Elizabeth stood staring at her childhood friend in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Edward Montclair was standing in front of him. She hadn't seen him since just after her arrival in Coal Valley. Edward had managed to catch the robbers who had held up their stagecoach and had returned her father's compass and the money to her. The following day he had left for his official posting.

The fact that Little Jack was reaching for Edward's hat brought her out her thoughts.

"Do you like the hat, Little Man?" Edward asked, holding the hat out to him.

Little Jack took the hat, smiling up at Edward.

"So, is this your Christmas Eve, blizzard baby?" Edward asked, looking up at Elizabeth.

"How did you know?" Elizabeth asked, surprised that Edward would know a detail like that. Though he had written her a couple of letters after they had parted ways in Coal Valley, she had never written back. She had gotten the feeling on their trip west that Edward had developed feelings for her, and she hadn't wanted to encourage him. She supposed not writing back had been the coward's way out but eventually Edward had stopped writing.

"Jack Thornton was a legacy Mountie, and well liked in the force. Certain aspects of his life were well known throughout the force, including the birth of a son after his death. I am sorry for your loss, Elizabeth," Edward told her. "I thought about coming to the funeral but I wasn't sure you would have wanted to see me."

Elizabeth nodded, touched by his words. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how I would have reacted," she told him.

"Constable Grant isn't in the office," Constable Michael Larson said, coming back out of the Mounted Police office and drawing both Edward and Elizabeth's attention to him.

"Mrs. Thornton was just telling me that Constable Grant is out of town on work," Edward replied, nodding in Elizabeth's direction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Thornton," Larson said, holding out his hand. "I'm Constable Larson."

"Nice to meet you, Constable," Elizabeth replied, aware that Little Jack still had Edward's hat. Taking it from her son, she handed it back to Edward, who put it back on.

"Do you know where Constable Grant went, ma'am?" Constable Larson asked.

"Apparently a couple of chickens were taken from the Crandall's place the other night. Mrs. Crandall is a widow, who lives alone with her three children. Constable Grant planned on checking in with her this morning and then checking with some of the others who live on the outskirt of town to see if anyone else had noticed anything or anyone out of the ordinary. Why were you looking for him?"

"Constable Larson has been investigating a string of thefts, like the one you reported at the Crandall place while I've been searching for a runaway teen from Coldwater Lake where I'm posted. We think there is a good chance the cases are related, as the robberies started outside of Coldwater Lake, it's always food items or items that could help feed someone that goes missing, and there usually aren't many clues left behind to be able to track the person doing the theft. The runaway I'm searching for is part Cree and his father taught him a lot of survival skills before he passed," Edward told her.

"Is he dangerous?"

"No one has even seen the thief ma'am," Constable Larson replied. "We've got no reason to believe he's dangerous, especially if the thief is the runaway teen from Coldwater. Chances are they would run rather than confront anyone."

"Did Nathan say when he was coming back?" Edward asked.

Elizabeth looked from Larson to Edward, noting that Edward had used a familiar address for Nathan. It made her wonder if the two knew each other, though now wasn't the time to ask that question.

"He planned on being back before sunset, that's all I can tell you," Elizabeth replied.

Edward nodded. "I think I'll just wait for him to get back into town and find out if he discovered any more information," he said, addressing the comment to Constable Larson.

Larson nodded. "I think I want to check out the scene where the chickens went missing for myself," he said. "Could you give me directions to the Crandall place, Mrs. Thornton?"

"Of course," Elizabeth replied as she started telling the Mountie how to get out to Eliza Crandall's home. She doubted Constable Larson would find anything Nathan hadn't noticed but she kept that opinion to herself.

Taking a drink from his canteen, Nathan glanced toward the sun. Judging from its position, it wasn't much past noon. The only good news he and Bill had discovered was that the Crandall place had been quiet last night. Other than that, no one else had seemed to notice anyone sneaking about or that didn't belong. Nathan had known it was a long shot. Chances were, the person who had taken the Crandall's chickens was no longer near their little town.

Still, if they accomplished nothing else other than setting his mind at ease and a scenic ride, Nathan would still consider it time well spent.

Twisting the lid back onto the canteen, he put it back in its spot as Bill rejoined him on the road.

"So, did you figure out what you saw?" Nathan asked.

"I did," Bill told him, holding up a long piece of fabric. "A lost scarf snagged in a tree limb," he replied.

"I could name a few younger Mounties who would have missed that," Nathan commented, mounting Newton.

"Are you trying to say I'm old?" Bill said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Not at all," Nathan replied innocently as Bill mounted Ember.

The two resumed their trek eastward on the road that ran south of Hope Valley. There were a couple of families who had small farms down in this area. Nathan expected they would get much the same answers to their questions as they had at previous stops, yet something told him to keep going.

"Bill, can I ask you a legal question?" Nathan ventured, after a few minutes of riding in silence.

"Of course," Bill replied, glancing over at his riding companion trying to judge Nathan's mood.

"What would be involved in adopting Ally?"

"Well it would depend on the situation," Bill replied. Though he had learned a bit about Nathan's past, he could tell the younger man didn't like talking about his past, so Bill hadn't asked too many questions. As it related to the topic that Nathan had brought up, Bill ventured to ask one now. "I know your sister passed away but is Ally's father still alive?"

