Elizabeth rushed forward. "When did you last see him?"
"I was ju-just watching him, and then I turned around and he was gone! I don't know where he went." Robert looked concerned.
"It's okay, Robert." Nathan stepped forward. "We'll find him." He turned to the now silent room. "Everyone, can we spilt up to cover the countryside? Get some lanterns and we can start searching."
"I have a bunch of lanterns," Lucas offered. "If everyone would come to the saloon."
"Nathan," Elizabeth gripped his arm, "what are we going to do?"
"We'll search until we find him." Nathan said seriously, laying his hand on top of hers. "Maybe you should go back to the house in case he goes back there."
"No way!" Elizabeth shook her head determinedly. "He's my son; I have to find him too."
"Someone should be at the house though," Nathan protested.
"I can stay there." Rosemary volunteered, coming beside them with Lee behind her.
Lee looked at her in surprise. "Are-are you sure?" He stuttered a little in shock.
She whipped around to him. "Of course." She snapped. "I'm feeling a little tired," she added softly. "I'll be there in case he comes back."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. By now the Café had mostly emptied out, and you could hear people on the street talking.
"It's gonna be okay," Rosemary said gently, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He's going to be just fine."
Elizabeth nodded, but she didn't say anything and she only gripped tighter to Nathan's arm. She hoped that everything would turn out okay.
Nathan nodded at Rosemary's comment too. "Let's go," he turned to Elizabeth. At her agreement, he led her out of the Café.
"I can make it to Elizabeth's house alone." Rosemary said in a low voice as she and Lee followed Elizabeth and Nathan outside.
"Are you sure, sweetheart?"
"I'm sure." She squeezed his hand. "I'll take the car, so I'll be okay."
"Okay. And you're sure you're feeling alright?" Lee stopped and turned to look her over carefully.
"I'll be fine. Just go and find Little Jack quickly." She replied with a smile.
"We'll try." Lee leaned forward and kissed her cheek, then helped her into the car. With a final wave, he turned and walked towards the saloon.
Rosemary drove as fast as she could back to Elizabeth's, worrying the whole time over Little Jack. She stopped the car in a screeching halt, and dashed into the house. "Jack! Jack!" She called his name over and over as she quickly but thoroughly searched the house. But the little man was no where to be seen, and so she plopped down on the couch. Where could he be?
Where could he be? Elizabeth asked herself over and over as she searched the town with Nathan and the others. As if reading her mind, Nathan reached over and squeezed her hand. "We'll find him, I promise." He said reassuringly. They started by knocking on doors, then they began searching the perimeter.
Jesse, Lee, and bunch of other men headed out to search the edge of the forest. "Jack! Jack!" They called, swinging their lanterns in the dark night.
"Jack!" Jesse called out half-heartedly.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Lee asked, noting his friend's quietness.
"Not really," Jesse answered. "I'm just concentrating on finding Jack."
"Alright, if you're sure," Lee replied even as he knew that that was not it. But Jesse was right, they needed to find Jack. They could ask questions later.
Cries of Little Jack's name echoed in the countryside. As Elizabeth and Nathan searched around the town, a terrifying thought came to Elizabeth's mind. "Nathan!" She stopped abruptly. "What about the pond? Has it been checked?"
Nathan looked at her, then turned and dashed in the opposite direction, towards the pond. Elizabeth took off after him. Nathan's heart pounded as he exerted all his strength to keep running all the way to the pond, and finally, when it came into view, he skidded to a stop. "Go around the other side!" He called to Elizabeth, who was a little bit behind him. She didn't stop, but ran around the other side. They called Little Jack's name as they rounded the pond, but there was no answer and thankfully they didn't find his body. They met on the close side of the pond, both breathing heavily. "I didn't see anything," Elizabeth said breathlessly.
"Me neither," Nathan shook his head. "I'm thankful for that." He added.
Meanwhile, Rosemary was trying to keep herself from falling asleep. Her eyelids grew heavy while she sat on the settee, but she kept reminding herself that she had to stay awake for Little Jack. Finally, she knew she had to do something to keep herself awake, so she got off the settee and stood. She had searched the house completely, but outside she had not. She could at least try, so she opened the back door and hurried outside. "Jack!" She called into the night. "Jack!" She searched underneath the small porch, around the yard, and finally in the shed. She opened the door and looked inside, but she could hardly see anything.
She was about to close the door and turn away when she saw the outline of a little figure, curled up in the corner. Her heart stopped for a second, then overflowed. "Little Jack…" she breathed slowly and made her way towards him, relieved and close to tears. "Your mother…" she didn't finish her sentence as she carefully picked him up. Of course, he hadn't heard her calling then. When she stood up, he stirred and opened his eyes.
"Mama?" He asked, blinking and yawning.
