Elizabeth was walking town the street in the center of town early before school. She wanted to get there early so she could get some papers graded before the students arrived. She was watching the wind blowing through the trees and the birds flying through the air. Elizabeth wasn't paying attention to the people on the street and she didn't hear Florence calling out for her from the steps of the mercantile. Florence walked fast down the steps until she got closer to Elizabeth, still calling her name.

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh Florence, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. I have a lot on my mind I guess."

"That's ok. I just wanted to give you this before school this morning. I wasn't sure if it was important. Ned said it was a telegram from Hamilton."

"Thank you Florence," Elizabeth said. Florence nodded and walked back to the mercantile. Elizabeth stopped in the street and opened the telegram.

ARRIVING ON THE NOON TRAIN. WILL TALK TO YOU AND NATHAN WHEN I ARRIVE. W. THATCHER. HAMILTON.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. She knew her father found out something important if he didn't call and he made the trip to Hope Valley. He hadn't been in town since her wedding to Jack. Elizabeth turned and looked up towards the Mountie Office. Seeing Newton outside, she walked over to the office. The papers she was going to grade were quickly forgotten.

"Nathan…" Elizabeth said with a worried tone as she walked into the office.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Elizabeth said holding out the telegram for Nathan to read.

"You didn't know he was coming?"

"No, I haven't talked to him since we called him the other day. He must have found out something. I am going to see if Rosemary can watch the class today and I will meet my father at the train. I know that he will want to talk to you about what he found out. Maybe we can stop by the office on our way back into town?"

"Why don't I come with you to meet the train? Then we can come here to talk."

"Thank you Nathan. Why don't you and Allie come to dinner tonight. I want my father to get to know both of you while he is in town."

"We would love to. It'll be ok Elizabeth, whatever he found out."

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Elizabeth had stopped to ask Rosemary about teaching the class for today. She walked with her to the school house to show her what she had planned for the day. Elizabeth knew that the students wouldn't get as much done as they would on a regular school day but she wanted Rosemary to have the plans just in case. Elizabeth was grateful for Rosemary's help so she could meet her father. She also stopped at home to let Laura know about the change in plans and that she would be back after picking up Elizabeth's father. Laura would be able to leave early but since the train would be arriving right at nap time, Elizabeth thought it was better for Jack to stay at home for now.

Nathan went out to do rounds quickly after Elizabeth had left. He made sure he was able to make it back to town before they needed to go to the train station. On the way back to town, Nathan stopped at Lee's office to ask if he could borrow his car. Lee had been helping to teach Nathan how to drive. Nathan hoped that he could take Elizabeth on a date to Buxton or Benson Hills and he knew he would need to know how to drive in order to do that. Nathan had also been considering purchasing a car for himself however he hadn't mentioned that to anyone yet.

After settling Newton in the stables, Nathan drove Lee's car to a spot in front of the Mountie office. When Elizabeth headed towards town, she saw the car and she was confused. She hadn't thought about how they would get to the train station. 'Maybe Lee was driving them,' she thought. Elizabeth walked into the Mountie office where she saw Nathan standing by his desk.

"Hi, is Lee driving us to the station?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, Lee is letting us borrow his car but I thought I would drive," Nathan said with a wink in her direction. Elizabeth felt her heart start to race as she looked in his eyes. She was amazed at how much she could feel just by being around him.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive."

"I wanted to surprise you. I hoped it would be for a date or something like that, but I guess a ride to the train station will have to do."

Elizabeth walked over to him and put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Nathan's eyebrows raised as he was caught off guard, but it only took a moment for him to pull her closer and become fully involved in that kiss. The both of them stayed in the kiss until Nathan pulled back. He rubbed his hand on her cheek, "What was that for?"

"I love you Nathan. I wanted to show you how much before my father arrives. I don't know what his reaction will be to us or what information he has brought with him. Whatever happens, we are together and that is all that matters."

"I love you too. We should probably get going."

Elizabeth nodded and the two of them walked to the car. Nathan opened Elizabeth's door before walking around to his side of the car. Nathan was dressed in his Mountie uniform and he put his hat in the backseat for the ride. It was a short ride to the train station and the two of them arrived as they could hear the train in the distance.

Elizabeth held Nathan's hand as they walked to the platform to wait for the train. Nathan could tell she was nervous by the look on her face or the fact that she kept moving back and forth. Nathan squeezed her hand and she smiled up at him. The train pulled to a stop in the station and Elizabeth looked around at the first class car to find her father. Elizabeth let go of Nathan's hand as she walked towards the train. Nathan stood back with his hands on his belt as he saw Elizabeth approach a sharply-dressed man with a briefcase. He reached out to hug Elizabeth and then the two of them turned back towards Nathan.

