Nathan knew that Elizabeth had been joking when she'd said William Thatcher might hire him to manage his stables, but in truth, he thought the job might not be half bad.

He knew there was no real difference between the type of horse that has been trained to pull carts, wagons, and carriages, and a horse that's used to being ridden, but Nathan could tell that most of these were not horses that had worn a saddle recently.

The Thatchers were not a riding family, which didn't come as a surprise to Nathan. The horses were considered somewhere just below the servants as far as utility and familiarity were concerned. They were a necessary part of the household, and for their service the family treated them with general kindness and offered them a comfortable place to eat and live.

The horses were cared for extraordinarily well by James, the stablemaster, and they were clearly very healthy and content. James was just about Nathan's age and like him, had grown up around horses on a ranch; but in James' case, it was just outside of Winnipeg. One of the things Nathan liked about James was that being master of a stable like the Thatcher's was not a stepping-stone for him. It was exactly where he wanted to be, and it showed in his work and level of happiness.

The Thatcher stables housed twelve horses, each capable of pulling whatever conveyance was needed, and from the look of the large attached shed, there were many of those.

Nathan smiled, remembering the dinner last week with Charles Kensington and his mother, as they'd praised the "parade" of Thatcher carriages that took them all home one evening after a party. They'd talked at length about the luxury and amenities of the carriages, but not one word was spared for the fine animals that made the carriages move. Nathan had considered asking the value of the most expensive carriage in Hamilton if it wasn't hitched to a horse, but had thought better of it. It was just as well. Some minds were capable of change, some weren't, and Nathan was fairly sure he had been dealing with the latter.

"You're a man who loves horses, sir," James said, coming around the corner with a wagonload of fresh hay for the stalls.

Nathan grinned and sighed. "James, I've asked you a number of times not to call me Sir. I'm much more at home here than I am in that big house."

James laughed. "I believe that."

Nathan reached up and put his hand on the sleek black neck of a large Friesian dray horse who was regally known as King John. Nathan thought he could probably pull five carriages all by himself, but he nuzzled Nathan's arm gently and made him chuckle.

"Well, you're not such a tough guy, are you?" Nathan said, rubbing John's long nose with his knuckles.

James said, "Aw, he's a baby. Scares the pants off most people, but the worst he would do is slobber you to death." He raised an eyebrow. "Or sit on you."

Laughing, Nathan said, "My horse has done both with me."

Nodding, James said, "Thought you probably had a horse. You've a way with them."

James put down the handles of the wagon and pulled a pitchfork from the wall to start laying the fresh hay in the stalls. Nathan looked over and without hesitating, took down a second fork and started doing the same.

James stood and frowned at him, leaning his strong arms on the handle. "And just what do you think you're doing?"

Nathan looked longingly at the wagon. "Please let me help. If I don't do something, I'm going to lose my mind."

James shook his head and sighed, pointing to the stall where Nathan should start. "It's a wonder. Grass is always greener, isn't it? I dream of sitting out there by the fountain and reading a book some days, and then just riding these beauties."

Grateful to be doing some work with his muscles, Nathan smiled. "So do you ride them? I wondered if they ever get out to run and feel the wind in their faces."

"Four of 'em, I do," James said. "They're used to the saddle and like to be given their heads and run. But the others don't enjoy it. Pulling is all they've known, and they seem to be contented with that."

Nathan peered around the low walls of the stall. "So, if I wanted to ride...?" he asked tentatively.

"Sure you could!" James said. "Wouldn't mind the company."

"Who's riding where?" Elizabeth said, squinting into the relative darkness of the stables.

If it had been Viola, James would have dropped his pitchfork and made a little bow to her, but the stablemaster had been hired since Elizabeth left home and he couldn't quite see her as a lady of the house. Oh, she was definitely a lady, but she didn't put on airs the way Miss Viola did, and James genuinely liked both Nathan and Elizabeth.

Right now, the first thing James wanted to do was to get her a chair, because Elizabeth had the look of a woman about to give birth any moment. James had seven younger brothers and sisters, and he knew the look.

