Chapter 244 – Arrival of New Businessmen

When Joe and Doug got to town they went to care for Bandit and check on Pegasus. Once the horses were carried for, they headed over to the jail. Joe figured they had about an hour before the stagecoach and wagons got there. Either way, they would hear them from the jail.

It was only about five minutes after they sat down that they were joined by Bill. He poured a cup of coffee and pulled a chair up to the desk.

"How were rounds? Bill asked.

"Good." Joe answered. "Everything is as it should be. Farmers are busy working their fields, the ladies their gardens and children playing. Newcomers behaving. Lee and Christopher have the sawmill hopping. Christopher said the rest of the crew that showed up the other night will be here within the week. They are coming from the north and this group came from the east."

"Good." Bill said.

Then turning to Doug.

"Constable Burke." Bill said. "And how is Jack?"

"Better everyday, Sir." Doug said. "Might even come into the office for a few hours a day starting next week."

"And how long are you planning to stick around?" Bill asked.

"Not sure." Doug said. "I have been temporarily reassigned to Hope Valley and specifically as caregiver to Jack Thornton. After that Deputy Commissioner Delaney promises I will be reassigned to somewhere nearby. He mentioned maybe Buxton or Union City so I could be closer to my mother. Also, thank you for getting me here. Jack really needed me."

"I am glad that you are here for Jack." Bill said. "We were all so busy with other things going on and Charlotte mentioned something about Elizabeth being overwhelmed."

"Speaking of Charlotte." Joe said. "You know she left this morning."

"I know." Bill said. "She probably passed Benson Hills by now. She had a rough visit. I know that she left with things unsaid, but she needs to work them out and she will realize what is right."

"Delaney may have gotten through to her." Joe said. "According to the note she left, she said she would think about what he said."

"Well, leaving a note is an improvement." Bill said.

They sat and talked about various other things until one of the Cadets came in.

"Caravan of wagons approaching from the south." Smith said.

"Gather the other cadets not on guard duty and meet us in front of the mining office." Bill barked.

Smith quickly left. Bill finished his coffee and stood. Joe and Doug quickly followed suit and then the three men left the office. Since Joe was in uniform he went to meet the stagecoach.

Joe stood there on the platform and waited. When the driver pulled up, he nodded to Joe and moved to get down. Joe stepped up and opened the door. He was surprised to see three gentlemen in the coach.

"Mr Yeager." Joe said. "Welcome back."

Joe stepped back and let the gentleman step down.

"I am sorry, Constable." Andy said. "I forgot your name, there were so many of you."

"Not a problem." Joe said. "Constable Joe McGinty, Benson Hills, temporarily assigned to Hope Valley."

"I also see more red serges." Andy said.

"At least for a few more days." Joe said. "We have ten cadets and a few additional Mounties in town, you will need to talk to Deputy Commissioner Delaney if you want an explanation later. But for now, who is with you."

"This is my new Superintendent of Mining Operations." Andy said.

The younger man stepped forward.

"John David Walker." He said. "A pleasure to meet you and I look forward to working with you as long as you are here."

"Same here." Joe said.

Joe then looked at the other man.

"Thomas Wright." He said. "I will be operating the newspaper. Mr Bolt and I are going to be partners."

"Very well." Joe said.

"I assume you two men will take the apartments above the respective offices you will occupy."

"Yes." John David said. "My wife and children will join me as soon as the school year is over."

Joe nodded.

"My wife will be here next week." Thomas said.

"Then let's go get you settled." Joe said. "The cadets and a few other Mounties will help unload those wagons.

The men walked to the other end of town and joined the group gathered to help unload the seven wagons that had pulled up along the street.

"This should be fairly easy." John David said. "The stuff for the mining office is labeled and I really only brought the minimum that I would need until my family comes. Most of the furniture will come when they do. However, I have a lot for the office and the actual mine, which will be stored next door. I have already spoken to Mayor Stanton."

Joe nodded.

"I will admit." Thomas said. "I have quite a lot as my wife is traveling so I can get things set up."

It took the group of men over two hours to unload everything. Once everything was moved to the respective building, the cadets and Mounties left to carry on other duties. Joe took Doug to Abigail's to get some lunch before he headed back to the house. The two walked into the cafe joking and laughing about something Doug said. They were immediately met with the looks of several lumberjacks who didn't look happy. Every table was full, but they were spotted by Ann, who waved them to her. She said something to them and went back behind the curtain for a moment and then Elizabeth Rose came out.

"Boys." Elizabeth Rose said. "The cadets are eating out back, picnic style. You can either join them or you can join me and my husband in the kitchen."

"Kitchen please, Mrs Delaney." Joe said, giving her a dimpled grin.

Elizabeth Rose ushered them into the kitchen and they took a seat at the long table that had been added to the new "family" space in the cafe. They had barely sat down when Dee and Frank came in the back door, also joining them. Patty and Elizabeth Rose got coffee for all of them and then before they knew it a plate of hot roast beef over potatoes with gravy was set before them. There was also biscuits and a family style bowl of steamed vegetables.

"Frank." Wynn said.

"Let's say a quick prayer." Frank said. "Lord God, thank you for the friendships around this table and the knowledge we are not alone on this journey. Bless this food to our bodies and those that prepared it. Amen."

"Amen." Echoed from around the table.

