Chapter Five Unexpected meetings
Quinn ran lightly down the stairs in the residence of Abigail's Cafe. She had taken some time to freshen up and unpack the personal items she had brought with her. After washing her face and combing her hair, Quinn felt much fresher and was at least presentable to go the Livery. She was very grateful to Bill, Jesse and Clara for allowing her to stay at the Cafe in the short term, it was so convenient, and she wasn't going to complain about being in a place where she wouldn't need to cook for herself. Until Quinn found a permanent place to live, she wouldn't need the items on the Wagon.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the Kitchen, Quinn called out a greeting to Bill, who had his back to her, stirring something on the stove. "Hi Bill, whatever you are cooking smells wonderful," she said. If all the food at the Cafe tasted as good as it smelled, she would need to be careful what she ate, she thought, smiling to herself.
Bill turned, smiling at her. "I can't take the credit for this, Minnie Canfield cooked this beef stew earlier today, and I am just reheating it. Are you hungry?" While talking to her, Bill had set the table with a plate and cutlery for himself. Looking at Quinn, he nodded at the table, silently questioning if he should set a place for her.
While a little hungry, Quinn didn't want to waste the remaining daylight eating; she preferred to head over to check on her horse. "Thank you, Bill, but I will run over to the Livery first; I trust Gabe, of course; I just want to see Misty for myself," she explained.
Bill nodded, pleased to see that she cared so much for the animal; as a Mountie, he had a great affinity with horses and would be doing the same for his mount if in her place. "Not at all, Quinn, Gabe said he got them both settled, but I respect you want to check for yourself. The food will be waiting for you when you get back. Take your time."
Quinn nodded at Bill and headed to the doorway at the end of the kitchen; this was how they entered the Cafe this afternoon. Bill had explained it was the private entrance, used rather than going through the Cafe to come and go. Over time Quinn was sure she would use both, but for now, when she didn't know anyone, she decided to remain as inconspicuous as she could, and that wouldn't happen if she traipsed out through the full Café.
Stepping out of the Cafe and onto the Town's main street, she could see the businesses Bill and Mike had pointed out to her. The Saloon, to her right, looked quiet; maybe this was a lull between customers. The barbershop had its door closed, and Quinn wasn't sure if this meant it was busy with a customer or that no one was there. Looking ahead, she could see the Mayor's office, where Bill worked as the Judge, with the Livery behind it.
Quinn smirked to herself, thinking of the mayoral race. She had now met two of the four candidates for Mayor, Bill and Mike. As an outsider and not knowing Mike well, her money was on Bill for the win. The other two candidates would have to be outstanding to beat him; she looked forward to meeting them.
Quinn found herself increasing her pace the closer she got to seeing Misty Dawn. She was sorry she hadn't gotten out of the car and greeted her at the station. Misty had been her saviour after losing her father and all the other drama. Riding had been her escape, and Quinn used the time to clear her head as much as possible. Quinn poked her head inside the stable; she recognised Apollo and saw several horses in the stalls next to him. Walking forward, Quinn reached out to stroke Apollo on the nose, greeting him quietly. Misty Dawn, recognising her let out a soft Whinny, capturing Quinn's attention. Saying Goodbye to Apollo, she walked down to greet her horse.
As she approached Misty Dawn, she spoke softly to her while stroking her neck, "Hey girl, how are you, all settled in? It looks like Gabe did a good job of setting you up in your stall. Do you think you are going to like it here Foggy?", she asked using the horse's nickname.
Quinn spoke quietly, using her voice to connect with her horse, settling them both in their new surroundings. Behind Quinn, a young female voice startled her when she asked, "you called your horse Froggy?" The tone of the question was a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Smiling, Quinn turned toward the voice and saw a girl with her nose screwed up, waiting for a response. The young girl was tall, with straight, light brown hair, tied back from a pretty face that would mature into true beauty as she got older.
