Faith moved some medicine bottles about in a cabinet, organizing them as best she could with the limited space. The infirmary was much smaller than any of the hospitals she'd worked in before – in fact, it was about the size of a typical hospital room. She'd known that coming to Hope Valley would mean less access to modern medical technology and space, but she hadn't quite realized how different it would be. Even so, Faith wasn't worried. She enjoyed a challenge, and right now, it was a challenge to fit all the medicine she'd brought with her on the miniscule shelves.

An hour later, she stepped back and surveyed her work. Everything looked good. She was nearly ready to open the infirmary.

A sound at the door caught her attention. Jack stood there, dressed in everyday clothes. "Hey, Faith."

The smile that sprang to her lips came as naturally as breathing. "Jack. Good to see you." She felt warmth spread through her cheeks, and wondered if it was due to the fact that the last time she'd seen him, she'd wept all over him while he held her in his arms.

The warmth increased. Oh goodness, she was blushing. He'd been so kind that day, helping her air out her apartment and teaching her a few cooking basics – not to mention the fact that he'd cheered her up after her meltdown. No one had ever been that caring, and the fact that it came from him, a very handsome Mountie …

She slammed the brakes on her thoughts, clearing her throat. "Can I help you with something?"

A sheepish look crossed his face. "Well … yeah. I'm afraid I got some wood stuck in my hand."

She blinked. "You what?"

He came forward, holding out his right hand. Faith took it and turned it toward a window for better light. Her brows shot up. There were indeed several slivers of wood embedded in his palm, along with smaller splinters in his fingers. She looked up at him. "What have you been doing?"

"Moving."

"Oh?" She led him to a chair near the window and motioned for him to sit.

He nodded, watching her as she began gathering a few supplies. "I decided to move into the apartment above my office. It's larger and more comfortable, and it should help me keep work and life separate, at least as much as is possible for someone in my line of work."

Faith chuckled. "That's understandable. Sometimes I think living above the infirmary feels like work and home are mixed, but there truly is a nice separation there."

"Exactly." He shrugged, holding up his hand. "I attempted to move a table upstairs by myself. I was successful, but unfortunately, it was an old table, and when I pushed it through the door, it rewarded me with all kinds of splinters." He squinted. "One of them is particularly large."

Faith carried a bottle of peroxide, a needle, and a pair of tweezers to the small table beside him. "You didn't want to pull it out yourself?"

He turned a little green. "Uhh … no. That would not end well."

She tilted her head, taking a seat beside him. "Why not?"

"Let's just say I tried that before and nearly fainted."

Faith giggled, taking his hand once more. "Seriously? You?"

He nodded wryly. "Unfortunately."

She placed his hand on her lap. "Well then, it's a good thing I'm here to mend your hand."

A grin spread over his face. "Yes, ma'am, it is."

For some reason, that prompted another blush. She ducked her head, focusing on the task at hand. Two splinters were indeed large, large enough that she could easily remove them without the tweezers. She pulled quickly at each one, noting Jack's wince. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "It's alright. I knew this wouldn't be pleasant." His eyes settled on her, lingering longer than necessary. "Though the company makes up for it."

A girl could get used to sweet words like that … not to mention she could happily stare in those unique gray eyes for hours.

What? She blinked, suddenly flustered. Where had those thoughts come from? She quickly looked down at his hand again. "You might not think that in a moment. I'm going to have to dig some of these out with a needle."

He grimaced. "Do what you have to."

Perhaps a distraction was in order. As she dug the tip of the needle into his index finger, she asked about his horse. Jack relaxed, a smile lighting his face. He launched into a story about how he and Sergeant were paired as soon as he graduated from training, then told her about some of their exploits together. Within ten minutes, Faith had all the splinters removed from his hand, and Jack blinked down in surprise.

"You're done?"

She nodded, rubbing some peroxide over the affected areas. "You might experience some soreness since I had to press the needle in fairly deep a couple times, but overall it should be fine." She poured a little salve into her hand, then massaged it gently into his, trying to ignore the tingles that went up and down her spine as she did.

Jack smiled. "Thanks, Faith. You're a wonderful nurse. I didn't feel a thing."

"You're welcome."

He stood. "Would you like to meet Sergeant?"

That made her pause. "Now?"

He grinned. "No time like the present. Are you free?"

She glanced around the infirmary. There was little else to be done. A break wouldn't hurt. She turned her eyes back to Jack. "Just let me put these tools away, and then I'm all yours."

