"Clint, can you please go get Carver and the other men? I need to talk to all y'all." Jeweldean said to Clint. She looked up at the sky for the numerous time today and prayed, "God, please let the snow hold off. We still have so much preparation to do before then."

      Jeweldean paced the porch as she thought about what her husband would do. Today marked the first month that Sonny had been gone. Each night had brought on nightmares for Jeweldean; and each morning she would wake up panting and in a cold sweat.

       Jeweldean felt a strong kick in her stomach. She gasped and put her hand on her enlarged belly. "You're mighty anxious to get out aren't ya? Well, you still got a couple weeks before you're ready to meet the world."

      "Ma'am?" Jeweldean heard a voice behind her. She turned and saw the ranch hands looking at her.

      "Uh, let's go inside where it's warmer." Jeweldean said, embarrassed. The men probably had no clue who she was talking to.

       The five men followed Jeweldean into the house, and Jeweldean led them into the spacious living room.

      "I'll go and put some coffee on for y'all. You're probably freezin' from havin' to walk all the way from the cabins."

     The men all agreed. Jeweldean made her way into the kitchen, and began to boil water for the coffee. She heard Suzanne crying upstairs, so she made her way up the stairs to quiet the baby. About halfway up the stairs, Jeweldean's stomach tightened. She began to have contractions.

      "No, God, please. Not without Sonny here. Please." Jeweldean prayed. After one big contraction, she screamed, and sat down on the stairs, holding her stomach. All five of the men came running.

      Clint saw her, and ran up the stairs, then kneeled down beside her.

      "What's wrong, Jeweldean?"

      "It's the,- aah- the baby." Jeweldean had had two children already, so she knew when it was time for the baby to be born, and she knew that time was right now.

      Clint anxiously said to Jeweldean, "But yer- yer not due fer another," Clint looked like he was counting, "another month or so, right?"

     Jeweldean looked at Clint. "I know when my baby is about to be born. And she ain't gonna wait no longer. It's time."

     Clint had been there to help Jeweldean when she was giving birth to Cody and Suzanne, but Sonny had always been there to help, and Sonny always knew what to do. He was her moral support. Jeweldean really really did not want to have this baby without it's father being there, but she had no other choice.

    "Um, okay, well what do you want me to do?" A nervous Clint asked. Sweat began to fill Clint's forehead.

     "We need. Aah." Jeweldean screamed. "We need to git to town. To the doctor. I think I can make it."

     Clint turned to the other four men standing at the bottom of the stairs.

     "Austin, go get Storm, and hook her up to the wagon. Cooper, you take your horse and ride into town. Tell doc that we're coming."

     "No, don't take Storm. She's too slow to run into town. Austin, take Acorn, not Storm." Jeweldean said to Austin.

      "Yeah, okay ma'am." A nervous Austin said, and ran out the door.

      Clint helped Jeweldean up, and carried her down the stairs. Jeweldean was in a lot of pain by this time, but she did not want to have this baby without Sonny there.

     "Wait, what about Cody and Suzanne?" Jeweldean said to Clint.

    "Carver, you stay behind with the kids." Clint said, carrying Jeweldean outside.

     "Yes, sir." Carver replied.

      Clint carefully sat Jeweldean in the wagon, and then he jumped up into the back of it with Jeweldean.

      "Go Austin. We gotta git to town soon." Clint said to Austin.

      Austin grabbed Acorn's reins and yelled, "Hiya!" And they were off.

     To Jeweldean it felt like Austin was hitting every bump possible on the grassy and rocky path into town. Occasionally, Austin would peek back over his shoulder to check on Jeweldean.

     Jeweldean prayed the entire long ride into town. She prayed for her two other kids, and this baby that was about to come into the world. She also prayed for herself, and for Sonny.

      A long while later, what seemed like days for Jeweldean, they finally got into town. Austin pulled the wagon right up to the doctor's door and the doctor came running out.

      "Bring her in. Set her here on the cot." The doctor said before the wagon had even stopped.

      Clint carried Jeweldean into the doctor's office and set her on the cot, just like the doc had said.

         "Are you her husband?" The new nurse asked Clint. 

       "No, her husband is...out of town. On a cattle drive." Clint told the nurse.

