Chapter 1 - Heart of the Broken
Charlotte again peeked under the cuff of her long sleeves. The watch on her wrist confirmed what she already knew. She was late. So incredibly late. Mr. Landis certainly would not approve of tardiness for her first day. But, then again things like this should not come as a surprise anymore to Charlotte. The world, and everyone in it, was officially against her being able to find any happiness in this life.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Letting it rest against the wall of the stagecoach. Losing herself to the sway of the wagon and the sounds of the horses and their harnesses.
"Whoa!" the teamster called out to the horses, as he pulled back on the reins, bringing the stagecoach to an abrupt halt in front of a quaintly painted platform.
This was their stop. She let the couple who had rode with her most of the journey, get off the stagecoach first while Charlotte collected the two smaller bags she had brought along that sat beside her on the bench and stepped out onto the depot platform.
"Rachel! Christopher!" A fancy-dressed woman with golden hair shouted from down the boardwalk, throwing her arms open in greeting to Charlotte's traveling companions.
"Aunt Rosie!" The girl exclaimed as she set down her travelling bag and ran into the woman's warm embrace.
"Excuse me ma'am." Charlotte turned to see the driver's assistant pointing to the luggage stored on the coach, "Is this your trunk?"
"Yes, it is'' Charlotte replied. Standing on her tiptoes, extending her reach to where the assistant had started lowering the chest that contained the last of her worldly possessions. The moment she was able to clasp the handle, it broke away, causing the trunk to fall towards the ground and her. Charlotte closed her eyes, waiting for the heavy box to make its impact known.
"Ma'am! Watch out!"
A strong arm wrapped around Charlotte's side, pulling her quickly, but gently out of the way of the crashing trunk.
"Thank you," Charlotte whispered under her breath. Looking down at the well-worn luggage that now lay askew on the landing where it had fallen. Thankfully, it seemed to be still intact, other than the busted handle.
"Ms. Thompson!" A familiar voice called from behind, giving Charlotte a reason to avoid making eye contact with the man in red serge. She turned to see Mr. Landis walking across the street. "You are very late!"
"I know. I am sorry Mr. Landis. The stagecoach was delayed in Union City, which pushed back the travel schedule. It was out of my control, but I apologize for the tardiness."
"Well never mind the excuses. You have much to catch up on. The school year has not started yet, but your accelerated students have been waiting, not too patiently, for your arrival all day in order to start their summer courses. Mrs. Thornton has generously begun with the lessons that we hired you to do. Follow me and I will show the way to the school," Landis replied in a gruff tone.
"But Mr. Landis, where do you want me to take my bags and trunk?" asked Charlotte.
The superintendent turned his gaze. For the first time really taking in his employee's disheveled travel appearance and minimum possessions strewn about her.
"I can take your luggage and store them in my office," a kind gentleman answered as he reached down to take one of the bags from Charlotte's hand. "I'm Leland Coulter, Mayor Coulter now, I guess. That beautiful woman over there is my wife Rosemary."
The golden-haired woman smiled and raised a hand in greeting to which Charlotte was obligated to return.
"It seems you have already met my niece Rachel and her fiancé, Christopher, on the stagecoach," continued Lee. "You must be the new assistant teacher Elizabeth has told us about. Ms. Thompson, correct?"
"Please, call me Charlotte."
"Well then you should call me Lee."
"If you have your personal matters resolved," interjected Landis, "I would encourage you to follow me Ms. Thompson. Quickly."
Lee looked at Charlotte and rolled his eyes at Mr. Landis' response.
"I own the lumber mill in town and have the office just across the street there." Lee said pointing in the direction of an elegant burgundy red building with cream trimming and a wraparound porch.
The golden-haired woman loudly cleared her throat from behind her husband.
"Oh! Yes." Lee remembered, "It is also the office of our newly founded "Valley Voice" newspaper, where my wonderful wife is the editor in chief," Lee smiled. "When you are finished at the school, come by and we would be happy to drive you and your luggage over to the row houses."
"Thank you very much. I appreciate your help," Charlotte replied over her shoulder, as she stepped off the platform. Picking up her skirt slightly in order to extend her stride and catch up with Mr. Landis who had already turned and started off down the road in the direction of the school.
Lee started to bend and pick up Charlotte's trunk that had nearly crushed its owner only moments ago.
"Leland Coulter!" Rosemary scolded from behind him. "Don't you dare think about picking up that chest. It's far too heavy for your poor back!"
Then in almost the same breath, Rosemary continued, "Nathan! Will you please help Lee with Ms. Thompson's trunk? You know his back can't handle lifting all that weight."
