Hello once again! Thank you for all your support and kind reviews on the previous chapter. Every comment is appreciated. Keep a look out for the next chapters (don't hate me when you read chapter six... Don't worry though, this chapter's fine...)!

Rosemary Coulter was setting down the last item of silverware onto the wooden dinner table when an exhausted Lee and Nathan walked in. She was surprised to see the town's Constable, of course, but not because he was in her house. She had a hunch that Lee would invite Nathan to dinner after the driving lessons, because that's just how Lee lived life- hospitably (she was not mad about it, quite the contrary. It worked out in her favour. Although she had to keep reminding herself it was for the favour of others, in the long run.). Rosemary was more surprised at their appearances.

The blonde puckered her lips at the sight of the two men, hair askew and red-faced.

Lee walked over to his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek before sitting down on a nearby chair. "Hey, sweetheart. You don't mind if Nathan stays for dinner, do you?"

"Hey indeed!" Rosemary exclaimed. "Of course it's alright, but what on earth happened to you two? You look like you ran over a cat!"

"Almost," Nathan murmured as he shuffled his feet. He cleared his throat. "Is there anything I can do, Mrs. Coulter?"

Rosemary waved a hand in the air. "Nonsense, don't worry about it. Just take a seat," she gestured to the table setting beside Lee. "And don't be silly, please call me Rosemary. 'Mrs. Coulter' makes me sound like an old marm." She paused, gritting her teeth. She had done the one thing she swore to herself not to do.

As Nathan sat down, Lee shot Rosemary a puzzled look. "Rosie, I don't think that's a very… Polite thing to say… Especially since one of our close friends is a teacher."

Nathan looked away from the couple, suddenly finding fascination in the gleaming spoon he was toying with.

Forced laughter rang from Rosemary's mouth. "I'm kidding." She smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles from her apron, then proceeded to remove it and put it away. "Anywho- please, tell me about your days," she said, attempting to redirect the conversation. No way would she draw attention to her best friend again. It would massacre her plan if they found out.

Lee gave Rosemary one last warning glance, and nudged Nathan's arm. "Yeah…" Nathan looked up, glad the momentary spat was over. He hated being in unpleasant situations. "Say, Nathan, why don't you tell us about your day?"

"Well… Umm…" Nathan pursed his lips. "I did my rounds, then…" He and Lee shared a glance. "I tried to cook. And then Lee and I went driving."

"Oh? Cooking? What did you make?" Rosemary questioned imploringly.

Nathan fiddled with more utensils. "Grilled cheese. I tried to, at least."

Rosemary, still standing by the kitchen counter, frowned. "You tried to? What does that mean?" She placed one hand over the other on the wooden countertop. Realization dawned in her eyes. "Oh. You burnt it?"

Nathan nodded grimly.

Rosemary came over to where Nathan sat and patted his shoulder. "Don't fret. I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Now," she smiled with all her teeth. "Let's just wait a few more minutes before digging in, shall we?"

Lee frowned. "Why? We're not expecting anyone else…" His eyes travelled to the place setting diagonal to him. There were four sets of plates, but only three people. Narrowing his blue eyes, he looked at his wife. "We are expecting someone else… Rosemary?"

Her mouth in the shape of an "O," Rosemary's eyes bugged out. They couldn't have found out!

The entire house went silent. That is, until the sound of a knock on the front door broke it.

"I'll get it!" Rosemary hollered, elated that she wouldn't need to explain herself. Not yet, at least. She hurried over to the door and pulled it open, but not all the way, so that the second dinner guest would not see the dinner table.

"Hi, Rosemary!" The cheery sound of Elizabeth's voice sent Nathan's heart into overdrive. He tried to keep calm, and stared wide-eyed at Lee. Lee just shrugged, clearly confused as well.

"Hello, Elizabeth!" Rosemary grinned. "So glad you could make it on such short notice."

"Oh, yes. Thank you for inviting me. I'm so happy that Laura could watch Jack this evening." Elizabeth looked at her friend quizzically. "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"Hmm? Yes, sorry. Come on in." Rosemary opened the door fully for Elizabeth to walk in.

Elizabeth strode into the house, unaware of the other guest. "Thank you. I brought some dessert," she gestured to the metal casserole dish in her hands. "Apple crisp." Rosemary opened her mouth to object, but Elizabeth continued speaking. "Now, I know you said not to bring anything, but I had it premade in the ice box, so I heated it up a bit, and…" Her voice trailed off when she saw who else was at the dining table.

