A few weeks passed since Amos Dixon and his crew were in town. Elizabeth had talked to Rosemary about what had happened to her that day. She also went on a long ride one afternoon with her journal to the land Jack had bought for them. She brought a blanket and sat on the log for hours. She cried and wrote down everything that happened with her feelings and fears. She also wrote down about Nathan coming to visit her and walking to town with Rosemary the next day. She rode back to town as the sun was setting, not fully healed from the experience but knowing she could face the next day.
Nathan had to go out of town after the prisoners left. Mountie headquarters wanted him to come and give a statement that would be used in the trial of Amos Dixon. He had been charged with so many offenses over the past years. Nathan had called to make sure he would answer for what had happened in Hope Valley to Elizabeth and what their intention had been for Lucas.
Lucas opened the saloon the next day after returning to town. The saloon remained empty except for a couple people who were traveling through town. The locals of Hope Valley stayed away after the story of his leaving town and bringing Amos Dixon to town made its way around. Elizabeth knew that once Florence had heard about it, she would tell everyone that she came in contact with. Elizabeth was upset with Lucas, however she believed in forgiveness and didn't want his business to go under as a result of all the talk.
Bill walked into the saloon one day seeing Lucas standing in front of the bar. "Are you here for a drink?" Lucas asked. Bill never came into the saloon if he could help it.
"No, I came to talk to you."
Lucas sighed. No new business again. He had money to continue to stay open for another week or two and then he would have to consider selling the saloon. Gustav was already threatening to leave. Lucas knew if he did, he would have no chance of staying open. Lucas came to Hope Valley to run away but it was better than a lot of places he had been through. He was used to staying in one place for a couple of months so he had been to many towns over the past few years.
"What can I do for you, judge?"
"I have a business proposition for you. One that I think will help you get some customers in here and allow you to stay open. I have been watching Bouchard and I am sure you cannot stay open with how things have been going."
The judge was very observant, Lucas would give him that. "What idea did you have?"
"People need to trust you. They need to see that you are interested in the town and what is best for it. I think what would be a great idea is to throw a community dinner."
"How will that help? I am assuming I won't be charging for this dinner."
"Of course not! You need to get people to come in here again. If you host a dinner and let them see that you want to keep it open, people will come back. I know they will. Plus if you have help from Rosemary Coulter, that couldn't hurt either."
Lucas knew what Bill was saying was right. It was worth a shot. He would have to leave town anyway if he didn't do it. "Ok, I will talk to Gustav and ask him to order food and get that ready. Then I will speak to Mrs. Coulter about the plans. We can have it this Saturday."
"I will go to the mercantile and let Florence know. If you want to let the whole town know something, just tell Florence," Bill walked out of the saloon, leaving Lucas to his plans.
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Nathan arrived back in town a couple days before the community dinner. He went to Bill's office to let him know he was back in town since Bill was keeping an eye on things while he was gone. Bill had told Nathan about suggesting the community dinner to Lucas as a way to show the town that he could be trusted. Nathan knew that this would be the first step towards trust, but it would be a necessary one if Lucas was going to stay in Hope Valley.
While Nathan was in the office, Bill got him caught up on everything going on in town. Lee was busy at the mill finishing up a contract. Carson and Faith had a family from the outskirts of town in the infirmary earlier in the week with an illness but they had gone back home shortly after. Nathan said he would check on them tomorrow since it was getting late. Bill also mentioned that Elizabeth hadn't been in the library or in town really since the day in the saloon so the door had been locked. The town had been asking but he wasn't sure what to tell people.
Nathan thought maybe he could help with the library. Maybe that is one way to help ease Elizabeth's mind. Nathan hadn't had a chance to talk to her before he left, he had asked Bill to let her know that he had to go to headquarters. He hoped that she would be able to put things behind her, but he was worried that she hadn't been in town. Nathan walked to the Mountie office after leaving Bill. He had an idea before he went home. Allie wasn't expecting him until tomorrow and she was staying with the Weiss' while he was gone.
