Part 1: Chapter 38: 1888: Red Deer, Alberta,

The Growing Lawlessness of Red Deer

Warning Seamus Grant rears his ugly, evil head in this chapter. He attacks some people. None of it is described in gory detail, but it is more detailed than Edith's attacker in previous chapters. If you want to skip over it, read down to where James comes back with reinforcements.

*** will show where to skip.

As the new year started, Archie's boss was asking for more of Archie's evenings away. It wasn't just Saturday poker games. There were also Wednesday and Friday nights and sometimes Archie had to travel to nearby towns. It was while Archie was away for a short weekend when Blinky Morgan himself came into town. The citizens of Red Deer were surprised by his presence in their small town. Men, women, and children gave him a wide berth. Ophelia was leaving the Mercantile, a child on each arm, when Colleen's hat had blown off of her head. It was Blinky Morgan who picked it up and walked back to return it to her.

"Here ya go, miss," he handed the hat to Colleen, his Irish accent thick.

Ophelia just took it for her daughter.

"Ya must be Mrs. Grant?" Blinky Morgan asked.

Ophelia's blood ran cold.

"Who wants to know?" she asked.

"I'm a friend of yer brother-in-law. He's been eager to meet ya," Blinky smiled. But his smile showed his darkness.

"I'm sorry, but my husband is waiting for me at home," Ophelia said as went to bypass him.

"I know that is not a truth," the man leaned in to whisper.

Ophelia just grabbed her children and began the walk to the fort. She was hoping to get a Mountie to escort them.

As she walked in that direction, she turned to look over her shoulder, Cliff and Don were greeting the man like they were old friends.

Wiggins was the Mountie on duty. He had noticed her demeanor immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"There's a really bad man in town," Colleen whispered. Nate and Colleen had sensed the danger they had been in.

"Can you describe him?" Wiggins asked as he looked to Ophelia, but Nate had recognized the wanted poster on the wall.

"It him," he said pointing to the picture.

They all looked where he was pointing.

"Yes, Nate is correct," Ophelia confirmed as she looked at the picture.

Wiggins' eyes bugged out at the identification.

"Damn. This is not good," Wiggins muttered under his breath. "This is going to sound like a weird request, but I need all of you to hide in Normandeau's house."

"Hide?" Colleen asked.

"Right now?" Ophelia added.

Wiggins nodded in agreement to both.

"I would normally tell you to lock all your windows and doors at your own house. But you live so far out. We can protect you better if you are here," Wiggins said with a little shame.

Ophelia nodded in agreement.

"Constable Mercer, Constable Cummings, and Sirius will be protecting you," Wiggins said as he disappeared into the office space.

There was a growing buzz of activity as they came out the second time.

The constables led the Grants farther back to where James had placed their house, and they entered the house. It seemed hollow and empty without Edith's warm greetings. No Molly. No Sally. No Rachel. The constables had them hide in the dining room, behind the heavy table they had put down. Each man then took a post looking out the window and watching for activity. The soldiers and Mounties loyal to Normandeau and their country, could be heard mobilizing their forces and arms and resources.

*** The noise from outside went quiet as the Mounties and soldiers left to go to the town. It was a little while later when a man came walking into the fort. He got a few confused looks, but they let him pass, thinking he was allowed in. When he made it all the way back to the Normandeau house, he observed who was protecting it. The most senior Mountie was on the porch. The rookie was with the family inside a dining room. The man decided to slip over the fence towards the back and come up from behind. The Mountie on the outside heard him land on the ground next to the house. The man didn't even hesitate. He forced the Mountie around and twisted his neck, killing him easily. Then he approached the door and knocked.

"Who's there?" the inside Mountie asked.

"Archie Grant. I'm back home early, was told to come here," the man said.

Ophelia, Nate, and Colleen all looked at each other in fear. The man sounded like Archie. But something about his voice sent terror into their spines. The Mountie was trying to decide what to do.

"Come closer to the window. I want to see your face," the man said from his spot.

The man claiming to be Archie showed his face. He did look like Archie Grant.

"Constable, don't let him in," Colleen whispered in fear.

"Are you sure?" the man said in confusion.

"I don't know who he is, but that is NOT Archie," Ophelia whispered firmly back.

"I won't let him in, but I still need to check," the young constable said as he had the man move to the front door.

