Chapter 3: A Look At Christmas Future
Nathan's heart was beating fast and hard. He could hardly believe that the woman he had pined for felt the same for him. Her hands pressed tightly against his chest as she stood mere centimeters from him. Time stood still as he leaned ever closer to her dainty pink lips.
Her eyes held such complete peace. Her pupils rounded with the same anticipation he felt before her eyelids slowly fluttered closed as she neared his lips.
His eyelids followed as he leaned the final distance only to feel warm breath—followed by the distinctive feel of tongue dragged across his forehead.
His eyes snapped open to the unwelcome sight of Scout, laying on his chest, giving him an undignified early morning wake up call, and looking happy as can be.
"Agh…c'mon! No licking!" Nathan sat up and wiped his face on his pajama sleeve.
Though the dog slid down to his lap with the motion, he remained perfectly content. Scout's smile was broken only by his splayed-out tongue. His tail tapped rhythmically on the bed.
"And who invited you onto my bed?"
Scout sat up abruptly and tilted his head with a soft whine.
"I did not. I was sleeping…dreaming…and no…not about you."
Scout whined again and laid back down.
Nathan sighed, "Do you need to go outside?"
The pup scrambled off the bed and stood at his bedroom door, tail wagging, looking back at the Mountie as if checking his progress at the plan.
"Alright. Let's go. Don't wake Allie." He whispered hoarsely.
————-
Two hours later, the Grants were bundled up and headed into town with bellies full of pancakes and eggs. Allie held the leash, and Scout trotted proudly before her—seemingly thrilled with this morning's walk.
Nathan held a bundle of fresh garlands in his burly arms. This certainly wasn't his idea, but he'd lived long enough with strong women to know better than to interfere with a young girl's determination.
As they neared town, the streets were already buzzing with last minute shoppers taking advantage of the last Saturday morning before Christmas. With only three days left, the valley was a sight to behold with garlands and ribbons lining the streets.
It seemed Rosemary got her wish after-all. This Christmas, the town was certainly bigger and brighter. Everywhere you looked, there were shiny golden bells sparkling among the greenery. When they turned the corner at the Mercantile, it appeared that someone had even decorated the outside of the judge's office. There was garland adorning the outside railing and a small evergreen tree next to the steps in a dark pot.
The closer they got to the Mountie office, the more Allie started detailing her plans to decorate her father's desk and porch railing as well.
"You can't let Uncle Bill show you up, Dad," she teased, pointing down the street.
"Honey, I doubt it was Uncle Bill that did all of that." He retorted, fighting a smile.
As they passed Coulter Enterprises, the door opened, jingling the bells on the door swag, and announcing Rosemary's dramatic departure.
"Oh Allie, you made more garlands! Thank you!" She nearly danced with glee on the boardwalk at the sight of Nathan's armload.
The door jingled again and out stepped Elizabeth with a shy smile holding Little Jack's hand—each enjoying an unwrapped candy cane. The little boy hustled down the stairs, candy in hand towards two of his favorite people and the dog he had grown to adore.
"Na'tan! Awie! Scouuuut!"
Scout's tail wagged so fast at the sight of him that if the dog could have taken flight, he certainly would have. The pup sat down just before Jack reached him, making both dog and boy the same height. Jack popped the candy cane back in his mouth and wrapped his arms around the pup.
"Hi Scout," the boy spoke through the candy. "You a good boy."
The dog seemed to only sit taller with the praise, his tail dusting the snow beneath it with each wag. Allie quickly joined the little boy and they sandwiched the dog with their arms around him and each other.
Nathan's heart swelled at the sight. He couldn't love Jack more if he tried. Allie, Jack…and even Scout made a beautiful picture of the life he wanted more than anything else. Though he fought the reaction, he couldn't help but glance at Elizabeth. She, too, seemed lost in the moment of their children so affectionately and naturally together—like long lost puzzle pieces together at last.
She blinked and glanced finally in his direction with a pretty pink blush coloring her cheeks. It was only then that Nathan noticed Elizabeth's candy cane. "Good morning, Lizbeth. I see you like peppermint too."
