Nathan loaded the wagon that next Saturday. Lee donated enough wood to repair the holes in the barn roof. Elizabeth also wanted to bring more books for the children, so a wagon was the best option.
Nathan sighed. He wasn't excited for this ride to Maple Creek today. That was because of the things he said to Elizabeth last week. Even though it felt good to get those things off his chest, he felt bad afterwards.
As Nathan lifted wood into the wagon, he thought about the conversation he had with Minnie last Sunday. He was picking up Allie from the café;
"Hi Minnie. I'm here to pick up Allie"
"Hello Nathan. The girls are upstairs finishing a game. Why don't you sit down for some coffee and pie?" Minnie suggested.
"That sounds delicious." Nathan said and sat down.
Minnie poured the tea for the two of them and put down the plates for the pie. Minnie sat down across from Nathan.
"How are you, Nathan?" Minnie said.
Nathan smiled as he ate his pie.
"I'm fine." Nathan said.
"I've noticed that you and Elizabeth don't really talk anymore. Why is that?" Minnie asked.
Suddenly, Nathan told Minnie everything from the tragedy at Fort Clay to Elizabeth comparing him with Jack. He even told her about his father. Maybe it was the kind look on her face or that her Prescence made him feel safe, but he told Minnie the truth.
Minnie didn't say anything for a few moments.
"It seems like your trust and your heart has been broken" Minnie said.
Nathan nodded his head.
"Nathan. You aren't going to want to hear this, but you have to somehow forgive Elizabeth." Minnie said.
Nathan started to protest.
"I'm not saying it has to happen today or tomorrow or even in the near future. You have ever right to be angry. But don't let your anger cloud your heart." Minnie said.
Nathan put the last log in the wagon. Forgiveness? How would he even start?
Nathan took the wagon over to Elizabeth's house. As he stopped the wagon in front of her house, he saw the door open and Elizabeth came out of the house onto her porch.
Elizabeth smiled and went over to the wagon.
"I have a couple of boxes with books and supplies. Do you mind putting them in the wagon?" Elizabeth whispered.
"Sure." Nathan whispered back. It was early on a Saturday and neither of them wanted to wake the neighbors.
Nathan climbed out of the wagon and went to Elizabeth's doorway to get the boxes. Laura was already there. Nathan greeted her quietly as to not wake Jack.
After putting the boxes in the wagon, Elizabeth said her goodbyes to Laura and got into the wagon. Nathan let the horses know to go forward and they were off.
xxx
"I'm glad you found a wagon." Elizabeth said.
"Lee told me that they weren't using the wagon and one of the men at the mill had two spare horses to pull the wagon. Once I told them that this was for the school in Maple Creek, everyone wanted to help." Nathan said.
Elizabeth smiled.
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Look Elizabeth, I just wanted to apologize." Nathan started.
"Nathan. It's fine. You have the right to feel what you feel." Elizabeth said.
Nathan nodded. There was silence between them again.
"What kind of books did you bring for the kids?" Nathan asked.
Elizabeth lighted up at that question.
"For the ones who can't read, I brought workbooks for them to learn how to read. For the ones who can read, I brought chapter books. A lot of them are duplicates that were already in the library. For example, The Wizard of Oz." Elizabeth said.
"That's a good one." Nathan said.
"You've read it?" Elizabeth asked.
"I may have read it when Allie was done with it. I've read all the books you have recommended" Nathan said.
Elizabeth hid her blushing.
For the rest of the trip to Maple Creek, Elizabeth worked on her lesson plan and Nathan took in the scenery.
Once they reached the town, Nathan steered the wagon toward the barn. Once they were at the barn, Nathan and Elizabeth got out of the wagon. Nathan took Elizabeth's boxes and put them over by the chalkboard.
"I'm going to go see if the Sheriff has a ladder I can borrow." Nathan said to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth nodded and Nathan went to get a ladder.
Elizabeth straightened out her papers and wrote the lesson for the day on the chalkboard. She was excited for the lesson today. After they finish their reading and math lessons, Elizabeth was going to take the whole class to the wooded area to teach them about the different plants.
xxx
"Good morning class." Elizabeth said to the class.
"Good morning" The whole class said at once.
Elizabeth smiled.
"I'm very excited about today's lessons. I brought some books from the library in my town. And we will be going on a special field trip in the wooden area behind the town." Elizabeth said.
The class started getting excited at the announcement.
