Nathan woke to the smell of coffee wafting up from downstairs. It was Saturday morning, so there was no need to rush out of bed and hurry to get to his rounds. He liked the days he could spend a leisurely morning with Allie, catching up on their week, talking about the things they may have only touched on after work and school. Nathan also smiled, thinking about Quinn.
After a rough start to the week, Quinn had settled in to working with Bill, addressing Mr Lydell, and sending him away without a commitment either way on the offer for her father's business. Quinn wanted to take time to consider the proposal, reaching out to Sam and her father's lawyer for advice. Mr Lydell hadn't been happy when he left Hope Valley, promising to return.
Nathan hadn't spent as much as he would have liked with Quinn, but Allie was his priority, and he needed her to know she had his full attention. He had visited Quinn at lunchtime, eating with her at the office; Bill was away that day, of course, and he had managed to bring her more flowers, enjoying the look of delight on her face at such a simple gesture. Quinn was yet to visit him at the Mountie station, but there was no rush; she could work up to that and take as much time as he needed.
Allie had run into Quinn in town and had been the one to ask if Quinn would join them again for fishing, to which Quinn had readily agreed. Nathan remembered the smile which lit up Quinn's face when she told him about the invitation; once again, she offered to supply the food for their picnic with more of Minnie's chocolate cake for dessert.
Today, they were going to go riding as well, exploring another of Allie and Nathan's favourite fishing spots. Allie was borrowing one of the livery's horses for the day, a gentle mare she had been learning to ride on. Nathan knew Allie was secretly hoping for a horse for her birthday, and he was doing his best to find the perfect mount for her; Gabe was helping him arrange it through Tess Stewart, a Ranch owner from Brookfield.
Having spent enough time reminiscing, Nathan decided to venture downstairs, glad Allie had started the coffee. Walking down the stairs, he saw Allie waiting for him at the kitchen table, looking up smiling as she caught sight of him. Reaching into the cupboard for a coffee mug, he asked, "thanks for starting the coffee; what would you like for breakfast this morning?" he said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.
"Morning, dad," she replied, "how would you feel about breakfast at Abigail's today? We haven't been there for breakfast for a while," she grinned at him, her face a picture of innocence.
Nathan looked down at his daughter, finally noticing she was dressed for a day out and had to chuckle. "Is it just the breakfast at Abigail's you are interested in?"
Allie grinned at him, "well, I did want to check in with Quinn to see if she wanted any help with the food for the picnic; it doesn't seem fair she has to do the cooking again; we could help her with it," her eyes wide and innocent."
Shaking his head, Nathan replied, "gee Allie how considerate, and there is absolutely nothing in it for you?" he said with eyebrows raised, his face equally as innocent as Allie's.
Sighing, Allie said, "okay, you've got me; I want to check to make sure they don't sell out of Minnie's chocolate cake!"
"You make a good point, Allie; I would hate to miss out on chocolate cake. Let me get dressed, and we will go to the cafe and make sure Minnie saves us some." As he walked past Allie to go back upstairs, he made sure to ruffle her hair; he knew she hated that.
"Dad, stop it! Get going before we miss the cake," she said, rolling her eyes at him.
Rosemary had decided she and Lee were having breakfast at the cafe Saturday morning. The mayor's election was getting close, and Lee had to get out amongst the people.
"Rosie, I see the townspeople every day," he exclaimed, "I just want to relax at home and read the paper today." Lee appreciated his wife's support, but he also wanted a chance to stay home.
"Lucky you have me to help you, Lee, otherwise you could lose this election", Pausing Rosemary laughed and "oh, who am I kidding? No one can beat my wonderful husband. "Still Lee, we are going to Abigail's for breakfast; get moving," she said, shooing him upstairs.
Sighing, Lee gave up; he knew it would be useless to argue with her. Folding his paper, he went upstairs to get dressed, shaking his head as Rosie called after him, "wearing something Mayorish."
Minnie had offered to help Bill by covering breakfast, and she took some time to make a chocolate cake; she was waiting for it to cool before adding the icing. Smiling, Minnie remembered Quinn's shy look when asking her if she would make it for her picnic with Nathan and Allie. Minnie thought, Quinn sure is smitten with the two of them, her heart filling with gladness at this new development. Minnie had watched Nathan, seeing his heartbreak over Elizabeth and for Allie, whose heart she had broken also.
Minnie wasn't sure what had happened between him and Elizabeth but seeing him now; she could tell all that was behind him. Nathan had carried himself with quiet dignity ever since Elizabeth chose Lucas, keeping his feelings to himself and focusing on Allie. It was nice to see him smiling again.
"Well, good morning you too, how are you today? Here for breakfast?" Minnie asked, grinning as Allie and Nathan peeked through the curtain.
