Chapter 90 – Delaney's Return (longer one)
The kids from Hope Valley were excited to see the Mounties again. The kids from the settlement recognized Constable McGinty, but they were still a little leary of some of the other Mounties. It didn't take long for the kids to warm up to the Mounties with the encouragement of the Hope Valley kids. Charlotte was glad that the kids wanted to be around the Mounties. Since many of the children didn't have fathers, it was good that they warmed up to some of the men in the community. Charlotte knew how hard it was for kids, especially boys to grow up with out a father. She was also glad that the men in the community were willing to be role models for the children. Charlotte tried to focus on helping the children. She was good with them and she figured that the parents appreciated it. She had taken a number of the children on a walk in the woods to the looked for sticks for the fires. She realized that she missed being around the children. She was worried about Jack and being around the kids helped. Charlotte wondered if Jack and Elizabeth would start a family soon. She wanted grandchildren, but she also knew that she wasn't going to pressure either of them. Her mother-in-law had done that to her and it had been hard.
The town was in better spirits with Jack waking up and the other Mounties arriving. Everyone knew that it would be some time before things returned to a sense of normal. Hope Valley residents knew that would take time, like it had taken time for them the year before. They knew the pain that the families who lost husbands/fathers were feeling. The parents also knew that the best thing for the children would be to get back into a routine and that meant getting back into the classroom. There was talk if Elizabeth would return to the classroom. People knew that she had barely left Jack's side. Cat had heard a few people talking and she put a stop to the talk. She let the people know that there were plenty of people that would be there to help out and that they would do what they always did – pull together.
Before the meeting that evening, Charlotte made her way to the cafe. She wanted to check on Jack and Elizabeth. She was excited to see Jack sitting up a little. He was still very pale and weak, but she took it as a good sign. She had brought food up for both Jack and Elizabeth. She was glad that Jack at least seemed hungry. Elizabeth on the other hand said that she wasn't hungry, but took a few bits to satisfy Jack. She knew that she needed to talk to Faith again, but she also knew that Faith was super busy at the moment dealing with all the injured miners. Elizabeth's lack of eating didn't go unnoticed by Charlotte. Jack was tired by the time that he got done eating and talking to his mother for a bit. Charlotte encouraged Jack to lay back down. She also asked Elizabeth to help her take the dishes downstairs. Elizabeth didn't want to leave Jack, but he told her to go and she could curl up next to him when she got back. Jack knew that she had barely left his side since he had been brought there. He knew that it wasn't good for her to be up in his room all the time. Elizabeth reluctantly agreed to help Charlotte, but promised to be back shortly. As soon as they were downstairs, Charlotte turned to Elizabeth.
"How long have you been sick?" Charlotte asked.
"I don't know, maybe a couple of weeks." Elizabeth said. "It is nothing. Faith said that I was fine. I think that it more because I have been worried about Jack. I will be better when Jack is better."
"I think that it is more then that." Charlotte said.
As Elizabeth and Charlotte were talking, Abigail came into the kitchen and saw them talking. She walked over to see how Elizabeth was doing. Charlotte took it as an opportunity to get Abigail to help her try to talk to Elizabeth about what she was thinking.
"Abigail." Charlotte said. "How long has Elizabeth been sick? She still isn't eating."
"I don't know, middle of March at least." Abigail said. "Elizabeth, are you still not feeling well? Are you still having headaches? I thought you said you were feeling better."
"I am fine, I promise." Elizabeth said. "I have just been worried about Jack. I haven't slept much and am not really hungry. I am sure things will get better as Jack gets better."
Charlotte and Abigail exchanged looks. They think that they had figured out what was going on. Now they just need to convince Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth." Abigail said. "Think about this – upset stomach, very tired, headaches, lack of an appetite. There is something that connects all of those things and I think you know what is going on. Think about it."