Elizabeth's cheeks darkened further to crimson. She fought a smile and teased, "Tis' the season."
Nathan lost the battle with his own smile and boldly ventured, "Well if you like those, you should swing by my office. I have a whole jar."
Rosemary coughed, "She really should."
Elizabeth glared at her friend who only smiled bigger.
"Yeah, Mama wets go back! I wike candy canes." Jack pleaded, standing and waving his half-eaten cane.
Elizabeth's eyes flared at the comment, calling down to her son, "Maybe later, Sweet boy. We need to head over to the Mercantile to check your birthday mail."
"Isss my birfday soon, Awie."
Allie smiled at the little boy, "How old will you be Jack?"
"Dis many…FIVE!" He held up his hand, widening his fingers as much as he could. His chest puffed out with pride, and his eyes took on a happy twinkle.
"Wow, Jack! That's a whole hand. Five is a pretty big number." Allie's eyes were tender.
"Yep. I almost five. Want to come to my birfday, Awie?"
Allie looked to her father who glanced up at Elizabeth as she quickly descended the stairs.
"Yes, please join us. We're having a small family celebration at my house Monday morning. Bill will be there…as will Lee and Rosemary. We'd love to have you."
Nathan smiled back at her, "We wouldn't miss it."
"Good," Elizabeth whispered back.
The weight of the garlands started to strain his muscles. Nathan shifted his armload, drawing Elizabeth's eyes to his arms.
"Jack, let's let Mountie Nathan deliver those garlands. I'll bet they're heavy." She spoke to her son, but her eyes never left the Mountie's wool-covered biceps.
Nathan tilted his head at her with a smile. "Thanks." He dropped his voice for her ears alone. "Good to see you again, Lizbeth."
She smiled softly at his response and lifted her eyes back to his, "You too."
Nathan tore his eyes from hers, "Good luck with the birthday mail, Jack."
"Fanks N'atan. Grandpa said he sent a biiiig gift." He held his arms wide with the comment.
Nathan grinned. "I hope he did. See you later, Jack."
Allie hugged the little boy and her teacher before she rejoined her father in their journey to his office.
Reaching the front steps, Nathan set the bundle of greens on the porch for Allie to sort. Scout scratched at the door, and Allie let him inside the office.
Allie reached down and pulled a garland gently from the pile. She started to wrap the garland around the railing, and Nathan helped her hold it in place while she tied the red ribbons that she had packed with her in her coat pocket.
After several minutes, the RWMP office looked nearly as festive as Bill's. The Grant pair stood back and admired their work.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Thank you, Allie. You did a lot of work. Mrs. Coulter will be very happy. She wanted me to spruce up the jail."
"Daaaad."
"What?! That was a good one."
Allie rolled her eyes and shook her head. Heading towards the office door. "Your jokes need a lot of work.
"Don't I know it, Allie girl." He laughed, opening and then holding the door for her. Scout was predictably snuggled up on the jail bed which was practically his own these days.
Allie glanced around the room—her eyes landing on the jars of candy and cookies on his desk. "Dad, seriously?"
"What?! It's Christmas-y…and… practical." He folded his arms with a shrug.
Allie scrunched her nose at her father, "You probably planned on eating those."
"Like I said, practical," he fought a smile.
She shook her head with a laugh. "Anything for a sweet."
Scout rolled over on the bed. A distinctively red pillow the dog had been covering, caught Nathan's eye. He walked over to the bed only to discover a beautifully cross-stitched pillow depicting a cardinal perched on a snowy branch.
"She remembered," he whispered, gently outlining the bird.
"What is it, Dad?" Allie asked, following behind him to the cell door.
"No wonder Jack said, 'go back' to my office, Elizabeth and Jack were here this morning."
"The candy canes…" Allie glanced back at the desk.
"And this cardinal," Nathan added. "Rosemary must have told her about how I teased her about a Christmas pillow."
"It's pretty."
"Sure is," Nathan whispered, lost in the memories of a few Christmases ago.