"Stay absolutely quiet children, not a sound," Ophelia said in warning as she grabbed them and took them into the kitchen. She hid Colleen and Nate in different cabinets. Then hid herself underneath the prep table and grabbed Rachel's rolling pin. Sirius had followed to a point, but had positioned himself so that he could pounce better.

Ophelia heard a struggle and a man fall to the floor. She prayed that it was not the young constable, but was out of luck. The man claiming to be Archie entered the kitchen and saw her immediately.

"Honey, I'm back," the man smiled.

All of the hairs on Ophelia's body tensed and stood up.

"You're not Archie," Ophelia said firmly as she glared at the man.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about yer husband, dear," the man leered.

Ophelia stood up so that she would have more power behind her swings. She had no doubt that he was stronger than her, but she could hold him a bit.

"Come give yer husband a kiss," the man lunged at her, but Ophelia dodged out of his way while swinging the rolling pin across his temple. The rolling pin connected with his head, and it made a large gash that was bleeding profusely into his eyes so he couldn't see.

He sputtered and glared at her.

"You've got spirit, I'll give ya that. But I don't have the time to properly tame ya," the man said with a leer. "No, I'm afraid yer not the one I'm after."

Ophelia's heart froze as she realized that it was the children he would be going after. Ophelia took another swing at him, but the man hit her hard enough that her head flew back against the prepping table and knocked her unconscious.

The man looked around the kitchen trying to see where his target was. But for once Nate gave himself away. Since he had been locked up in his room in April, he hadn't been able to be in enclosed spaces without a door open for very long. The cabinet his mother had put him in was small, cramped, and dark. So, Nate had opened it in a panic breathing heavily.

"Hello, Nate," the man smiled down at the little boy. "It's time to go home."

Nate glared at him and shook his head.

"Don't ya want to go?" the man asked.

"You're not my dad," Nate said firmly.

"You're right. I'm not. I'm his brother. He sent me to get ya," Seamus Grant tried.

"Then you're evil!" Nate glared. His parents hadn't told him the details of what Archie's family had done to Archie, but Nate knew that it was bad, and they didn't have a relationship because of it. He knew that Archie would never send his brother to get him.

Seamus sighed and took out a handkerchief with chloroform and whispered that he didn't have time for this. Seamus grabbed Nate and pushed the handkerchief to Nate's mouth. Nate fell straight to sleep. Seamus walked out the house with Nate asleep on his shoulder.


In the town's saloon, Blinky Morgan and many of his crew were being belligerent and disrespectful and forceful to the other patrons of the saloon. Many left the building in disgust and fear of these men. The corrupt Mounties and corrupt soldiers were being handed a lot of money to look the other way.

In the town outside of the saloon, the Mounties had been going door-to-door and business-to-business to have the citizens either flee if they could (not many) or hide away from windows or doors, while the Mounties stood at lookout. Many of the citizens openly questioned why this was necessary, being loud and not hiding well, when the soldiers marched in formation, something they only saw on special occasions and never prepared for battle, straight towards the saloon and surrounded the building. All of their guns pointing to each possible exit.

It was with only a little surprise that Lieutenant Normandeau rode up on General with a larger force of soldiers, led by his boss. The Deputy Mountie Commissioner was behind them with the best Mounties in the region.

Constable Wiggins sighed in relief.

The soldiers and Mounties who had trained under James Normandeau straightened up, more confident in how this would go. James silently instructed his men where to go.

"Ready!" James shouted. The echoing of hundreds of rifles and guns being cocked up was a sound the people of Red Deer were surprised to hear. None of them would have thought that James Normandeau would be okay with so many causalities of war.

James was sitting on top of General watching the men on look out from the inside. Their eyes were widened in fear.

"Aim!" James shouted and held up his right hand. Hundreds of men were taking steading breaths as they made sure their shots would count. Something the men on the inside in the upper levels had noticed.

Just as James had sucked in a breath to shout the last word, several white handkerchiefs popped out of windows in various locations.

"If it is truly your intention to surrender, you need to disarm yourselves and walk with your hands up around your head. Mounties will be processing you. If you are trying to trick us, you will be shot and killed."

They heard the clanking of may items being dropped. Then there was the slow stream of men coming from the saloon. Mounties began trying to figure out who was actually a gang member and who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it became clear very quickly that Blinkey Morgan had slipped away.

Constable Wiggins then filled in Normandeau and their superiors on what had happened while he had been gone. The corrupt officials were all standing with an armed Mountie on each side in the middle of Main St.

