Edward cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Yes, it would have been a fine greeting for Margaret Chastain's little sister - but Elise wasn't the little girl who had tagged along back then. The person standing before him now was a beautiful woman, one who made his heart skip a beat the moment that he saw her. Edward found it hard to believe that this young woman was the same tag-along he used to tease.
"No further from home than you," Elise responded, her voice strong with a touch of stubborn defiance in it.
Edward smiled at the response. The Elise he had known had taken his teasing in good spirits but had never spoken back to him - neither to defend herself nor tease back. It had usually been Margaret who would get on him for teasing her little sister.
"Besides, I am not so little anymore."
"No, you're not," Edward whispered, barely realizing that he spoke the words out loud. Reaching out, he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He saw a quizzical look come into Elise's eyes and realized that he was probably confusing her. Not surprising really, as his own emotions were confusing him as well.
A couple of snickers nearby brought Edward out of the trance he had fallen into. Looking in the direction of the laughter, he saw the two youngest boys in the program, Ethan and Milo, watching him and laughing. The twins had lost their mother to scarlet fever at the age of three. Their father, a man who had spent his whole adult life looking for the quick and easy buck, had almost put them into an orphanage until he saw a way to exploit them to con money from unsuspecting strangers. Teaching the boys what to say, he would stay out of sight and send the boys out begging for money. It went on for five years until their father was finally brought in on charges. Giving up custody of the children was part of the plea deal worked out with the judge for a guilty plea, but as the boys had not learned how to socialize with their peers, none of the orphanage they had been placed in the last couple of years had been able to deal with them. Frank had become aware of the situation via a worker at their last orphanage; from a woman who attended a church where he had been filling in as pastor.
"What are you two laughing at?" Edward asked them.
"You, Mr. Edward," Milo replied.
"You had a goofy look on your face," Ethan finished. "Just like Liam did any time he watched Christy walking by."
"I don't get a goofy look!" a tall, lanky brown-haired boy shouted back, his cheeks pink with embarrassment, more than anger.
"Now, Milo, Ethan, what did I tell you about teasing Liam?"
"That it wasn't nice if it made him angry," the twins replied together looking down at their shoes.
"Sorry, Liam," Milo added first.
"Yeah, sorry," Ethan said, mimicking his brother.
"I still don't get a goofy look," Liam said, turning away and heading to where Frank, Lee, and two other older teens were gathering baggage.
"Boys, why don't you go find your bags as well," Edward said to the twins.
"Yes, Mr. Edward," Milo answered for the both of them. He took Ethan's hand and hurried away.
"I never thought I would hear the day that Edward Montclair would be lecturing anyone about teasing," Elise said.
Edward felt heat building in his cheeks as he looked in her direction. Elise was looking up at him, amusement in her hazel eyes.
"Yeah, well I don't think I will have the leverage my father did on me to convince any of these boys to join the Mounties if they don't want to, so I figured I don't want them acting like I did when I was in school," Edward replied.
"You weren't that bad," Elise said.
Edward laughed at that. "I can't believe you said that with a straight face," he told her. "Now, granted, I never got into any real trouble, but my father was right. I was lazy and spoiled and thought that everything should be handed to me with no effort on my part. Teasing and playing pranks was my favorite pastime. I wasn't going to make much of myself on that path."
Edward nodded to the others. "We should probably go join them," he said, offering her his arm.
Elise nodded and slipped her arm through Edwards. "How did your father convince you to join the Mounties?"
"Threatened to mostly cut me out of everything," Edward replied, remembering how furious he had been with his father that day. He and a couple of school buddies had gotten caught "decorating" the school library with crepe paper streamers. It had been the last straw for his father, who had actually spent most of the lecture blaming himself for not raising his son right. "I tuned a lot of his lecture out that day, like I did most of the time, but I do remember him saying that he wasn't going to leave his legacy to an irresponsible, spoiled, dandy. His ultimatum was that I could either join the Mounties and learn the values that I had refused to learn from him and mother, or I could pack up and move out on a monthly stipend to meet my basic needs."
"Wow, that's rough," Elise replied beside him.
Edward shrugged. "Back then I was mad, but I can see now that it was the type of tough love that I needed."
Elise nodded. As they were joining the others, there was no further time to talk. Once all the luggage was located, the group moved from the platform into the station. Lee suggested they take a little bit to warm up before going out to the wagon. No one complained. Frank took the opportunity to introduce the children to those present.