——-
A new day had yet to dawn, but a dark blue delivery truck rolled slowly into town, stopping behind the Mercantile. "MT CRUMPIT PROCESSING" was painted in white on the truck's door. It opened to briefly reveal a pair of bright green socks under a dark gray suit—unusually dressed up for a delivery man.
The door closed softly, and the man quietly unloaded several large wooden crates at the back door. When the truck bed was empty, he tiptoed back to his vehicle and slipped back inside. Once again, the truck roared to life, causing a light to turn on in an upper room above the Mercantile.
But all that was left of his visit, were a dozen stacked crates and a trail of dust.
————
The morning sun streamed through his bedroom window. With twenty minutes left to spare before the church service started, Nathan finished the last few buttons of his dress shirt, leaving the top three open per his usual style. The closed collar of his daily serge was torture enough—surely God understood his need to breathe at church.
A loud and desperate knock at the door had Nathan leave his bedroom to bolt down the stairs. Reaching the door, he pulled it open to find Bill with his jaw clenched and a look of dread in his eyes.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Nathan implored before the judge could say anything.
Bill pushed past without waiting for an invitation inside. He started pacing. "It's Greene. I knew that guy couldn't be trusted. Ned called me first thing this morning and said Greene's company made an early morning delivery."
Nathan closed the door behind him. "On a Sunday?"
"Yeah…before dawn. Just dropped the crates at the door and left. Ned heard them drive off in a hurry."
Nathan's brow pinched in thought. "Ok. So what happened? An early delivery is usually a good thing."
Bill sighed and resumed his pacing. "Well it would be if he brought the ham and turkeys. It's all salami. All of it. And there's not enough to fill the orders."
Nathan's eyes flared, "No ham at all? Was there a note?"
Bill stopped and gripped the back of the settee, "No…and worst of all I can't reach Greene. No one answers, and the operator said the number is no longer in service. I sent a wire over to Ronnie in Brookfield, and he was delivered salami too sometime in the middle of the night."
Nathan's arms folded over his chest. "So it couldn't have been an accident."
"I don't think so. I contacted our local farmers. They brought their hogs to market a few weeks ago, but they only got the first half of their payment. The rest was supposed to be sent when the hogs were butchered. No one has heard a thing."
"Did you call Headquarters?" Nathan asked.
Bill's eyes fell in defeat to his hands on the settee. He sighed, "Not yet. I wanted to give you the news first. I hate to be the reason you're sent out on assignment right before Christmas….so I'm going with you…regardless of what Headquarters says."
"Good." Allie announced, dressed and ready for church at the top of the stairs. "Dad shouldn't be alone on Christmas."
"Allie…" Nathan started before she held a hand up, causing him to politely pause.
She descended the stairs—never taking her eyes off her father. "It's ok. I've got the Weises, and the Canfields…and Mrs. Thornton already invited us over for Little Jack's birthday. I have plenty of places I can be, and we can pick up Christmas whenever you get back. The date doesn't matter. The place doesn't even matter. Christmas just needs you, Dad."
Nathan pressed his lips together, but his eyes shone with the sad pride of a father. "I'm so sorry Allie-girl. With you is the only place I want to be." He held his arms out to the girl, and she ran the rest of the way into his embrace.
She looked up at him with a sad determination brimming her eyes, "I know, but someone's got to stop him. Hope Valley needs you."
He kissed her forehead and glanced over at the judge whose eyes were filled with pain and regret. "Ok, Bill. How soon do we leave?"
"Right away. He can't have gotten too far. There's just one more problem."
Nathan sighed, holding his girl close, "What?"
"I couldn't find a valid address for a Mt. Crumpit Processing. The addresses I've found are for closed butcher shops all north of here. Maybe he purchased them…maybe not."
"So you're telling me we're chasing a ghost?"
Bill released the chair and took a step back, "Something like that."
A/N:
Thanks to Lynn @nebula2 for being willing to be my late night beta reader! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season! Thank you for your reviews and feedback. They make my day reading them.