Nathan and Elizabeth returned to the Thornton's house right before Little Jack was about to go to bed.
"Mom! Mountie Nathan!" Jack burst out as soon as they walked into the door. "Allie and I drew pictures!" He ran up to them, proudly holding up his paper.
"Wow, Jack! You are quite the artist," Nathan said, smiling at the little boy as he looked at the picture Jack had drawn.
"What do you think, Mama?" Jack asked, holding out the picture to Elizabeth next.
"It's lovely, Jack," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Now, why don't you say goodnight to Mountie Nathan and Allie and then head up to your room? I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in."
"OK, Mama!" Jack turned to Nathan and reached his arms out. "Goodnight Mountie Nathan." Nathan squatted down to return the boy's hug.
"Goodnight, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"
"OK!" Jack let go of Nathan and ran back over to Allie. "Thanks for playing with me, Allie," he said, as he gave the teenager a hug.
"Of course, Jack," Allie replied, with a grin. "I had a lot of fun."
"Me too! 'Night Allie!" And then Jack waved before rushing up the stairs and towards his room with his picture still in his hand.
"Was he alright for you?" Elizabeth asked, turning her attention to Allie once her son had made it up the stairs.
"Oh, yeah. He was great," Allie replied, making her way over to them. "Here," Allie said and then she pulled something from behind her back. "I thought maybe you could use another one." She held out a folded piece of paper to Elizabeth. Holding Allie's gaze for a second, Elizabeth took the paper, but she had a feeling she already knew what it was. Sure enough, Elizabeth unfolded the paper to reveal a drawing of a Mountie and a woman with short brown hair sitting at a table. But this time, there were two more figures present in the scene. On the other side of the table sat a little boy with blond hair and a girl with a long brown braid.
"Allie, I love it," Elizabeth told her and then she reached out to give Allie another hug. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Allie looked at her dad over Mrs. Thornton's shoulder. Nathan just smiled. Allie could tell by the look on his face that he knew all about the conversation that had taken place in the schoolhouse that afternoon.
"Well, are you ready to go home, Allie-girl?" Nathan asked, when Allie and Elizabeth separated.
"Sure, Dad," Allie replied and she gathered her things from the kitchen table.
"Thanks so much for watching Jack," Elizabeth said.
"It was my pleasure," Allie said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Thornton."
"Goodnight, Allie." Elizabeth gave her one more hug. "Thank you again for this." She held up the drawing. Allie just smiled.
"Of course." Then, Allie started for the door. "I'll meet you back at home, Dad!" she said over her shoulder, before she slipped out the door to let her dad and her teacher say goodnight. Allie smiled as she walked home in the dark. Four years ago, her life seemed like it was completely upside down and Allie had wondered if it would ever right itself again. But slowly, over the years, the pieces had started falling into place. Today was just another example of that.
Allie glanced over her shoulder and watched her dad give Mrs. Thornton one more kiss on the cheek before he hopped down the steps and started down the path. Allie stopped walking and waited for him to catch up. When he reached her, Nathan just put his arm around Allie's shoulders. The pair didn't say anything as they walked home, not because they didn't have anything to say, but rather because they didn't need to. Allie knew they were thinking the same thing.
Finally, the timing was right. And Allie had a feeling that this time, things would turn out how she had always dreamed they would. Ever since the very beginning.
Author's Note: As always, thank you all so much for reading! I'd love your thoughts, so feel free to make a comment! I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks everyone! :)