Chapter 229 – Another Unexpected Visitor

Elizabeth went back to grading when she was done eating as Doug and Dee insisted on doing the dishes. Jack sat at the table and talked to the guys. Dee got him a cup of tea and the water heating for his treatment as they knew that Jacobs and Faith would be there soon.

And come they did, Jacobs and Faith arrived just as Doug and Dee were finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Elizabeth spoke to Faith for a few minutes and then excused herself to her room with her journal and a book. They got Jack going on his treatment, but he refused to talk about what was going on with Elizabeth. Everyone could feel the tension in the house, but they didn't talk about it at the moment, just focusing on what needed to be done. Jack got his treatment and then Jacobs changed his dressing after Faith had given him a small dose of chloroform. Doug again promised to stay with Jack until he woke up. Faith asked if she needed to leave a dose of morphine, but Doug wasn't sure.

"If he really needs it." Doug said. "I can send for you. I know that he didn't want it, but I also know that he was feeling pain while we were sitting talking."

"Are you comfortable giving it to him?" Faith said. "This one time, I can leave it for you and you can give it to him."

Dee and Doug looked at each other.

"We will just send for you." Doug said. "I just feel better that way."

"That is fine." Faith said. "I am going to grab a bite to eat at the cafe and then I will be at my apartment for the rest of the night."

"Thank you." Doug said. "Hopefully he will be okay."

"I hope so as well." Faith said. "But if the pain is too bad, have someone come get me. I don't mind."

"Thank you." Dee said. "I know that you want the best for Jack."

Jacobs and Faith left, hoping they didn't have to come back to help Jack until the morning. While Doug sat with Jack, Dee pulled out paperwork and sat at the table. Once Jack was awake, Doug helped him upstairs and got him settled in his room. He looked between Jack and Elizabeth, but they just waved him from the room. Jack looked at Elizabeth and knew that she was upset.

"I am sorry." Jack said. "I didn't mean to upset you when you got home this afternoon."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "We were both upset, but it is done, let's move on."

"Again." Jack said. "I am sorry. I know that Doug talked to you and I know he meant well, but he shouldn't have done that."

"I understand why he did it." Elizabeth said. "He is worried about you and wanted me to know that there was more going on than just this (waving her hand between them). He was just trying to help and it is okay. I was frustrated at your tone and probably could have reacted better but I am struggling as well. Like I said, we were both frustrated and let it boil over. We just need to do better."

"I agree." Jack said. "Now come down here and give me a kiss. I don't want to move as the throbbing is finally starting to subside."

Elizabeth leaned down and gave Jack a quick kiss. He just gave her a pouty look when she pulled back, so she leaned back in and gave him another quick kiss.

"You want more." Elizabeth said. "You need to get better."

"Fine." Jack pouted.

He just shut his eyes and pulled the blanket up a bit. Elizabeth finished her paragraph, then closed her journal, turned the lamp down and snuggled down into Jack's chest. He responded by wrapping his arm around her and resting his hand on her ever expanding middle. Elizabeth sighed as she felt Jack's hand and the soft flutters from their little one.

Tuesday and Wednesday were much the same. The weather was unseasonably cool, but it was okay as the men went about work. It seemed like everyone was busy, but things were getting done and people were moving forward.

Faith and Jacobs still treated Jack twice a day and by Wednesday saw significant improvement. Jack hadn't taken any more painkillers and was even thinking of asking Faith to not use the chloroform. Jack's breathing was also improving and the wound on hip looked so much better than they would have thought. Doug was making sure that Jack did the steam treatments every three to four hours during the day and rested as much as possible. Wednesday afternoon, Doug even got Jack moving again. He had Jack stretching and lifting his legs while laying down. Even if it was hard, Doug was letting Jack slack off. Jack knew that Doug could be a taskmaster, but he didn't realize how much until it came to the exercises that Jack needed to do to get better. Neither Jack or Doug wanted Jack to lose any more muscle than he already had. It wasn't much, but Jack could tell. Jack also knew that the only way to really get better and get back to work was to do the exercises, so he did them. He tired quickly, but then Doug would let him rest and then would pick up again. That would be how he was while in charge of Jack's recovery moving forward.

