Sunday passed fairly uneventful. Despite the grey, heavy skies most of the people around Brookfield came to the Royal Brookfield for the church service. After debating the move most of the morning, Gabriel took Billy. The boy surprised Gabriel by asking to sit with Vincent and Christian. Gabriel readily agreed as it gave him the opportunity to sit next to Lillian during the church service.
Gabriel and Billy spent the rest of the day in the small apartment behind the Mounted Police office. A light snow started to fall shortly after noon, and continued into the night. Thankfully, the snow stayed light and Gabriel wasn't called upon to handle any problems, allowing him to take a day off. He spent a lot of time that evening weighing the decision about whether or not to keep Billy with him.
By Monday morning, Gabriel had decided that if he could he would keep Billy with him. The boy had seen enough heartache. Billy was use to being pushed aside as if he didn't matter. Gabriel refused to do that to him again. It was about time that Billy's best interests were taken into consideration and the only way Gabriel could be sure that happened was to take responsibility for the boy himself.
So, after dropping Billy off at the infirmary to spend the day with Maggie, Gabriel made his way to the Royal Brookfield to meet with Bill. Walking into the hotel, he spotted Bill at one of the tables, an empty plate in front of him. Standing beside the table was Michael Strait, a ranch hand on the Clay ranch, and Allison Cutter. Allison and her parents had moved into a cabin just south of town last spring. Allison's mother had been ill and the doctors in Edmonton had suggested that getting out of the city and into fresh air might help her recovery. Allison's father had been willing to do anything for his wife and had bought her out there. Unfortunately, the wife had passed away last fall, her condition having not improved at all.
"Are you sure about this?" Gabriel heard Bill ask as he approached.
"Yes," Allison replied. "I might be eighteen, but if I'm not married my father will insist on me going back to Edmonton with him. I want to stay here with Michael."
Bill glanced down at a paper he held and then back up at the couple. He gave a nod to the young couple. "I'll have some paperwork to get ready, but meet me in the Mounted Police Office at one and I'll marry the two of you." Bill looked past the couple to Gabriel. "Can you serve as their witness, Gabriel?"
"Yes," Gabriel said with a nod.
Bill nodded. "I'll see you then."
"Than-you, Judge Avery," Michael said, shaking Bill's hand. Turning to Gabriel, he held out his hand. "Thank-you for agreeing to help, Constable."
"You're welcome," Gabriel said, shaking Michael's hand.
It was no secret that Michael and Allison had been seeing each other since shortly after the Cutter's had moved into the area. People figured they would eventually get married, though Allison had also been devoted to caring for her mother. It only made sense that the young woman would not want to move back to Edmonton.
Hand in hand, Michael and Allison left the hotel. Gabriel watched them for a moment before turning back to Bill. "Staying busy I see," Gabriel commented.
Bill nodded. "I am," he consented. "Though marrying that young couple is much more pleasant than the court cases I have scheduled for tomorrow. Some of the ranchers have brought disputes forward given that there is a judge in the area."
Gabriel nodded. "I've probably played peacemaker before on some of those disputes," he replied. "The most I can do is try to keep them from shooting each other, play arbitrator if they allow and suggest taking it to court if I can't. Given that most ranchers don't want to travel out of the area for a court case, some of the disputes just keep simmering between the ranchers."
Bill nodded. "Well, hopefully listening to these cases will defuse some tension if nothing else," the judge said. "May I borrow your office for a courtroom tomorrow? Ronnie has already fussed over me taking over a table in his dining room for paper work."
Gabriel nodded. "You may, as long as you promise not to charge me with disrupting court proceedings if I have to arrest someone."
Bill laughed. "I can make that promise," he said. "Was there something you wanted to see me about?"
"There is," Gabriel replied. "I'd prefer to discuss it somewhere more private. Perhaps we can go to my office and then you can stay and do your work from there today."
"I will take that offer," Bill said, placing some money on the table as he got to his feet. "Let me just go up to my room for my coat. Do you mind holding this?" he asked, holding his briefcase out to Gabriel.
"Not at all," Gabriel said, taking the briefcase as Bill headed for the stairs.
Seeing Grace clearing a table nearby, Gabriel went over to greet her. As most guests had finished with their meals, Gabriel spent the time waiting for Bill chatting with Grace while she cleared tables.
