Chapter 13 - The Outlaw comes to Town

The sun was high in the cloudless sky but it wasn't too hot a day, not for a picnic. The late autumn weather kept away the bugs and added just the right amount of breeze. Jack sat on the blanket, his arms resting on his bent knees as he looked at Elizabeth twenty feet away, walking in the tall grasses and picking the last of the season's wild flowers. He watched as the wind blew a wayward curl in her face, and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear. She looked over and smiled at Jack as he sat comfortably, surrounded by the remains of their lunch.

He returned her smile and wished he had his sketchpad and pencils with him. He would draw this moment from memory later. He loved her tousled hair with the spiral curl falling down the side. The simple blouse and pale blue skirt accentuated the figure he wanted to touch. He chuckled when he thought about the chocolate stain on her blouse. In the future, he'd be more careful about kissing her neckline after she had fed him a piece of chocolate. She's just so irresistible, he thought with a grin.

While Elizabeth continued to gather flowers, Jack reached into his pocket and took out the two envelopes which he had folded and put there earlier. He had already read their contents once, before going to the Café to pick up Elizabeth. He now turned his attention to the envelope with the Hamilton postmark and took out the single sheet of paper.

Dear Jack,

I'm not sure what exactly happened. Mother and Father are refusing to tell me much, but the maid, Ashley, has filled me in on some. From what I've gathered, mother and father were typical snobs when it came to Elizabeth. It's been two weeks since you left and mother has gone from anger (remember that crystal vase from Ireland in the library? Well, it's broken now) to devious (I heard father talking her out of suggesting that Lady Suzanna take a trip to Coal Valley). I think she's at the point now where she's resigned herself to the inevitable, but I'm not sure. In the meantime, she's driving me crazy. Any chance you can send her a letter? Tom

P.S. I always did like Elizabeth for you.

P.S.S. I really like Julie! For me!

Jack placed the letter back in the envelope. He had already sent a letter to his parents, more than a week ago, informing them that they should apologize to Elizabeth. It was up to them to make the next move.

Jack opened the other envelope. The telegram's typed words from the Royal Northwest Mounted Police were less troubling to him than Tom's letter.

Two members of Tolliver gang captured. Three others last seen in Pine Springs on Sixteenth. Armed and Dangerous. One injured.

Pine Springs was far enough away that Jack wasn't too concerned. Coal Valley was a small mining town; there was no reason to suspect that a gang of bank robbers running from the law would stumble upon it, or actively seek it out. Still, when he got back to town, Jack would make the rounds of the homes, advising everyone to lock their doors and windows at night. And he'd have his weapons loaded at all times when he was 'meandering' through the wilderness, as Clint liked to say.

Jack put both envelopes back in his pocket, stood up, and walked through the tall grass. Tomorrow, he'd worry about the Tolliver gang and his parents. Right now, he was going to kiss Elizabeth.

"Is this seat taken?" Jack asked a week later as he walked into the Café and saw Elizabeth sitting at a table with a plate of pancakes.

"Do you want the seat or my pancakes?", she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Both. But I'll wait until Abigail brings me my own plate", he answered with a smile as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"All set for school today?"

"I think so. We're going to be discussing poetry. Shakespeare mostly", Elizabeth answered as Jack began opening his morning mail.

Elizabeth stopped talking when she noticed Jack wasn't paying attention. She waited for him to speak.

"Oh, sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just looking at my mail."

"Anything interesting?"

"An invitation to a society Ball. It's an annual event. I've gone every year for the past five years."

"Are you going this year?"

"No. I've used up my leave with the last two trips."

Elizabeth's sigh of relief wasn't missed by Jack.

"Elizabeth, I know my family treated you dreadfully, but . . . but I'd like it if you could give them another try. Eventually, I'll go back to Hamilton for a visit and I'd like you to accompany me when I do."

"I have no desire to subject myself to that again. I can't even think about it. I've barely recovered from the last visit", Elizabeth responded.

Elizabeth knew she sounded harsh, but the mere thought of sitting through another dinner and being grilled or humiliated by Hamilton elite gave her a headache.

Elizabeth noticed the look on Jack's face and felt a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry Jack. I'm not used to your lifestyle in Hamilton. Just give me a little more time. Here, you finish my pancakes. I need to get going. I promised Mrs. Noonan that I'd stop by and check on her new kittens while she's out of town visiting her family. Imagine having twins and new kittens at the same time."

"I'm just glad she left the kittens and not the babies", Jack said as he reached across the table and moved Elizabeth's plate in front of him.

"You and me both. I have my hands full with all my students. The last thing I need is two more children to watch over."

