Hope Leads the Heart

Chapter 16 Full Circle

As a teacher, Elizabeth had always hoped to instill in her students a love of reading, methods and good practice for conducting thorough research on a topic, as well as good analytic skills. She needed all of those skills herself as she gathered information for her book and began to organize the chapter framework. Returning to her parent's home after her recent discovery, Elizabeth was still in absolute shock over what she had learned reviewing the files that she was given access to at the Mountie office.

She had read and reread the documents several times and knew that she had made no mistakes in her analysis. It was true. Her father had indeed exercised his influence and convinced the Mounties that one of their finest should be assigned to Coal Valley- not just for law enforcement in the growing community, but to keep an eye on his headstrong, beautiful daughter who had insisted that a teaching position in the mining town was exactly what she wanted. As much as she loved her father, and all these years later, Elizabeth still seethed at the thought that her father felt she needed a "babysitter" because she couldn't look out for herself.

Elizabeth thought back to her first fiery encounter with a Mountie named Jack Thornton. She vividly remembered that she was preparing for class that day, writing some material on the blackboard as he came down the stairs of the saloon and temporary school. They introduced themselves and Jack immediately made the connection between her last name and that of her father, William Thatcher. It didn't take long for his anger to rise as he realized that she was the reason that he was sent to this awful, dreary little mining town. He had told her that he was pulled from a plum assignment to babysit some "rich guy's daughter" and he was certainly not happy about it.

That discovery itself was very disturbing, but was insignificant compared to what Elizabeth learned by reading the personnel files at the Mountie office. There was no doubt about it. The dates on the documents correlated with the leave of absence request. Jack was not the Mountie who was originally assigned to Coal Valley, but was actually filling in for the Mountie who was. Nathan!

This realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Nathan couldn't accept the assignment because his family was in crisis. His sister was dying and his brother-in-law deserted his wife and Allie. When torn between his responsibilities to the Mounties and his responsibilities to his family, Nathan had chosen to be there for Allie. Even though it was evident that the Mounties questioned Nathan's dedication at that point, Elizabeth knew where Nathan stood and considered that to be one of his finest attributes- family first, then the Mounties. Heat flooded her face with uncomfortable warmth, as she recalled the encounter with Nathan at the clearing. He professed his love and promised to quit the Mounties for her. She fled.

Just as jarring to Elizabeth, was the knowledge that she would have never met Jack if it wasn't for Nathan's ability to look beyond work, into his heart, to see that Allie's care and happiness was what he needed to focus on. Jack seemed to be a Mountie first and always torn between duty and homelife. Ultimately, Nathan brought great love into her life years ago without having met her- Jack and then his son, Little Jack. That was humbling. Nathan also kept that information from her, just like he kept the knowledge of the Fort Clay incident from her. She wasn't sure she would ever really forget about that either, although she knew how difficult it must have been for Nathan to think about the whole incident.

Now, however, Elizabeth was sure she was in need of comfort and in need of a friend. So, she reached for the telephone on the parlor table and had a call to Rosemary put through. Rosemary always had the ability to listen as well as tell her opinion on the issue- honestly and in a forthright manner. Elizabeth appreciated that, although it was sometimes difficult to hear Rosemary's thoughts.

"Hello," said Rosemary, at the other end of the line.

"Hi, Rosemary. This is Elizabeth. We haven't talked for a while and I have so much to tell you! Are you busy? Do you have time to talk?"

"Elizabeth! How nice to hear from you! Yes, I have time. I just got home and don't need to start dinner for Lee yet. How are you? How is Jack? Does he just love all the attention from his Grandma and Grandpa?" said Rosemary breathlessly.

"Oh, Rosemary, he is growing like a weed and he just loves playing outside in the gardens. My dad is even spending more time at home than in the office, so he can spend more time enjoying Jack's antics. Mom's health seems to be much better and she enjoys the outdoor time with him, too. I have really needed their help, as I continue to research content for my new book," responded Elizabeth. "Two of the very best babysitters in the whole world."

"I knew some time in Hamilton would be good for both of you, although I miss you two terribly! So much news happening, here, too. Who should go first?" giggled Rosemary.

Elizabeth replied, "You go first, please."

"Well, we just had the social event of the year so far recently! They held a wonderful dance at the new Faith Carson Community Center, complete with Foxtrot dance lessons. Fiona and the new teacher, Tom Doyle, demonstrated how to do the dance steps and good partnering and they are just MARVELOUS dancers! Who knew we had such skill in Hope Valley. I predict those two will be an item. They seemed to be having a good time, although Fiona didn't lack for other dance partners, as usual. She danced with Sam Tremblay at least once. He was visiting from Brookfield. We will just have to see who is going to tame that girl's spirit some day!" shared Rosemary.

"Yes, Fiona was always spirited as well as strong and lovely. I am sure she had quite the social life before coming to Hope Valley and devoting so much time to her work. Who else was at the dance?" queried Elizabeth, really interested in hearing about one Mountie in particular.

"Tess and her brother, Ronnie, were there from Brookfield. Ronnie didn't stay much to dance, but, are you ready for this? Tess and Bill Avery spent the evening as dance partners!"

"Noooohhh!" replied Elizabeth in consternation.

"Yes, Elizabeth, they did! Tess actually dressed up in a skirt for a change, and the two of them were bantering back and forth. Were both pretty light on their feet, too. Never saw Tess behave like an actual human being around Bill before. You know one of their business transactions with a horse purchase did not go too well. Perhaps, there is a real attraction there and they have managed to make amends. They seemed to enjoy each other's company and danced several songs together."

