I'm particularly fond of this chapter as it brings me hope of what could be. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 27

Sarah had Wednesday afternoons off so it was the perfect evening to have Nathan and Allie over for dinner. She'd spent part of her afternoon working on the festival. The rest of the day involved cleaning her apartment which went quickly given its size and Sarah had always been a tidy person, probably attributed to the organization her father insisted on at the book store. Sarah dusted the furniture and made her way to her own bookcase that wasn't unlike the one Nathan and Allie had in their home. It took up a good portion of Sarah's wall and was filled with her father's favorite books along with her own. Some of her father's books were original editions and quite valuable. Sarah had a few pieces of her mother's jewelry but the books were the only thing she had to remember her father by and they brought her great joy. Finishing her housework Sarah started dinner and got changed but wasn't sure what to wear. She didn't want to over dress so she settled on a simple dress in light pink that went well with her green eyes.

Nathan and Allie were making their way to Sarah's for dinner. Allie had brought her math homework hoping that Sarah could help her with some problems she couldn't figure out. Nathan had made an attempt but Allie was officially beyond what he remembered from high school so both were hoping Sarah could help.

"Dad, do you think Miss Crawford will mind helping me with my math?"

"I think she will be happy to help. You've surpassed my capabilities so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she can help." Allie wasn't thrilled when the idea of the advanced math class had first come up last spring but now she was thriving in the challenge of it. Allie's competitive spirit wouldn't let her give up until she'd figured it out. It was one of the things that reminded him of his sister. Nathan smiled thinking how proud Colleen would be of her little girl.

"What's in the package dad? A gift for Miss Crawford?" Allie was curious what it could be.

"Your grandmother taught me that you should never show up to someone's house for dinner without a gift for the hostess. It's just a little something I made for Miss Crawford." Nathan hoped that Sarah would like it.

Allie's boundless enthusiasm and excitement had her knocking on Sarah's door before Nathan was half way up the stairs. Sarah opened the door and saw Allie standing before her with her sweet, sunny smile. "Hi Miss Crawford, thank you for having us for dinner. I was wondering if you might be able to help me with some math homework that I don't understand." Allie's words came tumbling out all at once.

Sarah laughed at Allie's energy. "I would be happy to help you after dinner. How would that be?" Allie nodded in agreement.

Finally Nathan made it to the door having heard the exchange between Sarah and Allie. "Yes, Allie has gone beyond my math skills so she is hoping you can help." Nathan smiled and gave Sarah a quick kiss on her forehead. "I brought you a little something."

Sarah accepted Nathan's gift and opened it to find a beautiful plaque with an inscription. There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart."It's from Jane Austen. I wasn't sure if you like her or not but I'm hoping you do. The quote made me think of you."

Sarah was touched. "Thank you Nathan, I love Jane Austen. Did you make this for me?" Nathan nodded his head. "It's really exquisite work, better than anything I've ever seen even in the city. Come help me find a place to hang it." Nathan went inside appreciating how Sarah had made the small space simple but tasteful. He'd been there once before but hadn't had much time to look around. When he came to the bookshelf he stopped to read through all the titles that Sarah had.

"Wow, I thought we had a lot of books. This is a beautiful library Sarah. Have you read all of these?" Nathan was fascinated by the variety of authors and genres Sarah had on the shelves.

"You have to remember my father owned a bookstore. Some of these are my favorites but a lot of them are my father's. I like to think of it as his legacy to me." Sarah ran her fingers along the top row of books.

Nathan could see that Sarah's mind had drifted to thoughts of her father. He moved closer and put his arm around her shoulders. "That's a beautiful way to think of it." They stood together both a lost in their thoughts. Finally Nathan broke the silence. "Let's get this hung up. Do you have a hammer and nail?" Sarah chose a spot directly across from the doorway so that it would be the first thing she saw when she entered her home.

Once it was hung Sarah called Allie and Nathan to dinner. She had made roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and apple pie for dessert. Dinner conversation included plans for the festival and the upcoming mayoral election. Allie told Sarah that she Thought Miss Miller would be a good mayor wanted to volunteer for her campaign. Sarah agreed that Fiona would be a good choice for mayo and told Allie she was impresses by her desire to help her win. Allie reveled in the complement. They also talked about the Christmas Festival. Allie was excited to help with the kids' craft table.

