Chapter 1 – Quick Trip to Buxton
After Nathan left Henry back in his jail cell, he went to the cafe. He was looking for Carol and wanted to see how it went with her father. When he approached the cafe, he saw her sitting on the far side of the cafe in a chair he knew was from the kitchen. He changed direction slightly and headed toward her. She saw him and stood. When Nathan got close, she just hugged him, burying her face in his chest. She inhaled his scent and cried. Nathan just stood there, holding her, not knowing what happened.
"Are you okay?" Nathan asked, softly.
"Father is impossible." Carol said. "I didn't get a chance to tell him, all he did was put me, my clothes, my choices and this town down."
"I am sorry." Nathan said. "What can I do to help?"
"Marry me, so he can't force me to go back with him." Carol said.
Nathan moved her an arms length away and looked at her. Then an idea came to him.
"Come with me." Nathan said.
Carol just nodded as Nathan led her to the stable. Carol wasn't sure what Nathan was up to, but she would follow him anywhere. After double checking they were alone, Nathan backed her up against an empty stall. He held her close and then captured her lips with his own. After a slow, passionate kiss that left them both gasping for air, Nathan looked at her with those blue eyes and a lopsided grin.
"I will marry you anywhere, anytime." Nathan said. "But I thought we were going to give it some time."
"I know." Carol said. "But that was before my father showed up. You don't know him. He doesn't like being told no. He is angry that I requested a leave of absence with a threat to quit if it wasn't granted. Just by the way that he was talking, I know that he is determined to take me back. He has certain ideas about what an acceptable husband is and a single father is not what he has in mind, if he even allows me to marry."
"It is nineteen twenty." Nathan said. "And you are an adult, you don't need his permission."
"So you will find Judge Avery and we will get married?" Carol asked.
"What about the church wedding that you talked about?" Nathan said.
"We can do something like a blessing ceremony." Carol said. "I have seen that before in the states."
"So like a vow renewal like Jack and Elizabeth did?" Nathan asked.
"Yes." Carol said. "I guess it could be something like that."
"Okay." Nathan said. "Let me find Judge Avery and we need to find Allie. We will also need a couple of witnesses."
"What should I do?" Carol asked.
"You find Allie and meet me at the library." Nathan said. "I will take care of the rest."
"We don't have rings." Carol said.
"We can worry about that later." Nathan said.
Nathan left the livery first. Carol took a couple minutes to calm her racing heart before going to find Allie.
Twenty minutes after they were kissing in the livery, Nathan and Carol were in the library with Allie, Jack and Bill.
"Alright." Bill said. "I am here, what is so important it couldn't wait."
"We want to get married right now." Carol said. "We will do a church thing later, but for the moment we just need to get married."
"Can I ask why the rush?" Bill said.
"My father." Carol said. "He is not happy I want to leave the Pinkertons and I just know he is going to try and force me to go back with him. If I am married, he can't. Please."
"We can protect you." Jack said. "You are an adult."
"You don't understand." Carol said. "He has friends in powerful places. He forced my sister to marry a guy and go with him to California. She loved another man and he didn't approve of him. The man suddenly left the area without a word and the next week, my sister was standing before a judge and forced to marry this other, older man. Two days later they left for California and I haven't heard another word from my sister. That was three years ago.
Father is not used to people not doing what he says. He has used his power and influence to do things in the past. Like when I was a child and my mother was sick. She wanted me to stay with her sister in Canada and had a court order saying that, but he came in and forced me to go to New York with him. See why I am afraid?"
Bill nodded.
"Alright." Bill said. "You will have to go to Buxton on Monday and get the paperwork, bring it back here and get it signed."
"Don't we need two witnesses?" Carol said.
"You have two – Jack and Allie." Bill said. "Since Allie is fifteen, she is old enough, especially since Jack is in law enforcement."
Carol nodded.
"We don't have rings." Carol said. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Wait." Jack said. "I have an idea."
Jack dashed from the library and left everyone else confused. They were all looking at each other, Allie went and hugged both Carol and her dad.
"I am glad you are getting married." Allie said. "I don't want you to leave. You are good for Dad and he is happy again."
Nathan blushed a little but hugged Allie closer. It was only a few minutes and Jack was back.
"My father-in-law has a car and driver." Jack said. "He is willing to let you take the car and driver, go to Buxton and get the paperwork and rings. If you leave right now, you can still make the county office. Then you can get married when you get back."
"You are serious?" Nathan said.
"Yes." Jack said. "Go. We won't let anything happen to Carol. Actually both of you go. Get the paperwork and rings, come back and we will be here for you to get married."
"Carol?" Nathan said.
