What's in Her Heart
Chapter 3
The next day, after a good talk with Rosemary and a restful nights sleep, Elizabeth played with Jack for awhile and then began to prepare for her dinner guests. Meanwhile, though, word had begun to circulate around town about Lucas's manipulations and the things he said to Elizabeth after she called him on it. No intervention from anyone was required as many of Hope Valley's residents were suspicious of the man and they loved their school teacher. Nathan, Lee and Bill were each outraged enough to want to have words - or maybe more than words - with the man - but they had no part in the plan townspeople were beginning to formulate. It was not born of any sort of organization - but it's effect would not take long for the saloon owner to notice, once he actually showed his face again.
Main St - Hope Valley
Blissfully unaware, Elizabeth and Jack began their walk to the Mercantile for groceries. She may have been somewhat nervous to run into Lucas, not wanting to make a scene with her boy present - but this dinner was very important and she wanted to put forth her best effort. When she arrived at Main Street, her eyes sought out the Mountie office and her heart skipped a few beats when she saw Newton tethered outside. Suddenly, Jack tore his hand from hers to run towards the street. "Kitty!" he shrieked. She saw an orange tabby cat dart out ahead of them.
"Jack Thornton! You stop right there, young man! You cannot just run out into the street!" She said, firmly. The boy halted, looked from her back to the cat, then turned slowly and very reluctantly, walked back to his mother - a pout on his sweet face. She clasped his hand and they went up the steps into the Mercantile. "Thank you, Jack, for obeying me."
Nathan stepped out on the boardwalk with a mug of coffee, just in time to see Elizabeth and Jack disappear inside the Mercantile. He glanced the other way as Henry's car pulled up in front of the saloon. Without bothering to return the car to its owner, Bouchard got out - slammed the car door - and did the same when he removed his suitcase. He disappeared inside without sparing a glance anywhere else. Nathan clenched his free fist. How he'd love to march over there and take the man to task for what he'd tried to do to Elizabeth yesterday - but he could wait him out. Enough rope given...maybe Lucas would take care of the rest. Mainly, he didn't think that the lady would appreciate him creating a scene and drawing more attention to her 'situation'.
He waited a few more minutes and wasn't disappointed when Bouchard appeared on his balcony, carrying his delicate little teacup - which most certainly carried nothing that had anything to do with tea, of that he was sure. The man looked positively furious. While he would like to stand there and have a stare down with Lucas (which he knew he'd have no problem winning), he didn't want Elizabeth to have to run into him while Jack was with her. He quickly set his mug down inside and hot footed it over to the Mercantile before she could conclude her business.
Saloon
Back at the saloon, Lucas shot back the rest of his whiskey and stomped back inside. Just seeing Grant irritated him more. He ignored comments or questions and slammed the door to his office. When someone knocked and entered only seconds later, he blew up. "Gustav - what do you want?! I have things to do and do not want to be disturbed!" he yelled. It wasn't Gustav, but Henry Gowen and he wasn't looking too happy. Lucas ran his hand over his face in frustration.
Henry stepped inside and shut the door softly - in sharp contrast to the thunderclouds showing on his face. "My keys, Bouchard?" his hand held out, waiting. Lucas reached into his pocket and tossed the keys on the desk, purposely ignoring his hand. Henry sighed as he picked them up and then he cleared his throat - demanding Lucas's attention without words. When the man finally looked at him he spoke "That was an incredibly brazen and stupid move you made in Union City. Don't doubt that you'll be dealing with the fallout from it for a long time. Oh, by the way, don't bother asking for the use of my car ever again."
Lucas's chair scraped back, then tipped over as he stood "So Elizabeth is already spreading tales around town? What did she say to you? Because I'm certain she's blowing the whole thing way out of proportion." before another word could be uttered, Henry closed the distance between them and grabbed ahold of Lucas's shirt, pulling him close enough that he could smell the whiskey on his breath.
"First of all, she told me nothing. I'm not even sure who she might've talked to. She has far too much class to 'spread tales', as you say." Word has gotten out, though. And, listen very carefully, you will never disrespect that woman again or you'll answer to me and you don't want that. I'd probably have to get in line, though, and I won't be quite as law abiding as our Judge or Constable. I'm sure William Thatcher already knows. You really don't seem to understand, do you? But you will." he pushed Lucas away from him and before he exited the room, he turned "I have the funds to buy you out of the oil company. Paperwork will be here within the hour. If I were you, I'd sign it." With that, he slammed the office door on this way out.
