Elizabeth had predicted Rosemary's reaction perfectly. When she was informed of the changes for the vow renewal, she spent a good ten minutes fussing about all the things that would need to change and worrying about there being enough food and chairs for everyone. Knowing that her friend needed this moment to expel some of her panic, she sat quietly and allowed the vivacious blonde to vent. Taking her lead from Elizabeth, Dahlia sat quietly as well, though her first instinct was to try to calm Rosemary down. However, having just met both women, she figured Elizabeth would know best how to handle the situation.
"I don't know how, but we'll make this work," Rosemary finally said, her flow of words coming to a stop.
"Every event you do is flawless, Rosemary," Elizabeth assured her friend, reaching out and patting the woman's knee.
"You have a point," Rosemary conceded. "Let's make some lists so we can keep track of all that needs to be done."
By the time that Nathan brought Cosmo to a stop in front of the Coulter's home, changes for the double vow renewal ceremony had been made and assignments to make those changes happen were written down. As Nathan helped her up onto the wagon seat, Elizabeth hoped that one of the assigned tasks could be taken care of today.
"Do you have any pressing deadlines that a bit of a longer break than just dropping Dahlia off at the Amaryllis would mess up?" Elizabeth asked her husband.
"No," Nathan replied. "What do you need me to do?"
Elizabeth smiled as she settled on the seat and Nathan turned to offer his hand to Dahlia. "Well, Frank needs to know about the change to the ceremony and Dahlia would like to meet him before Monday. I was wondering if you could drive us over to the Youth Home and see if he is around?"
Nathan nodded. "I can do that," he replied as Dahlia settled beside Elizabeth with a softly spoken "thank you." He started to walk around the wagon to the other side. "It's a beautiful day for a wagon ride and I definitely have charming company."
Both women blushed a little and Elizabeth playfully swatted her husband's arm.
The ride to the Youth Home was filled with easy chatter. Though they had only met Dahlia the day before, they found her easy to converse with, as if they were all old friends. Pulling up in front of the big house, the trio spotted Frank coming out of the guest cottage with the twins, Ethan and Milo, walking in front of him. Both boys had a dejected look on their faces as they carried a pencil box in front of them.
"I'll be with you in a moment," Frank called, lifting a hand to the newcomers. "I just need to deal with this."
"Take your time," Nathan called back, engaging the brake on the wagon. Climbing down, he secured the reigns and then moved to the other side to assist first Dahlia and then Elizabeth down from the seat.
Meanwhile, Frank led his charges to the edge of the clearing. Though the trio couldn't hear what he had to say, they did notice the two boys were emptying their pencil boxes. With the task completed, Frank started walking back with the boys. He motioned the two boys to go back to the guest cottage while the pastor came to greet the new arrivals.
"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked, after introductions had been made.
"We are all working on cleaning the guest cottage for Abigail's arrival on Sunday. She went back to Brookfield to tie everything up there before coming back to Hope Valley to stay. She'll be helping Edward and myself run the group home. Though we plan to start making our own plans, until then she will stay in the guest cottage. I think the boys will benefit from a woman's influence in their life and appreciate Abigail's cooking better than my own."
"Just yours?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Believe it or not, Edward is actually a fairly good cook these days."
"Wow," Elizabeth said. "Definitely a skill he has acquired since leaving Hamilton. The only reason Edward was ever in a kitchen as a boy was to steal sweets or play a prank on the staff."
"Then I guess that means there is hope for Milo and Ethan, yet. Merrin as well. I have never dealt with as much mischief as those three can get into."
"Let me guess, they wanted to leave pets for Abigail in the cottage," Dahlia said, a smile on her face.
"Yes. And having raised two boys, I am sure Abigail would have taken it in stride, that is not the welcome I had in store for her," Frank said.
"I hope you weren't too hard on them," Dahlia said.
"Just a lecture and forced them to let the critters go," Frank replied. "Did you grow up with brothers?"
Dahlia nodded. "I have two older brothers, and I tagged along everywhere with them as a kid. My mother claimed I was the worst of the three of us when it came to pranks."
"How old were you when you grew out of playing pranks?"
Dahlia shrugged. "If the situation is right, I would happily play a prank. Makes family reunions more interesting," she replied, getting a laugh from the others.
"I was afraid that might be the answer," Frank confessed. "But what did you three stop by here for?"
