Amy rolled over and smiled at Caleb. Her husband. Her kind, loving, wonderful husband.
It had been about twenty four hours since they said their vows and she felt as if she was walking on a cloud, or laying on one.
She touched his cheek lightly, admiring his handsome face. His soft, warm lips, his long eyelashes. She was even in love with his blonde hair.
He opened his eyes and stared back. "Morning, my beautiful wife."
She raised her head to look at the clock. "Afternoon actually." She snuggled up to his chest. "Would you maybe go downstairs and bring me some food?"
"Why don't we go together?"
"Caleb, it sounds like there's a hundred people down there. I don't want to see anyone right now."
"Why not? It's our families."
"I'm just uncomfortable with seeing them right now."
"We just got married, Honey. They know what married people do."
"Please? I'll make it worth your while," she said, kissing his neck, just behind his ear.
"Ok. I'll be right back." He jumped out of bed, threw his clothes on, and ran downstairs in his bare feet.
She giggled and rolled over to his pillow.
DOWNSTAIRS
Caleb walked into the kitchen, feeling under dressed and on display. Why were there so many people in the café on a Sunday?
"Morning Caleb," Charlotte said as she sipped her coffee.
"Hi, Grandma." He looked at the table and saw a stack of pancakes and a plate of sausage on a tray.
He walked over and retrieved two coffee cups, trying to avoid the stares.
"Ok, everyone. Can I get your attention?" It didn't take much. They were already staring. "Abigail, is the café open today?"
"No, Caleb. Not until tomorrow."
"Well, then, I'm going to ask you all, actually beg you all, to please go so that I can get back to my wife."
He stared at them, both of his grandmothers, his aunt Julie, Uncle Tom, their children, and Abigail.
"If you don't think you can give us privacy, we can catch a stage to Buxton and get a room there…."
"Nonsense. We're sorry Caleb," Charlotte said, ushering everyone out. "Let's go, everyone."
Before she left, Abigail turned to him. "There is a nice stew and biscuits for dinner. Just heat it up." She kissed his cheek. "I'm going now."
He smiled, poured coffee, grabbed the tray, and went upstairs.
A WEEK LATER
Amy walked to the Hunt house. Elizabeth had invited her to have tea with her and both grandmothers before they left for home.
She knocked on the door and waited. Carlie opened the door. "Hi, Amy! Come in."
"Hey Carlie."
"Daddy said we are going fishing! All of us kids except for J.T. and Abbie cause they're too little."
"That sounds fun!"
"Yeah. Well, see ya!" Carlie ran off and Amy made her way to the kitchen.
"Hi, everyone," she said quietly.
Elizabeth smiled and hugged her. "Hi, sweetie. I'm glad you're here."
Grace, Charlotte, and J.T. were at the table. She kissed J.T.'s head and sat next to Charlotte.
"How's everything, Amy?" Charlotte asked.
"Good, Grandma. It's wonderful actually," she replied, her cheeks turning pink.
"That's good to hear. Where is Caleb today?"
"He is going fishing with Jack and the kids. He will stop by later to say goodbye to all of you."
Grace grabbed her hand gently. "Amy, I know we don't know each other very well, but I want to say welcome to the family. You make Caleb happy and I can see he makes you happy too."
"He does, thank you, Grace."
"You might as well call me Grandma too, if you'd like."
"I would like that, Grandma. I brought cookies. Chocolate walnut."
"That sounds great," Jack said as he stepped in the room and swiped a cookie.
"Those are not for you, Mr. Thornton," Elizabeth said as he took a big bite and kissed her on the cheek.
"So good, Amy. Can you teach Elizabeth how to make these?"
"Sure, I'll give her the recipe."
A baby cried in the bedroom. "Is that Abbie?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, I think she's hungry," Jack mentioned.
"I'll get her for you, Elizabeth."
"Thank you, Amy." She wandered back to one of the guest rooms and found a fussy Abbie in her cradle.