"I hope your hands aren't too full. I was kind of hoping you might be interested in going riding with me tomorrow after school."

"That sounds nice. And Jack,- -"

"Yes?"

Elizabeth paused before speaking. "I'll give your parents another chance."

Jack got back into town late after his rounds and was wearily walking from the livery when he passed one of the Pinkerton men leaving the mercantile.

"Constable Thornton", the middle aged man greeted him as he stopped in the street.

"Hello, Mr. Smyth. How are you feeling? The cold gone?", Jack asked as he looked at the man. Jack had always found Tim Smyth to be one of the more cordial of the security detectives of the private Pinkerton agency.

"Good. Thanks. Much better after some soup from Abigail and a poultice from Miss Thatcher."

"Elizabeth made you a poultice?"

"Yeah, she said she used to make them a lot for some children she took care of growing up. It was onion and mustard. Stunk to the high heavens but got rid of my congestion."

"I'm glad it worked out", Jack responded as he started to move past the man.

" . . . Um. Constable?"

"Yeah?" Jack stopped and turned back.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry I upset Miss Thatcher. I shouldn't have said anything."

"What are you talking about?", Jack asked with a frown.

"She didn't mention it to you?". Tim Smyth looked surprised.

"No. I haven't seen her since this morning at the Cafe. What happened?"

"Like I said, she came by and brought me a poultice and a bowl of soup from the Café. She's real nice, you know."

"Yes, I know. Now what did you say to her?"

"I shouldn't have said anything. I could lose my job. But she's so nice it didn't feel right keeping it from her. I told her that I didn't say anything bad about her. Only that she was well-respected and well-liked in the town. I had to report that the two of you had been spending a lot of time together. Picnics. Dinners. Walks. I reported I had seen you holding hands. But nothing scandalous. Don't get me wrong. I kept it proper."

"Mr. Smyth, I don't have a clue what you are talking about", Jack said with a furrowed brow.

The Pinkerton man looked down at the hat in his hand before speaking.

"Two weeks ago, your parents hired the Pinkertons to investigate Miss Thatcher and report back to them as to . . . well . . . her moral character."

"They had me investigated! Like I'm a common criminal", Elizabeth seethed to Jack when he showed up at her door. When she motioned for him to come inside, he realized that she was angrier than he had expected.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry. But you have to understand where they're coming from", Jack explained.

"Where they're coming from? What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth demanded.

"They have two sons who are very wealthy and stand to inherit an even more sizeable amount of money. And suddenly two sisters of considerably less means come into their sons' lives and before long the brothers are courting the sisters. It does seem a little suspicious. And fortuitous for the women if you look at it from an outsider's perspective."

"Are you saying that I planned this?! That I planned to come to Coal Valley to entice you to court me?!"

"No. Don't be silly. You misunderstood. I'm not saying that I think that you did that. I'm just saying to try looking at it from my parents' viewpoint. You wouldn't be the first women to be attracted to me and Tom because of our wealth and social status."

"I only came to this town because of your mother! I never would have been here if she hadn't forced me here," Elizabeth exclaimed in a fury.

"You're right. . . . But then you would have been in Hamilton. Where my brother, Tom, is", he said with a knowing look.

Elizabeth stared at Jack with wide eyes. "I cannot believe you just said that", she said in astonishment.

"Elizabeth. I'm sorry that didn't come out right. But think about it. A country school teacher and her sister with the traveling circus manage to land two of Hamilton's most eligible bachelors. You have to admit it's a little unusual. A few people at the club teased me about it, and I'm sure it was discussed with my parents."

"I can't believe you!"

"Okay. I'm not going about this right. But, neither are you. You aren't even trying to understand my parents and how they live", Jack said in frustration.

"I would really love to sit and chat about my many weaknesses. But I have quite a lot of work to do. Good night, Jack."

"They had me investigated! Like I'm a common criminal", Elizabeth fumed to Abigail the next afternoon after school.

"I know, Elizabeth. You've mentioned that three times today, and you mentioned it to me yesterday. You've also told me how Jack responded." Abigail said wearily.

"Elizabeth, I'm not saying that I agree with what the Thorntons did, but I know what it is to be a parent. If you want to have any type of relationship with Jack, you should try to make peace with his family. Give them another chance to get to know you better."

"Abigail, they hate me."

"They don't hate you. They hate that they don't know you. I have a feeling Jack's mother is scared."

"Scared? Of me?"

"Elizabeth, it doesn't matter how old Jack is. He's still his mother's son. And up 'til now, she's been the most important woman in his life. She's scared of losing her son. Scared of losing him to someone she doesn't even know. Get to know her.

