there bein' born. You won't ever have no moment of peace again."
"Then why do we do this? If it's gonna make us so miserable? Why not just skip the whole thing?"
"Because it'll give you more joy than you can begin to imagine. It'll be the biggest and best thing you've ever done, bar none. It'll bring you more pleasure than you thought possible, and at the same time cause you more pain than you ever wanted to know existed. It'll be the best day of your life. And you'll wonder how you ever lived without it."
Beau stared at his father in awe. He'd never heard Ben Maverick talk like that in his entire life. "Is that what you felt when I was born?"
"Yes," said Ben, at the same time he thought to himself, 'and no.' He knew he'd never be able to explain exactly what had happened when Beau was born, so he didn't try. Better to clarify all the positive, exhilarating feelings, and leave out anything else. Ben had no doubt they would make themselves known to his only offspring soon enough.
The scream, if it could be called that, emanated from upstairs, where Dani had been all day and half the night, toiling dutifully to bring this baby to life. Like most of those that had preceded him, he was trying his damnedest not to be born. The sound was almost guttural, tinged with longing and sadness and a desperate desire for the struggle of giving birth to be over. Ben had to grab his son and hold him back, to keep the younger Maverick from charging up the stairs to come to his wife's aid. "Pa!" Beau cried as he tried to shake his father off of him, but the soon-to-be grandfather refused to let go.
"Ya can't do nothin' to help, boy," Ben insisted, and the son knew his father was correct. Still, he wanted nothing more than to break free of his father's hold and run up to give any comfort, any aid possible to his beautiful, agonized wife.
It was a miracle they'd even found each other. If Beau hadn't missed the stage on his way to meet his cousins In Baton Rouge, they would never have met. But he had missed the stage, for the first time in a very long while, and instead of riding to the city with a padre and an old spinster, he'd spent his time with the green-eyed blonde named Danielle Louisa Montrose. And when Bret and Bart had decided to go on to New Orleans, he'd stayed behind in Baton Rouge, thoroughly and completely enamored of the young woman. Within two short months she felt the same about him, and his resolve to remain a widower was abandoned.
She begged and pleaded for time to mount a proper wedding and he, like his uncle before him, gave her a whole week. Somehow she pulled it off, and they were married in St. Catherine's on June fourteenth. Just enough time for his cousins to return to Baton Rouge and attend the wedding. Bret kept shaking his head in dismay at the whole affair, but Bart laughed and congratulated him, and made sure he was the second man to kiss the bride – after the groom, of course.
Less than six months later she'd given Beau the news, and he let out a whoop and holler that could be heard for blocks in each direction. They'd stayed in the city that Dani claimed as home, Beau buying what would in later years be called a walk-up apartment building, and then re-designing it to accommodate just their family. And upstairs, in the large and spacious 'master' bedroom, with windows on two sides of the room to let in both light and cooling breezes, was where Master or Mistress Maverick was putting up a stand against being born.
Another shriek split the stillness of the air, followed by almost dead silence. "Somethin's wrong, Pa. I can feel it. Let go a me," Beau pleaded with his father, but Ben knew better than to give in.
"Settle down, son, woman's got a right to scream her head off. You would too if it was you in there instead a her. Doc Frawley knows what he's doin'."
"I'm tellin' ya, Pa, somethin' ain't right. Dani'd never yell like that, no matter what."
"Beauregard, if you don't wanna take my word for it, you got two choices. I can send for your uncle, and he can tell ya just what Isabelle went through, twice, or you can go on up there and see for yourself what's goin' on. And remember what happens when you see blood."
The stillness upstairs persisted, and Beau admitted the wisdom in his father's words. There was nothing he could do up there other than get in the way. Ben turned loose of his arm and watched his son accept the truth and sink into a chair downstairs. Just a few minutes later there was a knock on the door followed by the unexpected arrival of his two cousins. Beau let out a breath of relief when he realized they'd come without their father.
"Uncle Beau?"
Bret laughed and grabbed his cousin's hand. "We left him at the hotel. We know what havin' Pappy around can do to a man's nerves."
Bart gave him a bear hug. "Especially on a day like today. Or should I say night like tonight."
"What time is it?" Beau asked, totally unaware of anything other than the darkness outside the windows.
"Almost four," Bart answered. "How's things goin'?"
"He doesn't wanna get born," Ben explained for Beau.
"You sure it's a boy, Uncle Ben?" Bret questioned.
"God help us if it's a girl that stubborn," came their uncle's reply.
"Nope," Bart laughed, "God help Beau and Dani."
Before anyone could say anything else, another piercing scream shattered the stillness. "My God," Bret remarked, "why do women have babies if it hurts like that?"
"When you have one of your own you'll know the answer to that, nephew," Ben explained. "Till then nothin' I tell you is gonna make any sense."
"Now there's somethin' to think about."
