The Grants were at the train station to see the Campbells and Noah off on their trip East. Despite the Thatchers meeting their train in Hamilton, Jed was insistent that he accompany his only child on her first train trip. He had made arrangements with neighbors to take care of his farm and animals for the next couple of weeks. Though excited to finally be able to finish her schooling, Laura was thankful for her father's presence as she ventured away from the region she had grown up in for the first time. The fact that she and Noah would be in the same city while away helped settle her nerves as well.
Elizabeth hugged her former pupil and wished her the best. Laura promised to write as she let go of Elizabeth. Laura gave Jack a long hug. The little boy did not want her to leave. Laura promised to write him a letter and reminded him that they would see each other in Hamilton before she returned to Hope Valley before Christmas. The Grants had planned to arrive in Hamilton a couple of weeks before Christmas meaning Laura would still be in school for part of their stay.
Though Nathan still shared constable duties with Gabriel, he was also trying to spend more regular hours in the wood shop. His sample pieces had already generated interest and while Nathan was honest about the delay in transitioning to doing the work full time, he took the orders with the understanding that the delivery date would need to be flexible. It gave him confidence that he would be able to make the new business venture work just as soon a Gabriel returned from his honeymoon.
Elizabeth did make the intended visit to Ellen Weise. The two chatted about what the home schooling would entail. Instead of being comforted by the information, Elizabeth noticed Ellen looked more worried. When Ellen asked Elizabeth if she would consider teaching Opal as well as Ally, while she herself just assisted and helped with Jack during the day, Elizabeth could not refuse. As much as Opal and Ally were together these days, it was almost like the two were sisters anyway. The two women made plans, deciding to meet on Tuesday and Thursday at the Weise's so that some house hold chores could get done at both houses while the girls were doing their studies. Materials were sent away for and it was decided that they would start the home schooling after the Grants came home from Brookfield for Gabriel and Faith's wedding.
As September began, the soon to be bride and groom left for Brookfield to make sure everything was in place. That meant that Nathan was the only Mountie on duty in Hope Valley. Thankfully, the Amaryllis didn't seem to generate the same trouble the saloon had. There were a few fights over at the small poker house that had opened near the railroad station but by the time Nathan got there, things had usually blown over.
Nathan was typing up a report one afternoon when the phone rang. Reaching out, he picked the ear piece up, hoping that the person on the other end would not have information that would delay him going home on time.
"Constable Grant. How may I help you?"
"I was trying to reach a Nathan Grant," a confused voice on the end of the line commented.
"This is Nathan Grant," he clarified. "May I ask who is calling?"
"My name is Charles Mansfield. I run a furniture store in Hamilton. William Thatcher has done some shipping for me and he mentioned his son-in-law was starting up a wood working business and was quite talented. Apparently, I have some information mixed up somewhere."
"No, sir. The only mix up is that I have delayed my detachment from the Mounties to cover leave for the Mountie who is taking over my position. I am not sure if my father-in-law was aware of that change of plans."
"A delay of how long?" Charles asked.
"At this point about three weeks," Nathan told him.
"Well, then perhaps you might still be able to fulfill my requests. Your father-in-law spoke quite highly of your work, Constable Grant. He suggested that I may want to carry some of your pieces in my store here for potential buyers in Hamilton and the surrounding area. As I understand it, he has offered to help you out with shipping costs if his company is used which in turn will help me out. However, before I make any business arrangements with you, I have a personal arrangement I would like to run by you."
"I'm listening," Nathan said, feeling like he was back at school and about to be quizzed.
"My wife's project this year has been redecorating the house. Change doesn't bother me, so if it keeps her happy I am fine with it. However, when we got to the dinning room, she has looked through every piece at my shop and several others in the city and cannot find anything that suits. She'll like aspects of this one and something else about another piece. William's youngest daughter, Julie, even indulged her by sketching a table and chair design using what she liked from others when my wife and I had dinner with the Thatchers. That was when William mentioned your work and suggested I see if you could make a custom piece."
