Two days before the New Year, Nathan sent a wire to Mountie Headquarters in Cape Fullerton, letting them know that Mrs. Jack Thornton was currently residing in Coal Valley, Alberta.

On New Year's Eve afternoon, the day of Lee's grand opening, Nathan received word back by wire.

The Great North Western Telegraph Company of Canada

To: Constable Nathan Grant, c/o Yost's Mercantile, Coal Valley

WILL NOT SEND CONSTABLE TO INFORM NOK. DUTY IS YOURS. CONSTABLE JACK THORNTON KILLED IN LOD, 12/19/1910, NT, GUNSHOT WOUND. PLS REPORT WHEN COMPLETE. NOTIFY DEST FOR TRB.

HQ

Nathan exhaled and reached out his hand to steady himself on Ned Yost's counter. As he did, he looked into Ned's eyes, which were filling as fast as his own.

"Oh, Nathan," Ned said, his face a mask of pain. "I'm so sorry."

Nathan found his voice slowly. "Thank you," he said woodenly. "I would appreciate it if you would share this with no one, Ned."

"Wires are always confidential, Nathan," Ned said, nodding.

Nathan nodded back and folded the paper in half. He needed to get somewhere to think. To collect himself. To figure out how on earth he was going to give this news to Rosemary.

And the only person he wanted to see right now was Elizabeth.

The Library was closed on New Year's Eve, and Nathan and Elizabeth had pulled all the curtains and locked the doors. For a while they'd sat in the chairs at the small table while Elizabeth wept and Nathan held her.

Elizabeth finally wiped her eyes and picked up the piece of paper that lay between them on the table. "NOK, next of kin?" Nathan nodded. "LOD, line of duty. NT, Northern Territories," she said softly, her hands shaking slightly and causing the paper to quiver. "What is DEST for TRB?"

Nathan took a deep breath. "Destination for transfer of remains for burial," he said, his eyes icy blue.

Elizabeth looked up at Nathan, her eyes stricken. "The duty is yours." She put her arms around him, "Oh, my love, what can I do? How can I make this easier for you?"

Nathan held her tightly. "I should have known. Why would they send a Constable all the way from Cape Fullerton when they already have one posted here? I wasn't thinking that far ahead, but I should have been." Elizabeth felt him take a shuddering breath and then he pulled away, his eyes focused on hers.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "This is a part of being a Mountie, I shouldn't be thinking about how I could have avoided it. I should be grateful that Rosemary will hear this from someone who cares about her. Someone who knows… who knew Jack."

Elizabeth watched in awe as Nathan found his center, and even sat a little taller in the chair. His mouth set into a firm line and he took Elizabeth's hand on the table. "We're trained in this," he said softly. Then he added, "The duty is mine."

They sat for a time, both imagining the terrible moment that lay ahead. There was no question in Elizabeth's mind that she would be there when he told her. She would stand next to Nathan and she would hold Rosemary. Supporting two people that she loved.

Elizabeth sighed heavily. "So, do you let Rosemary have this party that she's so looked forward to and then tell her, or are you bound to tell her now?"

"At earliest opportunity is how they phrased it in training, as I recall," Nathan said. "And considering the fact that I know Rosemary is out by the water tower right now with Lee and Mike, I guess the manual would say I should just walk out there and tell her."

Elizabeth squeezed his hand gently. "That's what the manual says. What's in your heart, Nathan?"

Raising his eyebrows in some resignation, Nathan said, "That we let her have this celebration and then tell her after."

Elizabeth smiled sadly at him. "That's what's in my heart too."

Nathan nodded and they sat in silence for a moment. Then Nathan spoke, "I know that Jack's father died in the line of duty as a Mountie, and I thought he said his mother is still living. And he has a brother?"

"Yes, Tom. Rosemary has mentioned him. It came up because he lives in Hamilton."

"And where is his mother?" Nathan asked.

"Rosemary said her name is Charlotte and she lives in Aberdeen. She knows her well and they've been writing to each other quite a lot since the wedding. Rosemary will probably want to be the one to tell her. The first time she and Jack broke off their engagement, Charlotte told her that she would always be like a daughter to her."

Nathan nodded. "A husband, and now a son, both lost because of their courage," he said. "Seems almost more than a person can bear."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "And yet Abigail has…"

Nathan's head came up sharply and he began to nod slowly as he looked into Elizabeth's eyes. "You women are made of steel, Elizabeth. We go out and fight, but when we do, we're doing things. You wait. I think that's harder."

Elizabeth felt her eyes filling again as she watched the color change in Nathan's eyes. "I can't even imagine losing you..."

