The children walked out of the school house slowly that afternoon. They had been working on a project in groups before the end of the day. A few of the children walked out and Elizabeth stood on the steps to say goodbye. Some of the groups were still finishing up their work so she was keeping an eye on them as well. As Elizabeth went to turn to go back into the room, she saw a flash of red in her peripheral vision. She turned towards town and smiled as she saw Nathan walking towards the school house. He removed his hat and smiled as he held it in front of him.

"Hello there," Elizabeth said with a little swish of her skirt.

"I thought I'd help Allie carry her books home. I hear her teacher really piles on the homework," Nathan said with a wink.

"Oh really? Well I think Allie will manage just fine, but I'm not so sure about you."

"Me, why?"

"Uncle Nathan! Can I have a sleepover at our house tonight? Please!" Allie came running out as soon as she saw Nathan standing there talking to Elizabeth.

"Uh, yeah. Yes. That sounds like fun," Nathan said to Allie. Looking at Elizabeth he added, "Right?"

"Thank you!" Allie ran off with her friends as they excitedly talked about their plans.

"Elizabeth, what am I going to do, Allie has never asked to have a sleepover before. How am I going to deal with 4 little girls in the house at once?" Nathan looked almost scared. Elizabeth smiled back at him. This man was a Mountie and Elizabeth knew that he had faced danger before in his job. And here he was frightened of a group of girls staying in his house.

"How about I help you out? I can help you make dinner and maybe we can make some cupcakes for the girls to decorate as well. It will be fine," Elizabeth said as she put her hand on Nathan's arm. He looked down at her hand and back up as he smiled.

"You would do that?"

"I would. I care about you and Allie. I will always be there for you."

Nathan was grateful to have Elizabeth in his life. Elizabeth told him that she had some grading to do finish up. Nathan offered to come back in a few hours so they could walk to his house. Nathan looked over his shoulder and saw Allie and her friends standing in front of the school. He said he would be back and went to talk to Allie. Allie was going to play with her friends and promised to be home for dinner with the girls. The other girls would stop at their houses to get their things for the sleepover. Nathan walked back into town to get some work done. It would be a long night but he would at least make sure his work was done before picking up Elizabeth.

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Edward Morton walked into the mercantile and stopped looked around. He saw Fiona Miller sitting in the room to the side at a switchboard. He could tell she was on the phone, moving wires around to connect calls. She hadn't looked up so she didn't see him walk in. Edward looked to his right and saw Ned putting mail into the different slots behind the counter.

"Mr. Yost, I need to make a call. I was hoping I could use the phone here in the mercantile since I do not have one in my office yet."

"Yes, Mr. Morton. Fiona can place the call for you. The phone is right behind you on the wall."

Edward glanced back, "Thank you Mr. Yost." He glanced over at Fiona and smiled before walking to the phone. He picked up the receiver, "Can you connect me to Kensington Holdings in Hamilton, Charles Kensington please?"

"One moment," Fiona said. She thought the name sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Hello?"

"Charles. It's Edward. I wanted to let you know I have arrived and everything is on schedule. I will call you in a few days with the specifics."

"Thank you Edward. I will talk to you soon."

Edward hung up the phone and without looking back at Ned or Fiona, he walked out of the office. Fiona grabbed her notebook from her bag hanging on the chair and wrote down everything that had happened. She would need to talk to Bill soon. Maybe she could make a couple calls of her own to Hamilton as well.

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Elizabeth was gathering her papers and putting them in a basket when Nathan walked into the school house. Nathan walked in standing tall in his serge. He shut the door behind him and walked down towards her. He removed his hat as soon as he came in and he set it on the first desk on the side as he walked around Elizabeth's desk.

"Hello constable, what brings you here today?" Elizabeth asked as Nathan walked closer and stood in front of her. Nathan put his arms around her waist.

"Well Mrs. Thornton, I was hoping that you could help me with something."

"And what would that be?"

"Well, you see I have been thinking all day about this gorgeous woman that I have recently started courting. About how little time we have had together over the last few days and now I have to share you with a house full of little girls tonight. I was hoping we could just spend a few minutes here alone before walking to my house for dinner."

Elizabeth raised her arms, clasping them behind his neck. "And what should we do during those few minutes you'd like to spend with me?"

Nathan smiled down at her, "I'm sure we will think of something." Nathan leaned down and covered her mouth with his. She sighed into his kiss and they stood there like that until Nathan pulled away. "I guess that will have to hold us through tonight."

Elizabeth giggled, "It will be ok. You are a Mountie after all."

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Allie ran into the house with Emily, Opal, and Anna later that night. The girls were all laughing and talking about school and the things they had done all afternoon. Nathan and Elizabeth were in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Elizabeth had stopped at the mercantile with Nathan after they left the school house to pick up the supplies for dinner and the cupcakes. The cupcakes were in the oven baking and Elizabeth placed the platter of fried chicken on the table. Elizabeth wasn't sure what the girls would like but she didn't know many people who didn't like fried chicken.

"Hi Mrs. Thornton, are you staying for dinner too?" Allie asked.

