A/N OVER THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, I WILL BE GOING BACK TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS AND MAKING COSMETIC CHANGES FOR GRAMMAR, ETC. IF YOU GET ANY UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS FOR THEM, PLEASE JUST DISREGARD THEM.


"Nathan, what did you mean by that?" Gabe said, running to catch up to him. "What happened next?"

"I'm sorry, Gabe, but I can't say any more for now. I need to get home to Allie, and you have work to do." Nathan said with a smirk.

"I would never leave you hanging like this, Nathan," Gabe said in frustration.

"You have and would again if given an opportunity, Gabe." Nathan chuckled, walking towards the row houses. After a few steps, he turned to look back at his friend and smirked. "I must admit that being on this end feels pretty good, man. Have a good day at work." Nathan turned back and started walking again.

"Fine, but I'm going to remember this," Gabe said. Then with a smirk, he added, "Besides, Allie will tell me anyway when I see her."

Nathan laughed and said, "I know that she has spilled the beans in the past, Gabe, but she doesn't know either. Especially since it's Mountie business, and I can't speak of it? You should know that!"

Gabe just rolled his eyes at that. "Well, it has to be good since you're in such a good mood."

"Oh, it is, and I can't wait until you find out," Nathan replied as he kept walking towards home. He could hear Gabe's sigh of frustration as he headed toward the jail.

Nathan reached the rowhouses and looked at his watch. There was only one more hour before the train would arrive, bringing Elizabeth back to him. His heart began to race just thinking of being able to take her in his arms again. Of course, before he did that, they needed to talk about their courtship before Allie was told. He wanted Elizabeth to have the time when they announced it to anyone else. Even if the Inquiry wasn't creating the need, he never wanted her to feel pushed. He had walked into this rowhouse to see that Allie had gone to Opal's house. Before he could do anything else, she came running into the house, asking to spend the night with her.

"If Opal's mom says it is all right, I say yes too. I also wanted to let you know that Uncle Gabe is here watching over the town until after my Inquiry."

"Where is he?" Allie asked, excited at the prospect of seeing him.

"Well, he is working right now," Nathan told her. "Why don't you come home in the morning, and we will treat Uncle Gabe to breakfast."

"Okay, Uncle Nathan, I'll be home in time for breakfast," Allie said, hugging him before racing upstairs to pack some things. Before long, she came back downstairs carrying an overnight bag. After giving him another hug, she went off with Opal. Both girls were giggling as they shut the door behind them. He sat there for just a moment, reveling in her personality changes since they moved to Hope Valley. He had undergone some changes, too, and now he was in a relationship with a wonderful woman who genuinely cared for his niece. Things were certainly looking up for him and Allie. He was about to face an Inquiry where the man bringing it wanted his badge, yet he was at peace. A knock on the door revealed itself to be Abigail and Jack.

"Hey, Little Man, it's been too long since I saw you," Nathan said, smiling. Jack just smiled right back and began reaching for him. As he took him in his arms, he finally looked at Abigail, who stood there amused.

"Hello, Abigail," Nathan said a bit sheepishly.

"Hello, Nathan, may I come in?" she replied, chuckling. "Where's Allie?"

He had been absorbed with Jack, so he took a moment to reply. "Oh, she is having a sleepover with Opal tonight."

"Good, then that will make it easy for us to arrange a private dinner for you and Elizabeth," Abigail said.

"Wait, what?" Nathan asked. "But I thought we have to keep it a secret?"

"You will still have to. That's why we are going to arrange for a private dinner at her house. You walk over to Lee and Rosemary's, so it looks like you are visiting them. Then you slip out the kitchen door into Elizabeth's, no one wiser."

"I know where to turn if I need to strategize," Nathan said. "The Mounties could use someone like you."

Abigail chuckled. "Well, thank you for the confidence, but it was Elizabeth's idea."

"Elizabeth's? Is she home?" Nathan asked.

"No, but she will be in another half hour," Abigail said with a smile. "I've come to take you to Lee and Rosemary's. You'll stay hidden until she gets home, and then she will join you briefly for a private moment. Unfortunately, it will have to be brief because the focus will shift to the Inquiry."

"Sounds good, Abigail. Do you mind if I change really quick, though, and meet you there?" Nathan asked, handing Jack over to her.

"No, of course not," she replied. "Just meet me over there when you are ready." She couldn't stop smiling as she walked back towards Lee and Rosemary's house. Watching Nathan's reactions whenever he saw or spoke of Elizabeth was a joy. She was a good judge of character, and from what she had seen, her girl and the sweet little boy in Abigail's arms were in perfect hands. "I hope you feel the same way Jack," she whispered to herself. As if in response, a feeling of warmth and joy spread through her body in agreement.

Thankfully for Nathan, it wasn't long until Elizabeth slipped through the Coulter's back door alone. Nathan had been preoccupied and hadn't heard her come and was initially surprised when two arms embraced him from behind. He was momentarily startled until he smelled the familiar lavender fragrance that was so uniquely Elizabeth's.

"Elizabeth!" He said, quickly turning to see her amused glance looking back at him.

"You were expecting someone else?" she replied teasingly.

In reply, Nathan just captured her lips in his causing both of them to sigh. They exchanged kisses for a long moment reveling in finally being reunited again. Satisfied for the moment, they pulled away and just held each other in a tight embrace, hearts pounding. Finally, she stepped away, grabbed his hand

then led him over to the settee. "I can't tell you how good it is to be home again, Nathan."

