"I don't want to stay with Uncle Tom!" Jack said, stomping his foot as he stuck out his lower lip. "The baby gets to go."
Nathan closed his eyes, silently counting to ten. The baby, again. He was trying to be patient with Jack, but he was starting to think that they were never going to convince the boy that a new sibling was a good thing.
Eyes still closed, he heard Tom start speaking in a mock whisper. "You know Jack, being with the irresponsible Uncle means that you can get away with things. I'll probably feed you junk food and let you stay up past your bedtime. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Do I get my bedtime story?" Jack asked, as Nathan finally opened his eyes. Tom was kneeling next to Jack.
"I'll read you as many bedtime stories as you want," Tom promised.
Nathan held his tongue. He didn't much care if Jack got to have a little extra fun with his Uncle Tom tonight - even if that meant the kid was still up when they got home. After all, the rest of the family was going out to have fun. Besides, he remembered being the 'fun' uncle on more than one occasion before Colleen passed.
"I suppose that could be fun," Jack said, the pout leaving his face. "Can I have hot chocolate?" he asked.
Tom stood up and held a hand out to the boy. "Let's go get started now," he suggested.
With a smile coming to his face, Jack nodded his consent. Apparently chocolate beat going to the dance for the little boy. As Tom glanced at Nathan, the latter mouthed "thank you" to him. Nathan wasn't sure if he could have dealt patiently with another meltdown from Jack.
Footsteps on the stairs drew Nathan's attention. Looking in that direction, he spotted Ally making her way downstairs. Her new dress was a dark emerald green with a full skirt. There weren't any adornments on it but in Nathan's opinion, his daughter was all the embellishment the dress needed. The only jewelry she wore was the garnet heart with the diamond in the center that her grandmother had given her. Though the top layer of her hair was pinned into a chignon, the lower portion fell around her shoulders.
"Do you approve?" Ally asked tentatively, as she stopped at the foot of the steps, looking at her father expectantly.
"Where did my little girl go?" Nathan asked softly, as he held his arms out to her.
Moving from the stairs, Ally sank willingly into his embrace. "I'll be your little girl again tomorrow when we go fishing, but tonight I want to be a young lady," she told him.
"Guess I will learn to live with that," Nathan murmured, placing a careful kiss on the top of her head, careful not to mess up the style. "Where is your, mama?" Nathan asked, using the term for Elizabeth that both children had adopted as he released his daughter.
"She was fixing her own hair when I came down."
Nathan nodded. "We'll be right down," he said before heading up the stairs that Ally had just come down.
Making his way to the bedroom he shared with his wife, Nathan stepped into the doorway. Quietly, he watched as Elizabeth pinned her hair up in an elegant style. She had bought a pretty peach and cream dress when out shopping with the ladies. The bodice of the dress was cream, with a sweetheart neckline. A light peach lace pattern covered the mid-section of the bodice and gave way to a shade darker of satin. Though loose, the skirt was not full like Allie's dress. Nathan thought the dress fit Elizabeth perfectly.
Moving to stand behind her, Nathan slipped his hands around her, letting his palms lay flat on her stomach. Though not visible to the eye, Nathan knew his wife's body well enough by now that he could feel a slight new bump from the life growing within her. Despite the issues they were facing with Jack and the coming sibling, Nathan felt excitement at the prospect of another child coming into their lives. A child that he had helped create.
Lowering her hands after securing a pin in her hair, Elizabeth relaxed back into her husband. "Be careful with the hair. I need more pins still," she murmured, not wanting to start over but content to take a short break for this moment with her husband.
Nathan's response was to lower his head so that he could place some kisses on the skin that the hairstyle exposed. "You look beautiful," he whispered softly.
"You look dashing, yourself," Elizabeth replied, as her cheeks became rosy even without the application of make-up. "And while I would happily stay here in your arms, I don't think Ally would appreciate that."
Nathan chuckled as he released her and took a step back. "I suppose I will get to hold you in my arms tonight at the dance," he conceded.
Elizabeth returned to securing her hairstyle. "And if Bill should ask me to dance, it won't end up with someone being thrown in a jail cell, will it?"
"Bill, I will allow you dance with," Nathan replied. "Though anyone else I may tell them that they can't - firmly but civilly, I promise."
