"And, voila!" Lucas said, holding up the Queen of Diamonds.

"Oh!" Julie beamed at him and clapped her hands in wonder.

"I can tell you how he does that trick," Allie whispered to Julie as she walked by with Emily and Opal in tow.

Lucas raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Allie. You mustn't forget the Magician's Code of Honor. Never divulge a fellow illusionist's secrets."

Allie shrugged at Julie, smiling, and continued past, leading her friends out the side door to the part of the porch that overlooked the paddocks. All three had plates overflowing with Charlie and Rebecca's incredible grilled steak, fresh corn on the cob, baked beans and sweet cabbage salad.

Lucas and Julie were sitting at a small table in the main room. They had scarcely been apart since they'd left the wagon hours ago.

Nathan and Elizabeth sat together a short distance away, tucked into an S-shaped loveseat made of soft leather. It had been one of Nathan and Sarah's favorite places to play when they were children.

"Is it slightly scary that I can tell you exactly how that conversation just went?" Nathan said to Elizabeth.

She smiled and put her head closer to his. "And..."

"Allie told Julie she knows how he does that trick, and Lucas told Allie not to blow his cover," Nathan said, taking a sip of fresh apple cider.

Elizabeth laughed. "I'd forgotten about that. Allie the card shark, taking money and sandwiches from all the other children on her very first day of school." She turned to Nathan. "I truly love that girl. She's smart and feisty and funny. It's no wonder she's so popular."

"I could say I wish I'd settled somewhere for her sooner – but if I had, I wouldn't have met you," Nathan said, coiling one of her curls lazily around his finger.

"I was just thinking about that today in the wagon. All those little moments that lead up to this one. All the times we could have gone a different direction. And then another part of me feels like we would have found each other no matter what," Elizabeth said softly.

Nathan was so close to her, their heads were almost touching. "Now I know why they call this a loveseat," he said, kissing her cheek. "The advantage of this particular piece of furniture was lost on me growing up."

They heard a soft click and looked up to see Carson with his camera. He and Fiona had each brought their latest hobbies with them, and were documenting their memories of the ranch and the people gathered here.

"Hope you don't mind," Carson said, a little sheepishly, "But you're going to love that photo later."

Not at all," Elizabeth said. "In fact, I was hoping to ask you to take some tomorrow as well."

"I'd be happy to," Carson said, heading toward the door to find Faith out by the animal pens. They were going to take a walk to see the sunset.

"That reminds me," Nathan said. "I want to give Mom her birthday present tonight before all the chaos sets in tomorrow."

Laughing, Elizabeth looked around the living room and out of the windows. "What do you call this?" There were people in twos and threes in conversation, some loud, some soft. Everyone eating, mostly drinking cider, although Bill had managed to convince Charlie to break out the fine whiskey. Along with Lee and Hickam, the four of them were sampling it at the sideboard, and they were having a lively discussion about the difference between whiskies made in Canada and Tennessee.

Henry, Kevin and Fiona were looking out at the lowering sun through the big picture windows, and though Elizabeth couldn't see who was in the porch swing, she strongly suspected it was Clara and Jesse. Ned Yost was sitting in a camp chair next to the swing, talking to them.

"This is a wonderful house, Nathan. Very warm and welcoming," Elizabeth said.

Nathan nodded and looked at his mother, in the kitchen as always, and she seemed to be sharing a recipe with Rosemary. The two of them had hit it off right away, and they'd been taking turns holding and playing with Jack.

Nathan said, "Do you have any idea how happy she is right now? She's in her element with lots of people in this house. It doesn't happen very often anymore."

"Maybe we can change that," Elizabeth said. "Everyone I've talked to absolutely loves it here. It's a bit of a train ride, but Carson was telling me that they all used the time to connect with each other. And I can't believe how many overnight guests this house can absorb."

Nathan laughed softly, "You're talking to someone who is sleeping on that sofa, over there, tonight. I have a feeling those two will still be talking," he said, dipping his head toward Lucas and Julie.

