Chapter 201 – Finding a Key Piece
Elizabeth moved so that she was sitting up and looked Jack in the eye.
"Can we just keep that between us for now?" Elizabeth said. "I don't mind sharing the news that we are expecting, but there are some things I want to remain just between us. I hadn't even planned on telling Aunt Elizabeth."
"Okay." Jack said.
Elizabeth could see the disappointment in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
"Jack, look at me please." Elizabeth said.
She waited until Jack brought his gaze back up to meet hers.
"I understand that you are excited." Elizabeth said. "But think about this, how much more special will it be if it just stays between us. I am not ashamed, but this is something so private that I don't want to share it. It is like how we don't share details of our intimate time together. Do you understand? Besides that, most fathers are nowhere near as involved as this, so they wouldn't understand."
Jack nodded his head as he thought about it.
"I guess you are right." Jack said. "But you talked about our time together with Faith?"
"That is different." Elizabeth said. "I had questions and it is part of her job to answer them. I also know that she would never repeat anything I say and she would never embarrass either of us because we asked questions."
"I guess." Jack said. "Though it does make me wish that there was a doctor around so I could talk to him about this."
"Maybe next time." Elizabeth said. "I firmly believe that we will have a regular doctor here before the year is out. I was praying about it and by the time I was done I had a peace about it. I prayed about it again a few days later, this was while we were still at Abigail's after you initially got injured. The second time I prayed, I swear I heard a voice tell me to trust and it would be provided for when the time was right within this year."
Jack looked at Elizabeth wide-eyed.
"Don't look at me like that." Elizabeth said. "You have told me that you have felt God talk to you when you are out working."
"No, you are right." Jack said. "I just never actually thought I heard a voice. It was more a feeling or a clear sign I needed to do a certain thing."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "But that doesn't change it does it?"
"You are right." Jack said.
"Good." Elizabeth said. "Then I think it is time to get up and find some food before this little one gets upset that I haven't fed them."
Jack smiled and offered his head to help Elizabeth finish sitting up. They both crawled from bed and started to get dressed.
"Please wear your jeans." Elizabeth said. "A henley will be enough on top for now. I can get you a button up before we eat later. I want us both to dress up, especially if Andrew and his brother are coming over later."
"Okay." Jack said. "Besides, it will be good to wear something other than pajamas."
Elizabeth smiled over at Jack. Not only did she like him in jeans, but she thought he might also feel better wearing real clothes as her governess would have called them.
When Elizabeth got downstairs, she found Dee sitting at the table going over some papers.
"I will get Jack if he is ready." Dee said.
"Yes, he is ready." Elizabeth said. "Have you eaten?"
"No." Dee said. "I just had some coffee and got water heating."
"I will make some oatmeal then." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth started on breakfast as Dee went up to get Jack. When they got back downstairs, they both took a seat at the table.
"What are you looking at?" Jack asked, pointing to the papers where Dee sat.
"Some paperwork from headquarters." Dee said. "I have read it several times and something about it seems off, but I can't place my finger on what it is."
"Have you told your Dad?" Jack asked.
"Not yet." Dee said. "I was hoping to figure out what was wrong with it first."
"Here let me have a look." Jack said.
Dee handed over the papers. Jack started reading through them as Dee got up and finished getting ready. He had his jeans and a henley on, but wanted to grab his button up and put some socks on. By the time that Dee sat back down, Elizabeth had set a cup of tea in front of Jack and one in front of her as she waited for the oatmeal to cook.
Another few minutes later, Jack set the papers down and looked at Dee.
"I think I figured out why this is off." Jack said.
Dee just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"It is the cadence of the report." Jack said. "It is not how we were taught to type up the reports at the academy. You can pick up a report that was written by me, McGinty or you and you would be able to see more similarities than differences. We might use different words, but the way that we arrange the report would be the same."
"You think so." Dee said.
"I can prove it." Jack said.
Jack got up and went to Elizabeth's writing desk and grabbed several sheets of paper and three pencils. He then came back to the table and gave paper and a pencil to both Dee and Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth." Jack said. "Just humor me and do this, we promise to not make fun of you, I just want to prove something."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
"Okay." Jack said. "I want you to write a short report that you would turn into the Mounties."
Elizabeth nodded.
"Write a report for the Mounties about my breathing treatment the other night." Jack said. "Just stick to the facts and what you know."
The three quickly wrote out the report. When they were done, Jack gathered all of them and shuffled the papers. He then started reading the top one and then the second and the third.
"Okay." Jack said. "Who wrote which report?"
"I know which one I wrote." Elizabeth said. "But the other two could be either of you."
"I see what you mean." Dee said. "The way that Beth wrote the report was totally different than ours. The papers I was looking at were close, but now I can see the difference."
Dee picked up the papers again and looked at them closer.
"It is close, but it is off." Jack said. "I would say that the person who wrote it was military or a lawyer, since they write reports in a similar way, but still different."
Dee flipped to the back of the report.
"Constable John Smith, Coal Valley 12 September 1906." Dee read.
"I would check out who all the Mounties were within a day's ride of here at that time in 1906." Jack said. "I would also go plus or minus five days of the report."
"I will do that when I head into town." Dee said.
"I hope you figure it out." Elizabeth said. "But for now, let's eat breakfast."
Elizabeth got up and dished up three bowls of oatmeal. She brought the brown sugar and butter back to the table as well as the oatmeal. Once Elizabeth was seated again, she looked at Jack and nodded.
