The Miracle
by
Janice Sagraves
ONE
She felt such agitation inside that it alarmed her. Kicks and upheavals that pressed against her lungs at one time then her bladder another and then she had difficulty breathing again. She could hear Maggie out in the kitchen and Adam had gone into Bantree for the mail so she found herself alone. She made her way from the foot of the staircase over to the fireplace and leaned forward against it. This child she carried had proved to be a budding acrobat but his antics had never been anything like this. Her fingers clawed into the mantelpiece as she fought for one deep, cleansing breath. Placing the other hand against her belly she shushed the child softly and – not to her surprise, since he had responded to her gentle voice before – the churning and thrashing stopped. With a long breath she moved to the big overstuffed chair near the hearth and awkwardly lowered herself into it. As her pulse began to slow she leaned her head back and looked into the orange flames flickering before her. It had now been roughly nine months she had been carrying this baby and this episode told her that it wouldn’t be long now. Her lids dropped over tired violet eyes as she leaned her head back and let herself rest. She wouldn’t tell Adam about this because this month he had planned to go to the Ponderosa to get his cattle from his father. And she wouldn’t tell Maggie because she knew the woman would tattle on her. The sides of her fine mouth curved as she took another heavy breath and let visions of her beloved Adam holding his newborn child seep into her along with a desperately needed nap.
*******
Angelica Cartwright looked down the front porch steps then across the yard to the barn where she knew her husband to be. She had to try one more time to convince that hardheaded man of what she felt so strongly about.
Tentatively, she started down, wrapping her heavy paisley shawl about her. Though approaching the middle of April, the air still bore a nippy chill and snow lay about the countryside in clumps and – in some places – drifts. With a careful stride designed to support her substantial girth she made her way closer to where she could hear his warm, rich baritone. Coming into the big open doorway she watched him as he ran a brush over the sleek chestnut’s back and down its rump as he spoke in low tones to the animal. She reveled in catching him in unguarded moments such at this, and she almost hated to break the spell.
“I see Sport is enjoying himself,” she said as she started toward him.
Adam Cartwright’s head snapped around, and his arm seized and amber sparks darted through his dark hazel eyes. “What’re you doing out here? I thought we decided that you wouldn’t try navigating those steps alone.”
“I have ever since you built the house, and, anyway, you were the one that decided.”
“You know what I mean. You could fall and hurt yourself and the baby, and neither of us wants that.”
“You’re just a big, overprotective bear,” she said as she tweaked the side of his face. “And I love you all the more for it.” She pulled his head down so she could kiss him.
“You still haven’t told me why you came out here.”
“There’s something we need to get straightened out.”
“Oh, not that again,” he huffed as he turned back to the horse and resumed his brushing.
“Yes, that. We haven’t settled anything because you refuse to listen to reason.”
“There is nothing reasonable about a man going off after some cows with his wife about to have a baby when it can clearly wait a few more weeks,” he said as he worked the brush over Sport’s withers. “I am not gonna make the same mistake Will did and wind up kicking myself for the rest of my life for it.”
“Not even if I say I want you to go?”
He ignored her and kept to his job.
“You have been so looking forward to bringing Ponderosa cattle to the Angel and starting your own herd. And how many times have you told me how good it will feel to be on a drive with your father and brothers again?” Her mouth drew into a hard bow. “Adam Cartwright will you stop that and look at me?”
With a grunt, he stopped and finally looked around at her.
“That’s better,” she said with a self-assured smile. “It isn’t like I’ll be alone. There’s Maggie right here, and the Haymes’ not so far away, and Mother and Fiona and Dr. Robey in town. I’ll be fine.”
“Can’t you get it through that beautiful, thick head that I don’t want to come home and find my child already here? Now I’m not going, and that’s all there is to it so there isn’t gonna be anymore discussion on the subject.”
With a groan, she stamped her foot against the hard packed dirt floor, and her hands wadded into fists. “You are the most stubborn, pig-headed, obstinate, mulish, inflexible man I’ve ever met in my life.”
“You left out obdurate,” he said with a smirk.
Her groan raised several octaves, and she whirled as best she could and flounced to the door then spun on him. He just stood there watching her with that smug look on his handsome, dark face that could infuriate her so. With a puff she stomped out, and he turned back to Sport with a chortle and returned to his brushing.
“Oh, he makes me so mad sometimes,” she muttered as she headed back to the house. “One of these days…”
But a cutting pain through her middle quelled the words, and she gasped, and her hand went to her belly as she stopped. Inhaling deeply, she looked down at herself, and she could see the baby moving around. The pain had been fleeting and had ceased for the time being. She waited a couple seconds and when it didn’t return she decided to try to make it to the house. Suddenly, it hit her again with much stronger force, and air ran into her lungs as it coursed through every inch of her, from the roots of her hear to her toenails. “Adam,” she barely squeaked.
Adam had just started brushing Sport’s coarse red mane when a distressed voice caught his hearing. “Adam!”
The first thing that came to mind was that she had fallen. After their little spat, and his victory, he had forgotten to see her back into the house as he always did. Giving the brush a savage fling, he dashed outside.
“Angelica!” He ran to where she knelt on the cold ground, and fell onto his knees beside her. “Angelica?” he said softly and took her arm. Her expression as she looked at him needed no explanation. “Is it time?”
She could only nod as another bolt of intense pain ran through her, and this one proved to be unrelenting. A keen moan emanated from her, and she bent in half as much as she could.
Adam knew he had to get her into the house right now. “Let’s get you inside where it’s warm.” She nodded, and he had all he could do getting her to her feet. “Can you walk?”
She tried taking a step but he saw at once that this wouldn’t work so he scooped her into his arms with a grunt.
“Oh, Angel, you’re a load.”
She tittered nervously but pain killed it, and she whimpered as her head fell back against his shoulder. He started up the steps and had to be careful lest he fall with her. They crossed the porch to the sturdy oak door, and he had to figure out how to get it open.
“You’ll havta open it. My hands’re full.”
She fumbled with the hammered iron handle, and they heard it unlatch. Turning sideways, Adam pushed the door open and carried her inside.
“Maggie!” he shouted as he crossed toward their bedroom. “Maggie!”
Maggie O’Shea shot out of the kitchen like a fox that had been discovered in the chicken house. The second she saw them her nutmeg eyes went black, and she went into action. Rushing to the bedroom door, she opened it and he carried Angelica in and put her on the bed.