Elizabeth had a busy couple days at school. The history test on Tuesday added to her grading, but she had almost caught up on the worksheets, even as she handed out more each day. The children were getting excited about the science fair. Most of the children from the first settlement were catching up. Some of the children from Rock Creek were still struggling with words, but did quite well with the verbal lessons. Elizabeth was happy with the progress they were making and knew that Charlotte and Aunt Elizabeth were huge parts of that progress.

Wynn, Jacobs, Dee, David and Andrew also had a productive couple of days and major breakthroughs were made. David and Andrew had gotten through all the ledgers and only had minimal worry. They found the trouble started about 1907 where Gowen started having Silas Ramsey shifting money around. Based on the ledgers and other documents found in the mayor's office it appeared that Silas didn't know what was going on to begin with and once he figured it out, he was in too deep with Gowen. The other breakthrough the guys discovered was the actual account information for the Wilder Group. It had been David who discovered it when he wired a friend of his to look into another company that the town had done business with. David's friend discovered an account in Union City under J.H. Wilder and it regularly paid into another account. Wynn immediately ordered both accounts frozen and temporarily seized until they could be investigated. He handed it off to the Union City office with them informing Wynn as soon as they found anything of use. The good news was that the account had several hundred thousand dollars in and could be used to pay the additional money back to the town if needed.

Abigail was busy Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Between the cafe and sitting down with David and Andrew over the books, she barely had time to see Becky and Cody other than a few minutes in the morning and when they did prayers at night. Frank was regularly helping at the cafe, along with the cadets so Abigail could handle town business. In between helping in the kitchen, Frank was working on the expansion of the cafe. He knew that Abigail had planned for the next year, but Lee was able to deliver some of the lumberjacks. So between Frank and the cadets, they were able to get the floor joists in and the outside walls framed out. They were just waiting on more wood, so had large tarps covering the project.

Thursday dawned bright and cool. Once again the men working were up and having breakfast just as the first rays of light broke through to the valley. Not to be out done, the Mounties were all up early as well. Well at least most of them. Jacobs had the cadets up and running just as the men were heading to work. Wynn slept a bit later as did Bill. Doug joined the group running when they passed the house for the first time. The cadets were a bit surprised, but even more when he challenged them to keep a faster pace. Jacobs smiled and decided he liked the eager young man who had shown up. He wasn't sure what the whole story was as to why he was there, but Jacobs knew that Constable Burke was good for Jack and that was all he needed at the moment.

After Jacobs and the cadets had finished, Doug ran one more lap and ended at the house. He immediately got water heating for coffee, tea, Jack and also for him to wash up. By the time that he was dressed and ready to face the day, Dee was up and getting ready. What neither of the men downstairs knew was that both Jack and Elizabeth were also up in their room. They had both woken when they heard Doug moving around, not that they blamed him, they had gone to sleep early the night before.

Jack laid looking at Elizabeth and smiled. He had his hand rubbing her belly and she was playing with the hem of his shirt.

"I wish we could be together." Jack said.

"We will, soon." Elizabeth said. "You need to heal some more. It is Thursday morning and if you continue healing, I suspect that we might be able to be together before the weekend is over. We also need to remember that we have guests downstairs who could come up here at any point."

"I know." Jack said. "So has anything been said about the little one?"

"I did tell the kids, but put off most of their questions." Elizabeth said. "I am pretty sure that all the parents know and it is making its way through the gossip mill in town. But nothing has been said to me directly. I have a feeling that parents who show up for the science fair tomorrow might say something, but I don't mind. We were able to tell who we wanted and since Faith thinks I am further along than she originally thought it was amazing we were able to keep it quiet as long as we did."

"Very true." Jack said. "Then again, there was a lot of other stuff going on. So you don't mind people knowing?"

"No." Elizabeth said. "I don't mind people knowing, but that doesn't mean that I am open to them butting in and trying to tell us how to live our lives."

"I agree." Jack said. "Have you thought anymore about the nanny or security?"

"I was thinking of talking to Patty about the security." Elizabeth said. "I was also thinking that Sophie and the Russells could help with the nanny. Aunt Elizabeth is also good at reading people. I think we ask them to do it and then give us their choices. We can make the final decision, but I think that other people need to initially narrow the search down. I also think it is only fair to include the Russells since it is their grandchildren. That would also give the nanny an opportunity to meet the girls and see how things are on that end. We can pick the perfect nanny on paper, but if she doesn't get on with the children then what is the point. I know from growing up, that any nanny or governess or whatever you call them didn't get on with me and my sister didn't last long. We were never taken into consideration until they were already hired and then it would turn out they couldn't handle things and only last a few weeks. Only to start over."

