CHAPTER 27 UNION CITY PART 2

As Elizabeth walked out of the Mountie Office to prepare for her journey, Bill and Abigail waited to talk to Nathan.

"How are you feeling right now, Nathan?" Abigail asked.

"Do I have to pick just one emotion? I'm ecstatic, anxious for her, disappointed that we have to hide for now, and hoping I don't wake up and find out it's all part of a dream just for starters. So, what's next? What do I need to do?"

Bill and Abigail looked at each other and then laughed before Bill handed him a napkin. "Well son, first, I would wipe that lipstick off."

"It definitely isn't your color, Nathan," Abigail said chuckling. "You might want to do something about that huge smile on your face because it will be a dead giveaway."

Nathan blushed a bit as he did what they said. Then they began to discuss what needed to happen in Hope Valley. Abigail excused herself, saying she would check on Elizabeth and stay until they were on the train. That way, she would know the arrangements and could keep Jack entertained. They all agreed to meet up later so she could fill them in. Abigail knew that Nathan was apprehensive about Elizabeth going up against Hargraves. She also suspected he was worried her feelings would change while she was away.

So she said, "Nathan, one thing I know about Elizabeth is she tends to be very protective of the ones she loves. Elizabeth is also very protective when they are deceived or harassed. She is approaching her uncle on your behalf and that shouldn't be taken lightly. Her feelings for you run deep, and she wouldn't undertake it if she didn't plan on success." Abigail said before she left for Elizabeth's.

"Now, we can't sit around here trying to figure everything out because otherwise, she will be home before we get started with our part. You need to go around acting as if you two are still fighting. Lee needs to complain about Rosemary spending money on Union City. So, I think a boy's night at the saloon is in order so we can kill two birds with one stone. Plus, we can keep an eye on Andrew while we are at it."

"I have to say I'm looking forward to Elizabeth's discussion with Lucas when she returns," Nathan added.

"I think things will get very interesting in the next couple of days, and I feel certain that Hargraves will not only lose but will leave with his tail between his legs, Bill said. "Though not on his power, of course."

"I can't wait until this is all over Bill. I have struggled for so long, and I just want to get on with my life." Nathan said wearily.

"Well, you're not alone anymore, Nathan, and you're a part of our town. When you and Elizabeth are free to reveal your relationship, the town will be ecstatic. So just focus on that and be prepared to watch the fun."

"Well, I guess I should begin my afternoon rounds," Nathan said with a sigh.

"Why don't I go with you because I'm not comfortable about your even going by yourself on rounds. We don't know what Hargraves is up to, especially since he already approached Elizabeth at Jack's grave.

I'm sure he is just waiting for an opportunity to see you. Nathan, I wouldn't put it past him to want to harm you physically. It wouldn't surprise me if he would use Allie to hurt you.

As they mounted their horses, they spotted Abigail hurrying toward them. "Bill, before I forget, I think you should start locking your office when you leave. I also wanted to ask if you know whether Collins is coming; I think Elizabeth will have a problem being civil if she sees him?" she asked.

"That is a good idea because a person can't be too careful." Bill replied. "As for Collins coming, the answer is yes. Maybe you should talk to her, so she isn't caught off guard.

"Honestly, Bill, she has valid points, and I'm not going to tell her to remain quiet. Maybe it's time she confronted the issue head-on."

Abigail headed towards the Row Houses, anxious to talk with Elizabeth before her and Rosemary boarded the train. When she got there, she knocked on the door, then entered. She and Rosemary were the only ones that were given this honor. She thought of Rosemary and Elizabeth and laughed at their promising start. Jack's former girlfriend and his widow were now Best Friends. She saw the two ladies sitting at the table having some tea while Elizabeth filled her in on the plan as she entered.

"Would you like some? Rosemary and I are just sitting down for tea, and I'm glad you're here, Abigail. Are you sure you will be alright with Jack while I'm gone?"

"I got everything packed, ready to go to Union City to see your cousin Henry. Do we have any information on the Inquiry or charges yet?" Rosemary asked.

There's no news on the Inquiry, and thank you so much, Rosemary, for doing the packing for me. Elizabeth replied. It wasn't long before they heard Lee's car outside, ready to take them to the train station.

"Keep me informed, Elizabeth and as for Jack yes we will be fine," Abigail said as she hugged her goodbye. At the station, Lee had the same request.

"Elizabeth, make sure you keep in touch with me, Okay? I know Rosie will call, but I want you to as well. You know I'll be worried the whole time you're gone. You are like my little sister, so you will have to call. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you tell your uncle you were arrested." Lee said with a laugh.