"I have never seen such a blatant dereliction of duties! You have all sworn oaths to serve and protect the people of this country, and yet each of you have been found cohorting with the worst sort of criminals to come to our country! I have NEVER been so more ashamed of those under my leadership. Soldiers, prepare for papers to dishonorably discharge all of you!" James glared down at the men who had helped the criminals.

They all flinched and couldn't meet his eyes.

"Mounties, I have no official capacity to release you of your oaths and jobs. My role is to either recommend or not recommend your placements once you are done with your learning here. But the Deputy Commissioner is here, and he is absolutely the one who can fire you!" James added with a glance to the Deputy Commissioner watching the scene.

Wurthers looked smug at that comment.

"I most certainly do NOT recommend any of you. Wurthers, it took me all of 30 seconds to realize that you use money to get you places. I have no idea why you decided to become a Mountie, but your habits and your lifestyle is not supportive of that goal. You are the WORST Mountie I have had the displeasure to meet," James said as he glared at him.

The people around him were snickering and smiling at Wurthers being publicly remonstrated.

"I will definitely be taking all of them to Edmonton with me," the Deputy Commissioner glared at the Mounties involved.

"We will be holding court martial hearings for the soldiers involved," the General said.

The Mounties took all of the men's arms and held more firmly.

"Debrief in …" James was saying as he had turned around to look at the men who were waiting for further instructions.

Sirius' loud barking and growling was heard through the air. He could be heard attacking someone. Then there was a gunshot and a yip from Sirius in pain.

General immediately started in that direction, slowing only to let James pull himself up and took off at a gallop to the fort. Constable Wiggins followed with out of town Mounties. James rode carefully but swiftly to his yard. Ophelia Grant was standing in the middle of the yard, crying heavily, with head wounds bleeding profusely. She was clinging to an unconscious Nate whom Sirius had been protecting.

"Thank, God," she said when she saw James ride into the yard on General.

"What's happened?" James said as he looked at her.

"Seamus, tried to take Nate," Ophelia said simply.

"Where's Colleen?" James asked.

"Inside. I made her stay in a servant's hallway," Ophelia said as her chocolate eyes darted back towards the house.

"Did he do anything...else to you?" James asked as he watched Ophelia. She shook her head.

"Archie?" James asked.

"His boss made him and Ed go on a weekend poker tour," Ophelia said. "They are in Blackfalds right now."

"What does Seamus look like?" James asked.

"Exactly like Archie, but meaner," Ophelia said.

"Exactly?" James questioned in surprise.

Ophelia nodded.

"Except now Seamus has a head wound," Ophelia said as she lifted the bloody rolling pin she had hit him with.

"He couldn't have gotten far yet, we're going after him. Constable Wiggins will be asking you questions about what happened," James instructed. Wiggins saluted and then approached her.

"Debrief in 5 minutes," James glowered at the others behind him.

They all nodded.


If James could have sat on General inside the debrief room, he most certainly would have been. Taking the time to keep mounting the horse was a pain during this process. In the five minutes it had taken him to ask questions to his guards on duty, they had all confirmed that a man they thought was Archie Grant had walked passed to the house. James had full intentions of yelling at them later for breaking a lock-in procedure. But right now, he was more focused on finding and catching Seamus Grant fast.

He watched as the men crowded in to get the debrief about their tasks.

"We are after Seamus Grant, Blinky Morgan's newest killer for hire. He is a dangerous man without weapons, and he is apparently on a personal vendetta. We don't know yet, exactly, why he was trying to take only Nate, but because of Sirius' quick actions his plan was temporarily foiled. But I don't want him to get another chance. He was seen leaving town on the north road. It appears that Seamus Grant looks very similar to Archie Grant, his brother. Some differences I know of for certain is that Seamus has a head wound from his fight with Ophelia Grant when she was fighting him off. Archie Grant has a long scar down his left arm. It will be older and fading as it was from Seamus when they were in Ireland together. I don't think that Seamus would show up himself in Blackfalds, since that is where Archie is and that would lessen the credibility of him calling himself Archie. We will be working on teams of four, with one dog each. Any questions?" James asked.

"Are we sending a team to Blackfalds to let Archie Grant know about this, maybe ask what he knows?" a constable asked.

James nodded.

"Your teams are on your packets, with your area to cover. Dismissed," James said as he released them. Many of the men started talking over each other, planning their routes and how to go about it.