"No, it's Auntie Rosie." Rosemary said softly. He looked at her, then closed his eyes again. Rosemary gently kissed his forehead. "Oh, little man," she said tenderly, "you had us so worried." She brought him inside and laid him on the couch. She figured he'd be fine, so she rushed out the door to find Elizabeth. "Lee! Elizabeth! Nathan!" She called, running down the road. "Elizabeth!" She ran nearly all the way to town, nearly stumbling in the darkness. In her excitement, she didn't even think of bringing a lantern. "Nathan!" She shouted.
"Rosemary, what is it?" Faith suddenly appeared in front of Rosemary.
"Tell Nathan and Elizabeth…" Rosemary was out of breath. "I found Little…Jack…hurry!"
Faith nodded, turned, and dashed off. Rosemary spun around to go back to the house, but stopped when she heard Lee's voice.
"Rosie, what are you doing?" He ran forward towards her.
She met him in the middle, clutching his arms. "I found Little Jack!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"That's great! I'm going to go help spread the word." Lee squeezed her arm, and then headed in the opposite direction.
Rosemary went back to Elizabeth's house without interruption. She slipped quietly in, so not to disturb Little Jack, who was still sleeping soundly. A few minutes passed, then the door flew open and Elizabeth rushed in. "Jack!" She cried out, not caring that he was sleeping. She sank down on the settee beside him and scooped the dazed child into her arms, crying relievedly over him. "Oh Jack." Nathan was beside both of them in a flash, his arms around them both. Rosemary looked anxiously around for Lee, who had also come into the house. It was a sweet and quiet moment.
Eventually, Elizabeth let Little Jack go. He looked at her questioningly. "Why cwying, Mama?"
"I'm just so glad to have you back." Elizabeth said tearfully. "Where did you find him, Rosemary?"
"Well, I was falling asleep and so I decided to look and I looked in the shed. I almost missed him, but he was sleeping in the back corner."
"What were you doing, Jack?" Elizabeth turned to her son.
"Playing." Jack answered. He didn't really understand the problem at hand.
"At least you're safe. Thank you so much, Rosemary." Elizabeth gave Jack another protective hug.
"No problem. I-" Rosemary caught Lee's glance.
Time to go, he mouthed, motioning to the door.
"I'd better go." Rosemary finished. She smiled, then turned and walked out the door with Lee behind her. "Why did we have to leave?"
"They needed to be together." Lee said with a smile.
"Did you call off the search?"
"Yes, everyone knows now."
"Good." Rosemary smiled as Lee opened the door for her. "Thank you." She said softly.
"Never a problem." He smiled back. "Tired?" He asked as she tried to suppress a yawn but failed.
"I am. It's been a long night. The whole time, I just couldn't stop thinking about if it was our child," Rosemary admitted.
"Me too." Lee nodded soberly.
"I'm so excited, but sometimes I wonder if I really want to give a child to the world to be hurt. So many bad things could happen, and I want to protect her as much as possible."
"Her?" Lee teased, then turned serious too. "I'm sure we can find the right balance. Everyone has to experience pain, Rosie."
"Mmhmm." She nodded. "I'm going to bed. Coming?"
"Right behind you."
The next morning, in on the ten o'clock stage, was Ned's sister, Amelia, with her husband and three children. Ned and Florence were eagerly waiting when the stage pulled to a stop in front of the platform. Ned opened the door for his sister and she hopped down the steps to give him a big hug. "Ned!" Then she stepped back and embraced Florence too. Meanwhile, her husband and children had descended.
"Richard." Ned gave his brother-in-law a firm handshake. "Good to see you again. Let me help you with the luggage."
"You too. Thanks."
"And who are these three?" Florence asked with a big smile.
"Grace is the first," Amelia motioned to a young girl with wavy blonde hair and shimmering blue eyes. "She's twenty-one. Then is Kate," she motioned to the second girl, a tall girl with her father's brown hair and blue eyes. "She's nineteen. And James," she motioned to a boy with a wavy blonde mop of hair and blue eyes like his sisters. "is fifteen."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Florence said, shaking each one's hand. "Katie is here, and I have a younger son, Paul Jr, who is fourteen. He's gone right now, but he'll be back tonight. Please, come with us and we'll get you settled."
The ladies and children turned to walk down the street, with Ned and Richard following behind. "Who do you have visiting, Florence?" Mollie teased as she caught up with her friend.
Florence smiled. "Mollie, this is Ned's younger sister, Amelia, her husband Richard, and their three children. They're staying with us for a week."
"Nice to meet you all. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."
"You know what," Florence suddenly had an idea. "Why don't you and Bill come join us for dinner tomorrow night?"
"I'd love too, and I'll drag Bill with me." Mollie agreed.
"Perfect!"