As they approached, Nathan removed the hat from his head, holding it in front of him. Elizabeth introduced her father, "Nathan, this is my father William Thatcher. Father, this is Constable Nathan Grant."

The two men shook hands. "Hello Mr. Thatcher sir. I hope you had a good trip."

"Yes, it was great, thank you. May I call you Nathan? You can call me William."

"Of course sir. I mean, William. We have a car on the side of the station if you will show me where your luggage is."

"The porter has it. He can follow us to the car, just lead the way." William motioned to a man carrying three large cases and Nathan led the group to the car.

"Father, what is all this?"

"When I told your mother that I was coming, she sent some things with me. There are gifts for Jack and you and also for Nathan and his daughter. She wanted to come but she had a fundraiser for the art gallery that she had been working on. I had to promise her that we would come another time. The gifts were her way of being here."

"I will have to write her and tell her thank you. Then you can take it with you when you go. Do you know how long you will be staying?" Elizabeth said.

"I can only stay a couple of days this time."

"You can stay in my guest room if that is ok with you. It is not the largest home but it is big enough for Jack and I."

They arrived at the car, loaded up the bags, and started the drive to town. They had decided to go to the cafe for a late lunch and then over to the Mountie office to talk about whatever information William had brought with them. Elizabeth introduced her father to everyone they saw on the street and in the cafe. The three of them talked all during lunch with Nathan and Elizabeth sharing about their lives in Hope Valley. William paid for the lunch, even though Nathan had offered to pay as well. William said that he would only be in a town a couple days and he wanted to treat them. They all walked to the office.

Nathan sat in his chair while William and Elizabeth sat across from the desk. Nathan started by telling William more of what they had learned about Edward and Charles in town. Nathan was grateful that they hadn't seen either of them in town before walking over to the office. He told William about the connection between Charles and the land outside of town. Nathan hadn't had a chance to talk to Elizabeth since the last conversation with Bill, so he told them both about the surveyors recently finding oil on the land.

"Oil? That's what started all of this?" Elizabeth said.

"I believe so," William said. "I told you about Charles leaving and starting his own business. I talked to a couple of men that my company works with and Charles' business is not doing well. He had made money in the past but it is said in Hamilton that he has had issues with gambling. Also, with trying to keep the lifestyle he grew up with he has been spending more money than has been coming in."

"Why would he come to Hope Valley though? It is not as if the people in town have enough money to pay for any debts he has. There had to have been more profitable options in Hamilton," Nathan said.

"He tried to buy a business that I was also trying to buy in Hamilton. He wasn't able to make a high offer for the business and instead he threatened the owner. When I learned what he was up to I offered to hire a lawyer for the owner and I also offered the man twice as much as Charles. The man moved from Hamilton after the sale to get away from Charles' threats," William said.

"That is terrible. None of this sounds like the Charles I knew," Elizabeth said.

"He hides it well, Elizabeth. He always enjoyed gambling and taking chances in business. Things got worse over the years though. I brought any files I had in regards to the sale of the business and Charles' personal file from when he worked for me. I hope some of this can be of use," William took the file out of his briefcase and handed it to Nathan.

"Thank you William. I will show these to Bill Avery as well if that is ok with you. Maybe you can meet with Bill and I tomorrow to go over all of this."

"Yes, I should be able to do that. I was hoping to go to the school with Elizabeth tomorrow in the morning but maybe we can meet for lunch?"

Elizabeth was grateful that her father and Nathan were getting along. It was going so much better than the first meeting that Jack had with her parents. Maybe things could be different this time. She hoped that her family could go and visit her parents in the future and that her parents would come to Hope Valley more often.

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Bill was looking for a book on the shelves in his office when Lee Coulter walked in. Lee was usually busy either at the office or out at the lumber mill so Bill and Lee didn't come into contact that often. Bill took down a book on land contracts and walked back towards his desk. "Hi Lee, how is the lumber mill doing today?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about actually," Lee said.

Bill motioned to the chair across from his desk and both men sat down. "What is going on?"

"I had a visitor today. Charles Kensington came to my office."

"Just Charles? What did he want?"

"He offered to purchase the lumber mill." Lee pulled a stack of papers that were folded in his jacket and handed them to Bill. "He gave me this contract and told me to look it over. I only said I would so I could talk to you or Nathan about it. I'm not sure if you heard, but I recently received two large contracts from neighboring towns. The lumber mill is more profitable than ever so I assumed that was why he was interested. But he seemed shocked when I mentioned the contracts."

