Lee's fingers tapped impatiently on the steering wheel. He had gone to Benson Hills to get the items that Rosemary wanted that Ned did not carry. Being Rosemary, having Ned order them was simply too long to wait. He loved his wife, but sometimes she drove him to distraction.
The thought made Lee smile, knowing that if she didn't, she would not be the Rosemary that he had fallen head over heels for. More than once he had thanked Jack for not getting back with Rosemary when she had come to Hope Valley looking for him. That had been a blessing for him and for Jack as well. Jack and Elizabeth had been so much in love even then. It was a shame that their love story had been cut short by Jack's death. Lee missed Jack, and he knew Elizabeth did as well.
Death did not stop life though. Lee had found that out with the death of his younger brother. Life went on for the rest of them. You either chose to embrace life and led the life that those passing would have wanted for you, or you ended up making choices that only led to misery. Lee knew his life had truly began again when he had come to Hope Valley. He knew if his mother, father and Patrick were looking down on them, they would be happy for him with the life he had created here.
Lee had a feeling if Jack was looking down on Elizabeth that his friend would see the misery and pain she was still in. Lee couldn't shake the feeling that Elizabeth had chosen wrong when she had chosen Lucas. She did not belong with him. Lucas was not the one that could make her happy. From what he had seen in town lately, Lucas no longer even cared about tying to make Elizabeth happy. Lucas was a smart, savvy man and Lee had no doubt Lucas knew his flirtatious attitude of late would hurt Elizabeth. Trouble was, Lucas did not seem to care which lead Lee to believe the saloon owner was not happy in his current relationship either.
The only two it seemed having trouble realizing that they were not meant to be together were Elizabeth and Lucas and it was making them both miserable.
Lee figured Lucas was not his concern. They had always been cordial with one another, but had never been friends. Elizabeth however was a friend, and Lee had spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out how best to help her. He had not come up with the answer as of yet.
A figure walking on the side of the road pushed all other thoughts out of his mind as he concentrated on his driving. The person did not even glance at his car as he drove by, but Lee still recognized Elizabeth. Pulling over to the side of the road, Lee got out of his car and walked back to meet her. Elizabeth still did not seem aware of his presence.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing out here?" Lee asked as he walked toward her.
At the sound of his voice, Elizabeth finally looked up from the ground in front of her. "Lee?" she said, seeming surprised at seeing him there. Looking past him, she noticed the car. "Were you out?"
"I went to Benson Hills to pick some things up for Rosemary," Lee told her with a nod. "I got a late start back. What brings you out?" Lee asked, trying the question a second time.
"I was having dinner with Lucas," Elizabeth told him. She paused for a moment, as if she planned on leaving it at that. However, then she continued, the words in a rush as if she had to tell someone. "He put on music and it happened to be O' Danny Boy. It brought back memories of Jack and Lucas said he did not want to compete with my late husband. I think Lucas expects me to forget about Jack as if what we had meant nothing. Maybe I was not ready to move on," Elizabeth said, her desperate words melting into a torrent of tears.
Lee did not hesitate in stepping forward and taking Elizabeth in his arms. He held her tight against him, doing nothing to put a stop to the flow of tears. Tears were healing. Lee knew that from experience, though he tried not to let people see him shed those tears. Not even Rosemary. Elizabeth needed to be able to cry out her hurt and grief. The fact hat they were standing along the side of the road, in the cold, did not matter. Emotions arose whenever they wanted and trying to bury them for a more opportune time accomplished nothing.
The minutes ticked by. Given the time of night, there were no other passers by as they stood there on the side of the road. Lee held Elizabeth tightly against him, simply rubbing her back as he allowed her to express her pent up emotions.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth finally murmured, her tears spent, though traces of them sparkled on her cheeks in the moonlight as Lee looked down at her.
"Don't be," Lee told her. "Everyone needs a good cry now and then," he assured her. Seeing an opportunity to bring up a subject that he had been wanting to but had not been sure how, Lee continued. "As for moving on, I think you were ready, Elizabeth. Taking off your rings was proof of that. However, perhaps you made a wrong choice with who you chose to move on with."
"I was trying to see Jack in Nathan. It would not have been fair to either of us," Elizabeth said, repeating the reasoning she had given to Nathan as she rested her head against Lee's chest. She made no move to pull away as she clung to Lee and Lee made no move to push her away.
