Chapter 59
Sarah drove to Nathan's Saturday night so they could walk together to the Coulter's for dinner. She had to admit she was appreciating the car, not because she didn't like walking, but it was a faster way to get back and forth. She had driven it through town earlier in the week and Lucas happened to be walking down the street and saw her. She waved at him before noticing the surprised look on his face. Most of the people in town had seen her driving by now but since Lucas hadn't been out in public very much he hadn't yet seen it for himself.
Sarah knocked on the door before letting herself into the Grant's house. She found Allie and Archie deep into a game of checkers. Allie had a stack of Archie's checkers while Archie only had a couple of Allie's. She knew they played almost every night and Allie was now the one in the family to beat. Sarah had attempted a few games with her but Allie quickly became bored at being able to beat her so easily. Sarah was teaching Allie backgammon which was her preferred game. Allie had picked up on the game quickly and they could spend hours playing together. "You look so pretty tonight Miss Sarah."
"Yes, she does, doesn't she?" Nathan chimed in as he came down the stairs dressed in his dark blue pants with a blue checked shirt. Sarah loved it when Nathan wore blue. It intensified the color of his eyes which were already mesmerizing but even more so tonight. He approached her and gave her a quick kiss. His cologne was intoxicating and she pulled him close nuzzling his neck to take in the scent. Smiling down at her he lifted her chin with his finger and held her gaze before giving her a tender kiss.
"Okay you two" Allie rolled her eyes at them. "Why don't you get going so Grandpa and I can finish our game." Nathan laughed and gave Allie a kiss on the top of her head and told her to make sure she went to bed on time. "Yes, dad. Have fun and say hi to Mr. and Mrs. Coulter for me."
Nathan and Sarah walked to Rosemary and Lee's and as they got closer they saw Elizabeth on her front porch watching Little Jack playing in front of the house. As soon as he saw Nathan he ran toward him calling his name 'Nafan, Nafan'. Nathan was mindful of Sarah and her lingering feelings toward Elizabeth so rather than picking up Little Jack as he had in the past, he bent down to Jack's level to say hello to him. Sarah surprised him by also coming down to Jack's level to say hello. Sarah had only been around the toddler a few times so she was caught off guard when Little Jack smiled at her and lifted his chubby little hand to touch her cheek. Sarah took his hand and kissed his palm. Little Jack threw himself into Sarah's arms and Nathan had to grab her to keep her from falling over. Sarah laughed which, in turn, got Jack to start giggling. Nathan could see how natural she was with him and even though he was Elizabeth's son she didn't let that keep her from sharing this moment with him. They finally stood and said hello to Elizabeth commenting how big Jack was getting. They made their way up Rosemary and Lee's stairs and waiting for them to answer the door Nathan whispered in Sarah's ear "Are you okay?" Sarah looked into his eyes and saw the love in his eyes. She reached out and touched his cheek telling him that as long as he was by her side she would be fine.
Elizabeth had watched Little Jack run to Nathan. She remembered a time when he would pick him up and swing him in the air to elicit boundless giggles from her son. Today he bent down to talk to him but didn't pick him up. She was surprised when Sarah did the same thing but even more so when she saw Little Jack touch her cheek. Watching Sarah's interaction with him and Jack's spontaneous hug warmed her heart. Sarah had been distant from her since the baby shower. Elizabeth thought they were starting to form a friendship but any progress in that direction seemed to be halted that day. The angry and accusatory interaction she'd had with Nathan after the shower was still a mystery but Elizabeth knew something must have triggered it because it wasn't in Nathan's nature to treat anyone that way without reason. She just didn't know what it was. She'd put the picture in Little Jack's room out of sight as he'd asked. She wondered if Nathan had told Sarah about it. Nathan was the most honest person she knew but it still didn't make sense for him to tell her something that could only hurt her. Elizabeth asked Rosemary if she knew what had Nathan so upset and the only response she got from her was that he was worried about Sarah. She didn't expand on the explanation and seeing them tonight it brought the exchange all back in her mind. Elizabeth thought she might stop by the dress shop next week and see if Sarah would talk to her. She knew they would never be close friends but as Allie's mother she would be seeing her at school and thought they should try to be on good terms with each other.
