Jack watched Charles watching Julie at dinner. The man was intrigued and Jack wasn't sure if Charles was even aware.

Julie, on the other hand, paid little attention to Charles, keeping herself busy serving dinner and tending to the children so Elizabeth wouldn't need to do it.

Jack held his precious Violet in the crook of his arm as he ate, still utterly in love with her. She had Elizabeth's nose and blue eyes but only a few wisps of light brown hair that matched his own.

When dinner was over, Jack took the kids and Charles into the living room while Julie and Elizabeth were in the kitchen.

"Its good to see you again, Charles. How are things in Alberta?" Jack wondered.

Charles first inclination was to say lonely, but he stopped himself. "Just fine."

"Who watches Charlie while you work?"

"My mother."

"Gamma!" Charlie said, listening to the conversation.

"That's helpful I'm sure."

"It is," Charles agreed, his mind very obviously somewhere else.

"Why don't you take her for a walk once the kids are in bed?" Jack suggested.

"She wouldn't go. She's a bit angry at the moment."

"Why's that?"

"I'm sure Elizabeth told you."

"Told me what?"

"I wrote Julie."

"Mama," Charlie added.

"I asked her to marry me…for Charlie. You and Elizabeth did it, so I thought she would go for it."

"She didn't?"

"Nope. I don't know what to do now."

"Do you care for her? Don't answer me, just think about it. If you care about her and you can see your friendship turning into more in the future, maybe do it her way, whatever that is. But, as you know, marriages only work when everyone communicates. If they don't, things don't work properly."

Charles looked toward the kitchen. "A walk?"

"Yeah. Alone. Leave Charlie here. You just figure things out with Julie."

Violet decided to wake up. He held her tiny body in his hands as she stretched and opened her eyes. "Hi, beautiful. You waking up?" He slowly kissed her cheeks and forehead, taking in her sweet baby smell. "Daddy loves you, baby."

When she started moving around more and sticking her tongue out, he took her to Elizabeth for nourishment.

After stories for the children and lights out, Julie headed to the kitchen to make tea.

Charles was standing at the sink looking out the window.

"You're still here?" she asked, not rudely, just wondering.

"Will you take a walk with me, Julie? We really need to talk."

"I don't know what else there is to say."

"Give me a chance, please?"

She looked at him for moment and then nodded. They walked to the door where she grabbed her shawl. It was mild weather but if her arms were wrapped in a shawl, she would be less likely to do something crazy like grab his arm or hand or something.

They walked down the deserted road toward the orphanage silently. After a few moments he started.

"I've missed you, Julie."

"Don't. Don't say things like that when you don't mean them."

"I do mean it. When I saw you again, holding Charlie at the stage, it hit me. I missed you. We need you, Julie."

"You are doing just fine."

"No, I'm not," he said, reaching for her arm. "I'm lost, Julie. I have no one to talk to at the end of the day except a three year old. I have no one to walk with or drink coffee with or eat breakfast with. The house is so quiet. I can't stand it anymore."

"So you're lonely."

"Yes. I went from having a wife for five years to nothing. Taking care of Charlie is hard on my own. I need help. I need you there."

"I'm lost too," she admitted.

"Then come home."

"It's not that simple, Charles. What about me? I don't want to be stuck in a marriage where the love is one sided. You may not ever want me as anything but a caretaker for your son and that leaves me broken. I don't want to be broken. I want to be happy with a husband who loves me, who wants to build a life with me. As much as I want it to be, that isn't you. You told me that."

"Actually I said that all I could offer you was friendship. But that was two months ago."

"You're saying things changed? What changed?"

"I saw you at that stage, holding Charlie and I thought, "She's so beautiful. They are so beautiful together."" He started walking again and she followed. "I've never thought that before…about anyone other than Vi. Julie, something happened to me while you were here. My heart started healing and opening to new possibilities."

"Like what?"

"Like us being a family but I'm willing to put my proposal on hold and maybe we can start getting to know each other better. See where that takes us."

"I don't know." She wanted to believe him. But it scared her.

"Charlie's worth our efforts and you and I deserve a chance, don't we?"

…..

Elizabeth put Violet into her crib and slipped into bed next to Jack.

"They went for a walk?"

"Yes. They needed to talk or they would never get over this thing between them," Jack told her.

"I don't know if they can. It's a pretty big thing."

"I agree but it's worth it to try, don't you think? If they have a chance to have what we have, it's worth it." He gently pulled her closer.

"What we have is pretty perfect," she agreed. "I just don't want to see her hurt if it doesn't work out."

"I think it will work out, sweetheart. He's half in love with her now. It won't take too long and he will be all the way."

