Chapter 84- The Mounties Call

Even though it was December, between the sun shining bright overhead and the heavy wool blanket Nathan had packed draped about their shoulders, Nathan and Charlotte didn't seem bothered by the slight chill in the air.

Talks about wedding plans, Archie and Maise, Allie, and Charlotte's classes, floated easily between them as they ate the sandwiches and cookies Nathan had packed for lunch.

It was when their discussion led into talks about Bill and his role in their wedding did Charlotte feel Nathan's muscles tense beside her, she turned slightly to look at his face in order to read his expression. Nathan noticed her reaction and he sighed deeply.

"I was in Bill's office this morning when he received a call from Gabe."

"I'm so glad after what happened with Beck, they finally expedited Brookfield getting their own telephone line."

"Me too," Nathan agreed.

"So, what did Gabe say that caused this reaction?"

"Am I that easy to read?"

"To me… Yes," Charlotte smiled gently, trying to temper what Nathan needed to tell her.

"Remember when I told you that after Beck…" Nathan paused. "The Schneider gang he was working for seemed to fall apart and go into hiding?"

"I remember. You hoped it would be the end of them, but you had seen it before in the Northern territories that most of these gangs just go underground for a while in order to regroup."

Nathan nodded his head and stared out over the glassy appearance of the ice-covered lake. "Headquarters called Kinslow with a new temporary assignment. Since Gabe went undercover in Potter's Creek to investigate Beck, they want him to meet up with a Mountie from the main inspector unit out of Cape Fullerton. They will spend a few days going through Beck's files in his office and home, collecting evidence to help find any remaining members of the gang that had connections to McEntire."

"They really think that evidence would all still be there? It's been months since Beck was killed and even longer since the last time he was in Potter's Creek."

"They've had a couple of Mounties stationed there since the shooting, when Bill and Gabe sent in the initial reports."

"Do you still think there was someone associated with the Schneider gang in the North West Mounted Police?"

Nathan paused, thinking through his answer. "Maybe. Gabe and I have had a feeling since the beginning that there could be someone working for them on the inside."

Charlotte struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. "What makes you think then you can trust these Mounties that have been in Potter's Creek this whole time? What if Gabe shows up and it's an ambush?"

"Gabe said the Mounties that have been stationed there since the accident were Constable Caleb Landry and Constable Warren Tremblay. Kinslow and I agree they can be trusted. Actually, both men were in one of my training units that I instructed while stationed at Fort Clay."

"If they have been trained by you, I have faith they are good men." Charlotte proudly stated, squeezing Nathan's hand.

Nathan smiled at Charlotte's confidence and trust in him. He clung to that glimmer of faith she so freely gave. "That's not all though. Gabe asked for Bill and I to join him on the assignment. Since we were all involved in the investigation in one way or another."

"How soon would you leave?" she questioned.

"Monday. We'd take the train for most of the journey down and back."

Charlotte felt the color drain from her face as she turned her attention from Nathan to look out at the mountains in front of them. She needed to be strong. For Nathan. For Allie. For herself.

He saw the pain in her eyes, even though she tried to hide it from him. He knew.

"We should only be gone a week. Ten days, tops," Nathan expanded. "But Charlotte, I don't have to go. Not if you don't want me to. I haven't been cleared yet for official work. This isn't a direct order for me."

She tilted her head back and blinked. Trying to ward off the tears that welled in her eyes.

"But… you need to go. I understand that," Charlotte's voice cracked. "For Gabe and Bill. For the investigation… For yourself."

She turned towards him then and Nathan reached forward to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Charlotte's ear, his thumb brushing away a stray, salty teardrop that slid along her cheek.

"I promise you; I will be home as soon as I can. There is no way I'm missing our wedding day. That being said, I do agree. I think we need to do this."

"I know. I really do. We need to put this investigation with Beck and the Schneider gang behind us once and for all. Actually… A part of me wouldn't mind going with you to Potter's Creek."

"I'd take you along as a fellow Mountie any day, sweetheart. You have better natural instincts than many I've worked with over the years."

