The best part of Nathan's day was when he would go over to the school and walk Allie and Elizabeth home.

Lately he'd been arriving sooner just to watch the last bits of Elizabeth's lessons. He was in awe of her ability to use imagination to make any kind of learning fun.

Whether it was dressing up as pirates to explain maritime law or having each child create a family tree from a small bush they found outside and sitting tiny paper people on the branches – every time Nathan would slip in the door to the schoolroom, something entertaining was going on.

As Hope Valley had grown, so had Elizabeth's class. She now had twenty-three children from age six to seventeen. Providing lessons that worked for all of them was a challenge Nathan wouldn't want to face every day, but Elizabeth did it effortlessly.

Nathan had once asked her how she approached it and he'd seen that familiar energy she always exhibited when talking about teaching.

"When we work on things that help the younger children, the older ones feel good about what they know already, and they can act as mentors. When we do the more advanced lessons, there are always ideas that the young ones take in, especially if we work with pictures and their restless little bodies."

Today it was early concepts of math and the seats were all pushed against the walls to make a large space in the middle. Although the math was simple, Nathan could see that the older children were participating just as energetically, as Elizabeth had described.

"Alright, now five plus three!" She then tapped five students on the head from one side of the room and three from the other, and they went to the middle.

"How many?" Elizabeth would call out, and the students in the middle would count off, one, two, three and so on, until they got to eight.

"So, class, what is five plus three?"

"Eight!"

She repeated the process with subtraction, multiplication and division. The children loved it. It got them up and out of their seats on a warm spring day, and now they had a picture in their minds to go with the concepts.

Today Nathan had ridden Bear over to the school, and he was wearing what he called his "civilian" clothes. He would be going for a ride with Allie once she had gone to the livery and saddled Sarah. She would ride back to the school so they could head out. It gave him a little time alone with Elizabeth.

It had been three weeks since they'd brought Sarah to Allie, and Nathan had been riding with her nearly every day. Allie was a natural and was already a very proficient rider. Elizabeth had joined them for short periods of time with little Jack.

Rosemary and Lee had been begging to spend a day with Jack, so on Saturday, the plan was for Elizabeth to ride out with Allie and Nathan to a nearby lake where they would fish and have a picnic.

As Nathan sat back watching the last of Elizabeth's lesson, he knew they wouldn't be doing that on Saturday. The question was, how to tell her.

"Okay, so there are eight of you in the middle of the room. What happens if we divide you by two?"

The students jostled as they split down the middle. "How many are left?"

"Four!"

Elizabeth clapped. "Very good, children. Tomorrow we'll do the same thing, but on paper. Thank you all for handing in your essays. I'll read them tonight and get them back to you tomorrow."

"Everyone please help to put the seats back in their proper places and then you can go. Class dismissed!"

There was a flurry of activity and a lot of noise and the task was completed in no time. Allie waved to Nathan and said, "See you soon, Uncle Nathan!" and before he knew it, he was alone with Elizabeth.

"If we could only bottle all that energy," Nathan said, as Elizabeth came over and sat down next to him.

"Phew!" she said on an exhale. "We could power the whole town."

Nathan looked over at her.

Elizabeth tilted her head and said, "You have something to tell me, and you don't want to."

Nathan frowned, "How can you know that after ten seconds of looking at me?"

Elizabeth just tapped her forehead. "Psychic."

He nodded, laughing, "I think you just might be. It scares me more than a little, to tell the truth."

"So, out with it."

"Fast or slow?" he said, reaching down and taking her hand.

"Fast," she said.

Nathan took a deep breath. "I need to ask if you can have Allie with you on Friday and Saturday nights because I'll be escorting a prisoner to Murrayville."

They had developed a type of shorthand when things were difficult to speak about. Especially when it was Mountie business. "No pampering me," Elizabeth had said. "Just give me the facts and let me process them."

"What prisoner?" Elizabeth asked.

"William Dean," Nathan said.

Elizabeth gasped and her eyes went wide. "Nathan! He's killed five people! I read that he was caught outside of Cloverdale. Why is he going to Murrayville?"

"He's considered highly dangerous and he's being escorted to and from towns that have lockable jail cells. Four Mounties at a time moving from town to town until they get to the maximum-security prison in Hamilton."

Elizabeth asked, "Why don't they take him on the train?"

"The railroad won't take him because he's a high security risk. Neither will the coach. He's being transported only by wagon or horseback." Nathan saw the fear in Elizabeth's eyes. "Four Mounties, Elizabeth. Two front, two back. And Dean will be trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey in chains with padlocks on them."

Elizabeth worked it all out silently. Nathan just waited until she was ready to ask more questions.

"So, you've been assigned as one of the four Mounties that will escort him from Hope Valley to Murrayville. He'll be spending the night in our jail here tomorrow night and you'll stay at the jailhouse with him. Then you'll ride out on Saturday morning, spend the night in Murrayville Saturday night, and be back Sunday."