Nathan gave her a sad smile, but his eyes were filled with love. "You would soldier on, my angel. You always will." He reached down and touched the small charm on her bracelet. "My angel Elizabeth. I wonder now how I got through the hardest times without you." He looked back up at her. "This is a terrible duty I have to perform, but knowing you'll be standing beside me makes it easier." He lifted her hand and held it to his lips, closing his eyes.

Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair tenderly. "I will always be standing beside you, my love. Always."

"A little higher, Michael!" Rosemary said, her voice carrying all the way up to the water tower platform. Mike Hickam had attached a large tarpaulin with ropes to the tower so that it was covering the new name of the town. The fact that practically every person in Coal Valley had seen it while Mike was painting it, or had walked by it afterwards, meant little to Rosemary. This was all about the show.

"That's better. And when we pull on this one rope, we want the whole thing to fall. Dramatically!" Rosemary said, illustrating with her hands.

Lee was smiling at her in the way that he found he was doing a lot these days. He'd never met a woman like Rosemary, and the fact that she was equal parts fascinating and baffling had him feeling slightly off his game. For a man like Lee, who was pretty much always in control of a situation, it was a heady, disorienting feeling.

The last few days had been the best he could remember in a long time. Hardly a waking hour would go by without Rosemary popping her head into his office, or stopping him on the street, or simply sitting down at the table at Abigail's as he and Mike had lunch every day. Full of life, full of energy, and full of ideas. That was Rosemary.

At the same time he was enjoying every minute, Lee Coulter was holding his heart back. He knew that this was a woman he could fall for. Hard. Every time his heart expanded a little, he forced himself to look at the ring on her left hand and gave himself a short lecture. Don't you dare think of her that way.

Lee shaded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at Mike on the platform. "So, do we test it?" he called up.

Mike exhaled so loudly that Lee could hear it down below. "If we test it, I have to put it all back up, right?" Mike said.

Lee laughed. "Good point." He turned to Rosemary and raised his eyebrows. "So, we take our chances?" he asked her.

Rosemary flung her arms out wide. "Throw caution to the wind!" she said, laughing. She moved closer to Lee. "It reminds me of a show I did in New York, off-Broadway. Our props and sets got stuck in Chicago and they didn't arrive until an hour before opening night. Did we despair? No! We just went on stage and did it! And it was glorious!"

Lee grinned back at her, laughing and shaking his head. "And who is the lucky person who pulls the rope?" he asked.

"I've already spoken to Mayor Ramsey, and he's agreed to do it. So we'll reveal the name, then we'll go to the saloon and have the party." She took Lee's arm companionably and started walking back toward the saloon to show him how the decorations were progressing. "Of course, we'll want you to say a few words about the sawmill, and how pleased you are to be here in Hope Valley..." she leaned a little closer, as if it was a secret, "because it will be Hope Valley by then..."

"Hey!" Mike called out from the platform. He waited until they turned around and looked up at him. "Are we done here?"

Rosemary gave him her brightest smile and waved her hand in the air. "Yes, Michael! Thank you." She pointed to the large box on the ground that had arrived this morning. "Now, on to the fireworks!"

"Okay! On to the fireworks," Mike said, starting to climb down from the tower.

When Rosemary turned back to Lee, he had an eyebrow raised. "You know Hickam would do anything for you, right?"

Rosemary wrinkled her nose adorably. "He's a sweet boy," she said, starting to walk again.

"He follows around behind you like a puppy dog," Lee said. "Be careful with him, okay?"

Rosemary stopped and looked at Lee, her face serious. For a moment they both simply gazed at each other. She'd heard the tone of his voice, and Lee had surprised himself with his own honesty. And because the two of them had felt a connection from the moment they'd met, they both knew instantly what they were really talking about.

Rosemary smiled, her eyes soft. "I would never do anything to hurt a friend. And we always need to be careful with other people's hearts," Rosemary said. She tilted her head and gave a small shrug. "But things are the way they are."

Lee nodded, his voice as soft as hers. "I hope to always be your friend, Rosemary. And when your husband returns, I hope to be his friend as well." He smiled and patted her hand on his arm, looking down. He had a feeling this would be the last time they'd speak of it, so he wanted to make himself clear. "I might wish it was otherwise, but yes, things are the way they are." He looked back up into Rosemary's eyes and realized in an instant that the time had passed for him to hold back his heart.

It was already hers.

"3...2...1...Happy New Year!" Rosemary called out as she looked skyward. Mike had clearly worked out the details of getting the fireworks in the air, because now they burst into color extravagantly in the blackness of the sky above them. Without thinking, Rosemary took Lee's arm, laughing and fully enjoying the complete success that the night had been.