      "Then you must wait outside." The new-to-town nurse said and pulled the curtain shut on Clint's face.

      Clint reluctantly walked outside, and paced the porch. He could hear Jeweldean screaming in pain, and he too wished Sonny was there.

       After about an hour of pacing, Clint sat down on the steps, removed his hat and wiped his sweaty brow. A small smile rose on Clint's lips as he realized how nervous he was. He was nervous enough for both himself and for Jeweldean. His smile faded when he felt a snowflake land on his arm. Looking up to the cloudy sky he prayed for Jeweldean, the new baby, and for Sonny. He also prayed that the early snow would hold off for a while. The cold air blew around him, sending a chill up his spine. It was early November, but the snow usually didn't come until late November, or early December.

     Then Clint listened to the sudden silence. He no longer heard Jeweldean or a baby. He placed his head in his hands, and prayed hard.

     Then he heard a crying baby. "Thank you, Lord." Clint said and stood up.

     The door to the doctor's office opened and the nurse came out with a smile on her face.

     "You can come on in now."

     Clint walked in, and saw a tired, but smiling Jeweldean holding a beautiful new baby.

     Jeweldean looked over at Clint and told him to come closer.

     "It's a girl." Jeweldean said.

     Clint grabbed a chair and sat down next to Jeweldean.

     "How was it possible that she could still look so beautiful, even though she just had a baby?" Clint thought to himself. He grabbed the baby's finger.

      "Whadda gonna name her?" Clint asked Jeweldean. Pushing away the previous thought.

      Jeweldean's smile faded, and she looked over at Clint.

      "Well, Sonny and I talked about a few names but," Tears filled her eyes. "We never did get to decide."

       Clint immediately felt bad for the comment he had made. He had probably just ruined the whole day for Jeweldean. He nodded then stood up from the chair and walked outside. He told Austin, and Cooper that it was a baby girl, and that Jeweldean is fine.

      "That's great news, Clint. I really wish Sonny were here to celebrate with us, though. It just don't feel right without him." Austin said. Clint nodded in agreement.

      "Well, if y'all don't need any help, I'm gonna go head on back to the ranch, and see if the other hands will wanna help me make lunch, and clean up the house for Jeweldean and the new young'un. Give Jeweldean my congratulations." Cooper stated.

     "Yeah, that's a mighty fine idea, Coop. Tell Cody his ma is fine and that she'll be home soon. But don't tell him it's a girl. We should let Jeweldean do that." Clint said, smiling. Clint knew that Cody would have wanted it to be a boy so that he would have a brother.

      As Clint watched Cooper ride away, he thought about his first day on the ranch as a hired hand for Sonny. It was about 100 degrees out, and the dead of summer. At the time he was just 18, a little younger than Sonny. Clint told his parents that he wanted to go work for Sonny, and his parents and Sonny's parents knew each other very well, so they let him go. Both men's parents were friends when they were kids. Sonny grew up with Clint, and whenever Sonny's parents had somewhere to go, Clint came over to Sonny's house and vice versa. The two were practically brothers.

       Clint's parents lived just a few miles away from Sonny's parents until Sonny's father passed away in a terrible fire, that was set by bandits. After the funeral, Clint's parents moved away. He kept in touch with them for a while, then eventually lost touch.

      That thought made Clint decide to walk over to the post office and send a letter to his parents. He told them what had been happening in Callieburg, since they last corresponded. Clint apologized for not writing more often. He wrote a couple other things, including the news of the new baby, but he left out the part about Sonny, then folded the paper, slipped it into an envelope, and gave it to the mail carrier. The mail carrier and Clint talked for over twenty minutes about some missing cattle on a older couple's ranch, then Clint said, "Well, just keep me posted. I got to get back to the ranch now."

      "Will do. Have a safe ride now, ya hear?"

      Clint nodded and walked out of the Post Office and saw Jeweldean walking outside from the doctors office, carrying the new baby. He ran across town to her side. Austin held the new baby in his arms while Clint lifted Jeweldean into the wagon. The baby was then handed back to Jeweldean.

       This time on the ride back to the farm house, they rode really slow, and tried to avoid as many bumps as they could.