Bret turned to his brother. "I don't see you in any hurry to be a father."
"I would be, by now, I'm sure. If only . . . "
Bart's comments were interrupted by the front door opening and Beauregard walking in. "Don't you answer the door when a man knocks?" he asked Beau pointedly.
"Sorry, Uncle Beau, I . . . " and before Beau could finish the apology to his uncle, there was another Maverick voice added to this mix. This one was loud, and strong, and sounded wretched at being finally pushed out into the world. And very definitely male.
Ben grabbed for his son and held him in an embrace. "Congratulations, Daddy." Beau was then passed from his father to Bart, then to Bret, and finally even to Uncle Beauregard.
"Congratulations, nephew," Uncle Beauregard offered when he finally loosed his hold on the new father. And then, unexpectedly and before anyone had time to gather their wits about them, another cry was heard. And this one was decidedly different from the first and most certainly female. Everyone stared at Beau in shock.
"Twins?" Bart exclaimed in utter surprise. He had dreamt many times of twins, but they were always his and not his cousin's children. Beau shook his head in bewilderment and then bounded for the stairs, determined to see his and Danielle's babies. There was no sense trying to grab him; he was halfway up them before anyone could move. When he reached the top the door was pulled open quickly by the midwife, who'd sent for Doctor Frawley as soon as she realized there was something more than just the average birth happening in the Maverick house. In her arms was a blanket full of struggling, softly crying baby.
"Mr. Maverick, may I present your son?" Cora Anders asked as she attempted to hand Beau the wriggling, squirming bundle. "Don't worry, he won't break!" she explained to him.
Beau took the blanket full of Baby Boy Maverick and looked down at the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his whole life. Yep, that was a Maverick, alright. Dark haired and dark, dark blue eyed, the baby seemed to sense that this was someone very, very important to him. The wiggling stopped, as did the crying, and he stared at his father with as much wonderment as his father stared at him. His son. HIS SON. Beau didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he did both. He always thought people were exaggerating when they tried to explain the feelings they had the first time they saw their newborn, but he knew exactly what he never could understand until this very moment. He felt a rush of emotion and realized immediately that he would do anything he could to protect this child of his.
Something guided him over to the bed, where Doc Frawley stood after helping Cora clean everything up, including the exhausted mother and two babies. He rolled down his shirt sleeves and looked at the new father over the rim of his glasses. "Fine lookin' lad there, Beau. You and Dani did a real good job. Bet you haven't seen this beauty yet, have you?" and the doctor pointed to the second baby, the one held in her mother's arms. Beau was so overcome with emotions that he found it necessary to hand his son back to the midwife. The little girl, the unexpected child, looked so like his mother that his breath caught in his throat. Fortunately the doctor had left a chair next to the bed and Beau crashed heavily onto that as he reached his arms out for the tiny bundle. Cora came over to return the boy to his mother as Dani handed her husband the diminutive miniature of Abigail.
Blonde, blonde hair and bright blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when she saw her father for the first instant. His baby daughter laughed, gurgled and cooed all at once, and he was eternally smitten with her. "She . . . she looks just like . . . "
"Your mother," Dani responded. "I thought we might call her Abigail. Abigail Colette."
He grinned at his wife, overcome with love for the three most important people in his universe at that moment. "Yeah? I think that would be outstanding. For my mother and yours."
"And are you still alright with Bentley Jenson?" Again, named after Beau's and Danielle's fathers.
"Of course. That way we uphold the tradition." All of the men in this branch of the Maverick bloodline had first names that began with 'B' and middle names that started with 'J'.
Dani smiled up at him. "Do you want to take Abby first or Bentley ?" Beau looked confused; Dani couldn't blame him. It wasn't every day that a man became a father. "To show your family?" she asked, and he understood at last.
"Pa has to see Abby," was his reply, and before getting up he leaned over and kissed Danielle lovingly. "You did a spectacular job, Mrs. Maverick," he told her, and she smiled up at him contentedly.
"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Maverick."
A serious look crossed his face. "I love you, Danielle Louisa Maverick. I never knew . . . I never knew I could feel like this."
"I love you, too, Beau. Now go show off that little girl." He looked back down at the baby in his arms. His baby. His girl. The miss who was destined to wrap every male Maverick heart around her little finger. He opened the door to the bedroom and walked carefully back down the staircase, where four sets of eyes waited to meet the newest Maverick.
The next few minutes were a blur. Bentley held her first, as befitting the grandfather, and she was practically pried out of his arms by her great-uncle Beauregard. His sons had never seen their Pappy so enamored of a female not yet wearing petticoats, and her two uncles had to threaten murder and mayhem before 'Uncle Pappy,' as he would come to be called, would turn her loose. "Now there's a female I can love completely," Bart remarked as he was turning her over to his brother Bret.
"Hands off, she's mine," Bret responded. He'd only had her for a moment when her father wanted her back.
