Chapter 127: A Ranch By any other Name

When the train pulled into the Airdrie station, Nathan and Julia were well rested and excited. Julia's heart was filled with anticipation to see the home that meant so much, to the man she loved.

When they stepped off, Nathan scanned the people waiting and spotted her. "Daanis!" He called out, and led Julia over. Danni was a small, little lady with long, dark curly hair and spots of gray near the temples. She had a bright, beautiful smile, and was happy to see them.

"Nate!" She called in response, and she wrapped big tall Nathan in a huge embrace. High on her tip toes, she wasn't least bit timid, and she patted him three or four times on the back.

When she stepped back, Danni looked at Julia, and Nathan introduced them. "Daanis, this is Julia, my wife."

Danni looked her in the eye, and smiled deeply. Genuine and happy. "It's so very nice to meet you." She said, and she wrapped Julia in the same kind of big, warm hug.

When she pulled back, Julia told her. "I've heard so much about you, Danni. Thanks for having us at the ranch."

Danni laughed and clarified. "Sweetheart, even if I am intrigued to meet the woman that has stolen Nate's heart..." She smiled warmly. "…the ranch belongs to Nathan. So, you dont need to thank me." She looked up at Nathan, so handsome and happy. Marriage looked good on him. "I'm just glad he's coming home for a little while."

Julia looked up at Nathan and saw that shy smile. Danni reached up and patted his cheek, like a mother or an aunt would do. "You look good, Nate. A real sight for sore eyes." She drawled slow. Almost that same cowboy drawl that Nathan had used earlier in the train, when he'd talked about the ranch.

Danni shrugged her shoulders. "Well, shall we go? You got your suitcases, Nate?"

Nathan looked behind him and realized the porter was still holding their luggage. He jumped into action, walked over and took them, and came back loaded. Danni took the small suitcase he had tucked under his arm, and they walked out together.

"The car's just over here." Danni pointed with her free hand.

"Car?" Nathan asked, shocked. When had they gotten a car at the ranch?

"Yes, Nate. A car. It's almost 1920, you know." She teased him. "Times'er changing."

He chuckled. He never thought he'd see the day. Why hadn't his mother mentioned that they'd bought a car?

"Plus..." She motioned where to tie the luggage on. "Hopping in the car is a lot faster than dressing and hitching up two horses, and a wagon." She told him with a shrug. That was certainly true.

"I'm just wondering what you did to convince my mother?" Nathan said as he got the last suitcase strapped down.

"Oh, that wasn't hard." Danni said with a stellar smile, as she leaned her elbow on the car, and crossed one leg over the other. "I just told Charlie to ask her." Nathan chuckled at that statement, figuring that was about the only way his mother would have ever agreed to buy a car for a horse ranch.

Nathan smiled at her. She had always been resourceful and smart when it came to business at the ranch. She just knew how to get things done. In fact, Danni and Charlie were the only reasons Nathan had ever felt released to leave the ranch in the first place, to pursue his own interests. Without them, he would have never left his mother to run the ranch alone.

"Leave it to you, Daanis." He told her, with a charming smile.

Danni winked at him, and opened the car door for them. Nathan and Julia climbed in the back. And Danni drove them to the ranch.

It was a beautiful ride. The sun was setting and the colors in the sky were amazing. They rivaled any beautiful sunset in Hope Valley. Yellows and oranges gave way to reds, and then reds gave way to pinks and purples. It was fantastic. The perfect welcome for their arrival at the ranch.

Danni turned off the main road, and onto a long skinny drive. One that hadn't endured the wheels of a car for very long. The ruts were not yet worn in, and spoke more of years and years of use by skinnier wagon wheels.

They neared a large arch attached to a fence on either side, and that fence went in either direction for miles and miles. When they got close, Julia could make out the lettering at the top of the big impressive arch: AISLING. She looked over at Nathan, squeezed his hand, and smiled with anticipation.