"Well, I'll let you get settled." Mollie replied. "Bye!"
"Bye!" Florence waved after her friend, then turned to her guests. "Follow me."
Rosemary closed the door of her house behind her with a satisfying click. Then she rushed down the steps and along the road, tightening her coat against the chill wind. Today, since she was feeling better, she was going to go do some investigating. Wyman Walden had been left alone for far too long, and even if he didn't want her to investigate, she still would. After all, she had to find out what was going on!
She passed Nathan, Mike, and Lucas talking by the saloon doors. They appeared to be deep in conversation.
They were deep in conversation, planning the trap. "I'll meet you at the outpost at six-thirty," Nathan said.
Lucas nodded. "Okay. I'll bring the supplies."
"Perfect." Nathan looked around them. "I think it's supposed to snow tonight, so let's hope we don't have to be out too late."
Mike and Lucas nodded. "I sure hope we can catch this vandal." Mike said.
Rosemary headed down the street towards Mr. Walden's buildings. At first, she walked around them, looking at them from a distance. Then, when she saw movement inside, she walked up to the first one and opened the door. "Good afternoon," she said to the man inside. "My name is Rosemary Coulter, and I'm doing an interview on business in town. Can I ask you a few questions?"
"Certainly, ma'am, but shouldn't you be asking Mr. Walden?" The man replied.
"I already have."
"Well alright then."
"What do you do for Mr. Walden?"
"Look at potential properties, investigate their worth. I'm a surveyor."
"In your opinion, is there a lot of potential in Hope Valley?"
"Yes, I believe there is."
"Are there any specific properties you're surveying currently?"
"I can't say specifically – it's confidential business – but we're looking at a few properties north of town."
"Hmm." Now she had an idea of where to search! "Thanks for your time." She turned and walked out, closing the door behind her. She walked quickly across town, striding determinedly over to the livery. Rosemary chose the horse she wanted, then climbed astride and began riding out of town. In her excitement, she forgot to tell anyone where she was going.
Later that afternoon, Lee made his way over to the Café. "Is Rosemary here?" He asked Abigail.
"No, she's not." She replied while in the middle of serving another customer. "Can I help you with anything?"
"No, I was just wondering where she is. Thanks anyway." Lee turned and walked out, frowning. Rosie wasn't in the office, the saloon, or the Café. He nearly ran into Elizabeth on the sidewalk. "Have you seen Rosemary?"
"I haven't."
"Do you have any ideas of where she might be?"
"Hmm," Elizabeth paused. "Did you check the Café?" At Lee's nod, she continued. "I don't know. She might be investigating Wyman Walden; she's been stuck on that for a while."
"Good point. Okay, well, if you see her, tell her that I'm going out of town and I'll be back later tonight."
"I will." Elizabeth nodded, and continued on her way.
Lee headed back to his car and hopped in it. He hated to leave Rosemary not knowing where he was, but he hoped that Elizabeth would find her first. He had to head out of town for the sawmill, and no one else could go. He'd be back as soon as he could. On his way out, on the west road, he noticed that it was beginning to snow, lightly and softly.
It was getting close to being dark, but Rosemary didn't want to stop. She had gone over most of the land to the north of Hope Valley, and she didn't see why Wyman Walden would want it. Most of it wasn't very good land for farming. The only use would be to put houses on it, but everyone in Hope Valley already had a house. She knew that she should turn around, that Lee would be worried because she was already far from home and it had been snowing for a little bit now. So, she reigned in her horse and turned to head back to town.
It was dark now, and most of the town was eating supper. Inside Florence and Ned's house, a warm meal was on the table and conversation was flowing. There was warm laughter, light conversation, and a cozy atmosphere throughout the whole house, just as a family meal should be. They were all oblivious to the rising amount of snow and the impending disaster as they enjoyed the comforts of their meal.
Lee was on his way back and it was snowing a lot harder now. He could only imagine how worried and angry Rosie was going to be, especially if she hadn't run into Elizabeth yet. "I'll be back soon, I promise." He looked out into the snowy, dark night.
"Whoa." Rosemary reigned in the horse and came to a halt. She peered into the darkness. She could barely see anything, and it was beginning to snow a lot more. "Go ahead." She said softly, tapping her heels against the horse's sides, and they continued moving. But before long, Rosemary was forced to get off the horse and lead it. It was too dark to do anything.
Rosemary was moving up an incline slowly, testing it foot by foot, when suddenly her left foot stumbled over a root, causing her to fall forward right on top of a fat log. It completely knocked her breath out and her stomach hurt so bad. When she could sit up without feeling like she was going to throw up, she pushed herself against the log. A huge cramp nearly doubled her over. Something's wrong, she warned herself. She needed shelter! And Lee was going to be so worried…