There were two other boys in the group beyond Milo, Ethan and Liam. Albert was fifteen and probably the most troubled of the motley group. When Edward had first crossed paths with Albert. The kid had been using stolen paint on the back of the Mountie Office in Edmonton at sunset one evening. Spotting Edward approaching, the lad had attempted to flee but due to an injury as a child that resulted in one leg being shorter than the other, the Mountie had easily caught him. Upon escorting Albert home, he found the boy's parent's and three other children, the six of them all living in a rundown part of the city. Edward hadn't been talking with the father long when he figured out that most of the issue was the father's attitude toward his son's handicap.
"I don't know what to tell you, Corporal," Albert's father had said. "The boy is useless. Takes him too long to do any of the chores around here. I might as well do them myself. The missus should be keeping tabs on him but apparently, she can't do that. He's broken windows up and down the street. See that broken window there?" he asked, pointing to a boarded-up window. "That's Albert's handiwork. Took his baseball bat to it. Before I can fix it, I have to fix windows for three neighbors trying to keep them from calling you guys. However, perhaps I should. The kid is nothing but trouble. Got kicked out of school for fighting. He'll never be able to hold down a job. You say he was painting the Mountie office, well then just throw him in jail for all I care. I'm done with him."
With that, the man had slammed the door shut. When he turned to look at Albert, Edward had found tears streaming down the boy's face. Not knowing what else to do with Albert for the night, Edward had taken him back to headquarters. He had let the boy clean up, gave him a good meal and lent him a book for the night. The next day, he had gone to Judge Abbott about the boy's case. The judge had come and talked to the child. According to Albert, the boys he fought with at school had been teasing him because of his limp but the teachers didn't care. His classmates took turns harassing him and thus the common denominator in all the fights had been him. After speaking with the boy, Judge Abbott had gone to speak with Pastor Hogan, who had recently taken in Ethan and Milo, while Edward had supervised Albert's task of painting over his "artwork" on the back of the building. The Mountie had then used his own money and recruited some fellow Mounties to volunteer him to fix the broken windows in Albert's neighborhood.
Frank had taken in Albert immediately. Judge Abbott arranged the correct paperwork with the parents, who had seemed eager to be rid of a child they felt was a burden. Edward had checked in with Albert on occasion and had thus gotten to know Frank and his mission better. In the months that followed, Edward had arranged for Liam to be placed with Frank after discovering the abusive situation in the teen's home that had led to the teen running away. Though Liam's had been offered assistance as well, she had refused. Removing Liam from the home was all the Mounties could legally do, though an officer did continue to check on her and offer assistance periodically.
Edward had also been the one to place Merrin in the program. There had been numerous reports of pickpocketing in his patrol area. All the victims gave the same description - small, skinny, blonde whose clothes and face were so dirty that people assumed he lived on the streets. I would have given the lad money if he hadn't stolen it first, one woman whose purse had been robbed reported. When Edward had been able to locate him, he found the lad living under the porch of the office building of a shipping warehouse. Upon seeing a Mountie climb into what he used as a home, Merrin had offered what he had stolen to him, pleading with him not to arrest him. The lad claimed he was just trying to survive and though he tried getting a job no one would hire him. The boy had told him that his parents had been killed three years prior in a wagon accident. He said he had been in several orphanages, but he kept being passed from home to home for being too much of a handful.
"And why would they say that about you?"
Merrin had shrugged. "I like to see how things work but in doing so, I sometimes break things. Oh, and none of the women running the places seemed to like the pets I brought in," he had answered, holding up a garter snake as he said so.
After the introductions were made, Elise informed Liam, Albert and Merrin that she would be their teacher on Monday. She tried to ease the boy's concerns about not being in the same place as their classmates. She then told Milo and Ethan a bit about Ms. Stiles, who would be their teacher. With everyone a bit warmer, they headed out to Lee's waiting wagon. Their bags loaded in the back, Edward and the five boys found room in the wagon bed as well, while Elise crowded onto the front seat with Lee and Frank.
"So, Rosemary thought it would be a nice welcoming treat to cook supper for you all tonight. She's probably at the house now cooking."
"I do appreciate it. One of the boys' chief complaints is usually the cooking."
"It would be if complaining about it didn't mean we had to help cook the next meal," Liam muttered right behind them.
Edward heard Elise stifle a laugh and wished she hadn't. He had a feeling her laughter would sound like music.
"At least Mr. Edward can cook fish well," Albert chimed in.
"I should be able to. I've cooked it enough," Edward chimed in.
"Maybe along with the new place to live you could hire a cook," Merrin suggested. "One who could bake brownies that are not as hard as rocks."
"They were not that hard," Frank countered, as beside him, Elise had a hand up to her mouth to smother her laughter. Beside her, Lee wore a huge grin.
"Yes, they were. I took one outside to see if I could hammer a nail in with it. I hit the nail about six times before it actually broke."