"As far as I know, he is," Nathan replied. "I haven't seen Jeff in about seven years. However, he isn't a factor. The last time I saw him, he signed away his parental rights to Ally. I felt it was for the best, given that he'd had a problem with alcohol for as long as I had known him, and it seemed to get worse after my sister's death. I have a copy of those papers."

"Well, then that simplifies things," Bill replied. "Seeing as there are no parents to contest it and you're next of kin and legal guardian to Ally already, it will basically just consist of petitioning the court for the adoption. You would also need to convince the judge that you can provide an adequate home for Ally, but being the judge in question, I can tell you that you already have him convinced of that."

Nathan nodded, absorbing the information.

"Ally's been with you for what, eight years now?" Bill asked when Nathan didn't say anything else.

"Yes," Nathan confirmed.

"I've never heard you mention adoption before this," Bill ventured, hoping Nathan would provide some more information but deciding he would drop the subject if he didn't.

"I never wanted to force anything on Ally," Nathan supplied. "She knew me as her uncle when I first took her in. Her world was already changing in ways I'm not even sure a four-year-old can really comprehend. Our relationship was something that was a constant."

"Makes sense," Bill consented.

"It didn't take me long to start thinking of Ally more as a daughter than my niece but I didn't want to disrupt things for her. As she got older, it became more of the idea that I didn't want Ally to think I was trying to replace her father. As lousy as a father I thought he was, Jeff was still her father and Colleen was still her mother. Those are precious titles that I don't think I have the right to tell Ally she needs to give to someone else."

"So what changed?" Bill asked.

"She called me Dad before I left this morning."

Bill smiled. "I guess she's made her choice then," he commented.

"If I were to get married, would it make things more difficult if I had already adopted Ally?"

"It would matter. There would be paperwork either way," Bill replied. "Are you thinking of asking a certain someone that question?" Bill ventured.

Nathan shot Bill a look.

"Okay, I'll mind my own business," Bill said quickly. "Do you want me to start drawing up the paperwork for Ally's adoption?" he asked.

Nathan shook his head. "Not yet," Nathan told him. "I want to sit down and have a conversation with Ally before starting the process."

"Fair enough," Bill said.

"There is however something I definitely want to do," Nathan said. "Gabe's sister Angela and her husband are currently Ally's guardians. Should something happen to me, she would go live with them. Recent events made me realize what that means. Ally would be forced to leave Hope Valley, and the friends she's made. I don't want to do that to her. I want to arrange a guardian for her here in Hope Valley."

"Finding someone for that shouldn't be a problem. You and Ally are a vital part of this community. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be willing to accept that responsibility. I'd accept that responsibility to keep that kid here," Bill supplied. "However, I think you have someone particular in mind."

"I do," Nathan said. "I need to talk to her though."

"She'll say yes," Bill told him knowingly. "I'll get the paperwork ready for that and as soon as you talk to her, the papers will be ready to sign."

"Thanks, Bill," Nathan replied as an approaching figure on horseback caught his attention.

As the distance between them and the other rider closed, Nathan and Bill recognized Joe Keegan.

"Good afternoon, Joe," Bill called out, as he and Nathan brought their horses to a stop.

"Judge," Keegan greeted, also bringing his mount to a stop. "Constable," he said, glancing briefly at Nathan.

"Have you been out a lot today?" Bill asked.

"Nothing against being out riding is there?" Keegan asked defensively.

"Of course not," Bill replied keeping his voice casual. "It's just that someone stole some chickens at the Crandall's place the other day. Have you noticed anyone unfamiliar in the area in your travels?"

Keegan looked from Bill to Nathan, clearly trying to gauge what was going on.

"No one is implying you had anything to do with the incident, Keegan," Nathan said easily, guessing what was going on in the man's head. "Nor would your boots match the couple of prints I did find on the scene. We're simply gathering information so we can determine if it was an isolated incident or the culprit is hanging around the area."

Keegan held Nathan's gaze. "Actually, I did see someone earlier today that I hadn't seen around the area before. I went out today to make some repairs on one of the hunting cabins that I had noticed needed to be done the last time I used it. When I got there, someone was there. However, he bolted when I opened the door. Looked to be in his teens, part Indian and he was limping. Those cabins are made to be used by anyone who needed shelter so I wasn't planning on saying anything but as you're asking that's what I noticed."

"Where is the hunting cabin?" Nathan asked.

"I just came from there," Keegan answered. "Keep going about a mile and then take the path leading south. It's about a quarter mile in. The teen was heading in an easterly direction when he took off."

"I appreciate the help," Nathan told the man.

Keegan simply nodded before nudging his horse into a walk and moving on.

"So what do you want to do?" Bill asked.

Nathan looked over at Bill. "I want to try finding him. Especially if the teen is hurt. That might be why he's still in the area. However, I think looking for him might take longer then the light we have left and I don't want to worry Ally or Elizabeth. I'd also feel better with more supplies."

Bill nodded. "If we go back to the last path we passed and head north, we can be back in Hope Valley in about two hours. We can let people know our change in plans, grab some more supplies and head back out. We should be able to get back to that hunting cabin before dark."

Nathan went through the options. Though they would lose time going back to town, it was the safest course. Being out in the woods without the correct supplies was not a good idea. He could also call in an update to headquarters.

"Let's do that," Nathan replied.

Bill and Nathan turned their horses around, and with Bill in the lead, headed back toward Hope Valley at a faster pace then they had been traveling so far. Now that they had something to work with, both of them were anxious to try picking up the trail, though both men were aware the more time that passed the colder the trail would get.