AN: So, let me just thank Lauralyn for the name for Archie and Lee's business venture. I really like it! Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

The days of August continued to go on. Jack was constantly peeking in on his eggs. Nathan found himself praying that at least one of those eggs would hatch. He knew well the feeling of disappointment and given all Jack had been through recently, Nathan wanted him spared the disappointment of having to dispose of the eggs.

As he often did as August tenth approached, Nathan found his heart growing heavy. He had thought that perhaps things this year would be different. That maybe with things going well with Elizabeth it might counter the pain of the past. It didn't seem to be changing anything, though perhaps that was because he wasn't sharing. However, he did not want to interfere with Elizabeth's healing by burdening her with his own troubles. He knew he would need to share at some point now that they were married, but he didn't feel that now was a good time. Elizabeth seemed to be in a fairly good place. Nathan did not want to be the one to upset that.

Nathan had done a lot of riding today during the course of his work day. Because of that, he had decided to walk home, leading Newton. So lost was he in his thoughts that he was not even aware that Rosemary was walking beside him until she touched his arm. He started a bit as he looked in her direction.

"Sorry," Rosemary said gently. "I have said your name three times and you didn't respond," she explained.

It was Nathan's turn to apologize. "Sorry, Rosemary," he told her. "I was distracted."

"Tell me about it," Rosemary said. "As it is not something I normally attribute to either of our town's Mounties would you like to tell me what is on your mind?"

Nathan hesitated. A few months ago, he probably would not have said anything to Rosemary. However, the woman had turned into a friend and a confidant these last few months. Not saying anything was not an option. Rosemary already knew that something was on his mind. He was not quite sure he was ready to share everything either.

"Tomorrow has not been the best day for me in the past. I have had several bad events happen on the date, including Colleen's death."

"That alone could be hard," Rosemary said sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Pray that tomorrow is simply an ordinary day for me," Nathan told her.

"I can do that," Rosemary replied. "How are things with you as far as Elizabeth is concerned and have you talked to her about tomorrow?"

"No, I haven't mentioned anything about tomorrow. I wasn't sure that I should. Elizabeth is healing and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that."

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Rosemary told him. "Elizabeth is doing well. She told me you kissed her."

Nathan felt his cheeks grow warm though he didn't know why. It was just a kiss. Beside, he knew that Elizabeth had told Rosemary about it as his wife had told him that much. Elizabeth had also told him that the thought of anything else still brought about painful memories. He had assured Elizabeth that he did not expect anything more from her.

"You have been Elizabeth's rock these last few months, Nathan. I think for your relationship to continue to grow, you need to start letting Elizabeth be there for you as well."

The two of them walked in silence, Nathan mulling over Rosemary's words. What she said made sense and he knew that Rosemary wanted what was best for both Elizabeth and himself. The woman had not steered either of them wrong yet.

"I will think about it, Rosemary," Nathan finally told her.

"Good enough," Rosemary said. "Did your father tell you that he and Lee had decided upon a name for the hotel?" she asked, changing the subject to an easier topic.

Archie and Lee planned on opening their hotel next week. Nathan could not remember seeing his father more excited about a project.

"He did," Nathan replied. "The Amaryllis. Why do I have a feeling that you may have had something to do with that suggestion?"

Rosemary shrugged. "I may have thrown out a few suggestions. However, your father was talking about coming up with a name that symbolized new opportunities and second chances. Lee liked the idea and I may have pointed out that Amaryllis means new and fresh in Greek."

"It's a good name, Rosemary," Nathan told her. "I really want this to go well for my father. He really has been doing well these past few years. I would like to see him have something he can take pride in."

"I think they will do fine," Rosemary replied. "People have been having to wait for a table at the café. Clara said she is looking forward to them taking some of the business off her hand so she can breathe again."

"I have noticed that," Nathan said. "I had been thinking about taking Elizabeth out to dinner sometime, but I'd rather not do it in such a crowd. With both places open, perhaps we could enjoy a peaceful meal in town."