"When would you need these by?"
"Well, I was hoping to surprise her with the dinning room set for our thirtieth wedding anniversary which is on October 20th. I have convinced her to leave the old table and chairs in the dinning room for now and move on to another room. I am hoping she will stay occupied with other ventures and I can keep this a secret from her until then."
Nathan had Charles describe a bit of what he was looking for. The large table and eight chairs would be a big project but once Gabriel got back from his honeymoon, he would be able to devote a good chunk of his time to it. When Charles mentioned the price, he was willing to pay, Nathan knew he could not turn down the project. He even tried to lower the price, thinking it was too much.
"I assure you Nathan that is what most of the wood workers I currently buy from would ask for a custom piece. If your work is as good as your father-in-law boasts then I will get getting my money's worth. Perhaps you could do one of the chairs first and send it ahead of everything else so I can see your work first hand and then we can talk regular business."
"I can do that, sir," Nathan replied.
"I'll send Julie's drawings to you by courier to work from," Charles continued. "Even if some of the chairs need to arrive after the anniversary, I would be all right with that. The table and a few of the chairs would be enough to reveal as the gift."
"I will try to have everything done for the anniversary but that is good to know. I will get started on the project as soon as I have the sketches."
"They will be on their way tomorrow," Charles promised. Should he be out of town when the courier arrived, Nathan instructed that the sketches be left with his father.
Nathan hung up the telephone feeling anxious to get home. He wanted to share the news with Elizabeth. He was sure his wife would be happy for him, even if it meant extra hours in the wood shop. A city like Hamilton held more potential customers then he could find locally, though right now, locally seemed to be generating some business as well.
"Sam, it is beautiful," Faith said, gazing at the gazebo the man had built in the yard of the orphanage.
The little structure stood with the trees behind it. A bench seat circled the perimeter except for the entry way, which formed an arch. A heart had been carved out of the wood above the arch. Lillian had added cushions and pillows to the bench to make the seating more comfortable.
Sam let out the breath he had been holding. "I know you had asked for an arbor, but Lillian has wanted a gazebo to sit in and watch the sunsets, so I was hoping that using it for the ceremony would be satisfactory," he told them, his arm around his wife's waist as they stood next to Faith and Gabriel. "We can set the chairs up so we can form an aisle going to the gazebo for you to walk down. The two of you and Joseph will have plenty of room in the gazebo and the attendants can stay on the ground in front. I still have time to put together and an arbor if you prefer."
Faith looked over at her finace. The look in Gabriel's eyes told her that he just wanted her to be happy. Glancing back at the gazebo, Faith knew she could be happy with the new vision.
"There is no need for you to go to the trouble. The gazebo will work just fine," Faith told him. "Actually, I think I might like this better."
"And should I suddenly find I can't breathe because of my nerves, I will have a place to sit," Gabriel chimed in lightly, eliciting laughter from the other three.
"It will not be nerves that cause you not to breathe," Lillian commented.
"No, but he might forget to breathe when he sees his bride," Sam interjected, looking at Lillian with a soft expression. "I know I sure did."
Lillian blushed and looked to Faith. "Serval women have offered you the use of whatever you want from the flowers still in bloom in their gardens. I thought we could go visiting today, and decide what we need for bouquets and decorations. Once we know what we need, Chuck and Sam will go gather the flowers early Saturday morning so the flowers will be as fresh as possible for the noon wedding."
Gabriel and Faith had chosen to get married at noon and have a meal following it. Ronnie was going to drive them to Clearwater that evening so they could spend Saturday night there and leave on a Sunday morning train for the east.
"I can lend a hand with that as well," Gabriel said, directing the words to Sam.
"I thought you said you would help Eleanor and Minnie with the food as everyone knows I am a disaster in the kitchen," Faith said.
"I can do both," Gabriel told her. "Because once I gather the flowers, you do not want me anywhere near them. Just ask my sister Tory."
"What did you do?" Faith asked.