"It hasn't even been a year."

"No, but maybe his heart is ready anyway."

…..

Another week passed and not much changed for Julie and Charles. Jack and Elizabeth fell into a nice rhythm being a family of five and were greatly appreciative of Julie's support through the transition. Little Charlie spent a lot of his days with Helen and Sammy or taking walks around town with Julie. Charles hung close, watching. There was a constant stir in his heart that he couldn't shake when it came to Julie. He was already realizing that he didn't want the feeling to disappear. As he sat there in the Thornton's kitchen that morning, like he had for the six before, he realized something needed to change.

Jack watched from his seat next to Charles at the table. Julie was using masterful restraint to not look him in the eye. It was as if she was protecting herself from the hurt she knew could follow. Elizabeth caught his gaze, then with her eyes, gestured to Julie and Charles. The tension in the home when both of them were together was thick.

"Charles, I was thinking about taking Sammy fishing today. You and Charlie want to join us?"

Sammy ran up to Jack from where he had been quietly playing with his trains. "Is it time for Daddy Sammy time?" He jumped up and down.

"Yup! What do you say we let Uncle Charles and Charlie come?"

"I'm not much of a fisherman," Charles scratched the back of his neck.

"That's okay. We'll teach you. Right, Dad?" Sammy beamed.

"You bet."

With Sammy's persistent encouragement, it took the men only 15 minutes to pack and head out to the stream. As soon as the door closed Julie collapsed in the kitchen chair next to her sister. "Finally."

"Julie, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean between you and Charles."

"Nothing, Beth. Nothing is going on."

"Are you sure? Why is he here still? Why is it you can't bring yourself to even look at him?"

"You know all this Beth. The letter, my feelings. Nothing changed."

"Maybe something needs to change."

Julie stirred her tea for a long minute before responding. "You're right. Today when he gets back I'll ask him to leave."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't know what I want, but I know it's not this."

….

At the stream, Jack stood behind Sammy, helping him hold his pole just right. It was important to both he and Elizabeth that Helen and Sammy still felt just as loved and important now that there was a new baby in their lives.

"Alright, son, I think you're ready. I'm gonna grab my pole now, okay?"

"Okay!"

Jack smiled. With three kids and his beautiful wife, he felt truly blessed.

"This was a good idea, Jack. Thank you." Charles smiled. He was still holding onto Charlie's pole, and both were okay with that.

"I figured you could use a way out of the house."

"Thank you. Its almost unbearable just sitting there watching her."

"Maybe you should do something."

"Like what? I already proposed. She once told me how honorable it was what you two did for Helen. How is this any different?"

"Do you really need to ask that? Charles, what's going on between you and Julie is far more complicated than what Beth and I did."

"She had been married before."

"Yes, but she lost her husband long before meeting me and had time to come to terms with it. She had no thoughts of ever finding a romantic relationship again. She didn't see herself losing anything if I never loved her. All she wanted was to be a mother. Julie wants a marriage, a real one. She wants what she sees in Beth and me now."

"When did you fall for Beth?"

Jack laughed. "To be honest, a part of me fell for her the moment I laid eyes on her. In time, and through courting her, we find our love."

Charles nodded. "This is overwhelming."

"I know. Look, you're in a bind. Both of you. If you want my opinion the best thing you can do is pray and then follow His leading."

"What if I can't hear Him?" It had been a while since Charles prayed. When his prayers for Viola went unanswered to his satisfaction, he saw little point in the habit.

"I'll pray too. Two is better than one sometimes." Jack winked and the two men turned their focus back to the stream.

When it was time for the kids to nap, Jack took both Sammy and Charlie home with him to give Charles time alone with his thoughts.

"I messed up," he sighed. "I think it's time to go. To start over, I guess." It hurt to think about, but it was clear he and Julie couldn't continue on as they were. Nothing seemed to be going right. Not that he knew what he was trying for exactly. They had agreed to give it a shot, but neither of them had changed anything.

He wanted Julie in his life. But how? Maybe it wasn't meant to be. If God was listening, and wanted them together, He'd make a way, wouldn't He?

"It is time to go back to Alberta."

Saying it aloud stung. The walk to the Mercantile was as if he had weights in his shoes. This was logical though. He couldn't sit here in this town and do nothing but wait for Julie to accept his offer. Which thanks to Jack, he was beginning to think was not a good idea.

"Hello, Mr. Kensington. What can I do for you?" Jesse Flynn smiled politely from behind the counter of the Mercantile.

"I need to reserve two seats on the next stage. It's time I head home."

