The Iron Wagon (17 page)

As she was passing the delivery rooms, even though the doors were closed, she heard the cries of two newborn babies. Her throat clogged for a few seconds, simply from knowing that two mothers had just brought their babies into the world.

Tears were in Annabeth’s eyes as she reached the washroom, opened the door, and went in. No one else was there at the moment. Annabeth dabbed at the tears in her eyes with a towel, then began washing her hands at one of the sinks.

Even though it had been nearly three months since Dr. Carroll had given his heart-wrenching diagnosis, the desire to be a mother was still within her heart.

When she was drying her hands, Annabeth said, “Dear Lord, I
still haven’t adjusted to the fact that I will never give birth to a child. The yearning is still strong within me.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath, then placed the towel in a basket for washing. “Lord, Whip is carrying this difficult situation in his heart too. He is trying so hard to be brave, but I’ve watched him look at babies at church, in stores, and on Denver’s streets with longing in his eyes. Of course, he’s not aware I have seen this. He’s trying to be so strong for my sake, and oh, how I love him for it. But Lord, there is such emptiness within me. Ever since I entered my teenage years, I’ve wanted to be a wife and mother. Now the mother part of that dream will never be fulfilled.”

Annabeth thumbed tears from her eyes. “Please, dear God, help me to accept Your will and be content with such things as I have. I am indeed so blessed with my precious husband, with such dear and caring friends, and such a loving church family. I’m the nurse I always wanted to be, and caring for the sick was Your calling for my life. Help me, Lord, to be as grateful as I should be for Your glorious gift of salvation and to accomplish and carry out Your will for this life that You have given me.”

By this time, more tears were streaming down Annabeth’s cheeks. She heard the voices of two surgical nurses outside the washroom door. Annabeth hurried to the basket where she had placed the towel, picked it up, quickly dried her cheeks, and closed off her prayer in Jesus’ name just as the door opened.

That Saturday, both Whip and Annabeth both had the day off from their jobs. At midmorning, Whip was doing yard work around the house, and Annabeth was sweeping floors inside and dusting furniture.

Whip took in the beauty of the towering Rocky Mountains a few miles to the west and the foothills in between. He also ran his appreciative gaze around the level area to the east of his home. There was green grass bright with late summer flowers, and the area was dotted with groves of graceful fir trees and pines and spruces, lifting their branches that shone brightly in the golden sunlight beneath the clear blue sky.

Soon Whip finished the yard work and placed his tools in the small toolshed near the barn. Closing the door, he pivoted, and his attention was drawn to the small fenced-in area nearby where his big, gray pet wolf, Timber, was kept. The area also included a small wooden shed, which was Timber’s living quarters. Timber entered and exited the shed through a low, hinged door at the bottom of the shed on the front, next to a normal-size door.

Whip’s attention had been drawn to the spot because Timber was standing on his hind legs at the fence, wagging his tail and looking at his master. As Whip drew nearer, Timber went to all fours and hurried to the gate, whining a warm welcome to his master. Whip opened the gate and grinned. “Howdy, boy!”

As Whip entered the fenced-in area, Timber was quickly on his hind legs again, but this time he placed his paws on his master’s chest, panting happily as he was being petted.

While Timber and Whip shared their affection for each other, Whip marveled that this once-wild wolf had become like a tame German shepherd or any other big, loving dog. However, the times when Timber traveled with him as he was pursuing outlaws, Timber attacked them when commanded to do so by his master and was every bit a fearsome, snarling, growling, wild wolf.

Ruffling the fur on top of Timber’s head, Whip said, “What a tremendous help you’ve been to me, boy, in capturing outlaws so many times.”

Timber let out a yip as if he understood what his master had said.

Whip chuckled. “I wish you could wear a marshal’s badge. You sure deserve it!”

Timber ejected another yip and wagged his tail.

After spending a few more minutes with his pet wolf, Whip left the fenced-in area and headed toward the house. As he walked, Timber gave off a soft yip.

