The Main Problem
Chapter 1
For once, Nick did not pace as he waited at the foot of the stairs. Jarrod was doing enough pacing for both of them, stopping only to look up the stairs every once in a while. Heath, on the other hand, was sitting perfectly still at the bottom of the stairs, doing more staring up the stairs than looking down away from them. The doctor had been up in the guest room with Jack Main for a long time, too long to be able to feel like what was happening wasn't serious.
"You're gonna wear out the floor," Nick said to Jarrod.
Jarrod just gave him a look and kept pacing.
"This isn't your fault, you know," Nick said.
"I'm the one who brought him here," Jarrod said without stopping.
"I'm the one who put him on stump pulling crew," Heath said.
"And if either of you saw this coming, you wouldn't have done what you did with him," Nick said. "Quit blaming yourselves. The doctor's gonna come down here and tell you there wasn't a thing you could have done to prevent this."
"That's exactly what he's going to tell you," Dr. Merar said as he headed down the stairs, alone, leaving Victoria and Audra upstairs with Jack Main. "From everything I see, the man looks like he's had a stroke. You don't see that coming unless the victim complains of a very bad headache. Did Mr. Main do that?"
Heath shook his head. "No, not to me."
"Not to me either," Jarrod said. "He seemed right as rain when I brought him out here yesterday, just stressed from this divorce he wants to get."
Dr. Merar didn't seem surprised about the divorce plans, even though Jarrod hadn't told anyone about them and he didn't think Jack had. Was it all over town anyway? "Well, divorce doesn't usually cause a man to have a stroke," Dr. Merar said. "We really don't know why it happens. Stress could be a factor."
"I brought him out here so he could work off some of the stress," Jarrod said. "But he's a banker. I should have known hard physical labor would be rough on him."
"He may be a banker, but he's not a fat and lazy one," Dr. Merar said. "He's quite fit, all things considered. Did you give him a few breaks this morning, Heath?"
Heath nodded. "Every hour I had him rest for a bit. It was hot out there and I knew he wasn't used to it."
"Then let the guilt go, both of you," Dr. Merar said. "From the looks of it, he might well have had a stroke just sitting behind his desk in town."
"What happens now, Doc?" Nick asked. "Can he get up and around?"
"Not yet," Dr. Merar said. "He can't talk, and he's paralyzed on the left side. Those things could clear up some, or even completely, in the next week or two, but there's no way to tell on that either. Where's his wife? Does she know about this?"
Jarrod shook his head. "Not yet. We didn't want to tell her until we knew how he was. I take it he's going to live."
"If he doesn't have another stroke that carries him off," the doctor said, "and there's no way to tell on that. I think his wife should at least be told what's going on. They're not divorced yet, are they?"
Jarrod shook his head. "We haven't even filed the papers. I wanted him to get away from things for the weekend and see if he wasn't ready to change his mind. If he's incapacitated, that changes his mind for him. He can't file for divorce in his condition. She could, on his inability to care for her."
"Crazy divorce laws," Nick muttered.
"She hasn't expressed any interest in a divorce so far," Jarrod said. "With two sons and a baby on the way, I'm not surprised. I suppose I'll go into town and talk to her lawyer."
"Who's her lawyer?" Dr. Merar asked.
"Jordan Williams," Jarrod said. "At least he said he'd be representing her if Jack goes through with the divorce."
"Do you want me with you to explain Jack's condition?"
Jarrod shook his head. "I'll tell him to come see you on his own or with Frances. You best talk to them without me around."
"I'll be on my way, then," Dr. Merar said and headed for the door.
Jarrod walked him there, saying, "Will you be back?"
"Tomorrow morning, to see how things are," Dr. Merar said. Then he turned and looked at all the Barkley men. "I hope you can keep Jack here for at least a week. He really shouldn't be moved."
Nick said, "Not a problem, Doc, unless Frances wants to move him."
