Allie ran ahead of Nathan and Quinn, understanding she could invite Opal to get the cake with them at the Cafe, but she wasn't to share the news with her yet. Nathan and Quinn walked to the Coulter's front door and knocked. Nathan was hoping Lee would answer the door; his reaction would be much calmer than Rosemary's.
Nathan sighed with relief when Lee opened the door, inviting them inside. "Thanks, Lee, but we can't stay; we just stopped by to see if you and Rosemary had the time to join us for cake at the cafe?"
"Cake, in the afternoon, now I love cake at any time, but something tells me there is more than just a desire for cake," Lee said, grinning. He paused for a moment, then realised what they could be celebrating, looking at Quinn's left hand before his glance switched back to their glowing faces. "Well, it certainly is cause for celebration and cake. Congratulations, you two," Lee's grin talked into a wide smile as he reached out to hug Quinn and shake Nathan's hand.
"Thank you, Lee, and thank you for all your help organising things for me," Nathan said. "Do you think you and Rosemary have time to join us?"
"Count me in, I would love to say yes for both of us, but Rosemary isn't here; she is next door with Elizabeth. I could call in and ask her on the way if you like?" Lee stopped talking, "unless, of course, you are keeping it quiet for now." Lee was happy to keep their secret for them and wasn't sure how Elizabeth would take the news. He didn't want to be the one to tell her.
Quinn laughed, "Allie knows, as promised, she was the first person we told. She is pretty excited and won't be able to keep the secret very long, so we will have to tell people." Quinn looked to Nathan, inviting him to comment on whether he should tell Rosemary while she was at Elizabeth's.
"I am happy for you to let Rosemary know; we are heading to tell Bill before we go to the cafe; we want him to know before everyone does." Nathan didn't mind who else knew if Allie had known first, and he didn't care what Elizabeth thought of it. "Maybe when you tell her, you could mention we want to keep it simple, and we plan to do it soon."
Lee laughed, "oh, my friend, I can mention it to her, but I can't guarantee she will hear it. If I know Rosie, she will want to be there, so we will see you soon."
Nathan and Quinn said their goodbyes and headed to see Bill in the Judge's office, eager to share their news.
Nathan and Quinn stood together, holding hands as Nathan reached out and tapped gently against the door frame, getting Bill's attention. "Hey Bill," Nathan said as he lifted his head.
"What are you two doing here? I thought you were going riding?" Bill smiled quizzically at them. "Quinn, I left a file on your desk; you can look at that if you're back for the afternoon."
"We went for a short ride; I am not back for the afternoon; we are here to convince you to take the afternoon off and join us in the cafe." Quinn smiled at Bill's confusion, "Nathan and I have some news we want to share with people, but we wanted to tell you privately first," she said quietly.
Bill looked between the two of them, guessing their news when he saw the joy on Quinn's face and the deep love shining from Nathan's as he looked at her. "Well, I see you listened to my advice, Nathan; about time," Bill said, jumping up and reaching out to grab Nathan, pulling him into a hug. Releasing Nathan, he hugged Quinn, too, "I am truly happy for you both and Allie." Bill felt a lump form in his throat; Quinn and Nathan were very special to him, and he was glad they had found each other.
"Did someone mention an afternoon off?" Bill asked, clearing his throat. "Let's not keep you two from making the announcement," he said, wrapping an arm around each of them and hustling them to the Cafe.
As Bill opened the Cafe's side door, Quinn stopped abruptly, "Do I have time to go to the Mercantile and call Sam?" she asked, looking at Nathan.
"I think Allie will explode if she has to wait too long, Quinn, but I will ask her to wait a little longer," Nathan offered.
Quinn shook her head, "No," she said, making a quick decision. "I can't do that to her; let's make the announcement now, and I will call Sam tonight if you let me borrow your phone." She smiled at Nathan before taking his hand, tugging him along. "Come on, fiancé, let's give Allie the go-ahead to tell her friends before she bursts."