Oh! I almost forgot. This arrived for you this morning.", Abigail added as she handed Elizabeth an envelope.

"It's from Mrs. Thornton", Elizabeth said with a frown when she saw the feminine handwriting on the envelope and recognized the return address.

After the telegram he received that morning about the Tolliver gang still being on the run, Jack had spent an extra hour searching through the woods around Coal Valley to make sure there was no sign of the men. It was already past five o'clock when he got back into town and he didn't bother changing out of his uniform before going to find Elizabeth.

Despite their argument yesterday, Elizabeth hadn't said she wasn't going riding today. Jack hoped she'd be over yesterday's anger by now. Not finding her at saloon, the jail, or at her place, Jack stopped by the Café.

"Abigail, have you seen Elizabeth? She was supposed to meet me for a ride."

"She had to go to the saloon to pick up some things she forgot, and then she was going over to the Noonans to check on their new kittens while they're out of town for the week. I don't think she's come back, yet."

"Okay, thanks."

"Jack- It's none of my business. But she wasn't in a good mood to begin with . . . . We talked . .. about your family . . . and then . . . . "

"What?" Jack asked.

"She got a letter from your mother today. She didn't read it while I was here, but she didn't look happy about getting it."

Jack waited at the Café another 10 minutes before walking over to the Noonans. As he walked down the dirt street, he hoped to see Elizabeth coming towards him, hurrying to meet him for their riding date. When she didn't appear, he suspected that she was purposely avoiding him.

What did my mother say now? he thought irritably. When Jack had written to his mother weeks ago, he had asked to her to try and make amends. If Elizabeth was avoiding him, Jack could only surmise that his mother had made things even worse after the incident with the Pinkertons.

Jack knocked twice on the Noonan's door before it opened slightly. If he had been hoping to see Elizabeth's smiling face, Jack was disappointed.

"What do you want, Jack?", she said stiffly, as she stood inside and looked at Jack through the five inch opening she made between the door and the jamb.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I thought we were going riding after school."

"I needed to come check on the kittens"

"Why don't I come in and keep you company and then we can go for that ride."

"I'm afraid I'm really too busy."

"With kittens?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yes", Elizabeth answered curtly.

"Elizabeth, please. Is everything okay between us?"

"It's fine, Jack. I'm a little busy in here. It's really not a good time."

"Can we talk, . . . please?"

Jack moved to come inside.

"Not inside", Elizabeth said. She stayed in the doorway, refusing to even open the door all the way. It was as if she thought she could keep out the hurt if she didn't open the door all the way.

"What's going on, Elizabeth? Is this because of my mother's letter or are you still upset about yesterday?"

Elizabeth paused before speaking. "I'm not happy about either."

"Elizabeth, I wrote to my mother weeks ago, asking her to make amends with you. I know you got a letter from her today. I don't know what she wrote, but obviously it's upset you. I'm sorry for whatever she did now. I was wrong. About thinking she could make amends and treat you better."

"Let's not belabor the obvious."

"Please understand. My main goal . . even more than me making peace with my parents .. . . was to make sure you didn't get hurt more. And I did the opposite. And I will regret that more than you know. You're all I care about. I hope you can forgive me."

"I need time to think. Please just go away. I really have to take care of the kittens. Three of them are getting fussy. And then I have some sewing to do. . . I have to find my orange thread. Now if you'll excuse me."

Without waiting for a response, Elizabeth closed the door in Jack's face. Before he turned away, Jack heard the click of the lock.

Jack had walked halfway to the jail when he stopped and turned around and started walking back to the Noonan home. I'll just insist to Elizabeth that we talk about this. Communication is the key to a good relationship.

He had only walked past two houses when Jack remembered how stubborn Elizabeth could be. That woman is infuriating. She gets angry at me more times than any woman I know, he thought as he turned around and went back to the jail.

Time. I'll just give her more time. Giving someone space to evaluate their feelings is the key to a good relationship.

Once back at the jail, Jack took off his holster, laying his weapon on his desk, and began to change out of his uniform. As he took off the white undershirt, he noticed the scar on his arm. Elizabeth had done a good job of stitching his wound. How did things get so complicated since then?, he wondered.

He ran his fingers over the faint line in his skin, remembering how pretty Elizabeth's hair had looked in the lantern's glow, how she had smiled at the orange thread she used to stitch his arm and had offered another pretty color. Jack grinned when he remembered that she had assured him that she'd be gentle and had teased that her fabric never screamed in pain.

