Chapter Forty-Six

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"Nathan, I'm so sorry. You really didn't know, did you? I mean, I thought you knew."

"No Bill and I still don't know what you're talking about. How can Coal Valley and Hope Valley be one and the same?"

"The town was known for it's Coal Mine and it was originally named Coal Valley because of that. But after the mine explosion killed all the townsmen, they just couldn't bear using the name. It was mainly the widows who decided to rename the town Hope Valley because they wanted the town to be a place of hope for their children. They didn't want the town to be remembered as a place of death, but one of hope for everyone."

Nathan put his hands to his face and turned to face the window.

Suddenly, he couldn't breathe.

"Aaron, you go take care of Rounds, I'll cover here," uttered Bill softly.

Aaron nodded and quietly left, not knowing what exactly had just happened. But he was astute enough to know it was of great import. And whatever it was had hit Nathan like a ton of bricks.

Bill was already in damage control mode.

Nathan hadn't said a word.

The room was filled with silence, and for once in his life, Bill didn't have a clue as to what to do next.

So he sat there and prayed. He prayed for Nathan and Elizabeth, that they would have the strength and grace to face this new awful revelation. That they would face this head-on and come to terms with what it had meant to their lives. And somehow that they would find a way to put this in their past.

But Bill knew this wasn't going to be that simple. Both Nathan and Elizabeth were deeply in love. Anyone who saw them knew that, and Bill knew it better than anyone. But this meant that they could have been together six long years ago, had they been meant to be. And Bill knew they were meant to be, at least now and he couldn't imagine that they wouldn't have been meant to be then. He wasn't sure just where that would have left Jack, because he knew that had been meant to be too. At least at that time, it had. But what if Nathan and Elizabeth had met first? This was a mess! Oh, this was a mess!

Bill felt sick inside, but he knew what he was feeling was nothing compared to what Nathan was feeling.

Nathan felt like he had just been punched in the gut. And the puncher was still punching, with no end in sight. And Nathan had no will or ability to fight back or even protect himself. The punches just kept coming.

Bill sat there silently at his desk, and Nathan stood silently at the window.

He didn't speak. He didn't move. He just stood there in front of the window, not even looking out of it. In that moment, he couldn't even think.

Bill sat and Nathan stood without moving for what must have been an hour.

Suddenly, Nathan turned and made a run for the door.

Bill followed quickly after, "Nathan, don't do anything foolish…"

Nathan couldn't even speak, but the look on his face was one of desperation, and it pained Bill to the core.

He could only stand there and watch his colleague, his friend, his family member mount Newton and gallop swiftly out of town.

Nathaniel had seen the whole thing from the other side of the street, and he quickly crossed the street to talk with Bill.

"What's going on? Nathan looked like death."

"He'll be alright, Nathaniel."

"You listen to me, there is nothing alright right now about that young man, and if I'm the family member you say I am, you're going to tell me exactly what is going on, and you're going to do it right now, Judge!"

"Fair enough. Come inside," and Bill quickly explained to Nathaniel what had just happened.

"No wonder he looked like death. Bill, this is tragic. He just lost six years of his life with the woman he loves. What are we going to do to help him?"

"I haven't a clue. Any ideas?" asked Bill.

"Where do you think he's gone for starters? Do you think he might have gone to the cabin? I gave him a copy of the plat so he could find his way around the land. Do you think he's gone there?"

"I think that's exactly where he'd go. But what do we do? And Elizabeth is going to want to know. He's in a bad way, Nathaniel. I don't know what we should do."

"We have to tell her."

"I know you're right, but she's been through so much, and everything was going so perfectly. I hate to tell her."

"Bill, we're losing time! We've got to get to that young man. You're a lot closer to Elizabeth. So you need to be the one to tell her. Do you want me to go with you to tell her?"

"Yes, I do...no, wait, she'll want to ride Sargent. He's back up to full speed. Why don't you go to the Livery and saddle the horses, yours, mine and Elizabeth's? That way we'll be ready to head out as soon as I get Elizabeth back here."

"Will do. Good luck with Elizabeth! I'll say an extra prayer."

Bill realized he had to get Laura first to take care of the children at school, but he didn't want to alarm her in any way.

So he stopped by Rosemary's first. Thank goodness she had told him she was taking the day off.

"Rosemary, sorry to bother you, but can you do a favor for me and my Godson? I need Elizabeth to help me with something, so I'm going to have to take Laura to fill in at the school."

Rosemary was suspicious, but she had the feeling Bill wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important, so thankfully she didn't question him.

"Of course, whatever you need."

He kissed her, "Thank you, Rosemary, you're a gem! I'll bring him right over."

"Don't be silly. I'll come and get Little Jack."

"Rosemary, is it also okay if Laura brings Allie to stay with you after School?"

"Of course, Bill, we're all family! Little Jack and Allie will be fine with us for as long as you need, for whatever you need."

They went together.

"Hello, Laura, I need to ask a favor. Mrs. Coulter is going to take care of my Godson, so you can cover for Elizabeth at School if you're willing."

