For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37 (KJV)

Friday, December 10, 1920

Joseph and Bill had met up by chance at the wishing tree to make sure it had sufficient water and was still stable and that the pencils were still sharp. While they stood there looking around at all the wishes that had been placed already, Allie, Angela, and Jack appeared.

"Uncle Bill," Jack said, running over to hug his godfather. "I need to do my wish, but it is a secret. Allie told me that if I tell anyone, it won't come true."

"That is quite a dilemma; however, some have put the names on their wishes, and they came true."

"Not the kind of wish that I need to make. Angela said that since I can't write it by myself, it won't count if you help. I think the tree will have to help."

"I see. So Allie doesn't even know?" Bill asked in surprise. Jack pretty much told Allie everything.

Jack shook his head before urgently asking, "Would you please help me? I need to do it before Mama comes."

"I can do that," Bill said, picking him up and hugging him tight. "Let's go get you an ornament and get to it."

Jack selected a star, and after getting a pencil, they went over to the bandstand and sat on one of the benches.

After getting settled, Bill asked him what his wish was.

Jack looked at him earnestly and whispered, "I want Allie to be my sister."

Bill looked over at Jack, unsure what to say, struggling to keep his face neutral. Did Jack even understand what he was asking? Bill thought. Realizing Jack was looking at him with brows furrowed, he asked, "You realize that for that to happen, then she and Mountie Nathan would have to get married?"

"Yeah," Jack answered with a giggle while giving Bill a look like that should be obvious.

"I'm not so sure that…"

Jack interrupted. "Well, Mama wished to spend Christmas with my Daddy when he was away, and he came. She also told me that Daddy wished to spend Christmas with her, and a blizzard came."

"Well, yes, that is true but…." Bill said.

"Aunt Rosie also told me that Christmas is the time for wishes with all our heart," Jack said. "That's what I want more than anything."

Bill was too choked up to say more and simply wrote down what Jack said.

As they finished and headed back toward the tree, Jack said, "Uncle Bill, Mama is coming." Sure enough, Elizabeth was heading their way, talking with Faith.

"SHH, don't worry. I will hang onto it until we can get her distracted so you can slip it on."

"Thank you, Uncle Bill," Jack said, hugging him.

As luck would have it, Elizabeth was waylaid by Allie and Angela, giving Jack just enough time to sneak his ornament onto the tree. Then, while Jack and Elizabeth looked for a wish to take off the tree, Bill snuck Jack's back and put it in his coat pocket no one the wiser.

Unbeknownst to the others, Elizabeth also snuck her wish on the tree as she helped Jack look. She knew that if Bill had seen her, he would most likely be looking to grab it, and this year, though she was wishing with all her might, might prove just too impossible even for Judge Avery.

Finally, after trying to decide on a star, heart, circle, or stocking to choose, Jack finally chose a heart. It warmed Elizabeth's heart that he chose it because he said Gifts from the heart were always best. Her heart warmed even more when she read the wish it contained. Of all the wishes he could have picked, it was Sarah Wolfe's that he chose. What made it even more special was that she wished for a cradle for her doll. Bill saw the tears glisten in Elizabeth's eyes, and as he approached, she handed it over so he could see for himself.

"What is it, Mama?"

"We are going to be making Sarah's wish come true of a doll cradle. It brought back a wonderful memory of your daddy when he made her a baby bed as Robert's wish."

"Can we make hers too?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps, sweet boy. But for now, we should be getting home." Elizabeth said, letting out a sneeze and a cough.

"You feel all right, Elizabeth?" Bill asked.

"I am doing fine. Nothing but a scratchy throat that some honey tea won't help," Elizabeth replied with a fond smile at Bill. "I'm also feeling a bit run down trying to fit everything into the next two weeks before Jack's birthday and Christmas."

"How about I bring some of my famous chicken soup and rolls tonight, and maybe we can discuss the cradle. Besides, I made Jack's favorite snickerdoodle cookies that he can have for dessert."

Giving him a grateful smile, she quickly agreed, and off they went, with Angela and Allie following, leaving him alone with Joseph. As Joseph drew close, Bill saw him pause then reach in and grab an ornament off the tree as he looked at Allie's retreating back. Curious, Bill walked over to Joseph and caught a glimpse of what was written in Allie's handwriting. She had wished for her father to find love.

Joseph looked at Bill with a brow raised as Bill drew out Jack's. "I think that we will have to be teaming up to make this happen." He said with a soft smile as he showed Joseph what had been written.

Joseph chuckled. "It will take more than the two of us to pull this off, but luckily, I know someone who can do the impossible."

"Well, if we can pull this off, we'll make a lot of people in this town happy. I know of several people who are wishing for this to happen."

"I know that's right!" Joseph laughed. Before they could say anything else, though, Nathan approached to talk with Bill about some cases. Joseph quickly excused himself after making arrangements with Nathan to meet up for their twice-weekly trek to Eagle Creek on Monday, saying that he had some praying to do.

