CHAPTER SEVEN
"There aren't any people out on the street, except, of course, the men Lee has deputized," Bill reported. "Lee and his men are busy setting up the ammunition banks around town, all hidden from sight. So at least the message has gotten out. Nathan, is Allie with Elizabeth?
"Yes, the three of them are safe together," answered Nathan as he stepped up to the Boardwalk in front of his office.
"Is Elizabeth okay with all this?"
"She really doesn't have a choice, does she Bill? I took your advice and gave her as much detail as I could. I could tell that's exactly what she needed. Thanks for that. As always, sage advice."
Bill nodded, "Any time, Nathan, any time."
"You know Bill, I think it's pretty obvious to you what I feel for Elizabeth, but I still get these flashes of guilt, especially now. I just hate to see her go through all this again. And with me, she would be signing up for a lifetime of it."
"Well, Nathan, if you didn't have these feelings for Elizabeth, she would still be going through this today, but alone. The way I see it, just because you are a Mountie, you being close to her gives her an extra layer of protection from all the bad things out there, today and in the future. Also, because of you, Allie is there with Elizabeth to help with Little Jack and distract her from her worry. You ever thought about that?"
"No, can't say that I have. It's just that these last few days are a culmination of everything I've dreaded from the very first time I met Elizabeth and knew how important she was to me. I'm not talking about the good parts…I mean our jobs, the loss of the Mountie and now this. Bill, can I tell you something in confidence?"
"Anything you say to me is always in confidence, you do know that, right?" Bill looked squarely at Nathan.
Nathan nodded as though it were finally sinking in.
"Remember that Inspector's position. I decided to take it, not because I wanted it, or wanted to leave Hope Valley. I decided to take it to remove myself from Elizabeth's life, so she wouldn't have to live the life of being with another Mountie. I could tell where things were heading, and I was so scared, not for myself, but for her."
Bill took in a deep breath.
"Nathan, I surmised as much. But love is a strange thing. It finds a way to seep through all the obstacles, all the things we look at as bad, and it somehow sweeps some of them away and raises the two people involved to a level where they can cope with what's left. Does that make any sense? I know I'm right about this, I've seen it time and again. In my own life and others."
"But Bill, I know she loved Jack very much and she lost him. That's an insurmountable degree of pain."
"Yes, she did love him very much, and I think she always will love him. But no, not insurmountable at all. Just looks that way at the beginning." and Bill gave Nathan a knowing glance.
"Bill, besides Elizabeth, you knew Jack better than anyone. Would he be okay with this, would he be okay with me…for Elizabeth?" the pain of this inner war was evident on Nathan's face.
"You and Jack are very different, Nathan, but you both are cut from the same cloth. The same sense of allegiance, ethics, honor, morals - the need to protect others. Both really smart and savvy at what you do."
Bill looked over at him and continued thoughtfully.
"But your personalities are so different, Nathan. Jack tackled things, you study things. You both get the same end result - you get the job done. Jack needed the action, you need the calm that comes from the action."
"And to me, it all comes down to this," he continued, "you both love Elizabeth. And that's all Jack would want for Elizabeth, someone to love her as much as he did."
"The fact that you're a Mountie, well, knowing Jack that makes him very happy indeed, sort of like icing on the cake." Bill smiled and glanced up at the gray skies. "If there's one thing I'm sure of, Jack would want his son raised in that tradition. You know Jack's father was also a Mountie, so it's sort of in Little Jack's blood, although he may be too young to realize it. But I'm not too sure. He clearly adores you." Bill looked over at Nathan, and Nathan grinned.
"I love that little boy, Bill. I couldn't love him anymore if he were my own."
"I know you do, Nathan, and so does Elizabeth. I think that's one of the reasons she loves you. Not that there aren't many other reasons for her to love you," Bill chuckled. But then his face grew serious again.
"Yes, Nathan, Jack would like you very much. In a strange way, you and Jack balance each other - and I can see that both those balances were and are needed in Elizabeth's life. Lively spirited Jack for her youth, and steady, compassionate you for now and the rest of her life."
"Bill, I don't know what to say. That means the world to me coming from you. Thank you. That…that helps me more than you can know," and Nathan let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Nathan, none of my business, but did you tell Elizabeth why you turned down the Inspector's position?"