“Have ya sent anybody for the doctor yet?” Maggie asked in her hearty Irish brogue as she nudged Adam aside and took over. When she got no answer her voice went up. “Mister Adam, have ya sent anybody for the doctor yet?”
“No,” he said vacantly, his concentration centered on Angelica.”
“Then ya go do that right now. This girl’s havin’ a baby, and there’s no time to be wastin’…. Mister Adam!”
As if on a pivot, he spun around, and ran back out. Maggie got the pitcher and basin from the washstand and brought to the bed table just as Angelica screamed, and her fingers dug into the mattress.
“Thatta girl,” Maggie said as she poured water into the basin then took off her apron and wet the end of it. “Let the world know when somethin’ displeases ya.” She began tenderly wiping the perspiration from Angelica’s face.
“Adam!”
“He’s gone to send somebody to get Dr. Robey. He’ll be right back.”
Adam’s frustration had grown by increments until he wanted to hit something. He couldn’t find a soul and it was beginning to look as if he would have to go himself when a thought dawned like brilliant sunlight. He rushed out of the bunkhouse and into the cook shack. “Gibby!”
A tall, rangy man with receding sable brown hair turned from the big cast iron stove. “Boss, what is it?”
“Angelica’s having the baby, and I need for somebody to go get Dr. Robey. I’ve looked all over the place, and I can’t find any of the men.”
“Say no more, Boss,” Gibby said as he untied his apron and jerked it off. “It won’t take me two shakes to saddle up and be on my way.”
“Thanks, Gibby,” Adam said as he gave him a slap on the arm and ran out.
Angelica let out another piercing scream just as Adam got back into the house. His long legs drove him into the bedroom, and his gaze shot right to her. “Gibby’s going for the doctor.”
“Good,” Maggie said then tugged him over next to her. “Now ya sit right here,” she pushed him down onto the side of the bed, “and hold her hand while I go into the kitchen to get some more things.”
They didn’t even notice when Maggie left. Adam squeezed Angelica’s hand between both of his, and she smiled faintly until more pain wiped it from her face. A shriek struck the walls and the ceiling, and Adam’s grip tightened.
TWO
If not for Maggie bedlam would have reigned supreme in the Cartwright house. Adam still hadn’t left Angelica’s side, and the housekeeper had to work around him, but she carried out her duties with cool efficiency.
“Mister Adam, why don’t ya go make some coffee while us ladies take care o’ things in here?” she said as she rewet a cloth and wrung it out. “It could be a while yet before your child comes.”
Adam looked at Angelica with questioning dark eyes.
“I’m all right.”
“Are you sure? I can stay right here if you want me to.”
Angelica touched his cheek, and he took her hand and kissed the palm of it.
“Really, I’m all right. The pain has eased off. Now you go on, and I promise to let you know when I need you.”
He brushed her dark brown hair back then kissed her. “I’ll be right out in the kitchen. Maggie, you watch after her, and I’ll be right out in the kitchen.”
“I’ll remember,” Maggie said with a secretive grin and began washing her girl’s face. “And make the coffee good and strong.”
“I will,” he said as he started backing toward the door. “It’ll eat nails.”
He bumped into the end of the dresser but paid it no mind and went out and closed the door.
Maggie just shook her head. “Men can be such loves but when it comes to babies they can only get in the way.”
“Not my Adam. He could never be in the way.”
“Then let’s just say he’s slightly under foot,” Maggie said as she put the cloth back into the basin. “Now why don’t we get ya ready for the doctor’s arrival?”
Angelica could only manage half a nod.
“Ya’ll be all right,” Maggie said as she went about unbuttoning the front of her girl’s dress. “Women have babies every day with no more trouble ‘n fallin’ off a log.”
“I just don’t want to let Adam down.”
“Ya could never do that. That man loves ya too much. Now let’s set ya up and get yer dress off.”
For the life of him Adam couldn’t find where Maggie had stashed the coffee. He had been through the pantry and was now going through the breakfront with reckless abandon.
“I don’t see how I can possibly be expected to make any coffee if I can’t find it,” he grumbled as he pushed things aside. With a furious swipe a cup fell out and broke against the floor but he gave it no notice. Nothing had ever been more fruitless and – with a groan – he slammed the door. “Maybe I just missed it.” Then he turned and headed back to the pantry. But as he passed the table that sat in the middle of the well appointed kitchen he stopped in his tracks. Sitting in the middle of it was the small burlap bag containing what he sought.
He riffled his fingers in his heavy black hair, and his mouth pulled into a pucker. Murmuring to himself, he picked it up and went back to the sink. Now he had to find the coffee pot. He knew where Maggie always kept it but she’d probably hidden it too. His dense eyebrows drew down, and his dark hazel eyes began the search.
“By the time I get this done it’ll be midnight,” he huffed. “And I don’t really want any coffee anyway…. I don’t even know what I ‘m doing in here. I should be with Angelica.” He stood there solidly rooted to the floor plotting his next plan of action. “Ah, coffee be hanged.” Then he stomped back out into the dining room.
A light knock preceded a timid, “Is it all right to come in?”
“We’re ready,” Maggie said robustly.
The door opened slightly and the dark, tousled head poked inside. His eyes lit up when he saw his wife, and a smile illuminated his face. With mincing steps, he went to the bed where Angelica lay, now only in her chemise and with the covers pulled up to her arms.
“Hello, love,” Angelica said as she reached out to him. “Sit with me.”
He shot Maggie a questioning look, and the woman gave him the go-ahead. Taking Angelica’s hand, he let her pull him down next to her.
“Now you two just sit here and talk and I’ll go make the coffee.”
But Adam didn’t seem to hear her as he focused on Angelica and nothing else. With a sly grin, Maggie went out and left them to themselves.
“Are you all right?” Angelica asked as she smoothed the disarray from his hair.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
“I’m fine.” She rested her other hand on her belly. “We’re fine. He’s settled a little bit, at least for now.”
“Still so sure it’s a boy?”
“Well, I have four brothers, and you have two, and your father had one, and my father was one of five, so what do you think?”
“That it could still be a girl, and we’ve only come up with a boy’s name. You know, it doesn’t pay too be so sure of yourself.”
“All right, if it’ll satisfy you, but I still think it’s going to be a boy…. What about Elizabeth?”
He leaned closer to her. “What about Sophie Elizabeth?”
“After my sister and your mother. I like that. I like…” A sudden sharp twinge cut her off, and she caught her breath. Her grip involuntarily tensed on his hand, and her teeth clamped on her lower lip.
“Angel.”
