Thanks to Joe's early morning visit before opening the store, Gabriel held a coffee cup in his hands as he sat in his rocking chair out front of the Mounted Police office. He did like watching a town wake up even if this morning he was struggling to wake up himself. It had taken him quite awhile to fall to sleep last night, given the thoughts that kept going through his mind. At least they had been pleasant thoughts. Thoughts of a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed doctor.

Gabriel had lost count of how many times he had replayed the conversation with Faith during the walk back to town in his head. Though she had seemed a bit embarrassed after the fact, he couldn't help but feel like her comment about dreaming about marrying a Mountie had been as much of a hint as it had supposed to be encouraging him not to give up on love.

Was his heart ready to try again? Was Faith's heart ready for another shot at love? She had spoken of how her relationship with Carson Shepherd had ended last night after dinner. Though it had been a mutual break up, Gabriel had no doubt there was still pain involved. Faith had admitted the difficulty of working with Carson was part of her decision in moving to Brookfield.

Well, they would not know unless they tried. Looking down at his heavily wrapped ankle that he still had not bothered attempting to put a shoe on, Gabriel knew he would be waiting a few days to ask Faith out. He had already made a fool of himself at the livery yesterday. If he was going to take her out, then he was going to wait until he could be a proper gentleman and not stumble around on crutches.

As people started their day, they waved to their constable watching them from his rocking chair. A few stopped by to exchange a few words. Ben came by to invite him to dinner with his family. Deciding that trying to cook on crutches would go about how caring for Apollo had gone, Gabriel had accepted. He did not protest when Ben offered him a ride in his wagon.

Spotting Faith walking toward him, Gabriel's breath caught as he watched the sunlight dance on her blonde hair. Her bright smile made his heart skip a beat. Apparently his heart was telling him it was done wallowing in what could have been. As she got closer, Gabriel set his mug aside, prepared to get to his feet to properly greet her.

"Do not try to get up to greet me, Constable," Faith called to him. "Doctor's orders."

"Yes, ma'am," Gabriel replied, with an easy smile. He did not make a move to pick his coffee mug up right away.

"I have to say, that looks more comfortable then the chair Nathan use to sip his morning coffee in," Faith commented as she stepped up onto the boardwalk. Placing her back against the porch post, she stood facing him.

"Well, when you are on a stake out, you should try to make yourself as comfortable as possible," Gabriel replied.

"A stake out, huh?" Faith queried. The look on her face told Gabriel that she was trying to figure out whether to take him seriously or not. "Do you expect people to just openly commit a crime in front of you?"

Gabriel smiled. "No. I am not quite that cynical," he told her. "However, I find it is useful to know routines and faces. A break in a routine could indicate a problem and if you are use to seeing certain faces, a new face tends to stand out more. Vigilance tends to solve more things in my line of work than anything else, even though most of the time the work can be boring."

"Well, if you notice any crime taking place, just make sure you remember your crutches," Faith teased him.

Gabriel's smile got bigger. "I will, Doc," he said easily. "Let's just hope things stay boring today though."

"Are you saying I am boring?" Faith asked.

Gabriel could hear the teasing in her voice and as such knew he had not really offended her. "No," he replied. "You, Dr. Faith, are definitely not boring. I would call you stopping by a pleasant distraction."

Gabriel noticed a little pink rising in Faith's cheeks. The color seemed to make her blue eyes brighter. He found himself staring into those blue eyes, loss in their depth. As she met his gaze without looking away, Gabriel wondered if she found his eyes as captivating as he did hers.

Eventually she did look away. "Perhaps I will stop by and provide another distraction after my ride with Chuck," Faith told him as she pushed away from the post.

"Please do," Gabriel told. "Thanks to my doctor I am mostly limited to sitting around the office. It can get boring pretty quickly."

"Well, as said doctor, I guess I am going to have to stop by periodically to make sure my patient doesn't get too bored and put weight on his sprained ankle before it has time to heal properly," Faith replied, giving him a quick wave before stepping off the boardwalk and heading to the livery.

Gabriel waved back, hoping that she was serious. Visits from Faith, even if they were simply professional, would definitely break up the monotony of paperwork.