They boarded the train, and before they knew it, they were in Union City. As the train pulled into the station, Elizabeth saw Henry's wife, Amber, standing on the platform. "Elizabeth, how nice to see you," Amber said as they ran towards each other.

"Oh, Amber, how are you?" Then suddenly, Elizabeth stepped back and looked down before quickly looking back up at her.

"Make that both of you! Congratulations." She said with a wink.

Amber smiled and said, "Thank you, and we are both okay.

"Where's your luggage?"

"This is it. Amber, this is my best friend, Rosemary Coulter.

"Where is Jack?" Amber asked, confused.

"I decided to leave him home for safekeeping."

Elizabeth said, "I'll explain at the house at Amber's questioning look."

Something in her tone stopped Amber from asking more questions. As Amber drove back to the House, Elizabeth thought to herself. I need to learn how to drive a car. Rosemary taught her how to shoot. She smirked as she remembered the day both of them tricked Jack into a contest where he quickly learned his wife had become quite good, much to his relief and annoyance when he came in 3rd. Suddenly, Elizabeth's attention was pulled back to the present when she realized they had pulled up to the house. She came around to grab Jack so Elizabeth could grab the cases. She inwardly smiled as she realized what surprise was waiting inside for Elizabeth. He is home early. Just as she spoke, the door opened, and Danny came running faster and faster as he threw his arms around Elizabeth.

"Hello Danny, you got a lot taller. Henry, it's so good to see you! It has been too long."

"Beth! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing as well as can be expected, Henry."

"Danny and Henry. This is my best friend, Rosemary Coulter. Rosemary. This is my cousin Henry and their son Danny!"

"It's good to put a face to Rosemary's name finally. We have heard so much about you that we know you already. Next time, hopefully, we'll get to meet Lee."

As they entered the House, Elizabeth was excited to see the couple standing there in the foyer. "Aunt Elizabeth! Uncle Wynn!" She dropped her cases and just ran to them, and they folded her in their embrace, holding on to her as much as she was to them. She wanted to stand there as long as possible, feeling relieved.

She introduced Rosemary to her Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Wynn. It warmed Rosemary's heart at how much Elizabeth wrote them about her? While Elizabeth and the Delaney's were greeting. Amber and Rosemary explained to Henry what was going on and why they were there!

"Mom! Why don't we help Rosemary get settled while Dad, Henry, and Beth speak?"

"

"That would be great. Amber, thank you so much," said Rosemary.

Wynn put his arm around Elizabeth and guided her into Henry's study. Shutting the door behind them before they sat down, Elizabeth noticed her cousin had provided refreshments.

"Beth, how are you doing? We haven't seen you since Hamilton, right after Jack passed. Her uncle said.

"Uncle Wynn, I can't say it's been easy, and it's part of why I'm here. There is something I became aware of very recently. But I didn't know the full details until I was arrested last night!"

Elizabeth laughed as her cousin choked in a mid-swallow of his drinking tea. Her uncle just raised his brow and said "Excuse me, but can you repeat that? You said you were arrested last night?"

"Yes, sir." She replied to her uncle.

"Oh, I have to hear this one, dear cousin," Henry said with delight.

"Well first of all this whole incident got blown out of proportion by me. I chalk it up to my stubborn Thatcher pride." This time Henry smirked. "Well, I had just confronted me at Jack's grave. Of course, he told me a version about Fort Clay making himself out to be a boy scout. Then he said to me that Abigail and Bill knew all about it. Well. I marched up the steps. I went and just opened the door. Where Bill and Nathan were. Talking, I'm assuming, getting ready for the inquiry. I proceeded to address them as Judge Avery and Constable Grant. Of course, it was not a friendly tone and was pretty disrespectful. The whole time I'm Insisting that they call me Mrs. Thornton. "

"They got you for contempt of court, didn't they," Henry said with a chuckle.

"Well, that was one of them, Henry." She said with a laugh.

"Oh, this is getting better and better," Henry said. She also noticed her uncle had his hand covering his mouth, trying to appear serious and shaking his head.

"I was just so mad and not even willing to listen to either of them. Bill told me three different times I needed to come to his office. He even went so far as to tell me twice it was not a request. But I insisted I had to get home to my son, wasn't interested in what they had to say, and had no time for that right now."

"Oh, he got you for a failure to appear too, didn't he?" Henry said, laughing at the thought of his cousin behind bars.

"Henry! Can I finish?" she said in exasperation. Her uncle wasn't even trying to keep a straight face.

"Wait, there's more?" He laughed. "Please carry on because I am enjoying this so much. I can't wait to hear the rest."

