Chapter 80 – Real Concerns
Elizabeth woke up Friday and didn't feel good. She wondered if it was just her nerves or was something wrong. She tried to push the worry away and focus on what needed to be done. She got up and got ready for the day. She made breakfast and then lunch to take to school. Elizabeth left for school earlier then she normally would, because she just couldn't stay in the house any longer. She got to school and got the fire going. She sat at her desk and started working on some of the papers that needed grading.
While Elizabeth was grading, Pastor Frank stopped by to check on her. He had heard her earlier then normal and was concerned. Elizabeth explained that she just wasn't use to having Jack gone and that she had had trouble sleeping the the last two nights. She also told him that it was easier to focus at school then at the house. He said that he would keep both her and Jack in his prayers. He also tried to assure Elizabeth that Jack was safe and that he would be home soon. Elizabeth thanked Pastor Frank for his concern and that she would tried to stay positive, but it was hard having Jack away. She knew that he was going to have to leave from time to time but it was the first time in a long time that Jack had been gone and she couldn't help by worry. Pastor Frank let her know that her concerns were normal, but that Jack was also good at what he did.
Elizabeth felt better but the time that the children started arriving at school. Elizabeth settled into the day and focused on the children. Only once did Elizabeth's thoughts drift to Jack. She took a moment to gather herself and refocus on the children. Once again at lunch, Elizabeth let her thoughts drift to Jack. She wondered what he was doing and where he was exactly. She knew that he was headed to the Rock Creek area, but that was it. Elizabeth called the children back in after lunch and once again focused on what they needed instead of Jack. She found it easier to focus on the children and her mind didn't wonder to all the possible things that could happen. Elizabeth ended up assigning quiet abit of homework for the weekend before letting the children go.
Once again, Elizabeth lingered at the schoolhouse. She took her time cleaning things. She finally picked up her papers and things before heading to the cafe. She just didn't want to be home alone. Once again, Abigail insisted that Elizabeth stay for supper. Abigail knew that Elizabeth was struggling with Jack being gone even if it was only for a few days. Abigail knew that it had been months since Jack had left town and Elizabeth had been alone. Abigail also knew how Elizabeth struggled with the dangers of Jack's job and that him being out of town only makes those worries worse. It was once again almost dark before Elizabeth headed home.
Friday, Jack woke up early again. He had not seen Polina the previous evening, but had also spend most of his time at his campsite. He went over what he had learned. He actually even wrote things out to try and make more sense. All he still needed to do was talk to Polina. Jack didn't have enough to arrest Dimitri, but he had enough to make him mad. He knew that he would have to have another conversation with Dimitri before he left, but he wanted to talk to Polina before he did that. That was part of the reason that Jack was up early. He didn't want Polina sneaking off into the woods again all day. He was in the settlement just at people started to stir. He immediately went to the tent where Polina was.
Jack was lucky and found her still there. She didn't want to talk him, but he gave her no choice. He told her, she could talk to him there or he could take her to Benson Hills and put her in jail. She chose to talk to Jack, but still wouldn't give him much information. Jack decided to play her game. He unsnapped his case and placed her in handcuffs. He informed her that this was her last chance to talk or she would be going to Benson Hills. She realized that he was serious, so she started talking to him. Jack asked all his questions and got enough answers to satisfy him. He removed the handcuffs and warned Polina about not talking to the Mounties.
Jack determined that no real crime had taken place. All the things that were supposedly taken where food or things that the families usually shared. Jack warned Dasha and Polina that he took fighting and drinking seriously. He also let them know that the next time that a Mountie had to come out here that someone would be under arrest. He said that they needed to learn to get along, not only for each other but for the betterment of the settlement. He said that he understood that there were cultural differences, but that didn't mean that they that could drink and fight without consequences. He also let them know that if they couldn't get along, then one or both of the families needed to find somewhere else to live.
Jack returned to his campsite and packed it up. When that was done, he headed to the mine and talked to Petar and Dimitri again. He told them the same things that he had told their wives. He said that he would be filing an official report and that if there continued to be problems, that someone would be in trouble. He also let them know that if another Mountie had to respond out there, someone was going be to under arrest. He warned that them about drinking and fighting and that the Mounties didn't take kindly to those that caused trouble for others. Jack also let then know that an official report would be made and kept on file with the Mounties about everything that he had learned.
Jack left the mine and headed into Rock Creek. He talked to the mayor and sent a wire to Benson Hills. Then he headed back toward Hope Valley. It started raining on his way back to Hope Valley. It slowed Jack's ride down and made it miserable to ride. Jack just pushed through. He was already wet and decided that the best thing to do was just to get home. It was dark by the time that Jack reached Hope Valley. He dropped Sergeant at the livery and let one of the workers care for his horse. He wanted to head home. It was still lightly raining. Jack didn't stop anywhere but headed straight home.