Watching her walk away, the sunlight dancing off of her blonde curls, Gabriel was reminded that just yesterday he was still lamenting Lillian's choice of pursuing a relationship with Sam. No, he had not tried to persuade her to change her mind when she had told him her decision. Just because you had feelings for someone, it did not mean that they would return them. Even when they did return them, it did not mean that things would work out. He had learned that at eighteen. However, if he was still pining for Lillian was it fair to pursue something with Faith.

However, was he truly pining for Lillian? Yes, he had been preoccupied watching her with Sam when he fell. However, he did not feel awkward when he went out to the orphanage to spend time with the children. He and Lillian could have conversations without him wishing she had chosen differently. He was truly glad that she was happy in her relationship with Sam. He could even see how his life choices were more compatible with Lillian's calling to care for the children who came to the orphanage than his own.

No, he was not pining for Lillian. He was ready to move on even if doing so in Brookfield seemed to be hard. After all, if we were pining for Lillian he would have dreaded a thought of another assignment because that would mean moving away from her and any small chance. That wasn't the case though. A knew posting would have meant a new adventure for him. Another chance to find what Lillian had found with Sam.

Gabriel wanted to find someone to share his life with. He was not one of those Mounties who believed that serving the force and being married had to be one or the other. One could have both. Others before he had proven that. It just took a certain kind of woman who could face that kind of life. Lillian's first priority was to the children now in her care and those who would come to the New Hope Orphanage. That was her calling. Perhaps he was too blinded by his own feelings to see how hard it would have been to make things work between them. One of them would have had to given up their heart's calling in deference to a marriage. Gabriel would like to think he would have given up the Mounties for Lillian and her dream if it had become necessary but he also would not deny he felt relief that he did not have to find out.

A few days ago, Gabriel was thinking he would need to leave Brookfield to find that person he was meant to share his life with. He knew she was out there. He knew that God had someone in mind for him.

Perhaps instead of him leaving Brookfield, God had chosen to bring that person to Brookfield. Only time would tell.


Reins held in one hand, Faith let her other hand run down the neck of the horse she rode. Apollo sure was a magnificent horse and well trained. It had not taken her long at all to feel comfortable astride the stallion. As for Apollo, though he had seemed to be looking around for someone while Chuck had supervised her saddling him, he had given no protest to Faith being the one to ride him.

"You look quite comfortable in the saddle," Chuck commented from his perch on the horse beside her. "How do you feel?"

"Confident," Faith replied easily. "Though I think some of the credit for that needs to go to Apollo. I think he is making it easy."

Chuck laughed at the comment even as Apollo held his head higher as if he understood the words. "I think Apollo agrees," he replied. "But as long as you get a well-trained horse, which any of the ranchers in the area can provide, I think you will do fine."

Faith nodded as Chuck paused in his words before speaking again.

"We've got a straight patch of road," Chuck commented, nodding to the road ahead of them. "Are you feeling up to trying a gallop?"

Despite the nervous feeling inside, Faith nodded. There might be a time where getting somewhere fast could make a difference for the person she was going to treat.

"Yes," Faith said, trying to sound confident. "What do I do?"

Chuck went over the command to get the horse to move from a walk, to a trot and then to a gallop.

"Whenever you are ready," Chuck instructed her. "I will be right behind you."

"All right," Faith said, following through on the commands Chuck had just explained. Apollo responded without hesitation and soon Faith felt like she was flying as the horses hooves moved quickly down the straight dirt rode. He hair flew out behind her and she knew she was going to have tangles to get out when she got back. Not that she cared. The feeling was exhilarating. The second set of hoofbeats told her that Chuck was indeed right behind her.

Seeing the road start to curve up ahead, Faith pulled on the reigns to slow the horse. Again, Apollo responded to the command quickly, slowing his gait until he was walking again.

"You are a natural," Chuck told her, as both riders and horses caught their breath.

"Thank you," Faith replied. "Whose ranch is this?" she asked seeing some young horses running across the field.

"This is the McDermott ranch. They are one of the few ranches in this part who concentrate on raising just horses, rather than cattle. They have some pigs, milk cows and chickens as well but those horses are what keeps the ranch running. Don't tell my mother I told you this, but I would recommend buying a horse from the McDermotts if you decide to buy a horse simply because you will have more choices."

Faith nodded. "Thank you for your advice," she told him. "It is something I need to consider. I am going to have a lot of ground to cover."

"That you are," Chuck agreed. "Though I am kind of envious, because you will have fewer customers than I do."

Faith laughed though she saw his point. There were definitely more animals in the area than people.