"We wanted to let you know that there is going to be a slight change in the vow renewal service. Dahlia and Carson would like to be a part of it too. We thought it would be nice to give them a chance to celebrate with friends."
Frank smiled. "That should be easy to accommodate, though if you have a few moments to answer a few questions for me, I would appreciate it."
"Go ahead," Nathan assured her as Dahlia looked toward him. "Elizabeth and I will go see if Edward might need help corralling his helpers," he said, taking Elizabeth's hand and leading her toward the guest cottage. Elizabeth went along willingly, looking forward to seeing the boys that she had missed since school ended.
Along with preparations for the vow renewal service, there was also furniture to rearrange and a nursery to decorate at the Grant house. Both of the new rooms had already been wallpapered with the pattern Elizabeth had selected. Nathan had also hung the curtains in the windows. However, with Grace and Julie staying with them, Nathan wanted to get himself and Elizabeth settled in the new first floor suite so that they would have two free rooms upstairs for his in-laws.
With the Hamilton guests slated to arrive on Saturday, Lee, Bill, Jesse, and Tom came by on Friday afternoon to move furniture around. Rosemary and Clara came by to help Elizabeth prepare a meal for everyone that evening. Allie had volunteered to watch Jack while everything was going on and Aster and Abby were content to play with toys in a playpen where the ladies could keep an eye on the little girls.
The afternoon's activities had just begun when Jack came running into the house. Elizabeth felt a wave of relief when Allie followed close behind.
"Mama, Nate is home!" Jack cried out coming toward her. "Come see," he insisted taking her hand.
Elizabeth looked at Allie. The teen nodded her head, a huge grin on her face. "It's Nate! He came to us rather than moving away like the other duck that is with him. Apparently, he wanted to bring his new lady friend home."
"Come see," Jack insisted again, pulling at his mother's hand.
"Okay, I'm coming," Elizabeth told him, relieved that it was still too early to begin supper preparations.
Rosemary and Clara followed as well, picking their daughters up from the play pen as they passed. With Jack leading Elizabeth, the group made their way out of the house and down toward the pond. Even from a distance, the two mallard ducks were clearly visible near the house that had been built near the bank of the pond. As they approached the one duck hid under the ramp leading into the house, even as the other waddled bravely toward the approaching group, quacking his hello.
Yes, Elizabeth thought, there is no doubt that is Nate.
"He came home, Mama," Jack exclaimed. "He does love us."
"I see that," Elizabeth replied.
As they neared Nate, Jack let go of her hand and rushed to his friend. The duck noisily ran to the boy for attention. Jack happily sat down on the ground and petted his feathery friend. Elizabeth smiled at the site.
"Apparently you will have a pet duck after all," Rosemary commented as she joined Elizabeth.
"And maybe even ducklings," Clara added, looking at the female duck hanging back by the house. Though Nate seemed to be trying to get his mate to come join him, the new duck was hesitant to come toward the humans.
"Jack, Allie, I need you to remember that Nate's friend wasn't socialized like Nate was. She might never let you pet her, and you need to respect that."
"Yes, Mama," both kids replied.
"Now that he has a duck friend with him, do you think that Nate will stay here for good?" Jack asked.
"I would say that is very likely," Elizabeth consented, knowing that if Nate came back this time he would likely always come back to this pond. "However, he also might join the others in migration in the winter - leaving for warmer areas and returning in the spring. You need to be prepared for that."
Jack nodded. "If he doesn't leave, we'll keep him warm right?"
"In the barn," Elizabeth replied. "I will not have more than one duck in my house."
"Yes, Mama," Jack replied.
Leaving the kids to play outside, Elizabeth and her friends started toward the house. Partway there, the sound of an approaching automobile caught the trio's attention.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Clara asked.
"No," Elizabeth replied as she and her friends stopped walking to watch the approaching vehicle.
"I don't recognize that automobile. My guess is it is someone from out of town," Rosemary commented.
"Nathan didn't say he was expecting anyone to stop by and Mother and Julie were coming out by train. Unless their plans changed," Elizabeth said, knowing full well that her mother could have gotten a chauffeur to drive her across country if she wished.
Resuming her walk, Elizabeth strode toward the house to me the mystery guest. The trio was approaching the front porch when the automobile came to a stop. The driver didn't waste any time getting out of the vehicle. Elizabeth and Rosemary instantly recognized the brunette that emerged from the driver's door.
