Chapter 31

A Day in Hamilton

Elizabeth woke to the gentle rhythm of the ! she must have been really tired,she had slept through dinner. It was jut now about 6:30 in the morning of the next day. The train was scheduled to arrive in Hamilton at 8:00,so she had enough time to got to grab some breakfast. As she sat in the dining car with her breakfast wrap and caramel hot chocolate,she decided to send Jack a good morning text.

"Good Morning:) I hope that you're doing well this morning. She was so happy that they things worked out between them and that they had a talk before she left. Her phone dinged signifying that she had a text. It was a reply from Jack. She felt herself grinning as she read his reply to her message. He told her that everything was going well in Hope Valley,and that there wasn't a robbery in the last 2 nights. The robber,whoever he was, seemed to strike every couple nights,so they were obviously trying to confuse and throw Jack and Lee off the track.

A couple hours later,the train came to a stop in Hamilton. She carried her bag and came to the terminal and looked for a sign of someone from her house that was going to pick her up. She heard a BEEP BEEP,and looked towards that sound and saw Sam the driver for the family with the car.

"Hello Miss Elizabeth! Your parents are going to be so happy to see you,she hugged him excited to see him too. Well then let's go." He opened the passenger door for her,she got in and they drove home.

She went in the front door,waved at Jenny one of the housekeepers, to where her parents were sitting on the couch reading,she got down right behind them and shouted," Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Beth! You just took 10 yrs off of our lives ha William. Grace started to laugh as well and grabbed her and pulled her in for a long hug. Her father was next to give her a giant bear hug."Well,her father continued,tell us all about Hope Valley. Do you like it there? Are there alot of children in your classroom? Do you have any friends in town? both her father and mother started to bombard her with questions all at once.

"Whoa there, it's my vacation until Wednesday,so let's just watch the Macy's parade and we can talk all you want over dinner."Elizabeth made a deal with them. They smiled and agreed with big grins.

About an hour later,Martha the cook, came in and told them that dinner was all ready in the dining room. They all went in and sat down,where on the table was a magnificent turkey:) Along with the main course,there was mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and Elizabeth's favorite,lots and lots of gravy. There were alos crescent rolls which she loved too. They all loaded up their plates with all the yummy stuff.

jumping in and asking Elizabeth all about her life. She had to laugh loudly.

"Well, I have my class in the town and I have about 25 students. The school job provides the teacher with a teacherage.I have made a nice little home there, and yes I have a good many friends in town. There is a very nice general store,church and restaurant."

"But are you happy,really happy?" here father questioned her,almost making it sound like he didn't approve of her being so far away from home. Yet when she got this assignment,both her parents were supportive of her dream. He asked his wife to pass the turkey and looked at Elizabeth,waiting for her to respond.

"You know what Father and Mother,I really am. Everyone is so nice and so willing to help each other." she was so happy where she was in her life right now and what she was doing with it. She however did decide against saying anything about the robbberies of the merchantile or BIlly Hamilton. Her parents would never understand. Ding Ding,her phone went off with the text tone.

Happy Thanksgiving! Sorry I forgot to tell you this morning. I hope you're haing a good time with your family. Her face lit up like the sun when she read this,and both of her parents saw this. Their girl had a look on here face that showed how happy she is.

"Are you going to share who that is from and why you have the biggest grin on your face?" her mom asked her,very curious.

"It's just from one of my friends in Hope was telling me Happy Thanksgiving." she told them,but that was all she was going to tell them.

"Oh,her mother said surprised. He sounds nice. Elizabeth definately agreed that he was. He was in fact one of the best friends that she had ever met. Beth,someone was here yesterday and he asked all about you." Elizabeth cringed because she know who her mother was talking was Charles this time ,they had finished and were headed out to the living room. Martha had promised to be out in a little while with coffee and pumpkin pie.

"So,why was he here? Did it have to do with some work that he was doing for Dad?"her mother nodded. Elizabeth didn't say this,but she was glad that she didn't see had made her feel uncomfortable,unfortunately she spoke to soon.

"He's coming by tomorrow,so you can see him then."her father spoke up. Elizabeth just was going to be quite the day.