When Calls the Heart doesn't belong to me
A Twist Of Fate
Inspector Nathan Grant looked through the messages that his secretary had left on his desk. Although it had been three years since he'd accepted the post as an Inspector with the Mounties and moved from Hope Valley to Union City, he still couldn't get used to the idea of having a proper office and even a secretary.
Almost overnight he'd gone from being just a constable depending on Newton to get him from place to place. Now he had a car of his own as well as several department vehicles that he could use at will. Allie was in good school and she had even decided that she wanted to be an architect. His daughter, thinking of going to university to become an architect. It was almost too much to bear.
So much had changed.
Still, he was only human and sometimes he wondered what would have happened if Elizabeth had chosen him and not Lucas and if the Inspector position hadn't suddenly opened up and Allie convinced him that they both needed a change. He had wondered even as he'd watched Elizabeth and Lucas holding hands and kissing if he'd be able to handle living so close to what he'd hoped to have for himself but he had been determined to bear it for Allie. In fact he hadn't told her about the Inspector position but as usual Allie had found and she wouldn't have been his daughter if hadn't confronted him about it immediately. She had called for a family meeting (which was ridiculous considering that it was only the two of them) and told him that she was ready for a change; that they were ready for a change and another phase of their lives.
He had been a bit concerned because Allie had been so angry with Elizabeth for choosing Lucas over him but somehow, and he was really grateful to God for this, she had finally seen sense and stopped ignoring her teacher and even started enjoying school again. Still, he had been glad when he didn't have to convince Allie to leave Hope Valley and in fact she had been the one doing the convincing. The fact that the North Western Mounted Police had even had a constable ready to step up and take his place had made his decision even easier.
He looked through the messages and was pleasantly surprised to see that Bill Avery had called him. He was about the only person he still kept in touch with from Hope Valley.
"Sir," Nathan's secretary Jill told him, "There's a Bill Avery from Hope Valley on the line for you."
"Thanks." Nathan said and then picked up the call. "Bill, how are you?"
"I've been better."
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked. "What has happened?"
"It's Victoria," Bill said.
Nathan sat up straight. "What happened? Isn't she what…just about eighteen months old?"
Bill nodded and then remembered that Nathan couldn't see him. "She is, anyway long story short. A new family moved to Hope Valley about a year ago, the Simms, Henry, Barbara and their daughter Margaret. Margaret is seventeen or eighteen and was working at the Queen of Hearts. Elizabeth left little Tori in her care and the girl took her, the last we heard was that they'd taken the train to Union City."
Nathan stood up. "How long ago was this?"
"She took the 2:12 train, so they'll be arriving soon."
"Can you describe this Margaret girl?" Nathan asked, and listened as Bill described her as medium height and build with strawberry blonde and brown eyes, wearing a bright blue dress.
"How is Elizabeth?" Nathan asked knowing that she was probably out of her mind with worry.
"She wanted to get on the next train and even tried to follow the train in the car but ii convinced her to let me take care of it."
"I'm on my way to the station," Nathan said. "Tell Elizabeth that I'll do everything in my power to get her daughter back to her."
Two hours later Nathan, Allie and little Tori were driving to Hope Valley to take the child back to her parents. Nathan and the officers he had gone with to the station had easily located Margaret Simms, it turned out that the girl had left a boyfriend back in San Francisco where the Simms were originally from and she lied to him that she was pregnant with his child, although how she expected to convince him that an eighteen month-old child was just a few months old was anyone's guess. She had been arrested for kidnapping and child endangerment although Elizabeth and Lucas had decided not to press any charges against her.
After getting Tori back Nathan had called Elizabeth and Lucas and told them that he'd get her back to them as soon as he could and now here he was on his way back Hope Valley and of all things going back to see the very people he'd left the town to avoid.
"Seems like nothing much has changed here," Nathan told Bill. They were sitting in Bill's sitting room drinking coffee.
When Nathan and Allie had arrived in town, as expected, they had found most of the town's residents waiting for them and he had been thanked and his hand shaken and his hand slapped more times than he could count. Lucas had offered them free accommodation but Bill had overridden him telling the Bouchards that he and Molly had already prepared rooms for them at their home.
"Does it?" Bill asked him, "seems to me like a lot has changed."
"Obviously the town is much bigger," Nathan agreed, "but I meant the people, they still care."
"Yeah," Bill nodded, "that's why I really like Hope Valley. You can always count on each other here."