Nathan smiled at Quinn as she grabbed his hand, leading him inside the Cafe to where Allie waited for them. He wished he could find the right words to describe how he felt when Quinn called him fiancé. Hearing her call him that reminded him of the first time Allie called him Dad, he imagined husband would feel just as good, and if blessed, he would hear Dad again from other children, and maybe Grandpa too one day. He had thought his heart was full when she said yes to being his wife, but it turned out his heart kept expanding to fit love in.
Allie watched her Dad and Quinn enter the Cafe through the kitchen door and ran to them, "can I tell them now?" Allie's face was alight with happiness, and Nathan couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so full of happiness.
"Yes, of course, you can, but try and keep from disturbing everyone else in the cafe," Nathan said, wrinkling his nose. "Not everyone is going to be as excited as you." Nathan watched her run away, knowing his words had fallen on deaf ears. He would apologise to anyone upset, but right now, he was just as excited as his daughter.
As Allie ran back to her friends sitting at a table, Nathan wrapped his arm around Quinn and drew her against him, "are you ready for the calm to be over?"
"Yes, I don't care if she tells everyone a million times." Quinn looked at him, "I love you, Nathan, and I want to tell everyone; Nathan Grant loves me, and I love him." She kissed him quickly, "let's go tell Minnie, so she knows what Allie's excitement is all about."
Elizabeth and Rosemary paused their conversation about Jack when a knock sounded at the door. Looking over, they saw Lee poke his head through the opening. "Hello, Ladies; I hope I am not interrupting?" he asked.
"Of course not, Lee; come in, please." Elizabeth invited.
Lee walked to Rosemary, leaning over to kiss her cheek and ruffle Jack's hair, which was easy to do when he sat on his wife's lap. "I came to see if you would like to join me at the cafe."
Rosemary looked at her husband, puzzled, "why Lee, I always want to spend time with you, but what is the occasion?"
Lee took a deep breath, wishing he wasn't the one who had to share the information, "Nathan and Quinn are announcing their engagement; they wanted us there so we could celebrate with them. They let me know on the way because I helped Nathan by ordering the ring for him."
"And you kept it a secret from me! Lee Coulter, how could you," she exclaimed excitedly. "Well, of course, we need to go and see them; we need to see the ring, and I need to talk to Quinn about making arrangements."
"Sweetheart, I think I heard the words, simple and soon, so I am not sure how many arrangements you will need to help with." Lee knew Rosie wasn't listening, but he could at least tell Nathan he tried. He glanced toward Elizabeth; she looked stunned, she caught his eye, and he smiled at her, his eyes kind. He watched her take a steadying breath.
"Pass Jack to me, Rosemary, so you and Lee can get going," Elizabeth said. "You don't want to be late and miss the excitement."
"You have to come, Elizabeth, this is lovely news, and I would think you would be happy for your friend and student, want to be part of the community when we congratulate them." Rosemary said, "you were quite upset last time you were left out of something; I would think you would jump at the chance not to miss out."
Elizabeth bit her tongue, restraining herself from responding to her friend; what could she say? It was true; she had been annoyed. This was different. This was final proof that Nathan had moved on from her, and their friendship would never be the same. Her relationship with Lucas was tenuous; he had told her to work out what she wanted before they could be together. The life she wanted, the life she imagined, wasn't possible anymore. Did she still want to share her life with Lucas?
"Elizabeth, are you listening to me?" Rosemary asked, frowning at her friend. "Are you and Jack coming to the Cafe?
"Yes, Rosemary, we are. I will get our coats." Standing up, she smiled at her son, "Let's get ready, Jack; we are going to see Nathan and Allie," she said, "and Miss Standing," she added hastily, smiling at her son and taking his hand. Elizabeth knew going and congratulating Nathan and Quinn was the right thing to do, and she was glad Nathan was happy. How he and Quinn felt about each other was undeniable; you could see it when they looked at each other, the way they intuitively responded to each other; that awareness of the other person, a connection without touching.
