Elizabeth stood at the door of the schoolhouse and wished her students a Merry Christmas as they hurried out of the schoolhouse. They were officially on holiday until the new year. Elizabeth had never looked forward to the holiday break as much as she did this year. This last week had been hard for so many people, her students included. Elizabeth hoped that with the new year, all of her students would be back in class.
When the last student had left, Elizabeth turned away from the door. She had some final things to do before leaving today. The schoolhouse would be used for not only church services during the school break but the Christmas concert as well. She wanted to make sure things were left in proper order for those events. There would be one choir practice before the concert but Elizabeth did not want to be tidying up then.
Elizabeth swept the school room, erased the boards, and straightened a few of the Christmas decorations. She was heading to her desk to gather her things when there was a knock behind her. Turning, Elizabeth saw Nathan stepping tentatively into the schoolhouse. He was in uniform and he held his hat in his hands along with a piece of paper.
"I thought I might have missed you, Mrs. Thornton," Nathan said in his quiet, steady tone. "I know the kids were let go a while ago. Quite a few of them were descending on the dress shop with Fiona, though I am not sure why."
"I am not sure myself," Elizabeth replied, as she stood where she was, watching him. She had noticed the formal address for herself versus the familia address for Fiona. She was not sure if Nathan had done so on purpose or he had just gotten use to addressing her formally over the past months. She decided that she was not going to bring attention to it, nor was she going to let it bother her. Whatever was going to happen between her and Nathan she was going to have to let in unfold, and listen to her heart instead of her fears. "I do know they have done odd jobs to earn money to buy Ally a Christmas present. Perhaps it has something to do with that."
Nathan nodded before looking down at the paper in his hand. "Speaking of Ally, she wanted me to give this to you," he said, finally advancing toward Elizabeth. He held the paper out to her. "It is her writing assignment for a Christmas Carol."
Elizabeth reached out for the paper. "I was not expecting her to turn it in. I meant what I said. We'll worry about getting Ally caught up with schoolwork after the holidays."
Nathan nodded. "We appreciate that. However, Ally wanted to get this assignment done to thank you for reading the story to her while she was in the infirmary. It meant a lot to her, Mr- Elizabeth," he told her. "It meant a lot to me," he added, dropping his voice slightly at the admission.
Elizabeth smiled. Though she wasn't about to tell him, the use of her first name felt like an early Christmas gift.
"It was my pleasure," Elizabeth replied.
"Were you heading out soon?" Nathan asked her. "I was going to go have lunch with Ally before I did another set of rounds. I could escort you home," Nathan suggested. "Unless you are expecting someone," Nathan added quickly.
Elizabeth shook her head. "I am not expecting anyone," she replied, briefly wondering if she should tell him that she and Lucas were no longer together. She decided against it, wondering if it might sound like she was expecting something of him. "I would appreciate the company on the walk home. Let me get my things."
Nathan simply nodded.
Elizabeth felt her heart beating faster. It had been so long since she had spent any extended time with Nathan. Even a simple walk home felt exciting. It would be nice to have a little time with him. Perhaps if they could spend time together in the innocent manner that they use to, it would give them both a chance to sort things out between them.
A short time later, Nathan followed her out of the schoolhouse, pulling the door shut securely behind them.
"May I carry your basket for you?" Nathan asked politely, holding out his hand for the basket as he joined her at the foot of the steps.
"Thank you," Elizabeth replied surrendering her basket.
The two of them set off toward the row of houses, going past the pond. The cold had frozen over the hole that Ally had created falling into the water the week before. Lee had carried out her request that the log be moved from the bank of the pond. Despite what had happened, Elizabeth had been concerned that the log might be too much of a temptation for others to try walking the length of. She had finally convinced herself of what others had told her, that the incident last Monday had simply been an accident. Despite that though, Elizabeth planned on doing what she could to prevent an accident like that from happening again.
Elizabeth felt a chill go up her spine as they walked past the place where Ally had fallen through. She could still see the girl's pale face and still form as Robert had pulled her from the frigid waters. What would have happened if Robert had not been there? Would Cody have been able to grab her in time? Would he have had the strength to pull her out of the water? Would one of the other children have fallen in trying to save Ally?
"Are you cold?"
The question brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts. She realized that Nathan must have noticed the shiver.
"It isn't the cold," Elizabeth replied. "Just bad memories," she added knowing that Nathan deserved some kind of explanation.