Inside the Coulter's the smell of roast chicken filled the room. It was good to be in the company of friends and the gathering didn't lack conversation. Sarah told them that she and Nathan had taken dinner to Clara and Jesse on Wednesday and met baby Isaac. Sarah remembered how it felt to hold him. She had never held such a tiny baby and she was in awe of every sound and expression he made. Nathan looked more experienced holding him and she smiled remembering how he looked in his red serge holding such a tiny bundle.
Rosemary took Sarah upstairs to show her the nursery. She marveled at every detail Rosemary had put into the room. The walls had been papered in yellow wallpaper that had bluebirds which appeared to fly from branch to branch around the room. Curtains that matched the wallpaper were hung over the window. The crib was very grand made from oak with round spindles and big arches at either end. Hand tied quilts in pastel colors were draped across the side of the crib waiting to keep the new baby warm. A beautiful rocker that matched the crib sat in the corner with a foot stool ready to rock a fussy baby to sleep. The dresser was full of tiny baby things and had room on top to change the baby when needed. The many gifts received at the baby shower had each found a home on the bookcase that sat on one wall. Stuffed bears and bunnies were lined up and waiting to be played with along with rows of books waiting to be read. Rosemary confided in Sarah that she put everything into the room for this baby should it be the only one they were blessed with. Sarah didn't know what to say to Rosemary so she just embraced her friend and told her the room was perfect.
Downstairs Lee and Nathan had been talking about Lee's impending fatherhood. Having seen the kind of father Nathan was to Allie Lee looked to Nathan for advice. Nathan reminded him that he hadn't gotten Allie until she was four so he had little experience with the baby stage but he did remember visiting Colleen when Allie was a baby and would cry for hours at a time. Nathan told Lee there will be times when it feels like no matter what you do it's the wrong thing. Nathan thought of Allie now that she was getting older and knew he was going to experience that more frequently but was thankful that Sarah would be there for him to lean on.
"Nathan, I have a big favor to ask and I know the timing isn't the best since you're trying to finish the house and getting ready for the wedding but I told Rosemary I would make a cradle for the baby. I used to help my grandfather in his woodshop and we would build things but it's been years and I haven't built anything on my own. I know you are an incredibly talented wood worker and I was wondering if you would you be willing to help me."
Nathan put his hand on Lee's shoulder. "Lee, say no more. I'm happy to help. The things I need to make for the house can wait but a place for your baby to sleep cannot." Nathan told Lee to come over to his house after church the following day. "We can draw it up and figure out what we need. Between the two of us it shouldn't take that long."
Lee was so relieved and thanked Nathan. "I owe you one." Nathan thought he could probably think of a thing or two Lee might be able to do in return.
The women came downstairs and saw their men in deep conversation. Both of them were happy to see Lee and Nathan's friendship growing. Lee had been lonely for a long time after Jack died and Rosemary knew there weren't many people he let into his life. He and Nathan had a strong mutual respect for each other and found they had a lot in common. Lee told Rosemary and Sarah to sit down while he and Nathan served them dinner. The conversation was lively and covered everything from Lucas re-opening the saloon to the plan for the county to take over supervision of Hope Valley's school. The saloon had opened the night before to a large crowd of people who had missed their place to blow off steam at the end of the week. Both Steven and Nathan spent the evening in red serge making sure things didn't get out of control. Other than a couple of fights over poker games it was relatively tame. Tonight Steven was there on his own though Nathan planned to stop by later. Regarding the school, Rosemary said her sources told her that construction was to start immediately after the last day of school. She told Nathan that parents should be getting letters soon outlining changes and inviting them to a meeting with the superintendent. Nathan thought the changes would have to be extensive but he also knew they were necessary to handle the influx of children they'd seen in the last year. Allie told him that they could barely fit all the kids in the single room they had now and teacher instruction was getting more difficult. He was thankful that Allie was a bright student who didn't need much guidance from Elizabeth but he knew that wasn't the case for everyone.
