Author's Note: You have all been so amazing with me. You have been really patient about the storyline, and you have been fantastic about expressing yourselves and letting me know your thoughts about this story. I really want to thank you all for your outstanding support. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Chapter VI
Lucas was just leaving the Mercantile when he heard a voice calling out his name. When he looked to his side, he saw Rosemary happily making her way towards him, a notepad in her arms. The cold wind blew, causing him to stuck his hands inside his coat's pockets, and for some reason felt like he knew what Rosemary wanted with him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Coulter." Lucas greeted the woman with a short nod, and he went down the short steps. Rosemary merrily hummed as she reached his side. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Now, I know we still have little more than a month to go, but I'd like to ask if we could borrow your saloon for our Christmas festival." Rosemary declared jovially, and Lucas had to stop himself from smiling at her antics. "I was thinking of doing a theatre with the children this time, but Elizabeth needs the school for the choir. Do you think it would be possible?"
"Do I actually have a choice?" Lucas decided to ask, an amused note in his voice, and Rosemary opened her mouth, closed it and threw a knowing look at him. This time, Lucas allowed a smile to appear in his face. "The Queen of Hearts is yours for whatever you need, Mrs. Coulter. I'm also available to help if needed."
"Oh, that's fantastic, because I will need all the help I can get. I know you helped Elizabeth building the shelves for the library. Will you be ready to help out a little bit more if needed?"
Knowing there was no point in trying to get out from a possible carpentry work, Lucas nodded.
"Sure!" Lucas said after a short pause, and a wide smile appeared on Rosemary's face.
"Oh, splendid!" she nearly shouted, hands in the air, and Lucas was pretty certain the notepad nearly slipped from her fingers. "I hope you are ready because this year you will experience the beauty of Hope Valley's traditional Christmas' festival! Now, I know we have a lot to measure up to thanks to last year," Rosemary sent a pointed look in his direction at that, and Lucas' smile got a little bigger, "but I will show you what I can do this time."
"Oh, I am sure I will never be able to measure up to your standards." Lucas commented, and Rosemary laughed at that.
"Well, the paper lantern show was quite astonishing, I will give you that." the blonde conceded, and Lucas could not help but feel his smile warming up at that. However, Rosemary immediately raised a finger in the air. "But I'm not one to shy away from challenges, and I will offer you the festival of your life!"
"I'm counting on it." Lucas actually laughed at Rosemary's enthusiasm, and it was then that his eyes spotted a familiar face in town. Inwardly, the saloon's owner smiled before he turned to Rosemary. "Well, Mrs. Coulter, if you need anything else you know where to find me."
Rosemary nodded at that, and Lucas excused himself. With long strides, he approached the unsuspected teacher, who stepped inside Abigail's. Without thinking twice, Lucas walked inside the bakery as well, and spotted Elizabeth talking to Clara by the counter.
"Good morning, ladies." he greeted with a smile, and while Clara greeted him with a smile, Elizabeth turned around to face him.
"Hi Lucas!" she greeted, "What brings you to Abigail's?"
"I was actually in the mood for a muffin." Lucas responded, without missing a beat, and then he turned to Clara. "May I have a muffin to go, please?"
"Of course." Clara responded with a wide smile before leaving to take care of his request. Lucas noticed the look that appeared on Elizabeth's face, and tried to hold back his smile.
"I know, I know, I don't seem like the kind of man who eats muffins, right?"
"Can't say it's something I've imagined before." Elizabeth admitted before motioning towards his clothes with a hand. "It certainly doesn't match the outfit."
"Well, what can I say? I am a man of many surprises." Lucas responded, and he felt quite proud when Elizabeth laughed lightly at that. It was not her full, beautiful laughter, but it carried a hint of amusement, and he considered that a win in his book. "So, Mrs. Coulter came to talk to me about the Christmas' Festival."
"Oh, I'd be careful treading those waters if I were you." Elizabeth warned, smiling when Clara re-emerged from the kitchen with Lucas' request inside a paper bag. "Clara, may I please have a slice of peach pie to go?"
"Of course, coming right up!" Clara responded with glee, and Lucas took his bag while thanking her. Then, he turned to Elizabeth, but not before putting the money on top of the counter.
"Yes, I've noticed she's quite eager about it."
"Rosemary is always tremendously passionate when it comes to planning festivals." Elizabeth agreed with a nod. "She told me about some of her ideas last night, and I'd be careful if I were you. She really wants to leave everything ready before she leaves with Lee for their trip."