"Well, nothing on purpose but I was asked to help with putting the flower decorations up and some of those flowers looked a little worse for wear. Tory started crying until I told her that no one was going to remember the crumpled flowers once they saw what a vision she was in her dress."
"Always the charmer, huh," Lillian commented lightly, though she had her arm wrapped lovingly around Sam.
"Charm can go a long way," Gabriel countered. "Though apparently so can threatening to go to one's superior officer," he teased, referring to the time Lillian had talked Constable Anderson in to letting her look through the missing people posters by asking his superior if her request was reasonable.
"At least it avoided the two of you arguing," Lillian said, her smile still in place. "Sometimes you need to do what you need to do," she said laughing. Her expression grew more serious as she continued to speak. "So, are you ready to go look at flowers so we can plan the decorations?" she asked looking to Faith.
Faith nodded before looking to Gabriel. "What are you going to be doing?"
"Sam and I are going to use our wagon and pick up the rest of the extra chairs that ranchers are willing to lend for the event," Gabriel told her. "There may be some that still need a few minor repairs, so we want to give ourselves enough time."
"Good," Faith said. "I was so worried that doing an outdoor event might mean telling people to bring your own chair."
Sam laughed. "No need of that. The offer of making minor repairs to the chairs for free makes even the stingiest of our ranchers generous." Sam looked to Lillian. "Grace is picking the children up from school, right?"
Lillian nodded. "She is. The girls are going to help Eleanor with dinner tonight so everything around here is covered."
The two couples exchanged kisses good-bye and headed for their separate wagons.
On Thursday morning, Nathan packed the wagon with the things they needed to take with them. He had packed what he could ahead of time and now just needed to load the wagon. The tent that he and Ally had used would be a tight fit with the four of them. He had thought about asking to borrow a second tent but as it was for one night there and one night back, Elizabeth had assured him that a cramped tent would be fine.
"I usually end up sleeping in your arms anyway," Elizabeth had told him softly.
Nathan had smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "That you do," he had murmured softly. If Jack had not been looking up at them from the block he was playing with, Nathan would have taken her in his arms if she had allowed it.
"Food is all packed," Elizabeth announced coming out of the house and interrupting his memory. Along with the canned and jarred food that Nathan had already loaded in the wagon, Elizabeth was carrying a picnic basket and a basket. Beside her, Ally carried another picnic basket.
"It is just an overnight trip, Elizabeth," Nathan commented.
Elizabeth shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared in case something delays us."
Nathan nodded in consent as he accepted the baskets from Elizabeth and Ally and packed them near the front of the wagon where he had left room for the children to sit.
"Where is Jack?" Nathan asked.
"He said he wanted to say another good-bye to Nate," Ally said.
"I'll go get him," Nathan said.
Nate had been moved to a pen in the barn that morning. Nathan figured this was a good time to show Jack that Nate would be fine staying in the barn. Archie was going to come out and keep an eye on the place while they were gone. He would stay at the house when he wasn't working at the Amaryllis for the weekend and had promised his grandson he would take good care of Nate.
Reaching the barn, Nathan called out. "Jack, we are ready to go."
The call got no reply. Walking into the barn, Nathan saw no sign of Jack. A glance at the duckling's pen that would keep him safe from wandering too close to the horses, showed that Nate was not in sight either. Jack had not wanted to leave Nate behind in the first place. The little boy had been even more adamant about not leaving Nate out in the barn while they were gone. Nathan had a feeling that Jack was trying to hide with Nate.
"Jack, if you are in here, come out," Nathan called, even as he started searching the barn. "We are ready to go. Nate is not coming with us for the wedding."
There was no reply. Nathan continued to search. There were plenty of places for a little boy to hide in the barn. While he searched, he continued to call out for Jack. Elizabeth and Ally came to see what was taking so long.
"Jack has the duckling and is hiding somewhere," Nathan replied. He knew there was frustration in his voice at this point. He tried to remind himself that the boy was only four years old. Getting angry with him would not accomplish anything. Giving Jack's recent trauma, it would probably only scare him more. "You two go search the yard. I will finish in here."
