Upon arriving back in Hope Valley, Dr. Carson cautioned Gabriel again about getting some rest before heading to the infirmary. As Carson left the livery, Jesse made a comment about wives and doctors having a lot of things in common. Gabriel chuckled at the comment as he and Jesse went about taking care of the horses.
Once the horses were settled, Jesse headed for Lee's office to check in with his boss. Alone, Gabriel stood outside the livery for a few moments, taking in the view of the little town. Part of him wanted to follow Carson's advice and go to his room at the saloon to take a nap. The other part of him wanted to check in with Nathan and see if his friend had discovered any new information.
His curiosity winning out, Gabriel headed toward the Mounted Police Office, hoping that Nathan would be there. Walking into the office, he spotted Nathan at the desk. His friend was just hanging up the phone.
"How was the trip back?" Nathan asked, having talked to Gabriel by phone to get an update on the injured Mountie earlier.
"Uneventful, thankfully," Gabriel replied. "Superintendent O"Reilly has given me the responsibility of making sure the two girls are cared for. I suppose I'll see if Lillian thinks she and Grace can take care of them for now."
Nathan didn't comment but then Gabriel had known Nathan long enough to read the other Mountie.
"You don't think that's a good idea."
Nathan shook his head. "I'm sure Lillian and Grace will provide for the children, but I'm just afraid they'll withdraw in a situation with that many other children looking for attention. I just don't think the orphanage is the best place for them with what they're going through. Unfortunately, I can't think of a better solution," he said with a sigh.
"Well perhaps Lillian might have some other suggestions," Gabriel ventured, as he thought over Nathan's concern. He knew that Nathan might have a point. Physical needs were one thing. Meeting emotional needs were something different. "Any more information on the accident?" Gabriel asked, deciding to put off trying to figure out the other issue after he took a nap. He had promised Carson he wouldn't leave for Brookfield until tomorrow anyway.
"That was actually Constable Stevens that I just got off the phone with," Nathan replied. "I was giving him the information I was able to get from Bridget. Being in the back with her sister and mother, she didn't see what caused the accident. She just remembers the wagon falling on its side and their belongings shifting. I think perhaps she loss consciousness, how long I don't know, but she said she opened her eyes to find her little sister leaning over her crying. She tired to rouse her mother and couldn't do it, nor could she move the things pinning her."
"Does she know her mother's dead?"
Nathan nodded. "I broke the news to her, though I think she was already aware of that. She said when she climbed from the wagon she spotted a man, pacing near the car, talking to himself. Bridget described his speech as slurred which makes me think the guy was drinking. Bridget said he spotted her and hurried off."
Gabriel shook his head in disgust.
"After that, Bridget said she and Ivy went into the woods looking for their brother. They didn't find him and Bridget lost her sense of direction and couldn't find the wagon again either."
"They must have been wandering in those woods a long time," Gabriel commented. "It's lucky our paths crossed when they did."
"More like providence," Nathan commented.
Gabriel nodded in agreement.
"I told Bridget that her brother was found and at the hospital," Nathan added. "I didn't tell her much else."
"It's probably best not to get the girl's hopes up too much. The doctor didn't seem too optimistic."
Nathan nodded even as he looked away from Gabriel.
"You've contemplated keeping the girls yourself, haven't you?" Gabriel commented.
Nathan didn't bother trying and deny Gabriel's assertion. There was no point in it as his friend knew him too well.
"After what those two girls have gone through, I just hate the idea of them being alone in a house full of strangers. I know Lillian and Grace will do their best, but it's not going to be easy. However, right now, I'm not in the position to give them the time and attention they're going to need either. Not with my job, and Ally. It wouldn't be fair to her or to Elizabeth," Nathan added, recognizing that his relationship with her deserved its own attention.
"You're right, on all accounts," Gabriel admitted. The lack of sleep from the night before was starting to catch up with him. "Perhaps we can meet this evening, after I catch a couple of hours of sleep. Hopefully, together we can figure out the best course of action."
"Sounds like a plan," Nathan said. "I'll talk to Elizabeth after school and see if she can watch all four of the children for awhile this evening so we can talk without Bridget and Ivy around."
"Okay," Gabriel replied. "I think right now I'm going to go check in with Lillian quickly before heading to my room in the saloon."
Nathan got to his feet.
"I should probably do my rounds so I can meet Elizabeth and Ally at the schoolhouse when school lets out," he commented, as both he and Gabriel headed for the door.
"Mountie headquarters is already looking into any other possible living relative for the girls," Gabe commented later that evening. He was sitting at the Coulter's table with Lee, Rosemary and Lillian. All four of them had cups of coffee sitting in front of them. Nathan, his own mug in his hand, was leaning against the railing of the staircase. Ally had taken Bridget and Ivy over to Elizabeth's so that the group could talk without worrying about the two girls overhearing. "From what little Nathan and I have found out though, I don't think it's going to be a success. I think their brother might be their only known living relative."
"How sad," Rosemary murmured.
"So what are you going to do with the girls?" Lee asked.
"Well," Gabriel began, looking over at Lillian, "My first thought was to have Lillian and Grace look out for them, if there was room at the orphanage."