Quinn and Nathan stood together, receiving hugs and congratulations from their friends. Quinn's cheeks had started to hurt from smiling at everyone, and she felt funny, standing with her hand stuck out, showing off her ring. It had taken only a moment once Allie shared the news for it to spread throughout the Cafe and beyond. The squeals erupting from their table caught everyone's attention. Quinn wasn't the only person surprised at how well and for how long Nathan endured the crowds of people who came to talk to them. Quinn laughed when Faith and Fiona approached her, having heard the news, each one exclaiming over her ring. "I knew you two were destined to be together after that first night in the Saloon,' Fiona said, "It was the only time I have seen Nathan talk so much," she giggled.
Nathan took Fiona's teasing in his stride, unable to deny her words, he had tried hard that night to get Quinn's attention, and thankfully it had worked. That was the night he admitted he wanted to spend time with her and the first time she had held his hand. Although he asked Quinn to court him in the livery, that night at the Saloon was special. Maybe he could convince Quinn to have the celebration there; looking around at the crowded Café, he couldn't imagine everyone fitting into the dining area.
Faith congratulated both Nathan and Quinn, reminding Quinn of their lunch date the next day, planning on getting all the details. Faith was pleased for her friends, glad Nathan had met the right person after what happened with Elizabeth. Speaking of Elizabeth, she thought, catching Fiona's eye, she saw her walking in with Rosemary and Lee, carrying Jack.
Fiona leaned toward Quinn, whispering in her ear, and said, "sorry, but we are going to leave you to it; tell me how it goes tomorrow." Squeezing Quinn's arm, she quickly moved away as Rosemary, Lee, and Elizabeth approached.
Rosemary practically skipped toward Quinn and Nathan, her arms out to her side. She called out, "Congratulations, you two, how wonderful. The moment I saw the two of you, I knew you would end up together; you can't deny your chemistry." Ignoring the blush on Quinn and Nathan's cheeks, she continued, "now, what's this Lee tells me about a simple wedding? That simply won't do; why does everyone always want a quick wedding?"
Bill coughed as Rosemary teased Quinn and Lee stepped forward, "Okay, sweetheart, that's their decision. Nathan, why don't we step over here and get a drink? In fact, the Cafe is getting very crowded; why don't we head over to the Saloon and grab a drink. Bill, would you like to join us?"
Bill nodded in agreement, eager to get away from the discussions on wedding details. as Nathan opened his mouth to answer, he was interrupted by Elizabeth. "Before you go, Nathan, I just wanted to congratulate you and Quinn. I am glad you found the right person for you and Allie, someone who makes you both truly happy, and it's obvious Quinn does. You deserve the best, and you have found that in each other."
Nathan smiled kindly at Elizabeth, "thank you, Elizabeth; I must say I agree; I wish the same for you." Nathan almost said 'with Lucas' but stopped himself, not sure of the status of their relationship. He turned to Quinn, "will you be okay if I join Bill and Lee?"
"Of course, Nathan, I'll find you later," Quinn replied, brushing his hand with hers, needing that slight touch before he left, happy when his fingers briefly caught her own, squeezing gently.
"Of course, I will see you back here to escort you home,' he joked. "Well, your future home for dinner and then back here."
Everyone laughed as Quinn rolled her eyes at Nathan before turning to her and Rosemary and saying, "thank you, Elizabeth, I appreciate your well-wishes. Rosemary," she said, wrinkling her nose, "Which part of simple did you not understand."
Elizabeth held Jack and watched as Rosemary dragged Quinn to a table, listing things Quinn and Nathan absolutely had to do for the wedding, smiling at her friend's boundless energy. She felt someone approach and turned to see Allie standing beside her, saying hello to Jack. Elizabeth smiled, pleased this amazing young girl would have the family she so desperately wanted and that Quinn had the courage to give all of herself to Nathan and Allie. She had let fear run her life since losing Jack and had settled for safe and predictable instead of what might have made her truly happy.
"Congratulations, Allie, you must be very excited," Elizabeth said with a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Mrs Thornton; I am. My Dad and I love Quinn more than anything," Allie responded with a broad smile, her eyes bright.
