Elizabeth loved teaching, but she had to admit that, along with her students, she missed the half-days of summer. Full days had started again with September, but the weather had stayed so nice that the children were a little restless toward the end of the school day.
Early afternoons were hard enough with fidgety bodies and full stomachs after lunch; when you add warm sunshine, birdsong, the buzzing of bees and the fish just waiting to be caught at the fishing hole, it was too much to ask of the children to sit calmly at their desks.
Elizabeth empathized with their impatience. She had a new house, a new marriage and the daily joys and challenges of living with two children. Not to mention trying to find time to write. Her plate was very full. And the ongoing changes to the house and the land meant that there were generally hungry workmen on the property looking for a sandwich or a cup of coffee. She and Nathan were so grateful for all the help they were receiving that they were very glad to offer food and hospitality in exchange.
When Nathan wasn't required to do paperwork or take calls, he was at the house. Elizabeth would often see him out by the paddocks or working on fencing, talking to someone from town about Mountie business. Everyone understood the pressures of finishing a house and clearing land before the winter set in, and it was certainly a more beautiful place than Nathan's office to discuss a bicycle gone missing or a noisy neighbor.
In fact, the town was growing so fast that Nathan worked more and more on civil matters in town rather than being called away by Headquarters. It was evolving that he was more valuable in Hope Valley than he was out on the road. Except for some trips to Brookfield to assist Constable Gabriel Kinslow in his work there, Nathan had been home since the wedding.
Their lives had changed drastically in the last week of August when the Town Council voted to have phones put into the homes of Judge Bill Avery and Constable Nathan Grant. The switchboard had been upgraded for the celebration of Founder's Day in June, and the solution had been presented by Fiona, Florence, and Ned – as they were the ones who had to run out to Bill or Nathan's house when a call came in after hours, sometimes urgently.
So a phone was placed on the small table in the living room of their new house. The jangling of the phone had made the whole family jump every time it rang for the first two weeks, but they were gradually getting used to it. After a week they'd asked Fiona to come out and move it to the sunroom, as far away from daily family life as possible. It could still be heard, but at least they didn't leap out of their skins every time it rang.
The newest Hope Valley resident, Julie, had settled quickly into Elizabeth's former row house. Julie had been folded easily into the life of the town, and every week that went by with her sister still happy and feeling at home, Elizabeth began to hope that she might stay.
Julie still had no firm direction, but for the first time in her life she had the ability to simply wait for it to come to her. In Hamilton her daily routine had been determined by her mother and the social schedule. In Hope Valley she had the luxury of waking up and deciding for herself what she would do.
Her day usually started with a walk down to the saloon for breakfast with Lucas and Gustav. She loved listening to them planning the menus of the day and she often had much to offer by way of suggestions.
Julie realized that her whole life had been about having the best of everything, and her memories of creative food preparation, elegant place settings, the ambiance of fine dining and an understanding of what is necessary for a successful social event added to the discussions. So, the qualities Julie had recently thought of as trivial and shallow became a type of expertise. She was even corresponding with the cook, Elise, at her parent's house in Hamilton. Elise would send recipes and descriptions of the most current trends and Julie would share them with Gustav and Lucas.
Lucas was at times frustrated with the line he had to walk between those in town who wanted the saloon to stay exactly the same, and the direction his own cosmopolitan tastes wanted him to take. Julie had become a barometer of sorts for him, finding out what sorts of changes the town would put up with, at the same time she completely understood and supported his point of view.
As the summer wore on, Julie had finally convinced her parents and Viola that this small town was indeed what she wanted. They could hear in her letters and phone calls that Julie was happy and coming to a better understanding of herself, so they had begrudgingly sent on all her things and given up another Thatcher daughter to Hope Valley.
On this sunny day in late September, Julie decided to go up to the schoolhouse to meet Allie and Elizabeth for the walk back to the house. Nathan would sometimes walk with them, but today Julie had seen that he was stuck on the phone when she'd gone by his office. Laura was with Jack at the house, while some of Lee's men were doing the final painting on the barn.
"Enjoy the sunshine, children," Elizabeth said from just inside the schoolhouse door, and the familiar ring of the cowbell reminded Julie to step back on the landing so she wouldn't be run over.
As each child ran down the stairs, they turned and said cheerily, "Hello, Miss Thatcher," and Elizabeth stood at the landing with an inscrutable look on her face.
"What?" Julie said, as the stragglers came through the double doors.
Elizabeth laughed. "Do you know how many times I heard 'Hello, Miss Thatcher' for my first five years in Hope Valley?"
Julie nodded, "Thousands, I'm sure. How are they all doing with 'Mrs. Grant'?" Julie asked.
"Adjusted very well," Elizabeth said. "Children adapt to changes like that very quickly."
Allie came flying out of the door with Emily behind her. "Mrs. Grant..." she started and then, jumping down the steps and looking around, whispering, "Mom," which was always a word that came out shyly but happily, "Can Emily and I go fishing?"
