Chapter 6

There were musical sounds in the air and the sun warmed the slight breeze as it slid through Amelia's hair. She breathed in deep in order to fully appreciate the scent of spring. Pretty soon and the lilacs would blossom, they just happed to be Amelia's favorite thing this time of year. She joyously continued on her way to the mercantile, glad to have gotten the breakfast dishes all done and put back away. While she did the dishes she thought up a few ways to rearrange their little house. She had a tendency to get cold, so she planned on moving the couch closer to the wood furnace. Not too close of course, but just so she didn't feel she was freezing when they would have chilly evenings. The other thing she wanted to change was the way that Nathan had organized the kitchen pantry. She assumed for him it worked pretty well considering his height, but for her she had to pull a chair over to reach where he kept the flour. Since her mother was a daughter of a baker, she learned the tricks of the trade as well. So she reasoned that moving the flour to a more practical position would suit her needs well.

She stepped into the mercantile, and was pleased that in seemed very well stocked. Being she was from a big city, she never had to consider what things might be unavailable before.

"Hello Dear, how can I help you? I am Florence Yost."

Amelia smiled brightly saying, "Nice to meet you Mrs Yost. I am new in town, and my name is Amelia Bbb...Grant." Amelia slipped up a little almost using her maiden name. She blushed in embarrassment but she was also mad at herself. She didn't want anyone to find out who she was. She couldn't risk her father finding her. She continued on to tell Florence that she was looking for some fabric to make curtains.

"Of course dear, but please call me Florence. And you said your last name is Grant...do you happen to be related to our Constable Nathan Grant and his niece Allie?"

Amelia was a little surprised that she hadn't heard about their marriage already. "Actually Nathan and I got married yesterday afternoon."

Florence's mouth fell open in shock, she knew Nathan was a rather secretive man so she was able to collect herself fairly quickly. But she could not resist digging for more information, she did like a little gossip after all. She was able to decipher that Amelia was from Ottawa and that she came as a mail order bride. Florence would usually judge someone in that position a little harshly, but Amelia was so sweet and refined that she couldn't. In fact a the end of their conversation she felt that Amelia would be a charming addition to their town. She told Amelia she hoped that her and Nathan would be very happy together as she put together Amelia's order of groceries and an the green fabric she had picked for her curtains.

Amelia next stop was the cafe, she was hoping they would have some sourdough starter she could buy. She could make her own of course, but she was hoping to start some baking soon and she didn't want to wait for the yeast to form. As she entered she noticed it was quite busy. She had thought it would be a bit quieter between the breakfast and lunch rush.

Rosemary and some of the other women in town just happened to be having some tea together at that time. Rosemary saw Amelia enter so she called out, "Amelia, come here and join us for some tea."

Amelia was hoping to meet some more people so she walked over and pulled up a chair. Rosemary introduced her to Faith the town doctor, Fiona who was shockingly a barber but she said she worked with women's hair as well, and Clara whom she had met previously was also there. Apparently someone named Minnie was working right now so Clara could take a break. Amelia's new acquaintances were in shock, much like was Florence was when they found out she had married Nathan.

Everyone was trying to get to know Amelia better when Rosemary exclaimed, "How would you feel if we put on a wedding reception for you and Nathan?"

Amelia smiled for she liked the idea, "I would love that, but I don't know what Nathan would think. So we should probably ask him." She really hoped he would agree for she would love to dance with him.

"Well, just leave Nathan to me, I am sure I can convince him. " Rosemary said and she started planning the reception right away. Amelia hoped Rosemary wouldn't be disappointed but she sensed that Rosemary would become a close friend. Of the other women Amelia really liked Faith, she seemed a bit subdued however and she wondered why.

When their tea was just about done, Amelia asked Clara if she could buy some of the Cafe's sourdough starter. Clara just laughed, not many people would come in and place an order for that. So she gave her some for free. Amelia was thrilled and was excited to start her baking.

Afterwards Amelia headed home. She wanted to rearrange some of the furniture before she started making dinner. As she moved the different pieces around she admired some of the wood carving details Nathan had painstakingly worked into them. The furniture itself added a lot of character into the small home.

Lastly Amelia decided to make chicken pot pie for dinner, so she quickly started on its preparation.

After Nathan's morning rounds he stopped at the cafe to pick up some lunch. He had told Amelia that morning not to worry about his lunch, but in the future if she wanted to she could pack it for him or bringing to the Mountie station. Ironically he just missed Amelia as she headed for home. But Rosemary was still there.

"Oh, Nathan! I just thought of a wonderful idea." She stated.

"And what idea is that?" He asked hesitantly. Rosemary could be quite a force to be reckoned with when she was on a mission. She explained about the possible reception and how she already knew Amelia liked the idea.

Nathan liked the idea as well, his bride didn't get the traditional wedding, but it would be nice for her if they had a reception. Once he told this to Rosemary she said, "Leave it to me, I will make your reception...perfection!" She giggled in excitement and rushed off to make her plans. Nathan shook his head a little and laughed at her enthusiasm.

Once he headed back to the Mountie station he looked at the the mail for the day. What he really wanted to see was whether Amelia's father was looking for her. He needed to make sure he kept an eye out for anything that could put her in danger. There were a couple new wanted posters and then he found what he was looking for. It was a poster that said missing and it had Amelia Benson's name on it. Nathan scoffed when the details described Amelia's father saying she was kidnapped. It seemed he was going to have to protect Amelia from her own father, he just wondered when the time would come.

When Nathan got home not long before dinner, he noticed some amazing smells coming from the house before he even opened the door. When he actually opened it his mouth started watering and he wondered what she made. That's when he looked into the living room and his face formed into a scowl. It wasn't messy or dirty, but the furniture was completely switched around. For as long as Nathan could remember he liked things kept a certain way. Allie was used to it, but of course his new wife wasn't.

Amelia walked in from the back door, she was examining if there would be room for a vegetable garden. She was of course excited to find Nathan home until she saw his face.

"What's the matter?" She asked hesitantly.

Nathan took a deep breath, his frustration wasn't worth fighting over. So he calmly explained how he liked things organized in a certain way, that it was calming to him after a long day.

"Do you want me to put the furniture back?"

"No...sit down with me Amelia." He pulled her over to sit on the couch with him. "I think it is fine the way you put the furniture, but maybe you could tell me before you rearrange next time. I don't know why, but I can't seem to relax when things are out of place."

"Ok, I can do that... but just so you know I did rearrange the kitchen pantry as well. That way I don't need a chair to get down items I will need regularly. You are quite a bit taller than me you know." She bit her bottom lip with a guilty look. Nathan's lopsided grin appeared and he pulled her close to him. He was coming to realize his wife was irresistible, so he leaned down and kissed her, this time he lingered and he deepened his kiss. Amelia was glad she was seated, because she didn't know if her legs would support her at this point.

After but just a moment Amelia shot up from the couch squealing something about not wanting dinner to burn. Nathan watched her go and started laughing. He realized that even though they just got married the day before, it wasn't a matter of if they would fall in love but when. For he could already tell he was falling.

Author's note : Hope everyone is enjoying my story so far. Feel free to review my writing style. Also just letting you know I have a few surprising twists coming up in the next chapter or so. So stay tuned...