"Well, that's not quite what I was thinking, but I appreciate your confidence in me," Charlotte winked, trying to lighten the mood. "Actually, I was referring to the people in Potter's Creek. There were a few individuals I've found myself wondering about since I ran away. Some townsfolk who were extremely kind. After I left, I prayed that they were safe from Beck's outbursts. One was Pastor Richards. The other Mr. John Bartlett. Mr. Bartlett owned a large ranch outside of Potter's Creek. Whenever he would come to town, he would make it a point to stop and talk to me."

"Did you ever tell them about what Beck did?"

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "I didn't want to involve them. I believed if they knew the extent of Beck's corruption and abuse, they would have stepped in and done something about it. Most likely at the cost of their own lives. I couldn't have lived with myself if something would have happened to them, because of my relationship with Beck."

Charlotte let out a shuddering breath and Nathan reached forward and lifted her chin, so he looked into her eyes. "Listen, Charlotte. It is over. Beck can't hurt us anymore. He doesn't have a hold on our future or anyone else's we care about. Gabe, Bill, and I will make sure of that."

She gave him a weak smile before shifting closer to wrap her arms around Nathan's torso. Leaning her body to rest against his chest. Nathan took Charlotte's movements as an invitation to wrap his arm around her shoulders pulling her closer into his embrace as he kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Charlotte."

"I love you, Nathan. So very much."

They held each other for a long while. Sometimes they talked details about Nathan's newest assignment and the trip to Potter's Creek with Gabe and Bill. Other times they discussed how they were going to break the news to Allie, his parents, and Rosemary, that he would need to travel out of town so close to the wedding. The rest of the time they were perfectly content to sit on the boulder under the protective cocoon of the wool blanket and just be with one another.

Nathan's left hand sought out Charlotte's that rested easily on his knee. He took it into his hold and subconsciously twirled the ring wrapped so perfectly around her finger.

"As happy as I was to finally propose and for you to say yes. How it happened was anything but what I had planned."

"It may not have been what you planned, Nathan. But it was perfect all the same."

"You deserved more. You deserved a man who wasn't bed ridden. Who could get down on one knee and profess all the things he loved most about you."

Charlotte shifted so she could look into his eyes. "You don't think that I felt the outpouring of love with you sharing Nan's letter with me? It didn't matter where we were. Or what we were doing. If it was perfect, or perfectly imperfect. It was you… and it was me, finally admitting to each other our deepest and truest of feelings. We didn't need candles, elaborate dates, grand gestures, or a hot air balloon ride in the sky. Just us. And that is exactly what we had. Nathan, I don't think you could have planned a more perfect proposal befitting of a love that healed two very bruised and battered souls. I think your proposal was quite poetic in that sense. Symbolic really, of the love we found together. It may not be what is written in fairytales, but it's the story of Charlie and Nate. Nothing could make me feel more deserved than that."

Slowly Charlotte leaned in, pressing her lips against his. The action causing Nathan's pulse to dance, light as the sunshine reflecting off the icy mirror of the lake. The kiss they shared was quiet, languid, and deep. Comforting and full of meaning that could never fully be expressed by words alone.

The sun was beginning its quick descent over the mountain tops, casting long shadows across the meadow. Nathan and Charlotte took that cue to pack up their date and head back to town.

As they climbed down from the boulder, it was Charlotte who first noticed something was amiss. "Ummmm, Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Did we forget to do something?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, coming to stand beside her as she looked out over the meadow.

"What I mean is, your kiss seems to have made us forget one very important assignment."

Nathan crinkled his brow, not completely understanding what Charlotte was alluding to.

"Newton," Charlotte flatly answered. "We forgot to tie him up and he is nowhere to be found."

Nathan's eyes grew wide as he scanned the meadow. Indeed. Newton had seemingly vanished.

"He could be all the way back to town by now," Charlotte commented. "It's going to be a long walk for the two of us. You up for the challenge?"

"Nah, Newt's not going to leave us stranded. I'm sure he just wandered off into the tree line or something."

Charlotte gave him a skeptical glance, not so certain that would be the case. "Okay then, Mr. "Best Tracker In The Territory". Ya, better get to trackin' before Bill sends out the search party and your mother never lets us out of her sights again. Even if we are getting married in only a couple weeks."

