.

Nathan & Elizabeth: An Epic Love

.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

.

Mayhem

.

"Men, it's time you all break for the weekend! Have you gotten the information we compiled as to what is available for rentals?"

"Yes, Sir," answered Jacques. "Mayor Coulter is taking us around for the showings."

"Good. Lee's a great person who you all really need to get to know. He's helped me more times than I can count and has even served as a Deputy when we've needed him the most. He owns the Lumber Mill and just recently purchased The Queen of Hearts."

"We've met his wife, too. And she owns The Valley Voice! She's insisting on interviewing us all tomorrow!" announced Peyton.

"Just don't let her twist your words! And you can tell her I said so!"

The men laughed.

"Hey, time for your 1st Hope Valley weekend! Hope it's a good one! See you bright and early this coming Monday morning!"

Nathan noticed that as Jacques and Peyton gathered their things to leave, Alex hung back.

"Can I help you, Alex?"

"I just wanted to say thanks again for giving me the chance to do this job of being your personal assistant. Speaking of which, I noticed you aren't leaving yet. What can I do to help you?"

"Oh, there's really nothing…" began Nathan.

"If you're planning to make a few calls, I can at least place them for you."

Nathan glanced at the nearest timepiece.

"Actually, just one important one, Alex. It's a long-distance call to Hamilton. The others, I'll take care of as they are all local. But only if you promise to leave as soon as the long-distance call is placed. Do we have a deal?"

"We do, Sir!"

"Then the name is William Thatcher of Hamilton, and I need you to please ring his home address…"

"Good evening. This is Chief Inspector Nathan Grant's Office calling for Mr. William Thatcher if he's so kindly available."

"Yes, this is Nigel, the Thatchers' Head Butler. I believe Mr. Thatcher is in his Library. If you'll be so kind as to give me a moment, I'll be happy to connect him."

"The Butler is connecting Mr. Thatcher, who is in his library, Chief! I'll sign off now, Sir!"

"Have a great weekend, Alex. Thank you!"

Nathan wasn't at all sure of what to expect. He only knew this was the right thing to do. And to him it didn't matter that Elizabeth had been married before, this was still the right thing to do as far as he was concerned.

"William Thatcher, here! May I help you?"

"I am hoping so, Mr. Thatcher. You don't know me, Sir, but I am Nathan Grant from Hope Valley."

"Nathan Grant? Oh, but I do know you, Son!"

"You do?"

"Yes, from many years ago, actually!"

"I'm sorry, Sir! But I don't understand."

"Then let's start back at the beginning. That is if you have time?"

"I'd appreciate that very much, Sir, and I will be happy to take all the time you'd like! It's my honor to get to speak with you finally."

"I remember the name like it was yesterday because my middle daughter, Elizabeth, decided to leave the comforts of home and travel west, where she believed her teaching talents would be better used. As a father, you can imagine my alarm, and I must admit her mother had an even stronger, shall we say, violent reaction?"

Nathan smiled into the phone.

"I can only imagine, Sir!"

"Honestly, Grace still hasn't quite recovered, but that's another story for another day, I suppose. When Elizabeth was preparing to leave, my wife insisted I do something, so since stopping our daughter from proceeding wasn't going to work, I decided I would be a bit more devious. If I couldn't stop her from going, at least I could see that she was well protected. So, I contacted my good friend Commissioner Doneghy and asked for his best Mountie. He sent me your dossier, along with a handful of others. Being a businessman with limited time, I only looked at your file as I was told by multiple people you were simply the best: the most honorable, the most trustworthy, the best marksman they had ever had, the best equestrian, etc. The list went on and on. The Commissioner set up a meeting for me to meet you, but before I could clear my schedule and travel to do so, I was told there was a death in your family and that you would not be able to fill the position as you were taking on the responsibility for your sister's daughter. All of which I am most sorry for. And though they are much too late, you do have my sincerest and deepest condolences. Your kind actions only proved to me that I had made the correct choice in the beginning. Unfortunately, the substitute I was given was quite different from the man whose dossier I had studied in detail and much preferred. But I'm sure you are familiar, somewhat at least, with what happened after that."

The line was quiet.

"Chief Inspector, are you still there?"

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, Sir. I only heard that Coal Valley was where I had originally been assigned just today, mere hours ago. I must admit I am taken aback to hear your version again on this same day. You see, I was never told of any specifics at all about the position because I knew I was unable to take it no matter how perfectly it might have suited, at the time."

