Chapter 15

The next few weeks saw Julie and Jenny busily engaged in caring for Tom and Julie's new son. They had named him Adam because it seemed like he was the first new child in their new world. He was a healthy boy, full of energy and it seemed like he changed daily. Of course that was true. He was growing by leaps and bounds as all newborn children do and was a wonder to his mother and Aunt, as Jenny was now referred to. She wasn't his Aunt, really, but mother's friend didn't seem to have the same ring to it. They concentrated on Adam but, as usual, routine household tasks had to be done too, so they took turns or both worked on them if Adam was asleep.

Tom and George worked on the summer tasks, including expanding the shelter for the livestock. Harvesting and bundling grass for the winter was a major undertaking but with both of them working it went quickly. They also added additional space to the cabin to accommodate the larger extended family. George and Jenny had planned to live nearby, perhaps even in Tom and Julie's original cabin, but the more all of them lived together, the more they thought of themselves as one big family and a large cabin with multiple bedrooms and upgraded facilities seemed like the logical thing to do. With another baby – and winter – on the way, they would need the room.

All of the building additions were completed, as well as most of the other summer tasks, when Jenny went into labor. Julie had completely recovered from her delivery and had received extensive training in midwifery from Jenny in preparation for this event.

Jenny's labor was a little more difficult than Julie's because she was a little older and not quite so physically active. It wasn't an insurmountable problem though, since she was quite experienced in what to expect and had planned for these problems. Julie was a little tentative at first but soon got into her role as a midwife as if she had been one all her life. Jenny proceeded from labor to delivery in almost the same way that Julie had except that it was a little longer. Again, Tom and George were pressed into service and performed admirably. Their roles were reversed, of course, because it was George's turn at fatherhood. In the end, Jenny delivered a beautiful baby girl named, to no one's surprise – Eve. Adam and Eve were their respective parents' pride and joy and were the beginning of what the adults believed would be a large extended family.

So much activity had transpired that the fall trip to the ranger's cabin for winter supplies almost caught them off guard. They were going to have to scramble if the trip were to be completed before the winter snows caught them on the trail. The men didn't like leaving the women alone but they – and their wives – knew that the trip must be made and that Julie, Jenny and the babies would have to fend for themselves for a couple of weeks. They all got together and determined what they were going to need and called the order in to various stores in town. Payment was made through the checking account that Tom had previously set up and the supplies were to be delivered expeditiously to the ranger's cabin. After ensuring that there was enough food, water, and ammunition for the rifles and pistols were available, they double-checked the radio so that it would be available to call for help should the need arise. They saddled up their horses and took all the pack mules to bring back the supplies that the growing family would need for the upcoming winter.

Less than a week later they reached the ranger's cabin. The replacement ranger was there and greeted them warmly. When George announced that he was going to leave the ranger service and live with his wife, new daughter and Tom and Julie's family, the ranger gave a big smile and hearty laugh. That really surprised and astonished both of the men because, it seemed, that George's supervisor had anticipated that possibility. He knew that George and Jenny were really in love with each other and the mountains and knew of their strong friendship with Tom and Julie, and that he had surmised that he might be losing one of his most experienced rangers to the overwhelming attraction of family life. George's replacement – Mike – had been provisionally given the rangers posting and, now that George had announced his intentions, that position became permanent. George congratulated Mike and all of them spent the rest of the evening resting the horses, mules and themselves for the long trip back home. While they relaxed, Tom and George called their wives at the cabin and informed them of events at the ranger's cabin, making sure that they were all right, and informing them that – barring incident – they would be home in about a week. They also reminded them to call the ranger if anything went wrong so that help could be dispatched to them.

The next morning found the three men loading all the mules with the increased list of supplies that the two families would need to carry them through the winter. Specialized supplies for the two babies were carefully loaded since they would be critical for their health during the cold season to follow. More books on many subjects were also packed. Additional batteries and solar panels that would increase the radio's efficiency and reliability were also loaded. In the end, the eight mules were packed with supplies and the men, saying their goodbyes, rode the trail to their loving families.