Elizabeth sighed. "Julie does find the bad boys wherever she goes. But I've discovered something about Lucas. A part of him seems to like that reputation, but he also wants to fit in, wants people to care about him. I wonder if the rascal side of him is just a cover for that soft side." She looked at Nathan. "Julie might be good for him."

Laughing, Nathan said, "I thought your matchmaking days were over."

She laughed too. "Point taken. I hereby resolve to let things happen as they will. But," She raised an eyebrow. "If Julie does come to Hope Valley, she can't be running through the men in town the way she does her many suitors in Hamilton. She needs to understand that she'll be bumping into them in the Mercantile and Abigail's for years afterwards."

"You're a good big sister, Elizabeth," Nathan said, softly.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said.

Nathan's eyes widened, and he smiled at her. "Nicely done! Compliment received and appreciated. You're progressing well, angel."

"I have a good teacher," Elizabeth said, finally blushing a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Nathan stood and offered his hand to help her up. "Let's give Mom her present."

Fiona had given Elizabeth the second photo of the four of them and she'd mailed it to Nathan here at the ranch. He'd shown it to Rebecca and she'd loved it so much that he decided to get it framed and give it to her. After all, he and Elizabeth would be living in the same house after tomorrow, so they didn't need two copies.

"Sorry to interrupt," Nathan said to Rosemary, "But we have a present to give to Mom. It's her birthday tomorrow."

"Oh!" Rosemary said, bouncing Jack on her knee. "How wonderful that they're getting married on your birthday, Rebecca!"

Beaming, Rebecca said, "I think so." She frowned up at Nathan. "But I thought I told you that the only present I wanted was a houseful of people?"

Nathan smiled and put his arm around her shoulders affectionately. "Just a little something, Mom." He handed her the framed photo, wrapped in brown paper.

"Oh, Nathan," she said softly, pulling away the paper. "I love this more than I can say. I can look at it whenever I want now."

Rosemary looked at the photo and she remembered that she had seen it at Elizabeth's house on the small table. Nathan on the Infirmary bed with his poor broken leg, Elizabeth and Allie on either side and little Jack on his lap holding up his Mountie. So happy, all of them.

Rebecca turned and hugged her son tightly. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered. "What a good life you've made for yourself, my Nathan."

Over her shoulder, Nathan gazed at Elizabeth, who was watching them with soft eyes and a tender smile.

Yes, I've made a good life. And tomorrow that good life starts with an extraordinary woman, two adored children, a new house and a town full of beloved people.

"I never imagined I could be so blessed, Mom. I'm grateful for it every day."

The sun was setting and Elizabeth and Nathan walked out to join Jesse and Clara in the swing to watch it. Many in Hope Valley had heard the story about Nathan's grandparents and how they'd built the porch first, but Ned hadn't, so they told it again.

They all watched in silence as the sun dipped below the trees and the sky changed into a watercolor painting of pink, gold, orange and magenta.

Then the moon appeared, full in the deep blue of the sky.

Jesse said, "You want any guidance about weddings from the old married couple? Us?" He looked at Clara and kissed her cheek. Newlyweds forever, those two.

Nathan laughed. "Give us your best piece of advice. We're listening."

Clara said, "Weddings are very complicated, and something always goes wrong. But my piece of advice is to look for the gift it brings, because there's always a gift. We wanted to stand in a certain place, but it was too hot that day and we had to make a last-minute change. Our new spot was right under a tree and while we said our vows, we could hear birdsong all around us. If we'd been where we first planned, we wouldn't have had that."

Elizabeth smiled and took Clara's hand. "That's lovely advice. Thank you."

Jesse turned to Nathan. "My advice is not nearly as poetic, but it's pretty essential. Do not double-tie the rings to that little pillow thing because you're afraid of losing them. You don't think about the fact that your hands will be shaking up there, and trying to untie a knot in front of all those people is not a good idea."

Nathan laughed. "Very practical. Thank you."

