Elizabeth recovered for the next week. Rosemary had agreed to spend time at Elizabeth's row house with Jack now that the fever had broken and Faith determined she was out of the woods. Nathan stopped by after rounds to check on her, bringing her wildflowers to brighten the room while she hadn't been able to go outside. Elizabeth had been getting better each day and Faith agreed to let her try to teach in the school days for half day in the morning and Florence or Molly coming in after lunch. Today would be Elizabeth's first day back.

Nathan has woken up early to do part of his rounds. He wanted to check on Elizabeth before school started but first he wanted to talk with Archie. Archie had stayed in town while Elizabeth had been sick. He had checked on Allie, with Nathan's permission, telling her stories about her mother. Nathan could see that he was trying and he wanted to invite him to dinner at his house tonight. Nathan walked into the saloon, removing his hat and looking around for Archie. He saw him at a table in the middle of the saloon with Edward Morton.

Archie stood up as soon as he saw Nathan. "Nathan, how are you son?"

Edward looked up, seeing Nathan, and stood up. "Think about my offer Archie. Good day Constable."

"What offer Archie?"

"He offered me a job here. He said he knew my family was here and he offered me more money than I was making with the railroad."

"Did he say what the job was?"

"No, but he said he could use a man with my experience."

"Archie. Dad. Please give me a chance to look into him before you consider that offer."

"You called me dad."

"I am trying. Just like you are. And as much as I would like you to stay in Hope Valley, I want to make sure everything is good with that offer."

"I will wait until you can look into it. Thank you."

"Ok, I need to get going but I wanted to ask if you can come to dinner with Allie and I."

"I will be there," Archie said.

Nathan put his hat back on his head and tipped it towards Archie. Nathan walked out of the saloon and towards the school house. He thought of something he could take to Elizabeth and stopped by the cafe on his way. He could see the children outside and he smiled as he saw Allie with her friends. He walked up the stairs and the door was open. Nathan was nervous as he walked to the door as the last time he was here was when he found Elizabeth sick.

He walked through the doors and he saw Elizabeth writing on the chalkboard. Nathan held both of his hands behind his back as he walked closer. He didn't want to sneak up on Elizabeth so he cleared his throat until she turned around. "Nathan! I didn't know you would be stopping by this morning."

"I wanted to see how you were doing on your first day back," Nathan said pulling out an apple from behind his back and holding it out for Elizabeth. "For Allie's favorite teacher."

"You know Allie is already getting an A right?" Elizabeth laughed as she took the apple.

"Well then it is for my favorite teacher," Nathan said, his eyes sparkling with all the feeling he felt for Elizabeth shining through.

"Are we still on for our date on Saturday?" Elizabeth asked. Once Elizabeth knew she could go back to teaching, she asked Nathan to reschedule their date. Bill had also worked with Nathan to get the library ready so the opening was planned for after church on Sunday.

"Yes, I am definitely ready for our date." Elizabeth blushed at the thought of time alone with Nathan. Nathan heard the children coming closer to the steps and put his hat on. "Have a good day Mrs. Thornton." Nathan walked away but smiled over his shoulder at Elizabeth before heading towards town.

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Nathan and Allie worked together to prepare dinner that night. Nathan had stopped at the mercantile and bought three pork chops. Nathan didn't have many memories of happy times with his father, but he remembered his mother making pork chops whenever Archie was home early. He hoped that it would be a kind gesture.

Archie arrived while the pork chops were in the oven. Allie went to get the door, "Hi! Uncle Nathan said you were coming for dinner!"

"Hello Allie, thank you both for having me."

"Hi Archie, would you like something to drink while we are waiting for dinner?"

"Water will be fine, thank you. Allie how was school today?"

"Great! Although I have a math test I need to study for tomorrow."

"If I remember correctly, your uncle was good at math," Archie said looking at Nathan.

"I was. I have looked at Allie's homework though and I realized how long it has been since I was in school," Nathan said laughing.

"Is it ok if I call you Grandpa?" Allie asked as she looked at Archie.

Archie looking at Nathan first, not wanting to upset him. Nathan nodded and Archie responded, "I would love that."

"Grandpa, did you know that Uncle Nathan is going to adopt me?"

Nathan looked at Allie. Nathan hadn't forgotten about their talk but so many things had happened over the last few weeks. He knew he would need to talk to Bill soon.

"That's great Allie. I know your uncle loves you very much."

The three of them sat down to dinner and Archie told stories about Nathan and Colleen when they were younger. Allie shared some more about the town and her friends at school. Allie also talked about Mrs. Thornton and Archie noticed his son's reaction at the mention of her name. Nathan didn't say much during the dinner but he watched Archie and Allie. Maybe having his father in town wouldn't be so bad after all.

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The next morning, Nathan found a note on his desk from Bill telling Nathan to come to his office. Nathan sighed. He was looking forward to his cup of coffee this morning since he was running late this morning and didn't have one at home. Nathan looked at the other papers on his desk and decided it all could wait. He decided to walk over to Bill's office before getting started on the rest of his day.

Bill's office door was closed so Nathan knocked before walking in. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, come in Nathan. Can I get you some coffee?"

"Thank you. I haven't had any this morning. What is this about Bill?"

"Before Elizabeth got sick, Fiona came to see me. She had finished setting up a telephone in Edward Morton's office. Fiona said that he recently placed a call to Hamilton to a Charles Kensington."

"Should I know who that is?"

"He used to work with Elizabeth's father. He went out and started his own business called Kensington Holdings. I'm not sure what type of business it is, but I have made a few calls. There may not be anything to worry about it, but it seemed a little strange to me about this connection. I was hoping that you could talk to Elizabeth."

"You think Elizabeth knows something?" Nathan asked.

"No I don't. But I also don't want her to find out that we knew about a connection to her family and didn't say anything. Maybe she can tell us about the relationship between her father and Mr. Kensington."

"You're right. I will talk to her. Keep me in the loop on this Bill. I found out yesterday that Edward asked my father if he wanted a job in Hope Valley."

"What kind of job?" Bill asked.

"Archie wasn't sure exactly but it was for more money than he would be making at the railroad in Capital City. Allie would be thrilled if her grandfather would stay in Hope Valley but I don't want to put him in danger."

"Something doesn't add up. I will try to make more calls and you talk to Elizabeth."

The two of them sat in Bill's office going over what they knew so far. Bill took notes and made lists of what they needed to do. Bill said that he would check in with Fiona and make sure there were no more calls made. The two of them also had to be careful so Edward wouldn't suspect them if he was up to something.