Elizabeth made the connection in her head and her face went pale. Charlotte was at her side and guided her to sit at the table. Charlotte and Abigail joined her at the table. Elizabeth held up her hand, she didn't want either to say anything else. She was trying to process what they had said. She quickly thought about things. She realized that it was quite possible the she was indeed pregnant, but how had she missed. Elizabeth's head was swirling when a knock on the side door brought her back to the present. Abigail went to answer the door and was shocked to see who was standing there.
"Wynn! Dee!" Abigail exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Come in, come in."
Elizabeth heard Abigail and was instantly up and in her uncle's arms. She was glad that he was there, but with everything going on she was an emotional mess. Wynn was concerned that things were worse, with the way that Elizabeth reacted.
"How is Jack?" Wynn asked while holding his niece.
"He is holding is own." Charlotte said coming over. "He woke up Saturday night, but is still really weak. Nurse Carter is still worried about pneumonia, but I think that he is looking better."
"Who knows that you are here?" Abigail asked.
"We came here first after not getting an answer at the row house." Dee said. "We skirted town. We wanted to check on Jack and Elizabeth before making our presents known. I thought I saw other Mounties."
"Yes." Abigail said. "Captain Rushman, Constables McGinty, Carver and Green. They arrived this morning. They had two wagons with them. I am glad that you are here, we may have a problem with Rushman."
"What happened?" Wynn asked as Elizabeth stepped back.
"He was going through the master list of supplies and basically accused us of receiving stolen property since a number of the crates are marked Hamilton Shipping." Abigail said. "Bill, Charlotte and myself know, but I think we have been able to keep the gossip down. McGinty is the one that told us."
"Abigail!" Elizabeth said. "You know and I know that a majority of those supplies were donated by my Aunt Agatha."
"We know that." Wynn said. "I will deal with Rushman. Elizabeth, please calm down. Where is Jack?"
"Upstairs sleeping." Elizabeth said. "I think I will rejoin him, I am suddenly feeling tired."
"You do that." Wynn said. "We will talk later."
Elizabeth headed back upstairs to be with Jack. Her emotions were still all over the place. She wanted to check with Faith about being pregnant before saying anything to Jack. As soon as Elizabeth was out of ear shot, Wynn turned to Abigail and Charlotte. He wanted to know everything. They quickly filled Wynn and Dee on all that had happened, from the mudslide to the flash flood when they evacuated the settlement. They relayed that there had been two dead and that there were many injured. Charlotte also told Wynn about what had happened when Rushman arrived. Abigail looked at the clock and nodded to Charlotte.
"Wynn, Dee." Abigail said. "Rushman wanted to meet this evening with Bill, Lee Coulter, Nurse Carter and I. I asked that Charlotte be included, but he wasn't too happy about that. I ask that you join us, please. I don't know what he is up to, but right now I don't know if I can trust him. He says he is here to help, but he seems more interested in giving orders then actually helping."
"I thought according to Jack's plan." Dee said. "That if something happened, Bill and/or Lee would be in charge of things. As well as you as the mayor. What is Captain Rushman doing here anyway?"
"That may be my fault." Charlotte said. "I convinced Bill to send out a wire to Benson Hills and Buxton to ask for help. With Jack injured and more then twenty others injured, I thought we could use some help. I never expected him to come in and take over. This was also before we knew how bad Jack was injured. At that point, we didn't even know he was missing."
"It is not your fault Charlotte." Wynn said. "You were right to seek help. Bill had also wired myself and headquarters to let us know that Jack had been injured. That was why we are here. I wanted to be here in case it was worst case. All Bill had said was that Jack had been seriously injured while preforming his duties."
"Thank you Wynn." Charlotte said. "I insist that you take Jack and Elizabeth's house. I can pitch a tent. Especially since Jack and Elizabeth will be here at least for a few more days."
"We will worry about sleeping arrangements later." Wynn said. "I want to see Bill and then talk to Rushman."
"The other Mounties are staying at the old mining office." Abigail said. "Let's find Bill and then go from there. Charlotte are you coming?"
"In a bit." Charlotte said. "I want to check on Jack and Elizabeth."
