Author's Note: I have to say the first scene of this chapter was one I really enjoyed writing. I don't know why, but I think Lee is a fantastic character. When he and Nathan first met, I found it really funny how different they were. I tried to show that in this chapter. I do not know if you are going to like it, but I hope so. Thank you everyone for your kind support! Enjoy!

Chapter V

Leland "Lee" Coulter was many things; a strong-willed owner of a sawmill, and husband of the one and only Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter, which, by itself, already told a lot about his character. Lee could face Henry Gowen and all other sort of disruptions and difficulties, including Rosemary and her crazy schemes which walked hand-in-hand with her adorable concern over her friends. Going along with Rosemary's plans, however, sometimes put him in positions he had no desire to be found in.

Just like the one where he was at the moment, which was the result of one simple question, asked by the person standing in front of him.

"Why?"

Of course, now he had the challenge of coming up with something to say, which was undoubtedly not his area of expertise. Rosemary was usually the one who took care of everything, but when she had requested his help that morning, and looked at him with her irresistible puppy eyes, Lee had been unable to say no.

Though now he was definitely kicking himself hard for saying yes.

Taking a deep breath, Lee pulled his lips into a thin line before resting his hands on his hips. Then, he tried to come up with something to say, but his hesitancy probably reflected on his face because the man before him raised both eyebrows at his silence.

"Let me see if I got this right; you and Mrs. Coulter are inviting me for dinner, and you don't know why?" Nathan eventually asked, a hand in the air. His other hand was resting on his hip, but he still stood tall in the middle of the Mounted Police office.

Lee opened his mouth, but closed it almost immediately. Crossing his arms, Lee tried to think about what Rosemary would say if she was there, but then decided against. He was definitely no match for his wife when it came to "not meddling" with their friends. Besides, he knew how bizarre his invitation sounded like since they have never invited Nathan to go over to their house, much less for a meal.

"Rosemary had the idea." Lee eventually said, deciding honesty was better than deceive. "After everything that has happened, she is very worried about you. Well, Rosemary and I, of course, and that's why this idea came up. We just wanted to try to do this before we leave for our trip."

Nathan stared at him for a moment before dropping his hand to his hip. Lee knew what the Constable was going to say next, and he also knew there was no way he could go around it.

"Mrs. Thornton is going to be there, isn't she?"

Lee made a face, and once again mentally kicked himself for not trying harder to actually go around the bush. Subtleness truly was not one of his best qualities, but Lee strongly believed that facing the bull by the horns was a better idea when it came to Mountie Nathan Grant.

It was then that Lee noticed Nathan was still waiting for his answer, and drew a deep breath in.

"Yes, she is." he answered, but Nathan just continued looking at him. Lee decided to proceed, "You know how Rosemary is; she is only trying to help. Personally, I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but she said it was, and you know how hard it is to say no to that woman. She's really just worried about you and Elizabeth, and she's just trying to help. You can always say no, but… Well, as I've said before, you know how Rosemary is when we don't actually do what she expects us to do. It's really not that pretty."

Nathan still did not say anything, and Lee clasped his hands together.

"Are you not going to say anything?" he asked, a little worried before throwing his hands in the air. "Trust me, you can say no. I can handle it. The problem is, well, even if you say no, that won't stop Rosemary from continuing with her plans, one way or the other…"

More silence.

"…until she succeeds." Lee decided to add, and Nathan crossed his arms against his chest. "So… What do you say?"

"If there's something I've come to understand about Mrs. Coulter is that once she sets her mind on something, there's no running away from it." Nathan eventually stated, and despite of everything Lee nearly cheered in glee. "However, I gather Mrs. Thornton does not know about my presence."

Lee winced before shaking his head in response.

"So, you deliberately withheld important information to both your guests, and you don't see the issue?" Nathan asked, and Lee moved his head from side to side as he thought about the question before finally shaking his head.

"Not really, no." he eventually said, but then he raised both hands in the air. "Look, I understand this might look inappropriate, and maybe you're right; maybe this is not an ideal situation, but you honestly cannot keep avoiding this. Rosemary won't let you, trust me."

"So, having dinner where all parties involved have to behave as if nothing is wrong until someone decides it's time to break the uncomfortable atmosphere, and actually tries to fix the situation, sounds completely reasonable to you." Nathan commented, and Lee made another face.