Nathan glanced over at the pond. Elizabeth sensed that he understood her reference without further details. He simply nodded, as he placed a hand gently against her back as they continued walking. It was as if Nathan was guiding her away from those bad memories.
The two walked in silence for a bit. Elizabeth felt no pressure to fill the silence with words like she often had when with Lucas. However, after a bit, a question from Nathan's visit to her home last week surfaced. She wanted more information about this Parks guy. She had noticed the multiple wanted posters for the guy over town. It was clear that they wanted people to be on the look out and be able to recognize this guy. She also recalled Nathan's reference to him as his brother-in-law.
"Is Dylan Parks Ally's biological father?" Elizabeth asked quietly as they walked. She had almost asked her questions of Bill over the weekend but had decided to wait and get the information directly from Nathan if he chose to share with her. She had asked, what the man was wanted for. Bill had told her he had escaped custody while serving time for assaulting and attempting to bribe an officer. Bill had paused then, before admitting to her that the officer in question had been Nathan.
The delay in answering the question went on long enough that Elizabeth thought that Nathan may not want to discuss the subject. He was about to tell him to forget she had asked when he spoke.
"Yes," Nathan said simply.
Elizabeth looked over at him. Nathan's throat muscles were moving in away that indicated he was struggling with emotions. She placed a hand lightly on his arm.
"It is okay. You do not need to say anything else to me if you do not want to."
"The story of Ally's parents is not a simple one nor is it pleasant. Gabriel is the only one who knows all the details," Nathan told her. "I even kept some details from my own mother in an effort to protect her. The same with Ally."
Elizabeth recalled the pain in Nathan's eyes when she had confronted him about his connection with Jack. While she still wished he had been more forthcoming with the information, she did understand what a hard situation he had been in. How much information did you keep to yourself in an effort to protect those you cared about? How did you decide when it was a good time to bring a hard and potentially hurtful topic up?
"Know that if you would ever like to share your burden, I am willing to listen," Elizabeth told him softly, her hand still on his forearm. "If not, I will be satisfied with the information, you have already provided. Bill did tell me what he had been in jail for. I am assuming his jail sentence coincided with Parks being in Hope Valley the last time."
"It does," Nathan replied. "What exactly did Bill tell you?"
Elizabeth repeated the information that Bill had told her. "He said the rest of the story was yours to tell or not as you saw fit."
Nathan nodded. "My brother-in-law would have been up for parole last Tuesday. I was going to Union City to speak to the judge presiding over his hearing. When Dylan was here in the spring, he wanted money in exchange for staying away from Ally. I knew it would not be that simple and I was right. Dylan ambushed me on the way to the rendevous point, he used a lasso to pull me from Newton, took my gun, kicked me, scared Newton off and left me there in the road."
Elizabeth gasped, though she recalled commenting on Nathan's disheveled look when he had returned from his mysterious trip. What he had just told her explained a lot.
"Newton came back for me and I got some back up. He had brought a newspaper with him when he came to see me, so I had an idea where he had come from. He was arrested and sentenced and I thought Ally and I would be safe for a few years at least."
"Do you really think he would hurt his own daughter?" Elizabeth asked.
"He was abusive to Colleen," Nathan replied. "I tried to get her to leave him, and she wouldn't. I always felt like she was mirroring what she saw in our parents in a way, though my Father was never physically abusive. I've always suspected Dylan was involved somehow in the fall that resulted in my sister's death though I had no proof. All Colleen would say was that she had slipped, but then she had always defended Dylan just like my Mom had made excuses for my Dad for so long."
Elizabeth gasped. She wasn't sure what exactly she had assumed when Nathan had said his sister had passed but it wasn't this. She had never suspected just how heavy a burden Nathan had been carrying when he had found his way to Hope Valley. A burden that had included the indirect connection to Jack along with this. A burden that despite her words of forgiveness during Florence and Ned's reception, she had only made worst.
"Be vigil, Elizabeth," Nathan told her before she had a chance to formulate a response to the information she had gotten. "My brother-in-law might be a coward when confronted directly, but he will not hesitate to use an innocent person as leverage to get what he wants."
"I will," Elizabeth assured him, thinking that she would make sure that she was not out alone after dark for the time being. There was no need to take any chances. She had been in the position of being used as leverage twice before. Once with the Tolliver gang and then because she had been concerned for Lucas and walked into Dixon's clutches. At least Nathan was being up front about the danger unlike Lucas, who had been secretive about the whole thing. Perhaps if Lucas had told someone what was going on, then she would not have been held at gunpoint.