Charlotte headed upstairs and the rest of the group headed out to find Bill. Abigail realized that they still had their horses to care for. Wynn and Dee had each taken their horse and was walking toward the jail with their horses when Bill saw them. A couple of the older boys – Gabe Montgomery and Caleb Dunbar were near by, so Bill called for them to come over.
"Boys." Bill said. "I have a chore for you if you are free do so."
"Yes, Mr Avery." Gabe said.
"What do you need?" Caleb asked.
"You remember Constable Delaney and his father." Bill asked.
"Yes." The boys answered.
"Well they are coming this way." Bill said. "And by the looks of things they just arrived in town. I would like for you to unload their saddlebags and bedrolls into the jail, then I would like for you to take and care for the horses. Make sure that they have plenty of water and you may give them a treat."
"Yes. Mr Avery." Gabe said.
"Constable Delaney." Caleb said. "I will take your horse for you, your stuff will be at the jail for you when you are ready."
"Okay." Dee said. "Just let me grab the rifle."
Caleb took the reins and waited for him to remove the rifle. Gabe took Wynn's reins and waited for him to do the same. The boys then took the horses to be cared for. They would return the saddlebags and bedrolls to the jail. Wynn and Dee watched the boys walk off with the horses, before turning to Bill. The talked as the walked to the jail to secure the rifles and drop their rucksacks.
"Thank you." Wynn said. "Sounds like you have had quite the time around here."
"That's for sure." Bill said. "I am just glad that you are here. You know about Jack's condition and what is going on?"
"Yes." Wynn said. "We skirted town and headed to the row house first. When they weren't there, we headed to the cafe. I haven't seen Jack, but I was able to see Elizabeth for a few minutes."
"Thank you for coming." Bill said. "We have been able to care for the injured with the help of Nurse Faith Carter. She was in town because Lee had been injured again, but then stayed to help set up the infirmary. I don't know how long for sure that she is staying, but for now we like the help. Lee is fine by the way. Jack was just being cautious since he had gotten a gash near a previous injury when we were checking the river."
"Good to know." Wynn said. "Glad that Lee is doing well. I am also glad that you had Nurse Carter here, for how ever long she is able. Let's go get set up for this meeting and I will deal with Rushman there, also have you ever thought to talk to that older boy about the Mounties? I think that he would be a wonderful Mountie."
"I think that Jack may have talked to him." Bill said. "Gabe really looks up to Jack. I don't think he has said anything one way or another about being a Mountie. I think that it would take a little convincing for his mother. His father was one of the men killed a year ago. Cat doesn't let the kids go to far, Gabe also helps with his younger siblings."
"I think I will have Dee talk to her when things calm down." Wynn said.
Bill, Charlotte, Abigail, Wynn and Dee headed to Abigail's office to get ready for the meeting. It didn't take long for Pastor Frank and Lee to join them. Both were glad to see Wynn and Dee. They were all taking when Rushman walked in.
"I don't have all day." He said gruffly. "Let's getting this meeting going."
By his speech, everyone else in the room, knew that he hadn't seen Wynn or Dee. So Wynn stepped forward. Rushman's expression instantly changed and he snapped to a salute.
"What are you doing here, Sir?" Rushman asked.
"I am here and that is all that you need to know right now." Wynn said. "I hear that you have been given Mayor Stanton and Sheriff Avery here a hard time. Thornton had a very clear emergency plan that he had put together and that was appoved by headquarters. It made it very clear that if something happened to him who was in charge and why. I get that you were notified that help may have been needed, but that didn't give you a right to come in and take over."
"I didn't know anything about an emergency plan." Rushman said glaring at Abigail and Bill. "No one said anything, either."
"From what I understand." Wynn said. "You didn't give them much of a chance before you started barking orders. Also, you were told that there was a plan, I think you just chose to ignore it. I want this to be very clear – from here on out, Sheriff Avery is in charge. Mayor Stanton, Nurse Carter and Lee Coutler all have charge certain things. If you want to be here and help, then you will defer to them or you can ride out right now."
