Elizabeth had never been to a barn raising, though she'd read about plenty of them. They were a staple of the Amish settlements which had cropped up in Ontario, and since she'd grown up in a big city, Elizabeth had been fascinated by them. She loved the idea of a small community pooling its resources in order to tackle projects that felt impossible for a single family. She was excited that she got to participate in one.

Nathan had opted for his civilian clothes at church services today, knowing that they would be going directly from the meeting after church to the miner's housing to begin work. Abigail and Florence had mobilized the kitchens of Coal Valley, and there would be food for hungry workers and plenty of cider and lemonade to manage their thirst. Even Tom Trevoy had gotten in the spirit, and was bringing a large pot of his chili and loaves of bread to share.

Cat had chosen her sermon carefully for today, and those who might have thought they could beg off with some excuse or other found themselves gazing at their feet, somewhat shamefaced, after she began.

"Today I would like to share with you one of my favorite verses from Hebrews. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works." And for good measure, for the particularly hard-headed of the congregation, she added Galatians. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Elizabeth smiled, wondering how anyone could fail to show up after that exhortation.

Nathan sat with Allie, Elizabeth, and Abigail today, but it didn't prevent him from glancing back at Spurlock and Mayfield, who stood in their usual places against the trees at the back. He had no doubt that they would remain for the meeting after and that every word would be reported back to Henry Gowen.

After services, Nathan stood and joined Cat. He thanked everyone for giving generously of their time, and began to get an inventory of tools from the men. At the same time, he found out that there were plenty of skilled workers in Coal Valley. Most had built their own homes or barns, and since the plans for the miners' housing were of simple, sturdy structures, Nathan's only worry was that he wouldn't have enough materials to keep them busy for the entire day.

Murrayville Hardware would be sending a delivery wagon every day for twelve days in order to fulfill the order. The church was being designed by Cat Montgomery and Martin Sommersby, who had studied to be an architect before deciding to go into dentistry when the need arose in the town. Elizabeth would also be consulting on what she would need for her schoolroom in the church building, and late in the afternoon, while the building was going on, the three of them had their heads together over large sheafs of paper on a round table in the corner of the saloon.

Great strides were made on that first Sunday, as the framing and pumps went in for the first six houses. Nathan had learned that the first of the new miners were expected in four days and if they didn't have the roofs closed in by that time, Molly and Abigail had convinced enough men to allow them to bunk in with them. Abigail was sure it would only take a few more cherry pies to convince enough of them to take in all twelve miners until their new houses were ready.

Even the children were helping, under the watchful eyes of Elizabeth and their mothers. Whether it was running to get a cold drink for the thirsty workers, handing boxes of nails to men on ladders, or just cheering as the roof trusses were put in place, there was a festival atmosphere that had the children, and the adults, delighted. When they all sat down to supper together, the food was plentiful, the laughter joyous, and the shared accomplishment deeply felt.

After so much sadness and loss, this sense of growth, gratitude and community was something the town didn't even know it needed. In their happiness, everyone turned their eyes toward Nathan and Elizabeth, who had created this opportunity to come together.

As the sun set on the new buildings, the people of Coal Valley hugged and wished a good night to each other – tired and sore but elated and grateful to God for the abundance they shared.

For the rest of the week, those who could still work would wander to the building site and do what they could, and Nathan checked in on the progress, usually in his red serge, and sometimes on Newton, as he fit the work on the housing into his regular duties.

The first thing on Nathan's list was to look into the fire that had burned down the Coal Valley church. It had happened one month after the mine disaster, at a time when no one should have been in or around it, and from everyone Nathan had spoken to, it had gone up in flames even faster than the teacherage, which was a much older building. The Volunteer Fire Department hadn't even gotten out their buckets. It was a lost cause before they'd even arrived.

Nathan knew that the fire had started while a prayer vigil was being held at the mine, so every conversation began with the same question. "Were you present at the prayer vigil that day?" It was fairly easy to discover that there were a total of seven people who had not attended. Each had a different reason: a sick child in Marta Crocker's and Kate Frazier's cases, James Fremont was unable to put weight on a badly broken leg, Suzanne Lowery was grieving at her mother's in Benson Hills, and Nancy Sanders had moved out of town to live in Medicine Hat with her sister and never wanted to see Coal Valley again after her husband had died in the mine.

