Coffee was Nathan's favorite way to start the morning. He had been out earlier this morning to do rounds before Allie woke up so he could take her to school. She was still asleep upstairs because there was another hour before they had to leave. Nathan was sitting on his porch with the book Allie had been reading. He had promised not to move her bookmark when he asked her to leave it downstairs last night. She had talked about the book so much during dinner that he wanted to give it a try.
Nathan looked up from his book and saw Elizabeth walking towards him from the direction of her house. She had a basket in her hand with a small bunch of wildflowers peeking out of the top. "Hello Nathan," she said as she got closer.
"Hello Elizabeth," he smiled, putting the cup down next to him on the porch. "You're out early this morning."
"I wanted to get to school early. We are doing an art project today and I wanted to have time to set everything up before the children get there."
"I'm sure the children will appreciate that," he said, looking into her eyes and smiling.
"Nathan, I was wondering if I could ask you something."
"Of course. Would you like to sit for a minute? Can I get you a cup of coffee?"
"No to the coffee, thank you. I've already had a cup this morning. But I will sit for a moment." She sat down on the other side of the porch, leaving quite a bit of space between them. It seemed a little strange, but Nathan didn't think too much about it. "I wanted to ask you about Allie."
"What about her? Is everything ok?" It had been a couple days since their last talk in the school house and Allie seemed to be more excited about going to school. She had talked about spending recess with Opal, Emily, and Anna. He was grateful she was starting to make friends.
"Everything is great. She is a very bright girl. I was hoping that you could tell me about her parents and how she came to be with you. I don't mean to pry, I just want to understand her so I can help her as best I can."
Nathan appreciated that Elizabeth would take the time to learn more about Allie. He had been alone for so long in caring for Allie. Other than his mother, no one had taken an interest in her. He looked as his hands before he began talking. Elizabeth noticed that both Nathan and Allie did this when they were trying to think of what they wanted to say. She found it adorable that they had that in common.
"Allie came to live with me when she was four. Her mother was my sister. I had just become a Mountie so I hadn't seen my sister in a year before that. Her husband was not a great man. He was a drunk and was abusive to her. He was ok while she was pregnant but it started up again after Allie was born. One night, Allie was with my mother and my sister and her husband went to town for dinner. My sister was so excited because it had been a long time since they had a date night. I'm not sure what happened during the dinner but based on the statements from the restaurant and the Mounties, my brother-in-law was drunk behind the wheel and crashed their car into a tree. Neither one of them survived."
Elizabeth moved a little closer to Nathan, putting her hand on his arm. "Nathan, I am so sorry. How awful that must have been for you, your mother, and for little Allie. How much does she know or remember?"
"Allie doesn't remember about the accident. I told her a few years later about her parents when we kept moving around and she said she wanted her mom. I have tried to do the best I can for her, but maybe it would be better if she stayed in one place without me."
"Nathan, you can't think like that. Allie is so lucky to have you. You are the connection she has to her mother which is a tremendous gift. I know I have not know the both of you long, but I can tell that you would do anything for that girl. You are in Hope Valley now. We look after our own. We will help you with Allie if you let us."
Nathan looked at Elizabeth, amazed at her kindness towards him. "Thank you Elizabeth."
"I better be getting to school."
"I should go check on Allie and make sure she is up. I'll see you later when I drop her off."
"See you later." Elizabeth stood up, picked up her basket, and smiled at Nathan. She started her walk to school. Nathan watched her walk away and then walked up the stairs into the house.
––––––––
The Grand Opening of the saloon was on Friday. Lucas had deliveries arriving in Hope Valley almost every day for the last week. There was food, decorations, new glasses and plates, and even a player piano. The saloon looked like a dining room in a fancy hotel. Some of the people in Hope Valley were concerned that it might be too fancy for the people there, but Lucas assured everyone he talked to that all were welcome.
Elizabeth planned to walk to the saloon opening with Rosemary and Lee. Laura had agreed to watch Jack and Rosemary had convinced Elizabeth to join her. Elizabeth wondered if Nathan was planning to come to the saloon opening. She had seen him a couple of times when he brought Allie to school but he hadn't had time to talk to him. She realized she enjoyed spending time with him so she hoped he would be there.
Rosemary and Lee walked into the saloon first and Elizabeth came in behind them. Rosemary walked over to the side where Clara and Jesse were waving her and Lee over. Elizabeth stood there by the door looking around at how different everything looked from the last time she was in there. She was looking up as Lucas came up to her.
"Hello miss, I haven't seen you before."
"Hello. I'm the school teacher in town," Elizabeth said, purposefully not telling the man her name.
"Well I hope you will enjoy the opening and come again some time. There will be elegant food and we have darts over on the side. I'm sure there will be dancing at some point. Plenty of things to entertain a lady like you."
Elizabeth looked at him a little annoyed. He didn't know her but he was making a lot of assumptions. He acted like the men in Hamilton, telling her what she should like instead of asking her. Just then she heard the door open and saw Nathan walk in. "I think I would rather read a book, if you would excuse me."
Elizabeth walked right over to Nathan. Lucas seeing this, turned and walked away. Obviously, this woman wasn't going to be worth his time, he thought.
"Hi there, I wasn't sure if you were coming tonight," Elizabeth smiled as Nathan walked toward her. Nathan had heard her comment about reading a book and he admired her even more now.