Nathan gingerly turned his head to meet Elizabeth's gaze. Rosemary took the casserole dish from Elizabeth's hands, worried that it might drop due to her surprise. She placed the apple crisp on the counter, leaving her friend stock-still.

Regaining her composure, Elizabeth walked closer to the counter where Rosemary secured a cloth around the dessert to keep it warm.

She used her foot to lightly kick Rosemary's ankle. Rosemary gave her a side glance accompanied by a smirk. The blonde grabbed hold of Elizabeth's hand and dragged her to the table. No one said a word.

"Ahh, we're all here. Happy to have you two join us for supper," Rosemary began, providing an introduction to commence the dinner. "Elizabeth, you can sit beside me." She pointed to the chair across to where Nathan was situated. Elizabeth's stomach churned as she took her place at the table. Rosemary did as well, smiling at the others.

Nathan gave Elizabeth an awkward smile to say "hi." She returned it with a wider one, remembering the scene of him driving Lee's automobile earlier.

"Who would like to say grace?" Rosemary asked, clearly pleased with herself. "No takers?" She said when no one volunteered. "I guess I will." Instead of intertwining her fingers to pray, Rosemary took Lee's left hand in hers, evoking an even more confused look on her husband's face. They never held each other's hands during grace. "Come on!" She said, gripping Elizabeth's hand.

Lee and Nathan shared a "weirded-out" look and held hands. That only left two more hands to be held.

Elizabeth's gaze dropped to stare at Nathan's hand resting on the table.

Honestly! Rosemary thought, A hug is more touchy, and they can't even do this?

Almost as if returning the favour, Rosemary nudged Elizabeth's ankle from under the table. Elizabeth jerked a bit in her seat, but slowly placed her hand in Nathan's. It was warm, and touching him sent little shivers up her spine. But once her hand was in his, both hands froze.

When Rosemary suggested to hold hands while blessing the food, Nathan automatically felt his stomach drop. Now, when Elizabeth embraced him, it was clothing touching clothing. Holding hands almost felt like a violation, even if it were for prayer. Holding her hand meant feeling his skin on her skin for God knows how long, especially since Rosemary was praying. So when Elizabeth hesitantly surrendered her hand to clasp around his, his heart pumped so fast he was shocked no one else could hear.

The touch sent shockwaves through his body, but he willed his hand to be still. Nathan was careful to make sure his hand didn't brush against her wedding and engagement rings, but it inevitably happened. The gold, slightly warmed by her body heat, made him feel odd. He thought that those rings were a palpable, obvious reminder of where her heart once laid. And Nathan wasn't sure how to feel about it. Only a sliver of it grazed his hand, but it felt like the metal was searing a brand into his skin.

"...Amen!"

Nathan didn't even hear the prayer over the pounding rush of blood in his ears. He retreated his hand as fast as he could without appearing rude. Unfortunately, Elizabeth sensed how quickly he pulled away and couldn't help but feel hurt.

"Let's dig in," Rosemary said, picking up the meat fork and carving knife beside the roast she made, and handed them to Lee. He began to cut paper-thin slices of the savoury beef while everyone served themselves. "So," Rosemary started when everyone began eating. "You seem pretty comfortable with Allie, Nathan."

Nathan swallowed the sweet potato he had been chewing on and nodded.

Lee, though, was wondering where his wife was taking this conversation. So was Elizabeth- when her friend asked her to dinner during her lunch break, she had not been surprised. Rosemary had just told her Lee was going to be out for a bit and hoped she could come. Elizabeth didn't think there were any ulterior motives. But Rosemary did have some (she didn't think of it that way, as stated before). Lee told Rosemary that he was going to show Nathan how to drive, which sparked an opportunity for a plan in her head.

"Would you like children in the future, Nathan?" Rosemary asked as she pierced a forkful of salad.

Stunned, Nathan's face turned beet red as he cleared his throat. His blue eyes were trained on the food on his plate, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone. "I have Allie…"

Rosemary made a face. "No, I mean, do you want your own children. You know, half you, half…" She sneakily gave Elizabeth a side glance. "...Someone else?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened at Rosemary's question and implication. Nathan squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, face still scarlet, and eyes finding interest in his knife.

