When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

...

September, 1925

...

"Are you sure you have everything?" Elizabeth asked Lucas as he lifted the bag to his shoulder. "Tent? Extra blankets?"

"Yes, my love," he assured her, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her cheek. "I even have some extra food, just in case our fishing expedition isn't as fruitful as we hope."

"You'll keep an eye on the children?"

"No. I think I'll just let them run wild and do whatever they wish." He chuckled. "Of course, I will. Besides, we're going to have a Mountie with us. We'll be just fine."

"I know, it's just that Cora hasn't been camping before. I'm worried about her."

He put his hands on her arms. "She's so excited about this, Elizabeth. She's going to have a great time."

"Okay, but if anything happens, you bring them straight home."

"I will." He kissed her softly. "I'm going to take these bags out to the porch. Lee should be here any minute."

"I'll make sure the children are ready."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth stood outside, holding Coraline on her hip.

"You listen to your daddy, okay? And Uncle Lee and Mountie Nathan."

"Yes, mama." She nodded. "I'm a good girl."

Elizabeth smiled and hugged her daughter. "I know you are, Cora." She kissed her cheek before lowering her to the ground. "You have so much fun. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get home."

"Jack, go say goodbye to your mother," Lucas prompted.

The nine-year-old wrapped his arms around her waist. "Bye, mom."

She leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "Have fun, Jack. You help dad with Cora, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." He squeezed her one more time before hopping up into Lee's car.

Lucas passed baby Grace back to Elizabeth. "We'll see you on Sunday."

"Be safe, Lucas." She kissed him soundly. "And please bring our children home in one piece."

He laughed. "I will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He cupped his hand around the top of the baby's head. "I love you, Gracie. Have fun with mama."

She gave him a gummy smile and cooed.

He kissed Elizabeth one more time and waved before joining Lee and the children in the car. Coraline was already chattering excitedly with Franny about the things they were going to do on their camping trip.

Elizabeth shifted the baby into one arm, waving as the car pulled away from the house.

"Well, Gracie. What shall we do now?"

...

"Daddy," Coraline scratched at her arm. "I'm itchy."

"Come here, Cora." He held out her arm in the light of the fire, seeing a small red spot. He sighed in relief, having worried for a moment that he would have to return home and tell Elizabeth that their daughter had gotten into poison ivy. "That's just a mosquito bite. I know it itches, but try not to scratch it."

"Daddy," she whined, climbing into his lap.

"I know, Princess. Mosquito bites are annoying." He kissed the top of her head.

"Perhaps it's time for everyone to turn in for the night," Lee suggested, tilting his head toward Franny, who was dozing in his lap. "It looks like these little ones are all getting sleepy."

"Silas is well past sleepy," Nathan chuckled quietly, acknowledging the little boy snoring on his shoulder.

"Let's go, Jack. Time for bed." Lucas waved him over to the tent.

"Five more minutes? Please?" He stuck out his lower lip.

Lucas smiled, shaking his head. "Five minutes. Then bedtime."

The three men entered the large tent they had put up for the children, each situating their child in the piles of blankets they had brought. Silas remained asleep the entire time, and Franny was asleep soon after Lee tucked her in. Coraline, however, was fighting sleep.

"I'm not tired, daddy," she yawned, scratching lazily at her arm.

"I think you are, Cora." He stroked her hair. "You need to get some sleep, so we can go fishing tomorrow."

"I'm gonna get a big one." She yawned again, snuggling into her pillow.

"I bet you will." Lucas smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Sleep well, Princess. I love you."

"Love you, daddy," she mumbled, her eyes finally slipping shut.

"She's out?" Nathan asked when Lucas joined the men around the fire again.

"For now. I imagine she'll wake up and come over to my tent at some point, though." He laughed softly. "I told Elizabeth I'm expecting that."

"I'll take care of her," Jack assured him.

Lucas ruffled his hair. "You're the best big brother, Jack. Just a few more minutes, and then you need to go to bed, too."

He sighed. "Okay."

Lucas put his arm around Jack. "Are you having a good time?"

He smiled, nodding. "Yes. Can we go camping more?"

