It was the morning of her first real date with Nathan. Elizabeth sat, watching the sun show off its beautiful rising colors. She nursed her cup of coffee, with her Bible resting in her lap and her journal beside her. She thanked God for the fresh start for herself and her boy and for the same thing for Tom and Lily. And, she thanked Him for Nathan and Allie; for Nathan's steadfast love. How the man could still love her after everything was nothing short of miraculous.

She heard sounds coming from the kitchen, so she began to gather her things, but Tom stepped out with his own cup of coffee before she even got up. "Good morning" he said. "Beautiful day."

"Yes, it is. Good morning to you, too. Tom, I was thinking about signing Jack up for a summer day camp. It's run by one of my former students, Laura Campbell. It's like a daycare, but better. I think Jack needs to make some friends here before school begins in August. Would you be open to have Lily join him? It begins on Monday."

Tom looked relieved. "I think it sounds like an answer to prayer. I know you would've watched her for as long as you could, but like you, I want her to make friends here. The sooner, the better. What do we need to do to sign them up?"

"I'll give Laura a call this morning. I think there's an online form. I'll let you know. Or, we could take the kids into town and go to the preschool that Laura runs and see her. It might make Lily feel better about doing it."

"Good thinking." Tom said. They heard giggles from inside and both rose to head in for breakfast. He stopped and looked at Elizabeth. "I really can't thank you enough, Elizabeth. For all that you're doing for Lily and me."

She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I said it before, Tom. You're my brother and always will be, whether Jack is here or not. I'm glad that you came here and brought Lily. It's good for Jack Jr to have family around besides me. So, thank you for coming here."

Tom swallowed hard and nodded, then turned to open the back door. He was met with a bundle of little girl who wrapped her arms around him for the very first time. "Daddy! Daddy! Is today Lego day?"

Elizabeth felt tears spring to her eyes seeing this sight. Jack looked at his mom and quieted. He sidled up to her and whispered, "Mama, you okay?" He wrapped his little arm around her legs.

"Yes, I am, Honey Bear. I'm just happy, that's all."

He scrunched his face up. "Why do girls cry when they're happy? You're not gonna call me Honey Bear when I go to school, are you?"

It was Elizabeth's turn to be surprised. Her sweet boy was growing up. Tom chuckled, so she knew he heard that. Lily distracted Jack, and Tom walked over and leaned in close. "There's no way that my brother would've let you still get away with calling that boy 'Honey Bear', you know that, right?" He said it quietly so as not to be overheard.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You're not helping, Tom. It's just been the two of us for so long and now I'm worried that I've tried to keep him from growing up with all of my drama these last few years."

"Nah. He's a bright, well adjusted boy. He'll be better for the work you've done to get through all of this, you'll see. Don't beat yourself up over it anymore. Let's make a pact. You don't let me beat myself up and I won't let you do the same to yourself." He held out his pinky.

"We're pinky swearing now? Talk about not growing up!" With a laugh, she linked her pinky with his. It was good to have another link to Jack in their lives. She had to admit that Tom was absolutely accurate about the 'Honey Bear' situation. "You have a deal. Now, let's get some breakfast going so we can head to town."

xxxxxxxxx

Laura Campbell was beyond happy to see Elizabeth, Jack and Tom and to meet Lily. "Mrs Thornton! It's so good to see you!" The two women hugged.

Elizabeth stepped back. "Laura, it's time you started calling me Elizabeth. Please!" She looked down at Jack. "Jack, do you remember Miss Laura? She used to be your nanny before we moved away. She watched as it clicked in her son's mind. He grinned widely.

"I 'member, Mama! Hi, Miss Laura! This is my cousin, Lily." Jack was holding Lily's hand as she peeked shyly at Laura.

Laura smiled gently, leaning down to the kids' eye level. "Hello, there, Miss Lily. It's nice to meet you."

Very quietly, Lily said, "It's nice to meet you, too, Miss Laura."

Jack plowed on. "We're here to sign up for summer camp. We're excited about it."

Laura grinned and stood up to look at Elizabeth and Tom. "Well, I can certainly help you with that." To Jack and Lily, she said, "We're going to do a lot of fun things. If you'd all like, I can show you around and introduce you to some other kids who are going to be doing camp with you."

