Chapter 14
As soon as Jarrod and Nick helped the doctor get Marty settled into bed in the recovery room, they headed over to the sheriff's office. It was getting good and late now, but people were still milling around, still talking about everything they had heard and were hearing.
"This is probably more excitement than Vallejo's seen in a while," Nick said as they started into the office.
"I think there's just a lot of happiness going around," Jarrod said. "Happy to find out this piracy thing is finally dealt with."
Inside, Heath was having a cup of coffee with the sheriff. "How's Marty?" was the first thing he said.
"Gonna be all right," Jarrod said. "How about that pirate?"
The sheriff nodded toward his cell block. "Not hurt bad. Just a flesh wound in the leg. We got the blood flow stopped."
"The doctor said to tell you he'd be over as soon as he got Marty settled for the night," Nick said.
"Want some coffee?" Heath asked and headed for the stove.
Nick nodded, but Jarrod said, "No, thanks. What have you found out about these pirates, sheriff?" Jarrod asked.
"Dwight Jackson and Joe Burns," the sheriff said. "Couple of nobodies who've been drifting in and out of Vallejo for a while. It's Burns I have and Jackson the undertaker has. Burns isn't talking much, yet, but in the morning I'll get the district attorney in here and I'll bet he starts talking more."
"Find out who they've been funneling the goods through," Jarrod said. "They're not selling the stuff themselves. Somebody down San Francisco way is involved, and Burns might give him up for a deal."
"We'll see," the sheriff said. "You boys all right?"
"Fine," Jarrod said, "now that I'm sure Bob is gonna be okay."
"I'll bet you never thought you'd be running into him with all this excitement, did you?"
"I thought we left the excitement behind in San Francisco years ago," Jarrod said, "but sheriff, when what we've all accomplished here tonight reaches San Francisco – I hope you're ready for the newspapers to show up."
"Jarrod's gonna stick around and help you," Nick put in quickly.
Jarrod raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, I mainly plan to help the Martys. I had a three-week holiday planned and I just changed my focus a bit. But I'll help you with the papers if they turn up, sheriff. I'll be happy to tell them a better story about Bob Marty."
"Well," Heath said, "I don't know about you two, but I could stand some sleep. We got a sofa in our room, Jarrod. You want it?"
Jarrod nodded. "Alice Marty is gonna spend the night with her husband at the doc's. I'll check on them in the morning. Otherwise, unless and until you need me, sheriff, I'll leave these pirates up to you. Don't offer my services as defense counsel, all right?"
"You're a victim and a witness, Jarrod," the sheriff said. "Put your other hat on."
"It'll be a pleasure," Jarrod said.
XXXX
Over the next weeks Jarrod spent a lot of time feeding chickens and bringing milk into the Marty house after milking the cow. Helping out on the farm cleared his head and lifted his spirits more than he would have predicted when he made the decision to spend his holiday here working. He didn't know why he was surprised – it always helped his outlook to spend a couple days outside the office and helping Nick and Heath with the ranch. But this was different.
Watching Bob and Alice Marty together was lifting his heart more than he ever imagined it would. They truly loved each other. Alice helped Bob around when he needed it, and as he gradually grew stronger and with less pain, he could help out inside the house more and more, and even with a few chores outside. To Jarrod, it was just unexpectedly joyful to see two people in love, working together to rebuild their life, to keep their farm operating. It was especially joyful to see it happening to Bob Marty.
Not very long ago Jarrod had expected that Marty would still be in prison now. Jarrod was used to seeing men go to prison, and he was used to the fact that his chosen profession often made him part of sending them there. It had been weeks since he thought about whether becoming a lawyer was what he really wanted to do with his life, or whether he did it because it fit his temperament and his mother wanted him to do it. Spending this time with Bob Marty, he realized that seeing men go off to prison – especially all the men who never came out or who came out bad or worse than they had been – that was one of the things about being a lawyer that had him discouraged.
He never dreamed the prison experience would be good for anyone, but it clearly had been for Marty. Watching men come and go and then come back in had clearly made the difference for him, and so had finding Alice. Seeing that happen to Marty had changed the way Jarrod looked at being a lawyer, and being a man.
Love was a wonderful thing. Oh, Jarrod knew that in the abstract but his own experience hadn't been that wonderful. In fact it had been so bad with Julia Saxon that he'd been careful about falling in love again. Overly careful, he thought now. Here he was, 32 years old, and still guarding his heart. Not good, he decided, and watching Alice and Bob together, he decided that it probably was not necessary to be that guarded.
Love was a wonderful thing. It was time to drop the guard a bit. It was time to put Julia far behind him, just as Bob Marty had put his thieving ways far behind him. Just as Bob Marty had found the real path to happiness.
It was also time to quit second guessing his decision to become a lawyer. It wasn't just sending men off to prison and reading documents until his head hurt. It was helping people – his family and its business dealings, and his clients like Marty who needed to make their lives better.
When the three weeks were up and Jarrod announced he'd have to get back to San Francisco and his office there, he was ready. The sheriff had even delivered his coat, complete with ID and money, that someone had found washed up on property adjoining the Martys'.
On the other hand, Alice actually moaned. "Oh, Jarrod, you've spoiled us so. I'll really miss you."
Jarrod chuckled. "You've spoiled me more, I think. Bob, I can't tell you what it's meant to me to see you so happy. To see your life so straightened out."
"I suppose you didn't think it would be happening when you saw them take me off to prison," Marty said.
Jarrod said, "Honestly, I've never before lost a client to prison who has come out to rebuild his life so well. And I've never had one who's found love and happiness like you have."
Marty reached for his wife's hand. "We've been lucky. And we've been happy to have you. I know you have to get back to making your living, but we'll actually miss you."
"The holiday is over," Jarrod said. "And so far, so is the piracy. We did good work together, Bob."
"We did," Bob agreed. "And in case I never really thanked you for defending me years ago, I do thank you for it. It didn't exactly go the way either of us planned, but it worked out."
"Beautifully," Jarrod said.
Jarrod took the train back to San Francisco the next day. It was a long trip and Jarrod was tired when he arrived, but a surprise awaited him. His mother and sister were at the station. "What are you doing here?" he asked, smiling, kissing them. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"Oh, it was a spur of the moment thing," Victoria said. "When you wrote and said you'd be coming back here before coming to Stockton, we decided to come join you for a few days. You don't mind, do you?"
"Have you been staying at my place?"
Audra said, "Charles and I have been straightening it up so you don't have to worry with it, and we got Angie back into your office too. You're all set to go back to work."
Jarrod sighed, that sigh of a going back to life after a vacation. "Thank you," he said. "I suppose it's time."
They started out together, Jarrod putting an arm around his mother, Victoria putting her arm around him. "Are you well rested? I know you've been working hard."
"But different work," Jarrod said, "and a different environment. Seeing Bob Marty living a happy life, watching him and Alice together, all that love – " He paused.
"It's helped to clear your mind," Victoria said.
Jarrod nodded. "I think I told you when I was blind, it made me look at life more inwardly since I couldn't see outwardly. Helping get rid of those pirates, having Bob help us do that and then me helping him and Alice – all that inward looking prepared me to look more closely when I looked outwardly at all that, too. Bob Marty isn't the only one who's been reformed. I've been reformed – not in the sense he's reformed from being a criminal. Just in the sense that I've thought about how my life is going to take on a new form."
"Don't change too much," Audra said. "I love you the way you are."
Jarrod laughed. "I won't. My life won't be too different. Maybe it's more that I'll look at it in a different way."
"That might be interesting," Victoria said.
Jarrod said, "I hope so."
The End