Chapter Text
I wake up to the familiar sound of movement downstairs and a smile spreads across my face. No matter how hard he tries, my Dad can’t get ready to head into Hope Valley’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police office without making a racket in the kitchen. The fact that my mother, little sisters and brother are not also woken up by the noise is a mystery, but I relish these early mornings I’m able to spend alone learning from and talking with the man I’ve known as my father all my life. I jump out of bed, put on my robe, and join my Dad, Nathan Grant, just as he pours his first cup of coffee.
“Good Morning Jack,” he says and gives me a hug before taking a sip of the hot beverage.
“Morning Dad,” I say grabbing a pot and ingredients to make a batch of oatmeal.
My father, Nathan, always noticed things. He is an observer. It's a skill that comes naturally to him, and it's lucky that it came in so useful in his job as well at home because right now I can tell he senses my hesitance. My mother always tells me I look like more and more like my namesake every day, but Dad has always reminded her that he also thought I am also a kind, generous and compassionate young man, telling her that these qualities had been instilled in me from her. My parents are nothing if not doting. Nature, certainly has had a hand in some things, but nurture also played its part.
“Jack,” he said turning to me and putting his hand on my shoulder and pulling me out of my thoughts, “is there something wrong? You don’t seem quite yourself today.”
I turn and look at him, it was now or never. He would understand. “Yeah, Dad,” I finally say. “I’ve made a decision.”
“Decisions are good,” he says in his usual direct way.
Taking a deep breath I continue, “I want to be a Mountie. Like you, Dad, and my Father, Jack.”
He gets that look on his face and he put down his coffee. I could tell my father almost anything and I knew he would think through it. He’s not known for being much of a talker, but when something is important Dad will say it, especially if it concerns the five of us—Allie, his niece who became my sister when he and mom adopted her after they married; my little two sisters, Colleen and Abigail; and little brother, Emerson.
After a moment, he answers, “Jack, this…this is actually something I actually expected so I am not surprised by your decision, but you know as well as I do that your mother will not be thrilled about it. What she went through with your Father, not to mention me being a Mountie. It’s been…a lot. Have you considered that?” His voice rose with each statement he made and I could tell he was trying not to get upset himself. “You both talked about continuing school, right? You’re smart, son. Don’t you want to go to college, like Allie did?”
“Dad,” I plead, “I know how Ma feels. She never misses an opportunity to tell me.” Sitting down at the table with my bowl in front of me, I reason with him. “You say I am smart, well so are you and you’re a Mountie. You’re the best tracker in the region, and when you became Inspector we didn’t even have to move from Hope Valley. I clearly remember the discussions you and Ma had when you were offered that promotion again. And, Uncle Bill was a Mountie and now he is a Judge!” Dad sits silently letting me talk and make my point, so I continue, “Ma’s taught me everything I need to know from books. You’ve taught me what it means to be a good man. Now I want to learn to serve the people and communities that are important to me by becoming a Mountie. Hope Valley was a wonderful place to grow up, Dad. You were a big part of making that happen and I will never forget that. I want to do the same.”
I finish and he looks at me. “Jack,” he says, “I am very honoured and proud that you want to follow in mine and Jack’s footsteps in joining the Mounties and serving your community but, are you positive that you’ve really thought this through? It is a big decision and I wouldn’t want you to make it simply to because of us. There does need to be more to it than that.”
“Allie has told me you became a Mountie because of Grandpa, and Nana Thornton, Ma, and Aunt Rosemary have said Jack joined the Mounties because of his father. So, I am just following the long line of reasoning that all Thornton and Grant men have taken,” I say, feeling quite smug and smart of my latest reasoning.
“Yeah, well…that…may…be…true.”
I smile. I won.
“But, that cannot be the only reason. Yes, what happened with your Grandpa when I was little did play an important and large part in me deciding to become a Mountie, but there’s always more than that, Jack.” He looked at me seriously. “Figure out what that is for you, then talk to your Ma and she what she says.” With that, he got up, patted me on the shoulder, and put on his red serge.
Ever since I remember Dad’s uniform has fascinated me. My parents say that even when they were courting just seeing my father in his jacket would make me reach out for him to hold me and play with the buttons or various pieces that made it up. I’d reach for his Stetson, wanting it on my head. Hope Valley citizens always say that I was a Mountie by blood and loved by a Mountie, so being a Mountie was inevitable. I always thought it was meant to tease my mother, but only now I am seeing the reality in their words. I am a Mountie by Nature and Nurture.