Chapter One
A/NI don't know how far apart Lodi and Stockton are only that, according to the internet, they are in the same county. If that is wrong, blame the site I was looking at. For the sake of the story, I am putting the story a good two to three days apart from each other. That is, if one is traveling by horseback.
The night air was on the chilly side as Jarrod buttoned his coat up all the way. What light shone down from the moon helped very little as he did his best to go back to Stockton and then the ranch. Only, earlier in the day, he'd been stunned to have the strongest feeling someone was pushing him to take the alternative route. He'd started to fight the feeling only to stop when the thought 'A life will be lost if you don't and, as far as I'm concerned, the death will be on your hands' came into his mind. Slowly, he'd turned onto the path that would, eventually, lead him through the woods just outside Lodi.
"Mind telling me…" Jarrod started talking out loud as he ducked to miss a branch he'd barely seen in time only to be startled to hear what sounded like an infant crying. "What on earth!" He pulled backwards on the reins in his hands, making Jingo come to a dead stop. He listened again. Sure enough, he could hear the cries of a baby. He quickly dismounted his horse, tied Jingo to a nearby tree and followed the sound of the cries. Fortunately, he didn't have to go too far or he might have gotten lost. As it was, he found himself kneeling beside a bush and spreading the thin branches apart. Sure enough, a child no older than four months lay in the middle of the bush clothed in no more than a white nightgown worn by the majority of infants of both genders.
"What on earth!" Jarrod reached down and picked up the crying infant. "Don't know if you're a she or a he." Jarrod talked to the baby as he held the infant in one arm while slowly unbuttoning his coat-not easy to do with one hand. "You're definitely cold." 'I hope that's all you are at the moment', he thought to himself as he placed the infant against his chest and managed to button the coat up far enough to protect the baby and still give the poor thing the ability to breathe. Instantly the small child quit crying.
Mounting Jingo after getting the reins untied was not easy, what with one arm securing the child while using the other one to get back on his horse. Once he was in the saddle, he thought about riding around the area to look for the parents of the infant only to be surprised once more when he had the thought 'Get out of here!' He hesitated only to have the same words repeat themselves only with more force than before and the word 'now' added afterwards. Jarrod pushed Jingo forward, moving as fast as he could considering how dark it was.
As he pressed forward, he couldn't help but wonder who had put the baby in such an odd place. As he thought some more, his thoughts turned to the feelings and thoughts he'd had. He felt chills go down his back as he couldn't help but wonder if the person had died and was the one behind the feelings and thoughts. Jarrod shook his head. He didn't know what to think and, for the moment, he knew he needed to find shelter and figure out how to feed the child once he, or she, woke up. Twenty minutes later, Jarrod found himself on top of a hill looking down at a medium sized log home. With as dark as it was, he wouldn't have seen it only a light was coming from the window.
"Let's hope we find friends and not foes." Jarrod glanced down at the baby who had snuggled into a comfortable position and was still sleeping. He couldn't help but smile, though the smile left as he made his way to the cabin. Not knowing what kind of reception he'd find at this time of the night, he had to steel himself for anything.
Just as Jarrod reached the cabin, the door opened up and a broad-shouldered, gray-haired man stepped onto the porch that connected to the cabin. He had a rifle in his hands. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Jarrod would have answered right away only there was something about the man that gave off an unfriendly air. Oh, nothing dangerous, simply on the cold side. He couldn't help but frown slightly. He hoped he wasn't going to be sorry there wasn't another home close by.
"Well?" The man asked again, sounding more than irritated.
"My name is Jarrod Barkley, sir." He paused a quick second. Then, still feeling uneasy, decided not to reveal the fact he'd only found the child he had with him. "I was hoping to get some shelter for me and the infant for the night-hoped you might know of a woman willing to nurse the child, too." He hesitated and then told the man he'd accidentally kicked the only bottle he'd had just hard enough to send it down a hill and into a small river. It was the only believable thing he could think of at the spur of the moment. "Never have figured out why it didn't *break.
Seeing how he'd often referred to his own children as 'the baby' or 'the infant' the man did not question Jarrod not referring to the infant as 'my son' or 'my daughter'. He shook his head and chuckled. "Did that once myself, my Mrs. never did let me forget about it. Go on in. My son and daughter – in – law live with me. I'm sure she can feed your youngin' as she has one of her own. I'll take your horse to the barn first though." He then added Jarrod could go inside without him. "Just call out your name and that I told you to go in. That way Amelia will know we have company. You can call me Mr. Arnold."
Being asked to refer to the man by such a formal title only emphasized the feeling Jarrod had when it come to the man's personality. He wondered just where the barn was, not that it really mattered. "Thanks." He handed the reins to the man and headed inside, doing as the man instructed once he was standing in the small living room he'd entered. It wasn't a second later, a female voice told him to sit on the couch. Jarrod did so, and the child in his arms stirred.
He looked around the room, though there wasn't much to see. A short coffee table, a couple of chairs and the couch he sat on was all that set in the living room. A small handful of pictures hung on the various walls. Though, he didn't have time to take note of anything else as a blacked haired woman who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties stepped into the room. Unlike Mr. Arnold, there was a warm aurora about her. It helped Jarrod relax.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Amelia smiled as the baby underneath Jarrod's coat began to cry and wiggle some more.
"A hungry, and a dare say, wet baby." Jarrod did his best to smile as he undid his coat, and then slowly admitted he had nothing with which to care for the child. "I was supposed to make this trip alone. Life changed that." He couldn't help frown slightly as he again wondered where the child's parents were.
Taking his frown wrong, Amelia looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "I'd say you'd best be grateful we have what you need here." She took the infant from him and then disappeared into a side room. He could hear the woman say such things as 'My, aren't you a lovely little girl' and 'You are going to make more than one head turn when you grow up.'
"A girl," Jarrod thought as he rested against the couch. He knew he'd have to talk to Fred, and that his family would -help take care of her for awhile only he couldn't help but think- "What am I going to call you until I can find out what your story is." Even as he thought that he wondered what he'd do if he couldn't get any answers.
