Though he had doubled checked the list he had made with Ally, at the mercantile, Bill found himself going through it again. He wanted to make sure he had everything with him tonight. Christmas was two days away, and getting Nathan away from Ally these next couple of days might prove difficult. With the adults of Hope Valley occupying Nathan for an hour or two, Bill had no illusions that Nathan would stay much longer than that especially when he was the center of attention, this was the perfect time for Ally to make her Christmas gift for her dad.
"Here are some fabric scraps and ribbon," Abigail said coming down the steps. Minnie glanced over from her spot at the stove where she was finishing a couple of dishes to go over to the Queen of Hearts for the potluck dinner tonight. "What are you up to, Bill?" she asked as she handed over the material.
Bill added it to the box. "Helping a girl put together a Christmas gift for her father," Bill replied as the door opened and Robert and Cody hurried in.
"Here are some pictures from Dr. Shepherd, Judge Avery," Cody announced coming over and handing him an envelope.
Behind Cody, Robert held up another envelope. "Dr. Shepherd had asked Miss Miller if she had some photos of Nathan and Ally and she did. They are in there."
"Great," Bill said, taking each of the envelopes from the boys. "I appreciate your help and so does Ally."
"You're welcome, Judge Avery," the boys replied in unison before hurrying upstairs.
Abigail glanced in the box as Bill added the envelopes. "What is she making?"
Bill glanced around. Though Nathan had said he was heading home a half hour ago, Bill still was not taking any chances that he was not in town for some reason.
"A scrapbook," Bill told her. "Ally got the idea when she came across a wooden box filled with photos Nathan had collected over the years. She said they went through them together and then Nathan commented that maybe someday he would get around to doing something with them before putting them back on the shelf in his wardrobe. Ally had been planning out her gift before the accident and now because of the accident, she needs some help to pull it off."
"And you are her conspirator," Abigail said with a smile. "Judge Avery, gruff on the outside and a heart of putty on the inside."
"If you try to convince anybody else of it, I will deny it to my last breath," Bill informed her. "Do you ladies need anything taken over to the Queen of Hearts before I leave?"
Abigail looked around. Clara and Jesse had both taken armfuls of things over when they had left to get started. The crate, with the two quilts that the ladies had pieced together, was sitting on the settee.
"Could you take the quilts over?" Abigail asked him. "Then I can help Minnie with the food when it is ready."
"Which should be in about fifteen minutes," Minnie replied.
"I would be happy, too," Bill told her. "Should Nathan happen in-"
"I will make sure he does not look in your box," Abigail finished for him.
"Thank you," Bill replied.
Picking up the crate, Bill headed for the door. Abigail held it open for him as he headed outside. As he was approaching the Queen of Hearts, the door opened. Seeing the red serge, Bill briefly thought that Nathan had discovered their plans, but soon realized the serge belonged to Constable Mackenzie. Spotting Bill, the Mountie held the door open for him.
"I thought you were Nathan for a moment," Bill admitted.
Mackenzie shook his head. "Constable Grant is at home. I kept an eye on him as he walked out to the row houses, as Mrs. Flynn was worried he might come back into town and ruin the surprise."
"Honestly, I am surprised Nathan is not suspicious and poking around already."
"Well, he has a lot on his mind already."
"That he does," Bill agreed.
"I promised Constable Grant I would make another set of rounds before calling it a night," Mackenzie said. "Did you want me to help you keep an eye on the niece tonight? I could keep watch outside," he suggested.
Bill shook his head. "I will be fine with Ally tonight. I am more concerned about something happening in town. Parks will not try something unless he has some kind of advantage. He will not have that if he tries to break into the house."
"You know the situation better than me," Mackenzie consented. "I will do rounds and then come back here."
"Stay alert," Bill told him.
Mackenzie nodded as Bill finally went through the door the Mountie was holding. Inside the Queen of Hearts, Clara and the others had rearranged the layout of the room. Though Lucas had already decorated the saloon for Christmas, the women were adding to the festive mood with their own touches.
Finding Clara, Bill asked her where she wanted the quilts. After placing them where she indicated and being told they had everything under control, Bill went back to retrieve his box from the café. At the café, he found that Abigail had found a towel to cover the top of the box with, hiding its contents. Conveying his thanks, Bill headed out to the Grants' home.
It was Nathan who greeted him at the door. Nathan invited Bill in and immediately asked what was in the box.
"That is between me and Ally," Bill replied, holding the box away from Nathan.
Nathan looked at his daughter who was sitting in the wheelchair. She was still working on building up strength, but she had been sitting in the wheelchair a little more each day.
"I guess if you are going to have secrets from me, at least they are with a judge," Nathan commented lightly.