In fact, Julia couldn't do anything else but smile. She was finally here. And all she saw, to the right and left, as far as the eye could see, were huge green pastures, and rolling hills - they seemed to go on forever in every direction. The light was fading and the sky was dimmer now, so she couldn't make out that deep green that Nathan had described. But, they would be here for two weeks, so she vowed, right then and there, to make a point to take in the view, each and every day.

At a fork, Danni turned left and drove a while, towards a grove of trees. A large grove of trees, and just in front of the grove stood a huge house. Hadn't Nathan called it a cottage? Well this was no cottage, it was a big sprawling house with a huge front porch. Not that far off from the house they were building in Hope Valley, only this one was much larger in scale. Right away, Julia could see where Nathan had taken his inspiration.

The cottage's porch extended nearly all the way across the front, with big supporting columns and a long wooden railing. Two stories were evident by the big windows up high, all with beautiful gables. The house was brown, stained wood, perhaps why it had been misnomered as a cottage.

Danni drive right up in front and stopped the car, and Nathan opened the door and helped Julia out. Then he went to the back and untied the luggage. Julia took one suitcase and he held the other two.

Then, Danni looked up at Nathan. "Welcome home, Nate." She told him. He nodded and let his gaze go past her - he looked wistfully over the big cottage, and took it all in.

"Thanks, Daanis." He replied softly.

"I made up the big room for you. Stocked it with firewood, in case you need it. Stocked the sitting room too, and the kitchen. I left some stew on the stove, in case you're hungry." He nodded yes, and she smiled. Danni obviously knew him well, too, figured he would be hungry. "Put some things in the icebox, too. I'll leave you the car, if one of ya knows how to drive?" She asked, and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

Nathan looked at his feet and back up at her. "I know how to drive, Daanis." He confessed.

"You? You know how to drive?" She shook her head in disbelief. teasing him. "Nate, the Mountie, drives?"

Julia piped in. "To top it off, he's an inspector now."

Danni smiled at Julia, liked how she bragged on Nathan. "Is that so?" She looked up high at Nathan so she could glare at him under her lashes. "An inspector who drives." She smiled at Julia. "Wonders never cease."

Nathan laughed and shrugged. "I've been gone too long." He told her. At least he was the one to say it.

"I'll second that." Danni answered with a little twist of her pointer finger. She smiled at Nathan and Julia, and took a few steps back. "It's good to have you home, Nate." She told him. Then she glanced at Julia. "And nice to meet you, Jules." Danni just made herself familiar with Julia, as though she'd known her for a long time already. "Enjoy your time here." She raised her eyebrows and added. "Happy Honeymooning." And she turned to go.

Nathan watched her walk away and wondered how she was getting home.

Julia looked up at him and wondered the same thing. "How's she getting…?"

And then they noticed. Danni was walking towards a horse tied to the hitching post off to the side, under a tree. One they hadn't noticed in the fading light.

Danni mounted, waved at them, and galloped off, over the hills.

Julia turned back toward the house and gave it a good once over. It was lovely and impressive.

Nathan lowered his eyes from his own nostalgic perusal of the house, and then, he led them up the stairs, to the big front door. Carved into the wood was an M.

Julia looked at him and asked, "M?"

He replied. "Moore. Grandpa Sully's last name was Moore." He explained. "My mother's maiden name."

Julia nodded, enjoying all the things she was learning about Nathan Grant and his family. Each new revelation was like gold.

He opened the door, and carried the two suitcases inside. She followed him. They set them down just inside the door, and Nathan took her hand. "Can I show you around?" He asked.

Julia couldn't have been happier with his proposition. "I was hoping you would offer." Because she wanted to see it all.

He walked her straight through the entry way into a large hall with a high ceiling. A big staircase led up to the second floor, though the hallway extended back far underneath it. They stopped in the middle, just in front of the stairs, and he pointed to the right. "Down that hall are the guest rooms." Julia nodded at the tall doorframe, and closed door, on the right side of the hall.