As they followed Laura around the facility, Elizabeth caught sight of a sparkly band on the younger woman's left ring finger and smiled. Her heart lifted. Laura was a gem herself and much too special to do this life alone. She made a mental note to find out about this man who'd won Laura's heart.

While the kids were playing, the adults went to Laura's office to fill out camp registration. Laura collected the paperwork and payment from Elizabeth and Tom. "I cannot believe that Little Jack is going into kindergarten, Mrs...Elizabeth. That's going to take some getting used to." Laura said with a laugh.

"Oh, be very careful with the term 'Little', Laura! We use 'Jack Jr' these days because he insists he's 'big' and gets offended when someone indicates otherwise."

Tom choked back a laugh and the ladies looked his way. He just uttered the words, "Honey Bear." and then broke into a fit of laughter.

Elizabeth pulled out her teacher voice. "Tom Thornton! That's enough out of you."

Laura laughed and looked between the two of them trying to figure out exactly what was happening. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Jack informed me this morning that I'm not going to be allowed to refer to him as 'Honey Bear' anymore when he starts school. His uncle then added, fortunately without Jack hearing it, that Jack Sr would've done away with that nickname a long time ago."

"I'll be sure to keep mum on the 'little' reference, then! I'm sure he'll correct me if I slip up, though. And, I promise to not call him Honey Bear."

"You can count on it, and I apologize in advance. Let me know if he's in any way disrespectful about it, though. He knows that's not acceptable." No matter how cute her boy could be, she did not want him to turn into an entitled brat. So, Laura, I've noticed the sparkler on your left ring finger..."

Laura's face turned a rosy pink and her eyes became a bit dreamy. She reached her right hand over to touch the ring. "Do you remember Gabe Montgomery?"

Elizabeth smiled at the memory of one of her very brief, older students who'd left Hope Valley very soon after she'd arrived to go to university. She was certain he'd be a mechanical engineer, inventing life saving equipment. "Of course, I remember him! A teacher never forgets a student with a fine mind like his. So, you're telling me he's the lucky man?"

With a quick nod, Laura grinned. "He is, though I'm the lucky one. We became involved when I went to university and he's recently moved back to Hope Valley. You might be surprised, though. He's Constable Montgomery now, or 'Mountie Gabe' to the kids here. He works for Nathan. He switched his major from mechanical engineering to criminology and then joined the RCMP. He was finally able to get a transfer here. We're getting married after summer day camp ends and before the new school year. Now that you're back, I'll be sure to send you all an invitation."

Elizabeth reached over and laid a hand on Laura's. "I'm so very happy for both of you. We'd love to come." Tom agreed. Once their business was concluded, Elizabeth rose to go collect the kids. Laura stopped her.

"If the children are comfortable to do so, they're welcome to stay for awhile this afternoon. It might make dropping them off tomorrow morning easier on them." All three knew that by 'them', she was referring to Lily and all she'd recently been through.

Elizabeth and Tom exchanged a look and the latter suggested that they go discuss it with the children and see how they felt about it, though Jack would surely be all for it. Their questions were all but answered as they approached Jack and Lily, as the pair were laughing and very enthusiastically enjoying their activity.

Elizabeth quickly got her answer from her son and watched as Tom knelt down near Lily and spoke quietly to her. Lily glanced at Jack, who smiled widely back, and she nodded at her dad. Then, she leaned in and kissed his cheek quickly before getting back to playing.

Laura got closer to Elizabeth. "It's really a very moving story. I predict that Lily will adjust quickly to life here in Hope Valley and Tom certainly seems to be very good with her."

Through the lump that had formed in her throat, Elizabeth responded quietly, "They've both been through so much and I think that they're so good for each other. I'm proud of him and I know that Jack Sr would be as well."

Laura agreed as Tom walked over. "Lily's very excited to be able to stay today. Thank you, Laura."

It was agreed that they would come back to collect the kids around three p.m. Elizabeth and Tom took their leave. They walked along Main Street and were just approaching Bill's office when Nathan walked out the door. He stopped short when he saw them.

Elizabeth was initially thrilled to see him, but it registered that he looked a little nervous. His eyes went back and forth between herself and Tom. She turned to her brother-in-law and his face was even more revealing. He looked completely shocked.

