Chapter 38

Nathan sat in his office on the last day of the year. He had several reports to finalize before the New Year. New Year's Eve had always made Nathan contemplative. He thought he would rather forget most of the past year. So many painful memories flooded his mind. The botched prisoner transfer, openly declaring his love to Elizabeth only to have her reject him, watching Elizabeth and Lucas dating and now courting all had left their mark on Nathan. Rather than dwell on those he chose to focus on the happy memories of the year. Adopting Allie, meeting Sarah and even having Archie with them had all helped erase the pain. Thinking of Sarah couldn't help but put a smile on Nathan's face. She had come into their lives so unexpectedly. It felt like a gift to be happy again and it made it the new year something to look forward to.

Nathan had finally convinced Archie to let Faith examine him and he was pained when he saw the scars on his father's body from the radiation treatments. Faith had reached out to Archie's doctors who confirmed he was in remission but also told her they'd recommended a six month recovery. Nathan knew his father shouldn't go back home based on what the doctors said. After several conversations with Archie and encouragement from Allie and Sarah, Archie agreed to stay for three months and then he would evaluate how his recovery was going. Allie was thrilled, Nathan was anxious and Sarah was hopeful that the time together would strengthen the relationship between father and son.

Needing some lunch Nathan headed to the café where he saw Rosemary and Lee leaving. They stopped briefly to say hello and that they would see him later this evening at their New Year's Eve party. Nathan was looking forward to the party which was unusual for him. He attributed that to Sarah. She was excited to celebrate her first New Year's in Hope Valley and in turn he was excited to celebrate with her.

Sarah was at home working on some ledgers for the store. She was pleased to see that the store's profits had increased since she'd taken over the management. The store was closed because of the holiday but year- end work still needed to be done. It was a good project to pass the time until tonight's party at Rosemary and Lee's. Sarah wasn't sure what she was looking forward to more, the party or spending the evening with Nathan. They'd both been busy this week and she knew that he'd been preoccupied with arrangements for Archie. In spite of their history Sarah knew Nathan would insist on taking in his father. In the short time Sarah had spent with Archie she found him quite charming and it was clear Allie loved him.

Nathan arrived at Sarah's at eight o'clock and waited patiently for her to finish getting ready. When she walked out to meet Nathan she delighted in his reaction. One look at Sarah and Nathan was speechless. Finally he rose and went to her gently kissing her. Nathan had always found Sarah beautiful but tonight she was a vision. Her dress had layers of blue chiffon Sarah had chosen because the color perfectly matched Nathan's eyes. The dress scooped in front and her sleeves looked like petals. The layers of the skirt floated around her. She wore her pearl necklace and the bracelet Nathan had given to her for Christmas. Her hair was pulled up in back with soft curls framing her face. "Sarah, I have never seen anything as beautiful in my life as you are standing here." Sarah blushed at Nathan's words and the look on his face. Sarah gathered her purse and Nathan helped her into her coat and they made their way to Rosemary and Lee's.

They stopped at Nathan's to pick up Archie who wanted to go to the party for a while to see everyone but didn't plan to stay long. They could hear the party when they were still a couple of houses away. Inside, Nathan took Sarah's coat for her and returned to her side. There were quite a few people already there. Lee and Rosemary, of course, were joined by the Yosts, the Flynns, Fiona and Mike, Bill and Molly, Faith, and Elizabeth were there but no Lucas. Nathan assumed he was likely needed at the Queen of Hearts tonight. Nathan and Sarah joined the group. Several of the guests couldn't help but notice how beautifully matched Nathan and Sarah were. Archie was welcomed by those he knew and introduced to those he didn't. Archie was a charmer and quickly had several people engaged in conversation. Sarah made her way to Rosemary to offer her help. Rosemary was dressed in a beautiful purple party dress that Sarah remembered seeing in the shop for Anna to tailor to accommodate her growing bump. Rosemary graciously accepted Sarah's help whispering to her "You and Nathan are such a beautiful couple." Rosemary's complement meant a lot to Sarah and she thanked her for her kind words as she helped with refreshments.

Nathan, typically the one happy to stand in the corner, was deep in conversation with Lee about the factory that was opening up in February. It had finally been announced that they were going to be manufacturing machine parts. Lee was worried about losing employees to the factory if he couldn't compete with them on pay. Nathan was worried about the increased population in Hope Valley and the potential problems that could cause. He'd had numerous meetings with his superiors in Union City about placing a second Mountie in Hope Valley. Nathan had been unsure of the idea but was now realizing the benefits it could bring. The new housing area had taken on the name Hope Meadows and was becoming quite a sprawling development. The amount of area that needed patrolling had grown substantially and rounds would take up the bulk of one Mountie's day. With two there was the ability to split it up and cover more area in a shorter amount of time.

Throughout his conversation with Lee, Nathan never let his eye wander too far from Sarah who was making her way through the crowd conversing with everyone. He saw her with Clara, Faith, and Fiona all of them talking and laughing together. Nathan was happy that Sarah had made a group of friends in Hope Valley. He knew that would be important during those times he was called away for days or weeks at a time on business. Sarah turned to see where Nathan was. She saw him watching her from across the room where he was talking to Lee. She could see the blue of his eyes even across the room and had a hard time pulling her eyes away from his but when she did she noticed Archie sitting over in the corner. Excusing herself she went over to check on him. Pulling up a stool next to him she sat down. "Archie, how are you doing? Is there anything I can get you?"

