It was late when he walked Allie home from the Weiss'. Nathan thanked them for their help as he and Allie said goodnight. Once at their row house, Allie headed up to her room to get ready for bed. Nathan followed though he had another task in mind. His niece's words about missing the fun Uncle Nathan had not left him. He knew he needed to do better in caring for Allie's emotional needs. Feeding and clothing her was not enough. He had known that from the beginning. That was the easy stuff. It was the other things with which he struggled.

Nathan smiled as he thought of those first days here in Hope Valley. Allie had skipped school, said her teacher smelled of chalk when asked about her day, refused to engage in a group project in class, tried scaring Robert, Harper and Opal with her prank at the cabin, and used the card trick Lucas had taught her to take things from her classmates. He would at least concede that Lucas had simply taught her the trick to impress the kids - not gamble with it. Allie had confessed that had been her idea.

What an impression to make on a new town and a new teacher. More than once he was sure people saw him as an incompetent parent. Ellen had made him feel better when he had gone to apologize for Opal getting hurt the next morning. She had dismissed his apology and said that kids would be kids. She was just thankful that he had gone out looking for the children and was able to bring her home quickly. Even little Opal had thanked him for helping him by coming to the door and giving him a hug.

"I like Allie and I like you," Opal had declared. "I miss Mountie Jack but as he can't be here any longer, I am glad it is you, Mountie Nathan."

With that, Opal had disappeared without given Nathan a chance to respond. Ellen had started to apologize for the informal address but as she had moments before, Nathan had waved the apology off. Opal's words have felt like an acceptance to his presence here in a town that had been grieving the lost of their previous Mountie.

When Elizabeth had mentioned Allie needing stability, he had been ready to dismiss her like all the previous teachers who hadn't wanted to help - only blame. She wasn't though. She had worked with and Allie, and under her Allie had made friends, blossomed, and done some healing.

Perhaps it was time he put a little effort into his own healing and let go of the guilt he had been carrying for the past few years. How many times had he played the 'what if' game with the events of Fort Clay but even letting those cattle rustlers go could have had unforseen consequences? His biggest fear was that the people in this town, especially Elizabeth and Bill, would blame him for Jack's death even though deep down he had known that was unfounded. But he was past that hurdle. He had spoken the truth and his friends had supported him.

Bill was supporting him through Hargraves' latest inquiry which Nathan realized he needed to approach the same way. He needed to stick to the truth of the events. He had done nothing wrong and just like he couldn't control being reassigned or Jack taking his position in the training mission when others had turned it down, he'd had no control over Novak's actions. Reaching for the gun had gotten the young Mountie killed - nothing else.

For tonight though, he planned on spending some time with Allie in a way he hadn't in a long time if she was willing. Pulling the case out from under the bed, he brushed the dust from it. Opening it up, he lifted the guitar he had gotten for his eighth birthday out of it. He had been so happy to receive the gift which had been purchased at Colleen's insistence. His ten-year-old sister had even done odd jobs for neighbors to raise some money to make it possible. His father had later pawned it to pay something four years later, but though Mr. Harry at the pawn shop had given Archie money for the instrument he hadn't put it out to sell. When Archie went to jail for the second time three weeks later, the pawn shop owner had returned the guitar. He wasn't sure who was more grateful for the gesture, but this guitar had become even more special because of it.

The guitar in hand, Nathan moved to his niece's room. The door was open, and Allie sat on the bed staring at the window, a book open in her lap. Nathan knocked on the open door. When Allie looked in his direction, he held up the guitar. "Want to hear a few songs?"

A bright smile replaced Allie's pensive expression as she sat up straighter and nodded. Moving into the room, Nathan sat on the edge of the bed so he was facing his niece. "Any requests?" he asked as he began tuning the guitar.

"Sing the song about the worm!" Allie requested.

"That silly thing. I made that up when you were five," Nathan said.

"And it is still my favorite," Allie informed him. "I love his adventures. Maybe we can even make up a new verse."

"Whoa there," Nathan told her. "I'll be busy remembering how to play this thing. If you want a new verse about Wordsy then you are going to have to be the creative one."

"Challenge accepted," Allie replied with a determined nod.

Having gotten the guitar in tune, Nathan strummed a few chords to warm up. "I hope the neighbors don't complain to the local lawman about the racket," he whispered conspiratorially to his niece.

Allie giggled. "You are the local law."

"Well, then I guess we'll know about any complaints first," Nathan said. "Let's see if I remember how this goes," he said softly, thinking a moment before starting to play.


"I won't be long Lee," Elizabeth said, as she wrapped her shawl around her shoulders. "I'm just feeling restless and though he is sleeping, I don't want to leave Little Jack here alone."

Lee shook his head. "You take whatever time you need to clear your head. It has been an eventful day, especially for this little town."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you," she told her friend, before opening the door and stepping out into the night. Not wanting to walk too far away from other people at this time of night, Elizabeth turned toward the Coulters home to walk down the road instead of off into the woods as she often did when it was lighter out.

As she walked, her mind wandered to the information she had learned today - about Fort Clay and the inquiry that Nathan was facing. She couldn't help but wonder if a guilty conscience was driving Hargraves actions. Was the man trying to assuage his own guilt over asking Jack to cover an assignment no one else would out of protest? Would Jack have taken the assignment if he had known all the facts?