Absolutely nothing had gone wrong. Lee looked over at her in wonder and then back up at the sky. His sawmill had been officially launched, the town was now Hope Valley, and it was a new year. 1911, and everyone was full of hope.

He looked back over at Rosemary and her face was so suffused with happiness that he almost found it difficult to breathe. Her strength, her resilience, the way she embraced life, the joy she found in the people around her was so evident in everything she did.

Yes, he could be her friend and still love her. He would take Rosemary in any way that would keep her in his life.

Nathan and Elizabeth had slipped away just before the fireworks began. If they seemed subdued at the unveiling and at the saloon later, people assumed it was because they were so in love that they weren't able to take much else in. The town had gotten used to Elizabeth and Nathan being in their own world.

The fact that Rebecca and Abigail were also slightly quiet had escaped the notice of the townspeople. Everyone was so full of hope in the possibilities for the new year and so excited about the opening of the sawmill, that they couldn't allow a thought of sadness to enter their minds.

Because it was a party, Nathan had been in his civilian clothes for the evening. But now he had a duty to perform, and because it was an official one, he needed to put on the red serge and become Constable Nathan Grant, the Mountie of Hope Valley.

Elizabeth walked silently with him to his office and watched while he removed his jacket and went around the corner to change into his jodhpurs and boots. She helped him straighten his suspenders and then buttoned his red serge jacket for him.

It was almost ceremonial, and it required the silence and respect Nathan and Elizabeth gave it. As he secured his Sam Browne belt, she took the cross strap from behind him and brought it up and around through the epaulet, handing it to him to secure in the ring at his waist. Then his holster, functionally unnecessary, but required for the uniform. Elizabeth took hold of the hem of his jacket and pulled it smartly down under his belt, eliminating any wrinkles.

Both of them had tears in their eyes.

Standing back, Elizabeth watched as Nathan picked up his campaign hat from the desk and placed it squarely on his head. He stood for a moment with his thumbs hooked in his belt, breathing deeply and trying to clear his eyes of the moisture that kept gathering there.

"I love you more than I can say," Elizabeth said simply.

Nathan gazed at her, his eyes the mountain blue that always took her breath away. "And I love you. You can't know what it means to have you here right now." Elizabeth watched as he again set his jaw and raised his chin.

"The duty is mine," Nathan repeated softly, almost like a prayer. Elizabeth nodded. He reached out his hand and she took it, holding it to her lips tenderly. And then she followed him out the door.

"Walk with me?" Elizabeth said to Rosemary when she found her talking to Lee after the fireworks. Everyone had congratulated her on the wonderful evening, and in the early morning hour of 1911, many had wandered off home to their beds. The farms and businesses of the new Hope Valley wouldn't know there had been a late celebration when the sun rose. Cows would still need milking and bank doors would still need opening.

"Elizabeth!" Rosemary said, "Did you see the fireworks? Weren't they stunning?"

Rosemary was still in the full flush of the celebration and she didn't notice that Elizabeth seemed a little quiet. But Lee did. He also noticed in the light of the moon that Elizabeth's eyes were glistening. There was a sorrow in her features that was decidedly out of place, and when he met her eyes, she gave him the slightest of nods. Adrenaline coursed through his body as he read her face. Stay close, she was saying. Lee nodded back and followed.

Rosemary saw him from a distance. She knew Nathan so well by now and had seen him in his red serge so often, that she was surprised and how different he seemed. He was standing with his hands behind his back, his feet apart, his hat pulled low over his brow. He looked almost like a statue, ramrod straight. Formal. Official.

And she knew.

In an instant, Rosemary felt her knees go weak and when they did, Elizabeth held her up on one side. Lee's arm came immediately through hers on her other side and she wondered for a moment if her feet were even touching the ground as they moved inexorably toward what she knew would be not only the dawn of a new year but the beginning of something terrible and shattering in her life.

The tears didn't come for her. They came for the child she was carrying, Jack's child, who she knew now as surely as anything she'd ever known, would never know him.

"No..." she said, her voice as broken as her heart as she saw Nathan's eyes in the dim light of the moon.

"Rosemary," he said, his control finally dissolving as she walked into his arms. "I'm so sorry..." Nathan removed his hat and dropped it to the ground as he folded Rosemary into his chest, his eyes desperately searching out Elizabeth's for strength.

Rosemary pressed her cheek against the red serge and sobbed. She couldn't count how many times she had felt this soft wool against her skin. Never again would it be Jack that she held, and along with everything else she was suddenly mourning, she added this.