"We can meet their physical needs, sure," Lillian replied. "Making sure they have a safe place to stay and are fed are the easy things. However, I think those two girls may need more emotional support than we can provide, given that we have the other children as well. Especially given the uncertainty of their situation. I mean we can't even be sure that the brother will take custody of them if he does recover."
"They're his sisters. Of course he'll want to take them," Rosemary protested, simply unable to fathom family not looking out for family.
"But caring for two young girls is a huge responsibility," Gabriel replied, glancing across the table at Rosemary. "A responsibility that he may not want."
"I can't believe that," Rosemary said with a shake of her head.
"I can," Lee commented, not surprised by the look that his wife shot him. "People do things when they're grieving that they may not be happy about later on in life. They make decisions that later on they may wish they hadn't made," he continued, thinking of choices made in his own family after his younger brother died. The decision that he had made in response to that event that had put a rift between him and his sister.
Rosemary nodded in understanding knowing what her husband was referring to. She reached out and placed a comforting hand on Lee's arm.
"But he was taking his mother and two sisters to live with him when the accident occurred. Certainly that means he'd still keep the girls with him when he's well enough to care for them," Rosemary suggested.
"Helping to support them while their mother takes care of them is completely different from attempting to raise two children on your own," Nathan commented from his spot by the staircase. His comment attracted the attention of the others, who all looked in his direction.
"So you don't think Constable Peterson will take custody of his younger sisters?" Rosemary asked.
"I don't know," Nathan replied. "First he needs to recover from his injuries himself. After that . . ."
Nathan paused for a moment, trying to decide what to say. How much of his own story did he want to share. "It'll be a big decision for him and it could be a responsibility that he doesn't want to take on. I had that debate with myself when my sister passed. Colleen was the one who wanted a family of her own, not me. However, watching my mother struggling with looking after Ally while I was working, I knew she couldn't physically raise Ally on her own, no matter how much she wanted to. I also knew that she wouldn't let her granddaughter go live with strangers. She would have tried to care for Ally even at the cost of her own health. That was what made the decision for me, and I don't regret it. The situation is different for Constable Peterson. He's younger than I was and there are two children to look after. Granted both Bridget and Ivy are older than Ally was when her mother passed away, but I'm not sure how much that changes things."
There was silence in the little house. Though they had only known Bridget and Ivy for the last twenty-four hours, they were invested in doing what was best for the two girls who had come into their lives unexpectedly.
"Well, Grace and I can make room for the girls at the orphanage for the time being. There's a free room that they can share and we'll do our best to meet their emotional needs," Lillian said in order to break the silence. Despite the flaws, it seemed to be the best they could do for the time being.
"Would it be possible for Lee and me to take them in?" Rosemary asked quietly.
"Rosemary, do you realize what you're asking?" Lee asked in a concern tone. It wasn't that he was concerned about taking on the responsibility of the two girls. He was sure that he and his wife could do that. He was concerned about what it would mean to Rosemary if the girl's went elsewhere in a month or so.
"I think so," Rosemary replied, a little hesitant but a lot of determination in her voice.
"This is not a permanent situation," Gabriel said, looking over at Rosemary. "If we find other family members, or their brother recovers, then they can take custody of the girls. There is a real good chance that you and Lee could look after these girls for a few months or longer just to have to give them up."
"Letting them go is never easy, Rosemary," Lillian put in, caution in her voice. "Even when you know they're better off with their families, a piece of you goes with them."
Rosemary nodded. "I hear what you're both saying. However, those two girls already have a piece of my heart. Whether they stay here or go with Lillian, I'm going to want to know what happens to them. I just think that staying here might be better for them. There isn't the issue of other children needing time that those two girls might need. They've already been here for a day. If you take them back to Brookfield, it is yet another new place for them."
"Rosemary makes a good point," Lillian said. "Those girls need some kind of sense of stability in their world more than anything right now."
"If Constable Peterson makes improvement from his injuries, it'll also be easier to get the girls to Union City to visit if they're here in Hope Valley instead of Brookfield," Nathan supplied, trying to keep his tone neutral. As much as he liked the idea of Bridget and Ivy staying with Lee and Rosemary, he also recognized the emotional toll that it could bring to his friends. "Whether Lee and Rosemary take them or I take them, Hope Valley is close to Union City."
Gabriel nodded. He looked toward Lee. "What do you say Lee?"
Lee glanced toward his wife. He could tell that despite this uncertainty this was something that she wanted to do. She had already opened her heart to Bridget and Ivy. Letting the girls go to Brookfield with Lillian wouldn't spare her of all the heartache she would feel. In the long run, perhaps watching the two girls would help, knowing that she had taken care of the girls at a time in their life when they needed someone to not just take care of them but to care about them. He knew that Rosemary and he could do both.
"I guess we'll look after the girls for now," Lee replied, reached out for Rosemary's hand.
Gabriel glanced over at Nathan. His friend gave his quiet nod of approval, putting Gabriel's conscious at ease about the arrangement.
"Then I'll talk with Bill about the necessary paperwork. Hopefully, he can take care of it in the morning so Lillian and I can head home to Brookfield," Gabriel said.
"Let me know when you need me, and I'll take a break from the office," Lee told him. "So whose going to tell the girls?" he asked.
"I'll do it," Gabriel said. Glancing back at Nathan he added, "though I wouldn't mind a little back up."
"You got it," Nathan told him, with a nod.