Nathan groaned. Elizabeth had her teacher face on, and he knew that there was no way she was going to be put off. He turned and looked back at the door and saw Bill peeking out at him. He raised his eyebrows, then looked back to Elizabeth.

"Nathan Grant! Tom Thornton! Don't you two even think about putting me off! I know when something's going on."

Right then, the door to Bill's office opened. He assessed the situation immediately when he saw Elizabeth standing at the bottom of the steps with her hand on her hip and a mutinous look on her face. He rolled his eyes. "It's alright, guys. Why don't you come on inside?"

Once they all filed in, Elizabeth saw that yet another desk had been added to the office. New computer equipment. Her gaze slid to Tom. Maybe this was the job he was talking about. But...how did Nathan fit into this?

"Please, take a seat. Before we go any further, Elizabeth, Nathan told me he was going to tell you about this tonight regardless of whether I agreed or not."

Elizabeth looked at Nathan, who was seated on her left and he nodded with a small smile and a pleading look in his eyes. She turned back to Bill. "You're all starting to alarm me. Is everything okay with you Bill?"

He waved a hand at her. "I'm fine, Elizabeth, I'm just not getting any younger. I've taken on a partner and am hiring some new detectives and", he nodded to Tom, "an IT tech. But, I'm going to let Nathan tell you his part in all of this before you ask anymore questions."

This really wasn't how he'd imagined sharing his big news with Elizabeth, but here he was. He didn't figure she'd think any less of him, but it made him nervous. "Lizbeth, I'm retiring from the RCMP and I'm Bill's new partner. I have about two more weeks on the force before I take about three weeks of vacation time. Then I'll be here, still solving crimes, but as a private investigator, not a Mountie."

He could've knocked her over with a feather...but then again, maybe not. She suddenly remembered when he'd professed his love to her and she'd told him 'I can't' and that losing him like she'd lost Jack would hurt too much, he'd said he would quit the Mounties. Back then, she couldn't see past the idea that he'd almost been shot weeks before that and her feelings for him were big enough that she'd shatter again if something happened to him. Plus, she'd recently made a career change as well and hadn't told him the details yet. Though, in this town, he probably knew.

Nathan looked at her expectantly. She wanted to talk to him, but just him and fumbled for what to say right now. "Wow. Well, I think it's all great. I'm glad that the three of you will be working together. Bill, you must be doing really well in the PI business if you need a tech guy."

Bill chuckled. "These days, so much is done online. I'm trying to convince Tom here that he should get licensed as well."

"I'm thinking about it. But, first, I need to get settled here and figure out how to be a good dad." Tom said.

"Fortunately for you, you've got all of us to back you up. You're not alone, Tom." Nathan added.

"Thanks."

xxxxxxxxx

After saying goodbye to Bill, Tom and Elizabeth, Nathan was walking over to Yost's to gather the rest of what he needed for tonight's date with Elizabeth. He was thankful that it hadn't gotten derailed. But first, he needed to call in some reinforcements. There was no way that he could pull off his surprise if Elizabeth hung out in town all afternoon. He knew that she and Tom were picking up Jack and Lily at three o'clock, but he wanted to be sure that they went directly home and stayed there until she started getting ready.

He pulled out his phone and started typing a text to Rosemary.

N: 'S.O.S! Operation First Date needs an assist before 3 pm. Are you available?'

He saw the dots appear almost instantly.

R: 'Oh dear! I'll be wrapped up here in about an hour. What do you need?'

N: 'Elizabeth and Tom are hanging about town and will be picking Jack and Lily up at the Valley Day School at 3 pm. Right now, they've gone to the Cafe for lunch. I need for her to have a reason to head right home afterwards so I can get everything set up and go home to get ready myself.'

R: 'Don't you worry! I'll come up with something! Marigold is there in the toddler room, so I'll just give Laura a ring and let her know I'll be there at about 2:45. I'll insist on helping Elizabeth get ready or something like that. I've got your back, friend.'

R: 'Oh, and she's going to absolutely LOVE this!'

N: 'Thanks, Rosemary! I owe you!'

