A few days later, Elizabeth sat at the table in the kitchen and reread Jack's first letter to her to help prepare her to write a return letter.

"Dear Elizabeth,

I hope this letter finds you and Helen well. I am a day away from Aberdeen at this point and camping last night reminded me of our walk by the pond. Tell Helen I've seen countless frogs and they sing me to sleep at night. The vast heavens above me, peppered with hundreds of thousands of stars remind me of a powerful creator who knows what's best for us, more than we do. He gave us all life and I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for my beautiful Daisy girl and my Mother who is waiting for me. I'm also grateful for my job and modest home. In addition to those things, I'm grateful for new friends.

I hope that at the end of all this uncertainty, you and I will stay at the very least, friends.

Please, if you find the time, write back to me and tell me how Helen is doing. Tell me about Eli and all the other children. But, also, please tell me more about you.

Anxiously awaiting news,

Your friend,

J.T."

Elizabeth thought about what she would write about herself.

It seemed important for him to know why the town and orphanage meant so much to her. It occurred to her that they had some very big things to work out if a marriage was going to be a possibility.

"Dear Jack,

I hope you made it home safely. Helen and I are doing well. She asks about "Dat" all the time and I assure her, you will be back very soon.

In fact, since you're coming back within a week, I feel it necessary to tell you a few very important details about myself.

I already mentioned I was unable to have my own children. When I moved here from Alberta, I was looking to start over. When I found an advertisement for a caretaker here, I jumped at it. Children have a place deep in my heart, of course, especially Helen. I guess what I'm trying to say is, leaving Hope Home would break my heart. I love every one of these dear angels and I don't want to be without them.

I know this fact may cause an issue if you are still considering me as a wife but I felt I needed to be honest.

As to your hope of you and I being friends, I absolutely agree and I hope the same.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

You're friend,

Beth"

….

Aberdeen, Jack's home

Jack closed the letter and took a deep breath and let it out. She didn't want to leave Hope Valley or the orphanage.

Rip, his dog, sighed and groaned as he rolled over, as if sympathizing with him. "What do I do now, old boy?" Rip blinked at him. "Too bad you can't talk. I could really use some advice." The one he trusted more than anyone was his Ma, so he got up, put his Stetson on his head and walked outside into the warm May evening.

As he headed down the road, he stared up at the stars and moon and listened to the frogs and crickets. He wondered if Beth and Helen were listening to them too.

Every day that passed brought him closer to traveling to see them again, closer to getting an answer to his proposal. If he wasn't mistaken, Elizabeth's words, "if you are still considering me as a wife," sounded as if she was moving toward an affirmative answer. That gave him hope.

"Are you coming in, son?"

Jack had arrived at his mother's house without realizing it and had apparently been staring into the sky as well.

"Yeah. Hi, Ma," he told her with a kiss to her cheek.

"What's on your mind, dear?"

"I can't just come visit you?"

"Yes, you could, but when you do, it's usually for food or advice. Seeing how its nine in the evening, I'm guessing you are here for the latter."

He pulled Elizabeth's letter out of his pocket and handed it to her as they walked in the cabin.

"You want me to read your love letter?"

"Its hardly a love letter. It's a friend letter but it's also brought up an issue that I don't know how to handle."

Charlotte walked over and sat in her chair by the fireplace. She liked her cabin toasty, to warm her bones, she claimed.

When she finished reading it, she handed it to him but stayed silent.

"No comments?" he asked.

"I'm not sure which part is giving you trouble."

"She doesn't want to leave Hope Valley, Ma."

"Yes, so you move there."

"Ma, the store. I can't just up and move. I won't have any income or job prospects not to mention a place to live."

"Excuses, dear. If you are serious about raising Helen, which I hope you are, then you raise her. It doesn't matter where. If you are also serious about marrying this woman for Helen's sake, then you marry her. The rest of the stuff will be provided. God provides."

"I can't leave you here alone."

"Son, I stopped needing a babysitter about fifty years ago. Pray about this. Ask for direction and then listen to your heart."

So, he did. And two days later, he packed his bed roll and a change of clothes and climbed on Midnight's back to travel to Hope Valley.

….

One day later….

Elizabeth sat in her room and turned up the lamp to read Jack's letter.

"Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for your honesty. I will also be honest with you. It threw me for a loop. I also am settled here in Aberdeen with my house and my store. I never, until this point, thought of moving.

That was before. Before I lost my only brother and sister-in-law. Before I decided to raise Daisy girl. Before you.

My mother, whom I suspect you will love as much as she will love you, told me to trust God. To trust my heart. She said if I'm serious about raising Helen and marrying you, to just do it. So, I prayed and I decided to trust Him, the one who knows better than me.

I will be there at our agreed upon day and I hope to take you and Helen on an outing, a picnic by the pond.

Until then, my friend, take care of yourself and Daisy girl for me.

J.T."

….

"Me-Me! Dat!" Helen said skipping around the room in her nightdress.