When Bill came back downstairs, he and Gabriel crossed the street to the Mounted Police Office. As Bill was going to be staying in the office longer than he was, Gabriel indicated that Bill should take the chair on the right side of the desk.
"So what is this about?" Bill asked, as Gabriel sat down in one of the chairs across from him.
"It's about Billy," Gabriel told him. Deciding that being direct was the best route to go he continued. "Would it be possible for me to become his guardian?"
Bill looked surprised by the question, though he quickly regained his composure. "Taking on a ten-year-old boy, especially one with Billy's emotional issues, is a huge responsibility. Have you really thought this through?"
"I have, Bill," Gabriel replied without hesitation. "I have gone back and forth with this decision for the last few days. I know it is going to change my life drastically, but I can't shake the feeling that Billy needs me."
"Well, he certainly needs someone to take him in," Bill commented. "I don't think that simply placing him at another orphanage, no matter how well run that orphanage is, is the solution. Not after what he went through at the first two. I have also noticed that he has already formed a bond with you. That much was clear when we had the discussion with him in my room, but it was even clearer on Friday night. What does Lillian think of the idea?"
"Lillian supports the choice," Gabriel replied.
"Well, normally the only time a single man is really considered for guardianship of a child is when it's family. There is no law against the arrangement, but it's usually not considered to be in the child's best interest. I don't think that is the case this time though. However, one thing I need to know is who is going to watch him when your job takes you away during the time until you and Lillian get married. It's one thing for Billy to be on his own for a short time, but should you need to be away overnight, he needs to be with someone."
"For now, Billy is comfortable with Maggie and Maggie has said she would be willing to look after him. It was actually to Maggie that Billy admitted he was hoping he could stay with me. Hopefully, with time, he'll become more comfortable with Lillian and that would be an option too."
"Good," Bill commented, and he continued to think through the situation. "Though that raises another concern I have to voice. Billy is clearly not comfortable out at the orphanage. He bit you when you suggested taking him there, and if he hadn't come out with you on Friday, I don't think anyone could have gotten him inside that house. As you and Lillian plan on getting married, what happens when you move out there with Lillian? Do you think Billy will run away rather than be out there?"
"I wish I could say for sure," Gabriel admitted, knowing that Bill brought up a very valid concern. "I think the only way to get an answer to that is to ask Billy. I plan on making it clear to him that moving out there will happen in the near future when I ask him if he wants to stay with me. I think Billy is old enough to have a say in what becomes of him."
"I agree," Bill said. "Have you mentioned any of this to him?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I wanted to make sure it was a possibility before I even got his hopes up. Billy isn't even aware that Maggie told me about his hope to stay with me as far as I know."
"Then let's keep it that way for the next few days," Bill said. "I want to file the paperwork releasing custody of Billy from the orphanage to me and make sure that is official before we start any paperwork concerning guardianship placement for him. I'm also going to send a telegram to Billy's great-grandmother via the Mounties in Saskatoon. She's the only family that Billy has that seems to care about him. I'd like to give her a chance to weigh in on the idea of you assuming guardianship for Billy."
Gabriel nodded. "All right," he conceded, knowing that Bill had a better idea of how to navigate the situation than he did.
"Unofficially, I think being with you is exactly what Billy needs. We need to make sure we go about it right though and you make a good point about not getting Billy's hopes up until I know I can avoid any legal snares that might arise. I will keep you informed. For now, just keep doing what your doing."
"Would it help if I enrolled Billy in the school here?"
Bill shook his head. "For now, I don't think that is necessary. As you said, Billy is comfortable with Maggie. I think him spending his days with her is fine. It's more important that Billy feels comfortable and nothing happens that makes him feel like he needs to run. If he runs, that could affect you getting custody of him. It could be beneficial to perhaps borrow a history book or something from the school if possible. No reason Billy can't be doing a little schoolwork while he is with Maggie."
"I'll check with the teacher this afternoon and see if she has any books she can spare," Gabriel told him.
"Good," Bill said. "To be honest, I was thinking of bringing the possibility of you taking Billy myself," the judge admitted. "I really think that Billy would run from another orphanage, which left placing him with somebody or at an institution designed to specifically deal with chronic runaways and troubled youth. I don't think Billy would benefit from the latter."
