For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. Matthew 25:35-40 (ASV)

The following morning, once Joseph had observed Nathan leaving to do his morning rounds, he went to meet up with Bill. It was the perfect time to catch him before the demands of the day pulled on his free time. They met up in his private apartment where Bill already had breakfast laid out. No sooner had they finished grace than Bill was asking questions. "Well?"

"I can tell you right now it won't be easy."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, when I mentioned him getting married to Elizabeth, his exact words were, "I would have a better chance of Scout being named Top Mountie Dog."

"Oh, that's not good," Bill said with a frown. "What were his reasons? Did he say whether they had talked?"

"He said they had cleared the air and put it all behind them, but obstacles remained."

"The Mounties being one of them," Bill stated knowingly, and Joseph nodded.

"He thinks she doesn't feel the same way he does, and then, of course, the kids are a concern after Allie got hurt. He isn't willing to risk losing what they have now by asking for more, though he admitted he would like nothing more." Joseph said sadly. "Did you have any luck with Elizabeth?"

"Yeah, Faith had given Elizabeth some cough syrup, and I showed up at just the right time," Bill said with a chuckle. "She is on a similar page as Nathan and feels like he doesn't want more because of how much she hurt him. She also doesn't feel like she deserves a second chance after everything, though I know for a fact Nathan forgave her. As for the Mounties, I don't think the Mounties are as big a problem as before, especially if they face it together."

"I still can't believe he doesn't think Elizabeth is in love with him," Joseph mused.

"All you have to do is watch how she lights up when he is around. But then the same could be said of Nathan." Bill muttered. "The only reason that it took Elizabeth so long to realize that she and Lucas weren't right for each other is because she was distracted. Once she had chosen Lucas and Nathan stepped back, she was able, after a time, to see more clearly that she and Lucas weren't right for each other. She even told Rosemary that Lucas was the safe choice and finally realized it was Nathan in her heart."

"So, our biggest obstacle is fear of the unknown and what ifs." Joseph sighed.

"Followed by a case of blindness," Bill added. "You were right. We have our work cut out for us."

"But luckily, we have Someone on our side that makes the impossible become possible."

"We certainly do," Bill said with a smile. After getting an update on Elizabeth's condition, Joseph filled him in on what was happening in Eagle Creek before heading over to the café to check in with Minnie.

After school, Allie entertained Jack while Nathan and Bill worked on the court docket for the next week and discussed some updates that Lucas had sent them. The kids had already spent time on the playground, so they were now snuggled up together with Scout on a bunk in one of the cells. Jack had asked Allie to read him a story, and she was reading one of the Brownie stories from the book she was working on.

Hi, I'm Brownie Bear, I am brown, and matted, but that is because I go almost everywhere with Mama and Annie. Mama says that I mean "Auntie." I can't pronounce Auntie right, so I just say Annie.

Today I had an adventure. I wanted to earn money for a Christmas present, so I went to work with Daddy. Well, really, he is my granddaddy, but I have no other daddy, so I usually shorten granddaddy to daddy.

Daddy works at a sawmill. I sawed all day. I sawed and sawed. At the end of the day, I had five dollars and 50 cents and bought Cousin Chloe, who is a cat, a dress to match mine.

As I walked home, Daddy carried the present for me. All of a sudden, a gust of wind took me off my feet. In the air I went. Sailing higher and higher. It was scary. Would I ever see those I love again?

Ahh! Something was around my neck! Plop! Clunk! There I was on our roof with Chloe's tail around my neck as she held on. I was saved, but we could still be blown away if we weren't careful.

Soon, with Daddy's help, we were safe inside eating gingerbread and drinking hot chocolate.

What an adventure!

Thankfully, the very next day, Faith had cleared Elizabeth to go back in public for short periods but would not release her back to teaching. Faith had also given permission for Jack to return home as well though she cautioned her to still take it easy. She wanted Elizabeth to rest a few more days, and since there were only two days of school left and Rosemary had it all taken care of, Elizabeth would return after the break. This gave her plenty of time to work on the quilt for Sarah's gift and help Allie with her stories. It also gave her time to make some plans for Jack's birthday as well. She was looking forward to supper on Thursday with Bill at the café. She was sick of staring at the walls of her house, and she had missed seeing Jack.

Thursday, December 16, 1920

On the drive to Eagle Creek, Joseph and Nathan spoke of some things they needed to do for the day. After a while, they lapsed into a comfortable silence, but Nathan began noticing that Joseph would look at him like he had something to say but wasn't sure he should.