"I see your point." Jack said. "So do you think we have the nanny and security arrive before the girls or come with them out here."

"I think a lot of it will depend on the house and when things are ready." Elizabeth said. "But if they are out East, it would only make sense for them to travel with the girls out here. I was thinking that we could have the girls come with Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Wynn after the baby is born. Everyone can join them on the trip out here."

"That sounds like a good plan." Jack said.

Jack laid his head back down on the pillow and looked outside.

"You should get up and get dressed." Jack said. "I have a feeling that Doug and Dee have breakfast going and will be up here soon."

Elizabeth gave Jack a quick kiss before she got up and got dressed. Once Elizabeth had gone downstairs for the day, Jack slowly sat up on the edge of the bed. He knew that he should have waited for Doug, but he couldn't wait any longer. Jack sat and used the chamber pot and then changed his pajama pants and put a clean henley on. Just as Jack was thinking of heading to the hallway, Doug knocked on the door and came in.

"Ready to head downstairs?" Doug asked.

"Just give me a moment." Jack said. "It was a lot to use the chamber pot and change clothes."

"Take your time." Doug said. "Elizabeth is making us some breakfast."

"So what had you up so early?" Jack asked.

"I went for a run with Jacobs and the cadets." Doug said. "He must be going easy on them, because I could have lapped them if I had wanted. I ended up running a sixth lap by myself."

"You were always a little more serious about the conditioning then the rest of us." Jack said.

"True." Doug said. "Probably came from what I had been through and knew what it was like to not be able to do anything for months. Once you are able to get up and move easier, I am sure that you will not want to stop either."

"Probably." Jack said.

The guys headed downstairs and Jack got settled at the table while Dee set a cup of tea in front of him. Once settled into a semi-comfortable position, Jack started to sip the tea. He still didn't have much of an appetite, but would eat to make Elizabeth happy. She set some toast and a couple bites of eggs with one piece of bacon in front of him. She then turned and grabbed the other three plates. Doug said a quick prayer and then started to eat.

"Try to finish the eggs, Jack." Doug said. "You could use it."

Jack made a face at Doug, but did finish his eggs. Elizabeth asked if he wanted more, but he insisted that she eat them and that he was fine. She just looked at him and shook her head. He finished his piece of toast and bacon. Doug assured Elizabeth that he would make sure that Jack had something mid-morning to keep his strength up. Once she was finished, Doug again insisted that she leave the clean up to him. So she made her lunch and got her papers ready.

Just before Elizabeth was ready to leave, Faith and Jacobs showed up. She was glad she was leaving. As much as she wanted Jack to get better, she wasn't sure she could take much more of hearing his treatment. She knew that he needed it and it was helping him, but it was still hard to listen to him in pain and getting sick. Everyone in that house knew that Elizabeth was struggling, seeing Jack in pain and having setback after setback. No matter how much they told her that he was getting better, until she believed it with her own eyes, there wasn't much more that they could do but to keep letting her know that Jack was getting better and this time would one day be just a memory.

Dee and Doug also both knew that Jack was struggling seeing Elizabeth struggle with everything. Doug thought he might try talking to Jack and having him talk to Elizabeth. Maybe he could convince her that he was getting better and that there were better days ahead. With everything that Jack had shared with Doug, he knew that they had been through a lot and there were many more changes still coming before they would be able to find some sort of normal again. Jack had shared with Doug that he thought Elizabeth was carrying twins and that morning watching Jack kiss Elizabeth's belly, for a moment Doug might have agreed. He didn't know much about pregnant ladies, but in what Doug had seen, he thought she looked bigger than the four months that Jack was telling him that she was. Doug didn't know what Elizabeth looked like before, other than the pictures that Jack had shown him from the first day of school at the new building and their wedding. Either way, Doug was happy for his friend and hoped that he would be stationed closer so he could spend more time with his friend and his growing family.

Elizabeth was sitting at her desk grading more papers before school when she heard the door open. She looked up to see Wyatt Weaver walk in carrying something. She hadn't had much to do with Wyatt since everything happened, but she still had his little brothers in her class so she was wondering what was going on. She knew that Wyatt had finished school a few years before and because his father was gone, he had taken it upon himself to work and make sure that his family was taken care of. Elizabeth also knew that Wyatt was exceptionally smart and probably should have been attending university back east. Wyatt had been borrowing some of her books since he had arrived in Hope Valley. He had sailed through some of her university level books. She had seen that he had checked out several of the books with Pastor Frank. She had even brought in several of her other university books that she had at the house when Frank had mentioned Wyatt to her.