"I think it's a little late for that." Lucas pointed out, and Elizabeth looked at him with a strange look on her face. Again, Clara took the opportunity to return with the teacher's order. Elizabeth thanked her friend, paid for her order, and then Lucas motioned for the two of them to leave the bakery together.
Once they were outside, they were hit by the frosty breeze.
"Mrs. Coulter has already requested for my carpentry skills." this time, his comment was rewarded with a white smile, and Lucas felt his insides lift. "I guess no one told her I am better at dealing cards than I am swinging a hammer."
"I'm sure you'll be fine." Elizabeth kindly reassured him, "If it's of any comfort, Rosemary wouldn't let you refuse anyway."
"And I shall take comfort in that when she asks me to build something." Lucas promptly answered with a wide smile. Elizabeth returned the smile before placing the bag with her slice of pie inside her basket.
"Well, I better go; the children have a math test today."
"Ah, then I shall not hold you up any longer." Lucas told her before nodding in her direction. "Have a good day, Elizabeth."
"You too."
With those words, Elizabeth walked past him, in direction of the school. Lucas decided not to watch her go. Instead, he took a deep breath, and made his way towards his saloon. On the way, he found himself glancing in direction of the Mounted Police office, and was actually surprised when he spotted two Mounties he did not recognize walking inside the building.
For a moment, Lucas just stared at the edifice. Three horses were by the door, and Lucas was quick to recognize Nathan's horse. Narrowing his eyes, Lucas found himself wondering about what could be happening, but his inquisitiveness died out when Fiona appeared in front of him.
"Oh Lucas, good morning!"
"Good morning, Fiona. Are you on your way to the saloon?" the black-haired woman nodded in response, and Lucas smiled at her. "May I escort you there?"
"Oh, thank you so much." Fiona responded, and the two started walking side by side on the boardwalk. "I actually have some ideas I'd like to share with you, if that's OK."
Glancing one last time at the Mounted Police office, Lucas turned to Fiona, and nodded in response.
Allie silently played her solo cat's cradle while her classmates finished their math test. She had already given Elizabeth her answers, and was now just patiently waiting for the bell to ring. Well, perhaps patiently was not the best way to describe it, but it was not as if she had any other option.
Instead, Allie tried to keep her mind busy by playing with the string only to drop her hands in tiredness when she found it to be impossible. Her mind kept going back to the moment when she had heard her uncle had just been shot. Allie knew her uncle's job was very dangerous, but she also knew her uncle always did his best to stay safe whenever he went out on assignments.
"Are you OK?" a small voice asked all of a sudden, and Allie looked to her side only to face Opal's worried eyes. "You look sad."
"Yeah, I'm OK." Allie answered with a small smile, and Opal looked at her test for a moment before leaning back. She looked a little unsure about what to say, and she surprised Allie by touching her arm.
"My mum told me how your uncle protected Judge Avery and the other Mounties," she said in her small voice, "He was very brave."
"Girls, is there something wrong?" Elizabeth asked all of a sudden, emerging from Allie's side. The two girls immediately looked at her, but while Allie simply shook her head, Opal spoke to their teacher.
"I was just telling Allie that I think her uncle was very brave."
There was a pause, and Allie timidly met her teacher's eyes. Elizabeth looked at her for a moment before letting out a deep breath.
"Yes, he was," their teacher agreed with a short nod. "But perhaps you should wait until after the test to talk about that? I can see you haven't finished yours, Opal."
In a cue, Opal turned to her test, and their teacher shared one last look with Allie before walking away. Allie looked down at her knees, her teeth finding her lower lip as she thought about the past few days with concern. Allie knew Opal was right; her uncle had been incredibly brave. Allie had always known that being a Mountie required a much bigger dose of courage than other jobs.
However, in the past seven years, Allie could not recall one single incident like the one that had occurred that week. Or, at least, her uncle had never shared those experiences with her. Then again, Allie was pretty certain her uncle was always trying to protect her from the dark side of his job. Although uncle Nathan was a legend in her eyes, Allie knew he worked hard to make sure he returned to her side every night.
Still, it hurt her to see him so quiet. He barely even tried to joke around just to mess with her since the incident. Allie honestly had no idea what she should do. Maybe she should not do anything, or perhaps she could try asking her uncle to do something fun with her. Fishing usually did the trick.