Nathan smiled in some admiration. "Flawless."

"Two of the men he killed were Mounties," Elizabeth said, almost in a whisper.

Nathan put his arm around her and pulled her next to him on the long seat. "They were ambushed. We'll be in complete control of this situation, Elizabeth. He'll be in chains and he'll be chained to his saddle. He won't be going anywhere or doing anything we don't want him to."

Elizabeth gazed at him in silence for a time. He could see the thoughts working in her head, how she was using her wonderful intelligence to move past this moment and into the next one.

Elizabeth put her head on Nathan's shoulder, and he held her tighter. When she finally spoke, her voice was clear and strong.

"Of course I'll keep Allie with me. Jack will be thrilled. We can still go to the lake on Saturday if she wants. I know she says she's fine on the sofa, but I wonder if we should get her a little bed for downstairs so she can be more comfortable, or even one in the bedroom upstairs with me? I think Ned could order us one through the Mercantile. I'll stop off on my way home and see if he has a catalog..."

Nathan leaned down and put his finger under her chin. He looked into her eyes for a long moment and then bent to kiss her. Some of the stress she had been holding disappeared as she kissed him back and melted into his strong arms.

When he pulled away, Elizabeth buried her face in his neck, feeling the light stubble of beard and taking in the clean aroma of soap on his skin.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," he said. "This means more because I know how hard it is for you."

"It's only two days, and you'll be relatively close," Elizabeth said. "The hard assignments are the ones that are open-ended and far away."

Nathan said, "And you know that I'm always going to decline those postings. For Allie and for you. Headquarters knows that I'm not ambitious, and that Hope Valley needs protecting too. It's a growing town with a rising population. They're going to leave me here as much as possible." Nathan pulled her closer. "And I have some good news."

Elizabeth sat up. "What?"

"The Murrayville Mountie Office has a telephone. You can sit here in my office on Saturday night and I can call you. We'll just have to let Fiona know."

She brightened and said, "That's wonderful! I'll know you've gotten there safely." Elizabeth smiled, "We've never talked on the telephone, Nathan. This will be a first."

The door opened and Allie burst in. Nathan quickly whispered to Elizabeth, "I'll tell her on our ride."

Elizabeth stood and pulled together her books and papers. "I have twenty-three essays to grade tonight," she said to both of them. "I know it's my turn. Can we do easy dinner tonight?"

Both Nathan and Allie said happily at the same time, "Breakfast for dinner!"

"Done," said Elizabeth, laughing. She closed her desk drawer and straightened up a few things on her way to the door. They all went out together.

"Hello, sweet Sarah," Elizabeth said, stroking the palomino's neck. Allie was caring for her beautifully, and her coat was sleek and smooth.

Nathan and Allie walked with her, leading their horses, the short distance to the edge of town. Before mounting Bear, Nathan drew Elizabeth into a hug.

"You're the strongest person I know," he whispered to her.

Elizabeth laughed quietly into the soft cotton of his shirt, "It's all an act. I'm glad you're falling for it." She leaned up and kissed him quickly. "Go have fun, you two! Dinner at six."

On the way home, as she'd said she would, Elizabeth stopped off and looked at small rollaway beds in a catalog at the Mercantile. Ned didn't even need to ask who it was for.

Nathan, Allie, Elizabeth and Jack were virtually inseparable these days, and some variation of the four of them always seemed to be visible on Hope Valley's streets.

Whether it was Allie, Elizabeth and Jack doing shopping, or Nathan holding Jack on his lap at Abigail's, or Elizabeth and Nathan strolling in the evening while Allie watched Jack at her house – the town was easily imagining them as a family. And it made the town happy.

Most of it.

While Elizabeth spoke with Ned, she hadn't realized that there was another customer in the Mercantile, standing back between the shelves.

Margaret Cooper was a widow who lived outside of town in the house she had shared for one short year in her twenties with her husband. No one knew her age, but Elizabeth assumed she was in her late sixties now.

Mrs. Cooper came into town every day, buying just what she needed for supper. She generally kept to herself, but she made Elizabeth a little sad with her sour look and darting eyes. Elizabeth wondered if she was lonely, and she had asked Margaret to dinner one day last year. Mrs. Cooper had declined firmly and politely.

Which is why Elizabeth was very surprised to see Margaret come from around the shelves now with her face dark and flushed and her mouth set in a hard line.

"Shameful!" Margaret said, quivering.

Elizabeth, startled, said, "I'm sorry?"

"When you said your vows in front of God, what did you think eternity meant, Mrs. Thornton?"

Elizabeth felt as if she'd been slapped across the face and she reacted accordingly. Her cheeks red, her eyes beginning to water and her breath coming quickly, Elizabeth whispered, "Excuse me?"

"It's forever, Mrs. Thornton. Not just as long as it's convenient to you. You said forever, and we all heard it."