"You know, I think I like you more when you are not saying what's on your mind."

Nathan did not say anything, and Lee honestly ran out of things he could say. Deciding the conversation was taking them nowhere, he decided to give up.

"You know what? You're right. I'll just tell Rosemary it won't work for you." he said, "Besides, you have a very solid case on your side. Elizabeth won't know you were invited too." since Nathan did not say anything in return, Lee just smiled at the Mountie before nodding. "OK, so I'll just go."

"It's not that I am not thankful for your invitation." Nathan spoke from behind him as Lee reached for the door. Immediately, he turned around in time to see a conflicted look cross the Mountie's face before it vanished. "However, I do not think it's the right time."

Lee frowned at that before facing Nathan once again.

"Do you think there's going to be a right time?" he decided to ask, "You can't avoid Elizabeth forever, Constable. It's a small town."

"I'm not avoiding Mrs. Thornton." Lee sent Nathan the same pointed look Rosemary usually sent him. Hopefully it would work. "I'm not. It's just…complicated."

"And it won't stop being complicated until you talk to her." Lee pointed out, and Nathan took in a deep breath. "Listen, I know it's none of my business, and I'm not trying to give you a lecture, but don't you think the longer you wait, the harder it's going to be?"

Nathan dropped his head a little, and Lee immediately regretted his question. The last thing he wanted was for Nathan to start shutting everyone out again. He tried to come up with something to say as quickly as possible.

"OK, so I'll go tell Rosemary that you are not going to attend dinner. Don't worry, I know how to break the news to her so that she won't get mad at you." Lee looked at Nathan, hoping for a smile no matter how small, but there was none. "If you need anything, just let me know, OK?"

Nathan nodded at that.

"Yeah, I have to go do my rounds anyway." the Mountie told him, and Lee knew that was the cue to leave the office. Immediately, he waved a hand in the air.

"See you later, Countable Grant."

With that said, Lee left the Mounted Police office, and looked up as soon as he spotted the sky. A sigh left his lips as Lee realised he was going to be in trouble as soon as he saw his wife.

"I'm really sorry about this." Elizabeth apologised as she rocked little Jack in her arms, and Laura smiled at her. "I think I won't stay for more than two hours. If anything happens, just call me."

"Of course, Mrs. Thornton; don't worry." the girl reassured her, and Elizabeth smiled at her before turning to her son, kissing him on the cheek as she did.

"Now, you behave. Mama will be back before you know it." Jack looked at her with his big eyes, Dog in his hand, and giggled. Elizabeth laughed at his actions, and kissed him on top of his head. "All right, so, Laura, anything happens, you call me, OK?"

"Yes, Mrs. Thornton." Laura repeated as she reached out for Jack, who went to her without a fuss. After waving bye, Elizabeth left her house, and went Rosemary and Lee's house. Lee was actually the one who opened the door as soon as she knocked.

"Elizabeth! Hey, c'mon in!" Lee instructed her with a hand, and Elizabeth smiled at his vigour. The warmth in the interior of the house matched Rosemary and Lee's love and compassion with ease, and Elizabeth simply loved it.

"Oh Elizabeth, thank you for coming!" Rosemary greeted her; arms wide open as she rushed to embrace her neighbour. Elizabeth nearly lost her breath when Rosemary pulled her into a bear hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm great." Elizabeth immediately answered, and Rosemary sent her a knowing look. Elizabeth tried not to squirm under her friend's gaze, and decided to look at Lee from over her shoulder. "So, what's the occasion?"

There was a moment of silence, which caught Elizabeth completely off-guard. Not only that, but she did notice the glances Rosemary and Lee kept throwing at each other. Something was off, and she needed to figure out what.

"So…" Elizabeth tore her eyes away from Lee to look at Rosemary, "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Christmas!" Rosemary exclaimed all of a sudden, and Elizabeth blinked at her exuberance. "That's what I needed to talk to you. As you know, Lee and I will be leaving for our trip soon enough. I honestly cannot believe we are actually going this time! But when we get back, Christmas will be just around the corner, and you know what that means; festival and little baby Jack's party!"

"Oh, that's true, but you didn't have to do all this." Elizabeth motioned to the table with a hand. There was enough food there to feed an army. It was also then that she noticed something, and raised an eyebrow before looking at her friends. "Are you expecting someone else?"

