Chapter 5 - Home and the long way there

Elizabeth sat at her small desk, which was scattered with empty chocolate bar wrappers. For the second time in the last five minutes, she scratched out her incorrect correction of a student's test paper. The strength and positive feeling she had initially felt when she sent four telegrams inquiring about Jack had dissipated as the day wore on.

The knock on the home's front door was a welcome distraction.

"Come in, come in", she said as she invited Lucy, who was holding baby Maddy, and her husband, who was holding a pot and a loaf of bread, into the home.

"We brought you some chili. I made plenty so I thought you might like some for supper."

Elizabeth quickly gathered up the candy wrappers and threw them in the nearby trash bin before Lucy could notice that she had bought several more from the mercantile.

"I'm not hungry. But thank you. I'll eat later."

Lucy ignored her response and motioned for Elizabeth to sit down. "Elizabeth, stop worrying. I'm sure Jack is fine. There's no reason for you to not eat something."

"You're the one that told me that my shivering was something tragic", Elizabeth said accusatorily.

"Maybe I over-exaggerated. Michael says I do that sometimes."

"I do say that", Michael readily acknowledged as he headed for the kitchen.

"I see you've been filling up on chocolate", Lucy remarked as she saw an empty wrapper that Elizabeth had overlooked.

"I'm taking Mary Mary's advice. Eating chocolate while I nervously wait."

"Elizabeth, I totally agree that chocolate is good, but you need to eat something more for you and the baby you're carrying. Jack will just get upset when he gets back if he finds out that you were worried for no reason and not eating well."

Elizabeth looked at the other woman in shock. "How did you know that I'm pregnant again?! We haven't told anyone yet!"

Lucy shrugged. "You have that look about you."

"A healthy glow?"

"Yeah, that's it", Lucy answered after hesitating for a split second.

"A nice healthy rosy glow", she quickly added with an upbeat smile before following her husband into the kitchen.

Elizabeth stood up and paused; she smiled as thought about how she must look.

"I thought you said that you suspected that she was pregnant because she had that tired drained look of a new mother wondering how the heck she managed to get herself pregnant again so soon," Michael said in a loud whispered voice.

"Hush, she'll hear you."

"I already did", Elizabeth called out tiredly from the other room before going to take the diapers off the clothes line.


The rain had stopped and the sun had come out, drying Jack's hair and bloodied clothes.

He had been limping for almost three hours. In top shape, he should have already traveled at least twelve miles, but he conceded that he had probably only gone about two.

At this rate, I'll be an old man by the time I get back home.

If he remembered correctly from his rounds over the past few days, he should reach a homestead within the next mile. If he made it that far.

His hand trembled and he looked down at his pale fingers. He was losing blood again.

Jack collapsed his weary body onto the hard ground and began looking at his wounds, which had bled through the cloth coverings. If he didn't fix them now, he'd never make it to the homestead.

He arched his back slightly and looked down at his damaged torso. The outer diaper, held in place with twine, was a wet dark crimson-red.

Jack reached into his bag and took out the remaining unused diapers.

Gingerly, he removed the top fabric from his stomach and looked at the diaper wedged into his wound. It was drenched in blood but he didn't want to remove it and risk a renewed flow of blood. Instead, he left it intact and replaced the outer cloth with a fresh one.

A bright red spot immediately began to spread on its stark whiteness as it touched his wound. Jack quickly put another one on top of it and retied them.

He was tending to his thigh wound when something made the hair on his neck prickle.

He jerked his head up, sensing something.

He just didn't know what.

Looking around warily, he saw nothing amiss. He was about to turn his attention back to his thigh when he saw the animal standing still at the edge of the woods.

Watching him.

You got to be kidding me! Jack thought in angry exasperation.

The large bobcat was curiously eyeing him; its body ready to charge if it saw an opportunity to bring down a weaker animal. Even though Jack couldn't clearly see the details of the animal's face, he could easily imagine what the animal was doing. Lifting its nostrils into the breeze and twitching its nose. Inhaling the scent of Jack's sweat and blood.

Automatically, Jack went over in his head what he remembered about bobcats. They were patient; often waiting hours to attack prey. In addition to their exceptional sense of smell and eyesight, they also had excellent hearing.

The wild felines were known for being skillful at tree-climbing, swimming, and fighting other animals. Three things Jack was lacking the ability to do with his injuries.

The bobcat's natural instinct was to chase, catch, and kill prey.

With a frown, Jack realized he was the already-wounded prey.

He tried to yell to scare the animal, but he was too tired to get out more than a very nonthreatening and feeble sound.

Damn cat! Isn't anything going to go my way.

Shifting his attention away from the cat for just a moment, Jack brought out his pistol and then lazily fired in the direction of the animal. Knowing it would be hopeless at this distance, he didn't bother to aim for a kill, and was satisfied when the cat, startled by the sound, turned and ran off.

As a grey squirrel with a fluffy tail scampered past Jack, he looked at his watch and then at the sun in the sky, realizing he could wait a little longer until he got moving.

I just need to rest a minute. Maybe five. That's all.

