Montana Morning (13 page)

Mark and Maggie
were in the waiting room when Jack and Adrianna came down from recovery. 
Adrianna walked into Maggie’s waiting arms. 

Mark reached out
to shake Jack’s hand.  “You must be Jack,” he glanced over at Adrianna.

“From the looks of
things, I’d say it’s been a very long morning.”  Directing his attention
back to Jack he introduced himself, “I’m Mark Denning, pastor of the Community
Church.”

“Nice to meet you,
Pastor.”  Jack was watching Adrianna closely.

Mark followed his
eyes and placed his hand on the strong shoulder next to him.  “Don’t worry
about her, she’s made of steel.”  He moved to the window.  “How is
Scott?  It sounds like he was in surgery for a long time.”

“His heart stopped
on them,” Jack shook his head in disbelief, “but he’s going to be fine. 
Just took a lot longer than they figured.”  Jack studied the man standing
next to him out of the corner of his eye.  He needed an answer and who
better to ask than a man of God.  “Do you believe in near-death
experiences, Pastor Denning?”

Mark turned to
Adrianna and raised his eyebrows in question.  She nodded.  “Jack, I
can’t say I’ve ever had one, but I sure have met a bunch of people who claim
they did,” Mark responded.

Jack was looking
directly, unblinkingly at Adrianna.  “Scotty gave me a message from his
mom,” he said simply and then turned to face Mark once more.

“Jack, do you
believe in angels?”

“I can’t say as I
ever have.” Jack tugged at his beard and shook his head.

Mark beamed at
him.  “I suggest you start.”

***

The next few days
passed swiftly.  Adrianna spent her days with Scotty and nights with
Maggie, visiting late into the night.  After three nights in the hospital,
Scotty was released and they were on their way home.  Jack was
exhausted.  He had spent nights at the hospital in Scotty’s room, ‘sleeping’
propped up in a chair.   He had come close to losing the boy, and he
wasn’t ready to let him out of his sight for any length of time . . . not for a
while. 

The roads were
well plowed and the sun peeked through the clouds.  The trip back home was
uneventful, and because Scotty was given pain medication before leaving the
hospital, he slept.  He opened his eyes long enough to be sure Chester was
there when they tucked him into his own bed.

“He hasn’t had one
nightmare since Chester started sleeping with him, has he?”  Will asked as
he watched Scotty drift back to sleep.

“Not a one.” 
Jack smiled at Chester lying on the pillow next to Scotty.  “Pretty tough
mutt, aren’t you?  Chasing all those bad dreams away before they get to
him.”  He patted Chester’s head and scratched his belly, “Spoiled, rotten
dog.”

“Seems to be the
popular opinion,” Adrianna said, as she placed her hand on Scotty’s forehead,
checking for any sign of fever.

“Relax, would
you?”  Jack gave her the lopsided grin she now knew by heart.

“I will if you
will,” she told him.  “You, Sir,  need to grab a bite to eat, take a
long hot shower, and get a good night’s sleep,” quickly adding, “I’ll keep an
eye on Scotty tonight.”

“Home less than an
hour, and the woman’s already spouting orders,” Jack winked at his dad and
headed for the kitchen.

***

The doctor had
warned the surgery and new leg brace might give Scotty some serious pain for a
day or two, and Adrianna gave him medication several times throughout the
night.  Despite her best intentions, she couldn’t convince herself to
leave him and finally fell asleep on the window seat.  She awoke
midmorning in her own bed with someone knocking on her door.

“Come in,” she
said, as she sat up and stretched.

“Good Morning,
ma’am,” Will smiled and handed her a cup of hot chocolate.  “They won’t
let me even TRY to make coffee around here anymore,” he teased.

She looked
around.  “How did I get in here?” 

“Jack didn’t think
you looked very comfortable in the window seat when he went in to check on Scotty
this morning,” Will chuckled.  “Said you were sleeping so hard, you didn’t
blink an eye when he moved you.”

She could feel her
face turning red.  “How’s his back?”

Will looked over
at her and grinned.  He seriously doubted carrying her had hurt his son’s
back. 
‘Kind of got the idea he enjoyed it,’
he mused to
himself.   He opened the curtains to usher in the morning sun. 
“Welcome home, Addy.”