"Yes, Allie," Elizabeth said. "Be back by five o'clock to start your homework, okay?"
"Will do!" She ran a few steps after Emily and then turned around with her fingers crossed. "Fish for dinner!"
Elizabeth laughed and held up her crossed fingers. "Have fun!"
When Elizabeth turned back to her, Julie was smiling. "There's nothing that says a child has to love her new mother, or even like her. Allie truly loves you, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled too, looking out to the field at Allie. "And I love h..." The red serge caught her eye in her peripheral vision and Elizabeth turned.
Nathan very seldom ran these days. His leg was completely healed, but he did still get slight twinges, which Carson said he might have for the rest of his life. Right now he was loping along quickly on his long legs to catch up with Elizabeth and Julie.
"What is it, Nathan?" Elizabeth said.
He stopped and joined them on the path toward the house as he caught his breath. "You remember I couldn't get hold of Archie last week for our regular call? I just assumed he'd been called to work or something. But he wasn't there again today, so I called the friend who got him the job at the accounting firm. They haven't seen him for almost two weeks."
"Nathan!" Elizabeth said, worried. "Did you call the Mountie office in Spruce Grove?"
"Yes, and they sent a man out to his last known address, but he hasn't been living there for six days. When his rent wasn't paid they packed up his things and put them in storage. Spruce Grove doesn't have an extra man right now to go through Dad's things because they have an Agricultural Society Fair going on. They said maybe in a week."
Elizabeth stopped. "Nathan, you have to go up there. He could be confused, or hurt, or maybe he was found by some of his old... acquaintances..."
Nathan smoothed her hair. "I know. I'll take the early train up to Edmonton tomorrow and then borrow a horse from the Western Edmonton Mountie office. I'll ride out to Spruce Grove and work with the Constable there. I just talked with Bill and he'll cover. If he gets in a bind, he'll call Gabriel." He frowned. "I hate to leave you managing the work on the house, Elizabeth. You have so much to do already."
"I'll help!" chirped Julie, feeling slightly forgotten as usual when Nathan and Elizabeth were anywhere near each other.
Elizabeth smiled bravely, and threaded her arm through Julie's. "Thank you, Julie. See? We'll be fine, Nathan. Just give me a list," she said. "I'm very good with lists."
Smiling gratefully, Nathan said, "I know you are. I wish I had a choice. You remember, if I hadn't gone to Benson Hills to help with that investigation into the stolen necklace, Dad would be back in prison now." He smiled, looking at Julie. "As I learned from my wife, sometimes the most obvious answer isn't the right one."
They began walking toward the house again. Nathan said, "I don't know how long I'll be gone."
Elizabeth raised her chin and smiled softly. "You'll be gone as long as it takes to find him and bring him back here."
Nathan frowned. "We didn't talk about bringing him back."
"Well, I'm talking about it now. How old is Archie, Nathan?"
"He's..." Nathan thought for a moment, doing the math. "...sixty-three next month."
"How much longer can he live in a boarding house in Spruce Grove, working every day, and walking to and from in those northern winters?" Elizabeth said, pursing her lips.
Nathan turned to her. "Where would he live?"
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed a little. Nathan had learned to recognize this sign because it meant she wasn't going to be easily backed down. "Well, to start, with us," Elizabeth said firmly.
Nathan thought this discussion might be more productive once he'd been successful in finding Archie, rather than on a theoretical level where it stood right now. So he simply nodded.
Elizabeth tilted her head. "That's it? No opposing opinion?" She smiled. "Oh, Nathan, that's wonderful."
They started walking again, and Elizabeth was talking to Julie. "It was so difficult, when Archie left. Watching him get on his horse, knowing he was riding all the way up to Edmonton? I know he's used to sleeping rough, and of course he was fine, but he's not young, and I was worried for him. I was hoping he might stay here."
Julie smiled. "That's good, I'll get to meet this charming Archie Grant that everyone has told me about."
Nathan lifted an eyebrow, but he was smiling. "You know, Julie, charming isn't always what it looks like on the surface. Being charming ended up getting my father in a lot of trouble."
Julie laughed. "Well, I'm sort of an expert on charm, having done my time in finishing school. I think I could hold my own with Archie Grant."
Elizabeth looked up at Nathan, putting her hand at the nape of his neck affectionately. "This should be entertaining," she said.
Nathan said, "First I have to find him and make sure he's okay. Then we'll talk about where he wants to be." He leaned around and looked at Julie, smiling. "After all that, we'll have the charm competition."
They were at the house now. Nathan opened the front door for Julie and Elizabeth and said, "Allie's fishing?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, and I'm sure that's what we'll have for dinner. That girl never comes home empty-handed." Elizabeth picked Jack up when he ran to her. "Hello, perfect boy!"
