On Monday morning, Gabriel arrived at the Grant's home just after breakfast to help Nathan load the table and chairs that he had made as display pieces for the Benson Hills furniture store. Entering the wood shop, Gabriel paused and looked around, It was the first time he had actually been inside the shop. Along with the pieces heading for Benson Hills, there was also a finished coffee table and what appeared to Gabriel to be an end table in progress. A wooden plaque lay on one table in process while a little wooden bird statue stood nearby waiting to be painted. There was also something currently covered by a tarp in one corner.
"You have been busy," Gabriel commented, taking everything in.
"The trouble sleeping does seem to be good for something," Nathan told him.
"You still haven't talked to, Elizabeth?" Gabriel asked.
Nathan shook his head. "I haven't figured out how to bring the subject up."
Gabriel chose not to comment further. It was not an easy situation to be in. "What are the coffee table and end table for?" he asked, changing the subject.
"William Thatcher actually commissioned for them when he was visiting," Nathan said. "He plans on giving them to his wife on their October 24th anniversary as Grace has been remodeling the sitting room. She already has a new settee and arm chair and William says she has been fretting the coffee table and the end tables look shabby next to the new furniture."
Gabriel chuckled. "Well, I don't think she'll say those look shabby," he told his friend.
"I hope not," Nathan said. "William also said he planned on talking to some contacts about getting my pieces out to Hamilton," he admitted. "He offered to invest money but I didn't feel comfortable with that, given that Bill and Lee are already helping me out so much, though with Elizabeth negotiating with the sale of the saloon, I no longer owe Lee money. The offer of helping me sell things in Hamilton was his next offer, with Thatcher Shipping Company covering the shipping costs for a small commission on each piece when it sells."
"Sounds like a good way to get broader range and more chance of success," Gabriel commented. "Though from the looks of this furniture, I don't think you getting customers is going to be a problem."
"I hope not," Nathan replied, moving to the far end of the table.
"So what is under the tarp?" Gabriel asked, trying to sound casual.
"Your wedding present," Nathan replied. "So stop being nosy and help me get this table on the wagon."
Gabriel laughed but complied with his friend's instruction. Together, they got the table and the four matching chairs loaded in the back of the wagon, leaving room for Allie to sit in the front of the wagon box. Elizabeth planned on having Jack up on the wagon seat between her and Nathan where she could hang onto them.
"You will check on, Nate, right Uncle Gabe?" Jack asked as Gabriel lifted the boy up to the wagon seat beside Nathan.
"Judge Avery and I have discussed times with one another to make sure Nate gets checked on several times while you all are away," Gabriel assured the boy.
"Good," Jack replied, now sitting on the seat next to Nathan who had his arm around the boy.
Gabriel assisted Elizabeth up onto the wagon bench beside Nathan.
"Don't go snooping around my wood shop while I am gone either," Nathan warned his friend.
"As I am in uniform, I guess I have to mean it when I say I won't," Gabriel joked. "You all have a safe trip and enjoy yourselves," he added, taken a step back from the wagon.
Final good-byes were called as Nathan signaled Cosmo forward.
Upon reaching Benson Hills, Nathan first took care of business. The furniture store owner made several remarks about the quality of the work, saying he was sure he would have inquiries to orders before too long. After making the delivery, the family did some window shopping, ducking into a store here and there to browse. The one purchase they did make was at the bookstore, allowing each child to pick out a new story for the bedtime reading ritual. It seemed to take forever, though Elizabeth and Nathan did not rush the children.
In fact, as Nathan sat cross-legged on the floor, several children's book spread out between him and Jack, Elizabeth was stuck with a memory of how short of patience Lucas often was with Jack. Lucas had viewed her son as an obstacle to get past to get to her. She realized now he had never treated Jack as a child who needed love. His treatment of Jack the night he raped her was a testament to that.
Now, here was Nathan on the floor in a bookstore so he could be on Jack's level, giving the child more than enough time to make a selection.
"I'm going to go with this one."
Ally's comment brought Elizabeth's attention out of her own thoughts and back to the bookstore. She saw Ally holding up on of the two books she held. "Besides, I can't really see reading a romance with Dad, " she added. "That could get awkward," she confessed with a rueful smile.
"It could," Elizabeth admitted smiling at the girl.
"So that's the one?"Nathan asked.
Elizabeth and Ally looked in that direction to see Jack hugging a book close, while four more lay on Nathan's lap.
Jack was nodding an affirmative so Nathan gathered the other books into a neat stack. With the books in hand he got to his feet.
"Have you decided, Ally?" Nathan asked looking at the teenager.
Ally nodded.
Nathan looked at Elizabeth as he reached into his pocket. He handed Elizabeth some money saying, "why don't you and the kids pay for the books while I put the others away? I will meet you all at the front door."