James mounted General and then everyone else mounted their horses. He signaled for them to fallout. The ground of Red Deer shook as the wave of horses left on the north roads searching for the men who had tried to steal a child. General in the lead.

"Ophelia Grant! Next time use the damn meat cleaver!" Rachel lectured after the Winnipeg travelers had been let into the fort. When Ophelia had told them of what had happened, the Winnipeg group all got a little shocked and angry.

"You don't use dull objects when someone is attacking you. Find something sharp and go for the gonads. They scream like little girls when you go there," Rachel continued as she thrust the knife she was holding in a low motion to prove her point.

"I'm not the type of person who can kill a person, even in self-defense," Ophelia defended her choice of weapon.

"We know," the other women all said.

"But we also don't want you to be attacked without being able to fight back," Regina said.

"You said yourself that Seamus Grant said that he didn't have the time to waste messing with you," Sally added as she was cleaning dishes.

Ophelia nodded.

"I know it could have been so much worse," Ophelia said with a little shame.

"You grabbed what you knew how to wield," Edith said with firmness, but also empathy. "You've only used a knife to cook. Sharp objects can also cut you. You knew the rolling pin better. We are very grateful that you are okay, all things considering. If you need to talk, I am always here for you."


It had been a few days since the manhunt for Seamus Grant. He hadn't been found yet. Red Deer had essentially gone on a lockdown. No one, except the Normandeau family (no one wanted to piss off James any more than he already was), had been allowed in or out. This, unfortunately, included Archie. He knew that something had happened. That someone had tried to take Nate. But beyond that, he hadn't been told much. The Mounties who had approached him had given him a startled look until they asked to see his left arm. Archie knew Seamus must have been up to something, but he didn't know what just yet. Two of the Mounties were still with him. They were trying to get him inside the town of Red Deer with them as escort.

Even with the escort it took days of persuasion on their part, especially since Colleen, Nate, and Ophelia were now with the Normandeau family who had come back when they realized that something had gone wrong. When they were able to get him into the fort, there was a Mountie and a soldier placed on guard at every possible door.

When they got to the gates for the Normandeau yard, they were told to stop. Archie got the stare down of a lifetime, while Constable Wiggins slowly walked forward with his hand on his pistol.

Colleen had seen him through the window.

"Mama! Daddy's back!" Colleen shouted and ran out the front door towards him.

Constable Wiggins turned to intercept her, but the people in the house all came out in curiosity. When Archie looked at Ophelia, he saw her face had been beaten black and blue. She had a head wrap around where he had assumed stitches would be. Her long hair was choppy from where the doctors had to shave to reach her head wounds.

"Ophelia, me love…" Archie said in horror and pain, knowing that Seamus must have done this.

Ophelia smiled in relief. She knew deep down that this man was actually her husband and ran towards Archie.

"Archie!" Ophelia said before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a long kiss.

"What happened?" Archie asked when she finally pulled apart.

"Seamus. I don't know what he wants. But he was trying to pass off as you," Ophelia said.

Archie rolled his eyes, knowing that his brother had pulled the same trick in Ireland.

"He might have been able to pass off as you in passing, but I knew it wasn't. You aren't that cold," Ophelia said again as she kissed him again.

"How did he get to ya?" Archie asked in confusion.

"The Mounties and soldiers were dealing with Blinky Morgan and his evil gang. Seamus walked in here, where Wiggins had us hide. He killed two Mounties to get to us. I gave him a good whack to the head when he found us, but as you can see he whacked me back," Ophelia said as she pointed to her face.

"You whacked him? Let me guess with a rolling pin?" Archie knew his wife very well.

"How did you know?" Ophelia asked in genuine surprise.

"That's yer weapon of choice, me love. I have been nose-to-rolling-pin-handle many times," Archie kissed her head in fondness.

"I was knocked out after that hit. When I came to, Colleen was shaking me awake. She told me that Seamus had made Nate fall asleep when Nate wouldn't go with him. He walked off with Nate. But Sirius attacked him before he could go very far. Seamus shot Sirius in the foot. Nate has been with him since," Ophelia said.

"Why just Nate?" Archie asked.

"We don't know for certain," Ophelia said.

Archie was looking at his wife in his arms. Then he looked at Colleen who looked happy to see him. Then he looked at Edith standing with Regina, Harris, Molly, Rachel, and Sally.