"Well…" Nathan began, loosening the collar of his shirt while finally looking at the interrogator. "Umm… I guess it would be-"

"Nice vegetables, sweetheart!" Lee interjected, using his knife to point to the buttered brussel sprouts rolling around his plate.

"Thank you, Leland." Rosemary replied curtly, straightening in her seat. "As I was saying, do you want kids? You do know, the younger the better, and-"

"Rosemary!" Elizabeth pinched her face and gawked exasperatedly at Rosemary. The two men stared at her, surprised at Elizabeth's sudden outburst.

"What?" Rosemary asked innocently. "It's a simple question! Not controversial in the least, so it's perfect dinner material!"

Elizabeth huffed, then set her napkin by her plate. She smiled pleasantly at Nathan and Lee. "Excuse me, I must go freshen up." She stood up and grabbed hold of her best friend's arm. "We need to go freshen up. Rosemary?"

Rosemary groaned inwardly, and nodded towards the men. "See you in a few minutes."

"What was that?!" Elizabeth interrogated Rosemary in a hushed, angry tone after she shut and locked the door to her friend's bedroom.

Rosemary plopped down on the fuschia bedspread and sighed. "Elizabeth, it was just a question! I don't see why you're so upset!"

The brunette stared daggers. "But why?! You knew you were doing something, Rosemary." Elizabeth bore her teeth and seethed. "And inviting us both to the same dinner? What is this, a game for you?"

Rosemary kept her eyes stuck on Elizabeth's pacing feet. "Hold on- I didn't invite Nathan."

"What? Then who?"

"It was Lee. He gave Nathan driving lessons and was just being a friend!"

Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rosemary. Really?"

"Oh, yes! Although I was hoping Lee would invite him for supper…" She made air "X's" with her arms. "But I most certainly did not invite him myself."

Elizabeth eased herself on the bed beside Rosemary, calmer than before. "But why did you ask him… That question?"

Rosemary guiltily twiddled her thumbs. "Truthfully…"

"Yes, truthfully?" Elizabeth drew out her words.

"I just- oh, I don't know. It just came out. I now see it was totally inappropriate for the conversation."

Elizabeth looked at her friend. "Then why? Also, why did you look at me like that?"

Rosemary spoke quietly. "Well… You know… I can picture you.. And Nathan… Together." She steeled herself. "And… Well… Children just come with that thought. You know, Lee and I have been married for years and it hasn't happened."

Elizabeth's features softened. "Rosemary…"

"No," she said, placing a finger on Elizabeth's lips. "I am not saying that for pity. I genuinely wanted Nathan to know that he better get on it before it's too late."

"'Better get on it?'" Elizabeth furrowed her brows. "Oh my word. Rosemary!" She swatted her friend's arm.

Rosemary looked puzzled for a moment, then comprehended what Elizabeth was so appalled at. "Oh, don't look so scandalized! Pardon my language, I did not know that some individuals would interpret my words that way."

Elizabeth felt her face redden not for the third time today. "My mistake…"

Rosemary faced her friend. "No, Elizabeth, my mistake. I shouldn't have played matchmaker and acted the way I did." Rosemary saw Elizabeth smile. "Forgive me?"

"All is forgiven. Just please never do it again."

"Oh!" Rosemary exclaimed as she stood up. "I should probably apologise to Nathan, too."

Elizabeth lamented for a moment. "You know what? I'll tell him you're sorry." Elizabeth saw that he looked pretty uncomfortable down there, and didn't want him to feel more distressed by Rosemary's undoubtedly extravagant apology.

"Okay. Let's get back down there, then."

The friends nestled into each other's arms for a hug and headed back downstairs.

Back at the wooden dining table, Nathan was using his fork to move around the remnants of broccoli florets on his plate. He still felt hot and uneasy, bewildered by Rosemary's question. It would've been a fine question to ask if it was just him, but that Elizabeth was present made the abrupt question ten times worse. Then Elizabeth and Rosemary went upstairs to most certainly talk about her inquiries. It made him want to drown in the gravy that was set on the table.

It had only been a matter of minutes before the pair of women waltzed down the stairs again, sliding their hands down the mahogany railing.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Rosemary smiled at her friend. "All is well. Now, who wants to try some of that apple crisp? It smells delicious!"