Saturday dawned bright and warm in Hope Valley. Despite the celebration of the night before, very few people had the luxury of sleeping in. Life went on. For the Grants, life going on meant starting a pond for a little boy's pet duck.
The pond, even a small one, was going to take awhile to complete. Nathan was grateful for Gabriel, Bill and Lee's pledge of help. It was not going to be an easy task even with their help. However, Nathan knew that the look of joy on his son's face when he watched Nate swim in the pond would make all the labor worth it.
Elizabeth and Ally made breakfast together as they usually did. After breakfast, Nathan headed outside. The others had volunteered to help him, but Nathan planned on putting in more than his fair share. Bill had stopped by a couple of days ago and helped him plot out the area where they would be digging. Lee had sent Jesse over with the materials that would be used to line the pond and keep water from simply seeping into the ground and drying up the pond. Both of the children wanted to come with him and Nathan did not have the heart to tell them no.
With a kid on either side, Nathan headed outside. Jack was carrying Nate. The duck still allowed the privilege of sleeping in a box indoors. Though the materials Jesse had brought over were near the work site, wrapped tightly in a tarp less it should rain, Nathan headed for the barn first. Not only were his shovels there, but the horses needed to be fed before he could start working on the pond.
Jack chattered about Nate and the pond the whole way to the barn. The boy was excited that his duck was getting a home nearby. Nathan also heard something about being nice to Mama and staying close by himself when he grew up. Nathan knew that those plans would likely change as Jack got older. His mother had told stories about the things he had said he planned to invent when he was Jack's age, though he did not remember most of them. As he had gotten older, his interest had been caught by watching the local furniture builder work. When he had turned thirteen, the man had let him start to put in some hours, teaching him about building furniture and carving. It had allowed him to start helping provide for the family while his father was in jail. He remembered offering to drop out of school and going to work full time and his mother had forbid it. It wasn't until his father went to jail the second time that the thought of becoming a Mountie had occurred to him.
Even Ally still had time to explore, and dream before she needed to make a choice for the direction of her life. Even then, life threw curve balls. He had never planned on being a father, let alone a single father. However, life had presented that to him and though he had made mistakes, Ally was turning out all right. Now he had a wife and a son along with a daughter and he was planning a career change. Yes, life threw curve balls and dreams could change. Jack and Ally both had plenty of time to figure those things out. For now, he wanted them both to be children for as long as they could.
With Jack and Ally's help, the horses were cared for. Nathan then grabbed his shovel and a trowel, asked Ally to grab a pail and headed to the place where the pond was to be created. Both kids wanted to help, and Nathan was willing to humor them. Handing Jack the trowel he set the boy up in a spot within the staked out outline of the pond, instructing Jack to place his dirt in the pail. He then handed the shovel to Ally and let her dig for awhile. It wasn't long before his daughter was handing him back the shovel.
"That is harder than I thought," Ally told him as Nathan took the shovel from her.
Nathan chuckled, reaching out a hand to touch her head gently with the hand not holding the shovel. "You did good, Ally," he told her.
"This is fun!" Jack said from his spot on the ground. The hole he had managed to create was much smaller than Ally's.
Nathan and Ally laughed.
"With Jack's help, Nate might have a pond sometime next year," Ally said softly.
Nathan looked at the area. "I have a feeling this is going to be a project for quite a few days, even with Lee, Gabriel and Bill's help," he told her.
"Nate will be happy," Ally told him, even as she went to join Jack so she wasn't in Nathan's way.
"That duck better be," Nathan muttered, even as he sank the shovel into the ground.
With Ally supervising Jack, Nathan made some progress on the area. He was pausing to catch his breath when Nathan noticed a string of wagons and horses with Lee's car at the head of the line.
"That looks like more than just Uncle Lee, Uncle Gabe and Grandpa Bill," Ally commented, getting to her feet. She held one of Jack's hands tightly in her own so that the little boy did not go hurrying toward the arriving people and get hurt.
"It does," Nathan said, wondering what was going on. Sinking the shovel into the earth so that it would stay upright, Nathan headed toward the arriving caravan.
Keeping a hold of Jack's hand, Ally followed her Dad.
"What is all this?" Nathan called out as the first of the line of people came to a stop, the question not addressed to any one person.
Gabriel had been riding beside the first wagon in line, which happened to be driven by Jesse. Both Clara and Faith were in the wagon with him. While Clara was sitting in the seat next to her husband, Faith was in the back of the wagon with little Bethany in her lap.