And since this wasn't nearly the first visit the Grants had made to the stables, James was ready. He ran to the corner and brought the folding chair he now kept against the wall for precisely this reason.

"Here, Missus..." James said quickly. He noticed that Elizabeth had a decided side-to-side motion in her walk; an observation that a man with less experience might call a "waddle." But James had learned early on that the word didn't go down well with the ladies. Especially not the really pregnant ones.

Nathan had propped up his pitchfork at the same time and now he and James each took one of Elizabeth's arms and helped her down to the chair. Nathan knew that in Carson's daily phone calls, he encouraged Elizabeth to walk whenever she felt she could because there was still a sliver of a chance the babies might turn. On an estate like the Thatcher's, journeying to the stables from the main house was a good long walk.

"Where's Jack?" Nathan asked, kissing her on the cheek.

"He and Buttercup are with Cora. They were right behind me but some butterflies intervened..." she said, catching her breath. "They should be along very soon. Jack has been telling Buttercup all about the horsies again. And no matter how many times he tells her, she hangs on his every word." Laughing, Elizabeth said, "Our little Jack has an ardent admirer." She looked up at Nathan and he was suddenly overcome with how beautiful she was. He leaned down and kissed her neck. "So do you," he said softly.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and James suddenly felt a need to get something from the other end of the stables. He didn't think he'd ever seen two people more in love. James ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his suspenders. He promised himself that when Cora brought the children out to visit, he would finally ask her to get supper with him in town. He'd put it off long enough.

Of course, Nathan and Elizabeth were blissfully unaware that they were inspiring romance all around them. They were just being who they were.

"How was your call with Carson?" Nathan asked, beginning his work again in the stall.

Elizabeth laughed, watching him. "So, my father did offer you a job. And you were so worried..."

Nathan tilted his head and made a face at her. "I'm doing this because if I don't, I'll go out of my mind. I honestly can't have another discussion with Lionel about how hard it is to get good help these days." Nathan suddenly turned to James and said, "No offense..."

James laughed. "None taken. Far as I can see, you're part of the help yourself."

Elizabeth stretched her arms above her head luxuriously. "Oh, it's so much nicer out here than in the house. The smell of hay and horses..."

Laughing again, James shook his head. "Miss Elizabeth, if you'll pardon me saying so, you and Miss Viola couldn't be more different."

Smiling, Elizabeth said, "And James, that is the nicest thing anyone has said to me today."

Nathan pulled another forkful of hay from the wagon and said, "If that's the nicest thing you've heard, I need to step up my game a little."

Elizabeth's eyes went soft. "You don't have to say anything, my love." The pitchfork stayed in midair for a moment while they gazed at each other, and then King John snorted loudly, and they both laughed.

"So, Carson?" Nathan asked again, taking the hay into the stall.

"He'll be on his way on Tuesday," Elizabeth said, trying to sound casual. Nathan stopped what he was doing and turned around to face her.

"He's coming? On the train?" Nathan knew it was an inane question. What did he think, he was walking? But as he looked into Elizabeth's eyes, he could see that her reaction was the same. It's getting real.

"Did he say why, exactly? Why now?" Nathan asked.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "He said... he thought it was... time," Elizabeth said slowly. She shrugged. "It will take him three days to get here, and he doesn't want to cut it too close."

"That's smart..." Nathan said, nodding distractedly, and stroking the mane on the chestnut mare next to him. Then he put down the pitchfork and walked over to Elizabeth. He bent down so he was at eye-level with her and took her hands. "How are you feeling?"

Elizabeth smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Fine," she said, sounding not fine at all.

Nathan narrowed his eyes a little. "Angel. How are you feeling?" he asked again.

The smile disappeared and small lines formed between her eyebrows. "It's all happening, isn't it?"

James was still working in the stables, though he was discreetly trying to stay as far away as possible. Nathan caught his eye and looked at him apologetically. James nodded, understanding, and he walked through the large doors and found work to do in the paddocks outside.

