Hope Leads the heart
Chapter 6 Hamilton Refuge
Many months had passed since that horrible day when Elizabeth Thornton had been confronted by Mei Sou in a large gathering of customers at the Queen of Hearts. She had tried to erase it from her thoughts and from her dreams but it was just as vivid as if it had all happened yesterday. Elizabeth didn't know if she would ever recover from the hurt of Lucas' betrayal. His lies and evil schemes had no boundaries and had affected every activity, every business, and every family in Hope Valley in one way or another. Living with the stigma of her grave error in judgement was almost as bad as losing her teaching position. It was more than she could bear. She and her son had left the rowhouse behind and sought refuge with her family in Hamilton.
While they welcomed Elizabeth and Jack with open arms, she had had to listen to more than one lecture about choosing to make Hope Valley her home in the first place. It was difficult to put on a brave face every day for Jack's sake, and try to get on with the business of living. The pride and joy she had felt in publishing her first book was long gone and had been replaced by a deep depression. She had disappointed her parents, her son, all of Hope Valley, and most of all, herself. She no longer felt confident in her writing or competent in any decision-making. Elizabeth longed for the comforting arms of her friends around her and she missed them as much as she missed her students.
One student and one parent in particular made their way into Elizabeth's thoughts daily- Allie and Nathan Grant. She had hurt them both very deeply, and was filled with remorse. If only she had taken the time to repair her relationship with both of them, and apologize for all the sorrow she had caused. It was too late for that to happen now.
Even though she had spent many hours in reflection, she still couldn't understand why she had rejected Nathan's honest love for her and mistakenly thought grand gestures from Lucas were symbols of real love. It was Nathan that had always been there to protect her. It was Nathan that shared her love of good books, quiet walks, and simple pleasures. He was the one who played with little Jack, calmed him when he fussed, and made him toys. He listened before he offered advice. Nathan was the one to courageously, vulnerably, bare his soul and declare his feelings for her. After all was said and done during their "courtship", not once had Lucas looked her in the eye and told her he loved her. He certainly had no patience around Jack, either. And all during their courtship, he had been living another life with Mei Sou. When Elizabeth had learned of Bouchard's death during the attempted escape, she felt no sense of loss or sadness. She only felt numb and empty inside. As Elizabeth thought about her behavior with these two men for the hundredth time, she dissolved into hysterical tears.
After several minutes, the tears finally subsided- at least for now. Elizabeth sighed and gazed out the window into the gardens of her parent's home. There she saw Jack happily playing with his grandmother, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies of a warm summer day. At least it seemed that he had adjusted well to the new environment, and Elizabeth was grateful for that.
Shaking off her dark mood, Elizabeth tried to focus on some planning. She had no teaching position. Book royalties and her late husband's pension would not support her and Jack forever. It was time to give some thought to next steps. How would she earn a living? Another teaching position was out of the question, at least for now, for she would never receive a good recommendation from the citizens of Hope Valley. Elizabeth also knew she would never be successful as a cook or waitress in a restaurant or café. Her only option seemed to be to write another book, although she would not rely on any assistance from Helen Bouchard. Perhaps, she would also have to write a new book under an entirely new pen name.
But, what topic should she choose to address in her book? Sarcastically, she thought to herself, "Broken Teacups-My Life with A Gambling Embezzler has a ring to it". There would probably be a huge audience of readers who thrived on gossip and crime! No. Maybe someday, though. A cookbook of Hope Valley recipes was certainly not unique. Teaching methods in a frontier school? NO! What could she possibly write about that was interesting as well as marketable?
One by one, she wrote down ideas on pieces of paper but they all ended up in the waste basket next to the desk. She continued this process for almost an hour and a half, until an idea she liked finally popped into her head. Something she knew a lot about but could really research and expand on quite a bit. It was a natural follow up to her first book, too. For the first time in quite a while, she felt enthusiasm about something.
"I've got it!", she said aloud.