"Well, a project like building a pond is not an easy thing to keep quiet in a town like Hope Valley," Gabriel started.
"I got to chatting with a few of the guys at work, and we figured people hold a house raising, and a barn raising so why not a pond digging," Jesse finished.
"Elizabeth could not be expected feed and provide refreshments for everyone," Clara said, "so some of us women decided to come help. We didn't want to overwhelm her, so it is just me, Faith, Rosemary, Ellen and Laura."
"I can help too!" Ally pitched in. "It has to be easier than digging was."
Nathan glanced at his daughter before looking at the group of people now climbing down from wagons or dismounting.
"I don't know what to say," Nathan said.
Having gotten out of his car by this time, Lee clapped a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Just be sure to thank everyone at some point today, and I will keep the project going today. I know you prefer not to be the center of attention if you don't have to."
"I appreciate that," Nathan told him. He glanced back to the house and then at Rosemary who had joined Clara who was helping her daughter down from the wagon. "Let me go prepare Elizabeth for all of this," he said, unsure about his wife's reaction. She had done okay at the opening of the Amaryllis last night, but that had not been a surprise.
"Of course," Rosemary replied, even as Ally and Jack had noticed Archie in the crowd and had flocked to their Grandpa.
"Are you going to help dig Grandpa?" Nathan heard Jack ask as he started toward the house.
"Actually, I was thinking you and I could work on building Nate a little house for by the pond," Archie told the boy.
Nathan felt a bit of relief that he would not need to try convincing his father that digging might be a bit too physical for him at his age. He was also relieved that Jack would be kept occupied during all the activity.
Both kids went to bed early that night. Jack could barely keep his eyes open during the late supper the family had. As Nathan carried the sleepy boy upstairs to put him to bed the boy said, "I still need to feed Nate."
Jack's head rested on his shoulder and Nathan saw that his eyelids were heavy.
"I will make sure Nate gets fed tonight, Jack," Nathan assured the boy. "You had a big day making sure Nate will have shelter when he moves outside."
"Grandpa said it would be a big help to you, Dad."
Nathan smiled. "That it will," he assured the boy.
Reaching Jack's room, Nathan helped the boy change into his pajamas. As he pulled the light blanket up over him, Nathan realized that Jack was already asleep. He tucked the blanket around him, kissed his forehead, and slipped from the room.
Checking on Ally, he found his daughter already in bed herself. She had a book in her hand, telling Nathan she planned on reading for a bit. They exchanged goodnights. Nathan placed a kiss on her cheek and then left the room. Part of him would have just liked to change and climbed into bed himself but he had to at least feed Nate like he had promised. The little orphaned duckling was growing quickly and was fond of everyone though he tended to follow Jack around when he was allowed to waddle around.
Reaching the downstairs, Nathan saw that the dinner dishes had been cleared. He heard Elizabeth moving about the sunroom and headed in that direction. There, he found her talking to the duckling as the little bird ate its food from the shallow dish she had placed in front of him.
"Everyone went to a lot of trouble for you today," Elizabeth told the duckling as it ate. "I hope you will appreciate the home we are building for you outside."
"That pond will be fit for Nate to raise a family in, if he so chooses, provided it holds water," Nathan commented.
With so many helping hands, the pond had been dug and the natural materials to help waterproof the bottom mixed and spread. They had then formed a bucket brigade to fill the pond part way with water. For now, they just wanted to make sure the water didn't simply seep into the ground before they tried filling it all the way. Once that was accomplished, either more water would be dumped into the man-made pond or perhaps mother nature would help them with the task.
Elizabeth looked up from the duckling. She blushed a bit at being caught talking to the duckling.
"I was going to feed the duckling but seems you beat me to it," Nathan commented, sinking down onto the settee facing the large window that took up one whole wall of the room. A soft groan escaped, as the work he had done throughout the day caught up to him.
"Oh, I hope the ponds hold water," Elizabeth said. "You all put in so much work today." Elizabeth moved from the duckling to stand behind Nathan. Reaching out, she began massaging Nathan's neck and shoulders as she continued. "Though I am glad so many came out to help you. I just hope there isn't more work for you."
Nathan let out a soft moan as he relaxed into Elizabeth's ministrations.
"Jack's reaction to having a pond for his duck made it all worth it," Nathan replied. "He was very proud of the little house he and Dad built for Nate as well."
Elizabeth smiled. "I know. I promised him I would let him show it to me before church tomorrow," she replied. "He wanted me to go before dinner but I had a feeling you would be hungry."
