"That's all of it," Mrs. Ledoux said, pointing to a small pile of belongings in the corner of the cellar.
"Do you mind if I take it upstairs?" Nathan asked.
She waved her hand dismissively, "Long as you take it with you when you go. It'll save me the trouble of throwin' it out," she said, pulling her ample body up the cellar stairs by the railing.
"Thank you, ma'am," Nathan said. Everything seemed to be wrapped in his father's long coat with the sleeves tied around it. Mrs. Ledoux was carrying the lantern and the cellar was rapidly being plunged into complete darkness as she climbed the stairs.
"If there's anything else you can think of, I'd be obliged," Nathan said.
"Told you all I know. Kept t'imself. Didn't talk much. Paid on time 'til he didn't pay at all." Nathan recognized the world-weary sound of a woman who had seen too many faceless people come and go in her boarding house. She'd shed very little light on Archie's disappearance and Nathan hoped his father's few possessions would give him more to go on.
"One more question, Mrs. Ledoux. Is there a Spruce Café in town?"
"Yeah. Middling breakfast, not good as mine. Some of the locals like it."
"And does the name Stella mean anything to you?" Nathan asked.
"Waitress there," she said, closing and locking the cellar door after Nathan had passed through.
Nathan smiled. And people called him taciturn. For just a moment he felt a bit of sympathy for Elizabeth early on when he couldn't find his words easily.
"Thanks for your help," he said, reaching up to tip his hat and quickly realizing he didn't have it on.
"You here for the week? Have'ta pay in advance for the next one," she said, rolling the wick down on the lantern and extinguishing it.
"I'll let you know," he said, starting up the stairs. "Thanks again."
Nathan climbed the three flights of stairs to his room, and realized that Archie had been on these stairs every day before and after work for months. He felt a twinge of guilt about letting his father ride off that day.
If he'd asked, would Archie have stayed? He'd seemed set on making a new life for himself and Nathan had been so filled with conflicting emotions it had never occurred to him that he should find a way to keep Archie in Hope Valley.
Now he wished he had, but regret can be a poison to the soul, and Nathan pushed it away. He'd had so many regrets about Sarah's death and Elizabeth had helped him move past them. Now Nathan believed in using regret to fix things - not to live with it daily as a chronic condition.
Nathan was torn between going through Archie's things and heading out to the Café or to Western Gateway Construction where his father had worked for the past seven months. He decided on the Café because the note he'd found was the most intriguing, and on a practical level, Nathan was hungry.
He hoped Stella worked there, and that she was working today. Nathan wouldn't be surprised if Archie had a woman in town, and it actually gave him a measure of comfort to think he'd had some companionship.
At the small counter downstairs that served as reception for the boarding house, Nathan rang the bell. Mrs. Ledoux sighed when she came through the curtain and saw that it was him. "Yeah?" she said, frowning.
"Sorry to trouble you again, but can you point the way to the Café?" Nathan said.
She raised an eyebrow, fully aware that this was breakfast business going out the door. She gloomily pointed down the street. "If you get to the Feed an' Grain, you're too far." With that, she turned and went back through the curtain.
This time Nathan did have his hat on, and he tipped it, if only to the curtain through which she had just exited. "Appreciate it."
As he walked to the Café, Nathan felt emotion welling up. This was his father's life. The bleakness of it compared to Nathan's own full, rich, joyful life was so stark that Nathan made a promise to himself. If he found him... when he found him, Archie was coming home with him. And it was not lost on Nathan that again, Elizabeth had been right. It had just taken him a little time to catch up to her.
The aromas coming from the Spruce Café contradicted Mrs. Ledoux's assessment; it smelled much more enticing than the breakfast at the boarding house. The Café had a homey atmosphere, and it was the first time Nathan had felt like smiling since he'd entered his father's life in Spruce Grove.
He sat in a booth in the corner, hoping to just observe, but the red serge was a double-edged sword; it commanded respect, but it wasn't all that easy to blend in with the surroundings.
Nathan watched the waitress, a woman who looked to be in her late fifties, as she talked easily with a couple of men at the counter. Although he'd been taught not to assume anything about people, Nathan supposed she would turn out to be Stella. He liked her effortless way of relating to people, and she had an infectious laugh. For a moment, Nathan felt happiness for his father.
He peered out the window and watched the life of the neighborhood go by, thinking that at some time or another Archie had likely sat in this very place. Nathan sighed. Where are you, Dad? If you needed help, why didn't you let us know?