Knowing they were words she may not want to hear, but knowing that she needed to hear them Lee continued. "Were you really? Or were you simply seeing the uniform, Elizabeth, and perhaps that scared you. Being scared is perfectly understandable in the moment. You lost one Mountie to the job. It is natural that you would not want to lose another, but Elizabeth, Nathan is so much more than the uniform that he wears. I will admit that I am guilty myself of being leery of getting to know Nathan because of it. I felt like he was replacing Jack when he came to Hope Valley and while I could not do anything about Nathan taking the posting, I vowed not to let Nathan replace Jack as my friend and I didn't. Yes, Nathan has become a wonderful friend but the friendship I share with him is different from the one I had with Jack. It is how it should be, because Nathan is so different from Jack."
Elizabeth did not reply and Lee did not press her for an answer. He knew that answers were not important right now. All he wanted to do was say what had been on his mind for a while now. To hopefully open Elizabeth up to processing what was going on. His friend had not seemed happy to him for a while and he wanted her to be happy, no matter who that was with.
"From what I have seen, neither you nor Lucas seem completely happy with the relationship you are in. Perhaps there were expectations on both sides that are different now that you are exploring the relationship. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind, Elizabeth. Just do not try to force a relationship that neither of you is going to be happy in. Rosemary and I are here for you, no matter what you choose to do but know that I hate seeing you upset like this and I hate have to sit back and say nothing when I see Lucas being disrespectful of his relationship with you when I am in town."
Elizabeth finally looked up at him. "Then the rumors I heard are true? Lucas does flirt at the Saloon?"
Lee gazed down at the woman still clinging to him. He knew the truth would hurt but he was not about to lie to her. She deserved the truth. "For about the last month, yes. Bill and I have debated on how or if to tell you. Bill is afraid you would not be receptive of the information coming from him. He is afraid of not being able to be around Little Jack."
"I have given Bill a bit of the cold shoulder," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "I know he does not like Lucas though and I know he and Nathan have gotten close."
"A good relationship should add to your circle of friends, Elizabeth, not alienate you from old friends."
"I feel so lost. I have hurt so many people. Maybe I do not deserve to be happy," Elizabeth said, resting her head against Lee again.
Lee reached up with one hand and tilted her chin up so that Elizabeth was looking up at him again. "You deserve happiness, Elizabeth. Jack would want you to be happy and to be loved by someone worthy of your love. It is up to you to figure out how to find it and who that person is. I promise, that now that I have said my peace, I will not bring up this topic again but know that I am here if you need to talk. Or if you just want a shoulder to cry on."
Elizabeth tightened her hold on Lee. Despite the cold around them, inside she felt warm being held close by her friend.
"I am glad you happened by tonight," Elizabeth told him.
"Me too," Lee told her. "Are you ready for me to drive you home now?" he asked, knowing it was not a question of if he was going to do so. He was not about to drive off and let her finish the walk by herself.
"Can we stay right here for just a couple more minutes?" Elizabeth asked. "I feel protected and cared for right now. I have not felt that in quite awhile," she told him.
"I will hold you as long as you need me too," Lee told her, placing a brotherly kiss to her temple.
Elizabeth did not sleep well that night. Her dinner with Lucas had left her unsettled and Lee's words kept playing over in her head. She knew the words, hard as they were to hear, had been said out of friendship. They were words he had thought she needed to hear, much like some of the things that Rosemary had tried to tell her and she had dismissed.
At least I didn't bite his head off, Elizabeth mused as she lay in her bed trying to fall asleep.
The broken sleep and bout of tears that night had left her feeling groggy. She was thankful when Laura showed up early, taking over getting Jack ready for the morning and even cooking breakfast for her. With a hug of thanks for Laura and a kiss for Jack, Elizabeth set out for the schoolhouse, a little later than usual but still in time to reach the schoolhouse in time.
The brisk air helped to wake her up some more as she made her walk to work. Unfortunately, it had no effect on her troubled spirit. Elizabeth knew that would take more time to work out and instead she focused on just trying to clear her mind enough to do her job. Her students needed her attention and the rest would need to be sorted out at a later time.