Ned was listening to this, open mouthed. Finally, he said, "Mrs. Cooper, I think you may be being a bit harsh here..."

Fiona was at the telephone switchboard and she had now stood and come around the corner. Her eyes were wide and even her cheeks looked a little flushed. "Now, wait just a minute..." she said, her anger barely concealed.

Margaret ignored them completely. "You were so in love with your husband that you promised him eternity, and then the moment he's gone, you take up with the next man to walk into town? And another Mountie, to boot. It's shameful!"

Fiona walked between them and stood next to Elizabeth, putting her arm around her protectively. "I think you need to leave, Mrs. Cooper."

"Not until I say my piece," Margaret said hotly. She looked down at Fiona's ankles, clearly visible under her skirt, and said, "As if you can talk, Missy."

Before Fiona could react, Margaret said, "My husband died when I was twenty-two. We had less than a year together. But I know what eternity means, Mrs. Thornton, and I've not looked at a man since."

Fiona said, "Well, maybe you should have. You might not be such an old sourpuss!"

Elizabeth was still reeling, but she squeezed Fiona's arm in gratitude.

Margaret placed her basket on the counter and looked back at Elizabeth. "Don't you have enough to do raising that little boy and being a teacher? Remember your vows and set a good example for the children in this town."

Now Fiona could no longer keep silent. "You think it makes more sense to spend your life bitter and alone than to raise a child in a house filled with love and family? Have you seen how sweet they all are together? And how happy? I didn't know Jack Thornton, but from what I've heard, you can be sure a life like yours isn't what he would want for Elizabeth or little Jack." Fiona finally took a breath.

Margaret turned on Fiona. "I am respecting my Charles by honoring my vows."

Fiona narrowed her eyes. "No, you're disrespecting the life you still have by dying with him."

Ned took the items out of Margaret's basket and said, "You're not buying anything today, Mrs. Cooper. We'll see you tomorrow if you can hold your tongue."

Margaret snatched up her basket and stormed out, and Elizabeth finally let the tears fall.

Fiona held her and let her cry, while Ned stood by, shaking his head.

The bell rang again, and Rosemary walked in.

Gasping, she said, "What's happened? I just saw that old biddy Margaret Cooper coming out of here like she'd sucked a whole lemon dry. She almost knocked me over!" She saw Elizabeth sobbing on Fiona's shoulder. "Oh! Elizabeth!"

Fiona turned to Rosemary. "She thinks Elizabeth should honor Jack by spending her life alone and lonely and dying in widow's weeds," she said angrily.

Rosemary frowned and said matter-of-factly, "That's not what Jack would want."

Ned and Fiona turned to Rosemary and said at the same time, "Exactly!"

Rosemary went to Fiona and Elizabeth and put her arms around both of them. Elizabeth was only sniffling now, and she raised her head as Ned handed her a tissue from under the counter.

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she blew her nose quietly. "That was so... mean!"

Looking back and forth at Fiona and Rosemary, Elizabeth said, frowning, "It's been almost two years, and Jack even wrote me a letter telling me to open my heart if anything ever happened to him. He told me to love again..."

Rosemary patted her back, saying, "Of course he did. We all know that. Do you know how people smile when they see you with Nathan? When they see you all together? It's what we all want for you, Elizabeth. For all four of you."

"Well, obviously not everyone wants it," Elizabeth said, pouting a little.

Fiona rolled her eyes. "I doubt that Margaret Cooper is the romantic barometer for this town, Elizabeth. I've never seen anyone so unhappy."

Ned was having trouble participating in this conversation, but when Elizabeth looked at him, he nodded his head vigorously in support.

Elizabeth finally smiled at the three of them and said, "You are all very dear friends." She looked at Fiona with admiration. "And I want you on my side in a fight. Have you thought of studying law?"

Fiona raised her eyebrows and grinned. "Actually, I have thought about it. Who knows? Perhaps I will."

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth said, "Well, I need to get a few things for dinner and be on my way. Nathan and Allie are out riding, but they'll be home..." She stopped herself.

Fiona looked at her sternly. "Don't you dare. Don't you let that horrible old woman make you think you're doing anything that's wrong. In my mind, you and Nathan are proceeding at a downright snail's pace."

Elizabeth laughed and hugged Fiona. "Thank you."

"I'll walk you home," Rosemary said, getting her own items and putting them in her basket. "Just in case she's waiting outside," she whispered conspiratorially.

"I would appreciate that," Elizabeth said gratefully. She moved to the back of the store as Fiona, Rosemary and Ned chatted at the counter. As she chose the items for dinner, she was remembering the lines she had memorized from Jack's letter.

I need you to promise me one thing, Elizabeth. You will open your heart to love again. Know that I want nothing more than your happiness.

"Thank you, Jack, for making that so clear," she whispered. "What a gift you gave me with that letter. I won't doubt again that you meant it."