Chapter 4

After placing the man in the jail cell, Jack took a seat to rest. The large man and the other two did get in a few good hits on Jack. He was already sore and will be for the next few days. His lip and nose weren't too bad, just cut and a little bloody. After cleaning himself off, he did feel a little better.

"Let's get this paperwork done and we will call it a night." Bill stated and he sat down across from Jack. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been hurt much worse than this."

By the time Bill dropped Jack off at his apartment, it was close to two in the morning. He was exhausted. Once out of the car, Jack noticed the porch light on the main house turn on. A second later Abagail and Frank stepped out.

"Oh Jack. Are you ok? What happened to you? Do you need anything?" Abagail was asking without giving Jack a chance to answer.

"Ok honey. Let's give Jack a chance to breath."

Abagail huffed at her husband but knew he was right.

Jack smiled at Frank. He knew his wife well.

"I'm fine. I had a run in with a person we wanted to question. He and his two friends didn't want to talk. We arrested one and the other two got away."

"Are you sure you're, ok?"

"Yes Abagail. I'm fine. Just a little sore. Not as bad as it looks."

She nodded but didn't believe him fully.

Jack saw her expression and knew she wasn't satisfied with his answer. "I promise I am ok. Just sore. They did get a few hits in, but it looks worse than it is. Nothing is broken. I will be sore for a few days but I'm ok." He looked at her with a smile.

"Fine. I will have breakfast waiting for you in the morning."

He just smiled at her knowing anything he would say wouldn't matter. "Jack, you are a smart man. You will not win that argument." Frank stated with a laugh.

"Yes. I don't have a sister, but I think this is how it would have felt if I did."

"Smart man. Smart man. She has already decided to like you. You do not have an option any longer." He stated again with a laugh.

…

The next morning, Jack was struggling to get out of bed. His back hurt where the men hit him. Nothing felt broken, but his back was extremely sore. He finally managed to get out of bed after thirty minutes of trying to convince himself to do so. He looked in the mirror and looked at a reflection of a man who went twelve rounds of a boxing match. His lip was cut, and his right eye was black. "Oh man" he said under his breath. "This looks bad."

Abagail was already at the café when Jack walked in. She flinched when she saw him. "Oh" she said under her breath. "Have a seat, Jack. What do you want for breakfast?"

…

Elizabeth sat up in bed. She woke up before her alarm sounded. She was surprised, she never did that. She really didn't sleep much during the night. Her conversation with Abagail kept playing through her mind. She knew Abagail was right, but that didn't remove her fear of a relationship. Charles really did a number on her. Moving to Hope Valley was a great move. She has grown in the three years since moving here. She made very good friends. Plus, the town wasn't too big so there wasn't a long line of men fighting for her attention. She has never dated too much, but certainly wasn't looking for anything now. She wanted a romance, but not just any romance. She wanted a toe tingling relationship where she couldn't wait to get home from work. She wanted a man worthy of her respect and love. She didn't think those things were real. She thought they were only in the movies or novels she reads.

"Does he really have to sketch?" She mentioned numerous times during the night. Sketching was important to her and always thought her husband would share that little trait. She couldn't deny that Jack was handsome. Those hazel eyes and long eye lashes, she could get lost in them and not care if she did. Then his physical features were perfect in her opinion. He wasn't a small, bony man but he wasn't a muscle head either. He had to work out, but not too much. "Elizabeth. Quit thinking that!" She reprimanded herself.

All those things were impressive, but when she closed her eyes, it was those dimples she saw. Those dimples were perfect. How is he not taken? She thought to herself.

…

Jack finished his breakfast when Frank walked in the café. He kissed his wife on the cheek and walked over to Jack. "Seems like you two get along very well." Asked Jack.

"Yeah. We have been married for a while and we are more in love today then we were when we married."

"That's great."

Frank looked at him and noticed something wrong. "What's up? Are you ok?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Just sore."

"Jack, I'm a minister. I can read people very well. Plus, you shouldn't lie to a minister." He said with a small laugh.

"True." Jack thought for a moment before speaking up. "Just a few things on my mind."

"The case?"

"No. Not yet." Jack stated with his head down.

"Whenever you want to talk, I'm here." Frank stated and patted Jack's shoulder. Then he stood to leave.

Before he was able to turn to leave, Jack cleared his throat.

Frank sat back down and gave Jack his full attention.

"I've always wanted a relationship that you two seem to have. My parents had that before my pa died. I just don't know if it really exists for me."

"I can assure you it does. Abagail and I found each other in our darkest hours without realizing it. Both of our spouses died about a year before we meet. Neither one of us were looking for a relationship, but before we knew it, we were in love. That love grows every day."

"That's what I want but I have given up on looking for it. It just doesn't exist for everyone."

"It does my friend. It does."

