Chapter 6

Grant went back into the living room, where Jarrod was waiting, sitting on the sofa. He moved his hand to his sidearm. Grant noticed and realized the look on his face was prompting that. At first he started to say something, but then he shut his mouth and just stood there.

"Mr. Grant, you have a child now," Jarrod said quietly. "Everything you do right now has to be with your heart and your mind on your daughter."

The conflict was even more clear in Grant's face than it had been in Stockton. Heath came in the door while they were there in silence. It only took a moment for him to understand what was happening. He saw Jarrod had his hand on his gun.

Heath eased his hand to his gun. He looked down at his older brother and said, "Big Louie is ready to give it a try to get to the nearest town. Are you?"

"That would be Ceres," Jarrod said. "I think I can make it that far, but I'll need a doctor there. And then there's the law. What's it gonna be, Mr. Grant? What are we gonna tell them?"

Grant hesitated, then said, "I can't move Abagail and the baby out of here right now, not even today, not for weeks. A trip like going to Mexico? We just can't do it."

Eliza came out of the bedroom as he said it, and she said, "You won't have to."

Grant turned to look at her. She looked at him, and then at Jarrod. "Mr. Barkley, can you get me a divorce like you got for Emilena?"

Jarrod didn't mention that he had never gotten a divorce for Emilena. He just nodded solemnly and said, "Yes."

"Then please do that," Eliza said.

Grant went to her, took her by the arms. "Eliza! You can't do that! How will you get along? I can't support you if you leave me! Who's gonna take care of you if you leave me?"

Eliza said. "You're right, Hebron. You can't take Abagail and the baby out of here, and we can't ask the Barkleys to hide us again. We broke faith with them and we can't ask them to have faith in us again. The only way is for you to divorce one of us, and it has to be me."

Grant was still flustered, and frankly Jarrod and Heath were taken by surprise, too. Eliza had never shown this kind of backbone before. She had always, always kept her silence and demurred to her husband. Any conversation they ever had about reality had been in private.

But now she smiled a little and said, "Hebron, your first thought has to be your daughter, and so does mine. There is no choice for you or for me. Mr. Barkley, if you will help me I will get a divorce."

"No!" Grant said.

"Yes," Eliza said, very quietly.

"No!" Grant yelled again.

Jarrod saw Grant look toward his rifle by the door. He immediately climbed unsteadily to his feet and stood in the man's way. "Stop it now, Grant," he said calmly, firmly. "Your wife is right. Your daughter is your only concern now."

Anguish was all over the man's face. "How will she live if you get her divorce? Who's gonna take care of her?"

"I will," Jarrod said. "I'll take her to Stockton with me. We'll get the divorce papers started and I'll pay for her keep for the time being and help her plan her future, and you will raise your daughter here and comply with the law in California in every way so that you don't run into this trouble again."

Eliza said, "Hebron, don't you see this is the only way?" She smiled a little. "That child means everything to me now too, and this is the best way for me to show her that. This is the best gift I can give her now."

Grant turned to her again, took her by the arms, then drew her into his embrace. "I don't know if I can live without you, Eliza."

"Of course you can," Eliza said.

"Maybe there's another idea," Heath said.

Everyone looked at him. Jarrod sank back down onto the sofa.

"You've said to everyone that Mrs. Grant here is your mother-in-law, not your wife. If we were to move her to town – get her the divorce quietly and you treat her as a mother-in-law and not a wife – could you do that?"

Eliza and Grant looked at each other. Both Jarrod and Heath saw genuine love there, and not the love of a man for his mother-in-law. It was the love of a couple who had devoted their lives to each other a long time ago.

Jarrod frowned to himself again. As much as he hated the idea of plural marriage, as much as he thought it would never work, he had to admit, it had been working for Grant and his wives. But it was still illegal. Jarrod rubbed his forehead.

Grant said, "I can't support her if she moves to town."

"And she's ill-equipped to support herself," Jarrod said.

"Mr. Barkley, I love my wife," Grant said, gazing at Eliza so longingly that she had to look away.

"Is there anywhere else you can go, Mrs. Grant?" Jarrod asked.

"Back to Utah," Eliza said. "I have relatives there who will take me in."

And Emilena, Jarrod thought. She might find out the truth of Emilena, but that was a worry that had to be put away for now.

"I don't want to lose you, Eliza," Grant said. "We've been together too long."

Eliza shook her head. "There's no choice." And she turned and went back into the bedroom.

Abagail sat there in the bed, looking up at her, tears in her eyes. She had heard everything. "Eliza – "

"No," Eliza said. "I've made up my mind. God sent the Barkleys to us at this time because He has this child in His hands and He wants the best for her. I must do my part, and so must you and Hebron." She smiled at the baby. "This child must grow up safely in the law and God will see that she does."

"I don't know if I can be happy without you here," Abagail said.

"You can and you will," Eliza said.

In the living room, Grant had sunk to the sofa, his head in his hands. Jarrod said quietly to him, "This is the best decision for your daughter, Mr. Grant. Your wife is making a great sacrifice and I'll see that it's as painless as possible for her. But surely you know, she's doing this out of love, for you and for Abagail and for your child."

Grant looked up, full of tears. "Damn your law," he said.

Jarrod and Heath both recognized that for Grant to use an oath like that, he was deeply angry, but was surrendering. "Mr. Grant, when that law was first proposed, I opposed it because it was retroactive and would punish your people for acts that were not against the law when you did them. Your marriage to Emelina was lawful when you married, but not this time. Your marriage to Abagail was not lawful. But now you have a child with her and I know you want that child to be legitimate under the law. For that, you have to give up Eliza and marry Abagail, again. There's just no other choice."

Grant's face was nothing but anguish. "I love my wife," he said. "I love both my wives."

"I know you do," Jarrod said. "And they love you, and each other. For those reasons, Eliza has chosen to make the sacrifice and you have to accept it. It's the only way."

Grant swallowed his tears back. "How will Eliza be taken care of?"

Jarrod and Heath looked at each other. Neither one of them had a good answer. But then the issue suddenly disappeared to the back of their concerns, because Jarrod abruptly slumped over on the sofa.

Heath ran to him, and Grant got up to help support him. "Jarrod – " Heath said.

Jarrod was unresponsive now. Whatever energy he'd called forth to deal with this situation had run out of him.

Heath straightened and looked at Grant. "We don't have any choice now, Grant. I gotta go get a doctor and bring him here. My brother's in trouble."

Grant nodded. "You're brother's a good man. There's a doctor in Ceres."

Heath headed for the door.

Eliza came out of the bedroom and saw what was happening. "I'll get a cool cloth and we'll take care of him until the doctor comes," she said and headed for the kitchen.

Grant stood there, all his problems and decisions landing right on top of him now. He closed his eyes, and he thought that yes, maybe this was the Lord his God forcing him to see truth that he hadn't accepted before. When Eliza came back with a damp cloth, knelt beside Jarrod and started bathing his forehead gently, Grant said, "I won't let him down this time, Eliza, and I won't let you or Abagail or our daughter down either. I don't know how we'll figure this out, but we will. And I will love you until the day I die."

Eliza swallowed, looked up at him, and said, "I know you will, Hebron."