Allie groaned at her thoughts before scratching the top of her head. She was starting to think that was why adults always said things were complicated. She certainly felt like she was out of her depth, and she was only eleven!
"Allie," her teacher's voice caught the girl by surprised, and she instantly raised her eyes. Elizabeth was standing right next to her, "could you stay a little after class? I'd like to talk to you."
For a moment, Allie thought she had done something wrong, but could not come up with anything. So, she simply nodded, and decided to concentrate on her solo cat's cradle until everyone finished their math test. Thankfully, she quickly became so engrossed in her game that when she heard the bell echo throughout the classroom, Allie was actually caught by surprise.
Looking up, Allie watched as her friends started tidying everything up. She also stood up, but before she could do anything Emily, Opal, Anna, Robert, and Harper appeared in front of her. They were all looking at her weirdly, and for a moment Allie remembered her first days at school when all she did ended up really bad.
"What's up?" Allie ventured to ask, and her friends shared a look. This time, Emily was the one who spoke up.
"We just want to tell you we are here for you." the dark-haired girl said, with a smile, "And we also wanted to say that we all think your uncle was really brave."
"Yeah, he actually managed to capture the bad guy's sister when she tried to shot him!" Robert exclaimed with a nod. "Being a Mountie really requires a lot of courage! I still remember when your uncle chased down the bad guy in town. It was both impressive and terrifying."
Allie tried not to drop her eyes at that observation. Instead, she smiled at her friends, and clasped her hands in front of her legs.
"Thanks guys."
"What are you all still doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she approached the group, hand resting on her hip. "Are you all waiting for extra homework? I think I could manage a few more things."
That did the trick. The whole group immediately said their goodbyes, went to grab their things, and left the school. All except for Allie, who simply kept looking at the open doors of the school, until she heard her teacher clearing her throat.
"Allie, can we talk?" Elizabeth asked, and seconds later both of them were seating on different seats, facing one another. "How are you?"
"I'm OK." Allie answered with a light shrug, not really feeling like elaborating her answer. Still, she knew her teacher was not going to back down due to her lack of explanation.
"How are things with your uncle?"
"They are OK." Allie answered, but when her teacher raised an eyebrow, she shrugged again. "They really are; uncle Nathan is just a little more quiet than usual, but he's always around whenever I need anything. I guess I just miss his terrible jokes at the moment, but don't tell him that."
There was a moment of silence, and Allie forced herself to not look away from her teacher's face. She had no idea how adults worked, but Allie knew better than to just ramble about her doubts and questions to her teacher. She really did not feel like bothering anyone with her confusing thoughts.
Still, it seemed like her teacher had other ideas.
"Allie, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Allie looked down at her knees for a moment before she remembered something. Looking behind her, she stared at the wooden plaque close to the entrance. The one that said Jack Thornton School. Still, would it really be all right if she asked such question?
"Allie…" the young girl looked away from the plaque, and gazed at her teacher, "What's really going on?"
"Do you think uncle Nathan is regretting refusing the promotion last Christmas?" Allie had honestly no idea why she suddenly blurred that question out. Elizabeth actually blinked in surprise, and Allie shrugged at her own question. "I mean, I know he had wanted it for years, and I know he decided to stay in Hope Valley because of me, but… I don't know. Maybe if he had accepted it, he wouldn't have gone through what happened this week."
"Oh sweetie, I am sure your uncle has not regretted his decision." Elizabeth spoke up, "I am sure he is just trying to deal with what happened at his own pace. You know him better than I do; don't you agree that this is something he would do?"
"I just… I don't remember ever seeing him like this, that's all." Allie confessed, and she noticed her teacher was taking her words in before nodding. Then, she stood up.
"I know you like Alice in Wonderland," she began, "but have you ever read Little Women?" Allie thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "Louisa May Alcott wrote: 'I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship'. I think you are going to like it. Do you mind if I go by your house later on to lend it to you?"
"I don't want to give you any trouble." Allie started to say, but Elizabeth simply smiled at her.
"Not at all. I know I have it in my house. This way I can go on a quick stroll with little Jack before dinner." her teacher explained, clasping hands in front of her skirt. Allie took in her teacher's caring smile, and relented.
"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton." she said with a small smile, knowing that her teacher was always looking out for her. And maybe, just maybe, the older woman would be able to help her uncle as well.
To Be Continued