Jack nodded his head but wasn't convince.

"I think my lovely matchmaking wife is wanting to set you up with her friend."

"I get that feeling too." Jack liked Frank a lot. "I hope she slows down with that. I am not looking for any wife and I am wanting to find Ms. Right for myself. I've had a lot of people wanting to set me up with their friend. It typically doesn't go well."

"She may have other ideas. I think she is looking at her best friend, Elizabeth."

"Oh, yes. She has mentioned her. She is a school teacher, right?"

"Yes."

"I was at the school yesterday and meet this rude teacher. I wished I would have met her friend instead of the teacher I spoke with."

"A school teacher that was rude? What was the teacher's name?"

"She was so rude. I haven't meet anyone that rude. We just talked for a few minutes, but I couldn't wait to get away from her. I don't know what her problem was."

"Her name?"

"Oh, her name is Ms. Thatcher."

"Ms. Thatcher?" Frank asked shocked.

Abagail walked up and wrapped her arm around Frank's shoulder. "What's up boys?"

"I was just telling your husband about the extremely rude teacher I meet yesterday."

"Yeah, he said her name was Ms. Thatcher. He doesn't know your…" He was cut off before he was able to finish the statement. He looked up confused at his wife who shushed him.

Jack's phone rang and he looked to see that it was Chief Avery. "I've got to go. I'll see you all later."

They watched Jack walk out the door after leaving money to pay for his food. "He doesn't know that Elizabeth is Ms. Thatcher?"

"No."

"He thinks she is rude. Elizabeth?" Frank asked shocked. He never knew her to be rude for one minute.

"He thinks Ms. Thatcher is rude. She was very rude to him yesterday."

"He doesn't know you want to set him up with her?"

"Who said I want to set them up?"

"Sweetheart, who are you talking too?"

"I…um…fine. Yes, I think they would be perfect for each other." She sat down and told her husband everything both Jack and Elizabeth shared with her.

"Wow!" he stated as he shook his head in disbelief. That was a huge misunderstanding, and he doesn't know that Elizabeth and Ms. Thatcher are the same person?"

"No. I haven't told him."

"And why not? You know this could come back to bite you on your backside."

"I know. I just haven't had a good chance to do it yet."

"If you want your little matchmaking scheme to work, you better figure this out soon. He doesn't like Ms. Thatcher."

"I know. I know. I haven't figured this out yet, but they are perfect for each other."

…

Elizabeth walked into her school with about fifteen minutes before her scheduled time. "Ms. Thatcher. It is great to have you on time today." Stated Mrs. Blakely.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes before turning around to face her. "Yes. It is. I hope you have a good day Mrs. Blakely." She stated as she turned around heading to her class.

"Ms. Thatcher, hold on for a moment." Elizabeth sighed before turning back around.

"You will have a visitor today. An Investigator Jack Thorton and Chief Avery will be coming by to ask you a couple of questions. There were here yesterday but evidently they didn't ask you all the questions they needed too."

She nodded before she dropped her gaze to the ground. She was not ready mentally to see Jack so soon. She has never been this way around any man before and wasn't too sure why she was now. She only met him one time and spoke to him for a few minutes. She walked to her class wondering how this meeting will turn out.

…

Jack walked into the jail looking for Bill. He did see the large man from the previous night sleeping on the cot in the cell. Jack noticed a black eye and some bruises and cuts on him too. Maybe I didn't get the bad end of that ordeal last night after all. He thought to himself as he walked across the large, open room.

"Hey Chief. What's up?"

"Hey Jack. We need to head back to the school. We didn't get all the answers we needed from Ms. Thatcher concerning Henry."

Jack rolled his eyes. He had no desire to speak to that woman again.

"Fine." He stated with a little bit of attitude while standing up. "Who's driving?"

Bill shook his head. "Alright young man. Let's go. And you are."

…

Bill and Jack walked into the school's office to receive their passes. Ms. Florence smiled at Jack with a flirtatious smile. Jack's head dropped and his cheeks started to turn a bright red. He hoped Bill didn't notice. However, his hopes were dashed when Bill slapped him on his shoulder and directed a big smile at him.

Jack shook his head and spoke to Ms. Florence. "Good morning, Ms. Florence. I hope you are having a great day today."

"Oh, I am now." Her faced turned a little red.

…

Bill and Jack stepped out of the office. Bill started to walk down toward Elizabeth's classroom and Jack remained standing by the door.

Bill turned around when he noticed Jack wasn't beside him. "Hey, Chief. Would you mind going to talk with Ms. Thatcher while I check on something else?"

Bill looked at him with a knowing smile. "You're afraid of her, aren't you?"

"Afraid of who? I am not afraid." He tried to sound more confident than he was feeling. He just didn't want to experience that teacher again.