That left two people: Cat Montgomery and Charles Spurlock. Of course, Spurlock said he was present at the vigil, and Gowen and Mayfield vouched that he was, but not one other person in town had seen him there. Cat had told Nathan that she preferred to grieve her Joseph alone in her own way, and that she had gone to a favorite spot in the woods while sending Miles, Emily and Gabe along with Florence to the mine.

Nathan had gotten to know Cat Montgomery well in the time he'd been the Constable of Coal Valley, and he'd found her to be unfailingly kind, honest and straightforward. He'd trusted Allie with her numerous times, and had listened to her sermons in awe of her deep faith and sense of hope even as she faced her terrible loss. Cat was devoted to her three children and Nathan couldn't imagine her doing anything that would put them at risk. He respected her highly, and though he needed to pin her down on her whereabouts, he couldn't bring himself to consider her a suspect in the fire.

That left Spurlock at the top of his list.

Nathan had talked to all of the members of the town by the time Henry Gowen appeared in the doorway of the Mountie office. The fact that Gowen had come to him was a first, and Nathan pointed him to the chair across from his desk, curious to know what he had to say. Of course, Henry Gowen was incapable of a meeting where he didn't flex his small-town muscles, so he had Charles Spurlock in tow.

Nathan leaned back in his chair, enjoying being on his own turf. He considered taking out his copy of The Art of War and putting it on his desk, but he thought subtlety might be the order of the day.

Although Nathan offered him a chair, Spurlock stood off to the side at a respectful distance behind Gowen, dressed in his usual ominous head-to-toe black. Nathan had learned that Spurlock had an official title, though he imagined the work he did for Gowen covered a multitude of duties that didn't fit into any conventional job description.

"You know my Head of Security, Mr. Spurlock?" Gowen said after Nathan sat down.

Nathan looked up at the Pinkerton and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I've had the pleasure every Sunday at services in the grove. Mr. Spurlock is clearly a very pious man."

Spurlock sneered at him and said, "You might have had the pleasure earlier if we were any closer in age. Our paths might have crossed at the Academy."

Nathan looked at him, sincerely surprised. "You were a Mountie?"

"Nah," Spurlock said with a nasty smile, "I never let it get that far. Decided half way through training to get a real job at the Pinkerton Agency."

Nathan returned his smile. "Funny, I did the same thing. Considered the Pinkertons, but thought I'd step up to the NWMP."

Henry Gowen shook his head impatiently and sighed. "If you two are entirely finished with your little tug-of-war, I'm a busy man."

Nathan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Henry?"

There was always a smile on Nathan's face when he called Gowen by his first name. None of Gowen's employees did, even Spurlock, who had been with him longer than any of the others. Calling him Henry always paid off with an irritated twitch of Gowen's eyebrow.

Gowen's voice was more of a growl today than usual. "I understand that you're investigating the church fire, and I want to know what you've found out," Gowen said. Nathan was enjoying the fact that the chair across from him wouldn't allow Henry the feeling of superiority to lean back and look down his nose at him, whereas Nathan's chair did.

Nathan frowned in mock concern. "Oh, Henry, you know I can't divulge information from an ongoing investigation."

Gowen narrowed his eyes to the point that Nathan wondered if he could actually see out of them. "Constable. A church, bought and paid for by the Pacific Northwest Mining Company, was burned to the ground a month after a mine disaster. That, to me, seems suspicious. And it would appear likely that the arsonist is someone who might have a grudge against me or my company."

Nathan leaned forward. "And what makes you think it was arson, Henry?"

"If you don't think it's arson, then what are you investigating, Constable?"

Nathan smiled. "I'm simply trying to find out what happened."

Gowen paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

"I understand you've narrowed it down to two suspects. Clearly Mr. Spurlock can be crossed off your list as we have vouched for his whereabouts, so when do you plan on arresting Catherine Montgomery?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to gather his wits. He knew Gowen had plenty of people in town who were anxious to curry favor, but he hadn't expected quite this level and accuracy of information.