After several seconds, it gradually faded to nothing more than a tight discomfort.
“It’s eased off again…. He’s getting impatient.”
“Do you want me to get Maggie?”
“No, love, I’m all right. Just stay here with me. We’re supposed to talk, remember?”
He simply sat and looked at her as any further words eluded him. Touching her face, he let his thumb trace over her delicate mouth then along the line of her jaw and chin. “How did I ever get so lucky as to find somebody like you? With all the men in the world, you fall in love with me.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it. We were meant to be together from the time we were born. The fates just had to find a way to throw us together, and I’ll always be so glad that they found it.”
“I had to almost die to come to this. But if somebody had told me then what I had to endure to get here…, I’d still do it. You’re worth it. You’re worth it all.”
“Would you do something for me?”
“What’s that?”
“Would you kiss me? You haven’t kissed me in, oh, several minutes.”
“I thought it was gonna be something hard.”
He scooted closer to her and lovingly took her face in his hands. As his lips brushed hers her eyes closed, and she felt herself dissolve at his touch. It still amazed her that this wonderful man belonged to her. She worshipped him beyond all words and reason, and when the time finally came, she hoped she went first because she knew she could never live without him.
*******
Gibby rode like a fiend. His horse tore through the tranquil landscape, its feet striking the thawing ground like hammers. A flock of birds – recently returned from warmer climbs – took flight in a flutter of wings as the husky gray brushed against a low hanging branch of the tree they had taken sanctuary in.
The boss, and, in a way, his missus had put their trust and faith in a lowly cook and Gibby would be danged if he would let them down. He had found a home on the Angel ranch, the first one he had felt really comfortable in since he was a kid, and this he saw as a chance to pay back.
With a kick, the horse shot forward in a burst of speed, and Gibby ducked to keep from getting his head knocked off by a stout limb as they rounded a curve.
*******
Adam sat in the chair by the window sipping coffee. He didn’t really want it but when Maggie insisted on something a mere mortal man didn’t stand a chance.
“You don’t have to sit all the way over there,” Angelica said from where she had been propped on a couple of plumped up pillows.
“I don’t want to run the risk of spilling this on you. And, besides, this isn’t so far away.”
“I guess it’ll do…, for now.” She couldn’t miss that expression, and she knew something preyed on his mind. “You might as well tell me what’s wrong.”
He took another sip and eyed her warily over the rim of his cup. “Who says anything’s wrong?”
“You do. The look on your face, and the way you sit over there watching me like I’m going to disappear at any second in a puff of smoke says it all.”
“Nothing’s wrong, I assure you, but…”
“Don’t try to fool me, Adam Cartwright, I know you too well. Now what is it?”
He sat the cup quietly into its saucer, and his eyes ran over her then his head tilted to one side. “I thought you were supposed to be having a baby. The pain has stopped, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so calm.”
She put her hand against her belly. “I think it’s knowing that soon we’ll have our baby here with us, soft and warm and depending on us to give him everything he needs.”
“Including love.”
“Especially that. Material things are not what will make him strong. If you don’t receive love you can’t give it.”
“Then he should be the most loving person in the world.” His mouth crooked, and he took another sip.
THREE
“Tilly!” Iva Liddell shouted as she rushed out onto the front porch of the boarding house she ran. “How many times have I told you not to run on those steep steps?”
Disappointment furrowed the five-year-old’s soft eyebrows as her small chestnut-haired head fell. “I’m sorry, Mama, I keep forgettin’.”
Before the scolding could go any further, however, a horse clattered up the main street drawing their attention and headed straight to the doctor’s house almost at the center of town. The man came out of the saddle as if launched by a spring – letting the reins drop – and bounded onto the boardwalk.
Dr. Elias Robey had just sat down in his favorite rocking chair by the parlor fireplace with a cup of tea and the newspaper when someone began assaulting his front door. It always seemed to happen that way; in fact, he had come to be concerned when it didn’t. Putting everything aside, he got up and the urgency in the pounding quickened his pace.
“Yes,” he said as he opened the door and recognized the man from a brief introduction at Frederick’s Mercantile.
“Doc, you gotta come, and you gotta come right now. Mrs. Cartwright is havin’ her baby.”
“How far along is she?” the doctor asked as he went to get his medical bag.
“I ain’t got the foggiest, but the boss was like a toad on a hot stove.”
“All right,” the doctor said as he turned with his coat and hat. “While I hitch up my buggy I want you to go get her mother and sister. Do you know where they live?”
“Nope, can’t say I do.”
The doctor stepped outside – pulling the door shut behind him – and gave instructions on how to get there. Then he went to the stable attached to the side of house while the agitated man climbed back into the saddle and took off.
Verina Cadence had just taken a pie from the oven when someone came banging frantically at her front door. As she came out into the dining room her teenaged daughter came from one of the two bedrooms into the hall.
The man standing before her she knew to be named Gibson and worked as ranch cook for her son-in-law, and he was all shook up about something.
“Ma’am, the doc sent me after you and your daughter.” His eyes flicked to the shapely sixteen-year-old as she came to stand behind her mother. “Miss Angelica’s time has come, and we need to hurry.”
“We won’t be a second.”
“I’ll wait right out here, ma’am.”
*******
Adam, still sitting in the chair and starting in on the second cup of coffee that had been foisted off on him, could see that Angelica was becoming increasingly restless. “What else would you like to talk about?”
“I don’t want to talk about anything, I want to get up. I am so tired of laying here like a fat cow.”
“You’re sitting up.”
“I’m still in bed in the middle of the day. And I have never cared for splitting hairs.” Some of her aforementioned calm began to slip. “Now if you won’t help me I’ll do it myself. I have been getting around on my own for over twenty years, and I think I can manage now.”
“I’m not so sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Like I said, I can do this without any help.” She began bringing one cumbersome leg over the edge of the mattress.
He bolted from the chair and came instantly to the side of the bed, putting his coffee on the night table. “I’ve always had trouble fighting your persistence,” he said as he took her arm. “Now let’s do this slowly.”
Her expression became skewed. “That’s the only way I can do anything these days.”
He held her securely as she carefully eased up and onto her feet. She glanced at him with uncertainty then they took a step together then another and another.
“See,” she said exuberantly. “And you were worried.”
As she took another step the abrupt pain started low and rapidly worked its way through her back. She had had cramps before but never anything to even come close to the severity of this. She couldn’t help the tiny moan that escaped her, and her hand bit into his arm.