"It is a surprise for you for Christmas," Ally told him. "That is all I am going to tell you."
"Fair enough," Nathan replied.
Bill took the box over to the table and placed it there. When he turned back he noticed that Nathan had a far away look on his face. Bill glanced at Ally, whose expression was a mixture of perplexion and concern.
"Nathan?" Bill said, trying to gain the man's attention.
"Huh?" Nathan asked, looking over at Bill.
"Are you okay?" Bill asked.
"Yes," Nathan replied. "Just thinking about something."
"Something you want to talk about?" Bill offered. Though he never tried to force Nathan into talking, he had discovered that Nathan would share more if the offer was made than if it wasn't. This time however, Nathan shook his head.
"No," Nathan told him simply.
Bill left it at that for now. Instead he made small talk with Ally and Nathan until there was another knock on the door. Nathan went to answer it to find Lee at the door.
"Are you ready?" Lee asked.
"He is!" Ally answered for Nathan, causing both Lee and Bill to chuckle.
"I think someone is eager to get rid of me," Nathan commented.
"Well, I cannot work on your gift unless you leave," Ally said.
"All right," Nathan said, grabbing his coat from the rack. Putting it on, he headed over to Ally. With the coat on but not buttoned yet, Nathan leaned over and placed a kiss on Ally's cheek. "Will a couple of hours give you enough time for your project?" he asked, straightening up and starting to button his coat.
"It should be," Ally said. "Can you knock on the door before entering tonight though? Just to give me warning if I am not done."
Nathan smiled. "I can do that," he assured her.
"We'll be fine," Bill assured Nathan as he walked toward where Lee was waiting by the front door. "Try to enjoy yourself tonight."
"I will try," Nathan told him.
Nathan and Lee left the house. Bill stood at the front door watching the two head for Lee's car. However, it was not only two figures he saw. A hazy, third figure walked behind Nathan. The figure wore red serge, and as Nathan got into the car, the Mountie turned to look at him. Bill saw the face of Jack Thornton looking back at him. Bill blinked, and it was only Nathan and Lee he saw in the automobile.
Only when Lee had started driving off did Bill turn and head back inside, perplexed by what he saw. Or perhaps he hadn't seen anything. Perhaps the stress of the last week was getting to him.
Deciding he was not going to dwell on it, Bill addressed Ally. "So, where are these pictures that you wanted to go through?"
"They are in a wooden box at the bottom of Dad's wardrobe," Ally replied.
Bill walked over to the wheelchair and lifted Ally from it. "Let's go find them so we can get started," he told her, heading toward the stairs with her. He wanted Ally with him to show him exactly which box he needed so he was not looking through Nathan's bedroom blindly. Bill had a feeling they would need to make the most of their time, as he doubted Nathan would last even two hours after he discovered the surprise waiting for him.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Nathan watched the building of there little town approach. Though he had not shared what had distracted him with Bill, because Ally had been nearby, Nathan now opened up to Lee.
"I forgot to get Ally another Christmas gift with everything going on," Nathan confessed. "I had ordered her a charm for her bracelet before her accident and then with everything going on, getting anything else totally slipped my mind. I did not even realize it until Ned tracked me down with the package containing the charm."
"Well, given everything the two of you have been through this past week and a half, I do not think you should be too hard on yourself," Lee commented.
"I hate the idea of there being only one little gift under the tree for Ally after everything she has missed out on this holiday," Nathan said. "Though if I can find a way to pull it off and the weather cooperates she will not have to miss out on our traditional Christmas Day fishing trip."
"Well, I can help out with the present under the tree," Lee told him. Taking one hand off the wheel, Lee pointed his thumb to the back seat. "Rosie thought that dress would look pretty on Ally and wanted her to have it. I was going to give it to you for her when I dropped you off. Rosie said she will make any alterations that it needs."
Nathan glanced at the wrapped, package in the back seat. "Thank you, though you two did not have to do that."
"Like a lot of people in the community, Rosie wanted to do something for the both of you. She figured making Ally smile was one of the best presents she could give you this Christmas."
Nathan blinked, trying to clear the threatening tears from his eyes.
"She is right about that," he managed to get out, his voice rough with the emotion he was trying to keep in check.
"All Ally really needs this Christmas is to be with you and know that you love her, and you do that every day," Lee told his friend. "Now, what can I do to help you with this fishing trip?"
"I would need help on Christmas Day. I couldn't take you away from Rosemary on Christmas."
"You are not asking. I am volunteering. Rosemary will not mind," Lee assured him. "What do you need?"
"I really just need someone to stay with Ally so I can take our fishing gear and a chair for her out to the river Christmas morning," Nathan told him.
