Chapter 7

Nathan and Amelia had been married for one week, and Allie was expected to come home that evening from the Coulters. Rosemary had told Amelia they would sent her over right before dinner, although she confessed to Amelia that she liked having a child in the house and she almost wished they had Allie for longer. Amelia had a feast planned for dinner. She was making Beef Bourguignon with plenty of sides and for dessert she planned to make a beautiful yellow cake with creamy chocolate frosting. Amelia got to work on the cake right after Nathan left for his rounds, because she wanted the first time the family got together for dinner to be perfect.

Overall Nathan's week and been pretty quiet for which he was grateful, he kept his eyes and ears open for anyone new in town just in case Amelia's family found out her location. Throughout the week Nathan and Amelia grew more and more comfortable with each other, but Nathan was still careful that he take things slowly. In fact he hadn't even kissed her since she had rearranged the furniture, other than a kiss to her cheek.

It was getting closer to the end of the day and Nathan was working on some paperwork. That's when the last person he expected to see came into his office. "Mrs Thornton..., how can I help you?"

Elizabeth looked flustered by something and Nathan wondered if it had something to do with his marriage. Elizabeth had not met Amelia yet, it seemed their schedules were the exact opposite of one another. Elizabeth hadn't even seen what she looked like, although she had heard enough praises of her beauty from others in the town. Amelia tended to go into town during school hours, whereas Elizabeth went earlier or later on. She had however, seen Nathan ride through town occasionally on his rounds. Every time she saw him she felt the need to make her concerns for Allie known to him.

"I heard you got a mail order bride..."

"Yeah, about a week ago."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and plunged into her concerns, "I told you awhile back that Allie looks up to you..."

"Yes, I remember." Nathan knew what was coming and he was irritated. So he steeled himself for what was coming.

"You brought a strange women you know nothing about into your home. Allie will learn how to be a women from her, so I hope she is somewhat honorable for your sake. But what really concerns me is that by your actions you are showing Allie it is ok to marry a stranger...How could you do that?"

Nathan is a calm man by nature but he could feel his temper blazing under his unreadable brow. Obviously Elizabeth had judged Amelia without even talking with her. And Nathan was to the point where he felt Amelia was something extremely precious to him. He had the urge to defend his wife, but this was more about Allie. He needed to find the words to reason it out with Elizabeth, and to reassure her that Allie would be fine.

"One thing you are not considering Mrs Thornton, is that women who become mail order brides are usually in very difficult and possibly dangerous situations. And yes they are usually desperate, but that doesn't make them bad. And in regards to Allie, as long as I am alive I would never let there be any situation where she would ever need to marry a stranger. I am her uncle, her father and I love her. So I ask that you please accept that, and know that I am always thinking about My daughter."

Elizabeth had some tears in her eyes, she knew Nathan loved Allie. But she always seemed to think that more was needed to help the girl blossom. In some ways, she had imagined herself as the one who would contribute to that outcome. But with deeper contemplation she realized because she was in love with Nathan, she had also wanted to be Allie's mother, the one who would advise her throughout her life. But she needed to find the strength to let go, to let them be a family with Nathan's new wife. Truthfully she should have let go when she rejected Nathan, but her love for him and Allie was present even though she kept suppressing it. And because of that she had been holding onto having a life with them, until it was too late.

"I...I ..I am glad to hear that Nathan, and please forgive me for overstepping my place in both of your lives. I hope you well all be v-v-very happy." With that said Elizabeth rushed out of the Mountie station.

Nathan felt bad for her. He could see in her eyes that she had finally acknowledged the feelings she had for him, but he did not regret marrying Amelia, and he no longer could picture a life with Elizabeth. And he felt finding Amelia was one of the best decisions he had ever made, even if it was through a mail order bride agency. Hopefully Elizabeth would be able to move on and find happiness as well, he thought.

Amelia had their dinner at a slow roast in the oven, and it was filling the house with the most delicious aroma. She also had the cake done and frosted. She looked around and noticed the table was set, and everything seemed to be in order. She sighed in relief. Everything was going according to plan, and that left her just enough time for a quick errand to the mercantile.

She made her way there swiftly and located the items she was looking for. It was a pretty mirror and brush set that was etched with a design of daisies on the handles. Amelia thought they would be a perfect gift for Allie. She had always thought of daisies as beautiful but strong and resilient since they grew in the wild. Likewise from what Nathan had told her of Allie, she found out the girl had many struggles she endured in her life. Her mother's death, her fathers abandonment, moving around to different towns, and then learning to make lasting friendships. She had decided to pay for them with the money she had brought with her, because she didn't know if it would be to extravagant of a purchase on Nathan's wages. Although technically Nathan was entitled to her dowry, her father had set up an account with the money when she was twelve, and she could access it after her marriage or when she turned twenty-five. She had overheard her father and Mr Arbor discussing her dowry a time or two before she managed her escape, it seemed that her father was using her dowry to try and get even more stock out of Mr Arbor's businesses. She was so thankful she found Nathan instead.