No one had to tell him his wife was in extreme pain for he could see it splashed over her face, and feel it in the death grip she had on his arm. “I knew this was a bad idea,” he said as he gathered her up and put her back on the bed then sat next to her. “Maggie!”
“Do you have to be so loud?” Her hands went to her middle, and she could feel the baby moving. He thumped around until she thought he would beat her to death.
“Maggie!”
“Adam, please. Don’t shout,” she said tersely.
The door flew open and Maggie came in with an armload of towels which she placed on the foot of the bed. Immediately at her girl’s side, she took the cloth from the wash basin and wrung it out then began washing Angelica’s face and neck.
“I don’t need a bath,” Angelica groused. The muscles in her jaws knotted then she bit down hard on her lower lip until red rimmed her teeth.
“Can’t you do something for her?” Adam asked as he looked helplessly to Maggie.
“That’s up to your child.”
“Well, I wish he’d make up his mind,” Angelica growled as her deep purple eyes shot to Adam.
“Angel.”
“Don’t call me that!” She finally couldn’t hold back the scream, and he grabbed her hands. “Oh, Adam, I’m sorry. Stay with me, please.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
*******
Mrs. Cadence and Fiona stood off to the side of the muddy road – the air circulating blue around them – as Gibby and the doctor tried freeing the buggy’s rear wheels from the sticky ruts they had become mired in. Verina had never heard such a collection of oaths and profanity come from one man. Until now she hadn’t imagined anyone having so many foul words and expressions stored in his head. Gibby, in the ardor of the moment, had apparently forgotten about the presence of her and her daughter.
“Try movin’ him forward now!” Gibby shouted.
Getting a better grip on the horse’s bit, Dr. Robey began moving the animal forward once more.
“I think this is gonna do it!” Gibby put his back against the rear end of the buggy and pushed, his feet sliding in the oozy brown muck. “Go you son-of-a…”
“Mr. Gibson! Must you?”
Gibby’s head jerked around toward the irate mother, just as the vehicle lurched free. He landed on his back with a splat, and thick mud wrapped around him like a welcoming friend.
“Good, boy,” Dr. Robey said as he gave the horse a pat on the neck.
Pulling himself and his hat loose from the grasping entity, Gibby got to his feet and came toward the ladies. “Ma’am, I’m real sorry about that, but when I…”
“We don’t have time for that now,” Mrs. Cadence said as she turned Fiona toward the buggy. “We need to get to my daughter.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he ruffled his mud caked hair.
After first wiping his hands on a clean spot on his britches, Gibby helped Fiona then her mother get in next to the doctor then went to his horse and mounted up. Once again they were on their way, and they could only hope that nothing else befell them.
FOUR
Mrs. Cadence hung onto Fiona’s arm as they whipped through the countryside. Getting the buggy unstuck had slowed them down, and the doctor was making up for lost time. Adam had built the house close enough so as not to be so far from town for just such emergencies, and she was grateful for his insight.
They bounced over a rock or some other obstruction in their path, and she thought to be jostled from the seat. She felt her daughter’s hold keep that from happening, and she looked around at the girl. If this unnerved Fiona in anyway it didn’t show in the resolute young face, and it had a soothing effect.
Fiona gave her mother’s hand a pat. She could see that her mother was unsettled, and she knew it had to do with more than the bone jarring ride. She knew because she worried about Angelica too. She had heard stories of women dying in childbirth before, in fact, Adam’s own mother had died giving him life. Oh, how glad she would be when they finally got to the house.
*******
Angelica squeezed Adam’s fingers as if in an attempt to break them, and she bit off a scream as the pain threatened to cut her in two. In her frenzied mind she found herself wishing for anything that would alleviate such agony, even death. “Adam!”
“I’m right here, sweetheart. I’m right here.” Adam never once let go, though it was becoming increasingly difficult to hang onto her hands. “Maggie, go check and see if the doctor’s come yet.”
“I’m sure we would’ve heard ‘em, and he knows to come straight in.”
“Maggie, please.”
Maggie couldn’t argue with those imploring eyes. “All right, Mister Adam,” she said and scuttled from the room.
“It’s all right, Angel.”
“No, it isn’t,” Angelica snarled.
Adam felt completely and utterly helpless, and he wanted to do more but he didn’t know what. He had delivered foals and calves before but this was something entirely different. Angelica wasn’t a horse.
“Nothin’ yet,” Maggie said as she hurried back in. “I even went outside for a good look.”
“What’s taking so long?” Adam said as he struggled with his wife.
“They’ll make it, and if they don’t, we’ll manage. That’s somethin’ the human race has been doin’ for a long time, and if we weren’t good at it we wouldn’t still be here.” She gave him a comforting pat on the arm then went to the head of the bed and began washing her girl’s face.
*******
Gibby pushed his grimy hat back on his head, and swore under his breath. “That wasn’t there when I come past here on my way into town.”
“Well, it’s here now,” the doctor said as he looked down at the large limb blocking three quarters of the road. “And if we try driving around it we’ll have to leave the road and probably get stuck again.”
“What do we do now?” Mrs. Cadence asked. “We can’t just stand around here all day.”
“And we ain’t gonna. Doc, can you ride?”
“Of course I can ride,” the doctor said as if offended by the affront.
“Then you take my horse and go on ahead. It won’t take long for you to get there, us already bein’ so close and all, and we’ll catch up to you as soon as I get the road cleared enough for us to pass.”
“All right,” Dr. Robey said then ran back to the buggy and got his medical bag. When he went to the horse, Gibby stood at its head holding the reins. With a quick exchange of looks, the doctor slipped his foot into the stirrup and eased into the saddle.
“I ain’t gonna insult you by askin’ if you know how to get there, so I’ll just say be careful.”
“I will.”
“Good luck, Doc,” Gibby said then gave the horse a swat on the rump and sent the doctor on his way.
He went back to stand with the ladies, and they watched the doctor until he disappeared around a curve past a grove of trees. Then Gibby’s eyes went to the impediment to their progress. “I might as well get at this. It sure ain’t gonna move itself.”
“Tell me what I can do to help,” Fiona said forcefully as she turned to him. “And before you say it, I’m not a little girl, and this is my sister.”
“All right, Miss,” he said with a wry grin. “You can lead the horse after I get him hooked up to the limb.”
Mrs. Cadence stepped to her daughter and took her shoulders while Gibby went about unhitching the horse.
“We’ll get there, Mother, and Angelica will be all right.”
