"Single file men, I don't want anyone to go over the mountain." Yelled a man
Jack Jr. didn't recognize the man's voice. Jack Jr. looked down at his uniform. He was wearing a red serge like his father had worn and he was riding a horse. He didn't recognize any of the men who were also riding horses. The man leading the men turned around. Jack Jr. recognized his father. Jack Jr. didn't understand what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack Jr. saw the mountain starting to slide down. Jack Jr. tried to yell to his father but nothing came out. Jack Sr. got off his horse and pushed back the men. He told them to go back the other way single file. The hill started to collapse. Jack Sr. saw Jack Jr. and pushed him out of the way. The dirt fell on Jack Sr. and he started to go over the mountain. Jack Jr. grabbed his father's hand. But as Jack Jr. looked at his father, it was the man who saved Jack in the war.
"Tell my wife I love her." The man slipped out of Jack Jr.'s hand and he watched the man fall.
Suddenly Jack Jr. woke up sweating. He didn't know where he was. Jack Jr. reached over and grabbed the compass that was sitting on his night stand. He felt it. He knew he was back from his nightmare. Jack looked at the compass. It was his father's compass. His mother gave it to him when he turned 8 years old. She told him that it would help him find his way home when he is lost. It survived the war and Jack Jr. kept it in his pocket every day.
Jack Jr. shook his head and rubbed his hands over his eyes. The sun was peeking through the curtains in his bedroom. Jack Jr. looked at his watch and saw the time. He heard voices and dishes clanging down stairs. He got up and went to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face. He took out some shaving cream and a razor. While shaving, he thought about the nightmare he had of his father. Usually when he dreamt about his father, it was always happy. This one was different. His father saved his life but then turned into the man who saved Jack Jr.'s life in the war. Jack Jr. finished shaving. The whole nightmare was complexing and confusing. He shook the nightmare out of his head. He got dressed and headed downstairs.
As Jack Jr. walked down the stairs he heard talking and the smell of pancakes.
"Good morning everyone" Jack Jr. said to everyone
"Good morning" everyone said in unison. Rosemary was at the stove making pancakes, Lee was at the table reading the paper, and Sophie and Elizabeth were at the table eating.
"How many stacks of pancakes can I get you?" Rosemary asked Jack Jr.
"I'm fine, I think I'll just have some coffee" Jack Jr. responded
"You are just like Lee, always drinking coffee in the morning, never eating. Now how many?"
Jack Jr. smiled "I'm fine Rosemary"
"Jack Thornton Jr., you sit your rump down at that table and you eat some chocolate chip pancakes!" Rosemary exclaimed
Jack Jr. stared at Rosemary who was glaring at him but had a slight smile on her face. Jack Jr. looked at everyone else. Lee sat there pretending to read the paper, his mother was holding in a laugh and Sophie was just eating like nothing happened.
Jack Jr. took one of the chocolate chips. "You didn't say they were chocolate chip." Jack popped the chocolate chip into his mouth and kissed Rosemary on the cheek.
"Oh, you! So charming, just like your father" Rosemary told Jack
Jack Jr. sat down at the table with his pancakes. He put syrup on it and began to eat. Rosemary sat next to him
"You knew Grandpa Jack?!" Sophie asked Rosemary
"Yes I did. In fact, at one point, we were engaged to be married"
Sophie swallowed her food "Why didn't you get married?"
Rosemary smiled "Because my heart was meant for Lee and your Grandpa's heart was meant for your Grandmother" Rosemary and Elizabeth smiled at each other
Sophie seemed satisfied with the answer. She turned her attention toward Jack Jr.
"Daddy, there is a strawberry festival today, can we go?"
Jack Jr. finished the last of his pancake.
"Sure, honey." Jack sipped his coffee and asked Rosemary, "When did they start doing this?"
"This will be the 18th year. The whole town planted strawberry seeds during the depression. For that whole year, the town kept the strawberries maintained. When those strawberries were ripe to pick, the whole town came and picked out strawberries. It has been a tradition ever since"
"It must have started after we left" Elizabeth told Jack
Jack Jr. nodded his head.
"It sounds like fun. Lee and I are going over to the land to survey it, we can meet you thereafter."
"Perfect because I am going to show your mother and daughter the new Hope Valley"
Jack Jr. looked at his watch.
"Then we better get going" Jack Jr. said to Lee
Lee closed his paper.
"Sounds good to me. Let me go grab my keys."
Jack Jr. kissed Rosemary, his mother and his daughter on the cheek and he was out the door. The ride to the land was about 5 minutes. As they driving along, Jack Jr. looked at the houses they were passing. Some were small and some were huge. Lee slowed the car down and stopped it. Jack Jr. and Lee got out of the car.
"Here it is" Lee said
Jack Jr. couldn't believe his eyes. It was so beautiful. The land seemed untouched. There were houses next to the land but they were far apart. There was so much peace here. He could see why his father wanted to build a house here.
"How far does the land go?" Jack Jr. asked Lee
Lee pointed "To those trees and across there and across there."
Jack Jr. smiled. His father had picked out a wonderful spot
"Wow. It is so beautiful here" Jack Jr. said and Lee nodded in agreement. After a couple minutes of silence, Jack Jr. went back to the car and grabbed the blueprints. He unrolled them on Lee's car.
"Now I have my father's original plan, but I updated it. I am keeping the wrap around porch and the number of rooms. But I'm going to make the kitchen area larger and I'm extending the living room out. I am going to put in a big fireplace in the living room. Of course when my father wrote these plans, there was no electricity or running water, so I'll have to put that in as well. Then, on this side of the land will be Mom's house. It will have its own private entry. It will have a good sized kitchen, entertaining room and bedroom." Jack turned to the next page in his blueprints, "I want to build a barn and make the rest of the land a farm. Maggie and I always talked about having a farm, so I thought, why not? I know this seems ambitious but I want to at least have the main house built by Christmas. I just don't know how I'm going to do it by myself"
Lee smiled at Jack Jr. Jack Jr. was confused. Lee pointed. Jack Jr. turned around. There were about 100 men walking toward them. Some he recognized from the party and other he didn't recognize.
"What's going on?" Jack Jr. asked Lee
"Your mother and father were loved in this town. They have touched each one of those people's hearts. Some are your mother's students with their children or Hope Valley residents who never met your mother or father but know their story. This was their community and now they are your community too." Lee put his hand on Jack's shoulder. The men stopped in front of Jack Jr. and Lee. Jack Jr. tried to fight back the tears.
"Thank you, everyone. Let's get started" Jack Jr. said to the crowd.