"Something on your mind Joseph?"

Joseph didn't answer straight away. After a few minutes, he sighed and replied, "I've been thinking about our conversation we had the other day about you and Elizabeth."

"OH! You have?" Nathan replied nervously.

"I have. You know Bill said something interesting the other day."

"I can only imagine," Nathan said wryly, noticing that they were about to arrive in Eagle Creek. Joseph didn't say anything more until after he parked the truck.

"So, what did Bill have to say?" Nathan asked curiously, knowing that his friend had a reason for bringing it up.

"He seems to think that being able to focus on Lucas without you being a distraction allowed her to see he wasn't for her. It kind of reminds me of what you said on our camping trip."

"What was that?"

"That sometimes it is good to say no to things because it allows you to pay more attention to the things you said yes to. Just some food for thought. Anyway, I'll see you after rounds, and we can get started on the repairs and deliver any supplies needed. That sky looks like a lot of snow is headed our way."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he climbed into the driver's seat and headed out of town. 'Why does Joseph always bring stuff up just as we arrive? Although maybe that's not a bad thing because it saves me from having to respond.' Nathan thought to himself with a chuckle. He was still thinking about what they discussed last time, and now this would only add to his uncertainty and confusion. It also wouldn't help him get any closer to an answer or resolution to the problem. But he treasured Joseph and knew the other man was just concerned and wanted nothing but his happiness. "Who would have guessed that such a great friendship would come from taking our girls on a camping trip?" he muttered to himself with a smile as he pulled up to the first stop.

The rest of the day was busy as they worked quickly and efficiently to finish. Nathan had gotten a report that heavy snow was indeed on the way, and they needed to get home before it started falling. They arrived back a little later than planned, but they knew that Minnie would have a hot meal waiting for them as always. Nathan stopped by his office to see if there was anything pressing to be addressed while Joseph parked his truck. As Joseph walked into the café, his wife greeted him with a kiss. Just as Allie asked about where her father was, Nathan came through the door.

Nathan quickly noticed that Elizabeth was sitting with Bill while Jack had found his way to Allie's side, where she was sitting with the Canfield children. After greeting the children, he quickly made his way to Elizabeth's side.

"How are you feeling, Lizbeth?"

"I'm fine and so happy to be out of the house," Elizabeth replied with a soft smile. "Thank you for asking, Nathan."

"So, how was everything?" Bill asked gruffly.

"The same as always," Nathan replied with a heavy sigh. He could feel Elizabeth's intent gaze on him as he spoke. "We made sure everyone was set before the storm hit."

Bill nodded as he took a bite of stew.

"But?" Elizabeth asked, softly reaching over to touch his hand, drawing his attention away from the stew that Minnie had placed in front of him. Her brow was raised in silent question, and he knew she was aware that he was still concerned. It was like a blessing and a curse that they both were so in tune with one another because it often made things awkward when they would meet up unexpectedly, which seemed to happen a lot lately.

"Well, with the Christmas preparations going on here, the lack of any in Eagle Creek stands out."

"Not to mention the lack of joy and peace," Joseph added as he and Minnie joined them at the table.

"It's kind of hard to find joy when you are struggling to keep food on the table or, as my grandma says, keep body and soul together." A voice said. Looking up, they saw that Harry and Faith had appeared beside them. Harry had stayed over because of an opportunity to earn extra money for the week.

"It's gotten that bad?" Elizabeth asked, eyes wide.

Nathan and Joseph nodded.

"With all the crops dying and the livestock either stolen, sold off, or eaten, food is really getting harder to come by. As more families leave, it has eased somewhat, but it will only be a matter of time." Harry said sadly.

Joseph helped Harry move a table next to them to make speaking freely easier for the group, while Minnie grabbed food for Faith and Harry.

"There, but for the grace of God, could have been Hope Valley," Elizabeth said, her eyes glistening.

"Amen to that, Elizabeth," Minnie said as she sat back down. "We were surely blessed."

"I still can't believe how easy it was for Union City Holdings to do what they were doing," Faith said. "I wish there was something we could do for the residents of Eagle Creek to bring them a little holiday cheer. I know it doesn't fix their problems, but at least they would have a little respite from worry and feel loved. How hard could it be? It's not like they need housing like the settlers did."

Elizabeth and Bill sat up suddenly, looking at each other.

"That's it!" Bill exclaimed.

What a great idea, Faith," Elizabeth added at the same time.

"What idea?" Faith asked, confused. She hadn't suggested that they do something.