"Well, about that time Bill said. 'Mrs. Thornton. This is the last time that I'm going to say this for you to avoid being arrested. Are you going to come to my office or not? The one that also serves as my courtroom.' I said No, Judge Avery, I have already told you multiple times that I am not going to your office. I am not interested in whatever it is you have to say. You also need to tell Mayor Stanton that I don't want to talk to her now. Everyone in this room, especially her, has betrayed me! If you'll excuse me, I have to go home and remove the mayor from my home."

"So, you managed to be disrespectful of the Judge, The constable, and the Mayor of Hope Valley? It sounds like you were quite busy dear cousin."

Elizabeth just rolled her eyes and said," Yes, I did alright. That was when they tacked on the Harassment of Public officials." Her cousin just looked at her incredulously while Uncle Wynn just chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm afraid to ask what happened next," her cousin said with a grin.

"Well, three people that are friends of mine overheard this man talking to the saloon owner Lucas Bouchard."

"What did they say?" her uncle asked.

"That the two men watched me walk over to the jail. Well, I should say storm over to the jail. They said, well, that's not going to bode well for Grant. Then I had the nerve to say I would be easy pickings for Bouchard." Uncle Wynn just chuckled and shook his head.

"So, I just stayed overnight in jail. I had to promise not to run and become a fugitive of justice. Of course, I agreed not to add any further charges and figured Nathan had enough of dealing with me. This morning, Nathan escorted me to the 9 am hearing in the judges' office. Anyway, I did the only thing I could do. I pled guilty and threw myself on the mercy of the court, Luckily, I knew the judge well, and he decided to dismiss all the charges. I think it helped my case that the judge is my son's godfather." At this statement, the three of them busted out laughing.

"Honestly, Uncle Wynn, it shouldn't have even escalated like that, except for that stubborn Thatcher pride." She didn't have to finish because her uncle knew exactly what she was talking about.

"But Uncle Wynn, I have been struggling on many other levels. But I'll get into that later. I came for two reasons or, should I say, two men. Jack Thornton and Nathan Grant."

"Nathan Grant? I remember him." Said Henry; I think we were assigned a tracking mission together. He's very good at tracking someone, and we could apprehend the guy very quickly.

"Well, ironically, He is Jack's replacement as our new Mountie in Hope Valley. Jack, which I'll get into in a little bit, was his replacement on that training mission he was on when he died. I've been told that no other Mountie wanted to come to Hope Valley and replace Jack. That's why it took a year to get another one."

"I can't say I blame them, Elizabeth, because Jack has quite the reputation, so I've been told. You are aware that both of you are well known in the Mountie circles. Right?"

"What do you mean, Henry?"

"Well, Jack was a legacy, Mountie. You know what that means, right."

"Yes, it means he was a second-generation Mountie. One who died young in the line of duty, like his father."

"That is correct."

"Well. Your love for each other was well known. And the sacrifices that you made for the Mounties. Everyone knew how he rescued you from the Tolliver gang. Dear cousin, I want to know how that happened because I know that Julie was part of that whole thing. It's also known that he also gave up a dream assignment to settle down in Coal Valley to be with you. It's also known that when he had the opportunity for Cape Fullerton that you encouraged him to take it. That you encouraged him to go and follow his dream not wanting to hold him back. But when he went, he realized that he wanted to be where you were. They know how you were only married two weeks before he passed. Then your acceptance of not going on the honeymoon as planned instead insisted on taking the seven-day trip to Fort Clay? Where Jack passed away from the landslide. Two weeks before he was due home. They know how you gave birth to Jack Thornton Jr. in a blizzard, in a hunter's cabin on Christmas Eve." Her cousin said.

"So, Beth?" Her Uncle Wynn was serious now "what is happening? What brought you here to Union City?"

"Do either of you know Andrew Hargraves?"

Both men suddenly got a look on their faces like they tasted a sour lemon. And immediately became interested.

"Unfortunately, yes, I do," Henry said.

"I've had a lot of run-ins here in Union City with him." Uncle Wynn said. "I remember him when he first came to Calgary for the initial supervision phase after graduation from the Academy. How he ever made it through the screening process in the Mounties, I don't know. He was always trying to show off, and whenever the town had dances, he would try and use the uniform to impress the ladies. And he did not act very gentlemanly towards them.

"Well, he was the lead officer that sent Jack out on that training mission."

"What! What do you mean? Andrew Hargraves? Were they lead officers? How would he have been promoted and put in any supervisory position in the world?

"Well, it gets better than that, Uncle Wynn, because he is a Superintendent. From what Nathan tells me, he got his promotions by false pretenses. He is known to cut corners regardless and he doesn't care about anybody's safety. He falsifies reports, arranged to have evidence disappear, and takes credit for what others have done."