"Coffee, Constable?" the waitress said, her coffee pot poised in the air.
Nathan turned. "Yes, please," he said. No nametag. So he would have to be more direct. "Are you Stella?"
The infectious laugh burst forth again. "Lord, no. I'm Helen. Stella's young and beautiful, probably about your age, Constable," she said, pouring him a cup of coffee. "Cream and sugar?"
"Black, please," Nathan said, processing his disappointment along with the information Helen had just given him. "Is she here? May I speak with her?"
"Order up!" came the call from the cook, and Helen put a finger in the air and said, "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."
After delivering the plates of food to the men at the counter, Helen walked back around. She narrowed her eyes a little at Nathan. "Is Stella in trouble? We're worried about her."
"Why is that?" Nathan asked.
"That girl has been steady as rain for two years and then about two weeks ago, she didn't come into work and we haven't seen her since."
Nathan pulled his notepad and pencil out of his pouch and made some notes. "You're sure about the time frame? Two weeks?"
Helen laughed again. "I've been covering for her since then, so you bet I'm sure. She was good, too. Been trying to replace her and not having much luck." She raised her eyebrows. "If you find her, can you tell her we're thinking about her?"
"I will," Nathan said, finishing his notes.
Helen held up her own notepad. "You ordering, Constable?"
Nathan smiled. "Yes," he said, looking at the menu. "I'll take the special, over medium, bacon, and toast."
"You got it," Helen said, heading toward the cook's station.
Using the picture of his father, Nathan managed to find out that Archie ate breakfast in this café every morning, even on days he didn't work. Stella was in her early thirties, very pretty, kind, and had no particular drama in her life. The most interesting fact to Nathan was that she was a single mother with a daughter Allie's age and a husband that had run off early on.
Nathan tried to imagine Archie sitting here with memories of Sarah and the regrets that came with them. Of course he'd been drawn to Stella, possibly to help her in some way. The fact that they'd disappeared from Spruce Grove at the same time was the strongest lead Nathan had.
Breathing deeply, Nathan took one last swallow of coffee and looked out the window. He smiled. Elizabeth would be proud of him right now, he thought.
Because Nathan was imagining the best of his father instead of the worst.
Back in Hope Valley, Elizabeth was thinking that it was a good thing Nathan had chosen the large harvest table. Not that it was visible right now, covered with Rosemary's house plans, fabric swatches, paint colors, assorted magazines with design ideas, and piles of notes. Sipping her tea, Elizabeth smiled, remembering how she and Nathan had chosen the colors and styles for this house. You like this one? Yes. Me, too. Green it is.
Putting down her cup, Elizabeth picked up her own curtains. She had finally finished hemming the white eyelet for summer, and it was time to make the winter drapes. These were of a thicker cream-colored fabric that would hold the heat in once the snow fell, but it was much harder to get her needle through the cloth, and her fingers tired easily as she worked.
Looking out the window, Elizabeth could see it was already getting dark earlier. Winter was definitely on its way, which didn't help her mood. Pregnancy was a blissfully happy time for her for many reasons, but today had been difficult for her.
Nathan's absence wasn't helping. She longed to tell him her good news, and she was hungry to share it with Rosemary, Julie, Allie and the rest of Hope Valley. But Nathan needed to be the first and she knew she didn't want to do it over the phone. It made her feel stuck in limbo with a secret she didn't want to keep.
It also didn't help that Elizabeth had slept badly last night. She'd become so accustomed to Nathan's warm body and the sound of his soft breathing next to her that she'd tossed and turned between fitful bouts of sleep.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth chastised herself silently. Archie was missing and here she was being selfish.
"What do you think about this one, Elizabeth?" Rosemary said, holding up a square of fabric that could only be described as chartreuse. "I have a dress that combines this with violet and it looks lovely. I'm just not sure it will work for the guest room."
Elizabeth didn't answer, in part because she was tilting her head toward the sunroom, listening for the telephone. She had talked to Nathan early this morning before he'd set out for the Café, and his plan for the rest of the day was to go through Archie's things and possibly visit his work. She wanted to know what he'd found out, but she really just needed to hear Nathan's voice.
Looking back at her best friend, Elizabeth smiled. She realized that most of the questions Rosemary asked were rhetorical and didn't require an answer, and she would move on to her next dilemma without pausing. Elizabeth was very appreciative of the fact that Rosemary was here to make it easier for her without Nathan. She was being a good friend.