"He should be here very soon, my love. But, we must change your diaper and your clothes first."

Elizabeth caught her and gently laid her on the bed to change her diaper. Once that was done, she pulled her little white shirt and dark blue jumper over her head. "There. Don't you look pretty as a flower?"

"Pretty as a Daisy, I would say," Jack said from the doorway to the room, a handsome grin on his face.

"Dat!" Elizabeth quickly put Helen on the floor and watched as she toddled over to Jack and giggled as he picked her up.

Jack's eyes met Elizabeth's. "Hi, friend."

Elizabeth felt her cheeks redden. "Hi. Did you enjoy your trip?"

"I did, but I'm glad that I'm here now."

"Walk?" Helen asked.

"Later, Daisy girl. We will go eat lunch at the pond. If Miss Beth says she'd like to go."

"I would. We need to talk about some things."

He nodded. "I would have been here before breakfast but I made a stop in town first."

"Did you find what you needed?"

"I believe so. One of those things that we need to talk about."

"Miss Beth!" Eli said, running in the room.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Sammy! He's sick. Miss Cat told me to get you and you best hurry!"

Elizabeth ran out of the room and followed Eli.

She found Cat, Mary, and the rest of the children all staring at poor Sam, laying on the couch. "What's happening?" Elizabeth wondered.

"He has a fever." Elizabeth felt his head.

"We must keep him away from the others until we know what it is. Someone needs to go for Doc Shepherd."

"I'll go," Jack offered, setting Helen on the ground.

"Thank you, Jack. Hurry please."

"Dat!" Helen yelled as he ran off.

Mary picked her up and ushered the children into the school room to play.

"I'll take him upstairs to my room," Elizabeth told Cat.

Once she tucked him in with a cool cloth over his eyes and extra blankets, she prayed. She prayed it wasn't influenza, the same influenza that had stolen her beloved Paul. She couldn't lose Sammy too.

After what seemed like forever, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it, knowing her eyes were probably swollen and red from crying.

"Hi, Miss Beth. Mr. Thornton said Sammy is sick?"

She nodded and stepped back to let him in. "He has a fever. I put a cold rag on his eyes and kept him warm. I also made sure that the other kids are away just in case its…." Jack saw her hands shaking and tears on her cheeks.

The doctor sat on the edge of the bed and listened to Sammy's heart and lungs and then took his temperature. "Does your throat hurt, Sammy?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice raspy. Then he coughed a bit, scaring Elizabeth. She stepped out of the room and prayed, facing the wall.

"Please, God. Please make him well. I can't do this again."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Do what?" Jack asked quietly.

She turned toward him and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Paul's influenza started with a fever."

"Is that how…?"

"Yes. I stayed with him for days. I watched him get sicker and sicker, weaker and weaker until…he just gave up. I can't lose Sammy, Jack."

The doctor came out into the hall. "Miss Beth? It appears to be just a common cold. Keep him resting, give him liquids, and keep him comfortable. He will be better in no time."

"He will? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am." She flung herself into his arms and kissed his cheek, making Jack wish he was Doc Shepherd.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. Keeping the other kids away right now makes good sense though. Give him a couple days and he will be better enough to get up and play again."

"Walk, Me-Me?" Helen asked, running up to her.

"Well, Sammy is sick, baby girl."

"Can Mary or Cat tend to him for an hour or so?" Jack asked.

"I'm in charge of the little ones."

"Nonsense," Abigail said, walking up. "Your lunch is packed up for your picnic and I'll give Sammy his soup. Now scoot," she told them.

"If you're sure," Elizabeth told her. "We won't be gone very long."

"Take your time. Don't worry about anything here."

"Very well."

Jack offered his arm to Elizabeth and smiled when she took it without too much hesitation.

"Walk, Dat?"

"Yes, Daisy girl, we are going for a walk."

….

"You would do that? Give up your store and your house?"

"Those are just things. They can be replaced. Helen cannot and neither can my friend." His fingers grazed hers on the blanket for a brief second.

"What will you do for work?"

"I stopped in town earlier and talked to the store owner. He isn't hiring right now but the livery owner is."

"You'll work in the livery?"

"Yes, and the house a few doors down from the livery is for rent. It has two bedrooms and a big area good for a table and a couch. The kitchen needs a stove and we need to get a bathtub but I think it's good for a family. Its bigger than the house I have in Aberdeen."

"A bathtub? Goodness. It's been a very long time since I've had such luxury. Sponge baths leave much to be desired."

"Elizabeth, what do you think? About my proposal."

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She gazed at Helen who had come over and leaned against Jack.

"Hold." He knew that meant she wanted comfort and love so he picked her up and held her close, loving the feel of her little arms around his neck.

Elizabeth was never going to be able to let that little girl go without her heart breaking. Jack… he was willing to drop his life in Aberdeen and rebuild it here to take care of his niece and marry a woman he barely knew. Who did that?

"Jack."

"Yes?"

"My answer is yes. I'll marry you."