Elizabeth snuggled closer to Nathan. "Our ceremony will be pretty short and sweet, and we think you'll all love where we're having it."

Clara said, "You've been very mysterious about that. Not in the church in town and not here at the house. All I've heard is that it's somewhere," she waved her hand toward the trees, "Out there!"

Nathan pulled Elizabeth closer to him. "It's also where I proposed. Although it's hard to call that romantic, considering I had a cast on my leg and couldn't get on bended knee very gracefully."

Elizabeth laughed. "You did remarkably well." She held her hand out to look at her ring again, and said softly, "And it was very romantic."

Grimacing, Nathan said, "I seem to recall telling you I loved you more than my horse."

Clara laughed. "That is romantic. We all know how much you love your horse, Nathan!"

Allie came around the side of the swing. "Uncle Nathan, can I sleep in the tent with Emily and her family? Please?"

Nathan looked at Elizabeth, "What time do you need Allie tomorrow?"

"The ceremony is at 1:00, so I'll be going to the Summer Cabin with Rosemary and Clara at about 11:00 to get dressed. Allie, can you meet us at the road next to the campsites and we'll pick you up in the wagon then?"

"Yes," she said quickly. So I can?"

"Yes," Nathan and Elizabeth said together.

"Love you both!" Allie said, hugging them.

Opal looked at Elizabeth and said, "See you tomorrow, Mrs. Thornton." She frowned a little. "Oh, after that, will we call you Mrs. Grant?"

Elizabeth beamed at her. "Yes, Opal. You will."

"I might not always remember at first," Opal said, looking slightly troubled.

"That's okay. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quickly," Elizabeth said. "Don't keep Allie up too late tonight. We have a big day tomorrow."

Emily said, "I think you're going to be a beautiful bride."

"Thank you, Emily. That's very sweet." As they ran off, Elizabeth said, "Sleep well, girls."

Little by little, people made their way to their bedrooms. With so many in the house and the barn, there was whispering far into the night. Rosemary and Lee, Faith and Clara, Kevin and Jesse, and of course, Julie and Elizabeth.

But before that, Nathan and Elizabeth said goodnight to Rebecca and Charlie and turned down all the lights. They sat on the sofa that was to be Nathan's bed for the night and talked again about the ceremony in hushed tones.

Julie had read Jack's bedtime story to him and had put him gently in his crib when he'd fallen asleep.

Finally, Nathan walked Elizabeth to her bedroom door.

Nathan sighed, holding her close. "This is the last time I have to let go of you when I say goodnight."

"I know," Elizabeth said. "Can you believe tomorrow is finally here?"

"No, and yes," he said. "It seemed to take forever, but lately it's been speeding up." He kissed her and whispered, "So, I'll see you for breakfast?"

"Yes, and then you'll see me at the pergola," she said.

Nathan gazed at her, his fingers idly touching the curls at her forehead. "I love you, Elizabeth," he said softly. "So much."

Elizabeth smiled up at him. "More than your horse," she said, kissing his cheek.

Nathan laughed and Elizabeth said, "Shhhhh, we don't want to wake everyone."

"Should I add that to the vows?" Nathan said.

"No!" she whispered, laughing. Running her fingers through his hair, she said, "I love you too, Nathan. I'm so happy. I can't wait for tomorrow."

She leaned up and kissed him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, angel," Nathan said. He waited until she closed the door and then he walked through the living room of the house where he'd grown up. He touched a table here, a vase there, straightened a photo, folded a lap quilt. He listened to the sounds of the dying fire, the creak of the floor, and the night birds singing outside.

He sighed, wishing Sarah was here to share in tomorrow's joy. On the heels of that thought, he felt her all around him in the room they'd known so well as children together. And he knew she would be at the pergola too.

Nathan fluffed his pillow and laid down on the sofa, covering himself with a blanket. He wasn't sure he could sleep, but with a vision of his sweet Elizabeth in his head, he was soon dreaming.