Elizabeth and Carson decided to have supper in the dining car that evening since Jack would enjoy it more. He quickly became stir-crazy after departing Hamilton, and the novelty of being on the train was beginning to wane. The waiter had seated them next to a table where a man and two children were having supper.

He was a little older than Elizabeth, close to Bill's age, maybe younger. The girl looked about ten, and the little boy was about Jack's age. Rather than sitting down, Jack immediately went over and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Jack, and this is Mama. Do you want to play with me?"

"Jack!" Elizabeth scolded gently. "It is not polite to interrupt people's supper. Nor are you supposed to approach people you don't know like this."

"Sorry, Mama."

"I'm so sorry about this," Elizabeth said, turning to the father.

"It's fine," the older man chuckled. "Henry would have done the same thing as soon as you sat down."

He stood up and crossed over to where Elizabeth and Carson stood. "I'm Dr. Daniel Easton, and this is my daughter Bella and, of course, my son Henry."

"It's nice to meet you," Elizabeth chuckled. I'm Elizabeth Thornton, and of course, this is my son Jack, and this is our friend Dr. Carson Shepherd."

"Why don't you join us?" Daniel said, motioning to the three empty chairs at their table. Elizabeth looked at Carson, who nodded in agreement.

"That would be lovely," Elizabeth said.

It took only a short time until the children happily entertained themselves at their end of the table, deep in their own conversations, allowing the adults to talk.

"Is your wife traveling with you?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, it's just me and the children. My wife Henrietta passed, giving birth to Henry."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Carson said. "Losing a wife is very hard. I am a widower as well. My wife, Amber, died during an operation."

"My husband Jack was killed in a landslide as he led a training mission at Fort Clay a few months after we married." Elizabeth wanted to change the subject and asked, "Are you traveling for business or pleasure, Dr. Easton."

Please call me Daniel. Actually, we are going to our new home. I'm opening a practice in a little town called Hope Valley.

"Hope Valley!" Elizabeth and Carson said simultaneously.

"Yes, have you heard of it?" Daniel asked.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Yes, we live there. I'm returning home from a visit to Hamilton. Since it appears that we will be neighbors, please call me Elizabeth.

"Please, call me Carson. Daniel, what type of practice are you opening?"

"I'm a dentist. A month ago, I ran into Mr. Ned Yost. We talked about his opening a pharmacy. He had a toothache, and while I was fixing his tooth, he mentioned that the dentist from his town had left town some time ago because his family didn't like living on the frontier and felt he would make a better living in the city. He was the one that helped me secure my office space. Is there something wrong?"

"No, there is nothing wrong, Daniel. Ned was right, it has been four years since we had a dentist. We have had to go to the one in Nelson Hills or Union City when needed." Elizabeth said. "We were just surprised. I'm the schoolteacher in Hope Valley, and Carson is one of the town doctors."

"I've been away doing a fellowship at Johns Hopkins. I'm a surgeon, but now that I'm finished with my fellowship, I'm returning to Hope Valley, at least for the present."

"But I thought…." Daniel said, clearly confused by the couple. Elizabeth quickly clarified that they weren't a couple.

"Oh no, we aren't together," Elizabeth said, seeing the confusion on his face. "We are just very good friends.

Carson chuckled, "I happened to run into her in Hamilton, and by coincidence, we were traveling back at the same time."

Over the next few days, the group got to know each other, so by the time they approached Hope Valley, they were comfortable with each other.

Carson spent a lot of time teaching Jack and Henry all about the multitude of grain elevators they saw. They had seen many of them in differing shapes and sizes, and her son, in particular, was captivated by them, always trying to spot them in the distance. In a stopover where the train was still for 20 minutes, Carson had arranged through the conductor for Jack to get a brief tour of one. He loved watching the wheat disappear into the floor as it fell out of the tilted box of the grain truck. He didn't quite understand how the grain got into the tall building from the floor and was sad when he had to return to the train. He found a spot at a window and waved to Mr. Kai, the elevator operator, and the many wagons and trucks lined up to drop off their grain as the train pulled out of the train station.

Elizabeth took one final look around the compartment to ensure she had everything. Jack managed to scatter everything from one end to the other in the short time they had traveled, and she didn't want to leave anything behind. Thankfully Carson had graciously offered to keep Jack, Henry, and Bella occupied after breakfast so that she and Daniel could make sure all the belongings were collected and in the luggage.

She was nervous both about dealing with Lucas and then seeing Nathan again. After speaking with Julie about Lucas's actions and the embarrassing things she had spilled to Nathan, Elizabeth didn't know if she could look him in the eye. What must he think of me, she thought to herself.

As her mind registered that fear, she tamped it down and squared her shoulders. She was a Thatcher, and Thatchers never ran from a challenge. It had become her mantra over the last week as she had begun to realize what lay ahead as she began picking up the pieces.

Instead of focusing on herself, she forced her mind to think about the whole group's arrival. She chuckled as she wondered what the town would think of Daniel, the ladies in particular. He was very handsome and distinguished-looking and would be noticed immediately by the single ladies and town matchmakers.

Ned stood next to his wagon, waiting for the Eastons while Julie sat in one of the taxis the council had purchased to help transport passengers from the train depot. After exchanging hugs, Carson offered to get Elizabeth's luggage along with his own while she boarded the taxi. She gave him a grateful smile and did just that. Bella and Henry joined her as Ned and Daniel gathered all theirs to place it in his wagon.

An older distinguished gentleman joined them in the taxi, smiling at the children's antics. Before long, Carson was back, and the taxi headed into town. Daniel elected to ride on the wagon so that he and Ned could talk about their lodging and other preparations that had been made in his office and their new home.

