Lucky to be loving you

Chapter One

Page 1

It just so happened that Clara and Christy delivered their newborn babies on the same day.

Clara was preparing breakfast for Jesse when she felt another labor pain. It caught her by surprise and she bent over while holding a plate of pancakes nearly dropping them.

Little Michael was kicking up a storm banging his feet against his high chair while Jesse was whistling when he walked up to the table winking at Michael. Clara held her breath during the contraction and steadied the plate long enough to place the plate on the table. Turning away, she leaned up against the sink waiting for the pain to subside.

Jesse glanced her way and then quickly looked back asking, "Are you all right Clara?"

Clara let out her breath, then answered, "Jesse, I think you better call Violet. I'm having contractions!"

"What? Now?" Jesse jumped up out of his chair and ran to the telephone.

"Yes, Jesse, all morning!"

Michael watched his daddy and giggled. Clara walked over to the table, cut up a pancake into small bites, and put it on the highchair tray for Michael. Michael smiled up at his momma grabbed a piece and pushed it into his mouth. Clara thought about how different it was going to be with another little one. She would be nursing their newborn and trying to feed Michael too. Would she be able to do that?

Jesse came back and told Clara that Violet would be coming over soon but that she needed to write down when she had her contractions. "What do you want me to do?" Jesse asked.

"Will you please look after Michael? When he's done eating, check his diaper. I'm going to make sure I have everything ready so you and Michael can fend for yourselves for a little while."

"Isn't Abigail Stanton coming to help you as you hoped?" Jesse asked.

Clara shook her head, "I forgot to tell you, I did hear from her and although she wanted to be with me she can't. Her aunt still needs her on a daily basis, so she suggested that maybe Flo would help me or I could hire a helper. Can we afford someone?"

Jesse stopped and thought out loud, "I guess for a little while, Clara, at least until you feel you can handle it yourself. I mean, I'll be here too, but not during the day but then you can count on me at night."

Clara smiled, "I know silly, you'll be at work, so having someone here in the day will be a big help for at least the first few weeks, but who? I didn't ask Flo as she was busy with Paul and his new fiancé."

"Maybe one of the Moretti girls?" Jesse smiled as the idea came to him.

"Ooh, Jesse! Another contraction!" Clara grabbed his arm.

Michael started to fuss just then too. Jesse looked at Clara and then at Michael.

"Take care of Michael," Clara directed.

Then there was a knock on the door. Jesse grabbed Michael out of his high chair and went to answer the door. Clara looked at the clock and wrote down the time.

"Come in, Violet, Clara is actually having a contraction now," Jesse nodded in Clara's direction.

Violet walked over to Clara and grinned. "So, you're having your baby today! Looks like you beat Christy! How far apart are your contractions?"

Clara scooted over the paper she wrote to Violet. As Violet read the quick note, she watched as Clara's contraction came to an end. "All right, let's get you upstairs so I can examine you."

Taking the stairs one step at a time, they carefully reached the top. Violet saw the bed was still unmade which was just what she hoped. Getting busy, she pulled the covers off the bed and laid a big, thick pad across the mattress. Helping Clara onto the bed, she put several pillows behind her and a few towels under her.

"I'll see how far along you are. I'll be very gentle," Violet assured Clara.

After examining Clara Violet told her, "Looks like this one is coming quickly. I'll let Dr. Faith know you are progressing faster than last time. I'm going to get some water boiling after I make the telephone call. I'll be right back."

Jesse was busy cleaning up Michael, but as soon as he was finished he carried Michael into their bedroom. "How's she doing?"

"She's full speed ahead!" Violet informed him. "Clara, how is the pain?"

"Fast and hard," Clara moaned.

"I'll let Dr. Faith know," Clara said as she rushed down the stairs to call Faith and get a pot of hot water boiling.

Meanwhile, over at the O'Neills, Christy was also in labor. When Rick called the infirmary, Molly answered and told him that she would let Violet know as soon as she was done with a patient she was tending to. Rick asked how long that would be, but Molly didn't know.

Dr. Carson heard Molly's conversation and asked if he could help. Molly explained that Violet was with Clara who was in labor and had just called in to let Faith know that she was needed and left.

"Let me talk to Rick," Carson said as he took the receiver from Molly.

"This is Dr. Carson, can I help?"

Rick was relieved to know Carson was there, "Dr. Carson, Christy is in labor. Can you come?"