He changed out of his serge into a casual, work outfit that he kept in the back room. Nathan looked around in the back room at four bookshelves that he had built before everything had happened. He wanted the shelves, like the purchase of the library, to be a surprise. He thought about building them at home, but then Allie would ask questions. He took apart the booths and then moved the wood into the back room. It had taken some time but he was able to get all four shelves done. They weren't perfect and they didn't look like shelves in the store. You could still see some holes in the wood from where they had been put together in other ways. Nathan thought it gave them character and he hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't mind. They could always buy new shelves later on if she wanted.
Nathan had spare keys to most of the buildings in town as the Mountie. It was so he could get into the businesses if there was a problem. He went to his desk, unlocking it and getting the spare key he had for the library. Nathan looked out onto the street. It was dinner time so there wasn't anyone walking around that he could see. Nathan left the door to his office open and walked one shelf at a time over to the library. When he got over to the library and moved all of them into the center of the room, he saw his plaque that he had given Elizabeth propped against the far wall. He smiled, seeing that she had meant for it to be on the center of the wall across from the door. Nathan was glad it had made her happy.
He looked to the left and saw that only the one wall had been painted. The cans of paint and brushes were still on a cloth in the corner. Nathan smiled and went back to his office to get a lantern.
Saturday came and the whole town showed up at the saloon for the community dinner. Rosemary worked her magic in turning the saloon into a beautiful space with two long tables for the dinner. She had also suggested dancing for the end of the night so a dance floor was set up at one end. Lucas looked around after checking in with Gustav. The table was set beautifully with bunches of flowers on the tables, small enough so everyone could still talk while seated. All that was left to do was to wait for people to hopefully arrive. As much as Bill and Rosemary had assured them they would, Lucas was still worried people would stay away.
Elizabeth was worried about going into town tonight. She had gone to the school and home over the last couple weeks. She wasn't comfortable being in town, especially not with Nathan out of town. She couldn't explain the feeling but she knew she was safe when he was around. Even though Bill was keeping an eye on things while Nathan was away, Elizabeth thought it was better to stay home. She did go over to Rosemary and Lee's house a couple times for dinner though which was a wonderful time.
Elizabeth walked out of her house in a beautiful blue dress. She hadn't worn it before but she thought tonight was a good time to bring it out. Rosemary smiled when she walked out of her house with Lee. Laura had agreed to stay home with Jack. Elizabeth said she would take him but Laura said that she had some school work to get done so she was more than happy to watch Jack so Elizabeth could go.
"Lee, would you be able to help me carry something to town and drop it off at the library on the way?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"I have a small box of books here by the door. I was going through the books on my shelves here at home and I had some that I haven't read in awhile so I thought when I can start working on the library again, I could use them there."
"Are you going to go back into the library?" Rosemary asked.
"Yes. I think it's time I get out of the house again. I'm planning to go to the library tomorrow. I need to finish painting first before I can do anything. I know I won't have shelves right now but maybe I can set up boxes or something to hold books until I can buy some."
"I'm sure that would be fine, Elizabeth," Rosemary said. "Everyone will be so thrilled about the library, they won't care about shelves."
Lee carried the box and the three of them walked to town. Elizabeth took the key out of her pocket when they got to the building and she opened the door. Elizabeth didn't even look around, she just turned to Lee saying, "You can just put the books in the middle of the floor. What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked seeing the look on her friends' faces. They both looked shocked so Elizabeth turned around. She gasped at the sight in front of her.
All four walls of the room were painted in the beautiful blue color that she had chosen. There were four bookshelves along the wall in front of her with the plaque Nathan had given her hung above them. There were no books on the shelves but she could see the library exactly as she had imagined. Elizabeth walked slowly into the room to stand in front of one of the shelves. She put out her hand and touched one. It was smooth to the touch so no one would get splinters taking out a book. She looked at the shelves and she could see the markings on the wood and nail holes where it looked like they had been re-used. Then she remembered, were these made from the wood that the booths from the festival were made out of? Was that why Nathan was taking the booths apart that day she saw him while she was standing at the schoolhouse? These bookshelves were more special to her than anything she could buy.