The two rode in silence for a while. Finally, Faith decided to ask the question that had been on her mind most of the day. A question that asking somebody about was the only way she was going to get an answer for.

"What is the history between Lillian and Constable Kinslow?" Faith finally asked. "I could tell there was something there last night at dinner. Gabriel also mentioned that he was getting over a woman who did not return his feelings. Was that Lillian?"

"It was," Chuck replied. "I am not totally sure that the attraction was all one sided either. I grew up with Lillian and I would say she probably showed more interest in Gabriel than she had the guys we grew up with. I thought at one point they might go out, but there was an incident last fall. I man that Gabriel was investigating for a racketeering case figured out Gabriel's interest in Lillian and implied a threat against her for leverage. The man never acted on the threat, but Lillian was not happy when she found out about it. I don't think she liked being kept in the dark and I also think it spooked her. She told Gabriel shortly after that she just wanted to be his friend. Not long after that, she allowed Sam, who had also showed interest in her, start calling."

"Do you think Gabriel is over his feelings for Lillian?"

Chuck looked over at her. She could tell the man was trying to read her. "I think that Gabriel has accepted that a relationship with Lillian is not in his future. He seems happy for her and Sam. If it weren't for the children, I don't think he would have the ties he has to the orphanage but he made connections with them and he has remained true to that. Personally, and this is just speculation, I think Gabriel is just longing for a special connection with someone. He is friendly with everyone, and this town has a deep respect for Gabriel, but I would say Joe is the only true friendship he has. I think Lillian still wants to be his friend but right now, things can still be awkward."

"If you think he is looking for a special someone, does he do a lot of flirting?" Faith asked.

"No," Chuck said quickly. "Gabriel can be a tease, but the flirting I saw with you yesterday, no that is not common."

Faith felt her cheeks flush. So Chuck had noticed.

"In fact, I would say that other than Lillian, you are the only other person who has caught his interest while his has been in Brookfield, both before he got shot and after he came back."

"He was shot?" Faith asked.

Chuck nodded and related the story of the bank robbery and Gabriel's injuries. "Even when we got word that he was going to survive the injuries, most of us did not expect to see him come back. We figured he would take the desk job that it was rumored the Mounties were offering him. If he had, I doubt Sinclair's involvement in the missing money from that robbery ever would have been discovered. My uncle might also have gotten hurt worse than simply the broken nose Sinclair's goon gave him. Brookfield is lucky to have Gabriel as our constable, and if Gabriel is showing interest in you, then it is genuine and not because he is simply trying to get over a broken heart. If you are at all interested, Faith, and you can handle his job, then you can't do much better than Gabriel. I think if Gabriel was not a Mountie, Sam would have never stood a chance with Lillian."

Faith nodded, digesting the information. She had definitely not been interested in simply being a distraction from a broken heart. She had been careful not to even entertain another relationship until she could truly say she had let go of Carson. Faith knew she was there, despite not wanting to have to work closely with him every day. She had even been happy to see Carson and Cat Montgomery spending more time together before she had left Hope Valley. Part of her hoped something would come of it. Cat deserved to find love again just as much as Carson did. Perhaps the common ground of losing a spouse might even be comforting to the both of them. Carson's grief over his wife was certainly something she could only sympathize with him, not empathize. She had never minded hearing about his wife, but she had never known what to say. She had never known what to do to bring him comfort. Perhaps Carson could find that source of support in a new relationship.

"Would you like to go meet the McDermott's?" Chuck was asking.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Faith realized they were at the entrance to the lane to the horse ranch. An arch with the ranch's name, The Lucky Horseshoe, extended across the lane.

"They have a very self-sufficient operation out here and stick close to the ranch. The only time they venture into town is to pick up supplies maybe once a month, though the kids do come in for school."

"Yes," Faith said easily. "I would love to meet them if it won't disturb them."

Chuck shook his head. "They will not mind the visit. They are a very friendly family, despite keeping to themselves. They are just very busy as they do not have the ranch hands some of the other ranches have. Gregory is very particular over whom he lets work with his horses and does most of the work himself. His brother, oldest son and one other employee are the only ones that work with the horses. He does have another hand who helps with some of the other tasks around the farm. Louisa stays busy with their four other children, two of which are still at home. Running after two-year-old twins would keep anyone busy."

"That it would," Faith agreed as she and Chuck turned the horses under the sign and headed up the lane.