Elizabeth and Ally left the barn. After satisfying himself that Jack was no longer in the barn, he even climbed the ladder to the loft to be sure Jack had not climbed up though he had been told not to, Nathan left the barn.
"I found him," Ally called out. "He climbed under the porch."
Nathan sighed in relief. At least the boy had been located. Long strides took him quickly back to the house. Elizabeth was trying to coax Jack out. The space under the porch was not big enough for any of the rest of them to be able to crawl under after the boy.
"Jack, it is time to go," Nathan called out firmly. "Come out so I can put Nate back in his pen."
"I do not want to leave him. He might get scared," came the reply.
"Nate will be fine. Your Grandpa is going to keep an eye on him."
"But Nate will miss me," Jack countered. "Please let me take him."
"Jack, I do not think the hotel will allow a duckling to stay in the room," Elizabeth tried patiently, trying to deflect some of the blame of Nate not being able to go from Nathan.
"I can sleep in the tent with him."
"You are too young to be outside alone and your mother and I are going to be sleeping in the hotel in Brookfield. Therefore, you are too."
"Nate is younger than me. He shouldn't be left alone either."
Nathan felt his temper slipping. He looked up at the sky and noticed the sun creeping higher above the horizon. There was no time to argue with a young boy's logic. They needed to be on their way. Though, even if he could climb under the porch, he knew that dragging the boy out from under the porch was not the route to go.
"Ally, go get Nate's crate," Nathan instructed looking to his daughter.
Ally nodded and hurried inside.
"Jack, come out from under the porch. We will take Nate this time, but this is the only trip that duckling is going on," Nathan said firmly.
There was no reply but they did hear movement under the porch. Elizabeth moved close to him.
"Please do not spank him. I know he needs to be disciplined for disobedience, but don't spank him, please."
Nathan could hear the fear in Elizabeth's voice. Her words were not a simple request but a plea. Nathan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Looking into her tear filled eyes, he spoke
"I do not believe in spanking a child as discipline," Nathan assured her. "I will be having a long talk with him about obedience this evening and depending on how that goes, we will figure out the appropriate punishment."
Elizabeth nodded as Jack crawled from under the porch.
"Nate and I are ready," the dusty little boy announced, a smile of triumph on his face.
"Hand me the duckling," Nathan instructed, his voice firm but even.
Jack's smile faded as he held out the duckling. "You said you would take him," he said, voice trembling, clearly thinking Nathan was going to leave the duckling after all.
Nathan took the duck. "I do not go back on my word," he told Jack in the same firm even tone as Ally came out of the house.
Elizabeth had taken Jack by the hand and was dusting the dirt from his clothes.
Nathan placed Nate in the crate, and took it from Ally. "Get the food we left for your Grandfather to use and fill the water dish, please Ally."
"Yes sir," Ally replied, retrieving the dish from the crate and heading back into the house.
Nathan placed the crate up near the front of the wagon. He then turned to pick up Jack to put the boy in the wagon. The boy was stiff in his arms but did not protest. "Nate stays in his crate for now, Jack," Nathan instructed.
"Yes, sir," Jack answered meekly, sitting down next to the crate.
Ally came back with the items she had been sent in for. Nathan was happy to see she had thought enough to only fill the water dish half way. It would give the duckling some water but make it less likely the water would slosh over the side from the movement of the wagon. Placing the water dish in the crate, Nathan stroked the duckling's feathers briefly before taking out one of the towels in the crate. He draped the towel over the crate. Though it did not completely cover the crate, it would provide some shade for the duckling.
Ally had climbed into the back of the wagon, a straw hat on her head. She placed Jack's straw hat on the boy's head as she settled next to him. The second books that Nathan had bought them in Benson Hills had been presented that morning and were in the wagon. Ally picked up Jack's book, clearly ready to try distracting the boy who now was upset rather than triumphant. Nathan thought the change in demeanor was a good sign.
