AUTHOR'S NOTE= Our story is on fire...A lot of bad people and a lot of work to solve all the problems that haunt Elizabeth Thorton. Comment because I like hearing from you and follow us. Weekend gift, a chapter and name with + 2.5K words.

CHAPTER 51

The day dawned beautiful. Elizabeth went to school with Jack who wouldn't let go of her hand. That man was super protective, he was my hero.

Arriving at school, an hour before normal time, Jack took off his coat to start chopping wood, when he heard Elizabeth's angry voice.

— What are you doing, Jack Thornton?

He shrugged his shoulders, not understanding anything about his wife's anger.

— Bella! I'm just going to chop the wood, to make the fire for you.

— You really won't, Jack Thornton! I forbid you to do this, I warned you that I have plans for Tom; And he smiled beautifully.

— But Bella... Will he reject that, he hates hard work, would he never do that?

- Good morning. Yes, I will, Jack. Whatever she orders or needs, I will do. Tom was at the school door and behind him Charlotte and Bill. Tom was very embarrassed, he didn't know where to put his head.

Elizabeth took the ax from Jack's hands, walked to Tom and said:

— Behind the school, chop the wood, and clean the stove and light the fire. The school should be warm when the children arrive;

— I don't know how to light that! I never did it.

— There's always a first time, and Elizabeth turned her back and walked away.

— I'll teach you Tom; Charlotte was talking.

— No ma'am. I'm sorry Charlotte; but my classroom, my school, my rules; Isn't that right Judge Bill Avery? Elizabeth had a colder look than Jack or Bill, I had ever seen and still had a scary face with her hands on her hips and a posture of someone who wouldn't have it any other way.

— Yes, professor… I mean Mrs. Thornton. It will be your way, said Bill.

— Can I stay with you? Charlotte asked awkwardly.

- Unfortunately not. We need to work these days.

And turning to everyone he said:

— Tom, the firewood now! And Tom left with his head down.

— Bill, Charlotte and Jack, you must go to work, he will be safe here. But if you want to check on your son Charlotte… stay away and watch him work. But rest assured I won't do anything to him that your late husband wouldn't do.

Jack kissed his wife and then Bill hugged her asking her to be careful with him. Charlotte also hugged her and spoke in her ear that she was a daughter and that she was very proud.

A few minutes later, she saw Tom picking up the stove, he cleaned it, but he couldn't light the fire. That would turn into a sea of smoke and Elizabeth laughed remembering her first time. So, if someone had taught him… it was part of his duty to pass on the knowledge.

She came close and said seriously:

- Go away! I don't want to get dirty and you're already full of coal.

Rom looked at her, still not believing that she could do something, like start a fire, plus she had a broken hand in splints. She told him to remove all the wood, which he had placed inside the stove. Then he took some wood chips, two smaller logs and set them on fire easily. And his hands didn't even have dirt.

- Learned; I taught you once, if you paid attention you already learned. When classes are over, we clean everything to get it ready for the next day. From today onwards neither Jack, Bill nor any other man in town will get their hands on that axe, they have more important things to do and you will at least be useful to society. Another thing, the children soon arrived. I'll introduce you and you'll help with whatever they need, but don't forget... Give these kids the wrong look or the wrong word, and then yes, you'll meet Elizabeth Thorton, and I guarantee you won't like it either. a little. Don't make me regret trying to help you.

And turning her back, she grabbed something from the table and opened the doors wide. Arriving at the first step of the stairs she rang a bell...

Tom saw a cowbell being rung, he knew the story of that bell very well, as his brother told about the game in his letter and Jack was surprised when she started using the bell. And now Tom agreed with Jack, she was wearing and proud of that bell.

Children came running from the town and the path leading from the forest, they were the children from the farm; He saw many children arriving at school with a joy he never imagined seeing in a student. It was incredible, everyone passed by and wanted to talk to her, wanted her attention, she would smile and say something, making the students' smiles get even bigger.

