Chapter 150 – Charlotte Leaves

As Dee finished his breakfast, his father looked at him.

"So what is the plan?" Wynn asked.

"I am not sure." Dee said. "I was going to let Jack and Beth rest until after services, then I was going to check on them if they hadn't come by lunch time. I am still waiting for word about a few things, but I doubt that I will hear today."

"Sir." Jacobs said. "It is Easter Sunday. Let's not worry about work. It will be there tomorrow. Let's just have a nice time."

"I suppose." Wynn said. "It is just hard not to worry."

"Please try dear." Elizabeth Rose said.

"I will try." Wynn said.

"Dee." Becky said.

"Yes." Dee said.

"Your dad said to ask you about your sketches." Becky said. "Do you think I can see some of them?"

"Sure." Dee said. "Let's get the table cleared and I can show you some before we head to services."

Becky put her dishes on her lap and moved toward the kitchen. Dee grabbed his dishes as well as those of his father. Jacobs grabbed his own and followed both of them into the kitchen. Jacobs put his stuff in the sink and then took off his serge and rolled up his sleeves. Dee and Becky just looked at him. When he grabbed the pot to heat water, Abigail and Patty looked at him as well.

"What?" Jacobs said.

"You don't have to do that." Abigail said.

"I know." Jacobs said. "But you are kind enough to feed us, the least that I can do is the breakfast dishes."

"I suppose I am not going to argue." Abigail said. "I have a feeling that I wouldn't win anyway."

"No, ma'am." Jacobs said. "And I will have the cadets do dishes later after lunch. No argument."

"Okay." Abigail said.

Jacobs shooed Dee and Becky out of the kitchen while he heated the water for dishes. When they got back to the dining room, Dee and Becky took the table that Jacobs had been at. Dee pulled out his sketchbook and started showing Becky some of his sketches. She was asking him questions and he knew that she knew what she was talking about. When he started asking her about some of her sketches, she said that her book was upstairs, but she would show it to him.

"So what do you like to draw?" Dee asked.

"Mostly buildings and bridges." Becky said.

"So if I asked you something." Dee said. "Think you can help me?"

" I can try." Becky said.

Dee pulled out a second sketchbook that had a rough sketch of the house that Jack was going to be building, as well as the dimensions of the land and other buildings that Jack wanted to add. Dee wondered if Becky couldn't help him maximize the space so they could have a second cottage for staff and maybe even a guest house."

"What is this?" Becky asked.

"It is someone's house." Dee said. "This is the size of land that you have and what else that they need to add to the lot. In addition to those things, they need to add a second two or three bedroom cottage. Think you can help me design something that works."

"I can try." Becky said. "I need a clean page, a ruler and a pencil."

Dee flipped to a clean page. He then pulled out a ruler and pencil for Becky to use. She pulled the page that had the information on it out of the sketchbook and set it in front of her. She quickly measured out the dimensions and then looked at Dee.

"What does it look like around the property?" Becky asked. "Is there a way that they want the house to face?"

"The house will face east, with a wrap-around porch." Dee said. "He wants the barn and one of the cottages fairly close to the house, but not too close. They want a garden and room for children to play. There are some trees to the north and mountain views to the west. The south leads into town."

"Okay." Becky said.

Becky started drawing and it didn't take her long to have things in place. She then flipped the page and made a second drawing giving a different option. Dee just looked at her in awe. Dee knew that he could have worked at it to figure something out, but he wanted to make Becky feel useful. When she was done, she set everything down and looked at Dee.

"Anything else?" Becky asked.

Dee took the sketchbook and looked at both pictures. He was more than amazed.

"These are both great." Dee said. "Is there one that you like better?"

"Personally." Becky said. "I would do the second one, even though the first one is more what the person wanted. The second gives the main house more privacy. I also think that it flows better."

"Then the second one is what I will recommend." Dee said. "Thank you, that probably would have taken all week to figure out if at all."

Wynn and Elizabeth were listening and knew that Dee could have figured it out fairly quickly, but he was trying to make Becky feel included and for that they were both grateful.

"No problem." Becky said. "Dad always said that I had great awareness of space and how things would fit in them. He was always creating these puzzles for me to play with. It would be random pieces that would make different shapes when rearranged."

"Wow." Dee said.

"If you draw what you are talking about." Wynn said. "Maybe I can have Mr Coulter cut some pieces of wood and we can sand them down for you."

Becky picked up the sketchbook again and drew three or four examples of what she was talking about.

"The fun was coming up with what we could make." Becky said. "I had all these pieces, two of some of them."

"I will see what I can do." Wynn said. "Just mark the ones that you want two or more of."

Elizabeth Rose looked at her husband and saw that he cared about Becky like she was his own. She had already known that Cody had stolen a piece of his heart and she was sure that Becky had stolen another piece. She smiled knowing that her husband would do everything to make sure that Becky and Cody stayed in Hope Valley. As she sat there, Cody came bounding it.

"Morning, Cody." Elizabeth Rose said.

Cody went right over to them and gave each a hug. He then turned to look at his sister and Dee talking over some drawing. Turning back to Wynn and Elizabeth Rose.

"What is for breakfast?" Cody asked.