"We'll see, buddy." He pulled him closer to his side. "I'll have to check my schedule, but I'd love to take more camping trips with you."

Lee put his hands on his knees, about to stand up. "Well, I think I might turn in, too. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Night, Lee." Nathan gave him a little wave as he got up and headed toward his tent.

"Come on, Jack. Time for you to go to bed." He glanced across the fire. "Are you good?"

"Mhmm." Nathan nodded. "Good night."

...

"Daddy." Coraline tapped his cheek. "Wake up."

"Mm. Five more minutes."

Jack poked his head into the tent. "Come on, dad. Uncle Lee and Mountie Nathan already have breakfast ready."

Lucas rubbed his eyes, slowly sitting up. "How late did I sleep?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, but Uncle Lee said something about the coffee getting cold."

"I'll be right out."

Nathan handed him a cup of coffee as soon as he joined them around the fire. "Rough night?"

"Little Miss is a restless sleeper." He looked over at Coraline with a smile. "I never knew such a little girl could kick so hard." He chuckled, rubbing his side where he could feel a bruise forming.

"Just be grateful she only kicked you in the ribs. I had Silas's feet in my face for most of the night." He touched his son's cheek. "You're lucky you're so cute, little man," he teased.

"More toast, pease," he said in response.

"More toast?" Nathan widened his eyes comically. "You've had three slices already."

He shrugged, licking the remnants of jelly from his lips. "I hungry."

Nathan added another slice of bread to the pan sitting on the fire. "Next time we go camping, I'll bring a whole loaf of bread for you, bud."

"We should all bring bigger tents next time, too," Lee suggested, "since it seems we all ended up with an extra occupant." He lifted Franny onto his lap. "Or maybe we could just do a whole family trip. What do you think, Franny? Do you think mama would like to come camping with us?"

She shook her head. "No."

Lee chuckled. "You might be right about that."

...

"I wonder how they all fared last night," Fiona mused. "I know Nathan mentioned that they were going to have one tent for the children, but I have a feeling Silas ended up in the tent with him."

"Oh, I'm sure Franny crawled in with Lee, too," Rosemary added. "I just imagine her getting spooked at the first little noise she heard in the night."

"Jack was probably the only one in that tent by morning." Elizabeth chuckled, setting down her teacup. "Even Lucas said he was sure Cora would end up in his tent."

"I wonder if they really thought about what they were getting into taking the little ones, too." Rosemary took a scone from the plate in the center of the table. "I wish they took along a camera to capture everything. I'm glad the children are getting some good bonding time with their fathers, but I feel like I'm missing out."

"Well, maybe next time, we'll all have to go along, too."

"Once the babies are a bit older, of course." Fiona nodded toward the two prams, where Grace and Sophie were sleeping peacefully.

"They'll be grown before we know it," Elizabeth replied wistfully. "I can't believe that Grace is almost six months old already. And Sophie's what? Two, two and a half months old?"

"Just about." Fiona nodded. "And she's growing like a weed. At her last checkup, Faith said she was bigger than Silas was at the same age."

"Speaking of Faith, when do she and Mike get back?" Rosemary asked, taking a bite of her scone.

"Next week. Finally. I'm glad they were able to have a long honeymoon, but we've really missed her around here."

"Well, I'm so glad they found their way to each other," Elizabeth observed. "They both deserve so much happiness."

Hickam had been injured in an automobile accident earlier that year. They grew closer as Faith helped him with his rehabilitation, and by the time he was fully healed, they were engaged. They married in the spring, but had waited until recently to go on their honeymoon, as Faith wanted to be sure she was around when Fiona went into labor.

"I agree." Rosemary smiled as she looked at her friends, thinking about all the happiness they'd found in Hope Valley. "This town has worked its magic once again."

Suddenly, Fiona gasped, her gaze shifting to the stagecoach stop. "Faith?"

Rosemary and Elizabeth turned, watching their friends emerge from the stage.

"They're early!"

With a quick peek into the prams to make sure the babies were still sleeping, the three women hurried over to greet Faith and Mike.

"It's so good to see you!" Fiona hugged each of them. "How was the honeymoon?"