That seemed to draw both Rosemary and Lee's attention to the table. Rosemary practically flew to the table, and grabbed the fourth plate, pressing it against her chest. She then glanced at Lee, and Elizabeth let out a sigh when she realized she was undoubtedly missing something. Crossing her arms against her chest, Elizabeth looked straight into Rosemary's eyes.

"Are you expecting someone else?" she repeated, using her teacher's voice, and she took in the way her friend tried to hide her discomfort. Now Elizabeth was certain she was not going to like the answer, "Rosemary…"

"We were, yes, but he's not coming." the blonde responded, and for some reason Elizabeth had the feeling Lee made a face at his wife's answer. Still, she was far too concentrated trying to solve the mystery before her to worry about that. So, she decided to ask another question.

"He?" Elizabeth felt her heart clench, and her mouth went dry when Rosemary bashfully lowered her eyes. If there was someone who was never self-conscious about anything was her best friend. "Rosemary?"

"Well, it doesn't really matter anymore. He's not coming anyway because someone couldn't convince him to come." Rosemary muttered the last part, glaring at her husband as she did, and Elizabeth tilted her head to the side. Resting her hands on her hips, Elizabeth tried to ignore the way her heart was racing against her chest.

Then it clicked, and Elizabeth let out a deep breath.

"You didn't…"

"Now, Elizabeth, before you say anything let me tell you that we were just trying to help." Lee stepped in, in an attempt to help his wife. He appeared next to Rosemary in seconds so that Elizabeth could look at the two of them. "It's also not going to happen, so…"

"He said no?" Elizabeth heard herself whisper before she could stop herself. "Did he say why?"

Her question probably caught the Coulter couple by surprise because they did not even bother to hide their expressions. Elizabeth was quite shocked herself by the question that had just spilled from her lips, but it was not as if she could take it back. So, instead, she took a deep breath, and waited for the answer.

"He said it wasn't the right time." Lee eventually explained, and Elizabeth tried to ignore the disappointment that settled on her shoulders. She definitely tried not to drop them in discontent. "I think Constable Grant still needs some time to sort things out."

"Allie did mention she was worried about him." Elizabeth conceded. Lee took the cue to motion for her to sit down on a chair while he and Rosemary did the same. "I really didn't know what to say to her."

"Well, perhaps, just this once, we should give them time." Lee offered, and Elizabeth looked at him before she glanced at Rosemary. The downhearted expression on her face caught Elizabeth by surprise.

"Rosemary," she called out, "what's wrong?"

The usually high-spirited blonde bit her lower lip, and seemed to be thinking quite deeply about something. The pause was completely uncharacteristic, and Elizabeth looked at Lee, who looked back at her before silently shrugging his shoulders.

"Rosemary?" Elizabeth tried calling out again, and that seemed to catch her friend's attention.

"Elizabeth, do you want to talk about what happened?" Rosemary asked all of a sudden, and Elizabeth felt her breath get stuck on her throat.

Ned! Carson needs extra gauze and bandages. Whatever you have.

What happened?

Someone's been shot.

I think it's Nathan! He's been shot!

He's gone.

"I can see it in your face that you don't." Rosemary proceeded before Elizabeth could say anything, and then she took a deep breath. "I strongly believe that's why Nathan decided not to come. I think he wants to give you – both of you – time to recover from the ordeal."

"But I'm fine." Elizabeth protested, even though her words did not sound as strong as she had expected. Rosemary raised an eyebrow at that, and the teacher relented. "OK, I am not fine, but I'm fine…"

"Still, since Constable Grant isn't coming, perhaps it's a good time to talk about something else?" Lee questioned, before raising his hands in the air when both Elizabeth and Rosemary looked his way. "Maybe we could talk about Christmas or little Jack's party?"

Suddenly, it was like something went off inside of Rosemary, and gone was her solemn expression. She smacked a hand against Lee's arm, and Elizabeth actually allowed herself to smile at her friend's antics.

"Oh yes, we need to leave everything ready for when I come back! The festival will be a couple of weeks away when we return, and I want to make sure everything is prepared for my arrival!" Rosemary exclaimed before she turned to Elizabeth, "It's time to show Lucas what Hope Valley's traditional Christmas' Festival is all about!"

To Be Continued…