Approaching the schoolhouse, Elizabeth spotted Nathan out front of the schoolhouse with Ally. He was in his uniform, though a black coat covered most of his red serge. Given the gear on Newton, Elizabeth knew that Nathan would be heading out of town for an extended period of time. Most likely Ally would be staying with Opal and her family.
Elizabeth watched as Nathan gave Ally a hug, holding on to her for an extended amount of time. He then mounted Newton, gave a final wave to Ally and her friends and rode off.
There was a time when he would have also spoken to her. That she would not be speculating what was going on because Nathan would have told her. He also would have waited to say good-bye to her.
Elizabeth knew that she could not blame Nathan for those changes. She was the one who had pushed him away. Part of her had thought it would save her from worrying. The funny thing was, seeing him ride out of town, Elizabeth was worried for Nathan even given their current relationship or lack of one. As she continued her walk toward the schoolhouse, Elizabeth found herself saying a prayer for Nathan's safety in whatever he was heading out to do.
The morning went by fairly smoothly. Despite the restless night, Elizabeth was able to give her students the proper attention. They read another chapter of The Christmas Carol before lunch break. They were almost finished with the story. In their seat, Elizabeth watched Ally help Byrony, who had been trying valiantly to follow along in the book with the story, find her place. A worn copy of the book sat open on the seat next to Ally reminding Elizabeth of the rejected gift. Blinking tears away, Elizabeth had gone back to concentrating on Cody's voice as he currently read the story out loud.
Hoping the fresh air would help rejuvenate her a little, Elizabeth bundled up after eating lunch and went outside with the kids during recess. The only child still inside was Angela, who liked to use recess as practice time on the piano. Stepping outside, Elizabeth spotted Byrony sitting on the front steps instead of playing with any of the other children. Looking around the schoolyard, she spotted Ally, Opal, Cody, Anna and Robert by the bank of the pond.
"Children, be careful around the pond, please," Elizabeth called out. "The ice may not be solid."
"Okay, Mrs. Thornton," Cody called out with a wave.
With the warning given, Elizabeth turned her attention to the small girl on the bottom step. Going down the steps, Elizabeth settled beside Byrony.
"Why are you not playing with the others?" Elizabeth asked.
Byrony shrugged.
"Are you feeling okay?" Elizabeth tried.
Another shrug.
Elizabeth removed a glove and touched the girl's forehead. "You do not feel warm."
"I am just scared," Byrony finally admitted.
"About what?"
"Constable Kinslow is coming tonight. I am supposed to tell him if I want to stay with the Weise's or not."
"Why does that have you scared?" Elizabeth asked the girl. "Do you want to stay with the Weises? I know Opal has enjoyed having a little sister."
"I like her too. I like Mr. and Mrs. Weise. I want to stay but what if I stay and then they decide they do not want me like the last family that took me."
Elizabeth put her arm around Byrony. "The Weise's will not do that," she assured the girl.
Before anything else could be said, there was a scream followed by a thud and two more screams. Elizabeth looked in the direction of the pond as the sound of cracking ice was heard and Ally disappeared from sight.
Elizabeth's chest tightened even as she got to her feet and hurried toward the pond. Robert was reaching into the hole that had been created as he knelt on the bank.
"I will get help," Cody called, already hurrying toward the buildings of town.
Anna and Opal hugged one another as Robert pulled Ally's limp body from the water as Elizabeth reached them. Taking off her own coat, Elizabeth knelt down next to Ally. She wrapped the girl in the coat even as she looked the girl over for obvious signs of injury. An abrasion just above the right temple was the only thing Elizabeth saw.
"Ally, can you hear me?" Elizabeth called out, even as Robert placed his own hat carefully on Ally's head in an attempt to keep the girl warm. He was shrugging out of his coat as well.
"She hit her head when she slipped on the log."
"It is my fault," Anna sobbed, as Opal hugged her. "I dared her to walk the log."
"That is not important right now," Elizabeth said.
The other kids were gathering around now. Giving instructions to some of the older boys to help her and Robert pick up Ally, Elizabeth started the process of getting Ally into town. After falling into the cold water, she needed to be indoors and out of her clothes as quickly as they could manage. Ally also clearly needed medical attention. Elizabeth found herself praying that Faith was in the infirmary.