“Of course she will, sweetheart. Of course she will.” Her pale gray eyes traced back along the road to where the doctor had left their sight. “Ride, doctor,” she said below a whisper. “Ride fast.”
*******
As Chris McCutcheon and Juva Baily came into the yard they quickly sensed that something was out of whack and not as it should be. Two sets of wary eyes took in their surroundings and buckskin loops were slipped from the hammers of sidearms.
“Chris.”
Chris looked around and followed his companion’s pointing arm. Lying on the ground in a tangled wad was a long piece of paisley cloth that he instantly recognized as Mrs. Cartwright’s shawl. After what had happened back in January when she had been abducted by that man Marnes in an attempt to lure the boss to his death the men had been on constant guard for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Even though the Cartwrights had returned to their more-or-less normal routine, at least on the surface, those that worked there, most notably Chris, didn’t miss anything.
“Stay here,” Chris said as he cautiously stepped down.
He went to the shawl and picked it up, instantly noticing no warmth about it. It had been here for sometime, and it made Chris’ skin crawl.
“Cover me, Juva,” Chris said as his fingers dug into the wool fabric. “I’m gonna check the house.”
Juva’s Colt cleared leather but he stayed in the saddle as Chris started up the steps, his boots making no sound to give him away. He moved to the door just as noiselessly then, after glancing to either side of him, he knocked then his left hand dropped to the gun on his hip, and he waited.
A minute passed and nothing happened, and the two young men grew edgier.
“Maybe you should try again.”
Chris knocked more loudly, his fingers tightening on the stock of his pistol.
This time it didn’t take half that long when the door opened, and a harried-looking Maggie O’Shea was standing before him.
“Miss O’Shea. I found this on the ground,” he said as he held up the shawl, his hand staying on his pistol. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Mr. McCutcheon,” Maggie said as she took the shawl from him. “Things are just a bit hectic right now, but by this time tomorrow there’ll be one more Cartwright in the world.”
Chris beamed like a summer sun, and his left hand relaxed. “Has anybody gone for the doctor?”
“Mr. Gibson was sent and should be back with him before long.”
“I bet the boss is a mess.”
“That he is. Now I thank ya for bringin’ this to me, but I gotta get back.”
“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said and tipped his hat.
The door closed, and Chris went back down into the yard as Juva dismounted, the Colt back in its holster. Chris stepped to his horse and they began leading the animals to the barn.
“So the boss is finally gonna be a father,” Juva said as he clicked his teeth. “Probably don’t even know what to do with his head.”
Chris giggled. “Most likely not. You know how the boss can get.”
*******
Gibby had been true to his word, and after about seventeen or so minutes of hard riding, Dr. Robey made it to the Cartwright house. He left the animal’s back almost before it had stopped and dashed up the steps. When he got to the front door he didn’t stand on ceremony and went right in. “Adam!”
The bedroom door opened back, and relief filled Maggie’s face. “In here, doctor, and I wouldn’t be long about it.”
He rushed toward her, and she stepped aside to let him into the bedroom. Angelica, still gripping her husband’s hands, appeared to be in full labor. Maggie held the medical bag while Dr. Robey got out of his coat and hat and tossed them onto the chair.
“How long has this been going on?” he asked as he went to the side of the bed, rolling up his right sleeve.
“Twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes or a little more,” Maggie said as she came to stand behind him with the bag.
“Well, young lady,” the doctor said with a warming smile, “it looks like I got here just in time.”
Angelica tried returning the smile but it evaporated quickly and turned into a stunted scream.
“Good, Maggie, I see you’ve already got everything we’ll need,” the doctor said with a rapid assessment of his surroundings. “Now, Adam, I want you to go out into the parlor. Me and Maggie can take it from here.”
“I don’t want to leave her,” Adam said with a head shake.
“Ya can do her best if ya’ll do what the doctor says,” Maggie said as she took Adam’s arm. “It won’t do any good for ya to be underfoot. Now ya go on.”
Adam’s eyes met with Angelica’s, and she nodded. He didn’t like it but he knew they were right. Maggie saw him to the door then gave him a gentle nudge out, and closed it almost in his face.
He just stood there, his heart thudding within his ribcage. Dark thoughts crowded into his head, and he shoved them away as soon as they came. He could hear her torment and it twisted his insides, and he fought against the tears that were like acid behind the dark hazel. He wanted to be in there with her but he knew they were right.
FIVE
With Fiona’s help, it hadn’t taken Gibby long to clear the road, and they had gotten underway quickly. Gibby’s driving had proved to be even more frenetic than the doctor’s but they managed to make it in one piece.
The front door jerked open as they came to a stop in front of the house, and Adam stood with his hand on the handle. Gibby got out like a shot and helped the ladies out, and Mrs. Cadence gave him a quick thank you then she and her daughter raced up the steps.
“How is she?” Mrs. Cadence asked as they drew closer to her son-in-law.
“I don’t know. Maggie and Dr. Robey ran me out.”
Adam stepped back as they came in then closed the door.
“I’ll make some tea,” Fiona said as she started toward the dining room removing her wrap.
It didn’t take very astute observation on Mrs. Cadence’s part to see the state Adam was in. Usually ever the prefect gentleman, he didn’t even offer to take her cloak and stalked back toward the bedroom. She hung it along with her bonnet on the stand by the front door then went to him, and placed a comforting hand on his broad back.
“I can’t lose her. I can’t lose her.” Slowly, he turned to her, and his face was as bleak as the dankest cave. “I can’t lose her like my father did my mother.”
Mrs. Cadence felt her heart skip a beat, and her eyes burned. “Oh, honey,” she said as she threw her arms around him, and felt his encircle her. “We can’t think that way. What would Angelica say if we gave up on her so easily?” She held him away from her, and put on her brightest mask. “”And don’t forget that she’s one of nine.”
“But she’s so small.”
“And when I was her age I wasn’t nearly as big.”
The sides of his finely sculpted mouth curved but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll try keeping that in mind.”
“Now why don’t we sit down,” she said as she began steering him toward the settee. “Sometimes these things take a while.” She pushed him down onto the soft upholstery then went to the hearth and began poking up the fire. She knew the odds of a woman dying in childbirth but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “Do you know that you still haven’t told me what names you and Angelica have picked out.” But when she turned around she could plainly see that his mind was miles away. She went to him and lightly touched his wrist, and the eyes that looked up at her made her ache. “Adam, dear, just because your father lost your mother that way doesn’t mean you’ll lose Angelica the same way.”