"I understand that now, and I commend you for being so honest and honorable. Forgive me for meandering back in time. What can I do for you today, Chief Inspector?"

"As a father myself, I honestly don't know how to break this to you in a receptive way. I can only be direct and honest and pray that you understand. Sir, I fell in love with your daughter the moment I saw her. I also love her son as though he were my own. I am calling to ask you for her hand in marriage."

Now, it was William Thatcher's turn to be taken aback.

William finally cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry. I guess I don't understand. Elizabeth has made her own decisions from the moment she decided to go west, and then to marry Jack. I'll admit Elizabeth's first husband did ask me for my permission while telling me with his same breath, it didn't matter what my response was, he was going to be marrying her anyway. Needless to say, I don't do very well with insolence, and so the dye was cast. Jack and I never got along after that. Though I did make a few feeble attempts, my heart was never really in it once I had endured that very disrespectful interaction, initially."

"I can't speak for Jack, Sir. And I can't even speak for Elizabeth today. I can only speak for myself, and asking and receiving your permission is the only way I know how to proceed. You are her father, whether she's been married before or not, and I can only be respectful of that. Your opinion matters an awfully lot to me."

"I appreciate that! You are the first, you know."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"Even your now Governor didn't ask my permission. We didn't even receive a social call, which my wife found sorely lacking. Apparently, he asked my daughter to marry him, she accepted, and then she immediately came to visit us, with Jack, but not her intended, as apparently, he was too busy to be troubled. Supposedly, the visit was not to meet him but to convince us she was doing the right thing."

He chuckled and continued.

"The funny thing was she was trying much too hard! We all thought she was trying to convince herself and not us at all! More recently, when Agatha, my sister visited Hope Valley with my daughter, Julie, on their return she was insistent the wedding would never take place telling us that our daughter wasn't in love with the man, nor he with her. She also was not at all impressed with Mr. Bouchard's past, nor his surface social skills. As for me, I ran the obligatory background check and was rather appalled, quite frankly, so I had no desire to get to know the man, and still don't, not even as Governor. As it turns out, thankfully, Agatha was right; they weren't in love. The funny thing is when my daughter talks about you, which is quite frequently, always has been, if I'm being perfectly honest, her entire face lights up, and if she's on the phone, we hear her love for you in the lilt of her voice. Have I tortured you enough, Son?"

"I was perhaps expecting worse, but the answer is a resounding yes, Sir!" chuckled Nathan.

"You have my permission, Son! I would be delighted and honored to welcome you to our family."

"Thank you, Sir! The honor is all mine!"

"Well," chuckled William. "Let me see. It appears you now have a rather long list of thank yous to address."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Sir!"

"Let's start out on the right foot. It's William, Son, and may I call you Nathan?"

"I would be honored, William!"

"A week or so ago, Commissioner Donaghy, who is still a good friend of mine, called singing your praises. I knew something big was coming. I just couldn't get him to tell me what. This morning, Deputy Commissioner Blevins called, not realizing we hadn't yet met, again singing your praises, and then again, this afternoon, Judge Bill Avery called, again saying so many nice things about you. How could I possibly say no?"

"Sir, I am so sorry. I had no idea whatsoever! I'm actually embarrassed, as I would never ask someone to do something I alone was responsible for doing!"

"Relax, I knew you had no knowledge of any of it! But I took note and was very proud that my daughter is finally getting it right. The truth is though, I knew for myself last week. Want to know how I knew?"

"Desperately," grinned Nathan over the phone.

"Any young man brave enough to call our cook to get her favorite recipe of my daughter's, which she guards with her life, by the way, yet she came away raving about you, giving you everything but our kitchen sink, well, that's one brave man in my book! A Prince among men who definitely deserves my daughter's hand, as well as her love!"

Nathan was so humbled. He hadn't imagined a comment like this in his wildest dreams!

"That is quite lovely, Sir. Though I must say, Cook was an absolute gem! But the truth is I would do just about anything to make your daughter happy, which brings me to this, as I am fairly confident she will say yes. Neither of us can imagine wedding each other without you and your wife there with us. Is there any possible way I can entice you to come to Hope Valley?"

"Absolutely! Neither Grace nor I would miss this one for the world! We have a new Son and a new Granddaughter to meet, which we are very much looking forward to!"

"Allie will be thrilled. She's always wanted a bigger family! I promise to let you know our plans as soon as they are made!"