Next, Nathan turned left, and led her through a set of open double doors, into a huge sitting room. A big stone fireplace took up nearly all of the far wall. And Danni had indeed stocked the wood, the pile she'd left in the wall insert was nearly as tall as Julia. Two big leather settees made an L opened towards a huge window that took up nearly all of the southern wall. And a lamp sat on a pretty table in the middle between those two sofas.

Old family portraits lined the walls, and Julia couldn't wait to see it in the daytime.

Nathan looked down at her, made sure she was ready to move on, and then led her through a door to the north. Connected to the sitting room was a library, nearly just as huge. Bookshelves lined every wall, and they were full to the top. And yes, there was one of those ladders that rolled along the wall, to give access to the higher shelves. Just like the one Julia had asked for, in their new house.

Julia turned around and around in there. Books, for days. "Wow." She told him. Then she sought out his eyes, to tell him. "No wonder you like books. Who wouldn't be inspired by a library like this?" She asked hypothetically.

Nathan just took ahold of her hand and kissed it. And she just smiled up at him. Another window glance into the person of Nathan Grant. A nugget of gold.

She wanted to see more. "What's next, Lawman?"

He led her through the main library door, which connected to the big hall, though farther back, under the stairs. More family portraits lined the north wall, and in the middle of that wall, was a set of French doors.

Nathan pointed and told her. "That leads to a big terrace, and then, eventually, to the garden."

Julia's eyes came up quick. "Grandma Rose's garden?" She asked, as she looked out through the glass, ready to go out there right now.

"Yes." He chuckled at her reaction. "But I'll take you tomorrow." He told her softly. "In the daylight."

"Okay." Julia agreed. Nathan kept her hand in his, and they crossed over the big hall to the next room on their tour. The kitchen was long and had a tall ceiling. A big table sat in the middle, for working. On the northern wall, were a few cupboards, and then a very generous stove. Past the stove, a smaller table sat against the wall, under a window that looked out towards the garden. On the right-hand wall was a tall, wide cupboard, a large wash basin, and a few shelves.

Julia's eyes wandered back to the stove, and to a pot, whose contents had filled the kitchen with a delightful smell. Julia looked up at Nathan and could almost hear his stomach growling.

At the end of the kitchen was a small stock room, filled with fresh vegetables in crates, canned goods in shiny jars, and another door, which Julia could only assume led outside to the garden.

As they walked back through the kitchen, Julia noticed an entire wall filled with pictures and family portraits. Though, most were newer than the painted portraits that were hanging in the sitting room. And, to her delight, she recognized a young man in several of them. Nathan didn't give her much time to look, though, as he led her right on past, to the next part of the tour - the upstairs. That picture wall was connected to the staircase that ascended, from inside the kitchen, up to the second floor. And it was all soon left behind them as Nathan climbed those stairs, with her a half-step behind.

At the top, they arrived on a huge landing that connected all of the second floor - the hall stairs, the kitchen stairs, and a long hallway that led to all the family rooms.

Nathan gave her a tour of the four bedrooms found up there. The first one they visited was Colleen's old room, which he told her hadn't been used very much since her passing. Only his mother ever really entered, although rarely. Nathan let it slip that since the day Colleen died, he'd only entered that room to appease Allie, and only because she'd insisted, on the few visits they'd been home. Most of Colleen's things had been packed away, but his mother still couldn't bring herself to use that room for anything else.

The second bedroom was Rebecca's, though Nathan just pointed out the door. Neither felt comfortable going in, so they continued on their tour.

The third bedroom was larger than all the others. Nathan told her they called it "the big room," and for good reason. It was large and spacious, and contained a big, beautiful four-poster bed. A giant window took up a large portion of the south wall, and would let in plenty of light in the mornings. A huge fireplace took up the bulk of the wall opposite, and two high-back arm chairs sat just in front of it, with a little table and lamp in between.

This was the room that Danni had made up for them. With a grand smile, Nathan told her that it had been Grandpa Sully and Grandma Rose's room. But then, the lines on his face became slightly harsher, when he mentioned that it had also been his parents room for a short stint. A very short stint. And after Archie left that time, his mother had moved back to the smaller bedroom, and never returned. Neither had Archie.