He could tell by the look on Nathan's face he hadn't.
"Well, far be it for me to interfere," though he plowed straight ahead. "Maybe you should."
"Point taken, Bill…Now, we'd better get back to business. Don't want to do this, would rather take a beating, but I know it's the right thing to do…" and Nathan set his Stetson back on his head and stepped down from the Boardwalk toward the Saloon.
"Wait, you're not doing this without me. Constable Latham has our prisoner firmly under control, but let me just tell him where we'll be." Bill stuck his head inside the office door and checked in with Latham, who was working on the mountain of paperwork this unusual arrest had created.
Latham smiled, "We're fine here. Just let me know if I need to do anything else." he got up from his chair and walked over to Bill so they could speak more privately.
"Where do you want me to send the reinforcements?"
"Send them to the Saloon, we'll make that our headquarters of sorts," and then Bill immediately knew that was a mistake. "No, Aaron, send them to the Cafe and have them wait there. Nathan and I will meet with them as soon as we finish this."
Latham nodded his head in agreement. He could get used to working with these two men. They both were smart and very good at what they did.
The Judge had a lot more experience than him, and although Nathan was younger, he just seemed so self-assured, intelligent, and above all else calm.
In fact, there was a calmness and confidence that surrounded Nathan, that went beyond what Latham had ever seen in other Mounties.
Nathan had even been calm under fire, exceptionally so, when he had almost succeeded in taking the gun from Jenny O'Rourke, and then again, when he had apprehended Packer Johnston.
Latham could learn a lot from both of these men. Besides, he liked them!
'They both would make great colleagues and great friends, a combination rarely found!' mused Aaron.
The two had a unique camaraderie between them, so different from what he had himself previously experienced as a Mountie. He felt proud to be part of their team if only to be helping them temporarily.
Lucas was sitting at the bar by himself, and when he turned, both Bill and Nathan could tell he looked rattled, even a little disheveled.
"Lucas," Nathan started, "First of all, we're here to help you, but we do need to have a serious talk."
"The window, that wasn't a robbery, was it?"
"No, Lucas, it wasn't a robbery. It's obvious that it was an attempted murder," stated Nathan studying Lucas' face.
"Lucas, as I said, Bill and I are not here to cause you trouble, we're here to help you. And for us to do that, we need you to tell us everything you know. But before we start with that…" Nathan turned to Bill.
"Bill, can you excuse us just for a few minutes?"
"Sure, I'll go catch up with Gustav."
Lucas eyed Nathan up and down but looked him in the eye as Nathan started to speak.
"The last couple of years haven't been the best between you and me. And I hope we can correct that. You've brought many good things to this town and to Elizabeth, and for that, I am very grateful."
Lucas looked at Nathan in surprise but muddled with a bit of appreciation. He had dreaded this meeting and, in his mind, thought he would have to take the lead. But that was not what was happening here. Nathan was entirely in charge, which surprised him and, in an odd way, pleased him.
"You've been a good friend to her, Lucas. I can't speak for her, but I do know Elizabeth wants that friendship to continue. I would like us, you and me, to put the past behind us, too, and move forward as two men who are on the same side. We both want the best for Elizabeth and for Hope Valley. I hope that someday we may even be friends."
With that, Nathan reached out his hand to Lucas.
Lucas cast his eyes down for a moment and then raised his eyes to meet Nathan's, his lips forming a slight smile.
"Given you saved my life last night, yet again, I think we might be able to manage that. Just give me a little time for my bruised ego to heal." Lucas said half in jest, and then he stretched out his hand toward Nathan's, and with that, both of them firmly shook the other's hand.
With a sigh of relief, Lucas continued, "Even I know that you and Elizabeth are right for each other, and sincerely I wish the best for both of you."
"I appreciate that more than you know, Lucas. Thank you for that." Nathan was as sincere as he had ever been.
Bill walked over to Nathan and Lucas with a sense they had settled what they needed to settle privately. Now it was time for business.
Lucas motioned for them both to sit down with him at a round table in the far corner of the Saloon, the one furthest away from Gustav's prying ears.
As Lucas sat down, Nathan noticed his face looked strained, like he wasn't wanting to bring up everything he had worked so hard to put in his past.