Scotty was overjoyed to be
out of the cast and away from the crutches.  He practiced walking every
chance he got, and within days he was making it up and down stairs
unaided.  Jack gave him added incentive by taking him to the barn and
introducing him to Melody, explaining that exercising her would be one of his
chores as soon as he was steady enough on his
feet.     

“Gee, it seems
like a million years since I was outside.” Scotty sighed, as he ate his
lunch.  The wind was picking up, and the storm, which had arrived six days
ago, was growing stronger.

 Addy stared
out at the drifting snow.  The men had taken sandwiches and a thermos of
hot coffee when they left the house this morning.  They would be in the
north quarter section all day checking the cattle and clearing the
springs.  It would be late tonight when they finished their chores.

“What do you say
we skip our lessons this afternoon and do the chores close to the house?” she
asked, already knowing the answer and smiling in his direction.

“You bet!” Scotty
got up from the table, put his dishes in the sink and headed for the
door.  “Do you think Grandpa would mind if I borrowed a pair of his
gloves?” he asked when he realized he didn’t have a pair.

“Have I got a deal
for you!”  Addy smiled and handed him a newly knit pair of mittens. 
They were red with white stripes and matched the ski mask she was pulling down
over his ears.

“Where did you get
these?” Scotty couldn’t believe his eyes.  They fit great and looked like
the ones Will wore.

“I made them in
the evenings after we read and you went off to bed.” She loved the happiness
she saw on his face. “They should keep you warm.”  She pulled on her boots
and pointed to the rack by the back door.  “Jack bought you some boots
while you were in the hospital.  They should fit over the brace just
fine.”  

Scotty pulled on
the new coveralls and tucked them into the top of his boots.  “How is a
person supposed to move with all this stuff on?” he laughed.

“You move slowly,
but warmly.” Addy opened the door and they braved the storm together.  The
chicken coop came first. They cleaned the floor, added fresh straw, feed and
water.

“You can check for
eggs, but I doubt you will find any in this cold weather.”  

“Where do I look?”
Scott gave her a puzzled look as he glanced around him.  Addy started to
giggle and soon tears were rolling down her cold cheeks. 

“Under them, city
boy,” she instructed. “But watch your hand, they peck.”

“Ouch!” he
yelped.  “They don’t seem to want to part with them.”  He gently
reached under the next bird and then the next. He found eggs under five
hens.  “One apiece for breakfast,” he gloated as they headed into the
barn.

“Do you want to
exercise Melody while I clean her stall?”  Addy asked, opening the gate.

“Can I
really?  By myself?” Scotty was thrilled and a little scared.

“If you take it
slow and easy,” she told him.  “Remember the foal is due any day
now.  Neither of you are up to foot races just now.”  She wanted to
be sure Scotty’s first experience with a horse was a good one.  “I’ll walk
with you the first time or two up and down the aisle, okay?”  Scotty was
glad she offered.  He was a little nervous about handling Melody; she was,
after all, a lot bigger than he was.   Addy showed him how to put on
the halter and how to lead and stop the horse.  After a few trips up and
down the length of the barn, Scotty was on his own and doing well.  Soon
the barn chores were done, the wood boxes in the house were filled, and they
settled down in the kitchen for hot chocolate and cookies.

“Well, Farmer
Jones,  how did you like your first day as a ranch hand?”

“Great!” he paused
and looked out at the storm once more. “Is there always this much work?” 
“I mean, ever since I got here, it seems like all anyone does every day is
work.”

“Seems like it
sometimes, doesn’t it?” she nodded.  “But you know what?  The men
love this place and all the critters on it,” she said, handing him a slice of
apple.  “So I guess they don’t mind the long hours and hard work. 
It’s just part of making a living and maintaining a way of life.”

“We play checkers,
read books, and visit a lot in the evenings,” Scotty added.  “I like the
Bible stories you read to us best, though . . . even the men like those.”

“Especially with
popcorn,” Addy laughed.

“Especially with
popcorn,” Scotty agreed. “If I help make supper, can we bake a chocolate cake?”

“I think we can do
that.”  Addy looked into the cupboard checking supplies.  “How would
you like to make some Jell-O?  How about strawberry with fruit cocktail
and bananas?”

