Nathan was able to convince Elizabeth to go home to sleep that night. Elizabeth could admit that Nathan was looking better and he was even sitting up in bed when Elizabeth came back after lunch. She said that she would go home and spend time with the children. Carson promised to call her if there was any change with Nathan. Faith had also gone home to sleep so Carson would be spending the night in the infirmary. Carson stepped out to give Elizabeth a moment with Nathan.
"Sleep well, my love," Elizabeth said as she leaned over to give Nathan a kiss. She rubbed her hand on his cheek, feeling the stubble of a beard since he was not able to shave. When she pulled back, she leaned her head against Nathan's forehead. Elizabeth stayed like that until she caught her breath and then stood up.
"Good night. Get some rest, sweetheart."
"I will. And I will be back first thing in the morning."
Nathan smiled, "I look forward to it."
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Even though Nathan was awake, Rosemary told Elizabeth that she would keep an eye on her class for the rest of the week. Allie had stayed with Elizabeth and she slept in Jack's room. Allie did not want to school, but Elizabeth assured her that Nathan would be ok. Most of the day would be getting him settled at home. Elizabeth promised to walk Allie to the infirmary to see Nathan before school.
Elizabeth and Allie walked to town after Laura arrived to watch Jack. Allie had been quiet for the last few days. Elizabeth put her arm around Allie as they walked and Allie smiled up at her. Both of them were happy to have the other for comfort during this time. The door was open to the infirmary so they both walked in. Nathan was sitting up with his feet hanging over the edge of the bed. Lee had gone to Nathan's house last night to get him a change of clothes. Nathan was wearing brown pants with his suspenders hanging at the side. He had a white button up shirt on with a few buttons undone.
"Hi Allie, shouldn't you be at school?"
"Mrs. Thornton said she could bring me to see you before school. I don't want to go but Mrs. Thornton said it would be ok and I could come home to see you after."
Nathan smiled at Elizabeth and then looked back at Allie, "She's right. Dr. Shepherd needs to check my stitches and then I should be able to go home. I'm sure I will be resting most of the day."
Rosemary stood in the doorway and knocked lightly on the door. "Hello everyone, I thought I'd find you here. Allie, would you like to walk to the school house with me? Elizabeth, Lee said he will be in his office if you want to let him know when you need him to drive to Nathan's house."
"Thank you Rosemary," Elizabeth said.
Allie went to give Nathan a light hug, being careful not to injure him. She walked out with Rosemary and the two walked towards school. Elizabeth went and stood in front of Nathan and took his hand. Carson came around the curtain.
"Good, you are both here. I was hoping to talk about a few things and then I will do one more check of your stitches before Nathan can go home," Carson said. "I have already talked to Bill since you won't be able to work for a few weeks. We need to be careful so you don't open the stitches. I will come by the house to check on you every few days until you are cleared. Bill said he would keep an eye on things and Constable Kinslow will come back through town after going to Capital City. Gabe said he would come stay at your house tonight in case you needed anything."
"Weeks? You think I will be ok that long? I'm sure I would be ok…"
"No," Elizabeth said. "You will rest and make sure those stitches don't open. I can't have anything happen to you." Elizabeth looked down at him with love in her eyes that Nathan couldn't argue.
"Ok, I will not go back to work until you say I can Carson."
Carson chuckled under his breath. He knew Nathan would be resistant to taking time off but it seemed like Elizabeth would make sure he did.
"Carson, is there anything we should be looking out for?" Elizabeth asked.
"If Nathan gets a fever or you notice any changes in the skin around the wound, you should get me as soon as you can."
Carson told Elizabeth that he needed to check the wound and Elizabeth told Nathan she would be right back. Elizabeth walked down to the lumber mill office to tell Lee they should be ready to go in a few minutes. Lee said he would meet her back over there in a few minutes. Elizabeth also stopped by the cafe to get a few muffins that she could take to Nathan's. When she walked back to the infirmary, Carson was done and Nathan was ready. Carson and Lee helped Nathan into the car and Carson said he would stop by the next day.
Elizabeth and Lee helped Nathan into the house, going very slowly up the stairs. Nathan sat down on the settee. He had been lying down in the infirmary for so long, it felt nice to be upright for a little while. Elizabeth said thank you to Lee and shut the door behind him. Elizabeth walked over and sat down next to Nathan on his left side.
"Is there anything I can get you right now?"
"I think I would just like to sit here with you for a little while," Nathan said.
Elizabeth leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder as he put his arm around her. Even though Elizabeth was on his good side, it still was a little sore to move his arm up on her shoulder. He made a noise and Elizabeth looked up in his eyes.
"Am I hurting you?"
"It is a little sore, but definitely worth it," Nathan said with a wink.
Elizabeth laughed. "I'm so happy you are ok. There are so many things I want to talk to you about. I think the two of us should start thinking about our future."
"Should I be worried?"
"No, nothing like that. Good things. I want us to make plans. I want us to have things to look forward to. Just to make sure we are on the same page," Elizabeth said. Her eyes sparkled when she talked about making plans. Nathan thought she never looked more beautiful than she did right then. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her. He was holding back a little bit so not to move too much, but he wanted to show Elizabeth how much she meant to him. Nathan pulled back sooner than Elizabeth would have liked. He reached for her hand and held it against his heart.
"I want us to make plans too. I know that we haven't been courting long. I look forward to each day that we spend together. I hope for a long and happy life with you Elizabeth."
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Gabe had called for a Mountie transport to help take Charles to the jail in Capital City. Two Mounties arrived that afternoon with a wagon. Gabe would travel on his horse with them to the train station and then all of them would go to Capital City. Once Gabe was sure that Charles was in custody of the jail, Gabe would travel back to Hope Valley to help until Nathan was able to return to work.