"So, Lee was okay with the changes you made?" Elizabeth asked, hoping to engage a little more in the conversation.
Rosemary laughed, "Oh, you know Lee. He wants me to be happy. If chartreuse and violet make me happy, then he's fine with it. I might even make him a shirt and vest to match!"
Rosemary reached across to touch Elizabeth's hand as she paused in her sewing. She smiled. "Sweet Elizabeth, you don't care about all this, do you? I'm sorry I'm just rattling on. When is Nathan going to call?"
Elizabeth frowned. "I don't know. He said he would call again when he was on his way back to his room. He has to use the public telephone in the library because the boarding house doesn't have one." Elizabeth put down her sewing and squeezed Rosemary's hand. "I'm so sorry, but would you mind if I went into the other room to listen for the telephone? I don't want to miss his call."
Waving her hand in the air, Rosemary said, "You go, Elizabeth. Go talk to that wonderful husband of yours." And just as she said it, the telephone rang. "There, you see?" Rosemary said cheerily. Elizabeth popped up like she was on a spring and ran to the sunroom.
"Hello? Yes, Fiona, thanks so much, I'll hold." Elizabeth settled herself on one of the soft chairs and calmed her breathing. She'd already filled the woodstove and it was warm and cozy looking out at the vegetable garden, and in the distance, the new foundation of Rosemary and Lee's house.
"Elizabeth?"
It was like a soothing balm hearing his voice and Elizabeth sighed into it. "Nathan. Did you find out who Stella is?"
"Yes. She was one of the waitresses at the Café, and she disappeared at the same time as Archie. Two weeks ago. Suddenly and without telling anyone, just like he did. And even with the picture being so old, the other waitress there, Helen, recognized him right away. He came every day for breakfast."
Elizabeth said, "It has to be connected, don't you think?"
"I do. And Stella is just about my age, with a thirteen-year-old daughter and no husband."
"Oh, Nathan," Elizabeth said, realizing immediately, just as he had, what that must have been like for Archie.
"Helen said that Stella spent a lot of time talking to Dad. She said he was very fatherly and kind, and left bigger tips than he could probably afford."
Elizabeth frowned. "So Stella may have been in some sort of trouble and Archie is helping her? Where could they have gone?"
"This is the part I think is most interesting. Stella's daughter's name is Jessie, and Helen had picked her up from school occasionally when Stella had to work. I visited the school and Jessie stopped going four days before Dad and Stella went missing."
Elizabeth inhaled sharply. "Jessie ran away and they went after her."
Nathan laughed softly. "Have you considered applying to the Mounties, Elizabeth?"
"I think one in the family is plenty," Elizabeth said. "Where did they go?"
"Her teacher's best guess is Edmonton. She said Jessie wants a bigger life." Nathan paused and Elizabeth heard his worry. "Dad's pay barely covered his expenses, Elizabeth. I can't imagine he had any savings."
She had to ask him the hard question. "Nathan, are you afraid your father will go back to stealing to care for them?"
Nathan's voice broke, "It's all he knows."
Elizabeth exhaled softly. "I wish he'd called us."
"I know why he couldn't. He's still trying to prove himself to me, and that's my fault. He wants to keep his promises..." Elizabeth heard him falter and she felt tears of her own welling in her eyes.
"No. You can't take this on. Your father is a grown man. It's not your fault. " How she wanted to hold him right now. "What can I do, Nathan?"
It was a moment before he answered, and when he did his voice was low and rough. "You're doing it. Just love me. And if this turns bad, remind me that I can't control everything. I know it in my head, but I feel like I just found him again..."
"I know," Elizabeth said softly. "We'll get through this together. All of us."
"Tell me something that will make me smile, Elizabeth. You always know how to do that. Give me some good news," Nathan said softly.
Oh, she was so close.
But no, not on the phone, not with him so far away. I want to see his eyes, share in his joy, hold him close. I want to talk through the night in his arms about who this little person will be and how we made him or her together. I don't want this miracle connected to the sorrow he feels now.
"Right this minute, Rosemary is at the harvest table designing a bedroom in green and purple. She's worried it won't be bright enough. And she's planning to make a shirt and vest in the same colors for Lee so he'll match the bedroom."
Nathan laughed softly. "I love you, my angel."