Apparently, Charlotte had introduced him to the little library she had in the storage room when she was taking care of Jack. She was glad that the book felt comfortable asking Frank to get him books. She had only seen him a few times around and hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to him. The little that she knew about the family, she had learned from his brothers and what little that Dee was able to tell her. She knew that Wyatt had worked at the Silverton mine and was now doing odd jobs, including some cleaning out at the mill and was hoping to get rehired at the mine here. He had not gone to Rock Creek at his mother's request. She was glad that he was there in Hope Valley and not with the men at Rock Creek. She was sure that his mother was worried about him and he was also probably a great help to his mother since she had now gotten a job helping in the office at the newspaper.

As Elizabeth thought about it, Wyatt reminded her of another young man – Lucas Walker. Elizabeth was amazed that she was able to be a part of two very special young men's lives. She had never actually taught either of them, but she had encouraged Lucas to continue learning and would do the same for Wyatt. She knew that some teachers went their entire careers without having one student like Wyatt and Lucas and she was fortunate enough to have two in a very short period of time. And in the same school year no less. She wished that she had been able to actually teach either of the boys. She was fascinated with the way that Lucas saw things and she was sure that Wyatt would be the same. They were just so smart and saw things in such a different way then other people. She wished she could convince both boys that they should continue their education back east, but she understood that they felt responsible to care for their mothers and siblings since their fathers were no longer in the picture. She knew that both mothers were now working, so she was hoping that with some time Lucas would take her up on her offer to help him get into school and she knew that Wyatt had a similar offer from Mr Yeager.

"Good morning, Wyatt." Elizabeth said.

"Good morning, Mrs Thornton." Wyatt said. "Do you have a moment?"

"Of course." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth stood up as Wyatt set what he was carrying on her desk. She grabbed the extra chair in the corner so he could sit. Elizabeth also brought her chair around so she was sitting next to her desk so she could more easily talk to Wyatt.

"First." Wyatt said. "I want to apologize for not coming sooner and introducing myself."

"No apology needed." Elizabeth said. "Things have been crazy and I am sure you have been busy."

"Thank you." Wyatt said. "But at the man of the house, I should have come. I hope my brothers are behaving in class. I try to help them as much as possible with their homework. They love being in school. I know that my mother tried with them when we were living out at the settlement, but she only has about a sixth grade education herself. She can read and write fine, but it takes her a bit of time."

"It is fine." Elizabeth said. "Your brothers are doing great and have almost caught up with their peers. I am sure that by the end of the year that they will be where they should be. Really the only things that they were behind in from what I could tell were geography and history. Their numbers and letters are good."

"Thank you." Wyatt said. "I know that Ma was worried about them fitting in, but it seems like they have found some friends."

"I am hoping that you are fitting in as well." Elizabeth said. "I have seen that you have borrowed several books and that is fine. That is why they are there. So feel free to come before or after school or if you are more comfortable talking to Pastor Frank, then that is fine. If there is something that you would like, I can see if my aunt and uncle back east can send them for me."

"Thank you very much." Wyatt said. "Sergeant Jacobs has ordered me several books, including some medical books he thought I might like."

"So you like biology?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Wyatt said. "It is okay. I like math and science. I am, however, leaning more toward the engineering side of science. I have been able to talk to Lucas Walker a few times when we have been out at the mill together. We fixed one of Mr Coulter's saw heads and he was grateful for our help."

"Well." Elizabeth said. "That is great. Like I told Lucas, if you want to go on to more schooling, I will see what I can do about helping you get into the right school back east."

"Thank you." Wyatt said. "Mr Yeager has offered the same. But for now, I am needed here. I want to make sure that my Ma and brothers are taken care of. Lucas and I were talking about it and we think maybe next year things will be more settled and we can think about taking you up on those offers. Our siblings will be bigger and able to take on more of our chores."

"Just let me know." Elizabeth said. "So what brings you in today. Not that I don't like talking to you, but we only have a short time before the students start to arrive."

"I wanted to show you something." Wyatt said, pointing to the object he set down.