When Jack got to the row house, he knocked on the door and then walked in. Elizabeth was on the couch reading. She was surprised to see Jack. She saw that Jack's clothes were wet. She insisted that he get out of those wet clothes and sit by the fire. Jack hung up his coat and pulled off his boots. He hung up his serge and then headed upstairs to change. Jack changed into some longjohns and headed back downstairs. By the time that he came down, Elizabeth had stoked the fire. She encouraged Jack to sit with her on the couch. He chose to sit behind her and pull a blanket over both of them.
Jack enjoyed having Elizabeth back in his arms. He knew that he had only been gone two nights, but it felt much longer then that. Elizabeth turned in Jack's arms so that she could kiss him. She had missed kissing him. They stayed on the couch and warmed up for awhile. Finally, Jack banked the fire and lead Elizabeth upstairs to their room. Both had barely slept in the two nights apart and both were tired. Jack also wanted to be with his wife. Jack knew that he would have to do rounds on Saturday as well as finish the reports about what happened at the Rock Creek settlement. He didn't want to think about the next day, he just wanted to focus on Elizabeth and that they were together. As they lay under the covers, Jack pulled Elizabeth into him and they fell asleep together.
Saturday, Jack woke up early and as he was trying to slip from the bed he woke Elizabeth. She wanted him to come back to bed, but he said he was hungry. Elizabeth got up and wrapped her
robe around herself and headed downstairs. She made breakfast for both her and Jack. Jack had gotten dressed in his uniform before he came downstairs for breakfast. While they were sitting and eating, Jack let Elizabeth know what he had to do for the day. He said that he was going on rounds and then he would have to go into the office and check in with Bill and write up his report. He said that he didn't plan to stay all day, but only long enough to do the reports that he needed to. Elizabeth said that she planned to stay home and work on grading papers. She asked Jack to pick up a few things at the mercantile before he came back. Jack said that he would do that. He then got up and kissed Elizabeth before heading out for the morning.
Jack quickly made his way to town and the livery. He saddled Sergeant, gathered his gear before stopping at the jail to grab a rifle. He wanted to ride a full round and get back. He knew that full round was about two hours of riding. He also knew that he had to get the Rock Creek report written and hopefully in the mail. He also wanted to check his disaster plan after a few things that he learned in Rock Creek. He had already started ordering thing without headquarters approving his plan. He had a feeling that things needed to be in place for the spring and he also knew the dangers of being unprepared. He knew that the blankets, cots and medical supplies could always be sent to some place else if they were not needed in Hope Valley.
Jack was stopped many times while he was out on rounds. People wanted to welcome him back or talk to him about something. It ended up taking Jack close to three and half hours to ride rounds. When he got back, he left Sergeant outside the jail and headed in. He needed to write up his morning rounds and then he started on the Rock Creek report. Before he knew it his stomach was rumbling, he hadn't planned on eating at the cafe. If he had been honest with himself, he had planned on being home by lunch. He started to finish what he was doing so that he could go grab a bite to eat. He was almost ready to walk out when there was a knock at the door. Jack got up and answered it surprised to see Elizabeth standing there.
"Thought you could use some lunch." Elizabeth said lifting a basket.
"Was just heading to the cafe." Jack said. "Rounds took longer then I thought and have been writing reports since I got back."
"That it okay." Elizabeth said. "You weren't back yet and I just thought that we could have a nice lunch together. I took a chance that you were stuck here working."
Elizabeth stepped into the jail and went about setting up their lunch while Jack brewed some more coffee. It wasn't long, before they were sitting eating a nice lunch. Jack told Elizabeth about rounds that morning and being stopped by over a dozen people. Jack told her how he was surprised many people he talked to because normally he only saw a handful of people. She asked a few questions, but it was mostly Jack doing the talking. Elizabeth loved when Jack talked about his job. It was rare that he was able to share a lot of details. She also loved just listening to Jack. His voice had a level excitement when he talked about his job. As they finished eating, Elizabeth picked up the leftovers and Jack went back to his reports. He promised Elizabeth that he would be home as soon as possible. She gave him a kiss and headed out. She planned on stopping by the mercantile before heading home. She had promised Jack a hot supper. She picked up some supplies they needed and a roast that she planned on making for supper. As Elizabeth walked back to the house, she saw a couple of her students so she stopped to talk for a moment. She also ran into Cat and they talked for a moment.
After Elizabeth left, Jack went back to his reports. He finished writing his Rock Creek report and then started typing the official report that needed to be sent to Benson Hills and headquarters. Jack was glad that he could type at a decent speed. It didn't take Jack long to type up two copies. He knew that he needed to type a third for himself, but that could wait until Monday or he could type his copy at the house. He got the copy of the report for Benson Hills ready to post before he left. He then placed the rest of his stuff in his messenger bag. Before heading back to the house, he stopped at the mercantile to post the letter and double check if there were any more messages. He then headed home to spend the rest of the afternoon with Elizabeth.
