Chapter 8

Clarence understood Jarrod's feelings completely, and he appreciated them more than he could ever say. His brother-in-law was about to hand over his life's work to him, and he felt perfectly comfortable and happy doing it. "Jarrod, there are advantages to you if you retire, but are you sure it's what you want for you, not just for me and Audra?"

"Yes, it is," Jarrod said. "We'll work out an agreement whereby you can pay me over time for my half of the partnership. It'll be an income for me, and it will mean more income for you."

"And what will you do?"

"I don't know. Teach, maybe. Mentor some other young attorney. I'll figure it out. We have to go to Denver next week, but when we get back, we're going to dissolve this partnership, and the firm will be yours."

"I'm flabbergasted," Clarence said, "and I'm honored more than I can ever say."

"I can be available to help out now and then if you need it," Jarrod said, "but I'm betting you're not gonna need it, not much anyway. Believe me, Clarence, I'm as excited as you are about this change. I'm ready to let go of that past we talked about. I'm ready to try something new."

"All right, but I want you to think about something else," Clarence said. "You deserve a wife and a family."

Jarrod laughed out loud, an ironic but not really angry or hurt laugh. "Who would want to marry a blind man?"

"A blind man as capable as you are? More than one woman, I'd venture – if you took the time to let it happen, and if you retire, you'll have the time."

Jarrod laughed again. "Well, that's definitely true. You do tend to see the bright side of my misfortune, don't you?"

"I'm told I tend to try to find something good in everything, especially in the bad," Clarence said.

Jarrod laughed one more time. "Yes, I admit it, you do seem to have that way. But this isn't bad. This is good for me, for you, for Audra, for your son or daughter and all the children to come. I'm happy with this."

"Thank you, Jarrod," Clarence said. "Those words seem very inadequate, but thank you."

"All right," Jarrod said. "Let's get to work on this Denver thing and get the future ball rolling."

XXXXX

A week later, it was time to go to Denver, and Victoria fussed so much over Jarrod's wellbeing that he finally had to say, "Enough, Mother! I'm not going off to war, I'm just going to Denver!"

"Farther than you've been since you were hurt," Victoria said.

"Clarence will be with me and he will take good care of me."

"And when you get back – " She almost choked now. "When you get back, you'll be giving up your law practice."

"And I'll be doing something else," Jarrod said. "Something easier, something maybe even more gratifying, who knows? It's just time, Mother. It'll be good for Clarence and Audra, and it'll be good for me. I'm resolved."

"If you change your mind on this trip – "

"If I change my mind, you will be the first to know, after Clarence."

The whole family, Audra included, saw them off at the train depot. Nick was full of advice about what to do, what to watch out for, what Clarence should do to keep Jarrod from falling on the train, and Jarrod finally said, "For heaven's sake, Nick, I won't get up or move without Clarence holding my hand, how's that?"

"All right, all right," Nick said. "Just come home safe, all right?"

"I fully intend to," Jarrod said.

Audra gave her husband a warm hug and a long kiss. "You watch out for yourself, as well as for Jarrod."

"We'll be fine," Clarence said. "You watch out for yourself, too."

"I'll be with Mother. She'll look out for me, and I'll look out for her."

"I'm not sure which of you is going to have the harder job."

The train rolled in and the Barkley family car was hooked up to it. Nick had to fuss some more. As Heath and Audra laughed at him, he helped Jarrod climb aboard and helped Clarence get him settled in their car. Their old friend and porter Charles, the man with the grin as big as the sunshine, was there to help out, and he said, very sincerely, "Don't worry, Mr. Nick. I'll make sure they're both taken care of."

"See?" Jarrod said. "I've got the best assistance I could have. Get off this train, Nick."

"All right, all right," Nick said, and he looked at Clarence. "You wire us as soon as you get off in Denver."

"I'll wire you as soon as we get off in Denver," Clarence agreed with a laugh.

Nick got off the train, and Jarrod sighed in relief. "I hope I was never as overbearing a brother as he just was."

Clarence laughed.

XXXXXXX

The trip on the train to Denver was one Jarrod felt in his body, but could only see in his mind. He remembered the Sierras, the Salt Flats, that beautiful Colorado River and the fantastic mountains in Colorado. He felt the train descending from the mountains, slowly making its way down and around and into Denver. He remembered it all so fondly, and he ached that he couldn't see it again now, but by the time they rolled into Denver, he was all right.

Charles took care of getting the baggage off the train, and Clarence took care of getting a baggage handler and a hack to gather them up and get them to the hotel where they'd be staying. Jarrod knew the hotel well – he'd stayed there often before. Funny, this time he could actually smell the wood paneling all over the lobby. He'd never noticed the scent before.

He did not see the surprised look on the face of the desk clerk, but when he heard, "Mr. Barkley! My goodness, it's been years!" he recognized the voice right away. The clerk's name was Stanley, and he had a slightly high-pitched voice that sounded like sandpaper.

Jarrod smiled. "Stanley, how are you?"

"I've been very well, but – " Stanley got stuck.

"Don't fret, Stanley," Jarrod said. "You haven't seen me because I was blinded in an explosion and I just haven't traveled much. This is my law partner and brother-in-law, Clarence Robinson. Instead of my old room, we need a suite, if you have one available."

"We certainly do," Stanley said, "and I'm sorry for your misfortune, Mr. Barkley, but it is awfully good to see you again."

"Well, I'm afraid this might be my last trip to Denver," Jarrod said. "When we get back to California, I'm turning the firm over to Mr. Robinson here and retiring."

"Retiring?! You're a young man, Mr. Barkley!"

Jarrod laughed. "Thank you for that, but I'm looking at other lines of work. It's time to move on. You can only practice law for so long before you turn into a book."

"Well, whatever you do, Mr. Barkley, I wish you well, and you'll always be welcome back here in Denver."

A bellman took them up to their suite on the topmost floor. When they went inside, Clarence looked around and explained the layout of the suite to Jarrod before helping him to the most comfortable looking chair in the room. Clarence tipped the bellman and said, "Why don't you relax a bit and I'll unpack for us."

"I'll do my own," Jarrod said, getting up. "Which bedroom is mine?"

Clarence grabbed Jarrod's bag and then took him by the arm. "There's a sofa right in front of you that we have to get around, but then the bedroom is about six paces beyond that."

Clarence took Jarrod to his bedroom, helped him scope out where the wc and the closet were, and got him started on unpacking. Then he left him alone with a "yell if you need me," and he went to unpack his own bag.

It didn't take either of them very long, and when Clarence took a look at Jarrod's closet, it looked pretty good. The clothes were hanging properly, not wrinkling. For someone who had never really unpacked in the dark before, Jarrod did fine.

In the living area, Jarrod checked his watch. "I suppose we ought to consider dinner. It's getting on toward eight o'clock."

"We don't meet on the mine sale until one o'clock tomorrow," Clarence said. "We can relax tonight and unwind from that long train trip."

"That sounds good. We can prepare in the morning. Right now, I could use a nice smooth scotch and if memory serves, they have some mighty fine scotch down in the hotel restaurant."

"Then let's go."