Chapter 103 – Sorting Things Out
After Jacobs left, Elizabeth got up and checked supper that was in the oven. She needed a moment to think. Jacobs had given her a lot to think about and she was still feeling emotional from earlier in the day. She was angry at her father and Charles, but she was also sad that her father refused to accept her choices. Elizabeth was thinking about the child that she was carrying and wondering if he or she would ever know their grandfather. Elizabeth was brought back to reality by Jack coming and putting his arm around her.
"You okay?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Elizabeth said. "Just thinking."
"Okay." Jack said. "Need anything?"
"Just to have the table set." Elizabeth said. "Supper should be ready in about ten minutes."
While Jack set the table, both Wynn and Dee went and got changed. By the time that they came back, supper was ready. When everyone had sat down, Elizabeth looked at Jack.
"Wynn." Jack said. "Would you please lead us in prayer?"
Wynn nodded.
"Heavenly Father." Wynn prayed. "We come before You this evening and ask for continued healing for Jack as well as those affected by the recent natural disasters. Please be with those that buried loved ones today. We also ask that You watch over Beth and the child that she is carrying. Please keep them safe. Please give us all peace about the situation that we find ourselves in. Please bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."
"Amen." Jack, Elizabeth and Dee echoed.
While they ate, Wynn and Dee told Jack and Elizabeth about their day and the funeral. It was hard for Jack because he felt that he should have been there, but he also understood that he couldn't do it. They also talked about what the plan was moving forward. They didn't talk anymore about William Thatcher or company. They all knew that there was stuff that they needed to talk about, but they were all avoiding the conversation at least at that moment. As they were sitting around before having dessert, Jack thought it was a good time to talk to Wynn about what he had been thinking about since he woke up at the cafe. Jack hadn't even talked to Elizabeth about what he was thinking about. He was trying to work things out in his head, but he needed answers.
"Wynn." Jack said.
"Yes." Wynn said.
"I …." Jack stuttered. "I … Well … I wanted to …."
"Jack, son." Wynn said. "Slow down and take a breath. Whatever you want to talk about can't be that bad."
Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Elizabeth squeezed his shoulder as she walked by. She hadn't seen Jack so tongue-tied in quite awhile. She wondered what had made him so worked up. She hoped that everything was okay, because Jack hadn't shared with her what he wanted to talk to Wynn about. Elizabeth could tell that it was important because Jack was chewing the inside of his lip and he only did that when he was nervous. She hadn't seen him do that in months. She wondered if it would be easier if she gave them some space, but there was a part of her that really wanted to know what Jack was so worked up about. She decided to just step away from the table, but stay close. It took Jack a few moments, but finally he was ready to talk to Wynn.
"Sir, I don't want to sound ungrateful." Jack said.
"But …." Wynn said.
"But I have been thinking about a few things and I was hoping that you would answer some questions." Jack said.
"If I can, I will." Wynn said.
"I have been thinking about things since I woke up at the cafe." Jack said. "If I am being honest, I have been thinking about them since I learned about you. I am just curious why, of all the Mounties, that you sent me here and then after the way that I acted, why you sent me back. Don't get me wrong, I am glad that you did. I have just been curious."
"Well." Wynn said. "There are several reasons I sent you here in the first place. I knew that I wanted to send a younger Mountie, but also someone that could investigate the mine disaster. Don't get me wrong, there was a plan to put a Mountie here at least part-time, but when my brother-in-law demanded that there was a Mountie to protect Beth, I decided that a Mountie new to the area might be a good thing. I hadn't seen the reports from the Mounties in Buxton prior to assigning you, but I had seen their monthly reports from prior interactions. I didn't think that any of them could be fully objective. Don't get me wrong, there were some good Mounties in the area, but from what I had seen they were used to kowtowing to Gowen and his Pinkertons."
"So why me?" Jack asked.
"Two reasons really." Wynn said. "One – you were the closest match to Beth's list and two – I knew that if you were half the Mountie that your father had been then you were the perfect person to deal with what this town would throw at you."
Elizabeth turned around and looked at her uncle with a look of confusion written across her face. It wasn't a look that any of them were used to seeing on Elizabeth's face. Jack wondered what she was confused about. Wynn tried to hide his smirk, because at that moment Elizabeth looked so much like her father, but that was probably the last thing that she wanted to hear.
"What do you mean by my list?" Elizabeth asked.
"You don't remember, do you?" Dee asked.
"No." Elizabeth said. "Not really."
"You and Sophie." Dee said. "When she was recovering, you two made a list of your perfect man. You had each made one years before, but this was more concrete based on what you had both experienced. I remember her sharing the lists with Mom after you went back home. Mom thought it was nice that you both knew what you wanted. She was also sad that Sophie might never find that."
"Really." Jack said, giving Elizabeth a smirk.
"Oh." Elizabeth said. "I barely remember that, how did you remember the list?"
"Sophie had a copy." Wynn said. "I had memorized it so I could keep an eye out for potential suitors for both of you."
"Of course she did." Elizabeth said. "And of course you did."
"So what was on this list?" Jack asked.
"Let me think." Wynn said.
Elizabeth just rolled her eyes.