Elizabeth wanted to believe that her husband would not have. Jack had always had a strong belief in the truth and justice. What was fair about a man having his career jeopardized for one man's ego - which was what removing Nathan from the training mission was about? Perhaps the initial reprimand had been justified, Nathan had said he had chosen to disobey orders, but once the board had cleared him of that charge then it should have been over.

But it wasn't.

She sighed. Elizabeth knew there wasn't anything she could do about influencing the inquiry. All she could do was offer her support to Nathan no matter the outcome.

Soft guitar music reached her ears, breaking through her thoughts. Looking around, Elizabeth realized she was standing outside of Nathan and Allie's row house. She hadn't realized either one of them knew how to play, but then there were probably a lot of things she didn't know about her student's uncle. However, she longed to find those things out.

I still love you, Jack, but I think I am falling for Nathan too, her heart called out silently. Why did the admission sound like a betrayal? Jack was gone. His words written to her when he had left for the Northern Territories had told her that he wanted her to find love again. He would want her to be happy.

But I don't want to forget you, she lamented as the music came to an end, followed by Allie's laughter.

"You won't forget me," Jack's voice seemed to answer in her head. "Our son is proof of our love. If you've found someone new to love, then give our son and yourself the family that I want you both to have."

Those words brought her comfort. Was it really Jack speaking to her, or simply her conscious trying to assuage her guilt? Either way, the truth was the same. Jack had told her to open her heart to love again. He had set no stipulations of whom that could be or when it could happen. Jack would want this for her and Little Jack.

A girlish giggle sounded from behind her. Turning she saw Clara and Jesse strolling along the road. Though the light from the lantern that Jesse carried illuminated the young couple, both only had eyes for each other.

Not long ago, she had urged Clara to not give into the fear and to embrace the love she had for Jesse despite the pain of losing Peter.

"It is time I start living my own advice," Elizabeth said, looking away from Jesse and Clara and back at the house the music was coming from. She was having supper with Nathan tomorrow night. She was determined that nothing would get in her way.

Feeling more at peace than she had since last fall when she had thought Nathan had been shot, Elizabeth turned toward her own home. She had a meeting with Helen Bouchard in the morning about her book and then perhaps Rosemary might be willing to help her decide what to wear for her date with Nathan. Her friends had already agreed to keep an eye on Jack for her and Lee had planned on inviting Allie to have supper with them as well if she didn't have other plans.


Opening his eyes, Lucas groaned as he was blinded by the sunlight streaming through the window. Apparently he had neglected to pull the curtains after staring at the stars last night unable to sleep. Yesterday had not been a good day. He still wasn't sure if Bill was going to try holding him responsible for the fire yesterday. He knew the judge had taken Henry out to the other derricks yesterday afternoon but the saloon owner had heard nothing else.

Was Henry going to use the fire as a way to get back control of the oil company? After yesterday, Lucas wished he had just pulled out last fall. Henry had been the one whose business dealings had put the company in danger of failing. If it wasn't for profits from the Queen of Hearts, there would have been no saving it.

Having spent most of the night trying to figure out how to deal with legal issues resulting from the fire if they arose, Lucas hadn't gotten much sleep. Nor had he come up with answers. Groaning, he climbed from bed. If he didn't make an appearance in town before too long he knew his mother would come looking for him. She had made enough of a fuss over him in public yesterday. He didn't need people whispering that his mother was keeping tabs on him too.

After taking care of his morning toiletries and getting dressed, Lucas headed downstairs. A quick glance at his sparsely stocked kitchen told him that he didn't even want to attempt breakfast. Instead, he would go into town and see if his mother had eaten yet. If she hadn't, he would take her to the café.

If she's already eaten, I guess I'll be eating alone, Lucas thought silently as he headed out the front door, locking the door behind him. It wasn't that he didn't trust his neighbors, but there were still entities in his past who could one day catch up to him. The thing about running was that once you started doing so, if stopped then what you were fleeing from had a tendency to catch up.

Starting his car, Lucas realized that even knowing that he had failed to win Elizabeth's heart that the idea of running from Hope Valley wasn't a pleasant one. For the first time in his adult life, he wanted to stay put and deal with whatever obstacles came his way.

The biggest obstacle to that would be Bill Avery. He hadn't gotten off to the wrong foot with the sheriff turned judge on day one. Bill didn't trust him. Not that Lucas could blame him. He hadn't given the man a reason to trust him. He hadn't given anyone a reason to trust him really but instead wrapped the mystery of his past around him like a cloak of protection. If he didn't let anyone close then no one could hurt him.

And despite that, Elizabeth kept seeing the good in him and even Nathan Grant had helped him when Amos had come looking for him. If his past did catch up with him again, at least here he knew he would have people willing to help him out - albeit grudgingly.

As the buildings of the town came into view, Lucas had made up his mind. Let Judge Avery throw whatever legal tangles he wanted at him over the derrick fire. This time at least he knew he had done nothing wrong. He would hold his head up high and move forward.

And perhaps check with Henry about rejoining the business he had started.