“She was in such pain…, and she squeezed my hands so hard.”
She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. “I remember when Lucinda was born.” She laughed and shook her head. “My fingernails dug into Hiram’s arm and brought the blood, poor dear. He never said anything about it except to call them his battle scars…. I wish he could be here for this.”
“Who says he isn’t?” he said as he looked around at her.
She smiled and leaned her head over on his shoulder. Just being near this man had a way of comforting, even when he himself was pent-up and could use some consoling too.
*******
Supper had come a little early and gone but no one had had any real appetite for the sandwiches Fiona had cobbled together while her mother had stayed with her brother-in-law. Lamps had been lit to hold back the approaching dusk, and still no word had come.
Adam paced like some caged animal, his eyes continually darting to the bedroom door. Things had been eerily silent for the past quarter hour, and it disturbed him. Had something gone wrong, and they hadn’t told him? Was his wife dead? And what about the baby? He halted for a second, and his hands bunched as he resumed the endless stalking.
Mrs. Cadence had moved to the chair closer to the fire, and her eyes never left him. She could see the anguish building to an eruption in this tall, dark, long limbed man that her daughter had married. As long as she herself had known him she had found the characteristic of coolness under fire, but sometimes that coolness faltered, and sometimes altogether failed him always to be followed by some sort of outburst. After long discussions with his family – particularly his father – she had also learned that this hadn’t been a part of him until his return home. And right now she suspected she was watching the stranger they had told her about.
Fiona sipped at her cup of tepid tea while she watched him from her perch on the settee. She wished he would sit down but she understood why he couldn’t. Her pale eyes twinkled in the lamplight as she thought of Steve Balasco and wondered if he would behave the same way over her, and she knew he would. Then her train of thought quickly shifted, and her gaze went to the bedroom. She wanted to be with her sister at this time but she knew that Angelica would be pleased to know that she and their mother were keeping an eye on Adam.
Adam suddenly froze facing the bedroom. “Why don’t they tell us something? Why don’t they…? I can’t stand this anymore! I’m going in there!”
Mrs. Cadence burst from the chair and quickly put her full frame between him and the door and took a firm grasp on his arms. “Adam, you can’t. That’s no place for an overwrought husband. It’s been my experience that they only complicate things.” She softly touched his cheek. “Why don’t you go out onto the porch?”
“Oh, no, I…”
“Go out onto the porch and have a talk. It’ll help…. It’s always helped me.”
“Maybe you’re right…. But you’ll promise to let me know the second you hear anything?”
“I promise. Now go on, dear. It’ll do you some good.”
Reluctantly, he turned, his feet dragging the floor. He got as far at the front door and stopped, his darkened gaze probing her face for some kind of assurance.
“Go on,” Mrs. Cadence said as she shooed him on with both hands.
His dense eyebrows dropped into a scowl then he went out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sorry for him,” Fiona said as she glanced around to the front door.
“Neither have I, dear…. Neither have I.”
Adam stepped to the edge of the porch and looked up into the growing darkness. The chilly air ran over him, and he wrapped his arms about him in an attempt to ward it off.
“I can’t and I don’t want to live without her so if you must take somebody, take me instead.” He took a deep breath and the cold filled his lungs. “I’m not whole without my Angelica…. She’s the best part of me, and I’m grateful that You sent her to me.” He snorted. “She’s a strong woman to be able to put up with me, and I know we have our words sometimes but nothing has ever been so right as our union.” His head lowered, and his eyes closed as he put one hand against his forehead. “I’ve always wanted to be a father, to know what my own father has… but if I have to make a decision between her and the baby…” He shook his head and ran his fingers back through his hair and looked heavenward again. “As much as I love her I can’t do that. She wouldn’t want me to…. I know she’ll willingly to do for our baby what my mother did for me…, but please, please don’t…”
His head yanked around as the front door opened behind him, and Fiona stood silhouetted by the light from behind.
“Adam, the doctor.”
He shot forward and followed her back inside, giving the door a haphazard shove behind him. He tried reading the doctor’s face as dread rose paramount and nothing else could cut through. The lump in his throat thought to strangle him as he fought back the fear that threatened to swallow him whole.
Adam joined his mother- and sister-in-law as they gathered around Dr. Robey. “Doctor?” came as a whisper, and no one really knew who had said it.
“She’s all right, and before you ask, the baby hasn’t come yet.”
“Is something wrong?” Adam asked his eyes black and round as onyx marbles.
“Like I told you, Adam, these things take time.” Mrs. Cadence tittered. “You can’t rush a baby that isn’t in a hurry.”
“But why…?”
“This is a quiet time that could vanish at any second, and she wants to see you, and her mother and sister, and I see no harm in it. But you can’t stay long, and don’t upset her. She’s very tired and this is a good time for her to build her strength for what’s to come.”
The doctor went back into the room and allowed the family to enter. Maggie stood unobtrusively by the window as they stopped at the foot of the bed. Angelica’s hair lay wet against her head but her face had been wiped dry. A worn smile touched her lips, and she feebly held out her hand. “Adam.”
Adam went to the side of the bed and took her hand, and sat down next to her. Her exhausted deep violet eyes went to her mother and sister then returned to her husband. “Your son is giving us quite a time,” she said as she squeezed his fingers.
“You’re still so sure it’s a boy.”
“Just like his father…. I’ll be so lucky to have two such men in my life.”
He ran his hand over her damp hair and fought to contain the shudder that ran through him. “You’re my life, you know that don’t you?
“I know…. And I know what you’ve always told me.”
He leaned down and kissed her dry lips. “Always by your side.” One side of his mouth crimped. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her smile slowly dissolved with a deep breath and her eyelids lowered.
“All right, that’s enough for now,” the doctor said as he put a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “We have work to do.”
Adam reluctantly went with Mrs. Cadence and Fiona as they started out but they looked around as a moan left Angelica, and she gripped the bedpost.
“Come on, dear,” Mrs. Cadence said as she eased him back out into the parlor. “She’s in good hands. The doctor’s and the Good Lord’s.”
But Adam hardly heard her and couldn’t tear his eyes away from the closed door. In all his life he couldn’t ever remember feeling so useless. He placed his hand flat against the cool wood – as if it could bring him closer to Angelica – and dropped his head in prayer and didn’t feel Mrs. Cadence take his arm.
