Chapter 2 - Jack's Achilles Heel

According to Greek mythology, when Achilles was just a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. Alarmed by this prediction, his mother took him to the River Styx, which was said to offer the powers of immortality. Holding him by one heel, she dipped her infant into the water, bathing him in its magical powers. The only part which the water didn't touch was the heel by which she held him. So concerned with making him immortal, she hadn't realized that one small part of his body, that touched by her thumb and forefinger, didn't get wet.

Over the years, Achilles grew up to become a warrior. A hero. An unscathed survivor of many battles. He was immune to the arrows, swords, and rocks aimed at him.

Until one day when a poison arrow hit him in the heel. The same heel by which his mother had held him when she dipped him into the river.

The arrow killed him.

All the plans for his immortality were ended by his simple unprotected heel.

The world's first Achilles' heel.

Constable Jack Thornton had been in town three weeks and his scheme to seduce Elizabeth Thatcher was not going at all according to plan.

Nothing was going as he expected.

Nothing .Nada. Zilch.

Before arriving in Coal Valley, Jack had been so intent on investigating Elizabeth Thatcher that he had barely paid attention to the rest of the town's history. For that reason, Jack had made the same mistake that Achilles' mother had made. He had overlooked one small spot in the protection he had built around himself.

Widows with young children.

While preparing for his posting in Coal Valley, Jack had heard about the mine explosion. The deaths of 47 miners. But he hadn't realized that so many of the miners had been husbands. Fathers. Or that some of their families would have remained in Coal Valley rather than go back east.

Now that he was living in town, Jack realized that he couldn't walk two minutes without running into someone who reminded him of his mother. The furrowed brow. The look of determination despite the poverty and worry. The sadness behind the eyes that tried to stay confident.

Or a young child who reminded him of himself or his brother Tom when they were younger. The tear-stained cheeks. The dazed look every day when you suddenly have to realize all over again that your father won't be home for dinner.

Coal Valley was full of widows and children. Jack's area of weakness. His vulnerability. His Achilles' heel.

They were everywhere.

And he couldn't look away without helping them.

"Constable Thornton, I have a mouse in my house. Can you help me with the traps?"

"Mountie Jack, I'm afraid at night without my husband. Can you install a lock on the door?"

"Sir, can you talk to my children? My son needs some fatherly advice about fighting."

"Constable, we womenfolk don't feel safe. Can you increase your patrols?"

Jack did whatever was asked of him. He played ball with the fatherless boys. He fixed broken steps. He increased his patrols. He warned the single men in town to be on their best behavior.

He was so busy that he barely had time to pay attention to Elizabeth Thatcher.

The first time Jack had seen her, he hadn't even realized it was Elizabeth. He had arrogantly come upon the group of residents at the mine entrance who were arguing over a plank of wood.

Jack had half a mind just to break the plank over his knee and throw the pieces into a fire. That would quickly put an end to the town's disagreement over the stupid message. But he had a role to play. And he would play it well. He would be the dignified and honest law enforcement for the town. Even if it was handling something as minor as the contentious ownership of a simple two by four piece of lumber.

She had been there in the crowd. Holding a child on her hip. He noticed her right away. Because she was dressed in simple clothes that were worn and too small, and because she had a child on her hip, Jack had assumed that she was a town resident. Still, he had noticed her. He just didn't know it was Elizabeth.

For some reason, she was the only woman he had noticed that day in the crowd.

"You are going to keep your end of the bargain!" Jack said forcefully to Henry Gowen three weeks after he had first ridden into town.

"The hell I am. It was an oral agreement. No witnesses. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't remember it even occurring."

"You damn well know it occurred. You promised those women they could have their homes if they cleared the mine shaft!"

"No court will uphold the word of a simple widow against mine. I want those women out of those homes. And you're the town's Mountie. So do it!"

Jack was furious. His eyes were narrowed, unyielding. The smile he saved for the fatherless children was nowhere to be seen.

"I am not going to kick the women out of those houses. We're going to settle this matter right here and now," he said sternly.

Two hours later, Jack's face showed little happiness despite his victory over Henry Gowen, a man he found to be cynical, conniving, and heartless.

"Done. It's in writing. The women get to keep their homes. At least for the next six months. I believe that fulfills the first of your two conditions. Now, what's the second condition?" Mr. Gowen demanded as he set down his pen.

"No one can ever know. You keep your damn mouth shut about this."

"You don't want anyone to know that the town's new Mountie just saved them from being thrown out on the streets?"

"That's right. Let them think you upheld your end of the bargain without any interference from me."

"That's just fine with me. You're a fool, Constable."

"You're the one who just lost hundreds of dollars in rent for those homes because you're a lousy poker player. I'd say you're the fool, Gowen", Jack said coldly as he walked out the door.

Jack closed the door to the jailhouse, took off his hat and hung it on the simple hook by the door. It had been a long day, and the exhaustion was etched on his face. He would have loved to have a couple shots of whiskey. But he wouldn't. Not now. Not in Coal Valley. He had a reputation to uphold.

Now that the housing fiasco was handled, he could focus on Elizabeth.

Starting tomorrow, he would have to arrange some unplanned encounters with her. Cross her path. Bump into her at the mercantile. Maybe delay leaving his room at the Saloon on Monday morning so he could see her before the school day started.

The whiskey would have to wait until after they were married. He could wait that long. It would only be another month or two. Once they were married, he could have a whole bottle every night if he wanted.

"Jack, did you hear?" Elizabeth called out as she hurried across the street the next afternoon. "The women get to keep their houses. We cleared the mine. Mr. Gowen's signing over the leases today."