"I think Elizabeth would enjoy that," Rosemary said as they reached the place where they normally parted ways. "If you need someone to talk to tomorrow, or anytime, you know where to find me, Nathan," she said, giving Nathan a hug.

"I do," Nathan assured her. "Thank you, Rosemary," he added as he released her.

As Rosemary started toward her own home, Nathan continued home himself.

Elizabeth put the lasagna in the oven and headed into the sitting room. She wanted to just sit for a bit while the lasagna baked. Stepping into the dining room, Elizabeth found her son sitting in front of the fireplace with the book she and Ally had put together for him. Ally was sitting at her desk, colored pencils spread across the surface. The girl looked up as she entered.

"Do you need your desk?" Ally asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I think I am just going to sit on the settee for a bit," she replied as she paused behind Ally. "What are you working on?"

Ally hesitated a moment. "A birthday card for Dad," she finally said softly.

"I didn't know your Dad's birthday was coming up?"

"It is tomorrow. He doesn't like to celebrate it," Ally said. "He says too many bad things have happened on it, my mom's death included"

Elizabeth felt her breath catch at the admission. As hard as Jack's death had been, Elizabeth could not imagine what it would be like if he had passed away on an already significant day like her birthday.

"I tried doing something special when I was eight," Ally told her looking up at her. "It didn't go well. I dropped the cake that my babysitter had helped me bake. I then knocked over a vase of flowers I had gathered for him and cut my hand trying to clean up the glass after Dad told me to leave it be. He had to stitch my hand. I spent most of the rest of the evening crying and Dad said it was just further proof the day was not supposed to be celebrated. I haven't tried to do anything beside making him a card since."

Elizabeth squatted down next to Ally. "I am sure that card is very special to him, Ally," she told the girl. "What do you say we try to create a happy memory for him tomorrow?" she suggested.

"I don't know," Ally said. "He is always quiet and sad on the day. I don't want to make things worse."

"We will keep things simple, just like we did for my birthday last month," Elizabeth told her. "No gifts. We can invite Bill, Gabriel, Faith and your grandfather to dinner. You and I can bake a cake tomorrow. Do you know his favorite kind of cake?"

"It is actually carrot cake," Ally replied.

Elizabeth nodded. "Then we bake a carrot cake and simply write Happy Birthday on it. We can present it without the traditional song. What do you say? Your father deserves a little recognition, don't you think?"

Ally nodded. "Should we invite the Coulters too?" she asked. "I don't think they should be left out."

Elizabeth nodded. "We can invite them too," she said.

"What if things go wrong?" Ally asked, clearly still worried.

"Then we make the best of things," Elizabeth told her. "However, I plan on anticipating everything will go smoothly. Positive thinking, right?"

Ally smiled. "Right," she replied, reaching out to hug Elizabeth before returning to the card.

Elizabeth stood up and went over to the settee. She knew that Bill could make a wonderful carrot cake. She had a feeling she needed to recruit the man's help with baking the cake. She knew that Nathan had tomorrow off. Elizabeth had a feeling she knew why now. She didn't know what Nathan's plans were, but if he was around the house tomorrow she and Ally may have to take a trip into town to bake the cake in secret.

After putting Jack to bed that night, Elizabeth checked in with Ally, who was reading in her room, and then went in search of Nathan. All four of them had watched the sunset from the porch and then Ally and Jack had chased fireflies for a while. When the kids had tired of that activity, Ally had gone inside while Jack had climbed up in Nathan's lap and gone to sleep. Though Nathan had carried Jack upstairs for her, she had gotten Jack in his pajamas and tucked into bed. A bedtime story had not been necessary, though Elizabeth had still sung her son a couple of lullabies.

Elizabeth found Nathan back on the front porch. As she stepped through the front door, she saw her husband sitting on the top step, staring into the night. She pulled the door shut behind her, and then sat down next to him. She looped an arm through his, before leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You have been quiet tonight," Elizabeth commented. The information she had gotten from Ally seemed to be a likely cause but Elizabeth wanted to see if Nathan would volunteer the information to her himself. If not, she figured he would find out she knew about tomorrow after dinner when she brought out the cake.