Archie took hold of Sarah's hand. "Thank you dear. I'm just a bit tired. I think it might be time for me to get home. This is a lot of excitement for an old man like me." Sarah scoffed at his description of himself but she knew he got frustrated at how quickly he tired. Sarah went to get Nathan who wanted to walk Archie home. He told Sarah to stay at the party and he would be back as soon as he could get Archie settled.

Nathan had gotten Archie home and was making his way back to the Coulter's. As he got closer he saw Elizabeth leaving her house also heading back to the party. "Elizabeth, is everything okay with Little Jack?"

Elizabeth was startled at the sound of Nathan's voice. "Oh yes, I'm just checking on him. He's sound asleep. Robert is staying with him."

"Where's Lucas this evening? Needed at the saloon?" Nathan thought it curious that he'd not even made an appearance at the party.

Elizabeth realized Nathan hadn't heard about her breakup with Lucas. "Lucas and I aren't together anymore."

Nathan frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that Elizabeth. I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision for you."

"It wasn't but I had to think of Little Jack and what was best for him." Elizabeth sounded sad but Nathan thought it wasn't only because of Lucas.

They reached the Coulter's front door and Nathan opened and held it for Elizabeth. Sarah noticed the two of them entering together. As confident as she was in her relationship with Nathan somehow a little seed of doubt planted itself. She shook it off as Nathan walked directly to her and put his arm around her waist and kissed her on the forehead. "Did you get Archie settled all right?

"Yes, he had tired himself out. I guess I need to keep better watch of him so he doesn't overdo it." Nathan said.

"Nathan you take excellent care of him. Don't doubt that." Said Sarah looking into Nathan's eyes trying to convince him.

Nathan's eyes softened and he leaned over and whispered in Sarah's ear "What did I ever do to deserve you?" the feel of his breath in her ear made her stomach flutter. Sarah wove her fingers through the hair just above Nathan's neck and bringing his ear to her lips whispered back "I love you Nathan Grant." Nathan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled trying to steady himself still caught off guard by the effect Sarah could have on him.

Rosemary and Lee witnessed the exchange between Nathan and Sarah and couldn't help but smile at each other remembering the early days of their relationship. Lee said to Rosemary "You know, I can't help but be happy for Nathan that he and Sarah have found each other. I've never seen a couple so well suited to each other, except for you and me." Rosemary looked at her sweet husband. "Why Lee Coulter, I do believe you're a romantic" and she leaned in and kissed him.

It was getting close to midnight and Nathan would have been happy to have left an hour ago but Sarah was enjoying the time with her friends and he didn't want to take her away from that. He and Bill talked Mountie business and Nathan told him that HQ wanted to bring another Mountie to Hope Valley before the factory opened in February. Bill thought it was probably not a bad idea given the growth and size of the town. "Listen Nathan as we continue to grow it would take you most of the day just to do your rounds and cover the distance. Hopefully they give you some input as to who they send."

Nathan confirmed they were going to bring him to Union City to participate in the interview process. That was scheduled for the second week of January. Nathan wasn't looking forward to being away but he knew it was unusual for them to include him in the process so he didn't want to say no.

Shortly thereafter Nathan heard Rosemary say it was close to midnight. Nathan went to find Sarah who had been talking with Elizabeth. They stood together as the countdown began. When Rosemary called out Happy New Year Nathan pulled Sarah close to him and, remembering they were surrounded by people, his plan was to give her a quick kiss but as soon as his lips touched hers he couldn't help himself. Breaking off the kiss he told her "I can't wait to spend the New Year with you." Sarah kissed him back and whispered to him "Can we go now?" Nathan laughed and told her he'd wanted to do that for an hour. They said their goodnights gathered their coats and made their way to Sarah's apartment.

Not ready for the evening to end, Sarah invited Nathan in for a cup of tea. Sitting at Sarah's table Nathan watched her as she put on a kettle. "I think you're a little overdressed to make tea. By the way, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Yes, Nathan, I think you may have mentioned it a time or two. And you look equally handsome." Sarah made her way to the table.

Waiting for the kettle to boil Sarah sat down next to Nathan to ask him how what he thought of the party. "Well, you know I'm not much for that kind of thing but, surprisingly, I had a good time. It was nice to talk with people I usually just see on the street in passing. What about you. Any interesting news in Hope Valley that I'm missing out on?"

"Fiona told me that she and Mike are dating. Faith and Carson are still a couple though it's been really hard with him in Boston. She's hoping to go visit in the spring. Bill and Molly are seeing each other but not courting. What did you learn this evening?"

Nathan laughed knowing Bill wasn't one to adhere to the rules of society. "All good information to know. Lee told me the new factory is going to be producing machine parts. I also ran into Elizabeth when I was coming back from taking Archie home. She told me she and Lucas are no longer seeing each other."

Sarah felt it again, that little seed of doubt. She had no idea where it was coming from and she didn't like the feeling. Nathan could see the difference in Sarah's eyes and he guessed what she was thinking. Taking her hand he said "Sarah, please do not doubt that it's you I love." Leaning over he kissed her completely in confirmation.

Sara retrieved the kettle and poured two cups of tea giving her racing heart time to settle. Placing the cup in front of Nathan she leaned over and said "I love you too" and she returned his kiss lingering just a moment longer to appreciate the softness of his lips. While finishing their tea they made plans to go for a ride the following day, just the two of them. Telling Sarah he would be by at noon, Nathan gave her a sweet kiss and made his way home his thoughts full of the coming year.