The conversation worked itself to the wedding. Nathan cleared his throat and raised his glass with the others following along. "I just want to say thank you to Rosemary who, so many months ago, asked me to go meet the new manager at Dottie's. If it weren't for you I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to meet this beautiful woman sitting next to me."
Rosemary had an amused look on her face. "Nathan, that's very sweet but you do realize I planned it don't you? I knew from the moment I met Sarah that you and she would make a good match. I also knew if I asked you to go introduce yourself to her you would say yes and, I know, you always do what you say you're going to do." Nathan and Sarah looked at each other in surprise that neither of them had ever considered Rosemary's role in their meeting.
Nathan raised his glass again. "Then I really do owe you my thanks."
Rosemary asked Sarah if she'd thought about having a bachelorette party. Nathan shuddered remembering the awkwardness of the game played at Florence's party when Elizabeth chose his hands instead of Lucas's. He was relieved to hear Sarah's answer.
"Honestly, Rosemary, I would rather do something simple like a bridal tea rather than a party. I hope that's okay. "
"Sarah, it's your celebration, we will do whatever you want us to do. Florence and Molly offered to organize it since I'll be a bit busy with this little one." Rosemary patted her ever increasing belly. "Besides, if we did a bachelorette party the men would end up joining us anyway since their parties are so boring." Rosemary laughed.
Lee tried to protest but finally he admitted she was right. "Nathan, should we see if we can throw you a better bachelor party than we did for Jesse and Ned?"
Nathan knew those parties held at the saloon all too well. "Like Sarah, I prefer to keep things simple. Maybe we just do dinner with a few friends rather than anything at the saloon. I'm not much of a card player anyway."
Lee told Nathan to leave it up to him and he would figure something out. After dessert the evening started to wind down and it was obvious Rosemary was getting tired. Nathan and Sarah thanked them for the wonderful evening and left debating whether Nathan would walk or drive Sarah home. Sarah preferred walking since it gave them more time together. When they got to her apartment she invited him in but he needed to stop by the saloon so they said their goodbyes at the door. "Nathan, seeing Clara and Jesse this week and being with Lee and Rosemary tonight, does it ever make you think about…" Sarah wasn't quite sure she should say the words.
"Does it ever make me think about us having a baby?" Nathan finished her sentence. "Yes, I think about it a lot. And I know we haven't talked about when we want to have children but I'm ready whenever God blesses us with them." Nathan began lightly kissing Sarah's neck as she turned it toward him loving the tickling feel of his lips on her skin. He could feel her shiver under his touch and he took her in his arms loving how easily they fit together. Nathan took Sarah's hands in his and kissed them. "Darling Sarah, I do find myself thinking more and more about our life together. It cannot come soon enough for me and these final weeks are going to be the longest ever." Sarah couldn't agree with him more. With a final kiss he turned and made his way to the saloon.
The Queen of Hearts was even busier than it had been the night before. Word that the saloon had reopened must have made it around town because it was standing room only. Nathan spotted Steven over by the dart board talking to Fiona and Faith. Being in his street clothes Nathan was able to come up behind him without being seen. "Are you working or socializing?" Nathan tried to sound serious but Steven knew he wasn't. Nathan said hello to Fiona and Faith before asking "How's everything tonight? It's a lot busier than last night." Steven told him that so far there had been no issues. Nathan had to admit it was good to see the saloon back in business. He knew there were a lot of people who liked having some place to socialize on the weekends. He went over to the bar and found Lucas with his sleeves rolled up and pouring drinks. "I just wanted to let you know I stopped by. Steven said things seem to be under control so I'm going to head home."
"Thanks Nathan, we've got some ground to make up but it's been good for the first weekend. How's the car working for you?"
Nathan told him it was good but that Sarah was driving it more than he was. Lucas told him he had seen her driving in town. Nathan readily admitted to Lucas that she was a much better driver than he was. Lucas laughed and told him he admired that Nathan would admit it. Nathan told him he'd learned long ago to put his ego aside when it came to his relationship with Sarah. Lucas caught the hidden meaning in Nathan's words and thought it might not be bad advice.