"Well, it would be good for Bill to work on a personal life as much as he devotes time to his ranching and other responsibilities. I think Nathan and Robert rely on his wisdom and experience quite a lot. That's all well and good, but Bill hasn't had much of a social life for a long time now," offered Elizabeth. "Any other news about the dance?"

"Well, the Belles of the Ball in my opinion, were both led around the dance floor by none other than our Mountie, Nathan! You should have seen how lovely Allie looked! Why, of course she is lovely to begin with but I designed the most beautiful ivory dress with a blue sash for her. She is no little girl anymore, Elizabeth, and has become the most gracious young woman! Nathan and Allie practiced the foxtrot together and both did a fine job with the new steps. He was so proud to lead her around the floor. I couldn't help notice the glances she received from several young men in town, but Matthew Doyle, Tom's nephew, couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. He cut in and asked Nathan if he could dance with her. She returned his attention with lots of rosy cheeked-blushes," relayed Rosemary, giggling. "And then of course, there was Nathan and Joanna. My, what a good-looking couple they made! I'm telling you, Elizabeth, they are Hope Valley's Romeo and Juliet. Neither had eyes for anyone else at that dance, well except for Nathan keeping an eye on Allie, of course. They danced, and danced, and danced. Laughed. Talked. Gazed into each other's eyes and cleared the floor with onlookers watching every step of their beautiful Fascination Waltz. I never knew Nathan was such a skilled dancer and so graceful for a man with such a tall stature. Fiona told me he was a wonderful partner, and one of the best she had ever seen. They were so romantic and I understand that he walked her home before he, Allie, and Bill left in the car to return to the ranch," sighed Rosemary.

"Well," said Elizabeth somewhat wistfully, "Sounds like a good time was had by all. Did Lee enjoy himself?" she asked, wanting to move away from the subject of Romeo and Juliet for a while.

"Oh, yes! Of course he had a good time. He was dancing with me all night!" she giggled self-assuredly. "So, Elizabeth, do you want to tell me your news now?"

"Where to begin?" she muttered to herself. Then proceeded to tell Rosemary about her book plans and about everything she had learned about recruitment and training through her research at the Mountie office.

"Well, it sounds like it is all proceeding forward nicely, Elizabeth. Are you happy with it up to this point?" asked Rosemary.

"Yes, I guess so, except for one shocking fact I discovered while I was looking through some files," replied Elizabeth.

"Oh? What was so shocking?" asked Rosemary.

"Do you remember me telling you that Jack was not very happy about being ordered to Hope Valley because he was in line for a much more prestigious assignment?" asked Elizabeth.

"Yes."

"Well, I saw copies of the letter my father sent to the Mountie office requesting that a Mountie be assigned to Hope Valley to, in addition to usual Mountie duties, keep an eye on me and protect me. First, that renewed my anger that my dad felt I needed a babysitter at that time and it also reminded me of a first encounter with Jack that led to an argument about that very same issue. However, the most disturbing of the documents I reviewed, was about a request for a leave of absence from the Mountie who had originally been assigned to Hope Valley in the first place," continued Elizabeth.

"A leave of absence? So who was that from? Were you able to tell from the documents you read?" asked Rosemary.

"Yes," said Elizabeth with a very troubled expression on her face. "It was Nathan, Rosemary. He was the original Mountie assigned to watch over me, but had to decline the assignment to take care of Allie and his sister. Apparently, his sister was extremely ill and close to death at the time."

Rosemary took a brief pause to carefully take in this bit of news. "Elizabeth, do you realize what all this means?"

"Rosemary, it means I was never meant to meet Jack! At least, not at that particular time. It means that Nathan was responsible for bringing Jack to me, in a roundabout way." Elizabeth took a deep breath in and continued, "It also means Nathan was involved when Jack was taken away from me! Full circle. Jack never told me he was a replacement, that I recall, and he certainly never mentioned Nathan Grant by name. For that matter, Nathan never said a word about his original assignment, either. He kept it to himself all this time while he constantly looked after me and Little Jack and the rest of the town. Why did it all happen this way, Rosemary, why? Why wasn't I told by one of these men somewhere along the line? Especially by Nathan when he and Allie eventually came to Hope Valley out of his sense of duty towards Jack's widow?"

"Elizabeth, what would have been gained by Nathan providing you with that information? Would it have changed the outcome of anything? No. You fell in love with a good man named Jack Thornton. It was pure fate, and nothing more. Don't dwell on bad feelings."

"But Rosemary. What if I was meant to fall in love with Nathan back then? What if I was meant to raise Allie along with him?" a troubled Elizabeth asked.

"Elizabeth, you will drive yourself crazy thinking about what ifs! What's done is done and the past in the past. You chose a life with Jack and it was a beautiful courtship, if a short marriage. Your heart is full of love for another one- Jack's son. You still have the friendship of that wonderful Mountie, Nathan, in your life whenever you choose to develop that friendship again. Be grateful for such wonderful blessings in life!" admonished Rosemary.

"But what if it is not friendship, Rosemary? asked Elizabeth tearfully.

"What!? Surely you are not concerned that Nathan is no longer your friend just because of the involvement of Lucas in the Spurlock-Walden case? Nathan has more strength of character than to hold a grudge," said Rosemary.

"I mean, what if what I feel for Nathan isn't friendship? What if I….think I love him?" asked Elizabeth with trembling lips.

"Well," replied Rosemary. "I think you should step back and take some time to figure out what you truly feel. This new information has certainly been a big shock for you but don't forget how much your behavior hurt him and hurt Allie, too. He expressed his honest love to you, only to be rejected while you decided to be with Lucas. I believe he has found his soul mate in Joanna and is quite happy with his life now. Think carefully about all this and look before you leap. Don't hurt Nathan again, Elizabeth!"

On that note, the two friends ended their phone conversation with the promise of talking again soon.