"Of course, Rosemary." Nathan gave Lee a sympathetic smile as he moved past him to pick up the trunk and follow the Coulters to their office across the street.
The group entered the building. Rosemary's newspaper business was slowly, but surely, encroaching on every available surface of the office. A small area at the center of Lee's desk was one of the only aspects not visibly taken over by typewriters, old newspapers, and printing machines. Nathan smiled to himself. Lee, always the unselfish husband. Doing everything in his power to make sure his wife was as happy as possible.
"It was nice of you. Offering to store Ms. Thompson's luggage for her while she went to the school," Nathan said, setting the trunk down on an open space of floor in the corner of the office, currently unoccupied by Rosie's newspaper.
"I don't know what Elizabeth sees in working with that Mr. Landis fellow. He just seems insufferable to me," Rosemary grumbled.
"Allie's in that talented and gifted program this summer, right?" Lee questioned. Trying to change the subject off his wife's disdain for the school's superintendent.
"Yes, she is. Not that she is happy about it. I mean she loves learning and appreciated being in the accelerated math course this past year at school, but in her mind, summers are for ice cream and fishing. Not learning. And you know what. I think I kind of agree with her," Nathan replied, scrunching his nose slightly at the thought of being a teenager and not truly getting a summer break.
Allie had multiple times expressed her displeasure to Nathan about being required to continue with lessons, albeit part-time, through what was supposed to be her summer vacation. Elizabeth had brought up the subject of this "talented and gifted" program at Allie's annual parent-teacher conference a few months ago. Allie had excelled this past school year in her accelerated math course. The lessons had come with extra homework and difficult problems that Allie and Nathan spent many hours around their dining room table studying and working through together. On more than one occasion, Nathan found himself opening Allie's textbooks after she had gone off to bed, just trying to re-teach himself. Hoping that by doing a little homework of his own, he would be better able to help Allie in her studies.
This new talented and gifted program was a suggestion of the county's superintendent, Mr. Landis. Taking Hope Valley's most advanced students and pushing them further in their studies. The program would serve not only as an opportunity for the students, of which Allie was one of the chosen few, but it would also serve as a trial period for the Jack Thornton School's newest teacher. As Mr. Landis and the county board had predicted a year ago, Hope Valley was growing in population and it would not be long before children of the town needed more than what the little building, or a single teacher, would be able to provide.
By the time Charlotte and Mr. Landis reached the steps of the Jack Thornton School, she was out of breath. For a middle-aged man, Mr. Landis sure was a fast walker.
"Now Ms. Thompson," Mr. Landis turned towards Charlotte as he placed his hand on the door, "I had high hopes for your introduction to your new position today. But given your late arrival, the utter lack of structure in this classroom, and your…" he paused his condescending speech long enough to take in Charlotte's look from head to toe, "well, your very disheveled appearance. My expectations have greatly diminished."
The intense scrutiny caused Charlotte's cheeks to redden in embarrassment. Subconsciously she reached up to smooth her wisps of fly-away hair that had no doubt become ruffled during the stagecoach ride and her near death experience earlier on the platform.
"I will do my best to exceed your rapidly declining expectation of my work, Mr. Landis," Charlotte replied, finding a sense of inner strength, straightening her back and raising her chin in protest to Mr. Landis' judgement of her abilities.
Walk tall, look 'em straight in the eye, and shake hands.
The wise advice of Charlotte's late father ran through her mind in anticipation as Mr. Landis opened the door to the school. She followed her boss down the aisle into the classroom. Eight children sat in various seats, five girls and three boys. Each obediently leaning over books and papers in front of them. All except one little girl, who sat closest to a window. She stared off into the sunshine, daydreaming about the warm summer day that lay just outside of her grasp. A single pane of glass, the only thing separating her from a normal childhood summer. Charlotte had baulked at first about the idea of making children be in school during what normally would be summer vacation. That is why she had initially considered turning down the position of assistant teacher at Hope Valley, until her life flipped upside down less than a week ago. The memories instantly caused her heart rate to increase and bile to form in her throat. She was about to turn and run outside, depositing her lunch on the steps of the school, when the girl who had been daydreaming turned and smiled at Charlotte. The kindness in the child's eyes instantly put Charlotte at ease.
Walk tall, look 'em straight in the eye, and shake hands.
"Ms. Thompson!" A beautiful woman, impeccably dressed, with gently curled brunette hair stood up from behind the desk and moved gracefully around it to stand in front of Charlotte, "I'm Mrs. Elizabeth Thornton. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Thornton. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you in the teaching of these bright students of Hope Valley." Charlotte turned to face the class, putting on her bravest smile and looking at the group in front of her.