      At one point during the ride, Clint looked over at Jeweldean. She held her new precious baby girl in her arms. Jeweldean's face was lit up with awe. She had looked this same way when Cody and Suzanne was born; so filled with joy.

      The baby was tightly wrapped in a blanket and cloths to protect the newborn from the chill of the early November day. Clint looked up to the sky, and thought he felt a snowflake. "Please not right now, Lord." Clint silently prayed.

     Jeweldean, Clint, Austin and the new baby all made it safely back to the ranch, and just in time for a snow flurry to come.

      As Jeweldean was helped out of the wagon, she looked at Clint. Worry filled her face.

     "We have so much to do before the snow comes, it can't come now." Jeweldean said.

      "I know, but don't worry about that. The other hands and I will get workin' as soon as we get y'all situated in the house." Clint said.

       Jeweldean walked into the house, with her baby in her arms.

       A loud, "CONGRATULATIONS!" rang from the kitchen/ dining room. Her house was straightened up, a fire was in the fireplace, and there was a lot of food on the table. Jeweldean was completely surprised. She smiled and told all the ranch hands thank you.

       "Well, just you hang on, a second Jeweldean. We got somethang for you and yer new young'un. Why don't you sit down." Porter, who was one of the ranch hands, said. "Cooper, you want to help me out?" Cooper nodded.

      The two men disappeared into the living room then came back a short time later with packages in their arms. Cooper was carrying a large, boxy thing with a sheet draped over it, and Porter had three packages in his arms.

      "Open this one first." Porter said handed Jeweldean the first package, setting the other two on the table.

      "Y'all didn't have to give me anythang." Jeweldean said, taking the package from Porter.

     Porter smiled then nodded to Jeweldean. "Just open it." He said smiling.

     Jeweldean undid the bow then opened the gift. She pulled out a long, beautiful, white lace nightgown. "That's for you." Porter said. Jeweldean loved it. Porter handed her the second gift. "This is from all of us, to the young'un." Porter said.

   Jeweldean opened the second gift and found two little red mittens, a red hat and a white blanket.

      Austin said, "Since none of us knows how to knit, except maybe Clint..." Everyone laughed. Then Austin continued, "we had Miss Josephine in town do it. But we all picked out the color and yarn. We figured since the baby was bound to be due in the winter that she should have something to keep her warm." Austin explained.

       Jeweldean smiled. "Well thank y'all so much. I know she will love them."

      "Here's the last one from us." Porter gave the last package to Jeweldean. The package was huge. Inside the large package was a beautiful, and very thick, quilt.

      "That uh, that was for you and Sonny from all of us." Porter said.

     Jeweldean forced a smiled and nodded her thanks to all of the men. She fingered the quilt, and wished Sonny were there to see it. She wanted to lie in bed all wrapped up in it with Sonny by her side.

      "There's one more." Cooper said, pushing the large boxy thing with the sheet over it towards Jeweldean. "This one is from Sonny."

      Jeweldean looked up at Cooper. She stood up to remove the cloth, her new baby girl in one arm. She lifted the cloth to reveal a beautiful, handmade wooden rocker crib for the new baby. Sonny had carved designs into the legs and crossbars of the crib. Jeweldean fingered the beautiful designs on the crib. When she looked down into the crib, she saw an envelope.

      Jeweldean looked up at Cooper. "That's also from Sonny. You can open it later."

      "Thank you, y'all. Everythang is just wonderful. It all means so much to me. Thank you." Jeweldean said.

      "It's our pleasure. Congratulations." Porter said. All the other men agreed.

     Jeweldean smiled, and looked back down at all of her gifts that she had received. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the quilt. She bit her lip to try to hold them back, but when her eyes fell on the crib Sonny had made, she couldn't hold the tears in.

       The room went silent. Jeweldean practically fell back into her chair, still holding her new baby girl in her arms. Clint quickly made his way to her side.

        "Jeweldean? What's wrong?" Clint asked.

       Jeweldean looked at Clint, and opened her mouth to say something, but the only sound that escaped her lips was the sound of a sob. Once she started she couldn't stop. Clint pulled Jeweldean into a hug, and slowly rocked her. He then turned, and looked at the other men. They all looked just as confused.