"Yes you can," Nathan agreed. Things were so different in Union City but somehow he and Allie had managed to make a proper life for themselves there; and after seeing how happy Elizabeth and Lucas were together, Nathan could grudgingly admit that Elizabeth had made a good choice.
Nathan walked slowly to the pond. Bill had finally turned in for the night but Nathan was too restless to sleep so he'd put on his coat and decided that a quiet walk would do him good.
As walked he thought about the day's happenings, how seeing Elizabeth and Lucas together hadn't hurt him as much as he thought it would, how being back in Hope Valley was great but also brought to him the fact that Union City was now home and he was happy there. Of course he hadn't yet found somebody to love but somehow he was still very happy with the life he had.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't see the person until he bumped into her. Reaching out his hands to steady her, he was surprised to see Faith Carter. It occurred to him then that he hadn't seen her earlier at the get together.
"Faith," he took her hand, noticing how well she looked, "it's good to see you again."
"Hello Nathan," she smiled at him. "I heard you were back in town."
"Yeah," he said, "I brought little Tori back."
"I know," she told him, "we were all very worried when we heard that Margaret Simms had taken her."
"Where we you?" he found himself asking without quite meaning to. He had learnt from Bill had Carson had never returned to Hope Valley but Faith had remained and turned the surgery into a medium-sized hospital with five doctors and quite a few nurses and orderlies.
"Visiting a new mother," Faith replied, "Lillian Hurst is afraid of hospitals."
"Are you just returning back home now?" he asked concerned.
"Yes."
"Although this is Hope Valley," he said, "it's still not safe to be walking at night by yourself."
"I'll have you know that this is not the first time I've seen myself to my home," she told him, a little annoyed, "I can do it, you know."
"I'm sorry," he apologised, "I didn't mean to imply that you were incapable to getting back to your house. But would you allow me to escort you home?"
"So how is life in the city?" Faith asked.
"It's not as bad as I imagined it would be," Nathan admitted.
"Of course not," she told him, "I imagine every place in the world has its own charm."
"I don't know about that but Union City is quite nice," he smiled at her, "and it does have more than its share of charm."
"I know this is going to sound a bit odd," Faith told him, "seeing as we don't know each other that well …but I must admit that I never did quite see you and Elizabeth together."
Nathan stopped walking and stared at Faith in some shock. "What?" he finally spluttered.
"I mean," Faith told him, "obviously you only ever had eyes for her and for a while she was taken by you but I always thought that it was mostly because of the uniform and not that man."
"If only you'd told me that all those years ago, I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself over her."
"It's not so bad being a fool over someone," she said quietly.
"I don't think you were a fool over Carson," Nathan told her. "Honestly, he is the fool for having ever let you go."
"Our dreams were pulling us in different directions," Faith shrugged, "And I think it was for the best that he left to pursue his dream and be able to help all those people with the right tools at his disposal."
"I still think that he was a fool for letting you go."
"Thank you."
"Do you have to leave so early?" Bill asked Nathan the next day as he and Allie prepared to leave.
"We'll plan better next time," Nathan replied, "or you could come and visit us again."
"I think it's your turn to make a proper visit," Bill told him.
"You're right," Nathan agreed. "I'm going to see when I can get some time off and I'll come back here and we'll go fishing."
"That's great," Bill hugged his friend. He could sense that there was something different about him, like a weight had been removed.
"I hoped that I would catch you before you left," Faith walked quickly towards them.
"Faith," Bill greeted her, "how's Lillian doing? Did they name the boy yet?"
"Lillian and Bo are fine," Faith told him and then she turned to Nathan. "I just came to say that I hope you didn't take what I said last night in the wrong way. It had been a long day and I was tired."
"It's okay," Nathan assured her, "and you were right, I'm just a bit mad at myself for not having seen it sooner."
"That's because you were too reserved to talk to likes of me," Faith teased him.
"I was, wasn't I?" Nathan said, realising for the first time that last night was the first time he'd ever actually had a meaningful conversation with Faith. He had lived in the same town with her for almost three years and it took him leaving and returning before he'd spent any time with her.
"That's going to change," he told her. And it was.
"Anyway have a safe trip," she smiled at him, "And don't be a stranger."
"What was that about?" Bill asked him, after Faith left.
"Nothing," Nathan replied.
"I see," Bill laughed. Nathan probably didn't realise it but he was still watching Faith walk down the street with a huge smile on his face. Yep, Bill thought to himself, they were going to being seeing a lot more of Nathan than they had in the last three years.