Jack emptied his pocket of the latest telegram informing him that the Tolliver gang was still unaccounted for and put it in his desk drawer. She had smelled so nice, Jack remembered. Like flowers and lemons. And when I walked home that night, she told me to be careful.

Elizabeth had barely closed the door on Jack when she was rudely shoved aside, causing her to stumble into a man's rough arms. She heard the click of the bolt as Nate Tolliver locked the door with one hand, holding his gun with the other.

"Your Mountie is very persistent."

"He's not my Mountie."

"Well, he seems to think he is. And I'm going to agree with him. Which means, you're going to do exactly what we say so he doesn't get hurt. Now sew up my wound. I'm tired of waiting."

Less than twenty minutes later, Jack walked back to the Noonans, carrying a large bouquet which he had hastily had some town children pick from their mothers' gardens. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves before he knocked on the door. When Elizabeth didn't respond, he knocked again more forcefully.

Trying to keep anger out of his voice, he yelled through the wooden door.

"I know you're in there, Elizabeth and I'm not leaving until you open the door."

After a minute, Elizabeth opened the door slightly.

"You have the worst sense of timing in many ways", she said when she saw Jack standing there.

"I want you to step outside so we can talk", he said sternly.

"It's not a good time", she pleaded.

"Can you come outside . . please?" he asked deliberately.

"I can't, Jack."

"Then I'm coming inside."

"No. I'm still angry. Just go away", she begged him.

Before Elizabeth could say more, there was the sound of breaking glass. Jack pushed open the door and rushed past Elizabeth, who was stunned by the quick turn of events.

Broken window glass littered the floor. The back door was open, swinging on its hinges. Tim Smyth had one man on the ground while Bill Avery was wrestling with another. Jack, his gun pulled out from behind the bouquet, had it pointed at Nate Tolliver, whose own gun lay three feet away where it had landed when Jack knocked it away.

The wanted man, injured and tired from being on the run, was starting to raise his hands in surrender when the ball of black fur came darting across the room. The mother cat, upset by commotion disturbing her kittens, had leaped up and run through the room screeching and momentarily distracting the men.

Before she could react, Elizabeth was yanked back. Nate's gun lay on the floor but his arm was wrapped around her neck, pressing her back against his body.

Without looked down, Elizabeth knew that Nate had his knife pointed at her chest. She didn't need to feel the point of the sharp metal blade. She could tell by the stricken expression on Jack's face.

"Put down the knife, Nate", Jack instructed.

"I've got your woman, Mountie. I'm not gonna be taking any orders from you. Now you drop your weapon or your pretty friend is going to find herself with a very large opening where she's not supposed to have one."

"You're not going to hurt her."

"I've got nothing to lose. Either I take her with me or I cut her and you'll run to stop her bleeding. In which case, I'll have time to take off. Either way, I'm out of here. It's just a matter of whether you want to risk her bleeding to death. I'm pretty good with a knife."

"There are three of us, and you're injured. You won't get far."

"Then your woman will have died for nothing. You want her blood on your hands? That's a shame since she was trying so hard to protect you. Trying to keep you away the first time you came. Pleading with us to let her handle it so we wouldn't kill you. And here you are, willing to risk her life. My, my, you're not so gallant are you? Don't make no difference to me if I take her with me or I cut her. It won't be my first kill. But I'm guessing it would be yours."

Elizabeth felt the heat of Nate Tolliver's body as he held her against his dirty clothes. She tried not to gag on his scent. She could smell his sweat; day old alcohol seeping out his pores and mingling with the smell of his unwashed skin and the filth on his clothes. The stench reminded her of farm cows who lay their udders in their own warm excrement on a cold winter's day.

Cows!

Elizabeth realized that Nate was so focused on taunting Jack that he was barely even paying attention to her.

She also realized that her hand was perfectly positioned in front of Nate.

It was all over in a minute. Nate lay in a fetal position on the floor, his eyes filled with tears, as Jack put handcuffs on him.

When Elizabeth looked at Jack and shrugged, he gave her a look of incredulity.

She smiled. Sometimes a country girl background comes in handy, she thought, pleased with herself.

"Jack's a city boy. He's never milked a cow", Elizabeth said with a smile to Abigail as she explained the capture of the gang. "I tried explaining to him. It's like milking a cow only considerably rougher. You just pull down much harder and twist before you squeeze really tight."

Jack cringed. "Enough. Please. I've heard enough."

"I'm guessing they don't teach that self-defense technique in Mountie training", Abigail said with a laugh as she refilled their coffee cups.

"But, Jack, how did you know she was in trouble?"