"Well, I know how good it feels that you are finally home, so maybe I have an idea. I have missed you so much, Elizabeth." Nathan said, giving in to the urge to kiss her once more.

"I missed you too, Nathan." She said, taking the initiative this time. She pulled back after a moment and said, "I wish I could stay in your arms all day. Unfortunately, we don't have much time."

"You are right, and we do have things we need to discuss," Nathan said. At his words, her brow furrowed a bit. "It's not anything bad or something for you to worry about. I just wanted to talk to you about our courtship. I know we have to keep it a secret. Though how I will manage when all I want to do is kiss you is beyond me." Nathan said with a chuckle.

"But you want to know how I want to proceed?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes," Nathan said, "Everything just happened so fast, and you had to leave right after. As I told you, I want you to be the one guiding us. I don't ever want you to feel pressured in any way. I will wait as long as you need Elizabeth because you are worth it. But I have Allie, and when she sees us, she will know something is up. For that matter, all of the people closest to us will, I'm sure."

"If we tell Allie before, can she keep a secret?" Elizabeth said, "I wouldn't want to hide it from her if we didn't have to."

"I believe that she would since she knew it would be temporary. Gabe is usually the only one that can get anything out of her. Since he would already know there isn't an issue."

"Then I say that we let them in on our secret," Elizabeth said with a smile. Her mention of the secret reminded Nathan of something else he hadn't mentioned that he needed to tell her. "

"Elizabeth, there are some things about my father I need to tell you before we go any further," Nathan said nervously.

"What is it?" she replied. "Is it something that can wait until dinner?"

"The explanation can, but I need you to know that my father is in prison," Nathan said. He kept his eyes down, afraid to look at the look of contempt in her eyes.

Elizabeth looked over at the humble man before her, afraid of what she would think. She gently raised his chin until he looked at her again, and she could see his eyes glistening. "Look at me, Nathan," she said softly and waited for him to comply. "What your father did or didn't do is unimportant to me. His actions have no bearing on the man I know you to be. So please be assured that it doesn't change how I see you. If anything, it just makes you even more attractive to me." She kissed him quickly before gathering him to her for a moment before pulling back.

"Now, we had better get over to my house because there are some important people there waiting to speak with you," Elizabeth said as she stood up and held out her hand. With a smile, Nathan took it and followed Elizabeth to the rowhouse. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't Wynn and Henry Delaney sitting at the table.

"We were about to send a search party looking for Beth," her cousin Henry teased as he stood up.

"Constable Grant, it's nice to meet you," Wynn said. "I wish it could have been under better circumstances than an Inquiry. But don't worry because we will have this nonsense settled once and for all.

"I do, too, sir," Nathan said nervously. "I'm agreeable to your representing me as well on Monday."

"Excellent, I was hoping you would be. But we will get to that in a moment because some others have been waiting to meet you." Wynn said. "Beth, would you like to do the honors?"

"I would be happy to Uncle Wynn," Elizabeth said as she took hold of his hand and began leading him around.

"Nathan, this is my cousin Henry Delaney, his wife, Amber, and their son Danny."

"Nathan, it's good to see you again," Henry said.

"Same here, Henry!" Nathan said, smiling as he shook Henry's hand. "It's been quite a while since that tracking mission we had. Are you aware Gabe is in Hope Valley covering for me until after the Inquiry?"

"I had heard they were considering it but hadn't heard definitely. It will be good to catch up with the two of you while we are here."

"That sounds great, and I can't wait for Allie and Danny to meet,"

Elizabeth then led him over to another woman holding Jack. Of course, Jack, upon seeing Nathan, immediately held his arms out for him. Nathan just took him and cuddled him close, making faces and being rewarded by giggles that only he seemed to draw out. It didn't escape the Delaney's notice how Nathan's eyes softened when he looked at Elizabeth either. It was apparent to all of them that love was definitely in the air because Elizabeth had that same look while watching Nathan.

"Nathan, this is my Aunt Beth on my father's side. She is the reason I chose to become a teacher."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ma'am," Nathan said.

Elizabeth took a deep breath for courage before she said, "Everyone, this is Nathan Grant, the man I am courting." Nathan had been the only one shocked by that announcement. Not surprisingly, they all approached him and began congratulating him and Elizabeth.

"I know we have to keep it a secret for now; I just don't want there to be any amongst us. Uncle Wynn, how would you like Nathan to address you in private?

"Wynn and Beth will be fine, Nathan," he answered, indicating his wife as well. "May we call you Nathan?"

"That is fine with me, sir. I mean Wynn,"

"Now that all introductions are over, why don't we head into the living room while the others talk about the Inquiry?" Abigail said.

Elizabeth handed Jack over to Abigail so he could go down for his nap. It was no surprise that her aunt went upstairs with them.

"Actual Amber and Danny, why don't you come with me, and I'll give you a small tour around town if anyone asks you, my cousins, which would be true since Elizabeth is part of our family. I'm sure that you could use a good stretch of your legs after the train." Rosemary said.

"I sure could, and I know Danny is dying to get out and explore," Amber said.

"Well, later, I will introduce Danny to Allie, Cody, and some of my other students who live in the row houses," Elizabeth said.

So, Nathan, Bill, Elizabeth, Wynn, and Henry all sat at the table to discuss what would happen on Monday.

"I think it's best if I let General Thornton here do the briefing because it's her show," Wynn said with a wink.