AUTHOR'S NOTE = TOAST CHAPTER, I HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS STORY, DON'T MISS THE NEXT CHAPTERS.

CHAPTER 73

Saturday dawned beautiful; the whole town was busy decorating and making the final preparations for the wedding. Pastor Frank commented to Jack that he had never seen such a close-knit community; they were looking out over the square, Rose was preparing the path, while Elizabeth was organizing the children and their flowers, Molly and Florence along with the other women were preparing the food. The party would take place in the street, as the whole town wanted to see the owner of the café and mayor of Hope Valle marrying the pastor.

-Frank, we are very blessed. We have a wonderful town and we found our soul mate here.

-Yes, Jack... we have God to thank for blessing us like this.

The sun was beginning to set, Bill had just arrived, and he sat down at his desk and picked up the documents for the wedding. He had already got dressed; he wanted to get to the venue quickly and see Elizabeth. His heart was full of compassion for everything he had been through in his life.

He arrived and made his way to his seat. When he looked up, he saw Elizabeth arm in arm with Jack, Charlote and Tom coming towards him. He couldn't take his eyes off his daughter Elizabeth, and in strides he caught up with them, taking his daughter in his arms and twirling her around in the air, after which he took her into his arms and gave her a hug with such emotion that it amazed everyone; Wynn saw everything from afar, he noticed the look and Bill's expressions, something was wrong. He saw how he held her..."He wanted to reassure her. "I wonder what he's found to act like that..."

In his place, Jack also noticed something about Bill, he knew him very well and knew that there was a story behind that bear hug, a real father's hug.

Elizabeth laughed and, standing on her tiptoes, kissed his cheek...

-I missed you too, my father.

I missed you too, my father.

He hugged her again and then greeted the rest of the family.

Throughout the wedding, Wynn noticed Bill's gaze on Elizabeth. She was so beautiful and such a simple person, and she didn't realize that there was something different around her.

It was a very moving wedding, Cody took Abigail to the judge's table and when he handed her over to Frank, he asked him to take care of and love his mother forever. That night, and for the next week, while Abigail and Frank were away on their honeymoon trip, Cody would stay with them at Robert's house... which gave him a lot of joy. Those two boys had lots of plans for fun.

Bill spent the entire wedding party hanging around Elizabeth. Charlote noticed that her lover was acting strangely, because she had known him for so many years and that reaction told her that Bill Avery's protective button was on full blast... Charlote knew that Bill had discovered something very serious about Elizabeth, and it was something that demanded love and protection for that girl. And if her lover was protecting her, she would also join him, after all, she was their daughter. Jack looked at Wynn several times and they both wondered what was going on. They noticed that Bill was always chatting and trying to make her smile, which went against the grain of the rude man they all knew.

Bill took her hands and, to everyone's surprise, led her into the middle of the room where he began to spin around and dance with her. For Jack, who had known him all his life, this was something new... he had never imagined seeing Bill dancing like that.

Wynn came closer and spoke softly:

-Jack, look at that grumpy old man. I could have sworn the aliens swapped Bill and left that one there instead.

Jack put his hands to his mouth and held back his laughter. The urge to have a good laugh was too great, turning his cheeks red.

-Wynn, I don't know what happened to him. But he's discovered something serious about her; look how he dances with her, but his hands, his touches are a way of telling her to trust him, or that he'll be her protection. Something is wrong and he is very worried about her.

-Another thing I realize, Jack. He's doing everything he can to see her smile. He sees something in Elizabeth, and he knows that something has been missing in her life or that something has been wrong with her, and he wants to make it up to her by giving her happy moments.

-I think we need to sit down and talk to him urgently.

And so everyone got together and made that night a wonderful party.

Abigail and Frank had their first night together. It was an incredible thing, according to Frank he could hear trumpets blowing; the rockets reflected in the starry sky, a romantic music in his ears, he had never in his life known true love, a love that could take him to another dimension as it did there. He was even more in love with his wife. He pulled her into his arms and fell asleep with Abigail on his chest.

Sunday dawned perfect, the celebration was lively, Frank couldn't stop smiling.

-We're welcoming another member of our community, a young man who will be the future of Hope Valle, along with his parents Lee and Rosemary.

The Coulter family went up to the altar, where Frank said the prayers and dipped little Lucas' forehead and head.

-Lee and Rosemary, I and our community need to know who has been chosen as the godparents and guardians of this little boy and why.

-"The godfather and guardian is Jack Thorton, a man of integrity and his values and actions, a man with a humble heart, an example for our son," said Rosemary...

-"And the godmother and guardian is Elizabeth Thorton, a woman with a pure heart, who fights for the weakest and who loves her students unconditionally as if they were her own children," said Lee, smiling.

-I call Jack and Elizabeth Thorton to the front of our community; and I ask you, do you promise to love, honor, and protect Lucas Coulter from all dangers, and to teach him family values so that he will be an honorable man?

-We promise... said both of them together.

-"Sign here with me, and this document that our judge Bill Avery has prepared, whereby custody of this child, in the absence of his parents, passes to the Thortons.

Elizabeth left Jack to finish signing the documents and approached Rose, and softly spoke to Lucas, who soon came into her arms and smiled, looking into her eyes...Elizabeth winked at him and smiled, and the whole community present saw the boy calm down and wink at his godmother.

Bill looked at Frank, then at Jack and they laughed...

-Yeah, Jack, I think you've found a competitor. That boy has already fallen in love with Elizabeth.

It was a very festive and beautiful day... in the middle of the afternoon everyone said goodbye to Frank and Abigail, who were leaving for their honeymoon.