Nathan could barely move once he finished dinner. Oh my goodness, thank you for this. We haven't had a meal that good in a long time have we Allie?"

Allie agreed. "Thank you Miss Crawford for making dinner for us. It was delicious." Sarah appreciated their thanks and had Allie gather her math homework. Nathan let them work while he washed the dishes and took care of cleaning up. Once he'd finished Sarah and Allie were still working so Nathan made his way over to the bookcase and took a closer look at the titles. He found a book of poetry by T.S. Eliot and pulled it out taking a seat on the settee and began reading. Whether it had been the long day, or he'd eaten too much Nathan had soon fallen asleep. That's where Sarah found him. A random lock of his thick, black hair had fallen across his forehead and Sarah swept it back with her finger. Feeling something brush across his forehead Nathan opened his eyes and seeing Sarah's face above him thought maybe he was dreaming. He pulled Sarah closer to him and gently kissed her to make sure it was real. She smiled at him and whispered. "It's time to wake up Constable."

It was getting late so Nathan and Allie said their good nights and made their way back to their house walking arm in arm.

"Did Miss Crawford help you with your math sweet girl?" Nathan smiled at the memory of Sarah and Allie hunched over the table working together.

"She did, she's really smart. She explained it better than Mrs. Thornton does. She's a good cook too, don't you think?"

Nathan smiled at Allie's enthusiasm. "Yes, she's a very good cook. I'm glad she could help you with your homework."

"Dad, are you going to ask Miss Crawford to court you?" Nathan should have been surprised by Allie's question but he wasn't. She'd always been very intuitive. Nathan didn't want to say anything that would give Allie any expectations. She'd been hurt before by building up her hopes and he didn't want it to happen again.

"You know what Allie, We have only known each other a short time. Right now we're just enjoying spending time together. Don't worry, I won't do anything without talking to you first."

As they got closer to the row houses Nathan and Allie both noticed Lucas's car at Elizabeth's house.

Allie noticed it first. "I guess Mrs. Thornton is still seeing Mr. Bouchard. I haven't seen him stop by school in a long time. He used to bring her lunch a couple of times a week."

Nathan realized he didn't feel any of the pangs he used to when he Elizabeth and Lucas were together. It had taken a long time to get to that point. Nathan had always believed that you want your friends to be happy and if that meant Elizabeth and Lucas were together than that's how it should be.

As they got closer Elizabeth's door opened and Lucas stepped out. Nathan and Allie could see Lucas give Elizabeth a quick kiss on the cheek. He turned to leave and saw father and daughter walking by. "Good evening Nathan, Allie."

"Good evening Lucas, Elizabeth." Elizabeth was still standing in the doorway having seen Nathan and Allie walking toward the row of houses. As Nathan and Allie continued to walk toward their house Elizabeth followed them with her eyes. Lucas turned back to Elizabeth just in time to see her watching them walking down the road.

Lucas and Elizabeth had finally had dinner together. They agreed that they needed to talk about where they were going in their relationship. Both knew they cared about each other. Though they'd come from similar backgrounds, their lives now were very different. Elizabeth had school and Little Jack and Lucas had his businesses. Elizabeth believed in fighting for love but wasn't sure if Lucas did. For that matter, she wasn't sure what they had was love. When they parted that evening they decided to each take time to think about what they really wanted.

Nathan and Allie got home and Nathan told Allie she needed to get straight to bed as it was way past her bedtime. "And no reading tonight!" Nathan would often find Allie staying up late wanting to read "just one more chapter." He hoped tonight she was too tired.

Nathan made himself a cup of tea and thought about the evening. He thought about Allie's question. Nathan had no idea what an appropriate timeline was to start courting a woman. He had thought about it. He just didn't want to do anything too soon and scare off Sarah. They'd both been through difficult relationships and Nathan wanted to make sure that if and when they moved forward that it was with the intention of being together forever. Nathan found that the idea of a life with Sarah didn't scare him. Sometimes he had to rein in his imagination. One thing Nathan did know was that being with Sarah was like the sun coming out after years of cloud cover.