Nathan shrugged toward Allie and said, "someone decided she didn't feel like my cooking this morning, and there may have been talk of chocolate cake for our picnic later", he said indulgently.
Allie smiled, not concerned by his teasing, "you do make the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted, Mrs Canfield; we didn't want to miss if you did make one."
Minnie laughed, "you are in luck, Allie; a certain person did ask if I could make a chocolate cake for a picnic today; in fact, it's probably just about cool enough to ice. Would you like to help me with, if it's okay with your dad?" she asked, glancing at Nathan.
"I suppose we could wait a little longer for breakfast," he said, knowing Allie would be too distracted to eat anyway; she loved baking, and it wasn't something he ever did with her at home. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he saw Quinn coming toward them; as always, his heart tripped at the sight of her. He didn't realise it, but his face lit up at the sight of her, causing Minnie and Allie to share a smile.
Quinn looked down into the kitchen, pleased to see Nathan and Allie. She hadn't expected to see them until their picnic, so it was a pleasant surprise. "Let me guess, Allie didn't trust me to bring chocolate cake today", she teased, laughing at the guilty expression on Allie's face.
"I know how good the cake is; Quinn and I worried it might sell out; it's okay though Mrs Canfield hasn't even iced it yet. I am going to help her!" Allie explained all in a rush, the words bursting out of her.
Quinn laughed, declaring, "well, I am sure that will make it taste even better if that's possible." Walking closer to Nathan, she smiled, "good morning, Nathan, are you helping with the icing?" she teased, having heard from Allie that Nathan was no good at baking.
"Oh no, I am going to leave that to Allie and Minnie; Allie promised me breakfast when she brought me here, but I could be waiting a while," Nathan said, ruffling Allie's hair, laughing as she quickly dodged away from him.
"Well, if you're so hungry, why don't you and Miss Standing have breakfast together? I can join you after I have helped Mrs Canfield." Allie suggested, trying to hide a smile at her brilliant idea.
Minnie pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile, unable to look at Nathan or Quinn, knowing she wouldn't be able to contain herself. Smothering her laugh and trying for a straight face, she said, "that's a wonderful suggestion, Allie." She walked closer to Quinn and Nathan as she said, "Why don't you two take a seat in the cafe, and I will be along to take your order," nudging them toward the curtain and into the cafe.
Nathan and Quinn didn't even pretend to mind this impromptu date, wearing matching smiles as they took a seat at a table against the wall. Nathan pulled Quinn's chair out for her, waiting for her to be seated before sitting opposite her. "Well, this worked out better than I hoped when I agreed to breakfast at the cafe; I might have to raise Allie's allowance," he said cheekily.
Quinn laughed at his comment, enjoying seeing Nathan's playful side. She wasn't going to argue; any time she got to spend with Nathan made her happy; she was glad Allie would join them later. "I think she deserves a raise too," she said, wanting him to know how pleased she was to be there with him. "I had a feeling she might want to check on the cake, but I hadn't thought about this being the outcome."
Minnie stood at their table, clearing her throat to get their attention, "do you know what you would like to order" she asked. Nathan noticed Minne enjoyed their reactions to being so caught up in each other they hadn't heard her coming. Shaking his head at her teasing smile, he ordered breakfast, followed by Quinn, hearing her chuckle to herself as she went back to the kitchen.
"Your blushing," he said to Quinn, loving the flush of colour on her cheeks; he couldn't resist reaching over placing his hand over hers.
Quinn was concerned about the two of them being the subject of gossip and it hurting Allie, while the young girl knew there was something between them, thinking it, and seeing it were two different things. Quinn pointed to the public display of affection and said, "I seem to do that a lot around you, Nathan, especially when you do things like that; what will people say, and what will Allie think?" Quinn cautioned him.
Nathan reluctantly withdrew his hand; Quinn was right, he supposed. It was just that it felt like they had known each other much longer than they had, and his feelings for her were so strong he didn't want to hold back now that he was finally happy. Nathan scolded himself; he said he wanted to protect Allie, and holding Quinn's hand in public wasn't the way to do that. "You're right; I'm sorry, I will be more careful," he said, sighing. "I like you, Quinn, and I want to be able to show it."
A voice startled him, saying, "show what?" and he realised Allie was standing at the table. Scrutinising her face, trying to gauge her reaction, he waited for her to say something. Thankful there were not others close enough to hear them, he said, "Allie, I am sorry I didn't realise you were there. I was talking about my dating Quinn and being seen in public with her as more than friends. "
Looking over, he saw Quinn was looking down at the tablecloth, clearly upset that Allie had overheard. "I am sorry too, Allie," she looked up at her. "I wouldn't want to do anything that might make you feel uncomfortable or upset you," said Quinn seriously.