"Who? Asked the man who is trying his best to avoid a school teacher." Smirked Bill.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just want to check in on something I worked on yesterday. I will be back as soon as I am done. I will meet you at Ms. Thatcher's classroom."

…

He turned to walk toward the cafeteria before Bill was able to say anything. He wanted to avoid Ms. Thatcher but he also wanted to check on Henry.

Jack walked into the cafeteria and noticed the nice older lady stocking the milk cartoons. He walked over to her and touched her on the shoulder. The lady jumped and spun around bringing her hands to her chest.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I didn't want to scare you. Please forgive me."

The lunch lady finally caught her breath and smiled at the young, attractive investigator. "Good morning, Investigator Thorton. Oh, my. What happened to you?"

"I had a little run in with a few criminals last night. I'm ok."

"Are you sure? You look like you lost that battle."

"Well you should see the other guy. He is bruised more than I am and there were three of them."

"You are very lucky to have gotten out without being seriously hurt."

"Yes. I guess you are correct."

"Let me get you something for your bruises."

"I promise I am alright. No worries."

Jack smiled at the lady and knew he liked her. She loved those children, and he could sense it. "Good morning, ma'am. You would do me a favor just by calling me Jack." He offered her a smile that showed off his dimples.

"I will call you Jack if you call me Alice."

Jack smiled again at her and said, "Good morning, Ms. Alice. I trust you are having a great day."

"Good morning, Mr. Jack. I am and I trust you are having a great day too."

They shook hands, and a friendship was formed at that moment.

"If you have a moment, Ms. Alice, I would like to talk to you about Henry?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Jack. What do you want to know?"

"Did you speak with him yesterday concerning his ability to get food for breakfast and lunch?"

"I did, and he..." She paused trying to regain her composure. "He cried and gave me a big hug. He asked me how and I said that some nice person paid his account for the month."

Jack wiped a tear from his face. He remembered when his dad died. It was very difficult for his mom for the first few months. He remembered how it felt to go hungry. "You didn't tell him it was me, did you?"

"No sir. I did not." She continued to wipe tears away from her cheek. "That was a very nice gesture young man. That was very kind of you."

Jack nodded his head but didn't say anything.

"Why would you do that for a kid you don't know?"

"I know how he felt. God has blessed me with enough to help. Ms. Alice, I would like to pay his account for the rest of the school year for breakfast and lunch. Could you help me with this?"

"Mr. Jack. That is so kind of you. Yes, I would consider it a blessing to do this for you."

"Also, would you join me in having a carton of milk?" He smiled at his friend.

"I would love too. But the milk is on me."

Jack smiled. "Great. Let's take care of Henry's account. Would you want chocolate or white milk?"

…

Elizabeth stepped out of her classroom after asking her class to begin reading chapter 5 of their history books.

"Hello, Chief Avery. How can I help you today?" She was surprised he was alone. Ms. Blakely stated that both Bill and Jack were going to stop by and see her. She was a little disappointed he wasn't there.

"A couple of days ago we found a paper from your class, and I think it is Henry's paper at the crime scene of the last burglary. We don't think he is involved, but we needed to follow up on this."

"We?"

"Yes, Jack and I."

"Oh. He's not helping you today?" Wait…where did that question come from? She thought. She was hoping Bill didn't sense her disappointment.

"He is. He is trying to avoid you because you scare him. He went to the cafeteria on another mission."

"Scared of me?"

"Yes. What did you do to him yesterday?"

She shook her head and laughed. She told the Chief that she was having a bad day. There was no need in going into too much detail.

Bill laughed at Elizabeth's story. "So, that is why he is so scared of you."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't think he fears me. I'm just a school teacher."

"Ok. Ok. Now, about this piece of paper we found."

Elizabeth told the Chief that she handed every student the paper. It described an assignment, and it was nothing special about it. It is just like all the other papers she hands out throughout the year. She trusted the Chief in that Henry wasn't a suspect, but she still felt it necessary to express her opinion on the matter. She needed to defend her student.

"Chief, I don't know how the paper got there, but I do know Henry had nothing to do with this."

"I know, Elizabeth. We just have to follow up with the evidence."

"Great. I need to get back to my class. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Well, there is one thing."

Elizabeth stood waiting for Bill to continue.

"The next time you speak with Jack, could you please take it easy on him? I can't have him afraid of school teachers." He let out a big laugh before turning to walk down the hallway.

She huffed and then took a deep breath before entering her classroom.

…

Bill walked in the cafeteria and saw Jack sitting at a table drinking a carton of milk with an older lady. "So, this is where you have been hiding. It's safe now. I have finished talking with Ms. Thatcher. You can come out of hiding now."

Alice looked up at Jack with a confused look. "You're hiding from Ms. Thatcher? She is the nicest person I know."

"Ms. Alice, I'm not hiding. I was talking with you about something, and I enjoyed our conversation afterward." Jack gave he a weak smile.