"Hi, I almost didn't come. Allie was invited to a sleepover at Opal's house so I decided to stop by. I told her where I would be in case she wanted to go home but I hope she will be ok."
"That is so great Nathan. I'm glad she is making friends." Elizabeth paused. "I'm glad we're friends too."
Nathan wasn't sure why Elizabeth calling him a friend tugged at his heart a little bit. He knew that he shouldn't have feelings for her, she was the widow of a fallen Mountie. A Mountie he came to Hope Valley to replace. He smiled through those thoughts, "I'm glad too."
Elizabeth saw a look of something go across Nathan's face before he smiled at her. Did he not want to be friends? She didn't want to push him into it. He was kind and easy to talk to. She felt comfortable around him. She smiled, hoping they could spend more time together.
Rosemary saw Elizabeth talking and laughing with Nathan. The two of them walked over to the refreshments table. Rosemary and Lee had been introduced to Nathan earlier in the week when they were walking to the cafe with Elizabeth for dinner. The group had seen Nathan and Allie coming back from fishing and Elizabeth introduced them. Elizabeth seemed happy again when she talked about Nathan and Allie. Nathan seemed happy as well, looking at Elizabeth with a sparkle in his eyes that Rosemary noticed.
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Bill hadn't gone to the grand opening. He was still concerned about Mr. Lucas Bouchard and his motives for buying the saloon. He walked outside the saloon noticing the party still going late into the night. He had seen Rosemary and Lee walk home with Elizabeth. Nathan walked home shortly after. Nathan wanted to be home in case Allie needed him so Bill said he would keep an eye on things tonight.
It was well past midnight and there was still loud music coming from inside. This would not work for the town. He would need to call an emergency council meeting tomorrow to discuss the hours of the new saloon. Hope Valley was a quiet town and Bill intended to keep it that way.
Lucas watched from the balcony of the saloon. He saw Bill walk towards his office and Lucas went back inside. Earlier today, Lucas had gotten a delivery of fish in a large crate. The men bringing in the boxes were confused because Lucas had gotten a delivery of fish earlier that week. Lucas asked them to bring the box to his personal office telling them that this was for a personal order and not the saloon. No one had questioned it since they had seen all the deliveries this week. What was one more crate.
As Lucas walked in to his office that night, he took a crowbar off his desk. He opened the crate revealing the fish covered in ice. Lucas brushed the fish and ice aside until he saw the metal box that was underneath. He pulled the key from his pocket that he had brought with him. He had one copy of the key, the sender of the crate had the other. Opening the box, he saw the stacks of money he had been waiting for. He had ordered many of the things for the saloon on credit but that would only last so long. For his plan to go ahead, Lucas would need to play the part of the successful businessman for now.
The next morning, the town council met in the mayor's office. Most of them weren't sure why they were there but a few had their suspicions. Florence had come into the office telling Bill that the saloon should not be able to operate at all hours. Bill encouraged her to wait to the meeting, saying they would talk about it soon. Bill had invited Lucas as the owner of the saloon and Nathan as the Mountie, not that he expected things to get out of hand where a Mountie was needed.
Nathan stood by the door, choosing to dress in his serge since this was an official meeting. He wasn't sure how Lucas Bouchard was going to react to Bill's suggestion. Nathan had the impression that Lucas wasn't used to being told what to do.
"I think we are all here so we can get started," Bill spoke loud to get everyone's attention from their own conversations. "The reason I called you all here was to talk about the hours of the saloon. Last night was the grand opening and while I think we can all agree we appreciate the business being open again, there is a concern about the late hour at which it was still open."
Lucas spoke then, "Well gentlemen, ladies. A successful saloon would be open until the late hours of the night. It should be a place where people can go after work. I would like to remain open as long as people want to come."
"I think we need to put a limit on it. What does everyone think?"
The council members took turns explaining their feeling about the saloon and the hours when finally Bill asked for a vote. The vote was split between the council members: half wanted to keep it open late every night and the other half thinking it should close by 9pm. Elizabeth was on the side of the closing early. Nathan looked at her as they voted. He was happy that they agreed on this. His job would definitely be easier with the saloon not open at all hours. He didn't want to have to keep watch of the saloon with Allie at home.
"Since it is tied, you would be the deciding vote Bill," Elizabeth said.
Bill looked at everyone starring at him waiting for his decision. He then had an idea. "Ok, Mr. Bouchard, how about I make you a deal?"
"What kind of deal?"
"You can stay open late on 2 nights a week, but the rest of the nights you would close early. How does that sound?"
"Probably shouldn't push it for 3 nights, right?"
"You are correct," Bill crossed his arms in front of him, annoyed by Lucas Bouchard more and more.
"I guess I will take it then. 2 nights a week it is."
"Good, then this meeting is dismissed."
Everyone stood and Lucas walked out of the office before everyone else. Nathan watched him leave, confused by the reaction. Nathan thought that was a good compromise. He turned back to the room and Elizabeth was walking towards him.
"Hello Elizabeth, if you are headed home can I walk with you?"
"Yes, that would be nice, thank you."
Both of them left as the rest of the group was talking. Lee noticed them leave together but Rosemary did not. Rosemary was usually the matchmaker of the group but she hadn't said anything about Nathan and Elizabeth. Maybe Rosemary was giving them some time to figure it out on their own. Lee could tell that Nathan and Elizabeth were becoming friends and he was happy for both of them.