Nathan understood that completely and decided to take an unexpected, direct tack to save him the anguish of telling his story.
"Lucas, rather than you having to bring up a lot of memories, maybe some painful, how about we start with this: How do you know Packer Johnston?"
Lucas shot a grateful look to Nathan.
But then his eyes widened, "That's who broke my window?"
"Yes," Nathan answered directly.
"And what Nathan won't tell you I'll fill in." piped in Bill. "Nathan apprehended him alone, just as he broke your window to get in and commit murder. And we're pretty sure you were his target. He's locked away in the jail, safe and sound. But we don't know for how long. We can't transport him, there aren't enough of us. And we're expecting his gang to swarm the town as soon as they hear what's happened."
Lucas's eyes grew wide, and his hands nervously shot up to his face.
"How do you know him, Lucas? Why would he want to kill you?"
Nathan directed the questions to Lucas evenly, without any aggression or assumed guilt. Actually, it was the opposite, Nathan's tone was letting Lucas know that he and Bill weren't judging him. They were indeed here to help him, and that made Lucas begin to relax a bit.
"We need your help, Lucas," Nathan continued gently.
"Nathan, I don't know him. Well, not directly. I'll admit I've had some shady business dealings in the past, but that's all behind me. And they weren't with him."
"We know about your past, Lucas. You've done a great job of turning things around. But what is the connection if not business, personal?"
"I'm ashamed to say - his daughter."
Nonplussed, Bill looked at Nathan. How could that Mountie always cut to the heart of a matter, and so quickly too?
Lucas continued, "Her name is Sophie, and obviously she was, is beautiful. Her mother died when she was young. I never met her father until just before I came here, I didn't even know who he was or what he did when I did meet him."
"But after Sophie and I broke our relationship, I started getting threatening messages left at my door. Someone even left a box with a dead raven in it. It just felt like all of it was coming from Johnston, indirectly, of course. I'm sure he has minions to do that sort of thing."
"Lucas, Bill, and I will protect you with our lives, and we don't want to frighten you, but we need you to understand that Sophie's father is a known murderer. He's wanted for at least 16 murders, and who knows how many others." Nathan's eyes searched Lucas's as he spoke.
The color drained from Lucas's face, and he slumped in his chair.
"I had no idea."
"Lucas, we've got to be prepared for his gang, and that's why Bill and I put the town on lockdown. Bill has called and wired for reinforcements from all over. But we don't think you should be here at the Saloon. Normally, we would ask if we could use the Saloon as headquarters, but it's too dangerous, given the reason Johnston's here." Nathan calmly stated. He then asked Lucas, "Would you be willing to go stay at the Cafe till all this blows over?"
"I'll…I'll get...get a bag," stammered Lucas, as he headed for his room. After climbing a few stairs, he turned and looked at both Bill and Nathan.
"This is my fault. Why would you two do all this for me?"
"Loving someone is never a fault, Lucas. And we're doing this because we're in this together. Whether you like it or not, you are part of Hope Valley now, and we protect each other." Nathan stated flatly, then added, "I'm not losing a citizen on my watch, not a single one, and that includes you, Lucas."
Nodding gratefully, Lucas knew Nathan meant every word.
Bill sauntered over to Gustav, who had obviously overheard parts of their conversation.
"Gustav, you better get your bag too. We've got to clear out the Saloon for now."
Gustav reached under the counter, "I keep one here in case I have to work late into the night," he said with a grin. "Where are we going?"
"Well, can't say I'm too happy about putting you two in my kitchen, but we're going to have reinforcements to feed. And right now, I can't play Chef, so you and Lucas are going to have to handle the cooking. Are you okay with that?"
Gustav's face broke out in a broad smile, "That's fine. I'm always at home in a kitchen, even yours, Judge Avery!"
"Well, you don't have to be so all-fired happy about it!" and Judge Avery mumbled something under his breath, that no one would have been able to decipher, even if they had been able to hear it!
But right then and there, Lawman/Chef Bill Avery made an executive decision to cover all his bases. He was boxing every single recipe he owned and moving them to Nathan's office for the duration, till this standoff with Johnston's gang was over and done with...
The Judge would happily lay his life on the line for Hope Valley, but he wasn't about to lay his prized recipes there too!