Chapter Twelve:
It was a typical morning at the Grant house. Elizabeth was rushing to finish her own breakfast, while Jack had busied himself with a toy car he was running up and down the living room floor, ignoring his bowl of oatmeal. "Jack, come eat your breakfast," Elizabeth insisted, then moved to the bottom of the stairs.
"Allie, are you awake? I have to take Jack and Andy to the Coulters!" Elizabeth waited for a response, but there was nothing but silence from the upstairs.
At the kitchen table, Nathan sat with his son on his lap, both enjoying their breakfast. Andy ate his toast so vigorously that crumbs littered the table and floor around him. "I'll go check on Allie," Nathan said. He lifted Andy off his knee and set him on the floor to finish his piece of toast.
"I hope she's calmed down a bit. I don't think I can handle a repeat of last night," Elizabeth said. She rubbed at her temples, already feeling a headache begin to form.
"I agree," Nathan said as he mounted the stairs. As he disappeared upstairs, Elizabeth turned to Jack and once again admonished him to eat.
"Jack, finish your breakfast then put on your jacket please. We need to leave in five minutes." Elizabeth picked up Andy and carried him off to the nursery to prepare for the day. He babbled happily at her as she changed his diaper and put him in his clothes for the day.
Within seconds, Nathan's footsteps came pounding down the stairs and then made their way to the nursery. "Allie's not here," he said with exasperation.
Elizabeth finished buttoning Andy's shirt and set him on the ground. "Are you sure?"
"She wasn't anywhere upstairs. I'm going to check the barn to see if she's there, or if Gil is gone." There was only a hint of concern in his voice. Elizabeth felt his frustration more than worry, and she matched that herself.
"I'll call into town and see who might know where she is. My guess is she spent the night at Anna's or Opal's house. Neither of their families have a phone yet, or they would have called last night."
Nathan hurried out the front door, and Elizabeth allowed Jack and Andy to busy themselves with a few toys while she placed her call. She connected immediately with Florence, and explained the situation going on in their home that morning. Florence promised that she would keep an eye out for Allie and inform anyone else to be on the lookout for the teenager. Elizabeth felt a little embarrassment at having to recruit the town to help her find her wayward niece, and knew Allie would be just as embarrassed when she realized what was going on. With everything else going on in their home, the last thing Elizabeth wanted was for Allie to feel singled out among her friends and fellow citizens of Hope Valley.
Nathan returned from the barn as Elizabeth finished her call. He leaned over to give Andy, then Jack a kiss on the head. "Allie isn't in the barn, and neither is Gil. I saddled Newton and prepped the wagon. I'll head into town and begin looking for her there."
Elizabeth received her own kiss from Nathan. "Thank you. I have to get going as well or I'll be late getting the fire going. I hope Allie will show up to school, and I'll send word if she does."
Scooting the boys along, the family relocated to the barn. Jack and Andy were lifted into the wagon, and Elizabeth took off to the west to stop by the Coulter's house. Nathan went directly south to the heart of town.
"Good morning Elizabeth! Hello boys!" Rosemary greeted the trio when they arrived on her doorstep. Jack and Andy ran into the house like they owned the place, greeting two year old Celeste Coulter on their way.
"Oh dear, something's wrong, isn't it?" Rosemary asked, ever the intuitive, inquisitive mind. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to enter the house with her sons and share her woes with her friend, but she knew how much the children needed the fire started to warm their classroom.
"I'm just having a hard time with Allie. I'll tell you about it this afternoon. Is Larry ready?" Elizabeth asked.
"Right here Mrs. Grant!" Larry announced, and clumsily hopped into the wagon without another word. Elizabeth felt a small bubble of happiness appear, excited for this daily opportunity to spend with the normally recalcitrant boy. He also seemed to really enjoy their morning ride into town. This small level of normalcy to an otherwise topsy-turvy morning helped Elizabeth to feel centered and ready to enter her classroom with a degree of control.
"Bye sweetheart! See you after school!" Rosemary waved to the both of them, and Elizabeth directed the horse into town. Larry began to chatter away about frogs again, and Elizabeth answered the myriad of questions as best as she could. She remembered a book about frogs she had at the schoolhouse, and promised Larry he could borrow it when they arrived.
Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeth stood at the schoolhouse entrance, greeting her students as usual. Her eyes wandered out across the area in front of the school more often than usual, hoping to see Allie walking up with one of her friends. She saw Opal first, and she stopped the girl before she went inside.
"Opal, have you seen Allie this morning?"
She shook her head. "No Mrs. Grant."
Elizabeth allowed her into the school, and she hoped that Allie hadn't done something anymore rash than spending the night at a friend's without permission.
Anna and Emily came together a few minutes later, and they also had not seen or heard from Allie in the last few days apart from school. Elizabeth knew that Allie had been spending more and more time with Jacob Robinson lately, and she prayed that he or his sisters would know where to find her.
She checked her watch and rang the cowbell for the final time, alerting the few children that remained in the play yard that it was time for school to begin. She nearly let out a breath of relief when she saw the three Robinson children running from the direction of the row houses to get to school on time. But she couldn't release her worries just yet; they didn't have anyone else with them.
"Morning Mrs. Grant!" they greeted her as they ran up the steps.
She stopped them on the porch and held each of their gazes one at a time. "Have any of you seen Allie this morning? She seems to have gone missing."
"No, we haven't," Helen said. Melody was also shaking her head. The girls entered the school, and Jacob followed his sisters without looking at Elizabeth. She put her hand on his shoulder and asked him to look at her.
"Jacob, did you see Allie today?"
"N-no, Mrs. G-g-grant," he said, though his gaze dropped to his shoes nearly immediately.
Elizabeth kept her hand right where it was and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "If you know anything about Allie, please…. We want to be sure she's safe."
Jacob didn't look at Elizabeth and pulled away from her. "I d-d-don't know wh-wh-where s-s-she is," he said and entered the school without another word.
Elizabeth felt torn in two. Her head told her to begin school and teach her students despite how she was feeling inside. Her heart told her to set aside her lessons for the day and focus on Allie. A cold wind blew right through her and cleared her mind to make the right decision. She entered the classroom with conviction.
"Attention class." She waited for the children to settle down and then proceeded to explain the change in plans. "I'm so sorry, but I have an emergency that I have to go take care of. Tim, will you please go see if Mrs. Norton or Miss Campbell will come teach the class today?"
He eagerly jumped from his seat and ran out the door to follow Elizabeth's directions.
"Okay, and Emily? I'm placing you in charge until the substitute comes. I have lesson plans on my desk, but you may all read quietly for now."
With the students given their task, Elizabeth bade them goodbye. She tried to catch Jacob's eye once again, but he stubbornly refused and she chose to wait him out for now. He was a good kid; he would tell her when he was ready.
She rushed over to the Mountie office as quick as she could. "Nathan, she's gone!" Elizabeth said before the door was even open. But there was no one inside the room. She noticed a piece of paper on the otherwise spotless desk, and read the hastily scrawled note.
I went in search of Allie. I'll be back when I find her.
The note increased the pressure in Elizabeth's chest. Nathan must have been asking around town all morning, and he came to the same conclusion she did - Allie wasn't in town.
The first course of action that came to her was to get as many people as possible out looking for her. At a very unladylike pace, she approached Lee's office and called upon her old friend and neighbor for this huge favor. "Lee, Allie is gone," she announced without preamble.
Lee stood from his desk and went to stand by Elizabeth, offering a hand of support. "I heard. I'm so sorry. What can I do to help?"
"We need as many men as you can spare to ride out to look for her. She's on horseback, so she could have gone several miles already."
He nodded and immediately turned to his office manager, Fiona. "Get the word out to the crews. Make sure everyone knows that this is the top priority of the day."
Fiona gave a nod of her own and ran out of the office. Elizabeth felt herself go dizzy, and she put a hand on Lee's desk to steady herself.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Lee asked.
"Just a little light-headed. I'm so worried about Allie," Elizabeth said, barely containing the sob that she felt in her throat.
"Don't worry. We'll find her."
Elizabeth nodded, though the worry was blocking out her hope at the moment. If anything happened to Allie, she didn't think she could bear it. Her feelings for Allie ran deep and she loved the girl just as fiercely as she did her sons. Despite all the harsh words and hard fought battles that had come between them in recent days, Elizabeth ached to know that her niece was alright and safe. She poured her heart out in silent prayer. "Please, keep Allie safe, and bring her home to us."