"Well Rick, you know the ladies prefer other ladies, but since both Violet and Dr. Faith are busy, Christy will have to put up with me. I'll be there as quickly as I can. Don't you worry!"

When Carson hung up the telephone he asked Molly to telephone over to the Flynn's and request Violet to meet him over at the O'Neills. He knew Faith would handle Clara's delivery. This way, Christy would have another woman, one she knew well, to be with her.

The O'Neills were all gathered around Christy so Dr. Carson politely asked the grandparents, Mary and Sean to take Timi Anne and let him and Rick alone with Christy. Mary O'Neill had the bed prepared for Christy and had water boiling on the stove. Then she joined Sean and the two of them tended to Timi Anne.

Dr. Carson asked Christy if she would mind if he checked her progress or if she wanted to wait for Violet. Christy informed him that having had Timi Anne all by herself in that cabin, she knew she wasn't ready to deliver yet. "My contractions are coming closer, but I know my body pretty well Doctor, so if you don't mind, I'd rather wait for Violet."

Looking reassuringly at Christy he nodded his understanding, "Let me listen to your baby's heartbeat."

"Sure," Christy smiled.

When Carson listened with his stethoscope, he smiled, "Great! The heartbeat is good and strong!"

Just as if the baby was purposely waiting for Violet, it wasn't long before a baby boy was delivered for Christy and Rick. The O'Neills were overjoyed to have both a girl and a boy now. It was already discussed that they would name their baby Patrick David after Rick's grandfather and Christy's father.

Back at the Flynn's, Dr. Faith was happy to announce that there was a beautiful daughter for Clara and Jesse. Clara was thrilled to have a daughter to name after former mother-in-law, Abigail, so Erin Abigail was welcomed into the Flynn family.

Hope Valley now had the Andersson twin girls, a handsome boy for the O'Neills, and a beautiful daughter for the Flynn's! Four healthy babies and one more baby on the way. Sargent Grant and Dee's second bun in the oven!

Page 2

With all the new babies in town the church was booking up fast for christenings. Dottie was ordering baby clothes and items, and the Mercantile was busy with folks buying gifts for the newest additions to Hope Valley! Even Billees had more than usual out-of-town visitors who were good friends or related to the parents of these little ones.

Since the town was hustling and bustling that meant that Fiona was quite busy not only as a gracious welcoming Mayor, but also trying to keep up with all the requests for hair styling and hot shaves, among other services. With Christy home with her newborn baby boy, she was on her own most of time. Luckily, James' singing partner, Dianna Starr, talked to her friend who was a stylist to help her one day a week. James was understanding that she was busier than usual so sometimes he just joined her at Nichols and Dimes, sitting in the corner, reading a book. When there was a brief lull in her clients, he hastily put up the closed sign and hurriedly whisk her away for lunch.

Kenny Connor walked his son, Jason and their dog, Frisky over to the football practice and watched the team. When Mark, one of the coaches saw them sitting on the bench, he walked over to them.

"Hi," Mark greeted both, "Can I help you?"

Kenny smiled, "Yes, I hope so, one of the coaches, Trevor is my boss. I told him that Jason," he put his hand on Jason's shoulder, "my son, wants to play. He said for me to just come bring him over to practice."

Mark nodded, "Yeah, Trevor mentioned you both. This team accepts everyone without trying out, so Jason is certainly welcome. Have you played before?"

Jason shook his head, "Yes, but just with a few friends back home in Ontario."

"Well, safety comes first, so we make sure the boys know all the rules and play together as a team. We have no losers, just players, we're a team. Everyone gets a fair shot. Are you ready to show us what you can do, Jason?" Mark asked.

Jason grinned up at his dad, "Yes, sir."

Mark laughed, "You mean, yes, coach! Let's go."

Kenny was glad to see his son interested in something like sports now. It had been a hard year since he lost his mother and Jason having to witness some of the scorn his dad had experienced from his mother's relatives. Kenny had felt so guilty that he temporarily forgot how badly his son was hurting over the loss of his mother and watched his dad sink into despair.

They only had each other and now, it was a new beginning for them. Kenny found a good job with Trevor at the garage with hopes of putting roots down in Hope Valley.

Kenny sat on the bench with Frisky and watched as his son did a few warm-up exercises and then followed Mark out into the field where all the players were called in. The boys knew Jason from school and seemed happy to have him join.