"Hey there, sweet girl. Are you hungry?" She picked her up but decided she needed a new diaper first. Once that was done, she was much happier so she sat down to rock her.
A few moments later, Elizabeth walked in. "Hey, she seems happier now."
"She was wet."
Elizabeth sat on the end of the bed and watched Amy with Abbie. "Are you excited to be a midwife, Amy?"
"Yes, very. I hope to find a clinic in Union City with a position open."
"That would be good. How do you feel about living in the city?"
"I'll get used to it, but really, as long as I'm with Caleb, it doesn't matter where we are."
"That's a good attitude to have. Being a Mountie wife can be challenging anyway, but if you aren't willing to make changes, it's almost impossible."
"I figure, I can be a midwife anywhere we go."
"Yes, there are always babies being born."
"Elizabeth, I just want to say, thank you."
"For what?"
"For Caleb. I'm so grateful to you and Jack for raising him the way you did." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "He's wonderful and a lot of it has to do with you and Jack, so thank you."
Elizabeth walked over and placed Abbie back in her cradle and then pulled Amy to her feet. "Amy Thornton, you are an exceptional woman. You bring happiness to Caleb and I'm so thankful you are in his life. Thank you for being my daughter."
Amy wrapped her arms around Elizabeth. "I love you, Mom." Elizabeth sighed and wiped her own tears. "Can I call you Mom?"
"Yes, please do."
The tea went well and everyone else had fun fishing. Caleb and the kids came in about the time dinner was being made.
Elizabeth was tackling a large roast and Amy was working on the potatoes and beans. Grace decided to make biscuits as well.
"Me Me!" J.T. yelled when Maddie walked in. She walked over and kissed him.
"Hi, Jay. Missed you."
"Up Me Me!" She picked him up and took him in the other room.
"Ma!" Will and Drew shouted as they walked in the door. "We caught so many fish. Look!"
They lifted up their bucket to show her. "Wow boys. Guess what's for breakfast?"
"Fish?"
"Yep. Have Papa Jake help you clean them, please."
"Ok!"
Caleb walked up behind Amy and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey," he whispered in her ear.
"Hi," she responded. She continued snapping beans in half and then changed her mind. She turned and hugged him, kissing him gently.
"Did you have a good day, Ames?"
"Yes, I did. Did you have fun fishing?"
"Yeah, I missed you though."
"I missed you too."
"Maybe tomorrow we can go on a picnic and go fishing," he suggested.
Caleb hopped up on the counter so he could talk to Amy while she cooked.
"Caleb? Have you heard anything from the Mounties about a place to live?"
Elizabeth tried to ignore the conversation but she was in the same room.
"No, Honey. I'm sure we will soon. Don't worry." Amy nodded and put the potatoes in the boiling water.
"What if they don't find anything?"
Elizabeth placed the roast in the oven and went to the other room to give them privacy.
Caleb took her hands and pulled her over, in front of him so she was standing between his knees. He touched her cheek and kissed her. "I won't let that happen, Ames. I promised you I would take care of everything."
"I know, but you can't control whether there is a place for us or not."
"Tomorrow, I will do some inquiring on my own and I will send a telegram to Mountie HQ."
She nodded and placed the beans in another pot.
"Dad wants us to stay for dinner. Is that ok?"
"Sure."
"I would much rather be with just you, but it's their last night here.."
"Its fine. We'll stay."
He hopped down off the counter and pulled her out onto the porch. "Let's sit here for awhile." The sun was setting so it was a good time to sit and spend time alone. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.
"Ames, are you happy? I mean, do I make you happy?"
"Of course, Caleb. I'm just worrying for nothing." He stared at her and smiled.
"I hate to see you worry. Let me do the worrying."
She turned toward him and kissed his cheek. "That's very sweet, love. I have a feeling I will be worrying a lot over the years, but I'll try to let you do it."
THAT NIGHT, ABOVE ABIGAIL'S
"Are you awake?" she whispered.