The group ate and talked about things, but no one mentioned what had happened between Frank and Abigail before he had gone for a ride with Dee, nor was anything mentioned about the ride that Dee and Frank had taken. As much as Wynn wanted to know what was going on with his son, he was going to let it drop for the moment because he was at least talking to someone. As they finished their meal, Dee looked at Frank who nodded, so Dee looked at his father.

"Sir." Dee said.

Wynn instantly looked at his son with a questioning look.

"Yes." Wynn said, cautiously.

"I was wondering what the plan for the rest of the afternoon was." Dee said. "I would like some time to go and think. I was going to go for a short ride and maybe head up to Jack's land and check things out. I just need some time to think about some things."

"Are you alright?" Wynn asked.

"I am okay." Dee said. "Frank just gave me some things to think about."

"Sir." Frank said. "I told him if I thought I he was in danger or a danger to others, I would have to say something, but at this point, he is fine. He just needs to work some things out in his head. He had also been through a lot in the last year and seeing some things this past couple of weeks, had brought some of that up. He just needs some time to sort things through in his own head and then I promised to talk to him again. I have told him and I will promise you that if he tells me something were I am concerned then I will come to you."

Elizabeth Rose looked at her husband and nodded.

"Fine." Wynn said. "Take a rifle and things."

"Yes, Sir." Dee said. "I don't know how long I will be gone, but I will try to be back by sundown."

"As long as you are prepared." Wynn said. "But I expect you back tonight."

"Yes, Sir." Dee said.

With that, Dee stood up, gave his mother a hug, thanked the other ladies and left the kitchen to go have some time alone. As soon as the door shut, Wynn turned to Frank.

"Don't look at me like that." Frank said. "I have told you as much as I am going to tell you right now. I took a vow to hold confidences and I fully intend to uphold that I have clearly spelled out the narrow circumstances where I will break that confidence and those have not been met at this time. So you are going to need to trust your son."

"I understand." Elizabeth Rose said. "Thank you for taking the time to talk to him. I knew he had been struggling with something for the last few months, but he said he didn't feel like he could talk about it. I don't know what is going on, but I am going to trust you when you say he just needs time."

Doug just took everything that had been said in and wondered if there was something more that he could do for the young man that had quickly become a part of their small group. Doug had spent plenty of time with Dee over the last few days and was more then willing to include him into the small group that him, Jack and Joe had formed. Doug might not have been completely comfortable with the laid back manner that Jack, Dee and his father had taken, but Doug was going to trust that it was fine. From everything that Jack had said, Doug was just as much family as Dee was. Doug was just going to accept it, because he had never dreamed of having a large family so it felt nice to have 'brothers' and people he could consider family.

"Thank you." Frank said. "It might not be easy, but he really just does need some time. It took a lot for him to just tell me and even then it was very hard for him to say what he had to say."

Wynn looked at Frank again and wondered if it wasn't something of a more personal nature with Dee. He had overheard a conversation while Dee had been in the hospital in Cape Fullerton, but at the time he had dismissed it because the doctors hadn't said anything to him directly and now he was wondering if what he overheard was more true then he had believed.

Elizabeth Rose saw her husband and saw the wheels turning in his head. She knew he knew more than he realized, but he still might not have the whole picture. She also knew that it was going to bother him and she was going to have to watch him to make sure that he left Dee alone to figure things out on his own.

Doug gathered his things and then headed to the livery to get his horse again. When he was standing there, he took a moment and then decided to take Thor. He saddled him and then got ready to leave, stopping at the jail to leave a note for Joe that he had Thor.

As Dee left town, he headed for Jack's land first. He wanted to check the progress there, because they were suppose to have set the foundation and a load of lumber was to have been delivered. Depending on what was going on at Jack's land, he was either going to stay there or head to a near by hunting cabin that he knew about.

Dee was thinking about what Frank had suggested as he rode. He wondered if he could actually do it as he had been taught that it was so wrong for his entire life. Yet, he also understood that this was a different situation and if he truly couldn't feel excitement like that again, it would be nice to know so he could figure out what he was going to do because he really truly thought he loved Annie and wanted to spend his life with her. He knew that she was more then willing to say yes if he would just ask.

When Dee got to Jack's land, he saw that the foundation had indeed been set for the house and all the other buildings had been staked out. There were rocks and bricks piled near where the barn/stable was going to go. There were also a stack of fence posts. Dee smiled as he knew that Jack was going to be excited with the progress. He knew that so many of their plans were going to be determined by how soon they could get into the new house. It was a little more open then Dee remembered and didn't want to risk someone coming by especially if he worked up the courage to try Frank's suggestion, so he headed to the hunting cabin that he knew about from Bill. He still wasn't sure that he could do it.

Dee thought about other things as he rode. He thought about everything that had happened in the past year and how fortunate that he was to just be alive, but at the same time, he thought about all that he had lost and everything that he still struggled with. He wanted nothing more then to have a 'normal' life again so he could ask Annie to be his wife and then if she was willing to have a short courtship, he wanted to be married. He saw what Jack and Beth had and he wanted that. He saw the way that they looked at each other and got lost and that was what he wanted. He had thought Annie was the woman and then he had been injured and everything changed.

As Dee approached the hunting cabin, he was no closer to a decision and knew that he was going to have to spend some time thinking and praying about what he was going to do. So he started scouting for wood and a water source as he got closer. He knew it was fairly warm, but a small fire was going to be nice and he didn't want to use all the water in his canteens if he didn't have to.