"I have had things on my mind," Nathan admitted, reaching over to lay his other hand on top of the forearm of the arm she had looped through his.

"I am here, if you want to share," Elizabeth told him.

Nathan didn't respond right away. An owl hooted in the distance as the two sat in silence. Elizabeth didn't rush him. He would either share or he wouldn't, though she hoped he would. Still, she offered him the same patience that he had shown to her these last few months.

"Tomorrow is my birthday, Elizabeth," Nathan finally ventured.

"Ally mentioned that," Elizabeth admitted, quietly, not moving from her position. "She was working on a card for you before you got home from work."

"I guess she mentioned that I don't like celebrating my birthday, too."

"Yes," Elizabeth admitted. "She mentioned that you have had bad things happen on your birthday. It must have been hard losing your sister on your birthday."

"It was," Nathan admitted. Elizabeth could hear a slight waver in his voice. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, though she remained quiet, giving him the chance to reveal what he wanted to, without feeling rushed. "So was my father missing my seventh birthday party because he was wrapped up in a poker game. My ninth birthday was the morning I found my mother crying because he had pawned her amethyst broach."

Elizabeth recalled Nathan telling her about that when Archie Grant had first arrived in Hope Valley. Nathan had not mentioned then that it had happened on his birthday.

"My father managed to be present for my tenth birthday but that was also the day a Mountie arrived on our doorstep to arrest him for stealing from the bank. On my seventeenth birthday, the papers finalizing my parents' divorce came in the mail. Mom tried to hide them from me, but I found them. She had cried, upset that she had ruined another birthday for me. When Colleen passed away on my birthday, I think I just made up my mind that the day was cursed. Did Ally tell you about the time she tried to do something for my birthday?"

"She did," Elizabeth admitted.

"It wasn't the dropped birthday cake, or the broken vase that had upset me. I would have been fine with all of that because my little girl had gone to the trouble of trying to make the day special. What got to me was Ally's tears, because she had ruined my 'special day'."

"What about the childhood birthdays in between the ones you mentioned?" Elizabeth asked.

Nathan gave a soft chuckle. "Mom made those special," he admitted. "Still, it seems like the ones where bad things happened stand out more."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean your birthday is cursed. Speaking as a mother myself, I can guarantee that it was one of the happiest days of your mother's life."

"I never stopped to consider that," Nathan admitted.

"I am suddenly very partial to August tenth, myself," Elizabeth told him. "You have turned into one of the biggest blessings in my life, Nathan. I thank you for loving me through all the heartache. It takes a special person to do that."

"Thank you," Nathan murmured before placing a kiss on top of her head.

"Ally and I want to recognize that fact tomorrow," Elizabeth continued. With Nathan opening up about his feelings about his birthday, it didn't seem right somehow to surprise him. "Nothing major, but we planned on inviting a few people for dinner and having a cake."

"What is a few people?" Nathan asked, the wariness clear in his voice.

"Bill, Archie, Gabriel, Faith, Lee and Rosemary," Elizabeth told him. "If you would rather we didn't, I will explain it to Ally. Having just found out about your birthday today, I didn't have time to plan in advance."

"Is this important to you and Ally?"

Elizabeth lifted her head and looked over at him. Nathan was looking in her direction, unshed tears glistening in the dim light of the night.

"It is," Elizabeth replied.

"Then go ahead with your plans. Just remember, if things go wrong, I tried to warn you."

"You sound like, Ally. I choose to believe that things will go as planned and we'll have a pleasant dinner with our friends," Elizabeth told him. "I might not be able to do anything to take away the pain of the memory of losing your sister, or any of the other bad events that happened on this day in the past, but I can help create happy memories to balance the grief. Just like you have been doing for me."

"Thank you," Nathan told her softly before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. It was still the slightest of pressure but Elizabeth noticed Nathan let his lips linger on hers a little longer than in the past.