Quinn laughed, "Not Froggy, Foggy; It's her nickname; her real name is Misty Dawn. I thought I had picked a beautiful, majestic name that suited her soft grey coat. The moment I decided on her name and told my father, he called her 'Foggy morning' instead, to tease me. I guess it stuck." Quinn smiled widely, a matching smile lighting up the girl's face, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
"That sounds like something my dad would say," she said, rolling her eyes "he has terrible Dad jokes. She is a beautiful horse; I haven't seen her before; I would have remembered. You must be new here! Where did you come from? Where are you going to live in Town?"
Quinn laughed again, this time at the number of questions posed, "that's a lot of questions! How about we start by introducing ourselves?" Quinn walked closer to Allie and held out her hand. "My name is Quinn Standing."
"Sorry, Miss Standing, my name is Allison Grant; everyone calls me Allie. Pleased to meet you, welcome to Hope Valley," she said, firmly returning the handshake from Quinn.
"Hello, Allie. Let me answer your questions if I remember them all. No, you haven't seen her before; this is our first day in Hope Valley; we both arrived by Train this morning. We travelled from Oakville, a small town near Hamilton, and yes, I will live in Town. I am staying above Abigail's Cafe until I can find something more permanent." Quinn pretended to wipe sweat from her brow, "Phew, was that all of them".
Allie giggled, "yes, that was all the questions I had at the beginning, but now I have more! You must know my Uncle Bill if you will be living above his Cafe? He wouldn't let just anyone stay there; he is pretty particular, and he got back today as well," she said with a grin. "Oh, and my dad said my Uncle Gabe was travelling with Bill, so you must know him too."
Quinn was delighted by Allie, she was so engaging, and her enthusiasm was contagious. Quinn felt such joy just talking to her; it was the first time since her father died that she felt genuine laughter, more like her old self. She hoped she would see a lot of Allie while in Town; if she were close to her Uncle Bill, that would increase her chances. "I do know your Uncle Bill, believe it or not, he is going to be my new boss; I will be working with him in his role as Judge. Trust me," she confided, "you don't want me cooking in the Cafe." Taking a breath, she said carefully, "I met your Uncle Gabe when he was relieving as the Mountie in Oakville, so yes, I know him too". Grinning, Quinn said, "maybe you should come and work for Bill; you are pretty good at getting information out of people!"
Allie burst out laughing, "I couldn't work for Uncle Bill; he is too grumpy, but don't tell him I said that. I could work with Uncle Gabe and my dad, though. I could be the first female Mountie. My dad always says I can be anything I want to be. I have to work out what I want to do that doesn't involve too much homework; I don't want it to interfere with my riding lessons or fishing or being with my friends." she finished her list and laughed again.
Quinn laughed along with Allie, "Agreed. Homework should never interfere with riding, but you can keep the fishing all to yourself." Interesting, she thought, Constable Grant's attitude about what Allie could do in life reminded her a lot of her dad.
Nathan approached the Livery; he was running a little late for Allie's riding lesson, so he was rushing. He hated letting Allie down and hadn't planned to be late, but he had spent a little more time with Gabe than he had expected. He was trying to find out more about the mysterious Quinn Standing; Gabe wouldn't say anything else about her, only that he was sure Bill would introduce her shortly. Gabe's silence made Nathan more curious; Gabe was being very protective.
As he entered the Livery, he heard Allie laughing with someone. Allie's laugh was her typical joy-filled sound; the other was softer, smooth and a little husky. Frowning, he wondered who Allie was talking to; she knew better than to talk to strangers; intrigued, he hurried forward.
As Nathan reached the entrance to the stable area, he could see Allie and her companion and stopped to observe for a moment. Allie had her back to him, but he could see the woman talking to her, he didn't recognise her. It had to be the mysterious Quinn Standing.