Lastly, Nathan took Julia into his old bedroom. It was furnished simply, and had been kept neat, though it had obviously not been used in a while. On one wall sat a single bed, covered by a dark blue quilt with large, chunky squares. Some old Mountie memorabilia was scattered about, things that a young man with big dreams would have collected.

Julia let go of Nathan's hand in order to take a good look around the room. She tried to imagine a young Nathan living here, and what his life must have been like. A diploma hung on one wall, an old guitar case propped up in one corner.

But then, something caught her eye. She approached the dresser and eyed an old lapel pin. NWMP. Next to it was an old name badge, and what looked to be a commendation pin. Julia picked up the lapel pin and looked at Nathan. "Did you always want to be a Mountie?"

Nathan stepped close and looked down at her. "No. When I was young I wanted to be a veterinarian."

"Really?" Julia had no idea. She smiled at him. "You would have made an excellent veterinarian. Horses love you."

Nathan smiled back. He liked that she'd noticed. "A long time ago, at the ranch, we had a mare, Coco, that I was rather attached to. She was in foal, carried well, and everything seemed fine. But, when it came time for her to foal, to give birth, it…didn't go well, and we lost her colt." He explained with a somber tone. "Mom and I, we did everything we knew to do, everything we could, but it…wasn't enough. We almost lost Coco, too." He pursed his lips. "After that, I was determined to make sure it never happened again."

"So, you wanted to study veterinary medicine?" She assumed.

"Yes." He looked down at his hands, and kept his eyes there. "But, then Archie…"

She slid her hand into his hands. Julia could put two and two together from there, she'd heard this part of the story already. "Plans changed. You became even more determined not to end up like him."

Nathan met her eyes and nodded sadly. Julia let her thumb trace over the lapel pin. Then she looked up at him again. "You chose a noble profession, Nathan." Her words were sincere and held weight. "I think it was a wonderful choice, no matter your motivation for choosing it." She went one more. "It fits you, too."

He brought his hand to her cheek and savored her softness. She always knew just what to say. "I'm glad you think so." And it was true. Her opinion of him, and Allie's, where the most important. The only ones that really mattered to him.

Julia looked down and returned the lapel pin to its place. Then she picked up the old name badge. GRANT. Nathan watched as she ran her thumb over the letters, one by one. She looked up, and told him with sincerity, and tears, in her eyes. "It's a good name." Just like Moore was a good name. Though, he didn't seem quite convinced. Whatever he'd gone through with his father, had been, for him, a blemish on their family name. "Nathan, you have made it a good name."

He looked down at the simple metal name tag in her hand. He wished he could believe her. "I still see the tarnish."

"Maybe it's time to let it go." She told him gently. "Because the legacy you have created, are creating, has washed the Grant name clean." She reached up and let her hand cup his jaw, and then, she lightly caressed his cheek with her thumb. "Nobody remembers, but you."

Nathan sniffled and shifted his weight. His eyes went to the floor, and he nodded slowly, as if he was letting her words sink in. He had become vulnerable, and raw, right in front of her, and her heart ached for him, wanted to bring him comfort. So, she let her arms go around his waist and she pulled herself into his embrace. And he hugged her tight, and held her in that place, where only she fit. And he bent down to rest the side of his chin on her hair.

When they finally separated, Nathan sniffled again. Julia searched his face, and realized that coming home was more emotional for him than she'd realized. And perhaps he'd hit his limit, for one night. Plus, she could hear his stomach rumbling. So she titled her head, and tried to lighten the mood, by cutely asking, "What does a girl have to do to get some of that stew downstairs?"

Nathan looked down at her and smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." And he took her hand and led her back toward the stairs. They descended slowly, past all of those photos, and ended up in the kitchen. Julia just loved the way those stairs descended right into the kitchen. It felt so right, and told her something important - about Sully and Rose's sense of family. The house was big, but not pompous or fancy. No extravagant chandeliers, no golden candelabras, no expensive decor. Just a darn good place to raise a family, and keep it the center of everything.

