Chapter 26

Sarah had arranged to meet with Rosemary and Fiona on Monday for lunch to talk about plans for the Christmas Festival. They met at the café to review what had been done in the past and who had been responsible for different parts of the event. Both Rosemary and Fiona talked about the year that Lucas Bouchard had put on the festival in his usual over the top way.

Rosemary told Sarah that the crowds were so large that there was no place for visitors to stay and Lucas had run out of food. He even needed the townspeople to raid their pantries and bring whatever they'd planned to serve for their own Christmas Dinner. Fiona added that most of the people attending the festival were from out of town which didn't really help in pulling together Hope Valley residents to enjoy the holiday together.

Sarah made notes of what they thought worked well and what didn't. Sarah really liked the idea of Hope Valley sharing Christmas Eve dinner together after the church service and children's program. When she was growing up it was usually just her and her father so the holiday was usually quiet.

"Is the Christmas Eve dinner always at the saloon?" Sarah imagined it was the only place large enough to hold so many people and Rosemary confirmed the café would be too small.

"I haven't met Mr. Bouchard. Could one of you introduce me to him?" Lucas Bouchard. Sarah was familiar enough with the name. He was the man that Nathan had competed with for Elizabeth's attentions. Sarah was curious what Mr. Bouchard must be like for Elizabeth to have chosen him over Nathan. She couldn't imagine a man more honorable or desirable than Nathan. Sarah blushed as she thought of Nathan and the kisses they'd shared.

"Sarah, did you hear me?" Fiona was trying to get Sarah's attention.

"I'm so sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment." Sarah brought her attention back to the meeting.

Fiona had offered to take Sarah over to the saloon after they finished at the café and introduce them. "I've been working with Lucas in the oil business for a while so I'm happy to introduce you to him."

"Fiona, I didn't know you were working at Gowen Petroleum. That's fascinating. What about the barbershop?" Sarah admired Fiona's ability to juggle multiple things.

Fiona went on to explain that she still had the barbershop but that Clara also helped when she wasn't working at Dottie's. "I like to keep busy so when Mike asked if I wanted to join him in the oil business I couldn't say no. We worked on the pipeline project together and I was able to secure most of the investors in the project."

"You're very impressive Fiona. I can't wait to see what you'll do when you win the mayoral election." Sarah knew a win wasn't guaranteed but she couldn't imagine anyone else but Fiona in that position.

Fiona reflected on her initiation to the community that had become her home. "When I came to Hope Valley I think I raised a few eyebrows. I wore my skirts a bit shorter than the rest. I was much more outspoken than most were used to from a woman. If you can believe it Florence Yost was one of my biggest supporters. I hired her as a phone operator and we became friends. Gradually I got to know more people like Rosemary, Clara and Faith. When my boss from the phone company wanted to transfer me I knew I wasn't ready to leave this town."

Sarah could understand Fiona's feelings and agreed that even in her short time in Hope Valley she felt like it was becoming home. Spending time with Nathan and Allie didn't hurt either.

As if on cue, the café door opened and Sarah caught a glimpse of red entering the room. Nathan entered, removed his hat and stood, in all his red serge glory, glancing around the room for a table. It wasn't until he was on his way across the room that he saw the three ladies huddled together at a corner table.

"Good afternoon ladies." All three ladies lifted their heads as Nathan greeted them. As he passed the table he held Sarah's gaze a bit longer than the rest and shared one of his crooked, shy smiles with her.

The ladies returned the greeting and continued their planning. Fiona commented "I have always said our Constable is quite a dish." Rosemary and Sarah gave each other a knowing glance and each let out a small giggle. Fiona looked at them confused but, then, remembering how Sarah had shown up at the infirmary when Nathan was shot, realized what she had missed. "Oh my goodness Sarah, are you seeing Nathan? I am so sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Sarah smiled at her new friend. "Fiona, it's okay. Yes, Nathan and I have been seeing each other." Taking a sip of her tea she looked at Fiona. "And I have to agree with you. He is quite a dish." All three ladies laughed getting the attention of several others in the café including Nathan.

Returning to the purpose of their meeting Sarah reviewed what they'd discussed. "Rosemary, do you think we could do a story in the paper about the festival? We don't have a lot of time and I want to make sure everyone gets excited about what we're doing this year and the newspaper is certainly the best way to do that. Rosemary agreed wholeheartedly. "That's a fabulous idea. Why don't we do the first story to request volunteers and we can outline activities. Then as we get closer we can go a bit more in depth on what to expect at the festival. So you mind doing the first drafts and then I'll edit?"

Sarah agreed that sounded like a solid plan and the ladies wrapped up their meeting. Fiona told Sarah they could walk over to the saloon to meet Lucas. "I'll be with you in just a moment Fiona. I just want to say hello to Nathan." Sarah made her way over to Nathan's table where he was waiting for his lunch and reading some reports. "Good afternoon Constable. It's nice to see you today."

Nathan looked up from his reading and a smile flashed across his face. "It's always nice to see you Sarah. Did you ladies have a good meeting? I assume you're working on the festival?"

