Chapter 3

Darkness came at the Grove, and everything was peaceful and quiet. Jarrod lit every lamp in the house, just to be sure all would be ready if need be. He fed Mrs. Ailey, and the guards fed themselves, but Maggie did not eat anything, and Jarrod had only a few swallows of a brisket sandwich. As the hours crawled by, Jarrod grew more and more nervous. He asked Mrs. Ailey to stay with Maggie. He himself fell asleep in the chair by the fireplace.

At some point he woke up to the sound of someone crying out. He started up, and he heard Mrs. Ailey talking very calmly and cheerfully to his wife. The bedroom door was open. Jarrod went into the bedroom, about two steps worth.

Mrs. Ailey looked over her shoulder at him. "I think we have someone new on the way!"

"What can I do?" Jarrod blubbered. "Should I send for the doctor? What can I do?"

"What you can do is bring me a pitcher of fresh water and two cups, and then boil a pot of water on the stove in case we need it," Mrs. Ailey said. "Otherwise, we're doing just fine."

"Right, sure," Jarrod said and hurried to the kitchen.

He filled a pitcher with fresh water and brought it and two cups to the bedroom. Maggie was in the throes of another pain, and as Jarrod set the pitcher and cups down on a bare spot on the dresser, Mrs. Ailey said, "I think you had better wait outside now, Mr. Barkley. This little baby is going to come fast."

"Do we need the doctor?" Jarrod asked. "Shall I send for the doctor?"

"Only if it would make you feel more secure," Mrs. Ailey said.

Maggie said, "It would make me feel more secure! Sorry, Mrs. Ailey!"

"Not a problem, dear," Mrs. Ailey said. Then to Jarrod, "Go ahead and send for the doctor."

Jarrod closed the bedroom door as he left and hurried out the front door, yelling, "Carbuncle! Carbuncle!" and grateful he had a safe word to latch his terrified brain onto. The nearest guard came hurrying toward him, into the light from the house.

"Go get the doctor! We're doing okay, but it's happening awfully fast and Maggie would like the doctor here!"

The guard grinned. "We already have the horse saddled, Mr. Barkley. Jacob!" he yelled. "Carbuncle! Go for the doctor!"

In only moments, one of the other guards was riding away and Jarrod was back in the house.

But he couldn't go into the bedroom now. All he could do was wait. He sat, he paced, he drank some water, he paced some more. He heard Maggie crying out, and he nearly went crazy with worrying. Oh, God, she was in such pain and it was his fault and he couldn't help her.

And then suddenly, in less than an hour and before the doctor could arrive, he heard the baby cry.

His baby.

He stood there in his living room, light-headed and afraid he was going to keel over. He stood there, thinking, Carbuncle, carbuncle, and not knowing why, except that it was a word to concentrate on. Something to occupy his mind.

The baby quieted down. Women's happy voices came through the door. Jarrod was nearly jumping out of his skin with the urge to go in there.

But Mrs. Ailey came out, carrying a bundle in her arms, a big smile on her face. "Mr. Barkley, come meet Jarrod Thomas Barkley, Jr.!"

Carbuncle, carbuncle, Jarrod thought, and then he thought, Oh, my God, my son! This is my son!

Mrs. Ailey put the boy in Jarrod's arms. He was heavy. "My God!" Jarrod laughed. "He's a big one, isn't he?!"

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Ailey said. "Now, you sit down and get acquainted while I help Mrs. Barkley clean up."

"She's okay?" Jarrod's voice shook with emotion.

"She's lovely," Mrs. Ailey said, and went back into the bedroom and closed the door.

Jarrod sat down gently in the chair by the fireplace. His son opened his eyes and looked up at him. Blue eyes, black hair, just like his father. "Hello," Jarrod whispered, his voice barely making it out. "Hello, Jarrod. I'm your father."