"Hmmm? What's wrong?"
"What if…" Amy began.
"You're worrying again."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"Any sentence that starts with "What if" means you're worrying."
"I mean this in the most loving way possible, Caleb. Shush."
"Ok then. What were you going to say?"
"I want to work for Abigail while we are here."
"Why?" He sat up and looked at her.
"If there aren't any open positions for a midwife in Union City, it would be good to have money saved, right?"
"Ames, sit up for a moment." She did as he asked. He reached over to the side table and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Ok, so let's talk about this. How much money do you have saved right now?"
"I have about ten dollars. Its not a lot but I didn't earn anything as an intern."
"Ok, I have about a hundred saved."
"One hundred dollars? Sweetheart, how did you save that much?"
"Its taken a few years. Now, I have no idea how much renting a house or apartment will be in the city. Mom said that here in Hope Valley, it cost her two dollars a month for the row house."
"Ok, so we can probably assume it will be double that, right?" she asked.
"Ok, yes. We should also assume that food will be more than it is here too. We should go to the mercantile and price some things and figure out how much we need to budget for food."
"I can do that. I'm good at budgeting and you hate math."
"Very true, but I think we should go together. This is a partnership, right?"
"Yes, and once we figure out that we will need to save more, I can work for Abigail?"
"If it's necessary and you want to, then yes." She threw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, love. I want to contribute until you have a position after the Academy."
"Or until we have a baby." He put the paper back on the table.
She laid back down. "I may be crazy, but I want it to be sooner than later."
He laid down too, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Whenever it happens, it will be perfect."
THE HUNT HOUSE
Elizabeth sat up against the headboard and fed Abbie and J.T. "Jack?"
"Yeah?" He put his book down and looked at her.
"I heard Caleb and Amy talking in the kitchen."
"Sweetheart! What do you tell the children about eavesdropping?" he said in mock horror.
"I wasn't….really. I was in the same room. Anyway, Amy is worried they won't find a place to live in Union City."
"What did Caleb say?"
"He said not to worry. He would figure it out."
"Makes sense."
"Isn't there anything you can do to help?"
"I sent a telegram to Mountie HQ already."
"Yes, but…"
"I would love to help more, but he is the man of his own house now. I don't think we should get involved."
"Maybe just give them money? As a gift?"
"I don't think that is a good idea, Elizabeth."
"It would be a gift, a wedding gift. They can't turn that down, can they?"
"No, I suppose not."
"Jack, can you take Abbie?" He gently removed her from his wife's chest and snuggled her as she curled into a ball.
Elizabeth stood up and placed J.T. in the crib and then reached for Abbie. Jack was still cuddling her. "Can't we just keep her with us? I love it when she's like this, full tummy and curled up in a ball."
"Wouldn't you rather be holding me?" she asked, a smirk on her face.
"I want both."
Elizabeth relented and slid in beside him, putting her head on his chest, right next to Abbie. "Love you, Jack."
"Love you more," he whispered, kissing his daughter's soft head.
"Hey," she whispered to him. "Don't I get a kiss too?"
He smiled and carefully kissed Elizabeth's forehead so he didn't disturb Abbie. She stood up, reached for Abbie and placed her in the cradle. "I thought we were going to keep her with us?"
The kids, other than the two youngest, were scattered throughout the house, and not in the room with them. She climbed back into bed and reached for Jack.
"Now, how about that kiss, love?" He smiled and moved next to her.
"Feeling left out?"
"Not any more." She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him, long and slow. "Now that's a kiss goodnight."
AT THE TRAIN DEPOT
Caleb and Amy dragged themselves out of bed in time to say goodbye to everyone again. As much as Caleb loved the idea of moving forward with his life and being married, he was still going to miss his parents and siblings terribly.
Jack and Elizabeth took Caleb and Amy off to the side for a moment.
Jack handed Caleb an envelope. "Caleb, Amy, this is something we want to give you. It's a wedding present. Something to get you started."