Rushman looked around and then just nodded. Wynn wasn't happy with Rushman and that wasn't going to be the end of things, but it was enough for now.
"Bill." Dee said. "Where are we with the plan and what needs to be done?"
"Let's see." Bill said. "Faith is in charge of all medical and I will defer to her when it comes to treating and/or moving patients. But I would like to get people out of the schoolhouse as soon as possible to get all of the children back in class as soon as possible as well. I know that it might take a few days, but the sooner the better. I think that Mayor Stanton has left her daughter-in-law, Clara, in charge of things at the cafe and we are doing a majority of the meals out of there. I haven't had a chance to ride back out and check things out where the flash flood happened. We went looking for Jack, but that was it. We didn't really look at the settlement. I know that I am missing things, but we can come back. Pastor Frank here has been wonderful in helping take care of people as well. I know that we still need to bury the two men that were killed. Both had wives and I believe that there were children, Frank?"
"Yes." Pastor Frank said. "Nathan Tucker had a wife, Nancy and son Harper. The other man, Timothy Albertson had a wife, Christine. They didn't have any children."
"Would be able to bury the men tomorrow?" Wynn asked.
"I don't see why not." Pastor Frank said. "We would need to dig both graves, but I could have a service tomorrow. We would just have to let people know."
"Make it happen." Wynn said. "Rushman and his men can dig the graves. Pick a time and let people know."
"Yes Sir." Pastor Frank said. "I think that tomorrow evening would be fine. If there is a change I will let you know."
"Thank you Pastor." Dee said.
"I saw material for tents near the schoolhouse." Wynn said. "What is happening with that?"
"Wynn, Sir." Lee said. "I have my men building platforms for them as we speak. I think that they should be done Tuesday. They are cutting the material and will start to assemble them tomorrow in the field behind the schoolhouse. I want to put one a little separate from the others and use it as a medical tent. I think we can always move it, if needed. There are four tents total."
"Agreed." Wynn said. "Having a medical tent a little separated from the others would be better. Thank you Lee. Please let me know if there is anything that you need."
"Have you heard anything from the owners of the Silverton Mine?" Dee asked.
"No." Bill said. "As far as I know and have been able to determine, Mr Albertson was the supervisor when the landslide happened."
"Dee." Wynn said. "I want you to take point on that. I want to know who owns that mine, I want them contacted and a representative here ASAP. I want compensation for the injured men and their families. I want to know what the plan moving forward is. I know that this is a different type of disaster, but I also want a safety record on the mine."
"Yes Sir." Dee said.
Wynn looked around the room, he knew that if he brought up the supplies, Rushman might react differently, so he looked around the room a second and caught Dee's eye. He made a slight nod toward Rushman and he knew what his father was going to do, so he nodded back.
"Lee, Bill." Wynn said. "How are the supplies? Is there something that you need? If so, please let me know and I will see what I can do about getting things for you as soon as possible."
"Sir." Rushman said. "I think that there is a problem with the supplies."
"What would that be, Captain?" Wynn asked.
"I think that they have been stolen from Hamilton or elsewhere." Rushman said.
"Do you have proof of this?" Wynn asked.
"Well." Rushman said. "There is a lot there and it is more then this town could afford or need and besides many of the crates say Hamilton Shipping. Why would they send things out here? Obviously they are stolen."
"Wynn," Lee said. "If I may."
"Go ahead, Lee." Wynn said.
"Well." Lee said. "First of all, Hamilton Shipping has a major contract with Coulter Enterprises and I know for a fact that Jack said that there was a huge wagon that came in with donated supplies. I think that the Captain is out of line. Having worked with Hamilton Shipping, I have found them to be very generous."
Rushman didn't look impressed. Lee didn't want to say to much because he knew how much Jack valued his privacy and especially when it came to Elizabeth's family. Not many people in Hope Valley knew who her family was and that was okay with Lee. Wynn understood what Lee was doing. He was trying to show that there were other reasons, besides Elizabeth that the town would have a large number of supplies. Dee also caught on to what Lee was saying.