It was hot and sunny in Hope Valley. Jack leaned over the fence at the jail watching everyone pass-by. He was drinking some lemonade after doing his rounds. Pastor Frank asked Jack earlier if he could chop up some firewood for the church, if he had some spare time. He had stupidly said he would help because it was a distraction from his own thoughts about a particular brunette woman wandering around with Charles Kensington.

He had to admit they made a handsome couple. Charles was right for Elizabeth in so many ways that he wasn't. He was respected in society which is something her family liked. He had a stable job in an office which it would appear Elizabeth liked, she almost jumped at the idea of her father offering him a job in his firm. He knew there was some risk to being a Mountie but his life wasn't worth living without having the job he loved so much. Perhaps he and Elizabeth were not well suited, it was especially clear that they were not well suited in Hamilton. But here in Hope Valley he felt they were perfectly suited, he admired her strength, kindness and perseverance.

He saw Nurse Faith Carter wandering across from the Mercantile. She looked happy with her post, clearly from a loved one. He was so happy for her help when they were in Hamilton and his brother was in trouble. Tom appears to be doing well at the Saw Mill courtesy of Faith's Uncle who's the Foreman. She waved and he reciprocated with a smile.

He looks sad, she thought. If he and Elizabeth Thatcher have ended their courtship perhaps she could swoop in and be the woman that he really needs in his life. She wouldn't mind a man like him. Jack was caring, kind, good with children. Not to mention he was very handsome, she had definitely gone to sleep thinking about those huge muscles wrapped around her and keeping her warm. She blushed, those are inappropriate thoughts to have, she thought. She'd seen Elizabeth kiss Charles after seeing him off on the Stagecoach, she'd also seen Jack's face, he looked heartbroken or angry, she wasn't sure. She would need to find out whether they had ended their courtship, she would ask Jack herself after her rounds this afternoon.

Later in the afternoon, Jack was chopping up wood and putting it in a cart to take up to the church. He was in the woods and the sun was shining right on him. He was so warm and sweating so much, he noticed that no one was around, not many people ventured around this part of the woods. He was weighing up the decision to take his top off. If he took it off, he'd feel cooler and perhaps it would dry out a bit before he had to put it back on to take the wood to the church. However, if someone saw him, they could take offense to him being half naked. He looked up at the beating down sun and decided it was too warm. He took off his shirt and threw it over the nearest branch he could see.

"Did you enjoy your lunch, Elizabeth?" Abigail asked, she was worried about Elizabeth. Ever since she came home from Hamilton she seemed lost. She thought it was perhaps because she and Jack had been at odds.

"Yes, I did. Thank you, Abigail." She said with a polite smile.

"Is there something else, you look lost,"

"Have you seen Jack? I really need to talk to him…" Elizabeth really needed to talk to him. She wanted Jack to know how much she cared about him and that Charles was just a friend.

"Frank said he offered to cut up some firewood for the church. That's all I know," she smiled. She knew they would work out all their issues.

"Thank you, Abigail," she would sort out all this angry business and things could go back to how they were, Elizabeth thought.

"Why don't you bring him some lemonade? it's really warm out there today," she offered. Elizabeth followed Abigail to the kitchen and took the offered pitcher of Lemonade with her.

Faith had been told by Pastor Frank that Jack was cutting up wood near the edge of town. He wanted to assist him but couldn't because he was on a house call for the Henderson's. Mrs. Henderson was severely unwell. She had already been to the Henderson's to give pain relief to her but it wouldn't be long until she was no longer with us, she thought. She thought Jack might be hungry and definitely thirsty, so she packed some sandwiches and some cool lemonade to share with him. It would be nice she thought to talk to him as friends and perhaps something more.

Faith walked with her basket up the trail to the clearing where she followed the sound of wood snapping and cracking. She was accustomed to men without shirts as she gave physicals when she was in Hamilton but Jack she was not accustomed.

"Faith!" he smiled "What're you doing here?" he followed her gaze to his bare chest "I am really sorry," he went to grab his shirt off the branch.

She touched his arm, "It's fine really. You're hard at work and it's so warm out here." His bare chest would be something she would be thinking about for a long time. Non-the-less he put his shirt on.

"So, what are you doing here?" he said.

"Well, I haven't had lunch yet and I'd be surprised if you had so I thought I'd bring something here for you." he smiled. Faith was really nice he thought. But then he supposed nurses had that quality built in otherwise they wouldn't be nurses.

"That's really nice of you, if you have anything cold and drinkable in that basket, it would be much appreciated." He was parched and this was hard work in this heat but it kept his mind active and away from thoughts of Elizabeth.

Faith sat down on a broken tree and placed her basket down next to her. She got out two cups and poured some lemonade into both and offered it to Jack. He placed the axe down in the log and sat down next to her. Jack drank the lemonade and sighed "this is amazing," it was sweet and like nectar running down his throat.

