The men had been pleasantly surprised when, unannounced, their daughters and their husbands had driven up in a buggy at the ranch three months after Caroline's wedding. They had brought supper with them, having stopped at the diner where Rosie was more than happy to have helped with the surprise once she heard their news.
It was shortly after eating that Emily turned to her father. "Let's go for a walk pa, just the two of us."
Jed got to his feet happy to follow his daughter and once outside she hooked her arm through his as they walked slowly.
"I love coming back to the ranch pa we had such good times growing up here. I only wish I'd known grandpa better before he went to Boston, I can hardly remember him," she sighed.
"Well darlin', his wife, your grandma, died a few years before Heyes and I met him and I think losin' both his daughters, especially so close together, was just too much for him. I think it was good that he got to spend those few months with his brother and sister before he passed." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Heyes and I really liked him. He was a good man, accepted the two of us without question and welcomed us into his family, and he'd be real proud of the way you and Caroline turned out."
They both fell silent continuing to walk until they came to the tree that almost seemed to stand guard over the spot where all the weddings had taken place. They stood quietly for several minutes, lost in memories…both recent and distant.
"I always feel closest to ma here. I know she's buried with Aunt Sophie in the church cemetery, but it's here that I feel her presence."
Jed slipped his left arm around her. "I know, I feel her here too. Your Uncle Heyes says the same thing, that's the main reason we've decided this is where we're gonna be buried." He paused looking west. "Both of us want to stay on the ranch where we got married, raised two wonderful daughters…found happiness…and where we can look out over the hills. And we don't want no markers for people who never even knew us to come and gawk at. We told Frank Bailey what we want and he's promised to see to it."
"I think this would be the perfect place for you and Uncle Heyes…but not for a long time yet," she said wrapping her arms around him.
"But it's because I feel close to ma that I wanted it to be here that I told you…it would be like I was telling you both."
"What is it darlin'?" he asked with a concerned frown.
She smiled up at him. "You're going to be a grandpa."
She giggled at the look of surprise on his face which was quickly replaced with a broad smile.
There had been much hugging, back slapping and congratulations at the ranch house once Heyes had been told the news and it was all too soon that the young couples had to go back to the city after making the men promise to come to Dillon in time for the birth.
XXX
It was a chilly afternoon that found Heyes out at the corral slowly saddling his horse, his cousin watching him struggle, but knowing that any offer of help would be refused.
"Wish I could go with ya Heyes but I promised John that I'd go into town and give him a hand."
"That's all right Kid, you go ahead. I'll be back in time for supper," he said grunting as he pulled himself into the saddle. Looking down he saw his cousin grinning. "Not a word Kid," he warned. Jed chuckled as he patted the horse's neck. "Wasn't gonna say a thing Heyes…just be careful huh." Heyes nodded as he nudged his horse away from the corral and headed off to make sure the herd was settled in their new pasture. Jed watched him go before turning away with a shake of his head to saddle his own horse.
Heyes rode easily, breathing deeply as he headed for the pasture that was farthest from the ranch house. Topping a small rise, he reined his horse to a stop, leaning an arm on the saddle horn as he looked down at the herd grazing contentedly. He dismounted allowing his horse to rest for half an hour while he watched the animals below him. Seeing that there seemed to be no problem he remounted, heading back in the direction of home. His mind drifted as he continued riding, a smile forming as he looked off into the distance in the direction of their old hideout, allowing himself to get lost in memories of those long ago robberies as well as some of the men he and his cousin had ridden with and didn't notice the dark clouds building.
His horse snorted and Heyes came back to the present when the sky opened up, the cold rain soaking them within minutes. He shivered as he hunched down in the saddle, cursing himself for not paying attention to the weather and knowing he was at least an hour and a half from home…and, no doubt, an upset partner.
XXX
Jed had gotten home later than he had planned and turning his horse into the corral he frowned seeing that Heyes' horse was still gone. He looked skyward seeing the clouds starting to gather before squinting trying to see if he was visible in the distance. He saw Jimmy coming out of the barn and waved him over.
"Keep an eye out for Heyes will ya? He went off this mornin' to check on that herd of mares we moved last week."
"Will do. I'll tell Ben too."
Jed nodded his thanks, glancing at the sky once more as he turned to go to the house. The nights were beginning to get cooler so he got a fire going in the sitting room before going to the kitchen to start a pot of stew for supper. He heard the distant thunder and stopped what he was doing to look out the window just as the rain started. He sighed, still seeing no sign of his partner, deciding if he still wasn't home in fifteen minutes he was going out to look for him. He was in the kitchen stirring the simmering stew when he heard Ben holler for him. Throwing open the door he saw Ben helping his partner to the house as Jimmy led his horse to the barn.
"Thanks Ben, I got him."
Once he was sure that the two men didn't need him, Ben left, shutting the door behind him.
Jed helped his shivering friend out of his wet clothes, wrapping a warm blanket around him as he sat him in front of the fire, muttering gently at him the entire time, Heyes too cold to argue with him.
"What the hell is wrong with you Heyes? Don't ya know enough to keep an eye on the weather? You'd think bein' 63 years old ya'd know better…"
"Kid?"
"What!"
"I sure c…could use a d…drink."
XXX
Jed was hoping that Heyes wouldn't get a cold, but it was not to be. He not only got a cold, but the cough he developed had Jed sending one of the hands for the doctor who arrived at the ranch quickly. Jed hovered, leaning against the wall beside the bed as the doctor checked on his sick cousin. He straightened up when the doctor snapped his bag shut, looking from Heyes, who had quickly fallen asleep again, to Jed and sighing.