Nathan went to the pot and stirred, letting the wonderful aroma loft right up to his nose. Julia went to the huge cupboard and opened it, she easily found two bowls. Nathan opened a drawer next to the stove and fished out two spoons. Then, they filled those bowls and carried them over to the small table. "Best seat in the house." He told her as he nodded toward the window that must have quite a view. She couldn't wait to see that view, in the morning.

Julia returned to the cupboard and pulled out two glasses and filled them with water. As she sat back down, she told him with a smile, "I'd much rather sit here than in any fancy dining room."

Nathan motioned with his hand, towards a door on the other side of the wash basin. "Oh, I forgot. We do have a fancy dining room."

He hadn't included that. "You do?" She asked curious, though she didn't care to use it. At least not tonight.

"Of course. Sully and Rose were great hosts." He had forgotten the formal dining room on his tour. "I'll show you tomorrow." He told her with a smile.

Nathan Grant never ceased to amaze her.

He took her hand and said a quiet prayer, a blessing for the food, and a thank you for safe travels.

Then he watched as Julia sank her spoon into the thick stew. Then, he did the same. It was delicious, and just what they needed, after a long day of travel. "I love venison stew." She told him happily, after the first heaping bite.

"I'm glad." He told her with an even tone. "Not everyone likes it."

"Really? Who doesn't like venison?" She asked curiously.

"Snooty types." Nathan said with a chuckle. He took another huge spoonful.

Julia giggled with her mouth full. Then she swallowed. "Do you get a lot of those around here?"

He chuckled and shook his head no, fully enjoying the stew, but even more so, he enjoyed sharing it with her. Sharing all of it with her - his home, his past, his story.

"Well, I'm glad." She told him with a smile. "I'd much rather be with your kind of people."

Now it was he who was curious. He raised that one adorable eyebrow. "My kind of people?"

"Yes. Allie. Your mother. Sully and Rose, who built this beautiful house. Charlie. Danni." She paused. "Your kind of people. They seem so wonderful, all of them."

Nathan smiled at her. "I'm glad you think so." He sat back for a minute, and took a good long look around the old kitchen, this place where he'd spent so much of his life. He did very much like this house, and the legacy that it represented. "I like them all, too." He told her, before another spoonful.

Julia was curious about something, though. She'd noticed it several times in their brief meeting with Danni. "Nathan, can I ask you something?"

He replied. "Anything, Jules."

"Why do you call Danni by another name? Daanis was it?" Julia asked as she took another bite.

"Daanis is her given name. Her Métis name." He explained. "But…" He looked down into his bowl. "I think...it's not easy to be half Métis and half white…in our day." He looked up at Julia. "She's encountered her fair share of…discrimination and prejudice…wrong attitudes, even name calling, because of the color of her skin."

Julia's mouth fell open. She could not imagine how a person could be unkind to another person, just because her parents came from two different people groups. What sense did that make? What reason to be unkind?

Even if there had been unrest between those two people groups, what choice did Danni have in her parentage? And wasn't her heritage, her very bloodline, a testimony of all that love could overcome? All of her parent's differences had been forgotten, even a language barrier conquered, because love had reigned higher?

Julia slowly closed her mouth, then asked. "So she changed her name?"

"Not officially. But she just started using Danni, and it caught on." He told her sadly. "I think it was just easier, sounded more Canadian." He looked at Julia. "But she is Canadian, was born in a small village not far from here, speaks with an Alberta accent." Julia nodded, had noticed. "If it wasn't for the color of her skin, and maybe her hair…" he trailed off.

"No one would know she was Métis." Julia finished.

Nathan nodded. "I think going by Danni was her way of trying to fit in, blend in, and avoid comments about her name." He grinned sadly.

"And you don't want her to forget." She surmised. She knew Nathan well enough to know that heritage meant something to him.

"No, I don't." He told Julia. "If she doesn't stand up for who she is, how will people ever change their minds?" Of course that would be the way Nathan saw it. That's how he saw his own plight.