…

The morning passed by quickly and before she knew it, lunch time was quickly approaching. She gathered her students and escorted them toward the cafeteria. When she walked in, she noticed the lunchroom was busy today.

She grabbed her food and walked through the line to pay for her lunch. "Alice. It's great to see you today. How are you?"

"What did you do to Jack?"

Elizabeth was stunned at her direct question. "I'm sorry."

"What did you do to Jack? He is a very good man. What did you do to him?"

Elizabeth stood stunned. She wasn't sure where this was coming from. "Alice, I didn't do anything to him. I have meet him once and talked to him for about five to ten minutes."

"Why was he avoiding you this morning?"

"I'm not sure why."

"I have gotten to know him over the last couple of days. He is a good man. He is kind and compassionate. How could you be so mean to him?"

"I didn't try to. I was having a bad day yesterday and I…"

Alice cut her off. "Ms. Thatcher, he came in again today to pay for Henry's lunch and breakfast for the whole year. How could you be mean to him?" She repeated her question again.

Elizabeth was still stunned but was saddened more because of Jack's generosity. Alice was right, he is a good guy. "I'm sorry, Alice. I was having a hard day yesterday and Jack came at the wrong time. I misunderstood everything and I was a little rude to him."

"A little?"

"Ok. I was very rude to him. I have felt bad about it ever since. I haven't seen him to apologize to him."

Alice was still a little upset but understood that Elizabeth had a bad day. "I'm sorry I jumped on you. You didn't deserve that."

"I think I did Alice. But thank you for apologizing. Are we good?"

Alice gave her a hug in the line. "Yes. We are fine. Now, how are you going to fix this?"

"Fix what?"

"He is perfect for you. You need to fix this."

"Alice, I'm not" Alice cut her off before she could finish her statement.

"Nonsense. You two are perfect for each other. Now, fix this so you can get together."

…

Jack walked into the jail prepared to have a chat with the large man from last night. He sat down in a chair beside his cell and looked at the man. "What's your name?"

The man looked at him but didn't say anything.

"I'm not sure everything we are going to charge you with, but I do know we will charge you with assault of a police officer. You need to start helping yourself instead of helping others who don't care about you."

The man thought about it for a few moments before saying anything. "My name is Franklin. Steve Franklin."

"Well Mr. Franklin. We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

Jack and Steve talked for over an hour and a half. He confessed to many minor crimes, but nothing major and not the robberies. Jack felt that Steve was being honest with him, but he needed to check a few things out to make sure.

"Chief, if it's ok with you, I'm going back to the apartment. It's been a long day and my back is starting to hurt."

"It's fine Jack. Let me take you home."

"I'll walk to the café first for dinner. Thanks anyways."

…

Jack walked into the café feeling all the pains from the previous night's altercation. He was beginning to move a little slower and grunting as he sat down at the counter.

"Oh Jack. You are looking a little rough this evening."

"I am feeling a little bit rough, Abagail. Things are starting to hurt. It is always worse on the second day."

"I have heard that."

Abagail walked away to get Jack his drink. He didn't think anything when the café door opened. The place was usually busy so that didn't set off any alarms.

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks when she was about ten feet way from Jack. She realized who he was when he slightly turned his head to look to his left. He didn't notice her, but she noticed him. She froze and started to turn to leave when he turned to looked behind him at a strange sound.

She really wasn't sure why she was avoiding Jack like the plague. He did nothing wrong to her. She was a little embarrassed with how she acted. She was never rude or inconsiderate. She was just taken back by the sketch and the dreams. Plus, everything Abagail said, along with Alice, didn't help too much. She was confused because of the sketch a couple of days ago, but she was confused with her feelings. Her dating was basically limited to Charles, and she never felt anything like this with him.

One of the waitresses dropped a plastic glass that caused a lot of noise. Turning around to see what happened, he looked directly at her. His breath caught by her beauty, but then the memory of her attitude came to mind. Without thinking, he stated, "You" with a little too much attitude.

She gave him a little grin and then he looked into her eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes with long eye lashes made him forget why he was frustrated with her. He forgot his name for a few moments. He shook his head slightly trying to focus on the moment.

"Ms. Thatcher." Jack dryly stated.

"Jack" she whispered softly.

Abagil walked from the kitchen to see the two staring at each other. "Maybe" she softly stated to herself. Hoping this would be the beginning of a lifelong relationship.

"Elizabeth," Abagail started.

"Elizabeth?" Jack stated under his breath. Then turning his head back to Ms. Thatcher, he continued. "Ms. Thatcher…you're Elizabeth?"

She nodded slightly and noticed the stunned look on his face. "Yes. I'm Elizabeth Thatcher. Why do you ask?"

"I didn't know your name was Elizabeth."