"I'm afraid it's pneumonia," he said softly.
They went into the kitchen where Jed listened to instructions about the steam with peppermint oil, the mustard plasters and willow bark tea. He had suffered from pneumonia a couple of times himself in his younger years and remembered how long it had taken him to get over it, knowing that at their age now, Heyes' recovery was probably going to be long and difficult. He hung his head after the doctor left, knowing they weren't going to be making the trip to Dillon next week for the birth of his grandchild. He wrote out what he wanted to say on a piece of paper, found Jimmy, gave him some money and sent him into town to the telegraph office to send Emily the news.
He had stayed at his friends' side for three days and nights holding his head over bowls of hot water with peppermint oil so he could breathe in the steam and placing mustard plasters on his chest. He was exhausted and was on the verge of nodding off in his chair when the bedroom door opened. He turned his head, smiling when he saw Caroline and William. He sat up and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, then insisted he go to the kitchen and eat the food they had picked up at the diner in town.
XXX
Caroline and William stayed for almost a full week, Jed able to get a few decent hours of sleep while they were there, but they had to go back to the city due to Williams' job. Caroline wanted to stay, but neither Jed nor Heyes would hear of it.
"Why don't you go to the city with 'em Kid," Heyes said weakly the day before they were to leave.
"Forget it Heyes, I ain't leavin' ya…any more than you'd leave if it was me in that bed."
The young couple left and Heyes slowly, very slowly got better, but his lungs never fully recovered and he found himself tiring easily, becoming annoyed when he would get out of breath doing the simplest things.
They did take the train into Dillon six weeks after Caroline's visit to meet Emily's five week old daughter Abigail. Jed had found the train trip quite tiring but it had exhausted Heyes and Jed realized this would probably be their last trip to Montana. They stayed for two weeks and spent most of their time there relaxing spending quality time with their families. It was shortly before they were to travel back to Wyoming that Caroline cornered her Uncle Jed away from her father.
"He still doesn't look well Uncle Jed."
"He tires easy and gets out of breath if he tries to do too much…you saw that. But don't worry I keep a real close eye on him, so do Jimmy and Ben. But I think we're gonna be havin' a talk about maybe sellin' off some of the horses in the not too distant future."
"We're all planning on coming to Sanctuary in the spring, but if you need anything in the meantime, let us know…I mean that."
"I know ya do darlin', but we're all right at home. Lots of folks are keepin' an eye on us…although we're not supposed to know that, but after dodgin' the law for all those years we know when someone's watchin' us," he grinned.
"I'm sure you do," Caroline chuckled.
XXX
The families did make it out in mid spring and were glad to find both men had made it through the winter without either of them getting sick. Jed carried Abigail with Emily, Thomas and William walking beside him as they made their way to where four couples had gotten married, now known as 'the special place', leaving Caroline at the house to talk to her father.
"Ma...I brought your granddaughter here for you to see. Her name is Abigail Sarah…"
At the same time the small group was outside, Caroline was sitting in front of her father. She had to admit he did look better than he had in Dillon, but she was still worried about him.
"You said you wanted to talk to me Caroline."
"Yes pa…I do," she smiled at him her eyes glistening.
He frowned at her…"What is it are you all right?"
"I'm better than all right…you're going to be a grandpa."
He looked at her in stunned silence before pulling her onto his lap and hugging her. "That's great news…when?"
"The doctor says the middle of October. We saw how much the last trip to Dillon took out of both of you so we decided to come here once the weather clears enough for us to travel so you and Uncle Jed can meet your grandchild."
Heyes started to open his mouth to argue, but sighed instead, knowing she was right…as well as the weather often being bad in October, the trip had become too much for them.
XXX
The winter that year was a bad one and Heyes was beginning to feel useless. Jed went out nearly every day to help Jimmy and Ben around the yard and barn, refusing to let him do any work outside. He could go outside, but if he so much as picked up a shovel, someone was taking it away from him and he would end up going back inside. His cousin had told him that he was saving him work by looking after things inside and doing the cooking, but many days after working outside, Jed would eat then fall asleep in front of the fire and Heyes would feel guilty. It was after a particularly heavy snowfall that they started the conversation regarding the future of the ranch.
"Kid, it's gettin' to be too much since I can't help anymore."
"I have to agree with ya Heyes…if we want to keep things goin' we need to hire more men. But I bin thinkin'… what if we sold off most of the horses, just keepin' eight or so, maybe even sellin' some of the land. What do you think?"
Heyes sat quietly for a few minutes. "Hmm…I really don't want to sell any of the land in case the girls want to carry it on when we're gone, but what if we sold the horses and then asked one of the neighbouring ranchers if they'd be interested in using our pastureland for a reasonable fee."
"That's a good idea…hang onto fifty or so acres for the animals we keep."
They agreed they would talk to the neighbours as soon as possible to see if any were interested in extra grazing land, and decided to sell off the horses as soon as the snow disappeared. Both men felt better having made those decisions and were looking forward to spring.
XXX
Heyes finally got to meet his seven month old granddaughter, Rebecca Sophie, when she and her parents came to the ranch, the eight of them making the short trip to their special place. All of them stood quietly, the adults lost in the memories of the things that had happened here over the years…until the youngsters started to get restless, especially Abigail who was squirming, wanting her father to put her down.
"That child reminds me of you Kid," Heyes snorted. Jed just rolled his eyes and sighed, making them all chuckle as they headed back to the ranch house.