"Well." Elizabeth Rose said. "Most of the Mounties had biscuits and gravy. Your sister, Wynn and the others had French toast. Which would you like?"

"French toast, please." Cody said.

"I will go make that." Elizabeth Rose said. "You have a seat here and talk to Wynn about why you had a bad night. Don't get upset, Becky just told us that you couldn't sleep and came to her in the night."

Cody looked down like he didn't want to say anything. Elizabeth Rose got up and headed to the kitchen. Wynn moved closer to Cody and looked at him.

"I am not upset that you went with your sister." Wynn said. "I am just worried about you. This is the first that we heard you were having trouble sleeping. Dee and his sister Sophie sometimes had trouble sleeping when they were growing up. When that happened, they usually ended up in bed with my wife and I. When they talked about it, they usually felt better. I might not be able to fix the problem, but at least talking about it will make it so you aren't carrying whatever it is alone anymore."

Cody looked at him for a few moments and then looked back down. Wynn gave him time to think about what he wanted to say. Before Cody could say anything, McGinty came back in. Wynn looked up when the bell over the door rang. He saw the look on McGinty's face and knew something had happened.

"Cody." Wynn said. "Please excuse me, I will be right back."

Cody nodded. Wynn stood up and tapped Dee on the shoulder. When he looked up at his father, he saw McGinty. He quickly excused himself and followed his father over to talk.

"What?" Wynn said.

"Um …." McGinty said. "I think we should step outside first."

Wynn motioned for the three of them to step outside. Once there, they stepped away from the door and to the side on the edge of the porch.

"Now." Wynn said. "What is going on?"

"Charlotte is gone." McGinty said.

"What do you mean?" Wynn asked.

"Her horse is gone and so is her tent." McGinty said. "When I checked with those that had been on guard, they said that she left just before sun up."

"You didn't notice the tent gone before?" Wynn asked, eyeing McGinty and Dee.

"No." Dee said. "Honestly, I didn't even think of looking. I have gotten so used to her being there."

"I didn't notice when we had gone for a run." McGinty said. "I was so focused on keeping the group together."

Wynn let out a harsh breath. He knew that Charlotte was upset and she had had a hard week.

"Who else knows?" Wynn asked.

"No one." McGinty said.

"Good." Wynn said. "Keep it that way. I will deal with it. I am sure that she hasn't gone far. She got into a disagreement with Jack and Beth yesterday and after a hard week with Rock Creek, she probably just needed some space. If I know Charlotte, she probably went to one of the area hunting cabins. We don't say anything, but we will keep our eyes open. Charlotte can take care of herself. If she isn't back tonight, then tomorrow, I will have you check some of the cabins."

"Yes, Sir." McGinty said.

"Did you finish rounds?" Wynn asked.

"Yes, Sir." McGinty said. "I didn't ride full rounds, but I did check the things I want to keep an eye on. I planned on waiting, talking to Pastor Frank and seeing who didn't show up for services. I figured I would ride out this afternoon or tomorrow and check on them."

"Okay." Wynn said. "Anything I need to be concerned about?"

"No, Sir." McGinty said.

"Fine." Wynn said. "Go make notes, then get ready for services."

"Yes, Sir." McGinty said.

Wynn and Dee watched McGinty walk away, heading back toward the jail. Once he was out of ear shot, Dee turned to his father.

"What is going on, should we be worried?" Dee asked.

"I don't know how much I can say." Wynn said. "I know things that Jack and Beth haven't made public."

"Is this about the Russell girls?" Dee asked.

Wynn turned and looked at his son with a raised eyebrow.

"I was there when they opened the papers." Dee said. "I didn't know that they made a decision. They said that they were going to talk and pray about things."

"I don't know that they made a decision." Wynn said. "All I know is that Beth stood up for herself with Charlotte yesterday. Words were exchanged and Jack sided with Beth. I don't know what it was about."

"Yes." Dee said. "I remember Jack talking about something when he came so we could fill him in yesterday. So you don't know any more than what was said at the mayor's office."

"No." Wynn said. "I know that Jack and Beth wanted to talk about something last night, but then you and Jacobs came and things happened."

"So do you think that they will take the girls?" Dee asked.

"I do." Wynn said. "If I know Charlotte, she is having trouble accepting it. She probably thinks that it is a bad idea since Jack and Beth just got married and are expecting a child as well. I am sure that she didn't hold back her opinion either."

"Probably not." Dee said. "If she said something and Beth was emotional, then I am sure that harsh words were exchanged. I know that Beth has talked about not letting people push her around. I am sure that she refused to let Charlotte do it, especially in her own home. When I took tea and toast up to Beth this morning, I did see that Beth had several old journals out."

"Maybe that is a good thing." Wynn said. "All I know is that Charlotte will calm down and realize that she overstepped. Whether or not she apologizes, we will have to see. I know that she promised to help with school this week and Charlotte is a woman of her word. She will probably be back by lunch tomorrow."

"I will trust you." Dee said.

"We should head back in." Wynn said. "Your mother is going to wonder where we went."

"What are you going to tell her?" Dee asked.

"Don't worry about that." Wynn said. "Just don't say anything. If anyone asks you questions, tell them that you don't know or can't talk about it."

"Okay." Dee said.