That didn't come out right. She tried not to wince, but a twinkle lit Jack's eyes. He chuckled. "Alright, then, Nurse Carter. I'll wait for you outside." He winked, surprising her, and headed for the door.

Faith drew in a breath. Jack Thornton was her friend. This reaction to him felt strange. As she stored her tools, she shook her head. Maybe not entirely strange. After all, she had been attracted to him when they first met, before she knew he was courting Elizabeth.

But now they were both single. Her heart jumped before she reined in her thoughts. Better to keep things friendly between them. She'd only just broken up with the man she thought she'd marry. The last thing she needed was to jump into another relationship. Besides, Jack didn't think of her that way. He was simply being a good friend.

She nodded firmly. Friendship. That was all she needed. Head held high, she made her way outside to her friend.

Nathan pounded the final nail through a new floorboard, then sat back with a satisfied grunt. That completed Elizabeth's floors. He'd torn up all the old ones and replaced them with quality wood donated by Lee. He looked around the cabin. Next he needed to patch up the walls. At least he now had a firm foundation to work with. His first day working on the floors, he'd nearly fallen through when two of the boards gave way simultaneously. Thankfully, he'd been able to jump away without hurting himself. Now that the floors were finished, he could work on the walls without fear of things caving in beneath him.

He stood and stretched. After a week of working at Lee's, his body still wasn't quite used to the manual labor. Muscles he hadn't known existed protested every movement.

"You look like you could use a nice glass of lemonade."

The voice at the door made him smile. He turned slowly, now used to the jolt in his heart every time he laid eyes on Elizabeth. She stood there, hair falling from the pins holding it back after a long day of looking after his daughter. His hands itched to feel those silky strands, but he firmly turned his thoughts to the frosty glass in her hand. "Thanks. That sounds great."

She handed him the glass, their hands brushing in the process. Nathan momentarily forgot his words yet again. Not a single thought came to mind. All he knew was the beautiful blue of Elizabeth's eyes.

Those eyes began to twinkle. Mercifully, she didn't tease him for staring. Instead, she looked around the room, giving him a chance to restart his brain.

"Did you finish the floors?"

He nodded, finally taking a sip of the cold, sweet lemonade.

"That was much faster than I expected. I thought it would take a week or more." Her smile brightened. "You're very efficient."

He chuckled. "Thanks, ma'am. I try."

Elizabeth walked around, even jumping a time or two on the new boards. Her grin grew. "Very solid." The twinkle diminished somewhat as a serious look entered her eyes. "Thank you, Nathan. I really appreciate all you're doing for me."

Shaking his head, Nathan took a few steps closer. "You're the one doing me a favor. Watching Allie and cooking for us each night? I have the easy part of this bargain."

Her nose wrinkled in the most adorable fashion. "Maybe so." Hints of weariness lined her eyes, and he felt a pang in his heart.

"I'm sorry this has been such a rough week with Allie."

She waved a hand. "It was expected. Once she realized you would be gone every day, it was just too much for her to take in. I expect things will get better the more she gets used to the idea."

He winced. "I should have warned you that I wouldn't be there for lunch today. That certainly didn't help." Elizabeth had told him about Allie's meltdown when they got to the work site and he wasn't there.

Elizabeth put a hand on his arm. "You didn't know Lee needed you to go with him to Benson Hills. Besides, Allie has to learn that sometimes things don't go as expected, and that you'll still come home at the end of the day."

"I know. I just hate how hard it is on you. You look exhausted." His eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Not that you look bad or anything. You're very beautiful. It's just …" He stopped abruptly. Had he just admitted – out loud – that he found her beautiful?

The twinkle returned. "Why, thank you. You're rather handsome yourself."

He blinked. Was she flirting with him? How in the world was he supposed to respond?

She smiled, letting her hand run gently off his arm. "What's next?"

Huh? "Next … for what?"

"The cabin."

Oh! Relief swept over him. Something he could talk about easily. Safe ground. He wasn't sure what to do with the emotions swirling through him, emotions he'd never felt before. Elizabeth Thatcher had a very curious effect on him. He was glad she'd brought the topic back to the cabin.

Tearing his eyes from hers, he pointed at the walls. "I'm going to work on those. They shouldn't be as complicated as the floor, but it'll probably take another week to get it done. Then I need to replace your roof." He glanced up, noting the beams of sunshine radiating through the giant holes above them. "Once I finish that, you'll be free to move in."

