Chapter 68- Forget-Me-Not

Nathan abruptly sat up and reached for his pistol that was nearby. He scanned his surroundings, paying close attention to any sound or movement, but none came.

Even with the chill of the night, Nathan could feel his skin break out in a cold sweat. He ran a shaking hand through his damp hair. The foreboding he felt was so heavy he was nauseated.

Newton had moved closer, so Nathan rose and came to stand beside his horse.

"Ah, Newt," he reached forward, running his hand up and down the horse's forehead. "What was that all about, huh? What's got us both spooked?"

Newton nickered and threw his head into Nathan's shoulder.

"Hey, easy there partner."

Newton again threw his head into Nathan's shoulder.

Nathan took a step back, out of reach of his horse's abuse, "What is with you all of sudden?"

Newton walked over to where the saddle and blankets rested beside the tree. He pawed a front hoof at the saddlebag nearby.

"Knock it off Newt," Nathan moved to shoo the horse away so he wouldn't crush the items in his pack.

The horse pranced away, down the road in the direction they had come from earlier.

"What are you doing?"

Newton tossed his head and nickered impatiently.

"Seriously Newt. Get back here. This isn't funny anymore."

Instead of coming back towards Nathan, Newton turned and took off further down the road.

"Newt, you're scaring me," Nathan's heartbeat sped up. "Is something wrong? With Charlotte?"

Newton tossed his head.

For a moment, Nathan considered following Newton's instincts, but then he shook his head. They were both just spooked from being out here alone and in an unfamiliar place.

"Get over here Newt, we can't go back to Hope Valley. We have to get to Fort MacLeod to meet up with Gabe."

Newton turned and charged at Nathan, stopping only inches from him. Snorting his displeasure.

Nathan stood stunned at the horse's reaction. He had never seen Newton act like this before. Something ominous hung in the air. Nathan could feel it like a blackness covering his soul, and it was then he knew, without a doubt, it had to do with Charlotte. He knew it deep within his heart and he prayed for directions.

Go. A deep voice called to him in the night. Go home to her.

Bill had been up for hours. He wasn't one to show his emotions, but to say he was concerned about McEntire's arrest and Nathan's wellbeing, would be an understatement. While he had given Nathan all the information he thought would benefit in the arrest, Bill had dug further into the Schneider gang. He knew Beck was just the surface of this operation. A single cog in the wheel of corruption.

Once an inspector. Always an inspector.

Looking through some reports and articles, Bill finished off his first cup of coffee. He thought about making his way back down the street to the café to get a second, when a knock sounded on the front door of his office.

"Go away," He called gruffly, trying to focus on the evidence in front of him. "The office isn't open on the weekends."

Another knock sounded; louder than the first.

Bill growled, before standing and making his way over to the door, opening it harshly. "What?!"

"Good morning to you too, Bill," Gabe answered.

Bill's head jerked back in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if Nathan was in here. Or if you knew where he went? I didn't see Newton in his stall when I dropped off Apollo at the livery."

"Why would he be here?" Bill questioned.

"Uhhh, because he lives here? We were planning on meeting in Brookfield next week before riding together down to Potter's Creek, but I was up in the area for a prisoner transport and thought maybe we could just ride together from here."

Bill felt sick. "You didn't send the telegram?"

"The telegram? Bill, what is going on? You're acting stranger than usual."

Bill chose to ignore the last statement from Gabe. "The telegram you sent to Nathan yesterday."

Gabe's eyes grew wide. "I didn't send any telegrams yesterday."

"It's a trap." Bill stated under his breath.

"What?"

"It's a trap!" Bill yelled this time to make himself clear to Gabe. "Nathan is being set up."

Shock flowed across Gabe's face, but before he could ask any further questions, Allie burst through the door, her grandmother following a few steps behind.

"Bill!" Allie shouted. "Ms. Thompson is gone! She left!"

Bill and Gabe exchanged a look of concern.

"When I went to Charlotte's house this morning, this note was on the table," Maise handed a folded paper towards Bill. "I knew she had considered leaving Hope Valley last week, but this letter sounds nothing like her, Bill. Something bad has happened. I just know it."

The ride back to Hope Valley had taken longer. With the moon hidden under a bank of clouds, and a thick fog settling into the valleys, Nathan and Newton had a hard time traversing the trails on their return trip. The slow trek had given Nathan too much time to think about what had him so concerned. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He felt helpless.

Instead of visions of their beautiful future, Nathan's mind kept seeing Charlotte's face. She whispered his name. Her voice pleading into the night, over and over again. But Nathan found he couldn't get to her no matter how hard he tried. Every time in the vision Nathan thought he could reach out and touch her, a dark shadow would take Charlotte away again, just outside of his grasp. Just out of his safety.

Nathan couldn't stop shaking. He had hoped things would look better in the light of day, but as dawn came, the sensation that something was wrong would not go away, and he prayed again, fervently.

Once the sun had begun its rise on the horizon a couple hours ago, his and Newton's progress sped up. The sky was still foggy and grey, but at least it was lighter out and easier to see the road. The heavy frost Nathan had predicted the night before was in full force, making the landscape look as if it was dressed in crystals.

Normally Nathan would relish in the beauty, but his mind was in other places. As he rode past the stream at the edge of town and the row houses came into view, he knew instantly that what he had hoped was just a nightmare, was very, very real. His heels dug into Newton's side, urging the horse into a gallop.

Lee's car was parked between Nathan's house and Charlotte's. The door to her home was wide open. Henry and Joseph stood on the front step, both glancing up when Nathan abruptly dismounted in front of them.