"All right," Elizabeth replied, feeling like there was more to it than simply putting books away. However, she wasn't going to question it. Instead, she reached for Jack's hand and led the two children up to the cashier.
After paying for the books, both kids asking to carrying their new book, Elizabeth led them to the entrance.
"I thought Dad would have beat us here," Ally commented.
Though she did not say anything, Elizabeth silently agreed. Still holding onto one of Jack's hands, Elizabeth looked for her husband. She spotted him at the front counter. Apparently he had made another purchase, which piqued Elizabeth's curiosity.
"Are we ready to eat now?" Nathan asked as he walked toward them.
The question earned three nods of the affirmative.
"Can we eat at the Maple Leaf?" Ally asked, naming one of three restaurants they had passed while walking around Benson Hills. "The decor looked interesting."
Elizabeth caught Nathan looking in her direction. His eyes silently asked her opinion. Despite all that had happened, the action still surprised her. She supposed she had dealt with Lucas dictating to her for so long that she had come to expect it. Getting over her surprise, Elizabeth gave a small nod.
"The Maple Leaf it is," Nathan replied, causing Ally to make an excited exclamation. Jack echoed Ally.
"Can Jack and I lead the way?" Ally asked.
Nathan motioned to the door of the book shop. Jack let go of Elizabeth's hand and took Ally's. Ally led them out of the store, Nathan reaching for and holding the door as Elizabeth went out.
"You bought them each another book, didn't you?" Elizabeth whispered.
"Yes," Nathan admitted as he fell into step beside her. He reached for her hand and Elizabeth let him take it, interlacing her fingers with his. "There will be birthdays or Christmas coming up. Or perhaps something else to celebrate before then," Nathan told her.
Elizabeth smiled. "I doubt that either of those books make it to the children's birthdays," she commented, not that she cared. She would never begrudge a child a book.
"You are probably right," Nathan told her. "Though they might be a good distraction for the trip to Brookfield in a couple of weeks."
Elizabeth nodded. Her husband had a good point. Brookfield was a long trip. Keeping Jack distracted on the train trip to Hamilton had not been easy. A new book to look at would serve as a temporary distraction for the boy.
With a bouquet of wildflowers in hand, Gabriel knocked on the door of the apartment above the barber shop. He had reserved the private dining room at the Amaryllis for him and Faith tonight. Though they had been spending a lot of time together, quite a bit of it had been working out the final details of the wedding. Moving to Hope Valley but still getting married in Brookfield had its challengers. However, both he and Faith were making the trip back to the little cattle town four days before the wedding and his last conversation with Lillian had assured him that things were in place on his friend's end. If the weather cooperating, the wedding would take place in the yard of the orphanage. If it was a rainy day, then Ronnie had promised use of the hotel. Though the agreement was for payment only if the hotel was used, Gabriel planned on giving the hotel owner something even if plan A worked.
Faith answered his knock. She wore the dress she had worn for Lillian and Sam's wedding last fall. The dress had a dark grey skirt, and a frilly lavender bodice. Gabriel had asked her why she hadn't worn this dress to the hotel's opening last Friday, to which Faith replied she had wanted to wear something new. When she asked if he didn't like the dress she was wearing, Gabriel had assured her that she looked beautiful but he was more partial to the grey and lavender dress.
A smile broke out on his face, the second he saw her.
"I chose this dress just for you," Faith told him, a pretty blush rising in her cheeks.
"You look lovely," Gabriel told her, taking in her upswept hairdo with a single tendril hanging down along the left side of her face. Leaning in, he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear before pulling back.
Faith's blush deepened as she took the bouquet that Gabriel held out to her. She murmured her thanks even as she breathed in the wildflowers' scent.
"I thought the flowers were pretty but your beauty outshines them," Gabriel told her, the compliment soft but said with sincerity.
"Oh, you are a charmer!" Fiona commented teasingly as she came up behind her roommate.
"Fiona!" Faith scolded, though there was laughter in her voice. She didn't miss the content look the compliment put on her fiance's face. If Gabriel wasn't going to be embarrassed by Fiona's teasing, Faith decided that she shouldn't let it bother her either.
Fiona reached out for the bouquet. "Let me take those and put them in a vase for you, and you go enjoy your evening with your dashing Mountie."
"Thank you," Faith said, surrendering her flowers.
Reaching out, she looped her arm through Gabriel's offered arm. Carefully, Gabriel led her down the steps and the two made the short walk to the Amaryllis. They were greeted quickly by Archie as they walked into the building. Gabriel noticed a light in Archie's eyes that he had never seen in his friend's father's eyes before. It was clear to him that Archie was truly happy here, with family nearby and work that he could be proud of. Archie escorted them to the private dining room.
The little room had several vases of fresh flowers scattered about, including a large one in the center of the small table set for two. Scones around the room, provided a soft lighting for the room and a pair of silver candles flickered on either side of the flowers.
