Julie Thatcher walked along the boardwalk of Hope Valley, trying to see what her sister saw in the little town. Not that it was a horrible place. It wasn't dirty as she had once imagined these little towns in the west would be. The buildings were well kept and nice looking in their simplistic way. The people of Hope Valley were a whole lot nicer to newcomers than the people in Hamilton would be. Even though her dress set her apart from them, the townsfolk still welcomed her easily.
Which was probably what exactly what Elizabeth liked about the place. Elizabeth had always seen people for who they were, not their place in society. Despite Elizabeth's seemingly unadventurous nature while they were growing up, her sister fit well in this pioneer setting.
Not for the first time, Julie wondered if she would do as well as her older sister here in the 'wild' west.
Spotting a man in red serge up ahead, Julie became less distracted. Instead, she took in the Mountie. As he was the only Mountie Julie had seen since coming to Hope Valley, she figured he was Constable Nathan Grant. Elizabeth had written so much to her about this little town over the years, Julie felt like she knew the people here even before she had met them. However, the way her sister wrote about Constable Grant, Julie knew her sister was developing feelings for the Mountie, though she suspected Elizabeth wasn't ready to admit that even to herself quite yet.
Without breaking stride, Julie headed toward the Mountie. He was one of the few people in town that Elizabeth hadn't introduced her to but that wasn't going to stop her. Julie wondered if her sister even had any intention on introducing her to Constable Grant.
"Hello, you must be Constable Grant," Julie said as she came to a stop near the Mountie.
"I am," Nathan replied. "May I help you, ma'am?"
"I just wanted to introduced myself. I feel like I know you already giving what my sister has written to me about you. I'm Julie Thatcher. Elizabeth's sister," she said, holding out her right hand.
Nathan shook hands with Julie as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Thatcher."
"Likewise," Julie said. "Though I'm still trying to figure out how my reserved older sister keeps meeting all these dashing men while I keep meeting all the bores?"
"That's not a question I can answer," Nathan admitted, feeling his face flush at the young woman's words.
"I didn't expect you too," Julie admitted. "Too bad my sister met you first because I wouldn't mind being the lady who got to walk arm-in-arm down the street with you," she added.
Julie giggled at the uncomfortable look on the Mountie's face. "And a word of advice, if you do meet our father, don't judge the rest of us on his first reaction to you. He's a bit protective of his girls. It was nice to meet you, Constable Grant," Julie said.
Julie continued on her way without waiting for an answer. She had a feeling it might be awhile before Nathan Grant managed to figure out a response to her last words anyway.