"I'm still asking questions, Henry. When my investigation is completed, you'll know the results along with the rest of Coal Valley."

Gowen sat forward in the chair. "Just so we understand one another, Constable, if Cat Montgomery is indeed the culprit, I want her behind bars until she can sit before a magistrate."

Nathan laughed softly. "Because you think she might run? This is her home, Henry, no matter how quick you were to try to evict her from it."

Gowen glared at him. "This is a company town and I need to maintain order or the entire system falls apart. We can't have citizens running around doling out their own sense of warped justice. On that, we can agree, can we not?"

"Henry, what we need to agree on is that you no longer maintain order in this town. I do. And I'll do it thoroughly, and in my own time." Nathan stood, taking a page from Gowen's book and letting him know the meeting was over.

Gowen stood and looked at Nathan with loathing in his eyes. He inclined his head toward the door, and Spurlock walked ahead quickly.

For a few moments after they had both left, Nathan just stood there. He needed to go out to the burn site and see if he could find anything.

And then he needed to talk to Cat Montgomery.

Elizabeth was early to her classroom so that she could arrange the lesson she had prepared for her students. Using heavy paper and glue, she was going to have them make sundials and then they would take them outside so she could show them how to calibrate them every hour. It was a complicated project, but would get them out of their chairs and show them how ancient people told time.

She was just getting prepared when she was surprised by the saloon door opening. Nathan walked in with Allie, and Elizabeth smiled. "You two are early," she said, opening her arms as Allie ran down the middle aisle to hug her.

Elizabeth took Allie over to the table for the younger children and set her up with her drawing materials, which Allie dearly loved. "In the new schoolhouse, the children will be able to keep their materials in their desks and they will just be waiting for them when they come in every day."

Nathan smiled at her, walking closer. "So here is a question. Is the building going to be a church where classes are taught, or a classroom where the town worships?"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit of a trick question. I would say it's both," she said.

Nathan stood a short distance away from her and Elizabeth looked curiously around his back. "You're holding something. What is it?" she asked.

"A gift," Nathan said softly.

"Do I get to see?" Elizabeth said.

"Only if you close your eyes first," Nathan said. He took her hand and led her over to one of the round tables. "Sit here," he said, and Elizabeth sat.

"Now, close your eyes," Nathan said.

Elizabeth laughed. "I'm very curious."

"Good," he said, but his voice was much closer than she expected. Suddenly she felt his lips on hers and her eyes flew open. "Nathan, not in the classroom!" she said, trying not to laugh with little success.

"If Allie gets a hug, why can't I get a kiss?" Nathan asked, doing his best to feign innocence.

"Was that my gift?" she asked softly.

"No," he said, "Close your eyes again."

Elizabeth did and she heard the sound of things being placed on the table. She also could smell the sweet aroma of fresh cut wood. Then Nathan said, "Okay, open your eyes."

"Oh... Nathan..." she said looking down at the table. There in front of her were two bookends that looked exactly like the row houses. Nathan's was at the left and in the doorway was a small carved man with a red painted tunic, and next to him was a little girl with brown hair in a peach colored dress. In the doorway of the bookend on the right was a young woman in a white blouse and a robin's egg blue skirt. They were all waving to each other.

Between the bookends were five books. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Persuasion, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Little Women. The books weren't new and looked to be well-read. Elizabeth reached out and picked up the copy of Jane Eyre.

Nathan smiled. "I wondered which one you would pick up first," he said very softly.

"Were you right?" Elizabeth asked, turning the book over in her hands.

Nathan nodded. "It was easy. I know how you love that book."

"Oh, the Brontës and Austen and Alcott. My absolute favorites. And these bookends." She looked up at him and stood. Then she looked around as she put her arms around his neck and leaned up on tiptoes to kiss him. It was a quick kiss, just in case, but Nathan was lost for a moment in the scent of her lavender soap and the tickle of her curls around his face.

"You like them?" Nathan said, although he had already been given her answer.

"You were listening," she said softly against his cheek. "To what I said to Albert." She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "This is a gift from the heart."

Nathan nodded. "It's a little redundant," he said.

She looked at him and tilted her head slightly in a question.

Nathan smiled at her, his eyes soft with love. "My heart is already yours."