"Are you going to be okay?" Elizabeth asked, her concern clear. "I saw Constable Kinslow leaving town this morning," she commented, as they paused at the foot of the steps to her home.
Nathan nodded. "As much as I would have liked to continue having Gabe at my side, he needs to be with his family for Christmas. I've dealt with my brother-in-law for about nine years now. I do not plan on letting my guard down and I still have Bill and Constable McKenzie for back up. Just look out for yourself and Jack, Elizabeth. Don't worry about me," he instructed her as he handed her back her basket.
Elizabeth nodded absently as she took the basket from him. She didn't think that Nathan knew how hard that was. Even while courting Lucas, she had worried about Nathan. Now, knowing more details of what was going on, she was even more worried. Nathan and Ally had been through enough. They did not deserve to have to go through even more.
As hard as losing Jack was, how would she have felt being suspicious that someone was the cause of his death and was still out there free?
"Have a good day, Elizabeth," Nathan told her, putting two fingers to his hat with a nod.
The words brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts and back to the moment at hand.
"Be safe," Elizabeth told him, wanting to tell him so much more. Rosemary had told her to listen to her heart and that it would tell her when the time was right to share her feelings with Nathan. Right now, despite her longing, it was telling her that the time was not right. That Nathan had enough to deal with without her adding anything to it.
A small smile came to Nathan's face. "I will try," Nathan told her and then turned and started toward his own home. Elizabeth stood there for a few moments watching him. She noted that his attention stayed focused on the direction of the houses as he walked, clearly observing the small space in between the buildings. That small action told Elizabeth just how worried Nathan was about his brother-in-law being on the run.
"Lord let them find Dylan Parks soon," Elizabeth whispered, the prayer flowing naturally from her heart. "Nathan and Ally have been through so much this year. Give them a Christmas that they can just enjoy being together with no other worries. Amen."
With the prayer said, Elizabeth finally turned from the sight of Nathan getting further away and headed into her home. It was time to let Laura go home and spend some time with her father over the next few days. Rosemary and Lee would watch Jack during the school concert, and as Elizabeth knew she had to try to make up for the time away from her son while courting Lucas, she had given Laura off until after New Year's. She knew that if she needed a few hours to do an errand here or there, that she could find someone to watch Little Jack. Laura had been a god send this past year, being flexible in her hours and working long hours. She deserved the break and Jack deserved some time with his mother.
Dylan stood near the entrance of the old mine, peering through cracks in the boards across the opening as the sun set. He had doused the fire, and the warmth was quickly giving way to the cold once again in the stone tunnel. Not many people came by the old coal mine entrance these days but there were a few. Though the boards blocked and overgrowth provided enough coverage to hide the fire during the day, and he risked the slight glow being noticed during the darkest hours when most people were in bed, Dylan knew that he could not risk the glow in the twilight hours.
Besides, as soon as darkness fell, he would be loosening a couple of boards so that he could slip out of his hiding place. He needed to do some scouting during the dark, evening hours of winter. Just like he had risked coming to Hope Valley despite the man hunt for him, Dylan knew he needed to risk being seen to gather information. He needed money so that he could disappear for good. An amount of money that he could only get by pressuring his brother-in-law. Ally was the pressure he needed to get Nathan to do whatever he wanted. If he had to use other people to get to Ally, which seemed possible giving that people were always around his daughter, he would. He just needed to make sure he got a hold of the hostage before really confronting anyone.
At least the Mountie presence had finally started to dwindle. Constable Kinslow was supposed to leave town today. As Kinslow had always been by Nathan's side that was beneficial. There had been no way to surprise Nathan with the second Mountie at this side. That still left the third Mountie and that blasted judge guy to contend with. Dylan knew they were the ones, along with Nathan, that would cause him the most problems.
The longer he stayed here though, the greater his chance of his hiding place in the mines being discovered. Not to mention, he needed to be on the move where he could steal food and move on before it was noticed missing. Staying in the area, he could not risk even that small of a theft. He had managed to snare a rabbit yesterday but he had finished the rabbit meat earlier today and his stomach was feeling hungry again.
Dylan knew that he needed to find a way to take his brother-in-law by surprise. He needed some town event that would occupy most people of this town and then he needed Nathan to be alone, or with someone who did not pose a threat. Better yet, would be for Nathan to be with a woman or child that he could use as leverage against his saintly brother-in-law.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, Dylan moved to the loose boards. It was time to do some scouting.