The next morning, after a restless night, and seeing Allie off to her last day of the school year, Nathan went to the stable to get Newton ready for the early morning rounds. As he walked to town he noticed that the sun was rising sooner and he could see a gorgeous sunrise. He stopped to take it in and it filled his being with a bit of peace. His world was shattered and yet he had a job to do and a beautiful daughter to take care of. His day was just beginning and he would not succumb to his sorrow.

As he pondered what might lie ahead he arrived at the stable and Newton greeted him with a warm nose snuggle and a quiet whinny. It felt comforting to be with his horse. As he brushed him he told his horse about his dilemma and Newton would snort and whinny in response, like two souls having a conversation.

Once saddled and fed, Nathan and Newton left to ride about Hope Valley and the nearby row houses, ranches, and farms. As he rode, he realized how much he was enjoying his time in Hope Valley and all the townsfolk he got to know. There was no one he didn't have a warm relationship with, except for Lucas. That man was such a charmer, he could talk a snake into dancing, but he didn't fool Nathan. There was something that just didn't settle right with him about Lucas, but he couldn't find anything in his background to open any clues, as he covered his tracks quite well. Yes, he was deeply grieved over Elizabeth's rejection of him as her suitor, but he still loved her and was concerned about her being with Lucas.

As he rode just outside of town he kept his eye out for any strange activity, but all seemed calm. Coming close to town he heard the school bell calling the students in for the last day before summer planting season. In front of the jail, Bill was waiting for him, so he secured Newton outside and they entered his office.

"Good morning Nathan," Bill started, "I've got to talk to you, it's important, you've got a minute"?

"Sure Bill, come in and have a seat" Nathan gestured to the chair.

"Look, I was coming to tell you yesterday when Elizabeth showed up, and after that feisty exchange, I just decided it best to wait. What I wanted to tell you is that I think something is going on with Lucas and the saloon. I saw him throwing his belongings in his car. There wasn't much going on over there and it caught my eye."

"Did you see anyone leave with him?" questioned Nathan.

"No, just him, but if you look, there's no activity there. Abigail's cafe was extremely busy last night and even though I had a lot of help, it was barely enough to keep up. We didn't know why, until we closed and began to talk among ourselves. It seems the place was empty – dark actually, not even a light on upstairs."

"You know, Elizabeth said that she saw Lucas driving out of town, but he didn't wave at her when she came out of the library. She was trying to get in there after she left here yesterday, and was upset that Lucas didn't answer. I brushed it off as him possibly going for an errand to get food for the dinner crowd. Apparently, he never came back?" Nathan pondered.

"I think we need to go over there now and see what we can figure out" answered Bill.

Both men headed straight to the Queen of Hearts Saloon. As suspected, the doors were locked and the place seemed vacant. Lucas was nowhere to be seen. They walked around the building seeing if anything was out of place and nothing was, but they did notice that Lucas's car was not parked behind the saloon either. Apparently he never came back. Something wasn't right and they both were alarmed.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Bill asked Nathan.

"Well, if you're thinking that Lucas left Hope Valley, and not just for a food run, yep" agreed Nathan.

"He said business was slowing down, so I bet he skipped town." Bill surmised. "You know I never quite knew what to think of him, but he always gave me a feeling that I should keep an eye on him."

Once seated back at the jail, Nathan continued, "Bill, you know that Wyman character who took Jesse's money for a supposed investment, has been trying to buy up property in Hope Valley. He is quite the shady character and even tried to make a deal with Fiona, but as you can tell, she takes no guff and gave him the what for."

Bill laughed, "That's the Fiona we know and love. Good for her. Listen I'm going to see if any transactions have been made recently with this Mr. Walden. I have a feeling he offered Lucas a good sum of money and knowing Lucas, he took his offer and ran."

Nathan looked at Bill, "I'm sure that he didn't say goodbye to Elizabeth, so let's see what we come up with before we ask her any questions".

With that news, his day was starting out much different than he planned. Nathan didn't know much about Wyman Walden, but he figured he was trouble. When Bill left, Nathan called the Mountie Headquarters and asked if there was any information on Walden and found that he could be a swindler but got away with his deals as nothing had proven illegal. Thinking to check if there were any accidents or mishaps in the area, just in case Lucas ran off the road or was injured, he found nothing was reported. Before he hung up he also mentioned that he wanted to take some time off soon to check on his mother and would get back to them with a time. Right now though, he had to get to the bottom of this new revelation.