"That's terrific. You women worked really hard."

"We did!", Elizabeth gushed. Her cheeks were flushed pink from rushing to talk to Jack and from the pride she felt at helping the town widows.

"Can I interest you in joining me for a lemonade at the Saloon? We can toast to your victory over Mr. Gowen."

"I'd love to. Thank you for the invitation," Elizabeth replied happily as she matched her gait to Jack's and walked with him to the Saloon.

The couple found a small round table at the back of the Saloon, and Jack made sure he pulled out a chair for Elizabeth. She smiled as she sat down, clearly pleased with his gentlemanly manners despite the fact that they were in a dusty saloon in a small coal town. Once she was seated, Jack went to the bar and returned a minute later with two large glasses of lemonade, setting down one of them in front of her.

The conversation flowed easily as Elizabeth rattled on about her students, and Jack made sure that he chuckled in all the right places as she described their antics.

"Jack, you would not believe the handful they can be."

"I bet half of them are acting up just to get your attention. If I had a teacher as pretty as you, I would have done anything to get her to look at me", Jack said casually before he took a sip of his drink.

Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. He probably doesn't even realize what he just said. Does he really think that I'm pretty? Am I prettier than other girls he knows? Does he share glasses of lemonade with other girls? Oh my goodness, why am I wondering these things?!

"By the way, thank you for speaking to Martin Riley. He was very well behaved today", she finally managed to say when she felt brave enough that her voice wouldn't squeak with nerves over Jack thinking she was pretty.

Jack looked startled. How the heck did she know about that?

"His mother told me. She said she asked you to speak to him about his acting out", Elizabeth offered when she saw Jack's surprised expression.

"It was fine. No big deal."

"It is a big deal. You're the town constable and yet you've been doing much more than law enforcement. You've helped almost every widow in town. It's not your job to discipline the children, give advice, fix leaking water pumps . . . I heard you did that too", she added when he looked surprised again.

"I would rather talk about you. Tell me more about how you're liking this town", he encouraged Elizabeth with a smile. A smile he knew would show off his dimples. Let her talk about herself.

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip nervously again. Why does my heart race when he smiles at me with those dimples of his?

An hour later, Jack and Elizabeth walked slowly towards the row house.

How is it I totally lose track of time when I'm with him? Elizabeth thought as they neared the home's steps.

Elizabeth climbed to the top step and opened the door. She turned to look at Jack, pausing in the doorway.

"Jack . . . would you like to come for lunch tomorrow after Church? I'm not a great cook, but I'll have Abigail help me make it. She'll eat with us", she said nervously.

"I would like that very much, Elizabeth. I look forward to it. Good evening", he said with a smile. He put two fingers on his hat and gave a slight nod before walking away.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Glad that Jack couldn't see through the two inch thickness of wood. She would be too embarrassed if he saw the large grin on her face. She couldn't stop smiling. He's so gorgeous! I wonder if he likes me.

I think he might, she thought as she danced across the room.

Oh, stop being silly, Elizabeth. You came here to teach. Not enter into a romance.

Jack hadn't spent as much time with Elizabeth as he had planned in the last three weeks, but so far he didn't like what he knew. She was nice. Intelligent. Confident.

Actually the problem was that he did like what he knew about her. He wasn't supposed to. He wasn't supposed to find her so . . . mesmerizing.

As he walked back to the jailhouse, Jack found himself getting angry at Elizabeth. Why is she so nice?!

Jack frowned at Elizabeth's ineptness at simple things like riding a horse. She had no business being in Coal Valley. He knew he should use that to his advantage. Be friendly to her. Offer to assist her in simple tasks. Be a hero.

Instead of appreciating how easy it was to use her innocence against her, it bristled him. It angered him.

It would be days before he figured out that it made him angry because he was drawn to her. And he didn't want to be drawn to her. She was his mark. The target of his scheme. She wasn't supposed to be so darn adorable.

Focus, Jack. Focus. The end goal. Seduce her. Marry her. Get the heck out of this town. Be set for life, he told himself.

The only problem with Jack's plan was the seduction.

It wasn't just Elizabeth who was being seduced.

Jack was quickly being seduced by Coal Valley.

Abigail Stanton drew back the quilt and crawled into bed. She listened to the sounds of Elizabeth in the room next door as she walked across the floor. Abigail was happy to have Elizabeth living with her after the young school teacher had burned down the teacherage. It felt good to have another person in the house. It had been too empty after Peter and Noah had died in the mine.

And having the new Constable for dinner once a week had brought a smile to Abigail's face. She liked cooking for a young man. Even if he seemed guarded much of the time.

It was obvious that Elizabeth had come to Coal Valley to find out who she was.

And that Jack had come to Coal Valley thinking that he knew who he was.

Abigail had prayed for someone to teach the young children of Coal Valley. She had prayed for something to fill the void left in her heart when her husband and son had been killed. She had prayed for a way not to lose her home to the Coal company.

She certainly didn't think that she had prayed for a naïve young rich woman who couldn't take care of herself to come to town as the new teacher.

And she certainly didn't think she had prayed for a handsome young Mountie who kept looking at her in a way that made her feel like he wanted to treat her like his mother.

Abigail Stanton turned down the light on her nightstand. As she lay her head on her pillows, she sighed and gave her head a little shake of confusion. God certainly works in mysterious ways.

Jack wasn't sure that he believed in God, but if he did, he'd have to agree with Abigail.

Up next: Chapter 3