So everyone sat down, and they celebrated their return to school, because even though their teacher was injured, she was beautiful, as Opall, one of the students, said. Tom noticed everyone's eyes on her, he had a mixture of pity, compassion and love for his teacher.

-Children, today I want to talk seriously with you. Everyone here knows what I went through, but look, besides the injuries...I'm fine, because several people came looking for me and Mountie Jack saved me before the worst. But you know that we had several problems and that some people were arrested. One of them will do social work and help me at school, because look at my hand, it's broken and I can't move it. His name is Tom Thorton. Come here Tom, please.

As soon as Tom arrived close to Elizabeth's table, he heard an uproar in that place, the sound of children getting up quickly and throwing benches back on the floor, they were heard and several children ran in front of Elizabeth, creating a human barrier of protection. Elizabeth noticed her students' love and care for her. Tom, in turn, noticed that those children saw him as an evil criminal, who hurt teachers and defenseless women. Today, seeing that scene of protection, made by children and young people, made Tom feel even worse; "How could they, so young, know right from wrong? And how could he, a trained man, not be able to?" He looked at the floor; If he could open a hole and climb in, he would do it; He was a disgrace as a man;

From the back of the school, in a small window, Bill, Jack and Charlotte watched everything, they were worried about Elizabeth there alone with Tom, but they never thought that she would put him in his place.

Jack had a huge smile; One day she said that a Thatcher doesn't lose a battle and now she was there all armed. Bill looked at Jack and smiled, holding her hands over her mouth to keep from making noise and they knew what she was doing and she had a purpose when she presented it to the students, because she knew what the reaction of those young people would be.

Charlotte knew Tom, she knew what he was going through now, she could see in his shoulders and in his eyes, the shame and disappointment he was feeling in himself. She had to give in, Elizabeth knew how to use psychology to her advantage, and laughed... They left there, they needed to go back to school, even avoid Elizabeth seeing them, as this could create discomfort between them .

When they were far away, Bill couldn't hold back and let out the biggest laugh anyone had ever heard, tears came out of his eyes and he couldn't contain himself.

Charlotte couldn't stop laughing either, but Jack, looking seriously at them, ended up saying:

— I hope he learns his lesson. I don't know if I can forgive him. But I would like to see it at least on the right path. If he doesn't learn from Elizabeth, he won't learn from anyone else.

Bill seriously looked at the two and said:

— I wouldn't want to be in his place.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Elizabeth ordered the children, asking everyone to sit down. Then, looking at them, she began to tell a story. Tom was amazed, she managed to capture everyone's attention and even his, that's when he realized that the story was theirs...

"Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in a coal town, she was a teacher and she fell in love with the prince...

—Oh! But Mrs. Thorton... He's a mountie, said Opall.

— That's right, little Opall.

Then she fell in love with a mountie, who would be her prince charming. But she was from a rich family in the capital and her family did not accept that love. His father joined a very rich family and they, wanting to unify their wealth and power, decided that their evil son should marry that teacher.

—Oh! oh! Surprised screams were heard in the room.

— Poor thing! Emily said.

— She has to marry the one she loves; shouted Rosalen Sulivan.

— Yes, children, but let's continue.

The bad boy has always been friends with the young teacher, since they were born. For her, he would be like a brother, or rather, not even that, he would just be a friend. But he grew up with a heart filled with evil, where his family taught him that money bought everything and everyone and as he liked his friend, he decided he wanted her. So... Her father decided to buy the girl, who after growing up became a teacher and no longer lived with her parents. He and his millionaire father made plans for a forced marriage. But the beautiful teacher, when she found out and told her fiancé about the mountie, ended up having such a special proof of love, when he asked her to marry him. It wasn't just to escape the bad boy, he said and showed that he wanted to get married, because he loved her very much.

It was a fairytale wedding, and the mountie became prince charming and the teacher all in white became...