Mercantile
While Henry was giving Lucas a piece of his mind at the saloon, Nathan had popped into the Mercantile right after Elizabeth and Jack. He'd heard her soft voice and Jack's giggle among the aisles in the back and he decided to have some fun with the boy - so he snuck up very carefully and knew the moment when Elizabeth caught sight of him and quickly realized what he was up to. Nathan got down on his knee and peeked through the shelving to where Jack was looking for an item his Mama asked for. He watched and thrilled at the exact second when Jack noticed him. His blue eyes grew wide and he released a high pitched squeal. "Mountie Nat'an, Momma! Right there!" and the boy scrambled to get around the shelf. Nathan braced himself for impact.
Chuckling, Nathan reached his arms out as Jack threw himself into them. "Hey, my friend! How are you? Helping your Mama to find what she needs?" The boy nods vigorously and points to Elizabeth's basket.
He turns back to Nathan "Where's Awie? Where's Newt?" He starts to wiggle as if wanting to run and check.
Nathan increases his hold on Jack. "Allie is at Opal's house and Newton is at the Mountie office having a bit of a rest." He looks up at Elizabeth and gives an almost imperceptible nod at Ned, who was behind the counter.
With a nod, Elizabeth interjects "Jack? I think that Mr Yost may have a couple of pieces of candy for you since you've been such a good boy and big help."
After setting the boy back down on the floor, Nathan stands and pulls Elizabeth aside gently by the elbow.
"You look so serious, what is it?" she asks nervously.
"Lucas is back in town and right before I came over here, he was out on his balcony." he said, watching her face.
She nodded and looked down for a moment, deep in thought. When she looked back at Nathan, her eyes were shining. "And rather than go and confront him, you came here to warn me."
His mouth opened, then closed. He was trying desperately to figure out if she was upset by what he hadn't done.
She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Nathan, you thought of me and my boy before yourself and your own satisfaction. Thank you." She rose on her toes and softly kissed his cheek. "You're a good man, Constable Grant." They momentarily got lost in each others eyes until Jack ran over, "Mountie Nat'an! Look at my candy! Mr Yos' gave me 2! He said I was good!"
As Nathan knelt down to pick Jack up again, the door opened and Henry Gowen entered with a very stormy look on his face. When he noticed Jack, he schooled that look. "Elizabeth? I, well, I heard you were in here and I came to offer you and Jack a ride home. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take it." his eyes bored into hers and then Nathan's.
Elizabeth looked at Nathan questioningly and he nodded. He realized that something must've gone down between Henry and Bouchard when the former collected his vehicle and he was anxious to get Elizabeth off of Main St. "Of course, Henry. Jack and I would really appreciate it. Please give me just a moment to make sure I've finished with my shopping." She turned to Nathan and reached for Jack - giving the men some privacy to talk. No matter how thrilled she was about her future with Nathan, she was filled with anxiety and regret about her poor decisions and what happened and could've happened last night.
Nathan joined Henry near the door, and in a low voice asked "What happened?"
"I may or may not have threatened him...can't promise you won't end up having to arrest me." he was a bit surprised to hear a grim chuckle erupt from Nathan. After looking at the man for a moment, he continued "Really, it was more of a warning. The guy is furious that his plans were thwarted. It would be good to keep Elizabeth out of his path for the time being. I don't trust him to not make a scene in front of Jack or even townspeople."
"You're right and I really appreciate you stopping in here to offer them a ride home. I was going to offer to walk with them, but that would be no guarantee that there wouldn't be some sort of confrontation."
A few minutes later, they were joined by Elizabeth and Jack. The four of them headed out to Henry's car. As Henry and Jack got in, Nathan's eyes held Elizabeth's briefly. "Allie and I will see you at 5:30?"
She reached out and squeezed his hand. "We're looking forward to it. And, thank you Nathan."
Only when the car drove off towards the rowhouses did Nathan notice Bouchard on his balcony watching them. He sighed as he headed back to his office to finish his paperwork. A confrontation was coming and he only prayed that Elizabeth and Jack didn't suffer any more for it.