"Yes, Allie. I helped your dad with dinner and we have a surprise for you girls after dinner. Why don't you all go wash up. Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes."

"Thank you Elizabeth," Nathan said as the girls walked out of the room. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Nathan, I…" The girls ran back into the room before Elizabeth could say anything. She knew that she loved Nathan. Maybe now wasn't the right time to tell him. She knew that he cared about her but she wasn't sure how much. She smiled at Nathan and turned to the girls, "Ok I hope you all like fried chicken."

"We love it, thank you Mrs. Thornton," Emily said.

After they all finished their dinner, Nathan cleared the dishes from the table and Elizabeth went to get the cupcakes from the counter. She had brought extra aprons from home so the girls wouldn't get frosting or chocolate on their dresses. Elizabeth handed an apron to all the girls and their eyes went wide as soon as they saw the cupcakes.

"All of these are for us?" Allie asked.

"Yes, I have whipped cream, frosting, and other candies to decorate the cupcakes. I thought it would be fun for all of you to make your desert," Elizabeth said.

The girls stood around the table looking at all the things Elizabeth had brought. Elizabeth went over to the dishes and Nathan sat in a chair by the table. Allie took a huge scoop of frosting, "Hey, watch this!"

"Allie, that's too much," Nathan said.

Allie put all the frosting on her cupcake and stuffed it in her face.

"It's all over your face!" Opal said. All the girls were laughing as they all reached for more frosting and whipped cream.

"Wait, I don't know if you should have all that," Nathan said but none of the girls were listening. Elizabeth saw the concern on his face. She smiled at how caring he was for these girls and decided to help him.

"Girls." Elizabeth used her best teacher voice to get their attention.

Nathan looked at her with shock. "How'd you do that?"

"Just a trick of the trade. Now, if we are going to decorate these cupcakes I think we all need a little frosting." Elizabeth took a finger and put it in the frosting. She put her finger against Nathan's nose, wiping a line down his face. Elizabeth giggled at him and then he smiled back at her.

The girls were focused on their cupcakes and weren't watching Nathan and Elizabeth. Nathan took her hand and led her over to the sink. He took a towel from the counter next to the sink and wiped his nose clean. He leaned down next to Elizabeth ear and whispered, "This isn't over Elizabeth." He tapped her nose with his finger with his finger and went back over to the table. Elizabeth took a deep breath. She loved the flirty side of Nathan. She looked around the room at the children around the table and she began to see their future. How happy they could be with a house full of children. She was determined not to wait as long as she had with Jack. But right now, she would just look forward to their date on Saturday.

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Fiona walked over to Edward Morton's office. He hadn't put a sign outside the door yet but she had asked Ned which office it was. She saw his car outside the building so she walked over with her telephone kit and knocked on the door. There was no answer. She could hear a noise inside so she knocked again. After a minute, the door opened and Edward was standing there. Fiona saw an empty room behind him. She thought he was moving in but all she saw was a desk, chair and one box on the other side of the room.

"Hello Mr. Morton. I am here to install your phone line."

"Edward please. Come in Ms. Miller."

Fiona walked in and set her bag on the desk. She started her work and it took about 30 minutes for her to get everything set up.

"I will just need to connect the line back at the mercantile and you will be all set. If you wait until tomorrow to make a call, that should give me enough time. I have another stop to make after I leave here."

"Thank you. Tomorrow will be fine."

Fiona nodded and walked out of the door. After she left, Edward noticed a pair of pliers left on the desk. He smiled at the pliers in his hand and thought he would hold onto them until he had an opportunity to return it.

Bill was sitting at his desk when he heard a knock on the door. He called out for the person to come in and Fiona walked through the door. Fiona shut the door behind her and sat in the chair across from him.

"Hi Bill, I wanted to talk to you about Edward Morton."

"Did something happen?"

"I'm not sure. I was curious when I heard he was running a business out of Hope Valley. I love it here but it isn't exactly the headquarters of business. It's not close to a train station and it takes a while to get mail here. Then there was the phone call he made yesterday."

"What phone call? To whom?" Bill asked putting his elbows on the desk with this hands folded in front of him.

Fiona took out her notebook, "He made a call to Charles Kensington at Kensington Holdings. In Hamilton. I thought I had heard the name before, maybe in the newspaper or something."

"I have heard of him before."

"You have?"

"Yes, it was before you moved here. Charles Kensington knows Elizabeth's family in Hamilton. William Thatcher hired Charles until he went out and started his own company. Charles also came to Hope Valley once to propose to Elizabeth."

"She was going to marry him?"

"No, that was when she was courting her husband Jack. Charles thought he could change her mind. He left as quickly as he came to town. Now I am wondering what the connection is to Edward Morton?"

Fiona and Bill sat in the office talking about theories about what could be going on. Fiona was going to keep tabs on any phone calls made to and from Edward's new office. Bill would try to make inquiries about both businesses as the judge in Hope Valley. Both of them wanted to keep their suspicions quiet for now but Bill knew that he would need to bring Nathan into it at some point. Once he did, Elizabeth would find out as well. Since it could involve someone she knew, Bill was trying to figure out what would be the best time to tell both of them.