Jack and Elizabeth enjoyed being in each others company even if they were each doing their own thing. Jack typed his report and Elizabeth sat the table and graded papers. When she was done, she grabbed a book and sat on the couch. It wasn't long and Jack joined her on the couch. He sat on the opposite side as Elizabeth and it wasn't long before she shifted to lean up against Jack. Jack wrapped his arm around Elizabeth and each read their own book for awhile. They enjoyed being close to each other. Jack eventually needed more then just closeness with Elizabeth. Jack set his book down and then leaned down and kissed Elizabeth. His kiss was light, but quickly deepened. He turned Elizabeth in his arms and then continued to kiss her. Jack and Elizabeth ended up eating supper and then spending more time each reading a book. They turned in early.
Sunday was services and then lunch at the cafe. They spent Sunday night together. It wasn't that Jack and Elizabeth didn't want to spend more time with friends, but it was that Jack had been gone for a couple of days and they just wanted to spend some time alone. Monday, Jack and Elizabeth settled back into their routine. By the end of the week, it was snowing/raining again. Jack had ridden by the river and was getting concerned. The river was higher then he had read about it in reports. He was more concerned, because it was still early March. Jack had talked to Bill and Abigail. He had then sent an urgent message to headquarters about the river. Jack had received a reply back that he could start planning for a spring disaster. The plan was to have extra blankets, cots, medical supplies and canned food held in storage in case of a disaster. Jack's plan had been approved and was allocated a certain amount of money to cover things. Jack quickly realized that it wouldn't be enough. Wynn had also sent word to Abigail that the Pacific Northwest Mining Office and the infirmary were forfeited back to the town, but that didn't mean they wouldn't try and cause trouble.
Jack shared his concerns with Elizabeth. She decided to share her concerns with her Aunt Agatha. She wasn't sure what Agatha would do, but her and her husband had lived through many things and maybe had a better idea of what they could do. Elizabeth didn't share with Jack that she had sent a message to her Aunt Agatha. The next week was much the same consisting of school, work and the occasional rain. By the end of the second week, even Bill and Lee had expressed concern to Jack about the river. Jack talked to Abigail and they decided that they needed to let other people in on their plan. Abigail planned to call a town meeting for the 23rd of March so that people could learn about the plan and prepare themselves. Word was spread about the town meeting. Jack had wanted a different day, but there was a conflict with the days that Jack had suggested. He wondered if it was a day that people should be talking about a potential disaster. Jack voiced his concern to Abigail, but she assured him that it would be fine. Jack wasn't sure that it would be good to have the meeting a couple days after the one year anniversary of the mine disaster, but it was what it was.
The weekend before the meeting was busy. The early part of the week was difficult as well. The rain and wet weather was taking its toll on everyone. The kids hated not being able to run around outside. Even the adults were having a hard time with all the wet weather and kids always being underfoot. Elizabeth had wanted to let the kids play outside at school, but was worried about the mud and parents getting upset that the children came home muddy. One thing Jack was grateful for, supplies had started arriving and things were being stored at Gowen's old house. It was near the center of town and would easily be accessible to the infirmary, saloon, and cafe. Jack was also
grateful that Wynn had stepped in and gotten the mining company to turn the infirmary over to the town. Jack still was working on getting the infirmary set up and a nurse to come to out.
The 21st of March was a somber day and it was greeted with more rain. The service for the anniversary had been planned for the next day, so it was fine. Bill and Lee had changed their plans when they learned that it was the anniversary. They both wanted to be around, since they knew that it was going to be a hard time for the families. Pastor Frank even had changed his trip to the settlement to be around for the people that needed someone to talk with about things. Elizabeth had planned that some of the kids might be gone, so she had a more fun day planned. With the weather, it turned out most people hung at the cafe that day. Abigail was extremely busy and glad that Bill and Clara were there to help. On the 22nd, all plans ended up changing. It started as an overcast day, but given what it was to the town it was almost appropriate. Pastor Frank had planned on having a short prayer service that morning and then having school start after that. Abigail thought that it was nice that Frank had wanted to do something to remember the men that had been lost a year prior. Abigail thought how much had changed in the last year. She made a comment to Jack how different the town looked in a year. Jack agreed that even though he hadn't been there quite a year, a lot had changed.
After the short service, Pastor Frank let people know that he would be around if anyone wanted to or needed to talk, but other then that, he encouraged people to continue with their day and that included letting the children get back to their lessons. Many people headed to the cafe to share stories. Abigail didn't mind. She knew that many of the widows needed a time to share and be together. Jack was concerned for Abigail and how she was dealing, but she assured him that she was fine. Elizabeth had even planned a special project for school that day to help the kids deal with the anniversary. She had been against the commemorating it anyway, but then realized that it was an important day in the lives of many of her students.