She sent back a heart emoji. Rosemary was very fond of the emojis. Sometimes her texts reminded him of Allie's. Speaking of Allie, he was supposed to meet her over at the old schoolhouse at 3:15 pm. He was trying to figure out how to get over there with all of his stuff without being seen. The Hope Valley Historical Village was just down from Bill's office and The Valley Day School. He'd have to sneak around and watch when Elizabeth left the Cafe and headed over to the school, then go in the back way. Fortunately, there were buildings and lots of trees to hopefully obscure her view. But, the woman was highly observant. Of course, she'd have to be in town today!

He'd chosen the Historical Village because he knew how much the town's history appealed to Elizabeth. As a former schoolteacher, she especially loved the story of a wealthy young woman who left her life of luxury to come west and teach the children of what was then 'Coal Valley'.

The town had preserved the building that had served as the school and church and eventually, as the population grew and buildings aged, they'd been able to move multiple other buildings to the site of the school and began to create the Historical Village. The former NWMP/RCMP office, the water tower and one of the original row houses - which was once on the site where he and Elizabeth now had their townhomes - were two of the other buildings moved. There was also a newer building that housed a museum specifically for items that had come from other historical buildings that were still in use.

Nathan had a good friend that worked for the Historical Society and he called in a few favors. He and Elizabeth would have sole use of the property for this evening and he couldn't wait to see her reaction.

xxxxxxxxx

Rosemary was acting weird, that's all there was to it. Elizabeth stood in her room while her friend rifled through her clothing, chattering about the end of year drama production. She'd blown into Hope Valley Day School right after Elizabeth and Tom and had taken over their lives ever since. If she wasn't so excited about her own date with Nathan, she'd be calling Rosemary out for hiding something from her. But still...

"Don't think that I'm unaware of your shifty behavior, Rosemary. You may be an actress of some acclaim, but you're still my best friend whom I've known for far too long to be fooled by all of your chatter. I won't press you about it, but we'll be having a conversation after my date." She grabbed the sweater that Rosemary was holding and hung it back up. "And, I think that I can figure out what to wear tonight."

Rosemary scrunched her face up. "Oh, don't be such a party pooper, Elizabeth! I'm just excited for you and Nathan! Do you really want to deny me the fun of helping you get ready? Why, it's been years since I had a chance to meddle in your love life!"

They both laughed out loud at that, because it was - after all - highly accurate! This eased the tension and Elizabeth finally gave up and decided to embrace, or at least endure, Rosemary's fashion intervention.

Blessedly, after picking out Elizabeth's outfit, Rosemary decided to descend upon poor Tom, who was getting ready for his date with Faith. She really should take pity on the poor man, but she only chuckled. Rosemary only did this out of love and there was no reason why she shouldn't share some of that love with Tom!

She turned and examined her outfit. Summer still wasn't quite evident in the evenings, so she had a fitted dusty pink sweater with a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and her tan shoe boots that were good for walking, just in case. She put on a little extra make up, not too much, but enough to make a difference in night time lighting.

She chose to just enhance the wave in her hair and leave it down. Jewelry - just her grandmother's pearl ring and some small pearl dangles for her ears. A spritz of a light floral perfume and she was ready. That's when her heart started skipping around. She had about 20 minutes until Nathan came and she knew Allie would be here soon. She hurried downstairs to make sure that the pizza was ordered for the kids, only to find that Rosemary and Tom had already taken care of it.

"Well, I would love to stay and harass you further, but I need to get Marigold home. As it is, the children have worn her out so much that she'll probably fall asleep in the car. I really hope that all four of you have a wonderful first date." She frowned. "Oh, that sounds a little weird, but you two know what I mean." She breezed out of the room, picking up her daughter and diaper bag. "Toodles! I expect a full report tomorrow!" And, she was gone.

Tom almost ran a hand through his hair, but stopped short. He'd have to leave soon to pick up Faith. "Glad to know that some things never change. Rosie is still more fearsome than the worst natural disaster or a five star general. I think she was born that way."

"Probably both, Tom." Elizabeth laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. "But, you do look pretty sharp. Bet you didn't have that outfit picked out at first, did you?" He was wearing a very expensive looking button down the color of dark gold and dark denim jeans, and a pair of very nice loafers in a dark brown leather. The outfit suited him.

He laughed. "Of course not. What about you? Don't answer that, I think I know. You probably considered going upstairs and changing after she left just to spite her, didn't you?"