But Elizabeth was interrupted when all the students raised their hands and shouted together:

- A Princess...

Yes, a princess. He made all her dreams come true. They had a little four-day honeymoon trip. But they didn't know that people would test their love.

The millionaire father and the bad boy... They managed in a strange way to steal and take everything that belonged to the mountie's family, even his farm, which was his late father's inheritance, they managed to take. And they took the mountie's brother's good job. That family had been hit, without having time to prepare. The mountie's mother went to her city, as she thought her daughter-in-law was also responsible for all that, but she arrived and the people of the city showed who the teacher was and then, even in disguise, she began to know and like the young girl. and saw that she was also a victim. But, on the other hand, the mountie's brother was hot-headed, he did things without thinking about the consequences, he had fire in his belly... Elizabeth spoke in a very dramatic way.

-See Robert! Because we tell you to think before you do things. Shouted Cody.

— Yeah... we don't want you to be like that mountie brother. Opall said looking at him in her most beautiful little girl face, winking her eyes.

Robert, who heard everything, nodded his head.

But Tom was red, like a pepper, she didn't even need to say the mountie's brother's name. The hood fit him perfectly.

Elizabeth got up and started walking around, making more drama. And speaking in a chilling voice, she continued...

But the shadow of evil came, the one that hangs over our heads and enters our hearts. Hatred consumed him; he couldn't think straight about right and wrong, he wanted revenge. He thought that the millionaire's family should pay for all the harm they had done to his family, and among them was his brother's wife, the young teacher.

On his way across the country, he met the bad boy and believed that if the teacher stayed with him and married him, his family would be happy.

— But the mountie loved the teacher, he would suffer if he lost his wife. Emily shouted indignantly.

- Yes my dear.

But the mountie's brother thought nothing of it; The cloud of evil that reached his heart was so big that he thought nothing. He said he wanted justice, but in the end he wanted revenge. The bad boy, with his mountie brother, kidnapped the teacher at school before classes started. But they didn't know that inside the school, a little heroine had arrived with her protective shield. At that time the little heroine could not fight alone, because her strength was her gift of speech, her gift of truth. She, along with her two squire friends, left the school and gave the mountie coordinates on how to save her, in addition to recognizing and being responsible for the arrest of the mountie's brother "the bandit". And so she opened her eyes wide and looked surprised.

The mountie was disgusted with his brother and ran and saved his princess.

— It's your teacher, Mrs. Thornton! Opall spoke with wide eyes.

- Yes my dear; continued Elizabeth...

He saved his teacher. And she, even though she was hurt, forgave the mountie's brother, because she saw that he was sorry and should have a second chance.

—Like you Cody? Remember when you stole food to feed Back when she was sick? Robert spoke.

— Yes. I needed to, that's why I did it, but it was wrong; I should have sought help from an adult. To this day I'm ashamed of it. Cody said.

— But you learned from your mistakes Cody and we all welcomed you with open arms. Elizabeth completed.

Opall got up from her table and went close to Tom, she was still looking at him with fear.

— I won't hurt you child.

— I'm not a child, I'm Opall! You hurt our teacher, but if you are truly sorry, and she has forgiven you, we will too and we want to give you another chance.

Tom had tears streaming down his eyes, that child was showing him what it was like to be a human person, full of love for others.

— I regret it very much Opall; I trusted the bad boy, I didn't think about the consequences. I myself can't forgive myself.

Opall ran his hands through Tom's hair, and spoke looking into his eyes and spoke looking into his eyes:

— I'm a hero, I'll help you. Let's find your cure. And you can be happy with us.

The day passed, between mathematics and Portuguese. Elizabeth gave Tom a lunch box and snack that Abigail sent to her. In no time would I let him or anyone else go hungry.

For Tom the day was stressful, his emotional state was a mess, he went from humiliation, shame, being a criminal, to seeing children giving him another chance. And he would hold on with all his might.