Julia nodded and looked at him. "Maybe she doesn't want to have to be the one to change minds. Maybe she just wants to quietly…be who she is." Julia had felt that way often enough, being a woman in the medical profession. "Not everyone is as strong as you, Nathan."

He looked down for a minute, but then added. "Daanis means daughter in her language. I think it's significant. And I don't want her to forget the name her parents gave her." Nathan said with a solemn shrug.

Julia reached over and placed her hand on his arm. She understood how important names were to him, too. "Your intentions are beautiful, Nathan. I'm sure she loves that you won't let her forget."

He hoped so. He took another bite, and realized his bowl was empty. He put his hand over hers. "It's a silly little thing, I know. But I just can't bring myself to call her Danni." He admitted. "Not once I knew her real name, and what it meant."

"And that's why you are a gift." Julia said with a smile. "To everyone who knows you." Nathan smiled too, because his name meant gift of God. And she obviously knew that.

She rose, picked up his bowl and returned to the pot of stew. She filled both their bowls a second time, and brought them back. When she set his down in front of him, Nathan watched her. He loved the way she knew him so well.

They finished their second bowl, and then Nathan filled the water basin, for the dishes. "Nathan, I can do these." She told him.

"Nonsense." He replied.

"No, really. I can wash the dishes." She told him playful. "Go…light a fire somewhere or something."

He responded quickly. "Are you cold, Jules?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"No, but you could carry our things up to our room." She suggested.

He stepped close and looked down at her. "And I could light the fireplace in there, if you'd like." He said it all flirtatious, and she felt her heart quicken.

"Mmmmm." She hummed. "That sounds nice."

"Would you like a bath, my lady?" He asked. Images from the night before, and this morning, came rushing back and she had to steady her breath. He could easily read the way her expression changed.

Julia reached up and placed a dollop of soap bubbles on the end of his nose. "Only if the lord of the manor wants a bath." She told him, meeting his flirtatious tone and raising it a notch.

Nathan laughed playfully and then kissed her. He kissed her good, and made sure to rub those bubbles, from the end of his nose, all over her cheek.

When he pulled back breathless, he wasn't sure he could wait that long. And there was one other thing. "I don't know if we can both fit in my bathtub."

Julia took a deep breath after that kiss, now paying absolutely no attention to her dish washing. She just gazed at him, ready to feel his arms around her and that closeness that only married couples could enjoy.

He bit his bottom lip, which only drew her attention to his mouth. She tore her eyes away and looked down at the last bowl. She washed it quickly, plopped it in and out of the rinse water, and set it in the drying rack. She'd do that last spoon later.

"Done." She said cutely. Then she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and kissed him back. Deep and passionate. She couldn't help herself, he'd been too much, and she was just a woman. Desperately in love with a man.

His eyebrows went up in surprise, but then, his arms quickly came around her back. A half turn and she was sandwiched between him and the wash basin cabinet, as he pressed in closer and kissed her back. Finally, he just picked her up and sat her on the cabinet next to the wash basin, so he could reach her lips better. Her wet, soapy hands went into his hair, though neither seemed to notice. As they kissed each other, they were lost in the connection and the building passion.

Finally, Nathan picked her all the way up and carried her up the stairs, to their bedroom. Once there, he set her back on her feet, brought his hands up to cup her face, and kissed her again.

Then, he pulled back just enough to ask. He didn't want to forget, or assume. "Do you still want that bath?"

Julia shook her head no and looked into his eyes, lost in the moment. She answered breathlessly. "I only want you."

And he smiled.

What came next was a beautiful struggle - a slow push and pull, between keeping their connection - the connection of their lips, that neither wanted to lose - and removing the clothes that now, so annoyingly stood in their way.

Then, finally, Nathan gave himself to her. And Julia gave herself to him. In a tender culmination of the deep love they held for each other, the emotions of their arrival at Aisling Ranch, and all the feelings of coming home.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day, of discovery, of homecoming, of learning and loving deeper.

And as the moment ebbed, they held each other - snuggled deep under the covers, and drifted off to sleep.