"I can be at your house at nine," Lee told him. "Will that work?"
Nathan nodded. "Thank you, Lee."
"You are welcome," Lee told him.
"The town looks kind of empty," Nathan commented, looking around as Lee pulled up in front of the Queen of Hearts.
"Guess people are trying to stay out of the cold," Lee commented.
Nathan could tell his friend was trying to be casual about the comment. It told Nathan that something more than just him and Lee having dinner was going on.
"This isn't just dinner, is it?" Nathan asked, as Lee turned off the vehicle.
"Do you always have to be so suspicious?" Lee asked, getting out of the car. Lee took a few steps and then stopped when Nathan did not get out of the car.
Lee motioned to him to come on. Nathan hesitated. All his instincts told him that something was going on. The idea of getting out of the car and starting to walk back to his house crossed his mind. Except that then he would ruin Ally's evening to make his gift. Resigned to whatever awaited him inside, Nathan got out of the car and walked toward Lee.
"Rosemary is not spending the evening with Elizabeth, is she?"
"She is," Lee said, draping an arm across Nathan's shoulders. "I just never said what they were doing," he said, his other hand grasping Nathan's forearm.
Nathan got the feeling that Lee thought he might flee if he let go. Not that he blamed his friend. Fleeing really did not sound like that bad an idea. However, Nathan calmly let Lee lead him toward the Queen of Hearts.
Reaching the building, Lee let go of his forearm though he did not remove the arm from across his shoulders. Lee opened the door. With a hand on Nathan's back, he urged his friend through the door. With the same trepidation he had felt walking into Bill's office on the day of his inquiry, Nathan walked forward.
Nathan was greeted by a chorus of 'Merry Christmas'. The saloon was filled with the citizens of Hope Valley. Nathan thought that just about everyone, with the exception of Bill and Ally, were gathered. He even saw Lucas behind the bar. Constable Mackenzie was nearby. A banner, saying 'Merry Christmas Nathan and Ally' was hung across the second floor banister. Nathan could tell the children had been responsible for it, which made it all the more special. A table of food was spread out on one side of the room and a table of gifts were on the other.
Scanning the crowd, Nathan took in all the faces of the people he served. Part of him wanted to flee the attention, but he stayed where he was. He remembered first coming to Hope Valley and the wary glances he had gotten from many of these same people. The last few years had changed that, and this display was a testament to that. He was no longer just the replacement Mountie. He was a part of this community. A friend and neighbor, as well as their Constable.
Nathan noted that Elizabeth was standing with Rosemary. Little Jack was in her arms and Laura was nearby.
"Aren't you going to say something, Mountie Nathan?"
Nathan looked down to see that Opal had approached him. His daughter's best friend was looking up at him expectantly.
"Well, if you all are expecting a speech you are going to disappointed," Nathan told them. A soft ripple of laughter spread through the crowd. "However, I will say thank you. I am very grateful. Merry Christmas, everybody."
A cheer broke out among those gathered. Opal threw her arms around his waist in a hug. Nathan hugged the girl back as Lee whispered in his ear.
"You may have just realized you have been too preoccupied to concentrate on Christmas but your friends and neighbors already knew," Lee told him.
Nathan nodded as he let go of Opal. Immediately someone else was in front of him. Those gathered took the opportunity to speak to him individually. The ladies gave him hugs while he shook hands with the men. Even Elizabeth gave him a quick one-armed hug before taking a step back. As Jack reached his arms out toward him, Nathan took the boy in his arms.
"Merry 'mas, Nathan," the little boy said, resting his head on Nathan's shoulder.
"Merry Christmas, Jack," Nathan told the boy.
"I was going to leave Jack at home but he heard your name and insisted 'see Nathan'," Elizabeth told him.
"I am going to get Jack and myself a plate of food and then take him home," Laura said.
Nathan opened his mouth to say it wasn't a good idea, but as if she knew what he was thinking, Elizabeth spoke up.
"Constable Mackenzie is going to walk Laura and Jack home and then take some food to Ally and Bill," Elizabeth told him.
Nathan nodded, a feeling of relief washing over him.
"Merry Christmas, Constable Grant," Laura told him reaching out for Jack. The little boy went to his nanny without protest.
"Merry Christmas, Laura," Nathan replied.
Elizabeth took a step back and Rosemary stepped forward to give him a hug. Nathan figured he was going to receive more hugs this evening than he had during his entire stay in Hope Valley so far. He actually found that he did not mind it as much as he thought he would, though he knew that as soon as he gave Ally her allotted time of him being away, he was going to be plenty eager to find a way to slip away.