"What are all of ya doing here?" Archie asked in surprise.

"We had a small idea of the troubles, but it wasn't until Christmas that we realized that you weren't getting our care packages. When James came back from Sicily, he took one look at the memo's being sent to him by Constable Wiggins, and he seemed to realize that something was very wrong here and immediately got onto a train to Calgary," Edith said.

"We could see how worried he was, which made us worry more," Regina added.

"So, we decided to come here," Edith said. "Don't worry, I had Molly, Rachel, and Sally clean and sanitize our cabins before I got on the train. I didn't leave my cabins either."

"What about yer cancer?" Archie asked as he looked at Regina's sickly face.

"It's getting worse. But I still believe that if you pay someone enough money, they will do whatever you ask," Regina said as she pointed to her doctor inside.

It was that comment that made Archie realize what his brother was doing, and it was his horror that showed on his face.

"What is it, Archie?" Ophelia asked.

"Seamus is responsible for all of this," he whispered as he rubbed his eyes.

"What? How could he be?" Regina asked.

"Because he's got a lot of connections in the criminal world, and he is a psychopath. He's doing it to get to me," Archie said with absolute certainty.

"Well, we don't know that for certain, and, even if he is, James is on his trail. James won't let him win," Edith said with an eyebrow raise over her veil.

The others nodded in agreement, before they went back inside.


It was a few nights later that James returned walking General. General had thrown a shoe and had needed to get it repaired before he could ride hard again. James had left the men tracking Seamus to their work.

The next morning James, being used to being up before the sun to go on the trail, was up before the rest of the house was. He got dressed quietly to go take care of General. While he was brushing his horse and giving him three carrots, Archie showed up in the barn.

James gave him a look to tell him to go ahead.

"James, I need to tell you about Seamus," Archie said.

"Oh?" James asked in surprise.

"I should have said something before now, but I didn't realize that Seamus was behind everything until a few days ago," Archie said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Everything?" James nodded.

"Is there a place you would feel more comfortable having this conversation?" James asked as Archie had started fidgeting.

"Not where the kids can hear," Archie admitted. "They don't need to know."

James nodded.

"Wiggins, we're going to my office," James shouted to the Mountie posted at his door.

The man saluted.

James walked Archie Grant to his office in the fort. Once they were settled in, Archie had been looking at the paintings and drawings around the room.

"Edith is really talented," Archie complimented.

"That she is," James agreed. "So, what do you want to say?"

Archie took in a fortifying breath before starting.

"Seamus is me twin," Archie admitted while looking down at his hands.

"Which is why he was able to pass off like you so easily," James said as he leaned back in his chair.

Archie nodded.

"He would pass off as me in Ireland, even when his abuse got so bad as to leave marks that could differentiate us. When I left, I had hoped that I was leaving him behind. I had no idea that he had come across the ocean until this past fall," Archie explained.

"When did you find out?" James asked.

"When me boss threatened me job for going to Winnipeg. The saloon owners had given him a U.S. paper with Seamus' face and what his crimes were. That he was part of Blinky Morgan's crew," Archie said.

"What exactly happened?" James asked.

Archie summarized the conversation and the time owed and how it was to be owed. How Archie was about to walk away because he felt it would be worth finding another job, but then how his boss had shown him the newspaper article.

"He said if I quit he would pass the paper around town. I knew that the people of Red Deer wouldn't be as open minded. So, I agreed," Archie said.

"I want to come back to this point, but this is about Seamus not you, please continue," James said.

"Well, I thought at the time that the brothers were just avarice and greed personified, but when we got back to Red Deer and saw our house, and everything that happened after. We sent you all a telegram that we never got a message back to. So, I had to take out a loan at me bank," Archie said.

James nodded.

"It's been slow going with the repairs and replacing everything, because it's just been me, Constable Wiggins, and Kevin Clarke to help in our spare time," Archie admitted.

James glared at that information but didn't say anything.

"I've had to be away from Ophelia and the children more than I care to admit, but I also thought they were safe here. Which was a stupid assumption on me part, because I've played poker with the criminals at the saloon," Archie reprimanded himself.

"What does this have to do with Seamus?" James asked.

"Seamus is using his people to get to me. He is trying to trap me into doing something that goes against me character and my ethics," Archie said. "I didn't realize it until Regina mentioned paying someone enough money, they will do anything."

James let this sink in.

"He's been putting pressure on the brothers, the brothers put pressure on the citizens, suddenly we're enemy number 1," Archie said.