"Just two seats?" Being the man running the town's only store, Jesse Flynn knew a lot about what was going on in the townspeople's lives. He was always respectful about it though.

"Yes, just for me and my son."

"I'll get right on it." The door opened and a well-dressed man slumped inside. Jesse dropped his pen and went to the man, placing a compassionate hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Jenkins, how are you holding up?"

"I've had better days."

"Is everything alright?" Charles asked. He didn't know the man, but could recognize his distress.

"I need to head home to Toronto, as soon as possible. My father is very ill and my mother and sister are just beside themselves with worry."

"I'll put you on the next stage with Mr. Kensington." Jesse went behind the desk again. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I need to send a wire out to Union City. I'm afraid I'll have to close down in my absence unless they can send a suitable replacement. I hate to do that to the people here, but I need to get to my family. "

"Family is important. You need to do whatever is necessary," Charles offered.

"Yes," Jesse added. "Don't worry about us. "God will provide."

The words, "God will provide", echoed in Charles mind. "Sir, forgive me but what is it you do here?"

"Sorry, we haven't been introduced before, have we? I'm Milo Jenkins. I run the bank."

…..

More than an hour later, Jack was outside chopping and stacking wood. Elizabeth sat close holding Violet in her arms.

"I've always loved watching you chop wood."

"Is that so?" Jack grinned and walked over for a kiss. The kiss he received was full of so much love and passion, he almost lost his footing. "Maybe I should have you watch me more often."

Elizabeth laughed. "Once the doctor gives me the clear that I'm all healed, you can trust I'll be paying close attention to you."

"I can hardly wait." He kissed her again. The kiss was short this time. The sound of hurried footsteps coming towards them. "Charles, you alright?"

"Where's Julie?"

"Inside reading." Elizabeth looked at him confused as he hurried off. "Charles, enter quietly! The children are still sleeping!" He waved and kept going.

He rushed all the way to the door, then stopped. With a smile and a deep breath he entered. Julie didn't look up of course. Though it seemed to be more because of the book she read than his presence. She sat on the settee, eyes fixed to the page, biting her lower lip in anticipation. She looked adorable. Charles made his way to the side of the settee and kneeled next to her.

"Julie?"

"Gah!" She jumped. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She whacked him with her book.

Charles laughed and took the book from her hands. "What are you reading?" He looked at the book. "Edgar Allan Poe? No wonder you jumped out of your skin."

She snatched the book back. "He writes interesting poems."

"I guess." He moved to sit next to her. "I want to speak with you about something."

"Oh, alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Quite a bit actually, but let me start with this. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I've not been fair to you. At all. You selflessly stepped in to care for Charlie and me when we needed you. I'm not sure I have truly thanked you for that."

"That's alright." She gripped the book tightly, unsure where he was going with all this.

"Having you with us became so… normal. I had been so lost but with you with us it wasn't as bad. Then you left and I felt lost again."

"I'm sorry, Charles."

"No, you did the right thing. My proposal was a groveling effort to return some sort of normalcy to mine and Charlie's life. Like how things were before… before we lost Viola. It was inappropriate in this situation. For whatever reason, that time of my life is over. I need to start anew."

"I see."

"That's why I've taken a leave of absence from Thatcher Industry."

"You… what?"

"And I'm temporarily relocating here, to Hope Valley."

"Are you insane?"

"For once when it comes to us, no. My thinking is clear. See, after fishing, Jack left me some time to pray. I realized things between us simply couldn't stay as they were. It's time for that to end. I went to the mercantile to purchase tickets home for Charlie and me."

"How does doing that lead to you staying in Hope Valley?"

"I'll explain more if you let me." He smiled. She'd missed his smile. He explained how Mr. Jenkins needed to return home and as a result the bank would close. "I'm a financial lawyer with banking experience. I told him I would take over for him so he could return home without any worries about the town. He's even allowing Charlie and I to reside in his apartment above the bank so I won't have to rent a room at the boarding house while I'm here. I'll keep the bank open three days a week and spend the rest of the time with Charlie and well, you."

"Me?"

"I want to start over. You were right. You deserve a husband who loves you completely and can't imagine his life without you. Not someone looking to provide for his son. My goal while I'm here is to take our time getting to know one another with the best of intentions."

"I… wow… you…"

"I care for you, Julie. You are a smart, funny, loving woman and I would like to get to know you more. Not for Charlie, but for myself. This is what I want."

He was making an effort. A real effort. In her stubbornness she wanted to walk out and just tell him to go back to Alberta and leave her be. The look in his eyes however was pure and genuine. What if this was it? He was being brave. She could be too.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay. Let's get to know each other. Slowly."