As they approached the Stage Depot, she could see that Lucas stood there waiting expectantly with a smile on his face.

"Julie, I told you I didn't want him to know we were coming today," Elizabeth whispered.

"I didn't tell him, Sister, I promise. I don't know why he is here."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance here? The gentleman is waiting for me." The older man said with a smirk.

Neither woman said anything in response and simply smiled back. Elizabeth could see the shock in Lucas' eyes as she stepped down first, followed by Julie, who turned to take Jack from Carson so he could help Henry and Bella down.

Whether it was because she was home or Julie was with her, she wasn't sure but didn't really care either. Thankfully, others also arrived, and Lucas stopped over to his business associate. Rosemary and Lee came and were joined soon after by Bill.

"Carson?" They turned as they saw Faith come running from across the street. "Carson!" Faith said again as she hugged him. He stiffened but awkwardly returned the hug. Faith noticed and pulled back to look up at him, her eyes full of questions.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? What about Johns Hopkins and your fellowship?"

"I completed it," Carson said. Spying Bill approaching, Carson excused himself from Faith.

"Well, where will you be staying?" Faith asked.

"At the saloon, for now," Carson replied. "I'm not sure how long I'll be staying."

Thankfully Bill and Nathan's arrival prevented further discussion between them. Elizabeth noticed Lucas murmuring to the gentleman after seeing Nathan step onto the platform. He excused himself and walked over, reaching her just before Nathan and Bill did.

"Elizabeth, you didn't tell me you were arriving today. I would have been at the station to greet you." Lucas said with a smarmy smile.

"No, I didn't," Elizabeth responded, giving Nathan and Bill a tired smile.

Just then, Julie stepped up beside Elizabeth. "Good afternoon, Lucas."

"Julie, what a nice surprise," he said nervously. "Have you met Elizabeth Thornton?"

Julie giggled. "Yes, we share the same parents."

Lucas blanched.

"Yes, Lucas, Julie is my baby sister, not Fiona's cousin." Elizabeth said with a smirk pulling him a little to the side out of the way. The crowd had quieted so everyone could hear what was said.

"I'll make this quick and easy. Please stay away from me and my family. I know everything, any relationship or whatever we had, is finished here and now. I don't have the patience or the inclination to hear what you have to say. Now you should probably go see about your business associate and not keep him waiting."

"Elizabeth, I think there's been a mistake…"

"You are right. There have been many, but at least this one is easily rectified."

"Let me help you get home, and we can..."

Elizabeth chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm a big girl, Lucas, and don't require your help. I also have friends that will help me should I require it. As for you and me…" Elizabeth shook her head in disgust. "Well, I believe I made myself clear. Do not think you can charm me into resuming a courtship because it is not happening. There is nothing you could tell me that I would be interested in hearing." Without another word, she returned to the group.

Lucas stood there watching as Bill went up and hugged her while Nathan stood there with an amused look. He didn't appear surprised by any of it, much to Lucas' annoyance. Knowing there wasn't anything he could do or say for now, he went back over to where his business associate, Jerome Smith was, and they headed to the saloon.

Elizabeth approached Rosemary and heard her talking with Carson. "There's a boarding house that just opened up. It is run by the Nelson family, who bought the old Miller place, so it's within walking distance."

"Elizabeth, I was just telling Carson about some new arrivals that just moved into town."

"Wow! It seems to be the day for lots of new arrivals. We met Dr. Easton and his two children on the train here. Daniel is the father of Bella and Henry." Elizabeth said, finally getting the chance to introduce the children that arrived and were currently being entertained by Jack and Lee.

"Oh, here is Daniel, now," Elizabeth said with a smile.

It didn't take long for him to be swarmed with welcomes from Rosemary, Molly, and Florence. Finally having a quiet moment, Elizabeth sensed when Nathan walked up behind her, and her heart began to race. Turning, she smiled anxiously, unsure of what he would say.

Before she could say anything, Jack spotted him. "Mountie Nathan!" and launched himself at his friend.

Nathan smiled warmly and bent down to catch him up in his arms.

"Hey, Big Guy, you must have grown a foot since you have been gone," Nathan said, hugging him. "We missed you."

"We missed you too," Jack giggled and looked around. "Where's Allie?"

"She is away visiting her grandma right now."

"There's my godson," Bill said, approaching Jack with his arms up. Nathan handed him over, and then Bill left, leaving them awkwardly standing together. At least Elizabeth felt awkward, but Nathan just smiled and struck up a conversation like they were old friends and nothing cross had passed between them.

Nathan leaned over and hugged her, and she froze, feeling the familiar shocks before he quickly pulled away, the smell of pine and cedar filling her nostrils and enthralling her senses. "It's good to see you."

"Uh…. It's good to see you too," Elizabeth said, unsure what was happening. They hadn't really spoken since that day in the jail when she had spoken those awful words to him. Yet now he was looking at her without the detached look he usually had.

"How was Hamilton? The book tour?" Nathan asked her with genuine interest.

"Oh, uh, it was nice seeing family, but I'm glad the book tours are done. That wasn't as fun."

He grinned, "I imagine it probably wasn't. I need to get going but uh… it's nice to see you back in town. We need to catch up sometime soon." Then with a wink and a brush of his hand down her arm, he was gone, leaving her speechless.

As she watched him walk away, Elizabeth stood there wondering what just happened and who was that man posing as Nathan Grant.

Author's Note: There you have it! New characters, break up with Lucas, and was that really Nathan Grant? Check out the Nathan Grant Fanfiction! Facebook group for pictures of Daniel and grain elevators.