Nathan helped Elizabeth up onto the wagon seat, her own hat protecting her from the sun. He then made sure the house was secure before climbing up next to Elizabeth. Though the morning had started out with excitement for their trip away, everyone was quiet. Only Ally's voice was heard as she read the book to Jack.
Nathan headed the wagon in the direction of town. He needed to let his father know that they had the duckling with him. He did not want the older gentleman searching for the duckling thinking it had wandered off.
They were about halfway into town when Nathan felt a tug on his shirt sleeve. Turning to look back, he saw that Jack was standing at the front of the wagon box looking up at him. Ally had grabbed hold of the boy's suspenders in case he should lose his balance.
"I am sorry, Nathan. Do not hate me, please," his voice trembling as tears sparkled in his eyes. His hat was sitting on the wagon bed next to Ally.
Nathan handed the reigns to Elizabeth. Reaching back, he picked the boy up and settled him on his lap.
"I could never hate you, Jack," Nathan told him. "I am not happy with the behavior you displayed this morning but I still love you. I will always love you."
"I love you too," Jack said, tears now running slowly down his face.
Nathan reached out and wiped a few away. "Do you understand what you did wrong today, Jack?"
"You said Nate was to stay. I should have obeyed you. I was bad because I took Nate and hid."
"That is right. I do not make up rules just to be mean. I have my reasons for the choices I make. Nate would have been just fine with your Grandpa looking after him. I know you would have missed him but now he is just going to make this trip more difficult. When I tell you something, I expect you to obey me, Jack, even if you do not agree with me. It is your mother and my responsibility to take care of you and keep you safe. It is your responsibility to obey us until you are old enough to have learned to make more responsible and informed decisions. It is all a part of learning. If you do not learn that as a child, then you are going to make bad choices as an adult that will have worse consequences. Does that make sense?"
"I think so," Jack said, reaching up and wiping more tears away. "I know I made a bad choice today."
Nathan nodded. "You did. You chose to defy me. Do you feel good about that?"
Jack shook his head.
"Bad choices lead us to feeling bad or getting hurt, so you need to learn to make good choices."
"How do I do that?"
"By listening to the adults in your life and by learning from the bad choices that we make."
"Have you made bad choices?"
"I have. We all do. Some more than others."
"Lucas made a lot of bad choices. Hurting people is not nice."
"You are right. Hurting people is wrong. That is why Lucas is in jail right now. When you are an adult and make really bad choices, the consequence is jail. That is why you need to learn right and wrong now Jack."
"I will try harder," Jack told him.
Nathan hugged the boy close to him. "Good," he told Jack.
"We can take Nate back if you want," Jack said, his arms now around Nathan as he pressed close against him.
"That will not be necessary," Nathan said, pressing a kiss to his head. "But this is the only trip Nate takes with us. Also, after I get the tent set up tonight, you will have a ten minute time out alone in the tent as punishment for disobeying me."
"Yes, sir," Jack replied. He was quiet for a few minutes before looking up at Nathan. "Are we still roasting marshmallows on the fire tonight?"
"Yes," Nathan told him. "We will still roast marshmallows tonight."
"Good. I wouldn't want Ally mad at me because I ruined that for her," Jack said, snuggling against Nathan again.
Nathan held the boy close, knowing the little boy needed comfort right now. He glanced over at Elizabeth. There was a look of relief and pride on her face. Nathan had a feeling it was due to both his and Jack's actions. Leaning over, Elizabeth pressed a kiss to Nathan's cheek.
"You are a good father," Elizabeth told him. "Thank you."
As he did whenever anyone praised his parenting skills, Nathan felt a sense of validation. More than anything, he had always feared making the same mistakes his father had in raising him and his sister. That fear had factored into him choosing a career as Mountie. He had figured he could use the job as a valid reason he did not want a wife and kids. Then Ally had come into his life, and he found out how much he had been missing. Though he still feared making mistakes, he would not give Ally up for anything.
Looking down at the boy in his lap, Nathan knew he would not want to give Jack up either.