"Can't have the Constable of Hope Valley dehydrated?" they both laughed. She wondered if he could tell she was flirting with him or if she was being too flirty.

"They'd probably get along fine without me," he said. Faith was sweet.

"You mean a lot to people here in town." She smiled and she meant what she said. He was good at his job and was a good man. She opened her basket and got out the tin with the sandwiches in it.

"Cheese or ham?" she asked. He seemed surprised at her offering him food.

"You eat your lunch, I'll be fine," although the sight of those sandwiches suddenly made him so hungry.

"Don't be silly… I made more in case," she admitted. She was thankful when he smiled and she didn't feel like a fool anymore.

"Whatever you don't want I'll have," she took out a ham sandwich and offered him the rest. The sandwiches were good, he thought. Then again, he was so hungry, he could eat a horse and then a pig and a goat.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was walking to the clearing to see Jack. She desperately wanted to talk to him about their courtship and clear the animosity between them. Charles wanted more out their friendship but she had shot him down, he seems to be so persistent and she fears hurting him. She knows that she could never love him as anything more than a friend, she doesn't have the same feelings with Charles as she does with Jack. When she's with Jack everyone and everything else just melts away and it's just the two of them.

She got to the clearing with her basket and the lemonade only to see Jack putting on his shirt and Faith staring at him. She knew she shouldn't have but she hid behind a tree and watched their interaction. It could be harmless…she could have just come across Jack whilst he was cutting wood for the church. That idea was burnt out when Faith sat down on the broken tree and they shared lunch. She watched him laugh and smile with her. She knew there was more to their relationship than talking about Tom's health in Hamilton. She sadly and quietly left them to their lunch date.

Faith decided to broach the question about his courtship with Elizabeth "what's going on with you and Elizabeth?" he looked up quite surprised. He hadn't expected her to bring up that particular topic especially when he'd tried all day to not think about Elizabeth.

"Oh,"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's just I'm a good listener and you know I wouldn't tell anyone." She seemed trustworthy, thought Jack. He really wanted to talk to someone about how he was feeling.

"No, it's just a strange topic, that's all,"

"If you don't fancy talking about it, it's fine," she lied. She really wanted him to talk about it. She wanted to know whether or not she stood a chance at a courtship with him.

"I have no idea what's going on with me and Elizabeth," he sighed "things were better before we went to Hamilton. I know her family despise the idea of me and would never give us their blessing and then there's Charles." He said the last part through his teeth. Faith felt sorry for him, she can't imagine what family wouldn't want this lovely man as a son-in-law.

"Well, perhaps it's time you talked to Elizabeth. Cleared the air. You can only be you," she took a deep breath in "and you are pretty wonderful," she said. He looked surprised but then patted her back as a gesture of thanks. He watched Faith leave with her basket, thankful for their friendship. She really was a good listener and had a lovely heart. What she said about clearing the air with Elizabeth was true, he needed to sit down with her and discuss their courtship at some point.

At the café, Abigail saw Elizabeth stride past her window. She didn't expect her back so soon and she didn't look happy. She walked into the café with a huff and a sigh. "What's wrong? Didn't Jack like Lemonade?"

"I wouldn't know," she said with an angry huff. She walked through to Abigail's kitchen and placed her basket down on a chair.

"What happened Elizabeth?" she said with obvious concern. She sat down in her lounge and gesture for Elizabeth to follow. She sat down and ate a scone.

"I got there and Faith Carter was sitting there eating lunch with Jack. It was clearly a lunch date."

"No. Are you sure?"

"Yes, they were sitting on a broken tree eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade. They were laughing and smiling at one another as well." Elizabeth was sad because she desperately wanted that to be her and Jack. Abigail could see that Elizabeth was really upset. She knew that Elizabeth loved Jack and Jack loved Elizabeth.

"Have you talked to Jack?" It may not be what it seems she thought.

"And ruin their date?" she huffed. Elizabeth got up and started pacing. She was eating a scone at the same time.

"Perhaps their just friends?" offered Abigail.

"Perhaps but it looked awfully cosy," countered Elizabeth.

"Why don't you go and see Jack tonight and work this out with him?" Abigail said.

"What if he feels that he has more in common with Faith than he does with me?" her insecurities were rising to the surface. Faith had a lot more in common with Jack than she did, they were both from a similar background.

"They might have things in common but the heart wants, what it wants. Trust me there's no stopping it," Abigail said from personal experience. She had no intention to be in a courtship with Noah Stanton but a few weeks later they were married.