Gabe walked Charles out of the office in handcuffs. Bill stood outside on the boardwalk, watching as they loaded Charles into the wagon. Bill wanted nothing more than to see Charles leave town. Bill had also gotten word that the Mounties in Benson Hills had arrested Edward when he tried to get a room in town for the night. Bill had called all the neighboring towns to have the local Mounties keep an eye out. He was grateful that Edward did not get too far. He was also on his way to jail.
As the transport rode out of town, Bill was about to turn and walk into the office when he heard his name. William Thatcher was walking towards the office. "Has Charles left for Capital City?" William asked.
"Yes, Gabe just left with the other Mounties. He should be in Capital City by tomorrow. I asked Gabe to call when he was on his way back."
"Good. I made a call to my offices in Hamilton to let them know of Charles' threat. I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware and I asked to be notified of anything suspicious."
"I don't think Charles or Edward Morton will be a problem but we also don't know what other plans they had or if anyone else was involved. Better to be prepared."
"What will happen with the land they owned outside of town? And the office here in town?" William asked.
"I need to look over the contracts. I am hoping that since the owners are in jail that we can have both revert back to the previous owner, which would be the town. We can then decide what to do," Bill said.
"Was there really oil on the land that they purchased?"
"I am not sure. I looked into the surveyors that issued the report about the oil. I tried to call the company that was listed on the report and no such company exists. The man who signed the report is under investigation for taking a bribe. It is my belief that Charles threatened them to issue the report. I have made a call to a friend of mine who works with oil and I asked if he could check the report to see if it valid."
"Will you let me know when you find out more? I may have an idea for the land."
Bill looked at William with a question to what William's idea is but he responded, "I can."
"Thank you. I need to make some calls. Would you mind if I use the phone here in the Mountie office or your office?"
"Not at all. Why don't you go to my office? I need to finish some things here and I will come by when I am done. The door is unlocked." William shook Bill's hand and walked towards the judge's office. He needed to make his calls so he could meet at Nathan's house for dinner.
––––––––––––––––
Elizabeth and Nathan had sat on the settee, enjoying spending time together most of the afternoon. Nathan was starting to get tired but he didn't want to leave Elizabeth's side by going upstairs. He asked her to get her favorite book from the shelves in his row house and read to him. She chose Emma by Jane Austen, thinking that the story of friends to lovers reminded her of herself and Nathan. She read through one chapter and looked over at Nathan. His head was leaning back on the settee and he had fallen asleep. Elizabeth pulled a blanket off of one of the chairs and she laid it over Nathan. She stood quietly and started to walk to the kitchen to start to prepare dinner.
Elizabeth had chosen to make meatloaf after Allie told her it was one of Nathan's favorites. She had put the meatloaf in the oven and was starting to peel the potatoes when Allie came in. "Hi…" Allie started to say. Elizabeth saw Nathan start to stir and she put her finger over her lips to tell Allie to quiet down to not wake him. Allie set her bag down next to the door and walked to where Elizabeth was in the kitchen.
"Is dad ok?"
"Yes, he just needed some rest. Would you like to help me get dinner ready until your dad wakes up?"
"Yes!" Allie said excitedly. "What can I do?"
"I was going to make a salad to go with the meal. Can you wash some of the lettuce I have over there near the sink?"
Allie nodded and washed her hands before getting the lettuce. The two of them worked together to get the sides ready for the meal. Nathan started to wake and he turned his head towards the sounds in the kitchen. He smiled as he saw Elizabeth and Allie working together and talking quietly. He was happy that Allie had a woman in her life to help guide her as she got older. As Elizabeth turned back to the potatoes, she looked up and saw that Nathan was awake. She set down the knife she was using and walked over to him.
"How are you feeling?"
Nathan reached out for her hand and she placed it in his hand. "Wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you for being there for Allie. Seeing you together makes me so happy."
"Nathan, I will always be there for you and Allie."
Nathan felt the promise between both of them. He didn't have much time to think about it before the door opened. "Mama!" William walked in with Jack in his arms. The little boy clapped his hands seeing Elizabeth standing there.
"How is my sweet boy?" Elizabeth asked taking her son from her father's arms. Nathan made faces at Jack and the little boy laughed. William smiled at how well Nathan got along with Jack, knowing that Nathan would be the father that little boy needed one day.
"Dinner should be ready in a few minutes," Elizabeth said. She set Nathan down in front of the settee with a couple toys. She had left a few of Jack's things at Nathan's house after they started courting so Jack would have toys when they were at Nathan's.
When dinner was ready, William helped Nathan to stand and walk over to the table. The five of them enjoyed a lovely dinner with Allie telling her dad all about the school day and Rosemary teaching them. Nathan started to get tired and excused himself from the table. Elizabeth offered to help him walk upstairs and she asked William if he could watch the children for a couple of minutes while they finished the meal. William smiled as Elizabeth put her arm around Nathan's waist and Nathan put his hand on the railing. The two of them went slowly up the stairs.
As they both got to the door of Nathan's room, he turned towards Elizabeth. "Thank you for everything today Elizabeth. I'm sorry I am so tired that we didn't have the chance to talk more."
"You don't need to be sorry Nathan, just being here with you today has been everything to me."
Nathan gave her a soft kiss goodnight and he opened the door to his room. Elizabeth started to walk down the stairs and looked back and smiled at Nathan. He smiled back and walked into the room. As he sat on the bed, he wondered how long it would be before he could make a trip to Buxton. If this experience had taught him anything, it was not to postpone happiness. When you knew what you wanted for the future, you wanted the future to start now. Nathan was determined to get better quickly. He laid back on the bed and he was asleep within minutes.