"Well." Wynn said. "There were several things. Both Sophie and Beth wanted a man who was tall, dark hair and blue eyes. Beyond that, he would need to love children, enjoy playing or singing. There were other things."
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"He needed to have honor and integrity." Elizabeth said. "He couldn't be more than three years older than me. He needed to be family oriented and dimples would be a bonus."
"Well at five eleven." Jack said. "I don't know if I would call that tall. You are both taller than me. I have green eyes and not blue. I don't know how you would know that I loved children or played the guitar, but the rest sounds like me."
"I remember you always having a guitar at the academy." Wynn said. "As far as the love of children went, I heard how you interacted with children that you came into contact with. Remember, I also knew your father. You are really a lot like him, so I took a chance."
Jack was stunned and it took him a moment to speak.
"You really think I am like my father?" Jack asked.
"Yes." Wynn said. "Your father was an excellent Mountie and I have no doubt that if he would have lived, he would be at least Superintendent level right now, probably Chief Inspector or more. Granted he never really liked the brass, but he was someone that younger Mounties looked up to and he was good with them. I have no doubt that he would have been offered a position to teach at the academy."
"Wow." Jack said.
"Where you are in your career, compared to where your father was with the same time out of training." Wynn said. "You are way ahead of where he was. It took him almost four years to be promoted to Corporal and then within a year he was Sergeant. You have more commendations and big take downs then your father ever had."
Jack was stunned. Elizabeth was a little surprised, she didn't know much about Jack's father. She had heard the stories that had been shared at Christmas and when they were in Hamilton, but there was so much that she still didn't know. She had always wondered if Jack was like his father, especially after meeting his mother. She could see that he got a number of traits from her, but there were other things that she assumed that he got from his father.
"I didn't know." Jack said. "I don't really remember his commendations. It wasn't something that we talked about. I think he was embarrassed."
"Jack has more commendations?" Elizabeth asked. "The only ones I know about were for the Tolliver gang and then when he got the medal presented by Collins."
Jack ducked his head to hide the color that came to his cheeks.
"Yes." Wynn said. "Jack has at least a dozen other commendations and should have a few more. The medal that he got back in October was in place of three additional commendations – work on the arson case, arresting the Pinkerton which led to a break in the gambling ring and rescuing you, Beth. I am sure there was paperwork, for four or five more. I know that there was one sent about the Garrison gang. He should also have one for the Swenson Twins. I believe that there is one for rescuing the Russell girls, that is actually two separate ones. There is also one for the work he did in the mining trial. There was also the one that was with the reward for capturing that con artist. I also wrote up the commendations that went with the medal and sent the awards to you."
"Jack?" Elizabeth said.
"I sent them to my mother." Jack said with a dimpled grin. "I have never made a big deal out of them. The only reason that everyone knew about the one from the Tolliver gang was because it was hand delivered and everyone saw."
"So how many do you have?" Elizabeth asked.
"Counting the ones for the Tolliver and Garrison gangs?" Jack asked. "Not counting the ones I haven't seen and only the ones that I have actually received."
"Yes." Elizabeth said.
"Thirteen." Jack said. "All of the certificates other than the one for the Tolliver gang are at my mother's. I assume she had them framed and maybe has them on display."
"Well." Elizabeth said. "You will need to get them and figure out where they are going to go in the new house, because I want them on display there."
"Of course." Jack said. "I think that we can put them in the library or home office."
"Good." Elizabeth said.
"Which one are you missing?" Dee said. "According to my count there should be fourteen."
"I haven't seen one for the Swenson Twins." Jack said. "Then again, it could have been with the one from the Russell girls. I didn't look closely."
"I will check." Wynn said.
"Okay." Jack said. "That settles why you sent me in the first place, but why did you send me back. Again, not that I am complaining, but I was pretty demanding about a transfer and then when you gave it to me, I disobeyed orders."
"As far as disobeying orders." Wynn said. "That was forgiven when you rescued Beth and Julie while arresting the Tolliver gang. You acted with information that was not available to others. You made the right choice in coming back to make sure that Beth and Julie were safe. As far as sending you back, well that is easy. Your actions in Regina and Beth wanted you to come back."
"You were in Regina?" Jack asked.
"We both were." Dee said.
"I didn't see you." Jack said.
"You may not have seen me." Wynn said. "But I saw and heard you. I was just in the other room when you were talking to the superintendents. I heard every word that you said. I watched you from the observation tower when you ran the obstacle course and then there was what Dee told me. I also saw you on the parade field with the recruits."
Jack stopped and stared at Dee. Everyone else held their breath, they weren't sure if Jack was upset or not. They knew that they had withheld information from him and they weren't sure how he was going to react. Jack took a deep breath and looked at each of the people before him. At first, he was upset, but then he realized that he had no right to be upset. He was also shocked because he hadn't really figured it out sooner. He was also still thinking about what Wynn had said about his father. Suddenly, Jack was getting emotional. He reached up and wiped his face. Elizabeth walked over and squeezed Jack's shoulder. He didn't look at her, so she dropped her hand and went back to the sink. She leaned against the counter and watched the men at the table.