"What if we do something for Eagle Creek similar to what we did for the settlers?"

"You mean to put on Christmas for them?" Faith was starting to understand.

"Exactly. You yourself said we don't need to build houses." Elizabeth was getting excited at the prospect of helping the struggling town.

"Okay, can someone fill the rest of the room in?" Harry asked.

"Elizabeth, since you were in charge, you should explain," Bill suggested.

Elizabeth explained about the settlers and the need to build homes. Then, how they had to make all the gifts for the children because the snow prevented deliveries at the last minute. By the time she was finished, the children had joined them to listen, and all were excited about the idea.

"Given our own circumstances, we can't buy much, but we could still make it special."

"They wouldn't feel comfortable with you buying gifts for them anyway because you are already doing so much as it is," Harry added.

"But what about homemade gifts, Harry? Would they be okay with that, do you think?" Minnie asked, already thinking of what she could make or had on hand that would help those in Eagle Creek.

Harry thought about it for a moment. "I think that would be okay."

"Angela and I can get the other kids to make ornaments to have a tree." Allie offered; she loved making ornaments.

Elizabeth knew that the people of Hope Valley would help. Usually, she would announce something at school, and it would spread through the town and the surrounding area. Without her being in the classroom, how could they get the news out? Then, the solution seemed obvious to her. "We can ask people to donate a handmade item that might be needed. I'm sure that Rosemary would run an announcement in the Valley Voice."

"We wouldn't have a lot of time to get this done," Nathan said, speaking up for the first time.

Bill smirked and said, "Luckily, I got a new can of my special blend of coffee from South of the border, in Mexico."

"Oh yeah, I remember that stuff." Elizabeth and Faith shuddered.

"Took me almost 2 days to finally get some sleep," Faith said. Elizabeth groaned and nodded in agreement.

"Lightweights," Bill muttered.

"If you say so, Bill." Faith and Elizabeth said simultaneously.

"At least it was better than the chicken surprise that we had for Christmas dinner," Faith added.

"Oh, I had forgotten about that," Elizabeth giggled at the memory.

"What was wrong with the chicken surprise?"

"There wasn't any chicken in it," Elizabeth explained, laughing.

"Well, that's why it was called Chicken Surprise," Bill said with a straight face, sending Elizabeth and Faith into a fit of laughter, which then infected the others.

"To be fair, you really didn't have a lot of food to work with," Elizabeth said, wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. Then she got up and went around to give him a hug.

"It was a rather creative meal that you prepared, Bill," Faith agreed, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze.

"I suppose the Christmas Salami is better?" Bill asked, prompting Elizabeth to explain that one to everyone's amusement.

A few minutes later, they got back to the task at hand.

"Harry, can you make us a list of all those still there? Maybe jotting down a few ideas of things that would be good gifts?" Elizabeth asked.

"Nathan and I can probably help with that, too, since we visit them weekly," Joseph offered.

"Elizabeth, maybe the two of us could work on coming up with items for a Christmas dinner? We wouldn't want a repeat of Chicken Surprise." Minnie said with a chuckle. "Maybe we could take it to them on the 23rd when you guys go for the last trip before the holidays. Would that be possible?"

"That would be great, Minnie. Fiona and Rosemary have everything covered here for Hope Valley anyway." Elizabeth said. Then, looking back at Joseph, Nathan and Bill asked, "What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea," Nathan said. "But it's only a week away. Do you think you can be ready by then?"

"If we can put together an entire Christmas for our town in less than 24 hours, including making the presents, I think we can definitely be ready in a week," Bill scoffed. Elizabeth and Faith nodded in agreement, ready to get to work.

"Then let's get to work," Joseph said with a huge smile, grateful to be part of this giving community.

Valley Voice, December 17, 1920

Loving Thy Neighbor

Hope Valley, we have an opportunity to help those in need. Remember how we helped the settlers and put on Christmas even though the supply train couldn't get through in 1913? Our help is needed again to bring Christmas Cheer to those in need. Union City Holdings devastated some of our neighboring communities. Eagle Creek was the hardest hit, and we're going to do something about bringing our friend Harry's town some peace and joy this Christmas.

Come to a planning meeting this afternoon at 4 PM at Abigail's Café. In the meantime, think of what you may have to give or can make for those in need. Item needed or that would bring cheer: Food, clothes, extra seed, Christmas decorations.

Drop off is at the Hope Valley Church starting December 20th. Donations need to be made before December 23rd.