William walked with his daughter to the school house. Elizabeth held his arm and the two of them walked most of the way in silence. Not because they didn't have things to say or because one of them was angry. William was happy to be in Hope Valley with his middle daughter and for the time they had to spend together. Julie still lived at home in Hamilton but Viola had moved away as well. He missed the time of having all of his daughters together with him. Elizabeth loved having her father in town as well. She missed her family and she hoped to see them more often. Right now, her place was in Hope Valley with Jack as well as Nathan and Allie.

Elizabeth watched her father sitting in the back of the classroom. He had watched all the lessons and he had a proud look on his face. As Elizabeth dismissed the children for recess, William walked towards her. "You are a wonderful teacher, Elizabeth."

"Thank you father. I love it."

"You can definitely tell that you do. This is what you were meant to do."

Elizabeth felt her eyes tear. She had never heard these things from her father and it meant so much to her that he was here to see her teach. "Are you going to leave to go meet Nathan and Bill?"

"Yes, I should get going. I told Nathan that I would meet the two of them at the cafe. I'll see you after school?"

Elizabeth nodded and William walked towards the cafe.

–––––––––––

William was sitting at a table against the wall in the cafe with a newspaper. Nathan had gone to Bill's office after rounds and the two men walked into the cafe together. When William heard the door open and saw Nathan, he set his newspaper down next to the cup of coffee that Clara had brought him earlier. William stood as Nathan and Bill approached.

"William, this is Judge Bill Avery. Bill, this is Elizabeth's father William Thatcher."

"Bill, nice to meet you. I have heard a lot about you from Elizabeth. Please call me William." The two men shook hands.

"Thank you William," Bill said.

As they all sat down, Clara came to take their orders and bring coffee for Nathan and Bill. All three men ordered the special which was a roast beef sandwich. The three men sat and talked throughout their lunch. They all walked back to Bill's office after lunch. Nathan and William had things to talk about with Bill but they didn't want to be overheard in the cafe.

Nathan had given the papers that William had brought to Bill's office earlier when he asked Bill to join them for lunch. As the men sat in the office, they looked over all the information that was collected and tried to connect the dots between everything. Each of them sat at the desk with different papers. Bill went to get more books from his shelves and they worked through the afternoon.

–––––––––––––

The saloon was busier than normal that afternoon. It was Friday so it seemed like the people in town were eager to start the weekend. There was a group by the dart board and all the stools by the bar were full. Lucas was walking around the room and checking on his customers. Charles Kensington walked into the saloon and smiled as he saw the amount of customers. 'Maybe owning a saloon in town wasn't a bad idea,' he thought. Charles was getting impatient waiting for an answer from Lucas about the sale. He wanted to go home to Hamilton and back to the comforts he knew there.

Lucas saw Charles walk in and he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid him. He wasn't sure how the man would react to his answer on the contract. Lucas knew he didn't want to be alone with Charles. Lucas walked over to Charles and said, "Hello Mr. Kensington." Lucas motioned for Charles to walk with him next to the window where no one was currently sitting.

"Hello Mr. Bouchard. Have you considered my offer?"

"I have. It is a generous offer to be sure. I have talked with Gustav who works with me. I am going to have to decline."

"Mr. Bouchard, I don't think you understand what I am proposing. We would both be owners. And the expansion would be a huge money maker for this town."

"I do understand. I need to do what is best for me and my business. Perhaps we can do business in the future."

"You think I would do business with you after this!" Charles was yelling as he said the words. He was pointing his finger and Lucas and the people in the saloon were watching where they were standing. "You have made a huge mistake and I will make sure you regret it!" Charles walked out of the saloon and slammed the door behind him. Lucas watched in shock, not expecting him to react that way. He thought Charles would be upset, but nothing to that extent.

Lucas spoke to the workers behind the bar, "A round of drinks for everyone please! Let's not let that ruin our night." Lucas smiled as he held out his hand, telling everyone to head to the bar. Some of them clapped as they walked over but everyone seemed to go back to what they were doing. When everyone was distracted, Lucas slipped out the door and walked quickly to the Mountie office.

Nathan looking through his desk when Lucas walked in. Nathan had gone back to his office to look for some papers he had requested from headquarters before going back to Bill's office. "Lucas what can I do for you?"

Lucas shut the door behind him and locked the door. Nathan's eyes widened, not sure what was going on. Nathan moved his hand on his side, resting it on the gun on his belt. "Nathan, Charles Kensington was in the saloon and he threatened me."

Nathan relaxed a little bit, knowing that Lucas locked the door as protection for them both from what was outside. "What happened?"

Lucas relayed the events that happened in the saloon. He also explained again about the contract Charles had given him for the saloon and that Charles referenced that it would bring in more money. Nathan knew that Charles was starting to get desperate if he was reacting in that way. He had hoped to wait until they had a full understanding of what was going on, but after this Nathan would need to tell Bill that they had to do something.

"Thank you Lucas. Why don't you go out the back of the office and then you can sneak back over the saloon? If he comes back again, let me know. I should be here or in Bill's office for a little while still."

Lucas nodded, heading to the back door. Nathan picked up the phone and waited until Fiona connected to the line. "Fiona, I need you to do something for me."

–––––––––––––

Charles went back to the office that he was sharing with Edward. He slammed this door too as he walked in the office. He threw himself in a chair and put his head in his hands, elbows on the desk. "I take it the conversation with Mr. Bouchard did not go well?" Edward said.

Charles looked up with such anger that Edward immediately shut his mouth. Charles picked up the phone but there was no sound. No one was connected to the line. He moved the handle up and down, trying to get it to work. Still nothing. Then the look of realization came over his face. His plan in coming to Hope Valley was no longer a secret. The Mountie knew.