SIX
Thirteen-year-old Matty Lidell rode like every wolf in Nevada was after him, and ravenous to boot. The force of the icy wind had blown his hat off and tangled in his thick, fawn-colored hair. He leaned forward against the horse’s neck – its mane stinging his face like fine needles – as he raced on through the approaching night. He had to get to the Cartwright house, and he didn’t have time to worry about such insignificant things.
He slapped the reins against the animal’s withers in an attempt to garner more speed, but the big bay was already wide open and could do no better.
Matty had never been to the Angel ranch but one of the men in town had given him directions then he had lit out on one of the mounts from the livery. His sharp eyes stayed ever on the alert in the diminishing light as he continued urging the horse onward.
Soon they passed through a stand of pines and into a clearing. Off in the distance he could see the large, two-story white house, now shaded pale gray, and its lower front windows emitting yellow dots of light that acted as beacons drawing him on. His heart rate increased and kept pace with the thump of the horse’s hooves. He had made it! Now all he had to do was get the doctor and get back into town with him and hope they weren’t too late.
Adam Cartwright had picked up where he had left off with his incessant pacing; only now Fiona had joined him, the two passing each other like sailing vessels plying the sea lanes. Mrs. Cadence stood before the blazing fire, not in any better shape but better able not to show it.
They didn’t notice when the horse tore into the yard and the heavy footfalls on the steps, and then the porch made no impression but the hysterical banging on the door did.
Piqued at the annoying interruption, Adam’s long legs drove him forward. He couldn’t miss the rampant agitation in the boy. “Matty? What’re you doing out here so late?”
“Where’s the doctor?” he asked anxiously.
“He’s with my wife.”
“Ma sent me to fetch ‘im back. Tilly fell off the porch, and she’s broke up real bad.”
“Well, I’m afraid he can’t…”
“She’s my little sister, and I can’t go back without ‘im.” He burst into the house. “I’ve gotta find ‘im or Ma’ll skin me good.”
“Child, why don’t you…?” Mrs. Cadence started.
“No, I’ve gotta get the doctor.”
Matty ran for the bedroom as a woman’s shrill scream escaped its confines. Adam ran after him but couldn’t stop him before he opened the door. Angelica was in the throes of heavy labor, and the doctor and Maggie had their hands full.
“Doc!”
Dr. Robey’s harsh glare shot around to the boy. “Get him out of here!” he snapped.
“But Doc, my little sister needs you!”
“I can’t leave this woman! Not get him out of here!”
The boy’s face fell, and Adam had no difficulty getting him out.
“It’s all right, child,” Mrs. Cadence said and put a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It shouldn’t be long now.”
“How bad is Tilly hurt?” Adam asked.
“I dunno. She keeps crying and saying her arm hurts, and Ma keeps rocking with her and praying. Mr. Cartwright, if I don’t get back there with the doc Ma’ll whip me good.”
“Well, he can’t leave here, not now.” Then the glow of inspiration came to Adam’s face. “I tell you what, Matty. You go out to the bunkhouse, and tell Chris McCutcheon I said for him to take you out to Doctor Statler’s. It’s a little farther away, but right now it’s the best anybody can do.”
Some of the gloom and hopelessness faded from the boy’s face. “I sure will, Mr. Cartwright, and thanks.”
Matty ran out and their attention quickly returned to the bedroom and the sounds of pain coming from it. Adam ran his hands back over his hair and turned his back on it. Why did women have to scream so when they had a baby? He tried closing his mind and ears to it but it simply didn’t work.
Then it became deathly quiet and no one dared even breathe.
Maggie came out of the bedroom, obviously wrung out by the ordeal. “Everything’s all right…, Papa.”
“Can we go in?” Mrs. Cadence asked eagerly.
“Not just yet. The doctor will let ya know when it’s all right to.”
Maggie started for the kitchen but hadn’t even gotten to the dining room when the doctor stuck his head out. “Maggie, get back in here!”
Maggie whirled and ran straight back. Adam tried following her in but Mrs. Cadence stopped him. “No, Adam.”
“Something’s wrong. Oh, Dear God, something’s wrong.”
“We don’t know that.”
Adam’s pacing grew even more furious. “Oh, please not my Angelica, not my Angelica. Please, no, please.”
Fiona stood with her hands over her mouth as if her feet were bolted to the floor and tears filmed her eyes.
Then Adam jerked around. “I need to be in there.”
Mrs. Cadence swallowed hard and sighed onerously then looked to Adam and Fiona and could clearly see what they were thinking. To this point she had tried placating Adam and reassuring him that all would be well, but there was no one to do that for her now. She wrung her hands together at her ample waist and fought against the stampeding of her heart. She had already lost two of her children, and she tried not thinking that she would lose another.
*******
The crescent moon gradually crept through the inky sky, its pale likeness seeming to skim the tops of the huge pines. The night air had grown colder and more crystalline than it had been in the daylight hours and held the house in its icy hand.
Adam had ceased his constant pacing and stood with his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and Mrs. Cadence and Fiona sat huddled together on the settee. Angelica’s torment – which had started again even after the baby’s birth – had stopped and Adam’s labor of love had become silent as a crypt.
After what felt like an eternity but was actually no more than thirty minutes Dr. Robey came out of the bedroom wiping his hands on a towel.
A breath whistled through Adam’s teeth as he pushed himself away from the wall. “Doctor, how is she? How’s Angelica?”
“She’s had it pretty rough, but she came through it and given a few days rest I think she’ll be right as rain.”
“And the baby?”
“Why don’t you come in and see what you’ve got?”
The doctor opened the door back and Adam and Mrs. Cadence and Fiona went in with some trepidation.
Adam’s eyes went straight to his Angelica, and he saw nothing else. He glanced back at Dr. Robey and got a nod of encouragement. Gently, he sat on the side of the bed, and put his hand against her cheek. “You gave us a bit of a scare…. When Maggie ran back in here I was so afraid that…”
“I’m all right, sweetest…. And for what we’ve got it was all worth it.”
“I love you, Angel.”
She smiled and fought to keep her eyes open. “And I love you.”
He raised her right hand and kissed her fingertips, and felt all the fear and dread finally flow from him.
“Do you realize… that you haven’t even said hello… to your sons?”
Adam’s eyes went wide, and the hazel all but disappeared. “Ssssons?”
For the first time he noticed the three tiny black capped heads in bed with their mother. Gingerly, he pulled back the covers and looked at his beautiful babies, and it was easy to see who they resembled.
“Sons.” He snickered. “And we only thought of one name. I guess we’ll havta come up with two more.”
“I guess we will, sweetheart.”
“Wait’ll Pa finds out.”