Elizabeth choked out a laugh, but was saved from answering it by the doorbell. Allie was here, which meant Tom was leaving and Nathan wouldn't be far behind. Her heart fluttered. They had a lot of weighty things still to talk about, but she couldn't help but be excited about the future - with him.

Jack and Lily squealed as Allie entered, toting a large bin of Legos and a messenger bag. Elizabeth had told her that it was okay to bring Scout along, so the dog trailed in behind her. She was amused at Tom's efforts to say goodbye to his daughter, but he finally won out. Lily was too excited to be nervous about him leaving. Elizabeth told him that she'd fill Allie in on bedtime routine and phone numbers.

Elizabeth walked over to Tom as he grabbed his jacket. "Have fun. Don't worry about a thing here. I have no idea where we'll be, but I know that Allie most certainly does. I'll see you later."

"Thanks, Elizabeth. You and Nathan have fun as well. See you." With one last look at the kids, he turned and headed out the front door to his car.

Before she could shut the door, she saw Nathan coming up the sidewalk. She forgot to breathe. She flipped the porch light on in the growing dusk, and just enjoyed the view. The man knew how to just saunter when he walked and he looked good. Well, way better than good. She smiled widely.

He wore a creamy sweater and dark denim jeans with dark brown dress boots, and a lighter brown jacket over the sweater. He was holding a small bouquet of wildflowers - her favorites. And, if she wasn't mistaken, almost exactly like the bouquet he'd left on her doorstep years ago.

"Lizbeth." His eyes raked over her. "You look beautiful. Though, you always do." He handed her the bouquet.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She stepped back to let him in. "Just let me get these into a vase and then fill Allie in on bedtime routine." Before he could respond, Jack noticed him and ran over. Elizabeth smiled and went back to the kitchen.

"Mountie Nathan! Wanna play Legos?" Jack grabbed his hand and started to pull him into the living room.

"Hey, Mountie Jack! I would love to play Legos, but it's going to have to be another time. I promised your Mom a special dinner tonight, so I'm going to take her out. Besides you've got Allie and Scout here."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Why do you wanna go out with a girl when you could play Legos?"

Allie covered her mouth to hide her grin and Lily just frowned at Jack. "That was a dumb thing to say. Take it back."

Jack's mouth dropped open and he quickly looked to Nathan, who gave him a short nod. Looking back at Lily, he said quietly, "I'm sorry, Lily and Allie. I like girls, even Mom girls."

"Mountie Jack, it's okay to think something, but we don't always need to say it out loud. You were right to apologize, though. Especially considering that you'll be spending the evening with two girls. Scout won't be much help as he worships Allie. You're outnumbered, pal."

Elizabeth had walked up just as Nathan was talking to Jack. Uh oh. No telling what her son had blurted out. "Everything okay in here?" she asked, casually. She figured Nathan had it covered, but she needed to know so she could deal with it later.

Nathan was about to speak, but Jack beat him to it. "I said something mean 'bout girls, Mama. I'm sorry. I told Allie and Lily sorry, too."

Elizabeth knelt down to Jack's level. "Thank you for saying you're sorry. We've talked about this before. Sometimes boys and girls are different, and that's okay. But, didn't Allie bring you some special Legos to play with? Be open, young man. Now, be extra good for Allie." She gave him a hug and looked at Allie as she stood.

"8:30 is bedtime. Their pajamas are on their beds. Make sure that they help you clean up after pizza, which needs to be eaten in the kitchen. If they're good, they can have a cupcake for dessert. Definitely get them to brush their teeth before bed. Jack might fight you on it. He knows better. There are phone numbers on the side of the refrigerator. Lee and Rosemary are the top emergency contact if you can't reach us. Thank you, Allie."

"Don't worry, I've got this. Besides, I think Lily will make a great wingwoman. She could probably babysit me."

Nathan and Elizabeth laughed. "Oh, I think you might be right, Allie. Jack? Lily? You be good for Allie. Goodnight!" Elizabeth said, giving Jack and Lily hugs and kisses.

To Allie, Nathan said "Goodnight, Kiddo. See you in a little while. Scout? You behave in the Thornton house." With a whimper, the dog put his head down and covered it with his paws as if behaving would be a trial.

Nathan took Elizabeth's jacket from her hand and held it out. He could see Jack watching them carefully and he hoped the boy started taking some notes. They stepped outside and grinned at one another. They were finally off on their first date!