Elizabeth followed Sheriff Mayes to the barn.
"How is the barn set up as a school?" Elizabeth asked.
"There were some old work benches that we put together. And there are some old chicken coops that are being used as chairs." Sheriff Mayes said.
"That seems extremely uncomfortable" Elizabeth said.
"It'll make due" Sheriff said.
"Children need a comfortable space to learn" Elizabeth said.
The Sheriff stopped walking and turned to Elizabeth.
"Look Mrs. Thornton. Maple Creek isn't like Hope Valley. We aren't wealthy. There isn't oil on anyone's land. The men in this town either go in the mines to mine coal or they get up at the crack of dawn to tend to their fields. We make due with what we have." Sheriff Mayes said.
Elizabeth let his words absorb.
"You're right Sheriff. I only want to help the students." Elizabeth said.
Sheriff Mayes smiled.
"I know you do." Sheriff Mayes said.
Elizabeth and the Sheriff finished walking to the barn. Once inside, Elizabeth saw the state of the barn. It was old. There were holes in the roof. There were piles of hay sitting everywhere. But at the front of the class was a chalkboard. That is all Elizabeth needed to teach. The barn wasn't perfect, but it would due.
"This will due" Elizabeth said smiling.
"Good" Sheriff Mayes said. He tipped his hat and went back to his office.
Elizabeth looked around the barn. She saw a pile of hay that she would use as a desk. She tried to pull the hay. It was heavier than she thought. She tried to pull it one more time but instead fell in to a pile of hay.
"Are you alright ma'am?" A voice said.
Elizabeth sat up. A couple of young boys were standing by the pile of hay.
"Oh yes. I was just trying to move this hay over by the blackboard. It was heavier than I expected." Elizabeth said. She stood up and wiped the hay off her dress and her hair. The three boys took the pile of hay and put it up by the front. Elizabeth smiled.
"Thank you very much. What are your names?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm Thomas. That' Joseph and Billy" Thomas said.
"It's very nice to meet you." Elizabeth said. The boys took their seats.
Elizabeth laid out her supplies and wrote her name on the board.
"Excuse, Mrs. Thornton?" a woman said.
Elizabeth turned around. She was facing a young dark-haired woman. She was a few years younger than Elizabeth.
"Yes, how can I help you?" Elizabeth asked.
"My name is Macy Collins. I'm the teacher you will be training." Macy said.
"Yes! It is very nice to meet you, Macy. Please call me Elizabeth" Elizabeth said. Macy nodded her head. Elizabeth could see that Macy was a shy woman. She would need to overcome that shyness if she wanted to be an effective teacher. Elizabeth knew from experience that her students needed a strong leader in the classroom.
"Do you have any teaching experience?" Elizabeth asked.
"No. When I went to University, I received my teaching credentials. But then I met Charlie and we got married. We have been moving from place to place. We finally settled down in Maple Creek about six months ago. The town knew I was a teacher and wanted me to start teaching right away, but I had no experience. Luckily for me, you volunteered to mentor me" Macy said with a smile.
"Teaching can be daunting. When I came to Hope Valley, I had never taught a class or ran a classroom. But after time and practice, I became more confident." Elizabeth said.
"I hope to become more confident" Macy said.
"You will. Now, I have these tests that I'm going to hand out to the children. It will determine their learning level. This way we can see which children need more of a helping hand than the other children." Elizabeth said. Macy nodded. Elizabeth waited for all the children to come into class. Once everyone was in the class, Elizabeth started the class.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Mrs. Thornton. I will be your teacher for a few months until Mrs. Collins is ready to teach you. I'm going to hand out this test. You can't fail this test. It is just a test to see where you are excelling and where you may need some help" Elizabeth said as she passed out the tests.
Elizabeth watched as half of the class started working on the test while others were sitting there staring blankly. One of the boys raised their hand.
"Yes?" Elizabeth asked.
"I can't read this." The young boy said.
Elizabeth had a concern look on her face but also saw other children not looking at their paper.
"Who doesn't know how to read?" Elizabeth asked.
Half the class raised their hand.
Elizabeth was surprised by how many of the children weren't able to read.
"You know what? I brought a whole bunch of books, why don't I just read one of them to you." Elizabeth said.