Trevor took Jason over by himself to see how fast he could run the sprints while timing him. He was put through the paces of footwork and was tested for his arm strength. Back in the field, he had the boys throw the football at him to see how well he caught and then he would throw it back. Then he was evaluated as to how he made cuts to the side of the field. Kenny was amazed at how professional these coaches were for a small-town football team.

As he watched, he grew excited for Jason. This was giving him a sense of purpose again. Being part of a team would be something for Jason to look forward to, a sense of belonging. Now, he just had to find a place for them to live...

Elizabeth was grateful for all the visitors as her new book reading of "A single mother on the frontier," which was scheduled for Saturday evening at Billees. Rosaleen had ordered more copies, so she also arranged for the reading like she had offered. Molly helped Rosaleen in setting up a table with her books on display. Some of the Chickadees who loved to bake, offered to make a dessert table with coffee. With all the rooms rented out at Billees, Sam and Maggie still provided dinner first, but those who stayed for the reading enjoyed the time.

When Elizabeth went on stage and looked out on the crowd that consisted of adults along with some strangers, she was a tiny bit nervous. This wasn't her classroom, and these folks weren't her students, but she focused on all the smiles around the room and took a deep breath.

"Good evening! Thank you for coming. I have always wanted to write, ever since I can remember. Books always fascinated me, taking me to places and times I only dreamt about. Many times as a young girl, I had my sisters act out the plays I wrote. Then, when I went away to college to study education, I had a chance to write and read to an audience in my English literature class. Ever since then, I have written every night about my experiences in a journal," Elizabeth started.

Elizabeth paused and looked around, more people were coming over and sitting down to hear her. She saw Will Malone with his warm, big smile and returned his with a warm smile of her own.

Beginning again Elizabeth continued, "My late husband, Constable Jack Thornton encouraged me to write, in fact he bought me my first typewriter. We wrote short stories together, but that is my personal treasure. I just lost my inspiration and couldn't write after he passed, but then I was encouraged when the new Mountie in town asked me, what was in my heart," Elizabeth stopped and smiled sweetly at Nathan.

"It didn't take long then to find my calling to write again. I will read a few passages from this book, and I hope you enjoy them." With that Elizabeth cleared her throat and started reading with great enthusiasm. The audience seemed enthralled and asked for more as they clapped exuberantly as she finished.

That's when Rosaleen came on stage and announced, "We do have two copies at our library, but if you can't wait, or will be leaving, there is a table of Elizabeth's books available for purchase. Elizabeth would be happy to sign them for anyone."

Elizabeth was relieved that her reading was over, but she enjoyed all the incentive the response gave her. Most of the folks from out-of-town bought a copy of her book and she happily signed them. Rosemary, Flo, Molly, Dottie, Minnie, Dee, and her good friends, like the Chickadees, all bought a copy too, not only to support her but to see what she had to say about Hope Valley.

When the night started to come to a close and Rosaleen was finishing cleaning up the table, Will asked Elizabeth to take a moment and come outside with him for a walk. At first, she was hesitant as she had hired Laura to watch Jack and she missed him, but she needed to unwind from the night, so she agreed.

Grabbing her night shawl, Will led Elizabeth outside while holding her hand. They walked over to the pond and sat down on the bench. Once they sat, Will asked if she was chilled.

"Not too much. It actually feels good out here in the fresh air," she answered.

Looking up at the sky and seeing the moon and the stars they sat in silence. Will casually put his arm around Elizabeth and pulled her a bit closer to him.

"Elizabeth, you were so lovely and gracious tonight."

She smiled while blushing. "I'm just happy it went as well as it did. I never expected such a positive response."

"I for one, didn't hear much of what you were saying," Will confessed.

Elizabeth looked startled. "Will?"

Will cupped her head with one hand and drew her closer, "I was so entranced with you, that all I wanted to do was..." with that he kissed her tenderly.

Page 3

Ingrid was burping Julia while Elsa was nursing Greta. It was definitely a huge help for Elsa to have her mother staying with her while she tried to get a somewhat of a routine figured out. She was hoping that she could nurse both girls at the same time, and at first, it worked out, but she found out quickly that she had to drink a lot of water to keep up with their appetites. It was hard to catch a wink of sleep as Julia and Greta were also on different sleeping patterns.

"Honey," Ingrid called over to Elsa, "I think the girls would like to sleep together in one crib."

"Wouldn't they be crowded?" Elsa questioned.