Elizabeth chuckled as she put one last pin in place and patted her hair. "How does it look?"
Nathan wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close against him. "You look lovely, however, I will admit to hoping that when we get home tonight you may allow me the pleasure of letting down your hair and helping you out of that dress."
"I think that can be arranged," Elizabeth replied, moving to turn around and face him. Reaching up, she fussed with his tie a bit as she looked up into his eyes. "Might be the highlight of the night."
"I won't argue with that," Nathan said, his voice a husky whisper. Leaning down, he captured her lips briefly with his, closing his eyes to relish the feel. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, when he finally pulled back.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied, slipping her arm through Nathan's as he led her from their bedroom.
Leaving Vincent pacing the first floor of their row house, Gabriel took the steps two at a time as he went upstairs to check on what was taking Faith so long. Reaching their bedroom, Gabriel knocked on the door a couple of times before opening it slowly. He found Faith standing sideways in front of the mirror. She had a dark blue dress on, the sash around the waist untied.
"You look lovely," Gabriel offered, closing the door behind him.
"I think the green dress didn't make me look as fat," Faith commented, looking back at the bed where three dresses lay scattered over the quilt. Though he wondered how many times she had changed between the dresses, Gabriel knew better than to ask.
Stepping up behind her, he placed a hand on her tiny baby bump that he had a feeling was more noticeable to Faith than to anyone else. "This just makes you look like an expectant mother, which is beautiful," he told her, leaning down and kissing her cheek. "My vote is for this dress, and our son is nervously pacing downstairs waiting for you. It is his first dance, you know."
Faith sighed. "I don't think I am going to look pretty in any dress tonight," she admitted. "So, I will go with your opinion."
"Good," Gabriel replied. Taking a step back, he picked up the two ties of the sash and tied a bow in the center of the back of the dress. Turning to the bed, he quickly hung the dresses back up in the wardrobe while Faith put earnings on. She picked up a necklace with a gemstone flower pendant that Gabriel had gifted to her while they were courting. The dresses hung, her husband returned to help her with the necklace.
When he had the chain fastened, he gently turned her to face him. "You are the beautiful mother of my children, and I will be proud to have you on my arm tonight," he told her.
"We'll see if you still say that when I am waddling."
"I am sure you have a beautiful waddle," Gabriel informed her, right before leaning in and giving her a passionate kiss that left them both breathless. "Are you ready now?"
"Yes," Faith replied. "I'm glad I married you."
"Me too," Gabriel told her, kissing her nose and leading her out of the room.
"That looks complicated," Merrin commented as the lad watched Edward tie his bow tie in the hallway mirror.
"I know I never could figure it out," Frank commented from where he was playing a game of Chinese checkers with Milo and Ethan. Albert and Liam were taking their turn clearing the table and doing the supper dishes.
Edward shrugged his shoulders. "I've been tying my own bow tie since I was twelve. It is second nature these days," he replied. Finishing, he turned from the mirror to Merrin. "How do I look?"
"Funny," Merrin replied, taking in the three-piece suit Edward was wearing. "I think Miss Chastain will like it though," he added.
Edward reached out and mused the lad's hair. "Thanks," he told him. Edward looked toward Frank. "Are you sure you don't mind me going tonight?"
Frank lifted a hand and waved toward the door. "Go. Have fun. The boys will keep me from getting bored. Besides, I may need to convince you to watch the kids alone overnight sometime so I can make a trip to Brookfield."
"Do you have a sweetheart in Brookfield, Pastor Frank?" Milo asked.
"I'm too old for a sweetheart," Frank replied without missing a beat.
Edward chuckled but let it go. He knew that Frank liked Abigail Stanton, but unless his partner started giving him a hard time about Elise, he was willing to let the pastor figure out that relationship on his own. Though he hadn't specifically asked Elise to the dance with him, Edward had inquired if she was going with anyone. When she had said no, he had asked her to keep at least one dance open for him. If he was honest with himself, he hoped she would be willing to spend more time than one dance with him tonight.
"You boys mind Pastor Frank tonight," Edward told the three of them.
"You will tell us about the dance, won't ya?" Ethan asked.
"I will, but it will have to wait until tomorrow because it will probably be after your bedtime," Edward replied.
"We could stay up later," Milo suggested, an impish smile on his face.