Whip turned and looked back at his wolf, who was standing at the gate and wagging his tail. “I know, boy. You want to chase outlaws with me again. Probably won’t be too long.”

Timber yipped again as his master neared the back porch.

While Annabeth was dusting furniture in the parlor, she was unaware that her husband was about to come in the house. Since she was alone, she began praying out loud, saying, “Dear Lord, please help me to control this deep desire within me to be a mother. It just won’t go away.” As she prayed on, Annabeth did
not hear the back door open, nor did she hear her husband’s footsteps as he drew up to the parlor.

When Whip saw that his dear wife was praying, he remained silent and let her proceed.

Annabeth’s eyes were closed as she leaned against the back side of the sofa. “Lord, I know You are fully aware of my dilemma. I come to You often with it because I need peace about it, which only You can give me. I love You, dear Lord, and I’m looking to You for help in this heartrending situation. I know You are going to help me. Please help me like David asked You to help him with a burden he was carrying in Psalm 141:1, ‘Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.’ Please, dear Lord, make haste unto me in this heavy burden I am carrying. Please give me release from the burden, and give me peace real soon. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, amen.”

When Annabeth opened her eyes, she saw her husband standing in the open doorway of the parlor. He quickly walked toward her, opening his arms. With tears filling her eyes, she smiled at him.

Whip folded her into his arms and tenderly kissed Annabeth. “Sweetheart, though you cannot give birth to a child of your own, I have an idea.”

Easing back in his arms, Annabeth wiped the tears from her eyes. “What is your idea, honey?”

Looking at the sofa, Whip said, “Let’s sit down here, and I’ll tell you.”

Whip let his wife sit first, then eased down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. He looked into her eyes. “Since we know you can never bear a child, how about we adopt a child when one comes available?”

Tears welled up in her eyes again as a smile graced her beautiful face, erasing the lines of despair. “Oh, Whip, my darling, do you honestly feel that this is our solution?”

Smiling himself, Whip replied with a lilt in his voice, “Yes, sweetheart, I do!”

“Oh, Whip, I’ve thought about it too, but I haven’t brought it up to you because I didn’t think you’d want to adopt a child.”

Whip helped her wipe the tears from her cheeks with his free hand. “Honey, I think it is the most wonderful and gratifying thing we could do.”

“There’s no way for us to know how long it might be before a child is available, but the Lord knows our hearts and our desires, and His Word says in Psalm 37:4, ‘Delight thyself also in the L
ORD:
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’”

“Yes, it does,” said Whip. “Let’s pray about it together right now.”

With his arm still around his wife’s shoulders, Whip led in prayer, asking the Lord that whenever some little child in the Denver area was put up for adoption, He would make it so they knew about it and would allow them to adopt the child.

When Whip finished praying, Annabeth was crying and sniffling. Gripping her husband’s free hand, she looked at him through her tears. “Oh, darling, I just know our Lord is going to make it possible for us to adopt a little child. And—and when
He does, I’ll resign from my nurse’s position at the hospital and be a full-time mother. I’m sure Dr. Carroll will understand.”

Whip kissed her lips softly. “Sweetheart, that’ll be fine. I have no doubt that Dr. Carroll will thoroughly understand why you want to be a full-time mother. And as for us, we can make it financially on my deputy marshal’s salary.”

Annabeth smiled. “Thank you for talking to me about our adopting a child. It’s just the perfect solution for filling this strong desire in my heart. I know that in His time, God will give us a child to love, raise, and teach of His love and the salvation that He provides through the blood of our Saviour.”

Thrilled at his wife’s response to his idea, Whip kissed her again, then folded her into his arms and held her tight. A deep sense of peace filled both of their hearts.