Gabriel held Faith's chair for her, before sitting himself. Both he and Faith ordered a glass of wine to start with as Archie handed them menus. He told them that their waitress would be in shortly to take their order and if they needed him for anything to let her know. Archie then started the record that Gabriel had requested, filling the room with soft instrumental music.
"This almost doesn't feel like Hope Valley to me," Faith confessed softly as she looked around taking in the ambiance.
"Archie and Lee did a wonderful job giving this place class," Gabriel admitted. "I might have to let it slip to Ronnie how lovely this place is."
Faith reached across the table and swatted Gabriel's arm playfully. "The Royal Brookfield is a nice establishment as well."
Gabriel just grinned. He really did like Ronnie. The guy had a good heart even if he didn't have the best business sense.
The conversation turned to the menu. By the time their waitress, a young woman named Elaine, entered Gabriel and Faith had made their choices. They gave her their order and Elaine left the room.
"So, how did duck sitting go?" Faith asked, an amused smile on her face. She had been with Gabriel yesterday when Jack had asked him to check in on Nate while the Grants were in Benson Hills.
"Don't tell Jack, but I lost that duck for about ten minutes this afternoon," Gabriel told her. "I stopped in around noon to feed it and check its water. It had managed to spill its water dish, so I gave it food and water outside its crate so I could put dry towels in the crate. When I came back from getting a couple of dry, clean towels, the duck had wandered off."
"Oh, no," Faith said.
"First thing I did was make sure all the doors to the outside were closed. They were, so at least I knew the duck was inside. Still, I knew if that duckling was not safely in its crate when Jack got home, Jack would be upset and Elizabeth would be furious that I had let the duckling wander unsupervised in her house. I am not sure which prospect worried me more."
Faith giggled. "As you are still not there looking for the duckling, I am assuming it is in its crate. Where did you find it?"
"If I tell you, you can't tell, Elizabeth."
"Oh, now I am really curious, but I promise it will stay between you and me, my love," Faith told him.
"Well, you know that fancy throw that Elizabeth keeps on the back of the settee as decoration only."
"Oh, no," Faith commented having an idea where this was going, even as she nodded that she knew which one he was referring to.
"Oh, yes," Gabriel said. "That duckling had somehow managed to get a hold of a piece of it and drag it off the back of the couch. I found Nate snuggled up in it on the floor behind the settee sleeping. After settling that duck in its crate, I examined that throw for any little flaw, knowing if there was one I would need to confess what happened to Elizabeth. I didn't see anything, and I don't plan on saying a thing to her."
Faith laughed again. "Your secret is safe with me," she assured him.
The food arrived then. Having promised each other no talk about the wedding that evening, as they ate their meals Gabriel first told Faith more about his day. Faith then said what she could about her day before the talk went other happenings around town. Between the conversation and the food, both were having a wonderful, relaxing evening. Though both were excited for the approaching wedding, the break from the planning was just what they needed for the evening.
As the waitress came to clear the dinner dishes, she asked them about dessert. "Archie told me to tell you he has brownie and vanilla ice cream on the menu especially for you, Constable Kinslow."
"I see everyone knows your favorite dessert," Faith commented.
"I don't exactly make a secret of it," Gabriel replied before turning his attention back to Elaine. "Could you give us about twenty minutes and then bring us a brownie and ice cream to share and two coffees?"
Elaine smiled. "Mostly certainly."
The waitress picked up the tray with the dirty dishes and exited the room.
"And what are we going to do for twenty minutes?" Faith asked, looking across the table at Gabriel.
Getting to his feet, Gabriel silently moved to the Victrola. Lifting the needle he placed it on the outside again to start the music over and then moved to Faith's side. "If my fiance is willing, I thought we would do a little dancing," he said, holding out his hand to her.
Smiling up at him, Faith placed her hand in his. "Being in your arms sounds like a wonderful way to spend twenty minutes," she replied, letting him help her to her feet.
Gabriel led her to the middle of the space between the table and the Victrola and then pulled her close to him. Wrapped in one another's arms, they began to sway to the music, their swaying slowly rotating them. They spent some time just gazing into one another's eyes, simply enjoying one another's presence. After a while, Gabriel brought them to a stop, pressing his lips against Faith's.
Alone in the room, Faith willingly returned the kiss, her hands on his shoulders with Gabriel's arms on her waist. Faith took a step closer, and invitation for Gabriel to hold her tighter. Gabriel responded, pulling Faith tighter against him, as passion built up inside of him. He deepened the kiss part of him longing for the time when he could show his love for the woman in his arms in ways other than gifts, compliments and kisses.
The kiss only ended when both of them needed air, Faith's breath came in short, soft pants as she rested her head against Gabriel's chest. She could hear his heart beating quickly beneath her ear, even as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. Still holding her close, Gabriel once again started a soft swaying to the music.
In those moments, each other were the only people Faith and Gabriel were aware of.