Elizabeth turned, "Did you both know anything about this?"
"No, nothing. Who would have done this? Elizabeth, it's ready for books!"
Elizabeth smiled hoping she would be able to confirm her suspicions later tonight.
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The whole town showed up to the community dinner, much to Lucas' surprise. Everyone sat down at the two tables and enjoyed the meal that Gustav had prepared. He was used to serving very fancy meals but this meal was served family-style which was a challenge. Everyone loved the food and was talking about how they should have meals like this again. Lucas was walking around making sure everyone was enjoying themselves and asking if they needed drinks.
Lucas got everyone's attention as the meal was ending, "Thank you everyone for coming tonight to the first Hope Valley community meal here at the Queen of Hearts saloon. I want to apologize for the danger that was brought to Hope Valley a few weeks ago because of me. It was not my intention for anyone to be harmed because of my actions," Lucas glanced towards Elizabeth but her head was down. Lucas looked over to where Nathan was standing and the look he gave Lucas told him not to say any more about that. "I may not have come to Hope Valley intending to stay but I hope you will all let me try to earn your trust as I live here."
The town clapped for Lucas and then Rosemary decided now was time for the party to begin, "Thank you Lucas for hosting the dinner tonight. If everyone has had enough to eat, we will start the music and the dancing over here. Have a wonderful night!"
Nathan stood over to the side watching the crowd and how much fun everyone was having. There was a crowd of the children from the school over by the windows, talking and laughing. Some of the girls were dancing when there was a fast song. Rosemary and Elizabeth were talking with some of the other women and Bill was over by the bar with Lucas. Lee was talking with Mike at one of the tables.
Faith and Clara had also come to talk with Rosemary and Elizabeth. Rosemary saw her friend glance over at Nathan while they were talking. She got an idea that may be considered a push but then again these two may need it. "I'll be right back ladies," Rosemary said.
"Ok everyone," Rosemary said loudly to get everyone's attention. "It is now time for a new dance- ladies choice!"
Rosemary smiled at the crowd, not meeting Elizabeth's eyes. Rosemary went over to Lee and they went to the dance floor. Faith and Clara excused themselves looking for Carson and Jesse. Elizabeth stood there looking around. Nathan was standing by the stairs in his suit, not seeing Elizabeth as she walked towards him through the crowd. Elizabeth tapped his shoulder, "Care to dance?"
Nathan smiled and put out his hand, "Only if you show me how. I haven't been to many dances." He'd been to a couple Mountie balls but never with a date and he usually sat to the side.
Both of them went to the center of the room and Nathan put his hand on Elizabeth's waist. He held her hand out to the side and Elizabeth put her other hand on his shoulder. They began to dance like they had danced together many times before. They just danced for a while, looking into each other's eyes.
Neither one even noticed when the music changed to another slow dance. After the second song started though, Elizabeth spoke, "Nathan can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, what is on your mind?"
"You might think this a strange question."
"I won't, what is it?" Nathan asked, a little concerned.
"I saw you after the festival taking apart the booths. Did you use the wood from the booths to make something else?"
Nathan looked at her, surprised that she had seen him taking apart the booths. He knew he couldn't lie to her so this secret she would find out. He smiled, "So you've been to the library then. I heard that you hadn't been to the library recently. I had made the bookshelves but I was just waiting for the right time to take them over there. When I saw the paint, I just wanted to make things easier for you. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind? You think I asked because I minded? Nathan, the painting and the bookshelves, not to mention the plaque you have already given me. It is all too much. You have done so much for me already with saving me from those awful men. Now, to help me in this way, I have no words."
"Elizabeth, I would do anything to protect you and make you smile. You are a great friend."
Elizabeth felt a little pull at the word friend, but she dismissed it and replied to Nathan, "you are a great friend too."