"Heavenly Father." Jack prayed. "Please watch over us as we go about this day. Please keep everyone safe as the weather looks threatening. Guide our conversations as we interact with others today. Bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."
"Amen." Dee and Elizabeth both said.
The three of them ate their breakfast and talked more about the plan for the day. As they finished they could hear a loud clap of thunder echo off the mountain.
Cook and Lane were able to get moving with Mr Higgins, even though he wasn't happy about it and made several threats against the men that were moving him.
After Cook and Lane got moving, Bill went to the cafe and had his own breakfast. He wanted to speak to Abigail about something, but she was busy, so he said he would come back later. He made sure that the cadets were helping and then told them that once they were done, they were to make sure that their other chores were done before the rain came. After that, they were supposed to study and if they did that for a few hours, he might let them have the night off, other than those on guard duty.
Bill still wasn't happy about having to watch the cadets, but he was finding them useful to get things done. The schoolhouse, cafe, infirmary, and jail all had enough wood to last most of the winter. Bill also knew that the cadets had been chopping wood for most of the widows as well, so they would be well stocked for the winter as well. He was also glad that they were settling down and if they kept it up, he might even suggest that one or two of them be allowed to go on rounds with McGinty if he was up to it.
Bill took his coffee and sat on the chair that was now on the jail porch. He looked over the townspeople that were moving about and trying to get things done before the rains made the day miserable. There was a part of Bill that wanted to leave and do something to further help with unraveling the Gowen mess, but he knew that he was needed there in town since he was the most likely to spot someone that was out of place.
Bill took a sip of his hot coffee and then a deep breath. He sat back in his chair and once again looked at the people. He thought about going to see Jack, but then he knew that Jack and Elizabeth were busy with both of them having family in town as well as Jack recovering and Elizabeth expecting. He smiled as he thought about the little one that Elizabeth was carrying. He knew that Jack was going to make a wonderful father and couldn't wait to see Jack in that role. Yet at the same time, Bill felt a bit of sadness as he thought of his best friend and how he would never get to hold his grandchild.
At that moment, Bill vowed that he would be there to help fill that role in the child's life. Even though Bill had his own issues with religion, it didn't mean that he didn't believe in God. So Bill closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"God." Bill prayed. "Please be with Jack and Elizabeth as they embark on their journey as parents. Be with them and help them know that they are surrounded by so many people that will help them. Amen."
After Bill was done, he sat back, finished his coffee and thought about what he was going to do the rest of the day. There were things he wanted to do, but he wasn't sure he was going to get to, due the weather.
After he was finished with breakfast, McGinty went to do rounds. It wasn't that he didn't trust the others, but Jack had trusted him with the town and its safety, so he felt that he needed to check on people himself, especially after he had gone for a few days. When he went to saddle the horses, Thor and Sergeant both stomped their hooves at him. He stopped and looked at the horses. He wasn't sure if they had gotten ridden while he was gone, so Joe walked over to Bandit.
"Hey boy." Joe said to the horse. "Can I ride Thor today? You stay here and keep Sergeant company. They haven't gotten ridden in a few days and you have been working so hard for me. Is that okay?"
Bandit nickered and bobbed his head like he was agreeing. So Joe petted his muzzle and gave him a bit of attention, then he gave Sergeant a little attention before saddling Thor and making sure he had everything he needed in his saddlebags.
"Be good." Joe said to Bandit and Sergeant.
McGinty then left the livery and stopped by the jail to grab a rifle before heading out. As he stopped on the porch of the jail, he stopped and looked out over the town. People were going in and out of businesses. It was still early, but everyone could see the threat of rain and probably wanted to get everything done before it started raining. McGinty then remembered that he didn't have a rain slicker with him. He went into the jail and grabbed the extra one that he knew that Jack kept there. He saw Bill sitting at the desk when he came back out.
"I am going for a ride." McGinty said. "I want to check some things out. I will keep an eye on the weather. If it gets too bad, I will seek shelter otherwise I should be back in a couple of hours."
Bill looked at the young man.
"Wilson already did rounds." Bill said. "Granted his reports leave something to be desired, but they were done."
"I know." McGinty said. "I still want to go check out a few things. Maybe I can add to his notes. I promise to be safe. I have my saddlebags and gear. I am taking the extra rain slicker and a rifle."
"Come let me know when you are back so I don't worry about you." Bill said. "If I am not here, I will either be at the saloon or cafe."
"I will let you know when I get back." McGinty said.
He took a moment and looked at his watch.
"It is quarter to eight." McGinty said. "I should be back by eleven, unless I get caught in the weather. By the way, I have Thor. I left Bandit to rest as he has done a lot of running the last few days and I also know that Thor and Sergeant haven't been ridden as much."
"Fine." Bill said. "I won't worry until after lunch then. I will keep that in mind. I should probably take Ember for a ride."
"Thank you." McGinty said. "I am sure that he would like that."
After stopping at the jail, McGinty headed out of town going east. He knew that Constable Wilson had gone out earlier when the Cadets went for a run and he headed west first. It wasn't that McGinty didn't trust Wilson, but he wanted to see for himself that everything was alright. Besides that, there were some other things that he wanted to check out. When he had been at the land office in Buxton, McGinty had noticed several parcels of land that the government owned and were available for purchase.
It wasn't that McGinty had any thoughts of taking over Hope Valley for Jack, but he thought it might be nice to have a place eventually and he loved the Hope Valley area. He had three years left on his contract with the Mounties, so he was thinking ahead. It wasn't that he wanted to leave the Mounties, but more like to keep his options open.
