After their conversations, things had settled down the day of their arrival, and a cautious friendliness had formed between Serena and the Mounties. Because of that, the townspeople that had been mistrusting had also been more cooperative. Looking up, he saw Josh coming in carrying the mail with a smile on his face. "What put you in such a good mood today?" Jack said.

"Oh, I got a care package from my mother today, and Serena invited us to dinner this evening with her family. I happen to know that her cousin Ella will be joining us too. Speaking of which, you have some letters here, and a few look like the unofficial kind." Josh said, handing the letters over. Jack looked at the top one, which was from his mother. With a smile, he opened it and began to read.

Jack,

I hope this letter finds you well, safe, and settled wherever it is they have you posted. I wanted you to know that I have a phone on the ranch in case you have an opportunity to call. When I was in Hope Valley, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Hope Valley also has a phone. I did check on everyone in Hope Valley, and things seemed to appear fine though some are hurting.

Bill told me that Lee and Rosemary bought your land and that he would send you papers to sign soon to finalize that. He said he also took care of the other things you asked him to do. Now I'm sure you are not going to like what I did. Now I know that you wanted to protect everyone Jack Thornton including yourself, but leaving the way you did was wrong, and I raised you better than that. So, to fix your error, I gave Abigail your contact information. Jack, I know where you are and what you will face will be very hard. It would be best if you had all the support you could get while doing it. I also know that right now, you realize that you regret handling things the way you did with everybody though not the outcome. As for Lizzie, she left Hope valley for a while and came home with me to the ranch. I'm sure you are wondering why it's not my story to share. Be well and stay safe, Jack!

Love Mom

'Why in the world did Elizabeth go home with Ma?' Jack thought.

"Everything okay, Jack?" Josh said, seeing the look on his face. "Did you get bad news from home?"

"Yeah, I mean no; Ma was letting me know that she visited Hope Valley. But she told me that Elizabeth left Hope Valley for a while."

"Oh, did she go back where she was from?" Josh asked.

"Not exactly. Ma said that Elizabeth went home to the ranch with her."

"Wait, your ex is now staying on your family's ranch?" Josh said, understanding now why Jack looked the way he did. "Did she say why?"

"No, Ma just said that it wasn't her story to share," Jack said before moving on to the next piece of mail.

Jack,

I wanted you to know that we understand why you left the way you did. I know that you are hurting, but we are here for you just like you were there for us. You are a part of our town, Constable Jack Thornton. When you need a friend, there are many waiting for you. I have been approached by many wanting to reach out to you. Bill and I will serve as the intermediary so you are not overwhelmed. Be at ease and stay safe, knowing you still have family and friends in Hope Valley. I'm sure that Charlotte has probably told you that Elizabeth left Hope Valley to stay with her for a while. I can only imagine how that shocked you. However, if you are worried about a certain schoolteacher, I think this was more about her getting some space to try to sort things out and less about any other agenda. Do not worry because she made it clear that you were not the reason she was. She loves you, Jack, just like we know you love her, but I think she feels the same about what happened. I only say that so that you can find some comfort because I know you are probably hurting like her. I think, given time, you two will find your way forward; however that looks like.

Love Abigail

Jack couldn't even move on to another piece of mail. He knew that Abigail had a good insight into both him and Elizabeth. He allowed himself to hope they could resume their friendship for the first time. Especially if things continued with Julie and Tom, they could soon be family. Turning to Josh, he said, "I'm going to do rounds with the patrol."

They had been working with the younger inexperienced Mounties on patrolling in towns, so it wasn't a surprise. But the look on Jack's face concerned him, especially since it was another personal letter. He glanced at the name at the bottom before Jack put it back in the envelope and placed it in his desk drawer.

Can you handle these while I am gone?" Jack asked, indicating the official correspondence that had arrived.

"Sure, Jack, that won't be a problem. Hopefully, we got some answers to our supply requests because things are getting low, and we need permanent shelter before the cold weather hits. Thankfully we don't have to worry about our horses, but I'll feel better when they are with us. I'll see you when you get back."

Josh placed a hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "If you ever want to talk about it, you know I am here. That's what brothers are for Jack."

"Thanks, Josh; I appreciate that more than you know," Jack said. "I promise that you will be the first to know." Then he went to find out who was up for the next patrol.