"If you are not in bed asleep when I come home then I won't tell you any stories about the dance," Edward replied.
"Who wants to hear about a stupid dance anyway," Albert muttered, coming into the room, having apparently finished the dishes. Liam was a few steps behind him.
"If you are not interested in hearing about the dance that is fine but that doesn't make it stupid," Frank said, a hint of a rebuke in his tone.
"Yes, sir," Albert replied, plopping down in one of the wingback chairs near the fireplace.
Frank looked over at Edward. "Go. Have a good time," he told him.
Edward nodded and though he noticed both Milo and Ethan advancing some of their marbles on the board, he didn't say anything. What Frank didn't know wouldn't hurt him when it came to the games. Turning from the room's doorway, Edward headed for the coat rack.
"This board looks different," Edward heard Frank state. Soon after, both of the twins broke into laughter. The twins would clearly not make good poker players when they got older.
Bundling up against the cold, Edward headed out to the barn where he saddled his horse, Northern Lights. The horse had been born during one of the displays of the celestial phenomenon that it was named after. The ride into town was uneventful. After settling the steed in the livery to give it some protection from the cold weather, Edward headed toward the Amaryllis.
On the boardwalk, a teen paced nervously. Edward had a feeling the lad was waiting for a certain girl to show up. The single cloth rose he held in one hand only reinforced that theory. Reaching the steps, he noticed the boy come to a stop. Following the boy's gaze, he spotted Elizabeth approaching on the arm of a man who clearly had to be her new husband. Just in front of the couple walked a poised young lady whose smile got bigger as she noticed the young man on the boardwalk.
Having paused with one foot on the top stair, Edward remained there. He noticed that Elizabeth and her escort had stopped as well and was letting the teen go ahead of them.
"Hello, Ally," the lad said, nervously as he came down the steps to meet her. "Your hair looks nice."
"Thank you," Ally replied.
The young man produced the rose, presenting it to her. Ducking her head bashfully, Ally took the rose, murmuring another "thank you."
"Shall we go inside," the lad suggested, offering Ally his arm.
Ally nodded and slipped her arm through the young man's. Together, the two went up the steps and into the hotel.
"I am not sure how I feel about her walking off with Vincent," the gentleman beside Elizabeth murmured.
"It'll be fine," Elizabeth assured him, patting the man's arm. "There will be plenty of eyes on them tonight, yours included." Her words got a nod of agreement from her escort as Elizabeth finally noticed the third spectator to the scene. "Edward! I am glad you could make it tonight," she said, letting go of the man's arm and coming forward. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to come welcome you to Hope Valley."
"It's fine," Edward said, taking the hands his old friend held out to him. He leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I am sure you have been busy."
"Yes, but that isn't the reason I haven't come by," Elizabeth admitted. As he had heard brief accounts about what Elizabeth had endured with her last marriage in letters from her as well as Julie and his own mother, Edward had an idea of what that comment meant.
"It is fine. You do what is right for you. Perhaps I can stop by and see your home some day."
"I would like that. Perhaps you could bring some of your charges by as well. I would love to meet them."
"I'd be happy to. Though I heard you have offered your services as tutor should any of them need help," Edward said. "Two of the boys have had disruptions in schooling and may be in need of a little help."
Elizabeth nodded. "I will be happy to work with them if needed," she replied. "Edward, I would like you to meet my husband, Nathan Grant," she said, indicating the man who was standing directly behind her. "Nathan, this is a good friend of mine, Edward Montclair. We grew up together."
"Good to meet you, Nathan. I've heard some good things about you," Edward said, holding his hand out to the other man.
"I have to admit, when Frank came to talk about buying the house for your youth home, it was the first I had heard of you," Nathan said, shaking Edward's hand. "Good to meet you." He released Edward's hand. "The young lady you just saw go inside is our daughter, Ally. Both Elizabeth and I have adopted her but biologically she was my sister's daughter. I've had custody of her since she was four."
"She seems like a lovely young lady."
"She is," Nathan replied. "Though I might be a bit biased."
The three of them chuckled at the comment and then headed into the hotel, Nathan and Elizabeth offering to introduce Edward to people. Though he was glad to meet a few of his new neighbors, Edward also knew he would be looking for Elise. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her tonight.