Sarah was making last minute preparations for the trip to Brookfield for Gabe and Lillian's wedding. She was wearing the dress she wore for New Year's Eve and Allie was wearing the dress Sarah had given her for Christmas. She had ordered a new suit for Nathan in a deep grey with flecks of blue that she knew would highlight his eyes. They were leaving Friday afternoon with Rosemary and Lee and would arrive in time for a dinner Gabe's parents were hosting. Sarah knew Nathan would be busy with his best man duties so she looked forward to extra time with Allie.
Sarah was going over some last minute things for the store with Clara and Anna when she heard the honking of Lee's car out front. Nathan came into the store to grab Sarah's suitcase and help Sarah into the car. Clara and Anna waved them off. The ride to Brookfield was full of conversation about the baby, Gabe and Lillian's wedding and Nathan and Sarah's wedding plans. Rosemary wanted to know if they'd set a date yet. Nathan told her they were holding off until they had a better idea of when the house would be done. Lee had ordered the materials and they were due to arrive the following week.
When they arrived at the Brookfield Inn the atmosphere was festive since all the wedding guests were milling about in the lobby. As soon as they walked in they started meeting people. Gabe's parents had met Nathan when the two were training together so they were excited to see him again and meet Allie and Sarah. Nathan introduced Lee and Rosemary as well. Nathan was getting them checked in and had reserved a room for Sarah and one for him and Allie to share. Sarah suggested that she and Allie stay together since they weren't sure what Nathan's best man schedule was going to be. Allie gave Nathan an expectant look hoping he would agree. "Are you sure?" Looking at Sarah he cocked his head to the side and said "You know she snores don't you?"
Allie jabbed her elbow into Nathan's arm. "Stop it dad, I do not. If anyone does it's you." Allie pretended to be irritated with Nathan's teasing but the truth is she loved fun dad and Nathan was like that a lot now.
Once they were settled Nathan went to check on the groom and see how he was holding up." I'll meet you at the dinner okay?" Sarah, Allie, Rosemary and Lee took advantage of the time to walk around Brookfield. It was a quaint little town not unlike Hope Valley but definitely more of a ranching community. As they were making their way back to the Inn Rosemary spotted Lillian and Grace and called to get their attention. The three exchanged hugs and greetings. The smiles on their faces told Sarah that they had a close friendship. Both ladies mentioned how wonderful Rosemary looked and asked how she was feeling.
"Oh, I feel wonderful now. I was sick the first few months but right now I'm enjoying more energy than I had the first few months. Lillian and Grace, I want you to meet our very dear friend Sarah Crawford and Nathan's daughter Allie. Sarah and Nathan recently got engaged and will be getting married in June." Rosemary was happy to introduce her friends to each other.
The dinner was a private affair with the wedding party and close friends. Sarah listened as toasts to the couple were made. Nathan's toast to his good friend included some funny stories from their Mountie training as well as some of their recent work together. Nathan spoke of how he thought of Gabe as the brother he never had and how thankful he was for his friendship. Lillian's sister Grace told the story of how Lillian searched for her and fought to reunite them after so many years apart and now, not only did she have her sister back, she had a new brother too. Between Nathan and Grace's toasts there wasn't a dry eye in the room.
The wedding the following day was a beautiful affair. Lillian was lovely in her silk gown that had been her mother's and Gabe so handsome in his dress uniform. Sarah had a hard time focusing on the bride and groom. Her attention was focused on Nathan standing up at the altar. Every once in a while he would glance in her direction and give her the smile that made her feel loved and secure. She imagined their wedding day still several months away. Sarah realized that, while the wedding would be a wonderful affair, what she really looked forward to was being married to Nathan and spending her life with him and Allie. She thought about getting to start and end every day in Nathan's arms. Looking to her right she saw Allie and put her arm around her shoulders pulling her close to her. She wondered what it will be like to be a mother to this sweet girl who was just on the verge of transitioning from young girl to young woman. Sarah hadn't had her mother with her when she experienced that stage of life and she was thankful she could be there for Allie.
The dancing started after dinner and Nathan and Sarah spent most of the evening in each other's arms on the dance floor. "This is my excuse to hold you close even with all these people around." Nathan whispered into Sarah's ear. The other guests couldn't help but notice what an elegant couple they made as Nathan expertly led Sarah around the dance floor. Sarah told him all she could think about during the service was their upcoming wedding. "That's a coincidence; I was thinking the same thing. I wish it were sooner." The dancing continued and Nathan shared a few of his dances with Allie who was feeling quite grown up in her blue velvet dress.
Following the reception Allie said good night to her dad and made her way to the room on her own giving Sarah and her dad a few minutes together. "It was a beautiful evening Nathan. Gabe and Lillian make a beautiful couple." Nathan wrapped Sarah in his arms agreeing with her and telling her they should start to think about their own wedding and do some planning. "Nathan, as much as I look forward to marrying you in front of our friends and family, what I look forward to most is our marriage and spending our days and nights together. I look forward to not having to say goodbye to you at the end of the day and I can't wait to wake up every day and face life with you by my side. I look forward to raising our family together.
"I look forward to that too and it will be here before we know it." Nathan leaned down to kiss Sarah softly. Walking her to her room he gave her one final kiss promising to see her in the morning.