"Perhaps it's easier if I tell you everything, and then you can ask questions because it's about to get harder for me to talk about."

"Sure, honey," her Uncle Wynn said, grabbing her hand.

"Nathan was stationed at Fort Clay and was placed under Hargraves supervision. But Nathan kept noticing inconsistencies in Andrew Hargraves's paperwork and claims. When Nathan refused to go along with what he had reported, Hargraves began looking for ways to get rid of him. You see, Nathan had proof of a few instances where evidence of misconduct disappeared from the files. That day came when he assigned Nathan to go on a tracking mission chasing cattle rustlers. Nathan was ordered not to do anything but track them but disobeyed orders. He saw that they had two young women tied on horses' backs and were getting ready to crossover to the border. So, he stopped them, arrested them, and saved the women. Even though he explained what had happened Hargraves reprimanded him and then preceded to suspend him for three months. Later Nathan found out that their witness statements about what happened disappeared from the file. So, he and another Mountie spent their time under Nathan's suspension tracking down these women to get them for another statement. He had also sent copies of their original ones to a trusted Mountie friend to hang onto. When I went to visit Jack's grave, I saw Hargraves standing in front of it. It was the first time I have ever seen him but I didn't think anything of it. It's not the first time I've found Mounties there, but they usually greet me and then quickly move on to give me privacy but not him. He told me all about Fort Clay but gave his own interpretation of events of course. He said that Nathan had showboated and that was why Jack died. Then said that Jack was responsible for the deaths of the recruits when he went against orders. He said despite being informed it was too dangerous to proceed, Jack took the recruits out anyway. But Nathan actually found evidence that Jack wasn't given all the information. It's why I didn't receive a pension at first for Jack. It's also why he didn't have a proper funeral since his service was considered dishonorable. Then Hargraves showed me a newspaper with everything on it. Then he told me that Abigail and Bill knew it and he acted surprised they hadn't told me. Since I was feeling betrayed by three people I loved, I went to give them a piece of my mind. I referred to them by their official titles. Bill tried three times to get me to go over to the Judge's office. But I stubbornly refused, and so he had me arrested.

But her uncle and cousin began to see her tear up. Her Uncle Wynn put his arm around her and gathered to him as her cousin handed her a handkerchief.

"It's okay, Beth. Take your time, honey." Her Uncle said.

"Do you want to take a break?" Henry asked.

"No, Henry, I just need to finish this but thank you. The area had gotten a lot of rain in a short amount of time. So, Jack hadn't felt right about proceeding out of concern for the recruits. However, when he talked about his misgivings with Hargraves, Jack was ordered to go or be charged with insubordination. He was also told it had been already examined and the area was deemed safe. So, despite his better judgment, Jack went through with the mission. Jack could be quick to go toward danger without fully thinking about it but he would never risk other people's lives in the process.

She took a deep breath inside. "Nathan had protested to Hargrave's supervisor Superintendent Collins, but he didn't have all the information before Jack went. Because of everything ultimately, Jack was held responsible for the incident and the death of the seven recruits who died with him. Since Nathan was found innocent of disobeying orders he was sent on the search and recovery mission. He was actually the one who recovered Jack's body and escorted it back to headquarters for processing. He didn't know about Jack's death until he came back from getting new statements from the women. But Nathan actually found evidence that Jack wasn't given all the information. He went to fight on Jack's behalf when he realized they classified his service as dishonorable. Since then Hargraves has an ax to grind against him and is currently bringing another Inquiry against him in Hope Valley. She told him briefly about the prisoner transport.

He and Allie, his niece, was then sent to Fort Simpson. I don't know, and he doesn't know how that came about. But we suspect it was for his protection and to give him away from Hargraves. But Hargraves somehow found out where he Was because it was done for Nathan. Nathan hadn't been there a year before he came across Hargraves. At that time, Hargraves told him about Jack Jr. Hargraves continuing to pour salt into Nathan's wound in his heart. The one he has had since he was part of the recovery efforts and found Jack's body himself. He has always felt responsible that Jack Jr. would never know his father and Jack Sr. would never know his son. Uncle Wynn, one thing I want you to know about this selfless, caring man. When Nathan found out about little Jack, he requested the Hope Valley posting to watch over the two of us. He's always secretly bringing things to Little Jack, who adores Nathan and loves the red serge. So do whatever you have to put Hargraves somewhere he can't continue to hurt Nathan or Allie. While we managed to fix things between us and are moving forward we are stuck until Hargraves is out of the picture. We are going to have to act like we are mad at each other instead of having our relationship out in the open."