On the following Friday, Annabeth was working at Mile High Hospital. Just as she finished helping one of the surgeons repair a broken kneecap on a young man in his early twenties, Nurse Edna Colter entered the room. She smiled when she saw that the doctor was covering the patient with a sheet on the surgical table and that Annabeth was just putting away the surgical instruments after sterilizing them.

Edna greeted the doctor, then stepped up to Annabeth. “Honey, Dr. Carroll wants to see you as soon as possible. It appears that you’re about finished here.”

Annabeth nodded. “Yes, I am. Do you know what Dr. Carroll wants to see me about?”

“He has an emergency assignment for you.”

“You’d better hurry, then, Annabeth,” said the surgeon.

With a gracious expression, she said, “I will.”

With that, Annabeth hurried out the door with Nurse Colter behind her. Moments later, when Annabeth entered the office of the hospital’s chief administrator, she found Dr. Carroll in conversation with Breanna. Dr. Carroll’s back was toward Annabeth, but Breanna was facing her.

Annabeth smiled at her friend. Then the doctor finished what he was saying, and Annabeth said, “Hello, Breanna.”

Breanna smiled back. “Hello, Annabeth.” She hurried to her best friend. The two women hugged each other. Then Breanna said, “I know about your emergency assignment, but I’ll let the boss tell you.”

Dr. Carroll stepped closer to Annabeth. “I want you to help Dr. Bates deliver a baby. The young woman who is about to give birth to her first child is Grace Fawley, the widow of Charles Fawley, one of the miners killed in the cave-in at the Central City gold mine.”

“Oh, I see,” Annabeth said. “I remember hearing that Charles and his wife were Christians and members of Central City’s First Baptist Church.”

“That’s right,” said the doctor. “Mrs. Fawley will be in delivery room number four in just a few minutes. She’s having some serious difficulties. Two hospital attendants are taking Mrs. Fawley to the delivery room, and Dr. Bates is waiting there for her and for you too, Annabeth. I just sent word to him that you will be assisting him.”

“I’ll go right now, Doctor.” Annabeth hugged Breanna, then hurried out the office door.

Just as she entered the appointed delivery room, she saw two hospital attendants lifting the expectant mother off a padded cart onto the bed. Dr. Bates greeted Annabeth warmly. “I was very pleased when Dr. Carroll sent word that you would be assisting me. You have helped me deliver babies many, many times.”

“I’m glad he chose me, Doctor.” She turned her attention to Grace Fawley, who was obviously in a great deal of pain. The baby would be born quite soon.

As soon as the attendants had helped Grace get settled on the bed, they nodded at Dr. Bates and hurried out of the room with the cart.

Both doctor and nurse began preparations to deliver the baby. Though Grace was in much pain, she said with strained voice, “M-my husband, Charles, was one of the miners who was killed in the cave-in at the Central City gold mine in August. Th-that’s why he is not here. B-but I will see my husband again in heaven because he was born again, and so am I.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, ma’am,” said Dr. Bates. “I’m a born-again child of God and so is nurse Annabeth Langford.”

Grimacing in pain, Grace said, “Oh, I am so glad to know I have people working on me who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour.”

“And we are glad to know that
you
are saved, ma’am,” said the doctor. “Isn’t it wonderful to have the Lord Jesus in your heart?”

Grace managed to say, “It certainly is,” before gritting her teeth in pain.

As they worked to deliver the baby, Grace began to hemorrhage. Doctor and nurse worked hastily, doing all they could to stem the bleeding, but it swiftly grew worse.

Biting down hard to keep from screaming, Grace reached toward Annabeth and grasped both of her hands in her own. Then gasping and pushing down, Grace worked hard to push the little one out into the world.

“You’re doing fine, Mrs. Fawley.” Dr. Bates tried to calm the nearly hysterical woman but sent a glance to Annabeth with deep concern in his eyes.

In her extreme pain, Grace’s mind ceased to function properly. “Charles! Charles! Where are you? I need you now! Please come and help me!” Then she moaned, looking agitatedly around the room. “Charles! Help me!”