By Wednesday afternoon Sarah's mind was racing. She was only half way through the week and was feeling overwhelmed which was not something she was used to. Sarah had always taken pride in how she managed the peaks and valleys in her life. She considered herself to have an even disposition not ruffling when faced with challenges but she had to admit this week was testing her. She missed talking to Nathan who was a calming presence for her. She'd spent all day Tuesday with Dottie who revealed that she had decided to sell her Hope Valley store. Dottie was planning to retire soon and the stress of two stores was more than she wanted. She wanted to keep the store in Union City but wanted Sarah to come back and manage it. Sarah was at a loss. If she stayed in Hope Valley it was likely that she could lose her job. If she moved back to Union City she wasn't sure what would happen to her relationship with Nathan. It was one thing to be separated for a few days or even a week, but maintaining a long distance relationship could prove much more difficult. Talking on the phone was nothing compared to being together.
Sarah tried to put aside her concerns as she was having dinner with Allie and Archie and she wanted tonight to be an opportunity for the three of them to relax and enjoy each other's company. She'd made Allie's favorite pot pie and an apple crumble for dessert. Sarah left to pick up Allie at school and walk home with her so she could spend some extra time with Archie. Sarah arrived at school just as the bell rang. She stood watching Elizabeth saying good bye as students made their way out of the building. Elizabeth turned and saw Sarah standing there waiting for Allie. Elizabeth smiled faintly at Sarah who returned the gesture. Elizabeth had told Sarah she hoped they could be friends but Sarah was wondering if that could ever really be a possibility given the history between her and Nathan and the little seed of doubt that sometimes nagged at Sarah in spite of what Nathan told her. She was lost in thought when Allie approached her and gave her a quick hug. As they walked to the Grant home Allie asked Sarah the question she had expected. "Who was that man asking you to dinner the other day?"
"He was someone I knew in Buxton. He used to come to my father's bookstore." Sarah wasn't lying but she was trying to keep it as simple as possible. She was hoping that by the time Nathan got home, Tom would be gone and the whole thing would fade away. Allie seemed satisfied at Sarah's explanation of Tom and she hoped it was enough to take Allie's mind off the subject.
The three of them had dinner together and Archie regaled them with stories about Colleen and Nathan when they were children. "They were thick as thieves and could be so good but in a turn they would get into so much trouble together." Archie had Allie and Sarah laughing throughout dinner as he shared the antics of his two children. Allie was trying to imagine her dad getting into the kind of trouble Archie described given how serious he was about following rules. The evening was a good break from her week and Sarah knew the only thing missing was Nathan. Archie seemed to be getting stronger. He told Sarah he'd been getting a lot of rest and Allie was doing a great job of keeping him fed.
Nathan lay in bed at his hotel. It was after midnight but he couldn't get his mind off his conversation with Sarah from Monday. He hadn't had a chance to call home since then and was concerned about what Allie had said to him. He was frustrated because he knew he was still stuck in Union City for another few days. Who was the man Allie was talking about? Sarah said he was someone she knew in Buxton. Sarah had told Nathan about her father and mother and about being engaged but not much else about her life in Buxton which made Nathan all the more curious as to who this man was. He was going to do everything he could to call home tomorrow. He missed his girls and wanted to hear their voices.
Sarah entered Rosemary's office early. She had been passing on her usual morning stop at Abigail's not wanting to risk seeing Tom at the café. "Good morning Rosemary. I was wondering if you have a moment to talk, as a friend."
Rosemary waved her in and told her of course she could. "Sarah, I want you to know you can always seek me out as a friend. Just because I publish the newspaper doesn't mean every conversation is a potential story."
Sarah smiled at Rosemary hoping she hadn't insulted her. She told Rosemary about Dottie's plan to sell the store and have her return to Union City to manage the store there. The look on Rosemary's face did not show as much surprise as Sarah expected. What did surprise Rosemary was that Dottie didn't think twice about having Sarah pick up and move back to Union City. She supposed Dottie was far enough removed from Hope Valley that she wasn't aware of Sarah's relationship with Nathan or how connected she'd become to the community in the time she'd been here. "Oh Sarah, that is a difficult position Dottie is putting you in. Did she say how soon she wants you to move back?"
Sarah shook her head. "No, she wants me to stay until this store sells but she's not sure how long that may take. I asked her if anyone has shown interest but she said she hasn't received any worthwhile offers yet." Sarah was hoping it would take a good long while to give her enough time to come up with some options for what she was going to do. Rosemary explained to Sarah that Dottie had tried selling the store once before but had been unsuccessful.
"Have you talked to Nathan about this? I'm sure he doesn't want you moving back to Union City. None of us would. You're part of our community now. I'm sure there's a solution. You know when Fiona lost her job with the phone company she stayed in Hope Valley and look at her now! She's the mayor and is very successful with the barbershop and working with Gowen Petroleum. It can be done and you have a lot of friends here who will support you no matter what." Rosemary gave Sarah an encouraging squeeze of her hand that made tears well up in Sarah's eyes.
