Chapter 4: Reconciliation, Or Not?
The next day, Elizabeth had Julie help her at the schoolhouse during the day. At the end of the school day, after the children had left, Elizabeth and Julie were cleaning up, when Jack stuck his head in the door.
"Elizabeth, can I talk to you?" Jack asked. Elizabeth pulled herself up to her full height, folded her arms across her chest, and replied angrily, "I don't think there's anything for us to talk about." Jack walked slowly towards Elizabeth and implored, "Elizabeth, please - we need to talk . . . privately." Jack looked over at Julie. Julie winked at Jack and smiled mischievously as she gathered her things to leave. Elizabeth called out, "Jack Thornton, anything you need to say you can say it in front of Julie." Julie started for the door, patting Jack's arm as she walked by him. "That's okay, Elizabeth. I helped you with your students today, and now I want to see if I can help Abigail at the café." Julie cheerily confided in Jack as she walked by him, "I'm looking for my purpose in life." Jack grinned and responded, "Good luck with that."
Elizabeth glared at her sister for leaving her alone with Jack, and stood stiffly by her desk, as Jack walked to stand in front of her. "Elizabeth, I know I owe you a sincere apology. I am so sorry – what I did was very wrong, but I hope you'll forgive me." Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from Jack, refusing to look at him. Jack continued, "Elizabeth, when I saw Charles proposing to you, I literally saw red. I lost control – that's hardly ever happened to me. Even thinking about it now makes me mad."
Elizabeth shook her head and snapped, "Jack, you told me in the mine you believed we could face our challenges together, but the minute a problem came up, you went barreling forward without even thinking about my feelings. You can't just do that - we're supposed to work things out together." Jack tried to answer, but looked away. After a few moments silence, Jack admitted, "You're right . . . I didn't want to wait anymore. I just wanted the whole Charles situation to go away. For good this time."
Elizabeth, still angry, continued, "Why didn't you trust me that I would do the right thing?" Jack stared at Elizabeth and asked, "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure you know the difference between a friend and . . . someone who's more than a friend." Elizabeth, offended, retorted, "Are you trying to blame this on me?" Jack took a few steps away from Elizabeth to get some space between them, as he explained, "A man doesn't ask a woman to marry him thinking she's going to say no . . ." Elizabeth opened her mouth, astonished, and spat out, "I had no idea that Charles was going to propose. The last conversation I had with him in Hamilton I had told him not to think of me that way." Now it was Jack's turn to get angry. "Apparently you didn't make your point well enough, did you?"
The young couple glared at each other, both of them angry and feeling hurt, and on the verge of saying more hurtful things to each other. All of a sudden, Abigail ran in the door and shouted, "Jack, you need to get to the saw mill right away. There's been an accident – a log rolled off one of the equipment and a man is pinned under it." Jack ran out the door, Abigail and Elizabeth following him.
A crowd was gathered outside the saw mill. When Jack arrived, Pastor Frank gave him an update. "The other men were able to lift the log off Calvin's leg, but he needs medical attention right away." Jack, still on his horse, announced, "I'll go find a doctor," and sped off. Elizabeth asked Abigail, "Have you seen Julie?" Abigail answered, "She went over to the saw mill when we heard the shouts about the log. She's probably still in there."
Elizabeth ran into the saw mill, and saw Julie sitting next to the injured man, holding his hand, while Lee Coulter was tending to the man's leg. Elizabeth knelt down by Julie, trying to avoid looking at the mangled leg, and asked, "Julie, are you okay?" Julie nodded and said, "Yes, I just want to help this man. What a terrible accident." Elizabeth nodded and stepped back from the scene, impressed that Julie was able to stay so calm in an emergency.
About an hour later, Jack rode in with the doctor from Rock Creek. The crowds were still gathered around the injured man in the saw mill, and Julie was still by his side. The doctor examined Calvin's leg and ordered the other men to prepare a makeshift stretcher out of wooden boards to carry Calvin back to his room at the saloon, where he had been staying. The doctor turned to Julie and asked, "Are you a nurse?" Julie started to reply "No," but the doctor interrupted her and shouted, "Come with me now." Julie followed the doctor back to the saloon.