"Have you chosen a name yet, son?" Ben asked him.
"Abigail Colette, Pa." He didn't see the look on Ben's face when he announced her name. Abby started to cry and Beau regarded her in panic. "What have I done wrong, sweetheart?" he asked her. "I think she wants her mother," and he turned and headed back upstairs with her. "One baby girl, back to Momma," Beau announced as he lay her down in her mother's arms and picked up his son. "Come on, little man, there's a whole slew of Mavericks just dyin' to see you."
Bentley was much happier to meet all his relatives than Abby. As the proud grandpa beheld his new grandson, Beau introduced his baby boy. "Bentley Jenson Maverick, this is your Grandpa Ben, your Great-Uncle Beauregard and your Uncles Bret and Bart."
"That ain't exactly right, nephew," Beauregard started to explain when Beau interrupted him.
"I don't care, Uncle Beau. They might as well be my brothers. And Bentley won't know any difference."
"Bentley Jenson?" Ben asked quietly.
"Well, Pa, we got the Momma's taken care of. We had to remember the daddy's, too."
"I'm proud, son. Right proud. Get outta the way, you pretenders, I wanna hold my grandson." Ben elbowed his way past Bret and Bart and took the little man from his son's arms. "Welcome to the family, Bentley. You don't have to claim none of 'em but your Pa and me if you don't want to."
"Good thing you bought the whole house, Beau, you're liable to need it," Bret told him. "Dani's gonna need some help, with two of 'em to look after."
"Some changes gonna hafta be made here," Ben pointed out to his son. "Why don't you and Dani and the babies come to stay at our place for a while? Then you could have alterations made in the house while y'all are away and Lily Mae'd be there to help with the babies."
"And you'd get to see 'em, you old rascal," Beauregard added.
"So would you," Ben reminded his brother.
"Yeah, I would," Beauregard grinned.
"I think that's a splendid idea," Beau beamed. "Now if I can just convince Danielle."
"Beau Jackson," they heard Dani call faintly from upstairs. "Where's my son?"
"Coming, mother!" Beau called, removing his newborn from Bentley's arms, then hurrying up the stairs as fast as he dared to. "He's right here." He sat back down in the chair next to the bed with the baby boy still in his arms. "I can't believe you did this."
"We did it," Dani answered. "We did it."
"Pa made a suggestion while I was down there. He invited us to come stay in Little Bend for a while. You'd have some help with Lily Mae there, and we could have the changes made on the house that we talked about. What do you think?"
"I think I'm tired," Dani replied as she yawned. "And I think it's a fine idea. As long as you don't want to go play poker every night while we're there."
"Good. I thought you might see the advantage of the decision. When can we go?"
"Slow down there, cowboy. Give me a couple days to recuperate, would you?"
"Sorry, honey, I'm just a little . . . "
Danielle couldn't help but smile. "Excited? Confused? Flustered? All of the above?"
Beau gave a typical Beau answer. "Yes."
Dani yawned again. "I need sleep. And we need another crib. Will they both fit for now?"
"I think so. Is Cora gonna send her daughter over? I've no idea what to do with them yet." They had hired the midwife's fifteen-year-old daughter to help with the baby for a few days. Since there were two babies, Beth Anders was definitely needed. Beau thought he heard a knock on the door downstairs followed by a female voice. Soon after Beth hurried up the stairs.
"Mr. Maverick, mama told me about the twins. You must be so excited! I'm here now, Mrs. Maverick, you can get some rest. Oh my gosh, look at that. She's so beautiful! And blonde, just like the both of you! What is your name, baby girl?" Beth picked the newest Maverick up and held her, crooning to her softly.
"She's Abby and he's Bentley," Beau answered. He looked at his beautiful wife, who had just given him these two miracles, and saw that Dani was already asleep. "I'm goin' back downstairs," he told the girl.
"Go on, Mr. Beau. Your family's all down there waitin' for you."
The new father made his way back downstairs, wobbly at first, to a sea of smiling Maverick faces. When he came off the last step everything hit him at once and his legs gave out on him. Cousin Bret grabbed him and held him upright. "It wouldn't do for the daddy to collapse now, would it?" Bret laughed and helped him sit in the nearest chair. The next thing Beau knew he had a cigar in his mouth and a glass of brandy in his hand. Cousin Bart appeared to be the culprit.
Beau noticed everyone with a glass but his own Uncle Beauregard, who held a coffee cup. Bart made the toast. "To the newest generation of Mavericks – Abby and Bentley. And their proud mother and father."
Beau took a swallow of the brandy and looked around the room. Here with him, his father and uncle, and his two best friends, his cousins Bret and Bart. And upstairs, his beautiful wife Danielle and his two new babies. He was happier than he'd ever been in his life. After all the heartache he'd suffered over time, how lucky could one man be? He'd drawn a king and a queen, and that was enough to win the hand.