"Yes, I only have a moment. Fiona is taking me to the saloon to meet Lucas Bouchard. I can't believe I haven't met him yet. I hope he's open to donating the space for Christmas Eve again this year." Sarah noticed Nathan's brow furrow when she mentioned Lucas Bouchard's name. "What is it Nathan?"

"It's nothing. Lucas and I haven't always seen eye to eye on things. It's getting better just very slowly. I'm sure you'll find him very charming. All the ladies seem to anyway." Nathan tried to hide the irritation in his voice.

Sarah understood the root of Nathan's comment. "Don't worry Nathan; I'm sure he's much less charming than a certain Constable I know." With that Sarah smiled and turned to leave not knowing Nathan was admiring her as she walked away.

Fiona and Sarah made their way to the saloon. Sarah hadn't even been inside the building. She'd never been a saloon type of person. Having been raised in a bookstore she appreciated peace and quiet more than noise and crowds. They found Lucas in his office. After knocking Fiona and Sarah entered. Lucas looked up from his desk to greet Fiona and realized she had someone else with her. "Lucas, I wanted to introduce you to Sarah Crawford. She's the new manager at Dottie's. She's also taken on the job of coordinating this year's Christmas Festival."

Lucas stood up from his desk. His eyes took in Sarah and he couldn't help but see that, with her blonde hair and sparkling green eyes, she was quite beautiful. Sarah knew exactly what he was doing. She'd met men like him before. For her part, Sarah immediately began comparing him to Nathan. Whereas Nathan was tall, lean and muscular, Lucas was a bit shorter and didn't appear as though he did much physical work. He was certainly what most women would consider handsome but Sarah had never been a fan of beards. She'd always thought it was a way for a man to conceal his facial features and hide what they were thinking.

"Ah, Miss Crawford, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard that you joined our quaint community. I'm sorry I haven't had an opportunity to meet you before this. I don't have much cause to shop at Dottie's." Lucas always spoke with a level of formality that made it hard to know how sincere his words were.

"Well that is certainly understandable Mr. Bouchard. Maybe you'll think of us when you're doing your Christmas shopping for your mother or perhaps a girlfriend?" Sarah thought it was an innocent enough comment but she noticed Lucas bristle when she said the word girlfriend.

"What can I do for you lovely ladies today?" Lucas steered the conversation back to their original purpose.

"We're working on the Christmas Festival and wondered if we can count on you to provide the saloon for the Christmas Eve dinner. We also wanted to talk to you about the lanterns you made a couple of years ago. It was so beautiful we wanted to include them again. We're trying to take the best parts of past festivals and include them this year."

"That sounds like a splendid idea. Of course you may use the saloon for dinner. I would like to donate the supplies for the lanterns and I think some of the students who helped with them before will be happy to help again." Sarah thanked Lucas for his generosity and let him know she would be in touch as they got closer to the date.

As Fiona and Sarah made their way out of the office, Lucas watched them leave not sure what to think of Sarah Crawford. She certainly was lovely. Lucas thought to himself that if he wasn't with Elizabeth, Sarah Crawford would be someone he would want to get to know better. Shaking his head Lucas thought of Elizabeth. While they had several things in common he still wasn't sure if it was enough to sustain their relationship long term and it seemed that Elizabeth was just as unsure as he was. There were times he thought she was comparing him to her dead husband Jack. Lucas was a man who liked to be in charge of his life so living in the shadow of Jack Thornton did not sit well with him. He knew there were many conversations to come between him and Elizabeth to figure out where they were headed.

Sarah made her way back to Dottie's with festival ideas running through her mind. She spent a portion of the afternoon at her desk making lists of things she needed to get done and writing a draft for the newspaper. She was deep in thought when she heard the bell on the front door ring. As she came to the front of the store she saw the familiar flash of red. Her heart skipped a few beats as she greeted Nathan.

"Good afternoon Nathan. What brings you by?" Sarah couldn't get over how she felt in Nathan's presence. The tender look in his eyes told her he was just as happy to see her.

"I was just on my way to get Allie from school and thought I'd stop by to say hello. How did it go with Lucas?" Nathan was trying to sound casual but he was very curious to know Sarah's impression of him.

"I found him to be rather formal. I can see how some women might find him charming but he's not my type. He did agree to let us use the saloon for Christmas Eve and he's donating the materials for the lanterns like they launched a couple of years ago. He thinks we can get some of the students to help put them together so that makes two things I can check off my list." Given Sarah had volunteered for the job just a couple of days ago; Nathan was impressed with how quickly she was able to accomplish things.

Taking a step closer toward her, Nathan quickly looked around to make sure no one else was in the store. "If you don't mind, here's something I would like to check off my list today." Nathan bent over and gently brushed Sarah's lips with his.

Sarah braced her hands against Nathan's chest. "Oh my, I could get used to that every day."

"Well, I do walk by here on my way to pick up Allie. This might become a habit." Replacing his hat Nathan made his way to the door. Tipping his hat and smiling to her he left heading in the direction of school.

"Say hi to Allie for me." Yes, thought Sarah as she watched Nathan walk toward school, I could get used to this.