"Let's go." Carol said. "I just need to grab my purse from the hotel."
"I need to grab something from the office and then I will meet you at the hotel." Nathan said.
"The car is in front of the hotel." Jack said. "James is the driver."
Nathan waved his hand that he understood as he left the library with Carol. After the door closed, Jack looked at Bill and Allie.
"We can do better than just the three of us in the library." Jack said. "We need to plan and make this special. I figure we got about three, maybe four hours tops. We also need to keep it a secret."
"I can go get Dad's dress uniform ready." Allie said. "I know how all the medals go and I will polish his boots as well."
"Good." Jack said. "Bill, you need to keep an eye on Adam. He is currently in the cafe. I will get Rosemary and the other ladies to help with the rest."
"Where are we going to set things up?" Allie asked.
"The church." Jack said. "They want a church wedding, they will get one. It might not be exactly as they thought, but it will be theirs."
"I like that." Allie said. "I know that Carol said she has a silver dress in the hotel that she would wear if we can't order a wedding dress. They were talking about getting married next month as it was, so this would be great."
"Excellent." Jack said. "We have a lot to do and not much time to get it done. Just remember, we can't let Mr Lockland know what is going on."
"Then we better go." Bill said.
The three of them left the library and saw that the car was already gone. Jack immediately went to Rosemary and let her know the plan. She said she would handle it if he took Goldie. Jack gladly took the little girl. Jack then went to the mercantile to find his family and let Elizabeth know what was going on.
Bill left the library, went to his office and grabbed some paperwork and then went to the cafe, but not before he made a quick call to a friend in Buxton. Allie immediately left the library and headed toward the row houses. She ran into Pastor Joseph and asked him if he would marry her dad and Carol. She explained what was going on and he was more than willing to help them.
…. …. …. ….
Nathan and Carol sat in the back seat of the car, snuggled together. The moment they were out of town, Nathan leaned down and captured Carol's lips with his own.
"I can't believe we are doing this." Nathan said. "I am excited and scared at the same time."
"Me too." Carol said. "But it also feels so right. Do you mind if when we get back that I change into a more fancy dress? It will make me feel better."
"Then you do what you want." Nathan said. "I might change into a suit."
"No." Carol said. "I love your uniform. I know that you are more than just a Mountie, but I just love the way that your uniform looks on you and red has always been one of my favorite colors."
"I will wear what you want." Nathan said. "But let me change into my dress uniform and then we can get Bill or Jack to take some pictures with the Mountie camera. At least we will have something to document the day other than our memories and the certificate."
"Pictures would be great." Carol said. "It is more than I could hope for. There was a time that I thought I would never get married because I chose to follow my father into the Pinkertons. I know that they are allowed to be married, but my father said by joining the Pinkertons, I was giving up a future like other young women and I needed to make up my mind before he helped me get in, because once I was in, marriage was off the table until I was at least thirty."
"I am sorry that you were treated like that." Nathan said. "I mean you still might have to give up being a Pinkerton, but if you want to find a different job, I will not object."
"Maybe." Carol said. "At least until the kids come along."
Nathan blushed and ducked his head.
"You want children, right?" Carol asked.
"I would love children." Nathan said. "There was a time I thought I would never have children of my own. That was made clear on more than one occasion after I took Allie in. Adopting her was one of the best decisions I ever made and I don't regret it for one minute."
"Do you think she would let me adopt her as well?" Carol asked. "I know I can't replace her mother, your sister, but maybe she can find a place in her heart for both of us. If she says no, I will completely understand, but it was just something I was thinking about last night and today."
"We can ask her." Nathan said. "I have no idea how she would feel about that. I know that she has dreamt of having a mother, so maybe."
"Good." Carol said.
She then leaned up and gave Nathan another kiss. Several kisses were shared between talking about a few things as they rode to Buxton. They were able to get their marriage certificate at their first stop along with a sealed envelope that was to be delivered to Judge Avery. The next stop was for the rings and they were able to find simple gold bands and get Carol's engagement ring properly sized. While they waited for those, they went a couple doors down and got a couple large bouquets of flowers. Carol picked out some white roses as well as some red ones. She also found sandalwood blooms and got a small bunch of those. Nathan was happy because Carol was happy.
Once they had picked up the rings. They double checked that they didn't need anything else, but then decided to stop and pick up some film for the camera just in case. They then let James know that they were ready to head back. After one last stop to fill up on fuel, they headed back to Hope Valley. The ride back to Hope Valley was spent sharing more about each other as well as several kisses. Finally, Nathan had to pull back from the kisses.