"She said she needed orange thread for sewing. That's the color she used to stitch me up. It seemed odd that she would mention the color. It took me a while, but I put that together with her hint of three fussy 'kittens', and the fact that three members of the Tolliver gang were on the loose and one of them was injured." Jack explained as he reached across the table and took Elizabeth's hand.

After all the excitement, Elizabeth was grateful for the quiet afternoon walk the following day.

"I read the letter from your mother. She apologized. Sort of. She said I made her realize some things", Elizabeth told Jack as they walked down the simple path through the meadow.

"Like what?"

"You've always been a good judge of character, and intelligent enough to make your own decisions. She said she shouldn't stop trusting you now."

"I know how you feel about my parents -–"

"It's not all bad."

" You were mad at my mother for forcing you to come to Coal Valley in the first place."

"Maybe "forced" is slightly too harsh", Elizabeth suggested.

"Elizabeth, she had your teaching assignment changed from Hamilton to Coal Valley!"

"I know – but still"

"Does 'compelled' cover it?"

"Still not quite right."

"Manipulated?"

"That's getting closer. It was a big blow for me not to get my teaching posting in Hamilton. I was really looking forward to that."

"A darn shame you ended up here", Jack said with a smile.

"I suppose it hasn't been all bad", Elizabeth conceded with a grin.

"So you think you can make peace with my mother?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I wrote her last night. I thanked her for having me sent here."

A week later, Jack was sitting at his desk when he heard the jailhouse door open. When he looked up, he saw Elizabeth walk in with a look of determination on her face.

"Hello there, Miss. Thatcher. Is there something I can help you with?", he asked with a smile as he set down his pencil.

"Constable Thornton", she greeted him pleasantly. "I have something for you."

"I hope it's a kiss. Although, it is only 7:00 in the morning. I believe I kissed you less than 12 hours ago. Don't tell me you're going through withdrawals already?"

"Jack!", she chided him as she smiled.

"This is for you", she said as she handed him an envelope.

Jack opened the envelope and looked inside. When he didn't say anything, Elizabeth spoke up.

"It's part of the reward money I got for capturing the Tolliver gang. I'm using it to pay you back for the money you gave all those miners. The money they gave me for the sewing. The same money which I then gave back to you. You shouldn't have had to pay money just so I could pay it back to you. That's just silly. And bad business sense."

"Okay. Thanks", Jack said casually as he put the envelope in his top desk drawer and picked up his pencil, returning his attention to his work.

Elizabeth stood there for a moment waiting for Jack to put up some sort of protest. This isn't going how I expected, she thought in surprise.

"Anything else, Elizabeth?", Jack asked when he noticed that she was still standing there.

"No, that's all."

"Well, shouldn't you be heading to the saloon for school to start soon? I think it's customary for the teacher to be there before the students", he said with a grin.

"Yes, You're right. . . . Okay, I'll see you later."

When Elizabeth got to the door, she stopped and turned around. This wasn't at all how she had imaged things would go. He was supposed to argue with her and refuse to take the money. Then she would proudly stand her ground. Finally, he would be so struck by her independence and how pretty she looked (she had purposely worn her best dress and done her hair nicely) that he would forget about arguing and just pull her into a kiss. At least that's how she imagined it would go.

"Jack?", she said in frustration.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to argue with me?"

"About what?"

"About me paying the money back to you."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Jack leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Two reasons. First, I know how stubborn and proud you are. Second, I agree with you. We shouldn't have debts between us if we're courting."

"You do? . . . Good. . . . Okay. . . I'll be leaving now", she responded. She had to admit she was a little disappointed that he agreed with her so quickly.

"Of course, I don't plan on courting you forever", Jack said casually as he returned his attention to his paperwork.

"You don't?" Elizabeth questioned worriedly. She stopped at the door and slowly turned around to face him.

"Of course not."

When Elizabeth didn't say anything, Jack continued.

"And with regard to debts, I plan on all my money being yours one day. Actually not so much 'yours' as 'ours' when we combine assets", he said matter-of-factly as he began filling out his daily logbook while barely glancing at her.

"Combine assets?", Elizabeth said in confusion.

"And other things", he said with a grin as he looked up from his logbook.

When Elizabeth just stood there staring at him in bewilderment, he continued.

"You know that whole 'for richer, for poorer' thing", he said with a chuckle as he watched her eyes widen. "Now off to school you go, Miss Thatcher", he added as he motioned to the door.

Elizabeth walked in a daze out the door and down the street towards the Saloon. Did that just go much better than even I imagined?

Up next: Chapter 14

P.S. I used switched up dialogue from at least 7 episodes of TV show. Did you spot it all? :)