Faith slipped her arm through Mike's, gazing at him lovingly. "It was wonderful. We were able to make a couple of extra stops to visit our families, so I got to meet all of Mike's sisters, and he got to meet my father and brothers."

"That sounds wonderful, Faith." Elizabeth pulled her into a hug.

"And it seems you brought back someone else." Rosemary raised her eyebrows, her eyes dropping down to Faith's stomach.

She blushed, cradling the small bump. "We actually knew before we left, but we decided to wait to tell everybody."

"Well, congratulations to both of you." Elizabeth smiled. "I'm sure Grace and Sophie will be thrilled to have another little friend."

"How are they doing?"

"Come see." Fiona waved her over to the café's porch. "They're both napping right now."

"I'll take our bags home and come back later," Mike said, waving at the ladies as they whisked his wife away.

Faith sighed happily as she settled in with her friends, fawning over the sleeping babies. "Where are the rest of the children?"

"Camping," Rosemary answered. "Our husbands decided we needed some time to ourselves, so they took the children to the woods for the weekend."

"Good luck to them," Faith chuckled.

"That's what I said," Fiona agreed. "I'm not sure they really knew what they were getting into."

Elizabeth poured another cup of tea, placing it on the table in front of Faith. "Well, we'll find out tomorrow if the trip was successful."

...

"Daddy?" Coraline looked concerned as Lucas helped her remove the hook from the fish's mouth. "I don't wanna fish."

"Aw, come on, Cora. Fishing's fun!" Jack called out.

"It's yucky, Jack." Disgust filled her face when Lucas held the fish out to her. "No more, daddy."

He chuckled. "I'll just put this one in the basket, then. Are you sure you don't want to try to catch another one?"

"No, daddy. I wanna go home." She stuck out her bottom lip, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

"Come here, Princess." Lucas quickly wiped off his hands and opened his arms to his daughter.

Without hesitation, she stepped into his embrace, leaning her cheek against his chest.

"It's okay, Cora. You don't have to fish anymore." He kissed the top of her head, tightening his arms around her.

"I miss mama," she whimpered.

"I know you do. But you'll see mama tomorrow, and you can tell her about all the fun you've had. Here." He stood, lifting her onto his hip. "Why don't you and Franny go play in the water? I promise there aren't any yucky fish over there." He pointed to a shallow stretch of the creek.

"Okay, daddy." She squirmed out of his arms and sat in the grass to pull off her shoes and stockings. "Come on, Franny!" she called to her friend.

"Can I, daddy?" Franny looked up at Lee.

"Go ahead." He took her fishing pole, nudging her toward Coraline.

"Looks like you saved the day, Lucas," Nathan joked. "I'll take notes for when Sophie gets older."

"I should be taking notes from you." Lucas returned to his spot beside Jack after making sure the girls were okay. "You've had many more years raising a daughter than I have," he pointed out.

Nathan chuckled. "Touché."

"I caught something!" Jack exclaimed, beginning to reel in his line. "It feels like a big one!"

Lucas knelt beside him, ready to help if need be.

A smile stretched across Jack's face when the fish flopped out of the water. "Look, dad!"

"You were right, Jack! That is a big one." He clapped his son on the back. "Good job, buddy."

"I think you've caught the most so far, Jack," Lee told him. "If you keep it up, you'll be able to feed us all tonight!"

Jack laughed. "I'll try."

...

"Lucas!" Elizabeth jumped up when he came through the front door, Coraline sleeping against his shoulder. "You're home early. Are the children okay?"

"We're fine, mom," Jack answered, following Lucas into the house.

"Cora and Franny were getting homesick, so we decided to cut the trip short."

"Oh, sweet girl." She took their daughter from him, snuggling her close. "Well, I can't say I'm sorry that you cut your trip short. I missed all of you."

"We missed you, too." He slipped an arm around her, leaning in to kiss her softly.

"Did you at least have fun?"

"We did. Although, we learned that Coraline is not a fan of fishing."

"She hates it," Jack explained as he set down his bag. "She thinks fish are gross."

Elizabeth laughed quietly, trying not to wake her daughter. "I'm not really surprised. What did Franny and Silas think?"