"Grace and I would both appreciate that very much, Son! Very much, indeed! Again, a hearty welcome to the Thatcher family, Son! It's been an absolute delight to finally get to speak with you…"

Nathan had no sooner hung up than his phone rang.

"Papa, Mama, Jack, and I are at the Café. Can you come meet us for dinner?"

"I'd love that, Princess. I'll be there soon. Can you choose something for me and order it so I won't hold you all up?"

"Sure, but don't work too late. All your men are here now, eating their dinner, so they'll be glad to see you, too!"

"I've got to work through one more thing, at least partially, and I'll head that way, Sweetheart!"

"Be careful, Papa!"

"Always, Allie!"

Nathan hung up and got up to look out at the night sky.

.

Little did the Chief Inspector know his daughter had a funny feeling when she hung up the phone, and in true Mountie fashion, without alarming her Mama, she immediately went to her Uncle Bill.

"Uncle Bill, Papa's in his office alone. I think he needs help!"

"That's good enough for me, Little Mountie!"

Bill immediately motioned for Finn and his two Constables.

"Something's off, and the Chief is in his office alone. Let's go!"

But when Allie returned to the table, Elizabeth recognized the look of worry on her face.

"Allie, is everything alright?"

"I don't know for sure, but I'm worried about Papa! Uncle Bill is on his way with Finn and his Constables!"

"I think we need to pray."

"Is Papa alright? Asked a worried Jack.

"Yes, Jack, but we need to say a quick prayer for him! Let's do that now!"

"Elizabeth, what is wrong?" asked Joseph, who had overheard the conversation.

"We need to pray for Nathan."

"Everyone: Dear God, we pray your Hand directs our Chief Inspector and the men who have gone to protect him! Bring them all back safe to us. We also pray for anyone else impacted by what is going on, no matter where they may be. Place your Hand of protection over them as well right at this moment, especially our Deputy Commissioner and his wife, Emily, and we will not forget to give you all the honor, the praise, and all the glory. Amen!"

All conversations and eating ceased as everyone in the Café, understanding the gravity of the situation, prayed silently without ceasing!

Allie reached for her Mama's and Jack's shaking hands as Rosemary hovered near saying her own prayers.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

And the whole town felt it.

So much so that Alex, Jacques, and Peyton quickly followed the Constables, their guns drawn as well...

.

But back in Nathan's office, staring out into the darkness, Nathan's mind was whirring at a ridiculous speed.

What a day it had been!

So much so that he needed just a moment to decompress before he faced his family, his men, and Hope Valley.

He knew he had Bill's blessing and Jack's blessing.

And more importantly, he now knew he had William's blessing.

He knew even more importantly than all that, he finally had Elizabeth's love, all of it.

What was bothering him?

Something was off, he could feel it so profoundly, and the only thing, the only person, he kept coming back to was Superintendent Andrew Hargreaves. Surprisingly, it wasn't his parting barb he was thinking about now.

It was about something else.

Something he had spoken to no one about because it hadn't seemed important at the time, as the man's venom had been expected by all.

But throughout the day, that single look had never left Nathan, and he had to do something about it now.

It was a look of such disdain Hargreaves had given to both Hal and him that went beyond initial venom.

Reflecting back, it was clearly something much more sinister.

It was almost cocky, as though a plan was already in place.

Yes, Hal had his own security team, as well as Emily's security team traveling with him.

Still, he had to get a message to Christian and to Hal himself, now!

He sat down, placing the two calls simultaneously to Christian and to the Train's Security.

"Christian, Chief Inspector Grant, please listen to me urgently as I give info to both you and the Train Security.

The other line opened while Christian was still listening.

"I'm Chief Inspector Nathan Grant, and I need to get an urgent message to Deputy Commander Hal Blevins, who is traveling on the 6 PM Train to Regina out of Union City! How quickly will it take? Then I want you to sequester him and his wife immediately. Someone in security is going to go after them. Protect them now at all costs!"

"Christian?"

"I've already sounded the alarm, and thanks to you, I even know who it is. Chief Inspector, where are you?"

"In my office."

"Alone?"

"Yes!"

"Get out now, the back way, now!"

Nathan drew his gun and immediately did as he was told, edging his way along the back stairway, his eyes scanning from top to bottom and bottom to top, covering both the entrance and exit. When he reached the main floor, he heard someone toward the front door and immediately headed toward the back exit, making sure no one was behind him.

That was when he saw the gun aimed squarely at his heart.

And that was when the subsequent shot rang out ominously throughout the streets of Hope Valley…