Bill looked at the contract briefly seeing the amount. His eyes widened at how much Charles Kensington was offering. Most people would have accepted this on the spot. But Bill knew Lee well. Lee would never accept such an offer that would affect the town without having all the information, regardless of how much money it was. Bill was amazed at all the wonderful people who lived in town.

"Can I hold onto this? I want to read it over."

"Of course. I told Charles to give me a couple of days so if you could let me know what you find, I'd appreciate it."

Lee said he needed to get home to Rosemary and he said goodnight to Bill. After Lee left, Bill looked at the book he had gotten off the shelf. He would need to look at his other work later. Right now, he was interested in what this contract had in it and what could be the reason for Charles offering so much.

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Dinner at the Thornton house was full of surprises. Elizabeth had made pork chops, knowing that it was one of her father's favorite meals. William Thatcher had eaten at multiple restaurants but he also loved pork chops at home. Elizabeth had only learned to cook once she had arrived in Hope Valley. She made the pork chops with chopped apples over the top and mashed potatoes. Nathan had brought a pie from the cafe for all of them when he came over with Allie.

After dinner, William went to sit on the settee to watch Jack and Allie playing on the floor. Jack was trying to build a tower with his blocks and he had animal toys along with a wooden Mountie that Nathan had made for him. Jack shared all of his toys except the Mountie. He held that close and William noticed the toy. He wanted to talk to Elizabeth later about her Mountie but William knew that Jack loved Nathan as well. William was happy he had this time and that he could see all of them together.

"Gram'pa, come play!" Jack asked looking at William. Elizabeth looked over, hearing Jack's voice. He didn't talk to many people, only those he was comfortable around. Elizabeth watched as her father moved closer to where the children were and sat on the ground with them. She smiled and turned back to where she was watching the dishes with Nathan. Nathan looked at her and kissed her forehead. He could see how happy having her father in town made her.

Elizabeth could hear the children laughing and talking as William walked into the kitchen a short while later. "Would you like some coffee, father?"

"Thank you Elizabeth, yes please."

Elizabeth set out three cups and poured coffee for all of them. They were all standing in the kitchen talking when Jack came into the kitchen. "Mama, come see!" Jack pulled her hand towards where he had his toys. Elizabeth set her cup down on the table quickly before walking to the children.

"William, could I talk to you outside for a moment?"

"Yes, lead the way Nathan."

Nathan saw Elizabeth look over at them. Nathan nodded at her and then led William to the backyard. Elizabeth assumed that Nathan had more to talk to her father about Charles or the land that was purchased. She turned back to the children, knowing Nathan would tell her whatever it was when he could.

Nathan walked out a short distance from the house so he could not be overheard talking to William. He hated keeping things from Elizabeth but he wanted the chance to talk to her father since he was in town. Nathan planned to call her father on his own anyway, but he decided to make the most of the moment.

"What's on your mind Nathan," William asked, even though he had a feeling what the man was going to say.

"William, as you know Elizabeth and I have been courting for a short time. We have known each other for a while now and we were friends first. The children are very important to us both. I adopted Allie this year and I love Jack just as much as Allie. I will promise to care for Elizabeth and the children always. I was hoping that you would give us your blessing to ask Elizabeth to marry me."

William was overjoyed that Nathan had asked for his blessing, not his permission. He knew that Elizabeth didn't need his permission for anything since she had left Hamilton and traveled to become a teacher in a small frontier town. He had looked into Nathan Grant once he learned that he was posted in Hope Valley, only to make sure what type of man was looking over the town where his daughter lived. William knew he was the best of men and a highly respected Mountie. William had talked with his wife before leaving for Hope Valley and both had agreed to give their blessing if it was asked for.

"Nothing would give me more pleasure than to offer the blessing from my wife and I. You all would be a wonderful family together. All that I ask is that you come to Hamilton for a visit so my wife can meet you and the children."

"We would love to, William."

"Have you thought about when you are going to ask her?"

Just as Nathan was about to open his mouth to share his plan with William, Elizabeth opened the door. "Hey you two, the children are ready for pie."

William patted Nathan on the shoulder and the two of them walked towards the house. Elizabeth walked to the bottom of the stairs as William smiled at her and walked into the house. Elizabeth stood at the bottom of the steps as Nathan walked next to her. He took one of her hands and pulled her towards him. Elizabeth giggled as Nathan leaned down and kissed her. It was a quick kiss but a passionate one nonetheless. Elizabeth blushed as she asked Nathan, "What was that for?"

"Can't a man kiss the woman he is courting?"

She laughed and kissed him softly before the two of them walked in the house. All of them sat around the table eating the strawberry pie from the cafe. Nathan looked around the table and he realized he wanted nothing more than to be a family with Elizabeth. He needed to finalize his plan for the proposal so he would be able to ask soon.