"Thank you, Laura," Nathan said, handing her pay to her. "I'll be out of town for a little while, maybe a week. Can you give Mrs. Grant a little more time if she needs you while I'm gone?"
"Of course," Laura said. She kissed Jack on the cheek and started toward the door.
Elizabeth headed into the kitchen. "Julie, you want to stay for dinner?"
"No, thank you. I just came to say hi. Gustav is trying out a new recipe for lamb shanks in claret sauce tonight, and he and Lucas want me to taste it." She laughed brightly, "Oh, poor me!" She hugged Nathan and Elizabeth and gave Jack a kiss. "See you later!" Moving swiftly out the door, Julie said, "So, Laura, tell me about this correspondence course you're taking..." And the door closed behind them.
Nathan and Elizabeth smiled at each other in the sudden quiet. "And to think I was a little worried that she wouldn't fit in here," Elizabeth said.
Nathan nodded. "On my rounds today, I watched her in town, talking to everyone, and an idea came to me. I wonder if she'd like writing for the newspaper? Maybe a column? She knows everything that's going on in this town, but not in a gossipy way. People talk to her because she's really interested in learning about them."
Elizabeth said, "And I was thinking she might help Lucas coordinate some of the weddings and parties he's booking into the saloon. She's already doing a lot of it."
Nathan laughed softly. "Well, the one thing we can be sure of is that Julie will find her way. She's lucky she doesn't need to worry about money."
Elizabeth smiled. "No, she doesn't. She can work for free indefinitely, which is what I think she's doing with Lucas now. One of these days she'll need to talk to him about that if she wants the respect she deserves."
Nathan had removed his red serge tunic and was now comfortably in shirt and suspenders. Jack was standing at the window watching the painters.
Crossing to the kitchen, Nathan took Elizabeth into his arms. "I miss you already. You know I'm only going because I have to, right?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes," she said, toying with a button on his shirt. "And you do have to go find him. I hate the thought that he might be in some kind of trouble."
Nathan kissed her gently. "I do too. And you see? I told you the Grants would get under your skin. First Allie, then me, then Rebecca and now Archie."
Elizabeth laughed. "How do you know I cared for Allie before I cared for you?"
Nathan grew serious. "Because when you first met me, I wasn't letting anyone in, Elizabeth." He touched her face gently. "The way you were with Allie, how you watched over her and made her feel welcome here; it softened me up. When you said you wouldn't give up on her..." Nathan shook his head. "I guess I thought maybe you wouldn't give up on me either, no matter how I fought you on it."
Elizabeth ran her fingers through his thick hair. "You were a very close second. You're right. I fell in love with Allie and then with you. But it was very close."
Nathan leaned down and kissed her, and just the thought of being apart for a week made them want the kiss to last longer than it should with them standing in the kitchen and Lee's men painting outside.
"I need to get the curtains finished," Elizabeth murmured against his lips. She pulled him back against the cupboards away from the window, and kissed him again.
"We need to keep an eye on Jack..." she said.
Nathan stole a look at the window and said, "He's fine, playing..." They knew they still had tonight to be together, but a week felt like forever right now...
And then the back screen door slammed and Allie brought in her cleaned fish, trying not to drip on the wood floor. "Coming through!" she said with Emily in tow. "We caught two each! Plenty for dinner for all of us. Can Emily stay? Her mom said it was okay. You should have seen how they were jumping!" she said excitedly to Nathan.
Elizabeth and Nathan had moved swiftly to opposite sides of the cupboard. Elizabeth was tidying her hair while Nathan caught his breath.
"If her mother says it's okay," Elizabeth said quickly.
"Wow, Allie, great catch," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
The girls wiped their hands and were off to Allie's room. Elizabeth called out, "Homework, girls!"
Allie and Emily called back together from the hallway, "Yes, ma'am!" And just like that, they were gone.
Nathan looked at Elizabeth, his eyes soft. He whispered, "Where were we?"
Elizabeth put her arms around his neck and said, "Here." She kissed his neck. "Here," she said, moving up to his cheek. "And here..." she whispered on his lips.
They felt small arms come around their legs and looked down, laughing. Jack had come to give hugs.
Nathan bent down and picked him up, snuggling his neck. "How's my little man?" he said, as Jack wiggled down on to his chest, his pudgy hands holding Nathan's suspenders tightly.
"You want to go see the horsies? And the men painting the barn? Maybe they'll let us help," Nathan said softly to Jack, his eyes full of love.
Then Nathan turned to Elizabeth and kissed her softly on the cheek. "To be continued later."
Elizabeth replied, smiling, "It's a date, husband."
"Wife," Nathan said on a breath.
Her knees went a little weak. How can I still blush? Elizabeth thought. We're married. Nathan's eyes were very blue.
Elizabeth sighed and said, "Out you go. I have fish to fry."
As she watched out the window, Nathan hoisted Jack up on his shoulders.
Gone for a week or more, Elizabeth thought. I don't want to distract him. I'll tell him when he gets home.