Then Jarrod Sr. began to cry. The thoughts of everything that had happened to him over the last year – learning to cope with his illness, meeting Maggie, courting Maggie, finding out there would be a baby and marrying Maggie. Building this house and moving back from San Francisco and the carriage accident, and now this – the biggest miracle of his entire life.

And there was not a hint of an angina attack coming on. His heart had never felt so calm, so complete, so happy. He wept for it all.

"I'm sorry, Jarrod. I'm getting your face wet," Jarrod said and wiped his own tears off his son's face. "It's just that I really thought I was never going to meet you, and here you are, in my arms, just where I always wanted you to be. I will take care of you as long as I can, and I will love you forever, and you will have your mother and your grandmother and uncles and your aunt and someday dozens of cousins to love you as well. And your life will be marvelous, more marvelous than I can even dream of. Oh, little man, you are so beautiful!"

He didn't even hear the footsteps on the porch or the knock at the door. Dr. Merar let himself in and found father and son there by the fireplace.

"Well," Dr. Merar said. "I see I didn't make the big moment."

Jarrod looked up, not needing to hear "Carbuncle." He smiled, his face as wet as Dr. Merar had ever seen it.

"How are we doing here?" Dr. Merar asked.

"I'm crying more than the baby is," Jarrod said.

Dr. Merar reached down for the baby, and Jarrod lifted him into the doctor's arms. "I see that. Are you all right, Jarrod?"

"I'm fantastic," Jarrod said and wiped his face.

"Excellent," Dr. Merar said and took the baby to the kitchen table. "Let's have a look at the new arrival."

Jarrod followed them, almost afraid to look at his son with the doctor, but when he did, he was glad. Ten fingers, ten toes, and the proper male appendage where it ought to be.

"This little man looks perfect," Dr. Merar said. He took his stethoscope and listened to the baby's heart. "I'd say you had a healthy son of about ten pounds here, Jarrod."

"Ten pounds?!" Jarrod said.

"Yep, and about 23 inches," Dr. Merar said. He bundled the baby back up and gave him back to his father.

"Will you have a look at Maggie, Doctor?" Jarrod asked.

"Of course."

Dr. Merar went to the bedroom door and knocked, then went in. Mrs. Ailey came out, carrying soiled linens but wearing a huge smile.

"Everything looks fine, Mr. Barkley," she said. "I'll bundle these up and take them with me when I go so you don't have to worry with them. Mrs. Barkley is doing quite well, though as you can imagine, she's very tired."

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Ailey," Jarrod said. It was then he noticed that the sky outside was lightening. It was morning, October 5, 1880, Jarrod noted. My son's birthday is October 5, 1880.

Dr. Merar came back out of the bedroom after about twenty minutes, smiling. "I think Mrs. Barkley would like to see her husband and her son."

"She's all right?" Jarrod asked, heading for the bedroom.

"She's perfectly all right," the doctor said. "Just very tired. But the little man here might be hungry, so why don't you go in and spend some time with your family?"

Jarrod carried the baby into the bedroom. Maggie was sitting up in the bed now, all clean linens around her. She looked exhausted but that beautiful smile, that smile that captivated her husband a year ago, now lit up her face. She reached up and Jarrod put his son into his mother's arms. She allowed the baby to latch onto her breast and feed. Jarrod knew he'd never seen anything more beautiful in his life, and never would see anything more beautiful again.

He sat on the edge of the bed beside his wife and watched his son eat – and eat, and eat, and eat….

"He's such a big boy," Jarrod said. "It had to be so rough for you."

"I'm all right. It went so fast, I hardly had time to be afraid," Maggie said.

Jarrod kissed the top of her head. "How do you feel?"

"Wonderful," she said. "What did the doctor say about Jarrod?"

"Both Jarrods are doing fine," Jarrod said. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Maggie said, "Do you know how much I love you?"

Jarrod Jr. cooed happily.

Jarrod smiled and grew teary again. He had never been more happy in his entire life.