Josh sat at the desk and got to work on the correspondence. As he did, he grabbed a notepad and began to make notes of things to discuss with Jack later. He also knew that they needed to get with Serena and make arrangements to get supplies through her. They also needed to arrange for her to receive payment from the fiscal office at Headquarters. Smiling, he wondered how that would go between her and Jack. While they had come to a friendly truce, they were still circling each other. Jack desperately tried to earn her trust while she desperately wanted to give it but was still unable to. Josh was glad that her family was willing to trust them. Even Serena's mother had begun to ease quite a bit, but they hadn't endured what she had. Josh knew that Jack had already started to take action in that matter and was determined that justice was served. Both he and Jack would not rest until she was given the satisfaction of seeing her husband's murderer behind bars. Jack had told him she deserved that peace even if she never trusted him. Josh wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment.

Moving on to the next letter, he was relieved to see they had gotten a reply concerning Jack's report to Chief Superintendent Collins.

Jack,

I want to assure you that no one was aware of what you reported. If I had, you can be assured that I would never have let you go in uninformed of the matters. I am deeply concerned about your discoveries regarding official reports, especially the ones pertaining to the death of Mr. Bradshaw. We are looking into the matter of Andrew Hargraves and the missing supplies. I've included authorization for you to obtain the necessary materials locally to prevent further delay. In the meantime, I will be traveling there shortly to talk with the townspeople. I will inform you of that information as soon as I can. I hope we can rectify matters and have solutions in place before long.

Sam Collins

Josh wasn't surprised by the informal address of the letter because he knew that he had served with Jack's father. Jack had been very forthright about the relationship when he spoke of reaching out to someone he trusted regarding Serena's husband. Not that he needed to because Josh had seen firsthand was a great officer, and Mountie, his friend, was. He would never be the type to use nepotism to climb the ladder. Instead, he had a genuine desire to care for those he was assigned to protect, and if it meant using his connections to do it, he wouldn't hesitate. Given everything that they had seen and been informed of, Josh agreed with Jack that it was.

The very last letter in the stack was a personal letter for him from his friend Gabe. He had been worried about both him and Gabe after Colleen died. Gabe had been close to her and viewed her as a sister. He understood because he considered Gabe and Nathan as brothers. With a smile, he opened it and began to read.

Josh,

I hope this letter finds you in one piece and doing well. Nathan and I are managing, although Nathan still struggles a lot. He only has eight months left to go, and then he will settle down happily on the ranch. He has been approached to be part of the Mountie Equine Breeding and Training Program. His focus would be testing and training them. Allie is hanging in there, but we will be happier when we can see her and Alice for ourselves. We will be spending a few days there next weekend, and it can't be soon enough. How are you and your new boss getting along? I hope he knows how lucky he was, although maybe not if your share quarters. I've heard bears growl quieter than you, not to mention your smelly feet. Nathan said to drop us a line now that you are finally settled. We have been wondering what you think of your new posting.

Gabe

An hour later, Jack returned from patrol in a better frame of mind feeling some peace for the first time since he left Hope Valley. He still couldn't wrap himself around Elizabeth being with his mother on the ranch. But he was done trying to figure out what it meant. The fact that Abigail indicated that she was doing all right was enough for now. Tying Sargent to the rail, he headed into the office with a smile.

"Well, it looks like patrol went well, and you were able to sort through everything?" Josh asked, relieved to see his friend smiling.

"I did, thanks. Did we get anything important in the mail?"

"We sure did," Josh replied, handing him the letter from Sam Collins. "Here is the authorization voucher too. I waited until you returned so we could make a list and figure out a plan, though."

"That's great!" Jack said, scanning the letter. "Let's focus on the list and talk with everyone tonight at dinner. They will be a good source to pull it off, including workers."

"Not to mention it will help improve our relationship with the lovely Mrs. Bradshaw, don't you think?" Josh teased, enjoying watching Jack fidget.

"Well, I'm sure it will help her see that we can be trusted. As Mounties, we need to work to ensure that the people we serve know they can trust us." Jack said quickly, but judging by Josh's smirk, he wasn't fooled. So, he just changed the subject and began discussing the letter. Thankfully Josh was willing to let it slide for now.