Nathan walked forward; Allie and Quinn looked at him; his boots echoed on the packed dirt floor, catching their attention. Allie ran to her father and greeted him with a hug. Quinn remained where she was, the smile lingering on her face; this was Allie's dad, the Constable. He smiled an attractive crooked smile at his daughter, gave her a quick hug and whispered something Quinn couldn't hear, but she did catch Allie's response of 'don't call me that!'. Quinn smiled at her indignation. When he raised his head and looked at her, her stomach fluttered. His eyes were a startling blue, fringed by thick dark lashes; when you combined those with his wavy brown hair, dimpled chin, and that crooked smile, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Nathan stepped forward, holding out his hand. He looked at Quinn; for all his curiosity, he hadn't thought about what she would look like; even so, he hadn't expected her to be so beautiful. Thick honey-blonde curls loosely framed her face and cascaded down her back, but it was her smile that caught his attention. Her face, as she laughed with Allie, had shone with laughter. Her eyes were an unusual colour, Hazel; he corrected himself; her eyes were Hazel. He felt himself blush as he realised he was staring and quickly introduced himself. "Good afternoon, I'm Constable Nathan Grant, Allie's dad. Please call me Nathan."
Quinn looked at Nathan, seeing the blush on his cheeks, and wondered if he could be as affected as her by this meeting. She extended her hand "Miss Quinn Standing, newly arrived in Hope Valley. It's lovely to meet you and Allie also." She looked over to Allie and winked." Please call me Quinn, Nathan. I hear we will see a lot of each other given that I am working with Bill."
Nathan nodded and released her hand. Not only was he stunned by her beauty, but her voice, like her laugh, was husky and a little deep; it suited her, and that little wink had done something to his insides. Quinn intrigued him, and so did the way she made him feel. He didn't want to think about the last time he felt anything for a woman and who he felt it for. That was over.
Quinn looked at both Nathan and Allie and said, "I should let you both get on with your riding lesson; I don't want you to waste what's left of the daylight. I should be getting back to the Café too; Bill promised to save me some of Minnie's beef stew, and it smelled delicious."
"Everything Minnie cooks tastes good," said Allie. "I love when we have dinner there, and especially when dessert is chocolate cake." Looking over at her dad, she asked hopefully, "when are we going to eat at the café again? Can we make cupcakes when we get home?"
Nathan smiled down at his daughter, she loved making cupcakes, and he knew that when she looked at him like that, he would say yes to anything, well, almost anything. "How about we see what time we finish with our riding lesson, and if we have time, we will make them, if not we could stop in at the café for something sweet."
"Yes!" said Allie clapping her hands together, "Maybe you could have some dessert with us, Quinn?" she suggested looking at the two adults hoping it would be a yes. "You are already going to be at the Café so that it won't be any trouble for you."
"Allie, you can't put Quinn on the spot like that, she might have other plans, and she only arrived today and might be tired from travelling. Won't having dinner with Uncle Gabe be enough company for tonight." Nathan looked over at Quinn and shrugged, grimacing an apology. "Please don't feel obligated, Quinn; we can always do it another time."
Quinn looked at Nathan, who seemed a little embarrassed and then at Allie, pleading with her. Both expressions made her smile. "Your dad is right, Allie; I am a little tired…but I would like to see Gabe before he leaves for home, he has become a good friend to me, and I will miss him. I also really, really like chocolate cake, actually any dessert, a sweet tooth is one of my many flaws."
Quinn laughed as Allie jumped up and down in excitement, grabbed her dad's hand and dragged all 6 feet plus of him away, saying, "come on, dad, we need to get riding; we have a dessert date to get to."
Nathan shook his head ruefully, allowing himself to be led away. Looking at Quinn over his shoulder, he mouthed, "thank you, Quinn", and smiled his crooked smile. Quinn didn't say anything, just nodded to acknowledge his words. She walked slowly back to Misty Dawn, preparing to say goodnight and head back to the Café; shaking her head, she wondered if she should change for her dessert date.