"Nathan," Henry gasped. "We didn't know how to get word to you…"

Nathan rushed past the two men on the porch and into Charlotte's house. His mother sat on the couch, Allie held close between her and Minnie on the other side. Rosemary, Lee, and Carson stood around the kitchen table, looking over various papers strewn across its surface.

"Nathan!" Rosemary exclaimed at the sight of him blazing into the room.

"Where is she? What's happened? Is Charlotte, okay?" The words tumbled quickly out of his mouth.

"Dad!" Allie bolted up from her spot in the living room and darted to his side, wrapping her arms around him.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" Nathan gritted through his teeth.

"When your mom came to Charlotte's house this morning, she found this," Lee handed Nathan a letter.

Nathan ripped the paper from Lee's hands, unfolding it, he quickly noted Charlotte's beautiful scrolling handwriting.

Nathan,

With you out of town I realized it was my only chance to get away.

I don't belong here. I don't belong with you.

As much as I've tried, I can't bring myself to love you.

Please tell everyone how much I will miss them.

All my best,

Charlotte

Nathan's grip tightened on the paper, crumpling its edges. No. This wasn't right.

"When was the last time someone saw her?" Nathan's voice was sharp and inquiring.

"Last night," Rosemary answered. "Charlotte and I left the party early as we were both tired. She walked me home, before heading back here."

"By the time the rest of us left the hospital, Charlotte's house was dark," Minnie added. "We all just assumed Charlotte had already gone to bed and didn't think anything of it until Maise found the note this morning when she came over here.

"Nathan," Joseph laid a hand on his shoulder. "I was probably one of the last people to talk to Charlotte last night. This letter... it wasn't where her heart was when we spoke. She didn't write this."

"She wrote it, Joseph. This is her handwriting," Nathan's fist waved the piece of paper into the air.

"Constable Kinslow arrived this morning," Lee said.

"Gabe is here?" Nathan's mind raced as he started piecing together the evidence. "I thought…"

"Nathan," Henry spoke up, but his head dropped low as he twirled his hat in his hands. "We think that the man Lucas had hired to oversee the pipeline construction, Greg Doyle… we think he may be the man from Charlotte's past. When Gustav went to check on why Doyle hadn't paid the next week's rent on his room at the saloon, he found this..."

Henry handed a folded-up newspaper clipping to him. Nathan opened the page.

'Valley Voice'

THOMPSON SCORES WINNING RUN FOR TEAM NATHAN

Nathan's heart stopped. The picture. The picture of him and Charlotte from the baseball game was right there. Her face. Her name. The town. The people. He had hunted them all down like prey, just waiting for the right time to make his move.

"Beck," The name fell out of Nathan's mouth so hard that he swore it hit the floor with an audible 'thud'. "He was here in town? This whole time?"

Nathan remembered his one and only interaction with this "Gregory Doyle". It had been just over a week ago, when the man stopped into his office to deliver… to deliver the letter from Gabe. The letter that outlined their plans for his arrest. He knew everything. He must have sent the telegram yesterday to lead Nathan on a wild goose chase through half of Alberta. Nathan felt the bile rise in this throat.

This couldn't be happening. He had sworn to protect Charlotte and the man who had attacked her over a year ago had been right under his nose for weeks… maybe months. Beck had set them up and been one step ahead of him this entire time.

"Where's Gabe now?" Nathan asked the group.

"He and Bill left right away in search of Charlotte and Beck." Maise answered. "Bill went west into the mountains. Gabe went east towards Benson Hills and Buxton."

"We were just looking at this map and trying to determine where the rest of us should go," Carson answered, pushing some of the papers that were on Charlotte's kitchen table closer to Nathan.

Nathan's eyes couldn't focus. They blurred with a mix of tears and rage. His fists clenched, causing his attention to return to Charlotte's letter still in his hand. It was then he saw it. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Drawn very lightly in the bottom corner of the page was a small replica of a forget-me-not flower.

Nathan's eyes grew large as he ran towards Charlotte's stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

"Nathan!" Joseph called out. "What are you doing?"

Nathan didn't answer, he burst open the door to Charlotte's room. The last, and only, time he had been in here was the morning of the anniversary of Charlotte's attack. The space was just as he remembered that day. He walked directly to the bedside table he had made Charlotte over a year ago. There, barely visible from underneath the jar of dried flowers, was the corner of a piece of paper. Nathan gently shifted the vase over and took hold of the note.

Nate

Was printed across the front. Nathan unfolded the page and scanned Charlotte's rushed handwriting.

My Beloved Nathan,

Beck is here. He's been here in Hope Valley for some time.

He knows everything. He knows about Maise, Allie, and you.

He has threatened that if I do not go with him…

This is not how I wanted the story of us to end, but it has to.

For Allie's sake, if no one else. She can't lose another parent. She can't lose you.

I'm not doing this to hurt you or cause you pain, but to save you.

Know that I did not want to leave, but you have such a beautiful life still left to live.

I couldn't stand the thought of taking that away.

Please know your friendship has given me such strength.

With your love, and God's,

I can face the unknowns that will certainly be ahead for me.

I knew you would find this letter

and I hope that it can bring you some sort of comfort into the future.

These forget-me-nots have always been special to us, haven't they?

When Minnie told me it was you and Allie who delivered this bouquet,

she also mentioned what forget-me-nots represent...

True love, fidelity, and long-lasting connections.

There is so much that I had hoped to tell you.

To share with you, but I don't have much time to write this.

So let these be my final words:

You, Nathaniel Archibald Grant, will always be my big, genuine, and precious gift from God.

Wherever I go. You will be there too.

The year of beautiful memories and love you gave to me will last forever.

No matter what Beck does. He cannot take those precious moments away from me.

Not anymore.

It has always been you, with whom I belong. With you, my heart will always be.

I Love You,

Charlie