       Carver walked to her side, still holding Suzanne in his arms, with Cody by his side.

      "Mama. What's wrong? Why you cryin' mama?" Cody asked.

      Jeweldean didn't answer, rather she pulled Cody into her arms and kissed his forehead.

      "I love you, honey."

     "I love you too mama." Cody said, confusion in his voice.

     Jeweldean pulled Cody back into her arms, and held him tight.

      "I'll take the new young'un and get her and these other two into bed for ya." Carver said.

      Jeweldean knew she couldn't protest, even though all she wanted right now was to hold her three children in her arms, and have Sonny right beside her.

      Jeweldean looked down at her new baby girl, kissed her beautiful, soft forehead, and whispered "I love you, baby girl," then handed her to Carver. She stood up to kiss Suzanne goodnight and told her that she loved her.

     "Goodnight, Jeweldean. And congratulations, again." Carver said, then walked away with two babies in his arms and Cody right beside him.

      Jeweldean, still standing, looked at her gifts once more on the table. She fingered her new nightgown, and Clint said, "That nightgown there is also from Sonny. He had it made for you to wear after the baby was born. He said he wanted you to have a new one. He was going to go into town after we moved the cattle but..." Clint didn't finish.

      Jeweldean looked at Clint again, and the tears and sobs came once more. Clint sat Jeweldean down in the chair and hugged her once more.

      "I...I...miss him...so...much." Jeweldean sobbed into Clint's shoulder.

      "I know you do, Jeweldean, I know."

      "He should be...here right....n-now."

      "I know. I know."

      "I need him...here."

      Clint pulled back to look Jeweldean in the eyes. "You have me too Jeweldean, I'm here for you. We are gonna find Sonny, and bring him back here. We all miss him too."

       "You don't under...stand..." Jeweldean cried. She pushed a fist into Clint's chest.

       Clint pulled her back into a hug, ignoring the soft punch from Jeweldean, and whispered to her, "It's gonna be alright. It's goin' to be okay. Shh, shh, shh."

      Clint continued to rock Jeweldean in his arms until her sobs turned into sniffles, and until, eventually, she fell asleep on his shoulder. He carried her upstairs and laid her in bed.

     Clint walked downstairs, packed up all of the food that was made, put out the fire, and then grabbed his coat and his hat and walked outside. He was met with a freezing cold wind, and a few snowflakes. Clint buttoned up his coat as he walked into the barn to do night check on the animals. He was about to walk to his cabin, but looked at the house. He sighed and walked back into Jeweldean's house.

       As he unbuttoned his coat and hung it up along with his hat, he mumbled, "What am I doin' in here?"

      He quietly walked upstairs to check on Jeweldean and the new baby, along with Suzanne. They were all doing fine so Clint made his way back downstairs. He walked down the hallway and into Cody's room. What he saw surprised him. Clint saw Cody sitting up in bed, and Carver sitting next to him on the bed, reading him a book.

       Carver looked up at Clint when he walked through the door, then turned to Cody and whispered, "We've been caught." Cody chuckled.

      "What are you doin'? He's supposed to be sleepin'." Clint asked, looking at Carver.

     "He asked for me to read to him about the birth of Jesus." Carver said, holding up a Bible.

      "That's right and also I can't fall asleep because...well...because I was worried about mama, and the baby. And I ate some of the cookies that Cooper and I made for everyone." A guilty Cody admitted.

      Clint couldn't help but to smile at Cody. "Oh okay. Well, your mama is goin' to be fine, I just checked on her and the new baby."

       "Quint," Cody started, he couldn't say Clint's name right, which made Clint smile more. "Why was mommy cryin'?"

       Clint's smile faded and he looked from Cody to Carver, then back to Cody. He walked over to the foot of Cody's bed, and knelt down.

      "She was sad because she misses your daddy." Clint explained.

      "But she tells me he's coming back home soon." Cody said.

      "We hope so, but he might not come home as soon as we want him to, if he comes home at all." Clint wished he could've taken that back when he saw tears form in little Cody's eyes.

       "Is my daddy de-dead?" Cody asked.

       Clint looked at Carver, and opened his mouth, but was cut off by Carver's voice.