Sometime later, Julie returned to Abigail's house, where Elizabeth and Abigail were waiting. Elizabeth ran over to Julie and asked, "How is Calvin? Was the doctor able to save his leg?" Julie nodded, "Yes, he's going to be okay." Elizabeth continued, "You must be exhausted. What an ordeal!" Julie replied excitedly, "Actually, it was exhilarating to be able to help that man in his time of need." Abigail and Elizabeth looked at each with raised eyebrows. Abigail asked, "Are you hungry, Julie? Would you like some food?" Julie replied, "No thank you. I need to go upstairs and change. My clothes are filthy." Elizabeth saw that Julie's dress was covered in blood and grime and her eyes went wide. "Julie, I'm so proud of you for helping out today." Julie smiled genuinely at Elizabeth and announced, "I'm proud of myself too." Julie proceeded up the stairs.
The hours of separation between the afternoon and evening had given Elizabeth time to think about her situation with Jack. Elizabeth knew what she had to say to him. Elizabeth told Abigail she was going out for a bit, and started walking down the street towards the jail. At the same time, Elizabeth saw Jack open the jailhouse door and walk out into the street. The two met in the middle of the street and stood awkwardly with each other.
Elizabeth started to say, "Jack, I need to . . . " at the same time that Jack started to say, "Elizabeth, I don't want to . . .". The pair chuckled as they realized they were both speaking at the same time. Jack stepped closer to Elizabeth and said softly, "Elizabeth, I don't want to argue anymore. I'm sorry about what happened. I want us to move on, if we can." Elizabeth smiled gratefully and admitted, "Jack, I need to apologize as well. I guess I knew in the back of my head that Charles had feelings for me that were not reciprocated. I was trying to stay friends, but I finally realized I was not being fair to him." Jack nodded and agreed, "That's hard to balance . . . " The pair looked at each other and smiled shyly.
Jack and Elizabeth walked back to sit on the porch outside the jail. Elizabeth asked, "How's Calvin?" Jack replied, "The doctor said his leg will heal in a few weeks." Elizabeth sighed and said, "That's good."
Elizabeth continued, "I have an odd request to make . . . " Jack looked up questioningly. Elizabeth hesitated and then asked, "I was wondering if you could write to your friend Faith, the nurse, and find out what nursing school she went to in Hamilton. I don't know if you saw, but Julie was very good with Calvin during his accident – she stayed with him and even helped the doctor when he came. I remember that Julie nursed Nate Toliver back to health from his gunshot wound. Maybe that's Julie's calling – to be a nurse? She seems to take to it." Jack nodded his head and replied, "That's a good idea. I'm sure Faith will be happy to help." Jack reached out to take Elizabeth's hand in his as he spoke.
The two talked late into the night, seeking to recover the easiness they usually had when talking to each other. Neither one wanted to leave the other as the hour grew late. Finally, Elizabeth rose from her seat. "I guess I need to go back to Abigail's now," Elizabeth said reluctantly. Jack rose and said, "I'll walk you back." Elizabeth laughed, "It's just a few feet away from here." Jack smiled broadly and said, "I know," and took Elizabeth's arm in his.
As the two walked back to Abigail's, Jack joked, "I want you to know, if you were wondering, that I'm not just your friend – I'm someone more than that, much more." Elizabeth smiled shyly and whispered, "I know . . . me too."
The pair walked slowly to prolong their happy time together before they had to part. Jack started humming "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" with a twinkle in his eye. Elizabeth, startled, leaned over and whispered in Jack's ear, "I don't ever want to hear that song again, if you please." Then Elizabeth kissed Jack's earlobe softly and walked up the stairs into Abigail's café, glancing over her shoulder with a teasing smile.
Jack stood open-mouthed watching Elizabeth, his hand going up to touch the spot on his ear where Elizabeth's lips had just been. "Whoa," Jack thought to himself, realizing, once again, that he needed to make his intentions known to Elizabeth sooner rather than later.