***

 They spent
the next hour preparing a feast for the family to enjoy.  Addy taught him
a new silly song.  “There was a man named Michael Finnegan
,
he had
hair upon his chin again . . . ” That was how Jack found them when he came
home, in the kitchen singing and laughing, with chocolate frosting all over
their faces.  ‘
...he had hair upon his chin again’
Jack heard the
tune as he opened the door. 

“Don’t you two
have better things to do than to sing my praises?” he laughed and stroked his
beard.  Addy looked over at Scotty and winked.

“Would you like to
tell this conceited gentleman how we spent our afternoon, Sir?”  She
curtsied to Scotty.

Scotty’s face lit
up.  “Yes ma’am.”  He bowed back with a flourish.

“We, Sir, did the
chores.” He tried to look very serious but the smile kept creeping through.

“All of them,
including exercising Melody?”  Jack’s jaw dropped.

“All of them!”
they exclaimed and gave each other a ‘high five’.

“Well, I’ll be!”

“Grandpa, did you
know Addy made me a ski mask and mittens?”  Scotty went to retrieve them
from the drying rack behind the kitchen stove.

“Did she really?”
Jack asked, smiling at the woman with chocolate frosting on her face. 
“When did you find the time for that?”

“She did it while
we were asleep!” Scotty was modeling his new duds. “Aren’t they great?”

“They sure
are!  I hope you remembered to thank her.”  He raised his eyebrows in
question.

“You bet I did;
 I never had anything homemade before.  It’s neat.”  Scotty put
his things back on the rack. 

 Will came
into the house shaking his head in wonder.  “How in the world did you get
all the chores done so fast?”  He slapped Jack on the back.  “Andy
and I were just a few minutes behind you, weren’t we?”

“I didn’t do the
chores, they did,” Jack looked at his grandson and beamed.  Will marched
across the floor and shook Scotty’s hand,  just like a man. 

“Right proud of
you, Boy,” he said and grinned at Addy.  He and Jack both knew she’d
probably done more than her share, but today was Scotty’s day to shine. 
Scotty went to bed that night with a song in his heart and a grin on his
face. 

***

“Quite a day,
we’ve all had.” Will stretched and got out of his chair.  “Thanks for the
story, Addy.  Always did like the ‘Battle of Jericho’.” He yawned in spite
of himself.  “Think I’ll check on Melody one more time, and then hit the
hay.”

“Don’t bother Pops.’
Jack looked up at his dad.  Will was bushed and it showed.  “I’m
heading to bed pretty quick myself. I’ll do it.”

“Mind if I come
along?” Addy asked.  “She acted different somehow this afternoon.”

“So you said
earlier.  Woman’s intuition?”  Jack smiled and helped her with her
coat.

When they arrived
at the barn, they found Melody down.  Addy knew by the look on Jack’s
face, the mare was in trouble.

“Run and get
Pops,” he ordered, as he took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves.

“Andy, too?”

“Let him sleep. 
We’ll need him tomorrow,” Jack reasoned.

Addy and Will
returned within minutes.

“What’s happening,
Jack?”  Will asked, as he knelt beside the mare.

“I think the foal
is trying to enter the world backwards, but I can’t be sure.” Jack was
preparing to examine her.

“Damn!” Will swore
under his breath, and glanced up at Addy.  “Sorry, Gal.”

“What can I do?”
She was sitting down by Melody’s head now, talking to her in low soothing
tones.   Jack and Will looked at each other and studied Melody. 
She was calming down, at least a little.

“Just keep talking
to her.  The sound of your voice seems to soothe her.” Jack and Will poked
and prodded gently.  Will sat with his head bowed and Addy wondered if he
was praying.  She was.

“We’re going to
have to turn the little bugger if we’re going to save either one of
them.” 

Addy’s eyes flew
up to Jack’s face.  She had known things were not going well, but lose
them both? ‘ . . . Oh
, dear God, Please!
’ she pleaded silently.

“Addy, hold her head
tight and keep talking,” Jack ordered.  “Pops,  hold the light.”

Jack slowly
reached inside the mare and began working.  Soon he was covered in sweat,
though it was only twenty degrees in the barn.  He stopped and tried
again, then again and again. 

Addy sang softly,
‘Amazing
Grace how sweet the sound . . .’ Time
stood still.

“It’s turned,”
Jack sighed in relief.  “Just hope we got it done in time.”