"Charlotte!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to make the vow renewal?" she questioned, having informed Jack's mother about the ceremony. As Charlotte had reminded Elizabeth plenty of times, Jack would have wanted her to be happy in his absence, and it was what she wanted as well. For Elizabeth, that made inviting her mother-in-law to the vow renewal only natural.
"Well, things change Lizzie. I hope I am still welcomed," Charlotte replied.
"Of course, you are," Elizabeth replied, rushing forward to give the woman a hug.
Charlotte opened her arms and embraced her daughter-in-law. As they hugged, they heard a glad cry in the distance.
"Grandma Lottie!"
Having struggled to learn her full name, Jack had settled on Lottie for the woman's name. As he got older, Charlotte encouraged him to keep it. She said she thought it was sweet.
When Elizabeth finally stepped back from the older woman, Jack flew past her and threw his arms around the grandmother that he hadn't seen much of since his mother's marriage to Lucas. Charlotte had not bothered hiding her disapproval, which had made her visits to Little Jack awkward and short.
Elizabeth smiled at the reunion of the boy and his grandmother. As Allie came up beside her, breathless from chasing after Jack, Elizabeth put her arm around the teen's shoulders.
"He's fast," Allie said between breaths.
Elizabeth giggled. "That he is but you are wonderful with him," she said, her voice full of pride. "You are a wonderful big sister."
Allie smiled and put her hand on Elizabeth's belly. "And I get to be a big sister to this little one as well!" she said excitedly.
"And this lovely young lady must be Allie," Charlotte said, drawing Elizabeth and Allie's attention. "It is a pleasure to meet you after all I heard."
"Likewise, ma'am," Allie replied, extending her hand politely.
"Oh, forget the handshake. Give me a hug," Charlotte instructed her, opening her arms.
Allie obliged with a smile. The two embraced and as Charlotte released her the woman spoke again. "I would like it very much if you call me Grandma Lottie like Jack does. I hope to teach any future children that nickname too, as long as your dad is okay with it."
"Dad won't mind," Allie assured her. "He says you and Uncle Tom are a part of our family too."
Charlotte looked to her daughter-in-law. "I like this one already, Lizzie."
Elizabeth smiled. "As long as you don't scare him, I think you and Nathan will get along fine."
"I am not scary," Charlotte replied, a wry smile on her face.
Charlotte and Rosemary exchanged hugs and then Clara was properly introduced. "So, what has changed that you are able to be here?" Elizabeth asked after the introduction.
"Could we go inside and sit down while I tell that story?"
"Of course," Elizabeth said. "I'll fix some tea and a bit of a snack to hold us over until supper. It's already going to be a crowded table, but you're welcome to join us."
"Who all is here?" Charlotte asked as they all headed toward the house, Allie and Jack heading back to the pond and the ducks. "Lee, I presume," she said, with a glance at Rosemary.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "Along with Clara's husband Jesse, Bill, and Tom. They are helping Nathan rearrange furniture as we just expanded the house again. Nathan and I will have a suite on the first floor with a nursery next door, leaving four bedrooms upstairs."
"How did you convince Tom to help?" Charlotte asked.
"He volunteered actually," Elizabeth said, "He's different from when I met him in Hamilton. I think his accident and the Mounties have matured him. He's been spending time with Jack and Allie. He kept an eye on the house while we went to Hamilton."
"I have only heard good comments about his work as a Mountie for Hope Valley," Clara interjected.
"Good," Charlotte said. "As much as I hated the idea of him joining the Mounties, I felt like I was losing him anyway. He's been distant since he turned about fifteen and it only seemed to get worse. I know Jack tried to reach him, but I think Tom always resented his older brother trying to act like the father they lost."
Elizabeth reached out and patted her mother-in-law's arm. "Well, I think you will be proud of him these days," she told Charlotte. "Did he know you were coming?"
"No. Things happened kind of fast."
Rosemary snorted. "With you, they always did," she commented.
"Very true," Charlotte admitted.
Reaching the dining room, Elizabeth suggested everyone have a seat while she got refreshments. Sounds from the rearranging of furniture upstairs drifted down. Handing Aster to Charlotte, Rosemary offered to give Elizabeth a hand with refreshments.