"I don't advise it," Dr. Merar said. "Send her to me instead of moving him if she asks without talking to me, but if she hears my advice and wants him moved anyway – " Dr. Merar shrugged.
"We'll see if we can talk her out of it if that happens," Jarrod said.
Dr. Merar nodded. Jarrod opened the door and closed it again after the doctor left. He stood there with his hand on the knob, staring at the floor.
"What do you want to do?" Nick asked.
"Go upstairs and see my client," Jarrod said. "See how he is for myself before I go talk to Jordan Williams."
Heath said, "This ain't the best time for this kinda thing to happen, is it?"
Jarrod understood Heath still felt bad about Jack Main keeling over on one of his work crews. He'd just been hooking line up to the horses to pull the stumps, not any of the digging or helping lift the stumps loose. "You had him on the lightest duty out there, Heath. You heard the doctor. This could have happened while he was sitting at his desk in town."
Heath stood up. "But it didn't. It happened on my watch. I want to head upstairs too, see if there's anything I can do. Mother and Audra are gonna need some muscle to be helping him move when he needs to. Nick, I wanna be the muscle."
Nick nodded. "We'll get along without you for a week or so. And as long as you're both going up there, I'll go with you."
"Just let me do all the talking," Jarrod said as they climbed the stairs together, "and leave if I tell you I need to talk to my client alone."
"Got it," Nick said.
The door to the guest room was open. Victoria and Audra were not particularly surprised when the Barkley men came in without a word. All three of them stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at Jack Main.
This was not an old man. He was actually two years younger than Jarrod, two years older than Nick, and yet there he was, lying still, his face contorted oddly on only one side. Pale, still, looking almost like a corpse.
"How is he?" Jarrod asked quietly.
Jack's right eye came open.
"I think he can understand us," Victoria said. "He just can't respond."
As if to prove something, Jack raised his right hand at the wrist and lowered it again.
"Maybe he can," Jarrod said. "Jack, wave that hand up and down a couple times if you know what I'm saying to you."
Jack waved twice and put his hand down again.
Everyone sighed. "That's already an improvement," Audra said. "He wasn't even doing that while the doctor was here."
Jarrod said, "Knowing Jack, he was being obstinate. Wave that hand, Jack. Once for no, twice for yes."
Jack waved once, then weakly one more time.
Jarrod said, "Do you all mind if I have some private time with my client?"
"Why don't the rest of us go get ready for dinner?" Victoria said as they headed for the door.
"Jarrod, you come get me if you need help moving him around," Heath said.
Everyone went out but Jarrod, and he closed the door behind them before returning to the foot of Jack's bed. Jack had closed his eyes again. Jarrod just looked at him for a long moment before he said, "Can you say any words at all, Jack?"
Jack hesitated, then raised his hand once.
"But you understand what I'm saying?"
Jack raised his hand and lowered it twice.
"Well, that's something," Jarrod said. "You're in a heckuva pickle, Jack. You know that. You might very well improve over the next few days, though, or so the doctor says. In the meantime, you'll stay here, but you know I have to go see Frances's lawyer so he can tell Frances what's happened."
Jarrod waited. Jack finally raised his hand and lowered it twice.
"Do you want her or the boys to come see you?"
Jack didn't do anything.
"I need to know, Jack," Jarrod said. Then, when Jack still didn't move, Jarrod said, "Maybe we need some gesture for 'I don't know.' I suppose three waves of the hand is a bit too much for now. Can you raise your index finger alone?"
He tried. The finger moved, up and down once, but not much.
Jarrod sighed and pulled up a chair. "All right. Let's at least try to have something of a talk. You realize, with you in this condition, I can't continue with the divorce. You're legally incompetent."
Jack slowly raised his hand up and down twice.
Jarrod said, "So the only thing we have to nail down right now is what part you want Frances to play in your recovery and your life. Let's just start easy and I'll ask again. Do you want her to come see you if she wants to?"
Jack hesitated, then raised and lowered his hand – once.