The kids murmured in excitement. Elizabeth smiled.
xxxx
After putting Sargent and Newton in the stables to rest, Nathan decided to look around the town. It was smaller than Hope Valley. There was one restaurant, a barber shop and a mercantile. There was the mayor's office and the Sheriff's office in between those shops. Even though there wasn't as much shops at Hope Valley, there was plenty of land. In the past, Nathan could have never thought of leaving Hope Valley. But ever since Elizabeth, he had thought about moving. Of course, he would never ask Allie to leave her friends. He had promised her that they would put down roots in Hope Valley. But it was still nice to dream about starting over fresh.
Nathan went to the restaurant and drank an iced tea until Elizabeth was ready to go. Nathan had mixed emotions about Elizabeth. There were times that he almost despised her. He wanted to hate her but couldn't. But he couldn't because deep down inside, he still cared for her or even maybe even loved her. He would forgive her one day. If his mother could forgive his father for all the terrible things he has ever done, Nathan could forgive Elizabeth. But like his mother said, people need to be willing to want forgiveness and Elizabeth has not done that.
Nathan finished his iced tea and walked over to the barn to see if Elizabeth was done for the day. As Nathan got closer to the barn, he saw the shape it was in. The roof has holes in it. It needed a paint job. The doors were hanging off the hinges.
As Nathan entered the barn, he saw Elizabeth reading to the children. She was doing voices for all the characters. Nathan smiled as he watched her. She looked lovely doing the one thing she truly enjoyed.
Nathan caught himself staring at Elizabeth and coughed. Elizabeth looked over and smiled at Nathan. She finished the page that she was reading and dismissed the class. Nathan walked over to Elizabeth.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt." Nathan said.
"It's fine. I didn't want to keep the children here that long for their first day anyway." Elizabeth said.
Nathan nodded.
"And this is Macy Collins. She will be observing my teaching methods and then integrating her own teaching methods to run this classroom." Elizabeth said.
"Nice to meet you" Nathan said.
"Thank you, Constable," Macy said.
"Please, call me Nathan." Nathan said with a smile.
Macy nodded.
Nathan started walking around the barn.
"I can't believe how many children don't know how to read." Elizabeth said to Macy.
"The children have never had a formal education. They had to learn from their parents. They're parents don't know how to read." Macy said.
"That's sad. But I have workbooks back home that help children learn how to read. I will bring those with me next time." Elizabeth said.
"And I can be the one to teach them to read?" Macy asked.
Elizabeth smiled.
"Of course." Elizabeth said.
Macy smiled. She said her goodbye to Elizabeth and left.
Elizabeth gathered her things and turned to see Nathan still looking around the barn.
"Looking for anything in particular?" Elizabeth asked.
"This barn isn't too bad. I could fix the roof. But some paint on it. Remove all the hay. I could use wood from the old stables to make desks." Nathan said. Nathan walked into a chicken coop.
"What is that?" Nathan asked.
"Their seats." Elizabeth said.
"Their seats?!" Nathan exclaimed.
Elizabeth nodded her head.
"This place needs a lot of TLC" Nathan said.
"So, you're coming back?" Elizabeth asked.
Nathan's smiled turned into a frown.
"I'm not sure yet. Let's get going." Nathan said.
Elizabeth and Nathan went to the stables and rode back home. As they were getting closer to town, Elizabeth turned to Nathan.
"Thank you for helping me today. No- helping is not the right word. Thank you for saving me. I don't know what would have happened if you did not come" Elizabeth said.
Nathan could see her holding back tears.
"I have decided to escort you every Saturday until the lessons are done." Nathan said to her.
"Thank you, Nathan." Elizabeth said.
"Don't thank me. I'm only doing this because I don't want your son to lose another parent. We aren't friends Elizabeth. We don't get to have those deep conversations anymore." Nathan said. Nathan was surprised how angry his tone sounded.
"I understand" Elizabeth said.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do my rounds" Nathan said.
Elizabeth nodded and watched him leave. Instead of going home right away, Elizabeth rode to Jack's land. Once she was there, she sat on the wood that held her and Jack's initials and began to cry. But the tears weren't for Jack. They were for Nathan. Elizabeth saw a glimpse into his heart and how wounded it was because of her.