Caleb looked at Jack and Elizabeth. "You don't need to…..I mean, we appreciate everything…we want to make our own way." He started to hand the envelope back but Jack stopped him.
"If you won't keep it for yourselves, keep it for your children someday."
"Dad, I…" Amy squeezed his hand. He looked at her and then back to the envelope and his parents. "Thank you. We appreciate it." Jack shook his hand and then pulled him in for a hug.
"I'm proud of you, Caleb. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad."
Elizabeth hugged Amy. "I love you, both of you," she said tearfully, moving on to Caleb.
"We love you too, Mom."
Jack moved toward Amy. "Bye, Amy. Take care of my boy."
"I will, promise." She hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Bye, Dad." He looked at her and smiled, a tear in his eye.
Amy and Caleb stood, hand in hand, watching the family leave. Amy would say goodbye to her parents and sister the next day.
They walked to the mercantile to check out prices of food, soap, and other items. When they were finished, Caleb went to Abigail's to get food for their picnic and Amy ran an errand.
"What kind of errand, Ames?"
"I just need to talk to Clara for a moment." She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek and then walked away, a suspicious look on her face.
Even acting suspicious, she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever met and he was over the moon that she'd agreed to be his wife.
CLARA'S SHOP
The door bell jingled announcing Amy's arrival. "Good morning," Clara greeted.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm Amy Thornton. I was hoping you could help me with something."
"Oh! Amy, it's so nice to meet you. What can I help you with?"
"Well, I was thinking, I could use a new nightgown. Could you possibly make one for me? I don't have a lot of money, but I would really love something special."
"Good news is, I just made a nightgown and I bet it's your size. Would you like to see it?"
"Yes, please."
Clara walked in her back room for a moment and can back out with a small bundle in her arms. "Here you go. What do you think?"
Amy held up the short nightgown. She had never worn anything like it before, but it was sure to render Caleb speechless. "Its perfect." It was a deep blue silky material with black lace trim around the top and bottom. "Do you by any chance have a robe that matches?"
"No, but I could make one and have it ready by tomorrow."
"I'm afraid I only have a little money. Why don't I just take the nightgown for now?"
"Actually, I'm running a special. Purchase a nightgown and get the robe for free."
Amy grinned at her. "You are? What a coincidence."
"Yes, I suppose you came in at the right time. Come back tomorrow and I'll have both ready for you."
"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Thank you Clara."
"You're welcome, Amy."
When she walked out, she ran right in to Caleb. "Hey," she said, a blush on her cheeks.
"What are you up to, Ames?" He noticed her pretty pink cheeks, making him curious.
"Nothing much, let's go on our picnic." She grabbed his hand and started walking. "What smells so wonderful?"
"Pot roast, warm bread, and cherry pie."
"Oh my…I can hardly wait to get to the pond."
"So are you keeping a secret, honey?"
"Yeah, but it's a good one. You'll enjoy it, trust me."
"Can I have a hint?"
"Nope." She smiled up at him and kept walking.
They arrived at the pond, setting up their picnic under the large oak tree. "Its beautiful here. I'm glad we have this place in our memories," she mentioned.
"We will have to come back and visit again." She nodded and leaned back against the tree.
"Are we going home for Christmas, Caleb?"
"Absolutely, I think, wherever we are, we need to always go home for Christmas."
All of the sudden, Caleb noticed Amy's expression fall. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"We need to go to the Hogan's tonight. I need to say goodbye to my parents."
"Of course we are. I would never want you to miss that."
Amy wiped a stray tear and sighed. "I'm scared Caleb."
He moved closer and pulled her into his arms. "Scared of what?"
"The things I don't know. We are on our own now. Just us. Our families are far away and we are fending for ourselves."
"It is a little scary, but even though we are on our own, we have each other. We'll figure things out."
"I'm so grateful I have you." He hugged her closer, wanting her to feel safe and to always remember he loved her.
He felt her relax against his chest and soon they were both asleep.