"It's obvious she feels the same about the two of you. The three of you make a lovely family Allie," Elizabeth continued, "and I hope you will be very happy." She looked at Quinn and Rosemary, who didn't look like she had stopped talking since they sat down. Returning her gaze to Allie, she said, laughing, "I think we better go and save Quinn before Rosemary talks her into a big, fancy wedding that will take months to organise."
Allie reached out and placed a hand on her teacher's arm, stopping her, "Thank you, Mrs Thornton, for being happy for us; I hope we can..." Allie paused, not sure how to articulate what she wanted. Now she had the family she always wanted; she had been able to let go of some of the anger she felt toward her Teacher. Seeing her father so happy with Quinn helped as well; she could no longer imagine their lives without her in it.
Elizabeth felt tears well in her eyes; she had hurt this poor child and had never accepted what she had done or apologised. "Allie, I am sorry about what happened between your father and me. You and me. Please know it wasn't that I don't care for you both very much." Knowing she needed to tell Allie the truth, she said, "I was too scared to take a risk, and I hurt you both." Swallowing back the tears, she asked, "can you forgive me?"
Allie blinked back her tears and said, "of course, Mrs Thornton and I hope you can be happy too." Smiling, she said, "Now let's go and save Miss Quinn."
Nathan, Lee, and Bill walked into the Saloon after having collected Mike Hickam on the way. He had heard the news and was heading to the café to congratulate them, and it wasn't hard to convince him to join the men instead of listening to the wedding detail discussion.
As the men entered the Saloon, Lucas couldn't hide his surprise at their arrival. "Gentlemen," he said, his voice conveying his puzzlement, "this is unusual; I don't think I have ever seen you all here in the middle of the afternoon. What's the occasion?"
Nathan addressed Lucas's question, "I asked Quinn to marry me earlier today, and she said yes. Allie has just let her friends know, so word spread fast."
Lee pulled out a chair and sat down; pointing at Nathan, he said, "the café got a little crowded for some people, and my lovely wife has already started to plan the wedding, so we offered to rescue him by coming here."
Nathan shrugged as he sat down next to Lee, unable to deny he was right. The others laughed and joined Lee and Nathan at the table.
Lucas smiled at Nathan, "I am pleased for you both, Nathan, I am sure the two will be very happy, and I am sure Allie is very excited." Lucas realised he was genuinely pleased for Nathan and Quinn, even though his reason,s for being so happy a year ago would have been very different. Lucas knew Nathan and Quinn were right together and wished he had found the same deep relationship with Elizabeth. Lucas wondered if it was possible to build a relationship like that, or did it need to be there from the beginning.
He and Elizabeth hadn't spoken since he suggested she take some time and consider what she wanted in her life. He had not been surprised at her easily compliance with his request; he knew he had been less than perfect in their relationship, especially when it came to including Jack. He had sensed a hesitancy in Elizabeth and was reluctant to fully include Jack, choosing to exclude her son from their outings. Lucas had no experience with young children and didn't know how to relate to them. He knew he needed to talk to her to find out once and for all where they stood.
Dragging his thoughts back into the present, Lucas asked, "what can I get you, gentlemen?"
Bill ordered for the group, "bring us a round of beer, please, Lucas."
"And join us, please," said Nathan, relaxing back into his chair.
Lucas smiled at Nathan, nodding his acceptance. Once again, Nathan demonstrated he was a decent and honourable man, making Lucas ashamed of the times he had behaved less than courteously toward him.
Setting the first lot of drinks down on the table, Lucas returned to retrieve the rest before taking a seat. When they all had their drinks, he looked at Bill, tipping his head in a slight nod of encouragement.
Bill knew he should say a few words, so, after clearing his throat, he said. "I want to congratulate you, Nathan, on realising what a treasure you found in Quinn. You are special to me, and I knew from the moment I met her that Quinn would also have a special place in my heart. I am glad she decided to make Hope Valley her home and for you and Allie to become her family." Bill picked up his beer, looking down at it as an excuse to blink back tears. "To Nathan and Quinn!" he exclaimed, raising his glass in a toast to the happy couple.
The other men around the table raised their glasses, repeating the toast "To Nathan and Quinn."