He leaned forward and rested his head on the pillow next to hers, and she began running her fingers through his heavy black hair.
Contentment in its purest form filled Angelica like the calm waters of a mountain lake as she felt her men close to her. She had heard her mother and other women talk about the joys and fulfillment of being a wife and mother since her childhood, and for her the circle was now complete. Her arms tightened around the four that had come into her life so abruptly, and she let the serenity wash over her. For now she would sleep and tomorrow she would start getting to know her sons and watch her Adam begin to blossom as a father.
SEVEN
Sheriff Dan Jillian was just returning from the Del Mar Café and having his breakfast when he saw Adam Cartwright ride in, and stop in front of the telegraph office.
“Good morning, Mr. Cartwright. You’re in bright and early.”
Adam looked around just as his foot touched the ground. “I came in to send some wires to my father and brothers and my cousin in San Francisco, and I wanted to go ahead and get it done.”
“Does this have anything to do with your cook riding in like a scalded bat yesterday to get the doctor?”
“Haven’t you seen Dr. Robey yet today?” Adam asked as he wrapped the reins around the hitch rail.
“No, when he got back he went right to Mrs. Liddell’s boarding house to see about little Tilly then went on home. After a late night or a rough day he usually stays in and fixes his own breakfast. His way of recovering, I spose.”
“Didn’t young Matty get back with Dr. Statler? Chris said he got him there all right.”
“Not long after the doc came in.”
“And how is the girl?”
“A broken arm and a black eye, but the way her mother was carrying on you’d think she’d been half killed.”
“Well, you can’t blame her. Our children are our riches.”
“I spose, but not being a father I wouldn’t know about that.”
“I would,” Adam said as the dim light caught in his bright eyes.
“The baby?” Dan said breathlessly. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
Adam’s mouth spread to nearly split his face in two. “Three black-haired boys and Angelica’s just fine.”
“Whew.” Dan pushed his hat back on his head exposing his thick light brown hair. “I’ve always heard that you Cartwrights have never done anything halfway, and now I believe it. Well, I’ll let you go on about your business. I’m sure there’re some folks right here in town you wantta tell too before you head on back.”
“There are, and I need to go see the Haymes’.”
Dan’s right hand came out. “Congratulations, Mr. Cartwright, to you and you’re good wife.”
Adam took it and pumped it firmly. “Thanks, Sheriff. I’ll tell Angelica.”
Adam watched him as he walked away then stepped up onto the boardwalk. He wanted to get this done so he could go see Steve Balasco and then Siddon Banning. He knew his friends would be happy for him, and he could hardly wait to tell them and Lee Haymes, but what he really wanted to do was get home to Angelica and his boys. His boys. Oh, how nice that sounded, and how wonderful it was going to be to help them grow into fine men with his true love at his side.
With a laugh, he shook his head then went into the telegraph office.
*******
Joe Cartwright had just finished putting Cochise away for the day and was headed for the house and supper when Pete Kimball rode into the yard.
“Evening, Pete.”
“Evening, Joe. I can’t stay long. Rita’s got my supper waiting for me.” He began digging in a coat pocket and came out with an envelope. “I was just about to head on home when Mr. Grayson found this and told me to get it out here. Seems Vin took it this morning and forgot to tell anybody.”
“Do you know what’s in it, or who it’s from?” Joe asked as he took it from him.
“Nope. Mr. Grayson didn’t see fit to tell me, and I didn’t ask, but he said it was real important for me to get it out here fast as I could.”
“Thanks, Pete. Is it still two bits?”
“Mr. Grayson said this one’s on the house,” Pete said then tipped his hat, whirled his horse around and rode off at a full gallop.
Joe looked down at the envelope in his hand then opened it.
“I wonder what’s keeping your brother?” Ben Cartwright asked as he took his place at the head of the table.
“Ah, you know Joe,” Hoss Cartwright said from where he sat to his father’s left, “he only gits in a hurry when he’s a mind to.”
“Well, maybe you’d better go…”
A piercing whoop entered the house, and Joe followed close behind it before his father and brother could even react.
“Joseph, what in the world?” Ben asked as his youngest son came into the dining room.
“Pa, you’ve gotta read this,” Joe said as he dashed forward and handed the crumpled sheet of paper to his father.
“What is it?”
“Don’t ask, Pa, just read it.”
Ben stared at him dubiously then his gaze lowered to the paper. As he read the words before him tears covered the surface of his coffee eyes and a great knot rose into his throat. Bringing one hand to his mouth he read the wonderful news over again just to give it a chance to sink in. So immersed in this magical moment was he that he didn’t feel the gentle touch on his arm.
“Pa, what is it…? Pa?”
Ben’s eyes finally went to his middle son and without a word he handed the telegram to Hoss.
Hoss took it and looked questioningly to his little brother and only got
a broad grin. As he read, his beefy fingers tightened on the already wrinkled
sheet, and his heart pounded out of sheer joy. Nephews, he finally had children
that he could indulge and spoil. “Well, I’ll be.” He shook his head. “Three
of ‘em.” Then he looked to his father.
“I’ll be right back, Pa. I’ve gotta tell Hop Sing.”
Ben didn’t object, and Hoss pushed himself away from the table and went into the kitchen. For a couple minutes everything remained quiet then it was suddenly disrupted by high-pitched Chinese.
Ben smiled like he hadn’t in a long while and let the news really take root. His oldest had presented him with three grandsons in one fell swoop. He felt his youngest son’s hand on his shoulder as reality nestled comfortably into his brain. As soon as they were able to pull themselves away from the running of the Ponderosa they would pay a visit to Adam and Angelica and meet those fine boys. “Three,” was all he could say.
*******
Angelica watched her husband from the bed were she rested, two of her babies snuggled securely next to her. A warm ember grew in her heart, and her eyes never left him, and love for this tender man filled her to overflowing. Her head tilted to one side, and she unknowingly began rubbing the side of her neck as she always did in the presence of something very special.
Adam sat in the chair by the window holding one of his sons. He examined the tiny fingers and marveled at the perfect features of this little boy they had named Adam Joseph Cartwright. He felt his heart swell as he carefully leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on the diminutive forehead. In all his time on Earth nothing had ever been as sublime as this. The rims of his dark eyes stung, and his hands tingled at the touch of the infant sleeping in its father’s arms and the warmth of this time he knew would be with him forever. He glanced up at Angelica so that he could share this moment with her. He was a father now with sons of his own, and he knew his own father better than he ever had in his life.
THE END