       "No, little man. Your daddy's not dead," Carver glared at Clint, then looked back at Cody and said, "he's just...not here right now. Your mama's right, though. He'll be comin' home, hopefully soon. Don't worry. It's like the Bible story of the prodigal son. His daddy thought his son was dead, but he came back home, and so will your daddy. Okay? Don't worry, little man." Carver said and pulled Cody into a hug. "Now. You better get to sleep. If your mama found out I was keepin' you up all night, she ain't gonna be to happy, now is she?" Carver said.

        Cody nodded. "Okay." He said.

       "Good." Carver replied. He stood up and was about to walk out the door behind Clint when Cody said, "Are you sure my daddy ain't dead?" Carver clenched his jaw. No he wasn't sure, but he couldn't say that to Cody. He looked to Clint, the turned back to Cody.

         "Yeah. I'm sure."

         "Why would you go and lie to him like that?" Clint asked Carver in a biting tone once they were outside on the porch and out of earshot of Cody.

        "Because he is only five years old. He don't need to worry that his daddy might be dead. Plus I'm still hopin' that Sonny is alive. I gotta have faith and so do you. It ain't fair to Jeweldean, it ain't fair to Cody, and it definitely ain't fair to Sonny." A normally calm-tempered Carver said, anger beginning to rise.

         "I do believe that Sonny could be alive. 'Could be' bein' the the key words. We all know that every town has it's dangers. He could be alive, but he might not be. I was just bein' honest with Cody. You should do the same."

         "Right because you tell the truth all the time." Carver said, rolling his eyes. He put his hands on his hips.

        "More than you do." Clint mumbled.

       "See that's a lie right there. What happened to you, man? You and Sonny were practically brothers. Now you almost sound like you want Sonny dead. Why are you actin' like this?"

       "I'm just tryin' to be realistic. And you and I both know that Sonny is like the older brother that I never had. You know my older brother died shortly after he was born. And also, this ranch don't run the same without Sonny. But I ain't gonna get my hopes up thankin' he's alive only to have a rancher find Sonny's body in his creek."

       A normally calm Carver snapped. He stepped closer to Clint. "Do you know what I think? I think that you are just jealous of Sonny. We all know that you have a huge crush on Jeweldean, and you always have. You have ever since y'all were kids. But guess what? Jeweldean chose Sonny, not you. And then when Jeweldean had this baby, and Sonny wasn't here to help, you decided to take over and pretend to be him. You do know that coveting another man's wife is a great sin in the Bible, right? I bet you wish Sonny was dead so that you can finally have Jeweldean, and this ranch. Ain't that what you've always wanted?" Carver spat out before he could stop himself. Carver knew what was about to come from Clint, and sure enough it did.

         Clint threw a hard punch at Carver's left side of his face, and Carver took it because he knew he deserved it. Carver stumbled backwards, but quickly regained his composure. Carver caught Clint's right fist as it came flying towards him again, this time it was aimed for Carver's stomach. Carver took the opportunity and punched Clint with his left hand, sending Clint stumbling back. A very angry Clint threw another punch, hitting Carver in the face, and when Clint was about to throw another, Carver caught the fist again and said, still with anger, "Knock it off before you wake up Jeweldean and the kids." Clint couldn't hold it in, so he threw one more punch. Carver was not expecting another one, so he fell back against the hard wooden porch. "If I was Jeweldean I would fire you right now." Wiping blood away from his nose, Carver said to Clint, "You just don't know when to stop, do you?"

       Clint walked over to Carver, and opened his mouth to say something, but Carver stood up and stabbed a finger into Clint's chest, and said, before Clint could say anything,

        "Think about what I said. And you better start prayin' hard now, askin' God to help you control your feelings toward a happily married woman. You understand? You are committin' a sin to the Lord. If wanting Jeweldean isn't bad enough, I feel like you wouldn't be too sad if Sonny was dead. You better start askin' God for forgiveness, I'm serious. You also better be prayin' on how to tell Sonny about this covet that you have, and how to tell him you're sorry. You understand me?"

        Clint gritted his teeth and nodded his head. He ripped free from Carver's hold on his shirt and walked away. Anger was written all up and down Clint's body as he walked away to his cabin.