Sarah found Allie already in bed but still awake. "Miss Sarah, I'm glad you came with us this weekend. I can't wait for yours and dad's wedding. What should I call you after you marry dad? Sarah hadn't thought about it much so asked Allie what she was comfortable calling her. Allie contemplated the decision and finally told Sarah that she had always called Colleen mommy. She wanted to keep that name special between her and Colleen. I thought just Mom might be good. Sarah gave Allie a kiss on the forehead and told her that sounded perfect to her.
They arrived back in Hope Valley early Sunday afternoon and as much as Sarah would have loved to spend the rest of the day with Nathan, Allie and Archie she had work to do for the shop. Lee dropped her off at her apartment and drove the rest of them back to the row houses.
Archie was happy to see Nathan and Allie and Allie talked his ear off with all the details of the wedding before going upstairs to do her homework for school the following day. Nathan told Archie he was glad he didn't have any troubles while they were gone. "I'm feeling good son. I went to church this morning and several people asked where you were. I saw Mrs. Thornton. She didn't look good Nathan. I know you two were friends but it seems that's not the case anymore."
Nathan didn't really want to go into it all with Archie so gave him an abbreviated version of the events. "Dad, there was a time that I thought Elizabeth and I could have a relationship but she didn't want that. Then Sarah came into our lives and I fell in love with her. Now Elizabeth is regretting her decision not to be with me but sadly, for her, it's too late."
Archie nodded his head in understanding. "Matters of the heart are difficult to navigate but I know how happy you are with Sarah. I see it in your eyes every time you look at her. I know she loves Allie too. I don't think you could have picked a better person to be Allie's mother."
Over at the Coulter's Lee and Rosemary were appreciating that they had the rest of the afternoon to relax after the whirlwind weekend. A knock on the door interrupted their peace and quiet. Rosemary answered the door and saw Elizabeth standing there with Little Jack. "Elizabeth, is everything okay?"
Elizabeth stood on the doorstep waiting to be invited in but Rosemary didn't offer. "I was just hoping we could talk. It's been so long since we've caught up with each other." Rosemary told her they would need to go to her house since Lee was resting and she didn't want to disturb him. Elizabeth looked hesitant but agreed. They walked the short distance to Elizabeth's and on entry Rosemary saw why. Elizabeth's usually tidy house was in disarray. Dishes were in the sink and Jack's toys were scattered all over the house instead of gathered in his play area and Rosemary could see a layer of dust on every surface.
"Elizabeth, something isn't right." Elizabeth looked around the house and knew what Rosemary was talking about. She had let things go. Since her conversation with Nathan at his office Elizabeth couldn't find the energy to do anything other than school work and taking care of Jack and even that took every ounce of energy. Elizabeth had debated telling Rosemary about her conversation with Nathan. She knew Rosemary would have strong feelings about it and she wasn't sure she wanted to hear them. Rosemary had told her many weeks ago that she needed to let go of Nathan but she hadn't.
Taking a deep breath Elizabeth started. "Rosemary, after I heard about Nathan and Sarah's engagement I went to his office and told him that I'd been wrong all those months ago and that I really was in love with him." Elizabeth saw the look of shock on Rosemary's face at that news. "He made it very clear that it was too late and that his heart is with Sarah. I'm trying to process it all and it's been overwhelming."
Rosemary knew her friend needed help but she knew she couldn't provide it given her growing friendship with Sarah and Nathan. "Elizabeth, I know this is painful for you but I can't help you. Sarah and Nathan are my friends and I can't be objective anymore but I can see you need help from someone. Have you thought about talking to Joseph?" Joseph had stopped by the previous week and Elizabeth had told him she was fine. She was finally realizing she was far from fine.
Elizabeth asked Rosemary if she would stay with Jack for a short time while she went to the Canfields. Knocking on their door Elizabeth could hear footsteps rushing to the door. Cooper answered and looked curiously wondering why his teacher was at the door. Joseph came up behind Cooper and Elizabeth asked if she could have a few minutes of his time. Joseph didn't look surprised to see her. He knew she would eventually be ready for some help. Gathering his coat, hat and gloves Joseph stepped outside with Elizabeth.
"What can I help you with Elizabeth?" He knew what was bothering her but wanted to hear it from Elizabeth.
"Joseph, I'm trying to move past some very big mistakes I've made in my life that have not only hurt me but hurt several other people as well." Elizabeth found that just admitting it out loud was a start. She decided to just lay it all out in the open for Joseph. "Last year Nathan told me he loved me and I rejected him. Then I turned to Lucas thinking he would be the safe choice for me but that was the wrong decision and I broke things off with him. After I heard about Nathan and Sarah's engagement I went to Nathan to confess that I'd been wrong all those months ago and that I was in love with him. When I think about it now I realize how selfish it was for me to do that. He's happy with Sarah and I'm trying to figure out how to reconcile that in my heart and live with my mistakes."
Joseph let Elizabeth talk. When she was finally finished he said "I understand how hard it must be to come to your realization about Nathan and knowing it's too late for you. It took you a long time to realize you love him and you can't expect that feeling to go away quickly. Have patience with yourself. Quite a while ago I preached about forgiveness being as much for the forgiver as it is for the forgiven. In this case you are both. You need to forgive yourself for your mistakes and accept that forgiveness. Moving on takes time and you may have to forgive yourself over and over before you start feeling forgiven."
Elizabeth took Joseph's words to heart and making her way home she had new resolve and determination to get her life in order.