"Right," Nathan lifted his finger. "There's that point."

Nathan and Charlotte made their way towards where they had dismounted earlier in the day. Thankfully Constable Grant easily picked up on Newton's meandering trail he had left in his wake of what seemed like a lazy afternoon spent grazing through the field. His path wound further up the mountain, where a light dusting of snow on the ground made it easier to follow the horse's tracks.

"Newt!" Nathan called out at various places along the hike. "Where are ya buddy?"

"Nathan. There's a broken branch and hoof prints. He went this way," Charlotte pulled him with her further into the forest.

"Newt! Where are you boy? It's time for us to get back to town," she called out in front of them.

"You hear that?" Nathan stopped them and as they listened closely, they both heard a faint whinny. "He's just up ahead."

Around a bend in the path, they came upon the bay gelding. When the horse saw them, he quickly trotted over.

"Hey buddy! Oh, Newton, I knew you weren't gonna leave us behind," Nathan beamed a smile as he ran his hand over the horse's forehead, before leaning closer and whispering into Newt's ear. "I'm not so sure, Ms. Charlotte here had the same faith in you. I want you to remember that fact the next time you get all snuggly with her on who believed in you more."

Nathan's remark earned him a playful slug in the arm from Charlotte.

"I'm kidding," Nathan smiled as he pulled Charlotte into a hug at his side. "I'm just trying to stirrup trouble."

Charlotte tilted her head back and laughed heartily. "You do realize our daughter thinks that we are the worst joke tellers ever."

"Eh, she's a teenager. I think it's her job to believe her parents are uncool. And it's our job to keep embarrassing her."

"We probably do a fine job at that." Charlotte smiled, leaning in closer to Nathan's side, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"As long as you keep laughing at my jokes, Charlie, I'm going to keep telling them. For two reasons."

"Yeah? And what are those reasons, Nate?"

"Because my jokes cause you to do two things that I love. One is your laugh. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. Even more so when I'm the one who can draw it deep from within you."

Charlotte was thankful for Nathan's arm encircling her waist, because between what he was confessing and the way he was currently looking at her, Charlotte's legs turned to jelly. Unable to support her weight causing her body to list further into his.

"The other reason," Nathan reached up to cup the side of Charlotte's face. "Is because you always accompany that laugh with giving me the most dazzling of smiles. My favorite is this one… The one that causes you to get this dimple… right… here."

Nathan bent lower, bringing his lips to press against the dimple in Charlotte's right cheek he had admired for so long. He savored in the way her breath caught at the intimacy of the action.

"I've wanted to kiss you there for a very long time, Ms. Thompson," Nathan whispered, his breath warm against her cheek. "Since that morning you arrived on my front step, fishing poles and horses in hand, ready to go for a ride up to this meadow. I remember that as the first day where you let me see."

"See what?"

"See you. The real you. These stunning grey eyes. They weren't as stormy that day. Your smiles, not as harnessed, would move across your whole face. Creating these little crease lines on the outer edges of your eyes and accentuating this sweet dimple I first discovered that day."

Charlotte struggled to breath. Her lungs were physically unable to expand, and she felt lightheaded and dizzy. Speechless. No words came to her. So, she responded in the only way she could at that moment, bringing her hands to cradle Nathan's face, her fingers curling about his neck, pulling him towards her, knocking his hat off in the process. The action breaking her slightly out of the stupor she was in.

"Oh," Charlotte startled as the brim brushed past her fingers and fell to the ground. "Your hat."

Nathan's expression softened with something like tenderness. "Never mind my hat."

And then her mouth covered his. She kissed him firmly with a startling combination of hunger and restraint that made him feel as if she were savoring every moment they shared. The sensation was entirely new and incredible.

"My God," he breathed when they finally broke apart. It sounded like a groan. Or possibly a prayer. "Charlotte."

She held his gaze, lips still half-parted as she tried to catch her breath. Nathan ran a hand over his face. And then he gave her a lop-sided smile. It was the smile of a much younger man. Smitten and foolish. A little rueful. It was utterly unlike any smile he'd ever given her before.