As they headed back to Bill's office, Nathan cast a glance toward the tree where his carefully placed wish was waiting. He had placed it there late last night when he was walking through town late at night as he returned from his mission. He had struggled to find a way to put into words what he wanted most and ultimately settled for the word Hope on a heart-shaped ornament. Little did he know that not far away from his own ornament, there was an identical one that Elizabeth had placed just a short time ago.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Bill nudging him. "You wouldn't happen to know how to build a doll cradle, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I built one for Allie when she was little. Just before we moved here, we gave it to a little girl in Fort Simpson. Why do you ask?"

"Elizabeth and Jack may need help building one. While I have done some basic stuff, I'm not really skilled, nor do I have time with my upcoming court schedule and meetings concerning Union City Holdings and my land. Hickam has way too many pans in the fire, along with his courting of Mei, to be of use. Henry is doing some repairs in the cafe and livery, so he won't have time."

"I guess I could stop by later and ask her," Nathan said. "She has been teaching Allie to make a few things for her friends, plus watching out for her when I am away."

"Well, there you go. It is a perfect solution, then." Bill said with a big smile, making Nathan suspicious. However, Bill did have a point, and he would do anything for her and Jack, especially if it involved being able to spend time with them.

Allie and Angela ran into Opal as they were walking back together, and the two girls stopped at Opal's while Elizabeth and Jack kept walking. As they got close to their house, Elizabeth ran into Lee as he was coming out of his house after checking on Rosemary and Goldie. Goldie had picked up a cold in town and had quickly shared it with her parents. So far, though exposed, Elizabeth and Jack had seemed to be in the clear.

"Hey Lee, I think last night went well. It was good to see Rosemary and Goldie out and about."

"Thank you, Elizabeth. It was a bit nerve-wracking for me, but having Rosemary and Goldie made all the difference. Faith allowed it last night because of the occasion, and they aren't contagious, but she still wants to be extra careful since Goldie is so young. She wants them to rest and stay out of the cold air as much as possible for the next couple of days, just to be sure. Of course, you know Rosemary is not happy, but for Goldie's sake, she is listening. How are you two doing?"

"We seem to be doing okay. Don't worry I checked in with Faith already when I developed a scratchy throat," Elizabeth said, noticing that Lee was looking at her after she coughed. "She doesn't think it is what Goldie had. I'm also tired because I have been running ragged for the past two weeks trying to get everything done. With so many of my students being out sick at one point or another, it's been hard, but at least Jack is completely fine."

"I know what you mean. It's been crazy in the office, too, with all of those, especially Richard, being out sick. It actually put us behind schedule in filling a crucial lumber order. That's why I was so glad that Joseph and Bill took care of the Wishing Tree. Well, I guess I should include Nathan with that too," Lee said with a laugh, having heard about the Hot Toddie incident.

"So, are you finally caught up with everything?"

"Thankfully, we are finally back on track with it, and the last load is set to be delivered next Friday."

Elizabeth giggled, recalling what Nathan had told her. "I know Faith is hoping that business slows down for her and the spread stops."

"Well, please take care of yourself and let me know if you need anything," Lee replied, giving them a hug and heading back to his office.

After putting another log in the stove, Elizabeth got Jack settled with a snack and laid down on the settee to rest her eyes for a bit. The next thing she knew, there was a knock at the door, and Jack was letting Bill in.

"Oh, I didn't mean to sleep that long," Elizabeth said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"You obviously needed it," Bill said as he began setting the table for them to eat.

Elizabeth suddenly noticed that he had five places set. "Would you mind bringing your desk chair over?"

Elizabeth gave him a questioning glance as she complied.

"I hope you don't mind, but I asked Nathan and Allie to join us because Nathan is going to help with the cradle, and Allie wanted your help with the wish they are working on." Noticing the panic in her eyes, he said, "Don't worry, you look fine."

Before Elizabeth could respond, there was a knock. Once again, Jack ran to open it and let Allie and Nathan in.

Before long, the group was comfortably sitting around the table, eating and sharing details about the two wishes.

"Can I help, Mountie Nathan?"

"Sure you can," Nathan replied.

Elizabeth and Allie would work together to make a little quilt and pillow for the cradle so Allie could practice her sewing skills. The Grant's gift involved making a storybook that she and Opal were already working on. A young mother on the outskirts of town named Amy wanted a book for her son Merrin while her parents worked on the wishes of his two older siblings, Jere and Emery. Elizabeth would proofread it and provide a new journal they could use to write it in when it was declared finished. Elizabeth pulled out the one that Jack had done for her containing her stories, and when Allie saw the illustrations, she decided that hers needed them too. Then, while Jack and Allie played, Elizabeth and Nathan focused on coming up with a design for the cradle based on what Nathan had made Allie.

Bill stood back smiling, watching as he cleaned up the kitchen, and couldn't wait to talk to Joseph about his progress. All in all, it was a pleasant evening for everybody and ended on a high note. Bill made a mental note to check on Elizabeth in the morning noting that she had seemed to be a bit flushed, and her eyes seemed glassy as well. They were supposed to go look for a tree, but he wasn't sure they would be making it after all.