As she finished reading Robert's essay, Elizabeth looked up from the paper. Across the table from her, Ally, who was suppose to be working on a homework assignment, was starting at the clock instead.
Elizabeth let her gaze drift in that direction as well. The hands of the clock told her that it was five-forty. There was still twenty minutes until Nathan had said he was going to call. Time enough for both of them to get some work done.
Though Elizabeth knew that it wasn't likely to happen.
"Would you like to go over to the Coulter's to wait for your uncle's call there?" Elizabeth asked.
"Could we?" Ally asked, an expectant look on her face as she looked away from the clock and across the table at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth smiled as she tucked the essay she was grading safely away. "We might as well," she replied. "It's clear you're not going to get anywhere with your homework as it is."
"Sorry, Mrs. Thornton," Ally replied. "I just can't concentrate."
"It's okay. I'm looking forward to the call myself," Elizabeth admitted to the girl. "Put your things away and grab your coat," she instructed.
As Ally did as bidden, Elizabeth made her way over to the crib where Jack was playing with Mr. Doggie. Picking him up, she got both Jack and herself ready to go.
"Here, let me hold him," Ally offered, as Elizabeth took her coat off the hook.
Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. Little Jack was getting on the heavy side. Still, Ally was almost twelve and it would only be a few moments. Besides, putting on her own coat was much easier with two free hands.
"Thank-you," Elizabeth said, passing the little boy to Ally. She made sure that Ally had a firm hold of Jack before letting go.
"Hi there, Jack," Ally said cheerfully, smiling at the little boy.
As Elizabeth put on her coat, she heard her son's giggle. Looking at the two children, her breath caught at the sight. Little Jack's face was a glow with joy as Ally smiled at him. It was a sweet sight.
Elizabeth buttoned up her coat, still watching the kids. Little Jack had reached out and gently held some strands of Ally's hair in his hand.
"Yeah, it's getting long," Ally said, her gaze focused on Jack. The fact that she talked to the little boy as if he could understand her perfectly touched Elizabeth. "I'd braid it but I don't know how."
Little Jack smiled up at Ally, the smile still on his face.
"Okay, I'm all set," Elizabeth announced, as she fastened the last button. Reaching out, she took Jack back from Ally. "You ready?"
Ally nodded. Together the two of them left Elizabeth's little home and made the short trip over to the Coulter's home. Having not had an occupant in it, the inside of the house was almost as cold as the outdoors.
"I'll start a fire in the stove to warm it up a bit in here," Ally volunteered as she headed toward the kitchen.
"You're sure you know what you're doing?" Elizabeth asked, thinking of her own experiences with fires and stoves when she had come west.
"Yes," Ally replied easily, seemingly not offended at all by the question. "Uncle Nathan was very thorough in his lessons with the fire, stove, and proper gun safety," she replied as she began her task.
"He's let you fire a gun?" Elizabeth asked, not at all sure how she felt about that. She knew some of the boys around here at Ally's age, though she wasn't too keen on it. Still, hunting was a way to put food on the table and out here, sometimes the children had to help with that. Still, she wasn't sure how she felt about a young girl handling a gun.
"Only under Uncle Nathan's supervision," Ally replied from her spot by the stove. "I think I was six when he started lecturing me about how guns weren't toys and how dangerous they were. He taught me how to load and fire both his hand gun and rifle when I was nine though I'm not supposed to touch them without his permission. I don't want to go hunting though. I mean, I understand that we shoot animals to eat but I don't want to be the one pulling the trigger. I'm content shooting at a target."
Elizabeth wasn't sure how she felt about that. Still, it was true that given the nature of Nathan's job that Ally would be around guns. She supposed it was prudent to teach a child about something that they might come in contact with. At least if they knew what a gun was and the dangers that it posed then there was less chance of an accident occurring because the child was curious.
"You don't approve, do you?" Ally asked, breaking the silence.
Elizabeth still hesitated in replying. She didn't want to criticize Nathan's parenting skills in front of his niece, nor did she want to lie to the girl. "I would choose differently, I think. However, I also don't have a job that necessitates having guns around, like your uncle does. I'm sure he did what he thought was best."
Ally nodded. "Uncle Nathan does do his best," she commented, closing the stove door, the fire started. "However, there are some things that he doesn't know about or doesn't understand."
"Like how to braid your hair," Elizabeth commented, having sat down on the settee. Both she and Jack still had their coats on.
"Like that," Ally replied. "Other things as well, though. Things that I would talk to my mother about."
Elizabeth patted the empty spot next to her on the settee. Without hesitation Ally came over and sat down next to her teacher.
"Ally, I want you to know that you can come to me with any questions you might have," Elizabeth told the young girl. "Or even if you just want someone to confide in that you don't feel comfortable talking to your uncle about. That offer is there no matter what happens between your Uncle and me," she added.
"Really," Elizabeth assured her.
"Thank-you, Mrs. Thornton," Ally said. "I'll try not to take advantage of that offer."
Elizabeth reached out and put her arm around Ally's shoulders. "I mean it, Ally. Whenever you need a woman to confide in, my door is always open."
Ally nodded, even as she looked over at Elizabeth a sad smile on her face.
Leaning over, Elizabeth's other arm securely around him, Jack reached out with one hand and gently patted Ally's cheek, causing Ally to smile at the little boy.
The ringing of the telephone caught all of their attentions. Little Jack, looked toward the ringing device in surprise while Ally and Elizabeth looked at it in anticipation.