Charlotte's heart clutched. She was so head over heels in love with Nathan Grant, she swore she had seen actual stars when they kissed just now.

"That was… perfect," Nathan's voice was breathless. "You're perfect."

"I'm not perfect," Charlotte murmured. "But I am mighty obliged to you for that kiss."

"And I you."

"Well, then." Charlotte swayed slightly in Nathan's arms.

His lop-sided smile widened. "Well, then."

Newton's head nudged Charlotte's shoulder, knocking the pair even further off balance and signaling it was time for them to leave. Nathan placed a tender kiss to Charlotte's forehead before he took a step out of her hold to tie their few supplies onto the saddle.

"Here," Charlotte said, brushing her hand along the brim of Nathan's hat that she had picked up from the forest floor. "I'm sorry it got a little dirty."

"Weren't you the one who told me once, don't worry about me or my clothes? We wash up just fine with a little soap and water."

Charlotte chuckled at the memory as she stood on her toes to place Nathan's hat back in its rightful spot. "Lookin' pretty good there, cowboy."

Nathan was so close to pulling her in for another kiss, when something caught Charlotte's attention over his shoulder, and she shifted out of his grasp.

"Oh, my goodness, Nathan," Charlotte moved around the front of Newton. "Look at all of these trees!"

Nathan came to stand beside Charlotte, she was right. Where Newton led them to had to be the most beautiful stand of evergreen trees he had ever seen. Lush and full, with the softest dusting of snow across their branches. The gentle light of the evening cast the woods in the most stunning glow. It was a scene straight out of a storybook.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nathan asked, wrapping an arm around Charlotte's back to pull her closer.

"I think so," Charlotte smiled up at him. "I know you and Allie have gone to the same forest closer to town since you moved to Hope Valley for your tree, but… this place… it's Christmas magic. There is no other way to describe it."

Nathan's mind flitted quickly to a distant memory of his and Allie's first Christmas in Hope Valley. One that would always be a little bittersweet. One where he turned down an inspector job, he had always believed he wanted for a stable life he always dreamed of giving to Allie. It was that Christmas Nathan knew he had finally found somewhere to settle down and start building a place for them to call home. What he didn't know then was that the place they would finally be able to call home. Wasn't a place at all.

"There are enough trees here that our family could have one at Christmas every year for well… forever, I think," Charlotte stated as she moved to float in and out among the trees like a dream. Reaching out occasionally to run her fingers along the pine needles of a particularly beautiful tree. A glowing halo seemingly created around its edges as Charlotte stared up at it in wonder. Nathan moved forward, sliding his arms around her waist as they both looked up to the evergreen in front of them. Charlotte took the invitation to lean her head back and rest it against Nathan's chest. His warmth enveloping her.

"I think," Nathan whispered along her wavy hair. "That would be a beautiful new tradition for us to give our kids."

"Hmmm," Charlotte hummed, running her hand lovingly over Nathan's arms around her. "I like the sound of that, Mr. Grant."

"Too bad we didn't pack the ax along; you could cut this down and we could surprise Allie with a Christmas tree."

"Oh no," Charlotte looked up over her shoulder at Nathan, concern laced her features. "We can't cut down a tree without Allie's approval first. She'd never forgive us!"

Nathan chuckled, causing Charlotte to turn in his arms to face him. "You think I'm kidding, Nathan, but she would be so upset with us. She's okay with us not spending Christmas Day together. It's something completely different not choosing a tree with her."

"You're probably right," Nathan agreed. "I don't want us to end up on Santa's naughty list."

A flirtatious and wry smile crafted upon Charlotte's lips as she wrapped her arms tighter about Nathan and stared up at him. "Especially when I think Santa is planning on bringing you a very special present for Christmas this year, Mr. Grant."

Nathan couldn't keep his jaw from dropping slightly at Charlotte's forwardness. Was it too late to change his mind about leaving town on Monday? He thought to himself. Because right now, with that look Charlotte was giving him, he wasn't even sure if he could leave her embrace, let alone leaving her for a new assignment.

"Thank you for today," Charlotte lifted to place a kiss along his cheek. "I think Charlie and Nate had another great date."