"Now I wish to learn each of your names. And to make it easier for me to remember, I would love to know three interesting facts, uniquely about you. I will start. My name is Ms. Charlotte Thompson. And if you could not tell by my current appearance," Charlotte winked, "I have just spent a little over 3 days traveling by stagecoach to get here and meet you all. I love to cook, especially a delicious Sunday pot roast. And my favorite book is Jane Eyre. My parents actually named me after its author, Charlotte Bronte."
One of the boys quickly raised his hand to ask a question. Charlotte nodded in his direction.
"Ms. Thompson… Do you also make mashed potatoes with your pot roast?"
"Of course, I do! Would it be a complete Sunday dinner without mashed potatoes?" Charlotte joked in response. Her answer satisfied the questioner, as the boy smiled his approval. "And young man, why don't you start the introductions."
Timmy Lawson made his introduction as Charlotte had instructed. Before moving onto the rest of the students. Emily Montgomery, Opal Weise, Paul Blakeley Jr., Angela and Cooper Canfield, and Anna Hayford. The last student to make introductions was the girl who Charlotte had first noticed upon entering the school. Her name was Allie Grant. She had moved to Hope Valley about four years ago. Loved fishing. And was getting particularly good at riding her horse, Bandit.
As soon as Allie finished her introductions, Mr. Landis started on his goals and objectives for the talented and gifted program that Charlotte was to lead over the summer. Landis made it a point to express how upset he was that Ms. Thompson had arrived so late as he would not be able to monitor her progress with the class as he had to leave that evening for at least two weeks to work on another education project in the county. Charlotte worked hard to muffle the sigh of relief that escaped her lips at this statement. With Mr. Landis away, she would only have one supervisor, Mrs. Thornton, hovering over her progress with the class.
While Landis finished his speech, Charlotte's eyes again roamed the faces of her new students. Landing once more on Allie. The girl, closer to a young woman, at what Charlotte would guess about 14, was again staring out the window beside her bench. Charlotte smiled. Oh, how she wished she were 14 again. The whole world was bright, vibrant, and so unspoiled at that age. Charlotte wished that she could protect Allie, and the other students, from realizing the harsh realities that lie in front of them.
"Thank you, Mr. Landis, for bringing us this program," Mrs. Thornton's eternally happy sounding voice began, "I think that we have all had an exceptionally long first day and we should dismiss a few minutes early." Elizabeth looked at Charlotte and scanned her appearance similar to what Mr. Landis had outside on the steps of the school just a short while earlier.
Did Charlotte really look that haggard?
The children jumped up in joy and darted for the door. All except Angela and Cooper Canfield. The younger brother, gently taking his sister's arm and leading her towards the school's exit. Charlotte chose to follow them to the steps, mostly to escape the judgement of Mr. Landis and Mrs. Thornton. Her eyes followed the children. Watching them as they ran down the lane before dispersing into different directions. Some, no doubt, heading home. Some into town for a summer ice cream cone. Others off to play a ball game by the pond.
It was again Allie that caught Charlotte's attention. The girl dropped her books on the ground before jumping into the open arms of the constable who had saved Charlotte earlier from her falling trunk. Of course. The local mountie was married.
Before Charlotte could turn her eyes from the sweet scene, the constable looked up and saw her watching from the stairs. He smiled gently and raised his hand in a small wave.
Charlotte blushed. Raising her hand in return, before scuttling off into the school.
As offered, the Coulters had driven Charlotte and her belongings to the row house that would now serve as her lodging for as long as she worked at the school. Rosemary extended Charlotte an invitation to eat with them, her niece Rachel, Rachel's fiancé Christopher, and Christopher's father Henry at the cafe in town. Charlotte had politely declined. Stating that she was far too exhausted from her travels to be good company and would rather spend the evening getting cleaned up and settling into her new place.
Rosemary started to object, when Lee wrapped his hands around his wife's shoulders and started to guide her back to their car, "Rosie, you know how it feels after a long day of traveling. Let's leave Charlotte to get settled and we can stop by and check on her later this weekend." Lee nodded in Charlotte's direction, "Charlotte the invitation is always open for dinner. Never be afraid to join."
Charlotte had appreciated Lee's kindness earlier on the platform but was especially grateful for his understanding and ability to pacify Rosemary's extroverted tendencies. Like Charlotte had said. She would be horrible company tonight and would hate to make a bad first impression, well more than she already had, to the rest of the townspeople.