"Franny got bored and played in the water with Cora instead. Silas caught almost as many fish as me," Jack answered. "Mountie Nathan said we should catch some for Miss Minnie to cook at the café."

"That could be fun."

"I told him he has to make sure his homework is finished first, though. I hear his teacher can be pretty strict." He nudged her with his elbow.

"Ha ha." She rolled her eyes playfully. "But thank you."

"Here." He took Coraline from her again. "I'll take Little Miss to bed. Is Gracie already down for the night?"

She nodded. "She's in the crib."

He kissed her cheek. "I'll be back down shortly."

Once he was upstairs, Elizabeth moved to the sofa, inviting Jack to sit with her. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes." He let out a little sigh.

"Are you sure?" She rubbed his back.

"Yes, but next time, I just want to go camping with dad."

She smiled, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. "You should tell him that. I think he would love to go camping, just the two of you."

He hugged her. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, Jack."

...

"Jack told me he wants to go camping with just me next time," Lucas told Elizabeth as he climbed under the covers.

"He really likes spending time with you."

Lucas smiled. "I like spending time with him. No matter how big he gets, he'll always be my little buddy."

She touched his cheek, forever falling more in love with this man. "Thank you for loving him, Lucas. You're the best father to him and to the girls."

"They make it easy." He kissed the tip of her nose. "What do you think of all of us going on a picnic after church tomorrow?"

"I think that sounds wonderful. Do you already have a place in mind?"

He nodded. "Yes, but it's a surprise."

She shook her head and smiled. "You and your surprises."

"You love my surprises. Most of the time."

She snuggled into him. "Most of the time," she agreed. "I love you, Lucas."

"I love you." He sighed contentedly, wrapping his arms around her. "Mm, I'm so glad I won't be kicked all night long tonight."

"Cora ended up in the tent with you?" She chuckled. "I knew that would happen."

"Apparently Nathan and Lee also ended up with tent mates."

"Oh dear. I'm glad you all had a good time regardless."

"It was nice to get away, even just for a night." He pulled her closer, nuzzling his face in her hair. "Did you and the ladies have a nice time?"

"We did. We spent the morning at the café, and then we took the babies for a walk around the pond. It was such a beautiful day. Oh!" She pulled back slightly. "Faith and Mike came home early, and it looks like Grace and Sophie will be gaining a new little friend early next year."

"Wow. That's exciting."

"Mhmm." She returned to her spot on his chest. "I'm so glad you're home."

...

Lucas reached his hand toward Coraline. "Let's go, Princess."

She held out her arms. "Carry me, daddy."

He looked down at his little girl. Her bright blue eyes shimmered, looking so much like Elizabeth. He couldn't say no to that sweet face. He lifted her onto his shoulders.

She put her arms straight out as he walked. "I'm flying, daddy!"

Jack followed them, and Elizabeth was just behind him with Grace tucked into her arms. Lucas led them away from their picnic site, through a small copse of trees and to the top of a hill.

"Here it is." He turned to watch the rest of his family emerging from the trees.

"Mama, it's pretty here," Jack said as he looked out over the hill..

"It is very pretty here," she agreed, moving to stand beside Lucas on the hilltop. "How did you find out about this place?"

"Nathan. He said he used to bring Allie out here a lot when she was younger."

"It's beautiful."

The valley lay below them, mountains rising up in the distance. The trees were beginning to change colors, yellow and red leaves rustling in the breeze. Somewhere nearby, a stream flowed, the sound of bubbling water just barely reaching their ears.

"It's amazing," Lucas observed as he gazed out at the scenery, "all of this."

"It is. Being surrounded by God's creation," Elizabeth shook her head, "there's nothing quite like it."

"Maybe Jack and I can come camping out here next time." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

His face lit up. "Really?"

"Sure."

Elizabeth shifted Grace to her hip, sliding her arm around Lucas's waist. They just stood there for a few moments, taking in the beauty surrounding them, enjoying the peace of being with family.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Lucas."

"You're welcome. I saw it, and I knew right away that I needed to share it with my favorite people." He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, darling."