Amelia paid for her purchase she was headed for home, but her mind was elsewhere. After thinking about her dowry, she was wondering if there was a way for her to get the money without alerting her father to it. Unfortunately in her distracted state of mind she didn't see the man who was heading in her direction and they accidentally collided. Amelia ended up landing on her bum with her skirts in disarray around her.

"I am so sorry, allow me to help you." Amelia took hold of the hand in front of her and the man she had collided with assisted her to standing.

"Oh...thank you I should have been watching..." Amelia stopped mid sentence and her mouth fell open as she saw who the man was. "Mrrr Bouchard,...what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Miss Benson." He returned coldly. Amelia was very familiar with who Lucas Bouchard was, but it wasn't from his time in Hope Valley. He had been involved with some business dealings with her father in the past, and she was terrified he would tell her father where to find her. Lucas Bouchard had also broken her best friends heart about four years ago. At the time her friend was sure Lucas would propose to her, then he just disappeared.

Actually, it's Mrs Grant." Amelia corrected in a strong voice but she was shaking on the inside. Lucas was flustered as well, Amelia's father was indeed someone he never wanted to see again. He had tried countless times to get Lucas to cheat and to involve him in some illegal activities. It would have made Lucas far richer than he was but he didn't agree with the illegal methods.

"Mrs Grant? Your the one who married Nathan?" Lucas asked. This couldn't have been going worse, if Mr Benson's daughter was indeed Nathan's mail order bride, Lucas was sure that eventually her father would come. He remembered that her father had planned on marrying her off at some future time, to further his business empire. He also knew Nathen was not a wealthy man, he had even needed to borrow money from him at one point. So did Miss Benson...or rather Mrs Grant run away?...Is that how she came to be a mail order bride?

"Yes, I am. Please excuse me Mr Bouchard." Amelia said and turned in the opposite direction she had been heading. Lucas watched her walk away in the direction of the Mountie station, she had brought up a lot of memories he preferred to keep in the past. Lucas also wondered when her father would show up.

In the Mountie station Nathan was just putting a few files away before heading home. Elizabeth's visit to the office earlier had put him in a fowl mood, but now that his work for the day was done he was excited to head home to his beautiful wife. He had been very spoiled for the last week, for Amelia had proved to be an excellent cook and an even better baker. He had never had bread as good as she made before, and her desserts. Well there were no words to describe how delicious they were. She had promised to make her favorite cake recipe for their reunion with Allie that night and she told him she was sure he would love it. He was sure he would too, since he liked all her other baked goods.

Just as he stood up to leave Amelia came running in the door with a flushed face and she looked on the verge of tears.

"Amelia...what's the matter...?" He barely finished asking the question when she flung herself into his arms and the waterworks started up immediately. She was telling him what was wrong, but all he understood was that she ran into someone ...then he couldn't understand anything after that.

"Shhh...calm down now...shhh..." Nathan soothed her and held her close until she had quieted down enough to talk. "Now, why don't you tell me again what happened."

Amelia looked into his eyes, he looked at her in concern. And she felt safe in his arms. "I ran into Mr Bouchard..."

Nathan didn't obviously always get along with Lucas, but he was pretty sure he would never hurt a women so he asked, "And why did that scare you?"

"H-he knows my father, oh Nathan what if he tells my father where I am? I worry not just for me, but for you and Allie. My father doesn't always do things legally."

"Let me worry about him, you just focus on adjusting to your new life here in Hope Valley. Seriously Amelia, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, plus you are my wife now. Your father cannot come here and order any of us around. Remember I AM the LAW around here."

Amelia was still very nervous and she had red eyes from her tears, but she giggled. Nathan's calm attitude had indeed helped her feel more at peace.

"Now. Why don't you head home and I will have a talk with Lucas. I'll make sure he knows not to under any circumstances inform your father of your whereabouts. Ok?"

"Ok." Amelia's gaze on his eyes slowly drifted towards his lips and before he knew what she was about she reached up on her tip toes and kissed him. Nathan was surprised but he quickly responded by pulling her in closer. He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he kissed her deeper.

Nathan pulled away slightly and brushed the remaining tears from her cheeks. He gave her one more sweet kiss and sent her on her way home telling her he would be home right after his talk with Lucas.