The sun shined through the shed that Nathan was sleeping in. Nathan could feel the sun on his eyes.
"Time to get up sleepy head," said a familiar voice.
Nathan smiled and opened on of his eyes. Laying next to him was Angela. Angela always looked so beautiful in the morning.
Nathan groaned.
"I just want to stay in bed with you all day." Nathan said.
"Me too. But we can't. You have to walk Allie to school and make sure she gets inside this time. I can't believe you fell for the whole I can walk myself to school rouse." Angela said and laughed.
"She was quite convincing." Nathan said.
"I bet she'll grow up to be a lawyer one day." Angela said.
"I wouldn't put it past her." Nathan said.
Nathan looked at Angela.
"You're so beautiful. I miss you." Nathan said.
"I miss you too. But I have to go now." Angela said.
"Just a minute more." Nathan said.
"Nathan" Angela whispered.
Nathan suddenly woke up. He was alone in his bed. Angela wasn't there. Nathan sat up on the edge of his bed. He loved and hated those kinds of dreams. He loved having them but hated waking up from them. Nathan rubbed his eyes and went over to the sink. He cleaned himself up and put on his Henley and suspenders. He went inside the house for breakfast. Colleen and Allie were at the table.
"Someone slept in a little later than usual. The dream was that good?" Colleen asked. Nathan poured his coffee and smiled.
"Something like that." Nathan said.
"Allie, do you have the apology letter to Mrs. Thronton ready to go?" Colleen asked Allie.
"Yes Ma'am." Allie said.
"Good. Uncle Nathan will walk you to the door today, right Uncle Nathan." Colleen asked.
Nathan finished chewing and swallowing his pancake.
"Yes Ma'am." Nathan said.
"Good" Colleen said. Nathan rolled his eyes at Allie. Allie giggled. After finishing their breakfasts, Allie, Nathan and Colleen said their goodbyes to one another for the day.
Nathan walked Allie up to the school door. Elizabeth was in front greeting her students.
"Hello Allie. Welcome!" Elizabeth said.
"Hello Mrs. Thornton. This is for you" Allie said handing Elizabeth her apology letter.
"What is this?' Elizabeth asked.
"An apology letter for missing class yesterday." Nathan said.
"I see. Thank you very much, Allie. Why don't you go find a seat. Class will be starting soon." Elizabeth suggested.
Allie nodded and walked up the steps.
"Be good." Nathan shouted.
Elizabeth smiled.
"She'll be fine." Elizabeth said.
"I know. But she's 10 going onto 17." Nathan said.
Elizabeth laughed.
For the first time since Angela passed, Nathan enjoyed hearing a woman laugh at his corny jokes.
"Well, I will let you go to mold young minds." Nathan said.
"Right. Have a nice day, Constable. Keep safe." Elizabeth said. Nathan tipped his hat to Elizabeth and was on his way.
xxx
Meanwhile, Colleen was working in the saloon. She had to wash all the sheets from the beds and put the new ones down. She took the dirty sheets off the bed and went downstairs into the backyard to wash the sheets. She needed to work quickly so she could let these dry in the sun before taking them down to the basement to dry by the heater.
Colleen poured some water and soap into a bucket. She put the sheets in the water to soak. After letting them soak, she took out the washboard and began scrubbing them. While scrubbing the sheets, Lucas came out to see what she was doing.
"That looks like a lot of work." Lucas said.
"It is. But if you want them cleaned, this is the way to do it." Colleen said.
"I've never had to clean sheets before." Lucas said.
Colleen nodded. Lucas rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and stood next to Colleen.
"May I help?" Lucas asked.
"Y0u don't have to." Colleen said.
"But I want to. And I'm the boss, remember." Lucas said with a smirk. Colleen rolled her eyes. Colleen showed Lucas how to scrub the sheets on the washboard. As they were scrubbing, Lucas broke the silence.
"I was thinking about what you said about Dangerous Liaisons. And I have to agree with you. Chasing after one's own desires can cause a lot of trouble. Plus, I'm more of a Robin Hood type of person." Lucas said.
"Really? Do you wear the tights?" Colleen joked.
"No." Lucas laughed.
"So, you steal from the rich?" Colleen asked.
"Not exactly." Lucas said.
"And do you give to the poor?" Colleen asked.
"I haven't decided that yet." Lucas said.
"The town is looking for a space for a library. I think Robin Hood would think that would be a good donation." Colleen said.
Lucas nodded.
Lucas helped Colleen hang up the sheets to dry.
"I have some work I have to do in my office, but let me know if you need any help" Lucas said.
Colleen nodded. Lucas left. Colleen finished washing the sheets and put them up to dry. Colleen did a few more tasks before taking the sheets down and putting them in the cellar to dry. As she was heading down the cellar, she missed Allie walking in to the saloon.
xxx
Nathan looked at his watch. He couldn't believe the time. He had been enthralled with his work that he didn't realize that Allie was a few minutes late. Nathan put his hat on and went outside. He saw Allie coming his direction.
"Allie, you're late." Nathan said.
"I took the scenic route." Allie said.
"Allie, your mother told you to come straight here from school." Nathan said.
"I know. But this place is new and I just wanted to look around." Allie said.
Nathan sighed.
"Go inside and start on your homework." Nathan said.
Allie ran up the stairs into the Mountie office.
"She has a spirit." A voice said from behind Nathan. Nathan turned around and saw it was Elizabeth holding a child.
" I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Nathan said.
"I think it's a good thing." Elizabeth said.
"And who might this be?" Nathan asked wiggling his finger to Jack.
"This is Jack Thornton Jr. but we are calling him Little Jack for now." Elizabeth said.
"Hello there little Jack." Nathan said. The baby cooed and smiled at Nathan.
Nathan smiled.
"How was Allie in class today?" Nathan asked Elizabeth.
"She was okay. She is a little stand offish." Elizabeth said.
"That's not good." Nathan said.
"It was her first day. But I remember Colleen saying that she had been to so many different schools. And I think her being stand offish is her way of protecting herself from being hurt." Elizabeth said.
Nathan looked at Elizabeth. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He knew that hurt. It was the hurt from losing the one you love. The one who understood your heart.
"How do we fix that?" Nathan asked.
"Time. Encourage Allie. Though I'm sure you already do that." Elizabeth said trailing off.
"Thank you for letting me know. I will let Colleen know and we will talk to Allie." Nathan said.
Elizabeth smiled.
"I'm glad that she has someone like you in her life to help her." Elizabeth said.
"I'm just glad that she has a teacher that is involved as you are." Nathan said.
They both smiled at each other. Someone shouted Elizabeth's name. She excused herself. Nathan waved goodbye to Little Jack.
Nathan stood there for a minute with a smile on his face.
"What has your smiling? Or should I say who?" Colleen said walking up next to him.
Nathan blushed.
"No one." Nathan said.
"Uh-huh. Not a certain school teacher?" Colleen said.
Nathan started to get tongue tied trying to explain himself.