"Of course, let me get his things."

"I'll help," offered Rosemary.

In a matter of minutes, Rosemary was headed back to her house with Little Jack, while Bill walked Laura to the Schoolhouse.

'Oh no,' he hadn't thought about what to tell Allie. 'And that child was one perceptive little girl!'

But that thought had reminded him to asked Laura to take Allie to Rosemary's after School.

"Also, Laura, would you take Allie to Mrs. Coulter's rowhouse after School ends?"

"Consider it done!"

Bill was still trying to think what he could tell Allie.

"Why, Judge, we're honored to have you visit us today!" offered Elizabeth from the front of the Schoolhouse.

"Well, Children, don't hate me, but I need to borrow your Schoolteacher for a bit and Laura has been kind enough to offer to fill in. So you be good for her. Or I just might have to take you to Court!"

That got a laugh from everyone!

"And don't think I won't do it either!"

Elizabeth was getting a bit worried, but Bill seemed relaxed enough, bantering with the children.

She quickly got her things and walked to the back of the Schoolhouse.

She turned to give one last admonition, "Now, Children, you heard the Judge! Be good for Laura. And I'm going to know if you're not. Remember, I'm counting on you!"

But then she looked at Allie's face and knew the child was thinking something was wrong with her Dad. And then she got physically sick. Oh, no something was wrong with Nathan, but Bill saw her look and shook his head.

"Allie, could I see you for one moment?"

Allie immediately came back to her Teacher and her Uncle Bill.

"Is Dad okay, Uncle Bill" she was close to tears.

Bill took her and wrapped her in a big bear hug, "Your Dad is fine, this doesn't have anything to do with work, so you just get that out of your head. This is Judge business, and I just need your Teacher's help!'

Bill was trying so hard not to lie and he chose his words very carefully, but right now the important thing was for Allie not to worry.

A smile popped back on her face, and both could tell she was so relieved.

"But Allie, your Dad may have to be with us for a while this evening. So you go home with Laura to Mrs. Coulter's, okay? Our business may take a little bit of time."

"Yes, Sir!"

When Bill helped Elizabeth down the steps, she immediately knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong with Nathan? Bill you tell me right now. What's going on?"

"Physically, he's okay Elizabeth. But he got a shock today and he's taking it badly. We've got to go find him."

"What shock? Bill, you tell me everything you know and you tell me this instant!"

"Elizabeth, this is going to be a shock to you too. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Right now, Bill! Right this instant, you tell me!"

"Nathan was assigned to come to Coal Valley six years ago. But he didn't know till this morning that Coal Valley was Hope Valley. Elizabeth, he's taking it badly. He's in shock, and he's grief-stricken."

"Where is he? How do I get to him? Bill, take me to him now!" she demanded, almost screaming the words.

"We don't know where he is, but we think he might have gone to the cabin."

"Run, we've got to get to him now! Hurry Bill, hurry!"

They ran all the way to the Livery, and Nathaniel was standing there with their horses saddled and ready to go.

The three quickly mounted and headed in the direction of the cabin.

The path was treacherous because of the snow, but Elizabeth refused to slow Sargent down.

She had one purpose and that was to get to the man she loved.

When they finally reached the cabin, there was nothing on the outside. Not even fresh tracks. No Newton, no smoke in the chimney, nothing.

But Nathaniel jumped down to check inside just to be sure.

As he returned, he just shook his head.

"I think he's somewhere at the Lake. I gave him a plat, and I think he would have followed this trail." and he pointed to a small trail, that was mostly over-ridden with brush. "There are thickets everywhere, and we're going to have to be careful with the horses. Lots of deer live in this area and it's very easy for them to lunge out of the thickets and spook them."

"I'll go alone," stated Elizabeth firmly.

"Absolutely not! We'll ride with you till we find him. Then we'll leave and give you privacy. But not till then."

Nathaniel was firm and he knew the lay of the land better than anyone, so neither Bill nor Elizabeth could argue.

They trudged along with Nathaniel leading the way. A couple of times, he had to get down and hold the brush back for Bill and Elizabeth to pass through first, with him following.

Both Bill and Elizabeth were thankful Nathaniel was with them. They would have never found this path without him.

You could barely tell a path was even there in places.

The cold and snow only complicated matters.

They trudged along for a good two miles, and suddenly they saw it.

It was the most majestic lake Bill and Elizabeth had ever seen and it was massive. The lake was surrounded by sheer beauty all around it, and the views were breathtaking no matter what direction you looked in.

But they were still too far away to see if Nathan was there.

Suddenly, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of red serge, and she coaxed Sargent into a firm gallop.

"Go to Nathan, Sargent. Faster! Go to Nathan!"

Nathan turned and saw Elizabeth riding Sargent, who was galloping toward him at a furious pace…

As the men got closer, they could see that Nathan was physically okay, so they reluctantly turned and galloped away, leaving the young couple with the privacy they had promised Elizabeth.

All they could do now was pray…