"Thank you Rosemary. I am so thankful to have ended up in Hope Valley and to have made the friends I have. I've never experienced anything like it." The two women shared a smile. Rosemary knew as well as anyone what a special place Hope Valley was.
The phone rang at Dottie's and Sarah answered it quickly praying it was Nathan. All she wanted was to hear his soothing voice. "Dottie's Dress Shop" Sarah held her breath for a moment waiting for the voice on the other end of the line.
"Sarah? It's Nathan." Sarah's heart skipped she was so happy to hear his voice and told him so. "How are you?"
"I'm better now that I hear your voice. How is everything in Union City?" Sarah was trying to keep her voice upbeat. Nathan was so intuitive and Sarah knew he would be listening for anything in her voice that contradicted what she was saying. She didn't want to say anything to him about Dottie's until he got home since there was nothing he could do from where he was and he had to focus on his work. There would be plenty of time to discuss it when he was back in Hope Valley.
Sarah heard the bell ring and looked out front to see Allie coming through the front door. Sarah called her in and handed her the phone so she could talk to her dad. Sarah could hear the one sided conversation. "Hi Dad, when are you coming home? Okay. Miss Sarah made us dinner last night and Grandpa told us all kinds of stories about you and my mom when you were little. Okay. Yes, everything is fine. I love you too." Sarah tried to fill in what Nathan was saying on the other end. Allie waved her in and handed the phone back to her. Smiling and rolling her eyes at the same time Allie said to Sarah "I think dad wants to tell you he loves you."
Sarah thanked Allie and took the phone. "Nathan? When do you think you'll be home?" Nathan told her thought they would be done on Friday so he should be home early Saturday afternoon. "I look forward to seeing you."
"You have no idea how much I look forward to seeing you Sarah. I want to spend some time with Allie and Archie when I get home on Saturday so I thought I would take them fishing." Nathan knew Sarah had to work on Saturday. "I was hoping you would have dinner with me at the café Saturday evening."
"I would love that. I'm already looking forward to it." They said their goodbyes and Sarah hung up feeling more positive than she had all week knowing that in a couple of days she would be back in Nathan's warm, safe embrace.
Friday morning Sarah decided she was not going to let the possibility of running into Tom keep her from stopping at the café for her breakfast. Letting Tom Hastings keep her from her usual routine just proved to him he still had an effect on her and that was the last thing she wanted. Sitting at her usual table she greeted Minnie and ordered her coffee and muffin. Not five minutes after she sat down Tom walked in followed by Lucas Bouchard. Sarah watched them sit down together at a table not far from hers. Both of them nodded in her direction setting her on edge. Fortunately Minnie came by shortly after and brought her coffee and food to her. "Sarah isn't that the man who was sitting with you earlier this week?"
Sarah worried someone had seen her sitting with Tom and Minnie just confirmed it. "Yes, he's someone I knew when I lived in Buxton. I didn't realize he knew Lucas."
"They've been in here almost every day this week. Maybe he's staying at the Queen of Hearts and met Lucas there. Your friend works at the factory doesn't he?" Minnie asked.
"He's not my friend" Sarah shot back immediately regretting the tone she used. "I'm sorry Minnie, I didn't mean to be harsh. Mr. Hastings is someone I knew in Buxton but I don't consider him a friend. His law firm handles the legal work for the factory and he's here while they hire workers."
Minnie placed her hand on Sarah's arm. "You don't need to apologize to me Sarah. I'm actually glad to hear he isn't a friend. He's not the most pleasant person. Maybe that's why it's no surprise he's spending time with Lucas." Sweet Minnie who never had a harsh word for anyone sounded like she didn't find Tom Hastings very likeable. She didn't seem too fond of Lucas either.
Watching Tom and Lucas together gave Sarah a pit in her stomach. She didn't trust either one of them. She tried to busy herself with some reading she had with her but couldn't help trying to overhear their conversation. The noise in the café didn't help and she finally gave up. Tom got up to leave and as he walked by Sarah's table he stopped briefly and remarked "It looks like I may be spending more time in Hope Valley than I expected. Maybe we'll get to have that dinner yet."
Sarah's heart sank. The last think she wanted was to see Tom Hastings on a regular basis. Lucas left a few minutes after Tom did. He, too, stopped by Sarah's table. "Well Miss Crawford, it must be nice to have a friend from home here in Hope Valley." Sarah couldn't help but notice the smug look on Lucas's face. The man made her uncomfortable. To Sarah he was a smooth talker who liked to keep people on edge as a way to control them. The best thing for her to do was avoid Tom and Lucas as much as possible.