"Archie, I hope you're wrong, but I'm going to be honest with you. I think you're right about everything. Seamus and his gang can only have criminal motives. We're extremely lucky that his kidnapping was foiled. I can't imagine what he would have tried to do with both of you," James admitted.

Archie nodded and then sighed.

"What do we do?" Archie asked.

"I will be asking questions of the people here. To see how much influence the brothers have," James said. "Are you willing to go on record about everything you just told me?"

Archie thought about it for a moment. Then he nodded.

"I think it's the only right thing to do," Archie said

James nodded in agreement.


"What about Richard?" Ophelia asked as the family had been discussing plans together once Archie and James had come back.

"Richard is not nearly as much of a threat as a mobster," Regina said, right before she started coughing up bloody phlegm.

Ophelia gave her a look.

"James found our agreement. We are on the right path, I already gave a copy to my lawyer," Regina added.

"Regina, you can't out stubborn cancer," Ophelia reprimanded.

"Well, I'm going to be the first then," Regina said with her haughty Society air.

This made the others chuckle.

"I don't like that you came all this way back," Ophelia said to all of them, knowing that cities were definitely more prepared to deal with sick people.

"Do you really think we could stay in Winnipeg when we realized how much trouble you were in? I would hope that I am a better sister than that," Regina said with some hurt in her voice.

"I didn't mean to say that you are a bad sister. Because you and Edith have been the best. But I also know how sick you both are or can get. I would feel guilty if it was something we had done that caused you to get so ill that you died," Ophelia looked sternly at the two women. She had grown to love them both deeply.

"Ophelia, you have to realize we love you just as much. Just like you wouldn't be able to not help your family, we couldn't sit in Winnipeg waiting to hear how things were going," Edith said firmly.

"I don't have a compromised immune system," Ophelia argued back.

"How long did you nurse Archie and Colleen in a Typhoid Fever infested house, again?" Edith asked back.

"That's different," Ophelia protested.

"Ophelia, I have your letters stating that you thought you were going to get sick at any moment, but it was literally Nurse Jones who had to kick you out of your house before you would let anyone else help," Edith reminded her. "And you left kicking and screaming."

"But you ARE actually sick," Ophelia protested again.

"Ophelia, we are here. We made the choice knowing the risk. If one of us does get sicker and die, let it be stated now and clearly, we came of our own free will," Regina glared at Ophelia.

All three women were sitting straight with looks of reprimand at each other.

Archie couldn't help but find the humor in this and laughed.

All three turned their icy stares to him.

"James, ya ever get the feelin' ya aren't in charge?" Archie asked.

"Every day," James said as he glanced over the paper he had been reading at the women.

Regina's eyes narrowed at her brother. Ophelia shook her head. Edith was smiling in amusement beneath her veil.

"Well, Ophelia and I are lucky that both of you recognize that and go with it, rather than fighting it," Edith said with a loving look at her husband.

"That's true! And it has never been more apparent than after what's happened. We are very glad you haven't turned out like Seamus or your father," Ophelia said with a proud smile at her husband.

Archie smiled back.

"I'm not stopping my search into Richard. Telegrams are working properly again, for some silly reason," James said with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. When he had gone to the Mercantile to ask questions about telegrams not being sent or received, the machine mysteriously was working again.

Regina nodded in thanks.

"When are we going to move back into our house?" Colleen asked her parents, reminding them that the children were still present.

They all looked at Archie and James, knowing this was the matter where they were actually in charge.

"While I'm sure you're tired of sleeping on a floor, I would prefer if you all stayed here until this whole Blinky Morgan and Seamus fiasco is over. The Mounties can protect you better if you are here," James said.

"That didn't really help us last time," Ophelia reminded him.

"Yes, but now you have the meat cleaver wielding Rachel to protect us if they get through the Mounties," Regina teased.

Ophelia couldn't help the snort of laughter at Regina's comment.

"And anyone posted to protect us would rather die than face James' wrath," Edith added.

"Especially now," Archie added.

"They had better!" James growled.

The family laughed at this fierce man.


I've spent more time drafting and revising this chapter than I probably should have. My first draft didn't have the Winnipeg group in a position to help. My next draft Nate was actually kidnapped, but that was a tangent I hadn't really planned on going down before. My next draft was a mixture between the two and more to my original plot point. That was this version. Thanks, for the feedback!