Reaching out, Elizabeth picked up the ear piece. "Hello," she said, hoping that her voice was steadier than she felt.
"I have Constable Grant on the line for you, Elizabeth," Florence announced.
"Thank-you, Florence," Elizabeth said.
The next voice on the line was Nathan's, his calm voice saying hello.
"Hello, Nathan. How did the trial go?"
"The trial was uneventful," Nathan informed her. "O'rourke will be behind bars for the next ten years. Gabe and I will be coming home tomorrow as planned."
"Just you and Gabe?" Elizabeth asked, surprised to hear that Bill wouldn't be accompanying them back.
"Bill has some other small local cases that were on the books that he plans on taking care of tomorrow before coming back. Gabe and I both offered to stay so he wouldn't need to make the trip back alone and he refused."
"I'm kind of glad he did. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night."
"Me too," Nathan admitted. "Is Ally there?"
"Yes. Let me put her on. Just don't hang up without saying good-bye to me as well."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Nathan assured her.
Elizabeth handed the phone to Ally. To give the girl a little privacy, Elizabeth stood up with Little Jack and headed for the kitchen table. As the stove was starting to warm up the little house, Elizabeth took off Jack's coat and then shrugged out her own.
As much as she had been in Rosemary's home, Elizabeth had to admit the little house seemed lonely without her friend there. Still, Rosemary and Lee deserved their trip away after all the cancelled plans and what the couple had gone through the last couple of weeks. It wouldn't be long before her two neighbors would be back and Rosemary would have plenty of stories to tell.
~And perhaps I'll have a few of my own, as well, ~ Elizabeth thought as she watched Jack wave his little dog in the air. For the little boy the simple action seemed to be great fun.
To get her mind away from sad thoughts, Elizabeth started talking to her son. The little boy looked at her captivated, clearly trying to follow what was going on.
Elizabeth wasn't sure how much time had passed when Ally spoke up.
"Mrs. Thornton, I'll keep an eye on Jack," Ally said coming toward where Ally was sitting. The girl had shed her coat as well. "Uncle Nathan wants to talk to you again," she added pointing back to where the ear piece of the phone lay on the cushion of the settee.
"Okay," Elizabeth replied, standing up.
Ally sat down in one of the other chairs at the table. Elizabeth passed Little Jack to Ally and then headed for the settee. Behind her she heard Ally immediately start talking to Little Jack. As she listened, she realized that Ally was singing "Patty Cake" to Little Jack.
Elizabeth smiled as she picked up the ear piece and the receiver of the phone. "Hello," she said into the device.
"Hello again, Elizabeth," Nathan said over the connection. "I hope Ally isn't giving you a hard time."
"Not at all," Elizabeth replied, glancing over at the children. "In fact, she's entertaining Little Jack right now. She's been good with him."
"Ally always has enjoyed being around younger children," Nathan replied.
"So what are your plans for the night?"
"I plan on having supper with Gabe and Bill tonight and then I'm hoping to catch up on some sleep."
"Get up too early this morning?"
"You could say that," Nathan replied. He hesitated a moment before replying. "I've had more than one restless night this past week," he finally admitted. "Hopefully now that the trial is over and both of the O'rourkes are behind bars where they belong I'll be able to sleep a little better."
"I hope so too," Elizabeth said, glad that he had felt comfortable enough to make the admission to her.
"How about you? What are your plans for tonight?"
"Well, Ally and I still need to have supper ourselves. We both decided that we wouldn't be able to eat while anticipating your call. Then hopefully, I'll be able to get some grading done. I had the children write an essay about what they would wish for if giving three wishes. I've only read a few of them but I have a feeling it'll at least be entertaining reading, although Robert's wishes had a bit of thought behind them," Elizabeth said thinking about the last essay that she had read.
Robert had actually mentioned Nathan in his essay as one of his wishes had been to learn how to be a brave Mountie like Constable Grant. Though the boy had decided to finish school, it still seemed that he intended to become a Mountie. Though she was sure Nathan would feel flattered to hear the words, she wasn't sure how Robert would feel about her sharing part of his essay.
"Sounds like you'll have a busy weekend. Though hopefully, you won't get too busy and change your mind about tomorrow night."
"Not a chance," Elizabeth said. "I'm looking forward to supper with you."
"That makes two of us then," Nathan replied. "Though I should probably get going. I'm using the phone in the Mounted Police office here in Buxton and I think I'm starting to become the subject of a few jokes between the Mounties stationed here."
Elizabeth laughed, easily able to picture the scene. Though she didn't understand why men had to tease each other so much, she understood how Nathan must feel.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Nathan."
"Goodnight, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth hung up the ear piece. From her spot on the settee, Elizabeth looked toward the children again. Though she couldn't quite make out the words, Elizabeth could tell that Ally was signing softly to Jack as the little boy listened intently.
Though the two children would complicate things between her and Nathan, watching Ally interact with the little boy made her feel a little bit at ease.
"Are you ready to go get supper ready, Ally?" Elizabeth called out.
"Yes," Ally replied, looking over in Elizabeth's direction.
Standing up, Elizabeth moved to take care of the fire. When she was satisfied that the fire was safely out, she turned to put Jack's coat back on him only to find that Ally had already did so.
"Thank-you," Elizabeth told her, as she quickly slipped into her own coat before picking up Little Jack.
Ally retrieved her coat from the back of the settee and slipped into. The trio then made the quick trip back to Elizabeth's home.