She tilted her head, slowly looking around the room. "It will definitely need to be cleaned and painted, but that shouldn't take too long. It sounds like I'll be moved in well before summer ends."

He nodded. "For sure."

Elizabeth eyed the living room walls. "I'm thinking a nice green color would look good in here. What do you think?"

"Uhhh …" He focused, trying to envision what she was seeing. "What kind of green?"

"I think a pastel one. It would give the room a light, spring-y feel."

His eyes took in her dress, which boasted the color he imagined she thought of. "Then you should do it. Green is a pretty color." Especially on you.

When her amused eyes met his, he realized with horror that he'd spoken the thought out loud. Stifling a groan, he stared down at the floor.

She moved closer. He could see the skirt of her lovely green dress as she stopped a short distance away. "Nathan …"

He swallowed hard, saying the first thing that popped into his head. "I need to go check on Allie."

"But she's still sleeping …"

He didn't wait to hear the rest.

Elizabeth stood in her living room, staring after Nathan as he all but ran from her. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel frustrated. It was quite obvious they shared a mutual attraction, but he acted almost frightened of the feelings between them. Elizabeth wondered at that. Had he been hurt before? Or was he simply awkward around women? She hadn't noticed any particular hiccups in his interactions with Faith or Rosemary or Abigail. Maybe it was just her.

That thought made a smile tug at her lips. Did she make him nervous? That would explain a few things. Maybe he just didn't know how to react to light flirting. She saw the shock in his eyes when she told him he was handsome, though how it could shock him was beyond her. Anyone with eyes would have to admit that Nathan Grant was a good-looking man. Surely he'd been told that before.

Unless he was one of those men who subscribed to the notion that if the Mounties wanted a wife, they'd have issued him one. He hadn't been out of the service that long. Maybe he didn't want to marry.

That thought was decidedly less pleasant. Maybe she should try to learn more about her somewhat reticent neighbor. So, with an hour of free time before she had to begin supper preparations for herself, Nathan, and Allie, Elizabeth made her way to the NWMP office. The door was open to let in the summer air. She poked her head in, taking note of Jack sitting at his desk. He looked up when she came in.

"Hey, Elizabeth. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. I just had a question for you." Though now that she was here, she suddenly felt shy voicing it.

He raised a brow. "Is this about Nathan?"

A blush dusted her cheeks. "How did you know?"

Jack laughed. "The sparks flying between you two are undeniable."

She huffed, falling into a chair across from him. "Then why hasn't he done anything about it?"

A slow smile crossed Jack's face. "Are you saying you want him to ask you out?"

Direct, but effective for her purposes. And there was no sense denying it. She gave him a single nod.

His grin widened. "Well, I'll be. Are you admitting that I was right?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. It was a lucky guess on your part."

He laughed. "Luck had nothing to do with it. The way you two reacted to each other at your first meeting told me plenty. I know you haven't known him long, but I could tell you were interested. So is he."

She leaned forward. "Has he ever dated?"

Jack's brow furrowed. "That's a good question. I'm not sure, but he never mentioned a girl to me."

"Is he … open to marrying someday?"

"Oh yeah. He used to talk about having a family when we were at the academy. He would tease me over my stance on not wanting to get married."

That answered her question. Elizabeth leaned back, somewhat mollified. She grinned at her friend. "Good. Glad someone had the sense to give you a hard time for that."

He laughed again, then eyed her. "So you do like him?"

She bit her lip. "Yeah, Jack. I like him a lot. Is that crazy? I've known him only a little more than a week."

Jack shrugged. "Attraction is usually instant. Look at us. Sparks flew pretty quickly."

She wrinkled her nose. "Bad example. We weren't right for each other."

"True, but my point remains." He tapped a finger against the desk. "The problem is, I don't think Nathan will do anything about it, at least not for a while. He's just settling in and trying to figure out his life. He experienced a lot of change in a short period of time. I think he likes you, but isn't ready for a relationship. Give him some time, Elizabeth. If the attraction remains – and I think it will – then once he feels settled, he'll be ready to try romance."

She relaxed slightly, a smile tugging at her lips. "You think so?"

He nodded. "If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it."

Impulsively, Elizabeth rounded the desk and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Jack. You're a good friend."

He grinned. "I am, aren't I?"

She smacked his arm. "Humble, too."

They both laughed. When she left the office, Elizabeth felt better. Jack was right. Nathan's life had been in upheaval for quite some time. There was no need to rush anything. They could simply continue getting to know one another and see where things went from there. It might require some patience on her part, but she had a feeling it would be worth it.