"As much as I have grown to love to kiss you." Nathan said. "I think we need to slow down for a little bit. I promise after this afternoon, we can kiss all you want and not stop."
It was Carol's turn to blush and duck her head. They continued to hold hands, but they put a little physical distance between them as they continued to talk. She loved Nathan and couldn't wait to be with him. The thought of bearing his children excited her, especially when she thought she would never have a husband and children. She had accepted that, but then she took an assignment to come to an out of the way town in Canada, only to find her soulmate and was getting ready to marry him after a week. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed since she stepped foot off the train a week ago. She smiled over at Nathan and brushed her hand across the back of his.
"What are you thinking about?" Nathan asked. "You have an awfully dreamy look on your face."
"I was thinking how much my life has changed in a week and it's mostly all thanks to you." Carol said. "I had made peace that I wouldn't have things like other women and then I saw you. I got lost in your blue eyes and then you challenged me to think about things differently than I have my entire life. Now, we are going to be married. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. All I want is to make you happy and bear your children. I never thought I would have children of my own and now I can't wait to have as many as you want."
Nathan smiled back at Carol.
"You aren't the only one that gave up on children of their own." Nathan said. "I mean don't get me wrong, I believe in my heart that Allie is mine and I would never treat her any differently, but I know what you mean. After I had been hurt last year by someone I thought I loved, I had given up on trying to find love. Then you stepped off that train and literally ran into me, taking my breath away. I knew I was a goner the moment I saw you standing there on that platform. When you said you were looking for Bouchard, my heart sank and thought not again. For as much as you say you were lost in my blue eyes, I was lost in your gray ones. I didn't say it before, but I have always had a thing for red hair, being Irish myself."
"Well then." Carol said. "Maybe we will have red-headed, blue-eyed children. I think that would be perfect. My red hair and your amazing blue eyes."
"That would be absolutely perfect." Nathan said. "But as long as they are ours, I will love them no matter what. I guess, I am going to have to talk to Bill about getting his land and work on building you a house next summer."
"I would love that." Carol said. "Not that I don't love your little row house, but a large home of my own to fill with children would be perfect. Speaking of building, there is something that I need to share with you. I thought we would have more time to talk about these things."
"Carol." Nathan said, nervously.
"It is nothing bad." Carol said. "I just need to let you know about a trust fund that I have from my mother's parents. It has grown quite substantial over the years, as I haven't been able to touch it. The rules state that I can't touch it until I am twenty-seven or married. We will need to send a copy of our marriage certificate to the lawyer in Ottawa and then he will be able to send us money. I was thinking of setting up an account in Hope Valley."
"That would be okay." Nathan said. "But remember that Hope Valley is a small town. My main account is in Union City, because it is easier. I can transfer funds and write checks off that. I also have a smaller local account. I don't have a lot of money, but I have been able to save some over the years, especially my portion from the farm that my mother had until she sold it a few years ago. All that money is in the Union City account. I don't like to have my business all over town, so that is why I kept the account in Union City for large purchases."
"I can see that." Carol said. "If you think Union City is better, then we can do that. It will take some time to get everything from the lawyer, but I wanted you to know that we have money for the house."
"Thank you for telling me." Nathan said. "We will figure that all out in the coming weeks. I also promise that I will try to take you on a proper honeymoon later this summer. I just don't know when, because of everything that is going on with the case and secondly because I think that Jack and Elizabeth need to take a proper honeymoon after five years if they want."
"I was going to ask you about that." Carol said. "I have heard several references to Jack being back. I thought he was the town Mountie."
"Right now." Nathan said. "We will share the post, it was originally Jack's."
Nathan then went on to explain how Jack went to take a training that was originally meant for him and it was only weeks after their marriage, then to go undercover for five years with everyone thinking he was dead. His wife and family included."
"So he just came back." Carol said. "But isn't their little boy about five?"
"Elizabeth learned she was pregnant after Jack left." Nathan said. "She has been raising him on her own, thinking Jack was dead all this time. She was so broken from his death that she was afraid to love again. There was also a part of her that never gave up hope that he was coming back for her."
"Amazing." Carol said. "Well, I look forward to getting to know her. I think with both us being the wives of Mounties, we will need to spend time together. I think we will have a lot in common."
"I would like that." Nathan said. "Hope Valley is really like a giant family if you really let it be. Lee and Rosemary Coulter are best friends with Jack and Elizabeth. Lee and I have also been getting closer the last few years and I would like for that to continue. Right now, my closest friend in town is Bill. I have another Mountie, Gabe, who is my best friend. He is stationed not that far from Hope Valley. I can't wait for you to meet him."
"I look forward to meeting all your friends." Carol said.
…. …. …. ….