"I could have waited a few more minutes for dinner," Nathan replied, his eyes closed as he enjoyed his massage.
"The house for the duck could wait too. It isn't going anywhere and as much as I do not like the idea of a duck in the house, Nate isn't going anywhere soon either. I would feel bad about putting that little thing out in the barn, even if Jack didn't give me a hard time about it."
Nathan chuckled. "He is a cute little thing isn't he," he commented, opening his eyes to see the duckling leave its food dish and come over to where he sat.
Nate was content to settle down at Nathan's feet. If he wasn't enjoying the massage so much, Nathan would have reached down and picked the duckling up and cuddled him.
Nathan enjoyed the massage in silence for a little while before speaking.
"Did you have plans for Monday?" Nathan asked.
"I do not exactly have a busy schedule these days," Elizabeth commented, sounding a little far away.
Nathan reached up a hand and placed it gently on her arm as he tilted his head back so he could look up to her.
"Are you all right, Beth?" Nathan asked her softly.
Leaving her hands on Nathan's shoulders, Elizabeth went still.
"I think so," Elizabeth told him looking down at him. "Truth is, as worried as I was about last night it went well. I enjoyed spending time with Rosemary, Clara, Faith, Ellen and Laura today. However, I am also realizing exactly how isolated I had become living with Lucas."
"That can change now, Elizabeth. It is changing slowly. I don't care if you want to go spend an afternoon with one of your friends. Find a job if that will help you feel more fulfilled. Inviting Laura and Noah over for dinner is a start and I am looking forward to it."
"I don't think I want to go back to teaching. The one thing I have enjoyed this past year or so am the extra time I have had with Jack. I don't want to give that up quite yet."
"Then don't," Nathan told her. "However, spending more time with Rosemary and the others would be good for you."
Elizabeth nodded. "I will make more of an effort to be more social and not stay near the house so much, but I think I need to ease into it."
"You go at your own pace, Elizabeth," Nathan told her.
"So, why did you want to know if I had plans on Monday?" Elizabeth asked, even as she went back to trying to knead the tension out of her husband's muscles.
"Well, I already had plans to take my sample pieces to the store in Benson Hills. Though I am delaying the start of doing the wood work full time, the pieces are ready and I am going to deliver them as planned on Monday. I was thinking perhaps you and the kids could come with me and we could make it a family outing. Perhaps even eat in Benson Hills."
"That sounds pleasant," Elizabeth replied, happy about the idea of spending a day with Nathan and the kids.
"We'll let the kids know tomorrow then," Nathan replied, going back to enjoying Elizabeth's administrations.
The next morning was a typical day at the Grant's. At least until the trip to Benson Hills was sprung on the children. Nathan wasn't sure which kid was more excited about the prospect. He was suddenly looking forward to making the delivery on Monday.
While final preparations for church were made, Jack spent time with his duckling. Having already been fed, Nate was happily cuddled up in Jack's arms as the boy sat with the duckling in the sunroom.
Finally ready to leave, Elizabeth stepped into the sunroom. "Put Nate in the box, Jack. It is time to go."
"I can show you the house before church still, right?" Jack asked, looking up at Elizabeth.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "Put the duckling away."
Jack listened to his mother, placing Nate gently in his box. "Mama?" Jack asked as he went to take her hand. "Who is going to watch Nate when we are gone tomorrow? He can't be alone all day?"
Though her first instinct was to tell Jack the duck would be fine in the box while they were gone the next day, Elizabeth knew words would not convince her four-year-old son of that. "We'll see if Bill and Gabriel can check on Nate tomorrow."
"Good," Jack said, satisfied. In his mind, the two adults telling him no was not even a possibility.
Elizabeth helped Jack wash his hands, and then they went to join Nathan and Ally, who had gone outside to hitch Cosmo to the wagon, outside. Cosmo was already hitched and standing patiently near the front porch.
"It looks like the pond is holding water!" Ally said excitedly.
"Now we just need rain so I don't need to fill it bucket by bucket," Nathan commented.
"Come see the house, Mama," Jack said tugging her hand.
"We will be right back," Elizabeth told Nathan even as she let her son pull her in the direction of the pond.
"We'll be right here," Nathan assured her, smiling at the sight of Elizabeth and Jack heading in the direction of the pond. Unlike that day at the river, he was not worried about them walking away this time because they both were wearing smiles. Elizabeth and Jack were happy again, and he was grateful to be a part of that happiness.