"I told you that you are welcome to give the recipe a try yourself, Merrin." Frank replied, though even the pastor was wearing a smile by this time.
"He would probably burn the place down," Liam said lightly. He and Merrin actually got along fairly well, though like most teenage boys, ribbing each other was a show of affection.
"Not on purpose," Merrin supplied, causing everyone to laugh.
When the laughter died away, Lee spoke to Elise.
"I know I didn't mention Rosemary cooking supper for the new arrivals. I can drop you off at home if you would like?"
Elise cast a look over her shoulder and Edward found his heart beating faster. He was hoping she wouldn't ask to be dropped off at her home. No, he wouldn't be able to give her his undivided attention, but it would give him more time with her. She smiled as she caught his gaze.
"No, don't go to the trouble," Elise told him. "Let's get the boys settled in their new home."
Having worked later than he originally planned on Jack's new bed, Nathan walked into his home expecting to be greeted by a duck, dog, little boy, and the aroma of supper being prepared. While the duck, dog and good aromas did greet him, the little boy did not. Instead, he could hear Jack yelling over the sounds of a baby's cries.
Not at all the peaceful home he had imagined walking into.
Nathan patted the duck's head, gave Muffin a good scratch behind the ears and then followed the sounds of Jack's screaming to the living room. The boy sat in the middle of the floor, his hands over his ears. Seeing his father, Jack stopped yelling momentarily.
"Make the baby stop screaming," Jack pleaded.
Nathan looked from the boy to Elizabeth, who had just walked in from the kitchen. She held a screaming Aster in her arms.
"Oh good, could you take her for a moment," Elizabeth said, the relief evident in her voice.
Without waiting for an answer, she thrust the child at him. Nathan instinctively took the child, though he felt a surge of panic. What was he supposed to do with a screaming baby? He had always handed Allie to Colleen or his mother when they were screaming like this.
"What am I supposed to do?" Nathan asked.
"Shut it up!" Jack supplied, before he started yelling again.
"Jack, that is not helping," Elizabeth scolded the five-year-old. "I think she's teething," Elizabeth said, turning back into the kitchen where Allie was cooking supper. "Let me see if the wet cloth I put in the ice box is cold yet."
The reply didn't help Nathan at all as he started walking around the room with Aster. He started singing to her but when she bopped him on the cheek with an open hand Nathan wasn't sure if it was an accident or a commentary on his singing. Deciding there was enough noise in the house without his singing he stopped.
"Give her back to, Aunt Rosie!" Jack said, pausing in his yelling only to get the words out.
"Aunt Rosie and Uncle Lee will be by for her after supper. They are helping Pastor Hogan and his charges get settled in their new home," Elizabeth answered as both young children continued to scream.
Either tired of the sound himself or deciding to join in, Muffin began howling.
If it wasn't for the child in his arms, Nathan would have thrown his arms up. He suddenly wondered if he was cut out to be a father to an infant.
Returning with a stiff but cold washcloth, Elizabeth handed it to Nathan.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Nathan asked. He thought his wife looked about ready to scream herself. "Allie was four when I took her. She had all her teeth!"
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, having taken a deep breath. "Just put the washcloth over a finger and put it in her mouth. Move it around her gums until you find the sore spot."
Hoping Aster didn't bite him with whatever teeth she did have, Nathan followed Elizabeth's instructions. "How will I know when I find the sore spot?" he asked, just as Aster suddenly grabbed his finger with her tiny hand and her screams faded to whimpers. "Never mind," Nathan said, suddenly enraptured with the tiny life in his arms that he was bringing comfort too.
Giving a sigh, Elizabeth moved to sit on the floor beside her screaming son, who once again had his hands over his ears.
"Okay, Jack, we got her to stop screaming. It's your turn to stop now," Elizabeth said, wrapping her arms around the boy as she started rocking him gently.
As he stopped yelling, Jack tentatively removed his hands from his ears. He looked up at his mother. "Another reason not to have a baby sibling," he told her.
"You caused just as much racket, Jack. Can we get rid of you?" Allie called from the kitchen where she was watching the food on the stove.
"That isn't helping, Allie," Nathan told her, shaking his head.
"Sorry," Allie muttered, presumably returning to her task.
In his arms, Aster had fallen asleep, the washcloth still against her sore gum. Nathan was afraid to try to remove it for fear of waking the child up.
The new baby hadn't even made an appearance yet, and already Nathan was wondering if he was ready to handle three children. Looking down at his wife trying to comfort Jack, Nathan could see the exhaustion on her face. He had a feeling that exhaustion was a companion that would frequent their house quite a lot in the coming months, first for Elizabeth and then for him once the baby did come.
Ready or not, there was no turning back now.