Jack sat on the porch of the jail patting Rip. He had showered after a long day of work in the woods. Pastor Frank was very happy with the amount of wood that he'd cut up. To be fair, he'd worked hard today, he thought. He cut up much more than he thought he would. Probably due to the intervention from Faith, it was a nice gesture that she'd brought some lemonade and sandwiches. It kept him going for the next few hours before he had to do his evening rounds. "Ah Rip! You, lazy dog! What a day must be like in your eyes! You sleep and eat, wish I could do that!"

"Didn't you once tell me that talking to yourself in public was…strange? And that you'd worry for my mental sanity?" he looked up to see Elizabeth, she was smiling and it made him smile.

"Ah but I wasn't talking to myself, I was talking to…" even he could hear Rip sleeping. They both laughed. He moved over slightly to allow Elizabeth to sit down next to him. They were sitting really close to one another and it was really wonderful, thought Elizabeth.

They decided to have dinner at Abigail's. Once most of the customers had disappeared, Elizabeth and Jack sat in Abigail's lounge. It had been a strange dinner, neither one saying what was on their mind and it made the conversation a bit stinted. They laughed and it was a good dinner but there was clearly an elephant in the room. He bid her a goodnight and Elizabeth went to the kitchen to talk to Abigail.

"I feel like we had more to say to one another than what we actually said! He didn't bring up Faith once!"

"Perhaps it wasn't a memorable event, Elizabeth,"

"Those sorts of things are memorable to Jack, I know him well-enough to know that." Elizabeth went to bed that night confused and upset. He didn't even mention it! She huffed and puffed. She was glad she didn't have school to teach in the morning, because she was certain she wasn't going to get enough sleep tonight.

She wandered into the Jail to finally have a much-needed discussion with Jack. He wasn't there only Rip, who howled at her. Suddenly the door opened and he appeared in his uniform, like a saviour.

"Elizabeth? Do you need something?" concern obvious in his voice. Jack thought she looked lovely today, she was wearing her pink dress which made her eyes look wonderful.

She shook her head "I just came to see how you are,"

He smiled and thought that it was kind and perhaps they were getting past this awkwardness they seem to be feeling, now would probably be the time to clear the air with her. "Thank you, I'm well. Just a lot of paperwork to be getting on with." He grabbed some coffee and sat down at his desk, she sat opposite him.

"I saw you and Faith yesterday." She hoped she didn't sound too desperate for information.

"Oh really?" he was reading through some of the information left from various towns-folk on his desk.

"You two were having lunch together." She hoped he would elaborate on this.

"Yeah, she brought some lemonade and sandwiches, we ended up talking. It was good," he said oblivious to Elizabeth and her tone. The way he smiled at the recollection of Faith's lunch really annoyed her and she felt her heart implode. All those insecurities bubbling to the surface and threatening to explode. He didn't feel the need to embellish what a lunch was.

"Have you two been regularly talking?" she wanted to know the status of their friendship, whether it was something more than friends or not.

"No, not really. But she expressed some interest and I thought why not," he said. He truly believed they were talking about nothing more than he and Faith having a nice lunch.

"What sort of interest?" her tone made Jack's eyes pop-up. She seemed angry and he couldn't understand why. He hadn't said anything to offend her.

"I'm getting the feeling that you're upset with me?" he asked.

"You had lunch with another woman, yes I'm upset and last night you didn't mention it," she said to him in a very hurt tone. She was upset and angry. All her feelings had boiled over now and he was getting the brunt of it.

"It wasn't a date, she brought some lemonade and sandwiches, we sat and talked," he was getting annoyed now because she was making it seem like he was unfaithful to her. He would never do something like that. "I've never given you any reason to doubt my actions. If you spend time with Charles, why can't I have a discussion with Faith?" even saying Charles' name made his skin crawl.

"Charles has nothing to do with this!" she raised her voice and stood up.

"He has everything to do with this! If I wasn't in the picture he'd have no problem proposing marriage to you," he said and it hurt him to finally admit it out loud.

"We are friends, nothing more!"

"I disagree! You wouldn't spend so much time with him, if you didn't have some feelings for him," even saying that made Jack sick to his stomach. The idea of Charles and Elizabeth professing their love to each other was something that his nightmares were made of.

"He is one of my dearest friends! Off course we're going to spend time together!" she argued.

"Off course, he is!"

"I have never given you any reason to doubt my word,"

"Me neither," they were both standing and were both angry with the other. Elizabeth couldn't breathe, she was so angry at his accusations. That he didn't trust her.

"This courtship isn't working." She blurted out and to her surprise, he didn't disagree.

"No, it's not," he agreed, they needed to sit down and work through this together.

"I really think we should end our courtship." This wasn't what Jack had in mind but if that's what Elizabeth wanted then who was he to deny her happiness.

"If that's what you want," he said, his voice dripped in sadness. He never imagined this end for them, he always imagined they would get married and have kids.

"It is," she said curtly and stormed out of the room.