Elizabeth's eyes began to glisten. "I've wanted to be strong, because I know this isn't easy for you either." She looked down at their hands clasped together over her large belly. "They're not going to turn. I know that now. I've never gone under ether, Nathan. Edith was talking about it because she had to for a gallbladder operation." Elizabeth looked up and into his eyes. "She said it's like... dying. Not like dreaming, because everything just goes black. And then..." Elizabeth shook her head as if she could push the fears away. "...You wake up." She said the last part with an attempt at cheeriness that didn't convince Nathan.

He took her hands. "Angel, remember what Carson said." There was nowhere for him to sit, so he simply got down on his knees in front of her. "The hospital in Hamilton does this all day, every day. It's the first time for you with ether, but it's not theirs. They know what they're doing."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded bravely. "I know." A tear finally dropped and Elizabeth tersely brushed it away. "And I promised myself I wasn't going to do this."

Nathan smiled. "You're not doing anything. I want to know what you're thinking. This is something we're doing together." Nathan knew she just needed a little time to move through these moments. He leaned forward and laid his head next to the twins, with his arms around her. Elizabeth put her hands on his head and threaded her fingers tenderly through his hair while they both listened to the soft sounds of the stables. There really wasn't anything more to say.

Suddenly he smiled and looked up at her. "They're busy today," he said softly.

She smiled at him. "They are."

He rested his chin lightly on her stomach. "It's all going to be okay. You know that, right?"

Elizabeth nodded and put her hand gently on his cheek. "Don't go far away, okay? I feel strong when I'm with you."

Nathan knew how to make Elizabeth laugh, and there were a couple of surefire ways. One was the face he'd made when Jack had giggled at the party after the christening. It almost never failed to get Elizabeth to screw up her own face in response.

The second was something he'd first done without thinking at the schoolhouse when Allie was showing him her class projects. Allie had asked him to stay where he was, and he'd pretended he was a man of stone.

No one had ever laughed at that before, not even Allie when she was younger. Why he decided to perform that little pantomime would forever baffle him. That thing that not a soul on the planet thought was funny, and in front of the woman he secretly loved.

But Elizabeth had laughed. She'd actually thought he was funny. And it was one of those moments in which he'd begun to hope that she might also be able to love him.

So, on his knees in the Thatcher stables, talking to his wife about some very difficult and scary challenges, Elizabeth asked him not to go away. And Nathan did the man of stone again. And, thank God, again, she laughed.

"That was when I knew you might be able to love me," Nathan said, taking her hands in his again. To her quizzical look, Nathan said, "If you thought the man of stone was funny, I figured there might be more of me that you'd like."

Smiling, Elizabeth said, "I liked it all. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make people laugh. And you're good at it, whether you say you are or not. Just between you and me, I've seen Allie roll her eyes about your dad jokes and then turn around and laugh. You two aren't fooling anyone."

They'd done it. Together they had moved Elizabeth out of one of the melancholy moods that just happened to hit her now and then. Nathan didn't always understand these times, but considering what his wife's body was managing right now, he could allow that things were a little mixed up.

"Mama! The horsies!" Jack came running into the stables with Cora close behind, carrying Buttercup. Nathan managed to scoop Jack up from his trajectory straight at Elizabeth, and he blew air into Jack's neck, making him laugh. "You want to see some horsies? I'll show you a really big horse..." Nathan looked back at Elizabeth, who smiled her thanks. She loved her little boy, but at two, he could be a little rambunctious. And she wasn't moving too fast these days.

Elizabeth looked up from her chair to the stall in front of her that held King John. Nathan now had Jack on his shoulders and Cora was holding Buttercup up so that her little pink fingers could touch the shiny black coat. Everyone was laughing, and Elizabeth looked down.

Okay, Nate and Becca. Elizabeth reached out and cradled them with her hands. It's up to you and God and the doctors, because Mama won't be awake. And once you're here, look for your daddy. He'll know what to do.

Nathan turned and smiled at her and she looked up at him. Your daddy will know what to do, she thought again. And I need to just let go and let God.

Elizabeth smiled back at Nathan, and he saw the peaceful smile he so loved to see on his wife's face.

Elizabeth was thinking how grateful she was for her husband. And she was also thinking that she really liked the view of the Thatcher mansion from the stables.