"I'm glad you are all excited, but we need to start our other lessons." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth called out a list of names.
"If you heard your name, please see Mrs. Collins, she will be teaching you how to read. If you did not hear your name, stay in your seats for some reading." Elizabeth said. The children took their places. Mrs. Collins handed out the workbooks to the children.
"Please go over to those boxes and pick out a book." Elizabeth said.
While the children were picking out books, Nathan came back with a tall ladder. Nathan put the ladder against the barn. He went over to the wagon and brought some wood with him. He went up the ladder with wood and a hammer. Nathan started pounding the wood into the roof.
"For your homework, I want everyone to read 20 pages of your book and write a summary. Tell me about the plot and characters." Elizabeth said. The students nodded their heads.
For the next 2 hours, Elizabeth taught the class about world history, science and math problems.
Nathan kept working on the roof.
After finishing the lesson plans, Elizabeth gathered the class for the field trip. Elizabeth led the children while Mrs. Collins helped the children in the back.
xxx
Nathan watched the class disappear into the wooded area. Nathan put another piece of wood and hammered the wood into the roof.
"Hello up there!" said a voice.
Nathan looked down and saw Cora.
Nathan smiled and came down from the ladder.
"Hello." Nathan said.
"You came back." Cora said.
"I did. I saw how badly the barn needed help, so I decided to renovate it." Nathan said.
"That's sweet of you." C ora said.
Nathan blushed.
"The kids deserve a place to learn that's safe and has a roof." Nathan said.
Cora laughed.
Nathan smiled.
"Will you be here next Saturday?" Cora asked.
"I will." Nathan said.
"Why don't you come by next Saturday. My father left me his tools when he passed away. He was a carpenter. There might be some tools for you to use." Cora said.
"I would like that" Nathan said.
"Great. I have to go do my rounds with the farms around the area, but I will see you next week. I live just over the hill" Cora said pointing.
"I look forward to it" Nathan said.
They said their goodbyes. Nathan watched Cora leave. Nathan climbed back up the ladder and smiled.
xxx
After finishing the roof, Nathan brought out his axe and started cutting the wood from the old stables. He would take the wood back to Hope Valley to sand and cut. When he finished cutting and putting the wood in the wagon, he saw the kids coming back to the barn. Suddenly, he saw Elizabeth wet from head to toe.
"What happened?" Nathan asked.
"There was an incident involving a frog that jumped on my head and I fell into a stream." Elizabeth said.
Nathan stifled a laugh. Elizabeth gave him an annoyed face.
"I can go home and get you some clothes." Macy suggested.
"No. It's ok. The sun is out and by the time we get home to Hope Valley, I'll be dry." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth excused the class for the day. She wiped the blackboard down. She gathered her items and Nathan put them in the wagon. Elizabeth took a blanket from the back of the wagon and put it around herself.
"I have some extra clothes in the back if you want to put them on." Nathan suggested.
"I'll be fine." Elizabeth said.
"It's going to get cold when we get into the shade of the mountain." Nathan said.
"I'll survive." Elizabeth said.
"Fine." Nathan said. She is so stubborn.
Nathan loaded the wagon and steered the wagon toward home. Nathan could hear Elizabeth shivering. Once they reached the mountain and entered the shade, her heard Elizabeth cough. Nathan stopped the wagon and got out. He went to his and pulled out a flannel shirt and a pair of pants.
"Here, put these on." Nathan said.
"I'm fine." Elizabeth said.
"No. You're not. Now put them on or I'm leaving you here." Nathan said.
Elizbeth shot him and angry look and took the clothes away from him.
"Fine. But hold the blanket up for me and don't look." Elizabeth said.
Nathan put the blanket up to give her privacy. He closed his eyes. He heard Elizabeth mumbling to herself.
"All done." Elizabeth said.
Nathan lowered the blanket to see Elizabeth in his oversized shirt and his oversized pants.
Elizabeth was pulling up her pants.
"A little big?" Nathan teased.
"Just a little. But I do feel better" Elizabeth said.
"See" Nathan said. He handed Elizabeth some rope to tie the pants so they wouldn't keep falling.
In was in these moments that Nathan felt conflicted for Elizabeth. As much as he wanted to hate her, could easily take her in his arms and kiss her. But Elizabeth crossed a line with Nathan when comparing him with Jack.
For the rest of the way home, they sat in silence. They sat in the tension that was between them. The tension that was like a powder keg. One of them was going to light the match and there would be an explosion.