       Carver stayed right where he was at on the porch. He jumped slightly when he heard Clint slam his door shut. And a minute later, Carver heard glass breaking, and things being thrown around from inside of Clint's cabin.

         Carver walked to the edge of the porch and leaned against the railing. He prayed out loud, "Lord, please forgive me for what I have said and done tonight. Please forgive Clint for the sins that he has committed. Please watch over Jeweldean and her new baby. And God," Carver looked out into the darkness, "please bring Sonny back home to us soon, and safely."

        Sonny stood up while Tucker wrapped a clean cloth around Sonny's wound on his stomach.

       "Well I hate to admit it, Tucker, but I think that you were right." Sonny said, carefully slipping on a shirt that Tucker had brought him.

       "About what?" Tucker asked.

       "Cutting out the infection. It feels a heck of a lot better, but it still hurts something fierce. It looks better too."

       "I told you." Tucker teased with a half grin. "Well I wasn't able to get it all out, but I got most of it out. Once we get you into town, you will have to go see a doctor. He's got all these ointments and thangs that I don't have. You're lucky that we happened to have some old shirts lyin' around camp."

       "Yeah, it fits pretty nicely too. I might just have to keep it." Sonny said, buttoning the shirt up.

      "It's all yours. You're lucky though, that one came off a guy that was still alive." Tucker said.

      Sonny gave Tucker a confused look. Tucker chuckled at Sonny's expression.

      Then Tucker's face went serious. "If men fight us, or escape, Butch commands us to kill them. Or, if they don't have what we are lookin' for, like money or something, then Butch shoots them. That one," Tucker pointed to Sonny's new shirt. "we- I mean, Butch's men, robbed off a guy who was still alive. They got the money that they wanted, but decided to take the clothes that he was wearin' at the time, because the clothes were nicer than what we had at that time."

       Sonny understood now, but he felt bad for asking Tucker what he meant.

       "Sorry man." Was all Sonny could say.

       "Nah," Tucker said and stood up. "It ain't your fault." He walked towards the door and opened it. "Well, I'm goin' to go chop some more firewood."

        "I will come with you." Sonny interjected.

       Tucker turned around, and closed the door. "You up for it?"

       "Ain't doin' me any good lyin' around all cooped up in here. Plus I need to see Bronco."

       Tucker laughed. "Alright, come on." Tucker motioned for Sonny to follow.

       Sonny looked around outside. The bright sun shone down on Sonny's face, but the air around them was cold.

       "Where's my horse?" Sonny asked.

       "Oh, Butch made me keep him at camp. Don't worry though; I've been takin' extra good care of him. Ya know, feedin' him extra, exercising him more'n the other horses, all that good stuff. He's a great horse." Tucker said.

        "Thanks. Bronco is a great horse, so please be careful Butch don't get a hold of him." Sonny said.

      "Trust me, Butch won't. I won't let no one near him. I can try to ride out here with him tomorrow if you want to see him." Tucker told Sonny.

       "Yes, please." Sonny replied.

      Tucker nodded. He set a thick piece of wood up on a old stump, then took the splitting awe to it. On the fourth try, the hard wood eventually split into two pieces. After he cut several more pieces, Tucker took a break on another large stump that was hard, and not wanting to split.

       "You gonna let me take a swing at it?" Sonny asked.

       "Are you sure you're up for it?"

       "I'm sure."

       "Alright." Tucker said and gave the axe to Sonny.

      Sonny lifted the axe above his head and came down hard on the wood. The piece of wood was harder than he expected and it did not split, so Sonny hit it again. This time, though, Sonny felt sharp waves of pain in his stomach where his cut was, but Sonny kept attempting to split the wood. On the third try, Sonny finally got the wood to split into two pieces.

        "Impressive for a wounded man." Tucker teasingly applauded. "I got it started for you though." Tucker said taking the axe back from Sonny.

        "I'm going to take these pieces back inside." Sonny said. He picked up the pieces, and walked back inside.

        Sonny could hear Tucker grunting as he split the next few pieces of wood. He looked out the window at Tucker. "Thank you Lord for Tucker. Please help him to be as good of a man as he claims to be. And Lord, please help him to take me back home to my family." Sonny prayed then walked back outside to meet Tucker.