Instead of unpacking however, Charlotte locked the front door and found a pitcher of water with a wash basin to begin scrubbing the days of dirt and travel from her skin. Looking into the small mirror above the basin, she took in her appearance. Mr. Landis and Mrs. Thornton had been correct in judging. Charlotte's dark chocolate hair lay limp and almost greasy against her cheeks. Darker skin, from a lack of sleep and increase of worry, had formed half circles under each of her eyes. Dirt covered any exposed skin, adding to her already tanned and freckled face. The high collar of her blouse stained from the mix of dust and sweat that had collected on its edges. She was a vision.
After washing, Charlotte took a moment to look at the house around her. The town had provided the essentials for each room. The first floor held a small kitchen in the corner. A stove, work bench, cabinets, and round table with chairs. A banquet dresser sat below the stairs and held the water basin, pitcher, and mirror. A practical wood burning stove in the opposite corner of the kitchen, encircled with a small couch and chair that completed the sitting space around its warmth. Finally, a desk was placed in the far corner. On its surface sat an oil lamp and a glass canning jar filled with fresh wildflowers. Charlotte walked closer and leaned down to smell the petals, smiling into their aromatic scents. A rustic mix of wild roses, buttercups, a scattering of cattails, and Charlotte's favorites- blue forget-me-nots completed the bouquet.
Up the stairs was a washroom and two small bedrooms, only one of which was outfitted with a wrought iron bed and mattress. Charlotte took a moment to crack open the window and look out its view. Disappointed that instead of the mountains, the view was the roof of the neighboring row house. Charlotte sat on the edge of the mattress before falling back across its spread. Even though summer was in full force, the sun had sunken quickly behind the mountains to the West and soon enough, darkness fell over the little room and for the first time in days, Charlotte was quickly able to fall off to sleep.
The almost full moon easily lit the path in front of Nathan as he walked home from the livery after making his final rounds of the night. Even for the middle of summer the weather in the valley had been unseasonably hot and dry. The lack of a breeze made the air around him stifling. He had chosen to remove his heavy woolen red serge after unsaddling Newton. As official as the uniform looked, Nathan would never understand why the NWMP never came up with a more appropriate option for the dog days of summer. Sweat had dampened every part of the linen henley shirt he wore underneath.
Nathan was only a few doors down from his house, when a scream cut violently through the still night air, instantly causing his muscles to clench and jump into action.
"No. No! Stop! Please don't. Please don't do this!"
Nathan's heart raced. His face flushed and he could hear each pump of his blood as it ran through his body. The calls for help allowed him to easily decipher the source, a slightly cracked window on the side of the row house beside his and Allie's. The home of Hope Valley's newest teacher, Ms. Thompson. Nathan avoided using the steps and instead leaped to the front porch of the row house. Banging harshly on the front door, before jiggling the handle. It was locked! Who in Hope Valley locked their front doors?
He beat on the door a second time, before jumping off the porch and running again to the side of the house to stand below the open window. The cries had now stopped.
"Ms. Thompson are you okay?" Nathan spoke up to the second floor. "It's Constable Grant."
"Uncle Nathan?" Allie startled Nathan when she rounded the corner and started to walk down the space between the two row houses to join him.
Nathan held up a hand and the girl stopped in her tracks. Waiting.
Finally, a soft whisper from above reached Nathan. "Constable. I'm so sorry if I have woken you," Charlotte's voice cracked slightly. "I must have been having a dream. I thank you for your concern, but I am alright."
"Are you sure? It sounded…" Nathan stopped. It sounded so - so incredibly real. Nathan swallowed, realizing a lump had formed in his throat.
"Yes. I'm fine. Please. I'm so sorry to have caused you any trouble."
The way her voice said the word "please". It carried a different tone then when she called it out into the night only a few moments earlier, but at the same time it caused Nathan a high level of concern.
"Are you sure nothing is wrong?" Nathan began. "If you need to talk, just unlock the door. Allie and I could bring over water or something."
"No!" Charlotte clipped at his offer. "I will be alright constable. Thank you again for your concern. Goodnight." With that, the window slammed shut above him. Nathan left staring up at it, before Allie interjected.
"Uncle Nathan. Is Ms. Thompson alright?" A real look of worry spread across his niece's face.
"Yes. That is what she said," trying to provide comfort in his words even though Nathan didn't believe it himself. He walked up beside Allie and gently turned her to head in the direction of their home. Trying to put the girl at ease, even though the concerns about his new neighbor kept Nathan awake much later into the night then he had hoped they would.