"Not now, while they're so small. They're used to being with each other, so it's worth a try," Ingrid shrugged.

"Hmm, maybe that might help them to sleep at the same time. All right, let's see if that helps," Elsa nodded. She held Greta up for burping and it only took one pat before she cooperated.

"You know I just thought of something. Why don't we have Will bring one of the cribs downstairs? This way the girls will get used to the normal everyday noises of the house while cooking and cleaning," Ingrid suggested.

"Mom, I like that idea. I can keep an eye on them better," Elsa smiled.

"Now Elsa, that's not what I had in mind. I thought I could keep an eye on them while you take a nap," Ingrid grinned.

"You're always thinking of ways to help me! I love you, Mom!"

Ingrid placed Julia down on her daddy's big soft chair and covered her with a light blanket. "I'm going to do the dishes while peanut here looks around. She certainly is wide awake!"

Elsa looked over at Julia and saw she was indeed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed looking all around. Her mom had wrapped her up tight but she had kicked the blanket loose and stretched. She was very comfy in her daddy's chair which was quite large for big Will, with enough room for Greta to join her. Elsa gingerly walked over to the chair and wrapping Greta just like her mother had taught her, she laid her next to her sister. The two girls instinctively knew that they were next to each other. Seemingly content, Ingrid sent her daughter up to bed for a nap.

Elsa gladly took her up on her mother's offer.

Ingrid was so excited to be with Elsa, Will, and her two granddaughters that she was wondering how she would ever leave when it was time to go back home. Toronto was all the way on the other side of Canada and she grew sad thinking of how much she would miss seeing the girls grow up.

Stopping that train of thought, she snapped back to the present moment, and seeing that Elsa could use some new clothes she opened up her sewing machine. It was her favorite thing to do, sew. After all, she was a seamstress and a mighty good one. So good that she helped bring in income by selling new clothes and repairing ripped and worn clothes when the lumber industry was slow during the deep winter snows and cold.

Elsa had learned all the tricks of the trade and became quite adept in sewing, following in the footsteps of her mother. Little by little she became known for her work as a sought-after seamstress as well. Her younger sister, Lily, did not enjoy sewing in the least and she thought instead that she might be interested in going to college, but she wasn't sure yet what she wanted to pursue. It was a big change for her traditional family for a woman to go to college and her parents didn't want to spend money on something different than what they were used to, especially since Lily wasn't sure herself.

Despite their different aspirations for their future, the two girls were very close and Lily missed Elsa terribly. She wanted to come with her mother but was expected to stay home and make sure her father had dinner on the table when he came home from work and clean clothes to wear the next morning for work. When Lily did the housework, she didn't mind, but she needed a creative outlet.

There was a young man, Erik in their neighborhood. He worked at the pharmacy store in town and was in training to be a pharmacist. One part of his job was to deliver the prescriptions to those who couldn't make it into town. On his way out, he stopped and brought Lily flowers and stayed a brief time to visit with her.

"Hello, Erik! How nice of you to stop by," she greeted him outside on the porch as she was watering the flowers in her flower box.

"Good to see you, Lily!" Erik said as he got off his bicycle. "I thought I'd bring you a little token of friendship," he said as he handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, Erik! These are lovely! What's the occasion?" she asked flirting with her eyes.

"Um, well, I was hoping you might like to go to the Community Dance with me this Saturday?" he barely asked in a soft voice. "I mean, if you're not going with someone else. Which you probably are, but that's all right..."

Lily reached for Erik's hand and squeezed it, "I'd love to."

"All right, are you sure?" Erik felt dumb for saying that.

"Yes, Erik, I'm sure," Lily smiled brightly.

"You are? Well all right then, I'll come by at 7:00 and pick you up. Unless, of course, that's not a good time."

"That's just fine. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Erik!" Lily grinned.

When Erik hopped back on his bike to take the prescriptions he had to deliver, he waved goodbye. Lily went inside and looked for a vase. She found just the right one and then cut the tips of the flowers off and placed them in it. Looking at it, she moved a few around until the bouquet looked it's best and smiled.

Running upstairs to her bedroom, she found her journal and wrote down what just happened, drawing hearts around her writing. Then, she reached for her stationary and wrote a letter to Elsa telling her all about it. Deciding not to mail it until after the dance, she put her pen down. She went over to her armoire and flitted through the dresses trying to remember what she wore last time. She chose her soft blue dress held it up to the full-length mirror and smiled.