Allie looked at Quinn, saying, "I know that Miss Standing, you showed me that when you stood up for me with Mrs Thornton." Smiling at Quinn and looking at her dad, she said, "I am happy for my dad; you make him happy like he used to be."
"I'm glad, he makes me happy too, and it's been a while since I felt that way" Quinn smiled at her, squeezing her hand.
"Why is that?" Allie asked curiously.
"It's a long story, Allie, but I promise to tell you later, maybe when there aren't other people around, okay?" she promised. Quinn had known she wanted to tell her about her past after Mr Lydell's visit earlier that week; she knew she needed Allie to hear her story from her and no one else.
Nathan cleared his throat, touched by the moment between the two most important ladies in his life. "Are you ready to join us for breakfast, Allie? It's not too late to order." he offered.
Shaking her head, Allie said, "no thanks, that's what I came to tell you; Mrs Canfield is making me something I can eat while we finish off the cake." Backing away, shrugging her shoulders, she said, "sorry, you two will have to eat breakfast without me," smiling as she turned away, she said, "and I don't mind that people will see you together," a cheeky grin on her face, not looking sorry at all.
Nathan looked at Quinn, curious, "what did Allie mean when she said you stood up for her with Elizabeth?" Neither Allie nor Quinn had mentioned a conversation with her, and he wondered if it had something to do with the way Elizabeth had behaved when he got home the other night.
Quinn looked at him apologetically, "I am so sorry, Nathan, I was going to tell you, and then, when you told me the story of you and Elizabeth, I got caught up in that and forgot all about it." Taking a breath, she told him what had transpired, watching his face to see his reaction. "It was the look that crossed Allie's face that made me react that way; I hated to see it, which is why I will never make her feel that way." Quinn quickly touched his hand before saying, "if Allie decides she doesn't like us being together, then this ends; she will always come first."
Nathan nodded, frowning, "it won't come to that, Quinn, I know it, but thank you for saying it anyway. No one will ever hurt either of you if I have it in my power to stop them."
The arrival of their breakfast interrupted the moment, as did Rosemary and Lee's entrance to the cafe. Rosemary spotted them immediately and insisted she and Lee join them. Nathan was glad of the disruption; he needed some time to think about what had happened and how he would talk to Allie about it when they got home. Nathan wanted to make sure Allie was okay with his and Quinn's relationship going public and about what happened with Elizabeth. He hadn't wanted Quinn to know, but he was furious at her interference in their lives once again.
After spending breakfast listening to Rosemary's plan for the final leg of Lee's mayoral campaign, Nathan realised this was more important to his friend than he realised. There could only be one winner, and he hoped it wouldn't be awkward for whoever it was that lost. Nathan didn't think Mike would react as severely as Bill, and Fiona, while disappointed, would always be a good sport. Lee, he knew, wouldn't take it personally; he could find something else to keep him occupied. He hoped Bill would take it equally as well if he lost.
Walking home from Breakfast, Nathan took the opportunity to talk to Allie about Quinn. "You know you can talk to me if you are worried about Quinn and me dating, especially once it gets out and people start talking," he said to her.
"I know, Dad, I do, and it's okay. Did Quinn tell you what happened with Mrs Thornton?" she asked quietly. Seeing him nod his head, she continued, "when she stood up for me to Mrs Thornton, I was so happy, but what happened afterwards made me realise she could treat me like Mrs Thornton did."
Nathan frowned; Quinn hadn't mentioned anything else, "what happened next, Allie?"
"She apologised for disrespecting me and not asking what I had wanted to do, for deciding for me." Allie's face clouded over "once Miss Standing said that, I knew she wasn't the same as Mrs Thornton. Mrs Thornton always thinks that her way is best for everyone and doesn't care how anyone feels about anything, even when she hurts them, she makes it seem like they were the ones to blame," she finished angrily. "I know I am being rude about her, and I'm sorry, I can't help it."
Nathan stopped and bent over to look at Allie at her eye level. Nathan smiled at her gently, "I am sorry once again that you got hurt, Quinn and I talked today, and she told me that if ever you are not happy with us being together, that is when the relationship is over. I will never see you hurt again. You have my word."
Nodding silently, Allie threw her arms around him and held him tight. "Thank you, Dad; it means everything to me that you both think that way. I think you should date Miss Standing; she really does make your face all mushy, and you can't stop smiling when you're around her, and sometimes when you're not," she said, rolling her eyes at him to lighten the moment."
"Now, can we go?" she said impatiently. "Miss Standing said the food was ready, and she didn't need our help so we could get going early, and I know the cake is going to be the best one yet; it has lots of icing."