Understanding that the gunshot may have only temporarily scared away the cat, Jack didn't dare close his eyes or risk falling asleep.

I don't care how hungry that cat is. I'm not going to be its next meal.

But as the sun warmed him, and his exhaustion from blood loss and three hours of limping caught up to him, Jack's head began to nod slowly down.

Within minutes, memories of his youth came back to him as he surrendered to his fatigue.


"I'm hungry."

"Be quiet."

"But I'm hungry", eight-year old Tom whined again.

"If you keep yapping your mouth, you'll scare away the squirrel and I'll never get anything for dinner."

"How come I don't get to use the gun."

"Cuz you're too young. You know that", Jack, who was lying prone on the forest ground, reminded his brother.

"It's not fair"

"What's not fair?"

"That Pa taught you how to hunt and not me. Who's going to teach me?"

"I will. When you're old enough."

"Promise?"

"Sure. That's what brothers are for."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you always going to take care of me?"

"Course I am."

"What if you can't?"

'Why couldn't I?"

"Cuz. You want to be a Mountie like Pa was. What if you die like him?"

"I ain't going die like him. Don't be stupid."

"I ain't stupid! . . . Ma says I'm just lazy when it comes to schooling."

"I'm not going to die. I'm going to be a Mountie and have a family. And I'm never going to leave them."

"Pa left us."

"Pa couldn't help leaving us. But I'm strong. He always said so. He said I was him and Ma mixed together so I was stronger than just him."

"Ma sure is strong", Tom admitted.

"Sure she is. And I'm both of them."

"What about me?"

"You're both of them too but Pa said you're more trouble. That's why it's probably best that I'm the older brother."

. . . .

The boys, carrying three dead squirrel between them, walked back home whistling.

"Thanks, Jack."

"For what?"

"For being my older brother."

"You're welcome . . . But I didn't really get a choice, you know."

"I'm glad you're never going leave your family when you grow up."

"I expect they'll be real glad too", a pleased Jack had answered confidently.

" 'specially cuz you're so good at hunting squirrel", Tom had nodded knowingly.


Jack woke with a start and quickly looked around. Seeing that the cat was nowhere in sight, he let out a relieved sigh and opened his canteen, taking a large chug of water.

A smile formed on his tired face at the memory of Tom's and his words from all those years ago.

I sure hope Elizabeth and Thatch love me for more than just my ability at hunting squirrel, Jack thought with a chuckle.


"Did you know right away that you loved Michael?" Elizabeth asked Lucy, who was walking around the front room carrying both babies, allowing her to sit at the table, sipping a cup of tea and trying to relax while Michael gave the women some privacy.

"No. Not right away."

"Jack and I were friends first. It seemed to take forever until we admitted how we really felt about each other", Elizabeth offered as she reached for the small honey pot and then held the wooden dipper over her teacup, watching the thick amber substance drizzle into her beverage.

"I know what you mean. My goodness, the three days we knew each other before Michael got the courage to tell me that he loved me seemed an eternity."

"Three days?!"

Lucy nodded simply as a stunned Elizabeth stared at her.

"I thought you said it wasn't right away!"

Lucy looked at Elizabeth curiously. "It wasn't. It was two days before I knew that I loved him and another day until he told me first."

Elizabeth stared at her best friend some more, before shaking her head in wonderment and taking another sip of tea.

"What did you first love about Jack?"

"Oh everything!"

"Then what took so long for you to get engaged?" a confused Lucy asked with furrowed brow.

"It's not that easy! We come from different lifestyles. And he was stubborn. Proud of being middle class and a Mountie. But he was so handsome. He made my heart start beating fast every time I saw him. Still does. We decided to take our time. Getting to know each other. And he was so nervous around me at times, getting himself all tongue-tied", Elizabeth giggled.

"But I just love everything about him", she added with a smile and sigh.


A sweating Jack had been limping along for ten minutes when he noticed the bobcat off in the distance, but slowly moving closer. He realized it must have been following him since he started walking again after his brief rest.

Jack had hunted enough times to know how it worked once the prey was spotted.

Patience.

Stealthily track.

Close the distance.

Attack.

Kill.

Eat.

The cat had already completed the first three steps, and Jack wasn't looking forward to the next three.

Fighting against the pain, he hurried his pace and tightly gripped his weapon. Despite his years of experience with guns, he didn't trust his aim in his weakened state; he'd have to wait until the cat got close enough so that he had a better chance of stopping it.

Five minutes later, the cat was sprinting across the open field at full speed towards Jack. It took huge strides, its hind prints falling exactly on top of its fore prints in the characteristic motion of a cat bearing down on its next victim.

Jack's heart pounded in his chest as he quickly dropped to his knees and prepared to shoot.

Despite feeling light-headed, he tried to keep his arm steady as he held it out and waited for the cat to get closer. Counting the amount of time until he was close enough to be sure of hitting it.

Twelve seconds.

Ten seconds.

Eight seconds.

Five seconds.

Three -

A shot ran out and Jack fell sideways onto the ground. His face hitting the dirt and his gun falling from his hand.

His eyes remained closed and his mind unconscious as the warm body walked across the field and leaned over him.

Up next: Chapter 6