Elizabeth looked up from the stack of papers on her desk and surveyed the classroom in front of her. The children were working quietly but they were restless. Their eyes wandered and feet shuffled on the wooden floor. A pencil dropped and was retrieved. There were yawns. She was distracted as well. Sunshine poured through the windows next to her desk and between the tall book shelves. Her brows furrowed as the boys in the back row nudged each other and shook in silent mirth. She stood up at her desk and wandered what seemed to be nonchalantly down the center row between desks. She stopped here and there to glance over work that was being finished. She suppressed a smile as the suspect boys suddenly became absorbed in their books. She studied them suspiciously as she circled behind their bench and then frowned when she saw it.

An oddly tied ribbon held the two braids of the girls sitting in front of them. It was a catastrophe in the making if they were to stand up when dismissed. One would go in one direction the other in another with their braids fastened together. Elizabeth placed a hand on the shoulder of the boy directly behind them and reached across the desk to carefully untie the ribbon. Her fingers squeezed his shoulder firmly and the boy looked up with a guilty grin.

"All right, children," Elizabeth said brightly to the class. "I think that's enough for today. Put your notebooks in your desk and we will correct them together tomorrow." There was a happy clamor as her students cleared their desks and hurried out the schoolroom door. She kept her hand clapped on the boy's shoulder as children filed out into the sunshine. Cody stopped next to her and shifted the lunch bucket he held in his hand as he studied the boy still sitting on the bench.

"Can I walk back to town with you, Tommy?" he asked.

"Oh, Cody," Elizabeth said brightly. "Our wood box is empty and Thomas has volunteered to fill it again before he goes home. Isn't that right, Thomas?" The older boy nodded sheepishly.

"I can help him," Cody offered. "I do it at the café all the time. I'm strong enough." Thomas started to say something but Elizabeth's hand remained on his shoulder. She caught his eye warningly and then she smiled at Cody.

"That's very kind of you to offer, honey, but then Thomas' helpful offer wouldn't be as valuable," she said. "You can wait for him on the steps if you like." Thomas looked up at Elizabeth and nodded slowly. She stepped back as he slipped his book into the desk and swung his legs over the bench. She sighed as she watched the two boys head out the door and straightened as they nearly bumped into Jack.

"Sorry, Constable," they both murmured as they passed him.

"You let them out early today," he said as the door closed behind them. Elizabeth sighed heavily and turned back toward her desk

"I couldn't stand to keep them out of the sunshine one more minute," she said as she straightened the papers into a neat pile and slipped them into her leather satchel. "It's been so dreary and rainy and now….." Jack grinned and nodded as her voice trailed off when she gestured toward the sun drenched window.

"I know," he said as he moved a little closer. They watched out the window as Thomas stacked wood in his arms from the woodpile and headed back around the side of the school. Students were milling about the grassy areas beyond the path and playing with the swing in the tree. A small group of boys were organizing a game of baseball. Cody held the door open as Thomas came in and laid the split wood in the box near the stove.

"I came to tell you that I have a new student for you," Jack said as the boys left for a second load of wood.

"Did another family move to Hope Valley?" Elizabeth turned away from the window to face him.

"Well…sort of," he said. "Lou…Louisa…has been living with her grandfather up in the mountains. He decided to come into town for a few weeks so I got them settled into one of the empty row houses. I thought maybe she could walk to school with you in the mornings."

"That's fine," she said as she took her jacket from the hook on the wall by her desk. "You've never mentioned her before. How old is she?"

"Ummmm….nine? Maybe ten," he said as he held her jacket so she could slip it on. "Old Mackenzie is kind of reclusive and they basically lived by hunting and foraging. I checked in on them now and then when I was doing my rounds."

"I wish you would have told me," Elizabeth scolded as she turned and buttoned the front of her coat. "I could have given you some materials for you to take her to work with. Ten years old? If she has never been to school before, it's going to be difficult to start at the beginning."

"Like I said, her grandfather was kind of reclusive," Jack said again. "Just wait until you meet him." Elizabeth sighed in exasperation again and looked up as Cody held the door open again for Thomas.

"That's enough for today, Thomas," she said as she studied him. "You can finish filling the wood box in the morning. Go out and join your friends for that game." Thomas and Cody exchanged happy grins and raced outside. Elizabeth studied Jack with a frown and then shook her head.

"Ten years old?" she uttered. Jack shrugged and took the satchel from her desk. He grinned and took her hand in his as they crossed the classroom to the door. Jack took a deep breath of fresh, clean smelling air as she locked the doors of the schoolhouse.

"It's a fine day," he said. "Spring is in the air at last." Elizabeth turned back to him with a smile. She glanced toward the children still milling around in play. Glancing coyly at him she pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"Indeed," she chuckled and then clasp his hand as she tugged him gently down the steps and onto the path toward town.