"Neither do I," Gabriel replied, knowing that Billy needed compassion more than he did discipline. The boy had good manners and a good heart. That much had become clear to Gabriel by the boy's action once he wasn't feeling terrified as he had been during their first interaction.
Gabriel got to his feet. "I think it is about time I go out on rounds."
"You'll be back by one o'clock, right?" Bill asked.
"I will do my best," Gabriel told him, knowing that he had no clue what he might come across during rounds.
"Understood," Bill replied. "Be careful."
Gabriel nodded as he retrieved his heavy winter jacket and headed for the door.
The week continued to progress relatively uneventfully. A letter from Billy's great-grandmother arrived for the boy. Billy's eyes lit up when Gabriel had handed it to him and Billy had immediately wanted to write back to her. Gabriel settled Billy at his office desk with paper, pen and ink and let the boy write his letter. The next morning, Gabriel took Billy to the telegraph office after breakfast so that the boy could post it himself.
Gabriel was able to borrow a history book and a science book from the school. The teacher thought it was best to hold off on other subjects until she could properly evaluate where Billy was in his school learning. Billy spent a little time each day while he was with Maggie reading the two school books as well as helping Maggie out at the clinic.
Knowing Bill would search him out when he had more information, Gabriel refrained from asking the judge how things were progressing. About a week after Gabriel had approached him about getting custody of Billy, the Mountie came back from rounds to find Bill waiting in his office for him.
Looking over his shoulder as he sat in one of the chairs in front of Gabriel's desk Bill greeted Gabriel with, "have a seat," as the judge motioned to Gabriel's chair.
Not even bothering to remove his coat, Gabriel walked over to the desk. Taking off his hat, he placed it on the desk before sitting across from Bill.
"Are you still sure you want to pursue getting guardianship of Billy?" Bill asked, not wasting any time.
"I am," Gabriel replied without any hesitation.
"Okay," Bill replied. "The paperwork giving me responsibility for placing Billy has been properly filed. I heard back from Billy's great-grandmother and she is onboard with the prospect though she asked that you provide her with regular updates' on Billy and promised to inform her of your whereabouts if you were to leave Brookfield."
"I have no problem with those requests," Gabriel said, relieved actually that Billy had some kind of family that did care about him even if the older woman couldn't raise the boy herself.
"I knew you wouldn't so I already assured her that would happen. She also requested that when things are more settled, if you could take Billy into Clearwater so she could talk to both you and Billy."
Gabriel nodded. "I probably should have already tried to get Billy into Clearwater so he could talk to her over the phone."
"You have had a lot on your plate, Gabriel," Bill told him. "Don't go beating yourself up because you can't think of everything. Most Mounties would have shipped that boy off at the first opportunity and thought no more about him."
Again Gabriel nodded, knowing that Bill had a good point.
"I've got the paperwork that needs to be filled out for you to petition for guardianship which I think is the best course of action to take for now. An application for guardianship is less likely to be challenged than a petition for adoption at this point. If after you and Lillian are married, and adoption is something you want to pursue, then we can handle that at a later date."
"You know what is best, Bill," Gabriel said. "To be honest, I don't know how Billy would even feel about the idea of adoption. I know he still thinks about his parents, which is how it should be," Gabriel said, thinking of the picture Billy had been working on. "I don't want him to think I'm trying to replace his father nor do I want him to feel as if he's betraying his parents memory by getting attached to me."
"All valid reasons to take things slowly," Bill replied. "So, I think before we start filling out this paperwork, I think we need to give Billy a chance to weigh in on everything."
Gabriel nodded. "Would you like to have dinner with me and Billy tonight?" he asked the judge. "We can discuss the situation after dinner."
Bill nodded. "That sounds like a good plan," he replied, figuring that Billy would be more comfortable in the place he had been calling home for the last couple of weeks. The judge also had a feeling that the boy would not consent to talking to him without Gabriel nearby. "Can you cook?" Bill asked as an afterthought. "Because if you can't, I'd be willing to cook dinner."
"I am a fairly good cook," Gabriel said with a smile. Leave it to Bill to come right out and ask the question instead of beating around the bush. "Just be here at six."
"You got it," Bill said, getting to his feet.
Putting on his coat and picking up his briefcase, Bill left the office leaving Gabriel alone with his thoughts for the time being.